“Slumdog Millioniare” Dodges Death Bullet, Wins Oscar

“Slumdog Millioniare” almost went straight-to-video,
and instead went straight to cleaning up at the Oscars….

From the LA Times, Feb 12:
“It was Warners that acquired (through its now-defunct Warner
Independent Pictures specialty division) the U.S. rights to “Slumdog
Millionaire.” After seeing the movie, the studio decided it had no
interest in releasing it. (If Fox Searchlight hadn’t jumped at the
chance to handle the movie here, Warners was considering taking
“Slumdog” straight to video.)”
———————-

I think this shows (at least) 2 things:
– how amazingly subjective the film business is

– how tiny the gap can be that separates extreme success and extreme failure

So how does a filmmaker handle these severe crosswinds?

– Numbers. More spins at the wheel, make success more likely.

– Quality choices. Fundamentals exist.
Learning them and riding them boosts success rate.

– Don’t take it personally. That goes for failure AND success.
In theory, outcomes are essentially neutral. Just focus on the next step.

– And Make it Count. When luck does break your way, and it will,
unleash the beast….Gracefully. Do whatever you can to turn
the break-through into a streak, and the streak into a dynasty.
My favorite role models for this are:
John Wooden, the UCLA college basketball coach,
and
Anson Dorrance, the University of North Carolina’s women’s soccer coach.