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for films. The idea that someone actually did
that for a living had never occurred to
Griggs. But now that it had, he saw the way to
combine his two great loves. Offering
to quit his job on the spot and work for free to
learn the business, he was politely
turned down. Undaunted, he formulated a
plan.
Griggs began going to a record store every day,
reading album covers, and making
a list of the names and titles of all the music
people involved with film sound tracks.
"I started to learn who all the players were."
Through a friend who knew a theatrical
director, he began supplying music for plays.
He studied
The Hollywood Reporter's
film and television music issue, learning
everything he could about the people who
held the job he wanted. After four months, he
quit waiting tables and began tele-
phoning everyone on his list.
The roommate of a friend, who had on a few
occasions spoken to music supervi-
sor Sharon Boyle, made an introductory call on
Griggs' behalf, securing an opportu-
nity for him to send a resume and cover letter.
"I had zero on my resume. I had no
record business experience, nothing. I had just
worked in restaurants. So I sent a
cover letter that basically said, `I'm a record
junky and I know a lot about music. I
have over 800 records and I would die to work
for you. And, I make really good
coffee.' That was a lie. I couldn't make coffee
for the life of me." After several follow-
up calls trying to get a meeting with Boyle,
Griggs was given an appointment. "It was
Monday, the fourth of March, 1990. I threw
myself at her. I said, `Please, I'll do any-
thing. I'll work for free. I'll work from
midnight to 6
a.m." With no openings at the
company, Griggs left the interview with only
the assurance that Boyle would consider
his offer. The very next day, one of Boyle's
employees decided to go part time, and she
decided to give Griggs a chance to come in on a
temporary basis and see how things
went. He ended up staying for five years, and
worked on a number of big films,
including
Mr. Holland's Opus. Ready to test his wings, he
opened Tilted World Music
in 1995, and under his own company banner, has
supervised a number of indepen-
dent films, most notably
Still Breathing, Thick As Thieves, Guinevere,
Wing
Commander, Ring of Fire, Nine Lives, and The
Jane Austen Book Club.
JULIE HOULIHAN, MUSIC SUPERVISOR/OWNER,
HOULIHAN FILM MUSIC
"I have always been involved in music," says
Julie Houlihan. Singing in a choir led
her to study voice at Southern Methodist
University, followed by short stints with the
Dallas Opera, and a touring pop band. Tired of
life on the road, she got a job as a
morning news producer at a Little Rock radio
station for a couple of years. "Although
I loved news and felt it was a really important
job getting information out to people,
it wasn't creative enough for me. I missed
music." Leaving radio news behind, she
found work at a video production house,
learning to write, direct, and produce
regional commercials and corporate videos.
After another couple of years passed, she
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