I have started to write this post multiple times but the situation has been somewhat fluid and it’s always harder for me to write about what Lee is experiencing when I am not there. But because it matters to the overall story of our full timing, I am going to give it a shot, please just keep in mind that although he will review this post prior to it going out, the words are largely mine.
Let me start by backing up a little bit. In December 2022 we arrived in Los Angeles with the goal of spending a couple of months here sightseeing and doing touristy things, such as Disneyland, and some studio tours, and then moving on with our travel. Instead, Lee fell head over heels in love with LA, and decided he wanted to take me up on my long time offer of staying here for a while and trying to make a career in the television and movie industry. This was always Lee’s childhood dream, when other kids were playing ball, he was making movies with his friends. He actually got his first job to make money to buy film. That job is where we met each other, in fact, and he talked me into being a scantily clad villain’s girlfriend in a spy movie. He made his own films with those same friends, and me, all the way up until our third child was born, and he got his first real job doing “adjacent” work, which sort of fulfilled that creative need. Anyway, dragging a young family out to Hollywood on a dream wasn’t realistic when we were in our early twenties, but as soon as the last kid left the nest it was one of the things we talked about before deciding to full time.
Ten years ago he thought that that ship had probably sailed, but then we arrived here and he truly fell in love with this place. Things like weather, traffic, too many people, all of which drove him crazy in other places didn’t matter at all here, because he loved the history and the culture. Every time he came home from some errand or drive he would be full of excitement because he had seen something in person he had only ever seen in a movie, or stood where Chaplin, or Hitchcock, or DeMille stood. He was giddy to be in a place where names like Harry Cohn, William Fox, Carl Laemmle, Louis B. Mayer, Jack and Harry Warner, and Adolph Zucker weren’t just ink on paper in a book, but actual giants of history. He drove around town looking for places from 100 years ago and was amazed at how much of it was still there, right where it always was, just waiting for him to get here. For the first time in his entire life, he felt comfortable and at home. He walked into Chateau Marmont like he had been there a thousand times before, and was just popping in for a nightcap with Douglas Fairbanks before driving up to Griffith Park to look down at the carpet of twinkling lights.
This was his dream place AND it was living up to his expectations, which is a rare combination for anyone. I, of course, hated it, but I love my husband so I was determined to give it a chance.
So, how DO you break into the entertainment industry at this level? Well, it’s not easy. Most people who come here with big dreams wash out in the first year, and even the ones that stay end up working in “adjacent” industries. But Lee decided to go for the gold, to dream big, and so far has stuck with that plan. The beginning for him was complicated by two main things. First things had slowed down to a trickle in anticipation of a massive strike by both the writers and the actors. Lee made his decision in early April, and the writers strike began May 2. Then the actors went on strike on July 14. The writers strike ended September 27, but the actors strike didn’t end until November 9, making it one of the longest Hollywood work stoppage in history. Second, he got some bad advice from folks he knew who worked out here.
It turns out this is a company town, and just like any company, who you know or are related to matters, unfortunately a lot more than it should. There are lots of people working in the industry who only have their job because of a relative and it is VERY hard for outsiders to break in no matter what their talent level. Especially in the camera department, which we later learned is the most cliquish of a very clannish industry. None of the tips and tricks he was being given were getting him anywhere at all, and after many months of waiting and trying to get hired on the precious few projects that were happening during the strike, Lee spoke with a good friend of a good friend of his who gave him the best advice he had gotten so far. After that meeting he talked to me about volunteering for experience, credits and networking.
You have to build a reputation here and it’s all about your show credits. That shows that you are serious and have experience working in the unique environment here and no amount of outside experience matches having credits shot on films or TV shows in LA. Also most of those are union and you can’t get into the union without X amount of credits established so you see the chicken/egg problem. How do you get around that? You work for free.
When Lee first came to talk to me about this tactic I was all for it. First it would get him out of the house and secondly it would help build his network. I thought of it like an unpaid internship and it really changed things. First, he has been working steadily almost nonstop for nearly three months, and I will call it work because these are 10-12 hour days, on your feet, and the work he is doing is no less because he is volunteering. He has also met quite a few people in the industry which has led to one paid job on a commercial and one pilot shoot on spec. On spec by the way means you don’t get paid unless the pilot gets picked up. It’s unlikely this pilot will get picked up but it was a very good experience for him. He’s also learning a LOT of things. He already knew a lot, but the gaps are getting filled in fast.
Of the eight films he’s worked on, half of them have been for the American Film Institute (AFI) Master’s thesis films. These are shorts that have a base budget of $50K and the students are mostly from other countries. One of the films was in Hindi, and another was in Spanish, and he doesn’t speak either of those languages. The crews are made up of other students, but also industry people from every level, and even one very advanced high school student! (One of the things he has learned is that even long time industry pros need to meet new people and so they “give back” on these shorts to meet those new up and comers.) Lee’s initial “in” on his first AFI film was that he can (and is willing to) drive a box truck. He has a lot of experience driving these trucks and since there have been too many instances when inexperienced students drive them and have accidents they are always looking for drivers. The first person he met was a visual effects supervisor for Marvel movies who was the husband of the producer who “hired” him for that project and he was helping out his wife on her thesis, for free, just like everyone else.
Initially driving the truck was all they wanted him for, but Lee held firm and told them that if they wanted a truck driver he had to be given another role as well, and he felt his overall widely varied experience and knowledge would be useful on set. This was actually really great because it gave him an opportunity to work as a Prop Master, Unit Stills (take pictures of the set and behind the scenes), camera department utility (sort of like an intern for the camera department), and Second assistant camera (2nd AC). What was absolutely awesome abut this is with less pressure he could learn about what roles he likes and doesn’t like and in the end he decided his favorite was 2nd AC.
The 2nd AC is always in the middle of the action. They stand right next to the camera, with the director and the cinematographer, which he loves. He does everything from swapping out $80k lenses, swapping out filters, managing the power for the camera, moving and mounting the camera, maintaining detailed records of each shot and take for the editors, assisting the operator for handheld shots, assisting the Steadicam operator if needed, placing marks for actors, measuring the distance from actors to the film gate to snapping the slate at the beginning of each take. (He’s fond of saying he’s in every scene in the movie but his best stuff ends up on the cutting room floor) He also makes sure the DP and/or operator and 1st AC has everything they need. It is an insanely fast paced, intense job requiring tons of focus and the ability to track many details simultaneously while thinking ahead. Not surprisingly he is pretty good at it. The bad news though is the camera departments like to work with people they have worked with before, because anticipation of needs is important and only comes with time. That being said he has learned a great deal from these opportunities not just about what he likes to do but the general culture on the set.
Despite having nearly 40 years of solid experience in “adjacent” fields, Hollywood is like going from the minors to the majors. There are certain things that just aren’t done that an outsider wouldn’t know. For example, Lee wore a shirt one day that said “Don’t worry, we’ll fix it in post” which is an industry inside joke that essentially means we’ll let the editors figure it out. People were NOT amused. His DP quietly told him to never wear that shirt on his set again. When he came home that night the shirt went right into the trash can and he ordered one that said “We’ll fix it on set” for the next time he worked with that DP. As a general rule everyone loves his industry specific T-shirts but that one was not well received. Weird right? Well, culture is culture, which is another reason I think of it as an internship.
And physically he has learned he can take it. No one cares about how old he is, which he was worried about, but it is a very physical job and you have to be able to keep up. Thankfully Lee still has it, and another nice side benefit of all this work is he is down three holes on his belt. And on his first late night shoot all the young folks were staggering around like zombies at 2am and he was wide awake and bright eyed and full of zip, without even having any coffee. All those long days and late nights working for Mills James and at big concerts is still in there somewhere.
All in all he has learned a ton and the time was incredibly well spent. Plus, just look at him. Look at his face. He is energized in a way I haven’t seen for a long time.
Each project has led to the next. If people like you, and want to work with you, they ask for you. That part is working out exactly as it was described to him by others.
One of the other cool things about these projects is they use props from the major studios and prop houses at a deeply discounted rate. As a driver Lee has gotten to spend tons of time in a couple of prop houses along with other industry specific equipment providers. He loves the tech and has a blast those days just seeing what only insiders can see. Here are some pictures from one of his prop house visits. He was most excited about the long aisles of fake food. Gotta say it’s all very impressive.
Along with the prop houses he has gotten to go into some really cool locations. Three movie ranches, a couple of gorgeous homes in the Hollywood hills, and a neat cave. The locations have been very fun for him as well and with a different “office” everyday he is loving the variety and the challenges. This is where his age and life experience can really be a huge advantage. Several times he’s been able to step in to “MacGyver” a solution in one of the locations after nobody else could figure it out, and impressing the hell out of other people on the crew. I like those stories because it shows the difference between our generation and the younger ones, plus I always like when he comes up with unique solutions to problems. One DP told him she loved that he never came to her to tell her about a problem, he only told her what the solution was and that he had already taken care of it.
In any event he has been super busy but the school season is over and we both agree it is time to start trying to morph more towards paying gigs or at least non school related volunteer work. He has some ideas about that and we will see how that goes, but for now I am glad he is taking a break. Not only have I missed him but I have quite the long “honey do” list going 🙂 Seriously though, the last couple of months he has been happier than I have seen him in a very long time, and that is really great to see.
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