A Film Producer = Glorified Accountant

Yes, that's right. At the end of the day, after I've read scripts and books and dreamt of my next films, I am an accountant. A bean counter, if you will.

I'm pretty sure I work in QuickBooks more than I work in Final Draft or Movie Magic Budgeting.

Receipts, credit card statements, checking accounts, etc etc, fill my inbox and my brain as much as the stories I want to tell.

When I decided to become a film producer, I dreamt of being on set working with writers, directors and actors and the time I would spend premiering films at festivals or theaters with red carpets leading to them.

I don't believe I dreamt of having the recent QuickBooks software so I could track the financing on the multiple films and the LLCs that created them.

The troubling fact is that I still haven't taken a seminar on QuickBooks and I really need to. Instead I've fumbled around in it, making mistakes and the life of my real accountant miserable. I believe I was driven to tears in our last meeting, claiming "I don't know what I'm doing!"

For some reason, I have fought getting to know this accounting program. I think my fear has been that once I know it, it will suck me in forever and all my creative energy will seep away.

Well, quite the opposite is happening. By not knowing the program, I am making my life so much worse. Like anything, the more knowledge you have, the easier it is. So this year, my plan is to commit to really learning QuickBooks and embrace the fact that I really am a glorified accountant. Let the games begin!