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Topic #83
What was your favorite non-writing job and why?t story ever told?
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My favorite job so far, even though I get to do it rarely, is working on films. There is nothing quite like it. It’s exhilarating.
I’ve been interested in working on film since an early age, but the opportunities to do so are few and far between. Far too many people vie to have their kids as the next hot star, and it chokes up the field. My parents, were different. Though they were great about getting my brother to the set of Ghost Story (1981), the experience didn’t make them gung-ho about continuing. My mom was made uncomfortable by a set worker, who came on to her, and she does not do well with that stuff. So, when her daughter wanted to get involved, that was a negative for sure. That said, it didn’t exactly work.
Don’t get me wrong, we have great photos from the set, and my dad and brother have excellent memories of the filming. They were able to see Fred Astaire, and my dad helped with the ghost. She was made out of a crazy concoction including oatmeal and molasses. What else would you use to express a corpse frozen in a lake for years, if you wanted it to look super creepy? (Of course we know it would be a collection of bones by that point, but where is the fun in that?)
Stage fright has kept me away from acting. It results in some extreme stress and I can’t remember lines. I’m sure if I faced the fear, I’d be able to do a decent job, but because I have chosen writing and have regular job to support my habit, there’s little time or desire. It’s not easy fitting filming schedules in with a regular work schedule. I’d need to take significant time off, and that would put my job in jeopardy. When you’re not getting paid, or not that much it doesn’t equal out. Working as an extra is good fun, just the same. You’re on camera, so long as you make it past the edit, and you don’t have the added stress of lines and performing a character. Background work is straightforward. If you’re in a cafe, you’re either a patron or worker. Mostly what you do is sit there and look like you belong (and keep your voice down or not on at all).
Back in 2012, I decided to go to graduate school. My focus was on screenwriting, and thus history and politics of film, and picking apart films themselves. Even though I am still drawn to being in front of the camera, I am perfectly fine with just writing movies, or being in the background. Being part of a project is energizing in any capacity, and these two things are the things I know best and can really shine in. Writing, of course, is preferred. Hopefully, my final project, the adaptation of my second novel to screen, will get optioned. It’s hard waiting for the word! But, there is interest, so I have hope. Always hope.
I wonder what the other author favorite jobs will be…
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Wow – it all sounds great!
There is something to be said about being able to follow your dream … even if you can’t do it full-time.
like so many other people, I thought about acting as a career. Then I realized I was a lousy actress!
Hahaha! I am able to do it, I just panic and can’t follow through when it counts. 🙁 I wish I could. But, it’s another art form that has a lot of heartache. You struggle a lot to get anywhere.