JAWS BLEW MY TEN YEAR OLD MIND—and STILL DOES.

I've been obsessed with JAWS and sharks since I was a kid. Many books. A few posters. A couple of teeth. But here's the good reason for it: forgetting that JAWS may make you never swim again, even in a pool, both JAWS and the making of JAWS stand as masterclasses in multiple ways for filmmakers and writers, including structure, writing, sound, music, hooking us in and holding us, and the underestimated, vital talent of CREATIVE RESILIENCE. Resilience, resilience, resilience...in life, sometimes, the only answer is to keep going, keep believing...

So I had to make a documentary for your pleasure, and inspiration—and mine. I hope it gives you the same joy and resilience I had putting it together. If you like it, like it, subscribe, and please share it!

By the way, I love to hear how people reacted to JAWS. I said to a friend last night, "I just did a little YouTube doc on JAWS." He was, like, "Aaah." It's hard to believe kids were even scared of swimming in pools. Why? Everybody knows Great Whites can't survive in captivity. Now what I can't guarantee is no crocodile in your toilet. That's risky.

Borrow from the GREATS

Hope all is creatively rolling. If not, just say what my mom would say: "Fuck it." I'm just finishing a video on JAWS—you'll see—and I'm excited about it. That film was influential for me as a kid in multiple ways. And it didn't even scare me from swimming. Remember how some kids wouldn't even go in a pool. I'm also doing a video on inspiration, and a couple of classic space songs (Rocket Man and Space Oddity) and I read recently that Bernie Taupin, the legendary lyricist for Elton John, wrote Rocket Man (one of my all-time favourites) after reading Ray Bradbury's short story The Rocket Man. The Rocket Man! I loved reading that. So wonderfully inspired, inspiration being the engine of the creative process. Are you getting enough inspiration? Immerse yourself in art that moves you. I talk a lot about that inspiration in the writing and songwriting books I recently finished, and explain it a little in the video below.

SMOKIN' JOE FRAZIER STARED ME DOWN

When we were making the documentary Facing Ali, I had the honour and nostalgic joy of interviewing ten heavyweight legends. Joe Frazier was at the top of that mountain of champions. Joe was the first fighter to defeat Muhammad Ali and his main nemesis in the ring. There was a moment in my interview with Smokin' Joe when I thought I might lose the interview. Just the way Joe stared me down and then asked me something...and stared more, waiting for the answer. Preparation helped me get off the canvas. The video is about how Joe reminded me how important research and preparation is for the writing process and life. Are you a researcher? Big on preparation? Or do you just go off the cuff? I don't have the talent for that...

Hope you like Joe as much as I did. Don't make him mad. Ali did, and it didn't go well.