Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
"Don't be embarrassed to start out as an assistant," say Butchco. "Soak
up any possible information that you can while you're at that desk. When
you're an assistant, you hear a lot more about what's going on, about all
kinds of different transactions and pieces of business that you may not
necessarily hear if you're just in one specific position in an office. I think
when you're an assistant you have a good opportunity to be exposed to a
lot of different sides of the business. You can learn how things are done
and at what stage they're done."
Professional Profile:
Julie Butchco, Music
Clearance for DreamWorks
Julie Butchco's introduc-
tion to the entertainment
business came as a result of
her high school student gov-
ernment activities, when she
was assigned to hire bands and
organize performers for school
dances. Upon entering the
University of California at Santa Barbara, she considered going into
entertainment law, but wasn't convinced she wanted to be an attorney.
"I just decided to get a job in the industry and see if I liked it."
Sending out résumés and going on interviews failed to produce
results, until a cousin was able to get Butchco an interview with the pro-
ducer of The Young and the Restless through a contact with one of the
show's writers. The interview was purely informational, as the show had
no openings, but did result in a referral to a producer at Columbia
Pictures Television. That interview got her hired as an assistant in the
television licensing department.
After a few years in television licensing, Butchco landed an assistant
position in film licensing. Not anticipating another move quite so soon, it
came as a surprise when a friend called in 1996 to say he had suggested
her for a position at newly-created DreamWorks, and advised her to call
Todd Homme for an interview.
Many candidates were anxious to work at the prestigious new studio,
but Butchco was a perfect fit for the job of clearing music for film and tele-
vision. Since joining DreamWorks, she has worked on numerous projects,
including box office hits Almost Famous and Gladiator, and two Best Picture
Academy Award winning films: Saving Private Ryan and American Beauty.
"It's important
to be open and honest."
--Julie Butchco
Build relation-
ships with fellow clearance people that you
can ask for advice and to compare deals and
pricing with.--Julie Butchco
CAREER TIPS
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