Joston Ramon Theney, Screenwriter, Author, Director, Producer: Our greatest enemy is
that we keep waiting for someone to give us a shot and if you haven't had enough shots,
you're just failing under their watchful eye.
Film Courage: Joston, we had this comment come in from one of our viewers and it reads
“Guys I'm so scared, there's a certain amount of movies I want to create and I
figured the best route to start would be with screenwriting but I just wish I had a guide
or something for the journey. It seems like people really spend years doing so much work
and only have results after like a decade. I'm not sure if I want to be a screenwriter but I
do know that I have movies I want made. Help! What advice can you all give me.”
Joston: Wow pictures that he wants to get made but not quite sure how to go about it and doesn't
want to spend decades doing something he doesn't love or she don’t. Doing stuff they don't love
in order to make that happen I would say pick a discipline and know that that's your focus
and just start making stuff just start making stuff I think everybody gets so
caught up in all the reasons why they can't do something and never think about why they can
and I don't know what that is about us as artists that that makes that thought pop into your head
but whenever I do something my wife will tell you I tell you a thousand and one reasons why
we'll succeed and you'll have to tell me all the reasons why we can't and I'll tell
you every reason why I can overcome that too that's really what it's about get out there
and make it happen just get out there and make it happen if that screenwriting isn't where you
want to be see if you can get somebody who is a screenwriter to do that part of it and then
you just get out there and you make it I don't know what it is this person was trying to to
what discipline they were trying to work in whether it was producing directing writing
acting I don't know but whatever it is know that that's your main thing and the pieces that you
don't want to concern yourself with in terms of learning how to do it and becoming very proficient
I would say piece piece work that piecemeal that out like get someone else who is just as eager
to create something as yourself and say let's create this together you handle that part I'll
handle these parts and just do it that way and just get to creating just start creating stuff
have you always had that belief in yourself where you can think of all these reasons why you will
succeed no no I don't think i've always had that I think that i've always been I think i've always
been by myself wanting people to include me in something and I went through my life with that
until one day I no longer cared what everybody else was thinking or doing or willing to accept me
and that's what was able to help me become more and more successful because I realized the only
difference between like I'm the only difference between possible and impossible
that's really it I am so if that is the truth and I don't really need any of these other people I
don't need their approval I don't need their guidance I don't I don't need anything I can
go over here and start making my own mistakes when I speak to someone else I want to learn from their
mistakes that's what I want to learn from whatever advice you have it came from your mistakes I want
to know about your mistakes if you have something to share if you don't just don't stand in my way
because the train is moving this direction if you stand there I'll run you over because this
is where I'm going so I don't really need any of it um I can I can I came to a realization that
when I made adam k adam k if you look at it I had to make up credits because I didn't want to look
like I did everything but I did everything I did it was me and my wife she handled
holding the boom pole she did makeup she did special effects she handled catering and
I handled everything else and it was the two of us making a movie and we made it for 1500 bucks
and everybody thinks we spend a crapload more than that but nope that's all we spent
and it was proof I don't need a bunch of people to make that happen and neither does anyone else
sit down take a camera or camera phone or something and start shooting something
was there a specific incident or something that happened that made you realize I don't I don't
need the group um that you're willing to share no I mean I think it I think more than anything
it was it was the constant disappointment because when you're starting out and you don't have very
much money you you start to see who will work with you for very little money right so their incentive
is only that very little money that's it it's not the passion it's not growing with you it's
not any of that stuff they have no investment in your journey or theirs whatsoever they want that
50 bucks or 100 bucks that you can pay them and guess what happens if somebody else comes along
and says they'll give them 200 bucks they will be off your set and you will be there by yourself and
that happened to me excuse me numerous times numerous times where people would just bail I
was shooting something a short film and they just bail and that's it or they don't show up
and you're like what what is this and so I went into to adam k and I just I wanted to see can I
shoot this myself I shot another film called bleed for me and I shot that one completely by myself
that one was me taking the boom pole and propping it up in a corner so that it would capture audio
and then I would shoot with it with the camera and I would be setting up the lights and I would
order food and bring it over I literally shot bleed for me by myself and edited it
but it was because so many people that I brought aboard flaked just flaked and flaked and flaked
and I just I began to realize I don't need any of these people actually I mean it's good to
have them around it lightens the load a bit but I don't need them and so once I once I really
realized that my only reason for bringing someone on board if I have the money to pay them well
you only your your the reason why you're on this project is because you do something better than I
could myself and you truly do lighten the load but if it's something that I realize at any point that
I'm just better off doing it myself I will I'll just do it myself because it's better off that way
how does someone maximize their chances for breaking in
in hollywood whatever breaking in is um in the shortest answer the same way
you can increase your odds of winning a boxing match throw a whole lot of punches
now does that mean you'll win no it just gives you a puncher's chance right so if you just
keep taking your shot taking your shot taking your shot eventually something will land hopefully now
if you're looking at a more skillful way to get there and to continue to work
I say perfect your craft and constantly take opportunities to get more experience
and to be helpful to put yourself in a position to better utilize those muscles and those strengths
of yours and and make those weaknesses no longer a weakness make them an advantage
start to do that so that you become you become not only better at the craft but you can navigate the
system a little bit better because that is more helpful um but I think those are the ways you you
increase your odds as well in a more calculated way and I tell people too I i tell this to actors
I tell this to writers I tell it to anybody keep creating your own content keep creating
because even though you no one is going to come looking just odds nobody's going to come looking
at your web series and saying that needs to be on NBC that's not really happening
but what it does it allows you to grow it allows you to do what most people would do in a film
school which is you get to fail and fail and fail and fail until you're no longer failing
right our greatest enemy is that we keep waiting for someone as someone to give us
a shot and if you haven't had enough shots you're just failing under their watchful eye
that's all you're doing so why not do that on your own just shoot some stuff get more experience
work through your strengths understand what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are
and begin to work through those things and make those your advantages as well and just become
all around a great technician in your craft as well as a great creative in your in your craft.