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Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
This book teaches you how to break into Hollywood
This week, we are chatting with Ada Tseng and Jon Healey about their new book, 'Breaking Into New Hollywood.' We also take a look at what our critics read, and visit a bookstore that has become a social beehive in Culver City. The entertainment industry is experiencing a massive transformation, as traditional jobs are vanishing and artificial intelligence increasingly upends the way media is created. Thankfully, former L.A. Times editors Ada Tseng and Jon Healey are here to help. The duo, with extensive experience covering show business, have written a new book for anyone who's ever dreamed of working in Hollywood. Tseng and Healey interviewed hundreds of insiders who work in front of and behind the camera to provide a thorough look at how to break in, and what it's like when you do find that dream job. I sat down with authors to discuss 'Breaking Into New Hollywood.' (Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to whose fees support independent bookstores.) This is the most comprehensive how-to guide for Hollywood careers I've ever read. Where did the impetus for the book come from? Ada: The book started as a Hollywood careers series at the Los Angeles Times, when Jon and I were editors on a team that specialized in writing guides and explainers. As we were thinking about how to be useful to L.A. Times readers, I pitched a project to help people who were interested in getting a job in Hollywood. A lot of people come to L.A. starry-eyed with big dreams, but the film and TV industry can be pretty brutal. As journalists, we're Hollywood outsiders, but we had access to hundreds of professionals who were generous enough to share what they wished they knew when they were starting out. We see it like this: On behalf of the people who don't have connections in the industry, we cold-emailed people, asked for informational interviews, picked their brains, listened to stories of what they did to build a career — and did our best to consolidate their most practical pieces of advice into an actionable guide. Jon: A lot of folks I interviewed had similar origin stories in this respect: They knew that they wanted to work in the industry in some capacity, but they didn't know what exactly they could do. So it made sense to do a book for that sort of person — a guide that would show an array of possible career paths to people who didn't know what role they wanted to fill. I feel like 'How to Break into the Business' books in the past have tended to focus on positive outcomes rather than the struggle. Did you want to temper expectations, or at least make sure people think things through very thoroughly before jumping in? Ada: We just wanted to be honest. The glamorous fantasy of Hollywood is so intoxicating. But if you're going to work in the industry, you need to navigate the day-to-day reality of it. I don't think we were trying to encourage or discourage anyone. I'd hope that some people would read the chapters and think, 'This seems doable, and now I can make a plan,' while others would read it and think, 'If I'm honest with myself, I'm someone who needs more stability in my life.' Because it's not just a career choice. It's a lifestyle choice. Jon: Right, this was about expectation-setting and reality-checking. The very first interviews I did in this project were of Foley artists. An expert I interviewed said there were 40 to 50 established Foley practitioners in the U.S., and 100 to 200 folks trying to get into the field. That's a very tough nut to crack. Then there are the Hollywood unions, which present a catch-22 to anyone trying to join their ranks — they have to do a certain number of hours in jobs covered by union contracts, but union members get first crack at all those gigs. Your book also covers jobs above and below the line. I think many people don't even realize how many different career opportunities exist. Ada: There are two things we heard over and over again. People would say, 'It's incredibly important to understand what all the different departments do.' And they'd also say, 'So many people — even our own colleagues in the industry — don't understand what we do.' So we wanted to encourage newcomers to learn about all different types of jobs in Hollywood and how they work together. Jon: Talking about the emotional components is about setting expectations too. The vast majority of people who work in Hollywood, from A-list actors to entry-level grips, are freelancers. That's a tough life of highs and lows, and you have to prepare for that mentally as well as financially. People have to hustle for years to establish themselves, and that takes an enormous capacity for rejection. On top of that is the physical toll the work can extract, especially on the folks involved in setting up and tearing down sets. Part of the point of the book is to tell people with Hollywood dreams that they'll need to gird themselves emotionally and physically for the work. Mark Athatakis finds much to like in 'Ready for My Close-Up,' David M. Lubin's book about the classic 1950 film 'Sunset Boulevard.' 'Though the book has its shortcomings,' he writes, '[Lubin] rightly sees the movie as a kind of passkey into the history of the first half-century of Hollywood itself.' Robet Allen Papinchak weighs in on Phoebe Greenwood's Middle East satire 'Vulture,' finding it 'a darkly comic, searing satire grounded in historic politics.' Emma Sloley's novel 'The Island of Last Things' envisions a future where animal life, and then entire ecosystems, are wiped out, but Ilana Masad writes that Sloley also highlights 'the small moments of beauty, joy and care that emerge even during … horrible times.' And Paula L. Woods has a chat with master thriller novelist Karin Slaughter about her new book, 'We Are All Guilty Here,' and TV series. Four years after it opened its doors to the public, Village Well Books & Coffee has become a community locus in its Culver City neighborhood. Owner Jennifer Caspar has created a vibrant space with a full-service cafe, allowing her customers to linger for as long as they please while perusing Caspar's ample and well-curated selection of new books. I chatted with Caspar about her store and what's selling right now. Why did you open the store? I wanted a place where people can facilitate connections with others, because I think that's what people need. Everyone is so overwhelmed by their phones and technology, and we tend to take the easy path, which is to not get out and see people. What's selling right now? 'Atmosphere,' Taylor Jenkins Reid; 'Martyr,' Kaveh Akbar; 'The Emperor of Gladness,' Ocean Vuong; 'All Fours,' Miranda July. There's been a real increase in books about activism and the Middle East situation. We're launching an activism book club here, starting with 'Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)' by Dean Spade. It will be interesting to see who comes out for that. Why books now? Why not the Substack, social media, etc.? Books are an antidote to the constant distractions in our lives. People need to connect offline, and books give us a chance to settle down and focus. Studies show that what we learn from books stays with us longer. You can read a Kindle, and I do, but there is something about sitting down with words on paper. For me, it's great physical therapy for my emotional state. Village Well is located at 9900 Culver Blvd., Culver City.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Review: ‘East of Wall' a lyrical ode to the real cowgirls of the new West
Filmmaker Kate Beecroft points her lens toward the real cowgirls of the Badlands in the lyrical new film 'East of Wall.' The film, which won an audience award earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, blends fact and fiction to tell a story about the working women of South Dakota, skilled riders and trainers with ranching and rodeo in their blood who also can't seem to catch a break. There are a few Hollywood actors in the mix, including Jennifer Ehle ('King's Speech') as a hard living grandmother with a lifetime of regrets as well as some nuggets of wisdom and Scoot McNairy (' A Complete Unknown ') as an out-of-towner who wants to acquire the land, but most of the cast are non-actors playing themselves. At the heart of 'East of Wall,' now playing in select theaters, is Tabatha Zimiga, a South Dakota native whose ability to tame wild horses is the stuff of legend in the area. In the film, the horses she rescues and rehabilitates are sold at auctions and often accepted for far less than what they're worth. She needs the money. There are bills to pay on the ranch and many mouths to feed (not just her own children, but others from around the town who come to her for safety and shelter when their own caretakers stop providing). Tabatha is also living with new and old traumas, from the generational agony of abuse to the more recent death of her husband, the shocking circumstances of which are withheld for some time. But the effects of the loss are still felt, especially for their daughter Porshia (played by her real-life daughter Porshia Zimiga), whose grief is threatening to turn into hate of her mother. Teenage Porshia provides the poetic voiceovers, in which she talks about riding, her mother and, most effectively, the land. It's reminiscent of Linda Manz's narration in 'Days of Heaven' (1978). 'East of Wall' is best when it's capturing the landscapes and the girls in action, riding and filming energetic TikToks of their friends racing cars on horseback. Some have suggested that 'East of Wall' might have been stronger as a documentary. These women are vibrant and authentic and don't look like anyone we see in the movies these days, with real bodies and imperfect skin, heads half-shaved, tattoos everywhere and the ability to really, really ride — no stunt team required. And they have stories to tell, many of them unhappy, as we see in one of the most moving non-action scenes involving a group of mothers speaking candidly about their lives and their regrets. The real-life drama of financial instability is compelling and likely rooted in truth; however, the introduction of McNairy's suspect Texan feels like a narrative contrivance and drama for drama's sake. He offers to buy the ranch and let them live and work as usual, just for him now instead of themselves. These are the kind of scenes that remind you that the filmmakers, despite all their best intentions and care, are, in essence, also interlopers in this world. Beecroft's story of how she stumbled upon Tabatha and her cowgirls sounds like something out of a folk song. A native of Los Angeles who'd worked as an actress and production designer, Beecroft felt stalled and hopped in a truck with her friend and cinematographer Austin Shelton to find the stories of everyday Americans. A wrong turn, she said, led her to these women.
2 days ago
Movie Review: A lyrical ode to the real cowgirls of the new West in ‘East of Wall'
Filmmaker Kate Beecroft points her lens toward the real cowgirls of the Badlands in the lyrical new film 'East of Wall.' The film blends fact and fiction to tell a story about the working women of South Dakota, skilled riders and trainers with ranching and rodeo in their blood who also can't seem to catch a break. There are a few Hollywood actors in the mix, including Jennifer Ehle as a hard living grandmother with a lifetime of regrets as well as some nuggets of wisdom and Scoot McNairy as an out-of-towner who wants to acquire the land, but most of the cast are non-actors playing themselves. The film won an audience award earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. At the heart of 'East of Wall,' now playing in select theaters, is Tabatha Zimiga, a South Dakota native whose ability to tame wild horses is the stuff of legend in the area. In the film, the horses she rescues and rehabilitates are sold at auctions and often accepted for far less than what they're worth. She needs the money. There are bills to pay on the ranch and many mouths to feed (not just her own kids, but others from around the town who come to her for safety and shelter when their own caretakers stop providing). Tabatha is also living with new and old traumas, from the generational agony of abuse to the more recent death of her husband, the shocking circumstances of which are withheld for some time. But the effects of the loss are still felt, especially for their daughter Porshia (played by her real-life daughter Porshia Zimiga), whose grief is threatening to turn into hate of her mother. Teenage Porshia provides the poetic voiceovers, in which she talks about riding, her mother and, most effectively, the land. It's reminiscent of Linda Manz's narration in 'Days of Heaven.' 'East of Wall' is best when it's capturing the landscapes and the girls in action, riding and filming energetic TikToks of their friends racing cars on horseback. Some have suggested that 'East of Wall' might have been stronger as a documentary. These women are vibrant and authentic and don't look like anyone we see in the movies these days, with real bodies and imperfect skin, heads half-shaved, tattoos everywhere and the ability to really, really ride — no stunt team required. And they have stories to tell, many of them unhappy, as we see in one of the most moving non-action scenes involving a group of mothers speaking candidly about their lives and their regrets. The real-life drama of financial instability is compelling and likely rooted in truth; however, the introduction of McNairy's suspect Texan feels like a narrative contrivance and drama for drama's sake. He offers to buy the ranch and let them live and work as usual, just for him now instead of themselves. These are the kind of scenes that remind you that the filmmakers, despite all their best intentions and care, are, in essence, also interlopers in this world. Beecroft's story of how she stumbled upon Tabatha and her cowgirls sounds like something out of a folk song. A native of Los Angeles who'd worked as an actress and production designer, Beecroft felt stalled and hopped in a truck with her friend and cinematographer Austin Shelton to find the stories of everyday Americans. A wrong turn, she said, led her to these women. 'East of Wall' is a promising start for a burgeoning filmmaker and a worthy portrait of an insular world that many of us will never know. 'East of Wall,' a Sony Pictures Classics release now in select theaters, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for 'language throughout.' Running time: 97 minutes. Three stars out of four.
