THERE ARE FEW THINGS MORE LAUGHABLE THAN SOMEONE IN FILM AND TV EXPLAINING HOW TO GET INTO FILM AND TV. SO HERE GOES...
If you’re a creative in film and television, people will often ask you how you get to be a creative in film and television. And the answer is, we don’t know. It’s a mystery. For most of us, getting into showbiz was like pinning the tail on a donkey.
That won’t change any time soon, but — hold the eyerolling — I do have some ideas that might get you close.
The three elements (aside from having parents in the industry) that’ll help you become a creative in film and TV are –
1: Produce your own career. That means make content, put it online or submit it to short film festivals. Then repeat. And repeat. You’ll always think the next idea will be the thing that makes the industry sit up and take notice. It might be. But if it doesn’t – keep doing it. And do it with love in your heart instead of making it all about your career. I did a version of this in the aughts with different tech and no love in my heart, but the principles are the same.
2: Form a gang. Knives Out director Ryan Johnson said that going to famed film institution UCLA wasn’t about the film course – which he said was excellent – it was about the people he met there. They formed a group, critiqued each other’s scripts, worked on each other’s films, and then all came up through the business together. Gangs of talented people can be formed in any city or town. Richard Linklater did this in Austin when no one gave a shit about Austin. So find your people. That’s how movements are created.
3: Lastly, work hard. Before I moved to the US, I thought I worked hard. I spurned most social engagements to spend hours writing at my computer. Then I arrived in LA and discovered they worked way harder and more effectively than me. It helps that they come from the place that invented modern entertainment and, therefore, understand what’s expected. But there are no excuses. Just know that when you’re producing content on your laidback Australian timetable and thinking you’re pretty good, there are thousands doing the same thing in LA, but more regularly and intensely.
I hope this gives you a bit of inspiration. And if it makes you angry, that’s good too. Anger has been the bedrock for many great careers.
Next week, I’ll talk about how to hustle without being a dick about it.
Adam is the co-creator of Wilfred, Lowdown and Squinters and the creator of Mr. Black and The Agony Series. He also wrote the book Twelve Summers
Great advice and the article that tipped me over the edge to subscribe.