Justin Simien, Writer/Director of the award-winning film “Dear White People” is on the podcast today and refuses to stop dropping wisdom. Couple quotes from the ep:
16:30 "People say things like ‘Movies can’t change the world’ and I think that’s bullshit."
18:15 "It takes a person who doesn’t get to see themselves in a culture, it takes a person that much longer to realize that they’re a valid person and that who they are matters. And think about all those opportunities that they miss out on because something subtle is telling them they don’t belong in the culture. "
32:00 - On when he realized he had depression: “I’m a writer/director, my movie is a hit at Sundance, I have a wonderful loving boyfriend, and wow, I have financial stability. Why can’t I get out of bed still?”
46:30 - "We’re not afraid we’re going to fail, we’re afraid we’ll be great"
1:12:00 - “This idea of ‘falling in love’ and finding the ‘perfect person’ for you is ruining everybody’s lives.”
1:56:10 - "At a certain point, you have to honor the days when you just can’t get anything out. You have to be OK with those days, too. Because if you beat yourself up for sitting down for two hours and getting nothing done you might not show up the next day cause you’re afraid that’s gonna happen again. Writing is really about honoring the time as opposed to honoring the output. And if we can find a way to just sit down every day no matter what, our output is going to be tremendous."
And so much more. Thanks so much to Justin for taking the time. Socials:
Justin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/JSim07
My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/igorpix/
My email: howareyouthinkingabout@gmail.com
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Thank you for listening!