Right Place, Right Time

I've been watching a lot of amateur movies lately, shot by people who are trying to break into the movie business. It's impressive. People are so visually sophisticated these days. There's no way in Hell, back in my day we could just pick up a camcorder and compete with the guys who had the experience to shoot on film. Nowadays, the lines are pretty thin as to who is a pro and who isn't.

What surprised me was that there were so many with so few credits to their name. Sure they made a solid short movie, or even a feature, but even at this level, they're still hustling for an opportunity to do a bigger movie. If I were an exec, I'd give them a chance. Shit, they show what they could do with so little. But the powers that be, sift through thousands if not hundreds of thousands of media to find that one that has what it takes.

So it's probably not going to be all that popular for me to tell you that a lot of it has to be right place, right time. I got my opportunity to do things, simply for being in the right place at the right time. The key to that opportunity is to make the most of it. These very talented young filmmakers are going to bash themselves up with rejection knowing they have the skill, just not the name or connections to break through. I sincerely wish I could tell the new people in town this simple fact...talent means nothing without connection. And the connection isn't just who is in front of you, it's who's next to you.

See, most come from all over the country to attempt to break in this industry. With enough chutzpah, it happens, but in baby steps. I think talented people will find this to be very frustrating. Since, you will see people move up past you. All you can do is to focus on what you do well. This tends to be the MOST difficult part, since when you start to starve and face rejection, the pain does start to get to you. I wouldn't go back and re-do my first 5 years in Hollywood. It was a ton of talk.  Conversely though, a lot of people will just jump right in. Their attitude and personality will carry them far. This town is surprisingly small, and their name gets batted around. Networking does work, if you work hard to do it. At this point though, I couldn't tell you how it's done. It's much different now. I suspect you get less than 3 minutes to dazzle someone, before they flip open their phone and pretend to be important. This is the obstacle you must endure.

Being in the right place, at the right time requires that you are prepared when that time comes. But that time rarely comes unless you place yourself in some of the right places. I recommend you don't fart around with the "party scene" and learn your craft. People do find people who put in the work, when they come calling.