The Write Stuff

So you finished your incredible or not so amazing short film - what now? Where do you go from here? Do you just make another one until you run out of ideas or money or both? Or is there another way to leverage and build on what you have already started...? 

After the door to Hollywood was shut in my face, head hanging low, I went in search for a silver lining! A surprise twist in the story and some unexpected chance meetings with just the right advice would turn this plot on its head. I went from unknown wannabe filmmaker to negotiating, self-promoting (in a good way) and self-distributing producer who was now making a little bit of money off of her once unpopular short film! Who would have thought...

After writing my truth and getting into a prestigious filmmaker programme with the film Hair That Moves, my experience of Hollywood went from being a special kinda fish in a big, big pond to just downright plankton. My first taste of Hollywood would take me to the heights of New York and all its lush glory, to the lows of making desperate 1 am phone calls to studio representatives because my life and career, depended on it!

We are always being told to write the truth or write your truth but in this very competitive industry, where does that honestly led you? And what does it mean? When I eventually made my transition from Television to Film, learning to write and accept my truth was such an uncomfortable and awkward exercise but with surprising results. One clue - it got me one step closer to Hollywood...kind of...!

TV budgets are getting lower and lower but expectations and competition keep increasing. How do you maximise a low budget and still create that fantastic TV show you've been dreaming about? Through my hits and misses on a show called Meet Joe Food, I take you through my low budget producer hacks that took us from going way over budget, to creating a show that looked like we had money!

Link to Meet Joe Food Kung Fu Episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W_bGtoSY9E&t=19s

What happens when your "big break" leads to a cul-de-sac? After what was supposed to be a career-catapulting break, the financial crisis hit and then nothing happened. Anti climax! A year later, a chance hybrid show would then come up and reveal the most obvious secret about building clout in the world of content.

I was once told I have "The Golden Ticket" - young, black, gifted and female and that this ticket would take me anywhere and everywhere. However the reality is that, My Golden Ticket in all its glory has not given me entry into the Chocolate Factory! It hasn't quite bought me the respect and inclusion I was hoping it would - not yet. If you have encountered some discrimination while trying to build your career in the entertainment industry, welcome to the club. But how do we navigate this? Can we navigate this...? 

In all our wins, we have to gracefully accept our plethora of mistakes and misses. After successfully completing the sitcom, a few unexpected flops and missed opportunities would come along to haunt me. Some would be just silly. Others deeply disappointing but all spectacular in their naïveté of a filmmaker's journey! 

What happens when your very first Act in the entertainment industry is a pretty big act? Where do you go from there? We all want that TV show as soon as the idea escapes our minds and lands on that page, but are there any pitfalls to this immediate glory? 

A brief introduction to a journey of finding my "hollywood", going from creative writer to business person while trying to figure out the Write Stuff!