Several years ago, as I was transitioning from film finance to film production and writing again, someone asked me how long I would try to get back into filmmaking before I gave up? My response was "giving up" was not an option.

Today, with computer-generated visual effects, everything is possible. So we've seen everything. If it can be imagined, it can be put on screen.

Get back up, shake the dust off and keep going. Keep going, because Hollywood is set up to make you fail.

Today the challenge is not visuals, but to be able to tell a riveting emotional story, something that can reach deep down inside the audience's heart and twist it like a toy to make them laugh, cry or jump out of their seats to root for the hero.

Screenwriting and making movies is really playing make-believe like most of us did as children.

I spent several years in the film finance business, but I returned to what I loved most about the industry - actual filmmaking, producing, writing and directing.

I wrote several screenplays over the years to really polish my craft and learn from my mistakes.