Creative Careers in Hollywood

by Scheer, Laurie

• ISBN13: 9781581152432
• ISBN10: 1581152434
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Allworth Press

Summary

In this candid guide, entertainment industry veteran Laurie Scheer offers a witty and informative inside look at the primary professions in the movie biz. Readers will discover real-life, yet upbeat portraits of the "shredder" jobs of the industry, such as assistant or d-girl, and how they can lead to the "keeper" jobs of actor, agent, or studio executive. Each career overview features a clever analysis of the classic film characters who memorably played these jobs on screen; an insightful rewards-risks assessment of the job; and a brief look at such essential job qualities as durability, length of stay, "food chain value, " and desirability factor. Part how-to guide, part historical document, and part social commentary, this book will delight career seekers, Hollywood insiders, and film aficionados alike!

Author Biography

Laurie Scheer has worked as an assistant, d-girl, producer, and network vice president for some of the most powerful media conglomerates in the world. She has helped MTV, Showtime, and Nickelodeon launch some of their most successful formats, has developed numerous network series and TV/cable movies, and is the producer of several independent feature film projects. She is a popular guest speaker at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles and the New York Chapter of the Writers Guild. She has also taught screenwriting, producing, and television and film business courses at American University, Howard University, Northwestern University, DePaul University, the University of Chicago, and Columbia College. The author of two novels, she is also a consultant and columnist for Showtime Networks and e-script Web sites. She divides her time between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(11)
This is Los Angeles
Movies Aren't the Only Influence
Mythmaking for the Collective Consciousness
1950,1976, and the Late 1990s
Life Does Influence Art
Touchstone Thoughts
How to Use This Book
Hollywood Food Chain (HFC)
Don't Forget to Have Fun
Actor	12	(30)
The Twenties
The Thirties
The Forties
The Fifties
The Sixties and Seventies
The Eighties and Nineties
Actor Wrap
In Real Life
Agent-Manager	42	(14)
Schmoozing at All Levels
The Tenpercenteries
The Beautiful Young Turks
In Real Life
Assistant	56	(14)
The Fundamental Film
Administrative Personnel
Before Hollywood
Locating a Job Lead
Celluloid Assistants
Do You Love It Enough to Change It?
In Real Life
D-Girl	70	(20)
Development
Working Between the Revolving Doors
D-Girl Burnout
Three Important D-Girl
In Real Life
Director	90	(20)
Directors: The Different Breeds
How to Get Started
The Early Directors
A Sprawling Suburb, Superb for Filmmaking
The Eighties: One Memorable, and Two Odd, Films
Reality in the Nineties
Seventeen Stories
In Real Life
Press	110	(14)
Stars Falling from the Sky
Press Credentials
The Films
Before E! Entertainment Television
Publicity, Publicity,Publicity
In Real Life
Producer	124	(18)
They Are All Visionaries
Just What Does a Producer Do?
?Me A Producer?
Producer Wrap
In Real Life
Production and Crew	142	(14)
In Production
Belw-the-Line Stories
Honoring the Credit Crawl
In Real Life
Studio Executive	156	(16)
Executive Roster
Screen Tycoons
Playing and Swimming
Today's ``Old Men''
In Real Life
Writer	172	(23)
Baby Writers to Script Doctors
Scribes of the Screen
Second-Half-of-the-Century Screenwriters
Post-Modern and Post-Film School Writers
In Real Life
Two Young Scribes
Lot Life	195	(12)
A Brief History
The Dream Factories
Professor Lewis Says
Wrap-Up	207
Lessons Suggested by Movie-Made Experience
Shared Classroom Wisdom Equals Gainful Employment
Collective Consciousness Continued
Hollywood: Stars and Starlets, Tycoons and Flesh-Peddlers, Moviemakers and Moneymakers, Frauds and Geniuses, Hopefuls and Has-Beens, Great Lovers and Sex Symbols
from Extra Girls to Errand Boys