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Dear John

Cheesed off enough to take a bite of Hollywood

First published 2nd December 2004

Question:
A couple of years ago I would have scoffed at the idea of writing to an agony column, and particularly one written by a 'life coach'. As a reasonably successful comedy performer/writer I've done quite a lot of material over the years on the foolishness of our national obsession with embracing American psychobabble ideas. But guess what?

After several years of false promises, aborted projects and the general negativity of the whole industry, a dose of positive thinking, even if it's sugar-coated, is starting to look attractive. For instance, having spent the best part of a year developing a comedy show which a commissioning editor told me they were "completely knocked out by", I hadn't had a response to the finished script after over a month. I called to find out why, only to discover that the producer I was dealing with has moved to some other company and nobody else seems to know the project even existed.

The icing on the cake is that a friend of mine who doesn't even write his own stuff has just spent the year in LA having done parts in several movies, and with a development deal for his own weekly spot on a cable station.

Like I said, I'm not a starry-eyed positive thinker and I know that for every success story there are the proverbial thousands of waiters and waitresses who all want to be stars out there. But I'm currently cheesed off enough with all the faffing about over here to considering giving it a go.

So, Dear John (there, I said it), what's your advice?

Answer:
A couple of years ago I would have scoffed at the idea of me writing an agony column let alone coaching anyone... but that's before I got a good coach myself and saw the benefits. One thing no coach or columnist can do is make decisions for you and the decision to up stakes and try your luck in a different country is a pretty big one. But here are a few things to consider before you make your mind up.

Firstly, it seems like you have had a particularly disappointing experience careerwise very recently. You don't need a lecture from me about getting some kind of agreement in writing before you undertake substantial work for anyone. You are not the first or the last to discover that TV promises - and sometimes TV producers - can disappear into thin air faster than you can press a remote button. But it is certainly probable that your disappointment, coupled with your friend's success story, is colouring your view of your current options.

As much as is possible you need to step back from the situation and consider the pros and cons of staying or going. You mention that you are "reasonably successful" over here, so I'm assuming that while the TV show may be on hold, you have other work to fall back on. In LA, or wherever you choose to go, you may not have this safety blanket and yes, I have heard of both success stories and horror stories from people who have made the leap. But even the successful ones usually have to struggle a little before finding their feet.

Just because your friend has cracked it doesn't mean you will. Equally, just because thousands of people never make it doesn't mean you won't. A positive attitude doesn't mean viewing the world through rose-coloured specs, it means taking responsibility for your actions and doing what you do because you have chosen to, not because you feel forced to by other people or by circumstances.

And to help you towards making the right choice, I would encourage you to spend some time researching the real story both about living conditions and about how the industry works in USA. We often think we know how Hollywood works because, hey, we've seen it in the movies but movies, especially the ones about the movies, are not real life.

It always strikes me that many people who are moving to somewhere they perceive as culturally very different from us - say, France - do a lot of research beforehand. Yet you as a comedy performer should be more aware than most that the idea that America and Britain share a common culture as well as a common tongue has led to many a career pratfall.

For a no nonsense briefing on how the USA/UK divide relates to a performers career and what it does take to make it in America, you could try a company called (surprise, surprise) Make It America, which runs seminars in the UK led by actors who have already successfully made the transition. Send an email to shekoni@hotmail.com for upcoming dates and further info.

I sincerely hope you 'make it' whichever side of the Atlantic you choose to stay on. Assuming that positive attitude continues to rub off on you, don't forget to send us reports of your ups and downs to the Dear John site so others can make informed choices too.