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Name: Pete Jones
Username: PeteJones
Hometown: Deerfield, IL
Occupation: Writer/Director/Puppet Dictator
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What attracted you to the Entertainment Industry, and what was your first job or big break in the business?
Most people fail in the entertainment business so it seemed like a natural place for me. My first big break was removing the gravy from Roseanne's fat rolls and canning it.
What is the biggest challenge you faced trying to break into the industry, and how did you overcome it?
The contradiction of not being able to sell something to a studio without an agent and not being able to get an agent without selling something. I overcame it by winning a contest, which I would recommend highly to all.
What advice can you give those trying to break into the "industry?"
Don't listen to your in-laws.
Please describe your job for those who might not know what a Writer/Director is.
As a writer/director, your job never ends and there, unfortunately is nobody to blame anything on. I'm most comfortable when blaming others. Truly, the toughest thing to do is to figure out when to go with your gut instinct or follow the advice of others.
Can you share any tricks of the trade that help you work faster/cheaper/better?
Hire great people at crap rates and con them that art is being made.
Please illustrate the way the performance of your position can help or hurt a movie. Name a movie that you've seen (or worked on) that we could view and understand the difference between a good job and a bad job.
Take a movie like "Being John Malkovich" or "Moulin Rouge" and subtract the vision of Spike Jonz or Baz Luhrmann and you have a Cinemax movie. Could you imagine being in a creative meeting for either of those two movies? Yeah, this door on a floor in between floors opens up into John Malkovich's brain. And that's it. Those are two movies where I imagine the two directors had to stay true to their gut instincts and I'm pretty sure nobody else could have done it.
Are you a writer, and if so, how many screenplays have you written?
I have written seven screenplays.
What's the best lesson you've learned in regards to working in Hollywood?
Bisexuality opens more doors than heterosexuality or homosexuality alone could ever do.
What advice would you give to writers on how to craft a script that addresses practical production issues?
Don't. Write the best script you can and let the studio figure out the budget.
What advice would you give a director on how to make production easier?
Don't care. But if you're one of those directors that does care, realize you don't have all the answers and anyone from a production assistant to a studio executive has good advice.
List your top 5 favorite films
- The Godfather
- Braveheart
- Rocky
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Diner
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