Entertainment Frustrations

The young writers, directors, actors, etc, I know are generally frustrated because of their inability to get paid commensurate with their work. Very few - if any - are greedy. Most simply want an opportunity to work hard at their craft, be compensated, and to "cut their teeth" on professional projects. Instead, most people in this boat have some type of day job to pay the bills and work on the off hours on various projects hoping one of them will be a professional springboard. Some have made professional inroads and are doing well, yet there is a lingering anxiety about what the future will hold.

On the other hand, the young executives, agents, etc, the business people find another set of frustrations. They are constantly frustrated by the lack of talent out there - the inability to discover or find people with the skill sets necessary to deliver a good (and hence salable) product. If you are young, it does you little good to focus on already established talent - they generally have their relationships in place and for lack of a better term are out of their league. But when perusing the film festivals and screenplay contests and spec scripts sent by agents, they rarely find anything good, much less something that speaks to them.

It is a curious situation - are the young business people missing the ability to spot talent? Is the young talent naive about their abilities? Does this just sort itself out as the less talented give up or find something else to do? And those who can figure out a way to stick it out and survive someday get their break or find their match?