I am in the midst of wrapping up film school at The University of Texas. All in all, it’s been a pretty decent experience. If anything, it has given me the ability to be surrounded by movie people for four years, which heavily colors how I perceive the rest of the world. I need to remember most people haven’t watched 1950s Swedish films.
I have split my time fairly evenly between production classes and film studies classes, whereas most have their feet firmly planted in one or the other. One problem I have with production classes is they rarely ever get into the business side of things. On the one hand, I understand they want to encourage artistry, but on the other hand, movies cost money and you need investors to pay for your film.
One such person who gets this is the great David Fincher. In typical Fincher fashion, it’s fairly profane, and I wouldn’t have it any other way from him. I also think his advice is very on point. The filmmaking business is brutal, and if you are easily willing to sit down, you may not have what it takes. I wonder how I would react if this happened to me. I think I could handle it. Take a look at what he has to say below. Helpful? Scary? Both?
