Customer Reviews

How to Make it in Hollywood

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If you only have enough money to buy one book about show-biz careers, this should be the one! Buzzell brings her background as a career counselor to the table, as well as her stints at various film studios. She knows what YOU need to know and she share that knowledge in an accessible way. I would recommend this book to anyone considering ANY job in the entertainment industry. It's not just for actors or other so-called "talents", it's a must-read for technical/crew people as well.

Buzzell's book is like having a personal career counselor at hand 24 hours a day. This is not about headshots or mailrooms or union dues, but about the self-marketing skills necessary to get and keep working in a highly competitive, volatile field -- and keep sane! She homes in on the critical business skills necessary, including positioning yourself, developing a presence and industry image, tested networking techniques for the creative fields, and much more insightful career planning for all areas of the entertianment industry -- above and below line. She also helps you put your goals, triumphs and falls in perspective; a reasonable, attainable strategy to keep working; and honest cautionary tales and motivational techniques. The secret to "making it" is out. But I recommend this book not only to people pursuing Hollywood dreams, but to friends seeking careers in Silicon Valley or any other field where marketing one's self and "soft" skills (e.g., programming, art, design) are critical. Whenever I feel lost in my career, I go back to this book.

A great book for anyone in the entertainment industry, not just the film industry; covers in depth topics such as how to network and how to handle rejection, and how many attempts one can expect to make before securing a position in the industry. Also great advice on entertainment resume writing; I'm already looking forward to the next edition!

This book was required reading for an exploratory class I was taking on Entertainment Technology Careers. It proved to teach me a lot more than just that, it gives you insightful and helpful tips as well as the exercises within the chapters that assist you in finding out what it is that you really want to do and where your motivation comes from. I think it is an invaluable book for not only people seeking work in the entrainment field but for people who aren't really sure which way to go about it or which end they'd like to be in.

If you are serious about a career in the entertainment industry, this book is more valuable than a college education. I can honestly say that this book gives you all of the advice you need to be successful in almost any given field. More importantly it doesn't sugarcoat anything. If this business isn't right for you, you'll know by about 40 pages in. My one complaint, and it is a small one, is that some of the information is a little dated. Specifically the sections on CGI and the internet. As far as the rest of the fields go, the information still applies today. Buy this book. Read it cover to cover. Do what the author says, and you will have a career in Hollywood. I cannot recommend this enough.

I bought this book for my cousin who wants to start out in the movie business. I bought this book for him so he can get a good idea who's who in the industry. The resources are a little out dated, but the valuable info is timeless.

I had fun reading this. It was very informative and exciting for someone who was, at one time, looking at a future career in film. Not sure how accurate it is these days, but it was a fun read.

I purchased this book for my son for his populal culture studies in university-he found the book fascinating and very helpful for his projects and presentations.

Linda Buzzell gives an excellent account of how to make it in Hollywood. Any person reading this book can learn a lot if they choose to follow their dreams into moviemaking and acting. This book definitely was helpful in getting my last movie, The S.I.N., distributed. And, it will be helpful as I put together my new radio show, The Indie Film Hour, on World Talk Radio. Thanks Linda. www.vdefilms.com