COMMENT EDITED. This is a realization I had March 5th, 2025. Knowing how to accept rejection is success. If we're rejected and all we feel is loss, we miss where we succeeded.
Here's testimony. I co-produced Find Me Guilty (FMG), Directed by Sidney Lumet.
In an interview with CHARLIE ROSE, Lumet mentions 2 actors brought him the script (Roger Zamudio and me) because we wanted acting roles in the film - but in the end, my scene got cut.
Lumet wrote me a letter breaking the news. In his letter all I focused on was "I had to cut your scene". For over 20 yrs that’s what stood out to me. I even secretly felt I did a bad acting job, that’s why my scene got cut. I'm being honest here, I took it all personal and carried pain around this for decades
Know what I missed out on for over 20 yrs? One of film’s most prolific, respected directors (Sidney Lumet) said my scene was "beautifully acted", a direct quote.
Now that I'm older (still more to learn), I see he could've just cut me out of the film & ignored me. But he wrote me a letter complimenting my acting and signed the letter! He also sent me the scene. No director does that unless they mean it.
Also, a director does NOT usually send you the scene if they think it's bad. I'm grateful to Lumet now.
If there was ever a DVD with bonus features for FMG, my scene would be on it. But DVDs don't exist much anymore. So, the scene is up on my website.
If you take anything away... let it be... even when you're rejected don't let pain totally decide the whole experience. I lived with this for so long... I'm finally removing that pain 20 years later! I wasted so much time with pain.
If/when you're rejected, please don't let the pain remove where you've succeeded. See the beauty in everything. Yes, the pain is real... but it’s NOT everything.
Wish I had realized this sooner, so much unnecessary pain. But at least, I'm learning it now. I'm still young and healthy. I hope this helps you on your journey in life.
Oh, I did get my Co-Producer credit on FMG, and I even fell in love with Producing. I’m still producing films today.
#SidneyLumet #MakingMovies #Film #Movies #Hollywood #Actor #FindMeGuilty
I was 9 when a white kid called me spic. Not knowing what it meant, I asked a friend to tell me what it is — that’s when they made the joke that's in the film.
My parents arrived in the US “illegal aliens” seeking the American Dream. Gangsters saw my dad work hard for minimal wages & offered him money.
That’s what folks who don’t come from these areas don’t get. America sells its “American Dream”, so people worldwide seek it. They arrive in the USA & find the "Dream" has traps. So, many talks are centered on getting out of their situations. It’s so common that, eventually, a kid hears the adults talking.
Many friends & relatives joined gangs. One friend said: “Johnny, I’m not gonna make it outta this neighborhood. But you got a chance with your acting”. He was a 14yrs-old weapons dealer.
But I won’t lie, I too was tempted. It’s what happens when you’re Lower-Class. I want to make it clear; it’s not just BIPOC. It’s also lower-class. Double whammy of class/race challenges. “I gotta do whatever I gotta do” is so common, that Lower-Class Youth feeling cut from the "American Dream" turn to crime.
One day, a drug dealer made my dad an offer. I heard about it & said: "Dad, we can do this." SPIC explores this father-son journey.
There's also scene when our kids speak about what is to be black & white. That conversation occurred when I was 11.
Visiting Colombia, I saw the Black, Indigenous & White in my family. It was undeniable that we (Latinés) break the old unary/binary race POV. But race in the USA is mainly defined in binary (black & white), so I found myself struggling to understand the intricacy of my ("ternary") identity.
I now embrace that we Latinos/Latinas/Latiné are a "non-binary" rainbow.
SPIC captures what I experienced as a kid, with a highlight on the father-son journey. In a divided world you don't have to sell your soul. It’s not easy to do, but 100% possible to achieve.
#Latiné #Latino #Latina #Amerindio #Amerindian #Indigenous #Indígena #African #Black #Spaniard #European #Caucasian #White #Ternary #Mixed #BIOPOC #Rainbow #ThreeInOne #unity #Race #Human #Inclusive #Asian #NativeAmerican #SpicFilm #SpicMovie #FilmSpic #Film #Movie #ShortFilm
Mi abuelita y mi mamá. Mamita y mami. My grandmother and my mother. And last photo is of me at 5 1/2 years old - after coming back to the USA and getting real sick in kindergarten… cause we didn’t have a thick enough coat for the cold weather. We definitely got one after that. 😊 Sangre india. Sangre indígena. Indígenas. Indigenous blood.
#Amerindia #India #indigenous #indigenas #indígena #Amerindian #RealAmericans #Americans #SangreIndia #SangreIndígena #IndigenousBlood #Colombia #Latina #Latino #Latine #LatinX #Abuela #Mamita #Abuelita #Grandma #Mom #Mother #Mami #Mamá #ColomboAmericano es redundante - porque ya somos #americanos #SPIC #MeAt6YearsOld
Vote. Democracy (or even the semblance of it) only works if we participate in it.
Can’t wait for the day when we are a genuine 100% democracy. That means no gerrymandering whatsoever (from either side), no electoral college, at all - and yes to limits on campaign political donations, and also yes to rank voting. Until then, I’ll still keep voting, because the alternative would amount to throwing the baby out with the dirty bath water. I’ll keep the baby, please, just throw out the dirty bath water.
#vote #vote2025 #voto #voté #YoVoté #theVote #NYC #NYCMayor #NYCMayor2025 #NewYorkCity #PavingTheWay #PavingTheFuture #BuildCommunity #BuildGoodness #BuildUnity #BuildONE
Like #RiverPhoenix said: “Run to the rescue with #love and #peace will follow.”
I agree, #NationalChange and #PersonalChange are intertwined and interconnected. To achieve a collective change of #consciousness - we have to look at our own consciousness first. I agree. Do we solve the hate with hate, or do we solve the hate with love?
Yes, let’s point out social inequalities and injustices - and let’s do that while we also remain critical of our own selves and our own way of responding to the injustices.
We have to analyze our own actions too - or nothing will change.
So, while we analyze and critique social justices around us - let’s also make sure we also help each other grow in the process - and become better in the process. That’s how our nation and world changes.
That’s how we get rid of all this abuse happening and going on. And get rid of it for good, not just a little here and there.
“An unexamined life is not worth living.” — #Socrates
NoKing #NoTyrant #NoKings #NoTyrants #Justice
