The Long Way

I was asked just the other day why my uncle (who by all accounts has "made it" in the entertainment biz) hasn't brought me into the fold in Los Angeles.  My answer was simple, straightforward, and complete in how I felt about it:

"Because I don't want him to."


It's a statement that's gotten me into heated arguments with people I've worked with in the past, and it seems to baffle a surprising number of people that I don't want someone to just hand over the keys to the proverbial Porsche.

I want to earn it.

Just how many people look at Kim Kardashian, or Paris Hilton, or the cast of the Jersey Shore, and genuinely think that they belong in Hollywood?  Why is Mike Sorentino on the dais of Donald Trump's roast?  Why is Paris Hilton appearing in Repo! The Genetic Opera?  Why are these people famous at all?

But then you look at people like Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith.  Coming up from nothing (and both working as store clerks), their passion for film led them on the path that ultimately made them among the most widely recognized names in Hollywood.

And what's more: they clearly had fun doing it.  And that's what I want.  I want to come up from nothing.  Make my way out of the swamp and into the pool.  Make the movies I want to make, and maybe learn a few tricks along the way.  Will it take longer?  Of course.  But I always liked taking the long way home.