During this award season, I wanted to say a little something about judgment — especially when it comes to art.
Let me start by being human for a second:
I love accolades as much as the next person. I absolutely want “Academy Award Winner” next to my name. Academy, if you’re listening — call me. I’m...
 Movies have been declared dead more times than I can count, and well before I became a filmmaker. Every decade, someone swears it’s over.
Television was supposed to kill movies.
Home video was supposed to kill movies.
Netflix! (To be fair, streaming) was definitely supposed to kill movies.
And ye...
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I’ve always considered myself a natural teacher. I love sharing what I know about filmmaking—much to the chagrin of a few crew members who’ve had to sit through my impromptu “mini-lessons.” I’m constantly fielding calls from filmmakers asking for advice or direction.
There used to be a saying: t...
The moment I realized I fumbled a once-in-a-lifetime shot at John Singleton — and what that taught me about readiness and timing.
Back in the 90s, when I was just starting out, I was a full-time PA working at Barden Cablevision in Detroit, Michigan. I worked in the Ad Sales department. We produced ...
Hey Filmmakers,
I’ll let you in on a little secret: the industry loves to play the “first” card.
“First-time filmmaker.” “Debut feature.” “First nomination.” You name it. It’s a marketing hook—one that helps build hype and make headlines. Because let’s face it, people love a good origin story.
If y...
