Moving to Hollywood. Good or bad idea?

This is a really really bad idea, one that well, pretty much everyone else has thought of, and they're now out here, and not having any luck. Jobs are not easy to come by outside of the service industry, and rent is really really high.

I wouldn't do it. I really wouldn't. There's a reason there are jokes about "Hi, I'm Bob. I'll be your waiter tonight. Would you like to read my screen play while you wait?"

Bobdole, seems like you don't know much about the realities of life in L.A. There's a REAL lot information out there and it might be a good idea to read it before considering moving there. Personally, I think that a great idea + a killer query letter would do a much better job for anyone. Did you ever query by snail mail?

If you can't get noticed through a query letter chances are you won't get noticed in person either.

If you do plan on moving out there, have a job ready and waiting. If you want it to help you into the industry, get a job with the studios or an agency. But don't just step off the bus, luggage and script in hand, and expect everything to turn out okay. That could very easily turn into a disaster.

Good luck and I hope things go for you.

And check out the high cost of living; everything costs more in L.A.

I'm biased because I live just outside of NYC, and I'm planning a mini vacation in LA for the Screenwriters' Expo Anyway, my plan has been to get noticed as much as possible before I go to LA to network. There are chances to build a resume out East, complete with networking, agencies, prodcos and whatnot. Of course, you will eventually need to have THE MEETING and have the time and money to jump on a plane and go a-pitching in LA. Fine, it's easier to have a LA address.
And why not? I've gone to LA as a young man and I don't hate the town. People who whine about rents in LA should spend one day browsing apartments in NYC. And my life is currently pretty devoid of any direction so why not dive in? Yeah I know, it's tempting. Or just go for pitch conventions or other industry happenings, like Triggerstreet parties, and get out and network if you can afford it.
So do what you want, but go as a professional and not as another dork with a script. Like the hundreds who registered their script today, and the more hundreds who are too ignorant to but are in LA anyway. Enter contests, write prodcos, join Inktip and the Representation Directory Online and Zoetrope. Make short films and review scripts and movies and do whatever it takes to show that you love writing more than anything else in the world. You can do this in New Jersey or Florida or Minnesota. But be ready when you put everything on the table.

Definitely do your research. Don't just jump on a bus and think it's going to happen quickly. It won't. Write at least two more scripts before you even think about making the move. I was in the same quandary as you in late 2005, and I decided to make the move. I had written four screenplays and had placed in a few contests, so I had a little bit of confidence in my writing ability. I didn't know a soul out here, but I lucked into a non-paying internship at a management company that turned into an assistant gig a few months later.

This was in early 2006. Throughout the year I made a ton of contacts in the industry, simply by networking with other assistants. In April of 2007 I got an agent. Scripts went out. No bites. In October I got a manager, then the strike happened. Lost manager. Nothing happened for several months, then last month, wham, optioned my first screenplay. So I've been pretty lucky, having all this happen in about 2 1/2 years.

But guess what? None of the scripts I've had any amount of success with were written before I moved out here. They were all written since I made the move. So if you're serious about it, and you are writing at a competitive level - moving here is worth it. If I hadn't moved out here, none of what happened to me would've happened, because every person that has helped further my career as a screenwriter has been someone I have met out here.

If you do decide to come out here, have enough money to last you at least six months. You're going to pay $1000+ a month for a crappy apartment in the valley. Your $400 a week assistant job that you have to get to make the contacts you need is going to suck - if you are even lucky enough to get one of these jobs. The competition is fierce. People will work for nothing just to get their foot in the door. The pay will barely cover your rent, not accounting for the higher car insurance prices, ridiculous cost of gas, or the inflated grocery prices. You better really want it, because L.A. for an aspiring writer is a freakin' boot camp. Not trying to scare you, just trying to be realistic.

One benefit of living elsewhere is the increased likelihood/ability of writing a different script. Meaning, if you live in the middle of nowhere, there's a possibility that you have a unique perspective and can corner the market with your middle of nowhere script.

Disadvantages of not being in Hollywood

I can't speak to living in L.A. as I am located in Denver, but I can speak to one of the greatest drawbacks of NOT being in L.A. The lack of peers to bounce ideas off of. I am laboring to build a circle of friends/colleagues to discuss movies/scripts/ideas with but due to the different industry base in my city those discussions can be hard to have.

Yes, in L.A. everyone may be an aspiring screen writer, actor, or producer. However this does create a great pool of passionate opinions and views to foster some great discussions. I would appreciate more thoughtful dialog about this industry I love in my everyday life. Otherwise one can feel like an island. But maybe that will, as mentioned before by Livin, spark a more individual and unique viewpoint untainted from swimming in the big pool. I sure hope so but it has it's drawbacks.

Hence you have the reason I sought out this site. It's nice to be able to chat about these things virtually at least. I still prefer a face to face discussion over a glass of wine or a nice meal.

I believe anyone can accomplish anything if they work hard enough and have a passion for it. That doesn't mean some locations aren't going to have some advantages and disadvantages.

Good luck!

If you don't have a source of income already lined up and Hollywood isn't just down the street from where you currently live, stay put. Harsh, I know, but having once moved to a different city with no prospects of anything, I had to admit defeat and go back home after a month and a half.

I read an artical on (one of) wga's website about why agencies (and more than likely prodco's as well) WANT query letters. It's always emphasized that they want snail mail query letters, NOT emails, not phone calls, and definitely not people barging in and asking to see them in person. I don't think you've done enough research to know how to go about approaching people inside the industry about your work. Moving to Hollywood won't help you much if you haven't even researched enough to know that query (snail mail) letters are a MUST. Just don't move out there, you don't have any guarantees once you get there.

Getting your foot in the door in Hollywood.


http://filmdiva.blogspot.com/2006/07/big-submission.html

Sorry, but...

I don't agree with "Icerose." The query letter route is a far more difficult avenue. You have a better chance of "making it" if you're actually in L.A. and actually meeting people face to face. No, I'm not saying drop everything and move to L.A. Being here ain't gonna help if you haven't got the talent or determination...

Heck, I've been over this a million times on my website and blog (see links below). If you're interested, give 'em both a read. In the meantime, read this pertinent entry from my blog:

http://theworkingscreenwriter.blogspot.com/2007/11/reader-question.html

MrJayVee said:

I don't agree with "Icerose." The query letter route is a far more difficult avenue. You have a better chance of "making it" if you're actually in L.A. and actually meeting people face to face. No, I'm not saying drop everything and move to L.A. Being here ain't gonna help if you haven't got the talent or determination...

Heck, I've been over this a million times on my website and blog (see links below). If you're interested, give 'em both a read. In the meantime, read this pertinent entry from my blog:

http://theworkingscreenwriter.blogspot.com/2007/11/reader-question.html

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Then I'm wrong on that point, since I've never had any experience outside of queries and such, then I'll bow to your knowledge.

Well, I moved here last November. I've been writing and working with other writers, networking and have made a lot of contacts in the industry. I don't have to work at an outside job so guess that's a plus and I share an apartment with my sister (big plus, rents are very expensive). People here generally want to work with people here . . . I've heard this from the locals many times. They consider the poeple in the the area part of their "tribe" and do want to keep the locals busy.

My 2 cents is to move here but make sure you're really prepared for some disappointments, waiting, waiting, and then lost of promises with no follow-up. I had contacts before I moved and was plugged in, so to speak, before I left AZ. I don't think I could have made it otherwise.

I left AZ last July to move here... the reality is that rent is twice as much and pay is half as much as the rest of the world. I did get a job with a major music label and work in the media district in Burbank, but like I said the pay is really low. Because I spend so much time working to pay the bills the time I have to write has been cut way back. I came here with what I thought was enough money to get me through 6 months, it lasted 3 months. Hollywood is not kid friendly, so if you have a family be aware of that.

The upside is that I have had opportunities here that I would not have had anywhere else. I got a writer-for-hire job wrote two drafts of a script that is *suppose* to be going into production at the end of July (the date changes every two weeks) I was on a reality TV show, I've had one short produced and seen it on the big screen, I have another short in production. I've made some good friends here, Zagoraz shows up at my house everyonce in a while or we see each other in a restaurant when I'm out picking up food for the family. He even shot a short at my house.

It's not a bad idea to move to Hollywood, but you need to be aware of what you are getting into.

Hey Rainy Night? Where in AZ did you move from??? You left in July, I left in Nov. Hmmmmm. Did you belong to any of the local stuff? IFP-Phoenix, writer's groups, meet-ups? Just curious.

Having lived there 1960-1991, I would advise going there with backup $$$ and a plan. Hopefully with contacts as well. Or have skills in some other area to carry you through financially. Proximity is valuable.

On the other hand, there is much bs there, and you may meet a "name" who impresses you but is out of the loop. Yet that person may convince you to write a spec script for him on hope and dreams. See the film Mistress.

Also, you may be sidetracked as some are by sucking up to the dentist, accountant for a firm, or a picture framer who works for a big name -- and if only they would be nice and get your script to him/her.

Like some others... one aspiring screenwriter I know moved to L.A. with a job lined up as a very low level person with a small film company and ended up finding it hard to find the time to write. Of course, wherever you are, if you're not paying the bills by writing scripts, then you need to find some kind of balance.

Another person I knew was a PA for a long time, hoping something would come of it and got fed up with having to do all kinds of bs and not getting anywhere for it and, eventually, switched careers.

DrRita said:

Hey Rainy Night? Where in AZ did you move from??? You left in July, I left in Nov. Hmmmmm. Did you belong to any of the local stuff? IFP-Phoenix, writer's groups, meet-ups? Just curious.

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I lived North Scottsdale area, I've was a member of the AZSA for sometime, I think it's now IFP-Phoenix... I attended meetings sporadically as my work had me back and forth to Seattle for a couple years until that company got sold and I lost my job there. After that I had a contract job in Tempe... when that ended my family and I made the move to LA.

You?

zagoraz said:

If you do decide to come out here, have enough money to last you at least six months. You're going to pay $1000+ a month for a crappy ROOM ANYWHERE IN LA.

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My 2 cents.

People who pay over $1000 in rent in LA for a crap place are just lazy. Right now I split $865 to rent an entire house. Living with roommates I have never paid more than $500 a month personally and I have never lived in a craphole. I've lived in a Downtown LA high rise, in hip Los Feliz apartments and now my own house in Glendale. It's really really easy to find cheap rent in LA if you do the work. I think it's one of the cheapest big cities I've been in if you do the work. There's so many poor people here that you can find great cheap stores for anything you want. Really great cheap restaurants, especially if you like Mexican food. The biggest cost is car insurance, but the farther you live out of LA proper, the less you'll pay. As far as big cities go, LA is definitely cheaper than comparable east coast cities. Boston, NYC, DC are all way way more expensive.

The mistake people make is they move here and want to live in Hollywood, even though there are no major studios in Hollywood (Paramount is vaguely nearby). And there are some production companies and stuff, but there are very many that aren't in Hollywood. If you can, get a job first and then get a place near it. Living in the Valley doesn't make sense if you're working at Sony and living in Hollywood doesn't make sense if you are working at Disney. (Neither of those are actually very good examples depending on where in the Valley and where in Hollywood you live, but whatever....)

That being said, I hate LA and I wouldn't move here because it's the most awful place ever. It's ungodly hot. The people are all fake and awful. Everyone wants something from you (you often want something from other people). The traffic. Oh everything. I've been trying to move out of here since I graduated film school but oooo it keeps pulling me back in.

But to further your career or whatever, you can move here if you want -- if you are the type to network. A lot of writers are introverted so moving here won't really help you. But like z's story, if you can make friends and influence people then it might be helpful. But like other said, just be realistic. It can take a very very long time. If you think you're going to move out here and be pitching to studios tomorrow, you are incorrect!

LA, being a city, is more expensive than if you live in podunk and in the end it may be cheaper for you to do things long distance and fly out if you happen to get a meeting.

Also, don't show up at people's offices. They do not like that.

This post came off grumpier than I meant it to. Sorry about that. I just spent all weekend banging my head against my out of sync footage on my editing machine just to realize it was set to composite instead of component. I swear I looked at it.... I swear I did... grumpy now.

Rainy Night said:

I lived North Scottsdale area, I've was a member of the AZSA for sometime, I think it's now IFP-Phoenix... I attended meetings sporadically as my work had me back and forth to Seattle for a couple years until that company got sold and I lost my job there. After that I had a contract job in Tempe... when that ended my family and I made the move to LA.

You?

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Also belonged to AZSA and still belong to IFP-Phoenix. AZSA merged with IFP and is now IFP screenwriters. Andy stepped down, Jon Bonnell is president. I went to the table reads for a couple of years from 2006 until I left in November. Still connected with some of the people there. Small world.

Yeah, LA isn't THAT expensive. My sis and I have been looking for houses. Right now we live in Toluca Lake, nice little village in the middle of chaos. We probably pay more than we should but it's a nice area and a nice building. I like it here myself. It's certainly not as hot as Phoenix!

DrRita said:

Also belonged to AZSA and still belong to IFP-Phoenix. AZSA merged with IFP and is now IFP screenwriters. Andy stepped down, Jon Bonnell is president. I went to the table reads for a couple of years from 2006 until I left in November. Still connected with some of the people there. Small world.

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I know Andy and Jon, very nice guys.

Going way off topic here...

Toluca Lake? You're right in my neighborhood, at least for work. I looked for a house there, cheapest I could find was $2800. The house I rent now is in Sherman Oaks and it's $1800 which is a bargain for a house, but then again it's a pillbox and my landlord rents out the garage to a musician. I have to have a house for my kids, at their age an apartment wouldn't be good. The best I could do for an apartment here was $1450 for a 2 bed 1 bath around 900 sq ft. The Phoenix market has dropped substantially, I see numerous homes w/ pools etc., that are well over 2000 sqft for about $1000 a month, cheaper if you go into the outlying areas.