From Agent’s Assistant to Series Creator – an Interview with Merigan Mulhern
You’ve heard the story: start out as an intern, become an agent’s assistant, then a PA, a writer’s assistant, staff writer, and eventually create your own show.
Well, today’s guest LIVED that.
How to Schedule a Meeting
As an assistant, you’re often going to be called on to schedule meetings between many busy people. Heck, you’ll probably have to coordinate with these busy people’s assistants, but that just adds a layer of confusion. For the longest time, I’d do this the old fashioned way– I’d call each person in turn, and ask […]
A High Class Problem: How to Choose Between Two Offers
Nick writes in: I recently was called by a Production Coordinator I’ve worked with previously for an Office PA position on a TV show. He mentioned the show’s producer/writer was also in need of an assistant, and if I preferred I could take that position. Which position make the most sense to take from a […]
Upward Mobility
As we approach the end of the televsion season, Jason writes in about moving onward and upward to other shows: I work on a tv show right now as a PA, but really I do more personal assistant type work for one of the shows producers. It’s not that the job isn’t a good one, […]
Perks of Being an Assistant
Sasha writes in: Can you talk a little about the following, in regards to PAs AND Director/Producer assistants for a mid- to big- budget feature? – Box rentals/kit fees – Vehicle costs/mileage reimbursement – Cell phone usage – Meal allowance – Overtime when working on a weekly rate For those of you who are new […]
Defending Yourself
Tuesday’s post about the idiot producer’s assistant on my show generated a lot of feedback. Some of it was violent (I hope they were kidding), but quite a few people suggested I should stand up for myself. It sounds fun in theory, but here’s where I put my practical hat on. While proclaiming your innocence […]
Never Good Enough
Sometimes, you just can’t win. Over the long weekend, I had to set up a meeting between my boss and the producer, because the showrunner did a major re-write on the script that changed the budget drastically. I actually thought I got the good end of the deal, because one of the PAs had to […]