Not Much To Say Eh?

So I haven't been active in over a year...or almost two, sue me. My blog. Quick refresh. Writers Guild strike. Business shuts down. Fat got trimmed. Assistants got laid off. I didn't. But, even though not getting laid off was a very good thing, the strike compelled those with jobs to stay at their jobs. Thus, no movement. So I wasn't able to find an opportunity to assist a Motion Picture Literary Agent.

On the contrary I was tractor-beamed into an open position working for the head of the TV Literary Dept. He was a bear. He IS a bear. The Bear doesn't like his assistants. I worked for The Bear for just over a year and a half. If I were Asian and gay I truly would compare my experience to Lloyd.

I was yelled at for things beyond my control. I got coffee (which was both belittling and a breath of fresh air, literally), I got made fun of, etc. One particular instance, which was totally my fault, came on a Tuesday morning. Later that morning The Bear had a meeting with a writer (I can't remember if they were a client already or not...I assume not) and so in preperation for the meeting The Bear had some material to familiarize himself with. I gave The Bear the material the previous Thursday since he was out of the office on Friday. Monday comes and goes and I assumed The Bear would have read the material over the weekend for Tuesday morning. That was the critical mistake. Rule #1 in the assistant Bible - Never assume. Always clarify. Always follow-up. I understand the importance of the rule, but I definitely liken it to, "Always wipe the boss' ass for them." So. I'm sitting at my desk on Tuesday morning. The Bear calls in. It goes something like this:

The Bear

Was't I supposed to have read

something for this meeting this morning?

Lloyd

Yes, I gave it to you last Thursday when

you asked for all the reading that you needed

for the next week.

A brief beat. The Bear breathes HEAVY.

The Bear

Uh Huh. (beat) Ok (beat)

So you didn't tell me yesterday

that I needed to read this?

Fuck.

Lloyd

I thought you would have read it

over the weekend since you asked-

DING! An elevator delivers The Bear to our floor of the building. Lloyd turns to catch the soon-to-be priceless reactions of his peers during a public beating -ahem, berating.

The Bear

(in stereo from phone and down the hall - yelling)

What the fuck!? You think I can

keep track of all this shit!? This is

your f'n job!! You wanna poke the bear

first thing in the f'n morning?! Alright,

we can go there!

Llyod watches as mouths drop to the floor. Everyone knows it's coming. Shit, everyone hears it coming. Lloyd's face turns RED. The Bear rounds the corner. Here we go...

Alright, I won't be tiring out the Entourage cliche too much...but I thought it would be the most efficient way of summing up what parts of my life were like over the past two years. Despite all that, I learned the world of TV. I saw how it all works inside and out. From little nobody deals to big f'n "this is the most important person in tv" deals.

Once I finished working for The Bear and found The Bear a replacement...The Bear liked me. All in all it was a good time. It's like looking back on boot camp and saying, "It was the best thing I've ever done and will never do again."

Vanilla or One of the Other 30 Flavors?

So I've been doing this unglorified thing the industry, or at least the agencies, call floating and I've become fairly comforatble with the nuances of the job. I mean, really, in the end the job is still as someone's assistant no matter how much work there is and how high your boss tells you to jump.

But being upstairs out of the mailroom amidst the other assistants I've worked hard and learned quickly. The latter of the two is what gets you out of the hot seat on a new desk the fastest, the former...keeps you out. I guess someone passed along some good notes on my performance (thank you to that anonymous person) and I was approached by the "powers that be" and asked whether or not I would be interested in going to work as a 2nd asst. for the President of the company...no names here guys, sorry. Seems like a good...no, great opportunity here right? The experience would be invaluable. If my performance was up to snuff I would gain valuable contacts in that arena.

On the other hand I'm trying to stay focused on a long term goal...producing. With that in mind I really want to learn the business of a motion picture literary agent. The job entails attaching writers and material...it even includes attaching directors in some circumstances.

So here is my dilemma, do I take the good opportunity that may just knock once, or do I hold out and stick to the plan. The grass is always greener on the other side they say, which sure as hell means its a whole lot sweeter, so??

Float Like a Butterfly Sting Like an E

Yeah so I know the title is a bit cheesy, but I couldn't resist.

Anyways, so I got pulled up out of the mailroom after an enduring two months into what is called the floater pool. It's a period of time in between the mailroom and when you finally get an official desk (and a permanent boss). It's also a period of time when you receive training, shadow not so busy assistants and coordinators, and learn the systems (ie. phone lists, rolling calls, etc...).

Instead of giving me any training or allowing me to kindly sit beside a not so busy assistant, I was invited to sit on a long term (2 1/2 weeks) desk for a very busy agent in the global branding entertainment department. This is product placement and celebrity endorsements...fyi. I can see (after the fact...hindsight being the 20/20 that it is) how she can be a nice person, even genuine at times, but not to her assistant. To say the least I got a crash course in every since of the expression.

If for some reason you're ever in the same situation, hang in there, move like lightning, and know the right answer before you open you're mouth, and you'll get out of there with a, "you did a good job." Pleasing those that aren't easily pleased is a wonderful feeling.

The Mailroom - Truly Starting at the Bottom

Who am I? Just a humble, yet motivated, mid-20s, American male. I attended a pretty decent public school (Go Cavaliers!) and then followed it up with a degree in film and video production at a small, very hands on, film school in Santa Barbara, CA. I'm documenting my journey, hence the title of the blog, into the entertainment industry.

A couple months before graduating I began to send out what I thought was a pretty impressive resume along with some well written cover letters. I saved every cover letter that I wrote and they sit about an inch tall in the bottom of my file cabinet. From those submissions I received one phone call for an interview. I knew it was the only one I needed.

After several interviews I accepted a job offer to join the mailroom of one of the top five talent and literary agencies in Hollywood. I would like to thank R.G. for that phone call.

Learning the names is the number one priority, forget the other day to day tasks. Not to say they aren't important, no...not to say that at all, but its the names that enable you to do those other tasks efficiently. I found that making flashcards, a device I hadn't relied upon since high school french class, helped extremely well. It also helps to be outgoing and say, "Hi Brian," or, "Whats Up Belinda?" every time you pass by an assistant's desk. Even at the bottom, it's all about relationships.

Lesson number one seemed to be; build relationships asap.