Getting Naked. Again

          Have you ever had that dream?  The one where you’re suddenly standing naked in front of a crowd of people? You’re utterly aware there’s nothing you can do, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.  People are going judge you, jeer at you, laugh at you—hell, even make unwanted advances.  You have no idea what’s in store; all you know is you’re naked and it’s about to happen.

          That’s pretty much what it’s like every time artists expose themselves to the public.  Instead of genitalia, we’re exposing other pieces of ourselves through a painting, a song, a dance, a film—whatever creation we’re putting out there for the world to see, to sense, to judge.  It’s damn scary, but utterly necessary if you’re the type of artist whose goal is to share, to communicate with your fellow man. 

          I am such a fool and my latest strip tease was a bona fide cherry popper:  my feature film directorial debut, Deadly Revisions.  I had worked for nearly a year and a half, turning my script into a slow-burn, psychological thriller and it was time to share it with the world.  Thus, I began submitting it to film festivals.  It immediately generated interest and, before I knew it, I had folks wanting to review it.

          Terrifying.  What if they hated it?  What if it was buried in bad reviews before it even got off the ground?  Now I wasn’t just standing naked before a crowd:  I was naked and suffering from shrinkage.  All I could do was hold my breath, prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  Hints came my way that I could put the hari-kiri knife away.  But I still held my breath.   Then the reviews began to emerge and, suddenly, I could breathe again.

          GuestStars Blog called it an "Amazing Flick!".  The Char Hardin Blogspot dubbed it "Mind Blowing!"  Matchflick.com deemed it "Very Clever!", Twisted Central called it “a twisted mind bender” and A Bucket of Corn declared  it “Visionary!”.  I was still naked, but relatively unscathed which allowed me to relax a little; even if no one else liked the film, I knew at least I had made a few folks happy.

          And that’s all you can hope for.  You can’t imagine you can please everyone.  You shouldn’t even try.  You should please yourself as much as possible and hope others find pleasure in what you’ve created.

          To find information on where Deadly Revisions is screening next, visit www.DEADLYREVISIONSMOVIE.com. And if I’m there, come say “hello”. 

           I’ll be easy to spot; I’ll be the naked guy.