I just got a job interview with a production company in Vancouver.  I am meeting a film director, his name is Roger Evan Larry and he directed a film called Crossing(you can look it up on IMDB).  The job I am being interviewd for is that of a reader.  I am very excited and scared at the same time.  I get soooooooo nervous the first time I meet people, and on top of that I stutter when I'm nervous, I hope I don't make a fool of myself.  I also look like I'm 14 when in fact I'm a few years older than that, I got kind of a baby face, I hope that doesn't hurt my chances.  anyways I am meeting them for lunch on wednesday in vancouver.  I hope I don't blow this, this could be a real opportunity :)

Thank you very much Tomson.  I am unsure how to dress, I don't kmow if I should go with a shirt and tie, or casual, or conservative.  the restaraunt they are taking me to is an upper class place so I don't wanna look out of place.  Anyways I'm gonna try my best and watch my language and hope it goes well.  thanks again. :)

Thanks again Tomson.  do you think I should take my earings out or not, does that make a difference?

okay.  thank you very much :)

Wow!

Good luck, man.  I don't know what else to say.

Do everything you think right and don't do anything you think wrong and you should be ok..

Try not to be too nervous, be yourself, honest and to the point..

Like Tomson said, good to inject a little humor too as long as it's not over the top..

Tell him you're a regular member of SimplyScripts.com

Tell him you read a lot of screenplays by other writers, and you do this too on SimplyScripts..

You make comments on their 3 ACT structure, story. Characters and other such stuff..

Just sell yourself.. You probably know what the guy's looking for so don't disappoint him. He wants a guy like you so getting the interview is 50 per cent, now use the other 50 per cent to impress..

Know what I mean?

You should be fine..

Good luck with this.. Keep is all informed..

Thank you Heretic, my body is still kinda shaking, I haven't even told my girlfriend yet, she's out with her mom and I can't get a hold of her >:(, anyways, I probably won't beable to eat till after wednesday...LOL.

Thanks Kevan for your vote of confidence, that really means a lot to me :), it would be cool if I got the job and if I told them I have read some really great scripts on this sight and if they would want me to send them some because I have read a few here that I think would make great features.  anyways, thank you very VERY much.

Good luck.

I think the advice you're getting is good.
Better to error on the side of conservatism (no earrings for now).
Those first impressions are important.
You can dazzle them with your reading/crtiquing skills later... after you've nailed the job.

I interview writers (aspiring journalists) on a regular basis, and I look for people who feel at ease with themselves, among other qualities.
You have experience writing and reading scripts on this board, so you have the skills.
Nervousness is natural.  I'd rather have somebody be a little nervous in my presence than be cocky.  I view nervousness as somebody who cares and wants to make a good showing.

Humor is OK, but don't force it.
If it isn't natural for you to be humorous, than don't go overboard.
Stay within your comfort zone.
Smile when you can.  A smile is disarming.  It makes you likeable.

And don't over-talk.  Some people get nervous and ramble on.
practice answering questions.  If you have time, rehearse with somebody.
I find that being prepared for questions that will likely be asked is helpful.

Have you ever done coverage of scripts?  Anything on paper??  Just wondering.

I don't know anything about you, but you come across online as a cool guy.  Friendly.
That will work to your advantage.

Best of luck.  

Wow this sounds exciting! I hope you do a good job and congrats! And if they don't give you the job, key their car.

Hehe just kidding. Good luck!

Sean

Thank you very much Abe, I am definatly taking the advice people have been so kind on giving me in this thread.  to answer your question I have not done coverage on scripts on paper, what I think got me the interview is that I wrote a script that was produced in california, I think that helped me a lot, plus I had to send them samples of my writing as well.  Thank so very much for your help and advice, this is really helping me a lot :)

Thank you Sean.  Now if I don't get this job I'm gonna feel like a real shit, I probably won't beable to show my face here for a while :o, anyways thanks again for your response.

Congrats, dude. Don't know what else to say that hasn't already been said. Good luck.

Thank you James it means a lot to me. I'm acting like such a 12 year old right now dancing around my room to AC/DC (IF YOU WANT BLOOD, YOU GOT IT  ;D)

Congrats and it's a small world...

I'm currently talking with Relevision about a horror script treatment that they requested from me. From my conversations with them, they are very nice.

I may just see you around!

AWSOME, are you from bc, I live in abbotsford, about 45 min south east of vancouver.

Yup, I live in Ladner, just outside of Richmond.

I saw their posting for script readers. It will be a good opportunity for the lucky recipient. It's a great stepping stone to better things. Get's your name in there and as long as you work hard and make sure you don't recommend terrible scripts, it will give you a good name.

I'm also talking with them about future work there (not a reader), so we'll see how it goes.

cool 8), I know where ladner is, I hope all goes well for you, and who knows, maybe I might see ya there sometime if all goes well :D

Cool man!!!!  Good luck!!

Thanks Greg, I need all the luck I can get :)

Good luck mate. If you get nervous when meeting people for the first time, may I suggest not drinking too much caffeine before the interview, it can make you jittery; remember that episode of Seinfeld when Kramer had too much?

Hey it was interesting to hear you Canadians talk about Abbotsford and Richmond, they're the names of two suburbs here in Victoria.

Anyway best of luck.  

Thanks Christopher, I usually drink aboyt 4 litres of coke a day, but I ain't gonna have none till my interview is over, I am however now smoking like 2 packs a day, But I'm not gonna smoke before my interview so I don't stink.

that's cool about abbotsford and richmond being in victoria (Victoria is also the capital of bc..LoL), there is also an abbotsford in Wisconson.

anyways, thank you very much for your advice.

Peace 8)

2 Tips

1.  Put a few napkins in your pocket...have your right hand in there as you approach this guy for the first time, before you shake hands give the napkins a squeeze to dry off your hand.  

2.  Learn from my mistakes, check your fly

Last bit:  do a little research on this guy so you know what he does, what he's into.  Come up with talking points, or questions that when he answers will spur conversation that will allow you to work in how you would be good at this job.

EX:  How did you get your start/schooling on film?
-the answer to this question would allow you to work in just about anything re: your script reading, script writing, knowledge etc.

I'd write down about 10 questions, you'll probably use 5 but you don't want to force the questions, they should flow with the conversation.

Thanks for the tips jaykur22, the napkin thing sounds like a good idea, and I 'm always checkin my fly, There was an incident at a dance in 9th grade involving my unziped pants, and well, I'm sure you can guess who made a special appearance that night.  I have read a little about the director I'm going to meet, I'm gonna rent his films as well.  I'm gonna write some questions down tonight and start memorizing them.

thanks again for your help :D

Just wanna wish you luck on your interview, and keep drinking those cokes!

Thanks Ghost, and I ain't having any coke before the interview, I'd be off the wall and they'd probably think I'm some sort of psycho, or druggie....lol, anyways thanks again. :D

Tomorrow's the big day.  My stomach is in knots, it kinda feels like when you lose your virginity, terrified and excited at the same time :D

I hate that feeling so much.

Well I'm off to Vancouver.  I'll let you all know how it went when I get back.  Thanks again for all your encouraging words.

I got the job :)

Thank you so much everyone, what you all told me helped a lot, I got more to say, but I'm celebrating with my girlfriend, so I will give you the whole scoop in a bit.  You have all been a great help and I thank you all :D

Oh yeah sure, now we're gonna have a guy walking around here like he's all high and mighty just because he's in the "business".  I can smell the ego in here already.



BTW....Congratulations ;D

Quoted from Shelton Oh yeah sure, now we're gonna have a guy walking around here like he's all high and mighty just because he's in the "business".  I can smell the ego in here already.

Don't worry about that:P

The interview went great, I told them that I was nervous and they were like, I'd be worried if you weren't...lol.

the director was great, he's one helluva character, he was very interesting.

now here's the kicker.  I told them about this site and they asked me if I read anything here that was good, and I told them yes, so they said would I be interested in asking any of the writers here if they would sumbit anything, and I told them, I would ask.

now they are sending me some scripts to read tomorrow, but when I am finished with those I am going to pm the person who's script I want to send to these people.  now this doesn't mean it will be optioned, but I woould want permission from the author that it is alright to submit this, so by next week one of you will be getting a pm from me.  There is more than one here that I think would make a great film, but I am only going to do one at a time, right now they are looking for horror/suspense, so it is one of those.

so thanks again everyone for your helpful words of encouragment.  I can't wait to see where this will lead. :D

They're throwing you right into the mix, huh?  That's pretty cool.

Being able to suggest things you've read on here may work out real well for a lot of people, including you.  There's a lot of really good, undiscovered stuff on here, that's for sure.

yup there is.  There are a lot of scripts here I'd like to see made :)

Congrats!

I'm glad you had a good interview and it was successful. Feel proud.

Hopefully I'll see you around there, haha.

So what's the deal with a job like that, anyway?

How many do they expect you to read, like, in a week?  And do they expect a bunch of comments from you, or just a "Yes", "No", or "Maybe"?

It sounds interesting.  Give a few more details if it won't get you in trouble or anything.

Thanks Macduff, that be funny 2 see you there.

Bert, They would like me to read about 5-6 scripts a week, and they want me to do script coverage on each script, they are sending me a template on how they want it done, then it's basically three piles that u mentioned, "yes", "no", and "maybe"

Way to Go.
You are the Man 2.  I guess Mike is the Man 1.
What is this, Good Thursday?
Hey, if any of our scripts drift your way, remember the word PASS.  Or in your case, YES.
Haha.  Good luck.

thanks Abe.  And there are scripts here that I would like to show them, but first I would need the writer's permission and make sure the script isn't optioned, I will pm those writer's probably in the next week or two and see if they are interested.  anyways, thanks again :)

Quoted from ghost I hate that feeling so much.

Me too.  Fortunately I only lost my virginity once.

Fortunately? I didn't know that was a good thing...

Well done, told you you'd be okay..

Enjoy the ride..

And keep in touch with us all here.. Let us know what you're doing now and again..

Way to go...


Kevan

Thanks Kevan, This has become a real opportunity for me and I don't plan on screwing it up like I do most things, I think getting this job will help me mature and be a better writer :D.   Thanks again.

Well I got the template they sent me

TITLE
Author
Pages

GENRE: Thriller, Drama, Comedy, etc.

LOCATION: Vancouver, USA, Finland, etc.

BUDGET: Low, Medium, High, or combination

CIRCA: Present Day, 1920’s, Future-2025, etc.

SCRIPT READER: Your Name!

DATE: MM/DD/YY


LOGLINE: A one-sentence description of the story. Usually it is provided by the writer, but you can write your own if not. Used for quick summary of what to expect.

Example: A man plays mind games with his wife when his lover appears as her imaginary friend.

CONTENT SUMMARY: A brief summary of your thoughts on the script. One or two sentences.

Example: Though it is a fairly well-structured, high-concept script, it ultimately suffers from a lack of character development.

RECOMMENDATION: Your final recommendation (Recommend, Consider, Maybe, Pass)

RATINGS: (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor)
Premise:
Storyline:
Structure:
Characterization:
Dialogue:

SYNOPSIS: A summary or brief outline of the sequences of events that occur in the story. To give the reader an idea of what the script is about, what happens, etc.

COMMENTS: This is where you add all your comments regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the script, what you liked and didn’t like, what worked and didn’t work. Be as specific as you can. Does not need to be a 5-page essay, however.

CONCLUSION: Your final thoughts. What would make it better, why you think it should be considered or passed, etc.


that's how they want me to do it.  They are going to send me two scripts this week.  I fiugred I would try this one one of the scripts here.  Anyone wanna volunteer or have a good suggestion, preferably a feature that hasn't had much exposure.

anyways, thanks again everyone  ;D

just got my first two scripts sent to me :D

OMG - I've never come across so much great news on one site in one week! WOW! Very well done to you!

Like both you and Stewart/MacDuff, I'll be in Vancouver too! I'm moving over there in June for a year from the UK!

Best of luck with the new job. I myself am looking for media work and am unsure about how to find it and which roles specifically to look for! I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if I can pick up any useful tips.

Perhaps I'll see you around Vancouver too now, lol!

Andy x

Hey Andy, Vancouver is a wonderful place, I live about 45 min away, right on the WA border, but I go into vancouver once a week.  I hope you like it here, it can be a fun city, just whatever you do, never EVER go down east hastings, and if you're looking for a place to live, the best places are the west end or kitsalano, it's beautiful there and there are lots of places to rent.

I just sent in my first two script reports, I gave them both a pass, there are a lot better scripts here I can tell you that.  I just got 2 more sent to me, but one has a lot of french in it and I don't speak freanch, plus, I can't pronounce any of their names...LOL.  

sounds like things are coming along with this new job, flyboy. Glad to see its working out!

I finished script number 3, still hasn't been one that I have given a recomend yet.

Well I finaly came across a script I couldn't finish, it was so horrible, it made the cabin look like casablanca, and the fact that the writer is a member of the WGA confounds me, can anyone be apart of that?  I'm guessing the answer is yes if this writer is:o

Anyone with quite a bit of money to pay the fee.

I believe you need 24 credits (or 12, can't remember) and about 3 grand to sign up for WGA. 12 (or 24) credits = 1 produced movie.

In other words, you need to be a produced writer to be eligible to join the WGA.

Maybe the script was a joke?

Quoted from -Ben- Maybe the script was a joke?

um, I don';t thinks so.  Like it was formatted fine, but damn did it suck balls!