Industry Events

For VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE only

This week was chock full of industry events. The “industry” is the entertainment industry, which is kind of funny because calling itself “the industry” makes it sound like a steel mill or a textile factory, not a collection of people avoiding doing real jobs. Most of these events surrounded the Emmys, an award that (to date) I have never won nor been nominated for. I know, hard to believe.

That feeling when you weren’t invited but you’re manifesting (source)

I attended an industry event this week, despite never being nominated for or winning an Emmy. This is because the event is not affiliated with the Emmys. It was more of an academic conference with a showbiz bent. Luckily, this wasn’t my first industry event so I knew how to approach it. I’ve been blessed enough to have attended some second-tier awards shows and premiere parties over the years, which happens to anyone who lives in Los Angeles at least one month and is friends with people who are more talented than they are. (I highly recommend being friends with people more talented than you, not because it keeps you humble but because how depressing would it be if you were the most talented person you knew? Sounds lonely and boring.)

You have to go to an industry event prepared to have conversations with people you have never met before. This can be daunting but I actually find it quite fun, like cannonballing into a swimming pool. There aren’t a lot of contexts where conversations with full strangers are not only sanctioned but expected, and it’s fascinating to hear what stumbles out of my mouth when trying to engage with the world. And most people are very nice and happy that someone’s talking to them! Except for one time when someone was so staggeringly rude to me the jaws of everyone sitting at our table visibly dropped. I wished bad things upon that person, and a few months later they were in a hugely popular movie and became America’s sweetheart. That’s pretty funny!

That brings up another point: there will be celebrities at the industry events. They will vary in levels of fame, but (see above) you should try and talk to them if you are a fan. This is a context where celebrities feel safe and among their people and away from the masses. Because you are at an event with them, that will mean you are one of them. That said, I’m not good at this. I chickened out when I saw Tim Gunn once despite him being one of my all-time favorite celebrities and regret it to this day. On the other hand, I did get a picture with the child actors from Moonlight which I treasure. That said, they were children so the intimidation factor was slightly diminished.  

Often the food at these events will be disappointingly bad, but there will be an open bar so you’ll eat the food anyway. You wonder why wealthy people have such a bad time picking out free food but then you remember it’s because they’re the only ones not there for the free food.

The speakers at the industry event will hype up the industry. This is just to sort of circle the wagons and validate all of our decisions to bravely not get real jobs.

At the end of the day, you will go home and feel tired and probably bad. You will realize success is meaningless and arbitrary and doled out by a few people that have pretty bad taste and in that way your life might be a complete waste of time. After spending the day hearing about how what you do fills other people with life, you will feel drained. And that’s your burden to bear because you’re not like other people. You’re in the industry.