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The Interview
By
Michael Allen Last month I talked about how to get a writing job without an agent. Part of getting the job, with or without an agent, is interviewing with the producers and/or a story editor. When I got the call from MTV in New York to write on “Beavis and Butthead,” I almost talked my way out of a great opportunity. Here is part of that phone interview: MTV: We’d like you to pitch some story ideas for “Beavis and Butthead.” Me: But I’ve never written for a show. MTV: That’s not a problem. Me; But I don’t have an agent. MTV: We’ll give you a release form. Me: But I don’t have any credits. MTV: That’s okay. A lot of our writers are new. Can you believe that? I literally said those words. My girlfriend, at the time, was standing right next to me and was absolutely furious. Thank goodness MTV was so persistent and my girlfriend was so angry. Rule Number One: It’s one thing to pursue your dream and it’s quite another to suddenly be face-to-face with it. Don’t be intimidated when they call your number, and you’re on deck. After I wrote for “Beavis and Butthead,” I got an agent and was sent out on several interviews. One interview was at the game show “Love Connection.” The guy interviewing me tore my resume in half, right in front of me. Rule Number Two: If anyone treats you badly on an interview, get up and walk out the door. After that debacle, my next door neighbor interviewed me to write for a dating show that she produced on MTV called “The Blame Game.” She gave me a tape of the show and told me to write a spec sample. I wrote a sample which I thought (and still believe) was smarter than the show she gave me. She didn’t hire me. To get even, I never asked her out, but she didn’t care because she was a lesbian. 100% true. I interviewed to write for another show on MTV called “Austin Stories.” I was given a pilot of the show by an MTV development exec and told to write notes. I watched the pilot and thought it was horrible. I wrote two pages of notes which included references to “rewriting the pilot” and “re-shooting the pilot” and “recasting two of the leads.” The development exec was shocked, if not totally offended, by my numerous suggestions. History proved me right, the show flopped, but the fact is, I didn’t get hired. Rule Number Three: If you’re asked to write a sample, do not try to make the show a lot smarter or funnier than it is. I know that sounds insane, but if they want a plain donut, give them a plain donut. Do not give them a delicious Bavarian Cream donut. Mmmmmmm, donuts… And that advice goes for after you get the job. I know someone who did get hired on “Austin Stories,” tried to smarten up the show, and got fired. In last month's column, I told you about some of the wacky schemes I tried, well, here’s another one. The fellow who created “Beavis and Butthead,” Mike Judge, also created another series called “King of the Hill.” Mike lives in Texas, so the guy here in Los Angeles who was doing the hiring was the co-creator, Greg Daniels. I called Greg’s assistant, a girl named Gina, and said, “I really want to work on your show, what I have to do?’ She told me straight out, “Write something about Texas.” Fortunately, I was born in Texas and lived there until I was seven. I had gone back many times to visit relatives and had a lot of memories. So I wrote a pilot based on my childhood; it was basically the “Wonder Years” set in Texas. Somehow, I wrote it in one week. I gave it to my agent, who liked it and sent it to Greg Daniels. Well, I didn’t hear anything from Greg for a couple of months, so I got an insane idea. I recalled that when I worked at KNBC News, a girl sent her resume inside a giant plastic bottle filled with M&M’s. She actually got an interview after that stunt. I took it a step further, I went to a custom cookie-making place called Cookies By Design and had them bake up a giant cookie in the shape of the state of Texas. I had them write the title of my pilot script on the cookie in icing. Then I had them deliver it, with a note from me, to Greg Daniels at “King of the Hill.” Amazingly, I got an interview with Greg. He said he read my pilot and liked it. I was shocked. Greg had written for “Saturday Night Live” (the good years) and “Seinfeld,” and had been a writer/producer on “The Simpsons;” this guy was a heavyweight in comedy. The interview was about 90 minutes. When I told my agent this, he was ecstatic: “90 minutes???? You’re in.” I wasn’t so sure, until Greg called me a couple of weeks later and asked me to co-write a “King of the Hill” book with his staff. Rule Number Four: Take chances. Be creative. Rule Number Five: The longer the interview, the better. Rule Number Six: If they offer you something to drink at an interview, always accept. It’s a people business and that’s the polite thing to do. Rule Number Seven: People hire people that they like. You cannot make anyone like you. But you can be genuine. It’s hard to resist someone who is comfortable in their own skin. Rule Number Eight: Ask the assistant for hiring tips. If Gina had not told me, “Write something about Texas,” my cookie idea would have flopped because I had nothing to back it up with. Rule Number Nine: If you get on a show, treat everyone nicely, but keep in mind not everyone is going to treat you that way. Hollywood is full of backstabbers, who I will name in a future column. Muhahahaha…. Rule Number Ten If you get on a show, don’t be shy to speak up when you’re in a room with other writers during a story session. If you don’t say much, it looks like you’re not contributing. I cannot stress that enough. I recall an interview with Don Henley, one of the Eagles, gave once. He said that fellow Eagle Glenn Frey was a great songwriter because he was “absolutely fearless” and would throw ideas out for the other Eagles to bounce off of. That’s very true for TV as well. A staff job will almost always be collaborative, so be prepared to risk looking like an idiot. That’s part of the creative process. A freelance gig, however, will mean going solo; much like my dating life. Next Month: How to
Sell Your Own TV Show! - Michael Allen has written for several TV shows and pilots on MTV, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros, and Fox. He can be reached at MichaelPAllen2005@Yahoo.com. Please click here for more columns by Michael Allen |
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