My mom always said "Being gifted and fifty cents buys you a cup of coffee." Obviously you can no longer buy a cup of coffee for fifty cents, but the point remains. No matter how talented or smart you are, if you are unwilling to do any work it's all for naught. We all like to think we're talented, but it doesn't matter how much natural ability you have if you're a lazy ass.
I've seen students with third grade reading levels learn to tell great stories because they try and listen and learn. I've seen brilliant kids drop out of high school and end up in prison because they thought their brains would do all the heavy lifting without any effort from their bodies.
Did you know Kurosawa's teachers thought he was slow? They never thought he'd amount to anything, and of course he amounted to Kurosawa. Know how? He studied, listened, learned. He worked every job available on set and paid attention to the rules of the trade. He wasn't a prodigy, but he did turn out to be one of the best directors ever to work in the business.
Talent can grow if you're not lazy, but you'll never get anywhere if you don't make the effort.
The need for hard work can be a great equalizer ...if you know somebody in the biz, you can get your script read, but if you haven't done your homework, learned the craft, and rewritten and revised the thing over and over again, you ain't going anywhere.
ReplyDeleteTALENT + HARD WORK + BITTERNESS = ME.
ReplyDeletebut there are a lot of successful hacks who are making movies, they got there because they had money and good connections.
ReplyDeleteYes, you're right, it takes hard work to get where you want to be, but it also helps to know the right people. Let's face the truth. You ain't gonna go norwhere if you don't have any good connections in the film biz. and that's a damn hard thing to do.
It's absolutely possible to make connections in H-wood with a good/marketable screenplay -- no matter where you live or what your income level may be. And writing a good/marketable screenplay takes hard work AND talent. But if you're a talented, hard working writer who is not interested in the marketable part of a good/marketable screenplay, then you'll most likely have a tough time finding those connections.
ReplyDeleteManagers, agents, and producers will respond to ANY material from ANYONE if they think they can sell it. Period.
Being smart/talented can actually work against your chances of success... when things come easily to you as a child, it's very hard to establish good work habits. Add to that unreasonable expectations from the adults surrounding the "gifted child," and the negative impact of the disappointment that arises as those expectations are not fulfilled, then you end up with the classic "gifted underachiever."
ReplyDeleteIf you don't establish disciplined work habits as a child, it's much harder as an adult.
I have trouble putting sustained energy into just about anything - because as a kid, and really, even now, most things come so easily to me. I can learn a new skill, a new job, whatever, in about 1/4th the time it takes most people, and do it better than the average person ever will. That's not bragging, because it's not a good thing.
Once I've learned something well enough to be in the top 25%, or top 10%, I don't feel any motivation to continue learning or improving. And I get bored. I know that with sustained effort, I could go from that level to the top 3% - where the truly remarkable/memorable/successful are. But I simply never learned to push that hard for that long. If I can't master something in 3-4 months, I just get frustrated.
This is a typical pattern for people who are identified at an early age with great creative or intellectual talent.
This probably sounds whiny, and maybe it is - but my point is that a little talent and a lot of discipline/hard work is far better than a lot of talent.
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
ReplyDelete- Calvin Coolidge
Emily,
ReplyDeleteYOU KNOW WHAT REALLY PISSES ME OFF ABOUT HARD WORK, IS THAT IT MIGHT NOT PAYOFF. TWO OF MY OLD FRIENDS MARRIED INTO THE BUSINESS: THEY WERE INDIE DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER WHO MARRIED WOMAN-PRODUCERS!
NOW THEY ARE BUSY WORKING IN ALL SORTS OF PROJECTS IN THE INDUSTRY.
AND OTHERS ARE STILL WORKING HARD BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE THE LOOKS OR GOOD IN BED OR SOCIALIZING SKILLS.
KIND REGARDS,
JIM
RE: I had the best cat ever
ReplyDeleteA wise man (I believe that was George W. Bush, but I digress) once said to me, "Never say Ever, and Never say Never too."
Soldier On.