"Don't Expect Anything Good to Happen"

Some dark advice for dark times

The subject line says it all. I weirdly had two different people say exactly this to me today, about how they manage to stay sane while working in Hollywood. It’s kind of cynical advice, but it does speak to the state of the entertainment industry as a whole (disheartening) and the likelihood of success of any given project or idea at any given time (low). I know it sounds like a bummer, but, I promise, I am going to do my best to turn what these two have said around into something at least somewhat hopeful by the bottom of this newsletter.

Both are peers, both have worked in the industry for a decent amount of time, and both were describing the number of different projects they’re currently juggling. If you want to make it in Hollywood, it really does seem like you need to have an ever-expanding slate of potential opportunities. The odds of any one thing picking up enough steam to bulldoze through the many, many gatekeepers in the way are so low that it sometimes seems like the only way to guarantee any sort of potential success is to constantly be firing off new things. I ended my huge roundup of what I did in 2024 with this takeaway “there were A LOT of things happening. In hindsight, too many.”

As we catch up with one another, my friends and I tend to kind of trail off as we describe what we’re working on… “I’ve got this book adaptation thing, and this IP thing, and this short story, and this other thing with a director, and… anyway… I don’t need to bore you with everything… It’s a lot.” I had lunch with a friend recently who told me he was “focusing” on writing four pilots at the same time. FOUR! And this was all so that he could also write the feature script he really cared about.

That’s an impressive amount of juggling!

In an interesting, and textually quite rich, blocking choice, this photograph depicts someone who is almost certainly going to fail at juggling.

I really don’t know anyone who’s able to sustainably be working on just one thing. Are you that person? Do you know that person? I would LOVE to hear from you! Seriously. Any intel on how to hold such firm boundaries (and command such remarkable pay) would be GREATLY appreciated.

So what can we take from this seemingly ubiquitous and quite bleak take on the current state of the biz? How can we adapt to survive?

Learn to juggle!

You cannot learn to be good at anything without a lot (a lot) of failure. If we use juggling as metaphor, you are going to toss a lot of balls in the air and then drop them. Over and over and over. Hundreds of times. That is the only way to learn.

You aren’t beginning a career as a juggler (okay, nobody is beginning a career as juggler) expecting all of the balls to always go where you want. Or in other words, you are “not expecting anything good to happen.”

I know, I know, it’s a really bleak way to be talking about a career in the arts. But… two things can be true about this outlook at the same time:

1. It is a bummer.

2. It has been very helpful emotionally.

Not expecting a positive outcome really is a very healthy and useful adaptation to get through a career in the arts, because… well… look around out there. We have no control over the outcomes. Not really. And so, not getting your hopes up can in fact be helpful.

The people I know who are the most successful seem to have a preternatural confidence that allows them to shake off each and every disappointment. It’s not that disappointment doesn’t sting, it’s that disappointment is taken for granted. This is what we do. We put our hearts and souls into something and then… the person who wanted to buy it is fired, or the star bails, or the reviews are terrible.

And then we pick ourselves up and do it again.

The best way to succeed in an environment where the chance of success is low, is to provide yourself with as many chances as possible. That’s just statistics, baby. I think. I famously performed very poorly in statistics.

Given that so many things will end up amounting to so little, it seems like we simply have to learn to juggle, and we have to learn to expect that there may not be a positive outcome for any one project, but… with enough projects… perhaps… one will land in the appropriate place.

Them’s the breaks.

But… I don’t want to be a downer. I really don’t. So I would amend this sort of “don’t get your hopes up kid” advice just a little bit:

Do not expect anything good to happen. It is up to you to make something good happen. And when good things do happen, it is your job to enjoy them, because they do sometimes happen. I promise.

---

Hollyweird Helps

Speaking of making good things happen. I really appreciate everyone who has donated to the GoFundMe Campaigns I’ve been sharing to help those effected by the Los Angeles Fires. Here’s another one. And again, if you do donate, let me know, and I will personally match your donation. But weren’t the fires… weeks ago?

Yes! These people are going to be needing our support for A VERY LONG TIME!

Support for Dantzler's: Home Lost in Eaton Fire

“The Dantzler family tragically lost their family home of over 50 years including all of their belongings, keepsakes and memories… Justin, who is finishing his senior year at Cal Poly Pomona, requires short-term housing, along with essential items such as hygiene products, clothing, and things you don’t think about until they are gone.”