Anna v. Naomi! 🎾💪🎥
Once again, Tennis is Life is Filmmaking -- as seen through the lens of the US Open Women's Semifinals, on TONIGHT!
I have many backlogged posts that I am excited to send out, especially after a great week in NYC chatting with lots of film friends about projects, existential art-life questions, and some fun discussions about how to use political satire in film and when/how it works as intended.
That’s all on hold because the US Open is on and as Hortonioni readers know:
Tennis is Life is Filmmaking
The STORIES happening in the Women’s Singles right now are incredibly inspiring, a lesson in putting in the work, how essential joy is to the process, and believing in yourself.
TONIGHT! Anna Anisimova v. Naomi Osaka
Anna Anisimova!
Anna’s had a lot of ups and downs in her career: in the last few years she took a two-year break from tennis, citing her mental health. She’s experienced a lot of online bullying.
She comes back to tennis and has an incredible run at Wimbeldon this year, beating out #1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semis and makes it to the finals!
But she loses horribly to Iga Swiatek: 6-0, 6-0. In front of the world. You can’t have a worse score. In fact, it was a record worst score in Major Finals.
It was hard to watch, it was fairly PTSD-inducing for me. I know how it feels (sure, just in front of my high school teammates, not millions. Still.).
Cut to the US Open, and Anna’s playing very well. She seems super positive and is winning matches no problem. She plays Iga Swiatek in the Quarterfinals and WINS. Holy shit! Iga’s not only the one who crushed her last month but is #2 in the world. Now Anna’s in the Semifinals against Osaka, tonight.
To see Anna sobbing after Wimbeldon, and to then witness her win against the woman who demolished her, after also almost walking away from tennis…I mean, HELLO! Is that not an incredible story? It makes you believe that anything is possible — but you have to TRUST and believe in yourself. How else do you come onto the court after a humiliating defeat and believe you can win it all? Is the ability to live in the MOMENT, and focus on the love of the game, how the rush of hitting the ball makes you feel, right then and there?
We have defeats in filmmaking (all the arts) all the time — terrible reviews, a huge job that falls through, an actor who backs out last minute, a SAG strike when your film is coming out (🙋♀️), or just absolute crickets when you release new work. Setback City.
But if you do it for the love the game, for the feeling that you get when the edit just sings, or the joy when you drop a new music track into the timeline and it changes everything…is that the secret to rallying back, time and time again?
It’s also interesting to see how Anna’s controlled her emotions more during this tournament. When she made it to the finals at Wimbeldon, she collapsed on the court, crying. And like, YEAH. Totally. But then she was drained by the time she made it to the finals. There’s something interesting about not treating outside “wins” as the end-all-be-all: they’re nice, and things to celebrate, but the real win is the DOING, the PLAYING, the MAKING.
It’s said that if you take positive reviews to heart, then you can’t help but take negative reviews to heart…
Naomi Osaka!
Naomi has already won 4 Major Titles. She’s a super-champ, world famous. But she also struggled being in the spotlight, and then took a break from tennis to have her daughter.
She had a hard time coming back to tennis. She wasn’t winning, definitely didn’t believe in herself anymore. It was clear just watching her play, her body language and of course the results. In her post-match interview last night (yes, this Hortonioni post is very up-to-date) she said that she’d been feeling like she was losing a race, watching other tennis mothers succeeding on the court.
But THEN she brings on a new coach (funny enough, the former coach of Iga Swiatek). There’s been a marked shift in her attitude. There’s self-encouragement, let’s go!’s when she gets a point, smiles — and fun outfits and props during this tournament. I was thinking about how psychologically important her sequined outfits, hair-do’s, and bedazzled Labubus are. They make it FUN to get ready for the match, to come out on court, they give a reason to smile when it gets tough.
So many players talk about the importance of enjoying yourself when playing. That once tennis brings you no joy, you will not win. The points become hard, you tighten up, you become less daring and less creative in your play. Isn’t that fascinating?
I find the same is, of course, true when making films or writing screenplays. When you’re having FUN, when you are appreciating the joy and luck that comes with making something, your mind opens up — you are excited to try new things, you have ENERGY for your mind to work its best, to improv, to have the confidence to be bold.
Joy and fun are not just superfluous nice-to-have’s, they’re an integral part of the process. When you’re scared or down, you take stupid feedback, play it safe, and follow trends: lame!
When I am angry at a project (aka myself), whether its writing or editing, Ryan says, “Walk away. There’s no point working on something if you hate it. Only bad things will come out of you.” And he’s so right, and this is my strategy now. If I’m writing a scene that I hate and I’m angry at what I’m doing — do I really think something good will come of this? It’s the same with editing. When you’re angry at your edit, you destroy it. You cut out the good stuff because you can’t see what makes it special, the frustration clouds your judgement.
In conclusion!
Tennis is once again an incredible source of personal inspiration. Anna and Naomi have both had to figure out how to love the game and love themselves again — there was kinda no other option. They are both playing with more positivity, confidence and fun. You really get the sense that they love the hitting the ball and want to see what they’re capable of.
What are we capable of as artists? How do we put our heads down and love the work, love the act of creation when it seems impossible to “win” at it? Keep the belief alive? Good questions. Let’s see if we can find some answers tonight on the court, eh?!
P.S. Go see Weapons and Splitsville in theaters! Both fabulous films and a BLAST to see on the big screen!
