Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn had 'suicidal thoughts' as a young man https://t.co/9j7zliHbedpic.twitter.com/oNxF4luVuC
— BelTel Entertainment (@BelTel_Ent) May 7, 2017
Warning for discussion of suicide
'Guardians of the Galaxy' director James Gunn wrote the following message on his Facebook to his fans.
"When I was young I felt utterly alone, at times to the point of suicidal thoughts. I never felt like I belonged, had an incredibly difficult time connecting to other people and, despite having love around me, I had an impossible time experiencing it, or taking it in.
But I found my respite in popular entertainment - Marvel comics, science fiction and horror films, the music of The Sex Pistols, The Replacements, and Queen. Suddenly I could see past the bland suburbs where I lived into a more magical world, a world more aligned with what I imagined.
Sometimes these works were simply escapist fantasies that distracted me from the difficulties of my internal life. But other times, in the strongest moments - maybe through the words of Alice Cooper or Freddie Mercury, through Cronenberg films, or even in Chewbacca's growl, I experienced something deeper - the realization that I wasn't completely alone. Someone out there was as weird and strange and whacked out as I was.</i>
So this morning, as the internet discusses box office and its many theories around what that means (zzzzzzzz), I'd like to remember that that's truly all nonsense and noise. The only meaning the money holds for me is that I can pay my mortgage, feed my dog and cat, and continue making movies. I haven't worked two and a half years just to watch a string of numbers getting higher.
I work because I like telling stories. I work because I love the relationships I have with my collaborators. And I do it because I like connecting with people, and the easiest way I know how to do that is through filmmaking. I do it so that some kid in Thailand, or England, or Colombia, or Brazil, or Japan, or Russia, or anywhere, can hear the frequency of his or her own heart bouncing back off the Guardians.
They're a group of heartbroken misfits whose lives have been bereft of tenderness and connection and who have a nearly impossible time trusting themselves or others. But they're learning, one step at a time.
They are me. They are you. We are Groot.
And no matter how much world leaders are telling you we aren't in this together, we are. You are not alone.
Thank you so much, my Facebook friends, for supporting me over the past two and a half years, and thank you for all the messages letting us know we've keyed into the frequency of your hearts. I love you all, and I'll continue being here with you over the next three years as we create Vol. 3."
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