IFH 320: Are You A Bitter & Angry Filmmaker?

Alex Ferrari 3:15
So guys, today I have a question for you. Are you a hater? Are you someone who hates on other people's successes? When you see an article or post or a podcast or a video about someone else's another filmmakers and other screenwriters success in this business? Does your immediate feeling about it be a one of hate being one of oh well they got this that or they had this opportunity or that opportunity? And that's why they succeeded. If you are, and I hate to tell you, my friend, but your hater. And I wanted to talk a little bit about this because a few weeks ago, I released an episode about Jonathan Perry, a very young film director who's 17 and got an Amazon Studios deal actually he's the youngest film director Ever to get a deal with a streaming service, let alone Amazon Studios off of an unfinished short film. And those are extremely popular podcasts a lot a lot of people loved a lot of people were really happy with Jonathan, I did see in comments and posts and things like that a lot of haterade going on. Just a lot of people out there just hating on Jonathan success. And it wasn't anything personal with Jonathan, it was just the mere fact of his story. It happened a little bit before when I talked about Kansas bowling, she did she was a 17 year old film director who shot a feature film on 16 millimeter and sold it to distribution when she was still 17. And there was a lot of hate back then, as well. And I just kind of realized, Oh, and by the way, there's been hate on many episodes, the range 15 guys, when they made $3 million off of their movies in their whole story, I would see a little bit of hate here and there. But I got a real big wave of the hate off of that one podcast from a few weeks ago with Jonathan. So I said, I think this is something that needs to be addressed. Because I think it's not only a problem for the people being hated on, but I think it's even a larger problem for the people who are hating. Now, I always tell people when I when I speak publicly, I always ask them, we all know angry and bitter filmmakers. And if you don't know any angry and bitter filmmakers, you are the angry and bitter filmmaker. Now, I'm gonna tell you a little bit about my history of hating, okay, because I am not immune to this. I was an angry, angry, angry and bitter filmmaker for so so so so many years. If you guys read my book shooting for the mob, you'll understand where a lot of that hate came from. Being so close to your dream, having it literally inches away from your face, and getting pulled away, like it did in that time of my life, made me very angry made me very bitter for over 15 years easily. And on to add more to that, you know, I was in post production. So as a as a post guy and editor, a colorist post supervisor, I would work with many, many filmmakers. And every single time I would get a young, you know, filmmaker who was in his early 20s, who had never directed a feature film, and someone gave them two or $3 million. You know, I was I was there to help them, you know, bring their vision to life. But underneath it all, there was hate man, there was just this anger and bitterness towards their success. Because I would always say to myself, well, why didn't happen to me? I have I have as much, if not more talent and experience is that filmmaker? Why didn't I get the shot? Why didn't someone show up at my door with a million or 2 million or $3 million to go make a feature film? Why am I not getting mine. And that was my mentality. That was the mentality that held me back for So, so so long in my life. I want you to understand something, that success is a result of your thinking. Success is a result of your work. And success is a result of your hustle. It's cause and effect. This is what the universe is made out of cause and effect. Cause of your success or cause of your failure is up to you. Your failure to achieve your goals in this business are a direct result of what's going on underneath in side of you. Whatever results you're getting in your life, or in your career, whether good or bad. Remember, your outer world is a reflection of your inner world. If you're hating on people, if you're leaving comments on Facebook and Twitter and YouTube and anywhere else on the internet, it says a lot more about who you are than about who you are hating upon. I really truly believe that I truly believe that whatever you're putting out into the universe will come back to you in one way, shape or form. Whether is that manifestation of a lack in your career, in your career, in your dream and what you're trying to achieve in this business or in life. I do truly believe that what you do put out does come back to you. So if you're hating on people and you're asking yourself Wow. Um, I'm really, really not getting to where I want to be. Let me ask you a question. Do you think that David Fincher Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Steven Soderbergh? Do you think any of these guys are sitting around hating on other people? Do you think any of them are truly spending exerting any mental energy on hating on other people and being bitter about someone else's success? Now, I know a lot of you're saying right now, and if you're saying this is a perfect reason why you should be listening to this podcast. If you're saying right now, well, Alex, that Steven Spielberg, he's one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. He's rich, he's he's super, super successful as many Oscars, why would he be hating on anybody? If you think that, then you should be listening to this up this podcast. Because I promise you, when Stephen was not a billionaire, and was not one of the most successful filmmakers of all time, I promise you, he was not sitting down, thinking about why somebody else was getting an opportunity. And he didn't, he was too busy making his own opportunities. He was too busy hustling, he was too busy working and being creative, and creating content, creating movies, creating opportunities for himself. Rather than just think about what I don't have, because someone else took it, that mentality is what's going to hold you back, and it is holding you back, it held me back for almost 20 years of my life. And when I finally let go of it, I can't tell you the freedom. And I can't tell you the things that have happened in my life. In every forest, in every farm anywhere in the world, it is what you can't see, that creates, what you can see, it is the seeds, and the roots, that create the reality that we can perceive in our eyes. They have to be there, the seeds and the deep roots have to be there before you see a mighty Sequoia, or an oak tree. The magic that happens underneath that ground that things that we can perceive by our naked eye is what the magic is of creating those things. And that those seeds and those roots that I'm talking about is your mind is your thoughts. I truly, truly, truly think that using powers that you can't see is the most powerful thing you have to achieve your dreams to achieve your goals in life, your mindset, your thinking, the programming that you're putting inside of you the habits that you're creating inside of you. And I know some of you're saying Alice, what are you talking about things you can't see how can I use something I can't see? Well, you use electricity, don't you? Every day, your entire life revolves around the use of electricity, though we can't see it. And if you do see it, run. But generally, we don't see electricity. But it powers our homes, it powers our cars, it powers our computers, it powers our entire way of life. But yet it is something we can't see or can't feel, generally speaking. And if you don't believe that electricity is a power that runs your entire world, try sticking your finger in a socket, you're gonna figure it out real quick that it's there. Don't please disclaimer, don't stick your finger in a socket is just an analogy guys. But using those powers, using those things that your mindset, your thinking, the programming the habits that you create, to achieve your dreams is more powerful than anything. You can see. When you hate on someone else's success, you end up hurting your own success. What you focus on, expands. If you expand on negativity, then that is what's going to come back to you. If you are focusing only negative things on bitterness on anger in your life, then that is what you're going to get more of in your life. When I changed the way I started thinking about my life about being angry at other filmmakers or other people's successes in every aspect of my life, it was even back in the day when I saw a guy with a beautiful girl and go Why does he have a beautiful girlfriend and I don't It was that mentality of lack mentality that I can't, I can't do that, because someone else has it. That mentality is deadly. And when I released it finally, and I'll just talk about how I released it in my, in my professional career, when I just stopped hating on other people's successes, and stop being bitter and angry, I made my first feature film. I made this as mech. And the second I made the decision to make my first feature, and did not hate as much or at all at other people's successes. then things started opening up a second, I made that decision. And it was quick, guys, it was very, very quick, I just made the choice. And from that point on, amazing, amazing things have happened to me, you guys have been listening to me for a while. So you know, there's been a lot of wonderful successes that happened in my life, and many wonderful things that are happening in my life. Hell, I get to do this full time. You know, this is my full time job helping filmmakers helping the tribe in one way, shape, or form, putting out content there that inspires them, that moves them forward. that educates them. While I'm educating myself and inspiring myself on a daily basis. I'm living my dream, and I'm so so grateful for it. But I don't wake up in the morning thinking, Well, why does that website have more followers than I do? Or what is that podcast? Maybe get more? More listens than I do? I did. Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect. I did think that way. But I stopped. I stopped. Because at the end of the day, it doesn't do me any good. And I promise you, it won't do any good for you. And is it doing any good for you. I challenge you for the next 30 days, not to hate on anyone not to hate on anyone else's successes. When you read a story in the news or on variety or on Facebook or wherever I want you to consciously not hate on them. And for God's sakes, please don't leave any negative remarks or comments about someone else's success. Oh, well, he just got this or he's just got that. I challenge you for 30 days. Not to hate on people don't hate on the Russo brothers for making Avengers end game and making 350 kazillion. dollars on opening weekend. Don't hate on the 17 year old filmmaker who got signed to Amazon off of an unfinished short film. Not anyone do not hate on anyone, do not be bitter about anyone else's success. Do not be angry about any one else's success. And if you do that for 30 days, I want you guys to please email me message me, tweet at me, whatever tag me on a post. Let me know what happens in your life. Let me know if there's been any change any movement at all. Because I promise you, if you make that small, little switch, something might not be huge, not going to get a huge giant thing, maybe you will, maybe you won't. A huge opportunity is going to show up on your front door. But I promise you that you'll feel better, you'll probably have a little bit more energy to put towards something positive, maybe learn a little bit more, maybe work a little bit harder on the things that you want to do. But I promise you that. So challenge yourself for the next 30 days. Not to be bitter or angry or hate on anybody else's success. And let me know how it goes for you guys. I wanted to do this episode because I really felt that was something important to talk about. And again, I don't hear anybody else talking about things like this. So I said, You know what, I think this is something that needs to be addressed. I think this is going to help the tribe because Damn it, man, it helped me. It helped me so so much. And I promise you I was one of the angriest embitters filmmakers you would ever meet. I was so angry. So if this isn't new, and you aren't an angry and bitter filmmaker, talk to the bitter filmmaker, that you do know the angry filmmaker, send him or her this podcast, and maybe it will help them. Maybe it will give them a different point of view. I don't know. Maybe they'll start hating on me for doing this podcast. It's okay. I don't mind I can take it. I'm just trying to help. And I'm just trying to to help the tribe and help to anyone who decides to listen to this stuff that I'm putting out. out there in the world. So I hope this episode helps you guys, I really, really do. I've got a couple of books that I'm going to put in the show notes at indiefilmhustle.com/319. And hopefully they'll help you out a little bit. They, these, these books have helped me out a bunch. So hopefully, they'll help you out a little bit on your journey to be a less bitter and angry filmmaker. But I do promise you guys something, man. If you don't change that mentality, if you don't focus on things that are positive things that you're grateful for things that you will move you forward and towards what you want in life. You're never going to get out of where you were at. That I promise you because man, I didn't move barely anything for 20 years. It took me a long time to figure this out. But the second I did the second I made that switch my entire life changed. So I hope I can make that change for you guys. I hope that this episode does that for you. Thank you for listening. So so much, guys. I truly appreciate it. If you haven't already, please head over to filmmaking podcast, calm and leave a good review, or this podcast on iTunes. It really, really really helps us out in the rankings and getting this information out to as many filmmakers and screenwriters as humanly possible. Thank you guys again, so much for your support. I truly, truly appreciate it. As always keep that also going. Keep that dream alive. stop hating. And I'll talk to you soon.