Not for the usual reasons. It's not the start of my working week. Actually it used to be the start of my days off work, but now is my mid week point.
The reason I hate Mondays, is that for some reason, I finish my day job at 5pm, like most schlubs do. Those very same schlubs that I get stuck behind while trying to drive home, and pick the wife up on the way. Of course, there's always peeps on the road, there always will be, there's just certain times of the day where there's more of them. 5pm is one such time.
While driving home this evening, an interesting thing came up that I decided to mention to my wife, instead of my usual hair pulling frustration at slow drivers in the right lane (the inside lane). Instead I decided to explain why it frustrates me so much.
Because that person at the front of the line is doing slightly below the speed limit, but pretty much the same speed as the person in the slow lane on the left, they have decided to hold the power and fates of all those behind them.
I could be late for work, a date, an interview, a meeting, dinner... There could possibly be an injured or pregnant person in my passenger seat needing to get to a hospital. But it doesn't matter, because the person at the front of the line is in la la land. Or more importantly, they don't even know they've hijacked your life for the moment.
When the chance finally arrives, you whip into the left lane and overtake them, and every other car in that line follows suit, the slower car never quite clicking on that should they wake up to the world around them, they could just change lanes and make life that little bit easier for others.
Which is where this long winded story comes back to what this blog is really about, being making movies.
Like my Monday evening drive home, a recent film shoot has been hijacked.
Since last week, it seems endless the things that have been popping up to destroy this shoot. Most of it has been from the one person, one of the lead actors. Now this may seem like I'm piling shit on them, but it's not my intention. They are a talented actor, it's just a shitty situation that I've found myself in.
Essentially, they've said they are withdrawing from the project unless I change the style in which I intended to shoot it. As odd as it seems, it's certainly not the first time this has been brought up with this film. It is a unique project, and a style that has never been done before. So I can understand the resistance. And every time anyone has brought it up, we've talked it out, and they've understood the reasoning behind the choice. They also knew before reading the script that it was the style I was going to shoot on, and they were intrigued.
Instead, now four days after we were meant to have wrapped on production, we are two lead cast members down, and not a frame of film captured. Last week, this actor pulled out at the last minute due to a late arriving, excellently paying job, leaving me to call the remaining cast to cancel, the night before shooting. By Friday, I tried to work out when we could reschedule, only to find one of the other leads is now booked solidly until September, so far.
And just now I got an email from the original actor, stating what was mentioned above, essentially tying my hands of shooting with the cast I want in the style I want.
While I could probably make a compromise about the style, or do something to swing them further towards my vision, the biggest problem I'm having right now, is my future is once again being hijacked.
I thought this week I'd be starting post production on my third feature film, and self releasing this sucker for free online in another 4 or so weeks. It was going to be a calling card. For me, for the actors. It was going to be unique enough you'd have to watch it just to see if it worked or not. It would then hopefully lead viewers to my other films, one of which this same actor is involved in.
Well, that was my rant. It's so fucking frustrating having your future taken from your control, as selfish as this may all sound.
Now to decide which path to take, to take the future back into my own hands...
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