After 17 years in LA, I finally got one up on the board. My first feature film 'Roses on the Vine' released on digital in North America May 22nd, and the reception has been positive - with an 8.7/10 on IMDb. Proud of the work, and looking forward to what's next. 🌹

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Seriously. We have hot wind that feels like a space heater hurricane.

This is what happens when filmmakers take creative risks on original storytelling. Consensus is more often the result of safe bets designed for mass appeal. We can and should have both.

Sundays on Melrose 🌆

Hollywood, like any other business, is trying to turn a profit. So why does it continue to make expensive bombs like DIGGER and ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER? I should say first of all when a certain movie tanks on opening weekend it is rarely a surprise to anyone. They have a very sophisticated tracking system that while not always accurate gets it right more often than not. And sometimes when you add up international, VOD & streaming, these movies end up breaking even over the long run. Unlike other businesses, Hollywood is not just making widgets. A movie like DIGGER is a prestige play. They're hoping to win awards which in turn makes the movie more valuable. But it also gives the top brass a certain amount of social cachet particularly if it is an Important Film about a Big Subject like climate change. But it's more than that. Studios see themselves to some degree as patrons of the arts. They're hoping to attract top-tier filmmakers and one way to do that is to offer them artistic freedom. It helps to build relationships with talent over time. I will say that things may be changing and consolidation like the Skydance merger is only going to accelerate it. You have studios thinking more like tech companies because that's what they're all in the process of becoming. We're a long way from Robert Evans and the heyday of Paramount. Which reminds me of that famous quote "Nobody knows anything." That HASN'T changed. No one knows where the next surprise hit is coming from. They didn't expect OBSESSION to be as big as it was or there would have been even MORE of a bidding war. So these execs are also thinking like stock portfolio managers. They diversify. There's only so much IP in the world. You need to have different kinds of movies on your slate. OBAA took a bath at the box office but SINNERS and WEAPONS – even the MINECRAFT MOVIE – did better than expected. Same studio, same execs. The ones they just fired by the way – a decision I believe even hope will come back to bite them in the ass. You can say, "Why don't they just make surefire hits?" Which is like telling an MLB player to hit a home run every time they get up to bat. People who say things like that don't know how the business works. Execs can look at all the metrics they want and run the numbers every which way. But ultimately what they have to go on is their artistic taste, their gut instinct, and the courage of their convictions – and that last one is the rarest quality of all. People like that are a dying breed and we'll all be worse off for it.

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October:

Apples and oranges. Trainspotting is a comedy. Requiem for a Dream is a horror movie. No disrespect intended, but this is like saying Shaun of the Dead is better than 28 Days Later.

Don't promote yourself until you have something worth promoting. Overexposure before you're ready can do more harm than good. 💫

On the list of people least likely to be fun at parties, it goes: 1. People who clap when the plane lands 2. Reddit moderators

Screenplays are not the end product. They are a blueprint for a movie. You may have an amazing story—but it's everything that happens *after* the script that determines the success of the project. A novel is an end product where the story itself is the appeal. A lot of writers just want to be writers. Others write to see their stories on the big screen. Both are equally valid. But let's be clear—getting a finished movie to market and a novel to market are vastly different undertakings in size and scope. One person can write a novel on a laptop. Movies require funding, collaborators and navigating a minefield where one wrong move blows up the whole thing. Be honest with yourself about why you want to be a writer. If it's just to tell stories and connect with an audience, novels are probably the better fit for you. There's no reason to put yourself through the seven gates of film development hell if you'd be just as happy on the best seller list. 💫

Because indies with no stars almost never make their money back. Every good producer knows you need: A star actor, a star director, or existing IP to have even a chance at opening a movie. There are exceptions, but generally—numbers don't lie.

Nathan is a good dude and I wish him well. That said... First: Do not quit your job until screenwriting is consistently paying the bills—and even then, have a backup plan. Second: Screenwriting will always be worth it if you love the work—whether it pays the bills or not. There is no magic threshold after which this career becomes irreversibly lucrative. You always have to plan for a rainy day, and boxing yourself into a "screenwriting has to sustain me financially" mindset can create an unsustainable situation—fast. Keep your job. Keep writing. If and when the time comes to leave the job behind because you have proven consistent income or a substantial long-term cushion to last until the next payday, you'll know. Until then, just keep showing up

Just so we're clear. I didn't make this. DJ BotLord did. youtu.be/JFQU5FHUPME?is=-Ln_…

Instead of a day that repeats, a day that never ends because time has stopped.

Shrimp aren't ocean roaches. Roaches are land shrimp.

Away message: touching grass. 👋

When is the @JeanPhilMadame movie deal happening?

POV: Your mom reacting to your 8th grade violin recital