As Woody Allen said, the heart wants what it wants. So, why are you here?

People tell me boxing movies make lots of money

Good news! I was selected yesterday as one of the eight directors for LAFSC! My apartment did extraordinarily well, as three directors and three scripts came from our group. Off the top of my head, this means that in mathematical terms, our little group, a mere 5% of LAFSC's population, seems to have 37.5% of its talent. Not bad. (Keep this fact in mind. It will be important later in the post.)

"Dark" was, unfortunately, not selected. I cannot deny that I was at first disappointed, especially after reading some of the selected scripts. But I've come around. The various scripts were selected, not on the basis of being better than anyone else's, but on being different, something that the professors hadn't seen before. So we have a wide range of very strange movies. Which is fantastic. And troubling. Here's why:

Of the eight directors, three had their scripts selected as well. Two of them decided to direct their own, while one went the other way and directed someone else's. Which left us with five scripts among five directors. And a couple of those no one wanted to do. We had until the next morning to make a decision.

I had two scripts that I really liked and wanted to pursue - a boxing movie set in the deep South, and a messed-up fairy tale about a servant who does all the rescuing while the Prince gets all the credit. I liked the boxing script best, though, and wanted to pursue it. But two other directors really liked it, and it was the only one they wanted. So I decided to step aside as the two directors wooed the writer. But later that night, after the second director had finished her pitch and left, I told the writer, who lives in our apartment (see paragraph one) that I didn't want to get in anyone's way, but I really wanted to direct the script, too. He asked me why. I told him. He went to bed. And I thought that was the end of it.

The next morning, before I left for class, he told me that he really liked my pitch, that my ideas for the film lined up with his perfectly, and he really wanted me to direct the script.

And the plot? Thickens.

I arrived at the Center all aflutter. I really wanted to shoot the boxing film, but what about the other directors? And what about the fairy tale? I was afraid if it ended up in the hands of someone who didn't see the promise there as a great movie, it would end up being yet another tired Python retread. I couldn't bear it. So I decided (await the courageous decision here) to just float on and hang on until there was a sea change. And fortunately, one came.

Vanessa Roggio asked to direct the fairy tale, and the writer conferred with me and we agreed that she should get the chance. Vaness was awfully excited about the script, and knowing that I was leaving the script in enthusiastic hands left me convinced - I had to direct the boxing movie. And so I am. And I can't tell you how excited I am about it.

There's a flip-side, of course. One of the directors who wanted the boxing movie is directing a script about grandmas who act like teenagers, and is awfully unexcited at the prospect. The other is directing a live-action offshoot on Monster's Inc. - but, she's very enthused about it, so I feel pretty good there. And now that I've got my production team assembled, I'm wild about the project. I've got a really good group: Asburians, you'll remember Susan Harper, of course - she's my DP (director of photography); while Laura Hunt is one of my producers. And though none of you readers know any of the other members, they're all top quality: enthusiastic, fun, creative, and talented. So life is good.

And looking back on it, I can't think of any better way for this to turn out. I have an opportunity here, a chance to do something truly amazing. A chance I wouldn't have had if my script had been chosen. And though I can be pretty prideful in regard to scripts and stories - I freely admit that it's true. And I'm thrilled that it is.

posted by Ben Wyman @ 8:54 PM