Perseverance and Strategy in an Ever Changing Industry

Jaclyn: 00:00:00

You're listening to the Faith and Family Filmmakers podcast.

Jaclyn: 00:00:02

My name is Jaclyn, and today I've got Jesse Hutch with me.

Jaclyn: 00:00:05

This is our second interview, so if you didn't hear the previous one, go back, you can hear his bio.

Jaclyn: 00:00:10

It's pretty cool.

Jaclyn: 00:00:12

So I'm glad to have you back, Jesse, and I actually had a question on my mind during our last interview, but I didn't ask because you were so interesting

Jaclyn: 00:00:20

in like the direction we were going, so I, I kind of just went with it.

Jaclyn: 00:00:23

But I am curious to know, how did your parents respond when you decided to get into film?

Jesse: 00:00:30

Out of the gate, I think.

Jesse: 00:00:31

I mean, I was raised by a single mom.

Jesse: 00:00:32

I had a brother who was six years younger at the age of 21.

Jesse: 00:00:35

When I was like, Hey mom, I'm moving across the country.

Jesse: 00:00:37

I think I'm gonna pursue this acting thing.

Jesse: 00:00:39

At first, she was like, oh, okay.

Jesse: 00:00:41

Like you're going where?

Jesse: 00:00:43

For how long

Jaclyn: 00:00:44

All right.

Jaclyn: 00:00:44

Where's my baby going?

Jesse: 00:00:46

and Yeah, exactly.

Jesse: 00:00:47

As a mom, she had that, but yet she was still quite supportive.

Jesse: 00:00:51

She still was very much like, all right, well, I mean, I trust you prayed into this and I trust that you're gonna go give this a shot.

Jesse: 00:00:57

So go, I guess give it a try.

Jesse: 00:00:59

What, what can I do to help support?

Jesse: 00:01:01

So my mom was always behind me and my brother.

Jesse: 00:01:03

I mean, he is my brother.

Jesse: 00:01:04

He, he didn't have a choice, but he, he was, he is awesome about it.

Jesse: 00:01:06

He's always been supportive.

Jesse: 00:01:08

My parents divorced when I was 11, so my dad actually wasn't in the picture for me at that point in my life to sort of sum up a giant part of my life from the age of

Jesse: 00:01:17

11 until 24 years later when I actually went and finally sort of found my father, got him on the phone and really felt that God had put it on my heart to forgive him.

Jesse: 00:01:27

Uh, that was something that started to rebuild our relationship.

Jesse: 00:01:31

In that area.

Jesse: 00:01:32

And so I did find out that throughout my entire life he had known that I was an actor.

Jesse: 00:01:37

He had been following my career and he had been watching me grow and develop as a, as a actor.

Jesse: 00:01:41

You know, like on, on screen.

Jesse: 00:01:43

There was no, no connection or no contact, or no, no letters, no phone calls, like nothing between us for 24 years.

Jesse: 00:01:49

So I think God really used that as a sort of a development of my character.

Jesse: 00:01:53

And I can't speak into his life, but I know that God's always developing all of us.

Jesse: 00:01:57

So I know that he was working on, on my father as well on the other end.

Jesse: 00:02:01

So I would say overall my family was quite supportive and I'd say that even now that I'm married, I have three children and they're, they're still supportive and always checking in

Jesse: 00:02:10

and, and you know, what's up and where are you going and what are you doing over there now?

Jesse: 00:02:14

And so sometimes, you know, they have to check in and we gotta catch up with each other because sometimes things just are flying.

Jaclyn: 00:02:22

Yeah.

Jesse: 00:02:22

They're fast and it's furious.

Jesse: 00:02:25

And I could fly into a place and be gone 24 hours later and didn't even have a chance to tell my mom that I booked this thing.

Jesse: 00:02:32

You know what I mean?

Jesse: 00:02:32

So I have to like, eventually when we have a catch up call, I'm like, oh, by the way, mom, you know, I was in Ontario.

Jesse: 00:02:38

I filmed a thing, I left.

Jesse: 00:02:39

But yeah, they've always been supportive.

Jesse: 00:02:41

So

Jaclyn: 00:02:41

Oh, that's good.

Jesse: 00:02:42

it's good to have that support.

Jesse: 00:02:44

And of course now, right, like my wife, she kind of married into this business and that's crazy.

Jaclyn: 00:02:49

Yeah, it's not an easy business to be in even when you're single.

Jesse: 00:02:53

Absolutely.

Jesse: 00:02:54

I mean, my wife was never in the business, which I think is great.

Jesse: 00:02:57

You do what you gotta do and make your relationships work no matter what.

Jesse: 00:03:00

But I do think that there's something really special and precious about the fact that my wife didn't start in this business and she has a, a different upbringing and, and

Jesse: 00:03:08

a different perspective, and that's really helpful in our lives now and in my career.

Jesse: 00:03:12

Although I am sort of bringing her into this a little more and more, uh, I would like for her to start maybe producing with me a little more.

Jesse: 00:03:19

She has a keen eye for people's character.

Jesse: 00:03:21

So I, I do bring her out to business meetings actually quite often.

Jesse: 00:03:24

And I'm like, Hey, can you just be present?

Jesse: 00:03:26

Just listen and observe and, if you wanna chime in, go for it.

Jesse: 00:03:29

But if you don't, you don't have to.

Jesse: 00:03:31

Uh, but it would be nice to just have you there.

Jesse: 00:03:32

'cause I do think that she has a gifting and in just sensing people's character.

Jesse: 00:03:37

And so that's, important to me.

Jesse: 00:03:38

And I think that.

Jesse: 00:03:39

Sometimes I'll miss things and she'll pick up on something, and it's good for us to take that into account.

Jaclyn: 00:03:44

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:03:44

No, that's fantastic.

Jaclyn: 00:03:45

It's good that you have that you know, it's really cool when you can work together as a, team in a marriage.

Jaclyn: 00:03:50

I mean, Jeff and I work together.

Jaclyn: 00:03:51

And it's funny though, when, when you work with your spouse, it's like you get to see like where they thrive and the things that they're good at.

Jaclyn: 00:03:58

And then also there's times where when you're both kind of into the same thing and then there's maybe some conversations that have to be had of, okay, how are we gonna go this way?

Jaclyn: 00:04:07

'cause we both have a vision, but they're not compatible.

Jaclyn: 00:04:09

So, you know, working things out.

Jaclyn: 00:04:12

And I guess marriage in general is like that, but I think when it comes to art.

Jaclyn: 00:04:16

It's one of those things because there's so much emotion involved in business.

Jaclyn: 00:04:20

Same thing, right?

Jaclyn: 00:04:21

When you're building something, when you're working with your spouse, it does give you an opportunity to grow in a different way, I think.

Jesse: 00:04:28

Yep.

Jesse: 00:04:28

God will push your buttons and sharpen the iron and do everything necessary.

Jesse: 00:04:32

And he definitely uses your marriage.

Jesse: 00:04:34

He uses your kids, he uses your vocation.

Jesse: 00:04:36

Uh, he'll use everything.

Jesse: 00:04:37

He'll use your neighbor.

Jesse: 00:04:38

Uh, he'll use the birds flying by, like whatever.

Jaclyn: 00:04:41

The roosters.

Jaclyn: 00:04:41

Oh my goodness.

Jaclyn: 00:04:42

We have roosters that live next door.

Jaclyn: 00:04:45

They, I'm telling you, they don't just crow during the day.

Jaclyn: 00:04:49

I wanted to ask you about distribution.

Jaclyn: 00:04:51

We were in a networking call together, uh, a few weeks ago, and you had mentioned something about distribution and I found it interesting.

Jaclyn: 00:04:58

So I think it's no secret that the industry is changing so much from so many different angles, but distribution is definitely one of them, and it is such an important part of film.

Jaclyn: 00:05:09

I mean, you can make a beautiful project, but if nobody sees it, all that money was just.

Jaclyn: 00:05:15

To create something that nobody got to see.

Jaclyn: 00:05:17

Right?

Jaclyn: 00:05:17

And how do you make that back if you don't have the distribution?

Jaclyn: 00:05:20

So I would love to hear your thoughts on distribution.

Jaclyn: 00:05:24

I'm not even gonna give you a specific question, I'm just gonna give that to you.

Jaclyn: 00:05:27

Tell me about distribution.

Jesse: 00:05:29

goodness.

Jesse: 00:05:30

Uh, well, I have a lot to learn about it still, and as you said, things are changing.

Jesse: 00:05:34

So we're in this interesting time and space where I believe that the old Hollywood model is still exists and it's still floating around, and yet there's this new approach.

Jesse: 00:05:44

Streamers have changed a lot of things.

Jesse: 00:05:46

iPhones have changed a lot of things.

Jesse: 00:05:48

Anybody can go shoot something now.

Jesse: 00:05:50

You still got union work, you got non-union work, so you throw all these things into the soup bowl and we're all trying to figure out how to make stuff.

Jesse: 00:05:58

And I think too that it's important that we try our best to honor everyone.

Jesse: 00:06:03

So how do you.

Jesse: 00:06:04

Create a good business plan where if someone's gonna come along and invest in your project, it doesn't become another one of those projects that they're like, great, I lost 650,000.

Jesse: 00:06:14

I lost 1 million, I lost 3 million, I lost 10 million.

Jesse: 00:06:17

Didn't see a penny back,

Jaclyn: 00:06:18

It's a lot to lose.

Jesse: 00:06:19

and nobody likes that business.

Jesse: 00:06:21

I mean, it's any regular business person generally, I think, would look at the film industry and go, this is stupid.

Jesse: 00:06:27

And we have to honor that.

Jesse: 00:06:28

And so

Jesse: 00:06:29

a lot of people that I'm sort of talking with and I'm connected with, and some of them are way smarter than I am on the business side of things.

Jesse: 00:06:35

So I'm constantly picking their brain and we're.

Jesse: 00:06:38

Maybe some new strategies, some new approaches.

Jesse: 00:06:41

Is there a way to bring the artists and the filmmakers in to be a part of the ownership?

Jesse: 00:06:46

Is there a way to bring people in so that we're all going home and, and troubleshooting this?

Jesse: 00:06:51

Because, let's be honest, right?

Jesse: 00:06:52

Just pick.

Jesse: 00:06:53

Pick your local coffee shop and chances are X amount of baristas are going home that night and they do not think about work, they don't think about the next day.

Jesse: 00:07:01

They're not thinking about how they're gonna improve the shop.

Jesse: 00:07:04

They're not thinking about how they're gonna bring in more finances.

Jesse: 00:07:07

They're just done.

Jesse: 00:07:08

They go home and they're done, and there's a time and there's a place for that.

Jesse: 00:07:11

On film, that's generally what kind of happens.

Jesse: 00:07:13

People get hired, they go home and they're done.

Jesse: 00:07:16

They wipe their hands clean, and when they come back the next day, they pick up their equipment, they do what they're doing, and then they leave again.

Jesse: 00:07:21

And so how do we change that model so that people come in and they're actually excited, they're interested, they're a part of this, right?

Jesse: 00:07:29

Like we're, we're hearing them out.

Jesse: 00:07:31

You know, how do you handle that?

Jesse: 00:07:32

Well, because you don't want too many cooks in the kitchen, quote unquote.

Jesse: 00:07:35

But you also want people to go home that night and go, Matt, how are we gonna.

Jesse: 00:07:39

Fix this set so it works for tomorrow.

Jesse: 00:07:40

How am I gonna build that better?

Jesse: 00:07:41

You know, Hey, how am I gonna shoot?

Jesse: 00:07:43

You know what?

Jesse: 00:07:43

This camera just doesn't work.

Jesse: 00:07:45

We need a different camera.

Jesse: 00:07:46

How am I gonna get a different lens?

Jesse: 00:07:48

Hey, you know what?

Jesse: 00:07:48

This stunt, I think it could be improved.

Jesse: 00:07:50

I think, how can we fix that?

Jesse: 00:07:52

Hey, this financing, it's just not work.

Jesse: 00:07:54

How do we bring in different type of financing?

Jesse: 00:07:55

How do we strategize this?

Jesse: 00:07:57

Just how do you get people to go home and wanna be a part of this?

Jesse: 00:08:00

And so, I don't know, maybe there's an equity approach.

Jesse: 00:08:02

That we can do, like I said, a bunch of us sort of working on these things.

Jesse: 00:08:06

I'm trying to find ways of like, how can people move their money and put it into projects where it makes sense for them as business women and as businessmen.

Jesse: 00:08:14

How does it make sense for these financial investors to handle their money?

Jesse: 00:08:18

And then how does it make sense for us as creatives to be creative and, and utilize that money well and, and make things well?

Jesse: 00:08:24

And so, I don't know.

Jesse: 00:08:25

It's, it's a big.

Jesse: 00:08:27

Not to crack.

Jesse: 00:08:28

There is not one solution.

Jesse: 00:08:30

Every project, I would say, has a different solution.

Jesse: 00:08:33

Very rarely does one product have the same solution as all the others.

Jaclyn: 00:08:36

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:08:36

Well, and even the different projects are for different audiences for one different types, like whether it's a feature.

Jaclyn: 00:08:42

Or a series or shorts.

Jaclyn: 00:08:44

All of those seem to have different places that they perform better in.

Jaclyn: 00:08:49

And it seems like so much of, of this is kind of like a game of, well, let's give it a shot and see how it goes.

Jaclyn: 00:08:56

And I think there are some general paths that make the most sense, that have kind of been forged where we know, okay, this, this seems to be like a, a good path to go.

Jaclyn: 00:09:06

But with different platforms, different technologies and, and different ways of doing business like you're talking about.

Jaclyn: 00:09:12

I think it does open the doors for forging new paths, but of course that's not easy to do.

Jaclyn: 00:09:17

And I think a lot of distribution, they don't necessarily like doing things differently.

Jaclyn: 00:09:22

They like to see what's already working and go with that.

Jaclyn: 00:09:26

And so forging a new path is quite a challenge.

Jesse: 00:09:29

Yeah.

Jesse: 00:09:29

It's like, and I'm always working on this 'cause it's an avenue, which is all right, I need to get my career to the point where I'm like Brad

Jesse: 00:09:35

Pitt, where if someone attaches me, it matters and it makes a difference.

Jesse: 00:09:38

That's one avenue.

Jesse: 00:09:40

It's gonna take me my entire life to get there.

Jesse: 00:09:42

And can you even get there anymore?

Jesse: 00:09:43

I don't know.

Jesse: 00:09:44

Right?

Jesse: 00:09:44

This is a different world we're living in.

Jesse: 00:09:45

Can, can you create the next Tom Cruise in this market?

Jesse: 00:09:49

I don't know.

Jesse: 00:09:49

Maybe the other avenue is, okay, well how do I find good business plans?

Jesse: 00:09:54

Then?

Jesse: 00:09:54

You know what?

Jesse: 00:09:54

What's a good business strategy?

Jesse: 00:09:55

Can we, everybody still wants content.

Jesse: 00:09:59

But I'm finding most people don't really, they don't wanna pay for you to develop it.

Jesse: 00:10:03

They don't want to pay, they just want it done.

Jesse: 00:10:05

And then maybe they'll make an offer.

Jesse: 00:10:07

But yet, here we are, we're, we're all out here, and we're like, okay, well how the heck do I get the money to make it so that you have it?

Jesse: 00:10:13

So yeah, it's like there's, there's new letters of intent that I'm seeing.

Jesse: 00:10:17

There's new approaches that are not the typical, that some people are like, wait a second, what is this?

Jesse: 00:10:22

This for real?

Jesse: 00:10:23

Is this sketchy?

Jesse: 00:10:23

What is this?

Jesse: 00:10:24

And some of the avenues are like, oh, okay, I'm, I see what they're trying to do.

Jesse: 00:10:28

That's interesting.

Jesse: 00:10:28

Maybe we try it, but it's a trial and error business.

Jesse: 00:10:33

And all I can say is, I mean, if you don't give up, then maybe something will work out for you

Jaclyn: 00:10:38

Right.

Jesse: 00:10:38

because the alternative is you give up and then definitely not gonna work for you.

Jesse: 00:10:42

This is a long game.

Jesse: 00:10:44

Anybody who wants to get into this just for glory real quick.

Jesse: 00:10:47

Well, it's the wrong business

Jaclyn: 00:10:48

Yeah, definitely the wrong business.

Jaclyn: 00:10:51

First of all.

Jaclyn: 00:10:52

Nothing happens quickly in this business.

Jaclyn: 00:10:54

And then second of all, it is so hard to, to get to that level, like what you're saying.

Jaclyn: 00:11:00

Even you, after all of these years, you're still like, okay, but how do I get myself to be in that position where me being attached to a project means that degree?

Jaclyn: 00:11:09

That it's an obvious yes for funders.

Jaclyn: 00:11:12

Right?

Jaclyn: 00:11:12

I have a question for people that are listening, that are thinking that they have a project that they wanna film and go to streaming, what kinds of, whether

Jaclyn: 00:11:23

it be cautions or things that they would wanna keep in mind of what happens when you sell something to streaming or lease something to streaming or, or release.

Jaclyn: 00:11:33

I know that some people might just assume once it's out there you make money.

Jaclyn: 00:11:37

Tell me some things that, uh, would be really important for them to be paying attention to in that process.

Jesse: 00:11:43

That's a big question.

Jesse: 00:11:45

I think we touched on it a little bit.

Jesse: 00:11:46

They say that there's many avenues, so you really need to know deep in your heart what you really want to try to do.

Jesse: 00:11:54

Is this a project that you really.

Jesse: 00:11:56

Are okay to just part with, is there a project that you kind of hold dear to your heart and you wanna be a part of it?

Jesse: 00:12:03

That does change the way that you move forward.

Jesse: 00:12:06

But to be honest, don't let that stop you from moving because it's better to have a conversation, like a real, genuine conversation with someone that is even going

Jesse: 00:12:16

in the wrong direction, that that doesn't make sense to your project than it is to.

Jesse: 00:12:22

Be hesitant and be fearful and be skeptical.

Jesse: 00:12:25

'cause I've found that I've had that happen to me a little bit.

Jesse: 00:12:28

It's like you just want your heart to be in the right place when you're doing things.

Jesse: 00:12:31

And to be honest, for me, the only way to do that is it has to be God's thing.

Jesse: 00:12:35

It can't even be my thing.

Jesse: 00:12:37

Like I wrote the script and there's some that I'm like, man, I really want to be in this.

Jesse: 00:12:40

Like I really want to direct it or I really want to produce it.

Jesse: 00:12:45

Very few of my projects am I willing to just be like, I'll sell it to anybody and don't talk to me ever again.

Jesse: 00:12:51

That being said, I mean, if I ran into James Cameron in the grocery store and he was like, and we got talking and he wants to buy my script, I I'm probably gonna go have that coffee meeting.

Jesse: 00:13:01

I'm not gonna be so quick to go, no, no, I really wanna be in it.

Jesse: 00:13:04

It's

Jesse: 00:13:04

like, well, hey, maybe this is an opportunity that a door's opening that I never expected.

Jesse: 00:13:09

And yet in your heart, you still need to know like, what do you really wanna do?

Jesse: 00:13:12

Right?

Jesse: 00:13:13

Because that is what drives you to get out of bed in the morning.

Jesse: 00:13:15

So it's like, be willing to be flexible, know what you want, but yet.

Jesse: 00:13:20

Don't want it so bad that you kill it.

Jesse: 00:13:23

You know what I mean?

Jesse: 00:13:23

Like sometimes we can kill our own dreams because we go, I wanna be an actor, I wanna be a director.

Jesse: 00:13:29

So bad.

Jesse: 00:13:30

And your hands are around the dream.

Jaclyn: 00:13:31

Hold it too close.

Jaclyn: 00:13:32

Yeah,

Jesse: 00:13:33

Exactly.

Jesse: 00:13:34

And I mean, you and I are on video, but maybe people can't see that, where I'm like strangling, you know, I

Jaclyn: 00:13:38

yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:13:38

We're like strangling the

Jesse: 00:13:40

are gripping and.

Jesse: 00:13:42

I tell you, I've done that.

Jesse: 00:13:43

I mean, we've all done that as creatives.

Jesse: 00:13:44

We go, no, no, it's mine, baby.

Jesse: 00:13:46

I need

Jaclyn: 00:13:46

Mm-hmm.

Jesse: 00:13:47

And you know what?

Jesse: 00:13:47

Maybe there's a time when you do that.

Jesse: 00:13:49

Like we hear the Celeste Stallone's, right?

Jesse: 00:13:52

When they created Rocky, we hear of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, right when they got their movies off the ground.

Jesse: 00:13:57

And there are moments when you're like, okay, maybe you just gotta fight for it.

Jesse: 00:14:00

And it seems nuts, but you gotta do it.

Jesse: 00:14:03

And then there's other times when if the door opens and someone's willing to grab a coffee with you, then go hear 'em out.

Jaclyn: 00:14:09

I like what you're saying too, like if you think about your projects before that moment comes, right?

Jaclyn: 00:14:14

If you actually just go through, in each project, you ask yourself like, what degree of control do I wanna have on this?

Jaclyn: 00:14:20

Like, what priority is this going to have for me?

Jaclyn: 00:14:24

Because I did that with my projects and it was interesting when.

Jaclyn: 00:14:27

I got to certain ones that I thought would be really, really close to me because they were very emotional for me to write, where I felt like I

Jaclyn: 00:14:35

was really close to it and I realized actually I'm good to release that.

Jaclyn: 00:14:39

So I do have a lot of projects that I would be happy to sell and, and let someone else run with it.

Jaclyn: 00:14:45

But like you said, there are some where I'm just like.

Jaclyn: 00:14:48

This one, I feel like it needs to be done a certain way and I wouldn't want to necessarily just let somebody else have that.

Jaclyn: 00:14:57

And unless, like if it's someone I trust, and that's kind of where one of the things that I tell people, if they do feel like they don't necessarily have this skills

Jaclyn: 00:15:06

to make it come to life, but they do know that it needs to happen a certain way.

Jaclyn: 00:15:10

Be choosy or selective of who you work with so that you're working with someone that has the same vision, or at least has the same heart and intention.

Jaclyn: 00:15:19

So I think that like there's kind of that balance in there, figuring out how much of it you need to be in control of.

Jaclyn: 00:15:25

But I think a lot of the time.

Jaclyn: 00:15:28

If you can put together a good team, and like you said, this is actually circling back to the beginning of our conversation in the previous episode, when you can find people who are working in

Jaclyn: 00:15:38

their element and you can release them to do what God's given them to do and just let them shine.

Jaclyn: 00:15:44

It's amazing 'cause they're probably going to do something different than what you had imagined, but potentially way better.

Jaclyn: 00:15:52

Can you tell me about a time where you learned something that really impacted you?

Jesse: 00:15:57

Yes.

Jesse: 00:15:57

So I think that sometimes it's easy for us to get on social media, read an article, see something about someone, and we put together an opinion and we quickly form that that person's doing well.

Jesse: 00:16:10

That person has this, that person has that.

Jesse: 00:16:13

And man, it is so tough, but what we need to do is not get caught up in that.

Jesse: 00:16:18

It's very important for us to continue to, uh, pray for others, hold others up.

Jesse: 00:16:24

And if it is someone you genuinely know, then maybe you need to reach out to them because I know that in this career where a lot of what I do.

Jesse: 00:16:31

Public, or at least it appears to be that way.

Jesse: 00:16:34

People can assume that you are in one position.

Jesse: 00:16:36

It could be political, it could be financial, it could be emotional, physical, spiritual.

Jesse: 00:16:42

People may have an opinion on where you sit and where you are, and that's great and all.

Jesse: 00:16:47

But the reality of it is that that may not be the truth in that moment.

Jesse: 00:16:52

And so I can encourage people through that.

Jesse: 00:16:55

I mean, to be honest, uh, like you said, I've been doing this for 25 years.

Jesse: 00:16:59

I still can have the Valley and I still can have the Hilltop.

Jesse: 00:17:03

I. I'll tell you, I've been in the valleys a lot as a father and a husband and someone who's in this industry, that you would think that everything would just line up perfectly

Jesse: 00:17:12

and that everything would fall into place, and that I would just have my bank accounts where I want them, and that I would have the jobs just rolling in and the offers coming in.

Jesse: 00:17:20

That's not the case in this industry.

Jesse: 00:17:22

I can lose a job tomorrow to someone who started yesterday.

Jaclyn: 00:17:26

Well.

Jesse: 00:17:27

Now, even though I say that I do not discount and I still stand on the confidence that God's given me that 25 years of me doing what I've been doing, it is different when you hire me, right?

Jesse: 00:17:38

It's different when you hire a director of photography who has 25 years a set decorator, anybody name the job 25 years, over 10,000 hours.

Jesse: 00:17:48

I once figured out that on average I memorized 1,200 pages a year just for auditions.

Jesse: 00:17:54

That doesn't include my actual acting work.

Jesse: 00:17:57

I haven't tabulated that up, but that's a lot.

Jesse: 00:18:01

And I would say that out of those 1,200 pages, how many of those jobs did I book and actually get to do that professionally?

Jesse: 00:18:08

Maybe 10%, maybe

Jesse: 00:18:10

two.

Jesse: 00:18:11

It's way less than that.

Jesse: 00:18:12

The amount of competition that is out there is unreal.

Jesse: 00:18:16

I think it's important to have a real look at the industry that you're in, but don't let that discourage you.

Jesse: 00:18:22

If anything, let it encourage you when even the small things work.

Jesse: 00:18:26

So celebrate the tiny little things.

Jaclyn: 00:18:28

Amen.

Jesse: 00:18:29

Celebrate the fact that that you got an email through to somebody at an office and they said, thank you.

Jesse: 00:18:34

We'll read it.

Jesse: 00:18:35

They may never read it, but they told you that they might read it.

Jesse: 00:18:38

Celebrate that.

Jaclyn: 00:18:40

Yes.

Jesse: 00:18:41

don't let your heart get hard, because you may send something out like, I receive scripts all the time.

Jesse: 00:18:47

now that I've started producing, I have people sent almost daily.

Jesse: 00:18:50

I'm getting scripts.

Jesse: 00:18:51

Just boom, I'm, I'm inundated with them.

Jesse: 00:18:53

I've had some people reach out and their emails turn very angry and to be honest.

Jesse: 00:18:59

I would love to support everyone, and I would love to help everybody get their script off the ground.

Jesse: 00:19:03

And yet I'm over here with 24 on my own pitch deck and out of those 11 and out of the four and out of the two, and it's like I'm having conversations that I don't

Jesse: 00:19:12

have the ability or the capacity to help everyone all the time, but it's on my radar.

Jesse: 00:19:17

And sometimes there's a moment when I go, oh, wait a second.

Jesse: 00:19:20

Somebody sent me a script about that.

Jesse: 00:19:21

Maybe you wanna read it.

Jesse: 00:19:22

I haven't even read it yet, but here you go.

Jaclyn: 00:19:24

right.

Jaclyn: 00:19:24

Yeah.

Jesse: 00:19:25

So be encouraged too, that if you're out there and you're trying to reach out to somebody and like they didn't get back to you, they didn't text you on time, man, that that happens.

Jesse: 00:19:33

It's like just.

Jesse: 00:19:34

Say, you know what?

Jesse: 00:19:35

God bless them.

Jesse: 00:19:36

God, go before 'em.

Jesse: 00:19:37

Be with 'em.

Jesse: 00:19:38

Put that weight and that burden back on the Lord, because that's, that's us trying to carry it.

Jesse: 00:19:44

That's us trying to get our dream into a position that maybe God doesn't even want in there.

Jesse: 00:19:48

And so we always have to go, Hey, is this project for me, or is this for the Lord?

Jesse: 00:19:53

Is this acting gig for me?

Jesse: 00:19:55

Or is this for the Lord?

Jesse: 00:19:56

Like I always.

Jesse: 00:19:57

Actually pray Now.

Jesse: 00:19:58

I'm like, Lord, whatever the acting gig is, you can bring me in for one day and I'm gonna go, Lord, let this be the best acting I've ever done.

Jesse: 00:20:04

I do this for you first and foremost, and whatever the residual effect of it is, man, you get all the glory and you get all the honor.

Jesse: 00:20:10

So if anybody appreciates it, anybody likes it, loves it, comes up and says they like it, they tweet, they Twitter, they whatever about it, it's all God's glory.

Jesse: 00:20:18

It all goes to him.

Jesse: 00:20:19

So you have to keep your heart in the right place.

Jesse: 00:20:22

And that being said, you're gonna get messed up.

Jesse: 00:20:24

You're gonna have days where you're off.

Jesse: 00:20:25

You're gonna have days where you're cranky and you're upset, and you're mad, and you're hurt.

Jesse: 00:20:29

But you know what?

Jesse: 00:20:30

Have people in your life that you can go, man, I'm honestly just not in a good place right now, and keep praying through it, because that's the reality.

Jesse: 00:20:36

So I mean, I've just come through Q1 for me was brutal.

Jesse: 00:20:40

One of the hardest starts to a year in my life, and it has not been the funnest and it has not been great.

Jesse: 00:20:47

And it's been so challenging.

Jesse: 00:20:49

And so you just gotta keep going.

Jesse: 00:20:51

I mean, you either give up or you don't.

Jaclyn: 00:20:54

Right.

Jesse: 00:20:55

Something I, I like to say people can steal this if they want and use it if they feel it's helpful in their life.

Jesse: 00:20:59

But I say, you know what, I, I probably quit every day, but I am, I'm never gonna give up.

Jaclyn: 00:21:04

Uh, yeah.

Jesse: 00:21:05

I don't know.

Jesse: 00:21:05

Hopefully that helps.

Jaclyn: 00:21:06

definitely.

Jaclyn: 00:21:07

Well, thank you so much.

Jaclyn: 00:21:08

That was really insightful and I think that there's probably a lot of people that need to hear that.

Jaclyn: 00:21:14

I have a lot of conversations with filmmakers and a lot of the time when I have the conversations with them, it's when they are in the valley and they need that encouragement and so.

Jaclyn: 00:21:23

I think one of the things that I have found, especially when I go through that valley and I need that encouragement, what I've discovered is that we all go through that and I remember my writing

Jaclyn: 00:21:34

mentor said to me one time when I was so discouraged I had to go do another rewrite 'cause there was a problem with my script or whatever, and he said, welcome to the world of writing.

Jaclyn: 00:21:43

It kind of just let me settle and realize like this is part of it, like the highs and the lows.

Jaclyn: 00:21:49

This is just part of it.

Jaclyn: 00:21:51

Like of course it's not fun, but it's par for the course, and so there's nothing wrong with you.

Jaclyn: 00:21:56

This is just the industry that you're in.

Jaclyn: 00:21:58

It is what it is.

Jesse: 00:21:59

It is what it is.

Jesse: 00:22:00

It's, it's one of the most loved sayings and, and so annoying.

Jaclyn: 00:22:04

I know, but

Jesse: 00:22:05

It is what it is.

Jesse: 00:22:07

You're like, ah, it's so true, but it's.

Jaclyn: 00:22:10

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:22:10

Well, thank you Jesse, so much for coming on the podcast.

Jaclyn: 00:22:13

I've really enjoyed this conversation and I think our listeners have as well.

Jesse: 00:22:18

Thank you and thank you to everybody listening.

Jesse: 00:22:20

Keep your eyes on the road.

Jesse: 00:22:21

Appreciate everybody for having me on, and as I like to say, hopefully I'll see you out there.

Jaclyn: 00:22:25

All right.

Jaclyn: 00:22:26

God bless.