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In the interest of using this blog to educate and inspire something in others, I will use upcoming posts to share some of the lessons I have learned in my two short years in Hollywood that have become my career-defining rules. Life After Film School has certainly helped to stress the importance of this idea.

CAREER RULE #1:
SAY WHAT YOU WANT. There is certainly a fine line, but when you want something from someone, say it. I would like you to read my screenplay. I would like for you to be my mentor. Are you available for lunch or coffee so I that I can pick your brain? Of course, begin with I admire you and your opinion, so... but you need to be upfront because people have very little time. 

I am a huge fan of building relationships.  I sometimes think If I make this big-time agent like me by sending a quick email every now and then, maybe in a few months, I can ask him for X favor.  Just ask. I did, indeed, meet a major agent who I had admired ever since I heard his story for the first time - a Howard University educated lawyer, now SVP at an agency. We met, exchanged information, and 2 days later, I put it out there: Can we have an informational meeting and would you be willing to speak on a panel I am putting together? I was nervous, but I hit the send button. Granted, he is a phenomenal and gracious human being, but he immediately obliged me on both requests.  Lesson learned. Just ask.

On Life After Film School, we interviewed Barry Josephson, the producer of Like Mike, Hide & Seek, Enchanted, and the upcoming Aliens in the Attic.  This man just plain blew my mind! He had done so much in his lifetime.  He has been in music and in movies, a studio exec and now a producer, but what captivated me about him was very simple: After all of his success, more than 20 years producing television and film, the many lucrative and popular movies and shows, when he talked about his film Aliens in the Attic (all of the kids in one family have to defend their household and the entire planet from alien invasion), his eyes lit up! I was awestruck by this seasoned producer and man who became so excited at the mere prospect of this story that he completely perked up! To me, that was phenomenal to see and it reminded me just how important it is to be passionate about what I am doing and the stories I choose to tell.

Barry also mentioned that he was found. He was persistent when getting in touch with a producer he met on the street in Los Angeles. The producer met Barry when he was young and visiting LA and the two of them shared an interest in music. He told Barry to call his office, but when Barry was unable to reach the guy on the phone after several months, he went to the producer's office and got hired. It was a testament to being knowledgeable about what you want and prepared at the same time. It won't always happen this way, know that your competition is fighting for the job they want, so it is important and necessary to be able to state what you want when asked.