"So... what's next for you?"
On the constant need to have a next thing
I was having lunch the other day with my team (hi all!) and at one point in a lull in the conversation, after we’d talked about all the other things that were currently going on — the movies I want to direct, the movie I have coming out, the movie I’m currently writing — someone asked “So… what’s the next thing you’re working on?”
My mind went blank. I’ve been trying to cut down my caffeine intake, and didn’t get a great night’s sleep (which the caffeine definitely would have come in handy for), so I have those things to blame the sluggishness on, but also… I feel busy right now, there needs to be a next thing too? I hemmed and hawed, and it was clear that “nothing, I don’t know” wasn’t really the answer anyone wanted to hear.
So do you really always need to have a next thing? Short answer… yes.
I’ve written before about the need for artists to refill the well. A break is good. I will always support a good, healthy break. I say that as someone who didn’t really take any creative breaks at all last year. And while I did end up with forced time off during 2023 — I didn’t feel particularly revitalized during any of the WGA/SAG strike period, and I did in fact spend a lot of the “no paid work” period cracking away at a passion project spec screenplay. [Free speculative work for writers who are not employed but instead writing something original is allowed during a guild strike, I’m not outing myself as a scab! I’m a WGA Captain for Pete’s sake!]
So while I’ve been working on all of the things I listed above, I have been trying this year to consciously do it all with a little bit more thought, a little more space, and a little more tenderness towards myself. It’s been nice to move a little bit more slowly, and yet… I do feel a tiny bit like I’ve taken my eye off the ball?
Because you should always have the next thing! When you’re just starting and trying to break into a career it’s important to be sure that you’re reaching out to people when you have not just one but two great samples. That way when they say “What else have you got?” you can confidently reply, “Oh this other great thing!” and not pull the faux pas I just did at lunch. When you’re first getting paid assignments (or more likely, unpaid open writing assignments) it’s critical to be stacking three or four or seven things so that you can survive if only one pans out. And when you’re slightly more established, with a movie or two under your belt, you still have to remember that the thing that is valuable about you within the business ecosystem is not what’s happened before, it’s what hasn’t happened yet.
Is this kind of hamster wheel project stacking ideal for the creative process? I don’t know. I do think it tends to be how my brain works a bit anyway, I tend to feel most energized when I have a few things going on and can pivot from one to the next whenever I feel stuck. But I do feel this pang of jealousy whenever I imagine a life of solitude and focus. Imagine just doing one thing well. Working on it until you’re done, and then moving on to the next. Wow. I know people like this! I wish my brain worked that way, but… nope! I’m someone who tends to energetically be aligned with the way Hollywood works. I’m always scanning for the next thing. The next challenge. The next genre I can play with. The next big swing. I love ideas and I love the excitement a new one brings.
So after a minute or two, I brought us back to the question.
Ultimately I said… “I want to write a thriller. Maybe a heist or a story about con men.”
We’ll see how that pans out.
What about you dear Hollyweirdos? How many things do you tend to have that you’re working on at a time? How do you multitask? More importantly, how do you single task?
As someone who’s had periods where teams are asking that question and other periods I’ve weathered solo, I think that question really highlights the misalignment of incentives between artists and their reps.
You’re only valuable to them in the short term if you have a next thing in the works.
You’re only valuable to yourself if you have a process you feel aligned with.
I absolutely need three or four ideas going at once, because I can safely assume at least a couple will fall apart either internally or externally, and I definitely always fear having nothing when the "what else've you got?" comes around.