| GETTING
THE JOB The vast majority of industry
jobs require at least two years of work experience in
the industry. A double bind? Absolutely. Your first
assignment: Get to know the players. If you are going
after an assistant job in film or television, take the
time to browse the Internet and get some background
on the company and/or person you are trying to impress.
An invaluable reference is the most recent copy of the
Hollywood Creative Directory. (Borrow it; do not buy
it. It’s expensive and rendered obsolete every
couple of months by the constant reshuffling of executives,
production deals, partnerships, etc.) The Creative Directory
will give you a comprehensive rundown of the production
companies in town, the movies and television shows they
have made, the major studios, and who heads them up,
so that when you’re sitting in that once-in-a-lifetime
interview you will be well versed in the accomplishments
of the person you are talking to. I’m not saying
people like to be flattered, but … people like
to be flattered. Know what their successes have been.
Avoid the flops. Pay close attention to what is in the
hopper, and don’t be afraid to speak up. You never
know what insightful comment you might make that will
let your interviewer know you’re right for the
job. Your pre-interview legwork might very well compensate
for your lack of work experience.
My second piece of advice: Read the trades. “What
are the trades?” you ask politely. There are two
trade papers in Hollywood: Daily Variety and
The Hollywood Reporter. They are absolute must-reads
for anyone working in the business.
— Do read them to make sure you don’t
kick off your interview at Paramount Studios by saying
…
“The Star Trek
franchise? Don’t get me started. I don’t
know who keeps making those movies,
but whoever they are—GEEZ. They need to have their
head examined.”
… only to discover
that the banner headline in The Hollywood Reporter that
day reads:
“PARAMOUNT GREENLIGHTS
FIRST IN NEW TRILOGY—
STAR TREK: THE WAR WITH
THE KLING-ONS WAS A BIG OL’ MISUNDERSTANDING.”
— Don’t bother responding to job listings
there unless you are truly desperate or just need the
practice. Any job worth
having is not likely to be listed in a widely read publication.
In fact, most of the
jobs worth having will be found via word-of-mouth, which
leads me to my next
suggestion…
Make friends. It is a business of relationships, and
cultivating a few solid friends is more valuable than
knowing exactly what you want to do. While the competition
out here is fierce, invariably your friends will have
different goals than you. For example, let’s say
your new friend is an assistant at CAA (Creative Artists
Agency), and let’s say your new friend works for
the agent who represents Tom Hanks. When Mr. Hanks calls
in a panic because his assistant just sold her first
screenplay and will be leaving him imminently, you will
be in the forefront of your friend’s mind when
his boss asks him to suggest someone reliable, presentable,
and absolutely awesome to send over for an interview.
It’s that simple.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Once you land your first real job and you find yourself
swimming around in a pool of powerful people, you have
officially broken into the business. And, not unlike
a swimming pool, it can be chilly at first. Don’t
panic. You’ll adjust. Making it in this business
is trial by fire. There isn’t much knowledge that
will come your way without your ego taking a knock,
which is why nerves of steel are a good asset to bring
to the party. Short of metal nerves, I suggest you pull
your sense of humor and ability to self-deprecate to
the forefront. You can always work out the aftermath
in therapy. Before you know it, you’ll realize
the jaw-dropping reality of what you’ve accomplished.
You have your first real shot at making a career in
entertainment! Wherever you land, you will be involved
in the production of mass media, and whatever part you
contribute to the process will move that production
forward.
Finally, and this is probably the most important note
to remember if nothing from this article sticks with
you: Be prepared to fail. You will hop from job to job.
You will have personality conflicts. Entertainment and
media are nothing without drama, and the people who
choose to work in this business have a great propensity
for it. My boyfriend got fired every day from the same
job for two years. Don’t take things too seriously
and you’ll be fine. Your first few jobs in the
business will be like going through intensive schooling.
You will learn new vocabulary. You will redefine your
passion for what it is you want to accomplish, in or
out of this business. You will learn what kind of boss
you want to be someday. You will learn what it takes
to successfully produce or direct, market or publicize.
You will learn the tenuous nature of media and the fickle
nature of an audience. And most of all, you will learn
that you want your last name back, and that is reason
enough to keep going.
Although she is not currently
getting paid to write, Elizabeth McCarthy (F’96)
humbly describes herself as a "writer in italics
and quotation marks." Her first job in Hollywood,
as an assistant at Hofflund/Polone (management), gave
her access to the most talked about projects around town,
as well as the independent projects and unsolicited submissions
that arrived daily from hopeful directors in New York,
L.A. and Delhi. Hooked on the idea that she could write
at least as well as the guys in Bollywood, and totally
addicted to wearing jeans to work, Elizabeth moved on
to various assistant jobs in development and production
to widen her view of what it takes to make a movie. Since
then, she has had the good fortune to work in the immediate
vicinity of lots of cool and talented people, most recently
at Zucker Productions with Jerry Zucker. Having passed
up several promotions along the way in favor of pursuing
her writing career, Elizabeth often wonders, "Am
I going to be poor for the rest of my life?" But
these thoughts are
fleeting. With two screenplays in the works and her
first novel recently completed, she¹s much more
worried about the apple juice she just spilled on her
computer.
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