Bittersweet

I got offered a job today. It was a job that I really, really wanted. A job that I interviewed for, several times, throughout last year and early this year.

I had to turn the job down.

This industry is so annoying sometimes. What other business locks you in for several months, during which you can't do anything?

This is the reason that I take an extended leave from work after most movies. My last day on "Alice in Wonderland" was February 5, though I continued to receive a trickle of e-mails and calls for another couple weeks. I started on "The Green Lantern" on April 19. I had over two months off, during which I went to San Francisco, Korea, and Hawaii. I caught up with my family, I played with my dog, I reacquainted myself with my needy cat, I went out to see my friends, I read books, I watched movies, I played the piano, and I cooked a ton of food.

Such a lifestyle is probably not the most healthy, since we sink into eating solely comforting junk while working insane hours, then swing drastically the other way, eating well, working out, and being healthy when not working.

This lifestyle also means that, for large chunks of time (usually between six and ten months), I cannot even entertain the thought of taking a new job. It's not like working in commercials, which I've done before. Commercials have really short and fast schedules, two months at the longest, which makes job-hunting easy. It's definitely not like working in a "normal" job. I'm not an accountant, that can up and leave whenever I want. Not that I would ever want to be an accountant...

So this job offer. I was elated when I first read the e-mail, and then quickly plunged into despair. This movie currently has a release date of June 17, 2011. At the earliest, I will be done in March. At the latest, I could be hanging on until late May.

Jobs in this business are about timing more than anything else. I've gotten job offers for movies that I really wanted to work on, but only if I was available the next day or the next week. I get calls frantically asking if I'm free to help out. These things are totally typical for this industry, and I've gotten used to it, for the most part.

It still stings when I have to turn down a job that I want, though.

Sigh. Next time...