Michael St. Nicholas - An Actors Guide: Your First Year in Hollywood

Copyright 1996, 2000, 2006, 2015 by Michael Saint Nicholas and Lisa Mulcahy

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Print ISBN: 978-1-62153-466-2

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62153-468-6

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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AUTHORS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

From Michael:

In writing this book, I was fortunate to receive inspiration and assistance from many talented people. Many thanks to:

Max Alexander, Irene Andersen, Jay Bernstein, Veanne Cox, Bill Dance, Mike Fenton, Andreas Glas R.N., Brad Greenquist, Buzz Halliday, Earl Hamner, Michael Harris, Mariette Hartley, Michael Levine, Sheila Manning, Mark Measures, William McNamara, Eric Morris, Chris Nassif, Julian Neil, John Oliver, Linda Poindexter, Kirk Schroder, Craig Tapscott, Mark Teschner, and Jimmy Wlcek.

From Lisa:

Additional appreciation to:

Tad Crawford, Kris Hutchinson, Deanna Meske, William and Joan Mulcahy, David Muller, Garry Purdy, Kyle Walters, Ben Whitehair, Zoe Wright.

To Michael Saint Nicholas, whose voice and vision fills this book; it is an honor to update your excellent and detailed work.

AN OVERVIEW OF LOS ANGELES

A s an actor, even if you have never visited Los Angeles, you probably have already heard a lot about it. Think for a moment. What images pop into your mind? Besides earthquakes and an occasional riot, you are probably conjuring pictures of Hollywood, studios, bright lights, and movie stars. And lets not forget limousines, palm trees, Beverly Hills mansions, and paparazzi. What about movie premieres, Rodeo Drive, Rolls Royces, and the Sunset Strip? Yes, these are all valid images that have come to symbolize one aspect of Los Angeles, also known as the City of Angels, or simply, La La Land.

Youd have to be a hermit to miss them. Every day people around the globe see, hear, and read about life in L.A. Just turn on the news. Chances are, at some point, you will be treated to a small slice of juicy Hollywood gossip. If youre tuned into a tabloid TV show, then youll probably get a whopping portion! Open a magazine or newspaper. Somewhere inside lurks a tell-all report on your favorite celebrity or the latest rundown of a high-profile court case. Or go to the movies. Theres a strong probability that those palm trees, that street corner, or that sandy beach can be found somewhere in Los Angeles.

So whether you realize it or not, you have had more exposure to L.A. than probably any other city in the world. However, it is important to realize that much of the imagerythe famous people, the beautiful scenery, the extravagant lifestyles, the glamourwhile truthful, has been sensationalized to some degree. You will find that, like any other big city, Los Angeles has its own unique personality with both enjoyable and aggravating qualities, and actually many down-to-earth characteristics.

Being an actor, you will quickly notice that the greatest aspect of Los Angeles is that its the mega-metropolis for work in the arts. It is here that all the major studios and independent production companies are busy churning out thousands of feature films, television programs, commercials, and music videos in Hollywood and its surrounding areas every year. In addition, tremendous opportunities exist in theater and dance throughout the vicinity. There are hundreds of performing arts theatres in Southern California alone! And if thats not enough, you will find a significant presence of the art, music, and modeling industries as well. So grab your paintbrush, string that guitar, and head on down the catwalk! No other place has so much to offer actors, artists, musicians, and models. Hollywood is truly a magnet for artists of all kinds!

You ought to know that Hollywood refers to both a general vicinity (although there are no defined boundaries, and it technically doesnt exist) in Los Angeles and to the entertainment industry as a whole. Around 1910, the motion picture business was born in what is now considered Hollywood, and for many decades it served as the center for all show business-related activities. Hence, Hollywood became synonymous with show business. Today studios and entertainment firms can still be found in the Hollywood area, but many have expanded into neighboring areas. Nevertheless, the term Hollywood is still used, mostly by the media, to refer to the industry, which in reality often has little to do with Hollywood, the area.

Besides Hollywood, there are many other well-known regions that make up Los Angeles. Some of these include the cities of Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, Burbank, Studio City, and Pasadenato name a few. In all, there are eighty-eight incorporated cities and approximately 140 unincorporated areas linked by more than a dozen freeways ). This inevitably leads to frequent traffic congestion, which has tested the patience of many. Fortunately for actors, the entertainment industry is somewhat localized in Hollywood, West Hollywood, the Westside, and the Eastern San Fernando Valley, though these areas are still hardly within walking distance of one another.

One interesting thing about Los Angeles is that it has many different telephone area codes, such as 213, 310, 323, 626, 818, and a few others! With the advent of fax machines, voicemail, pagers, and especially cell phones, more telephone numbers were needed.

Undoubtedly, most would agree that one of the best features of Southern California, or the Southland, is the superb weather. One can generally anticipate year-round comfortable temperatures. During summer, temperatures usually range between eighty and one hundred degrees, and the air is dry. During winter, temperatures drop to between fifty and seventy degrees. Thus, you will never have to shovel snow off of your driveway in Los Angeles. From late April through October, it virtually never rains, and only does so sporadically during the remainder of the year; so expect lots of California sunshine. The only time you might need your heavy-duty galoshes is from late December through March, when rainstorms historically can pummel the region. But be sure to bring your entire wardrobe anyway. You never know what you might need for an audition.