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I know you may be rolling your eyes, saying, “Duh, Ariel,” but like many of my other topics, this subject bears blogging. I know you may think that you can burn bridges; who cares if you do? You’ll find another job, right? Just because you have one enemy in this town doesn’t mean everyone else will be, too, you think to yourself…
Unfortunately, the way the everyone-knows-everyone chain works out here, chances are that the burned bridge can, indeed, hurt you down the line. Remember – fire spreads. And a fireman won’t always be around to rescue you. I know it’s sometimes tempting to throw a match onto the old wooden bridge and leave a job (or boss) in a fury. I did this once, early on in my writers’ assistant life, having no idea how many people in town that boss knew. It haunted me for months afterwards, as everyone I interviewed with wanted to call him for a reference… and what was I supposed to say, “Don’t”? Needless to say, I didn’t get any of the jobs that called him. Hence, I took him off my resume, which was too bad, as he was pretty high up there. And rather than feel bad and think about how I wasted those six months of my life with him, I learned from the experience, instead (for both your sake and mine, as it turns out). On another one of my writers’ assistant jobs, I had my quitting all planned out. It was one of those shows where you work eighty hours a week, the head writer barely acknowledges your presence (amazing, since I don’t know whom he thought was doing the typing on the monitor, the writing on the dry erase boards, etc.), his “talking” was “yelling,” and you feel worse about yourself at the end of the day, not better. So I was going to put my name as a new character, Ariel, in the script one day, with an “I quit” under her name… or write it on the dry erase board… or, better yet, on the monitor for all to see as I walked out of the room… the head writer didn’t even deserve my quitting formally, I thought to myself. But I waited it out. Shortly thereafter, the season came to an end (I still need to thank my therapist for those extra sessions during those final few months), at which point I quit eloquently. And for the first time all year, the head writer thanked me for a job well done, saying I was the best writers’ assistant he’d ever had and that I could work for him again anytime. Gee, thanks. Too little, too late, buddy… but nice to hear, I guess. Hollywood being Hollywood, a couple shows later, I found myself working with that asshole head writer again. I wanted to quit the moment I walked into the writers’ room. Only, this time, he was not the head honcho and was as nice as could be, always listening to my pitches, etc. (Perhaps he’d had a lobotomy between seasons?) That second show with him gave me a renewed appreciation for him. What am I saying? It gave me appreciation for him in the first place, that I’d never had before. Today, he is one of the first people to read my specs, etc. So you never know. Sometimes a writer’s personality is show-dependent, I think. What Burning Bridges is Not Burning bridges does not mean leaving a job before the season’s up to take another one… or defending yourself when you’re blamed for something you didn’t do. If people liked you once, they will like you again; I quit on the above boss; he rehired me another time, for another show. I quit on another boss during the sixth out of seven episodes (and he was the best boss ever; never even let me get him a cup of coffee), for I got a job offer on another show with a 22-episode order, and I’d be unemployed, anyway, in a few weeks, so… I did what I had to do. Always think of yourself first; they (the producers) do. Mr. Nice Guy (truly) could not even look at me after I quit, he was so disappointed… but a year later, he had another show picked up, and called me to be his WA. Yes, quitting is scary; it’s like dumping a boyfriend for a new one. You have consistency now, and may be leaving for inconsistency. But if you part on good terms, you and the first guy could always get back together. Trust me, I know. ;) So, remember, don’t burn bridges, because fire does spread. And know when to call it quits for a better opportunity. Oh, and you all should read my friend Avery’s blog on her life as a personal assistant. Go to www.filmindustrybloggers.com. Until next week… Ideas for blogs? Questions? Concerns? Feel free to email me at:
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