From the Producer: Project Updates
When Katie told me that she wanted to direct ‘Alone Together,’ we were both a bit uneasy. Each of us would be stepping into new territory, she as a director and me as a producer. I think we’re both a bit nervous at the prospect of treading new ground.
Producer is a catch-all term that can mean any one of a million things. First, I’ve been a creative producer as Katie wrote her script. She bounced drafts off of Megan and I and we provided feedback, offered new perspectives, and tried to get her to where she wanted to be. This is something I’m familiar with. At Columbia College Chicago, my cohort and I would constantly provide feedback for each other.
The first big challenge was helping Katie sort through the feedback she was getting from all quarters and answer the main question, “what is the story you want to tell?” When you run scripts by people, every reader can bring their own baggage and perspective to the story. Sometimes, that’s great, it’s important to get additional points of view. It can help you see a road not taken that you didn’t even realize was there (that happened to me when getting feedback on Oakdale,1959).
But with Katie, I could see that the varied opinions were causing a little chaos. The feedback was all over the place. We got together and I asked her a number of questions about where she wanted to go. I think, a least I hope, that helped her.
As we move forward into preproduction and production, I see my job in that kinda light. The way I look at it, I’m Katie’s utility player. My job is to find a need and fill it. Putting together a film is all about plucking phantoms from inside your brain and dragging them into the real world kicking and screaming. It’s chaotic. It’s painful. You’re constantly troubleshooting, constantly dealing with bumps in the road. It’s hard not to doubt yourself and your resolve every five minutes.
Additionally, the lower the budget, the more it falls on the director’s shoulders. It’s my job to filter as much of the misery and bullshit as possible so Katie can focus on making Alone Together a reality. I’ll help with logistics. I’ll be her hype man. I’ll run interference when I can, so she can do her thing.
That’s not to say I don’t have my own doubts gnawing away at the inside my skull. I’ve done logistics on shorts before, I’ve ADed. But this is a big deal for Katie, and I want to do everything I can for her. After our last few conversations on the subject, I’ve realized that the old adage “fake it ‘til you make it” isn’t the right way to go here. While there’s something to be said for projecting confidence, Katie and I have agreed that our best way forward is to lean on each other. She will help me figure out how best to plug in as a producer, and I’ll be there if she ever has a question or a concern as a director.
I believe in Katie and her script. It’s come a long way, and I’m proud of Katie for putting so much of herself out there instead of playing it safe. When you’re putting so much time and as much of your own money as you can squeeze from a stone into something, you gotta go big or go home.
-Josh