Jan 2010
Income = Day Job − Internship ÷ Qualification2
January 21, 2010 Filed in: Adventures in Filmmaking | Internships
I got the driving instructor job. What the hell does that have to do with filmmaking? A lot, actually. Instead of slaving for others, helping them get their film projects off the ground, I’ll be earning money and financing my own. I’ve been itching to shoot another short film since I completed STRING THEORY. With an actual paying job, that should be possible soon.
Speaking of slaving, I didn’t get the internship at the production company. I should’ve known it was a bad sign when, during the interview, the guy looked at my resume and said “You have a lot of experience. I’m worried you’ll get bored working here as an intern.”
Translation: “You’re overqualified and I’m not going to hire you.”
Further translation: “You’re too experienced. I won’t have the nerve to ask you to fetch me coffee, especially since I won’t be paying you jack shit. I think I’ll hire the inexperienced twenty-two year-old instead. He’ll be easier to push around.”
Do I sound bitter? Sure, but that doesn’t make my translation any less true.
Speaking of slaving, I didn’t get the internship at the production company. I should’ve known it was a bad sign when, during the interview, the guy looked at my resume and said “You have a lot of experience. I’m worried you’ll get bored working here as an intern.”
Translation: “You’re overqualified and I’m not going to hire you.”
Further translation: “You’re too experienced. I won’t have the nerve to ask you to fetch me coffee, especially since I won’t be paying you jack shit. I think I’ll hire the inexperienced twenty-two year-old instead. He’ll be easier to push around.”
Do I sound bitter? Sure, but that doesn’t make my translation any less true.
More Interviews
Today was well spent. At 10 AM I had an interview for a "regular" day job as a driving instructor for teenagers. In the seven months I’ve been in L.A., I’ve tried to avoid looking for work outside of the film industry, to dedicate all my time to my film career. But I'm in debt now. My UCLA class tuition and the expenses of my last film STRING THEORY are chilling on my credit card, gathering interest. If I get hired at this driving school it should work out well with my filmmaking goals. They offer a flexible schedule, which is crucial since I don’t want to get trapped in a day job.
At 1:30 PM I had another interview, for an internship at a film production company. This year, this company has a film nominated for a Golden Globe and another film nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Their office is in Century City, in a fancy high-rise on the sixth floor, a block away from the Fox building used in DIE HARD and another building where I shot STRING THEORY. I met with the Director of Acquisitions, who told me he used to be an intern once himself.
To top off the day, my UCLA class in the evening had Sid Ganis as a guest speaker. Sid is a big producer. Among other things, he was president of Paramount Pictures and then president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that hands out the Oscars every year.
Sid mentioned at one point that he's looking for a good thriller script. Did I jump up and tell him I have two good thriller scripts sitting on my shelf at home? Of course not. That's not correct Hollywood etiquette, it would only make me look small and amateurish. Another guy in class was less socially aware and did ask Sid to read his script. He got an indirect “no” and... made himself look small and amateurish.
At 1:30 PM I had another interview, for an internship at a film production company. This year, this company has a film nominated for a Golden Globe and another film nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Their office is in Century City, in a fancy high-rise on the sixth floor, a block away from the Fox building used in DIE HARD and another building where I shot STRING THEORY. I met with the Director of Acquisitions, who told me he used to be an intern once himself.
To top off the day, my UCLA class in the evening had Sid Ganis as a guest speaker. Sid is a big producer. Among other things, he was president of Paramount Pictures and then president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that hands out the Oscars every year.
Sid mentioned at one point that he's looking for a good thriller script. Did I jump up and tell him I have two good thriller scripts sitting on my shelf at home? Of course not. That's not correct Hollywood etiquette, it would only make me look small and amateurish. Another guy in class was less socially aware and did ask Sid to read his script. He got an indirect “no” and... made himself look small and amateurish.