So...August made me totally abandon this blog. Bad, bad, Jessica.
I'm ready for September, though. After...let's see...school from age three to twenty, and then again from from twenty-five to thirty, that means I've spent less than a third of my life without the academic calendar ruling things.
But it still kind of does. Originated by the harvest season, or so I read in an article endorsement of year-round school, which I have no opinion on, summer to me is a time of freedom and fun; one could argue that in warm climates like Los Angeles, those opportunities never really go away, but I would disagree. Summer is the shedding of a skin, a layer of immaturity, bad habits. It's a time of growth spurts and changing bodies as the heat reduces appetite and inspires activity. Then, hopefully with a bangin' Labor Day barbecue, Fall arrives...I can't call it "autumn" here because the leaves don't change.
School has only been good to me, even in fifth grade, when I refused to brush my hair and everyone called me Vampire the entire fucking year because I bit the shit out of some kid's hand to stop him from beating me up. (Why the hell did he have me in a head lock? All I remember is watching clumps of my hair floating to the floor?) That next summer, I got to look forward to sixth grade...new school, new people, new haircut, whatever. Maybe things would be different...at the very least, I'd learn something.
So as a creature of a habit stripped of her routine, I maintain that with Fall, I begin a new year. Things are different, and hopefully, I'll get to see another summer...and do it all over again.
In that jubilant spirit, I offer, as my first post of September:
WHAT I LEARNED ON MY SUMMER VACATION (link to follow...but I gotta get this post up in August for nothing but my own satisfaction)
With
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
6. Holy F^@k, or How I Got My First Writing Gig
I've been meaning to write about this for awhile, but I'm bad at that.
So, last month, just 13 months after completing USC's School of Cinematic Arts' Writing For Screen and Television graduate program (say that ten times fast), I was hired to rewrite a feature.
Here's how that happened...
So, I'm on vacation in Florida, and just before 1am EST (which is three hours earlier than PST), I get a call from one of my biggest fans and most active career mentors. You have to have a champion, a mentor, an advocate to even get into film school by the way, much less get a job. Someone needs to sell you to their friends, and I don't mean your agent...someone who has nothing to lose or win if you get the job.
So my mentor, a frenetic, amusing friend and fellow sushi fiend, and an accomplished writer, tells me there's a job for me. Considering this mentor just got me my (current) job as a Producer's Assistant the month before, I was surprised and grateful. True to the frenetic personality I just mentioned, my mentor shut me down immediately. "Shut up and listen. You weren't even my first recommendation, but that writer's busy. So listen."
Then the situation was explained. What the script was (feature, broad roadtrip/sex comedy), what it needed most of all (depth of character/expansion and integration of secondary and tertiary plotlines), and a punch-up (the addition of more funny, i.e. the ol rule of 2 jokes per page). There was money to be had, the project had funding, and the producer was committed to getting the film made...but even if that never happened, they were gonna pay me if I could convince them 1, that I could fix the script, and 2, that I fit in whatever writer-box they wanted me to fit into...though I considered myself Lil Miss Edgy Drama, I needed to present myself in a much different way for this job...Lil Miss Hilarious...
The producer knew I was in Florida and was surprisingly respectful of my vacation, so we met a couple weeks later when I was back in LA, after multiple phone calls where I tried to strut my story stuff and show how funny I was. I tried to figure out just what the producer wanted to change about the script, and over coffee, I pitched my ideas. I brought the script with me, annotated within an inch of its life with my tiny teen-girl print, and a notebook full of weird illustrations and scribbles that I made while brainstorming, but I wouldn't hand either over to the producer. I was excited and had nothing to lose as I shared my "take" on things, and some alternatives. I'd even written some scenes and outlined the first sequence.
The juices soon got flowing, and before I knew it, we'd brainstormed and riffed out an even better take than any of us walked in with.
I nailed the pitch on that meeting, and I was offered the job on the spot...otherwise known as "selling it in the room."
It was that simple. Not really, but that's all I can tell you for now. And now I'm repped by an amazing attorney, and figuring out all sorts of businessy things best left to anyone but me. Case in Point, I didn't understand my payment structure at all, and almost undersold myself. It's easy, because the numbers are so big, it's hard to take them seriously and know what you're truly worth.
Sure, I left out a lot of details, because I have to right now...but here are the lessons to be learned, as far as I can see.
-It's who you know that gets you in the door, but it's you, and the things you're capable of, that get you the job. My mentor introduced us, but I had to get myself hired.
-This is a small town. My mentor introduced us, but turns out the producer knows my bosses, too...so I had the double-triple credibility.
-Samples are important. Make sure they match whatever you're trying to prove you can do. My spec of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, while well-written, sexy, and funny, was not the piece for this feature job. I was brought in for character and parallel narratives, so I sent my award-winning feature script, ON DAYS THAT START WITH T, to show just what I'm capable of.
-Pitching is important. You have to be a salesman. You have no choice. Maybe once you're pulling Zaillian-esque rewrite numbers you don't have to worry if the producers/execs feel at ease with you, but at this level, you need to seem like the most amiable person they've ever met. They're committing to working with you, and need to know you're not crazy or awkward, or at least not TOO crazy or awkward. (all writers are awkward) I also like to dress well...not businessy, per se, but maybe more like...I dunno...happy hour on a Sunday? Physical confidence helps verbal confidence.
-Pitching yourself is part of pitching...some would say the most important part. They have to like you, and they want to know who you are. What made you be a writer? What have you accomplished so far? This starts the second you see each other. If you can find a common bond with the producer/exec, try to work it in. You need to know who you are as a writer, because it is through your ideas and your experiences that you will create this screenplay...and you need to get the mini-biography out fast. It has to unfold like a story, and when possible, it should reflect your skill for a particular genre. For instance, I've been pitching myself as big drama, and my childhood, like most, was inherently dramatic. Since I was up for a comedy, I shared my bio with a slightly crass sense of humor at this meeting. It's not an easy skill, pitching yourself, but it's worth learning.
Fellow USC Cinematic alum and dear pal, Nathan Ruegger, explains just how to do this in his blog Another Life in Film.
-This is a business, and you're selling a product. ACT LIKE IT. It's hard not to giggle when someone wants to pay you for your life's dream...it's fun to write movies. Work, but fun work. So basically, I found myself so excited to be paid ANYTHING to write a script that I didn't realize my own worth. Thankfully, my double-triple-connection to the producer (and the producer's refreshing trustworthiness), led to me getting paid more than I originally thought I was getting. And don't be afraid to ask for more.
-Don't quit your day job...you never know when the next gig will come along. I've communicated with all of my answer-tos, and they are so supportive of my reduced hours as I work through this project. I was terrified to ask, which my cousin Tina says is because I've worked in restaurants so long I'm used to the abuse and fear culture found in that industry...a business where you can't ask for days off without risking your job, or be five minutes late without getting disciplined. As intense and brutal as the entertainment industry is, restaurants are much worse.
I don't know if this helps anyone, or if anyone even sees this blog.
Thanks for reading.
J.
So, last month, just 13 months after completing USC's School of Cinematic Arts' Writing For Screen and Television graduate program (say that ten times fast), I was hired to rewrite a feature.
Here's how that happened...
So, I'm on vacation in Florida, and just before 1am EST (which is three hours earlier than PST), I get a call from one of my biggest fans and most active career mentors. You have to have a champion, a mentor, an advocate to even get into film school by the way, much less get a job. Someone needs to sell you to their friends, and I don't mean your agent...someone who has nothing to lose or win if you get the job.
So my mentor, a frenetic, amusing friend and fellow sushi fiend, and an accomplished writer, tells me there's a job for me. Considering this mentor just got me my (current) job as a Producer's Assistant the month before, I was surprised and grateful. True to the frenetic personality I just mentioned, my mentor shut me down immediately. "Shut up and listen. You weren't even my first recommendation, but that writer's busy. So listen."
Then the situation was explained. What the script was (feature, broad roadtrip/sex comedy), what it needed most of all (depth of character/expansion and integration of secondary and tertiary plotlines), and a punch-up (the addition of more funny, i.e. the ol rule of 2 jokes per page). There was money to be had, the project had funding, and the producer was committed to getting the film made...but even if that never happened, they were gonna pay me if I could convince them 1, that I could fix the script, and 2, that I fit in whatever writer-box they wanted me to fit into...though I considered myself Lil Miss Edgy Drama, I needed to present myself in a much different way for this job...Lil Miss Hilarious...
 |
| Put yourself in a box, but never close the top. |
The juices soon got flowing, and before I knew it, we'd brainstormed and riffed out an even better take than any of us walked in with.
I nailed the pitch on that meeting, and I was offered the job on the spot...otherwise known as "selling it in the room."
It was that simple. Not really, but that's all I can tell you for now. And now I'm repped by an amazing attorney, and figuring out all sorts of businessy things best left to anyone but me. Case in Point, I didn't understand my payment structure at all, and almost undersold myself. It's easy, because the numbers are so big, it's hard to take them seriously and know what you're truly worth.
Sure, I left out a lot of details, because I have to right now...but here are the lessons to be learned, as far as I can see.
-It's who you know that gets you in the door, but it's you, and the things you're capable of, that get you the job. My mentor introduced us, but I had to get myself hired.
-This is a small town. My mentor introduced us, but turns out the producer knows my bosses, too...so I had the double-triple credibility.
-Samples are important. Make sure they match whatever you're trying to prove you can do. My spec of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, while well-written, sexy, and funny, was not the piece for this feature job. I was brought in for character and parallel narratives, so I sent my award-winning feature script, ON DAYS THAT START WITH T, to show just what I'm capable of.
-Pitching is important. You have to be a salesman. You have no choice. Maybe once you're pulling Zaillian-esque rewrite numbers you don't have to worry if the producers/execs feel at ease with you, but at this level, you need to seem like the most amiable person they've ever met. They're committing to working with you, and need to know you're not crazy or awkward, or at least not TOO crazy or awkward. (all writers are awkward) I also like to dress well...not businessy, per se, but maybe more like...I dunno...happy hour on a Sunday? Physical confidence helps verbal confidence.
-Pitching yourself is part of pitching...some would say the most important part. They have to like you, and they want to know who you are. What made you be a writer? What have you accomplished so far? This starts the second you see each other. If you can find a common bond with the producer/exec, try to work it in. You need to know who you are as a writer, because it is through your ideas and your experiences that you will create this screenplay...and you need to get the mini-biography out fast. It has to unfold like a story, and when possible, it should reflect your skill for a particular genre. For instance, I've been pitching myself as big drama, and my childhood, like most, was inherently dramatic. Since I was up for a comedy, I shared my bio with a slightly crass sense of humor at this meeting. It's not an easy skill, pitching yourself, but it's worth learning.
Fellow USC Cinematic alum and dear pal, Nathan Ruegger, explains just how to do this in his blog Another Life in Film.
-This is a business, and you're selling a product. ACT LIKE IT. It's hard not to giggle when someone wants to pay you for your life's dream...it's fun to write movies. Work, but fun work. So basically, I found myself so excited to be paid ANYTHING to write a script that I didn't realize my own worth. Thankfully, my double-triple-connection to the producer (and the producer's refreshing trustworthiness), led to me getting paid more than I originally thought I was getting. And don't be afraid to ask for more.
-Don't quit your day job...you never know when the next gig will come along. I've communicated with all of my answer-tos, and they are so supportive of my reduced hours as I work through this project. I was terrified to ask, which my cousin Tina says is because I've worked in restaurants so long I'm used to the abuse and fear culture found in that industry...a business where you can't ask for days off without risking your job, or be five minutes late without getting disciplined. As intense and brutal as the entertainment industry is, restaurants are much worse.
I don't know if this helps anyone, or if anyone even sees this blog.
Thanks for reading.
J.
Monday, July 11, 2011
5. Farewell, 31.
So, I'm 32 now. Supposedly I don't look my age, but I think I do, so I'm sort of convinced folks just say that BS to be nice...but I also just think people have a different idea of what 32 should look like. I look at my girlfriends from high school, and we all look 32, y'know? I think people think 32 is old, and I'm not old.
If anything, I think I look the best I have in ages. Years after the end of some years spent dating a fitness guru/professional bodybuilder, I've decided to apply all that info for the taking that he gave me, and I'm not just skinny...I'm fit. It's pretty awesome to feel good in a bathing suit again...grad school made me a fat 30, I gained three sizes and 60-something pounds.
So I'm looking and feeling good, I'm just doing good. I'm making some changes in my life, and some changes are making themselves. I'm a working screenwriter now, which is a fleeting sensation to savor, because you never know when you'll work again, so this may be the one opportunity I get. Of course it won't be because I plan on having a career, and all of my plans thus far have worked out. But still, doubt lingers, just like when I knew I was going to film school, but hadn't even applied yet. The pressure is both intimidating and invigorating, sort of like that moment when you fly past a cop doing 90 before you realize with certainty that he's not going to pull you over...only it's been a couple weeks now.
Somewhere after I turned 25, I realized that each year was better than the last, but holy Jesus pizza, 31 was crazy. I was a waitress for far too much of it, while scrambling for a job in my field. Now I have four. I feel lucky to be in such a place exhausted as I am, because I hear of the unemployment rate in this country and even my own facebook friends list...well, shit. It just sucks.
But I'm doing the damn thing. I moved to LA and I became a writer. I live by the ocean and I own nice things. I have good credit despite my educational debt and I enjoy my weekends. I pay my bills early. As my older brother said recently, looks like I have my shit together. After growing up surrounded by a lot of people who couldn't get their own shit together, I feel quite fancy and flush...and sort of like a fake.
Daresay I'm a grownup?
Well, maybe not until I quit smoking.
This is gonna be a great year...though it's rather terrifying to be this happy...especially when you factor in the 33 dreams. Which is a subject best saved for another blog.
Thanks for reading.
J.
 |
| Actually, this is what 32 looks like. |
So I'm looking and feeling good, I'm just doing good. I'm making some changes in my life, and some changes are making themselves. I'm a working screenwriter now, which is a fleeting sensation to savor, because you never know when you'll work again, so this may be the one opportunity I get. Of course it won't be because I plan on having a career, and all of my plans thus far have worked out. But still, doubt lingers, just like when I knew I was going to film school, but hadn't even applied yet. The pressure is both intimidating and invigorating, sort of like that moment when you fly past a cop doing 90 before you realize with certainty that he's not going to pull you over...only it's been a couple weeks now.
Somewhere after I turned 25, I realized that each year was better than the last, but holy Jesus pizza, 31 was crazy. I was a waitress for far too much of it, while scrambling for a job in my field. Now I have four. I feel lucky to be in such a place exhausted as I am, because I hear of the unemployment rate in this country and even my own facebook friends list...well, shit. It just sucks.
But I'm doing the damn thing. I moved to LA and I became a writer. I live by the ocean and I own nice things. I have good credit despite my educational debt and I enjoy my weekends. I pay my bills early. As my older brother said recently, looks like I have my shit together. After growing up surrounded by a lot of people who couldn't get their own shit together, I feel quite fancy and flush...and sort of like a fake.
Daresay I'm a grownup?
Well, maybe not until I quit smoking.
This is gonna be a great year...though it's rather terrifying to be this happy...especially when you factor in the 33 dreams. Which is a subject best saved for another blog.
Thanks for reading.
J.
Friday, June 24, 2011
4. Back on Camera
When I was in second grade, I was selected to star in a feature film shooting in Kent, Ohio. I've never seen it, and the only person I know who might have a copy never got back to me.
Oh well. Anyway, I always loved theatre, movies, music, performing. It ripped me up inside, but I was good at it. But somewhere along the way through high school, I gave up and focused on cheerleading and foreign languages and working two jobs. Somewhere along the way, I got really bad at performing anything.
Anyway, I'm back in front of the camera again, reviewing movies for www.justseenit.com, a webseries I also co-produce.
Here's our latest episode...for once I don't hate the way I look and sound. I'm pretty proud of this. I hope you'll check out our site, and become a fan of our show on facebook.
Enjoy. Thanks for reading.
Oh well. Anyway, I always loved theatre, movies, music, performing. It ripped me up inside, but I was good at it. But somewhere along the way through high school, I gave up and focused on cheerleading and foreign languages and working two jobs. Somewhere along the way, I got really bad at performing anything.
 |
| Everyone's a Critic... |
Here's our latest episode...for once I don't hate the way I look and sound. I'm pretty proud of this. I hope you'll check out our site, and become a fan of our show on facebook.
Enjoy. Thanks for reading.
3. New York, New York
Gay Marriage was just approved by the NY State Senate this evening. Isn't that wonderful?
I'm a huge supporter for gay folks having all the same stuff as heterosexuals do. I don't understand why it's even an issue...
I'm straight, which surprises a lot of people, which I think is part of the problem. You don't have to "be" oppressed to want to end oppression.
I relate to the gay marriage issue, I guess, because my parents' interracial relationship was once frowned upon by society (and honestly, it still is frowned upon by a LOT of people), and it was also illegal in this country for a good chunk of their lifetimes, if never during mine.
I can't imagine not being to do the same things as others. We must be right on the edge of equality, clearly, since I can't imagine being ever being a second-class citizen, right?
I wish I believed that.
All the same, good work, New York.
Thanks for reading.
I'm a huge supporter for gay folks having all the same stuff as heterosexuals do. I don't understand why it's even an issue...
I'm straight, which surprises a lot of people, which I think is part of the problem. You don't have to "be" oppressed to want to end oppression.
 |
| LA Pride, 2010 |
I relate to the gay marriage issue, I guess, because my parents' interracial relationship was once frowned upon by society (and honestly, it still is frowned upon by a LOT of people), and it was also illegal in this country for a good chunk of their lifetimes, if never during mine.
I can't imagine not being to do the same things as others. We must be right on the edge of equality, clearly, since I can't imagine being ever being a second-class citizen, right?
I wish I believed that.
All the same, good work, New York.
Thanks for reading.
Monday, June 20, 2011
2. managing the internet presence
If there's one thing I've learned by Googling myself, it's that I'm pretty darn Google-able.
But none of that means anything if I'm not using my Google-ability.
Some new things I've done this evening:
Streamlined my gmails by enabling Multiple Sign-In
Uploaded my first film (2006) to youtube, since Google Video is all but dead
Tracked down a bunch of old dead blogs and deleted the buggers.
Well, it's a start.
Thanks for reading.
Jess.
But none of that means anything if I'm not using my Google-ability.
Some new things I've done this evening:
Streamlined my gmails by enabling Multiple Sign-In
Uploaded my first film (2006) to youtube, since Google Video is all but dead
Tracked down a bunch of old dead blogs and deleted the buggers.
Well, it's a start.
Thanks for reading.
Jess.
1. the last blog I'll ever start
I keep getting jobs. This seems to be a good thing, but I have a tendency to take too many things on, and end up doing nothing well. I'm unwilling to let that happen again.
Anyway, I've been dodging requests for a new blog since myspace fizzled out in late 2007, but never really been able to sustain them because I tried to make them gimmicky, I tried to give them themes. Five blogs, started and abandoned.
No more, I say. No more.
I got my first writing job last week, just over a year after graduating film school. I guess it worked. It's time to start letting people read my words again, I'm certainly rusty after a hard year without awesome workshops and a Coffee Bean in the lobby.
Life at the beach will have to do.
So I offer you this simple blog, and invite you to check back when you feel like it. I might write about movies, I might write about cookies. I might write about racism or boys or politics or cats.
Thanks for reading.
Anyway, I've been dodging requests for a new blog since myspace fizzled out in late 2007, but never really been able to sustain them because I tried to make them gimmicky, I tried to give them themes. Five blogs, started and abandoned.
No more, I say. No more.
I got my first writing job last week, just over a year after graduating film school. I guess it worked. It's time to start letting people read my words again, I'm certainly rusty after a hard year without awesome workshops and a Coffee Bean in the lobby.
 |
| Redondo in January |
Life at the beach will have to do.
So I offer you this simple blog, and invite you to check back when you feel like it. I might write about movies, I might write about cookies. I might write about racism or boys or politics or cats.
Thanks for reading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)