Industry Connections Quotes

Usually when you meet with a director, just meeting them after you've seen something you're interested in, they say, "Oh I'd love to work together," and sometimes you never hear from them again.

Everyone has an idea that they think would be a great movie. Everyone has a cousin who they think you should work with.

In my career as an actress, I have never got involved with anybody from the world of films. I have always kept my professional and personal life separate, as that's my policy.

Modeling for a year taught me a lot. I got very involved in the fashion industry and met a bunch of people who I admired.

I just am really bad at making new friends - especially in the music industry, because they're not really real friends; they're just music industry friends.

In some ways, getting published in children's literature is a little more open than publishing adult literature. It's less hinged on who you might know.

An actor's career relies on a lot of luck. Being in the right place at the right time.

I wanted to design a line based on Hollywood's Golden Era. I talked with Stephen Burrows and with Willi Smith and with one or two other people, but it just seems like such a hard field to break into. I need someone like Calvin Klein's manager to get behind me!

Acting just didn't seem like a viable option. I didn't have any connections in the industry, and I had little support from my family. Also, there just weren't a lot of Asian-Americans on TV or in the movies.

Portland doesn't have the same kind of infrastructure that the national film hubs have. We struggle with that a little bit.

You do a movie [where] you like the script [and] it has something to say that you care about. And there are certain people in this industry that you kind of stick with. Guys like [“The Congressman” producer] Fred Roos. They call you, and if you’re not working, that’s what you do.

Every week, I take two phone calls or meetings with an aspiring producer or director.

I have to say one of the most gratifying things about being in this industry for a long time is you do develop a genuine sense of community with the people you know and collaborate with.

The real beauty in my professional experience has been friendships and collaborations with filmmakers.

Even if my movies weren't big blockbusters, directors generally liked me, so they would fight for me.

At first, I didn't hang out with celebrity kids. That wasn't the way I was brought up. I went to a run-of-the-mill Catholic primary school when we first moved to L.A. But then I went to a high school where there were lots of 'industry' children. Those weren't my best friends and I've never set out to make myself a part of that scene.

I got 'Delhi Belly' and 'Badmaash Company' because people from the production house had seen my stand-up comic acts in a DVD that was lying in their offices. It's been a weird journey, and I think weird goes with me.

I have a special attachment to 'Bitter Sweet' and feel grateful because it introduced me to people in the film industry overseas and helped me experience Hollywood.

Many people have been able to get pitch meetings by just cold calling, especially the smaller networks and especially with the reality shows.

I really do the conventions now for two reasons.

If anyone has the opportunity to connect the dots and look at the directors I've worked with, from TV to film, there are some heavy hitters, from Taylor Hackford to John Singleton.

I'm not one of those actors where filmmakers that I admire ask me to be in their movies. I meet them at parties and they're nice to me, but they never ask me to work with them.

I do feel that I'm talking to someone who's in a totally different place from where I was when I started modeling. I was fortunate enough to have the wonderful designers and amazing photographers around me, and editors that I knew, and if I wanted to ask a question, I asked them. So that gap has broadened a bit.

For example, for me, my brother helped me get a manager, which I don't take for granted. It's tough getting a manager, let alone one that actually cares about you and is smart. But from there, no one's going to cast me just because I'm James Franco's little brother.

When I first met Big, we were both at a 'Bad Boy' family photo shoot. I was kind of familiar with the name Biggie Smalls, but I really wasn't that much into hip-hop at the time, so I really didn't know that was him. He said he didn't even know I was an artist on 'Bad Boy.'