John Frankenheimer relaxing between camera setups on the set of the Turner Film Production “Andersonville.” | Source
Frankenheimer Came to Northern California
A friend of mine, Kevin, got a job working with one of the industry’s most talented directors: the late John Frankenheimer (Birdman of Alcatraz, The Manchurian Candidate, Grand Prix, Wallace, and Ronin).
Frankenheimer came to Northern California to do location work for one of his last films, HBO’s Path to War, starring one of the Baldwin boys – Alec. I highly recommend this movie.
Donald Sutherland also stars in the cable movie. According to IMDb, the Path of War is based on a true story set in the mid-1960s: President Johnson and his foreign policy team debate whether to withdraw from or escalate the war in Vietnam.
Gary Sinise Tribute to Frankenheimer
Frankenheimer passed away in 2002 after a stroke. Gary Sinise, who worked with him on three movies, wrote a tribute to Frankenheimer for Entertainment Weekly. Here is an excerpt of that tribute. “He was drawn to dramatic material and found a lot of drama in biographical subjects. His television movies in the ’90s were based on real events or real people, like…the biopic George Wallace,” which was the first of three projects I did with him. The television movies would bring him four Emmys for his direction.”
The movie industry expects people to introduce themselves, network or show their work.
“He had an enormous amount of energy, and at 72 was reemerging as one of the great filmmakers of all time, somebody whose work was as powerful later in his career as it was in the beginning,” praised Sinise.
Catch the movie on Amazon or Netflix.
Getting Noticed in Hollywood
Please consider how my friend networked with someone who can help his career. You are about to learn something about networking in the film business. My friend, Kevin, was inventive enough to network and pitch a local independent film, Ashes, to Kristi, who, in turn, would give it to her dad to view. Kevin was thinking on his feet and taking advantage of a business relationship he had formed while on a film set.
Some may think it was a bit of a bold move, and you would never approach a celebrity like that and be so forward. Why not? The worst that can happen is that the personality would say “no.” Or, you would get kicked off the set, but I doubt that would happen unless you were rude and obnoxious. People in the movie industry expect and accept others approaching them, networking, or showing their work.
The best thing that could happen is that Frankenheimer likes Kevin’s movie and helps him with its distribution, or finds an agent to help distribute the film. It’s not bad that he approached the daughter of a well-known director and producer.
However, nothing came of his contact with Kristi when he gave her a DVD of his movie.
Kevin made his move, and he felt good about his efforts. Later, when he pitches it to another distributor, he can mention that Frankenheimer’s daughter is interested in the movie. It’s called “name-dropping.” It also tells the distribution representative that Kevin hustles and works to get his film known to others in the industry.
Directed by Frankenheimer
“The movie Path to War was filmed at the California State Capitol on Monday. Long Day–7:30 AM until 11:45 PM! “It was an exciting day as I had the chance to work and speak with the director John Frankenheimer and his daughter, Kristi,” explains Kevin. “I was very impressed with Frankenheimer – he demands a lot from his crew, and he definitely doesn’t tolerate wasted time …but when you’re responsible for a 17 million dollar budget project, the pressure is certainly on you to get the job done.”
Frankenheimer stopped the filming long enough to personally thank all of the Sacramento cast and compliment them on their work, “which I found very refreshing, especially from someone of his stature,” adds Kevin.
Working with such a prestigious director was an honor. | Source
Follow up Contact Number
“I had the opportunity to speak with his daughter, Kristi, for a few minutes between set-ups, and Kristi accepted a copy of the local independent film Ashes that she promised to give to her father. She also provided me with the production office number in LA, so I could stay in touch and follow up on his impressions of the film.”
Another smart move by Kevin was to have a follow-up number for Kristi to use later after her dad viewed his movie.
A successful film career starts with you knowing as much as you can about the film business, which begins with reading the trade publications.
Source: Variety
Variety and Hollywood Reporter
Industry Trade Papers — You’ve Got To Read Them
No matter what part of the film business you are interested in as a career, you will most likely start as a production assistant. That is not a bad start because you can work your way up with a solid film business plan.
In all, and no matter what, you must read the trade papers. If you don’t, you are at a significant professional disadvantage because the trades tell you what is going on in the industry. As a production assistant, you need to know what is happening now and what is ahead.
With the trades, you find out what the studios, producers, directors, production designers, art designers, and more are doing. This information is invaluable. You also need to know where the movies are in production.
If you don’t know what is happening in the industry, you will not succeed in the film business.
So, face up to the fact that you should subscribe to both of the trades, Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.
Keep reading the trades and learning the business, and you will learn more about the industry.
If you can’t afford both and they are expensive, subscribe to at least one of them, because they’re lifelines for the business—the who, what, and where of the film industry are at your fingertips.
Advantages of Reading the Trades
As in every industry, there are advantages to reading trade papers. First, as noted above, they help you stay up to date on what’s happening in the industry. Second, by reading them, you’ll be able to identify the industry’s prominent people, the ones who are making the decisions. Third, they provide you with the latest news in your chosen industry. Fourth, because everyone reads them, information published in the trades is frequently referred to, and when people talk, you want to know what they are talking about
Finally, although the best jobs usually don’t show up in the “Help Wanted” sections of the trades, those sections, along with production listings, will provide you with a starting point for seeing what kinds of film business jobs are available.
While it’s unnecessary to read the trades from cover to cover, you should certainly read the main articles and the popular columns and scan everything else. You never know when something you read in the trades will turn out to help build your career, and you never want to pass up an opportunity like that.
How the Trades Help Your Career
Let’s take a look at what it means to be a production assistant who reads the trades.
When a producer comes on the set, they don’t always wear a suit, and you don’t recognize them sometimes. Reading the trades helps you identify influential people in the industry, which benefits you.
One time, a producer came on the set, and he looked like a regular Joe. Because I knew of him, Barry Levinson, I was on top of it and made sure the director and other crew members knew he was on the set. It helped improve the situation, and the crew appreciated my due diligence.
Another example is that a friend worked on the same production that I did, directed by Joe Dante. My friend read the trades and was very familiar with Dante’s work, which made the gig fun because Dante talked to him about his comic book career. He even autographed some of his comic books.
It would help if you acted like a professional before you were a professional. When directors and producers recognize your quality, you gain a positive impression. They make a mental note and are likely to hire you again. Avoid being overly flattering or fawning toward the director or producer; work hard and do your job well.
The most relevant career advice I can give you is to study the trades. Trades help you learn the business of making a career in the film industry.
Film Trades on the Internet
Another cool thing about using the trades is looking for production notices that are hiring. The trade publications are now available online, allowing you to subscribe to Variety, Hollywood Reporter, or both. Please get to know them as an invaluable online source for future work.
Once you are familiar with each trade’s website, you are more likely to get a job in production because you have more knowledge, and knowledge is power. You need to be persistent and never give up looking. Work is out there, and the trades will help you find it.
Production Assistant’s Handbook
There is a book called the Production Assistant’s Handbook, and I recommend it not only for wannabes but also for PAs who have worked on a couple of sets. I work in the business, read it, and learned about talking on two-way radios. I discovered significant insights into working on a film set.
Director and award-winning screenwriter Kari Skogland talked with me about film careers.
Against Guns
Women Directing Film
“Television is a great place to learn the ropes because it is a very schedule-driven, fast, and furious environment; yet, you are expected to be creative,” defines Kari Skogland on how she learned her trade. Her energy resonates as we talk about her pro-gun control movie Liberty Stands Still, her career, and women in film.
“Now, there is some spectacular television. It is a creative medium. Unfortunately for women, it’s a very misogynistic world here in the States.” As a successful writer and director of both television and film, Skogland doesn’t acknowledge the male-driven obstacles women face in the industry. “If you do, you are defeated.”
Originally from Canada, where the industry expects professionals to work in multimedia, Skogland feels fortunate to have started there. “While I was in Canada, I was able to bounce back and forth between TV and feature. Here in the States, I’m more feature-oriented. I do an occasional pilot. I love to do that.”
Kari Skogland
Gun Control Message
Liberty Stands Still, released in 2002, is Skogland’s first film that she wrote and directed. The movie was a budgetary challenge, and she created a unique way to tell a story about gun control and violence, starring Linda Fiorentino, Wesley Snipes, and Oliver Platt.
The idea for the movie came from the Columbine shooting. “I felt that we, as a society, had not really discussed or debated the ‘how’ or ‘why’ of it. I think we’re at a point in our society where we need to debate the role of guns,” explains Skogland.
Sniper Shootings
Skogland commented on guns in general. “Why do we need them as a cultural statement? Aren’t we simply arming ourselves against each other? The second amendment arguments are spoon-fed by the multi-million dollar industries that skew the spirit and intent of it.”
She spoke of another incident, the sniper shootings in Washington (October 2002). “I thought the Washington sniper and pervasive feeling of movies like Bowling for Columbine and mine were starting to bubble and percolate the issue.”
She feels the need for discussion has died off, but comes back. “People seem to squash this issue or seem to be unable to cope with it.”
Financing the Movie
Financing for the controversial film came from the cast, who wanted to make the movie. Skogland feels fortunate she worked with such a stellar cast. Linda Fiorentino, Wesley Snipes, and Oliver Platt made it clear that they helped financially. “To Lionsgate’s credit, they did not try and temper the issue of gun control at all. I had no idea that John Feltheimer, who runs Lionsgate (at the time of the interview), is a very much a gun control advocate. It was just one of those happy coincidences of fate.”
Working with Wesley Snipes
She cast Snipes in the lead role, knowing it was against type. “Wesley is a very fine actor who comes from Broadway. I knew he would be attracted to the role because of the challenges. I like the idea of him traditionally being in the action role. I wanted to surprise the audience a little with him and where we were going with the character. I hoodwink the audience into thinking it looks a little like an action movie and starts to turn where violence is very real and very graphic.”
Guns in Movies
Skogland’s driving point in the movie is, “if you are going to show what guns can do, then you better back it up and be ready to show it. I wanted the audience to be stunned. Each time someone got shot, I wanted the audience to realize that ‘Shit man.'”
She thought it out carefully with herself on showing that guns kill. “When someone shoots a person in Compton — just takes him or her out, that’s it. It’s cold, and it’s not even calculated. It’s horrific. I felt that for me to soften it would be a disservice.”
She wrote the character in a risky situation, so the audience feels torn about Snipe’s character committing an immoral act. “Yet we somewhat understand his position. On the other hand, we hate him for it, and on the other hand, we understand it. I really wanted the audience to be as conflicted as these characters were,” added Skogland.
Flaw in the Characters
The casting of Linda Fiorentino brought credibility to the story. According to Skogland, “Someone who you didn’t know if she was going to love you or kill you and to have the power that made you believe she was saying who she was.”
Skogland wanted a fatal flaw with all the characters, “Where they had made some choices that may have seemed very legitimate at the time, but were ethically unsound in varying forms.”
She offers an example of when Wesley’s character arrives at the moment with the death of his daughter. “His world is shattered, and he is forced to reckon with what his life looks like. He decides to take action. It’s a misguided action; there’s no question about that.”
The misguided action is a two-edged sword where we feel his pain, though we disagree with him. At the same time, we think the same about Linda’s character. Skogland adds, “She is numb to what she is really doing, as we all can be in life, because it is more convenient that way. We discover how she has become this person, and Wesley’s character has to change her mind.”
Arch Villain
Oliver Platt plays Liberty’s (Fiorentino) husband, a gun manufacturer. Skogland didn’t want him to be an arch-villain, but more like an everyman. “You liked him. You felt for him even though you realized this man is not thinking about what he is doing on a global scale. He is not taking responsibility for his community.”
Oliver’s character sees himself as a widget salesman, and he is successful at it, which hits the heartstrings of the overall story.
“Statue of Liberty”
Even though Liberty is at odds with only men, Skogland didn’t plan it that way. “It just happened. Now that you brought it up. There is a sense of her name, Liberty, the nature of her. She is definitely a metaphor for the Statue of Liberty — what we have come to understand as liberty and freedom. “
Skogland analogizes the woman who founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to Liberty’s situation. “One woman stood up and said people are getting killed. Cut to twenty years later, and we now have a complete social and ethical position on drinking and driving.”
She believes the same thing will happen in the movement about guns. “I think women are going to have a strong voice with that kind of sentiment because, traditionally, little boys play with guns. For whatever reason, there is an aggressive factor in boys and girls are nurturers.”
No Hero or Heroine
Liberty Stands Still has no true hero, which breaks the traditional way of making a movie and telling a story. “I wanted to break some of the traditional screenwriting rules in this case and make the story more of a collective story because this is really a morality play. A collective story about how people spiral downward together. There wasn’t a true hero because all the characters were at odds with themselves,” explains Skogland.
The movie ends on an open note. The viewer is allowed to make a moral choice. “That is the metaphor for each one of us. When we walk away, we have a choice. Every one of us has a choice. It only takes one person to start an avalanche of change. Are we going to do something, or are we going to keep hiding behind the Second Amendment as if it says what the gun manufacturers claim it says?” questions Skogland.
Directing a movie from her material for the first time and seeing her name as writer and director for the first time was heartening. “I was able to play the two roles without getting them tangled up with each other.”
As a director, rewriting or tweaking a script is nothing new to her: “I had obviously directed all my own material, unsung. Where my name is not on the writing credits, but obviously, I had rewritten a script or dealt with a scene.”
“Fifty Dead Men Walking”
True Story
Taking another stab at violence, she wrote and directed Fifty Dead Men Walking in 2008, based on the book of the same title by Martin McGartland, who grew up in Belfast and witnessed I.R.A. brutality.
The story is about a 17-year-old young man (McGartland) hired by the Secret Service to infiltrate the I.R.A.
The movie stars Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess. McGartland, played by Sturgess, joins the I.R.A. and gives information to British Special Agent Fergus, played by Kingsley.
The movie won several awards, including the Directors Guild of Canada Direction of Feature Film nod to Skogland.
Fifty Dead Men Walking
Writing Versus Directing
Writing and directing is a powerful experience, says Skogland, “I didn’t find myself so invested in the words that I felt defensive if they needed to be changed. By the same token, playing the writer versus the director, whereas a writer, you know, a scene isn’t going to work unless I do this because the director needs to do that.”
Describing how she writes, “I actually write, when I’m sitting in my room alone, I am definitely in my head, both blocking and casting as I write.”
She admits she directed a lot of mediocre writing. She can see in her head what will work and what will not work. “I know that by virtue of experience, this is something that is going to work, or it just is not going to work. I have to change the writing and change the situation to make it more interesting. As a writer, it has helped very much to spend as much time as I have to be a director.”
Being a woman in the movie business is something that Skogland doesn’t acknowledge. “If it is hard, you can’t acknowledge it. As a female, you hit a glass ceiling. You haven’t a clue you’ve hit it because it’s all behind closed doors. I have certainly felt it. But I have never acknowledged it. I am not about to. I feel like the second. I admit that it is happening. I am facing defeat.”
Women Versus Men
She feels she might sound a little bit Pollyannaish. She offers some sound advice for anyone who wants to make it in the business. “I come from a place where it’s really like saying: I could be too short. I could not know the right people. I could be too fat. I could not have blue eyes. It is always something, and you might as well ignore it all and keep motoring forward. Not letting it get in your way.”
She feels women are starting to make their mark. “The trick is that you really have to know your stuff. For all the women out there, you can’t let an inch slide. You have to be really on top of the business side. We all have to multitask in this particular arena. Fortunately, women are good at it. There should be no reason why we can’t be right up there.”
At the time of this interview, Skogland had a five-year-old. “So, believe me, I know the whole multitasking thing. I write for an hour, and then I have to cope with my daughter for another.”
The filmmaker must hire a competent line producer dedicated to keeping the production within budget.
A line producer leader knows how to coordinate easily with the crew and cast. And keeps the production on a budget. Source: Fox
As the project moves into production, it will take on a life of its own. You must safeguard your creative vision while avoiding getting lost in budget misfortunes. That is where the line producer comes in and manages the overall production flow.
Manages the Physical Aspects of Production
As a filmmaker, you must hire a line producer or take on this role for blood at the beginning of the film’s planning stage. A line producer is an essential member of the production team for the success of the overall production. In general, a line producer manages the film’s budget. Hire the line producer to manage the physical aspects of the film production, as they know the budget and what’s possible. Though rare, Line producers can offer creative feedback on the film and receive co-producer credit.
Since line producers work on location, they work on only one film at a time, unlike other producers. A line producer usually hires essential crew members and collaborates with vendors. They function as head of production, though Line producers are not directly involved in the project’s development. They can play an important role in estimating output and in building investor confidence in the project.
Keeping the production moving forward indicates that you have a reliable line producer.Source: Lê Minh
As soon as all the funds are in place, the line producer supervises the film’s budget planning and the day-to-day preparation and management. Line Producers are not employees but freelance contract workers. The job requires long hours, and the filmmaker must compensate for the hard work. Successful line producers are in high demand because of their experience and reputation. Hiring a competent line producer guarantees successful production.
The line producer handles all the business aspects of the film’s production. The film industry calls them line producers because they cannot start work on the budget until they know what the “line” is between the “above-the-line” expenses, including writers, producers, directors and cast, and the “below-the-line” expenses. It includes everything else, such as development costs, crew salaries, set design, equipment rentals, locations, insurance, construction and so forth.
Line Producer Has Excellent Communication Skills
A filmmaker needs to bring on the line producer as soon as possible, ideally joining the production team at some point in the later stages of development. Based on the script, the filmmaker asks the line producer to appraise the expected production expenses fully. This process includes an extensive breakdown of the screenplay into a solid schedule. The schedule is a timetable for the film shoot showing how long each scene will take to shoot. Starting with the schedule, the line producer can accurately assess the cost of each day of shooting. In the example, a line producer might calculate a 10-hour day for a one-week location shoot as a six-day week and then calculate the same shoot as a 12-hour shoot day. Just taking two hours off each day can save a sizable sum. From there, he prepares and summarizes a budget that estimates the total funding required for a successful production. Based on the line producer’s hard figures, the filmmaker, producer, and executive producers have a set amount of funds to raise to begin pre-production.
Line producers are invaluable because their hard work during pre-production saves the filmmaker time and money. They work diligently for the filmmaker, coordinating with the director, first assistant director, production manager, art director and other heads of department to plan the production schedule and budget and to set the starting shoot date.
Once the film goes into production, the line producer delivers the final budget to the production accountant and transfers day-to-day production office operations to the production manager and production coordinator. Then again, the line producer is still responsible for overseeing all aspects of the production. That way, they ensure they complete the production on time and within budget. The line producer operates a failsafe financial monitoring system to pull this off. The system regulates production spending, materials, and progress. The line producer usually sets aside a 10% contingency in the budget to cover unexpected situations. While at the same time, they spend much of their time coping with figures and resources. They even oversee specific health and safety procedures and sort out and expedite insurance claims. At the end of the last shot, the line producer plans the “wrap,” or the shutdown, of the production.
Indie Producer’s Handbook: Creative Producing from A to Z
The “Indie Producer’s Handbook: Creative Producing from A to Z,” written by a film producer, Myrl A. Schreibman, describes the line producer as the person who assists the team. I use this book during all my film productions. It’s my bible.
Another reason line producers are so invaluable is that they possess an in-depth knowledge of scheduling and budgeting a production. They will manage the whole physical and technical processes of filmmaking. Successful people know everybody in the industry and command respect from the production crew. They are people with incomparable communication skills, such as sound judgment in balancing the creative needs of the director, creative personnel and artists with the available financial means. They are ready for anything, plan for the worst, and offer inspiration for others to do exceptionally well in their work. Like producers, line producers are not liable for complying with health and safety regulations or for setting up health and safety measures. Still, they are required to perform risk assessments in accordance with regulatory requirements. For that reason, they must know how to identify hazards in the production environment, determine the risk level, recommend actions, and review their assessment. Line Producers must also be certified through health and safety courses.
Line producer is responsible for above-the-line and below-the-line costs. Source: David Peterson
Successful line producers have considerable experience in the film industry. Nothing can prepare someone for such a demanding job but working for many years in the profession and gaining the tried and true expertise. When hiring a line producer, a filmmaker needs to understand that the individual advanced to the position by working hard for many years through various jobs, from production assistant to location manager to assistant director. Many start their careers as office workers or errand runners.
Write thrillers, mysteries, and other related crime dramas and avoid writing cliches by following these rules.
Joe Friday: “Just the facts, Ma’am”
Dragnet
Don’t use “Let’s take him downtown for questioning.” Roth writes that real cops never say that.
What is Attempted Murder?
The Crime Writer’s Reference Guide, 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder by the late Martin Roth, is not a book that you read for pleasure on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
When writing a story that requires an accurate portrayal of a crime, you reach for it and use it to describe blood. You’ll need to read it, though, so you know why you write with accuracy and detail a fictional crime story.
Of course, you don’t want to be as dry as a crime report, but you want to write real-life drama.
When you are writing a story that needs an accurate portrait of anything that deals with a crime, you reach for this book and use it for blood.
How to Become a Serial Killer
Take a story about a serial killer. You need to create a profile and look up serial murder in the book’s glossary. Turn to the designated pages and discover that there is not just one type of serial killer, but four. You read the passage in the book, “studies reveal that most serial killers are white males between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five and are usually products of working- or lower-middle-class families.”
Your profile takes shape, and you read on, “Many serial killers are charming, selfish, impulsive, and ambitious. Many come from broken homes or homes where they were abused. Few serial killers express any feelings of guilt or remorse for their crimes.” A brilliant start for a classic character study. Now that I think about it, most of the crime stories I have read or seen in movies fit this profile.
Turn to the designated pages and discover that there is not just one type of serial killer but four.
Writing Crime Dialogue
I enjoyed the chapter on language. It is an essential tool for any crime writer, with terms such as “throwaway,” which refers to guns or clothes the mugger wears and discards to avoid pursuit.
How about “pigeon,” which means victim. This chapter supplies enough dialogue ideas to keep you writing dialogue for twelve CSI spin-offs. Wait, CSI spin-offs are close to twelve and counting.
All kidding aside, you need this book dog-eared and well-used if you write about crime.
How to Write a List of Character Traits
Reading the book filled my head with straightforward ideas for stories and ample characters. What also fascinated me was the character description of cops, including what their lives are like and what they are not like, which sparked a range of ideas. My fingers were itching to click the keys on my keyboard and start writing.
Roth’s book gives you all the information you need to create a crime. You can start with the criminal act, the crime scene investigation, the prosecution of the criminal, and conclude with a life sentence in prison. He offers numerous examples of television shows that accurately portray crime stories.
As an exercise, you can watch a few crime shows and see if the production company followed Roth’s standards.
Listen to the Police Dialogue
Mark Wahlberg stars in Mile 22, a drama about a secret special forces unit within the government. I recommend you listen to the dialogue in this movie. You will hear crime jargon, such as “motive” and “driven.”
Director Peter Berg shoots scenes with a handheld camera that follows agents, police, and special forces as they meet and collaborate to solve the crime.
Although it is a dramatization, you get the idea of what it’s like within a collaborative meeting between police forces.
Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade
Humphrey Bogart
“He said: “I’m going to send you over. The chances are you’ll get off with life. That means you’ll be out again in twenty years. You’re an angel. I’ll wait for you.” He cleared his throat. “If they hang you, I’ll always remember you.”— Dashiell Hammett, “The Maltese Falcon”
Finally, if the chapter you are reading isn’t enough to fill your creative imagination, which is hard to believe, there is a section called “Where do you go from here.” This chapter includes a list of other books on the same subject. You can head to the library and create a new pastime of reading how-to-write crime stories instruction books. “The Crime Writer’s Reference Guide, 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder” is the reference book for any writer about to write a story centered on crime. Even if you have it written, you can use this book to cross-check your accuracy. “Just the facts, Ma’am.”
Do you want to work in film but don’t know where to begin? Here is a way to get your first job in the film industry.
Creating a business plan gets you where you want to go in the film business.
Instant Internship
You may have heard about the old ironies and difficulties of breaking into the film business.
No film experience? You can’t get an interview.
No Interview? You can’t get the job.
No Job? You can’t get the experience.
You need experience to achieve the experience. Trying to break into the film business can go on and on—around and around. Despite all, people do break into the film business, and you can, too.
It takes a simple film business plan.
Film Business Plan
Film production companies look for people willing to work for free because they are new to the business and need experience. They’re called internships and are often part of a formal course of study at a four-year college.
The colleges and universities that offer such internship programs are UCLA, USC, San Francisco State University, the University of Texas, and New York University. If you are interested in pursuing this career path, contact the college’s admissions office for more information. Or, you can Google “film internships NYC” if you want to work in NYC.
Some in the business consider pursuing film production internships a noble move because it suggests you’re committed to the industry. You are intensely committed enough to work for free.
Though the fact is that many film industry jobs require training and a certain number of years of work experience. That is where the film production internships apply. Most professional jobs in the industry do not require a college degree. They need you to be an intern for a time to gain the technical, creative, and managerial skills necessary to function effectively in your chosen film career.
If you are considering an internship in the industry, it would be advisable to prepare for your specific area or areas of interest. If, for example, you’re thinking about interning as an editor, it would be a good idea to take a few editing classes at a film school. Such experience will make you more attractive as a candidate and more valuable once you’ve begun your internship training.
Film Business Jobs
Make sure you have business cards.
Sometimes people get lucky in the film business and fall into jobs, but it doesn’t happen very often. As a rule, if you want it, it will happen, and you will have to make it happen.
One way to make it happen is to arrange an internship with a production company connected to a film school. You can also approach other film organizations, like marketing, law, digital media, or social media. A film production internship is an unpaid position that helps you build your resume, gain experience, and develop industry contacts.
However, internships can be hard to find and nearly impossible to secure due to intense competition in the field.
Offer the production an internship for yourself. This technique works because film production companies are amenable to accepting free help during peak “rush” periods. Some gained employment and kick-started their careers by approaching a production company and asking for work.
Remember:
During such “unofficial” internships, the contacts you develop are invaluable to building your career.
Before you start approaching people in the film business for work, you have to have film business cards with reliable and up-to-date contact information.
Network while learning about working on a film set.
Contacts Lead to Contacts
There are several ways to arrange an internship. Sometimes, people approach film crews while in production and offer to help. While the offer gets refused, it doesn’t hurt to ask. If you’re persistent, the chances are they’ll eventually give in and let you do some work on the shoot. It may not be the kind of work you had in mind, but once you get on a set with a production company, you have the opportunity to meet people who can help you get a “real” job in the film business. And then, pass out your business cards.
Whatever tactic you choose, or try to use, to get your first job in the film business, make sure you keep at it with the right attitude. Odds are you will eventually run into someone who will take you up on your offer.
Once you get an internship, get to know as many people on the production team as you can.
Remember:
Contacts lead to contacts and, eventually, the job you want in the business.
In the film business, it’s all about networking, and the more people you get to know, the more likely you’ll find work in your chosen field.
People make it in the business because they asked, searched, persisted, and finally landed a job on the set.
Where Crews are Hired
In addition to full-time and freelance jobs, there’s a third way you can work in the film industry—for free. It doesn’t sound like a good idea and certainly not something you want—or be able—to do for too long, but it is a way to get a foot in the door.
In fact, there are film productions where crews are “hired” for no pay at all. In such instances, the producer may offer the crew shares in the film or some other form of deferred payment—the chance to make money if and when the movie itself turns a profit. If nothing else, the opportunity to share in the film’s profits serves as a considerable motivation for the crew to do its best and help maximize the film’s chances for success.
Although the arrangement appears exploitative, it benefits both the producer and the crew. How else can a filmmaker with little or no production budget get a team? How else can inexperienced crew members get experience? Ultimately—whether the film is a success or not—both sides get what they want: the filmmaker gets his movie made, and the new crew members gain valuable experience they can add to their resumes.
Working on the Film Set
Making a film career requires patience and perseverance. The production manager says, “No,” don’t take it personally. Keep working at it until you find a crack in the door, and you get your big break.
Here’s a list of funky, silly, and creative hairstyle ideas for wacky or crazy hair days at school, in plays, in movies, and on holidays.
You and your kids can have fun being as creative as possible.
Wacky Hair Ideas
Getting creative with crazy hair days or designing wacky hairstyles for film or theater is so much fun. It is the best part of being a kid at heart. I found many great ideas for girls and boys, but I will only share my favorites with you.
I found it interesting that most of the boys’ wacky hair ideas aren’t very inventive. The girls are much more creative in designing wacky hairstyles.
Pipe cleaner hairdo
1. Pipe Cleaner Hairdo
Blue Skies Ahead shows some wacky hair photos. It’s not a pipe dream because the hairdo is so wacky and manageable to create, yet it fits any crazy hair day. Moms only need to take a trip to the craft store and buy lots of multicolored pipe cleaners.
With that, you put the hair up in a cute, tight bun. Take a bunch of pipe cleaners and twist each one around your fingers until they’re all curly. Then, stick the pipe cleaners around the bun with the elastic band. If you have a lot of really long hair, make several tiny buns, and do the same thing with the pipe cleaners. The cleanup will be a breeze, and more likely, your daughter or son will want to do the same wacky hairdo for the next event.
Each pipe cleaner hairdo is different because the pipe cleaners never bend or attach to the hair the same way.
Spider web hairstyle
2. Spider Web Hairstyle
It’s a bit scary for some girls. If you tell them they look cute, it might work for Halloween night. Or you might have to wait until they are a bit older to appreciate the fun of wearing such a wacky, scary hairstyle.
The expert says it is easy to do. The giant spider web hairdo looks like a classic. You can find the designer through the link in the image.
A&W soda
3. A&W Soda
I loved A&W root beer when I was this girl’s age. I am impressed with this crazy hair day winner. The wacky style looks easy to do. The originator does not explain how to do it. By looking at the photo, I guess you place a hole in the side of an empty soda bottle and string the ponytail through it, so it seems like the hair is flowing into the plastic cup. You clip the plastic container onto the hair with a hair clip.
Our Daily Ideas brought this design to my attention, and I am happy to share it with you.
Doggy hair
4. Doggy Hair
Kelly found this doggy hairstyle for me. The only problem with having the wacky dog facing you is that you will miss each person’s first impression of the hairstyle. Don’t be surprised if a couple of hound dogs end up following you.
I couldn’t find the hairdo’s originator, so I guessed the designer made a super-tight bun and twisted a smaller bun for the nose. She cut a piece of red fabric in the shape of a dog’s tongue. Using a black Sharpie, she drew a black line down the center of the cloth. The eyes and dog ears you can get at any craft store. The eyes can be hot-glued to hair clips and attached to the hair.
Birds and butterflies
5. Birds and Butterflies
Melanie shared this with me, and I think it is so wacky. It is the wackiest of hairdos ever. I am sure it took four hours to create this crazy hairstyle. I tried to find the tutorial, but there isn’t one. I am sure she used wires to keep her hair bent like that, which is fantastic. Only girls with long hair can do this wacky style.
Adding birds’ nests and then butterflies throughout the hair reminds me of French 18th-century hairstyles, but crazier and less symmetrical.
6. Christmas Tree Hairstyle
I love the idea of making a Christmas tree hairdo. It’s a lot of work, but worth it. With the latest easy-on hair dyes, dying your hair green shouldn’t be difficult.
Doughnut hair
7. Doughnut Hair
The doughnut hair fits wacky hair ideas for long hair. Get ready for wacky hair day pictures with this hairstyle. All the hair is up and off the shoulders, which looks comfy. The crazy hairdo comes from Make It & Love It. You start with a ponytail that is super tight from the top center of the head. It would be best if you pulled it as high as possible. Don’t hold back on the gel or hairspray. The hair needs to be slick on all sides.
Find a small colored paper plate and cut a medium-sized hole in the center so the ponytail fits through the hole.
Create a plain bun by using a mesh bun or twist, and then wrap the ponytail into a bun, which is the doughnut.
Create the frosting by cutting a piece of colored fleece, felt, or any leftover fabric. Make sure it fits on the doughnut. Using a hot glue gun, squeeze squiggles onto the material, and immediately press colorful sprinkles into the hot glue before it cools.
You need to attach the frosting to the bun, so take some leftover fabric and cut it into three strips. Using hot glue, take each strip’s ends and glue them onto the non-sprinkled side of the frosting. You should have three loops so that a single bobby pin can slide through and firmly attach the frosting piece to the bun.
Dragon hairstyle
8. Dragon Hairstyle
The hair color with the jewels for the dragon hairstyle at Lou Lou Girls is wacky and adorable at the same time. The creative ladies at LouLou Girls call it perfect for crazy hair day, and I agree. It takes some planning to get this hairstyle done on time.
You will need two hair colors, craft jewels, hairpins, and hot glue. They suggest using hairpins to keep the jewels in the hair. The day before doing the dragon hairstyle, you need to attach the gems to the pins with glue.
In the end, they added bright, colorful hair extensions. I like the idea of wearing this hairstyle to How to Train Your Dragon movies or parties.
4 Colors Temporary Hair Color for Kids, Gifts for Teens, Girls, Boys, Gifts for Kids, Temporary Hair Dye, Hair Color Spray Green Red Blue Purple Hair Dye Hair Wax Color, Instant Color Wax Halloween Party
Four hair coloring waxes prepare me for Crazy Hair days at school. We even use them for Halloween. Easy to color and easy to clean. I can create the hair color my kids want anytime, anywhere—fast. Safe for kids to DIY.
A hairstyle that the boys can do for crazy hair day or wacky hair day.
9. Surfer Dude
Spiky hair is for boys who like to be surfer guys. The hairstyle creates the highest wave, provided his hair is the color of the ocean. You take blue hairspray and shape the wave curl.
Add a little white hairspray to the tips to create a massive wave. The surfer action figure stays on when you apply it to the hair while it is still wet from the spray.
Boys and girls take on the bugs
10. Bugs in the Grass
Green hair spray with short hair creates grass bugs like ants, centipedes, spiders, and caterpillars. Grab plastic bugs at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or the Dollar Store.
Using hot glue, attach them to hairpins. This wacky hairstyle will turn heads on the school day.
The black bugs on the boy’s forehead attach with glue for eyelashes or anything easy on the skin. For longer hair, you can use the same hairspray or gel.
If it’s for a girl, consider using butterflies, flowers, and caterpillars.
Anyone can pull off this crazy hairday style, but you need long hair.
11. Cherries
Dinah from DIY Inspired shared the hair-cherry look. The items you need to make the crazy hairstyle are red hair spray, two hair ties, some bobby pins, a green pipe cleaner, a piece of green construction paper, clear tape, and a black marker.
Take the hair and create two high buns, then secure them with bobby pins on opposite sides of the head. Spray each bun red to make it look like a cherry. Cut a piece of green construction paper into a leaf shape. Draw the leaf veins on the leaf-shaped paper. Bend the green pipe cleaner, fold it into red buns to look like cherry stems, and pin them to the cherries with bobby pins. Tape the leaf to the top of the stem. Make any necessary adjustments to ensure the wacky hairstyle stays in place.
Monster do
12. Monster Do
Even though a boy has the monster hairstyle, girls can do one! Courtney Constable at DIYs.com shared a simple but great way to style your kid’s hair. You need hair wax or gel, green hair coloring, two large googly eyes, and face paint.
Spike the hair up and do so until it’s stiff. Blend in green hair paint while spiking the hair.
Peel off the sticky backing of the googly eyes and place them like eyes in the hair above the face. Using face paint, draw a monster mouth on the forehead with two menacing arms and hands coming from the hair.
Easy Wacky Hair Ideas
If you are like me, you wait until the last moment and see what you have available the night before wacky hair day at school. If you are a planner, then some of these ideas are perfect for you. I have shared some crazy, wacky hair ideas that are pretty easy as long as you have all the materials.
After reading this article, you’ll become more aware of product placement in films and TV shows. You’ll also learn how to use product placement to help fund your next film.
“Stranger Things” scene with KFC. It’s finger-lickin’ good. Source: JokerMan
Examples of Product Placement in Movies
Product placement is an excellent resource to fund your movie and offset the negative costs of the production. Some say product placement can cover or replace 50-60% of a film’s budget. It’s a big business and a smart way to cover certain production costs. Yet, there are logistics to deal with and corporations and representatives that need to convince you that your film is worthy of its product placement.
Product placement involves props, vehicles, set dressing, and wardrobe donated or loaned to production for on-air use. For example, it could be as simple as a shot of a familiar airline logo. Even when an airline jet takes off, or a billboard or banner promotes a brand-name product, the effect can be pretty noticeable. You might have spotted a box of Cheerios at a breakfast scene—When Harry Met Sally, where Sally microwaves Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Stranger Things nabbed $27 million in product placements, from KFC to Cola to Eggo Waffles to Gap.
Product Placement in Film: A Huge Business
The process seems easy for a brand to pay for, loan to, or even donate to a film production. That is not the case. It is a huge business. What the manufacturers decide to pay, loan, or donate for valuable exposure is determined when they or their representatives evaluate the script, cast, and director of the project. It takes just as much, if not more, work as procuring funding for a film. Still, it gets done and is worth the effort and time. A filmmaker can cover transportation or meal costs by agreeing to product placement.
The late Paul Newman is ready to race in one of the many Budweiser cars he raced. Source: Lola
Paul Newman and Tom Cruise
Anyone can think of the last film they saw and notice the product placement in that movie. The late Paul Newman was known for drinking Budweiser beer in his films. Budweiser also supported his car racing. The Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One film was all too obvious, with the chase involving a tiny yellow Fiat car in Rome. But who didn’t want a cute Fiat after that scene? The James Bond franchise has fancy cars, designer clothes, and Heineken sipping. The list of product placements is long, dating back to 1910.
Product Integration in Film
Product integration is another term used around the industry for product placement. The term denotes products and services incorporated into the film and used, consumed, worn or mentioned by the main characters. The Barbie movie is an obvious example of product integration. The film’s focus is the Barbie doll, which is mentioned in press junket interviews and on social media.
Major studios and production companies have product placement departments. Producers can hire companies or promotional agencies to help manufacturers place their products in films. Filmmakers seeking funding or donations should find companies and agencies, do research and be prepared to negotiate.
Once a product placement is assigned to a film project, a wise filmmaker assigns an individual to coordinate and supervise the entire process, ensuring the brand is correctly represented in the film.
Brands or Companies Get Exposure
It is impressive what these product placement agencies can do. They include online services that partner with products and productions. They even specialize in helping new brands or companies get their first exposure secured in films. As a filmmaker, it is your job to use your imagination and ingenuity to choose the types of brands or products you can place in your movie. That requires a scene breakdown of where each scene takes place and which brands or products appear in it. For example, the kitchen scene means food, cooking ware, food products, etc.
For the most part, independent films with producers, property masters, transportation coordinators, department heads, and costume supervisors usually handle their own product placement. That way, they avoid having the overhead of paying a salary or fee to someone else. Still, the filmmaker and producer ensure they maintain their product placement agreements or contracts. The best way to hold and control product placement is to keep the number of people responsible on your crew to a minimum. The filmmaker must consult any agreement or contract for product and service placement with the production executive, producer, and production attorney.
Ethan Coen’s “Drive Away Dolls” is subtly featured in this barroom scene. Source: Kenna McHugh
Product Placement Regulations
Because product placement is so popular and widely used in the film industry, a filmmaker will discover more regulations regarding it than they ever imagined. It’s not just about placing a banner. Because of laws governing the financing of such commodities and the possibility of payola—bribing someone to use their influence or position to promote a specific product or interest—the film industry is more open to product placement than the television industry. The television industry must disclose its product placement at the end of the episode as a “promotional consideration.”
With that, a filmmaker needs to set their standards or policies on how they want to approach product placement for their movie. The filmmaker avoids outlandish bribes or unreasonable requests by having guidelines. The idea is to maintain a realistic storyline without jeopardizing the integrity of the film. Thus, avoid placing or accentuating products that appear to be advertising or sponsorship. Some standard rules of thumb are that production personnel, cast and so forth may not accept gifts from companies that want their products used in the film. Thus, no one associated with the production can endorse or refer that a specific talent will promote a brand or product in a movie.
Sample Letter Requesting Product Placement in a Short Film
When you have a product that stands out in the storyline, it’s best to write a letter for permission to use the product in the film. Source: Kenna McHugh
The Bottom Line
Again, the filmmaker needs to put on his thinking cap and consider his storyline and overall movie genre. Take a marketing perspective and imagine what products would do well in his film. There are companies out there that want to integrate their products into a variety of entertainment media. They will probably get involved if the movie is a high-profile project with some very talented and up-and-coming movie stars.
Should you go to film school to become a film producer?
Becoming a film producer is a process of learning the ropes. This article offers advice from successful movie producers.
Go to Film School?
You can say, “No film school.” You save money that way and then work up the industry ladder to become a movie producer.
I talked with the owner of a puppet artist company. He has worked in the film industry for decades and told me he hires not fresh out of film school. He enjoys working with individuals who are diligent and eager to learn, rather than assuming they already possess all the knowledge. He explained that film school students often have preconceived notions of what it means to work in film. “They don’t want to work hard and work their way up the industry ladder.”
The film industry has its fair share of movie producers who were college dropouts or didn’t attend secondary education. Self-taught directors and producers seem endless if you look at the list. Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, and Francis Ford Coppola are just a few to name. Each has their own story of how they worked their way into the film industry and became successful without attending or finishing film school.
What Makes a Good Movie Producer?
Becoming a movie producer is a bold and challenging profession. A producer makes a production happen. In Myrl A. Schreibman’s book Creative Producing from A to Z, you learn that the producer is the one who can obtain the creative ingredients to prompt a project to go or the person who can raise the funding to give the project a green light but who then turns it over to another producer who makes it happen.
I recommend reading Schreibman’s book because it covers all aspects of filmmaking, from location scouting to funding a movie.
To become a movie producer, you need to understand what a producer does and how to assume the role by adopting the mindset of being the creative force behind the project, whether it’s a movie, TV show, cable show, or theatrical play.
Some producers take on filmmaking responsibilities, such as earning tax or industry incentives, financing, product placement, or distribution deals. They specialize in the business’s niche until they become professionals and have a comprehensive understanding of the particular aspect of film production. They become part of a movie production because their experience is beneficial for that production.
Tom Cruise Award-Winning Producer
Tom Cruise, at one time, sponsored a film website, which Google highly ranked. The site said, “… learning how to become a movie producer puts you in the driver’s seat of film production. The producer is possibly the most misunderstood yet most important person involved with any movie. The producers – people like Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, and Jerry Bruckheimer – all join a film project at the very beginning and commit themselves to see it through to completion. In short, they’re the generals running the entire production, doing it all.”
Nothing could be closer to the truth. Producers are the ones who ensure the project is completed. They are the CEO or the general of the camp. It’s hard work, yet it has many rewards, such as an Oscar or a steady income.
Film producers are responsible for many aspects of the production.
Advantages of Film School Alumni
You can attend a film school with a proactive alum network. There, you can meet students who share the same desire as you: to produce movies. Writer and director Nicole Holofcener told me in an interview how she met her producer while attending film school in New York.
They met in film school, and he produced her first movie called Walking and Talking. The film was her first feature film, launching the careers of Catherine Keener, Liev Schreiber, and Anne Heche.
Holofcener told me that her producer friend was instrumental in getting the film completed and into the movie theaters. During the same interview, she advised me that attending film school is a great idea, provided you have the necessary funds.
Example of a Movie Producer
Jordan Peele, best known for directing Get Out, wears many hats in the movie industry. He’s an actor, director, and producer. He understands how to make movies.
He knows what it takes to become a successful movie producer. His so down-to-earth and realistic about the movie-making process. It’s hard for me to believe he starred in Mad TV and is a comedian.
“The producer is the one who is able to obtain the creative ingredients to prompt a project to go or the person who is able to raise the funding to give the project a green light but who then turns it over to another producer who makes it happen.” Mryl A. Schreibman
Movie Producer Salary
A movie producer’s average salary ranges from $44,000 to $176,000 per movie, with additional bonuses. Bonuses are a key factor in the movie producer’s success in the industry.
Those pleasant perks are what make being a producer so much fun. The bonuses include profit sharing and commission. Profit-sharing involves sharing the profits, whereas commission refers to bringing in investors and receiving a percentage of their investment. Then, there is the good old bonus, which is whatever the producer’s contract stipulates. An example is producing a movie under budget.
Movie Producer Benefits
The character of being a producer and the related jobs that go with the position are nothing short of an adventure. Once a producer is successful, they rarely quit the movie business because it is creative and rewarding. When you become a producer, you will have to work very hard and hustle because many people will depend on you. Their duties will be in your hands.
The 25 Best Film Schools Rankings | Hollywood Reporter
Over the decades, celebrities have shared their pregnancies with their fans. We start with the most notable, Lucy and Dezi.
Star-studded pregnancies share the joyous moments of having a baby. Source: Pavel Danilyuk
Celebrity Pregnancies
Celebrity pregnancies generate curiosity and excitement from the media and fans. When a female celebrity becomes pregnant, it creates a buzz among her fans, with some pregnancies standing out more than others.
Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy — 1952
Just about every household in America turned on the television in 1952 when the I Love Lucy show’s star, Lucille Ball, included her real-life pregnancy in the storyline. The script couldn’t use the word “pregnancy” and substituted it for “expecting.” The last episode of the season, the birth, hit the highest ratings.
Elizabeth Taylor — 1957
Elizabeth Taylor married many times, but had one mega pregnancy. Her third husband, Mike Todd, disproves false rumors of marital difficulties by declaring with bluster to the newshounds that his wife was blissfully pregnant.
Gwyneth Paltrow — June 2004
Paltrow posed for a magazine cover when pregnant with her first child, Apple, in 2004. She explained her baby’s name on Oprah. “It sounded so sweet, and it conjured such a lovely picture for me – you know, apples are so sweet, and they’re wholesome, and it’s biblical – and I just thought it sounded so lovely and … clean! And I just thought, Perfect!”
Madonna — 1996
The release date of Evita happened simultaneously with Madonna’s first pregnancy. Madonna played Eva Peron in the musical, and she won a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar for best original song. The baby’s father, Leon, is a fitness trainer. They named the baby Lourdes, and we’ve seen her grow into a beautiful young woman.
In this picture, she is unsuccessful in incognito.
Angelina Jolie — 2006
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s relationship seemed unclear in the minds of their adoring fans. When Angelina announced she was pregnant with Brad’s baby, we all knew they were a couple. Hoping to avoid the media frenzy surrounding the birth, Angelina gave birth to daughter Shiloh in Namibia with her husband present.
The couple reportedly borrowed a private jet from Tom Cruise to comfortably travel before and after the birth. They sold their first baby pictures for $7.6 million to People and Hello! Magazines, and they donated all the profits to charity. Now, the couple is divorced, and the media captures snapshots of the kids with each parent separately.
Marie Antoinette — 1781
Marie Antoinette was a celebrity in her own right during her time (1781). Whether as a famous Queen or insufferable royalty, she influenced fashion and style.
Her first child was a girl, and the second was a boy. During these two pregnancies, she both wore and helped make the muslin dress fashionable. Such a dress hung looser and was more comfortable for women expecting a baby.
Antoinette made history by continuing to wear controversial dresses after the first child was born. Scandalous! Nevertheless, the style soon became fashionable and quite the rage for those times.
Grace Kelly — 1956
Grace Kelly wasted no time getting pregnant once she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Their cute baby girl, Princess Caroline, arrived nine months and four days after their marriage vows.
Media hounds went over the top with gossip about Grace’s pregnancy. The press photographed her often with a large Hermes purse covering her growing midsection. The large purse became known as the “Kelly bag.”
Princess Diana — 1982
The public loved Princess Diana, and when she became pregnant for the first time, scrutiny from the media hounds was inevitable. Later in life, Diana was known for popularizing dresses, hats, and other fashion items. She kept to simple outfits through both pregnancies, hoping to avoid attention.
Jackie Kennedy — 1960
The first lady Kennedy gave birth to her youngest, John-John, 21 days after John F. Kennedy won the presidency in 1960.
Jackie stayed home during her husband’s campaign because her pregnancy had complications, and she lost three babies. She still campaigned for Kennedy by participating in printed and television interviews, a syndicated column, and writing letters.
Kate Middleton, Duchess Of Cambridge — 2012
The Duchess of Cambridge’s pregnancy got off to a dramatic start. In December 2012, the palace announced her pregnancy when she was hospitalized for a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum, best described as severe morning sickness.
Kate’s health improved, and the world giddily watched. Her child, George, is third in line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William. Now, they have two more adorable kids. The other two are Charlotte, Elizabeth, Diana, and Louis Arthur Charles.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Twins — 2017
Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s twins are worth mentioning because their births hit the headlines with fake and real news. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the couple and their new babies are so famous that, reportedly (E! News), a celebrity’s company filed trademark documents in late June.
Why trademark your kids’ names? The trademark request relates to various merchandise, including baby items. To liven up the excitement, Jay-Z released his album 4:44. In it, he discusses infidelity rumors, his twins, and his wild and crazy friendship with Kanye West.
Loretta Young and Clark Gable’s Secret Daughter — 1935
Decades after Loretta Young’s pregnancy, Judy Lewis revealed she was the daughter of Young and Clark Gable. The pregnancy is worth mentioning because it seems unique. Twenty-two-year-old and unmarried, Young and Gable, 34 and married to Maira Langham, had a short romance while filming The Call of the Wild in Washington State.
While pregnant, she stayed in Europe to ward off rumors and a scandal. Their baby arrived on November 6, 1935. A little over a year and a half later, Young brought her home and told the media she had adopted the child. Lewis passed away in 2011 at the age of 76.
Celebrity Babies Grow Up
The news coverage of celebrity pregnancy has died down recently. The excitement is not the hot news it used to be. Though seeing the first pictures of the babies is exciting, it is even more impressive when they grow up and start looking like their parents.
