Thursday, June 11, 2009

3Questions: Phil Green - Manager/Producer

As part of our continuing 3Questions series, I present Phil Green, a manager/producer and owner of Autonomy Entertainment.

HBAD: So, tell us about yourself. Who are you, what do you do, what does that position involve?

PG: My name is Phil Green and I’m the owner of Autonomy Entertainment. If you had to define us as anything, I'd say we're an entertainment and media support business. We help make projects and careers happen. Beyond that, we don't like to pigeon-hole ourselves because, regardless of form, we look for authenticity and voices that touch a cultural nerve but at the same time there's nothing specific we're looking for. We just find people or projects we believe in that we feel like we can build a business around. Could be a filmmaker, a writer, a musician, an event producer, even a startup. We have a really small roster of clients and projects and we’re really hands on with each one.

HBAD: How did you get your start?

PG: By believing I had something to offer and calling anyone I thought would listen. For me, the key is being willing to face a lot of rejection and realizing it might not have anything to do with what you have to offer or what you’re capable of. You just have to keep taking your hacks.

HBAD: What advice would you have for someone just starting out in this business, looking to become a manager/producer?

PG: Don’t wait for anyone. Make things. The barrier to writing and producing is so low, there’s no excuse. We had these two kids deliver a fully edited pilot they shot for $5k and it was one of the best unscripted shows I’ve seen. That’s what you’re competing against.

While everything can be done quickly, I think it’s important to take your time. Let things stew. You really need every word or every scene or every note to be what you know in your gut it should be.

Cold call people. But come with a specific point of view or a specific reason for reaching out to that person.

Don’t create things for the market. Create something that’s a pure expression of who you are. It should come from a place of need. I always ask people “What’s that one project you’ll see through to the end? The one you’ll still be pitching even after everyone in town has rejected it?” In Hollywood, the success stories of people who weren’t born in to the business are usually stories of persistence – the David Chase’s of the world. Those are the ones that change the game.

1 comment:

  1. Hey dude. I've read some of your posts and like the links. I think you are really on the right track trying to make opportunities and speaking with those that can create them or have done so for themselves. I guess my question is: In this world of videos and short attention spans reading sadly is going by the wayside so why don't you shoot these interviews? Very simply: Tripod with a DVX or less intrusive perhaps to keep the intimate feeling for the interviewee just a flip cam? I understand there is issues with people being on camera and this might provide a little more work on your end with uploading, editing etc. but especially because you are working within/about/towards the visual medium it might translate well...

    Always an ally in the struggle,
    -Gardner

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