Will writes in:
I’ve had a decent PA career in Atlanta, working on several movies and TV series. But I’m moving to Los Angeles soon, because I really want to write.
One of the movies I worked on was an explicitly Christian film. I have no idea if this credit might work against me once I move out to LA. I have PA experience through non-religious companies but I wanted to know if I should shoot for a PA position in LA or maybe something higher up?
I wouldn’t worry about it, for several reasons.
While religiosity isn’t as common here as in other parts of the country, it’s not quite the Hollywood Babylon
“Christian film” is a pretty broad category, too. I have a hard time imagining someone having a problem with a movie about a fireman with marital trouble, or even that movie about the kid who came back from heaven (or whatever the hell that was).
Now, if there’s a movie called “Gay Teens Are Going to Hell” on your resume, you might be in for an awkward conversation. But here’s the other thing– everyone knows that, as a PA, you have no control over the final product.
You do not determine whether a movie is good or bad (in any sense of those words). PAing is a job, and you take the jobs you can get.
Of course, Leni Riefenstahl
But it’s probably not a good idea to try and predict what someone else’s bugbear might be. Almost any movie is offensive to somebody; you’ll never get anywhere worrying about them.
[[1]]Apologies to Godwin.[[1]]
One Response
I would be more likely to hire someone who worked on a movie they found distasteful, actually.
More on the creative side the better of course. Shows they’re not above tackling a rough subject.
That’s just me though, and I’m not movie but literary. Just saying if I was asked to put together a documentary on Coke union abuses or Dole’s role in the formation of ‘banana republics’, I’d pick the pro-choice woman that helped work on a pro-life film, or the anti-gamer that worked on the GG film..