Movies Take Years

On a recent episode of Mike Birbiglia's podcast, Working It Out, he talked with Judd Apatow about comedy and making movies. One thing that struck me that I subconsciously have known but I feel like is a good reminder for those of us who do creative work like make podcasts or blog, is that movies—and especially the good ones—take years to make.

And not just the shooting and editing of the movie. Even getting to the point of being able to say "we're going to make this movie" with an idea and script takes years.

In the episode, Apatow talks about how for both The Big Sick and Bridesmaids, the writers (Kumail Nanjiani & Emily V. Gordon for The Big Sick, and Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig for Bridesmaids) took years to work out the scripts. They'd write while on breaks from other projects, send notes back and forth with the producers, solve issues with the story or premise, rework, rewrite, rethink. Over and over until they felt they'd crafted the story in such a way that it was ready to start shooting the actual movie.

I've had the same realization of how long things sometimes sit and get reworked from listening to the Lonely Island & Seth Meyers podcast. Scripts for sketches on Saturday Night Live sometimes come back to a table read over and over before they're accepted as a workable idea, and even then can still get pulled from the show after dress rehearsal for a variety of reasons. If the writers think the idea has something, they'll go back, rework, rethink, rewrite and try again.

In nearly all of my creative work, both personal and professional, I start with an idea, write or record it, and publish it within a week—sometimes even within a day. With tweets or TikTok videos, it's published within moments of the idea entering my brain.

And not that a podcast episode where it's a conversation between friends about movies or tech they like needs to be finely crafted and edited down for years before it's ready to be released, but it's a good reminder that having a few drafts of an idea before you hit record or publish doesn't mean you've taken away the excitement or energy of the idea.

2024-05-24: I'm pledging to sit on this post for at least a day before hitting publish despite my desire to click publish immediately after finishing my first draft.

2025-01-06: Turns out I waited 226 days.