How To Make Friends In The Movie Industry?

@poster which of d movie industry:HOLLYWOOD or NOLLYWOOD

developing a personality would be a good start.

ummm . . . don't be a prick, mostly.

mind how you deal with people . . . mind how you talk to people.

(for reasons i won't get into) people in this business can be very vindictive, so when you cross someone you are not only losing a friend--you are gaining an enemy. one who will most likely go to extreme lengths to exact vengeance, either by utilizing all their connections and resources to ensure that you NEVER make any progress in the business, or by otherwise breaking your spirit.

of course, this deals mainly with keeping friends . . . are you more interested in figuring out how to make the friends in the first place?

making friends in the movie industry is not that different from networking in any other industry, really . . . it's a matter of knowing how to position yourself in the right place at the right time, and making sure that you have the right goods.

i'll run down a few pointers . . .  obviously no rule book for this really exists and i am just randomly pulling this stuff out of my head, so forgive me if it's not too organized, repetitive or slightly rambling.

1. Know your shit: as you try to make friends in the movie industry, if you are trying to make it as a filmmaker, please, please, please know something about your craft. most of the people you are trying to befriend are looking for allies, not students. obviously, if you're new to the industry nobody expects you to be that conversant with the practical business of the game as it is played, but at least try to have an understanding of your "art."

i know a lot of books and stuff tell you "don't say 'i want to be a filmmaker, say 'i am a filmmaker!'" but if you're going to say that, you need to be able to back it up. it's especially problematic in Nigeria where the standards are set so low that just about ANY fool off the street can walk in and announce "i am a screenwriter" and they can't even properly write a simple declarative sentence in English (you see that a lot on this board, actually), people saying "i am a producer" without knowing the first thing about what a producer does, etc.

the Nigerian movie industry is full of enough wannabes and pretenders. try to separate yourself from the pack by actually knowing something. that brings us to the next point . . .

2. Have something to offer: obviously, it is better to build business relationships that are based on mutual gain rather than on charity, affection or pity. make yourself a commodity. look at yourself and ask what makes you an attractive potential friend for someone in the industry. do you have money? do you have superlative skills? equipment? connections?

in Nigeria in particular, where there is a chronic shortage of capital and resources, the exchange of favors is the coin of the realm. how much coinage do you have in your pouch?

likewise, you should be judging those you meet by the same criteria. especially in Nollywood which (as we have already established) is rife with pretenders. ask yourself: "does this person actually have something to offer me, or is s/he just another poser who is all mouth and no trousers?"

that being said . . .

3. Fake it till you make it: it's a basic paradox in any business that if you want someone to give something to you, you need to look like you already have it.

you go to the bank for a loan, they tell you they can't give it to you because you have no money to pay them back. "but," you say, "if i had money, why would i need the loan in the first place?"

you go to apply for a job, they say they won't hire you because you don't have experience. "but," you say, "how am i supposed to get the experience if no one will give me a job?"

it's the same thing here.

when you meet people, don't go to them on your hands and knees looking like some wide-eyed supplicant. project the image of achievement and success. lie about your achievement and success if you must, but make sure that you can back up your fibs. don't go too far with it like a lot of these jerk-off wannabes in Nollywood who go around talking about how they are negotiating million-dollar deals with Paramount Pictures and how they are planning to bring Julia Roberts to shoot a film in Nigeria in December. the fact that they traffic in such outrageous cock & bull stories makes them look pathetic--not just because it illustrates that they are obviously liars, but they are also bad liars. if these are the best tall tales they can come up with, they clearly aren't very good storytellers, are they? hence, it follows that they probably suck as filmmakers, too!

be reasonable as you craft your image.

4. Be sociable: i actually was not being facetious or sarcastic when i talked about developing a personality. unless you have SO much skills, SO much money, SO many resources that people really have no choice but to work with you (which you probably do not have), nobody will want to work with you if you are an unpleasant person to be around.

modern business in general tends to be personality-driven. the movie business is especially so, and the Nigerian movie industry is particularly so. in the business world, major deals are cut not in the conference room but on the golf course, the tennis court, the gentleman's club; in Nollywood, a good deal of business takes place in bars.

in order to make friends in the industry, you will probably spend time in these bars, gisting, socializing . . . you might spend hours just hanging out, and half the time you might not be talking business, just chilling. hell, maybe even MORE than half the time.

if you are shy, or you hate people, or are short-tempered, or boorish, or boring, or just generally an annoying prick, you need to change that. or at the very least, learn how to act well enough to disguise your poor personality. people prefer to work with people they feel comfortable around and it is through your social interaction that they get a sense of the kind of person you are and whether you are worth working with.

go to these spots where industry folks hang out (you will probably have to be escorted by an "insider" at first, but that is not hard to arrange). ask questions about who is who and gauge who would make a worthwhile associate. introduce yourself. chat pleasantly. pay for the drinks. listen more than you talk.

make sure you make an impression . . . make yourself memorable.

casually get yourself invited to a set. while you are there, be respectful, but find a way to contribute in one way or another. (don't force yourself on anybody, though).

anyway, that's enough for now.

@combrazor: excellent post.  Thanks a million.  about (4) - I wish there was another way though.

Seun -

unfortunately, there is NO way around #4.

in fact, i dare say that #4 might even be more important that 1-3 combined. a lot of people are able to build highly successful careers in the move business not through having any talent or skills, but just by ingratiating themselves to the right people on a purely social level. it is networking . . . and it's not even just confined to the movie business.

you could be in ANY business . . . regardless of how great your job performance might be, if you are not getting out there and really getting to know the people who can make a difference in your career, you will be passed by (and i say this from painful personal experience).

also, you have to remember that film is a collaborative art. it's not like painting or writing a novel where you can just sit by yourself in a room with a piece of paper and create totally on your own.

you need to manage, direct, negotiate, deal with a LOT of people. and the kind of personal relationship you cultivate with people is what gets you over.

unless you want to be like George Lucas where you can afford to create your entire world digitally--create the sets, the props, even the actors--and then you don't have to deal with anybody.

but very few people have George Lucas's kind of juice. and in any case, i think his way sucks.

hey powerofmap! long time . . .  how have you been?

please can any one send me a link to fil cheveron scholarship application on line?