I'm moving to LA

[Flyboy]

Re: I'm moving to LA

Oh, man, this I already know, but right now, it's LA. If things go extremely well, I'll buy a place in San Diego.

I plan on moving to San Diego once I graduate and hopefully grab a great gig. It's an amazing city.

[23]

Re: I'm moving to LA

Agreed man, my family's visit to La Jolla was awesome. Loved the fresh air, the beach, and the calmed down atmosphere.

With a great job, im sure it would be a nice place to live. That said, I know my city pretty well and besides the obvious, don't know if i'd ever want to live elsewhere.

[ezekiel55]

Re: I'm moving to LA

Hey YP,

First off, good luck with your new beginning. This topic is actually pretty funny, because I'm in a similar situation.

I recently went out there to plant some seeds and network a bit. My buddy is about to become a guild member (DGA) and we have both worked on quite a few flicks together. Eventually, we plan on starting our own production company and trying to get some Indie's off the ground and see where that takes us.

Luckily my buddy has been out there for 4 years or so and he has made alot of great connections. He has worked with Speilberg, Nolan, Zwick, Forrester, and Bay. Through these directors we have met a lot of their people which has made our lives that much easier.

That's probably the most important thing to think about with your pending move...networking(glorified schmoozing ). If it werent for the both of us taking low-level demeaning jobs in the industry, we wouldnt have the opportunities we're currently presented with.

Good luck man...not to be cliche, but it's a dog eat dog world out there when it comes to the film industry.

[headrulz101]

Re: I'm moving to LA

My thoughts exactly. Good to know you've settled in well. I hear flights from NY to LA and vice versa aren't too expensive. If that's the case then I'll be flying back for the holidays. But, I'll probably only see my brother and sister. I don't care much for my aunts and uncles and my parents are pretty much already half way back to the Dominican Republic to spend the rest of their lives.

Would defeat the purpose of seeing a White Christmas if I was in DR. Now, I would definitely do Christmas in NY and New Years in DR. That would be cool.

Yeah, when I made the switch, I had to knock some sense into family and close friends. I could've stayed in school (I was pulling in some great marks) but I thought to myself, spend the rest of my life making a good amount of money (assuming I would've gotten a job out of University) or take a risk while doing something I love? I chose the latter for many reasons.

I like to think of it this way; though there are hundreds of people just like yourself, hoping to catch a break, there are also hundreds of different openings and opportunities that you wouldn't have back in Montreal or New York (or anywhere else in North America pretty much!).

[CMH]

Re: I'm moving to LA

Yeah, when I made the switch, I had to knock some sense into family and close friends. I could've stayed in school (I was pulling in some great marks) but I thought to myself, spend the rest of my life making a good amount of money (assuming I would've gotten a job out of University) or take a risk while doing something I love? I chose the latter for many reasons.

I like to think of it this way; though there are hundreds of people just like yourself, hoping to catch a break, there are also hundreds of different openings and opportunities that you wouldn't have back in Montreal or New York (or anywhere else in North America pretty much!).

Very true.

Besides, I would argue that if you took 10 people from a list that want to move to LA to be a star: 4 would want to be directors, 5 would want to be actors, and 1 wants to be a staff writer in television. You might even have to consider yourself lucky to find even 1 of 10 people that wants to be a staff writer in glorious Hollywood.

I like my chances. All of my friends talk about making a film, finding producers, making more films, and writing scripts. I keep having to tell them, I'll help, but I'm not putting my full effort in it because my effort is going to be in television writing. That's where I want to be.

[headrulz101]

Re: I'm moving to LA

Very true.

Besides, I would argue that if you took 10 people from a list that want to move to LA to be a star: 4 would want to be directors, 5 would want to be actors, and 1 wants to be a staff writer in television. You might even have to consider yourself lucky to find even 1 of 10 people that wants to be a staff writer in glorious Hollywood.

I like my chances. All of my friends talk about making a film, finding producers, making more films, and writing scripts. I keep having to tell them, I'll help, but I'm not putting my full effort in it because my effort is going to be in television writing. That's where I want to be.

Awesome point man. Most of my friends who want/wanted to get "into" the film industry, all want to make films. So I agree with you 100% there.

Same thing with myself and music. I came to L.A and rather than striving for a record deal, I went for a publishing deal (writing music/jingles for other artists/commercials/etc). My chances of getting a recording contract are a million times stronger now (currently in talks!), than they were before. That's one thing many people looking to reach their dreams forget: being patient and working your way up. You can't reach the top, without climbing the steps!

In your case, L.A is the best place to be since they will always be looking for new ideas, thus the hiring of new staff writers. And the fact that television writing isn't always the first choice for those looking to make it big can only boost your chance of catching a break.

[CMH]

Re: I'm moving to LA

Though, writers can find themselves out of jobs pretty quickly if a new show is canceled, the fact that there are more jobs for writers is exciting.

AMC now has it's own show in Mad Men (well, it's two seasons deep, but the point still stands). When AMC is looking to make in-house programming, you have to really open your eyes and realize that there are a lot more television shows out there than a decade ago.

Lots of networks thought HBO was crazy when they tried to fund their own programming and not just play movies all day. Then they had Oz and Sopranos and it's no longer crazy. It's profitable. These cable networks will continue to follow suit and again, AMC now sees the light.

There's opportunities if you can write and you're able to tell a story within a limited number of pages. Man, I'm not even thinking about being a show creator right now. I want to be in the future, but that's in the future. I want to start on a staff.

I'm not saying it'll be easy just because of the things I mentioned. I'm only saying that though I'm taking a risk by moving across the country, it's a calculated risk. I know what I'm doing and why I decide to do the things I do. I'm just happy that I actually have a passion for this. I'm not choosing to do this because I think I'll be super rich. I want to do it because I know that I can spend 24 hours a day writing and I'll be happy.

Good luck with music. Maybe you'll be the next Charlie Harper (that's a joke, but if you watch Two and a Half Men then you'll get it).

[RockinDaMike]

Re: I'm moving to LA

I dislike L.A. by far as the California cities but I'm sure your dreams will have a better chance their.

How are you gonna get around? Having a car their is pretty essential IMO. But you should find many choices for a cheap car. Sucks that you had an awesome subway/public transportation system to endless hours of traffic in L.A.

Atleast you don't have to worry about snow!

Good luck man!

[CMH]

Re: I'm moving to LA

Yea, I will have to get a car. I'm gonna look into a few options before I move out there. Try to set myself up so I can get a car quickly.

[Pared]

Re: I'm moving to LA

Ha. Good luck. You're more willing to do it than I am.

I've been contemplating the move elsewhere (Canada or Cali) for work as well. Very difficult to do considering my g/f and family are all here in NY. That's a really tough thing to do. Don't think I'd be able to do it. I'd miss them too much.

What makes it worse is they don't want me to go as well. They'd support me but their first choice is for me to at least stay on the same side of the country.

[CMH]

I can understand that. It hurts me the most to know I'm leaving my little sister and brother behind. But my sister is very supportive of my decision. She knows I really want to do this and we've all been raised to focus on our dreams and strive to achieve them. Not that others don't believe that, but as a family we're willing to sacrifice and spread around. It's not an easy thing and I'm sure it depends on your family structure and your situation.

I hope that being apart will bring us even closer. When we all separated to head to college, we became tighter as siblings. Guess being apart helped us further appreciate our time together.