Writing is a very lonely job. - Ricky Lee | Retrospection on Lee's Cinemalaya Masterclass

Photo from Cinemalaya

Sabi ni Sir Ricky sa Masterclass na medj naging #AskRickyLee (HAHAHA), 

"Writing is a very lonely job. Get people to be with you."

It made me think na oo, tama. During the writing process, most of the time, alone ka, kung hindi ka naman nakikipag collab but once it gets out, once you give birth to your output, example a screenplay, hindi ka na alone. You have to please or talk to your director, producer, at kung sinu-sino pa until, sometimes (well, mostly), you no longer feel the screenplay is yours — not even a period. Because of all of the revision. But as I aged, I think I've learned that writing is a tedious process of revisions, to get that fucking juice, to get the better and best taste.

What's important is to keep the vision. It's intact and everyone agrees with it. Pero ibang usapan na pag ctrl c + ctrl v, though, na sinagot din ni Sir kanina. I had my fair share of this experience nung college. Hindi ako nangopya but it was a misunderstanding of concepts, credits, and teamwork. I was at fault that time, I know. And until now, hindi pa rin kami nag uusap nung gumawa nung concept for our final output. Not sure if I remembered it right pero wala sa aming dalawa ang nag reach out after everything. (I could have pero as a person who doesn't initiate, I did not. It wasn't the hubris but me being shy that until now, I still don't know how to reach out.) She did the concept, I did the script. And everything fell through the cracks from there even if we won most of the awards because of that project. As a person who sucks at teamwork, I sucked big time nung mga panahong iyon and I vowed to myself, hindi ko na uulitin iyon.

Plagiarism is a threat and something we should all be concerned with. Kasi gawa mo 'yun, eh. However, it's painful to see fellow creators resulting to this act especially when they call themselves "mentors" and because they are already tenured. But good point from Sir Ricky, we shouldn't be stopped by those acts kasi when you stop, hindi lang isang akda ang mawawala sa 'yo, but that doesn't mean copyright is not important. So I guess, we gotta weigh things but also, fight for our rights (LOL). And lastly as Sir Ricky said, FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE YOU CAN TRUST.

So yes, can't take the heat in the kitchen and the space of a rotting barrel? Leave and find the right people who can be with you. 

Dami kong hanash, 'di na lang ako maligo muna.

There's another session  on August 15. You may buy tickets from ticket2me.