Monday, 4/7/97
Extension course reveals secrets of making it big in
Hollywood
Former agent offers personal advice to show-business
hopefuls
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Contributor
Hollywood is all about connections. In order to succeed in this
cutthroat business that thrives on deal-making and hot new talent,
having a friend or relative who is high enough on the career ladder
could be the key to success.
But there is hope for those who do not have those coveted
connections. Former Hollywood talent agent David Phillips offers
students a foot in the door with his UCLA Extension course,
"Breaking into Hollywood: Finding Your Area of Passion."
Phillips offers his personal experience and advice on how to
realistically succeed in a business that requires passion,
discipline and luck.
The three-hour class also features weekly guest speakers who
have succeeded in the business and offer their own success stories
to inspire students who hope to one day be in show business
themselves. These guests include working directors, presidents of
studios, heads of development companies, screenwriters, film
industry executives and television producers.
Like the people he advises in his classes, Phillips, 32, came to
Hollywood without any connections. While he was studying business
at UCLA, he took a class on how to succeed in the film industry.
After taking this class, he was determined to find a career as a
film industry executive – even if it involved stalking the
professor.
"I took a course by Peter Guber, who was a producer at the time,
and he was talking to us about passion and discipline," Phillips
remembers. "I used to follow him to his car after teaching every
day. He eventually gave me an internship. Then, after graduating
from business school, I started delivering mail in the ICM mail
room, which upset the deans at the business school since I was
going to start delivering mail for $200 a week when the average MBA
salary was like 70 grand and I was going to bring down the earnings
curve."
Fortunately, Phillips stuck to his mail room job and eventually
became an agent at the prestigious William Morris Agency, where he
packaged such hit films as "Sleepless in Seattle," "While You Were
Sleeping" and "Hoop Dreams."
Recently, Phillips made a career change from agent to president
of his own production company after realizing he wanted to become
more involved in the filmmaking process. He is now president and
CEO of Corner of the Sky Entertainment, a management and production
company for 20th Century Fox Pictures.
"I wanted to produce movies as opposed to just making deals, so
I left agenting and started my own production company with Davis
Entertainment and 20th Century Fox," Phillips says. "Now, I am
teaching myself all over again on how to be a producer. It’s
constantly an education process for me. Reinventing yourself and
staying on your toes is the way to succeed in this business."
Understanding how Hollywood may be a confusing place to young
filmmakers, Phillips introduces this course as a way to steer
hopefuls in the right direction. He fills his guest speaker list
with other young successful film-industry members, hoping that
students will learn the best ways of gaining access to
Hollywood.
"When I designed this course, I didn’t want to have 50-year-olds
come in and say how easy it was," Phillips says. "I didn’t want
that because I wanted to teach a grassroots course. I wanted young
people between the ages of 30 and 35 teaching the students about
the first five years of the fishbowl. I wanted them to learn more
about the grueling price of admission and the humility factor in
the process of getting in."
Phillips believes that one of the biggest obstacles that new
filmmakers face is the studio system. His solution to breaking into
a business ruled by these often impenetrable studios is accepting
low-position jobs in order to learn more about the craft. He points
out that most successful executives and filmmakers started out on
the bottom of the career ladder, acquiring more experience and
knowledge as they moved up.
"You need to get in the fishbowl, which means having to pay your
dues such as taking a job as an assistant director or temping or
being a production assistant," Phillips says. "I don’t believe that
you can teach how to succeed in Hollywood in an ivory tower. I
think it’s something you’ve got to do on the job and the best way
to get experience is to hear from people who are doing what you
want to do so you can go out and do it. You will get such a
realistic perspective (from this class) that before you even get
into this crazy industry, you’ll be able to hear from people and
decide whether or not you’ll want to give it a try."
Another piece of advice that Phillips offers to those who want
to work in the entertainment industry is taking classes and
internships that prepare them for real work instead of theoretical,
classical classes on the art form itself.
"I meet tons of actors who are in five different scene-study
classes and it’s like group therapy but they’re not acting,"
Phillips says. "They don’t have representation, they don’t go out
on auditions, they don’t do plays. So they’re not really
acting.
"Ninety percent of all actors will tell you that their training
came from their craft, which comes (from) what’s inside of them. I
don’t think it comes from any instructor. Just like I don’t think
any writing instructor or directing coach can teach someone how to
write or direct."
The course topics include such relevant issues as "networking
for career advice, handling the inevitable rejection, landing in
the fishbowl, capitalizing on your first break and navigating
through political minefields."
While Hollywood may possibly be the toughest business to succeed
in, Phillips is confident that anyone who is willing to work hard
and persevere can triumph.
"I believe that anyone can make it in Hollywood and I also
believe that the cream does rise to the top," Phillips says. "You
can’t succeed here if you do things with half the effort. It
doesn’t work that way. You need 100 percent."
CLASS: "Breaking Into Hollywood," is a UCLA Extension course.
For more info, call (310) 551-2265 or check UCLA Extension’s web
site at www.unex.ucla.edu.
"Staying on your toes is the way to succeed in this
business."
David Phillips
Hollywood Executive