Alias:Walt Disney

In my last post I played out the most embarassing and funny experience at E! But, I didn't have time to tell you my most interesting story. As part of my internship, I was given a Public Relations Media contact database to update. This required me to call scores of people across the entire Entertainment Industry from Rob Reiner's former wife to Miz Ford of Ford Models herself..and a million assistants, busybodies, and other industry courtiers......all in film, TV, music, and fashion.

I can't say people were nice because they weren't...but some places were exceptionally nice and others were incredibly rude. I have to tell you if did reflect how the workers at those companies were treated. Warner Brothers had the happiest and most helpful staff of any place..Calvin Klein was very snobby.

My job was to check our old information then find the person who we should talk to and try to re-establish our relationship with them. This was no easy task but, I guess I should have felt honored that they would let me do that......the database was three years old though...so I mostly felt retarded and ill-used....

I developed great phone skills and learned how to negotiate with people over the phone quickily-professionally and efficiently....
One day I called Disney Corporation for the West Coast in Los Angeles- I think in Burbank. But, please don't quote that part..anyways... I called thinking that I would just update the connection and move on....I asked for the best contact person for E!Entertainment Online. I got the producer for Alias, she immeddiately started screaming at me, asking me what I wanted and boasting that she was the producer for Alias and Felicity(which was still on the air at the time. I was completely flabbergasted and tried to placate her by telling her that I just wanted to update my contact information. She wouldn't listen, screamed even louder and insisted I tell her what I wanted...finally I lost my cool and yelled back "I've never even heard of Alias and I don't care about Felicity. I just need to find the best contact for our department on Media issues." It was really weird. She got really calm and was like "oh, I 'll get you so and so." This woman put me through to a Vice-President- a much calmer and rational person who gave me all the information I needed and wished me luck on the project. It was amazing.

What I learned: Sadly, I learned that yelling and being a jerk get you more of what you want among these people. So, if you hear a story about a star, producer, manager, or anyone in Hollywood that is successful being a jerk. Stop and think about it...the industry us pretty much made up of people who had to be tough and sometimes mean to make it....I also learned that knowing what you want and having confidence in yourself will go farther than being 'right' in what you are doing or even part of the in crowd...as E! was not nor ever had respect.