Blair Richwood's Advice and Tips to Assistants (Interview)

Interviewed by Lydia Rawlings, 1998
© 1998 Blair Richwood - All Rights Reserved
(Reprints with permission only)

How did working as an assistant help you prepare for your future?	Being an assistant was directly responsible for every subsequent job I have ever had and invaluable training on its own, not just because I worked for the best people, but because they took the time and attention to mentor me. They believed in me so I gave them a great return. We’ve all seen SWIMMING WITH SHARKS and THE BIG PICTURE (both are must-sees for assistants) but I never came up against those nightmares, (I worked with Barry Sonnenfeld before his current partnership.) My career was formed by two very important, exceptional people – both very different from each other but both vital to my becoming a valuable employee and later a good Boss.
What advice can you give assistants in the industry?	I’m constantly giving advice, but the person must be ready to hear it and act on it. Sometimes the job is so overwhelming that an assistant is swamped with just keeping up much less getting better! Here are some tips, with more as they come to mind:
Work for a person you admire. Try to work for only one person at a time. Try to spend as much time as possible around that person. If they are the right Boss for your career track, ask to be mentored.
	I brought my theater background as an actor to my first job in the business, thinking that my ability to serve the script would make me great at serving a movie that my boss would make. I was wrong. Being a great assistant isn’t about serving the project, it’s about serving your Boss. My first Boss was an excellent teacher – Garry Marshall. I’ll never forget my interview for him. Garry was an informal sort; you can probably hear his funny Bronx voice in your head. He asked if I had a car that makes left turns (yes), good health (yes), any pets I’d have to keep strict hours for (no) and did I know L.A. well (yes, I was raised here).
So:
Keep your car running, your health good, your pets with someone who can feed them while you are at work and learn the Thomas Guide.
	His funny banter was his insightful way of drawing out clues to my personality, ethics and priorities, and he loved that I came from a strong theater background, so I felt confident that he would have no reason to not hire me. Until he said that he really wanted a "boy" for the job, (he called me a "girl" for the longest time!) I instantly challenged that anything a boy could do on the job I could do better – and I picked up a chair with a heavy box of papers to somehow prove it. I don’t know exactly what made him hire me – I was called his "Personal Secretary" and aided his long-time Executive Assistant, my extra mentor, Diane Frazen – but I started that week and loved every minute of my many years with Garry.
Some more advice:
In the interview, be honest about your skills and your interests. Offer them a time commitment and a probationary period. Show a professional standard and maintain it after you get the job. Do your homework about the company/person you’re interviewing with.
	Garry encouraged my sense of loyalty, an important trait that I have seen grossly neglected by too many assistants these days. Secrets were not traded for tracking information, meetings were not shared with those outside the company circle, rumors were never tolerated and negativity was not present. It may sound naïve, but I thought all companies would work that way. I’m sorry that more do not. Garry also taught me that talent rises and to be grateful for the mentoring time that you can get, even if it comes in strange ways. One of my duties in the early days was to drive Garry everywhere – I was on call for everywhere he went. I didn’t know enough to be insulted by the task – I was eager to quiz him about projects, writers, shooting schedules, discuss rewrites, even pitch ideas, everything I could think of to talk about for those minutes or hours. And his stories were so valuable! I advise anyone who has never heard Garry Marshall speak in public to make sure to see him give a talk, it’s priceless. Long after the laugh of his tales wore off, the lessons stayed with me. Throughout our constant companionship, (I was never "on the desk" or in the office unless he was) I absorbed how he treated people, how people treated him, what respect was due to whom, and how the top level of the system worked. He quickly saw that I had a right-brain talent for creative inventing and a left-brain skill at organizing details, so he increased my responsibilities and opportunities and I became his creative assistant, what we now call a CE. I was at his side, learning development from a writer/director -- the best education -- for every stage of production, from script submission to final release for OVERBOARD, BEACHES and PRETTY WOMAN, as well as a TV series, two pilots, a short film, two commercials, a large slate and many other events. I learned how to really make movies. It was great.
You’ll be a better assistant if you:
Take care of your responsibilities then ask for more and do well at it. Learn from others in the office and notice how the Boss treats them. Don’t be a "yes man", develop an educated opinion but don’t offer it until it’s asked for. Discover what you are best at – are your best ideas the first to come to mind, or do you get better with further thought? Eat a 4:00 protein snack to avoid getting grumpy on the set. Set the rules for mutual respect at the start of the job – if you act mature and respectful, it’s more likely that you’ll be treated that way.
	Working as Garry Marshall’s creative assistant allowed me an education that few assistants ever get: I spent every day, at least 10 hours a day -- on the set, in the car, in the office, in the edit bay, on the scoring stage, you name it -- with a director who knew how to write and produce, and knew how to get the best from his staff and crew and cast. He was funny and wise and his major principles have stayed with me.
SOME THINGS I LEARNED FROM GARRY:
	Keep and share a sense of humor Be supportive, optimistic and nice Allow talent to flourish, wherever you may find it Let others be right sometimes Keep your mouth shut Pick your comrades then pick your battles be loyal and to friends and family Learn how to read a script in a noisy room Set a high standard for a position and reward its achievement Understand your priorities in life and your place in the game
These seem like "soft" lessons, and some I didn’t learn how to act on until after I left him, but I have seen them work and win, time and time again, and I value them greatly.

There are other important things that my years as Garry’s assistant did not teach me – and I was shocked by how much I did not know about the assistant world when I was hired away from Garry by Laura Ziskin in the middle of post on PRETTY WOMAN.
	Laura was producing PRETTY WOMAN, a very tough job, and had seen me work with Garry. But her producer’s office ran very differently than the director’s office had, and I credit her former assistant, producer Sandy Isaac, with shepherding me into this new world. It was scary. Working for Garry, I never got to know other assistants, or agents, or lower level studio execs or even the studio process for development because Garry didn’t need to work that system. Lucky for me, not only did Laura Ziskin belong to that system but she had it mastered. Her reputation for an excellent eye for material and talent was already firmly in place, and she knew how to get what she needed for a project. Laura and Garry had two very different ways of getting what they wanted, and it was fascinating to see which method worked best under which circumstances.
Still more advice that comes to mind:
Ask questions only if you can’t find the information yourself. Learn to adapt – quickly! Never say: "my last Boss used to . . . " but offer suggestions when appropriate. Remember your Boss is a person, not just a Boss. Realize that jobs, deals and studio are always in flux – plan for unemployment. Play nice with the others in your office – no gossiping! Ask for and get performance reviews every four months, noting what your expectations are and making sure you are on track for those opportunities. Respect that your boss has a job to do and it isn’t about making your career – serve them well before asking for them to do for you.
	Although I knew how to run an office, Laura and Sandy taught me all the standard elements of running "the desk": rolling calls, prioritizing, scheduling (not too close!), keeping a rolodex, memorizing the top 50 names and numbers (Laura knew every number by heart!), generating lists, and doing "notes". Where Garry had taught me to pitch by requiring me to tell him the synopsis of a script on the short walk out to his car, Laura exposed me to the formal system – how to do coverage the studio way, and I learned a lot from her. But working for a discerning top female producer who had crashed through the glass ceiling and helped to make room for women at all levels was very different than serving a funny guy from the prior era who built a tight inner-circle to protect and support his talent. They both made things happen, but in very different ways.
So, for your own peace of mind:
Take each Boss on their own terms: no two Bosses are alike. It’s your job to adapt to your Boss and their work style.
	When Laura moved her deal from Disney to Sony (for Guber-Peters) I applied my organizational skills to set up offices and help her start her new company with everything from new hires to parking passes. I was with Laura for post on PRETTY WOMAN, WHAT ABOUT BOB? and THE DOCTOR (she produced those two nearly simultaneously!) I saw her slay dragons on the set then slice a budget and frost a cake with the same sword; she could be the engine that kept things running or the final authority that wasn’t afraid to tell the star "no". It was as if a difficult movie could be produced by her sheer will alone, but she knew it took hundreds of people to put out a picture. Where Garry would cajole a movie to come together, if ever a person could force a movie to happen, it was Laura – she was an amazing producer. I only wish I had had more time with her. Laura Ziskin taught me a set of equally important but very different guidelines. I value her skills and talents more for every year I spend in this business.
SOME THINGS I LEARNED FROM LAURA
	Don’t take "no" for an answer. Be gracious in defeat. Get the best writer you can afford. Champion that writer dearly. Go home to your family after a hard day. Get a great haircut. Read everything yourself. Be meticulous – no excuse for sloppy mistakes. Develop your own taste in material. Believe in your taste and in yourself. Support new writers – you’ll be glad you did. Show respect for your Boss even when you disagree. Don’t give up, but do give yourself a break. The talent isn’t coming to the office to meet you. Don’t take success for granted. It’s always a struggle to make a movie. If you can’t get around, under, over or past a problem, may it’s time to go through the problem to achieve the goal.
	After a few years, Garry Marshall hired me away from Laura to run his development deal at Disney, and so I became an executive, an Associate Producer, and later a VP, leaving the assistant world behind. That world was very different than assistants face today, but the lessons are the same.
*What do you look for in a good assistant?*	As I’ve interviewed and hired assistants (and interns) throughout the years, I’ve learned so many things that I want to pass on. Great assistants have taught me a lot; poor assistants can teach even more:
What the Great Ones Know:
Make your Boss look good. Be loyal and supportive, your Boss has a tough job, especially if it looks easy. Put more effort into doing a good job here than into getting your next job somewhere else. Never disclose your Boss’s shortcomings to anyone but your shrink. Be a self-starter and impress your Boss by doing what they asked for first, then showing good work in an advanced area to prove that you can handle it and want to take it on. Maintain great handwriting, an accurate phone sheet, good common sense and an easy sense of humor. Don’t resent that you’re getting the coffee – just get it right! A good memory is your best friend – but write everything down and have your notepad and pen with you always. Get experience in all facets of filmmaking, even if you don’t want to work in other areas – it’ll make you better at your target career. Don’t think any task is beneath you but make sure you don’t get involved in your Boss’s personal business unless it is set out as a part of the job description (always see a written job description before taking the position).
	These thoughts are, of course, in addition to being honest, professional, courteous, well-read, up-to-date on the trades, movies and every other resource you can get your hands on, clean, fast, accurate and helpful. Your job is to make her job easier – put some pride into it. Did I mention, "Make your Boss look good"?
	I have learned so much from my various staffs. Kelly taught me the real value of a great assistant (she’s now a top TV executive); David taught me not to micro-manage and Lee taught me to always have a funny smart-ass in the office (for morale). There have been many others, but look instead to at your office – who can you learn from?
Of course I have collected some thoughts on what not to do:
Keep personal phone calls and visits from pals to a minimum and only on your own time. Don’t listen in on calls unless expressly told to. Don’t dress for the dance club in the office – and don’t date at work – it reflects poorly on everyone; you're a professional now. Don’t be swayed by the posers – be educated but not influenced. Don’t try to lie to your Boss – they always know or they find out anyway. Don’t discuss the Boss’s private business. Don’t mistake networking for the most important part of the movie business – material and the talents that interpret it. Don’t gossip or put anyone else down – they could become key to your future. Don’t misrepresent yourself in the interview – be who you are to get the best fit in a job. Your Boss may try to be your friend – it rarely works out well so try to keep a professional distance until you move to your next position – then get chummy. Don’t think you know everything. Even though you have a film degree or studied in London or have a famous father or have a better idea for the ending of the movie – you’re young but that’s not a license to be condescending – you have a lot to soak up so listen and learn.
*Wow! Last thoughts?*	With experience that goes back to 1986, I could go on and on, but the single most important thought I can close with is:
Strive to make the position of assistant be a great experience for you and for your Boss – it’s the cornerstone of your career and the foundation of your many jobs to come. Serve it well and it will serve you well for all the years that I hope you last in this business. Good luck! # # #

For reprint or republishing permission, or for a Private Seminar designed for Assistants,
please call Blair Richwood at 310-821-4458. Thank you.

Blair Richwood's Interview from InTheBiz.net For Assistants

Blair Richwood's Interview from InTheBiz.net
For Assistants