You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don't Take

I am proud to say that my niece was recently accepted to the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts. This school was immortalized in the movie and TV series "Fame," and remains to this day a magnet for young people in New York City interested in a performing arts career. Only 3% of the students who apply are accepted to its drama program -- a lower admissions percentage than Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. Her parents and I were surprised that my niece wanted to apply. We knew she enjoyed going to live shows, and attended a drama camp between 7th and 8th grade, but other than that she never expressed much interest in acting. She wasn't "on," all the time, as many young actors are. Despite living in Manhattan, she never asked to be taken to auditions for young people. She did try out for her Middle School musical, but felt lucky to make the chorus. One month before her audition, she still hadn't settled on her two monologues. She wanted to try, so she worked to memorize her two monologues. She applied the acting knowledge she learned during camp to create characters, and received two one-hour coaching sessions from a professional director that my brother knew. New York being filled with young actors, I'm sure there were many students that spent more time on their monologues than she did. Yet she was accepted, while many of her friends, including everyone with a lead in her Middle School musical, were not. Have you ever thought about not trying to live your dreams because the odds of success were small? When you do, think about my niece. Yes, her chances were small, particularly for someone with limited experience. But she wanted to try, so she did her best and was accepted! Don't be afraid to take a shot at what you want because you think you might fail. If you have a dream to create great content, or do some other job in the entertainment industry, go for it! You just might succeed. One thing I can guarantee -- if you don't try, you will certainly fail. After all, the acceptance rate at La Guardia High School among students who didn't apply is 0. As the great hockey start Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Go ahead. Take your shot.

Should you Move to Los Angeles?

Young people who want a career in entertainment often ask me if they should move to Los Angeles. Sometimes they want support for a decision they've already made to move, and I give it to them. Sometimes, they don't want to move and say: "I can make movies anywhere. We can upload video to the internet from anywhere. Why move to a city where I don't know anyone and will probably struggle?" I usually answer this way: It's true that you can make movies anywhere. Richard Linklater shot "Boyhood" in and around Austin over 12 years. I know a very successful commercial production company headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin. However, if you want to become a major player in the film or television industry, moving to Los Angeles can accelerate your career path. Most of our major media companies are headquartered in LA. f you want to work in the industry, you need to go where the major players live, work, and socialize. You can upload internet videos from anywhere, but if you want to pitch ideas to the heads of development for most major companies, you need to do it in person. If you already live there, you can pitch and/or interview with all the major companies. You'll also have opportunities to meet other people in the business that you may work with, or that might want to hire you. There are educational events to help you learn more about the industry. Another reason to move to Los Angeles is to realize you're not alone. There may be some people in your home town who share your dream to make movies, but Los Angeles has thousands of them. That will help you find more skilled people to collaborate on your current content ideas. Of course, if you want to work in development or just about any job for a film studio, you have to move to Los Angeles. You can't be a receptionist for a Hollywood studio in Dubuque. There are other production centers in the U.S. that provide some of the same opportunities as Los Angeles. Most major studios have signifiDecant operations in New York City, too. Atlanta, home of the Turner Networks, and Washington, DC, home of Discovery and the Nat Geo channels, provide production and development opportunities for television networks. However, Los Angeles provides more than any other city. Even if you manage to bring your work to the attention of a major studio, you'll probably have to fly to LA for the meeting. It would be a lot easier if you were already there. If you are out of work, as so many people in the industry are from time to time, it's easier to find work in LA than in any other city. Horace Greeley said it best in the 19th Century when he advised young people to "Go West!" If you want a career in film, or in many other entertainment businesses, Los Angeles is the place to start.