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Writer's pictureLukas Kendall

There’s No Happiness in Showbiz


“There’s no happiness in showbiz. There’s only relief.”


My friend said that to me, and I’m pretty sure he got it from somewhere else, but I can’t find out where at the moment. And I don’t feel like texting him.


Well...it’s true.


I actually had good news within the past week. Potentially great news! But it reminded me of this adage.


If you’re a sports fan, you watch your team play the big game, they’re winning late—and they won! It’s over! Yay!


Maybe there’s a last-second replay review, but when the game’s over, that’s it—happiness! Celebration!


But there’s never an “over” in show business.


You hear an actor is interested. Great! But will he say yes?


He says yes! But is it really yes? Will he sign the contract?


Great, he signed the contract—will he actually show up?


Great, he showed up—will he give a great performance, or be crazy/drunk/whatever?


And on and on!


The shoot is full of paranoia—will we get it all in the can?


The edit is full of exhaustion—will it cut together? Will the VFX come in and work?


Great, the movie is done!


But will people like it? Will we get a distributor?


Okay, great, we got a distributor—will they actually release it?


Great, they released it—will the audience like it?


Great, the audience liked it—will the distributor actually pay us?


And can we get another film, after this one?


Showbiz—it’s not for the faint of heart!


And there’s really no answer except to try your best, be good to people, and enjoy the little moments of happiness or, arguably, relief, when they come.

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1 Comment


caul harry
caul harry
Aug 26, 2022

Good luck on your potential good news LK. Reading this made me dizzy....quite true, the life cycle of art.

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