Motivation

One of the things I've grown to like most about LA are the screenings that are happening around town all the time.  And the ones I've been to have been films that either were produced, written, directed or acted by friends and colleagues.  As cheesy as it may sound, it is constantly inspiring to see the hard work of the people I know right there on the big screen.  Whether it is at a film festival, at an independent theater or at a bar, there is something really gratifying about seeing good work being appreciated.  The screening I went to on Monday was at the Downtown Independent Theatre and I originally was going because Bobby Miller's short film, TUB, was playing before a feature.  Bobby is a filmmaker who answered our call for completed short films when we were launching Green Apple.  We had hoped to produce one of his next projects but Green Apple dissolved before we got a chance to collaborate together. He has proven to be an exciting writer and director to follow and TUB has been sweeping through film festivals this past year - Sundance, Cannes, SXSW, to name a few.  It has screened two other times in LA and both times I had a schedule conflict, so I was looking forward to finally seeing it. And then I found out that the feature that was screening after Bobby's short was The Scenesters, a film that Jeff Grace did.  I know Jeff through a friend and we've hung out in the past on group outings but I haven't seen him in at least a year.  I remember him talking about a project he was working on or had just finished at the time.  This was the project.  So now I was extra excited to see these films and they did not disappoint.  Bobby's short is dark and twisted, like his sense of humor.  I laughed while I cringed.  And Jeff's feature is so clever and engaging, with deadpan humor and a plot that kept me fully entertained.  Seeing work like their's motivates me.  Motivates me to do more, take these stories that are swirling in my head, get them out onto the page, to play and make mistakes but most importantly, to create.  What am I waiting for?