Hollywood Journal: Friday Night

      Hi there, hope this finds you doing well! I'm in the midst of preparing a bachelor nuh-nigh meal - sure to be tasty and pleasin' - and checking in with everyone. How are things?

     It was a crazy but amazing week on the editorial front with work - lots of things happening: Cannes, television upfronts, and original reports. It's been hard work but we're a strong team at my outlet and it's good to see a product growing. By the way, it's free to subscribe to Studio System News. You get two daily digests of the top curated entertainment news content and original reports from established media writers and analysts. Five days a week. We're not going to bore you with what someone is wearing, it's about what Hollywood - the town (not the Ben Affleck 'The Town') is talking about each day. Good stuff!

      Other than that, it's been laid-back. I haven't really been a spaz but I could - you know how it is when the week winds down, no more deadlines. I could read a book, I could watch any of dozen DVDs I haven't seen, catch up with magazines, friends. I've tried to do a little bit of all.

     Friday night  I went out with friends to celebrate a best friend's upcoming birthday. One stop was a club with neon red -lit stairs that could serve as a location shoot for a Bronx walk-up. That was hot, made me homesick for my East Coast. Inside, not so much. A drag queen show. Ummm. Now look, I get it, just not into drag shows - it was just kinda slipped in when the music stopped and there were dudes there - enraptured - who look like they can change tires with their teeth. It was a one-drink stop and I suspect that wasn't Tanqueray I ordered - way to slip in well gin, folks. We left a great tip, but that was before we knew we were drinking gov't label well gin. Thank you, Aleve.

     Went to another place and had a bunch of free-range discussions that single friends have on a Friday night after each unknowingly downed well drinks! One was obsessed with a guy in an American Horror Story-style rubber suit, sans mask. "How do you think it feels?" my friend asked. "Tight." I said.

     The birthday best friend mentioned, as he's turning 45 this Monday, "Karl, you know we're considered old, right? In the dating world we're seen as old. You know that right?"

     Ummm...

     Did I answer, "I don't give a fuck!" loud enough? I don't think I did, although I tried. I get carded at least twice a month.For one, I don't date younger, not in the 20s. I didn't like artichoke dip until I was 36. And I'm not 45. Yet. For at least two more years. And when I am, I'll still be fly! Trust me, I don't hate on the youth. Especially in Los Angeles. I moved here when I was 27 years old - a recent 27. It's pretty much your duty when  you move to L.A. to up the hot factor, make some daring moves image-wise, represent and mask the frustration that comes with waiting your turn until you hit. I'm all for it. I just don't want to date it. It's not personal - I've always been the younger one in my relationships. I'm talking 1-5 years max - and it's great: when you're mature beyond your years, it's sexy and when you regress to age-appropriate pissiness, you get a micro-pass on some of it because, hey, you're not 1-5 years older than the person who caused it/endured it. Ha!

     I told my friend(s) about my psychic reading in 2010. It was a birthday present. The lady was reputable - had made accurate predictions and a friend. Mygroup last night asked me if I'd told the psychic a lot of pre-reading revelations? I did not. I actually cried quiet man tears that shocked even me, but that's because I'm from the East Coast where psychics will tell you if you'll be dead in five years. I told her if she saw anything "bad" then I didn't want to do the reading. She assured me that she didn't do readings if she saw that energy and that my aura is love. Cool.

     What the psychic said , on the love life portion, after flipping cards that looked like 'Game of Thrones' rotogravures, was that I'm going to meet an older  soul mate, someone who is established and "at the top of their game" and extremely successful in their field. That disappointed me because I'm the least materialistic person I know of - I could care less, I can buy my own jeans - to paraphrase my East Coast 80s peeps - so this sounded Hollywood trophy time to me, which I'd never do. She said no, our connection would be unrelated things and that it'd be our career drive and connection to each other that would be the crux of our love. It's going to be a lot of fun, amazing, incredible.

     And we'd have a great, epic romance - until it ends. 

    The psychic said that I wouldn't end it, that it would be my lover to do this and that it wouldn't be ugly, just a natural progression, no one worse for the wear and everyone deservedly rich from the years of mutual hard work and empire building, perhaps. We'll both move on. And since I'll be younger, it'll be easier? So you heard it here first, if I get dumped in my 50s...or 60s (aww hell no).

      My friend, when I told him this last night as serio-comic proof that I won't be dating anyone in their 20s, said, "Psychics are full of shit!" To which I said, "Sometimes they are. God is the one who really knows." It's all so nebulous, but that's a fun story of the sideways world epic romance. I doubt it. Most of the people I've met at the top of their field who think I'm the bees knees are L.A. expatriates in Palm Springs who miss L.A. with a paralytic passion that. is. not. sexy. And I've never been to Palm Springs. I know, I know. But that's because when I was 27, I decided I'll only go when I'm in love. Sometimes that's the best way to see things for the first time.
    

Hollywood Nightcap: Bret Easton Ellis

         First things first: Happy New Year and 2013, everybody. I won't gloss over the fact that I haven't posted in six months. No big excuse to make, other than I got promoted to online news editor over the summer at my gig, learned CMS in rapid time and I'm also still doing my work as a content producer at the aforementioned gig. Of course I've missed posting and I know this blog is a niche blog to be sure - it's commentary, journal entries (in chronological order), essays and so on.

       Now there's been plenty I could have chimed in on over the past half year, which is always a challenge, especially when it relates to Hollywood and the media business. I've been doing this for 11 years, that's not counting the acting days and the five years of living in L.A. before that. I tend to err on the side of diplomacy and keeping the inside stuff inside. I've seen all the angles.

     There's the adage that talking out of school will get you banished from wherever people eat lunch these days, but there's also plenty of empty seats at those tables from people who said nothing, sucked it up and quietly fossilized in Duarte or Palmdale, pissed, with a cocktail at the ready. Anyway, I'm not pissed and, if anything, I still have the enthusiasm and drive to keep working. I'm excited by people who are excited and I always look forward to working with people who feel the same way. Working on a daily magazine for many years, as I've said before, is a work format that really doesn't exist anymore, unless you're cranking out a soap opera and 50 pages of dialogue a day. You love what you do, give it your integrity and know it doesn't return void, no matter how long it takes. Especially in this recession/reinvention economy.

      That being said, it's always interesting when you come across someone in the industry who doesn't give a fuck or err on the side of objectivity, for lack of a better word. Someone like Bret Easton Ellis.  I follow Mr. Ellis on Twitter - it's safe to say he doesn't follow me back - as do 376,431 others and he's pretty much a dadgum hoot. Tonight I read his 'New York' magazine profile by Vanessa Grigoriadis called Bret Easton Ellis’s Real Art Form Is the Tweet. Check it out. Some of the comments after the story are dismissive and pissy, which I'm sure came as a surprise to no one. But you gotta hand it to the guy - the blase, literate, droll ennui of someone who seems clearly over it on the one hand but also inspired on the other.

      I read 'Less Than Zero', my generation's apocalyptic version of 'The Outsiders', when I was in my mid-20s in Chicago..... which is how most people should read it - in a state other than California where you can really absorb the characters at a distance, rather than living in L.A. where those characters are your neighbors or, worse, co-workers (it's not a stretch, trust a brother). I didn't follow up with the rest of his canon, and the fact is that he's created a body of work and earned a name for himself, so I ain't hatin'.

      I think it's a great profile, if for nothing else because it's just honest. It doesn't ask you to agree with his disposition and it seems a bit exhausting to be that interior, but he reminded me of family friends and distant cousins who used to come to visit my family in Washington, D.C. or Florida - on 'holiday' - and smoke at the dinner table and toss off some slightly shady bon mots that we embedded folk would never have dared. He's a butcher Andy Warhol and he's got the fuck-you money and employment to not really care who likes it.

 He speaks about an abusive father, his partner who died suddenly in New York City, and a semblance of pop culture and industry zeitgeist that doesn't really exist anymore. As someone whose stepfather knocked him unconscious for breaking a vinyl Herbie Mann album in 1974 (pictured!) and who lost the love of my life, Bebbles, to a heart attack while I was out covering an event for 'The Hollywood Reporter' - that's just two kinds of countless pains a man can feel. Ellis has never lived in New York City since losing his love. I was in L.A. when mine happened and I couldn't imagine living anywhere else, but there was also nowhere to go, from the Slausson swap meet to the Beverly Hilton, where I could escape ghosts of togetherness, love, that eventually have to be laid to rest or incorporated, like personalities. Before any of that, I worked at a porn studio behind the scenes in L.A. as a temp (it's in this blog) but I'm pretty sure a lot of the similarities end there, although the stories and people from that industry are unforgettable. That's the book (fiction) that I'm gonna write.

Eliis is honest and it's a snapshot of a writer at a certain time in his life. He's honest and I don't know what else anyone could really want. Good luck, man, and mojo is cyclical,  it's like a bad check   - it always returns. Thanks for sharing.

Media Careers ...Advice for Job Seekers & the Employed

Somewhere out there, someone can change your career  for the better with the stroke of a pen..believe it.

      

     Hello readers & visitors! Karl here, with a post for people in the media industry - whether you're currently employed or looking, I can definitely speak to both states of being and there's a lot of frustration out there. I hear it a lot from friends and associates alike and if I can be of any help with some of these suggestions, all the better. 


      Media is a vast and sprawling industry that's changing all the time. It doesn't always follow other market trends. For example, job losses can be down across the board nationally yet Los Angeles and New York (as indicators, I know we're not the only markets on earth!) are on hiring sprees. Conversely, there can be an upsurge in hiring in other sectors while the media sector is shedding jobs and the river thins temporarily with reasons ranging from, but not limited to, box office losses, management changes, mergers/acquisitions or mimetic power of suggestion ( 'Disney laid off 10 people in international, so maybe we should too!'). 

     You also know that the media sector job pool is smaller and specialized, it's either a hot mess or it's boom times. But you knew that and since you do, here's some advice, if you want it, for both the seeker and the currently employed, on a few topics that come up the most in my experience.


There's no jobs!

     That's bullshit. So get it out of your head. Today.There aren't enough jobs, this is true. People are hurting and it's plainly visible and sad. You know this. But this is your job search. 

      I spent months looking for work- and aren't we always in some state of looking or looking to expand professionally? - and you can't become defeated or demoralized by every unemployment statistic, home page banner story on the worst/best day Wall Street has had or every foreclosure/depleted 401k/tent city article you see. Of course you're sympathetic and empathetic about these truths. Right now, you're looking for a job. You can read or watch the news later. Otherwise you'll feel like 'what's the effin' point?' and that's not going to work for you in any long-term motivational sense. I learned more about the stock market when I was job hunting than ever. Except I didn't need a stockbroker's job, so focus on your search and the 6 W's:

1) Who you are professionally? Starting, intermediate, advanced - no shame, this is you. Rock it.


2) What areas you're looking to work in? What can you contribute? What do you want to contribute?


3) Why do you want to do this work and why 'they' (employers) should care (because you kick-ass, right?!). This becomes your own internal mission statement on a dime and it flows.

4) Where  do you want to go and where do you want to start this time? Is this a gig just to stop financial loss or is it something you want long-term? Either answer is fine, there are jobs suited for both - just keep it as close to your industry as possible, even if it's on the edge with bacon skates. In my 20s I had jobs that just eked an antennae into the entertainment realm. Sometimes chefs have to be waiters for a minute - at least you're in the damn restaurant..so to speak! You'll transition just the same and any discipline is good discipline. It doesn't have to be forever and if the gig sucks, you'll know what not to do when you can make those kinds of calls yourself.

5) When are you ready? If you're ready now, then focus on your wish list of employers, areas of expertise and set a job search and application schedule for yourself. Are you going to look for 5 hours a day or 2? Are you going to train or refresh some skills? Do you need to save to buy a suit or do you want to go rogue and present business casual? Need some dental work while you still have COBRA? Get started and stick to it. Be ready to go and ready to present the best of yourself, the stuff that matters. Don't worry about the garnish and the trivial.

     A job search doesn't have to be fraught with mental frenzy, so stay calm. I chipped a tooth- a front tooth- damn near in half right when my COBRA ended several years ago. It was either payment plan or super glue (careful with that stuff!). I got if fixed but it was a ca$h hit when I least expected it and more than a few of my first-edition books I loved went up on Amazon (for others to love...and buy). Keep pushin'! I learned Power Point and some advanced Excel and hoped I wouldn't need it. Stay fresh and as prepared as you can. And if you chip your tooth the day before the interview, smile carefully and fix it as soon as you can! Mistakes happen more when you panic.

6) Which methods do you want to use for your job search? Some people go strictly through people they know to see who's hiring. That method is somewhat rarefied as a strict job search, so for most of us it's a combination of who you know where hiring is happening and job search engines/boards/job lists. 

     Do you want to pay for paywalled job listings or sign up for alerts through different job search engines i.e. Simply Hired or Indeed.com? Corporate websites have career opportunity tabs. Whether you're going for temp work or permanent employment, I recommend also submitting your resume to their dedicated e-mail address. If it's not on the site, it takes one call to ask if they're currently accepting resume submissions. If you got an awesome severance, a headhunter or recruiter might be an option. Research which methods will work best for you.

The media/entertainment industry sucks! 


    Well, sometimes it does but it's still an incredibly rewarding and amazing industry with a reach still untold. It's a content and product-driven industry. Same popcorn, different boxes and that's just part of the fun of it. Love the good things and tune out the bullshit.

    Entertainment/media = cyclical. Honchos come and go. Regimes come and go. People move up. People move out. Again, this is about you and your place in it. If you're sweating the trappings, i.e. the bad-ass car, the swag, etc., then strap that on your back too. Nothing wrong with it but when you love what you do, the rest will come. Keep it about the work and what you can offer in a way that few others can. 


    Yes, a lot has changed and I lament a lot of those changes for people coming into it, especially interns doing assistant jobs for a pittance or no pay with no incentive to stay in a crazy business after being rode hard n' put up wet.  It wasn't that long ago - Halloween 2007 - when the last writers strike hit. The strike changed a lot of things and burned a lot of crops. There was a ripple effect - the studios lost people, creative talent was force majeure-d into temporary unemployment or oblivion. It was a standoff and either side you were for, as well as the ancillary sectors took major losses in jobs, finance, morale and traditional inroads to the business.

   Then came the 2008 recession (officially) and all hell broke loose. It's tough. It's reality. People moved away, moved back home, back into their parents' homes and worse. Some will be back, some are gone for good. 

   But has it ever been easy to maintain a career in this industry? Not really. You need to be creative whether you're rolling calls or running a division. When one's break comes, you're still not done. You have to maintain your 'role' and grow with it. It's always been about who you know, more rejections than approvals, keeping your focus and communication. Sometimes it takes time....a long time. Delays aren't denials. 

   Stick with it and refuse to be flushed out. I was laid-off in a very public way - Nikki Finke reported it on Deadline Hollywood Daily - and she was nice, which helped. My voice mail turned over three times and that was before I even made it home. I wasn't laid off for cause but it was still back to the drawing board. Again, you (and your Higher Power or God, in my case) are the authors of your trajectory. It hurt, it sucked but there's more than one rodeo in town and there's a lot of companies that want good people. Maybe because of how intense the path is to a career in the industry is what makes it that much sweeter when it all works and you arrive, for the first of many times. The industry is crazy, knows it and the fortitude it takes to stay in it and to love what you do is what makes the industry not suck. Today's corporate terror still has to stand in line at LAX or JFK with the rest of us in due time. Trust me! 

How is my resume?


    I'll keep this short. You need a resume. Don't get caught up in the SEO of it all, imagining that every application you send online is being filtered by a Search Term Oz in The Sky. SEO madness is overkill and sheepy. Keep your resume to one or two pages, max. Keep the font readable and error free - small type and typos are the real resume killers. If you're doing your resume yourself  let a couple of trusted people see it for feedback, keep the format neat and present yourself and your contributions/expertise. The interview is the face-time you need to connect the paper to a person, People spend weeks toying with resumes without one submission = wasting time. You can always revise.


Networking

     I'll keep this short, too. I say whatever works for you, do it. In my case, when I was looking for work, it was at the peak (thus far) of the recession and there was just not that much practical networking to do. I didn't have time for a lot of 'lunches' because I was looking for my next job. Lunches are great but they're mounting business expenses when they're one after the other and more about people seeing if you're okay as opposed to leads or real talk. Most people I knew in the publishing industry were sincerely trying to keep their own jobs. None if it was their fault in an unsure market with fidgety hiring managers. Still, there are always surprises that can happen - a publicist I'd worked with for years and admire heard I was in between jobs and gave me gratis inclusion in his college course. I was 38 years old and in college ...again.... but it was amazing. I'd worked with all the guest lecturers and it was a rewarding experience I'll always be thankful for.

      Perhaps your scenario is different and I'm sure mine would be different  three years later, so definitely reach out to people you've worked with or worked for that know your skills and professional value. I have definitely forwarded resumes and done what I can -many people can do the same. For those who can't, keep the friendship or colleague connection and don't sweat the leads. Chances are that you got your last gig on your own and you can do it again.

Social Networking 

       For sake of a general term, I'll call it 'social networking' here. Do it! There's finesse to it of course and no one wants to be spammed or marketed ad nauseum in any medium, but the options are virtually endless to create a fuller picture of yourself.

      As far as the more formal social mediums, creating a social/virtual thumbprint for yourself is empowering and varied enough to do with the tools you prefer. It's a way to show yourself beyond the resume bullet points and be as three-dimensional as you want to be.

      I like LinkedIn - create a full profile and go through your notes and connect with people you've worked with. If you're not working now,  I strongly advise you to not list your last job as your current job. I know a lot of people do that because in the media realm you're 'only' as good as your last gig....yadda yadda yadda, their fortunes change too. If someone calls for you at Miramax and you don't work at Miramax anymore, then that's a clusterfu** you do not need. Besides, people can read, they'll be able to see your last gig was at Miramax. I mean, really.

      LinkedIn has a job search function and premium features that can help also. For any of the social media forums or sites you're not familiar with, there's usually a '__________ for Dummies' book on Amazon you can buy. If you're job hunting, buy a used copy and dig in. Follow them on Twitter for updates, links and articles

      I also like Twitter for finding like-minded professionals, staying on top of trends in the industry by following outlets I trust. There are thousands of experts on social networking on Twitter you can follow who'll go much deeper and specific than I can here.  I created a Twitter account probably a good three years behind. I didn't have a whole lot to say there whilst decompressing after 8 years of 70-hour work weeks and job-seeking, but it's absolutely worth it in the expanse and reach you can encompass. I've started very slow - I'm following maybe 100 people and being followed by about the same - it's quality versus quantity in my experience and I actually can read all of their tweets as opposed to 7000, which would be fine in time. It feels organic and I like! (I'm @karlgibson)

      Consider a blog or micro-blogging platform you can create that's not limited to the constraints of job searching. This blog came about during my job search - a niche place I could post what I liked for those interested while writing about my experiences in the industry and figuring it out sometimes too along the way.

      I was at Warner Bros. in an interview about 3 years ago when an executive I knew very well - and had helped aplenty at The Hollywood Reporter- asked me with a straight face, "So what did you do at The Hollywood Reporter again? You answered phones right?" Ummmm, no @@^^$!!**, but thanks for playing, I thought and said with my eyes. And so a blog was born! No axes to grind, just a place to write and share my experience. There's Storify, Tumblr, Chime.In and countless other options to choose from. Google it! Which brings me to...

Google Alerts!

       I can't recommend this enough. Did you know I found out I was going to be laid-off in 2008 because of a good ol' Google Alert? Well, that's partly true - I first-hand found out when I heard an editor yell in an office, "We're going to lose Karl!?" And I'd set up a Google Alert for The Hollywood Reporter's parent company at the time, Nielsen. The Financial Times posted a story on a fifth round of layoffs in Nielsen's publishing sector the day before in the U.K. and that's the honest way I wasn't blindsided. 

      Use Google alerts to follow or be alerted to any news you might need for your industry or your job search and set your notifications for 'As they happen' in the drop-down tab when you set your alerts up. I created a Gmail account specifically for Google Alerts and they've been invaluable and opened up many credible sources I'd never have known of in the regular course of a day. If you're job hunting, set up alerts for keywords relating to your industry: you'll stay on top of trends and have talking points you can relate to from your own experience. For writers, you'll also be able to reach out to other writers where appropriate and there are many great writers out there. I set up search terms for everything in my industry that I needed to stay on top of , including things I wanted to learn, i.e. 'free tutorials', 'job search engines', executive moves, etc. Google Alerts are your friend.

Keep the Faith

      I think it's human nature to want to call it a day professionally on your own terms, so unless you're retiring for good, keep going forward. If you have been laid-off or cut, then that's an extra set of emotions to deal with beyond the task of getting a new job. This might sound pithy but you have to treat it like any other split or break-up and realize that the odds are, unless you truly did cost yourself the job, it is hardly as personal as you think. I found out years later from the horse's mouth (proverbial, not literal)  that my former parent company laid off over 100 people  because of benefits (!?). Exactly. How random is that? It wasn't our fault or bad work. But if you'd been walking around feeling like a sullied bohunk for a year, that'd have been worse. And if you have cost yourself your gig, regroup and come back. Hollywood loves those, as do most industries. 

     I know searching and working gets tiresome and tedious, so keep the faith. Your industry of choice and the work you do for it makes them your employers, not your captors. If you're phoning it in, go somewhere else where you're excited again because phoning it does not last, pisses people off and you never really make that pay scale again once the final curtain gets peeled back. Intention, sincerity and passion for what you do is what sets you apart.  

     Whatever your belief system is, work your faith in it. Personally, God made a huge difference because if no one knew the particulars or truth of every detail, He did. You do the believing and He does the doing. If you feel like every single step and gain is on your shoulders then you're putting an immense, unbearable amount of pressure on yourself. It's your career. Own it and have fun with it. Lawyers don't cease to be lawyers when in between firms and the same goes for you. Don't compare yourself to how others are doing - I've seen millionaires come and go and the good ones stay in the game. What they all have in common is: it's their ride and they're going to do it their way, whether they build on it or blow it. It's not our call, so if it's unbearable, high-tail it out of there and get ready for your own eventual ride the right way. As with so many of the above-mentioned things, the options are endless. I wish us all well! 

Happy Independence Day- literally! - Karl

Rest in Peace, Ms. Houston aka The Machine Keeps Moving

    
I don't know what I can possibly add to the many remembrances of Whitney Houston, a performer whose influence and music spans generations. There are countless comment sections in every media outlet where personal milestones and memories of her music are being shared. For me it was listening to "You Give Good Love" on a high school bus trip to Six Flags in Jackson, New Jersey with the school band. I also fell in love with spouse Bebbles to the "My Love Is Your Love" CD -- the bass thumping from the title track ("It'll take an eternity to break us...") from our car and van all over L.A. County. She was grown, formidable by any definition and most people wished her the best. 

   This first-person account of the scene at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday by CBS news producer Chris St. Peter is pretty telling of the keep-it-moving nature of the awards-season beast in L.A. I can't even count the number of events I've covered at the Beverly Hilton and no doubt most of the attendees there Saturday can't count how many times they've been there. In most cases when chaos has jumped off at the Beverly Hilton it's the hotel guests who get the show: the valet line gets longer, more celebrities have to wait and pace and it's a privileged fishbowl. Still, it's safe to say that nothing like Ms. Houston's death at the hotel has sparked the A-list amalgam of disbelief and business-as-usual described by the author of the account in some time. 

     The article is a telling and precise read: it harnesses the indescribable combination of chaos, entertainment news-gathering and the determined star-trek to the most exclusive party of Grammy week in town. I worked at a 7-Eleven in college and would never wear my assigned smock - that garish mosaic of a corporate logo - and my boss would always cuss me out and ask why I wouldn't do as told and wear it. I'd always say, "Because the night something happens to me, you're going to step right over my body and ring up a Slurpee and Chicago Sun-Times and keep going."  He said that wasn't true but the night I did get held up he was nowhere to be found and I was in my own clothes, a person, not a drone. The Chicago PD came in and said I'd handled it great and was lucky to be alive and- while I was at it- could I ring them up some lottery tickets and drinks. I almost screamed 'fuck you and your drinks!' but I didn't even have a cash til (stolen empty) and I didn't really have my wherewithal in that moment. But it was very clear: the machine keeps moving. Dreadful sorry, Whitney Houston.