Short film project gets stuck loading and requires force quit

While you are waiting for some human response, I suggest you try these Gemini AI suggestions:-

That loading freeze—where Final Cut Pro hangs indefinitely when opening a specific project while other parts of the library remain accessible—usually points to a corrupted database index state for that specific timeline, or a background asset/plugin handshake failing the exact second the timeline tries to build its display cache.

Since you’ve already cleared preferences, dumped render files, and verified that opening an adjacent project acts as a successful "jump-start" workaround, here are the most effective next steps to isolate and permanently fix the timeline without losing your work schedule:

1. Bypass the Index Lock via a Blank Timeline (The Permanent Fix for the Workaround)

Since your workaround proves that the application's engine can read the project if it's already awake, you can exploit this to rebuild a clean container:

1. Open Final Cut Pro and use your workaround (open an earlier project or a blank dummy project first).
2. Create a brand-new, clean project timeline in the same library.
3. Go into your problematic 16-minute project, press Command-A to select everything, and Command-C to copy.
4. Open the new blank project and paste everything (Command-V).
5. Delete the old, freezing project and rename the new one. This strips out the corrupted XML database wrapper while preserving every edit, transition, and clip placement.

2. Isolate Corrupted Compound Clips, Audio, or Titles

If the freeze happens because the timeline attempts to parse a damaged asset right at startup, a wholesale copy-paste might bring the corruption with it. If Step 1 still freezes, isolate the culprit by halves:

• Copy only the first half of your 16-minute timeline into a new project. Does it open?
• Then try the second half.
• Once you narrow down which section causes the hang, check for large compound clips, third-party title templates, or audio files with non-standard sample rates that might be choking the parser.

3. Move the Library to Test Local I/O Latency

If your library lives on an external high-speed drive, a momentary bottleneck or file lock during the project's heavy initial metadata read can cause a permanent hang.

• Close Final Cut Pro completely.
• Copy the .fcpbundle library file locally or to a separate verified drive, open it from there, and test if the project loads cleanly.

If the timeline still refuses to open cleanly after pasting into a fresh project container, let me know how it behaves or if it throws any specific errors when you manage to get in via your workaround.

If you can get it to open, a common thing to try is to select all, copy then make a completely new project and paste. This way you may get the contents right and hopefully lose whatever structural error there was in the original project.