We were lucky to catch up with Jon Campbell Rose recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Jon Campbell thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
Oh yeah, I fantasize about just working at a movie theater or being a line cook all the time – both things I’ve done before and turns out wasn’t very good at, so that definitely speaks to the affectation. Of course there are dark nights of the soul where you doubt yourself and wonder if you have the talent, patience, or capacity to live on ramen for a week when times are tough. Especially early on, these ups and downs happened pretty consistently, and I think it’s a big part of starting out being a creative; it’s a constant litmus test to see whether it’s all really worth it. I enjoy so many aspects of life, that I think I’d love spending my career doing many things; unfortunately, as you know, time around here is finite. I don’t know if being an artist makes me happy per-se in the classic sense, but I most definitely have contentment, if you know what I mean. I will still often endure soul crushing feelings of inadequacy followed swiftly by immense pride and feverish elation about the work I’m doing; getting to the end of something difficult or having a new spark of an idea is endlessly rewarding. I’m currently writing my next two projects so the frequency of these fluctuations are pretty erratic… in the morning I’m bright-eyed and bush-tailed and by lunch I’m a jaded mess… that’s why it’s always important to have a really tasty dinner; it evens everything out. I’ve gotten myself into a position where I can live quite comfortably doing what I love, so that’s a welcomed change that I’m proud of, but it’s always uncertain. I’m never 100% positive about what the next thing will be… I’ll always wonder what it would’ve been if I just took an easier path, but then again I probably would’ve failed at that anyways.
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?
One of my favorite things about filmmaking, or at least the way I do it, is that it’s super varied. On the one hand, film itself is a culmination of so many different art forms coming together which is exciting to blend, but also there are a lot of roles I personally occupy. I love the writing part; it’s introspective, intimate, boundless; then producing is tight and pragmatic; then onto directing which is so visual and collaborative; people come in to bring something to life and that’s wonderful. You get to work with talented people and learn from them and overcome obstacles together…that’s very rewarding. As it stands I’ve done so much independent stuff, like short films, music videos, features, that I’m really excited to get into more commercial stuff. I’ve done a lot of producing of commercial content but I’d love to direct something more abstract, concise; do my best to aid in an existing narrative and give people what they need to help advocate for their brand or company or vision or whatever it may be. This being said, my true passion is to make films. We’re scaling up a little for the next one, so bigger budgets and new challenges is an exciting prospect. I have this thing where I can’t help but totally switch it up for the next thing I do. I’m not a creative that wants to perfect a specific style or tone; there’s too much out there to explore.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think the free market is a pretty cruel and relentless mistress. It has its benefits, sure – there are certain degrees of meritocracy that rewards people that work hard and self-correct, but breaking into a pre-existing structure without the privilege or connections is daunting and especially difficult. It’s hard to be creative and express yourself authentically if you need to work three jobs or make a certain type of art that doesn’t even reflect you, and then ultimately gets you pigeonholed. I’m producing a film in Paris soon, and seeing how they do it over there is so refreshing – of course it has its pitfalls, but overall it’s a much more conducive and supportive environment, at least for filmmakers specifically. There is a lot of access to capital and grants to start your projects and they have a really robust public sector that guides projects from development all the way to exhibition. So often in the US people are lucky (and of course courageous) enough to produce the work, only for it to be siloed when it comes time to show people or make its money back. One of the truly painful parts of how capitalism and art work in tandem is that only a few pieces of work end up absorbing most of the societal band width (ironically often to the detriment of the exact projects holding that position). I do think that’s changing, however… If you’re okay not being a rockstar selling out stadiums, and satisfied with just having your own little corner of the playground, then I think there’s hope. In the meantime I urge everyone to pay for the art you like… it can all start at home… either for the quaint price of 3.79 on Amazon Prime, or better yet, straight from the source!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
When you’re younger, you have an idealized version of how your career will unfold or how an industry operates, and I’ve found that it’s often completely different. But that’s really okay and, in fact, pretty exciting. Life would be pretty dull if it all just played out exactly like you thought it would. One of the biggest things I was restricted by (especially when I was first starting out) was that I always thought I was being a pain in the ass trying to get everyone together to make something and I still have that sometimes, but now I try to embrace the fact that it’s rewarding for everyone if done right, no matter how hard it might be. On top of that, I spent so long, probably as a result of that previously mentioned mindset, feeling as if I had to do everything myself and be responsible for every little thing. More often than not, when you spin too many plates you end up making a mess. Mostly the job is setting parameters about what you don’t want and making sure that everyone feels galvanized enough to take risks, be creative and not just lean on the easy option. It helps being extremely prepared so you can pivot and play when it comes time to. I’m extremely open to alternatives as long it doesn’t feel like a cop out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still like this sometimes; laboring over the specificities of the smallest prop, but I’m learning to fully trust the people around me as well as really try to work with people I respect immensely, and not be afraid to fail in front of them, or to ask for help (which I need pretty much constantly)… It’s okay to need help; making good art is hard, and so is life; there’s no need to go through it alone. Finding a way to work with your friends is not only endlessly beneficial to your art, but also just such a rewarding way to live life. In many ways, this whole endeavor has become more about that than anything else. Every time you get a team together to go make something it feels like you’re getting ready to go rob a casino and that’s the funnest thing in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joncampbellrose.com
- Instagram: @Molarthemovie
Image Credits
Main photo by Grace Gude.
Photos of Molar cast by Jonathan Rose.