Fox Movie Channel

My first LIFE AFTER FILM SCHOOL blog by Michael Callahan

And so it begins: my first Life After Film School blog entry.  But it's about to transform into something else entirely.  It's going to become a DeLorean: that famous, fabled, Back to the Future-ing car of yesteryear.

The year was 2005.  I was just out of undergrad, wet behind the ears, and freshly transplanted to Los Angeles with nothing but a few bucks and a knapsack full of old IKEA furniture.  I had only one goal: admittance into USC's Graduate Film School.

Sure - I could've stayed back in my hometown while I applied, but moving to LA added some sorely-needed stakes.  Throwing in the towel and moving home would mean explaining myself to my friends and family (who at that point were sick of hearing about my USC dreams).

I had scraped together just enough scratch to move into an apartment (with a roommate - living alone in LA is largely impractical unless you have a bulging wallet or a taste for danger) and live frugally for about a month.

I had zero experience in the film industry.  Zilch.  So I tried my hand at temp work.  I figured I'd gain maximum exposure in minimum time.  I worked reception at one studio, data entry at another.  I was a producer's assistant one month and a talent manager's the next. I validated celebrities' parking stubs and restocked fridges with gourmet bottled water. Drove my trusty Mazda Protege from Santa Monica to the San Fernando Valley delivering commercial footage.  Filled up Ferraris at Beverly Hills gas stations.

I watched someone get fired - 10 feet from my desk - in the loudest, most celebrated, no-holds-barred, cliche Hollywood manner you could possibly imagine.  It was completely ridiculous.  And totally awesome.

But my experiences in Hollywood offices - whilst providing me with the moola to make rent - only reaffirmed my commitment to go to film school at USC.  So a few months after moving to LA, I applied.

...and then I applied again.

And was accepted.  I've been at USC for over 2 years now, and I'll say this about the school:

It is equal parts warm embrace and cold shower.

The USC Cinematic community is impressive in both its ability to create and its capacity to nourish.  The students - many of whom I consider very good friends - are fiercely loyal, and willing to help each other at - sometimes quite literally - a moment's notice.  And the professors?  Talented, and incredibly gracious with their time - God knows they were patient with this largely incompetent film student his first year.

Beyond the fledgling skills I've acquired here so far, USC has taught me that, in filmmaking, my peer does not have to fail in order for me to succeed.  The school shows its students - and makes a concerted effort to remind them - that making movies is foremost a collaborative process.  I have seen firsthand how a script can transcend its origins and become something better, in the hands of filmmakers working together in service of a common goal: to simply tell a really great story.

And that cold shower part?

Everyone here is really, really good.  They keep you awake at night drenched in the sweat of your own self-doubt kind of good.  They're wonderful people, all.  And I'd be lying if I said their talent didn't make me second-guess my own.

But for the opportunity to collaborate with - and learn from - my ridiculously talented classmates?  A sweat-drenched night or two is a modest price to pay.

So - I hope to chronicle my experiences at Life After Film School, as well as my life IN film school.  My time at USC has informed the questions I ask our guests, and the lessons I've learned from them follow me back to campus.

And so each enriches the other.  I wouldn't have it any other way.