So March Madness has come and gone, I'm pretty proud of AZ for going as far as they did. Sure, they got pretty much stomped in the game against Louisville by losing with like the biggest margin ever in the tournament

, but they were totally the last Pac-10 team standing. That's pretty good for a team that everyone keeps claiming wasn't supposed to be in the tourney.
A couple days ago I went to go see "Bart Got a Room" with director Brian Hecker and a bunch of other actors after a Q&A with Brian. I found out it took him about 10 years to get this movie on the big screen, after he had already sold the idea to the studio. Ten years! My goodness, that is awesome dedication to your art. He's also a really cool guy and hilarious, just like the movie.
The movie is about a kinda geeky high school guy who's trying to get a prom date. My goodness, that premise must speak to at least half of America. Who hasn't live through that?? Like me. Oh yeah, I'm proud to say now that I too freaked out about not getting a date and in the end went with friends. Of course going through it was traumatic (what in high school isn't?), but really, looking back, I'm glad I had to go through that. I mean, if Brian didn't go through that, we wouldn't have a movie.
A while ago, I heard an interview from Reese WItherspoon where she said she didn't want her daughter's school to have a practice where kids would not be cut from tryouts for the sports teams, because the school was trying to make everyone feel accepted. Reese said that failure and rejection makes you interesting. Being always accepted and agreed with does not. I wholeheartedly agree with her.
As an artist, or even just as an interesting human being, you have to use those difficulties in your own life to relate to the world. Most everyone struggles through something. Being protected all the time is BORING. It doesn't build any character. You never know how strong you are until you are tested and come out the other side. Then you can look back and say, "If I can survive that, I can survive anything."
http://www.bartgotaroom-movie.comStarring William H. Macy, Cheryl Hines, Steven Kaplan, and Alia Shawkat.
Go see it if you can!