Gary W. Goldstein, Producer/Author/Instructor: I’m not going to share who I am as an artist,
as a creator, as a writer. I’m going to put out a blind query letter with a log line, etc and I’ll
send it to a stranger who does not yet know me and I’m going to hope and pray to get a good response.
Film Courage: Is Hollywood a game, Gary?
Gary: In a sense yes I suppose but I think life in a way is a game in the best sense.
But you sort of have to understand the rules of it. People talk about ‘breaking into Hollywood,’
which I always find fascinating because life is not an event, it's a process right and I think
when people think about…people are very given to stories in their craft and their dream of
what it is they want to accomplish we know at show business. But very few people really think
about the business side of the equation and I find a lot of creatives in particular are
not intentionally random but they end up being random in their approach,
focusing on craft not thinking about how they're going to navigate.
As if our industry is somehow different from all other industries which it's not I mean
it is in a sense but it's not in the sense of being relationship based um and I you know what
what I would encourage people is I try and train people to be hyper focused hyper intentional
radically transparent and not think about needing a representative so much as being themselves a
presence developing rapport creating relationships in this business and understanding that the first
thing they have to know is who are you who are you in the world what do you care about what
what's your creative DNA what's your signature what what are the kinds of stories you want to be
participating in or writing or directing or producing whatever it might be
and then thinking about if that's true who is it that I really need to know if
hypothetically if I could have a hundred people over time be my champions and mentors
who would they be and that's going to be different from me to the person sitting next to me
and then making that reality come to come to be right I think a lot of a lot of people are taught
unfortunate habits so they learn they mimic habits of of their peers which may or may not be optimal
writers may for example send upline query letters that are deeply impersonal and fly into strangers
in boxes asking them to either produce it or represent them or whatever it might be a big ask
as opposed to humanizing the process over and again time and time again I get the sense that
people people have a story that Hollywood is not welcoming that it's um that they
have they don't understand their value and they don't know that the welcome mat is out
which couldn't be further from the truth if you approach people the way you would in any
other environment so what I wish for people is that they get more comfortable being vulnerable
and telling people what's unique about them why who are they what's what's what's some
any one really delicious unexpected uh nugget from their life experience that makes them memorable
tell people share with people what was why was this particular of all the possible stories in the
universe why this one what's the connective tissue why was that so important to you that you put
all your soul equity into creating this and a third leg of this school very important is
don't just send it out randomly if I want to send you this project
why you why have I chosen you not because your name was in a directory
I researched you there was some one film that you made perhaps that was um like I got sucker punched
in the third eye it's so spot on or maybe it's your entire body of work there's something that
called me to think you might be a right size fit a good match for me and for this particular story
say those things pick up the phone don't rely on social media don't rely on blind query letters
make it personal this is a personal business reach out to someone and do not be a snob
you're not going to probably reach the name on the door nor do you necessarily need to I've
always learned I built my entire career based on one simple realization early on all I need to do
is befriend the assistant the assistant or of any you know when assistants move on they go to
the next little notch up which is still entry level it's creative executive it's a director
production it's a you know head of development whatever their titles
all of those people beginning with the person who answers the phone which is usually an assistant
these are your target these are the people who have enormous value
who are so aligned with you you have so much in common with them they are highly
vetted they are usually like they beat out 50 people or more to get that particular perch
they're ambitious they're sitting on the inside learning the business
on a producer's desk or an agent's desk or whatever it might be casting studio
and they are going to last in that position for 18 24 some number of months and they will matriculate
because they're really good and they've had to work really hard and
and you know that's their sharpening stone
these people need relationships with you as much as you need one with them and most people
don't understand that it's like the currency of most of us is who's what relationships
do I enjoy with talent in front of the camera behind the camera it doesn't matter do I know
other good producers writers cinematographers actors whatever it might be casting directors
we're all in the business of relationship and so
it's a beautiful game of human failures and everyone is instead of being narrow focused and
saying i'm just going to i'm not going to share who I am as an artist as a creator as a writer i'm
going to put out a blind query letter with a log line etc and i'll send it to a stranger who does
not yet know me and i'm going to hope and pray to get a good response and the common refrain is
not a positive response I send out hundreds I get two responses there usually passes
very typical as opposed to saying i'm going to dare to be uncomfortable and awkward for a moment
i'm going to take a minor risk it's not threatening my life but i'm going to take
a minor risk of being uncomfortable and i'm going to call someone who does not know me
and i'm going to introduce myself and i'm not going to ask a big favor
the first couple of calls i'm only going to ask advice it's gonna that's what I learned early
on is like make everyone your mentor ask advice keep the call to three four minutes
do it again a week later do it again a week later make a friend and they're
as desirous of that as you are you just have to catch them when they're not overwhelmed
um so I think I think you know it it's a funny word is Hollywood a game and I think yeah if
you want to win at this if you really want to have a viable sustainable career as a creative
what's interesting is the artist you all you know everyone has more than one story one hopes
um and the story may be brilliant but what makes it really interesting is the
point of view of the creator and why they did it and what's their life experience we we react
to one another we are attracted to that and even if someone falls in love with one of your scripts
they're never going to go forward with it and lessen until they meet you
the creator so I think I think in a sense you know it's it's really having that sort of
divine inspiration that just comes down and gives you the permission like oh my gosh I
don't need permission I can just reach out and talk to whoever I want no one is unreachable
that was my earliest lesson no one is unreachable if you're humble if you're vulnerable if you're
if if you make it pleasant you're you know and you can say to someone oh my gosh i'm terrified
i'm so nervous to be calling you even to an assistant because it's true as long as it's true
um but the more you let yourself be known and the more other focused you become
the more generous you are the more you share and ask questions that are
like of human you know truly interesting to humans it's it works magic
if you win over an assistant and I know i'm rambling on but if you went over an assistant
you went over everybody in that office
because they have the full trust of everyone in that office they've been hired
relied on they're a critical part of the of that mission um if you want to win over
an aw you know a group of people get to know their assistant
so it is a game in some sense and to get in the game you find that one assistant
person that's there before everyone else maybe making coffee
getting it ready answering the phones how do you do it in a way that's genuine
well the question is the answer by being genuine and saying you know I when I was new
i would just turn to people and say i'm new i'm the turnip that just fall off the truck
but i'm really committed to making it in this business but I know how much I don't know
I have a couple of questions if you could spend three minutes answering my questions
it would mean the world to me people can't resist the truth if it's real if it's genuine
when I would call assistance of course you don't know who they are
it's just a person answering the phone and I would just introduce myself and say look this
is and it's what I was talking about earlier I am an aspiring screenwriter or fill in the blank
I am absolutely mesmerized by the work your company consistently puts out into the world
that's why i'm reaching out and yes I have a project that's very much
that shares a lot of kinship with the kinds of projects stories that you tell but i'm not sending
it to you i'm not asking you to read my script I just want to establish a relationship with you
and I get their name so that I can when i'm off the call research them and find out all sorts
of delicious stuff about them online um and I will have a question or two and it's usually
something I know they can answer it's it might be you know how do you operate as a company are you
you know i'm not going to send you my script but do you accept outside material it could be uh were
you there at the time they made this last film that came out in march that was just so phenomenal
how did you get to be there how did how did you get to work for this extraordinary company and
where do you want to go I mean I know you don't want you know you're you're paying dues you're
sitting in the crosshairs of this amazing opportunity but where do you see yourself
in a few years um you know where'd you go to school did you go to film school
i'll ask any question that comes up in the moment for me
but there but there'll be questions to which I really do want the answer it'll be it'll help
inform me about this person and I always build in and say look you know I've used up my four minutes
you've been amazingly kind to take my call I just want you to know I really appreciate it
and I have another question i'm thinking about a couple of things but i'd like you know what
you're busy i'm you know i'm going to let you go but i'm going to call you a week from today
if you have three or five minutes available that would be absolutely extraordinary but thank you
I researched the heck out of them I called them back the next week exactly when I said I would
and if they're available great and if they're not I call back again my idea is that people are
very welcoming if that's your expectation that's probably going to be the reality
if you welcome that it can be a very welcoming experience I don't mind people sending me query
letters but i'll tell you there's universe galaxy of difference between if someone sends me a query
letter and I've never spoken I have no idea who they are and they're sending me a storyline
with the goal of me reading it and possibly producing it or whatever their intention is um
versus someone who's reached out to either me or someone on my team
making themselves known as a human developing some rapport taking the time investing a multiple of
calls over the course of a month let's say and now they're really familiar with someone on my team
and that person and this happens all the time whether it was as a manager
or as a producer someone would come to me and say you know I've met so and so and
they're really nice I think they're really smart and I've just read some of their work
because you do that after three or four calls now the the the welcome mat is out
would you take a look at it my answer is always yes that's that's my team member
you know and and and that's kind of the reality now it might not be direct to me it might be to my
head of development or it might be some but that's how you penetrate that's how you get welcomed in
a query letter after you've spoken with a human that's addressed to the human you spoke to
is a totally different experience than just a strange peach unexpected email
coming into my inbox or someone else you know why why is it coming into my inbox
and I that's not to be that's not hubris it's just pragmatism
there are so many ways to play the long game build rapport
with the faith that the long game is actually the faster track.
Question For The Viewers:
What do you like about this advice? Anything you disagree with?