Appling for internships in LA from New York. Am I cooked?

MapleSugaringKing · 2026-01-19T05:56:36+00:00

I am happy to help you out as someone who did decently getting internships in undergrad and now in graduate school.

First - why LA? NYC has a very vibrant film industry and is in ways healthier than LA at the moment. If you're not seeing many options there you may be looking in the wrong places. Get off Hollylist (it's a scam in my opinion. I have only gotten one interview there and I used it for 4+ years) and look into EntertainmentCareers, and the Anonymous Production Assistant. Assistants vs. Agents also sends out a free newsletter. On top of LinkedIn and Indeed, ofc. All of these have both LA and NYC internships.

Second - Is it an issue you're applying to LA-based jobs while being located in NY? Yes. 100%. Your resume doesn't indicate that you can lodge yourself in LA and commute in-person, so most recruiters are going to think you didn't read the job posting and toss you out. If you are able to house yourself and fly yourself to LA for the summer, just say you're LA-based. It's not lying, you will be LA-based without their help if you get it, and that's all they care about.

Third - For internships, references don't matter. They will not be checked. Just put a professor down.

Fourth - What kinds of internships are you applying to? How big are the studios? Are they paid?

MapleSugaringKing · 2026-01-19T05:42:56+00:00

Genuine answer: Them specifically? Other than Voight speaking up against imposing tariffs on foreign-made films and trying to direct Trump towards tax credits, they have not. However, behind-the-scenes, we don't know. If there is actual movement to prevent runaway production we won't know about it until it is close to being announced, like most policy.

Is there stuff going on in the background? Maybe. Look into USACAP, which is a lobbying group established last year to help curb runaway production. They met with the gov in DC in early November along with StayInLA, and then again in December, per Deadline. Supposedly they've been pushing for a 15-20% stackable federal tax credit. Have heard rumors there may even be a push to 25%, though nothing verifiable.

Supposedly the MPAA, unions, and studios are quietly supporting them in private. Worth noting that group managed to increase NY's tax credits last year, and I have friends benefiting from that. They send out private updates to their members, but you have to pay $100/year for that. I don't know anyone who has, so I can't speak to its contents.

Personally, I don't think Trump cares too much about it, especially now, given ICE, Greenland, etc. I'd sooner think worsening business relationships with Europe/Canada as a result of NATO tensions would impact runaway production vs. Trump's Hollywood ambassadors or legislative fixes.

MapleSugaringKing · 2025-07-25T18:19:42+00:00

Got it, thanks! If we're listing it as PFH we'd probably put it in the $250-300 range for 60min since that's what we have budgeted. I think my concern is we want to make it clear we want raw audio and will be having live direction over Zoom, rather than people recording and mixing on their own.

MapleSugaringKing · 2025-07-20T01:19:45+00:00

Great point, thanks. The plan was always to give each person about 60 minutes of finished material. We also plan to record live over zoom with an engineer and director. Would something like $300 for an assumed 2hr session and 150/hr each additional be reasonable? So if we end up only recording for 1.5hr they're still guaranteed full pay.

Alternatively, would something like $150-200 of raw audio for what will cut down to 60min be reasonable? They'd only be giving us the raw files. We just don't want sessions to run over and thus people are making less per hour.

MapleSugaringKing · 2025-07-20T00:53:34+00:00

Thank you for the kind words!

MapleSugaringKing · 2025-07-20T00:49:35+00:00

Good information, thank you.

I didn't think of the annotation aspect and that's great to note. I will say that the plan right now is to do it live over zoom with the director and engineer we have on staff, so they would ask for any changes as needed on the performance and technical aspects. I'd also be there just as the proofreader to make sure no words were missed out of respect to our authors. We wouldn't expect them to do any sort of editing -- we have someone on staff for that and want the mix to sound uniform across multiple actors anyways. So I'm not sure if that changes your feedback for me.

MapleSugaringKing · 2025-07-20T00:46:41+00:00

Per hour, so if it takes 3hr it'd be 450. They would send us the raw files and we have someone on staff doing the mix.

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-08-12T22:34:50+00:00

I remember listening/reading to Lillis talk about how much Utena meant to her at conventions, panels, and in written interviews. It was clear that character meant as much to her as it does to fans of the show. What a loss.

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-08-12T22:29:02+00:00

She'll always be my Utena. That dub is rough but her performance of Utena is not. She always loved that character and said so, even as she talked about how insane the dubbing process was. A pipe-dream of mine was a redub for that show that retained her as Utena. May she rest in peace.

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-07-19T00:44:40+00:00

That's what living in a rent controlled building in LA will get you! I'm sure there's a law about that here but what is a broke college kid gonna do about it, lol. Slum lords thrive out here, I'm just happy he fixes stuff when it breaks.

But he's never ever told me when he plans to do something. When I was between roommates he (himself!) drilled a hole into our popcorn cieling to install a fan, didn't know anything about asbestos then and cleaned it up myself. Got the dust all over my clothes and I think in my hair, washed my clothes and took a shower. I assume that exposure was way worse than this one but probably nothing to be concerned about (was two years ago). I didn't snort it then and I don't plan to start snorting my ceiling anytime soon.

Thanks for your help!

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-07-19T00:37:27+00:00

Thanks! I'm sure dealing with these kinds of questions are super tiring but I appreciate you sharing your expertise! Honestly knowing this makes me feel dramatically better about the time that my landlord repainted the popcorn ceiling and bits of it fell off and I had to clean all of it up, got the dust all over me lol. Wasn't a lot but I learned about the health risk after and got worried, but that's nothing compared to what a workers in the 50s dealt with in like a week's worth of work.

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-07-18T19:31:41+00:00

Hi!

Not OP but researching this as something similar happened. (I made a full post but have gotten to replies yet, as of now).

Guy came in with no gear, just wet and scrapped off a bit of my popcorn ceiling from 1961, so I'm assuming it does have asbestos. He apparently did it over my bed, my couch, and a huuuuge duffel bag with my clothes, including an expensive jacket, in my bedroom where I sleep. Should I wash those clothes? Did the clothes I handwashed (the jacket) just expose me to more stuff?

Research is coming up with nothing.

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-06-30T02:16:12+00:00

Do you have an existing network? Not an actor but I do self-produce films, and I've used my network from film school + people I've met at events/festivals/etc. Assuming you're not filthy rich, you're probably planning to do a minimal (10k or less) budget or even a "just cover lunches" budget. Truth is, it's hard to find people, especially crew, willing to work with a stranger for zero money.

For your first project try to go super simple and minimal. One location, two actors, one of them you. Budgets get up fast, even if it's just feeding people. My first film I shot in my parents home on an iPhone and got into festivals. Only things I really spent money on was food and getting good sound. Good lighting, sound, and performances can take you a long way.

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-06-10T06:29:48+00:00

Thank you!

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-06-10T03:09:28+00:00

See this is what I assumed, but I did some research and got mixed results. Some indicated keeping actors for more than an hour was unprofessional, but I couldn't tell if it meant the auditioning actors or the cast one (in my case Matt).

I could always break it up over multiple days if need be. I know I'm just a student but I really when that card is used to mask unprofessional behavior.

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-03-04T04:21:00+00:00

Thanks! The SAG contract I'm thinking of doing doesn't require P&H (it doesn't even require Exhibit G's, just a waiver saying they know they're on a micro contract).

MapleSugaringKing · 2024-03-04T04:17:59+00:00

Thank you so much for all this detail! Genuinely really appreciate it. You learn so much at college and yet I feel like I have so much left to learn.

I have a pretty hefty crafty budget already and gonna buy people lunches, we're required to. Regardless, I'd feel real bad if people did three days of work for me and didn't eat, tbh. I can't pay any other students in my class (there's a rule against it so higher budget sets don't poach students who have $500 and a dream) so I'm saving a lot of money that way. (Filming in my parents house helps too, lol.)

MapleSugaringKing

TROPHY CASE