I Love Katamari

So I know I haven't blogged in a while. To be honest, I just didn't want to. I didn't have much to report. Technically that isn't true but I don't feel like I've made much progress - at least not on paper.

In case I hadn't mentioned it before, I'm starting an entertainment company. A production company. A development outsourcing company. A content development company. A multi-platform content providing company. A bedazzled hello kitty club house in the sky company. As you can see it's been a bit difficult to explain exactly what I want to do, at least in a way that neatly ends with the word "company". Who knew world domination would be so challenging?

Over the past few weeks I've met with people to discuss what I want to do and they've told me how they would do it. Some of them were helpful, some of them confused me and one person made perfect sense.
Here's what I learned: 

1. Everyone does it differently.

2. It's almost impossible to project the amount of income you'll make.

3. The entertainment industry is like one big game of I Love Katamari.

First, there doesn't seem to be one underlying, connective...anything that determines how one becomes a successful producer. Some people do it one way and succeed, and others follow the exact same path and fail miserably. One positive note is that in Hollywood you seem to be able to fail upwards - so if you fail, with the right people, your career still moves forward. I don't get it but maybe one day I'll be thankful for it.

Second, it's nearly impossible to do income projections - which is a shame because they are a pretty integral part of a business plan. IF you own the rights to a project, and IF it gets approved for a TV script, and IF it gets greenlit for a pilot, and IF that pilot goes to air and IF it does well...you will get paid "something, something" amount for being the producer. I don't have to remind you what happens when "something, something" gets involved. For theatre, I get it. It's pretty simple. You may not be able to project if the show will be a huge success but at least you can use real numbers to map out how much it will cost and how much you'll need to make. Film is just as confusing unless I want to fund raise directly in order to produce my own movies...but I'm so not there yet and I don't exactly have a low-budget, artsy aesthetic.

The last, and most salient discovering I've made is that the tactics for succeeding in the entertainment industry are quite similar to those of the video game I Love Katamari. For those of you not familiar with this game let me lay it out for you in laymen's terms. (Gotta love laymen, he so good at explaining things). You basically start the game out as a sticky/velcro-ee ball and you try to roll over items on the screen. You start small - maybe a book, or a chair. You end BIG - hopefully having rolled over and affixed to yourself an entire town's worth of stuff. Now I know what you're thinking - how is Hollywood like a rolling, sticky ball of garbage? Here's how. Think of the ball as your script idea. First, you attach a writer, then a director, perhaps an actor or two, and eventually your project has grown into such a large mass of potentially successful people that the studios can't resist it....because by then, resistance has become futile!

Unfortunately, too many projects in this industry don't start with a good idea or a good script so they just become a massive, powerful, irresistible ball of crap. My goal is to not produce crap, and according to what I've learned here's how I'm going to avoid it:

1. I'm going to do it 'my way.' I have yet to define what 'my way' is but I guarantee it'll be different than your way.
2. I'm going to raise 'something, something' amount for development costs and get paid 'something, something' and 'some point'.
3. I'm going to take a great idea, hire a writer who loves the idea, let the story tell us what platform (film, TV, theatre) suites it best, partner with a skilled and passionate director and production team, make sure they hire the appropriate cast...and then support this team of talented, creative people and allow them to do what they do best.....


Progress? meh, but better than nothing.

Label Whore

So I've been thinking a lot about what defines us and as I am a child of the 80's I can't help but think of the Breakfast Club. You know, the end part where they read the essay they had to write in detention. "You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case ...a princess...and a criminal."

Now first of all I think that movie is what made every drama geek pine for the jock, and every pretty girl secretly wish that the darkest dude in school would wear her diamond stud. But let's not talk about which of John Hughes' (RIP) social constructs defined my sense of male/female interactions. What I keep coming back to this week is this idea of labels and the power of words.

I had to write my bio for my business plan and I think that after years of trying to label myself as one thing or another I've finally realized that I'm a lot of things, and that's ok - in fact, it's what makes me unique and gives me my edge. I am a director, producer, writer, consultant, manager and artist. I'm not just one or the other - I'm all of them.

It's taken me a long time to come to this conclusion. For most of my life I've tried to be wholly one thing for one group of people and then someone totally different for another group. When I was working in theatre management in Seattle I never told anyone that I directed theatre. In fact, I was instructed not to, in hopes of proving my dedication to my boss. I made friends and established working relationships with people who had no idea that I'd spent over 10 years directing theatre. It was so strange to me because for so much of my life that was my whole identity. Obviously this wasn't just because I was told not to, it's because at that time in my life I had decided I was a married, nature-accepting (not gonna go as far as loving), craft-doing, theatre manager. As I look back on that time I realize that part of me is all of those things, but I'm also so much more. 

By the way, that phase didn't last long and little bits of the rest of me would peak out now and again - she was called "New York Karina". For the longest time I was Toronto Karina in Toronto, New York Karina in New York, Seattle Karina in Seattle and LA Karina in LA. I was indeed a confirmed bunburyist. Sometimes I'd slip - like a superhero who forgot to change out of her costume before going back to work. It was exhausting.

Now I'm just Karina and it's much easier, but it took a long time. I think one of the hardest parts was realizing that I can't control what people think of me, I can only be true to who I am and lead an authentic life. There will still be people who expect me to be one way or the other depending on when or where they met me but I can't accommodate their perceptions, I can only be who I am now. 

This whole discussion came about because I needed to define what kind of company I'm starting. I needed to put a label on it and in some ways this process was the exact opposite of what I've been discussing. While I define my company one way I had to translate that definition into words that people understood, even when those words didn't actually capture what I meant to say. Even more frustrating was the fact that I couldn't use the words that I really wanted to use, because the colloquial understanding of their meaning didn't match the formal definition. So in the end I used the words that I knew would be most widely accepted, knowing that in the end I'll be able to show the world that my company is unique through actions.

Our actions are what set us apart. They show the world who we really are and what we really want. For example, I can talk about wanting to start my own company for years, but it's not until I say it and do something about it that the intention finds its truth. I've spent the last two weeks slowly but surely adding action to words...baby steps, but forward action nonetheless.

I could go one but I should probably go get some other stuff done today....sorry about the abrupt ending - more about action later.

Some Who Wander are Lost

Nine years ago today I lost someone really special. Actually, no, I didn’t lose her…she was ripped from my life in a horrific car accident. She’s not lost, she’s dead and there’s a big difference. I know I have a tendency to obsess over semantics but sometimes I just can’t stand euphemisms.  When people die they aren’t lost, they’re gone. Some who wander are lost, they just haven't started to panic yet. Sometimes it's not ok, and that's just part of life. But, if you don't let yourself feel the pain, you can't truly feel the joy. If you don't ask the uncomfortable questions, tackle the tough subjects or have the difficult conversations you'll never truly feel connected. People die, fights happen, rejection is all around us so let's not sugar coat it. Let's face it, feel it, gain strength from it and enjoy and honor all the wonderful things in life we do have.

So today, please take a moment to tell someone you love them. It doesn’t have to be romantic love – as long as it’s authentic. I have a tendency to tell people I love them before they may feel comfortable hearing it but I say it anyway – because I’d hate to miss out on the opportunity. I’ve missed out on too many. So please, take a moment today to tell someone that you love them, or that they’re doing a good job or that you’re happy they're in your life…even if it makes you feel a little silly, it'll be worth it, trust me.