One of the things I think screws me up most is expectations. I expect family to react or to be a certain way. In relationships, I’ve had issues with girlfriends who turned out to be different than I thought they’d be - all my fault. It’s not them, it’s me. Me and my stupid expectations.
The film business is no different. We hear stories, we read articles and books - we expect it to be a certain way. And we’re almost always wrong.
You cannot imagine what this business has in store for you. No one can tell you, prepare you for the highs and lows, especially since everyone’s experience is totally different - and even if your experiences are similar, the business changes with the speed of light so similar means nothing.
I’ve had an unusual career. It started when I was hired to write a film on assignment. A lot (most) people break in by selling a spec script. I didn’t. I did have a solid writing sample that led to me being hired but I also had to pitch and juke my way into the job. The film company interviewed fifty writers and I got it - then I had to write it - then I had to rewrite it. Then I had to listen to a director (not the one who ended up directing it) and an actor (who is now thankfully out of the business) tell me the story didn’t and would never work (they were wrong.) I had to fight and scratch and claw my way to my first film - I never thought that would be the way it happened. I figured I’d write a good spec script, someone would buy it, and I’d be skip-dancing on the Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City.
Expecting the film business to embrace you in any way, shape or form is a formula for disaster. Once I finished my first film, it took me almost two years to sell anything else. And then I was paid fully ten times LESS than my first film project - which wasn’t a lot of money to begin with.
Just because your buddy or this dude you know sold something or worked for someone who gave him or her a job - or whatever - won’t mean anything when or if it’s your turn.
You’ll have these expectations - you’ll think: “Well, this is what my teacher told me” or “I’ve heard the stories, I’m ready.” You’re not. It might be worse than you imagine or a thousand times better than you imagine but it will not be whatever you imagine. You need to learn right now not to “expect” anything.
We all want to succeed; we all want that killer experience or story - like that Shane Black’s mom or roommate took his unfinished script out of the garbage and made him finish it and it became “Lethal Weapon” (maybe true - I can’t remember what Shane’s said about it.) Or that Harvey Keitel “discovered” Quentin Tarantino while he was working in a video store (not really although he did give him quite a leg up) - or whatever it is. My story is simple and sorta boring. But sitting in those writing classes back in the day, or talking to my friends about what we hoped our experiences would be, I could never have predicted it. My anticipations, expectations, were so completely wrong and different than my reality that I honestly don’t know whether I was disappointed or happy about it at the time. Probably mostly confused, truth be known. I do know that I am grateful for the way it went because it made me the writer I am today.
Let me mention this story that appeared today in the sports section of the L.A. Times. Jerry Rice, the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame receiver (he’s being inducted today) worked with two Hall of Fame passers: Joe Montana and Steve Young. But there was someone who threw him more passes than either one of those great quarterbacks combined - equipment manager, Ted Walsh.
Times sports columnist Sam Farmer wrote this very good article about Walsh who was left-handed. Having worked with Joe Montana for many years, a right-hander, Rice needed someone to help him transition to a left-handed passer (Steve Young) after Montana went to the Chiefs. The ball spins differently from a left-handed QB and makes it harder for a receiver, most of whom work with right-handers. Enter Walsh - he and Rice worked endlessly simulating the different passing rotation. The article credits Walsh with making Rice the Hall of Famer he is today. Maybe that’s true and maybe not - Rice was and remains one of the most incredible and hard-working receivers to ever play the game. But imagine Walsh’s career. Imagine him thinking ahead to what his football life would be - his expectations. Under no circumstances could he have predicted a time when he’d be considered one of the most important men on a football team filled with some of the best coaches and players ever to play the game. And all he did was show up, work hard, and roll with it.
I’m sure you all know this stuff. The older we grow the more we understand that reality is never what we imagine it to be. Some learn this early on - for some it takes 
more time. All I’m really saying here is that no one, including you, can predict your career path - and that you shouldn’t try.
Just keep your head down, do the work required of you, and the rest will sort itself out. Fight the good fight and you'll win because whatever the battle you won't take it for granted, you'll just perform.
“Luck is when preparation meets opportunity” is my favorite saying. If you’re prepared by writing every day, reading scripts and watching movies, you’ll be in exactly the right place at the right time when that moment comes and it will not ever disappoint you. It will, however, be different that any of your expectations. This I promise.
