Expert: Kenneth D. Plonkey - 10/22/2008

Question
Hey, my name is Jacqueline Cornejo and I'm just in seventh grade but my dream has always been to be a movie director.I am doing a project in school that is about what you want to be when you grow up.Obviosly I chose movie director but i have to answer some questions i don't know the answer to. Can you help me?one question was what  salary and benefits can i expect? and also are there specialty areas within this field and lastly are there professional organizations that help support people in this field? i hope i can get a response thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Jacqueline, I will do my best to answer your quesions,but in the movie business there are no set salaries and benefits, because there is so much variety.  Successful movie directors make millions of dollar but is not salary, it is a negotiated fee and percentage of the gross from ticket sales. who needs benefits with millions of dollars of income? But I am sure there is a directors' union that provides for benefits for film directors, but I also am not aware of what that would be.  Specialty areas are by film genre, suspemse, action, western, comedy, etc. Like I said I am sure there is a film director's union, but I have no details about it. Try googling it.  I hope this has been some help, Best wishes, Doc