An hour with Dov Simens
Saturday, January 26th, 2008Dear sugarplum fairy,
Miraculously, i had a week away from the office, which to be honest, was something i felt i needed so much. Of course, nothing’s free and ever so easy. So nature’s ransom was that i gave up my health for that week’s stay. Wasn’t a great bargain.
Yet again, i suffered from Tonsilitis.
And its funny, when we’re well and healthy, we are arrogant and boastful and strong. But to feel just a little ill, you feel helpless and vulnerable, you cannot be bothered with make-up, with money, with whatever else you have to show off, with all that big dreams. So you phone your friends and struggle to talk but you feel alive and you laugh for abit and you realise once again what truly matters for as long as you’re alive. For as long as you HAVE a life.
Just a brief update from last week. I received an invitation to attend a talk by Dov Simens at the Picturehouse last Wednesday. For those of you who don’t know, Dov Simens is the man responsible for the careers of Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill & Pulp Fiction), Will Smith, Chris Nolan (Batman Begins), and a handful others. He was to promote his increasingly popular 2-day Film School. I RSVPed for myself, for Yasin and my brother to take a listen.
Dov was a tricky person, he was a mismatched combination of witty, unreasonable, grumpy, straight to the point, long-winded, adorable, i can’t figure what else. Most of all, he reminds me of what every teacher in art school was like. Dov kicks you in the ass and he’ll never feed it to you. That’s what you and i need, a good, if not GREAT, kick in the buttock.
He touched on the business aspect of film-making and he’d rather we call it ‘producing’. I’m not all that into films and definitely not into the business but the attitude he tries to cultivate in his audience was what i truly valued from that hour or so.
If you wanted to do something, produce a film or organize an event or just about anything, don’t sit and talk about it just get off your seat and do it. Don’t waste time. Its not going to make a difference now or then.
You can never wait until someone kisses your feet and say "i believe in you". If you’re not going to ask for that opportunity, for that capital, for that chance, no one will give it to you.
Or, you can wait till its too late… and you still won’t have it.
Its not always about talent readers, its about courage and fighting for what you want and what you believe in.
Now, quit whining and go brave through it.
