How to Get Producers to Beg You to Work

"It’s the phone call we all hope to get from a producer: “I really need you coming up. There’s nobody else we want.”

There’s something satisfying about being needed and wanted by a production, especially when it feels like you’re just another replaceable cog in the Hollywood machine.

But not everybody gets those calls. And even if you do, I bet they aren’t as frequent as you would hope. Most likely, you have to make concessions to get a job — on your day rate, on your accommodations, maybe even on the type of job you do.

And while that’s fine every once in awhile, it can get real old, real fast.

Instead, you want every phone call to be a producer begging you to come work for them — pleading that you’re the savior of the set. Well, you may not have them physically groveling at your feet, but here’s a few steps to get them to really want you nonetheless.

Step 1. Be Flexible

Be open minded about day rates and scheduling

Producers make thousands of decisions throughout the day. And many of those decisions affect other decisions they’ve already made. Things change — sometimes because they changed them and sometimes because they didn’t — but either way, they have to be flexible.

And they want you to be flexible as well. One way to get producers to fall in love with you as a crew member is to roll with the punches.

Most of the time, these last-minute changes aren’t always their fault. They have to ride the rollercoaster of pre-production just as much as anyone else. There are times where a shoot gets delayed because the lead actor got the flu, or an investor backs out at the last minute, or the cinematographer decides they’re going to operate the camera instead of you.

While that doesn’t mean you should let them steamroll you in negotiations, it does mean you have to be willing to concede a little bit on your side. For instance, if you were originally told you would have your own hotel room, but then have to share it with your 2nd AC just say, “No problem.”

Or if your day rate gets cut by $25 to pay the Camera PA you asked for, deem it fair.

Lastly, the more flexible you are with scheduling the more they will call you up for things.

I have a producer friend who I’ve worked for on a few occasions last-minute with a very low rate because I sympathized with his project. Then, when he had a few shows with high budgets, he called me and said, “I’m going to call you back in an hour and ask for your day rate. Tell me whatever you want and I’ll say yes.”

If you’re willing to leave the night before a shoot to be on set the next day, producers will love you. They will have someone they know they can trust last minute. And they will often return the favor by calling you for other jobs as well."

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