Because of the social nature of the entertainment business, meetings are essential. These meetings are happening everywhere in L.A. every day… in offices, restaurants, bars, they are on the phone, conferenced in, on Skype, even hiking in one of the canyons!
There’s the “Meet and greet," the “I need you," the “You need me,” the “Interest in your project," the “Interest in you, but not your project,” the new… manager, agent, attorney, the newly attached producer, director, actor, the pitches to development execs, studios and networks, and… lest we forget, getting your soul fed by meeting with your fellow artists.
For each project that gets made in Hollywood you can be certain there was at least 100 bottles of water handed out, a few bagels eaten (at least in my meetings), several wines at some cool locations, and no less than four gallons of coffee drunk amongst the players. And that’s before the script even goes into production!
When I see myself getting either fed by the hype in a meeting, or getting disillusioned by the naysayers, I have to immediately step back and put it all in perspective. My favorite writing mentor, John Herman Shaner, gave the best advice. He said, “When you go out and take meetings on your projects, visualize a steel box around your heart. Keep that box locked so it can’t get infiltrated by the whims of the industry, and then unlock it when you sit down to write so you can write something from the heart.” That saying has been invaluable to me.
You’re going to go meet someone about your project. How hard can it be? Well actually, sometimes it can be impossible. I have a friend who is a well known producer, she had an A-list actor attached to her project and the whole deal fell apart because the high powered agent, the huge studio exec, and the busy actress couldn’t get their schedules coordinated to meet and discuss with the producer and director. And that was a movie the actress wanted to make! When they say it’s a miracle anything goes into production, and that all the stars have to align “just so” to get anything made, it really is so true!
The reality of it is meetings get cancelled on a regular basis depending on where you are in the pecking order of importance. I have learned not to take it too personally. Not easy, but emotionally necessary so I don’t get my heart broken or want to maim someone. Case in point, while writing this I was supposed to have a meeting with the six people involved in a project of mine. It was canceled two hours before, only to be re-scheduled as a conference call for the next week. Insert deep breath here.
Every meeting brings with it much hierarchical negotiation. Usually whoever wields the most power gets to have the meeting set nearest them or at their offices.
