Film Courage: Why do you say that you weren't what you thought was quote unquote good enough
to make it at that time?
Jason Park, Director, Producer, Writer, Actor, and Cinematographer: I don't think
I was disciplined enough. There's something that comes with discipline when you have
the struggle and then you have the lack of knowledge you're winging it.
In life you can't get anywhere with wing in it there's some things you can get into or get access
to that you're not supposed to by winging it but if you want to succeed I say look at whoever it
is and dissect backwards and create a plan because the more that you have a plan the more likely you
are to succeed so if your plan is hey I want to be an Uber driver then like okay I have to
download this app I have to send this information I have to get qualified I have to go through their
courses and then I have to go and then I get qualified to be an Uber driver and then I pick
up people and drop them off okay so there was a plan there so if you want to make it as an actor
what's the plan oh I'm just going to show up well for the the lottery person that may work but for
the majority of us you have to ask yourself okay outside of everybody wanting to be Brad Pitt right
let's just take that off the table for a second okay what kind of career do you want to have do
you want to have a career as a commercial actor do you want to have a career as a theatrical actor
a movie TV okay well who's the casting director for your favorite shows what are they looking for
what's the look what's the tone right if you're looking to go into movies where and I say all that
because as an actor you're really taking anything that comes to you right if you're in that circuit
any audition commercial TV film you're just you just you're so hungry and so desperate for a
job that you'll take anything Union non-union it doesn't matter but if you're able to create a plan
the tunnel the light becomes so much clearer
so for example and this this isn't the greatest example but I had an agent in LA right I mean
not La Atlanta right now I'm agentless no agent no manager no anything I kind of
bypassed all of that but I had an agent in Atlanta and I knew that I wasn't a good client to have
because I turned down 95 of the auditions that came in because I had the stability of a career
I didn't need the jobs when you don't need the jobs you become picky so now by having a plan
and a goal I knew the roles that I wanted to play I knew the projects that I wanted to be
a part of were projects that sounded interesting to what I like and just interesting in general I
no longer needed to just apply and be accepted to anything out there because I didn't need the money
from the job albeit whether it's a commercial or an acting job because I had a career over here
there's power and strength in that because now there is no desperation there is no hey let's
just send Jason out to audition for this gas station guy like how does that benefit me in
my career I can't have one line you can give that to anybody you don't have to audition for you can
just give it to anybody give it to a PA on set hey can you say this line yeah absolutely right
so when you have a plan and you're able to just kind of go from step one to two to three to four
the likelihood of you getting there sooner is a lot greater
how many times do you think you heard the word no while you were in Los Angeles
every time I would say my my booking rate was probably I would if I'm going to be fair I would
say probably about three to five percent so out of every hundred I booked maybe three to five
which in hindsight isn't bad and I would say about 85 percent of it 85 percent of the time
I would get callbacks and those are the most crushing because I'd rather just get a no
than to get your hope up that you could get it they called you back like Power Rangers I went
to like five auditions and you could possibly get it and then they're like nah no I I'd
prefer to just cut me off at the door but yeah I would say no is probably the greatest thing
to make you as a human being stronger because when you realize that every no
is just closer yes they're just little things that come and come go out the way to get to that yes
you welcome the nose I welcome those it's okay because I'm gonna talk to the next
guy I'm gonna talk to the next guy I'm going to talk to the next guy until I get the yes
that's what's changed with being a filmmaker compared to wanting to be an actor
if you're someone out there that's a creative you spend so much time wanting to get on set
whether it's background work because that's how I started I started going background work
a one-liner maybe a day player if you look back on it and you spend all those years
just to get on set what happens if you would have created a plan to create your own set
how would that have turned out and create the project and the role that you want to be
a part of that you want to see and then be in a position to give other people opportunities
in all of my films majority of the actors are first time second time actors with not a lot of
credits and I make sure that if I say hey do you want to be a part of this project and they say
yes and let's say in the script I only have one line for them I'll make sure to go back and write
two three four five lines so they really feel like they were a part of the project and not just there
to kind of make a cameo right so I just think that as a creative it's important to create the
films that you want to see and you want to be a part of compared to wearing so much about
trying to get on set I think it can change the dynamic for a lot of people because if you think
about it social media has changed everything for people our age that were born in the 70s
80s like yeah we grew up with the Hollywood star for us it's the Stars right for the newer
generation it's the social media influencers they're the Stars so you can create your star
at home in Kentucky it doesn't matter where you are you can become a star you push record and you
do something every day and just be consistent with it and I would challenge anybody I'm not good at
this I don't do it but I would challenge anybody if you put on your calendar right now say I want
to be a influencer right and for 365 days without missing a day you post something about something I
can guarantee you that account that's at zero in a year if you did it every day without missing a day
that you will be way further than you are today now the issue with that is
comes back to responsibility to the human self how many people are going to stick to that every
day and be disciplined because there's power and discipline to do that every single day not
make excuses and not miss it because I don't do it every day I'm quite frankly I because I grew
up in that era which I think is the best era for films 80s 90s like hands down the best era
for films and entertainment that's what I enjoy doing so that's what I spend my time doing I'm
not into social media as much as I should be because that's where everything is now
yeah I would say if you want to make it you want to do it start with your phone start at
home create it because then you get enough of a following they're going to come to you anyways
in hindsight do you wish you had left Los Angeles earlier
yes and no I want to say no because that led me to meeting my wife which then we had our son
but yes because it's not even leaving La sooner it's creating sooner
I would I don't want to say wish because wish makes it seem like you're looking at some third
entity to do something for you it would have been nice to create sooner create the roles
that I wanted to see that I wanted to be a part of sooner that would have been nice
and I think that would have changed a lot because for anybody out there once you do your first film
whatever you thought was hard whatever you thought was difficult whatever you thought was impossible
is gone because when you can complete it once you can complete it twice then each time you do it it
becomes easier and easier so when I did the first film by no means is it an Oscar film is it is it
well written because I'm not the best writer I don't put commas in periods where they should
be I kind of just write and this is the story and this is what we're gonna do I don't do 10 drafts
I do maybe two just to kind of check it once you get that first film out you learn where you make
mistakes you learn the focal length that you'd like to shoot it and that you don't like to shoot
at you kind of learn your style right so getting that first film Out is more important for you as
a human being and as a Creator to let yourself know like I can do this and I can do it and get
better every single day and I can keep creating than it is for you to create a masterpiece of
a film because I'd rather have 10 average 5 Star films then to have one masterpiece and the reason
for that is because if you think of the economy of actors writers producers grips Pas the whole
economy of making one film if I'm able to do 10 that are average films I gave them a lifeline
of 10. I gave actors and actresses the opportunity to be a part of 10 films compared to one
and you live and you grow and you and and as time goes on when you make films it's now an experience
because you've made them compared to watching them when you watch a film or you watch a TV
show there's this ah there's this magic to it that you're like oh wow that would be great then when
you make it and you start making it and you start making film one film two TV series web series
it's not that the magic leaves the magic of the lens changes
where now you're not looking for someone to give you an opportunity
you're able to give other people opportunities and I can tell you from my films
how many actors have started creating their own projects and that in itself is so rewarding
because by them looking at you and seeing you do it they look at themselves and say well if
he can do it with that I could do it too and that is so rewarding and that I think is a game changer
what's your advice for let's say an 18 year old graduated High School comes to LA with
really no no plan but also they're leaving a situation where they didn't have a choice Maybe
how do they keep themselves creative how do they keep themselves safe okay
so that's that's a really good question I think that
stay away from anything that looks easy stay away from hey why don't you come live with me where is
that coming from what's the ulterior alternative motor what is the ulterior motive there
I would say go back to school even if it's worth even if you have to take that loan
because you'll make that back and I don't say go back to school for film go back to school for
something that makes money because having that those funds they're going to help you create
they're going to help you be a better version of yourself so stay away from drugs stay away from
parties stay away from situations where you are not your coherent self
and write two goals write your goal on okay how do I get to where I want to
be whether that's a writer on the fox lot whether that's a producer or director okay
who can I shadow or who can I contact to Mentor me because they'll give you
insight and information that'll get you there a lot sooner than you trying to figure it out
um how can I stay grounded and true to myself a lot of times you hear people
talk about oh this person sold their soul or anything like that right something crazy
but I think what really happens is when you're young and you don't have a choice and you're
just trying to survive I think you do things that as you get older and you grow as a person
that you weren't proud of and I think that as you get older it sits on your conscious
and it eats you and I think that's more of the Soldier's Soul than anything else
and I would say to stay strong to who you are at the core as a human being because when I was
18 and I was out here there were opportunities where it's like hey yeah come stay with me right
and I never took up those opportunities but it kept my conscience so clean and the objective of
and the goal of what I was trying to do so strong that even though I quit acting after 15 years
or it was like 12 12 to 15 years I don't remember exactly but even though I quit at that audition
I didn't it didn't take away the fire of wanting to be a part of something great and the magic of
film is that you're able to inspire someone at home
whether they're in India or they're in Georgia you're able to spread that magic
to someone else you're able to live forever within that space of time
so when you create a film and you star in it you co-star in it and you're on that screen
it's almost like a legacy capture piece because your kids your grandkids will always be able to
look at you in that time and space and say look at my dad or my granddad that was him
and I think that alone is such a magical thing
about film and I know I kind of went off from the advice I would give the 18 year old but
I that goes back to me saying stay true to yourself don't compromise who you are that
doesn't mean that you you you don't have to bend and you have to give because in any even
marriage or relationship and a career is kind of like a relationship there's a given a take
but you don't compromise in your core values as a human being in your pursuit of anything.