maintain a connection to other people

25th April 2017 | for Creatives | reaching your audience, filmmaking, never stop LEARNING, James Gunn  |       

"Some of my favorite directors of the 1970s became rich and famous and lost touch with other human beings not like themselves.  [With social media,] I can now maintain a connection to other people, not just in the U.S. but all over the world.  It allows me insight into someone who's 15 in Thailand."

— James Gunn

Similar for Creatives

engage with new channels

"I know the next decade will bring some wild changes—both personally and industry-wide—as the vehicles with which we consume content keep changing.  That directly informs what I do for a living, and my hope is not just to keep up, but to really engage with new channels, mediums, and people."

different things to different people

"[My films] mean different things to different people. Some mean more or less the same things to a large number of people. It's okay. Just as long as there's not one message, spoon-fed. That's what films by committee end up being, and it's a real bummer to me ... Life is very, very complicated, and so films should be allowed to be, too."

the meaning, it's a very personal thing

"It makes me uncomfortable to talk about meanings and things. It's better not to know so much about what things mean. Because the meaning, it's a very personal thing, and the meaning for me is different than the meaning for somebody else."

Had I not written those bad novels

"I started out writing novels—I wrote two bad ones before I ever touched a short story. ... Those failed novels taught me an immense amount about focus and about paying attention to my audience—essential skills for writing the short story.  Had I not written those bad novels I doubt I would have ever had any luck with short stories."

unite an audience with humanity

"I was used to uniting an audience with humour; this time, I wanted to unite an audience with humanity."

Join my mailing list!

Don't miss a single, riveting word! Be the first to hear of new releases, special promotions, and other news and nifty things...