The Beaches. A neighbourhood of Toronto. A band originating from that neighbourhood. The starting point on a long road of rejection, rebuilding, pivoting and triumph. It’s a homegrown story this week.
Tag Archives: Failure
Short Stories: Rejecting films ‘The Wife’ & ‘The Favourite’
This week, the stories of two 2019 Oscar nominees – ‘The Wife’ and ‘The Favourite.’ Both written by women, both produced by women, both starring women, both rejected for a combined 34 years.
Minisode: TikTok Fail
This week we bring you a Mini courtesy of TikTok and a young graphic design student named Ellie – who’s in crisis mode.
Rejecting George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones)
George R.R. Martin is the architect behind the greatest fantasy series of all time. Game of Thrones has 59 Emmys, with 159 Emmy nominations – making it the most nominated dramatic television series of all time. Martin’s book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” has reportedly sold nearly 100 million copies. And yet, back in the 1970s, Martin was living at his parents’ house in New Jersey, covering local baseball part-time and getting rejected by sci-fi publications. Then he had a thought – should he abandon writing altogether and become a realtor?
Rejecting Joan Jett
Joan Jett carries two titles – the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll and the Godmother of Punk. She’s also the first woman rocker to ever start her own record label. Jett is an inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with a dozen albums to her name. But back when she enrolled in her first guitar lesson, the teen was told rock and roll was NOT for girls. And that was only the beginning. Jett faced sexism, violence and 23 label rejections.
Minisode: Mantras – Diana Nyad
Hi from our hiatus. This week, we bring you a Minisode about the incomparable Diana Nyad – and the mantra she repeated to herself. For 52h, 54m. On her record-setting swim from Cuba to Florida.
Rejecting Willie O’Ree (The First Black Player in the NHL)
Willie O’Ree made history in 1958, when the Boston Bruin became the first Black player in the NHL. It is a heroic story of strength, courage and resilience.
Minisode: Be Afraid and Do It Anyway – SNL-Style
Welcome to another Minisode. This week, we travel to 30 Rock and take a look at courage through the eyes of hopeful [comma] sweaty young comedians.
Rejecting Vera Wang
Vera Wang is synonymous with bridal. The designer’s eponymous brand brings in a whopping $700M a year. But before launching her own company in 1990, Vera was rejected for editor-in-chief at Vogue. And before that, she didn’t make the cut for the U.S. Olympic figure skating team. Two major setbacks that left her thinking – now what? Then her dad proposed a crazy idea.
Minisode: Bat Girl
Welcome to another “Minisode” – where we zoom in on individual moments or facets of rejection we’ve come across in our research. This week, let us introduce you to Yankees superfan Gwen Goldman, as we reopen a rejection letter dated June 23, 1961.