We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tom Provost. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tom below.

Tom, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents were remarkable examples of a giving spirit. Everything they had was available for anyone who had a need. My father started with nothing, built a very successful law career and made a very good living, yet when he died unexpectedly at age 54, there was very little money left as he and my mom gave whatever they had to those in need rather than save. We always had people staying in our guest room or on the couch; if someone needed a place to stay, for a few nights or a few months, the door was open. They also constantly fed anyone who needed a meal. Someone other than our immediate family was always around the dinner table. We certainly had our issues in our family, but their incredible example of giving taught me an amazing way to live. I do the same and, in fact, a few years ago I started a charity, bagsandgrace.com, creating bags of water, food, sundries and socks for people living on the street. I don’t think about “giving” much, if ever. It simply is what I was taught by their amazing example and it comes naturally. I do it because they did it and modeled it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My first memory as a child was sitting in a movie theatre. I knew then I wanted to have some kind of involvement with what I was seeing on ‘the big screen’. For years, this was acting, which remains my first and true love. When I was in Junior High school, however, my mom and dad and I went to the movies (we usually went once a week) and saw a Brian DePalma movie, “Dressed to Kill”. I’d read a rave review about the movie from Pauline Kael in The New Yorker, and it didn’t take much to convince my dad to see a movie with his favorite, Angie Dickinson. We were all blown away by the movie, the museum sequence in particular, and I started to think about directing and storytelling, about what was going on *behind* the camera, as well as being in front of the camera.

My first 12 years in Los Angeles I was focused entirely on acting, which of course meant I also waited tables. And I loved that time. But then I started getting work behind the camera: first as an AVID editor for television (which I also loved and still do to this day), then as a screenwriter and then as a director. For most of us in the entertainment industry, work is a constant free-lance environment, moving from job to job, always looking for work. I realize this lifestyle is anathema or, frankly, scary to many, having no job security. And I’ve known many people who love this work but ultimately left the profession to do something else, in order to have security. But when you love what you do, as so many of us in this business do, it simply comes with the trade and you figure out how to deal with it.

I also love teaching. My mom was a teacher and she somehow transferred that love to me. I travel around the world speaking and teaching about storytelling and filmmaking. My website is cinemalanguage.org. This has led to teaching formally, first in the Graduate Screenwriting program at Pepperdine University and now at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.

While the freelance lifestyle can indeed be stressful at times, it has been a blessing to me in that I get to do a lot of different things, often all at the same time. I confess I get bored easily and in college always worried about having to pick ONE thing to do all my life and do only that. It is what most people do, and enjoy but it I knew it would drive me bonkers. So I feel lucky that I work in an industry and work in a manner where I get to do a lot of different things… editing, writing, acting, directing, teaching, running a charity… often all at the same time, and it keeps me engaged and interested.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Storytelling. I have been profoundly changed and inspired by stories all my life. Movies, television shows, novels all moved me deeply and as such, I then wanted to create something that might have a similar effect on others.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I actually pivot often. As mentioned, because I get bored doing the same thing for long periods of time, I love to change it up. One significant pivot, however, was when I was pursuing acting full time, which meant also waiting tables. I actually enjoyed waiting tables very much: I love food, I love restaurants and I very much enjoy people… or, well, you know, *most* people. But after 12 years doing waiting tables, it was starting to get very old. A good friend was a TV editor and the AVID editing system was truly catching fire. There was a great need for people who could use the software as it began to transform the industry. My friend knew my growing frustration with my “day job” and told me if I could learn AVID, he could help me get work.

I knew the aesthetic of editing very well. But I didn’t know AVID. So for three months, while waiting tables at night, I went to a trade school during the day and learned how to use AVID. I knew someone directing an independent film, which meant they had was no money. At the end of the trade school, I volunteered my services ridiculously cheap (all they could afford) for the chance to get a film credit and also have a few months editing on AVID in a calm environment to get better and better at the software. It went well and, within a year, because of the film credit and the expertise I had gained, I was able to make a full living editing instead of working in a restaurant. It was much more satisfying than waiting tables, as editing is a storytelling art.

I guess my point here is to always be open to something different. Don’t be afraid to say “yes” to a new direction. It may turn out to be better than what you were striving for. And, perhaps ironically, my career as an editor and writer has brought me back to acting later in my career.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cinemalanguage.org
• Instagram: provostom
• Facebook: provostom
• Twitter: WriterTProvost
• Other: onfoodandfilm.com ; bagsandgrace.com