Guillermo del Toro Warns Aspiring Filmmakers the Film Industry "Is Geared Toward Grinding Out Sh*t and Destroying Your Art"
It’s hard enough to get a job working in the film industry, especially for writers, actors, and directors. But, even if you’re lucky enough to get in and make a living working in the industry, you’re still going to be faced with challenges and lots of rejection.
Even a filmmaker like Guillermo del Toro, someone who makes great films, and has won a Best Director Oscar still has problems getting his film projects made! During a recent panel at the Annecy animation festival, the filmmaker revealed that he still gets rejected regularly when he makes his pitches to studios!
After he was done talking about his love of animation and his desire to only make animated films in the future, he warned aspiring filmmakers of the rejection they face and how the film industry “is geared toward grinding out shit and destroying your art.” He went on to say:
“They still say no to me. In the last two months, they said no to five of my projects. So it doesn’t go away. Making movies is eating a sandwich of shit. There’s always shit, just sometimes you get a little more bread with yours. The rate of productivity against your efforts will remain frustratingly difficult, and frustratingly long. And you will always encounter assholes. But have faith in the stories you want to tell and wait until someone wants to buy them.”
That’s definitely a reality check for a lot of aspiring filmmakers. Sometimes people are lucky and talented enough to get a break, but as Del Toro says, grinding away in the film industry can be incredibly frustrating and hard even for seasoned filmmakers!
Hollywood is a crazy place. One of the reasons that it’s so hard to get film projects made, especially at the major studios, is because they are focused on big existing IP, sequels, remakes, and reboots. Those are all safe bets. One thing you have to remember is that Hollywood is not run by creative people, it’s run by accountants.
Source: THR