Am I the Only One Who Thinks Like This?
Sometimes, if I’m on the early shift, I take a yoga class at the gym after work. It’s a good workout, and it helps to clear my head after a long day. Usually. The teacher coaches us with new age aphorisms in a soothing voice. She’ll say things like, “Be in your body.” I try […]
Non-Industry Experience
Anthony writes: Questions about getting a job. Graduated from film school in December and for the past three to four months I’ve been applying for PA crew jobs on television shows that are filming in Dallas but I havn’t heard back from any of them. I’m gonna interrupt you right there. If the emails you’ve […]
I Gotta Take This
A friend of mine came up with a great trick, for when her husband calls, but she doesn’t want to offend one of the self-important (yet neurotically insecure) Industry types she deals with every day. When she programmed her husband’s number into her cell phone, she set the name to “Steven Spielberg.” No matter who […]
FoA
See you tonight. You know what I mean.
Bart Gets to Sit Up Front, Because He’s a Good Guy at Sports
Hey, remember when the Simpsons was good? Anyway. That’s what I thought of when I got an email from another Anonymous PA: Almost nobody I work with is a “real” fan of movies or TV. I read THR and Variety every morning, and a few other industry new sources so I can chat about things […]
Stop! Overtime!
A lot of people like overtime, because it means more money than they’d planned on. Not me. I budget. (Well, Mrs. TAPA budgets; I mostly ask her when it’s okay to spend money.) I don’t just budget money, but also time. Twelve hour days are plenty, thank you very much. I greatly value the free […]
Making an Ass Out of You and Umption
Yesterday, I told you to stop asking so many damn questions. Today, I’m going to tell you to ask questions. I like to mix it up like that. You see, sometimes the boss just isn’t clear. Take, for example, my boss. Yesterday, he asked me to gather all the information I could find about possums. […]
Figure It Out
Listen up, all of you who are trying to get your start in this business. This is the most important advice I will ever give you. In fact, it may well be the most important advice anyone ever gives you about Hollywood. FIGURE IT OUT FOR YOURSELF. I realize it’s oxymoronic to advise not asking […]
Streetlights
I won’t waste time rehashing my feelings on PA Bootcamp [sic]. That’s what the search bar is for. Here’s the short version: What’s the point? Yesterday, though, Robert called my attention to Streetlights, “a nonprofit job training, job placement and mentoring program which provides opportunities for employment in the entertainment industry for economically or socially […]
Everyone Has a Boss
Regular readers may have noticed that I don’t like being told what to do. It’s a combination of youthful hubris and laziness-disguised-as-hubris. (“I know a better way to do this! I’ll not do it!”) Someday, I’ll be a showrunner, and everyone will have to do things my way. Directors will bow to the writer! The […]
After Hours
I know an AC who refuses to go out with the crew after wrap. He told me, “I see these people all day, every day. Why would I want to spend more time with them?” Of course, he was dating his 2nd, so, there you go. Working on a TV show is exhausting (or boring). Most […]
Working Together
It is possible for the crew to get along.