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"I know nothing about the entertainment industry..." Then maybe you shouldn't speak about it as if you do. I have heard the same advice in this article from a

"I know nothing about the entertainment industry..." Then maybe you shouldn't speak about it as if you do. I have heard the same advice in this article from a number of people working as tv writers (either reading articles, or as part of my mfa in creative writing), and it does seem like the vast majority of them only got where they are by "working their way up". The idea that you can just make something good enough that people can't ignore it is, in fact, the view that is hopelessly naive. It isn't like the internet where you can easily achieve massive distribution. You have to get it in the hands of a very small number of people who are swamped by an incredibly large number of people in the exact same situation as you. The amount of good content that is generated by writers is overwhelming and, in fact, incredibly easy to ignore. Not saying you can't point to success stories of people who produced their own stuff. You can just point to more stories of people who lost a lot of money producing their own stuff and have nothing to show for it. Building relationships certainly seems to be a more reliable way to go about breaking into the industry.

gamble 16y ago
Is working for someone as a personal assistant really 'building relationships', though? I suspect that personal anecdotes are poor proof in this case because the huge number of low-level employees who pay their dues and get nothing out of it are hardly in a position to give advice on how to break into show business. On the other hand, if most people are trying to get in through relationships, then you would expect that most people who were successful would have done it that way. It doesn't say much about your relative chances with either approach.
- mturmon 16y ago
  I don't think anyone meant personal assistant. The acronym "PA" means "production assistant". A good description is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_assistant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_assistant
DannoHung 16y ago
> The amount of good content that is generated by writers is overwhelming and, in fact, incredibly easy to ignore. Not saying you can't point to success stories of people who produced their own stuff. You can just point to more stories of people who lost a lot of money producing their own stuff and have nothing to show for it. Building relationships certainly seems to be a more reliable way to go about breaking into the industry. Obviously, the answer is to write terrible shit, because no one is putting any of that heaping pile of good content into consumable products.
- mechanical_fish 16y ago
  As many famous screenwriters have been at pains to point out, a movie is a very, very large collaborative enterprise by at least a dozen departments full of people, the leader of any one of which can make or break the results. What this means is: There are a lot of bad movies made from good scripts. Don't assume that the quality of the average finished film is representative of the quality of the average script, let alone of the skill of the average writer (who is, after all, operating under many, many constraints).
  - billswift 16y ago
    That's nothing new. Read what Heinlein has to say about the making of Destination Moon in 1949 in his Guest of Honor Speech at the Rio de Janeiro Movie Festival twenty years later. It was published in the posthumous tribute collection, Requiem.
digitailor 16y ago
I'm in LA and in the industry and I agree with you. Take that menial job (although it is hard to work up from lowly PA, but not impossible). But here is the secret: DON'T BE A DICK. PLAY THE GAME BUT DO NOT COMPROMISE YOUR ETHICS TOO BADLY. DO NOT ACT LIKE A TYPICAL AMERICAN ENTITLED BRAT. BE RESPECTFUL. I know someone who went from an assistant writing position to start in H'wood who is now co-producer of a network smash hit (Glee)... he did it by patiently building relationships and staying positive. I know "screenwriters" who sit at home all day and are supported by their wives... because they have poor social skills and feel they are entitled to money because they are smart. Don't fall into this trap, it's a dead end.
VMG 16y ago
There is a this american life story about pitching TV shows - can't find it right now though

gamble 16y ago

Is working for someone as a personal assistant really 'building relationships', though? I suspect that personal anecdotes are poor proof in this case because the huge number of low-level employees who pay their dues and get nothing out of it are hardly in a position to give advice on how to break into show business. On the other hand, if most people are trying to get in through relationships, then you would expect that most people who were successful would have done it that way. It doesn't say much about your relative chances with either approach.

mturmon 16y ago
I don't think anyone meant personal assistant. The acronym "PA" means "production assistant". A good description is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_assistant http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_assistant

DannoHung 16y ago

> The amount of good content that is generated by writers is overwhelming and, in fact, incredibly easy to ignore. Not saying you can't point to success stories of people who produced their own stuff. You can just point to more stories of people who lost a lot of money producing their own stuff and have nothing to show for it. Building relationships certainly seems to be a more reliable way to go about breaking into the industry. Obviously, the answer is to write terrible shit, because no one is putting any of that heaping pile of good content into consumable products.

mechanical_fish 16y ago
As many famous screenwriters have been at pains to point out, a movie is a very, very large collaborative enterprise by at least a dozen departments full of people, the leader of any one of which can make or break the results. What this means is: There are a lot of bad movies made from good scripts. Don't assume that the quality of the average finished film is representative of the quality of the average script, let alone of the skill of the average writer (who is, after all, operating under many, many constraints).
- billswift 16y ago
  That's nothing new. Read what Heinlein has to say about the making of Destination Moon in 1949 in his Guest of Honor Speech at the Rio de Janeiro Movie Festival twenty years later. It was published in the posthumous tribute collection, Requiem.

digitailor 16y ago

I'm in LA and in the industry and I agree with you. Take that menial job (although it is hard to work up from lowly PA, but not impossible). But here is the secret: DON'T BE A DICK. PLAY THE GAME BUT DO NOT COMPROMISE YOUR ETHICS TOO BADLY. DO NOT ACT LIKE A TYPICAL AMERICAN ENTITLED BRAT. BE RESPECTFUL. I know someone who went from an assistant writing position to start in H'wood who is now co-producer of a network smash hit (Glee)... he did it by patiently building relationships and staying positive. I know "screenwriters" who sit at home all day and are supported by their wives... because they have poor social skills and feel they are entitled to money because they are smart. Don't fall into this trap, it's a dead end.

VMG 16y ago

There is a this american life story about pitching TV shows - can't find it right now though