Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

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  • #46
    Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

    There's all kinds of homeless.

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    • #47
      Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

      When I worked in Law Enforcement, we would get tons of overtime, whether you wanted it or not. The problem was that it was not consistent. Some months would be full of twelve to sixteen hour days and working on your days off. Other months would have no OT at all. We would tell the rookies not to count on regular OT when making their household budgets. Budget off your salary and count the OT as gravy. Without fail, there would always be rookies, and senior officers who should have known better, who would factor the average yearly OT into their budget when getting a new house or car. Then they would be freaking out in the months where there was no OT.

      It's much the same in Hollywood. It's a boom and bust business. Periods of lots of work and attention, periods of no activity. I always liked the advice Neil Patrick Harris relayed once. He was told that Hollywood is like surfing. Everyone once in awhile you catch a great wave. Enjoy the ride while you're on it. Then be prepared to paddle back out and wait for the next wave.

      We can say what we want about his movies or writing, but still comes back to the most basic of reasons, poor budgeting. He didn't have a rainy day fund when it started going bad. Let this be a lesson. Take that first paycheck and bank it. Don't quit your day job, don't buy that awesome new car. You don't know if the second check is coming. The real problem I see here is his excuse of needing to look successful. While true, in a sense, it's also a crutch to excuse poor decisions.

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      • #48
        Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

        Originally posted by carcar View Post

        And apparently only people in their twenties are allowed to chase a life goal.
        He'd been in Hollywood chasing this dream since he was in his 20s. A chase he describes as 20 years of "feast or famine" which is really 20 years of financial insecurity. That's fine. That's his choice. I have no problem with that.

        Until he decides to become a parent. When you have a young child he or she needs to be factored into your "life goal." Not solely as your "muse" (he mentions he now realizes he "needs" to be near his child to write -- hmmm) but in terms of their future.

        I wonder if he would be applauded for chasing his dream if every detail was the same except for his gender. Tanya Farmer, the mother of a young child, who chose to live in her car and pretend she was a successful screenwriter, while "expecting" the next gig to crop up, as the father of her child raised the kid by himself, several states away.
        Last edited by sc111; 03-09-2015, 10:39 AM.
        Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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        • #49
          Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

          I agree that children are a priority. But I also see stuff like this:


          "At this point, my wife Mel and I had been separated for several years and she wanted to move to Tennessee with our daughter Izzie to be closer to family. The plan was for me to fly back and forth twice a month. And when I had a job, just write from Tennessee. So they moved. And that was tough. Real tough. I'd gone from spending every day with Izzie to twice a month."

          It was the mom who moved. I don't blame her for wanting the support and closeness of her family, but she had some choice in removing the child from the vicinity of her father. And dad goes broke trying to maintain both his relationship with his daughter and his professional network, contacts, and the level of income both he (and his ex-wife) are used to.

          It doesn't matter the gender. If one parent removes the child from the other's presence, it's hard on both the kid and the parent. He (and probably they) made a mistake he regretted and has been working hard to rectify.

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          • #50
            Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

            Oh, give me a break. Gender has nothing to do with it.

            When I was a kid, I was homeless for awhile. My dad was working on his doctorate, and my mom quit her job at an insurance agency. So, mom took me and my brothers and sisters (five of us in all, one of whom was a newborn) "camping" for the summer at a State Forest. We all slept in a large tent donated by some friends. We had to move our campsite every few days, or the rangers would throw us out.

            Meanwhile, my dad stayed in the city. He slept in his office, and showered at the Y. I didn't see him all summer. But eventually he got his doctorate, was reunited with the fam, and everything was fine.

            An "objective" outsider might assume we were traumatized by all this. I'm sure the ordeal was nerve-wracking for my parents. But for us kids, it was a blast (except for the part where I got chicken pox). I never thought of my mom as a "bad parent" because she quit the job she hated so much. I never thought of my dad as a "bad parent," even though we had to sacrifice so he could achieve his dream. I was proud of them both for sticking to their goal and seeing it through.

            I have friends who travel for a living. They are educated. They are responsible. They are well-off. They hire nannies to take care of their kids during the week. On weekends, it's all about toys and candy and pony rides at the park. I wonder what lessons they are teaching their kids. To me, Todd Farmer is a better parent than any of them.

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            • #51
              Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

              Originally posted by anxt View Post
              Oh, give me a break. Gender has nothing to do with it.

              When I was a kid, I was homeless for awhile. My dad was working on his doctorate, and my mom quit her job at an insurance agency. So, mom took me and my brothers and sisters (five of us in all, one of whom was a newborn) "camping" for the summer at a State Forest. We all slept in a large tent donated by some friends. We had to move our campsite every few days, or the rangers would throw us out.

              Meanwhile, my dad stayed in the city. He slept in his office, and showered at the Y. I didn't see him all summer. But eventually he got his doctorate, was reunited with the fam, and everything was fine.

              An "objective" outsider might assume we were traumatized by all this. I'm sure the ordeal was nerve-wracking for my parents. But for us kids, it was a blast (except for the part where I got chicken pox). I never thought of my mom as a "bad parent" because she quit the job she hated so much. I never thought of my dad as a "bad parent," even though we had to sacrifice so he could achieve his dream. I was proud of them both for sticking to their goal and seeing it through.

              I have friends who travel for a living. They are educated. They are responsible. They are well-off. They hire nannies to take care of their kids during the week. On weekends, it's all about toys and candy and pony rides at the park. I wonder what lessons they are teaching their kids. To me, Todd Farmer is a better parent than any of them.
              That's a great perspective, and a great story. Thanks for sharing.

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              • #52
                Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

                Originally posted by MrZero View Post
                My Bloody Valentine made $100 million worldwide and basically kick-started the 3D craze.
                As far as kick-starting the 3D craze, I would argue that Avatar was slightly more influential than My Bloody Valentine.

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                • #53
                  Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

                  Originally posted by Paul Striver View Post
                  As far as kick-starting the 3D craze, I would argue that Avatar was slightly more influential than My Bloody Valentine.
                  ...but My Bloody Valentine came first. Its success led to similar productions like Piranha 3D, which began filming prior to the release of Avatar. Don't forget that the success of Avatar was not considered a sure thing.

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                  • #54
                    Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

                    Originally posted by MrZero View Post
                    ...but My Bloody Valentine came first. Its success led to similar productions like Piranha 3D, which began filming prior to the release of Avatar. Don't forget that the success of Avatar was not considered a sure thing.
                    The 3D bandwagon was well underway by the time My Bloody Valentine came out. Up, Monsters vs Aliens, the third Ice Age movie - all of those were released shortly after MBV and the decision to do them in 3D had nothing to do with the "success" of MBV, nor obviously was it a factor in Avatar being 3D.

                    And the "success" of MBV would hardly have motivated Hollywood to produce dozens and dozens of 3D films - that was 98% due to the blockbuster of Avatar, 1% due to the success of the 3D animated features, and at most 1% due to MBV (I'm probably being too generous giving MBV an influence of 1%, but I suppose it might have been a small factor in the decision to make a few subsequent horror films in 3D).

                    (I can't believe I'm even arguing this. "Hey, what do you suppose made Hollywood crank out all these 3D movies since 2009? Was it the two-billion-dollar Avatar phenomenon?" "Nah, it was My Bloody Valentine. Remember My Bloody Valentine?" "Nope." "Yeah, me neither, actually - I just said that for giggles.")

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                    • #55
                      Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

                      Originally posted by Paul Striver View Post
                      The 3D bandwagon was well underway by the time My Bloody Valentine came out. Up, Monsters vs Aliens, the third Ice Age movie
                      All of them animated films.

                      Originally posted by Paul Striver View Post
                      And the "success" of MBV
                      Again: $100 million worldwide (on a $14 million budget). Ironic quotes aren't needed.

                      Originally posted by Paul Striver View Post
                      would hardly have motivated Hollywood to produce dozens and dozens of 3D films - that was 98% due to the blockbuster of Avatar, 1% due to the success of the 3D animated features, and at most 1% due to MBV (I'm probably being too generous giving MBV an influence of 1%, but I suppose it might have been a small factor in the decision to make a few subsequent horror films in 3D).
                      MBV was a milestone in several ways because, as Wikipedia tells us, "My Bloody Valentine is the first R-rated film to be projected in RealD technology and to have a wide release (1,000 locations) in 3D-enabled theaters." It was proof that 3D could sustain more than a "selected theaters" release and that the technology could support more than just kiddie flicks.

                      Originally posted by Paul Striver View Post
                      (I can't believe I'm even arguing this.
                      Yes.

                      Originally posted by Paul Striver View Post
                      "Hey, what do you suppose made Hollywood crank out all these 3D movies since 2009? Was it the two-billion-dollar Avatar phenomenon?" "Nah, it was My Bloody Valentine. Remember My Bloody Valentine?" "Nope." "Yeah, me neither, actually - I just said that for giggles.")
                      Now you've contradicted your earlier statement that "the 3D bandwagon was well underway by the time My Bloody Valentine came out."

                      Obviously, Avatar was a much bigger movie, in all senses of the term, than My Bloody Valentine. But I think it's also true that MBV, for better or worse, achieved a few things that hadn't been done before.

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                      • #56
                        Re: Todd Farmer: From Hollywood To Homeless

                        fantastic article. definitely a must read.

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