Like many young people trying to make their way into the industry, my first job was an assistant gig. I was the assistant to the Co-Executive Producer of Entertainment Tonight. That meant that I would do everything from get coffee (yet, it's a cliche for a reason) to work the red carpet of the Emmys and Golden Globes. Some of it felt glamorous and a lot of it did not! But I made the point to show up first, leave last, ask questions (especially 'dumb questions'), and allow myself to be coached.
It definitely helped me to understand a lot about the business and all the roles that exist that we don't usually think about.
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Jason, I started as a Paramount Pictures Page. Paramount is my Mother Studio. We managed the audience for the sitcoms at Paramount (and other studios), and also conducted studio tours for the general public and VIPs. Gotta start somewhere.
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I started as an in house grip/electrician at Raleigh. It was a great place to make connections.
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Lindbergh E Hollingsworth I bet we were across the street from each other around the same time....
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I interned at NBC and PBS :)
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Parking & On-set PA for a television pilot.
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Lindbergh - I love the Paramount lot. I am lucky because I worked on two of the most beautiful lots - the Paramount lot and the Disney lot in Burbank. My office was in the Old Animation Building where the Sherman bros wrote the songs for Mary Poppins. They threw a typewriter out my window.
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Love this Jason Mirch! My start consisted of three days a week as an unpaid intern at a company called Good Machine (now Focus Features), two days a week as an unpaid grip on a film by a writer/director named Hal Hartley, and bartending at night. My first paid job was as a receptionist, answering phones on an annex office floor for Miramax, a few blocks away from their main office.
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Thank you for sharing, Jason. It's so important you share this to some of us that come from other industries.
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Love to read you back, Jason! Always great to hear your experiences and thoughts. Still grateful for your advices in the beginning of my screenwriting career which was...OMG 9 years ago!
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Jason - oh yes, I do love the Paramount lot. I don't often say a studio lot is romantic, for Paramount I will.