Chasing The George

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. Today’s blog title is pretty dismal. Depressing, in fact. However, as we are aware, Hollywood has been struggling for some time, undergoing a prolonged period of contraction that has impacted numerous industry workers across the board and is reshaping the industry’s landscape today and in the future. My agent sent a powerful email to his clients last December, which painted a grim picture of Hollywood. This past week, I had a meeting with a friend and prominent industry mentor who, when asked if Hollywood would ever come back, bluntly answered, “No.” However, despite the dark reality of what they both shared, they also shared advice on how to push through. Below, I am sharing the email my agent sent, with his permission, to provide one reality, one point of view. I am also sharing advice that my mentor shared with me. Again, it starts bleak, but the light appears at the end of the tunnel.

“LET’S TALK ABOUT THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

(The One That Got Laid Off, Lost Its Health Insurance, and Is Now Driving for Uber)

Look, we’re not going to pretend everything is fine. Some days I open the breakdowns and see 10 to 20 roles. Total. Across all of Los Angeles. The entertainment capital of the world. Fewer roles than a community theater production of ‘Our Town.’ In a good year? That number is 200 to 300. Per day. This is not a good year. This is the year good years tell their children about to scare them into behaving.

2024 was, according to FilmLA President Paul Audley, “the worst year on record, excluding COVID.” And 2025? Production dropped another 22% in the first quarter. We’re not bouncing back. We’re bouncing down. We’re a basketball someone forgot to inflate.

Here’s what happened to our industry—and I promise this will be educational AND depressing: The Streaming Bubble Didn’t Just Pop—It Exploded Like a Piñata Full of Pink Slips. Remember when every corporation with a server and a dream decided they needed their own streaming service? Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Apple TV+, Discovery+, plus whatever new platform launched while you were reading this sentence and will be defunct by the time you finish it?

They spent money like a divorced dad trying to win back his kids. Original series everywhere! Content! MORE CONTENT! Studios and streamers were spending $6 billion more annually than they are now. It was raining money. We were all dancing in it. Then someone at every company simultaneously looked at a spreadsheet and said: “Wait. We’re… losing money? On purpose?” Disney+ went from 25 premieres in 2023 to nine in 2024. Nine. That’s not a streaming service. That’s a DVD collection your aunt forgot to cancel.

The Strike Hangover Is Real (And Nobody’s Bringing Us Advil).

he WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes were necessary. The gains were important. But production is still 11% below pre-strike levels.

Shorter Seasons: Because Who Needs Jobs?

Remember when a TV season was 22 episodes? When “getting a series regular role” meant actual regular employment? Now a season is 8 episodes. Maybe 10 if the show is a “priority” and the showrunner has blackmail material on someone. Networks have shortened seasons, reduced episode counts and expect the same cultural impact. That’s like cutting a pizza into fewer slices and claiming you’re still serving dinner. Eight episodes. That’s not a season. That’s a long weekend with commercial breaks.

California Is Losing the Tax Credit War (To Places With Worse Weather And Better Accountants).

California now ranks sixth in the world for filming. SIXTH. Behind Toronto, the UK, Vancouver, Central Europe, and Australia. We INVENTED this industry. Charlie Chaplin didn’t move to Hollywood because of Vancouver’s competitive rebate structure. But here we are, losing productions to Canada because they offer better incentives and free healthcare for when you injure yourself crying about it.

71% of projects that didn’t get California’s tax credits moved out of state. Georgia—GEORGIA—is filming Marvel movies while we’re still debating whether to increase our incentive cap from “embarrassing” to “slightly less embarrassing.” You know it’s bad when actors are learning to fake Southern accents just to stay employed. “Y’all” is the new “hello.”

The Numbers Are Brutal (Feel Free to Skip This Part If You’re Already Sad).

42,000 entertainment jobs have disappeared from Los Angeles in the last two years. That’s not a downturn. That’s a magic trick. “Now you see middle-class stability… NOW YOU DON’T.” TV shoot days dropped from 18,560 in 2021 to just 7,716 in 2024–a 58% decline. 63% of crew members earned less than they expected last year.

And here’s the one that keeps me up at night: 41% of industry workers are considering leaving entertainment entirely within five years. Forty-one percent of the people who make movies and television are thinking about quitting. To do what? I don’t know. Something stable. Like cryptocurrency or professional gambling.

And Then Los Angeles Caught Fire.

Because of course it did. The fires displaced production, destroyed locations, and added “acts of God” to an industry already being punished by acts of shareholders. Some beloved filming locations may never return to the screen. Which means we’ll have to find NEW places to pretend are New York.

So What Does This Mean For You?

It means every audition matters more than ever. It means your materials need to be immaculate. It means when those 10 roles come through—instead of 200—you need to be ready for all of them. It also means: We’re still here. You’re still here. People are still booking.

Look at our clients this year: ABBOTT ELEMENTARY. HACKS. ELSBETH. THE PITT. YELLOWSTONE. HIGH POTENTIAL, etc. Work is happening. Roles are being cast. Shows are being made. The pie is smaller. But there’s still pie. And our job—yours and ours—is to make sure you get a slice. So update your headshots. Refresh your reel. Check your Actors Access settings. Be ready. Because when that breakdown comes through—even if it’s one of only 15 that day—someone is going to book it. Make sure that someone is you.

(And if that someone ISN’T you? Keep going anyway. Because 41% of people are thinking about quitting, which means 59% of us are too stubborn, too passionate, or too far in debt to stop now. That’s either inspiring or clinically concerning. Welcome to show business. We’re all in this together—and by “this” I mean “a collapsing industry we refuse to abandon.” Happy Holidays!)”

******************************* Keep reading below 🙂

During our meeting, my friend and mentor shared that “knowledge is power.” We need to learn and wear multiple hats in marketing, distribution, budgeting, and the law, to own our creations, run them, and make a living. He said it’s what the successful social media influencers and YouTubers do so well. He talked about the growth of the vertical content market as the next evolution of Hollywood and production, adding that this period of time will separate the wheat from the chaff, the mice from the men, and that if you don’t have an “unquenchable thirst” to do this, then “shut the fuck up and stop complaining.” He also mentioned Darwin’s theory of evolution, which posits that we must evolve and adapt to survive, as a way to illustrate how to navigate a changing Hollywood. Keep reading below 🙂

And, of course, there’s my other mentor, Richard Lawson, who has been telling his students, as far back as 2005, that artists need to create for themselves to build the careers they want and have Hollywood come to them. Richard says we need to run our careers like CEO’s. We need to have a business plan. We need to learn how to write, produce, film, edit, and distribute our works. Serendipitously, Richard also brought up vertical content in class this past Thursday, and he proposed an exciting idea that would utilize our creative talents in this arena. Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. Writing is a central focus for 2026. As I continue to check off to-do items and goals on my DOIN (business plan), I have arrived at the next goal on the list: creating a website. I decided to add this goal after receiving advice from several people, including one of my mentors and a top industry professional, about the value and legitimacy of having a website.

In terms of action items I’ve taken so far to achieve this particular goal, I researched websites from screenwriters I admire to get a sense of their style and aesthetic. I reactivated my Wix account so that it can be the hosting site for my website. I’ve also brainstormed ideas for website images and rewritten my writer’s bio. I am excited to see how my writing style and brand as a writer influence the design of my website. Equally exciting is to see how any of my assets and liabilities influence the design of my website as well. Keep reading below 🙂

Of course, there may be people in 2026 who disagree about the importance or relevance of having a personal website. “Why bother with a website when you have social media platforms instead?” True. Yes. Valid. Social media provides a powerful platform to share your interests and build your brand. It can create far-reaching exposure for you. Personally, I think it boils down to personal and professional preferences. What platform is going to work best for you and your goals? Which platform best conveys the message you want to put into the world? Keep reading below 🙂

I think social media platforms and websites can co-exist. Each platform serves as a valuable tool in my artistic arsenal. With a website, I can house everything related to my writing in one convenient, central place. Visitors can read my writer’s bio, watch examples of my work, read specific writing wins and news, connect with me on social media and my weekly industry blog, obtain dates for film screenings or speaking engagements, purchase merchandise, etc. For me, a website provides a more comprehensive, focused picture of who I am. In addition, a website is something I own. I can change and modify it at any time. I can express myself a little bit deeper with it. It’s why I love blogging. Blogging provides me a platform to express myself in detailed, personal ways that I can’t do on social media. That said, social media is great too. I can create quick, immediate moments on my social media platforms. Quick “snapshots” of what was going on or what I was experiencing at a particular moment in my life. Social media has also been great for building relationships and staying engaged with others. Perhaps social media is a good appetizer to a website’s magnificent entrée? Keep reading below 🙂

As I continue my website-building journey, I postulate that it becomes a living, breathing entity just like my Declaration of Independence (DOIN). A viable tool that draws industry and non-industry folks into my world and reveals who I am. If you build it, will they come? Yes. Keep reading below 🙂

I look forward to sharing my website with you all in the near future! Keep reading below 🙂

See you all next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. The title of today’s blog entry is a playful nod to the 1960s “Batman” series in which his sidekick, Robin, would usually exclaim “Holy __!” to describe a situation at hand. Phrases like “Holy cow!”, “Holy Toledo!” and “Holy cliffhangers!” became part of his signature brand.

In honor of one of my favorite sidekick characters, I’m creating my own catchphrase to express excitement about my administration plans and the progress I’ve made so far in 2026. With my 2026 DOIN (Declaration of Independence, also known as a business plan) in place, I have hit the ground running, checking off items on my list that will bring me closer to achieving various goals. I always say that administration plans are where the work is. Administration plans allow you to roll up your sleeves and execute specific actions towards a goal. Keep reading below 🙂

And how do I tackle my administration plans? Great question, Batman! Within my DOIN, I have arranged my goals in order from short-term to long-term ones. Under each goal, I have a list of action items (administration plans) to achieve those goals. At the beginning of each week, I go through my DOIN and make decisions about what I’m tackling for that week. Once I do that, I grab my trusty planner and write down action items to tackle on specific days of the week. I get excited when I open my planner and see to-do lists for the week. And sometimes, my to-do lists spill over into the following week! Holy admin plans, indeed! Once I accomplish an action item, I return to my DOIN, find that same action item, place a star inside its bullet point, and then type in the date that I accomplished it. Keep reading below 🙂

Check, check, check. I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I check items off my to-do list. Writing sessions, writing competition submissions, administration meetings, and researching websites and writers’ groups are just a few actions I’ve executed so far in 2026. Action, action, action. And like Richard Lawson said in class last Thursday, January 15th, what’s the “WHY” behind your administration plans? Why are you taking these actions daily? What is driving you to take these actions every day? Be clear on the WHY. In this way, your actions are connected and meaningful. Here’s another way to illustrate what Richard is talking about: Your administration plans connect to your goals, your goals connect to a specific postulate, and your postulate connects to your raison d’être (your purpose, the WHY, the engine for everything). Administration plans—-> Goals—-> Postulate—-> Raison d’être. The actions I take daily ultimately connect me to my raison d’être. I know what I want for 2026, I know the why behind it, and my administration plans are marching me towards it. Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! And Happy 2026! I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed holiday season. The new year is upon us, and the artistic journey continues. Let’s do this.

The Richard Lawson Studios assigned all of its students to work on our DOINs (Declaration of Independence, also known as a business plan) for 2026. I became really excited to tackle my Declaration of Independence in a new unit of time. I pulled up my DOIN from 2025, made a copy of it, and deleted all of the goals and administration plans that I achieved and executed. I also left certain sections intact, such as my raison d’être, postulates, daily policies, guiding principles, celebrations, and hobbies. However, because I want to be intentional about the year ahead and what I want to focus on, I also combed through these sections word for word to see if they still resonated with me. I didn’t want to have any words in my DOIN that didn’t ring true for me. I wanted each word to be specific. Keep reading below 🙂

It’s a new year. Is it a new me? Yes and no. Yes, in terms of refining my raison d’être a little bit. Yes, in terms of removing an outdated postulate and getting specific with my policies. Yes, in terms of writing down new goals and the corresponding administration plans to achieve those goals. But at my core, I remain the same. What drives me, my raison d’être, still shapes everything I do, from my postulates to my new goals. Keep reading below 🙂

Yes, I evolve, grow, and learn each year, striving to improve both personally and professionally. But at the core, I am still me: an artist, a brown, queer Superman, wanting to defy expectations and stereotypes, to be seen and heard through my art, and to create change and make an impact. Keep reading below 🙂

I am happy to see my DNA throughout my DOIN for 2026. I am also happy for the new journey I am embarking on and the new goals I look forward to achieving. I am excited to continue sharing my journey with you all this year. Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! The curtain closes on 2025, and I wanted to recap my 10 most powerful blog entries of the year. It was challenging to narrow them down, but I felt these 10 entries really captured and represented certain milestone moments of my year. I hope these, and all of my entries, inspired and guided your artistic journey in some way. Here’s to another year of fun, growth, and possibilities. And, as always, thank you for your support. Now, let’s dive in!

1. This entry talks about how I defied gravity on both professional and personal levels to carve my career and move it forward.
Defying This Thing Called Gravity

2. This entry talks about the amazing win of completing the first draft of my new feature film script in less than three days.
I Finished Writing My Latest Feature Film Script!

3. This entry talks about how I celebrated the amazing win of completing the first draft of my new feature film script by acquiring a painting from one of my favorite artists.
How I Celebrated The Completion Of My Latest Feature Film Script!

4. This entry celebrates the 10th anniversary of my blog, and how this project has become a consistent tool for accountability and sustained effort in pursuing my artistic journey, while also inspiring others.
Happy 10th Anniversary, Chasing The George!

5. This entry talks about the key lessons the PDP 3.0 Collective and I learned during a production meeting with a big Hollywood executive (the biggest lesson for me being that a script’s success and commercial viability are often determined in the first ten pages.)
How A Superhero Elevated Our Production Meeting.

6. After experiencing back-to-back losses in my family, I talk about the power of art as a vital foundation for re-establishing life, processing grief, and moving forward.
Through Tragedy and Darkness, The Show Continues.

7. In my second-ever video blog, I answer questions from my blog readers around the world!
Answering Questions From My Fans!

8. “K-SHIT FM” almost made me quit Hollywood, but I was successfully able to pivot to “K-ART FM” and overcome doubt by taking causative action through career administration and artistic engagement to reconnect with my identity and purpose.
The Day I Almost Quit Hollywood (And How I Bounced Back)

9. If a goal is important enough, an artist will seize opportunities to conduct crucial meetings and advance their career administration regardless of the time, location, or circumstances.
Conducting Important Meetings While On The Toilet!

10. I talk about the wonderful chance encounter I had with a top literary agent, the massive door that opened for me, and the takeaways from that fateful day.
Less Than 24 Hours Later, A Massive Door Opened For Me

SEE YOU IN 2026!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. In last week’s blog entry, Conducting Important Meetings While On The Toilet!, I wrote that if something is important to you, you’ll take a meeting anywhere and make it go right in order to move your goals forward. Less than 24 hours after publishing that blog entry, a massive door opened for me.

On Sunday, December 8th, my pillar job hosted a holiday dance event, and I decided to bring my residents. Wanting to celebrate the productive week they had, I thought this event would be a perfect conclusion. The show was both wonderful and entertaining. We enjoyed watching the young dancers, and I loved seeing their parents beam with pride. Afterward, a parent thanked us, and I was struck by how familiar they looked. I wondered whether they might be an actor, writer, or reality TV contestant. I checked with my co-worker, but they didn’t recognize the parent either. My curiosity grew, but just as I was about to give up, I finally remembered. Keep reading below 🙂

I realized that this person was one of the top literary agents in the industry. I knew this because I attended a few of this person’s online forums and panels during the COVID years (when everything was held and conducted online). This person immediately became my hero because they reminded me so much of Richard Lawson’s approach to having a career. Richard is one of my mentors, a master teacher and actor, who teaches us to focus on the 360 degrees of our careers and to run them like CEOs. This agent’s approach was very similar to Richard’s. Hooray! I finally figured out who this person was! Keep reading below 🙂

I approached this person and introduced myself. I explained how I knew them and what their lessons meant to me. They asked me if I was a screenwriter, and I confidently answered yes. They gave me their email address and encouraged me to stay in touch. I emailed them the next day, and they responded that same day with a note of appreciation and an invitation to keep them in the loop on my writing journey, as well as any assistance or advice they can provide. Keep reading below 🙂

This is a huge win for me. I introduced myself and created an informal, respectful meeting right after a dance event. This moment did not go unnoticed by me, as I just posted a blog entry about meetings happening in unexpected places. Some takeaways I’d like to share from that fateful day. 1) You never know who is in the room with you. I could have easily checked out during the dance concert and scrolled on my phone. However, I would never do that. These are artists, people, in front of me, and I will give them the time and respect they deserve. I was interested and engaged the entire time. I presented myself professionally and with a good attitude in front of all these dancers and their proud parents (By the way, this agent stood behind me the whole time, and it’s possible that my engagement and support during the dance event made them more receptive to talking with me after it was over.) 2) Answer questions with confidence. When they asked if I was a screenwriter, I didn’t flinch or hesitate. I said, “Yes, I am.” 3) All of the writing I’ve been doing this year could have led me to this agent. Outflow equals inflow. For example, I started writing my rugby feature film script, and I now have a third draft that I’m workshopping in my career admin group meetings. My writing partner (Kelly Tighe) and I are working on the second draft of “The Third Act” feature film script. Recently, I revisited an older feature script and strengthened all the action lines (plus some dialogue). I was also assigned to present my writing admin plan in class on November 10th, and Kelly gave me an assignment to create an admin plan for the next chapter of my rugby script (which I quickly started). Finally, I’ve been blogging all year long! 4) Listen to your instincts. Something told me to bring my residents to that event. I’m so glad I listened to my gut. Keep reading below 🙂

I am excited to see how things progress between this agent and I. And of course, to maintain and respect this person’s privacy, I will not reveal who they are 🙂 See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. Okay, okay, so I didn’t take an important meeting while on the toilet (well, I did once… more info about that in just a second.) However, I did conduct my weekly career administration meeting during my lunch break at my pillar job. My awesome admin partner is working on a feature film for the next several weeks, and so he’s unable to meet during our normally scheduled Monday times. When he announced his awesome win and realized Mondays would be a no-go, I think we both experienced a bit of separation anxiety, LOL. However, recognizing how important our admin meetings are, we looked at other potential meeting times to keep our momentum going. I’m glad we did this because we are in a good workflow, and we don’t want it to stop. So, we decided that Saturdays or Sundays during my lunch breaks would work.

On Saturday, December 6th, 2025, we held our first career administration meeting during my lunch hour. Sitting outside in the courtyard made conducting business exhilarating. It reinforced that nothing stops us from advancing our goals, regardless of the setting. I remembered that some of the most important meetings happen in unexpected places—on a golf course, at a party—even, as hinted in my blog title today, the toilet. Keep reading below 🙂

Now about that meeting on a toilet…When I took Richard Lawson’s Professional Development Program 1.0 course, he assigned us a film project called “Target Project.” The purpose of this film project is to reach out to someone in Hollywood you admire and interview them. The person you target should resonate with you, hopefully having a career you would like to have as well. In this way, the interview becomes personal, and you tailor the questions to really learn something from your guest. I targeted a successful, Emmy-winning actor, writer, and executive producer who graduated from Vassar College. I admire his career, and I would love to have one like his. Because my person was incredibly busy, I had to plant the seed weeks in advance in order to 1) get him to agree to do this filmed interview and 2) set up a time to conduct the interview. Keep reading below 🙂

Long story short, it got down to the wire. The project was due in a couple of days, and I still hadn’t secured a meeting with him. I was working as a bartender in West Hollywood at the time, and I felt the impending, looming deadline quickly approaching. All of a sudden, in the middle of my shift, I received a phone call from his office. I literally stopped everything I was doing and ran into the bathroom, into a stall, and took the phone call. And in that stall, we scheduled a time for us to do the interview! I was thrilled. I was ecstatic. I believe I executed several fist bumps in the stall as we solidified and confirmed the time. I secured an important interview in a bathroom stall…next to a toilet! Keep reading below 🙂

The lesson: if something matters, you’ll take the meeting anywhere to advance your goals! Where is the most unique, hilarious, or odd place you’ve conducted a meeting? Let me know in the comments below! Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. I recently mentioned that I started bringing my rugby feature film script to my career administration meetings so that my partner could read it out loud, 10 pages at a time. I felt excited and nervous when he was about to read the first ten pages on September 22nd. I felt giddy when he read certain bits of dialogue that resonated so beautifully and powerfully. I also remember those moments when I tilted my head to the side whenever something didn’t click or make sense. Armed with questions I created for him, he provided valuable and exciting feedback after each reading. And this past Monday, he finished reading act one!

As a writer, these feelings never grow old, nor do they ever disappear whenever talented actors read my words for the first time. I mean, can you blame me? The writing process consumes me. I put my all into my writing (as well as other forms of artistic expression, like acting). Writing is incredibly vulnerable and personal, and I’m honored and privileged to have trusted artists with whom I can share my work. Keep reading below 🙂

AND…LOL…having readings of your script is so important because that’s where you discover mistakes! Whether it’s a typo, grammatical, or formatting error, readers help to find those mistakes because they read the words with a fresh pair of eyes. Case in point, when my admin partner read through the rest of act one over Zoom and got to the part where the protagonist tries out for the rugby team, the script says that he performs a “Hick Kick” drill. LOL.LOL. LOL. As soon as the words came out of my admin partner’s mouth, I tilted my head to the side and silently questioned if that was a legitimate rugby drill. Yes! It had to be! I wrote it! He then stopped and asked, “Is that high kick catching?” I responded with, “Yeah, that should be high kick catching.” We laughed, and I immediately fixed the error in the script. He quickly added, “The other reason that it’s good to read through these…high kick catching…we’re not kicking any hicks here.” We laughed again. Keep reading below 🙂

Have you ever found hilarious mistakes in your writing? If so, leave me a comment below. See you next week!