Show Biz

Show Biz…

I have found the Entertainment business today to be an exciting and very challenging field of work and study. It is at once, fun and exciting, as well as cut-throat and brutal. It’s a game with key players and a rigid hierarchy. It can be all fun and games, or pain and suffering… it’s all in how you play; like football.

The rules of the business are written in the sand and change with each new wave. It’s easy to drown, get washed away, or lost at sea in this business so if you want to survive or play you are going to need to find stable ground or a crew to boat with. You need to be skilled, with something to bring to the table, or be drop dead gorgeous. You need to be likeable, passionate and informed at least until you establish yourself. Then you can get away with being stupid, cruel, and ugly. But everybody knows that movies are not made by one person, so learn to put up with massive egos, scummy superstars and dirty crew hands. Everyone has a place and a part to play; find yours.

In the postmodern era Hollywood rules the world. It’s the Hegemonic media power of the day. California is the golden land of opportunity, the place where Hollywood dreams actually come true, we know this because we see it on reality TV! And nobody doubts the authenticity of reality TV. Right?

California is where the sun shines on everyone, and potentially anyone could be the next big thing and hit the big time, or just make a sh*t load of money. In LA it's called the residential/social/superficial lottery! Be nice to people, you never know when you are going to need something from them, or be working under them. The tables turn fast. Don’t get to lofty when you’re and high or too down when you are low. You gotta stay level at all times; poker faces.

If you want to really last in the film business however you have to be able to do almost everything. You have to be able to do more than act, more than write (and read deeply), more than answer phones and get coffee, you have to be able to do all those things with a effective degree of competence, and still have ability to see how you can do those things and then more things; better.

The big stars now are those that can sing, dance and act really well.

The internet and new media has dramatically changed the structure and employment practices of the entertainment world. Competition has gotten stiff and decentralized and you must also be able to create jobs as well as get them for yourself. Or be exceptionally talented without training, or already know somebody. And even knowing somebody is not a guarantee of sucsess.

I have also come to understand that if you want to be a Power Player in the biz today you need to be aware of what that takes. It takes more than just talent, smarts, money or good looks. You also need to know the market. You need to understand the business as well. For instance big musicians today make most of their money from clothes and products –branding-, not CD's.

Actors are following a similar path, getting into fashion design or other arts or they are simply doing endorsements. They build their empire on their name and sell it’s aura to products and other films and then collect tons of money without even being involved. It’s all about image… reality is dead. Image is all that matters.

The point is, is that today the media needs artists! People in media today must have the creative ability to express themselves and what they can do. It needs designers with imagination and expression, using computers and market intuition. Being able to artistically express yourself and then sell your creations (stories, scripts, paintings, websites, clothing designs, ect) to people or sell your image to people is the name of the game. Unless of course you work in Administration in which case your job is to spot these people and put them to work for you!

The media has become the outlet were jobs are created before they are attained. I have come to believe that in the market and image driven media of today you have to be selling more than a pretty face or a told story. You have to offer something new and something fresh, you have to demonstrate that you can bring a new approach, a new idea, and an ability to tell the difference between the new and old.

How can the used/done be made new and marketable? How is what you bring going to benefit people? If people like it, if it touches or entertains them, they'll use it! Why would people want to buy what you have? This is what I have begun to ask myself in my quest to build an Entertainment career and that is what you need to ask yourself.

Ask yourself what you want and then listen for the answer; and then go and get it.