Behind every great man...

I find myself in an odd state this morning. Not like Iowa or Rhode Island, no, even more bizarre. For the first time since I started working on Victims of Circumstance I actually have a second to breathe and reflect.

There are wheels in motion regarding the VOC marketing scheme that are mind-blowing to say the least. Very, very soon some pretty phenomenal news will be released to you but until then I am stuck in a kind of “hurry up and wait” mode. Not quite cruise control but not quite the hustle and bustle I’ve been used to for the last few months.

That being said, I’m reminded of how often I’ve needed to be anchored and reeled back in during these pre-production, production, post-production, marketing phases. Undoubtedly I’ve had the luxury of working with some truly gifted and talented individuals but if VOC has one unsung hero her name is clearly Andi Celestin.

Andi and I have been married for almost 6 years and this movie would never have come to fruition without her patience, understanding and smile. Almost a year ago I let her know that I was thinking about moving forward with production on the VOC script. Admittedly, at that time the scope of the project was worlds away from what it has currently become, but throughout every single step Andi has been standing by my side: sometimes holding me up, sometimes pushing me forward, sometimes smacking me in the back of the head while asking: “Really?!??!”

As you can well imagine, as you’ve already seen, VOC monopolizes most of my time and higher brain function. That wouldn’t be much of an issue if I didn’t have a day job and 3 awesomely-exhausting energetic children at home. There have been countless days/nights that I’ve had to be away from my family to work on this project; it’s a sacrifice any struggling artist makes. I’ve been fortunate, however, to have the kind of Partner who has never questioned my investment of time. Andi, in many ways, was the first True Believer, potentially even before I was. She knows that VOC is going to take over the world. She lives it, breathes it, teaches it and admires it. This film would never have been made without the blood, sweat and tears of countless individuals and I may never get the opportunity to thank each and every one of them properly, but I have to start sometime. 

And today I would like to thank my wife.

So honey, here’s to you in all of your quirky, intelligent, insightful, know-when-to-guide-me and know-when-to-let-me-find-my-own-way glory. I couldn’t have done this without you.

-paul

#vocfilm, #indiefilm, #chicagomovie, #indiesmovie