How many filmmakers have been discouraged by friends and family members from pursuing their dreams of Hollywood? How many one-on-one sessions have they had with an Uncle who tried to convince them to go into the pharmacy business instead? That they could never be the next Quentin Tarantino or Billy-Bob Thornton or Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. They could never make the next Open Water, Napoleon Dynamite, Primer, Blair Witch Project or Machiavelli Hangman (http://www.hangmanmovie.com). Those are Cinderella stories, they say! Well, there seem to be a lot of these Cinderella Stories, so there must be a way in!
Hollywood is a great town if you”re successful and when it hits, it”s HUGE! Filmmaking is a great business if you have a stable job, but for everything that is good, there are rules to follow to get it. For those outside looking in, those golden rules to become successful include:
a) Must be rich, if you”re not rich, you”re doomed.
b) You have to know someone who is well connected.
c) You have to sleep your way to the top.
d) You have to do drugs to get your foot in the door.
e) You have to do a lot more drugs to keep your foot there.
f) You have to forget your values and everything you learned at church.
g) You have to be willing to get divorced at twice.
Ironically, talent and perseverance are not mentioned once on that list. Oh that”s right, that”s because they”re mentioned on the more academic lists… the ones they give the students in Film School. The ones that include just two requirements: 99% Perseverance and 1% Talent.
In the end, our poor filmmakers still have no clue of whether they should just remove themselves from the film industry and shred their dreams or they should find some way to find talent and perseverance. What happens to those who already have both talent and perseverance? What do they do with it now?
If anyone has told you there is no set formula to success in Hollywood, I wouldn”t go as far as saying they”ve been lying to you, but they just didn”t know any better. I”m here to tell you that there is a formula out there, dozens of them and I”m here to share only one of them with you. You need steps; I won”t put a false disclaimer that these are three easy steps, because they”re not. They are steps and if you”re willing to take them, they will direct you exactly where you want to go, and that”s to the big time.
If that”s not where you want to go, stop right now. If you think you have it in you and you want to climb the box-office ladder, then please read on!
(to be continued)
