motion pictures and television,
she lacked the confidence to
attack the extensive application
process and instead opted to
major in English literature.
After graduation, she accepted
a marketing position at a firm
in the Los Angeles area.
Noticing film sets popping up
around her, she wondered if
there was a marketing person
associated with movies.
Twenty-eight years old and
unhappy with her job, Swank
finally quit. For the next nine
months she satisfied her longing
to travel around the world.
During those months, she
became aware of movies being
shot in foreign locations and
began to wonder if there was a
position in the film industry she
could fill that would pay her to
travel. While picking wine
grapes in Australia, she had an
epiphany and decided to return
to Los Angeles to enroll at UCLA Extension, where she could learn how to
make movies and try to land a job in the film business. With no financial aid
from family or friends, Swank recalls, "I took my credit cards and got
myself into debt enrolling at UCLA Extension, taking two classes at the
beginning, because that is all I could afford. I held down a job as a waitress
and a limo driver to make money to pay for rent and food."
Swank took advantage of the internship program, applying to work
10 hours a week for college credit (no salary) as a production assistant on
Guncrazy, starring Drew Barrymore. As an office PA, her primary job was
to make photocopies of scripts and whatever else was needed. On her
second day, she was called into the producer's office; he had her résumé
on his desk. Recognizing her experience in marketing, he offered her the
job of unit publicist for the film. Instead of college credit, she would earn
$500 for eight weeks of work. "Since there was money involved, I said
yes. I haven't looked back since."
Swank worked hard and generated a lot of press for the film, building
industry relationships along the way that got her recommended as unit
What do you like
least about your job?
"It is the task of identify-
ing all the stills that are
taken on a movie set.
Everyone knows the main
stars and the director, but
people at the studio don't necessarily know
the director of photography or the first
AD. Because you take behind-the-scenes
pictures, they need to know who exactly
is in the picture they get. It is a very tedious
task to identify everyone. It takes a lot of
time."--Cid Swank
What do you love most
about your job?
"Some unit publicists just love the writing
aspect of the job--it's like writing a big term
paper . . . For me, the big love is the fact that
I'm paid to travel. I get to go into totally
new cultures and learn how to work in
that environment. That's what I love most."
--Cid Swank
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
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