“Begin with the end in mind.”
—Stephen Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Even in the mist of the second largest theater chain (Regal) announcing this month that they are temporarily closing all their theaters due to the coronavirus, Ted Hope is still optimistic for the future of movies.
“You really need to define for yourself what matters in life. What are your values? . . . Defining those values is really key. Because at the end if you’re going to do good work you have to plan for the long haul. . . . I’m super excited about what’s coming [to the film business]. I’m really excited. And that’s hard to do because not everyone in this in this field, in this art form, in this business and enterprise, and certainly in this world and in this country, are actually good people. Big surprise, right? I think people aspire to do good work, but there’s a lot of people that are liars and cheats, misanthropes and malcontents, egotist and narcissists. The industry attracts a lot of that—people who want the success without doing the work, and you have to be able to not let that bring you down. So you need to understand how you’re going to be advancing your own values, bringing things closer to the world that you want. Surrounding yourself with the people that you care about, and who are similarly motivated. And you’re not going to do that unless you start to define it.”
—Producer Ted Hope
Ted Hope: Master Class in Film Producing interview with Anthony Kaufman
Hope’s words match well producer Lawrence Turman’s quote on ethics from the post Pursue Your Dreams and Don’t Be Afraid to Trying to Inspire, to Lead, and to Exalt.
Scott W. Smith is the author of Screenwriting with Brass Knuckles