Green PA commented on a post from a couple weeks ago, “The Curse of the Origin Story”:

I recently got very lucky and was able to finagle my way out of the mail room and into a sweet PA job on the lot. I have been scouring IMDB to find the origins of all of my producers, show runners, directors, A.D.s, etc, and none of them have any experience listed before they got to the level of “line producer.” Even the writers lack any listings before their first writing gig. Why do you think this is? Typical Hollywood -I -was -born -into -greatness BS, or should we take a page from their book and hide our true job titles when out of the office or off the set?

I’ve noticed this as well.  There is certainly an element of pride.  These guys aren’t going to add PA experience from the 70s to their IMDb page.

A larger part, though, is just that they’re old.  IMDb was only just getting going when I was in college.  While IMDb still doesn’t have all of my credits, it has a lot of them, including work on shows I’m embarrassed to admit I worked on.

If/when I someday become a famous writer, those credits will stay there.  I’m probably at the vanguard of filmmakers whose entire career, from PA to producer, will be available for all to see.  Thus is life in the internet age.

Andrew writes in:

My fiance recently fell into a PA position and landed a couple days on a movie.  After day two/three she was told they had enough PA’s for the next day and they would call her.  It has been a few days and no word back yet.

A family member of mine works in the industry (in an unrelated position) as well, he recommended she try calling and contacting the person who hired her to ask for work.  She has tried phoning this person only to find the voice mail box full.  At this point I have a feeling she is a bit worried that with the lack of experience gained and the potential of not hearing back her PA career could be over as soon as it started.

Is this commonly how additional PA positions are handled?  Are the additional PA call backs usually done via some rotation or at the AD discretion?  How often is too often when calling to trying to get work?  Would it be considered crazy to show up on set if it becomes impossible to reach via phone?  Is there anything she can do with her couple of days experience that may open some doors that would otherwise be closed to someone without experience?  What types of experiences are usually desired on someones resume with little to no PA experience?

Additional PA days are always done at the discretion of the AD.  If they like you, they’ll call you back.  If they don’t, they won’t.

Calling to remind them that you’re still available is good advice.  It’s unfortunate that the mailbox was full, but there’s not really much you can do about it.  Just showing up on set would, indeed, be crazy.  Not ill-advised crazy, but call-the-men-in-the-white-coats crazy.  Unless they happen to be filming in your neighborhood, and you tell them so, I wouldn’t do it.

“Too often” is a tough call.  Depends on the kind of show.  If you’re talking about a sitcom, where they hardly ever leave the studio and need more than their usual compliment of PAs, I’d wait three to four weeks.  If they’re on location a lot, like for an action show or a procedural, maybe every two weeks.

If you don’t have experience as a PA, try to at least have some kind of industry experience.  Working the desk at an agency, being a personal assistant to a producer, something.  ”Starbucks barista” isn’t gonna do anything on your resume.

If you’re curious about working in Canada, be sure to check out yesterday’s comments.  Which reminds me, I recently got another email from America Jr:

As a recent Canadian(Vancouver) graduate from film school I am in debts from upwards of 5000$.

I quit my regular serving job in the summer to be available for on-call PA work. I have only formally worked on one big feature for about 11 days and I am currently non-union.I have received little work but made many contacts who may call me in the future again.

My savings have dwindled, and I want to make a commitment to pay off those debts with another serving job and hopefully be able to have another shot at being an on-call PA again. I have begun training for my steady job, but unexpectedly, a film contact I met prior contacted me, asking if I could come in for a day call on a new show.I declined her offer, because of my other commitment, but I feel like I may have missed out on an opportunity.

So to my question,  Am I making a big mistake by declining work that could lead to future opportunities and contacts? Or should prioritize paying off my debts and making the habit of following through with the commitments I make?

First of all, what’s with putting the dollar sign after the amount?  Is that a Canadian thing?  So people know it’s your Monopoly money, and not real dollars?

Anyway.

This is always a tough question.  I’ve known many people who’ve tried to focus on their entertainment career for several years, only to eventually drop out due to debt, late rent payments, and so forth.

On the other hand, once you start working a regular job with regular hours and regular pay, it gets hard to give that up, even when your student loans are paid off.

My natural inclination is to pay off debts as quickly as possible.  If we were talking about credit card debt, I wouldn’t have any doubt at all; you’d lose a fortune with a 5000$ balance.  Luckily, student loans tend to be low-interest.

The question becomes, how quickly can you pay off your debt, and get back to working in whatever the Canadian equivalent to Hollywood is?

LB writes:

I will be relocating to Canada soon. Are all crew members of television productions shot in Canada, including set and office production assistants, required to be union members? If so, does this include American television productions shot in Canada?

My knowledge of Canadian unions extends only so far as to know that they exist.

But, since you’re writing to my blog, I assume you’re a PA, and not an active member of the DGA.  I’d be willing to bet that, like their American counterparts, Canadian PAs don’t have a union.

The reason?  Well, who would want to be a PA long enough to join a union?

On top of that, there are plenty of shows which are non-union.  Cable shows and reality are notorious for this.  Plus, one union’s jurisdiction has no effect on another’s.  An independent film can have a deal with SAG, but still not be a DGA or WGA signatory.  I’m sure the same holds true for Canadian productions.

Leala writes:

Ok, I keep reading “no experience” needed to PA. So why it so hard to land a PA job?

I actually have some experience -film school, student projects, independent projects, game show pilot, award shows, major network webisode and even dayplayed in the production office of a network TV show.

I get Production Weekly and PRS, contact the offices and fax/email resume, make sure it’s received and follow up til I get “we’re currently crewed up”. I’ve tried pilots, shows already on air, award shows, films and nothing. I’ve even offered to work for free just for the experience but since I’m currently not a student that doesn’t help.

I’m still working on independent projects but how do you make that leap from those to features/tv? Obviously I’m doing something wrong. Any ideas?

I must admit, I am being a little cheeky when I say things like, “A monkey could do my job.”  PAs get fired all the time, for slacking off, for screwing up, for having the gall to speak to a producer when he’s having a bad day.

There is a certain amount of skill involved, even if the main skill is simply being able to stick to it long enough to get promoted.  Not everyone has that skill.

That being said, a lot of people do have that skill, or at least think they do.  On my show, we get at least three PA resumes a day, and we’re in the middle of the season!  At the beginning of the season, we could fill a binder with resumes.

This is also why, by the way, PAs get paid so little (as I explained in a post a few weeks ago).  While there’s always a demand for a good PA, there is an even greater supply of good PAs.

Note the lack of a "Hard Work" curve.

I don’t think you’re actually doing anything wrong.  In fact, it sounds like you’re doing everything right.  There’s no secret or trick that you’re missing. You have to be good and smart and experienced, it’s true.

But you also have to submit your resume at the exact moment that they’re looking for a PA with your exact qualifications.  You have to connect with the AD or coordinator some indefinable way.  You have to be ready when they need you to be ready.

In short, not only do you have to be good, you have to be lucky.

I wish I could be of more help than that, but I can’t.

Kyle writes in:

I recently stumbled across your blog and have really enjoyed the reading. I have a few questions I was hoping you might give some advice on. I have interned as a P.A. on a few different occasions for editing studios in Atlanta, Ga. However, now that I have graduated I am finding it extremely difficult to find any production jobs (I found it easier as a student). Maybe I am going about this the wrong way, do you have any advice? Should I pursue a larger market than Atlanta?

Hard to say.

I don’t know if you’re going about it “the wrong way.”  Times are tough all over; you may just be yet another victim of the economic downturn.

Atlanta has a fairly large production base.  Ted Turner’s companies are there, and Tyler Perry just built a fancy new studio.  I’m sure there are a bunch of smaller, local companies there, too.

But that it doesn’t come close to what we’ve got in Los Angeles.  We have thousands of productions companies.  You could make a whole career and earn a pretty good living working for production companies nobody’s ever heard of.  Even with all the runaway production, no where else in the world has the film community we have, outside of possibly Mumbai.

That being said, there are a lot of people out of work here, too. You can’t expect to get a job right away.

I assume you made some connections during your internships? Why not use those to your advantage?  You’ll be starting from scratch here.  It’s tough all over, and you should use an advantage you can get.

Adam writes in with another age-related question:

How old are most office and set production assistants?  I mean, ignoring the happenstance of Hollywood, not to mention just finding those first few jobs, isn’t one looking at a commitment of several years just as PA before even the possibility of moving to a position higher up shows on the horizon?

And speaking of finding those first few jobs–I doubt any tv show or movie will hire someone with no volunteer-PA experience, correct?  Or is that at all plausible?  Of all my questions this is the worst.

Have you befriended any other PAs or is there really no opportunity to?

How much has networking on the set helped you find other jobs?

Lotsa questions there.

Almost all PAs are in their twenties.  I’ve met a few older ones, and they were either people who waited a long time to decide on their path in life, or people who just failed at life generally.  A thirty-five year old PA is a sad sight.

That being said, it can (and does, in my case) require years of work to be promoted.

Due to various labor laws, you can’t work on a show for free.  You can, however, intern in exchange for school credit.

Of course I’ve made friends with other PAs.  It’d be kinda weird if you didn’t make friends at work, right?

But that kind of networking doesn’t tend to lead to jobs.  Since just about anybody can be a PA, just about everybody knows someone who wants to do it.  When a set PA spot opened recently on my show, I asked the AD if I recommend a friend.  He said, “Sure, but there are about thirty other people who also have recommendations.”

And all thirty of those people outranked me.

You’re not going to get a job by networking with your peers.  (At least, not anytime soon.  If I make it as a writer, and one of my friends becomes a studio executive, then I suppose he can get me a job.)  You also need to network with your superiors– ADs, coordinators, even producers.  They’re the ones who make the decisions that actually affect your job.

Reader Dan writes:

I am 17, soon to be 18. When I am 18, or sort of maybe a few months after I’m 18, I wanted to be a PA for reality tlelevision. I’m worried I’m a bit too young to do this. I’ll be ready late this year or early 2010, depending on how much I can save for a chance to move to LA. Do PA jobs prefer or even require someone to be a certain age?

I have never heard of any age limit, other than being old enough to drive.  I’ve worked with nineteen and twenty year olds in the past.  PAing is the very definition of “no experience required,” and that includes life experience.

My main recommendation is that you should recognize you know nothing.  You were, what, ten when Survivor came out?  Whatever you think you know about the creation of a reality show, you’re wrong.  And for every one thing you’re wrong about,  there are a thousand things it didn’t even occur to you think about in the first place.

The main purpose of taking a PA gig is to learn.  You work horrible hours for terrible pay and zero respect, but if you shut up and listen, you’ll advance quickly.

I, on the other hand, can’t keep my trap shut, and I’m still a PA several years out of film school.  Learn from my mistakes, Dan.

You'd be surprised how many bloggers start out this way.

Matt’s email yesterday got me thinking about “making it,” and what exactly that means. I, too, will someday need a lawyer.

I hope.

This got me thinking about the Creative Screenwriting Podcast, and how they always start their interviews with “breaking-in stories.” I’m currently living through mine (I hope).

But there’s something that disturbs me about most of these stories. The writer always starts with, “I met producer X or director Y, and he/she/they liked my script.”

They never talk about years spent writing scripts, most of which are terrible, followed by several more years of coming to the realization that they are, in fact, terrible. They never mention working as a PA or a personal assistant orwhatever. It’s like they emerged from the cocoon of film school as a full-grown writerfly. (Butterwriter?)

Occasionally you’ll get, “I worked as a video store clerk… And then I made this movie!”

No one talks about the dozens of people they showed their screenplays to first, only to be rejected or, worse, get no response at all. They don’t discuss all the conmen and shady people they’ve had to deal with.

(I once had a producer agree to hire me for a few thousand dollars. When it came time to pay, he told me the financier would give me double the agreed amount, and I would have to give him (the producer) half. Also, he wanted me to give him his half before the funds for the post-dated check would be available. He swore to me he did this kind of thing all the time.)

My point is, the writers only talk about that one connection that panned out.

And that’s a problem for all us aspirants. We all know the basic strategy—write good scripts, network, rewrite, make friends, write some more, show your script around. Eventually it’ll land in the hands of a producer or agent, right?

But after years of running on the same treadmill, you start to think there must be something you’re missing. Some step you skipped or some trick you just don’t know. If you can just figure out how John August made it, or how Tarantino made it, or how John Wells or Joss Whedon or Aaron Sorkin did.

They’re not better writers than you,; they just knew some trick you didn’t. Some secret handshake or codeword. Something that means it’s not all random luck.

But the truth is, there is no secret. You just keep working at the video store or in the production office or whatever. Someday you’ll make it, but it won’t be because of some clever tactic or strategy. It’ll be because you met the right person at the right time with the right script.

And the only one of those things I can control is the script.  So, back to writing.

Reader Matt writes:

I, like you, am a PA/aspiring writer.  I met a producer recently and pitched a script.  To my surprise, he said he wanted to make the movie!  He’s drawing up a contract, and now my writing partner and I find ourselves in need of an entertainment lawyer.

I’ve asked the writers on the TV show I work for, but all of their lawyers are incredibly expensive.  It’s a Catch-22: I can’t afford a lawyer until I get paid, and I can’t get paid until I sign the contract.

Since you’re in a similar point in your career, I thought you might know a more affordable attorney?

You’ve sold a script, and now you need someone to look over your contract? This is a classy problem to have, my friend. I wish I was at a similar point in my career.

I asked some of my own writer acquaintances, and got the same response. A lawyer’s gonna run you several hundred dollars an hour to review a contract, and even more if you want to retain him. (Which is not advisable at this point; one script does not a career make.)

Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Maybe one of my other readers can offer a better suggestion?