The ink was barely dry on the contract with a fresh new agent in New York when I discovered that Flight would be premiering at the New York Film Festival. I had only worked for a day on the film, but the day was a pivotal scene with Denzel Washington. One of my excited new agents said “we’ve got to get you invited to that premiere!” Words I’d never heard before - and I agreed that we obviously did.
The time I didn't get invited to a premiere (and the red carpet) when I thought I would, I realized the disappointment was a blow to my ego and had nothing to do with my work on the project, which I was proud of. I now see premiere/red carpet invitations as nice but not necessary; doing good work I can be proud of is all that matters to me.
Totally agree, Charles! The industry uses them as another way to “class” us, I think. (They do this with billing, pay, and trailers… and anything else they can as well.) It can also be pay-to-play - someone with two lines who chooses to hire a publicist can get on the carpet while someone with four scenes with the lead will be left out. The people who work every day for months behind the scenes aren’t invited! In the end, it’s silliness. The work and the community matter… and yeah, I wish they weren’t so exclusive with who is allowed to celebrate that.
The time I didn't get invited to a premiere (and the red carpet) when I thought I would, I realized the disappointment was a blow to my ego and had nothing to do with my work on the project, which I was proud of. I now see premiere/red carpet invitations as nice but not necessary; doing good work I can be proud of is all that matters to me.
Totally agree, Charles! The industry uses them as another way to “class” us, I think. (They do this with billing, pay, and trailers… and anything else they can as well.) It can also be pay-to-play - someone with two lines who chooses to hire a publicist can get on the carpet while someone with four scenes with the lead will be left out. The people who work every day for months behind the scenes aren’t invited! In the end, it’s silliness. The work and the community matter… and yeah, I wish they weren’t so exclusive with who is allowed to celebrate that.