I even love the crappy pizza and mystery meat hotdogs at the snack bars. And why shouldn’t the meat be a mystery? Even the food at Comic Con has a secret identity!

I had already been planning to go to Comic-Con for all four days after ruefully missing the opportunity to buy tickets in 2009. So, when my boyfriend found out he could get free four-day professional passes, I was thrilled.

Well, I did it. I got a manager. All that hard work paid off and I can finally kiss PA jobs and this column goodbye. I’m going to be rich soon, so I figure it’s okay if I tell you what went down.

My partner and I had a few weeks off and decided we would write a comedy. It sounded like a good idea, although I’ve never written a comedy before. It’s not that I don’t like to laugh; it’s just not my genre. Hell, I don’t even know if I’m funny. When it was finished, I was able to get it into the hands of producer whose film I had worked on as a PA (which is why I say, be nice to everyone).

A few days later, I get a call back from him saying that he really liked the story and had given it to a management company that would be a good match for us. A week later we get an email from one of the managers asking us out for coffee to discuss the script. We agreed to meet at some foo-foo coffee shop in Hollywood. By now, I felt like I was going on some sort of bizarre blind date. Were they going to like us? Were we going to like them? Would it end up being just a one-script stand?

My partner and I arrive at the coffee house early, too early. You never can tell how bad L.A. traffic is going to be. It's a hot day, and of course we had dressed nicely to impress our "would-be suitors" - my partner even shaved! By the time the managers show up, we are sweaty and uncomfortable, not to mention nervous. We order up drinks and sit down. Introductions are made. We chit-chat about movies and video games and things begin to relax. We have another round of drinks. Now the mood has changed and we’re feeling pretty good. The managers seem to like us and we think they’re legit.

Then one of the managers gets to the point. He leans over. “We want you”,  he says. “The script is solid and we feel that this is the kind of script that Hollywood needs right now.  My partner and I are thrilled but keep it hidden. We agree to give them the script, and wait to see what happens. We shake hands and start to leave knowing we’ve scored. As we do, they ask when they can get two more comedy scripts from us. I hear the brakes screech to a halt in my head. They want to give studios the script along with our other comedies. We try to explain we don’t normally write comedies; most of our writing is more serious. We share some of our other script ideas; they seem less interested. To their credit, they’re trying to package us on what we’ve given them. They need to sell us to a studio and right now it’s as comedic writers.

My partner and I leave with mixed feelings, but we’re happy that our script is now being read. We go home and start racking our brains for our next comedy. It may sound silly, but finding management really is like dating. You’re meeting complete strangers and trying to see if you click. It’s not so much about your work, that’s why you got a meeting in the first place. It’s more about feeling you out. Do you match up? Do you fit their niche? So, now we have a script. We have management, but we still haven’t made it, and we’ve been neatly packaged as writers who write comedies. Looks like I better keep writing more articles for this column.

Randy Bookman

So you want to make a movie. The first and most important thing to do is to stop reading this column and go make a movie. Go ahead stop reading. Turn off your computer and get away from your desk!  WAIT!! You know what? Read this first and make my boss happy. Then go make your film.

Struggling between achieving your dreams and making ends meet is hard. This is true for any industry but especially true of filmmaking. It’s a constant juggle between staying hungry for your goals and keeping from becoming complacent with your lifestyle. It doesn’t take long in this industry before someone tells you about a movie they want to make. They have it all planned out. How they’re going to shoot it, the style and artistic direction, the soundtrack. Hell, they’ve even gotten the A list movie star that will play the part when they remake the film. The problem is they never do it. They never make the film. It’s never more than an idea in their head.

I swore I would not be one of those people. Everyday I would remind myself; but then it happened. I became one of them. It didn’t happen at once and I don’t even think I was aware it was happening. All of the sudden three years had past and I had nothing to show for it. I figured if I worked hard enough on set someone would notice me.  WRONG! It pissed me off. I’m talking, Leonidus kicking Persian messengers into a well pissed.

So, I had two options become like so many others in Hollywood or actually do something about it. A good friend of mine had similar feelings and we made a pact to push each other. Through that conversation SpearShield Productions was created and our first film, “Forced Alliance” was made. Cue the shameless plug. “Forced Alliance” is a teaser pilot that we pitched to Lucasfilm for the live action “Star Wars” series. It was the first time I’d shot on HD. My first film extensively using visual effects and the biggest project that I’ve ever put together. Go big or go home. That’s always been my motto for filmmaking.

In school my professors told me it was impossible to make a student action film and that I would fail. So I made an action film that was the most ambitious project out of my school at the time. With "Forced Alliance", I wanted to push myself into making film that not only captured the feel of the classic “Star Wars” films, but also went through all the proper protocols for making an actual film. From the insurance and releases to creating and sticking with a budget, to working with a composer, Forced Alliance represented a culmination of everything I had learned from school and on set.

Once the film was completed it got attention from the Internet and Lucasfilm. It even won a few awards, but more importantly it got me noticed. I haven’t landed a directing job out of it or even gotten a job yet, but now I have something to show people in addition to the scripts I write. I’m not saying you should go create a production company or be overly ambitious in your storytelling. I’m trying to drive the point that in order to make it in Hollywood, you have to be willing to make it on your own first. Pick up that pen or camera and just do it. Whatever you make, good or bad, you’ve made it. Be the director, writer, cinematographer or producer you want to be. Don’t wait for Hollywood to find you. Make yourself known.

--Randy Bookman