THE BEST MAN WAS THE BEST THING FOR ME

I cannot WAIT to see The Best Man Holiday because ...

In 1999, when The Best Man came out, I had just started writing my first huge literary endeavor, a movie script called Love's Train. It was during the writing of that project that I knew my life's mission was to be a writer. But FIRST, I had to finish the script. The night I went to see The Best Man, I remember thinking it was such a great movie with sharp, witty dialogue and well-rounded characters, so much so that my spirit deflated with each passing scene. I kept thinking, "What am I DOING trying to write a movie script?! I can't write stuff like THIS! I'm not good enough. Eff it. I'm not gonna finish it." I went home feeling like crap, and I promptly "ended" that project. I moped, chastised myself for not having the skills to write brilliantly, and beat myself down mentally for being "less than" in so many ways. But when your calling is awakened, no amount of self-slander will keep you from doing it, no matter how hard you try to walk away.

Three weeks later, after the agony of NOT working on my script had kicked my ass, I reluctantly got up, dusted myself off emotionally, and decided to take another stab at it, though I couldn't imagine what kind of greatness I was gonna come up with. So I got back on it, deflated and all. I dug deep into my life to pull out what I wanted to be a great story. As I wrote, and very well, I might add, I felt it ... that indescribable surge of "this-is-IT," and all of a sudden my world changed. I knew as I typed those scenes that writing, the thing I had been doing all my life, was what I was born to do professionally. It was the most gorgeous a-ha moment I've ever experienced. One month later, I finished Love's Train, and I was DAMN proud of myself and the script! I felt like I had actually done what Malcolm D. Lee did in The Best Man, but in my own way, one that was just as good as his.

That script is what started my journey, the thing that made me pursue moving to L.A. I shared it with my friends and family, shopped it to production companies, and once I was in L.A., I almost had a couple of deals. Even though they fell through, it was okay because by then, I had already written my first novel, ONE MAN'S TREASURE, and I knew after THAT masterpiece that there would be no more self-denigration or questioning of my mission. I still intend to make that movie. When the time is right, it'll all fall into place. In the meantime, I'm grateful for being in that theater in October of '99, because I was challenged to step up my game before I was barely out the gate. And I truly did. I'll be front & center at The Best Man Holiday, with a completely different mindset, and much appreciation for having the opportunity to witness a second go-'round of the movie and characters that ALMOST made me quit my most important career-building project.

***Speaking of projects ... Please continue to support my work by viewing my tour campaign, contributing to my cause, and sharing the campaign link with your networks! https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/ecUob/ab/0255N5  Thank you in advance!

PROFILE

Maybe

it’s not always time for

Basketball Wives

True Blood

Dancing with the Stars

or the 11 o’clock news

not always time

to click “Like”

become entrenched in a

72-comment conversation

on Facebook

to debate & protest

upload risqué

bathroom-mirror pics

or flood the News Feed

with virtual celebration

about Kobe’s 17th

3-pointer tonight

When’s the last time

you debated the deception

your head has you believing?

got you wedged in relentless

unsavory life patterns

questioning your sanity

spinning in a splintered cycle

Maybe

it’s time to ask “why”

of your substandard conditions

protest your shortage of answers

ponder your own fate

lament less for others

not that they aren’t important

but if you deplete

your energy on them

what's left for you?

Or maybe that’s your point

Maybe

it’s time to visit

with your shadow

find out how it feels

about trailing behind you

in your eternal state of flux

ask if it’s tired

of watching you stumble

and being dragged along

on your rutted journey

apologize for wild-goose chases

for not giving better directions

invite it to lead for a bit

so you can

rewire your GPS

Maybe

it’s time to watch

your reality show

it’s on right now

all day

the real you

unstaged

in need of your dominance

but you’re on mute

cuz you’re bored

confused about the plot

afraid of the conclusion

Maybe

it’s time to “Like”

your own interests & opinions

comment on your behavior

upload mental pics

of your ambitions in fruition

unfriend your ego’s drivel

friend your higher self instead

star in your own life

out-perform yourself

make your shadow proud

to have you as its leader

Maybe

it’s time

to update your profile

offline

Copyright 2012

Charlene E. Green