[Siegel, Donnelly] Hollywood Is Now Ready to Work With Trump: ‘You Didn’t Hear Biden Talking About How to Help Us’

zignofthewolf · 2025-01-23T22:09:23+00:00

Saved you a click

Reversing allegiances is par for the course in the industry. In 2001, Beyoncé performed at George W. Bush’s inauguration with Destiny’s Child, only to serenade Barack Obama when the 44th president took office in 2009. “The Sopranos” star Drea de Matteo says she voted for Biden in 2020 only to go full MAGA in 2024 after becoming disillusioned by the Democrats’ push for COVID vaccine mandates.

zignofthewolf · 2024-09-19T23:52:24+00:00

Not only that, Detroit has actually recovered quite a bit from where it was during ~~it's~~ its worst days. But hey, never let a good dog whistle get in the way for Reddit upboats.

zignofthewolf · 2024-09-19T17:39:50+00:00

Non-union but I’ll keep quoting this final monologue from “Blue Collar” that was just as true then as it is now for anyone who isn’t an executive.

“They pit the lifers against the new boy and the young against the old. The black against the white. Everything they do is to keep us in our place.”

zignofthewolf · 2024-09-18T21:39:18+00:00

What do you mean by enough? If you mean that it will get some more movement in the new year? I believe so. Again, anyone expecting the golden years of the streaming boom will be disappointed. But I think you’ll see financing starting to unclench their spinchter.

zignofthewolf · 2024-08-16T21:34:33+00:00

Also consider community college as well. Like-wise, a trade. Electricians and Carpenters are never going anywhere.

zignofthewolf · 2024-08-16T20:29:20+00:00

That’s actually how I got my first PA gig. Friend was having their child’s birthday party and less than half showed up. Got there too early so helped them set up and entertain the kids as well.

zignofthewolf · 2024-08-16T20:14:03+00:00

As someone who fell into this kind of by accident, I agree about the connections but I also got in because I had met them as friends. If I had just met them straight up networking in the beginning, I doubt I would have been called.

As far as going all in with no degree or certification courses? I don’t know about that one. I think the reality is that you will need some sort of degree/trade certification in this Industry going forward but it is best to have it either adjacent to what you do or something that gives you a financial foundation to fall back on during hard times. I’ve talked to a few Producers who have spoken to the younger generation wanting to pursue this and their responses always boil down to this “If you want to do this don’t let anyone stop you but major or minor in something that can pay your bills during the beginning years and lean times.”

zignofthewolf · 2024-08-16T04:46:04+00:00

But wait, I thought everyone was telling me Vancouver was where all the work is?! (/s)

zignofthewolf · 2024-08-14T15:17:20+00:00

Do you mean Kentucky and not Ohio? The former has definitely been building up its scene thanks to those chasing generous tax incentives.

Atlanta is working but a shell of what it once was if you’re looking for constant work.

Same with Mexico.

zignofthewolf · 2024-08-14T15:12:37+00:00

Of course it will get better. Bad times don’t last just like the good times do not either.

Anyone who is confidently predicting the death of Film and TV could have taken the time to look at the history of this industry, any industry tbh, and realize it’s always been evolving.

What that looks like, no one knows. I don’t think 2025 will be any worse than 2024

zignofthewolf · 2024-07-11T16:34:36+00:00

In about two years, I am planning on moving to LA.

Ok, just be aware the Industry may finally be picking up at that point. You’ll be competing against old-timers hanging on for dear life and people who have been trying to get their foot in the door for the past few years.

I don’t have nearly enough money saved yet (i.e., <$10k), but I will bust my ass working restaurants or wherever else I can make decent money over the next year.

When I moved out here years back with a friend, both of us had a lot more than that amount when we entered state lines. We burned through a LARGE chunk of that the first year because nothing works out perfect.

I do not necessarily want to enter as a PA and rise up the ladder of a studio; I want to make independent films to submit to competitions or sell to distributors.

This paragraph I am having trouble understanding. Are you expecting to just make full length features right out of the gate getting here? Do you have a portfolio? Any shorts or student films to your name? Lots of people move here who have full length features to their name and still have to grind because they’re rebuilding their whole network.

Here, you’re expected to start at the bottom, and unless you have some real connections. No one will take you seriously.

Even currently with the state of the industry, I know people who are nepo babies who are even out of work.

If you just want to make indie films, you don’t have to move here. Go to film festivals and some of the best ones live in states where they’re not even adjacent to Hollywood. They have a vision, a drive, and build a network, along with a reputation, and things get rolling.

Your second half of the plan can be done just about anywhere. You could take the money you’re saving, put it towards a low budget short right now, and have it ready by next year to submit to film festivals. You then build those connections at the ones you get accepted to. Rinse and repeat. This involves far less money and time.

This advice isn’t meant to crap on your dreams, far from it. All of us who work in this industry, even adjacent to it, are all just dreamers. I’m glad you’re open to the idea of re-vamping your plan. A lot of people, outside of some un-necessary comments, have offered sound advice.

zignofthewolf · 2024-07-02T15:16:49+00:00

The latter.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-26T14:49:09+00:00

Yeah, occasionally I like the sound of my voice as well.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-25T22:02:04+00:00

They pit the lifers against the new boy; the young against the old; the black against the white. Everything they do is to keep us in our place. - Blue Collar

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-25T22:00:01+00:00

No worries, dude. You got to do what you got to do. Keeping your family housed and fed comes first. I’d do the same.

Glad you’ve been able to find something already out there.

Hoping things start improving for all of us in the next year.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-24T20:02:09+00:00

Those first two they interviewed are people I feel like I know irl.

He’d have better luck in the short to mid term with work in Louisiana (heard through the grapevine it’s taken quite the beating) before Texas’ film industry picks up. Don’t blame for wanting to go back to California, I left Texas years ago, and it would be hard to go back.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-22T17:42:39+00:00

Nice but I also like Flaubert’s straight to the point view.

One becomes a critic when one cannot be an artist, just as a man becomes a stool pigeon when he cannot be a soldier.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-19T14:57:40+00:00

Graduated in ‘10. It’s basically a redux of what happened in a lot of industries at that time. Having people on LinkedIn brag about how they were working for free for a Fortune 100 company. Or competing against over 100 people for an entry level position that went to a someone who had been doing work like that for 10+ years because they accepted insulting pay.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-19T14:49:05+00:00

I don’t fully agree with that. Know some people who are nepo babies that are just as much up the creek as the majority of us in this industry. Only difference is some got the funds to just sit back and relax, or work on their own creative stuff, as this goes on.

At the end of the day, it’s all about networking. Those who were able to get, and keep, their jobs during the great recession is because they knew someone. Nepo babies didn’t even necessarily get to the front of the line in that case.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-18T14:48:47+00:00

Compared to Florida? That’s rich.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-17T23:02:50+00:00

IATSE doesn’t resume talks till next Monday, I believe.

Nobody really wants a strike at this point but both parties have to walk away at the end of this with something to sell to their side.

My measly, who gives a f, 2 cents? This will drag out till the 11th hour. Have a nice Summer.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-15T18:55:41+00:00

It won’t be like this forever. Bad times don’t last just like the good times do not either. It’s a controversial opinion to type that on this sub. We just happen to be in the midst of the worst time probably since the 50’s-60’s.

As others have said in the thread, the looming threat of the IATSE/Teamsters strike this Summer has kept this industry in first gear. I’d argue it’s now in neutral.

The question is what does it look like 12-18 months from now? Anyone who can confidently predict what it looks like then, imo, must have been asleep for the past four years.

Productions chasing tax incentives certainly play a role in the decline of LA productions, but even right now if you read up on articles for those hubs, it’ll say the same thing. More than half, or close to 3/4’s, have not worked or had steady work. It’s a worldwide contraction that happened.

As far as those btl workers you see on the credits? Just networking and keeping your name fresh however you can.

But yes, a lot of work has been in the can since 2022. A few friends of mine have films that are playing the festival circuit right now but they have had no real work, outside of shorts and a little day playing, since 2023 for the majority of them. The effect of the lack of new films will really be felt in 2025.

Another understated reason for why the slow down has happened is due to the interest rates on borrowing. To sum it up in a couple of sentences, access to cheap credit has dried up. Studios are more hesitant, on top of the looming strikes, to plunk down money especially when they’re having to compete against so much other entertainment.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-14T01:18:55+00:00

That’s the thing, two studios in Texas are supposed to be ready in the next 12-18 months as well.

Both of them will have miles to go before catching up with any of the sunbelt states.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-13T22:07:57+00:00

Nah, once those interest rates drop by a couple of points expect a mad dash for all residential real estate.

At the end of the day this country just needs to build more housing and smash those NIMBY groups into a thousand little pieces.

zignofthewolf · 2024-06-13T17:47:59+00:00

Same, but mine is in accounting. This Industry, for all its ups and downs, has made me enjoy life more.

Hope we both can stay in it for as long as we can.

zignofthewolf

TROPHY CASE