ABSTRACT
The film industry has no formal ladder and no predictable steps for promotion. It’s a branch of show business. Where you go, how far you get, and how long it takes you to get there depend on your ability and tenacity-and, to a lesser extent, your connections and luck. This path won’t work if your primary loyalties are to family, community, and material prosperity, for the industry is informally structured and unpredictable; it assumes you take initiative and are totally committed 24/7 to every project you join. Actors, musicians, writers, dancers, painters, sculptors-indeed, everyone in the arts-all live with similar conditions.
