Expert: Peter Messaline - 1/21/2009

Question
Hi everybody,
My question is, last fall I attended to actor expo in London and met with a guy who arranged interviews at Hollywood with cast directors and agents and for this service he is asking some fee.
Although I am not a US citizen, I ave valid green card. I have my BA from French national conservatory and Sorbonne University, performing arts and also my MA again from Sorbonne. I'm speaking fluently 6 languages and actively taking roles in France.
My question is, did anyone go to LA with this type of arrangement? Cause the fee is extremely high and i am asking what are my chances to go to LA and talk with these people by myself??
any advise?? thnx

Answer
You have an impressive résumé, and you are obviously a talented, enthusistic, and successful European actor.
However, visiting LA is very unlikely to be useful to you.I've attached Bonnie Gillespie's Feb 14 2005 column
http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/2005_02_14.html
All her writing is very sensible and linked to the current business in LA, where she is a casting director. You should read more of her advice.

In this particular case, the man who is offering to introduce you to directors and agents is clearly a fraud. Hollywood is packed with people who want what you want, people with résumés packed with names familiar to American casting people, people who would break his door down if he were any good. If he has hot contacts, why does he have to come to the UK? He is actually in the business of making people think their dreams will come true if they pay him a lot of money. The business doesn't work that way. You know it doesn't in Europe and it's the same in North America.

Congratulations on seeing through this man. It's boring advice, but true, to say that the only way to overnight success is years of work and building a network of people who know and trust you and your work.

Build on your current successes, and don't fall for people offering short cuts.

all the very best

Peter M


Bonnie Gillespie Feb 14thMoving to Los Angeles for Pilot Season
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
So very many actors from out-of-market believe that Los Angeles is "calling" them for pilot season before that is true. MOST actors who move to LA for pilot season end up leaving after four months, angry that they spent all sorts of money for temporary housing and long-term rental car only to sit by the phone, never getting out for more than a handful of auditions.

What I've always recommended is that actors move to Los Angeles FOR GOOD when they are ready to pursue a film-and-television life fulltime. Now, before I go into all of the qualifiers for that statement, let me say that I do support the idea that some actors are perfect for pilot season visits if they are busy, working actors coming in from New York (or even from Toronto) with bicoastal representation. There absolutely are actors who can--and do--come to town and take pilot season by storm, head back to their hometowns, and live as even bigger fish for having had the experiences here. Those aren't the folks I'm talking about.

I'm talking about the actors who believe they can pick up from wherever they live with no agent or manager, no SAG card, very few credits, no demo reel, and a clearly-out-of-market headshot and come to LA for pilot season expecting something to happen. Can something happen? Of course. And legends are built upon the fact that lightning does, occasionally, strike. But until you have enough credits in your local market, coming to Los Angeles to pursue a film and television performance career is simply a dream killer. And this business is hard enough as it is for that anvil to fall on your head too!

It's much better for you not to attempt a pilot season short-term move and instead build credits (and your bank account) to a point where a permanent move to pursue a lifetime career as an LA-based actor is feasible. Then, it's not about pilot season (which is crazymaking for even the locals, in terms of volume of auditions and hectic scheduling constraints). It's about the long haul. And you want to be an actor who "made it," right? Not an actor who "made it to LA for four months and came home bitter about it."

Consider your lifetime goals carefully before making big moves. Pro athletes train for many years as non-pros before they suit up professionally. Make sure you're ready for the big leagues before you get yourself there as nothing but a benchwarmer. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(c) Bonnie Gillespie