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The Sundance Film Festival is about a week away. As a self proclaimed film snob, one of the films that I know will be phenomenal and that I eventually want to see is “Blue Valentine,” starring one of my favorite actors, Ryan Gosling, and the very talented Michelle Williams.
This isn’t a post about the film, it’s a post about Gosling and his approach to his career.
Ever since he slayed the role of Danny Balint in “The Believer” he’s acted in about one film a year, and none since 2007 until now. And guess what? He’s been great in all of them and most have enjoyed considerable praise. (I haven’t seen Stay).
In fact, I’m not sure anyone picks better save perhaps DiCaprio (since The Beach of course).
That’s an admirable trait of someone who takes great pride in their work, especially in world where Matthew McConaughy, Gary Oldman and Kate Beckinsdale’s agents all read a script like “Tiptoes,” and said, “You know what, you SHOULD make this film?” Wait… WTF?
And then there’s people like Eugene Levy who can’t wait to attach his name to anything that will claim him. And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. He was a fixture in the American Pie films, and he’s probably made his fair share of paper along the way.
We hear a lot of advice in the online world about taking tons of chances, failing fast, and learning from your mistakes. We’re advised to try countless different things and to determine what works for us. People will not remember your mistakes, only when you succeeded and made a profound impact.
I liken this to Levy’s approach. Depending on your definition, he’s probably pretty successful, and nobody remember “The Man,” and “New York Minute.” Well except the Olsen Twins. But everyone remembers the awkward Dad from American Pie.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with this approach, and it’s a philosophy I’ve subscribed to and used in my own life. But then, isn’t there is also something to be said for the person who carefully picks each project with the utmost patience and discipline? How about the person who intricately maps out and defines their career path in such a way that they always seem to jump ship right before it starts taking on water, landing on another barge right before they find buried treasure?
My point is that both approaches can work.
Whether you want to make one film a year or juggle writing for five blogs in five different niches, the choice is yours. And here’s the fun part: There’s thousands of ways to obtain success, and hundreds of thousands of ways to define what success means to you. Don’t get bogged down by the details, and don’t think you have to choose an approach today. But when you do, make sure you have some fun.
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Comments
01.18.10
I like the ideas. My friends and I always called the Eugene Levy approach "Throw enough shit at the wall and see what sticks."
Out of curiosity, which approach do you think is safer or more likely to succeed?
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