Dear Hollywood: We Don’t Want to “Go Back to Normal.” Normal Wasn’t Working.

<p>Dear Hollywood, I have something I desperately need to share with you. You might find it surprising coming from a 20-year veteran who owes his livelihood to you. But it needs to be said. I apologize if this upsets you (actually….sorry not sorry).</p> <h3>Your shows are not worth dying for.</h3> <p>This is not the first time I have expressed my frustration with the insane way in which we approach our livelihoods in this industry – the ridiculously long hours, the chronic sleep deprivation, the complete and utter lack of work-life balance, and the families, marriages, and lives that are destroyed (or <strong><a href= "https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/midnight-rider-accident-sarah-jones-death-gregg-allman-685976" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">taken way too early</a></strong>) by the perpetual content machine that is/was Hollywood.</p> <p>In fact, I’ve spent the last six years screaming from the rooftops into any megaphone I can find that <strong><a href= "https://optimizeyourself.me/we-create-entertainment-were-not-curing-cancer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we create entertainment for a living…we’re not curing cancer!!!</a></strong></p> <p>Sure, we all agree that things could be better in the entertainment industry, and we’re all doing our best to make small changes here and there, but up until a few months ago we were all just “too busy” to really examine what fundamental changes must be made from the ground up to better protect the livelihood of the craftspeople who sacrifice their health, their personal lives, and their sanity all for the noble pursuit of creating more content.</p> <p>Then Covid-19 came along and changed the game.</p> <p><a href= "http://members.optimizeyourself.me/hollywoodultimateguide" target= "_blank" rel="noopener"><img src= "https://eialj22drskqauj42s68y6fm-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/OPT_UltimateGuide_Hollywood_Banners_720x300.jpg" alt="Hollywood Ultimate Guide" width="720" height="250" /></a></p> <p>Since the pandemic began the en