THE NEW HOLLYWOOD LEADER

HOLLYWOOD CAREER STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP

Here's a new Video I Shot today. I'll be posting it on my website http://www.hollywoodcoaching.com very soon but for now, here it is.

WHAT WILL YOU ACCOMPLISH BEFORE THE NEXT STRIKE?

IT'S GETTING WEIRD IN HERE

 

There's never been a weirder time in the entertainment industry than the past 2 years. I'm not going to recount it here, if you're reading these words you know.

 

But I've been hearing two different trains of thought among aspiring and seasoned professionals.

 

HELLO, GOODBYE

 

One group says "I'm moving out of Los Angeles because nothing's been happening for me the past few years."

 

But other group is saying "I've got another 18 months before the next strike starts. Now's the time to make an extra effort to accelerate my career before the industry slows down again."

 

Of course, there's no guarantee that there will be a strike, and no guarantee that things won't get somehow get worse in the next few months.

 

But here's my prediction

 

The Film and TV industries will continue to make and sell product and some breakthrough hits will revitalize production and distribution.

 

TV production will somehow survive, possibly thrive and certainly reinvent itself and features will be rejuvenated by a new generation of indies. (Filmmakers and financing entities.)

 

So each of us will have to access different parts of our skill set to address different needs of the market and different ways to make a living to make different projects for different audiences that will be seen and promoted in different ways.

 

But that's not the point

 

7 THINGS JON HEDER NEEDS TO KNOW TO RUN HIS TV SHOW

Hi there,

ANOTHER FUNNY MAN STEPS INTO THE BIG LEAGUES

I read in the NY Times about Jon Heder  (Napoleon Dynamite, etc.)  getting a contract to develop 100 episodes of a TV series for Comedy Central. (Starting with 10 episodes, of course.)

I've never met him and don't know any of the parties involved, but what I do know is this:

He has no idea what he's in for

HOW DO I KNOW?

In the NY Times article Jon said: "They kept asking me "Are you you ready for this?" I said, "I'm like, 'Should I be?' I haven't thought this through."

This heart-warming exchange demonstrates a common and dangerous dynamic in Hollywood.

FIRST:

A team of smart executives recognize a major talent and make a deal for the talent to take an ambitious and smart next step.

THEN:

While they actually do know the traps, obstacles and banana peels that will likely

challenge this creative genius, they are unwilling or more likely unable to articulate, prepare or arm their bold adventurer for his or her journey.

INTO THE WOODS

I'm not saying the creative genius isn't ready or shouldn't embark on this journey into the deep dark woods of TV production. And I'm not faulting the execs for their vision, their deal or their last minute warning/trepidation.

This dynamic is happening all over Hollywood whether it's Burbank, Studio City, Culver City, Television City or Manhattan Beach.

HOLLYWOOD IS CHANGING: ARE YOU PART OF THE CHANGE?

Are you living and working run by the fears and dysfunctional behavior that is both Hollywood cliché and at times Hollywood reality?

OR . . .

Are you living in, working in and creating an industry that tells great stories, inspires and entertains the world, AND supports a work environment that is humane and enjoyable?

Are you willing to walk away from jobs, people and projects that make your miserable?
Are you willing to create a new way of working and leading creative companies that is profitable, powerful and sustainable?

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

You are not alone in your desire to create such an industry.

You can be part of an authentic, healthy community of successful storytellers who enjoy the love, support and company of their friends and family
while also making films, television, theater, music and any other medium currently known or unknown.

You don't have to suffer in silence.
You don't have to sell your self out.
You don't have to work till you drop.

MARY OLIVER SAID IT: 

Mary Oliver said in her poem "Wild Geese"

"You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves."

5 THINGS TO BRING TO A NEW COLLABORATION, JOB OR PARTNERSHIP

Whether you're starting something and feeling "in control" or joining something and "waiting for permission" here are some qualities to bring to the table that will help everyone be a better collaborator: regardless of their position in the food chain.

1) VULNERABILITY

 

Take some risks, early. Reveal something unexpected. Confess to something you don't know. Be willing to ask the "stupid question." Be a profound fool.

 

2) YOUR GIFTS

 

What skills, awareness' or certified strengths so you bring with you whereever you go? What are the things you do effortlessly and always that you love to give and people love to receive?

 

You don't have to do them all at once or right away. Just know what they are and be generous with them.

 

3) INTUITION

 

What are you noticing, sensing or wondering about that's bubbling lightly under the surface?

 

Yes, you can continue looking for more data and wait till you're "certain" but intuition, when applied professionally, is the art of making a decision based on insufficient information. (ie. what we must do multiples times every day.)

 

Have read "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell? A great book about intuiton.)

 

4) QUESTIONS

 

What do you want to know from the members of your team? What do you want to know about your project? Your self? Your community?

 

Bring some burning questions into your work. It helps build passion and synergy.

 

5) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT/APPRECIATION/BLESSING

 

What do you appreciate about the people you're working with? What makes your excited to be working with them? What skills and experiences do they have that you'd like to hear about or learn from?

 

Tell people what you appreciate about them.

 

Symbolically and literally, we all thrive and prosper with a touch of appreciation or mentoring. Try it out and see how people respond. See how you respond when someone appreciates you.

HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION

I spent two weeks after Memorial Day on a personal retreat. I got out of town to slow down, relax, unplug and actually get some important work done that for some reason I wasn’t able to get done at home.

I was staying at a place with no internet and no cell phone. I was unplugged from the wireless world. I still had my iPhone (which I used for taking pictures and listening to music) and my laptop (which I used to write and think and brainstorm, but not check email, Huffington Post or Nikki Finke.)

And actually, it was great. I sat on a wicker chair outside my room many mornings, overlooking a beautiful mountain, listening to great music and writing.

AND HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED.

I got a lot of work and thinking done. Freed from the potential distractions of the world wide web I stayed focused.

When I reached a moment in my work where I was stuck or lost or tired or frustrated, I didn’t have email to distract me.

I was “forced” to stay with the process. Or to stare into space, take a walk, get some tea, close my eyes, go for a swim, or write something else.

And what happened was that usually, after a few minutes of thinking or staring at the screen, a new idea occurred and my fingers started typing again.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

What I realized/remembered was that sometimes in the creative process, a pause occurs when we reach a question.

And the productivity demon/gremlin in our mind might say “if you’re not typing you’re wasting time” but in reality, much of what we do as creators is think about stuff. But simply “thinking” seems like it almost has no end or meaning and looks a lot to our “self-critical mind” like wasting time.

BE THE DECIDER

What I noticed this trip was that what looks and feels like “thinking” is actually “deciding.” And before we can decide, we often need to deeply explore and extrapolate options.

What will happen if I decide to go this way? Lets think it through. What will happen if I really go that way instead? Lets think that through.

But in a world with more distractions it’s easier to fall into a trap/loop that works like this. . .

HOLLYWOOD: OFFICIALLY NOT DEAD

IT'S OFFICIAL

Hollywood, like the global economy is not dead.

Or as Mark Twain said "Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

WHAT AM I BASING THIS ON?

A few things actually: and they're subtle.

-The Actor's non-strike seems to be limping towards an "end."
-Hollywood Network, Studio and Agency layoffs and mergers seem to be limping towards an "end."
-TV Studios and Networks are going boldly forward in their business of selecting and selling new shows for the fall that they hope will create hits, advertisers and major franchises (if not reinvent comedy or drama and save the world from a 20 year curse of 24/7 Reality TV.)

THE LENO THING

One thing our industry does well is adjust to crisis quickly and adapt to new opportunities.

Take the Jay Leno 5 nights at 10:00 pm thing on NBC.  Lots of freak out and then, "OK whatever, how does the new reality effect me and my career?"

Again it's always, how do I respond? What projects, alliances or career moves make sense now?

CHESS ANYONE?

CREATIVE LEADERSHIP - WAR AND PEACE

Here's a video I recently posted about my work with creative leaders in the TV industry.

CHANGE SUCKS (IF YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT)

REMIX/REMAKE/REMODEL

Those of you who’ve been following my progress for the past few months may remember that I though I’d finished mixing my music CD in December. Very excited, I sent the tracks off to a friend who I hired to do the mastering.

GUESS WHAT?

I discovered that I really wasn’t finished. I didn’t like how they sounded when they came back.

And guess what else? It wasn’t his fault. It was mine.

I still had more work to do, but I didn’t know what.

AND BOY WAS I PISSED

THE TOP OF THE LADDER?

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

There's an amazing all encompassing high that occurs when we're working on a
show.

I think especially on that bizarre journey called production i.e. being on the set and shooting something, where we enter this altered state and it's all about getting the shot, making the day and wrapping early enough to get some sleep before the next crazy,
exciting, stressful, magical day.

It can happen in a great development job, editing job, writing job or the launch of a company or a network or whatever.

BUT THEN IT'S OVER AND WHAT NOW?

Looking for that next job? That next creative inspiration?

Even for those of us who've been on a roll. Had a hit, or more.

A success whether commercial or critical or just a good gig where we couldn't wait to be back to work the next day, tired as we were.

We in the entertainment industry are always wondering "What's
next?"

What's around the corner?

What's going to sell in the current market?

Have I made enough money to get out of the business?
Have I made enough money to get INTO the business?
Have I written a good enough project to sell?
Have I written a good enough project to direct it?
Have I made amassed enough power to make a project I really truly love?