Your Film Acting Career: How to Break Into the Movies & TV & Survive Hollywood [Paperback]

M.K. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 1997

Newly revised and updated, Your Film Acting Career provides answers to hundreds of questions asked about the Hollywood scene: Finding work in TV, movies, commercials, industrials, new media, modeling, student films, theatre... Living in Los Angeles... Putting together effective resumes and photographs... Getting into the unions... Finding an agent... What producers, directors and casting directors want in interviews, cold readings, on the set... Choosing acting classes... Residuals, overtime, contracts... Restarting a stalled career... And much, much more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

M.K. Lewis is one of the most respected acting coaches in the industry both here and abroad. He has taught acting for over 30 years at his own studio as well as at California Institute of the Arts, Sherwood Oaks Experimental College, and the Hollywood, New York and Washington DC branches of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). A former member of the SAG Conservatory Committee, he helped set up their cold reading program in the 1970s. He also teaches at the Internationale Filmschule in Cologne, for SAT-1's (a major German network) actor's class and is a visiting professor at the prestigious acting school HFF in Berlin, Germany, on an annual basis, teaching American film acting techniques to European actors. Now retired from acting, his screen credits included Hard Times, Raise the Titanic, and Death Hunt, among others. Among his television credits were episodes of Police Woman, Baretta, Delvecchio, the pilot episodes of The Blue Knight and other series, and he was placed into contention for an Emmy for his portrayal of Pap by the producer of the PBS special, Mark Twain:Beneath the Laughter. A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Lewis was a drama major at the University of New Orleans. As founder and artistic director of theaters in Philadelphia and New Orleans, he directed and/or produced more than 100 plays. He has written six plays, including The Hero , which he also directed, at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. He has been interviewed by numerous radio and TV shows nationwide, in Canada and in Europe, including The CBS Morning News, CNN Newsnight, AM Los Angeles, The Michael Jackson Show, and others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Gorham House Press; 4 Rev Exp edition (September 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929149025
• ISBN-13: 978-0929149028
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Film Acting Career, February 5, 2000

By 

Josh Fulkerson (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Film Acting Career: How to Break Into the Movies & TV & Survive Hollywood (Paperback)

This is an excellent book, not only does it teach the basics on how to survive in the show business,it is also very entertaining and very comical. I recommend this book to anyone who is thinking about becoming a professional actor/actress.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Guide to the L.A. Acting World, December 9, 1999

By 

Sean Huze - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Film Acting Career: How to Break Into the Movies & TV & Survive Hollywood (Paperback)

I recently moved to Los Angeles to further my acting career. Mr. Lewis' book was one of many I read on the subject prior to my move and was the only one that I've really followed since I've been here (6 whole months now!). It sounds kinda' "cheesy", but I followed his advice pretty much to the letter and am well on my way. It was a tremendous help in getting an agent and just "learning the ropes". I highly recommend this book to all newcomers to L.A. and any actor who is still struggling trying to figure out this town! Break a leg!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes the truth hurts, October 9, 2000

By 

Bill Brown (Lake Monticello, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Film Acting Career: How to Break Into the Movies & TV & Survive Hollywood (Paperback)

M.K. Lewis does a great job of getting you to understand the complexity of trying to make it in L.A. He gets you thinking about your commitment to acting by giving you a lot of truthful, upfront information about what it is really like trying to "survive in Hollywood". Having studied with M.K. in Santa Monica for 9 months, I can honestly say that he wants nothing more than success for those who read his book. Well worth a look!