Re: bringing the pessimism for the reality check b/c i'm a downer like that:DddelappJune 22 2007, 19:16:31 UTC
"so ultimately we come back to the original question - what do YOU want? what do YOU think YOU need to do to achieve YOUR goals. tv writing doesn't give you many options. you go the design route, you need to seek out representation in order to staff yourself b/c you aren't making the sacrifices to get in that writers room."
You hit the nail on the head. That is the question I've been wrestling with. Here's my logic, boiled down:
1. Being a PA, while setting you up for promotion, also sets you up for more PA work. It's an ongoing cycle, broken only by someone willing to "take a chance" on you. And while being on a show, or with a group, for an extended time increases someone's willingness, I think there is a similar notion to consider someone, sometimes for years, as whatever they first came to you as (i.e. a PA).
2. Along those same lines, and to understand where I'm coming from, I've never been on a show that lasted more than half a season. Thus, I've never experienced the "work somewhere for a year or two, then be bumped up next season" career path. What I have experienced, however, is the same coordinators and producers I've worked with (going on two years now) continue to ask for me to be a PA. In contrast to this, all of my interviews for writer PA (2), writer assistant (3), script coordinator (1), and assistant to an EP (2) have been with people I have not worked with before. To be clear, I think the first option is probably the best, surest thing, but it hasn't worked for me yet.
3. Despite my best efforts, I finally had to recognize that when I'm a PA, I simply do not write in any useful amounts.
4. In my most recent bout of unemployment, I wrote quite a bit. The two most recent specs (which took me 2 months) I've written I feel are significantly better than my last two specs (which took me 18 months). And I feel the next two will be better still. I see my scripts attaining some professional aspects. I want to maintain that trajectory, and I think that is only possible if I continue to write regularly.
5. Sacrifices need to be made to make it to the writers room, but what sacrifices are those? Is it being a PA? Is it being poor? Is it writing continually, trying to become better with every draft? All of the above? What is necessary, and what helps the most? Hollywood is a gamble, so I suppose the best we all can do is try our hardest to improve our chances.
Also, the 14 hour days are not a problem for me. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. My concern in this case is it would dedicating those hours be the best use of my time.
So, I guess the bottom line of what I'm saying is that I need to be a better writer to compete, and I can only do that if I dedicate the time to improving.
Re: bringing the pessimism for the reality check b/c i'm a downer like that:DbrisrealmJune 22 2007, 19:43:30 UTC
but needing to be a better writer to compete is not going to be your "in" necessarily. there is no surefire way ANY way you look at it. lemme give you a few examples of friends i know...
al difiore - older guy, worked with his friend, chris haddock, on da vinci's inquest the entire run of the show in canada, which was something like 7 or 8 years. chris got him on as a writer on the handler when cbs took the gamble on chris. after the handler folded, al decided to stay here in la. that was 2004. it's now 2007. three staffing seasons have gone by and al is still here, but he's making his living writing for canadian film and television. he has two agents. he used to have 2 agents from william morris. he pitches himself, and his agents pitch him, every staffing season but as of yet, no response. he cannot get a show and yet he's established as a tv writer.
shawn thomas - got his lucky break on titus where they hired him as a writer's pa with the incentive to move him into writers asst. that was 6 years ago. he had two written titus episodes - bones thrown by the writing staff, and most recently cowrote a girlfriends episode, but yet he's stuck at script coordinator. he is RIGHT THERE and nobody is staffing him up. titus went 4 seasons. girlfriends is still going and he's been with them for a couple of years.
joseph muscat - moved from ny to be chris haddock's asst on the handler (the position i basically have now with jack). had sold a feature that ended up in turnaround b/c another studio had greenlight a similar story starring the rock. has another feature sold but in prep hell. got a script on hawaii before it folded. where is he now? 3 years of him, his manager, and his agent plugging him for staffing positions every season only to come up with nothing. he temped for a year btwn staffing seasons. he's written tons of scripts both feature and tv. his hawaii script was because he was the writers asst. he's finishing a script coordinating gig for a cable network with no prospects after that.
todd eliassen - script coordinator going on 10 years now with nobody willing to move him up.
mike fox & robyn adams - worked on according to jim for years as writers assts, got scripts randomly but never staffed. still aren't as far as i know, although mike i think finally got a break with his bro on a disney channel project.
lisa schultz - on judging amy for years, then script coordinator on close to home. didn't get a script b/c the exec assts got them. one exec asst ended up being staffed by his boss on jericho, lucky break for him, so lisa moved into that position. the script coord on jericho got the script instead of her. talk about the shaft although she loves her boss immensely and still has hopes that her boss will ultimately do for her what she did for her old asst.
dan thomsen - true gem. he's a success story, but he is wary. worked on smallville as script coordinator, then segued into exec producer's asst on close to home. ended up working for lost writers before dumping them in favor of bionic's ep. his boss got dumped by network. his agents got him a meeting with sarah connor chronicles. he's staffed - first staff job, and he's worried.
no easy ticket, no easy ride, and luck does play a factor. i firmly believe connections are key in maintaining. i firmly believe those connections need to know where i wanna go. i firmly believe in utilizing my resources as much as i can. i firmly believe that i will fail a lot more before i succeed. i firmly believe that i will not give up until i have achieved my goals. i firmly believe that taking hold of opportunities as they arise will be the only way i will make that happen.
You hit the nail on the head. That is the question I've been wrestling with. Here's my logic, boiled down:
1. Being a PA, while setting you up for promotion, also sets you up for more PA work. It's an ongoing cycle, broken only by someone willing to "take a chance" on you. And while being on a show, or with a group, for an extended time increases someone's willingness, I think there is a similar notion to consider someone, sometimes for years, as whatever they first came to you as (i.e. a PA).
2. Along those same lines, and to understand where I'm coming from, I've never been on a show that lasted more than half a season. Thus, I've never experienced the "work somewhere for a year or two, then be bumped up next season" career path. What I have experienced, however, is the same coordinators and producers I've worked with (going on two years now) continue to ask for me to be a PA. In contrast to this, all of my interviews for writer PA (2), writer assistant (3), script coordinator (1), and assistant to an EP (2) have been with people I have not worked with before. To be clear, I think the first option is probably the best, surest thing, but it hasn't worked for me yet.
3. Despite my best efforts, I finally had to recognize that when I'm a PA, I simply do not write in any useful amounts.
4. In my most recent bout of unemployment, I wrote quite a bit. The two most recent specs (which took me 2 months) I've written I feel are significantly better than my last two specs (which took me 18 months). And I feel the next two will be better still. I see my scripts attaining some professional aspects. I want to maintain that trajectory, and I think that is only possible if I continue to write regularly.
5. Sacrifices need to be made to make it to the writers room, but what sacrifices are those? Is it being a PA? Is it being poor? Is it writing continually, trying to become better with every draft? All of the above? What is necessary, and what helps the most? Hollywood is a gamble, so I suppose the best we all can do is try our hardest to improve our chances.
Also, the 14 hour days are not a problem for me. I've done it before, and I'll do it again. My concern in this case is it would dedicating those hours be the best use of my time.
So, I guess the bottom line of what I'm saying is that I need to be a better writer to compete, and I can only do that if I dedicate the time to improving.
Reply
al difiore - older guy, worked with his friend, chris haddock, on da vinci's inquest the entire run of the show in canada, which was something like 7 or 8 years. chris got him on as a writer on the handler when cbs took the gamble on chris. after the handler folded, al decided to stay here in la. that was 2004. it's now 2007. three staffing seasons have gone by and al is still here, but he's making his living writing for canadian film and television. he has two agents. he used to have 2 agents from william morris. he pitches himself, and his agents pitch him, every staffing season but as of yet, no response. he cannot get a show and yet he's established as a tv writer.
shawn thomas - got his lucky break on titus where they hired him as a writer's pa with the incentive to move him into writers asst. that was 6 years ago. he had two written titus episodes - bones thrown by the writing staff, and most recently cowrote a girlfriends episode, but yet he's stuck at script coordinator. he is RIGHT THERE and nobody is staffing him up. titus went 4 seasons. girlfriends is still going and he's been with them for a couple of years.
joseph muscat - moved from ny to be chris haddock's asst on the handler (the position i basically have now with jack). had sold a feature that ended up in turnaround b/c another studio had greenlight a similar story starring the rock. has another feature sold but in prep hell. got a script on hawaii before it folded. where is he now? 3 years of him, his manager, and his agent plugging him for staffing positions every season only to come up with nothing. he temped for a year btwn staffing seasons. he's written tons of scripts both feature and tv. his hawaii script was because he was the writers asst. he's finishing a script coordinating gig for a cable network with no prospects after that.
todd eliassen - script coordinator going on 10 years now with nobody willing to move him up.
mike fox & robyn adams - worked on according to jim for years as writers assts, got scripts randomly but never staffed. still aren't as far as i know, although mike i think finally got a break with his bro on a disney channel project.
lisa schultz - on judging amy for years, then script coordinator on close to home. didn't get a script b/c the exec assts got them. one exec asst ended up being staffed by his boss on jericho, lucky break for him, so lisa moved into that position. the script coord on jericho got the script instead of her. talk about the shaft although she loves her boss immensely and still has hopes that her boss will ultimately do for her what she did for her old asst.
dan thomsen - true gem. he's a success story, but he is wary. worked on smallville as script coordinator, then segued into exec producer's asst on close to home. ended up working for lost writers before dumping them in favor of bionic's ep. his boss got dumped by network. his agents got him a meeting with sarah connor chronicles. he's staffed - first staff job, and he's worried.
no easy ticket, no easy ride, and luck does play a factor. i firmly believe connections are key in maintaining. i firmly believe those connections need to know where i wanna go. i firmly believe in utilizing my resources as much as i can. i firmly believe that i will fail a lot more before i succeed. i firmly believe that i will not give up until i have achieved my goals. i firmly believe that taking hold of opportunities as they arise will be the only way i will make that happen.
Reply
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