52 Jokers Wild The52JokersWild

Each day brings us into a strange new world, one where what WE used to do is gradually being taken over by robots. Well, maybe not, maybe Artificial Intelligence, A.I. In the form of cars, lorries, potato pickers, lawyers, doctors, artists, dentists, mechanics, and filmmakers. What? We are all being taken over. So what's left? If all the creative stuff is being taken away from us. And, and, and, all the mundane stuff is also being automated, what's left? What are we supposed to do? Or, or, or, is it that we are really in a multiverse matrix where we can reinvent everything and not worry about having to do 50 hour weeks and can get to spend time with the family, especially the cat. Yes, that's right, the one in the box. What do you mean, it could be dead but also alive, and we won't know until we open the box? So do I have a choice? Other than opening the box to see either a dead cat or one that is licking its paws wondering what took me so long to open the box.

It doesn't matter whether you are building a Universe, Multiverse or just a simple little, short film project, you have to work out all the details, plan for all possibilities and remember the extra little ingredient of magic is the unknown that will always throw in a little extra bit of spice. That's the fun bit, the not knowing what will happen, the unexpected, the flaw in the tapestry but you still have to give it room to be there. If you don't it'll still manage to muscle in any way, and if you forget to invite it, it'll be very disruptive and moody. Possibly even sabotage the whole project. And you don't want that. Garvin and George start to go down deep into the fabric of their Academy Project, looking at the fine details that thread everything together, hoping there are no ladders that will wrench away at the stitching.

What is a reset? Usually, it is when you press a button and the numbers go back to zero. Often we think if only we can press the button and start again. But is that really what we want. A year ago, Garvin and I were excited about where the journey was taking us. At this point, with massive disruptions going on in the world, beyond our control where you might wonder where we are going, we were surprised to find, on reflection that we are still on the straight and narrow, heading towards the goals we had set way back at the beginning. The reset was back then, nothing has changed and the enthusiasm is still there. We are ploughing forward and achieving what we originally set out to do. All we needed was to be reminded of what the reset was and when and to keep on believing.

Be Passionate is the theme in this episode because being in the film industry can be quite a juggling act trying to catch great paying jobs and then trying to produce a project that will show the world who you really are. The trouble is you need both, the first to pay the bills and the second to meet your own creative aspirations. If one dominates the other either you make tonnes of money but don't really have anything to show what your ideas are about and what your voice is or you struggle to make ends meet because you've gone for the artistic option. In this episode, seven producers, Sean Breathnach, Sinead Cassidy Holt, Frank Kelly, Dave Minogue, Francesca Romana Nider, Dave Thomas, and James Webber, share their thoughts on how they cope with the juggling act.

You know, Garvin pretends he doesn't like to go deep. He sees himself as being quite simple and shallow, just paddling away letting nothing go higher than his ankles. BUT in this episode, he goes deep, and I mean deep, reaching down into the depths of his soul, where no one (including himself) has gone before. So deep, that even black holes are scared to go beyond the event horizon. Yes, we get totally spaced out, including the music. We're made of stardust, and there are some who can prove it, trouble is they have dodgy backgrounds, and probably need a lot of counselling, so as long as they can wait a couple of years so George can get qualified, then all is good. The planet can be saved. In your dream, at least those are the ones that George and Garvin have as the philosophy oozes out all over the place. Told you it was deep.

As we travel back from our future guesses to be in the room with 52 Jokers Wild, we have jumped back into a few of our early shows to see what we were talking about. Initially, it was about fear, and then we seemed to find that as a recurring topic in later shows. Then we looked at what was needed in the industry and how there seemed to be a paradox. Everyone wants producers, directors and writer, but seem to forget about the rest of the crew who make it possible to writers, directors and producers to see their dreams come true. All those unsung heroes need to be considered. Motivation is another topic, Garvin was influenced by writer Danielle Serpico, which inspired us to engage in the podcast process, then nearly a year later Danielle was on our show. Just goes to show how once you say what you want in words they can manifest themselves into reality.