How many filmmakers have been discouraged by friends and family
members from pursuing their dreams of Hollywood? How many one-on-
one sessions have they had with an Uncle who tried to convince
them to go into the pharmacy business instead? That they could
never be the next Quentin Tarantino or Billy-Bob Thornton or Ben
Affleck and Matt Damon. They could never make the next Open
Water, Napoleon Dynamite, Primer, Blair Witch Project or
Machiavelli Hangman. Those are Cinderella stories, they say!
Well, there seem to be a lot of these Cinderella Stories, so
there must be a way in!
Hollywood is a great town if you’re successful and when it hits,
it’s HUGE! Filmmaking is a great business if you have a stable
job, but for everything that is good, there are rules to follow
to get it. For those outside looking in, those golden rules to
become successful include:
a) Must be rich, if you’re not rich, you’re doomed.
b) You have to know someone who is well connected.
c) You have to sleep your way to the top.
d) You have to do drugs to get your foot in the door.
e) You have to do a lot more drugs to keep your foot there.
f) You have to forget your values and everything you learned
at church.
g) You have to be willing to get divorced at twice.
Ironically, talent and perseverance are not mentioned once on
that list. Oh that’s right, that’s because they’re mentioned on
the more academic lists... the ones they give the students in
Film School. The ones that include just two requirements: 99%
Perseverance and 1% Talent.
In the end, our poor filmmakers still have no clue of whether
they should just remove themselves from the film industry and
shred their dreams or they should find some way to find talent
and perseverance. What happens to those who already have both
talent and perseverance? What do they do with it now?
If anyone has told you there is no set formula to success in
Hollywood, I wouldn’t go as far as saying they’ve been lying to
you, but they just didn’t know any better. I’m here to tell you
that there is a formula out there, dozens of them and I’m here to
share only one of them with you. You need steps; I won’t put a
false disclaimer that these are three easy steps, because they’re
not. They are steps and if you’re willing to take them, they will
direct you exactly where you want to go, and that’s to the big
time.
If that’s not where you want to go, stop right now. If you think
you have it in you and you want to climb the box-office ladder,
then please read on!
(to be continued)
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