3 Myths About Making It In The Entertainment Industry
At times, the Industry can seem like a very mysterious & exclusive club that requires a secret password to gain access. Because of its somewhat elusive nature, stories of what people think the industry is actually like emerge and begin to be taken as fact.
We hate to burst your bubble, but here we go…
- “Everyone is out to steal my story idea, so I can’t talk about it.”
We hear this myth from authors and screenwriters all the time, but there’s very little evidence to back it up. In fact, a creator who is trying to break into the industry should be talking about his or her story to anyone who will listen.
Yes, when you’re an established film or television writer who takes meetings with producers and executives all the time, copyrighting your ideas should be a consideration.
But that fact is, an idea alone is not what sells in Hollywood. What sells is the entire package—how an idea is executed.
And it’s crucial to practice telling your story because you’ll need to be phenomenal at painting the picture for your producer-audience when you do land a meeting.
Check out producer Elizabeth Kushman’s (ONE MISSED CALL, THE HILLS HAVE EYES) opinion on the topic here: http://voyagemedia.com/exclusive-producer-interview/
- “I have to send out a lot of query letters to improve my chances of getting my idea picked up.”
Sending out hundreds of query letters to unqualified leads is like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks – it’s a waste of time and often yields little to no result.
You would never want to pitch your rom-com script to a producer who works exclusively in the horror genre…so why send them a query letter requesting a meeting in the first place?
- “I just need one spectacular story to make it in Hollywood.”
This is partially true…
Yes, you DO need a spectacular story to help get you noticed, but you ALSO need to have a killer ‘bench’—several stories in your back pocket that you’re constantly working on.
Picture this scenario:
You’ve scoured IMDb Pro for a list of qualified producer leads, you sent query letters via email and followed up via phone, and get a bite. A producer wants to meet with you about your project!
So you arrive at the producer’s office ready to pitch the story that landed you the meeting, armed with your logline, elevator pitch, long pitch and storyboard or lookbook. You are totally prepared to pitch your magnum opus to this producer….
And after you complete your pitch the producer says, “The sounds like a really cool concept but it’s not quite what I’m looking for right now. What else are you working on?”
This kind of thing happens all the time during pitch meetings.
Producers pass on concepts for a whole slew of reasons, so being prepared with well-thought-out alternatives for them to consider will mean the difference between a wasted opportunity and a producing partner.
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Are there any other Entertainment Myths you’ve come across? Comment below.
Doctor Who is now considered a British Institute and has come a long way since it first aired on November 23rd 1963. The very first show saw the Doctor travel 100,00 years into the past to help some dim cavemen discover light. After 26 seasons and seven Doctors later the series came off our screens in 1989 much to the disappointment of the huge devoted fanbase. In 1996 an attempt was made to revive Doctor Who but it wasnt until June 2005 when it came back with a vengeance with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor that put the series back on the map as it were. It then went on for 5 years with David Tenant portraying the Doctor until 2010 when Matt Smith took over the role. Today it is still a great family show and has attracted many new fans.
If youre a new or old fan of the show there are Tours and museums you can go and see some of the locations and memorabilia of this classic show. The Doctor Who Tour of London will take you on over 15 locations from the show, some from the new series and some from old sites like the location of The Invasion and Resurrection of the Darleks. The tour also takes you to the TV museum in London where you will get to see some of the cosumes worn in the show and props used. Also you can buy gifts and memorabilia from the shop.
You will learn all about how the shows were made so the tour is also educational. If you want to take pictures of the locations thats not a problem. Remember the front door of 10 Downing Street in Aliens of London? Well you can get up and close to this and get your picture taken in front of the door. Rose Tyler fans will love the tour as you get to drop by her home in the show.
Why not go that extra mile and actually meet a Doctor Who star. Well this is possible with private or group tours. You will get the general tour but included will be a pre-arranged meeting or lunch with a celebrity from the show. This will obviously depend on availability of the celebrity and the cost will reflect the popularity of that celebrity.
There are tours in London and also Wales. The Wales tours take you to Cardiff where you will see lots of location which were featured in shows since 2005. You can leave from London or at Leigh Delamere services station on the M4. There is a Doctor Who exhibition in Cardiff which you get to see. At the end of the Doctor Who tour you get a souvenir group picture sent you by email which is a nice touch.
For seriously devoted Doctor Who fans there is a 3 day tour which takes you to all the locations in both London and Cardiff. You will see locations from the past 45 years as well as recent sites from the lasted Doctor Who series. Day one is based in London where you get to see 15 sites. Day two takes you to Cardiff where you get to mean the real life owner of the to see we have an Gothic property used as the location of the school in Human Nature. The final day is partly spent in Cardiff with a walking tour at Cardiff Bay, then you head back to London but a stop at Stonehenge to see the site of the Pandoica. Then its dinner at The Cloven Hoof pub in Devils End b efore you taken back to central London.