The Hollywood Assistants Handbook: 86 Rules for Aspiring Power Players

My friend bought this for me as a prank gift when I accepted my first Hollywood assistant job. It sat on my shelf for a few months because I didn't really feel the need to read it. As soon as I did, all I could do was thank my lucky stars that I don't work for some of the people described in the book! It is entertaining to ready the "True" stories and some of the advice, while I deem to be common sense, is well written. The book is laid out in a fun style and worth a read for anyone interested in learning more about the Hollywood support system.

This is a necessary read for anyone looking to become an assistant in Hollywood! There's a whole weird assistant "culture" and set of expectations far different from any other industry that you just can't find described anywhere on the internet. This book is like a bunch of experienced Hollywood assistants are gossiping to you, giving you the ins and outs of the industry that no one else will tell you. I would say that 90% of the information in this book is very helpful in terms of helping you both understand and cope with how insane the industry is. Reading this book helps you take the ups and downs (and sometimes absolutely crazy/awful stuff!) in stride. It's consoling, but also helps you smarten up and realize that this industry is the farthest thing from a cakewalk. About 10% of this book, however, is starting to feel a little out of date. It's still largely on point, but the film and television industry has changed a ton in the past decade since this book was published. So overall, 100% you should buy it if you're serious about learning about the culture/working environment most Hollywood assistants suffer through, but don't buy it if you're an assistant outside of Hollywood. A lot of the info won't apply to you.

I picked this up a couple of years ago and finally got around to reading it before passing it along to my aspiring director granddaughter. The best part of it is that it tells you the lingo and where to find things. The worst part is the career advice. It plays on the fantasy, especially of the kids who graduated from the big film schools (although it's correct in stating their expensive degrees won't count for much.) It advises young people to go to Hollywood right out of film school and take menial, non-film/TV related jobs in hopes of being discovered. It tells kids who finally get their film/TV assistant job to leave their conscience at the door and to put up with ruthless, abusive bosses. It advises dishonesty. As a working actor in Los Angeles my sense is that it's aimed at people who want to become studio/agency executives - Future Hollywood Power Players, as the authors put it. Don't go there.Here's better advice: it takes 10-12 years to become a success in ANY career. Spend most of that time outside of Los Angeles (or New York) working in film and television (Atlanta, Chicago, anywhere). Take internships. Work as a production assistant. Learn on the job and network. Get to know the production people. Compile a list of credits. If you find yourself working for someone who is abusive or asks you to be unethical and dishonest, leave. Such people eventually crash and burn and you don't want to be associated with their problem personality or to have gained a reputation for being untrustworthy. If, as the saying goes, 90 percent of success is just showing up, then show up on time, fully prepared, and don't be a jerk. That's the best advice ever.I spent 10 years in the mid-Atlantic area before coming to LA, but I arrived with a long list of acting credits, voiceover credits, producing/directing credits, radio commercial credits. Look for entry-level work at not only film/TV production companies but also ad agencies and communications firms that produce corporate videos. Learn a wide variety of film-related skills.Since coming to LA, the production and casting people I've met have been overwhelmingly nice people, but it's a business. Don't arrive with nothing to show but student work. And don't take books like this too seriously. I'm still going to pass this along to my granddaughter, but with lots of notes in the margins.

Absolutely hilarious. If you work in the biz, everyone will be jealous when you bring this book to the office. They will all want their hands on it. Taking the quizzes out loud in a group is the most fun you'll have. Unlike some books, it's not just a clever title/idea- it's perfectly executed. You'll be laughing out loud. You'll be learning too. A must if you're are an asst, want to be an asst, used to be an asst, or if you just feel sorry for your asst friends and want to feel so glad you're not one.It's 85% humor and 15% real sold advice. Seems like the 15% could be extremely helpful and the whole thing goes down like candy.

Overall, this book has a very negative vibe and spends more time telling you all the ways you can (and will) get fired than giving you ways to be better. The first half of the book has a lot of important and helpful knowledge in it, but about halfway through, the book goes downhill. It is one thing to give advice on how to work in the office, and how to interact with starts, your boss and other coworkers etc, however, when they start telling you that you can only eat at certain places, that you can only go out to certain bars, that you can only buy clothes from certain stores and that you can only drive nice cars, I think it becomes as superficial as the industry itself. I'd say it's worth the read, but don't listen to everything it says. There are ways to make it in this industry without being as superficial as this book wants you to be. I'd say about 70% of the book is good stuff, but some of my friends who read this book made them believe they weren't good enough to be an assistant. At times the negative tone can make you feel that way, but if you are a hard worker you will succeed regardless of what this book makes you believe.