So while I wait for someone to give me a job I have taken to other ways to make money. As you can see, my page now has google links on the right. The top one is an ad, that when clicked, apparently makes me money (click as many times as you want and repeat please). The other one is a google search and I'm not sure how it makes me money but I hope it does.
This economy is brutal. I'm really hopeful for the studios in Michigan though. I am hoping and praying that I can land a job there. The few studios that are open are hiring thousands of people and I can't imagine there are thousands of filmmakers like myself ready and willing and eagerly waiting for a chance to move to Detroit. I suppose if I had to choose my top cities to work/live in Michigan it would be Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit (the city not Metro-Det), Grand Rapids and St. Clair. Lansing would be number 1 because I still have a few friends there and I love the city and I could still try and do some work for the state legislature, plus nothing beats getting up and fishing on Lake Lansing.
President Obama's speech last night was pretty solid. I think a lot of people are expecting him to make miracles and I think he is trying to make that happen. I'm not sure that everything will work, but the fact that he is already trying this hard after just a month in office, when Bush was there for the whole downfall and a year of the depression and didn't do anything, makes me glad that we have an intelligent President. I hope something gets the economy going because I know a stimulus package isn't going to work unless it's a large sum of money in the form of a voucher which has to be spent.
Anyways, I didn't really have anything to say except that you should all click on the ad every time you visit my site because nothing in the world should be free except Pistons tickets (because they're so bad not because they're so wonderful) and ice cream. Go big.
-m, p, z & shredder
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Trying To Weasel In...
As many of you know, there are 3 new studios opening up in Michigan. Huge studios. Hollywood backed studios that are not only bringing jobs to Michigan, but bring my dream scenario - a film production job in the place I want to live. The only problem is that they're not quite up and running yet. I have been calling and emailing and doing everything I can to get in touch with someone who can give me any solid information. But there is nothing. They don't have a timetable of when they will start hiring, they don't know who will be doing the hiring and they don't know what they will be hiring for.
I think I've done all I can. I have submitted my resume (twice) and spoken with the only "higher-up" I've been able to get ahold of and then re-submitted my resume to her. But there is no working website yet and from what I gather by my repeated phone calls so far it is only an old lady who answers the phone and a slightly younger lady who is "in charge" of hiring. So when I spoke to this lady "in charge" the only thing she could tell me was that she really didn't know anything and they were sending all the resumes they get out to LA where someone over there is going over them. They don't even have an address where I can pop in and drop off a hard copy.
So my question is how do I weasel my way in? I don't want to wait until they post a thousand jobs online because I know how that story ends and I don't win. I want to get in on the ground level, get hired before they do a mass hire and get a head start on everyone else. I feel like if it is this early on, maybe I could even get in on the action before and help with the startup but I don't know how. Any suggestions? My next move is to find out what company in LA is doing the hiring and get ahold of them somehow, but again, I'm not sure how to do this. Anyone have any tips on stalking a company?
-M, p, z & shredder
I think I've done all I can. I have submitted my resume (twice) and spoken with the only "higher-up" I've been able to get ahold of and then re-submitted my resume to her. But there is no working website yet and from what I gather by my repeated phone calls so far it is only an old lady who answers the phone and a slightly younger lady who is "in charge" of hiring. So when I spoke to this lady "in charge" the only thing she could tell me was that she really didn't know anything and they were sending all the resumes they get out to LA where someone over there is going over them. They don't even have an address where I can pop in and drop off a hard copy.
So my question is how do I weasel my way in? I don't want to wait until they post a thousand jobs online because I know how that story ends and I don't win. I want to get in on the ground level, get hired before they do a mass hire and get a head start on everyone else. I feel like if it is this early on, maybe I could even get in on the action before and help with the startup but I don't know how. Any suggestions? My next move is to find out what company in LA is doing the hiring and get ahold of them somehow, but again, I'm not sure how to do this. Anyone have any tips on stalking a company?
-M, p, z & shredder
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Eating The Cake...
As I think back to my time in LA, I have no doubt that I would be doing what I want to career wise right now. Trying to land a salary job in the film industry isn't easy but I had gotten lucky. I wonder sometimes what would have happened had I stayed. I had already worked a couple of things and was set to work a couple more when I decided to leave LA. Then on the day I was literally driving out of the state, some guy from HBO called me to work as a PA on a new show called the Life and Times of Tim. I told him I was moving but thanks very much for the offer. That show recently got picked up for a second season and while I know leaving LA was the right decision because I couldn't stand the city, I wish I hadn't used up all my luck out there.
I have been back here in NYC for almost 6 months now and have yet to set foot back on any set. I have even applied to be a free intern in a production office. Some of it is the economy, some of it is the competition and some of it is the fact that there just aren't as many jobs for film out here as there are in LA.
There is news that Michigan is going to get three new huge hollywood backed studios. They each have different specialties and they will be hiring a lot of new people. I have already submitted my resume (twice) and tried to get ahold of someone in charge a few times but the secretary is not easily fooled by my Jedi-mind-tricks. But if I were to get a job there, it would be having my cake and eating it too, which is really what we all want. I suppose the cake would be a job in film and eating it would be living in Michigan. I had my cake in LA, but really if you can't eat it, what's the point? If someone here in NYC offers me cake, I'll pour myself some milk and choke it down, but nothing would taste as sweet as getting an offer in Michigan.
So I'm hoping something works out soon or I'll most likely be looking for a new cake and possibly a new place to eat it too. Go big...
-M, p, z & shredder
I have been back here in NYC for almost 6 months now and have yet to set foot back on any set. I have even applied to be a free intern in a production office. Some of it is the economy, some of it is the competition and some of it is the fact that there just aren't as many jobs for film out here as there are in LA.
There is news that Michigan is going to get three new huge hollywood backed studios. They each have different specialties and they will be hiring a lot of new people. I have already submitted my resume (twice) and tried to get ahold of someone in charge a few times but the secretary is not easily fooled by my Jedi-mind-tricks. But if I were to get a job there, it would be having my cake and eating it too, which is really what we all want. I suppose the cake would be a job in film and eating it would be living in Michigan. I had my cake in LA, but really if you can't eat it, what's the point? If someone here in NYC offers me cake, I'll pour myself some milk and choke it down, but nothing would taste as sweet as getting an offer in Michigan.
So I'm hoping something works out soon or I'll most likely be looking for a new cake and possibly a new place to eat it too. Go big...
-M, p, z & shredder
Saturday, February 14, 2009
On Failing...
I'm finding it hard to sleep right now so I thought I would lay down what's keeping me up. I'm usually pretty good at falling asleep when I'm restless. I've got a pretty vivid imagination and I usually let a story play out in my mind of something crazy like if I were a professional skateboarder - and the next thing I know, it's morning and I just won gold at the X-Games. But tonight it's my thoughts that are keeping me up.
Looking back at my life, I may have peaked at 8.
When I was 7, I was king. I had the world in my hand and could do whatever I wanted. I had it all, good grades, lots of friends, was a trouble maker but still adored by teachers, got along with everyone and a girl even kissed me square on the mouth. I was seriously King. Well, in second grade we had these multiplication challenges. The goal was to see how high you could get on your multiplication tables. It started out with the 2's so the test had pretty simple questions like 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 and it went up to multiples of 12. So every week we had a short two minute quiz, and during this time there were probably 6 or 8 questions and you had to get a certain number right to pass. Well every time you passed you got a sticker on your desk. So after you passed the first test you got a sticker on your desk with the number 2 on it. These stickers were no joke either. They must have been almost 2 inches in diameter. So the next week, assuming you passed, you get tested on your 3's (3 x 4 etc.) and so on. Well once you got past your 12's they got a littler bit harder. After that you had to learn up to the number you were testing for, for example if you were on your 13's you would need to know 13 x 1 through 13 x 13. If you were on your 15's you would need to know up to 15 x 15 and so on.
After the first few months of this I was beginning to be the runaway winner. I had mastered math as a 7 year old and I was leaving everyone in the dust except my best friend who was only a few behind me. Well, in the end, I got up to my 30's. The last sticker on my desk said 29 and the only reason I didn't get further is because the year had come to an end. I remember looking over and seeing people stuck on their 6's while I was sitting pretty studying my 30's. When I was 7 I could tell you what the answer to 29 x 19 or 29 x 27 was off the top of my head. When I was 7. Everyone was impressed, teachers, students, I can even remember parents marveling at the number of stickers I had on my desk compared to their child. It was a pretty great feeling.
That same year I lost in the spelling bee really early. I remember studying a lot for it and being really disappointed that I lost, especially in such an early round. Well with the year behind me and no math competitions to conquer in third grade, I put all my effort into spelling. I won two spelling bees that year so by the time I was 8 I was no only the best in math but also the best speller. I was also the only third grader invited to join the 4th and 5th graders in Gifted and Talented. I had officially taken over. The world was looking up.
Somewhere over the next decade, I lost it all. Lost my swagger and my drive. I wasn't burnt out, I just got lazy. I went to college and the laziness ensued and perhaps even intensified. Its not that I'm not smart, I'm kind of a genius, but you'd never know it from looking at my transcript. I spent most of middle school and high school in some sort of trouble, or at least as much as you could get into in a small private school. The only difference was that I wasn't adored like I was before. I had a few teachers that saw something in me and who really saw my potential, but for most I was the kid they could blame any class disruption on and kick out of class.
What happened to that 8 year old kid? Why did he leave me? I am sitting here now at 2:43am on a Friday, laying on my bed/couch in my tiny tiny bedroom with no closet, living on a street that has people selling drugs on almost every corner, essentially unemployed in the midst of a depression, wondering how I ended up like this. I'm working on scripts that despite my wildest dreams, have a very slim chance of every landing me any income let alone getting made into anything.
So I was trying to sleep, but I kept thinking that I'm a huge failure. I kept wondering where all the promise went. Where did all that intellect go? I wonder what my second and third grade teachers would think if they saw me now. Would they be disappointed? Would they be as disappointed in my how my life is as I am?
I'm not sure where my life is headed next. It's kind of a long road and I seem to get into these lulls of disappointment and frustration when there seem to be no options ahead of me. I've got some options in the works but I've been known to have terrible luck and wouldn't be surprised if they didn't pan out.
But for some reason I can't shake my optimism. I still dream big. If I know anything, it's that I haven't failed. I'm still here and still working on a screenplay despite the fact that I know that I'm short stacked with long odds against me. I feel that today's closed door is tomorrow's opened window, and that may not really be, but even during this awful depression all over the country, I still see the glass half full. I'm still ready to party.
So here I am. Not exactly where I thought I would be almost 2 decades after my golden years, but I'm still standing and still trying, and I suppose that's something.
Go big.
-M, p, z & shredder
Looking back at my life, I may have peaked at 8.
When I was 7, I was king. I had the world in my hand and could do whatever I wanted. I had it all, good grades, lots of friends, was a trouble maker but still adored by teachers, got along with everyone and a girl even kissed me square on the mouth. I was seriously King. Well, in second grade we had these multiplication challenges. The goal was to see how high you could get on your multiplication tables. It started out with the 2's so the test had pretty simple questions like 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 and it went up to multiples of 12. So every week we had a short two minute quiz, and during this time there were probably 6 or 8 questions and you had to get a certain number right to pass. Well every time you passed you got a sticker on your desk. So after you passed the first test you got a sticker on your desk with the number 2 on it. These stickers were no joke either. They must have been almost 2 inches in diameter. So the next week, assuming you passed, you get tested on your 3's (3 x 4 etc.) and so on. Well once you got past your 12's they got a littler bit harder. After that you had to learn up to the number you were testing for, for example if you were on your 13's you would need to know 13 x 1 through 13 x 13. If you were on your 15's you would need to know up to 15 x 15 and so on.
After the first few months of this I was beginning to be the runaway winner. I had mastered math as a 7 year old and I was leaving everyone in the dust except my best friend who was only a few behind me. Well, in the end, I got up to my 30's. The last sticker on my desk said 29 and the only reason I didn't get further is because the year had come to an end. I remember looking over and seeing people stuck on their 6's while I was sitting pretty studying my 30's. When I was 7 I could tell you what the answer to 29 x 19 or 29 x 27 was off the top of my head. When I was 7. Everyone was impressed, teachers, students, I can even remember parents marveling at the number of stickers I had on my desk compared to their child. It was a pretty great feeling.
That same year I lost in the spelling bee really early. I remember studying a lot for it and being really disappointed that I lost, especially in such an early round. Well with the year behind me and no math competitions to conquer in third grade, I put all my effort into spelling. I won two spelling bees that year so by the time I was 8 I was no only the best in math but also the best speller. I was also the only third grader invited to join the 4th and 5th graders in Gifted and Talented. I had officially taken over. The world was looking up.
Somewhere over the next decade, I lost it all. Lost my swagger and my drive. I wasn't burnt out, I just got lazy. I went to college and the laziness ensued and perhaps even intensified. Its not that I'm not smart, I'm kind of a genius, but you'd never know it from looking at my transcript. I spent most of middle school and high school in some sort of trouble, or at least as much as you could get into in a small private school. The only difference was that I wasn't adored like I was before. I had a few teachers that saw something in me and who really saw my potential, but for most I was the kid they could blame any class disruption on and kick out of class.
What happened to that 8 year old kid? Why did he leave me? I am sitting here now at 2:43am on a Friday, laying on my bed/couch in my tiny tiny bedroom with no closet, living on a street that has people selling drugs on almost every corner, essentially unemployed in the midst of a depression, wondering how I ended up like this. I'm working on scripts that despite my wildest dreams, have a very slim chance of every landing me any income let alone getting made into anything.
So I was trying to sleep, but I kept thinking that I'm a huge failure. I kept wondering where all the promise went. Where did all that intellect go? I wonder what my second and third grade teachers would think if they saw me now. Would they be disappointed? Would they be as disappointed in my how my life is as I am?
I'm not sure where my life is headed next. It's kind of a long road and I seem to get into these lulls of disappointment and frustration when there seem to be no options ahead of me. I've got some options in the works but I've been known to have terrible luck and wouldn't be surprised if they didn't pan out.
But for some reason I can't shake my optimism. I still dream big. If I know anything, it's that I haven't failed. I'm still here and still working on a screenplay despite the fact that I know that I'm short stacked with long odds against me. I feel that today's closed door is tomorrow's opened window, and that may not really be, but even during this awful depression all over the country, I still see the glass half full. I'm still ready to party.
So here I am. Not exactly where I thought I would be almost 2 decades after my golden years, but I'm still standing and still trying, and I suppose that's something.
Go big.
-M, p, z & shredder
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