Tales of a Hollywood Intern — Part 2
Into the Lion's Den
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My internship finished at the end of the summer of 1994, and I went back to UCSB for my senior year. They offered to hire me on, but I declined, predicting the show probably wouldn’t be picked up. I was right.
Back at school, I went through the grind of my senior year but always looked forward to one class. “Anatomy of the Industry” went into great detail about the business end of Hollywood. It was so interesting and captivating, the 200 seat room was packed every Friday night at 7PM.
The class was taught by a top Hollywood executive named David Weitzner. He was president of World Wide Marketing for MCA/Universal, and the man was a living legend. This was the guy who marketed Star Wars and E.T. back in the day.
He’d come up from Hollywood every Friday night to teach this class, just because he loved doing it. And he’d bring along special guest “friends” each week. Major players like Tom Pollack, Sid Ganis, Marcy Carsey, and Robert Zemeckis.
Here’s the thing you need to know about LA: Real legitimate contacts can come from the unlikeliest of places. You never really know who you’re going to meet, but you have to be ready for it when it happens.
Expect nothing, but be prepared for anything.
One night, the guys brought this kid over from their dorm. Scotty was from Calabasas and was going to City College to study film. You could tell he was smart. Scary smart. We ended up talking for hours, and by the end of the night, I made a new friend.
Scott and I hung out a lot that year. He helped me out with film projects. On weekends I’d cruise back home to Thousand Oaks, and I’d meet him at his dad’s place in Calabasas, and we’d party down in Hollywood.
Visiting these places “on the other side of the hill” started to become a regular occurrence for me. I’d find myself outside my element as I spent more and more time with Scott and his friends in Calabasas, Encino, and Beverly Hills.
But no matter what situation I’d find myself, no matter how far out of my own world I’d end up, I learned to anchor myself to reality. No matter what was going on, I would just say to…
