When you allow yourself to be who you are.

I call myself a writer, but often you will find me working some job I loath, or doing some camera work, or arguing with people in the street, or justifying myself to people -- you know how it is-- it's like, I got talking to this waitress the other day, and I said "how long have you worked here?" and she said "two years. But I do Real Estate too.." I could totally sympathise with what she was doing; which was feeling the need to validate herself as more than a waitress (which I never doubted, by my question could well have seemed judgemental.) It's the same with writers all across the world. People say "oh wow, you're really great at sweeping the streets," and the writers say "thanks, but there's also some producer who is maybe interested in reading my script!"

So, I live in London. But right now, I am in New York. I am doing only the things I love. I am Directing a short film I wrote, I am writing a feature screenplay, and I have a film in a festival over here. When I'm not writing, I am hanging out with friends and meeting cool new people. That weight of expectation, validation and responsibility has been lifted. I get to be a successful writer - I get to be exactly who I want to be, who I sometimes am. Hell, I get to be who I really am.

And it's so important - I recommend it. Whether it means jumping on a plane, or whether it means renting a hotel room local to you and hiding out there and writing... find a way to do what you do, to be who you are. Find a place; be it a physical place or a mental place inside yourself - and be who you are. Be a writer. Believe it, feel it and be it. You'll feel a lot younger and a lot more inspired. All you have to do is give yourself permission, and find a world where you don't need to justify yourself - where you're freed from creative oppression both internal and external.

You can currently find me walking around the streets of New York, fuelling my imagination for many future projects.

Care to share?

Tweet

Best movie theater in NYC?

Let me know your thoughts, I plan to check them all out. I do like the Angelika, even if you hear a train going by every three minutes! The IFC is great too - seemingly perfect sound and visuals.

Where else?

Care to share?

Tweet

I have nothing to say right now.

So, lately, I've had nothing to say. Don't worry, I'm still interested in blogging, massively, it's just that - when it comes to content, I just don't have much to say right now. I'm watching a lot of movies, but most of the time my reaction is 'That was cool,' and it's all I have to say about it.

I don't like when people write just because they're writers. I always think it helps when people have something to say. So I'm gonna hold off writing too much, until something spins in my head or my heart that wants me to commit some words to your screens.

I'll tell you what I did do today though, I sat in Central Park and read 'The Apartment' (the screenplay) - which was great fun, I recommend it.

Anyways, I'll have more to say about many things soon I'm sure. Meanwhile, make sure you check out the new Michael Moore documentary "Capitalism: A Love Story' - it really blew me away. A big improvement on his last few films.

Care to share?

Tweet

But is the film any good?

All Directors make bad films. Of course, they don't plan to do it. If you'd asked Kevin Smith at the time, he'd have told you that 'Jersey Girl' was going to be his best ever film. In fact, he's on record as saying that very thing. It's one of the sad facts of life that our favorite Directors will, from time to time, make films like '1941' and 'Elizabethtown'. It's just the way it goes.

The same, of course, is true for upcoming filmmakers. "This is going to be my best one yet!" you tell everybody. And it'd better be, because you've only got about one film left before everyone says "actually, yeah, you really need to get a real job." Even the greatest young film directors are going to go through the same patterns as Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, etc-- there are going to be duds. This can be quite a painful thing, especially when you haven't yet made the masterpiece you're destined to make.

Take comfort in the fact that, whoever your favorite Director is, they've made bad films, apart from Billy Wilder.

Care to share?

Tweet

100.

Talking of milestones, my last post was my 100th.

I remember sitting on a train earlier in the year, feeling like a project was about to begin. I wanted a space to write more-- the idea of a blog came up. The idea of an anonymous film blog was certainly appealing. I thought also about an anonymous sex blog, but would only have had enough content for one post.

Thank you for all being here. My hope was to build a little community - to engage on a level with each other that I often find lacking from the industry. I feel we are building that, one follower at a time. You guys really have become my friends - and I am excited whenever you respond. I've been really busy filming over the past few weeks.. that's nearly over, and I'll be making sure I get more involved in all of your blogs again, and help promote and share many more wonderous and often obscure blogs.

Thanks for sticking around.

Kid

Care to share?

Tweet