Wanna' read along? Here’s a machine-generated transcript you can use. Yes...expect a few mistakes, especially with funky industry terms, interesting names and tagging whoever's talking. If something sounds weird, trust your ears. But...sometimes that really is what we said!
Biagio: Hey, everybody. She’s joke. He’s Biagio. We’re married. We make unscripted film and television and want to help you do the same.
Joke: Hopefully by teaming up with us.
Biagio: Well, welcome to episode 74, an episode I am dubbing. Can anyone break into Hollywood? And we’re going to get into that in just a second. First, a quick announcement. One of our television shows is returning between this podcast and the next. Isn’t that right, jokey?
Joke: Yes. Season two. If she made me do it as coming to you Saturdays at 9 p.m. on the oxygen channel, they are launching like a crime weekend, so they do really well, obviously with their snap franchise on Sundays, and they’ve been getting some good numbers with crime on Saturday nights as well. So we are happy to join the club. So yeah. So starting this Saturday, May 7th, 9 p.m.. Oxygen. She made me.
Biagio: Do it. She made me do it. It’s really a really exciting season. It’s even more cinematic than season one. We had a lot of fun with this one. We told some great stories. We had some wonderful participation from families and people that are, you know, that are out there telling these stories in a way that I think needs to be told. And I think that all around we’re very we’re very proud of the show on on multiple levels. All right. So that said, make sure you guys check it out. We got a question from Mike Cibola. Mike asked a question that I think speaks to, again, the title of this week’s episode, can Anyone Make It in Hollywood? I’m going to joke. Read the question because she has a beautiful voice.
Joke: Dear joke and Biagio, I’m an old guy who has been doing this on and off for a while writing, producing, development, peeing all at various levels. It’s been a few years since I seriously developed and pitch shows, and the landscape has changed drastically. As someone in my 50s who’s trying to break back in, is age a barrier? Your podcasts are spot on and full of useful information, which I’m taking to heart, but I wonder if my age will be a hindrance if I actually sell a series. Let’s assume I’m willing and able to put in whatever work is necessary and that stamina is not an issue. Thanks for considering my question, and I appreciate the opportunity you’re providing by pulling back the curtain.
Biagio: Well, thank you for the kind words, Mike.
Joke: Thank you.
Biagio: Yeah. So, you know, listen, I think you asked a question that gets asked in a lot of different ways to us regularly, you know, am I too old to break into Hollywood? Am I too young? Am I the right race, age, sex, you name it? There’s a lot of people who think they have something that maybe is a con, but as my wife so elegantly put it earlier today, for every con there is a pro. Isn’t that right joke? I’m not sure.
Joke: I quite put it like that.
Biagio: I think that’s exactly how you put it. Am I making this up?
Joke: Well, I’m sure I said something in these in these lines anyway. My my whole idea, my point of view is nobody’s perfect. Neither are we. Nobody really is. Hiring is the hardest thing that we do. And so when you look at a potential higher, there’s always pros and cons. Right? Mike is worried about age and that being a con, that’s something that for us can sometimes be a pro because it means you’re an adult and you know what it means to show up on time. And you know what it means to have a commitment to a job. And you know it’s not your first job, which sometimes when someone’s first job, they might be really excited about it. And then they get to doing it and they’re like, oh, this is not what I want at all. So the fact that you are older and have been around means that when you sign up for something, hopefully it means what you’re doing, you know what you’re doing, you know what you’re signing up for in terms of if you yourself say Sam is not an issue, then, you know, I think the biggest thing for us is to be honest with ourselves about our cons and knowing, you know, what those are and how to get past them. But like I said, there’s pros and cons to at any higher, and it really is just about what kind of value do you bring to the project? Is it your experience? Is it your tenacity? Is it sometimes we there’s job positions that just really thrive on someone who’s eager and who’s going to be out there killing. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is. They’re just eager and hungry. Right? And maybe that’s not the job for you, but there’s lots of other jobs where, again, being an adult, having experience comes into play. So I think it depends on the job that people are up for. I think in terms of the question of if you sell a series, will your age be a hindrance? No. At all. I mean, selling a series has nothing to do. I believe necessarily with the person selling it, as long as the package is there. Right. So if you have a great piece of talent, if you have a great tape, if you have a great concept is in a world that we haven’t seen, you have wonderful access. I mean, those shows are very hard to come by. So you could be 100 years old and walk in with that and people will jump all over it. As to making Unep on that show, I think again, that’s where experience comes into play. What is your value to the actual project in terms of working with the cast, in terms of being the liaison for the access, in terms of fulfilling an actual line item on the show, and that obviously the stamina issue comes back in. So so there’s lots of ways for you to be valuable in selling your own show, age, really, for us at least, doesn’t really come into play unless maybe you’re trying to sell, you know, a show about 17 year olds to MTV and you’re like, I really know what the kids are into these days. You know, they might question, but, you know, listen, there’s there’s an older gentleman and women in this business who do that all the time because they really do have their pulse on what young kids are into this day. So without, you know, really getting into details, there is no yes no to anything. It’s not a black and white issue. It’s a it’s about the gray and what you personally bring in terms of value.
Biagio: Yeah I think that is the key. Right. Jokes said this once on a panel she was speaking on years ago. And we’ve kind of made it a mantra ever since, which is make yourself valuable the way that you succeed in this business in any area of Hollywood, whatever it is you’re trying to do, is by making yourself valuable. We’ve said over and over again on this podcast, ways to make yourself valuable include discovering great characters, gaining access to a business, putting together an amazing tape. If you make yourself valuable, nothing else matters. It’s do you add value to a project? And you know, Mike, there’s going to be some people your age add absolutely no value, and some people your age add a lot of value. By the way, 50s is like the new 20s, so 50 is not that old man. But I hope that that that our answer puts us in perspective, not just for Mike, but for anybody out there listening who’s wondering whether or not they can make it in the entertainment business. Listen, it’s never going to be easy. It is to this day. It is a struggle for me and joke. We work around the clock and we work crazy hours. And the entertainment business is a hard business. It’s something that you can’t just walk into and assume you’re going to be successful. But if you work really hard and you make yourself valuable, you’ll never be turned away from Hollywood just because of your age, your race, your sex, whatever. If you add value to a project and it’s a project people want, then the last thing people are going to worry about is what you look like, or how old you are, or what race you are. They’re going to be counting the dollars because at the end of the day, much like, you know, much like other businesses, there’s the golden rule of Hollywood, right? The one with the gold rules. And if you can make them more gold, you will rule two. So I think I’m going to wrap it up with that thought. Joe, do you have anything you want to add?
Joke: No. You know, that’s sound cheesy, but if you dream it, you could do it. I don’t know. No, I mean, I think like we said, you know, it’s a combination of, of of everything in terms of who you are, what you bring to it, what you’re willing to do for it, spirit and, you know, kind of determination determine a lot.
Biagio: Yeah. Now every area of entertainment business is different, you know, and I don’t claim to be an expert in every single area. However, I will say that my wife and I are experts when it comes to unscripted television. And those of you who’ve been around this podcast for a while know we have this entire podcast now 74 episodes dedicated to helping you make yourself valuable in unscripted television. So if unscripted TV is your dream, whether it’s reality TV or documentary series or or true crime or whatever it is you’re looking to do, you can learn how to make yourself valuable in this area of the industry by listening to our podcast. And of course, if you’re looking to pitch television shows, you know, my wife and I own and run joke productions. We’ve made well over 100 hours of television, and we do allow people to pitch us concepts through our portal. I would strongly suggest before you do that, you listen to the podcast. You know, the kinds of shows we look for and the do’s and don’ts that that either make us really excited about somebody or drive us crazy. And if you’d like to learn how to pitch us a show, just sign up for our newsletter at Producing Unscripted and follow the directions. So that’s it. We’re going to be back in two weeks with another pie cast. Thank every. We thank every single one of you for listening regularly. Mike Cibola, thank you so much for your for your question today. Mike has his own website over at Mike’s. Com we’ll link to it from the show notes today, which you’ll be able to find at Producing Unscripted seven four since this is our 74. And that’s it. Until next time. Thanks everybody. I keep working on those those concepts and those ideas and we hope we’re working together someday soon.
Joke: Bye bye.
Unidentified Voice: Producing Unscripted with Joke and Biagio.
