Film Courage: One of the things they always talk about it in film or with acting whatever is
just kind of like when it rains it pours and when it dries up it dries up. So it
sounds like you've had a quite rainy season in terms of... James Kicklighter, Filmmaker: I've had a lot of
work (rainy season) which is great and unbalancing droughts aren't fun I know. I
much prefer rainy season I would prefer it to be a little more sprinkly than
thunderstorm season. But it's been great. I'm in the middle of
directing The American Question my documentary about American value systems
and we had planned to finish shooting that this summer spring/summer because
we think it needs to be out before the 2020 election just for marketing reasons,
for personal reasons, a lot of reasons and when I was getting ready to do that
shoot I got a phone call from the producers of Lulu Chia Lucasfilm and
they asked me if I wanted to come to Oklahoma for a month in April this is
somewhere around the first or second week of March and so once they decide
that they want me to direct this film I had to totally reconfigure my schedule
for the summer to prep for that film in March to go to Oklahoma in April come
back here to LA in May for the first assembly edit I have a ad campaign in
Singapore next month that I have to go do and I'm coming back to finish
shooting the American question July which will be in the Northeast and in
Israel Wow also running post-production on Lucia's
film because both of those films have to be delivered for a 2020 release and so
it's a lot of juggling and time management and mind you even in March
when I'm having negotiations on Lucia's project I was working on three other
films at the same time that were nothing to do if those two other
projects and so I'm having to get those things done while I'm also doing
negotiations planning and realigning the other film this is not typical this is
not my daily life it's the first time I've dealt with having to do two films
at once it's a wonderful problem to have I'm glad I have this problem because
I've been in that drought before no good but you just have to really understand
how to manage your time and make sure everyone you're working with feels like
they are getting adequate attention the second that they don't feel that more
complicated your life becomes and in what way in the way that they don't
think that you can do it I mean it's really about confidence they they have
to understand that you are focused on the project you have been engaged for
and so even if I am working on three or four things at the same time even now
I'm working on two or three future narrative films that one or two of which
are getting quite close probably one will shoot next year I still have to
make sure things are happening on that and so it's making sure that everything
has the resources they need to to get going what needs to get done right and
and also making sure that the people working on them know that you're focused
on it they don't necessarily have to know that you're working on those five
other things they just need to know they're working on layers you know any
tips on how to balance your time because it is interesting how you could go
through a drought with whatever and then all of a sudden all these great things
will happen at once and it in some ways it's like no I wanted to spread it out
and enjoy this and this and this but I can't do much yeah I I think that
especially when I know interesting place in my career because I I'm not
they're mated I guess that I'm not starting out I'm in that weird middle
space where I have lots of work I live comfortably I've done a lot of the hard
work to get where I'm at but I haven't done you know the Avengers 20 and so and
so I think that when you're in that space you don't have the luxury of
saying no because you're trying to get to that other space not that I want to
do the Avengers funny but if I do great but you've got to say yes to the things
that you know you can do well to the things that you know are going to help
you to the projects that make sense to you creatively if you can juggle and you
can do all those things effectively and do good work that only helps you ascend
the broader mountain chain you're trying to climb and also gives you better
skillsets because when you can manage lots of different moving pieces the
bigger your films become the higher your budgets to get the more depth you are at
being able to do that was it Shonda Rhimes who talked about
saying yes to everything for a year maybe I'm getting it beyond that yes yes
okay as the Europe yes and then Shonda also has this this you know crazy
schedule with how she you know delivers at it's on multiple television shows and
the way that she works I've read a good bit about it I don't know her personally
and I think that you know that there's a way to do that she she's right like you
have to say yes to all of these things but then you also have to learn to
manage and what makes sense for you what makes sense for your personal life
making sure that you have what you need because if you're not satisfied
creatively or if you don't have you know if you're so exhausted that you can't
manage it it's probably not going to be good work and so you've got to find a
balance but as long as you can balance all those things or if you have the
power like I fortunately did to kind of have
some say over your schedule you can make things work and so we'll see how it
comes out you guys can find out to be continued DVD that's an
interesting problem to be sitting great it's a one in the medal there and
knowing that you have to say yes cuz it's not maybe you feel like it's not
time to turn stuff down right you know at the point where like okay who's yeah
tell so-and-so you know you've got this assistant that's you've got twenty
people coming in handlers on the stuff but at the same time you're not starting
out so I was wondering did you ever envision being in this place where
you're wrestling with that dilemma no you don't I don't think you ever
envisioned that space it's a space I think is something that happens with
time right it's it's one of those things when you're first starting out you're
like if I can just get that first feature to everything is fine but that's
not true right it's it's then about proving that you're not a one-trick pony
and so it's that middle space that maybe is the most critical because then you
have to show a couple of things one you have to show you some got it you've got
the stamina to keep going that you're dedicated that you're committed that
this is what you're gonna do but then you have to put out good work and so as
long as you're doing consistent good work in that middle space I believe that
is what helps you to get to that next space but it really is about saying yes
to the things that make sense it's not saying yes to everything let's be very
clear there are things I turned down all the time
but if it's something that makes sense to me creatively if it has a budget on
which I know I can make a good film if it has the right talent involved it has
people that I want to work with then I'll do it I will figure out how to do
it but I say no to things that if I don't care for some of the entities
involved or if I think there's no way to make it on the budget that they want to
do it on I'll say no to that because that's not helpful and so I think that
if you're looking at your career in this broader way you have to say yes to those
things that make sense say no to the things
don't yet that is another interesting thing in that taking a job that could
actually hurt you down the line because maybe you did everything you were
supposed to but for whatever reason that other party didn't play they have a
different they're playing by different rules or they don't know what they're
doing or you just don't like the way they work or maybe you have opposite
processes of working which is okay it's alright if there is no one way to do a
film or to have a creative process I think that sometimes people in
especially interviews like this perceived that you know somebody like me
is saying this is the only way to do this thing that's not true right that's
false I read the YouTube comments that's false
I don't think that there is no only one to get there's no way there is no one
way to do something there's the way that I know how to do it sure and and so you
know even expressing how I do it is how I do it and so then it's finding other
people who share congruent or similar processes to collaborate with and then
then you tend to have a more fluid process but if you find that there's
someone that has something there's so opposite or that person so odious or
toxic or you know whatever it may be I can now at this point have the luxury of
choosing to say no which is something I may not have had six eight years ago you
know now I have that luxury and so that's the weird middle right you have
enough experience where people come to you if projects and say here it is
here's the budget great you go do it but that doesn't mean you always want to say
yes and it's about self-preservation of course if you say yes to someone that
you're not on the same page and then there's a fiasco for whatever reason you
have no control over and then it's the longevity thing because if something is
a fiasco in the middle of this middle space I don't think you can't afford to
have many Fiasco's you might be able to afford to have one I
if you can't afford many you have to have as many things as close to perfect
or as best you can make it as possible it's a great informative
I think it's that formative that's the space because then if you make one good
film and then you make two your three bad ones then one trick pony if you make
one or two good ones three good ones ones off like oh it's an off day but you
can't afford to make bad work you've got to make sure that you're making the best
work that you can make if you want to continue proceeding especially in that
middle ground
you