There are people that you have around you and your career. Choosing these people wisely is of up most importance. You are the company that you keep. In the entertainment business your reputation is everything. When you are associated, with certain people weather it be negative or positive it gives others a perception of you. I cannot express how important the people are in my life that I have to talk to about my career. I have a handful of friends and of course my staff that keep me on task and focused on my future. Everybody has moments when things are not very clear. I have been fortunate enough to have had people far more successful than myself to help me understand the way the business works. There are things you cannot learn from books, or school, or seminars or classes. Being able to learn form other peoples experiences is a true sign of intelligence.
A staff of good people is priceless. A manager, agents, publicists, personal trainer, facialists, make up artists, hair people, stylists all help you put your best possible self forward. When I have any kind of issue, there is somebody of these people who will take my call to help out. When all of these people do their jobs and you do yours, working isn’t so much a challenge or stressful. It always helps to have a bug in your ear about things you need to accomplish. Also the more people you have in the loop the more you can stay in the loop on current issues. Having other friends that are in the industry can really help in a time of need. I make it a point to always check in on my friends to see what they have going on. They always check in on me as well. I do more things at once just so I have more to talk about.
On the down side there are people out there that are trying to ruin your life for their gain. I have ran across too many of these slimy people. I never thought about how easy it is to get sucked into a bad situation. Then there are those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Don’t ever trust anything because the second you do, you will immediately regretted it. Letting rats in your kitchen will ensure 2 things, they will steal your food and make a mess. Always treat other people how you would like to be treated. You have to live with yourself forever not anybody else.
As new year resolutions lose their appeal in these weeks, it’s time to evaluate what is realistic. As a person you should be aware of your life situation and if your in the business of entertainment you’re almost painfully aware of your life situation. I certainly don’t own a crystal ball and I don’t know anybody who has one either so I don’t know whats in store for me. Along time ago I was one of those people who felt like I had every little thing planned out and then the I was smacked in the head by the XXL hand of the universe.
Your career requires constant expansion. You should be better tomorrow than you are today. Not saying today is bad but tomorrow can be even greater. The way to do this is by organizing key points that can help you down the path of career growth. You may not grow at the rate that you expected but if you have a constant growth it doesn’t matter. The worst thing that can happen is a dry spell and I don’t mean romantically. A hiatus can make you lose your heart quickly: You cannot avoid rough patches, bad and good go hand in hand. However, when the wind has left you sails it calls for you to grab an ore and start rowing. When you find yourself in the doldrums, make a new way to keep things going. Have a project wish list handy. All of those things that are labeled “some day” or “when I have time” can be labeled “today” and ” now that I have time”. I have lots of random ideas that I kick around for a while and they get put on hold due to my current work and travel demands. The french have the saying ” Les femmes intelligentes ne s’ennuie jamias” smart women are never bored. Meaning you should always have something constructive for yourself to be doing. Make it a point to have ways to work/ generate income through other resources. If you can’t find modeling work produce your own calendar or poster to sell. Get a group together to teach others your skills, hell hold a damn seminar. If you never lose interest and ambition you cannot lose your way. Get some other professionals together and see what their thoughts are on a collective situation. Everybody has their main skills to share in some way or another. Those of us who are creative professionals should never be short on new concepts.
In the event you just don’t know where to start go down your contact list and start reaching out. Ask what others around you have going on and if they need help with anything. You never know where an opportunity can be hiding. Most people only have a one track thought process, derail yourself and brainstorm for a while. I find it very useful to write down what it is that I think I can improve on and things that I want/ want to happen. Secondly, make a list for each of these things that you can do to make these improvements/wants/desires happen. Physically and mental acknowledging your needs are the ground work for these instances coming to fruition.
The book THE SECRET has become a pseudo Hollywood religion. I know many celebrities and other creative folks who base their lives around this. Under the mantra “if you truly want it, it will come to you..” As a person who has gotten everything they wanted, I can stand by this. I have had a few people try to get me into “the secret” hoopla, at first I thought it was some new age hippie crap. If has proven to be just the opposite. Another lesson learned was always listen to those who are more successful than yourself.
There is always a way to expand yourself and your career. In the words of Emma Stone “when you stop believing it will happen, it will. So just always believe that things are happening.”
Identify what you want, develope a plan and MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!
I cannot even put into words how sick I am of people complaining about the ” crappy economy” and blaming their pathetic lives on it. There is one simple solution to any problem, get your fucking ass up and go work HARDER. According to that old guy and his third law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If anything comes to be a challenge then you as the opposing force should come back at it with an equal challenge…..There are 2 types of people in this world people who have money and people who don’t. Most would like to be in the “have money crowd” but if they make that happen or not is the reality part. I have had 9 years of different employers and clients but only one job….Hustlin!
The reason why we are all different types of people is to make sure every bodies needs in society are met. I may not be a doctor but I know my doctor buys clothes and watches movies and TV so I am apart of my doctors world and my doctor is apart of mine. Everybody on this earth needs to contribute to the rest of the world and earn that precious oxygen. If you have an able body or mind you can get things done if you want to. Again you have to know exactly what you want.
The bottom line is money comes from people and you need to asses who is going to pay you. Follow the money, if property is tanking then get into short sale or the debt business in some way. If your stock is jacked because of the crappy market and are oh so intelligent government is selling our debt to foreign markets, redetermine where your money is going to actually bring a return. Investment in independent film has brought bigger returns and more joy to investors for the last 7 years consecutively. When life hands you lemons in a bad economy don’t just make lemonade sell the lemonade at an inflated rate. Find your strengths in a new angle of the market. America is the largest super power in the history of the world because of our belief in free market capitalism. We have so many damn illegal immigrants because of the endless opportunities here. Please remember there are people who risk life and limb to crawl onto US soil because they might be able to make a better life. If Pancho who doesn’t speak the language or have the right to work and no place to live can hack it. Why can’t English speaking true blue Americans even step up to the challenge of moving onward and upward?
Untuck that tail from your legs and stop whimpering. Come out of your hiding place with a fighting attitude because nobody whats to work with anybody who complains or can’t rise to a challenge. Never let your self down and always deliver.
This was posted on the blog of Maxim Magazines Myspace a couple days ago. I have had people that contact me with similar proposals. I even got the fake check they sent for $1700. Getting the check is the only hope of turning in a name.
- Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
WARNING—MODELS & PHOTOGRAPHERS—PLEASE READ!!Maxim has recently received several communications from individuals (men and women) who have been contacted by people purportedly on Maxim’s behalf, claiming to be agents, photographers or international modeling agents for Maxim.
These communications, typically sent by email, have generally stated that this person is authorized by Maxim to find new talent for Maxim magazine or a new magazine as yet to be published by Maxim. These “agents” typically offer to pay for traveling expenses and modeling fees for a photo shoot, or they will offer to buy photographs from you. Once a fee is agreed, they send you a bogus check for an amount that is much higher than the amount that you agreed to. Then, they ask you to wire the excess amount back to them. So far, we have uncovered two names associated with these activities: Glenn Morrison, and Leah Christiansen from CDN Models, a fictitious Canadian model agency.
Maxim generally does not hire agents to locate new talent for photo shoots. If someone contacts you by email, on Facebook, or MySpace, or other chat or social sites regarding photographs or modeling for Maxim, please be very cautious. If you have any questions regarding the legitimacy of any communication from someone who claims to be employed by Maxim or an agent of Maxim, you may contact our legal department at legal@maxim.com with the details.
Please remember if you are a contestant in our Hometown Hotties program, only the Hotties Coordinator will communicate with you about upcoming events and requirements. The Hotties Coordinator can be reached at hometownhotties@maxim.com.
In lieu of my new relationship with Runway Magazine. I attend the fashion event at BLVD 3 in Hollywood. It was a smaller private event but they had the BEST Dj I’ve herd in LA so far. Te fashion collection showed 9 looks. A very cool causal line mostly women’s looks but a couple men’s as well. Immediately after the show a steel cube was lowered from the ceiling. 2 Cirque de soliel girls performed some crazy acrobatics on the cube. It made me want to take up acrobatics, why have a trapeze when you can have a cube.
BLVD 3 Hollywood Fashion Event with Runway Magazine
One of my favorite things about these parties is the gift bag. Clear Essence put together a gift bag of their skin care products for women of color. It made for the best smelling gift bag I’ve ever received. As I am colorless, I gave the Anti wrinkle cream and the bar facial soap to my friend April. Hopefully she will soon let me know what she thought about the products.
Every season GEN ART holds the Fresh Faces of Fashion in all of the GEN ART markets. I attended the one in Los Angeles at the Automotive museum. Several up and coming designers showcased their collections. This is the first fashion show I have ever attended with out walking in the show.
Yendecker Los Angeles Fashion Show
I was late to the event because I was shooting for runway magazine. However, I did see four shows. My favorite being Rory Becca. Her pieces were all unique but still adhered to the seasons trends. An amazing men’s collection showed and was a very big surprise to everyone. Tons of the crazy crazy hair and make-up. Big crimped hair, super spiked hair, blacked out make up and super nude matte lips. Fallowed by a not so hott after party. HUGE gift bags!! To much stuff for me to cart around. If you ever attend a GEN ART event, get there early the parking is insane.
Snoop has a new album officially ready for release. He has been shooting music videos all week in a studio between downtown LA and Pasadena. The same location that had been used for Saw 6. All night shoots because of lighting and we all know that rappers don’t do mornings well.
I worked on the video for Upside Down, Snoops collaboration with a few other artists that I didn’t know. A long 11 hour day for all of the girls who worked on it. Cali from the reality show Chance at Love played a stripper. Denise Love played Snoops love interest. I was able to see the story boards for the video and I was very impressed with the attention to detail.
Snoop is always a blast to work with and he is always having fun. The prop department gave him a new prosthetic “pimp hand” he has a great time with. It had green and blue LED lights inside that made parts of the hand glow. One of the features artist on the song was wearing the craziest blue glowing contacts I have ever seen. I have had to wear colored contacts before and its painful.
The directors and the rest of the crew were very funny people. It was not a challenge to make it through an 11 hour day with these guys. Hair and make up was a riot. I have never laughed so hard while getting my hair straightened. It was a great shoot and I look forward to more.
I had a good time this week even though my stupid phone doesn’t work. I had a few meetings and was able to get better acquainted with my agent in London. I probably won’t see my photos other than from today because my agency has control of the photos they took. My shoot today was with a super cool photographer from Bangladesh. All of the buildings in London are so old and great to shoot around. Hyde Park had great weather and I was very surprised that the police don’t care if you shoot without permits. If were LA we would have been kicked all over the place. People in London are much nicer and don’t interrupt your shoots. They just say hello and move along with their day. Unlike the US, where everybody makes a ruckus and think that they have business talking to you while you’re working.
I get a ton of questions about my blog and why it’s titled “Modeling Advice” when a large portion of my writing is about all of the events that I attend. There is a secret to the entertainment business that few seem to fallow. Networking is your best friend. 95% of the really good work I’ve gotten over the past 9 years has been handed to me because I’m friends with somebody. If the person you’re talking to doesn’t belong to the national check writing association, keep it moving and go meet somebody else.
There is no reason in the world you should be sitting on your ass doing nothing. You can relax when you’re not broke or retired. Get out meet people at the gym, your apartment buildings pool anywhere. Pick a few places to frequent that are known to have cool people around. Brunch, lunch, dinner and happy hour every day. There are just loads of people out there that could help you or point you in the right direction.
Friends that make each other money are the best kinds of friends to have. Don’t go looking for hand outs and freebies but in time those things will come. Seek people you can have working relationships with and contribute all you can to the situation.
