So You Want To Be In Show Business: A Hollywood Agent Shares The Secrets Of Getting Ahead Without Getting Ripped Off

Gone are the days when an aspiring actor or actress could sneak onto the lot of a production company, drop in on casting directors, or have lunch at the commissary to meet the glamorous and famous. "It's not at all like the days when I was a teenage actor," Steve Stevens Sr. says. "At age 13, I was spotted by a for-real fin de siccle German director who pulled me aside as I swaggered through the lot and gave me a speaking part in FRANK WISBAR'S FIRESIDE THEATER, TV's first anthology show."

"Today there is no Schwab's Drugstore where Lana Turner and several others were discovered," Stevens writes. Recognizing this, he decided to write this book for the beginning actor.

SO YOU WANT TO BE IN SHOW BUSINESS presents show business from Stevens' point of view based on his 50 years in Hollywood. Sprinkled amply with practical, helpful dos and don'ts throughout, the book presents the basic information of how Hollywood works. In his view, "making it" involves more than finding onself in front of a camera. It also means finding one's true self, one's happiness and place in the world.

"I have represented struggling actors who never made it, struggling actors who did, top movie and television stars on their way up, and some on their way down. The knowledge I am sharing with you is intended to help you avoid the mistakes I see people in the business making every day, particularly beginning actors."

Here is advice on avoiding the rip-off artists while breaking into the business and taking advantage of legitimate opportunities. Included is crucial information about how casting directors think, getting head-shot photos that work, writing résumés that sell, finding the right agent, how to read the trade papers, understanding showcases and workshops, meeting with casting directors, what the Screen Actors Guild is all about, the casting process, and much more.

"It's simultaneously funny, historic, funny, inspiring, and educational."—Doris Roberts, 4-Time Emmy-Winning star of EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND