It is nice to have a space on a page to think...because no one wants to really discuss the struggle of what it means to want to make films and maybe for damn good reason. Simply put: there are MORE important things in the world to be doing, it is just a fact. Maybe it is selfish to want to make films or maybe it is if you are not able to synthesis it into it a purpose that encompasses other people's honest wants, needs and dreams. Maybe the most selfish thing you can do is make a film for "personal reasons" while getting barrels of money to do so. This all may be true and there is an argument to be made for the fact that life needs meaning and if filmmaking brings meaning to your life the trick will be to do it in the best ways you can and with the best people you can around you and hopefully...everyone can benefit from it.
Josh Trank's story is a one to be studied, not because he is a fool or a joke but because he has experienced a path that is worthy of discussion. After being successfully catapulted to immediate studio level filmmaking with budgets in the hundreds of millions in his late 20's, his "Fantastic Four" film flopped. There is many elements to take and learn from this failure from a director in their late 20's to early 30's and not the least of which is that major studio level filmmaking is not like other kinds of filmmaking.
Trank himself describes the difference in this article relating independent filmmaking to "piloting an F-15 Jet" and studio level filmmaking to "riding an amusement park ride like Peter Pan" where you just strap in and go for a ride controlled by others and work with "academy award winners at every turn who know their jobs in and out." The latter we see that countless other voices come into the mix when dealing with IP, or an idea (like "Fantastic Four," "Venom," or "Shadow of The Colossus") that is not your own.
It is a worthy read for any filmmaker embarking on their own journey wondering what all levels of filmmaking are REALLY like. Goals matter as a director and it is important to note that goals change based on experience. It is insightful for me because I myself have decided that this type of 100 million plus Intellectual Property based filmmaking (like Marvel, "Spider-man," Jurassic Park," and "Star Wars") is not really what I am interested in, if I am being very honest with myself. I now realize I would trade all of that cash for more control, a smaller budget and to make the film based off of an original script.
People management, ask anyone, is the hardest part of nearly any business. Bigger budgets are good sometimes and can be quite helpful but there is a point where swimming in money to make a film also means being able to swim with sharks who can and will eat filmmakers alive (ROGUE ONE). It is best to be in top form before attempting this type of filmmaking which includes being experienced, being honest, picking the very best collaborators and knowing what hills to die on. All of that seems a critical part of surviving those dangerous money filled waters.
We celebrate a filmmaker like Christopher Nolan because he was able to create meaningful and entertaining work while harnessing the almost unyielding power of the studio system and found that difficult balance of "intelligent compromise." It is not strength alone that does this but great intelligence, negotiation ability, bravery, persistence and a very patient temperament. No doubt Nolan probably does embody these traits in large part and there is another factor, some of it is a bit of luck no matter how you slice it. Luck takes a lot of incredible focus and attention to pay off ultimately, in film.
I really do admire filmmakers most like John Carpenter, Akira Kurosawa, Terry Gilliam, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh, Kevin Smith and even Quentin Tarantino who write their own scripts based on original concepts and fight to get them made at the most available/best budget level and build careers this way.
Now in his own way, Josh Trank is having a rebirth you have to respect. He has written his own screenplay "FONZO" or "CAPONE" and he fought long and hard to get it made. It is not based on IP but instead on a real life interest he has which already sounds much better than a shaky camera and a bunch of selfish teenagers with powers, though "Chronicle" was popcorn fun.
I really do admire filmmakers most like John Carpenter, Akira Kurosawa, Terry Gilliam, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh, Kevin Smith and even Quentin Tarantino who write their own scripts based on original concepts and fight to get them made at the most available/best budget level and build careers this way.
Now in his own way, Josh Trank is having a rebirth you have to respect. He has written his own screenplay "FONZO" or "CAPONE" and he fought long and hard to get it made. It is not based on IP but instead on a real life interest he has which already sounds much better than a shaky camera and a bunch of selfish teenagers with powers, though "Chronicle" was popcorn fun.