27

I’ve survived to the age of 27!  I’m at image lock with Greyscale (which means it can’t be edited any further), and the visual effects, sound design, and soundtrack are almost complete.  When I turned 26 I was at image lock with Greyscale… 25, we were about 12 outings into what would be eventually 66 days of filming, which feels like a lifetime ago… 24, I was 4 months away from having the idea to attempt a feature.

I thought I would look at what age contemporary successful directors made their first feature films (note: ages were a hasty subtraction of what year they were born from the year the film came out, so it’s approximate).

Some films you’ve heard of, some you haven’t.  Some were breakout smashes while others led them to the path where they got the resources to make the film they first became known for.

(Another note: I’m not as pretentious as to say Greyscale (or I) am on the path to fame and success, but it’s an interesting look at how long it takes to get people to entrust you with the resources necessary to make a feature film.)

  • Steven Spielberg - Firelight - 18 (JAWS by the time he was 26!)
  • M. Night Shamalan - Praying With Anger - 22
  • Robert Rodriguez - El Mariachi - 24
  • George Lucas - THX 1138 - 27
  • Wes Anderson - Bottle Rocket - 27
  • James Cameron - Piranha Part 2: The Spawning - 27
  • Christopher Nolan - Following - 28
  • Brett Ratner - Money Talks - 28
  • Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs - 29
  • Spike Jonze - Adaptation - 30
  • Rian Johnson - Brick - 32
  • Andrew Niccol - Gattaca - 33
  • Kevin Smith - Clerks - 34
  • Tim Burton - Pee Wee’s Big Adventure - 37
  • Zack Snyder - Dawn of the Dead - 38

The list could go on, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some people and some of these directors I like but you’ve probably never heard of.  A lot of these guys had documentary or music video experience before they cut their teeth on feature films… and then there’s Steven Spielberg…

27 feels like a good number for me to start to be taken seriously… 24 felt like I was a kid playing around… no, it felt like people thought I was just a kid playing around.

But, it boils down to what you’ve done.  I think once you have that out there to speak for itself, you don’t have to worry about age anymore.  In fact, I’m pretty sure this meandering of a blog post included a self-discovery and defeat of a personal doubt that I wasn’t doing enough early enough to get on the right track…

…I also realize how blessed I am to have had the opportunity to tackle a feature film in my 20s… or at all.  I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped the dream come to life, and before I wax too melancholic, I’m going to go celebrate a fun evening for my birthday tonight.

vcD,
-R