Shane Riches, Savor the Hope: 3.34

Today's post was written by Shane Riches, who you might remember as Executive of the Week #2. I asked Shane to pen me a little piece to try and give you assistants out there some hope. Because as Shane demonstrates, it is not impossible to make the voyage from assistant to producer.

So enjoy this nugget of hope written by Shane Riches:

Why do we do it?

Rolling calls… Scheduling meetings… Filling out
FedEx slips… Filing… Drafting coverage…

It’s easy to complain: Long hours, thanklessness,
terrible pay.

If we’re lucky, we get invited to a creative meeting
by the producer. Perhaps we get to know a favorite
writer or director. Or, maybe, just maybe, we get to
pitch a project to a studio.

Maggie Grace & Tom Welling are in Shane's movie.

Ahhhh, the life of an assistant or lower-level
creative exec in the movie business.

So again, why do we do it?

Because it can work.

It’s time to spread a little optimism and let readers
know that all that hard work can actually payoff.
I’ve been in the trenches with you. Hell, not only
was I an assistant/creative exec for a couple of years
-- I was unpaid to boot. Two-and-a-half years is a
long time to go without making a dime.

[ed. note-When asked how he made it for so long without earning any money, Shane gave credit to his strong, loving marriage and thanked his wife profusely for her support. I mean, geez, even the guy's love life is an uplifting story.]

But now, that struggle is over. I’ve got my first
movie coming out as an associate producer: THE FOG.
SHAMELESS PLUG: Go see The Fog on October 14.

Plus, I’m closing a deal on another project listing me
as full producer.

So, that’s why I did it -- toiling in administrative
duties and for years while also developing projects. For me, it
worked. It can for you, too. Obviously, there are no
guarantees, but if you have the right idea at the
right time, you can get a movie made.