46. The director (and often,
the writer) determines the
plot, makes the decisions,
owns the quality of what
is produced.
47. The star is a celebrity, the draw,
the one we want a selfie with.
The star auditions and the star
waits to be picked.
48. And the star's assistant? He gets
coffee, copyedits, and generally
gets unglamorous stuff done, but
gets the satisfaction of steady work
plus the chance to say he
works for a star.
49. A survey of high school students
found that they'd rather be a star's
assistant than a judge, a senator or
a CEO when they grew up.
Safety near the spotlight.
50. I've done all of these jobs
(sometimes at the same time, on
the same project) and, for the
right project, you can choose
from any of them as well.
52. The assistant can't do the
work without a star.
The star needs to be
chosen by the director.
53. The assistant can't do the
work without a star.
The star needs to be
chosen by the director.
And the director
needs a producer.
54. The assistant can't do the
work without a star.
The star needs to be
chosen by the director.
And the director
needs a producer.
But the producer, the
producer gets to decide.
55. It's easy to be seduced into
believing that you must wait
to be picked, and even easier
to worship those that have.
56. It's far more interesting and
generous, I think, to find
the leverage and the guts
you need to produce…
