Resources

Everything They Didn't Teach You About Working In Entertainment: Power

by Chris Goss on March 18, 2014

Nobody tells you this. It's rarely discussed and never admitted.

Giant companies. Piles of money. Titles. Offices. Cars. Bonus packages.

All tied to one word: POWER.

Los Angeles is obsessed with power.

You'd think in a city ripe with everyone aspiring for something, this epicenter of ego would someday simply implode. Perhaps the truth will surprise you.

IMHO: 99% of Hollywood is powerless.

WHAT?!?!

You mean this hive of scum and villainy can't simply download your screenplay and turn it into the next great Memorial Day blockbuster?

1% can, but you'll be dealing with the 99%. In Los Angeles, it can be hard to tell the difference between a wizard who's just a crazy old man and a former Jedi Knight. (The world is waiting on you, J.J.)

STUDIOS

The bigger the buildings, the more people they hold. You might be new to LA and strike up a convo with your coffee guy to learn his mother's cousin's boyfriend's uncle works at Sony. WOW -- you're in. Get your script to this guy to give to that guy and you're gold. What they failed to mention is that the boyfriend's uncle works in Business Affairs, negotiating deals. DOUBLE WOW! Negotiating deals? Ka-ching! You can hear that ATM swallowing that fat option check as you read this. So, you print out the latest draft and slip it in with your $4.16 latte payment, hoping he'll pass it along.

Let's say he does. Your script is now off to Sony. You tweet that you have a project in development at a major studio. Somebody reads this tweet and thinks, bam, you have power.

Only, you don't.

All you have is a plate full of ignorance.

An executive working in Business Affairs at Sony has absolutely zero jurisdiction over fielding material into production. Your development at Sony is officially sitting in the backseat of a supped-up 1997 Honda Accord beside a week-old Chicken McNug box.

Studios are huge. The bigger the studio, the more linear the jobs. This means that the people working there do one thing -- e.g. payroll oversight, legal clearances, contract administration, state tax incentives, etc. -- all having nothing to do with deciding on what scripts get turned into movies.

Meeting these people are good, they expand your network. Believing they will get your script produced is bad.

TITLES

So, you never worked in an office. Understandably you've had no exposure to the corporate structure. As such, it may surprise you to learn that the Vice President of Drama Development isn't "second-in-line" to the president. Most likely there are several dozen vice presidents throughout the studio/company, all not patiently awaiting the assassination of their boss to take his/her seat. This is simply a title achieved through climbing the corporate ladder. In short, it can sound a lot more important than it is, as each of these people are generally looking for material they know their boss (not necessarily them) will like.

Don't get me wrong, VPs make good money. A great gig. Great people to know. But it doesn't necessarily mean they have power -- let's rephrase, creative power. They might be great managers, great diplomats, champions of the bottom line. This doesn't mean they decide what gets made.

All people work for other people. This means while they might love your idea, the person above them might not. This puts a stop to your script. It also stunts creativity. If all people work for other people, all people can get fired. Nobody wants to lose their job championing a risky script. As a new writer, no matter how great it is, your script is risky. This is a catch-22 that nobody tells you.

Lots of titles sound uber-important. It's nearly impossible to really gauge what a person actually does day-to-day unless you stand over his/her shoulder and watch. These people, like all of us, will puff-up their jobs in social settings, both online and in person. "It's pilot season, don't talk to me until May." Really? REALLY?!?!

Lastly on this, everyone and anyone can call themselves a producer. Go on LinkedIn and look it up -- find how many producers have produced films you've heard of. Compare that to how many producers have produced films you haven't. The title of producer is incredibly vague and often misused outside (and in some instances inside) the system. Technically anyone who contributed $1.00 to the Veronica Mars Kickstarter can call themselves a producer, just don't try downloading your copy off Flixster.

Same goes for "Manager," "Entertainment Professional," even "Director." Be wary of titles, do your research.

OPTIONS

A script option is simply an agreement between the writer and a third party giving the third party exclusive rights to sell or produce a script within a certain amount of time. In other words, I can ask my mother to option my script. She can agree, we can draft up a contract and I'll officially be a writer with a signed script option. Nobody knows it's my mom.

I can use this tidbit of info and send my material to agents and managers claiming that it's under option, thus increasing it's apparent clout in hopes to getting read. This is why agents and managers ignore 95% of queries -- it's simply too hard to gauge what's legit and what isn't.

However, just like you're trying to jumpstart your career as a writer, so are there beginner producers; and partnering with them can be a great launchpad. Young producers may have connections with established producers, who may have connections with studio executives who may be well-liked by the president who's in great standing with the chairman. There are numerous degrees of separation between your script and the screen. Don't assume the first bite will be the last, it often never works that way.

ASSETS

This pretty much applies to all areas of business, but seems to be doubly celebrated here in Hollywood. People display their power by showing off their wealth through material items. These items may or (most likely) may not reflect their owner's financial well-being. In other words, people love to live beyond their means. Los Angeles is a shining example of the rich and the poor co-existing on the same block. What the rich have, the poor want. What a successful screenwriter has, an aspiring screenwriter wants -- as if somehow owning a Tesla is equivalent to being a talented writer.

Hogwash. Don't fall into this. Drive what's reasonable. Own what you need. There is absolutely no relationship between being rich and being a good writer. None.

WHO IS THE 1%?

I'm about to completely contradict the paragraph above. 3/4 of the 1% are the people who have money and 1/4 are the people who spend their money. Studio presidents spend money. They are given a budget and can allocate that money to various projects. However, with that money comes creative direction. That creative direction is determined solely be the individuals risking the money, either a chairman using the funds of their shareholders or capital from an angel investor. Very few of those people act with hands-off delicacy.

Funnel it all down and what you've got are a VERY small number of decision-making risk takers who have lots of money (or control of money) who don't always act with the highest regard for creative integrity, subjectively speaking. When you hear "Hollywood is broken," this is what you're hearing.

I don't write this to discourage you, I simply write it to remind you of your uphill battle. There are numerous non-creative hurdles to jump whenever a project is considered for production. You have no control of how these arenas are navigated. The very most you can do is write a great script.

Every story has a starting place -- a script.

Write that script. Just lose a little bit of your ignorance along the way so you're not blindsided into thinking it's going to be an easy ride.

Everything They Didn't Teach You About Working In Entertainment: Being A People Person

Everything They Didn't Teach You About Working In Entertainment:Dealing With Disappointment

Everything They Didn't Teach You About Working In Entertainment: Getting A Job

Everything They Didn't Teach You About Working In Entertainment: Paying Your Bills

Everything They Didn't Teach You About Working In Entertainment: Living In Los Angeles

 

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