The Wall Breakers

This is a guest post from author Colin Broderick.

Odds are if you’re a movie buff you’ve already witnessed the work of Michael R. Miller.  In over thirty years in the business he has worked on an array of classics, among them Raging Bull (Martin Scorcese), Manhattan (Woody Allen), Miller’s Crossing, Raising Arizona and Blood Simple (The Coen brothers), Swing Kids (Thomas Carter), Soul Plane...hold up...Soul Plane?  

I had a chat with Michael about what drew him to the editing room, what it was like to work with Woody Allen, how he wound up meeting the young Coen brothers by chance on a stiffling hot New York City afternoon, and about the night Snoop Dog turned him into the coolest dad on the planet.

It's been exactly one year since two punk kids from Brooklyn launched what you now know as The Wall Breakers. Occasionally we get asked why we chose to call our community The Wall Breakers. When you hit your creative "wall", come to us, and we'll help break you through with daily curated art content, exclusive Wall Breaker content, and inspiration of all kinds. We really can't say thank you enough to everyone for submitting your amazing work to us. It keeps us inspired and we hope it keeps you inspired as well. Some people may call Matt the "space cowboy" and myself "the gangsta of love", but we're just a couple of artists who want to connect and connect with as many other artists as possible. We believe it's the best way to keep everyone inspired, everyone creatively satisfied, and ultimately, if we're being honest, keep everyone paid as well. In the coming weeks and months we hope to continue to inspire you and continue to grow. If you show your work off on our site, you're a Wall Breaker too. Today we want to say thank you to all of you, and thank you to our original launch day posters for helping to get us off the ground in style. Below please enjoy the original eight launch day Wall Breakers gallery posts. Clicking their names takes you to their personal website, clicking on the photo takes you to the article. Enjoy!

The many posters of James Scully!

As the calendar turns from December to January every year and thoughts of the holidays turn towards thoughts of Spring I can't help but get excited about Baseball. It also has be thinking today about heroism and what that term means to me. One of my biggest heroes growing up was Jackie Robinson, who if you don't know, was the man who integrated white professional Baseball in 1947 with the Brooklyn (where else) Dodgers. I consider Jackie a hero for many reasons, but none stronger than having the courage and guts be himself regardless of the situation. No matter what happened to him Jackie Robinson was going to be his own version of Jackie Robison and no one else's. I have the upmost respect for people who are proud individuals. I think sometimes people think that a hero is someone in the mold of Superman. I don't believe that a hero needs to fight for truth or justice specifically. I believe that all heros have both vices and virtues, but it's their convictions that drive them. What pushes me every day to be more successful is a drive inside of me to actualize who i hope to be every day of my life. There are days that I fail and there are days that I succeed. The point is to never give up and never give in. Be yourself regardless of the adversity in your way. That, however, doesn't mean to bowl through life like a bull in a china shop forgoing people's feelings and forgoing details. As Ayn Rand would tell us, man's reason and rationalism are what separates us from animals. We all have the power to be completely self-aware if we chose to be. It's only when we can take out emotions and insecurities that we can make clear decisions for the benefit of ourselves and everyone involved. It's not easy, but would you rather be self-aware and live that way or become a character from Farenheit 451? Be yourself because it could all end tomorrow, and no one wants to go out with things left on the table. We all forget who we are sometimes and need to remember. When that happens to you, just think about who your heroes are and why you look up to them. It will help you get back on the right path. Below, enjoy Natalie Cole's version of Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?, recorded for Ken Burns' Baseball Documentary, which originally aired in 1994.