An Actor's Guide--Your First Year in Hollywood (Third Edition) [Paperback]

Michael St. Nicolas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1581154488 | ISBN-13: 978-1581154481 | Edition: Third Edition

Detailed advice from Hollywood's top industry pros gives extra tips, and an up-to-the-minute appendix makes contacting agents, studios, soap operas, and game shows a breeze.

An Actor's Guide—Your First Year in Hollywood should be required reading for any young actor headed to La-La Land with a dream in his heart and a shine on his shoes. Sure, it's a great guide to auditioning, getting a SAG card, finding an agent, landing parts, gaining exposure, and creating publicity—but it’s also packed with real-world advice from a fellow actor. Getting to know Los Angeles, finding a place to live and a job to pay the bills. An Actor’s Guide presents the whole picture, for career and for daily life. Remember to thank us when you’re a big star!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Nicholas has penned a pep talk and warning for the novice actor intent on finding employment in the performing-arts mecca of the world. An actor himself, he provides personal tips and insight, including a questionable chapter on how to stay mentally, emotionally, and physically fit. On firmer ground, he includes advice from casting directors, photographers, agents, other actors, and a writer/producer, a publicist, a manager, and an acting coach. He coaches how to become an extra, what are the requirements for membership in the Screen Actors Guild (a sample SAG contract is included), and how to audition. Nicholas emphasizes the importance of photographs, resumes, and, most of all, perseverance. Addresses for soap operas, game shows, and talent agencies are included. Encouraging but mostly realistic, Nicholas's book could be helpful to those who will not be disuaded from moving to the coast in search of glamor, but libraries that already have M.K. Lewis's comparably priced Your Film Acting Career (Gorham House, 1993) can make this an optional purchase.?Kim R. Holston, American Inst. for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Lib., Malvern, Pa.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"I'm buying up a bunch of copies to keep in my back pocket for everyone who asks me how to get into this business." (Sinbad )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press; Third Edition edition (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581154488
• ISBN-13: 978-1581154481
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #524,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!!, January 20, 2006

By 

Brittany - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Actor's Guide-Your First Year in Hollywood (Paperback)

I absolutely love this book. I have been buying a lot of books similar to this one and I can honestly say this is the best book. It has great information. It has great detailed facts and if you plan to move to L.A. this will be very helpful....

2.0 out of 5 stars Outdated and misleading, December 31, 2011

By 

GRACE E WRIGHT (Los Angeles, CA, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Actor's Guide: Your First Year in Hollywood (Paperback)

I love the author's ebullient enthusiasm and clear intent to motivate and inspire his readers. However, this third edition was updated in 2006 and even in 6 years this book has become outdated and is lacking INTEGRAL information. I am an actress who recently finished my degree at USC and my school has tried to prepare me for the realities of the show business industry in a way that many theater schools do not. I have been fortunate to meet many casting directors, agents, producers, writers, and young working actors through my school's many resources and I can say that based on my firsthand knowledge, I found the information in this book to be staggeringly limited.

This book does not cover self-submissions or casting websites (it only mentions a site called "[...]" which does not exist/is a website that has nothing to do with breakdowns), it does not cover personal branding and self-promotion, and doesn't go in depth enough regarding means of finding representation, the pros, cons, and differences about agents and managers, is not detailed enough about how to find "money jobs," or which areas/neighborhoods are good/bad to live in. It gives a basic overview about casting workshops and showcases, but as important as those are to actors just starting out, I think more coverage of those topics (which lead into finding representation, which is your #1 goal starting out and can make or break your experience) is necessary.

The BEST parts of this book are the last chapters--"Creating a Positive Experience" and the later interviews with people in the industry. That said, many of the industry interviews in this book are with people who have good advice but aren't YOUNG, or up-and-coming. I think that is a relevant perspective that is starkly absent from this book.

This book is a fine jumping off point if you're right off the turnip truck/know virtually NOTHING about the industry or LA. If you have even a basic understanding of the city and the business then this book is a little bit.... rudimentary.

A better book is "Hit the Ground Running" by Carolyne Barry: Hit The Ground Running The Smart Actor's Guide

While I disagree with plenty of her advice and opinions, I think this book is more relevant and up-to-date. I'm certainly not saying to follow this book as a Bible... but at least it's a more current guide.

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Inside Information., January 25, 2009

By 

Anthony Duron - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Actor's Guide--Your First Year in Hollywood (Third Edition) (Paperback)

Nicholas speaks of many things my drama teachers failed to. Perhaps my instructors went straight into teaching after college rather than actually trying their hands in the field. Only someone with firsthand experience could write this book. Thank you, Mr. Nicholas. This is a true, new actor's Hollywood survival guild!

Author of Grandmother is Home to Stay