“Know the path you want to take and don’t compromise”
Martin Wilson is an internationally awarded Australian film director and writer. His debut feature film Great White was released in 2021 through Universal Pictures, starring Katrina Bowden (30 Rock, Bold and the Beautiful) and Aaron Jakubenko (Tidelands, The Shannara Chronicles).
It took Marty 25 years to turn his dream of becoming a feature film director into a reality. His story is a testament to the enduring power of persistence, consistency, and passion in the pursuit of your dreams.
I have had the pleasure of knowing Marty for several years and he has become one of my favourite people in the world. To me Marty is the epitome of mental toughness and resilience and his unwavering commitment to his dreams is truly inspirational.
In this conversation we talk about obstacles, set-backs, rejection, throwing yourself into the deep end, how to shoot a creature feature, surviving the creative industry and so MORE!!
KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
01’48 - How Ambo and Marty met
03’12 - How Marty got into film making
03’57 - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
06’03 - The movie that inspired Marty to enter the film industry
06’41 - First steps towards becoming a director
07’44 - The difficulties of making it as a film director from Perth
08’31 - The importance of building on your skill bases
10:05 - The importance of considering unorthodox routes to your dreams
10:51 - Early Wins
14’37 - Dealing with rejection
17’57 - Things start to take off
20’38 - Sharks and water for the first feature
22’02 - Throwing yourself into the deep end
22’51 - Backing yourself in uncertain situations
24’07 - Where Marty gets his confidence from
25’57 - The development/ production phase
27’02 - Shooting in a tight time frame: 25 day shoot
28’10 - Things that go wrong on set
33’07 - The feeling afterwards
33’49 - Marty’s new feature film
35’39 - Working with a tight budget on films
38’08 - Advice for directors starting out
39’40 - Character development
42’08 - Advice for people coming up against obstacles
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