Two Approaches
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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I love the way that you approached this post and the examples you used. I agree that both approaches can work and be successful. I think it depends on whether you know exactly what you want to do in your career (ie Ryan Gosling’s approach) or you want to try lots of different things to see what the best fit is (I will refer to that as the Eugene Levy method from this point forward!) The end result, that you find the right fit, is whats most important.
Sheema´s last blog ..Guest Post: U.S. Soccer & Social Media
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admin Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Sheema – Great distinction! I guess that’s the reason I have so much respect for Gosling is that I would typically assume that most people can’t truly pull off the Gosling approach until later in their careers after they’ve earned a bit of success. From the onset his moves have seemed pretty strategic.
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Good question Ryan
I’ve always wondered if one approach can/ should last a lifetime.
Or do we change from one to the other, when success allows us the luxury of choice.
Cheers
Anita
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admin Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Anita – That’s a great question (per usual). I certainly don’t think one approach has to last a life time. Perhaps you leverage the ‘Eugene Levy’ approach to be able to use the ‘Ryan Gosling’ approach later in your career. Or maybe you try the Gosling approach and you miss (as it’s pretty dependent on getting it right most of the time) in such a way that you have to use the Levy approach to get your foot back in the door.
I think there’s a lot of different scenarios that could play out as a result of these two approaches.
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I’m intrigued by this idea. For this reason especially. While everyone may KNOW who Eugene Levy is, I’m curious how many people admire his acting ability and scope of work. I mean, I know Eugene Levy and actually like some of his work in independent Christopher Guest films, but it isn’t like I *know* a movie is going to be good cause he chose to attach himself to it. In fact, I sometimes think the opposite (hello New York Minute…I can’t believe you admitted to knowing this movie existed!)
It happens a lot with people trying to “get ahead” in their careers. Sure, you might KNOW who someone is, but how much do you respect them? I’m frequently torn as to which “approach” to use in success. Do I want to get tons of readers and commenters and minions, or do I want to put out quality work that elicits little response but high praise? It’s a hard question to answer…
Elisa´s last blog ..Red Silk with Black Lace
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admin Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Ah, this was something I played with in my head as I wrote this post. I know I have more respect for Gosling, but there’s so many different issues at play here. One, could it be a scenario like Sheema described where maybe Levy just doesn’t know what he wants to do (I doubt it in his case, but with some probably).
How often does luck play a role? Kate Hudson would make anything I think. Some terrible romantic comedies without a doubt. BUT, what if she didn’t? She’s not that strong of an actress (the way Gosling is), but she was bad ass in Almost Famous. What if her agent only picked these amazing roles in which she’d be a perfect fit for the duration of her career? She’d make LESS money, but be more acclaimed? Another trade off someone would have to weigh?
Most days I teeter between the two I think. I want a lot of eyeballs in the hopes that as a result a few great commenters (like you, Anita, and others) will stick around and periodically engage in discussions like these that I suspect make me a little bit smarter!
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Oh Ryan. Just admit it. You developed a mancrush on Ryan Gosling ever since his swoony role in The Notebook. You just can’t stop doodling his name inside a bubbly heart on your school notebook.
It’s ok. I feel the same way. Don’t be ashamed.
David´s last blog ..Quitting Your Job In A Recession Isn’t Genius, It’s Idiotic
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admin Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
David – Gosling would have to be in the second tier.
Tier I: Ryan Reynolds, Bill Simmons, You
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Here’s the question:
Did Ryan Gossling become a star because he picked good movies? Or was he able to pick good movies because he’s a star?
There are a lot of outside factors go into this type of choice. If I need to make as much money possible at once, I’d probably get as much work as I could–quickly.
If I had the chance to pick and choose, and money was no object, I’d probably work on fewer projects.
Does that make sense? Thanks for the post.
Daniel Prager´s last blog ..Worth Your Time For 1/11 – 1/15
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January 18th, 2010 at 1:19 pmI’ve never seen the notebook – fact.
I love American Pie and awkward dads – fact.
Moving on.
I’ve recently taken on more than a few projects and have been pondering what you tackle in this article. My fear is that I’ll sacrifice quality for quantity. So far, so good, but I’m not sure I’ll be adding too many more projects just yet.
Rich DeMatteo´s last blog ..Corn Heads Community
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January 18th, 2010 at 9:37 pm