The Unmistakable Creative Podcast

Fearless Filmmaking and Fighting Cancer with Allison Gryphon

Allison Gryphon has climbed the ranks of the film industry over the last several years. Right at what appeared to be the pinnacle of her career, she was diagnosed with cancer. In response to her diagnosis she decided to create the film What the F*ck is Cancer? In this interview she talks to me about the process of fearless film making and fighting cancer.

Lessons from climbing the ladder in the film industry
Hidden opportunities for people at the beginning
Navigating the complex process of film making
Why you can't skip the middle and go to the top
Why we must learn to slow the pace of what we do
Learning to recognize when a mentor shows up in your life
Why we should respect authority but not fear it
Dealing with cancer at the pinnacle of a career
How cancer caused Allyson to become more of who she already was
How significant emotional experiences impact our lives
Why Allison responded to her diagnosis by making a film
Using creative and informative outlets as coping mechanisms
The definition of fearless filmmaking
The importance of figuring our the rules in order to break them
How fearless passion for life makes you unmistakable

Allison W. Gryphon is a novelist, filmmaker and breast cancer fighter with a passion for story and an undying appetite for living life to the fullest.

Subscribe for ad-free interviews and bonus episodes https://plus.acast.com/s/the-unmistakable-creative-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Duration:: 1h 8m
Broadcast on:: 26 Feb 2014
Audio Format:: other

As you probably noticed, this month we're bringing you our "Life of Purpose" series and revisiting some of our most transformative episodes, tune in to explore expert insights and practical strategies on help, performance, and community well-being, all aimed at helping you achieve personal and professional fulfillment. If you sign up for the newsletter, you'll not only get recaps of the key ideas in each interview, but at the end of the series, you'll receive our free "Life of Purpose" ebook. What you have to do is go to unmistakablecreative.com/lifepurpose. In spite of all our communication technology, no invention is as effective as the sound of the human voice. When we hear the human voice, we instinctively want to listen in the hopes of understanding it, even when the speaker is searching for the right words to say. That's because the human voice resonates differently from everything else in the world. This is the unmistakable creative podcast. Listen in on candid conversations with creative entrepreneurs and insanely interesting people. Bada, Bada Boom, Sold. Just sold my car on Carvana, dropping it off and getting paid today. Already? What, you still haven't sold yours? You told me about it months ago. I just... Is the offer good? Oh, it'd be offers great. Don't have another car yet? I could trade it in for this car I love. Come on! What are we waiting for? Ah, you're right. Let's go! Whether you're looking to sell your car right now, or just whenever feels right, go to Carvana.com and sell your car the convenient way. Terms and conditions apply. My dad works in Bada B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big row, Azman. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friend's still laughing me to this day. Not everyone gets Bada B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get a $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com/results to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com/results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn. The place to be. To be. This Halloween, ghoul all out with Instacart. Whether you're hunting for the perfect costume, eyeing that giant bag of candy, or casting spells with eerie décor. We've got it all in one place. Download the Instacart app and get delivery in as fast as 30 minutes. Plus, enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Offer valid for a limited time, minimum $10 per order service fees, other fees and additional terms apply. Instacart, bringing the store to your door. This Halloween. It took a lifetime to find the person you want to marry. Finding the perfect engagement ring is a lot easier. At Blunile.com you can find or design the ring you've always dreamed of with help from Blunile's jewelry experts who are on hand 24/7 to answer questions and the ease and convenience of shopping online. For a limited time, get $50 off your purchase of $500 or more with Code Listen at Blunile.com. That's $50 off with Code Listen at Blunile.com. Charging ahead together drives Colorado's pioneering spirit, at Chevron, we donate funding and volunteer thousands of hours in support of the community's We Call Home. We also employ our neighbors to deliver the energy needed as the state's largest oil and natural gas producer, all to help improve lives in our shared backyard. With energy and progress, visit Colorado. Chevron.com. Discover Hydro, the best kept secret in fitness. Hydro is the state-of-the-art at-home rower that engages 86% of your muscles, delivering the ultimate full-body workout in just 20 minutes. From advanced to beginner, Hydro has over 500 classes shot worldwide and taught by Olympians and world-class athletes. For a 30-day risk-free trial, go to Hydro.com and use Code Row 450 to save $450 on a Hydro Pro-Rower. That's H-Y-D-R-O-W.com Code Row 450. In this episode of The Unmistakable Creative, I speak with Alison Griffin, who's climbed the ranks of the film industry over the last several years, and right at what appeared to be the pinnacle of her career, she was diagnosed with cancer. In response to the diagnosis, she decided to create the film What the F is Cancer, and in this interview she talks to me all about the process of fearless filmmaking and fighting cancer. Well, Alison, welcome to The Unmistakable Creative. Thank you for having me. Yeah, my pleasure. I was introduced to you by way of Vinny Tordreich, who coincidentally at the time of recording this is the guest that we've published today, but tell us a bit about yourself, your background, your story, and how that has led you to doing all the things you're up to today. I've always wanted to work in the film business, so that I went to film school, right out of college. I jumped into production and worked my way up from being a production assistant through those ranks up to being a line producer of independent films, and then it occurred to me that I wanted to spend more time focusing on the creative than the physical production aspects of things. So I took a staff job that allowed me to do more writing and creative things, and sold a screenplay, sold a novel, and was just starting to get going on doing my own creative thing when I was diagnosed with cancer, which changed everything for better and for worse, having cancer sucks, but it kind of launched me into being more of a fearless filmmaker, and the first thing I wanted to do after I'd processed the fact that I had cancer was make a movie that would help people who are fighting cancer, a movie that I couldn't find when I went looking for it. So a lot of stuff here, I mean, I want to dig back into the very early part of this journey, because I think that one of the things that I look at with everybody I talked to is how much the earliest parts of their life and career kind of shape who they are and how they show up in the world today, and I'd love for you to kind of talk to us about the early parts of your career, you know, working as, you know, a production assistant. I mean, like, it sounds like the sort of Hollywood fairy tale of, you know, what you see in Entourage working in the mail room and working your way up to the ranks, and I'd love to hear about that in more detail, kind of the things that really shaped you and people who've influenced you in that process. Well, I love that because it's not something we talk about very much, and I find myself faced with production assistants these days quite often who just want to skip the middle and go from the mail room to the executive office. So I like talking about it because it's a great process. I went to film school, graduated, couldn't get arrested, I got a job as an art department intern on an independent feature called John's that was starring David Arquette, and I had a great time and made no money. I worked six days a week, and from there I started meeting people, and I wound up on a touch-tone television show called Nowhere Man that was fabulous, but it was very expensive and only ran for one season. It was run by a great writer-producer named Larry Herzog, who had been, you know, he had done the camel shows, and he'd been around for a long time, very talented, very smart man, who had a wonderful way of running a show. He was one of the best, and he, I remember asking him one day because I heard the term above the line, and I was so green I didn't know what that meant, and he said it doesn't mean anything because we don't divide people on this show. And I was like, okay, you know, and so I spent a whole year not even knowing what that meant, and the people who were above the line, and the people who were below the line, he treated everybody equally, he gave everybody a voice, and it was this amazing experience. And I was a production assistant, that was pre-emailing scripts, so I drove around and delivered them, I got lunch, you know, I ran around the studio a lot at Disney and handed out scripts and call sheets, and it was great. And from there, I became an assistant production coordinator on the wonderful world of Disney films when they made their brief comeback for Sunday evenings, and I worked on Cinderella and Tower of Terror in this great movie called Safety Patrol, which was like a prequel to Better Off Dead, and I did the movie of the week thing, and then I just kept moving up through the ranks of production. And I think, I moved up quickly and I learned a lot, I attribute a lot of that to being able to say, I don't know, and can you show me, and not being afraid not to know things. I was very lucky on my first show that Larry, you know, there was no fear, I know that on a lot of shows there's fear of someone getting mad at you if you don't know something. I was lucky enough to have wonderful mentors who always were encouraging, and I was lucky enough to have that first year of there's no difference between above the line and below the line, because I still practice that, you know, we're all just people making movies and it's not a hospital triage situation, it's a film, and I think that that's helped me get to where I am so peacefully. And then going through production, you know, it's a very, very busy thing. When I wanted to do more writing and things like that, I looked into post, and a staff job in post-production, I really enjoy working in post-production. The pace is a little more forgiving than production, and I was able to spend more time in an office and focus on creative things. And it's just going through the relationships that you go through on different movies, that's how the creative things started coming to fruition, and those opportunities started happening. I mean, it's really it's a process, and it's a fabulous process if you embrace it and don't try and rush it, to really learn how to make a film and learn what all the equipment is and why schedules are the way they are and how budgets are the way they are, and really learning the different components of every department, what it took to actually physically make a film is the reason that I was able to direct my first movie and start three days after I found a tumor in my breast. So it was basically 15 years of learning how everything is done and listening and forming wonderful relationships with great people when it was time to say, "Okay, I reached the point that I knew would come someday, I wasn't sure when it was going to hit, that I'm ready to direct a movie, and this is the movie and let's go." And that's how it was made funny, and that's why it was made with such high quality, lots of fun, and no cost. It was pretty, I hope I didn't ramble through that story. No, no, no, no, no, there's a ton here actually, I mean, I'm really glad you brought up the story because I think that what you're talking about is a lot more than just how to make a film and how to have a successful career as a filmmaker. This is a metaphor for life, in my opinion, I mean, I think you mentioned this idea of wanting to skip the middle or skip the bottom and go straight to the top, and I think that's almost an epidemic of our culture today because of the pace at which the world moves at. And I think that in my mind, one of the things I've consistently found is that there's great value in that early phase of your career, the being a beginner. And I honestly think that even as we kind of progress, there are things that I think, and I say, "I wish at times I could learn how to get back to that place because some of the best things sort of start in that place," so I think that I have two questions for you around this. I think that a lot of people are in a rush. They want success overnight. It's kind of like they see something and they don't see that, "Hey, 5, 10, 15, 20 years often have gone into what they're seeing." My question really probably is around patience and how we cultivate it, how we develop it. Then you talked about the process. And I think that learning to embrace that process of evolving from an apprentice to master of your craft is something that's kind of lost in the way we're trained today. And I'm wondering what your thoughts are around that. It's a process. I always find this fascinating. Film crews, it's a very tight crew, so everybody gets to know everyone, and you end up talking to the new PA or intern or interviewing someone who's going to be an assistant, and it's always fascinating to me to talk to someone who says, "I want XYZ job," or, "I've just graduated from college, and I want to know how I get that job. I would like that job." And I always sit back and think, and when it's appropriate, I ask, "What do you want to do to get to that job?" I think sometimes people are in so much of a hurry now that you sit back and go, "Okay, let's pretend you can have that job. Do you have any idea how to do it?" And unfortunately, in the movie business, sometimes people, they get the job and they have no idea what they're doing because of some political thing. I guess that's in many businesses. And I think the most important thing is that if you want to be a good producer, or if you want to be a good director, or if you want to be a good fill-in-the-blank anything in this life, you have to learn what the process is. How is the job done mechanically for whatever the craft is? And how is it done in terms of team? I mean, it's not just learning what the actual job is, it's learning the kinds of people who do that job and how those people function. It's a growth thing. And it's sad to me that people are in a hurry and it's sad to me that people sometimes get to have that leap to success because I can't imagine that they're fulfilled or they're fully realizing what their job is because they haven't had the middle. And I don't know how you can appreciate the top when you haven't had the middle. And I don't know how you can handle the top. I mean, to me, it's inevitable that you're going to fall over. And if you don't, you're lucky. I'm very settled in who I am and where my career is. And I still, as a director and a producer, I get coffee and I make big decisions. But it's a team effort and every part of the process is important and every part of the process contributes to you being at the top. But this rush to the top is it's scary. And it's also frustrating when you do want to bring someone on who's new. And I don't mean to make up blanket about that. There's a lot of new people who are just dying to learn and they're great and they're hungry. It just seems like more and more there are people who are interviewing you, or I'm interviewing right out of college and they would like my job. And I'm like, well, but you don't know anything. So I don't know what you want to do with my, I'm going to give it to you and you might have a very bad day. So it's scary, I think it's scary in all walks of life. And I think it's, I think we need to slow down in all of it, you know, and enjoy it because learning is fun and learning the craft is fun and the opportunities that you get when you are coming up the ranks. If you pay attention to them are phenomenal. I mean, there are days when I want to go back to being a PA who delivered scripts, I went to every movie stars house in Hollywood actor, I sat in on meetings in case somebody would want a cup of coffee with, you know, power hitters, it's an opportunity to see the best do what they do. And that's what you get when you're a PA. And then you get, you know, through the middle and at a certain point, like you don't get that access anymore because you're somebody else and it's different. But it's a very valuable thing if you allow it to be valuable and see it for what it is. And I got to tell you, like, on the other side of it too, there are days that are rough and I'd love to be delivering scripts and picking up coffee instead of dealing with whatever dramatic moment is happening. So love this. I mean, it's funny because, you know, one of the things that we're experiencing is sort of rapid growth, I mean, you've seen our website and you've kind of seen, you know, we've just been talking briefly before the show about some of the things that we're working on. And it's a pace like I've never seen before and I'm overwhelmed by it, to be honest. And you know, I was talking to my business partner, a mentor, he said, that's because what's happening here is he said, where the business is at is ahead of where your identity is at. And I think that, you know, when you skip the middle to go to the top, I think that that's the reason you fall is because your identity doesn't shift. That doesn't shift. I mean, I think that what we're under the impression that as you get bigger or as you kind of climb the ranks or as you achieve some level of success, that problems disappear. But what I'm learning, at first hand, is that problems get bigger. Like, that's what, you know, that was a harsh reality check for me when I was speaking with my business partner that he said, he's like, you're seeing firsthand. He's like, things are, he's like, it's not like these problems just go away. Right. And I think you have to be equipped to deal with them. And if you skip from the, you know, you skip the middle, I don't think you build that, you know, those things that are necessary. Yeah, you have to be prepared to receive the good stuff, you know, and then, and so you know what to do with it when you get it. You know, I know all these stories about, I don't know if you know all the stories, I'm sure you do, when people go on Oprah, you know, and you talk to small businesses who have been on Oprah and they're like, are you prepared to be on the show? Because if Oprah talks about you on the show, you're going to receive a lot and it's all going to be great and it's all going to be at once. So are you set up to receive all that good stuff? All that good business, all that good attention? And if you've skipped the middle, you know, good or bad, if it comes at you in that much volume, I think it's hard and it can be a problem. I'm very cognizant now, you know, with the cancer documentary coming out and forming a nonprofit and starting a fashion line and all of it happening at once, I find myself very often taking a deep breath and going, okay, there's a lot going on right now, there's a lot of opportunities right now, I'm going to take a breath and paste this out, just because X, Y and Z people are all calling and they're all excited and they want to do something that is great for me and everything I'm doing doesn't mean I need to stop what I'm doing and receive that at this moment. It needs to be paced out and thought out and not rushed or else this wonderful gift that's coming my way won't come to fruition the way anybody wants to and it can be hard too because it's, you know, everybody's very excited. You know, I want to do this right now and I want to do this right now and I want to help you in this way and it's a lot and it's wonderful but I think going through the middle that I went through the middle has given me the wherewithal to say, that is a really great thing and I'm ready to receive that great thing for this foundation or this movie next month and we can talk about receiving it next month but I can't receive it, you know, in two hours because that's not good for anybody if that makes sense. Yeah, makes all the sense of the world. You know, you brought up two other things that I want to dig deeper into and then we'll start getting, you know, into the other parts of your story. I mean, you brought up the idea of mentors and also this concept of above the line both I think which kind of are things that go together. You know, one thing that I think is really important is learning how to recognize when mentors have showed up in your life because I don't think that, I mean, part of that to me is one of those things I think they show up and you need to know that they're their potential mentors. I think it's one of those things that you, I'd like to actively think there is a process for seeking out a mentor because I mean, you know, nobody pulls you to side in college and says here's, you know, finding your mentor one on one. It's just one of those things some people are lucky enough to find them and when they do they can be life changing. So I'm curious how will you recognize when these kinds of people show up in your life? I can speak to it from a filmmaker perspective that, you know, it's just, I think it's listening beyond yourself and paying attention beyond yourself because if you listen to the people around you and you are aware of where they're coming from and really listen to them not just in terms of you but in terms of them, you'll know when someone's offering you something. If someone, if, you know, whether it be a production designer or a producer or a production coordinator, or whomever on a film, if they're asking you about what you want and they're offering to you perhaps how they've come up, that's them opening the door and maybe it's a fit for mentorship, maybe it's just a fit for some sharing that's going to help you further yourself but I think it's important, it's important to know when someone's opening the door, it's important, it's also important to know when someone's not opening the door because it can be really hard when someone, you know, when a new person is forcing themselves on you because they're looking for a mentor or they're looking for a chance and it's not the right time in the production to do that. Really, you know, I think it's half and half where people say I'm happy to explore that with you later and not now but I think there's a lot of mentors out there and I think that with this above the line, below the line thing, and there's a lot of fear, you know, I was so lucky to have Larry as my first boss. I know a lot of people and have encountered a lot of people where they're like, "Oh, well that person's title is this, so I better not ask them anything." You know, I think that part of it is be respectful and don't walk through a door that's not open to you but don't be afraid of people just because they have a fancy title. We're all just people making movies. So I think it's just being awareness and it's a case-by-case situation but I think if you're open to it, you'll know it's there. Just like with any other friendship or relationship in your life, I do think though that there's a lot of fear of approaching people with certain titles and that shouldn't be so because I tell you what, you know, most people who have been around for a long time, if there's someone who's truly interested in learning something in particular about the business, they're thrilled to help. You know, when somebody wants to learn something that I can assist them with, if it's true, if it's really coming from that place, I know and that's so exciting to me because they want to learn and they're willing to put in the time to learn. So I'll always help someone who comes to me with that. If someone comes to me and they want the fast track, you know, executive office, I don't put any energy into that. Yeah. I mean, I love the idea of not being intimidated by fancy titles. It's funny because I mean in the world we live in, people assume that hey, somebody has 100,000 followers on Twitter, suddenly they kind of put them on a pedestal and I think that one of the things that I've had to learn to do is to not compare myself to the people that I interview and not see them as above me in any way at all. And that's taken a long time. And you know, I mean, as far as accolades go, many of them are. Those are just accolades. We're all those people at the end of the day. Exactly. It's like we all know different things and everybody brings something else to the party. Like this would be an incredibly boring conversation if you and I weren't different, but complimentary in some way, you know, and then it's boring and then we're not having a conversation no one's listening. But everyone, everyone is just a person and you know, it, I get it. It's, you know, that other weekend I went to lunch with three oncologists and a news reporter and I was like, wow, you know, look at these people. And you know, they want to talk about movies and I want to talk about oncology. And so it's, you know, everybody has their own special magical thing about them. And they just need to bring it, bring it. You know, nobody is, I mean, I don't think anyone in any of the, with these titles, anyone who you really want to talk to is walking around saying, I am a singer vice president or I am this fancy person, you know, they're, I think most people are just interested in having an authentic conversation, anyone worth talking to anyway and they don't really care about their title. I mean, I think there's a lot of people out there with titles who are like, can we just put my title aside so we can have lunch, you know, and talk about the weather or skiing or music or something other than what my title is. Spark something uncommon this holiday with just the right gift from uncommon goods. The busy holiday season is here and uncommon goods makes it less stressful with incredible handpicked gifts for everyone on your list, all in one spot, gifts that spark joy, wonder delight and that it's exactly what I wanted feeling. They scour the globe for original, handmade, absolutely remarkable things. Last year, I found the perfect gift for my nephew, periodic table building blocks. These blocks were a big hit and considering he was talking in full sentences before he even turned to, I'd say that's a pretty good win. They're not just educational, but also a fun way to spark his curiosity. Having goods has a knack for offering gifts that are truly memorable, unique, and make every occasion special. When you shop at uncommon goods, you're supporting artists and small independent businesses. When you shop at uncommon goods, you're supporting artists and small independent businesses. Many of their handcrafted products are made in small batches, so shop now before they sell out this holiday season. Uncommon goods looks for products that are high quality, unique and often handmade or made in the US. They have the most meaningful, out of the ordinary gifts. They even have gifts you can personalize. From holiday hosts and hostess gifts to the coolest finds for kids, to hits for everyone from book lovers to die-hard sports fans, uncommon goods has something for everyone, not just the same old selections you could find anywhere. And with every purchase you make at uncommon goods, they give $1 back to an unprofit partner of your choice. They donated more than $3 million to date. To get 15% off your next gift, go to uncommongoods.com/unmistakable. Don't miss out on this limited time offer, uncommon goods. We're all out of the ordinary. 1-800-Flowers.com knows that a gift is never just a gift. A gift is an expression of everything you feel, and helps build more meaningful relationships. 1-800-Flowers takes the pressure off by helping you navigate life's important moments, by making it simple to find the perfect gift. From flowers and cookies to cake and chocolate, 1-800-Flowers helps guide you in finding the right gift to say how you feel. To learn more, visit 1-800-Flowers.com/acast. That's 1-800-Flowers.com/acast. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mint Mobile Unlimited, premium wireless, have it to get 30-30, get 30, get 30, get 20-20, get 20-20, get 20-20, get 15-15, 15-15, just 15 bucks a month. So, give it a try at Mint Mobile.com/Switch. $45 up from payment equivalent to $15 per month, new customers on first three-month plan only, taxes and fees extra, speeds lower above 40 gigabytes of detail. My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big row as man, then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friends still laughing me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to LinkedIn.com/Results to claim your credit. That's LinkedIn.com/Results. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn. The place to be. To be. Discover Hydro. The best kept secret in fitness. Hydro is the state-of-the-art at-home rower that engages 86% of your muscles, delivering the ultimate full-body workout in just 20 minutes. From advanced to beginner, Hydro has over 500 classes, shot worldwide and taught by Olympians and world-class athletes. For a 30-day risk-free trial, go to hydro.com and use code ROW450 to save $450 on a Hydro Pro-Rower. That's H-Y-D-R-O-W.com code ROW450. Forging ahead together drives Colorado's pioneering spirit at Chevron, we donate funding and volunteer thousands of hours in support of the community's we call home. We also employ our neighbors to deliver the energy needed as the state's largest oil and natural gas producer, all to help improve lives in our shared backyard. That's Energy in Progress. Visit Colorado.chefron.com. Yeah, no doubt. I mean, I think that's such a critical thing. I think that once you can get to that, I think you're right. You find a much more genuine, authentic conversation happens. What's this? Let's shift gears a little bit. It's interesting. Part of what intrigued me about your work is what you've been through to get to where you're at. You've mentioned that what appears to be the pinnacle of your career, and then you find out you get cancer. Talk to us about that. I mean, I can't imagine this is an easy thing to go through. Obviously, it's had to have changed you as a person and changed the way you see the world. I'd love for you to talk us through some of that. Yeah. Change is an interesting word. I think what cancer did for me. Is it made me more of who I am? I will explain that. I don't think that I changed. I think that I was me and I was me with a lot of extras. I accommodated things, people, situations, choices differently. I did sweat the small stuff. I was very much a perfectionist. I was the same person that I am now, but I was harder on myself, and I enjoyed my life, but I didn't enjoy it to the extent that I do now. I think that cancer made me fully realize who I am, and it allowed me to let go of what I didn't need in my life, and embrace what's magical about it, which made everything so much easier. Part of me thinks that's something that probably comes with age and wisdom and all of that. I got that fast track. Like everyone who wants in their career. I got the fast track in life lessons with the tumor. It helped me very much let go of things. I always wanted to direct. I always knew I would direct. I didn't know when that would be. I was very comfortable writing, and I was very comfortable consulting directors who wanted support with their work, but I knew that in order to direct a movie, I would need to be able to push the material, separate myself from it, and not get caught up in little things, and not micromanage, and I knew I wasn't able to do that, and perhaps it's the loss of control. There's no control when you're in cancer. You can't control what's happening. You're being attacked from inside of your body. It became very easy to say, I didn't even think twice about directing the movie. I didn't think twice about, "Oh, I'm directing." I just went, "Oh, well, we're making this movie. We're taking these photographs. I'm taking all of the knowledge that I have from every aspect of the film business, and this is happening." It hasn't been difficult. My life has been very easy since I was diagnosed with cancer in the sense that it's just all very clear. It was, I had just had a book come out called Blood Moon, and I had a movie that I had written, not directed, that was picked up by a showtime called La Cucina, and actually the day I found out I had cancer, I had a meeting with this huge book buyer in the movie business, who buys books and makes them into movies, and I still went to the meeting, and I ended up telling her what happened, and that changed everything now, we're friends, but we decided we would not go forward with that at that time, which was fine. It wasn't hard, it wasn't like getting cancer crushed all my dreams, getting cancer helped me fully realize them in a different way, and I jumped into a project that I was obviously not planning on, and I really didn't worry about all the other things that I had written and had ready to pitch and ready to send out. I'm ready to do that now, now that these movies come out. So a lot of stuff here, this is really rich territory, and I think so many profound things here. I think one of the places that I really want to do a bit more digging is this idea of becoming more of who you are. Like I realized our true identities are sort of hidden under layers of all the things that we go through as we grow, as we go from childhood to adulthood, and it's layers and layers and layers and layers. I think in my own experience, getting back to being more of who I am has been learning how to shed those layers, and it's happened in many different ways, but I think for most people it starts with a significant emotional experience, in your case, you know, an illness, but I'm curious, and I've asked a similar version of this question to other people, is how you get back to being more of who you are, if you don't have a significant emotional experience, because I think it can become very easy to sleep walk through life. I agree, and I don't have the answer to the question. I think that we live in this country, we live in a circumstance that makes it very difficult, you know, where we're raised in a certain way, our society, you know, presents things in a different way, and just enjoying life very simply is really not the American way. I'll say that before I got sick when I traveled, I lived, you know, and I would take weeks traveling, and really appreciate every breath of life, and lose myself in it. And then I would come back, and you get back into the grind, and it's hard. I don't know, I don't know how you do it without that shake up. I think it's part of, you know, how we teach each other, how we mentor each other, how our parents raise us, what we're exposed to is it's really important to emphasize that life is each moment, and I don't know how you get to know that. The week, the weekend after I was diagnosed with cancer, I was diagnosed on a Wednesday, not following Saturday, it was my very dear friend's birthday, and she said, "What do you want to do?" And my initial reaction was I have to organize my entire life because I have cancer, and I have to figure all of this out, like, I have to figure out money, I have to figure out work, I have to figure out what is going to happen for the next year. So by the time we got to the end of the conversation, we decided that I would just get in my car and pick her up and go to Santa Barbara and go to the beach and have lunch. So because it was all this, we're going to do this, we're going to do this, and it was like, "You know what we're going to do? We're going to turn on the radio really loud and drive." And we went to the beach, and I'll never forget it. We walked in the sand, it was like I had never felt sand on my feet before. I made a wish, you know, through a coin and to this make a wish pond, and I sat down and had a cup of espresso with a bowl of strawberries, and it was like I had never tasted espresso and strawberries before. It was an amazing day. I was, I have never been more alive, and it's beautiful and I'm so grateful for it. And I'm so bummed that in our world, we don't just start that way. I mean, I'm sure some people do, but I think it's few and far between. I don't know a lot of people that haven't been through something profound that can just look over at me and say, "Wow, I've never tasted a strawberry like this and just enjoy that and not worry about where we're going next and just being in that moment." And I do very much think it's this country. I don't think that other countries are exempt from it, but I think that we live fast here. And I just don't know where we're trying to get to so quickly. And once we get there, then what do you do? Because you've gotten there so fast, then what? That's why I didn't say a word, I was like, "Okay, wow, that bad." I mean, for those of you guys listening to that, go back and rewind your iPods and play that again. I'm no longer going to. So much there. It's interesting because I love how you said you thought of all these different things and what you settled on is going to Santa Barbara and having lunch. And some of you know, my business partner, Greg Hartl, because he's a kidney transplant patient, he's talked to you about some of his health issues at times. And he says, "It's silly because people think, 'Hey, it's cliche advice, live every day as if it's your last.'" And he said, "You get bad news." He said, "You know what I'm doing today? I got some bad news. And guess what I'm doing? I'm going to staples." He's like, "Because you don't just stop living your life." Right. You know? I think the idea that you stop living your life because you're planning for your death is just kind of insane. Even though we think that that's what's going to happen if we get some sort of terminal illness. Yeah. It's funny, I think about that. You know, it comes up once you get big news, you think about what if I get it again? So and you can't know what you're going to do if you get big news, you can't. It's just crazy. It's a crazy phone call. But when I think about it now, when I ask myself, what would I do, I think I would have an incredibly huge party in Paris. I would, you know, and then after that was done, I would talk to the doctor, but yeah, life doesn't stop. I mean, on many levels, you get news like that in life just, it's, it doubles. Living doubles, you know, because you, because you get it, because you're getting it in that moment. Not that you don't get it otherwise, but when you're, when that news is fresh, when it's happening and when you're in it, you can't, you can't pretend that you're not more awake than you've ever been in your life. And it's, it's cool, you know, it's, it's very cool. There's no fear in it, you know, when someone gives you some news that you might be punching your ticket, you get to enjoy everything and nothing scary, not at that moment. And that's very liberating. Mm hmm. Let's do this. Let's, let's shift gears a little bit. Let's start talking about the film and kind of how it came to be. I mean, you know, at the very beginning of our conversation, you mentioned this idea of fearless filmmaking. And so there are two things. I mean, when you got into this point, obviously, there are a lot of people who I think their first mind thought wouldn't be, you know, I'm going to go and do the biggest and best work of my life, like that's, that's, I don't think that's sort of the default reaction to hey, I have cancer. And I think that's, you know, part of me wonders if certain people are built that way. And that's how they respond, because I know people who would get a headache and it would be like, you know, a total of, you know, miserable reaction to, to everything. So I'm curious about that finding that within yourself and how we do it. And then I want to talk about this whole concept of fearless filmmaking and kind of how it's played itself out. I think in terms of deciding to do a movie and commenting on that, that's personality. You know, it, it doesn't, you know, looking back on me, it doesn't surprise me that that was my knee-drick reaction to it was my coping mechanism. I would like to say that I did that just to do the greater good for the world and give the world something. And I did. I did that because I felt like that was a resource that I wanted and it wasn't there. And I was a little pissed off about that considering all of the filmmaking and money and fundraising and things done in this business, the fact that there wasn't a cancer 101 movie that spoke to me, I found to be frustrating. So I think even if there was one that worked for me, I would have made one anyway because I needed, I needed to do it, I needed to do it for me and for several, for several reasons. And I think that people do different things when they're diagnosed with cancer and, or died, anything that is scary in life. And they go to what their coping mechanism is and my coping mechanism is to do something creative, to have a creative and informative outlet is where I go always. So it, I don't think it was a decision. I think it was as so much as it was a need. It was part of my treatment as far as I'm concerned, making this film. It's interesting to say that I look at writing for me and it's very much the same thing. It's a therapy of sorts and I say, you know, at every point in my life when something bad has happened, I've always turned to a blank page. And I, you know, and part of the reason is I felt it was the only place where I wouldn't be judged because I could just write. Writing is amazing. I did a lot of writing in addition to the filmmaking. And I think that that's, that's interesting that you say that in the cancer program that I went through at Huntington Hospital, they have a writing program. And it's, it's, it's free. It's part of the cancer treatment they offer. If you want it, they're free writing classes. And it's, it's part of how they treat people and it's amazing. Being creative is an incredibly powerful thing. Art is powerful, you know, some people paint, some people write, some people dance. There's, you know, music is a very powerful thing. And I think that when we think of cancer and we think of disease, we think of what the doctor is prescribing medically. And if you have a good medical professional, they're not only just prescribing treatment that is medical and chemical, they're prescribing emotional treatment and encouraging that. I had doctors who encouraged my creativity every day. They encouraged me to exercise. They encouraged me to be proactive. They encouraged me to, you know, take part in all of it. And they were really very much treating me as an entire woman, rather than just treating my cancer, which should always be done, but it, it isn't always done. And everybody has their own way of, of doing things and, and coping and creativity is incredibly helpful when you're sick and you're lost. And it's incredibly helpful when you are in a situation that you can't control. Well, let's do this. I want to get into this idea of a fearless filmmaking and kind of how this all blends together into the narrative of your film. I'd love for you to define what you mean by fearless filmmaking and then talk to us about the process and the message that you wanted this film to convey. If there's one thing that my family and friends know me for, it's being an amazing gift-giver. I owe it all to Celebrations Passport from 1800Flowers.com, my one-stop shopping site that has amazing gifts for every occasion. With Celebrations Passport, I get free shipping on thousands of amazing gifts, and the more gifts I give, the more perks and rewards I earn. To learn more and take your gift-giving to the next level, visit 1800flowers.com/acast. That's 1800flowers.com/acast. Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds. At Mint Mobile, we like to do the opposite of what Big Wireless does. They charge you a lot, we charge you a little. So naturally, when they announced they'd be raising their prices due to inflation, we decided to deflate our prices due to not hating you. That's right, we're cutting the price of Mint Unlimited from $30 a month to just $15 a month. Give it a try at mintmobile.com/switch. $45 up from payment equivalent to $15 per month, new customers on first three month plan only, taxes and fees extra, speeds lower above 40 gigabytes of details. Let's talk about something that's not always top of mind, but still really important. Life insurance. Why? Because it offers financial protection for your loved ones and can help them pay for things like a mortgage, credit card debt, it can even help fund an education. And guess what? Life insurance is probably a lot more affordable than you think. In fact, most people think life insurance is three times more expensive than it is. So with state farm life insurance, you can protect your loved ones without breaking the bank. Not sure where to start? State Farm has over 19,000 local agents that can help you choose an option to fit your needs and budget. Get started today and contact a state farm agent or go to statefarm.com. Expand the way you work and think with Claude by anthropic. Whether brainstorming solo or working with a team, Claude is AI built for you. It's perfect for analyzing images and graphs, generating code, processing multiple languages and solving complex problems. Plus, Claude is incredibly secure, trustworthy and reliable so you can focus on what matters. Curious? Visit claud.ai and see how Claude can elevate your work. Forging ahead together drives Colorado's pioneering spirit. At Chevron, we donate funding and volunteer thousands of hours in support of the community's we call home. We also employ our neighbors to deliver the energy needed as the state's largest oil and natural gas producer, all to help improve lives in our shared backyard. That's energy and progress. Discover Hydro, the best kept secret in fitness. Hydro is the state-of-the-art at-home rower that engages 86% of your muscles, delivering the ultimate full-body workout in just 20 minutes. From advanced to beginner, Hydro has over 500 classes shot worldwide and taught by Olympians and world-class athletes. For a 30-day risk-free trial, go to hydrow.com and use code ROW450 to save $450 on a Hydro Pro-Rower. That's H-Y-D-R-O-W.com, code ROW450. I think that making a narrative and making a documentary are two different things. I think that fearless filmmaking can certainly be applied to all of it in its own way. In the case of this particular film, I knew what questions I wanted answered. This movie answers all the questions that I had right when I was diagnosed. It's fun to go back and look at the outline that I wrote when I was recovering from my mastectomy. It was a very rough outline saying, "This movie needs to do this." And then the outline gets lost while you're filming. Because I was filming a documentary in it, and I think if I would have thought too much about it, if anyone would have thought too much about it, it wouldn't be what it was. Maybe that's what I mean by fearless filmmaking. For this movie, we needed to capture the moments that were happening. It's not a narrative, it's a cancer 101 film. But that being said, it was shot while I was sick and while I was going through treatment. And we were interviewing people who were sick and going through treatment or who had been through treatment or doctors. And that with all of that, all of those variables, no one knew what was going to happen every day. Also, we had no money. So we would wake up, there was no planning. It was just be open to what was going to happen, let it be, embrace it for what it is. And don't overthink it. Don't worry about production or environmental issues that are going on that you would... In a narrative film, you're going to worry if someone's making noise in the corner. But in a documentary, you're focusing, if the subject that you are tackling at the moment is authentic, it doesn't really matter what else is going on around you in the film. I don't know if I'm being confusing when I'm explaining all of this. It's... I think you just need to pick up a camera and go and that's the fearless filmmaking. And not worry about what anyone else is going to think. And not worry about what you don't have and what you haven't planned. I think there's a lot of filmmaking in this business that concerns itself with what other people think, what the outcome is going to be, and what resources we don't have. I think that that's where the film business is moving and that's frustrating. In this movie, it was very liberating that none of that mattered. There were resources, but no money. The cast was all sick. I was a hot mess for half the time, whether I was bald or having a hot flash or wrapping compression garments from surgeries. There was no room to be worried about anything or to overthink anything. And I think, you know, overthinking things can be damaging. I think it's very important to plan things in bigger movies and narrative films and studio pictures. Obviously, it's very important to plan things, but it's also very important to be able to let go and make your movie and let it be and not try and make it something that isn't or force it into a place that it doesn't want to go. You know, I'm listening to you describe this process and to me, this isn't just about filmmaking. It's creativity at large. You said pick up a camera and go, I say pick up a pen and start writing. It's kind of the same thing, whatever your art form is, I mean, to be honest, I mean, the idea of making a film is something that it's something I love and I admire and I respect and I think, God, I'm like, that sounds so daunting to me, but the idea of, hey, you know, just pick up a camera and start shooting and you'll figure it out. I never thought of it that way before. Yeah, you just, you learn by experience and you don't need to go to film school and you don't need to. I mean, it's nice. Look, I enjoy film school very much and you do need to learn your craft, but you don't have to get a job at XYZ studio and work for Mr. Fancy Pants number three to learn. It's helpful to be around people. I mean, it's definitely great to expose yourself to people who know what they're doing and can guide you and mentor you and it's important to learn the craft. But going back to the PA thing, while you're running around being a PA, learning and getting coffee for people, take your Saturday and go shoot something and you know what? Maybe your first movie sucks. Maybe it's great. Maybe it's just an exercise, whatever it is, you know, it's all going to contribute. No matter how it turns out, it contributes to making you a better filmmaker to be able to learn your craft and really learn it, but then let go of the rules. You know, it's like the elements of style, that book, you know, figure out what all the rules are so you can break them and still accomplish what you want to and actually make your material more interesting. So I think that what I got coming up as a PA was I learned. I learned all of those things. I learned how to make a movie in a very structured way. I learned I was around creative people and got to see their process in an organized way and in a totally unorganized way and then when it came time for me to make this movie on the fly, why I was sick, I was able to make a movie in a way that you would never recommend anyone. We broke every rule, every single rule, any kind of advice I would ever give you about making a film would not be what we did here. But because of the people involved and because we knew the rules and we knew the craft, we were able to throw all of them out the window and say, we got to deal with cancer here and we got a camera, so let's go. But it took knowing all of that to be able to do that. So I think it's important to know the rules and to know and to throw them out the window. So in a world in which every one of us has the ability to create entertainment at our fingertips and you've worked in an industry where an insane amount of entertainment is created, what is it that you think allows us to become unmistakable? Oh wow, I think that what allows us to be unmistakable is our fearless passion for life and not being afraid of it. I mean, fearlessness allows us to live by our passion and passion is what we're doing here. So I think that's what makes us unmistakable. Amazing. Well, Allison, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to join us and share your story with our listeners here at The Unmistakable Creative. This has been just super inspiring, eye-opening and really touching and I really appreciate that you're willing to come and share your story. I've had a great time and now I can't wait to listen more often to the unmistakable creative podcast because it's very cool. Thanks. And for those of you guys listening, we'll wrap the show with that. Thanks for listening in on another candid conversation at The Unmistakable Creative. Embrace your inner misfit, express your creative voice and remember, the goal isn't to live forever but to create something that will. How did you actually sleep last night? If it didn't feel like your very best rest, then you need to upgrade to the softest, most luxurious bedding from bowl and branch. Their signature sheets are made from the finest 100% organic cotton and get softer with every wash. Millions of sleepers love their sheets and right now, you can feel the difference for yourself during their biggest sales of the entire year. Hurry to bowlandbranch.com to shop their best offers, limited time only, exclusions apply, decide for details. If there's one thing that my family and friends know me for, it's being an amazing gift-giver. I owe it all to Celebrations Passport from 1800flowers.com, my one-stop shopping site that has amazing gifts for every occasion. With Celebrations Passport, I get free shipping on thousands of amazing gifts, and the more gifts I give, the more perks and rewards I earn. To learn more and take your gift-giving to the next level, visit 1800flowers.com/acast. Expand the way you work and think with Claude by Enthropic. Whether brainstorming solo or working with the team, Claude is AI built for you. It's perfect for analyzing images and graphs, generating code, processing multiple languages, and solving complex problems. Plus, Claude is incredibly secure, trustworthy, and reliable, so you can focus on what matters. Curious? claud.ai and see how Claude can elevate your work. Discover Hydro, the best-kept secret in fitness. Hydro is the state-of-the-art at-home rower that engages 86% of your muscles, delivering the ultimate full-body workout in just 20 minutes. From advanced to beginner, Hydro has over 500 classes, shot worldwide and taught by Olympians and world-class athletes. For a 30-day risk-free trial, go to hydro.com and use code ROW450 to save $450 on a Hydro Pro-Rower. That's H-Y-D-R-O-W.com code ROW450. Forging ahead together drives Colorado's pioneering spirit at Chevron, we donate funding and volunteer thousands of hours in support of the community's We Call Home. We also employ our neighbors to deliver the energy needed, as the state's largest oil and natural gas producer, all to help improve lives in our shared backyard. That's Energy in Progress. Visit Colorado.chefron.com. At Sprout's Farmers Market, we're all about fresh, healthy, and delicious. That's why you'll find the season's best local and organic produce, hand-picked, and waiting for you in the center of our store. That's at your neighborhood Sprout's Farmers Market today, where fresh produce is always in season. Have you ever felt a twinge of worry about AI taking over your job or diluting your creativity? Well, what if you could turn that fear into creative fuel? We've just published an amazing new ebook called The Four Keys to Success in an AI world, and this is more than just a guide. It's a deep exploration into the human skills that AI can't touch. The skills that are essential for standing out and thriving, no matter how much technology evolved. We're talking about real differentiators here, like creativity, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, and much more. Inside, you'll find actionable insights and strategies to develop these skills, whether you're a creative person, a business person, or just simply someone who loves personal development. This isn't a story about tech taking over. It's a story of human creativity thriving alongside AI. Picture this AI as your creative co-pilot, not just as a tool, but a collaborator that enhances your unique human skills. The Four Keys ebook will show you exactly how to do that and view AI in a new way that empowers you instead of overshadows you. Transform your creative potential today. Head over to unmistakablecreative.com/fourkeys. Use the number four K-E-Y-S that's unmistakablecreative.com/fourkeys and download your free copy. [BLANK_AUDIO]

Lessons from climbing the ladder in the film industry
Hidden opportunities for people at the beginning
Navigating the complex process of film making
Why you can't skip the middle and go to the top
Why we must learn to slow the pace of what we do
Learning to recognize when a mentor shows up in your life
Why we should respect authority but not fear it
Dealing with cancer at the pinnacle of a career
How cancer caused Allyson to become more of who she already was
How significant emotional experiences impact our lives
Why Allison responded to her diagnosis by making a film
Using creative and informative outlets as coping mechanisms
The definition of fearless filmmaking
The importance of figuring our the rules in order to break them
How fearless passion for life makes you unmistakable

Allison W. Gryphon is a novelist, filmmaker and breast cancer fighter with a passion for story and an undying appetite for living life to the fullest.

Subscribe for ad-free interviews and bonus episodes https://plus.acast.com/s/the-unmistakable-creative-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.