Monthly Archives: November 2011

You’re Fired

Posted on November 30, 2011 by | 2 Comments

Shawn writes:

Great “Goldilocks” blog entry and a fine job as always. How often is it that people get fired over such contradictions, especially for infractions like ordering too much food. (I mean, who doesn’t like leftovers?)

In my experience, very few people actually get fired. That includes people who deserve to be fired. I think it stems from people wanting to be nice – wanting to give the PAs the benefit of the doubt. Firing someone is an extreme situation. Not only are you depriving someone of their current job, but you’re also depriving them of unemployment insurance, which – for people in this itinerant lifestyle – is equivalent to depriving them of their next job.

Most coordinators I’ve worked for are willing to endure a bad PA, knowing that their ultimate retribution will come when a future-coordinator calls for a recommendation.

I’ve seen two people fired. One was a costume PA who just didn’t get it. I’ve never seen such a level of incompetence. She was shy and soft-spoken to an annoying degree. She was also dumb and prone to idiotic mistakes. A few weeks into production, the costume supervisor told her, “This isn’t working out. Have a nice summer.”

The second person I can think of was a technician who was fired for taking photos on set. This was beyond incompetence. This was a direct violation of the dude’s contract… not to mention common sense. (I think it was Thomas Paine who wisely said, “A penny saved is a penny earned… and DON’T GET SUED BY ONE OF THE LARGEST CORPORATIONS IN THE WORLD.”)

Two instances in a myriad of experiences with epically bad PAs. Basically, your odds are pretty good.

(Of course, this could just be my experience. Feel free to sound off in the comments with your best/worst firing stories.)

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Posted in On the Job

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UTA Joblist 11/29

Posted on November 29, 2011 by | 2 Comments

Last joblist of the year.

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The Last PA

Posted on November 23, 2011 by | 1 Comment

At the beginning of the show that I’m currently on, I wrote about the special role of the First PA – the first PA hired, the first PA to endear himself to the hearts and minds of the higher-ups.

Now, as this show wraps up, I thought it wise to talk a little about the Last PA – the PA charged to hold down the fort during the waning days of wrap. The First PA isn’t always the Last PA. It depends on the office. On this movie, I’ve held both distinctions, but on my last movie, the First PA was also the first PA to be let go (because she was evil). They justified it by keeping me, the last PA they hired, until the very end.

During wrap, the days get longer as the number of tasks per day slowly approaches zero. There is far less urgency, which means that it can take a whole day to accomplish an otherwise simple task.

The key, I find, is to keep yourself motivated. During production, the unforgiving clock motivates you. No matter what you do, it’s always moving forward. But during wrap, the clock moves a tick slower, so it’s up to you to find ways to get yourself through the day.

Dreamy Michael J. Fox

I know your pain, Marty. My clock doesn't work either!

When I tell people all the reasons why I actually enjoy my job – it’s exciting, it’s different, it’s challenging, and it’s a movie – I soon discover that none of those things apply to wrap. The work is not exciting. (Have you ever put files into banker’s boxes?) It’s not different every day. It’s not challenging. (Again, I’ll remind you of the banker’s boxes.) And it’s not a movie. (It’s not. Wrap isn’t filmmaking. It’s record-keeping and it’s accounting and it’s boring.)

Don’t get me wrong: Wrap is easy money, and especially at this time of year and in this economy, I’m not one to turn it down. But it’s essentially a whole different job from the one I do during production. Whooooole different job.

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Posted in On the Job

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Another Conversation I Have Nearly Every Day

Posted on November 23, 2011 by | 3 Comments

This happens all the time. If this is you, please, do everyone a favor and stop it.

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UTA Joblist for November 22nd

Posted on November 22, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Unlike yesterday, today’s joblist is brand, spanking new.

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UTA Joblist 11/18

Posted on November 21, 2011 by | 2 Comments

New joblist, a little late this time. Sorry!

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Does My Degree Matter?

Posted on November 21, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Bumbling British Boy asks:

Would a degree somewhat removed from the end product be detrimental or could I, as I hope, not-so-simply segue into the Production Designer pathway with some cunning career feng-sui?

When I first got to the Overpriced Film School, I reacted with attitudes typical of any eighteen year old – petulance and disappointment. I thought to myself, “This is it?” I busted my ass through four years of high school to get here? I wrote and re-wrote my writing samples just so I could sit in this three-hundred seat theater and listen to some PhD break down the esoteric differences between Western and Spaghetti Western? Give me a break.

Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t until it was too late that I learned how unproductive my youthful negativity was. I went through all of film school determined to hate it. In lots of ways, I wasted valuable opportunities to focus on a particular craft of filmmaking or foster those oh-so-important relationships that define your career in Hollywood. Instead, I grew a beard, drank too much, and scoffed at the idea of PAing on my friends’ projects. (After all, I considered myself an auteur.)

Big mistake.

In retrospect, I wish I had been more pro-active in pursuing my goal – even if my goals turned out to be misguided. During college, I worked for an agent who offered to connect me with some of his screenwriters, so that they could read my stuff and give me their thoughts. I thankfully declined his offer. At the time, I didn’t think I wanted to be a screenwriter. (I was an auteur, remember?)

If I could go back, I probably would have majored in something other than film… Or at least double-majored. So that in addition to mind-numbing conversations about “What is art?”, I could have also studied history or business – something that would have stimulated my mind or had real-world applications.

I would have continued to pursue a career in film. But I would have realized that I don’t need a degree in film in order to become a filmmaker. (For proof of that, click here, here, or here.)

If that means you end up with a degree in Horticulture and you’ve just got to explain yourself on every PA-interview you go on, then fine. At least you’ve got something that sets you apart from the pack. (I got my first job in Hollywood because I’m an Eagle Scout, and my boss thought that was unique.)

If it’s his goal to become a production designer, then I’m sure the Bumbling British Boy will find a way to make it happen.

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Posted in The Industry

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UTA Joblist for 11/15

Posted on November 16, 2011 by | 1 Comment

A new UTA joblist is cleverly hidden somewhere on the TAPA site. Only the most worthy will be able to take advantage of the many job listings to be found there.

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Try Harder

Posted on November 15, 2011 by | 7 Comments

On my way to interview for my first job in Hollywood (as a PA, natch), I got a flat tire. I was just cruising along Ventura Blvd., listening to KROQ, thinking about how I finally had a chance to put my film schooling to good use, when BAM! Flat. You can imagine my consternation.

I called the show’s coordinator, gave him the situation, and said I’d be there as soon as I could. He was very understanding, and told me to just be there when I could. I set to work changing my tire, and then drove as fast as I safely could to the studio. I arrived at the scheduled appointment time.

I got the job.

What can you learn from this story?

1) If you’re early, you’re on time; if you’re on time, you’re late. You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again, because it’s true. It was only because I had planned on being early that I managed to be on time. My potential employer expected I would be late; by even getting there on schedule, I impressed him.

B) If you’re a grown man, you should know how to change a tire. It’s not hard. This is a bare minimum of manliness, yet somehow people are impressed by it. (The bar has been lowered greatly, I think.) Also, you should know how to jump start a car without electrocuting yourself or melting the car.

Γ) Most importantly, you should try harder. No matter what the situation, you should try as hard as you can to do the job, even if the job is getting a job. There was a good chance I wasn’t going to get that job. Someone who calls ahead to the interview to make an excuse is probably not going to get the job. But if I hadn’t even tried to change the tire, if I’d called AAA and waited around for someone else to take care of my problem, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten the job.

It’s not always going to work out, like my story did, but if you don’t try, if you’re lazy, shiftless, or “laid back,” it well never, ever, ever work out.

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11/11 UTA Job11ist

Posted on November 11, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The new UTA Joblist is up on the TAPA site. Appropriately enough, there are 11 new assistant positions.1

Footnotes    (↩ returns to text)
  1. I didn’t actually check if this was true, but wouldn’t it be neat if it was?↩

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