It's two days after my latest post and two movies later ( Alien and Bad Moon ).
Watching Alien, two nights ago, projected on my living room wall, was quite an experience. A decade or so after last having seen it, it still manages to impress, amaze and scare me, in a time that practical ( non-computer generated ) effects still reigned.
It's 40 years after its release ( 1979 ) and I was minus two back then, but Alien easily stands the tooth of time. I realized, not for the first time, why this is considered one of the greatest scifi/ horror films and why it was ( and probably still is ) one of my very favorite movies out of the multiple thousands that I've seen so far.
Bad Moon is a 1996 werewolf movie, starring the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway ( Mariel, born months after Ernest passed away. They never knew each other ) and Michael ( Streets of Fire ) Paré. Streets of Fire is an entertaining 1980s flick with a possibly even better soundtrack that I own on vinyl. I don't have the movie in my collection.
B M was decent enough for a second viewing ( I soon realized I had seen it before ( probably a decade back ) but it captivated me just enough to sit through it a second time. I kind of felt like watching some easy, not very scary horror and that's exactly what this is.
CUT TO
HOW TO NOT MAKE A MOVIE
I quit my last film project ( that wasn't a feature film but an episodical web series ) almost half a year ago. It's one of many unfinished projects ( both in writing and filmmaking ) that I've worked on. Although I saw 'not finishing' things as a negative in the past, I changed my mind about this over time. I think it's actually a strength, especially when things just aren't working out.
One of my very first posts on Steemit, almost two years ago, was written at a time when I decided to not finish a project; my third and most recent attempt at a feature film. The story was called 'Los Ojos Rojos' ( The Red Eyes ).
Here's that writing:
I also wrote a bunch of 'How to not Make a Movie' Posts, back in the days. I believe this took place when I was not working on any film project at all but travelling, on my way to starting a new life, in Portugal.
If you got time to spare and haven't read them, here's the last entry - Part 4 - with links to the earlier ones: How To Not make a Movie Part 4.
Looking back on these write ups, I never made it past 2011 ( 9 years of making and not making short films ). For your information, I only started on my very first feature film late 2013, if I remember it well.
From 2013 to 2017 I tried my hand on three different feature film projects ( as a director and wearing many more hats ), none of these three projects was finished, for multiple but often similar reasons ( lack of money, energy, time and not finding the right team, as well as the enemy of all creatives: resistance ).
CUT TO 2018
Last year, I moved to Portugal. Nevertheless, I worked on a ( long distance ) film project called 'Tunnels of the Shadow People.
It was paused ( quit? ) 6 months ago. More info here: Why We're Pausing our film Project . Nevertheless, we managed to finish 6 episodes and I made it to about 45 posts on Steemit, sharing the process.
If you wanna watch these 6 episodes, feel free to do so here:
Tunnels of the Shadow People on YouTube
Here's a link to the very first episode:
Sharing my Experience
Long story short, I feel that all my experience not finishing projects is worth sharing with the ( filmmaking ) world. It could make for a good book.
Lately, I seem to have rediscovered my creativity and inspiration ( probably due to moving back in my finished house 8 days ago ). So I will try, once again, to see if I can finish something. It it keeps feeling good and I can maintain momentum, it's very possible that this is gonna lead to a finished product: my first ( finished ) novel / book.
That would be awesome!
No matter what, I feel it's worth trying. Even if I don't make it to the end, it might inspire some of you to start ( and hopefully ) finish your own project. I also love to share the creative process on the blockchain. Interaction will keep me inspired. I have a hunch that it might lead to me getting back into filmmaking, possibly even before this book is finished? And if this book won't be finished, all this is probably happening for another reason.
Suffice to say:
If a thought keeps coming back to you, there's two things you can do: ignore it or pick up on the vibes and go for it. If it's a good feeling thought, an inspiring one, I would suggest you go for the second option.
TO BE CONTINUED
P.S. Thanks for who - with his continuing support of movies on Steemit and by subscribing for a filmmaking course - inspired me to really go for this, as well as to film connoisseur and writer
who inspired me to write a book ( about filmmaking ), as she actually managed to finish more than one herself.
And cheers to all my Steemian friends and my mom who keep supporting me by reading and commenting :>)