Venturing Into the Entertainment World
Andrew Hui
Issue date: 11/12/01 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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The last Reporter issue talked about reasons to work in the entertainment industry after graduation. Some of our classmates actually ventured into this area over the past summer (although in a more business-oriented capacity than the article has suggested). Here they will give us some glimpses about business life in entertainment.
Yelena Chak, MBA2
Yelena worked at Valhalla Motion Pictures over the summer. The company is the production vehicle of renowned Stanford- grad producer Gale Anne Hund (credits include Terminator, Terminator 2, Aliens, Dante’s Peak, and Armageddon). Yelena wanted to pursue a summer internship in the film industry because “it was time to actually do something she enjoys for living.”
As a development/production intern, Yelena’s main responsibilities included reading and summarizing scripts, writing coverage, watching short films, and scheduling and budgeting productions. She mentioned that what she definitely enjoyed was the power associated with her position and the overall creative environment.
When asked whether there were any funny stories, she said the most startling thing was the difference between Hollywood and the rest of the business world. At one point, her manager asked her into his office because he had an “Excel emergency.” Yelena was getting all worried that what remains from Patell’s class wouldn’t be enough to help. As it turns out, the “crisis” was just to sum a row of four numbers. Needless to say, Yelena aced the task, and her manager was very impressed.
Going forward, Yelena would still try to get a job in the industry, ideally in marketing or distribution for a studio. After all, working in entertainment seems to be the perfect route for a film/TV buff like her.
Chloe Sladden, MBA2
Chloe worked at Rearden Steel, a tech/media start-up based in Palo Alto. The company was founded by Steve Perlman, who also founded WebTV. Rearden Steel is developing a revolutionary home entertainment consumer electronics device, but not much detail is available now because the company is still in stealth mode.
Chloe joined the company mainly due to her interests in new media. As a marketing/business development associate, her responsibilities included analyzing the digital rights market and devising an initial digital music strategy.
The most amazing part of her job was the fact that what they do could change the way content is created and consumed. “Helping shape an industry through these new avenues gives me a big kick,” Chloe said. On the other hand, “unleashing the industry and allowing it to take advantage of these technological advances requires overcoming many ingrained hurdles, mostly stemming from a reluctant industry culture.”
How successful Rearden Steel will be is still uncertain at the moment. But Chloe is pretty sure that after graduation she will go back to media & entertainment, most likely with a focus in new media. Ideally, she would like to find a role that combines business and creativity. However, she does realize that the combination is the ultimate “holy grail in entertainment.”
Philip Reade, MBA2
Philip worked at Fox Cable Networks as a Summer Associate in the business development group. He wanted to work in entertainment to understand the operational side of show making (from talent picking to production to distribution); and also to understand the technologies that are shaping content generation and distribution.
Philip enjoyed most the autonomy and exposure in his job. He had much control over his project – which was to explore and analyze the concept of digital channels. On the flip side, what he disliked most was lack of structure and organization.
Philip said that nothing real funny happened at Fox. But he did get tickets to see the Teen Award and that experience in itself was hysterical.
Yelena Chak, MBA2
Yelena worked at Valhalla Motion Pictures over the summer. The company is the production vehicle of renowned Stanford- grad producer Gale Anne Hund (credits include Terminator, Terminator 2, Aliens, Dante’s Peak, and Armageddon). Yelena wanted to pursue a summer internship in the film industry because “it was time to actually do something she enjoys for living.”
As a development/production intern, Yelena’s main responsibilities included reading and summarizing scripts, writing coverage, watching short films, and scheduling and budgeting productions. She mentioned that what she definitely enjoyed was the power associated with her position and the overall creative environment.
When asked whether there were any funny stories, she said the most startling thing was the difference between Hollywood and the rest of the business world. At one point, her manager asked her into his office because he had an “Excel emergency.” Yelena was getting all worried that what remains from Patell’s class wouldn’t be enough to help. As it turns out, the “crisis” was just to sum a row of four numbers. Needless to say, Yelena aced the task, and her manager was very impressed.
Going forward, Yelena would still try to get a job in the industry, ideally in marketing or distribution for a studio. After all, working in entertainment seems to be the perfect route for a film/TV buff like her.
Chloe Sladden, MBA2
Chloe worked at Rearden Steel, a tech/media start-up based in Palo Alto. The company was founded by Steve Perlman, who also founded WebTV. Rearden Steel is developing a revolutionary home entertainment consumer electronics device, but not much detail is available now because the company is still in stealth mode.
Chloe joined the company mainly due to her interests in new media. As a marketing/business development associate, her responsibilities included analyzing the digital rights market and devising an initial digital music strategy.
The most amazing part of her job was the fact that what they do could change the way content is created and consumed. “Helping shape an industry through these new avenues gives me a big kick,” Chloe said. On the other hand, “unleashing the industry and allowing it to take advantage of these technological advances requires overcoming many ingrained hurdles, mostly stemming from a reluctant industry culture.”
How successful Rearden Steel will be is still uncertain at the moment. But Chloe is pretty sure that after graduation she will go back to media & entertainment, most likely with a focus in new media. Ideally, she would like to find a role that combines business and creativity. However, she does realize that the combination is the ultimate “holy grail in entertainment.”
Philip Reade, MBA2
Philip worked at Fox Cable Networks as a Summer Associate in the business development group. He wanted to work in entertainment to understand the operational side of show making (from talent picking to production to distribution); and also to understand the technologies that are shaping content generation and distribution.
Philip enjoyed most the autonomy and exposure in his job. He had much control over his project – which was to explore and analyze the concept of digital channels. On the flip side, what he disliked most was lack of structure and organization.
Philip said that nothing real funny happened at Fox. But he did get tickets to see the Teen Award and that experience in itself was hysterical.