#09: How do I start making money inside Hollywood?
I want you to ask yourself if the real question you are asking is “How do I start making BIG money in this industry?” And the answer is, you invest years of time and sweat equity, and you will be rewarded. It might be one year; it might be ten. But getting filthy rich won’t be the very first thing you do. Those American Idol winners didn’t come from nowhere to get a record deal. Look at the backgrounds of every single winner. There are years of toil and training and passion behind that victory. It just LOOKS like they got handed their dream. They earned it, and so must you! And earning it is FUN because, hey, this is Hollywood!
Throughout your time in this industry, whatever level you are at, don’t prioritize fame and funds over fulfillment. It will cost you dearly, both professionally and emotionally. If you are in ANY business just so everyone will know you and be envious and want to be just like you, you are in a world of trouble. Your self-worth is low (yes, it is! YES IT IS.), and no amount of outside adoration or material things will make you feel better. In fact, it will make you feel worse because any success will make you feel like a fraud (which is why drugs and alcohol consume so many people in this town). Fix all of that in therapy, not the production office. And don’t sell me or anyone else out by creating, funding or green lighting stereotypical, embarrassing, dangerous or flat-out wrong images about entire groups of people so that you can make a quick buck. A conscience is better currency than cash in the long haul in this industry. You will not be at the top every minute of this ride. Sometimes you will have dry spells, and your reputation and honor and goodwill will take you farther than your savings account ever could.
Not that money doesn’t matter! This business costs cash to survive. You have to pay to live, to be in professional organizations, to learn at seminars, to enter competitions, to network and entertain, to make a reel, to have a car (please have a car), etc. If you don’t have the money to do all of that yet, get a second and third job if you have to. Don’t sit on the sidelines saying you can’t jump into the business because things cost too much. And really don’t spend all of your time writing a script instead of working nine jobs, especially if you haven’t earned the cash to take the classes and read the books and meet the people who will teach you how to write a script you can actually sell! Work at the mall, answer phones, work at Best Buy (get that employee discount!), just pay your bills, and invest every extra dime in your career!
This is for anyone trying to enter the business: be sure you are not getting things backwards. Imagine an attorney saying, “If I can just win enough high-profile cases, I can earn enough money for law school.” Or a doctor trying to do enough high-paying plastic surgery so he can pay for med school! That’s what the industry hears when you are spending all of your effort and limited funds trying to start at the top of the game by directing a film or selling a script to the top company in Hollywood or selling a show to a network. What I want you to consider doing is getting a job and learning and earning you way to the top. Because it will be so much harder for anyone to knock you down if you are standing at the top on a strong foundation. Put your money and time into education and preparation and EXPERIENCE. The success and money will come.