Getting a job isn’t easy. Students learn this all too well
around this time of year, courtesy of countless rejections by
unpaid internships, cheap local restaurants, department stores and
more. To film students, however, it’s a whole different
game.
To combat the difficulty of getting a job in the film industry,
the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television hired Jerry
Katzman in 2001 as the director of industry relations. Katzman acts
as a liaison between students who want work experience and the
industry executives they want it from.
“The whole business is who you know and how you
network,” Katzman said.
And he would know. Prior to working at UCLA, Katzman worked as
both an agent and a television producer, and has helped to sell
shows such as “The Cosby Show” and “Murphy
Brown” to studios. But his show-business experience extends
farther back than his own career.
“I was born into the business. My father was a producer
and my mother was an actress,” said Katzman.
To Katzman, learning the film business from his father was an
education unto itself. Which explains why, knowing he wanted to
work in the film industry, he went to the UCLA School of Law.
“I didn’t need to go to film school and to law
school,” Katzman said. “(My law degree) gave me an
added plus. It moved me up the ladder.”
After a long, successful career at the William Morris Talent
Agency, at which he once served as vice chairman, Katzman finally
made the decision to go into teaching.
“I decided after 30 years I wanted to give back rather
then just being an agent,” Katzman said. “(UCLA) did
not have a liaison and they did not have enough television
programs.”
Katzman took his television-production experience and his large
network of industry executives to UCLA.
In addition to his role at UCLA, however, Katzman also serves as
a consultant to an assortment of companies, including Anonymous
Content, a production company that specializes in commercials,
feature films, television and management.
Most of the students Katzman has helped to get interviews or to
find positions for have been in his two graduate courses designed
to help students navigate the film industry. This past spring, he
taught “Who Represents Me,” an in-depth analysis of the
different forms of representation offered in the industry. Few have
connections in the industry when they are trying to land that first
job or internship upon which golden resumes are built.
They can make appointments to meet with Katzman, and he either
suggests positions or searches for good opportunities. The
initiative rests on the student to take advantage of
Katzman’s networking experience and to go after the best work
situation.
“I don’t define (the students), they define
themselves,” he said.
With a little help from someone who knows someone, resumes are
moved to the top of the pile, interviews are set up, and careers
are started. Katzman said he enjoys the students particularly in
his job, but how long he plans on staying is undecided.
“I take it day by day,” he said. “I go and if
it’s something I like doing, then I’ll do
it.”