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A life in the movies has been an American dream for a century. Many people dream of becoming Hollywood professionals, but either aim too high (by trying to produce their own feature film) or too low (by hanging around restaurants frequented by movie stars) and end up frustrated. Wouldn’t it be great if someone who knew what to do, someone who had achieved acclaim in the field, would walk us through the steps to success? At last, here is a book by a seasoned movie and television professional, Emmy winner Sandra Gordon, that is filled with practical, yet highly effective ways to build a career in entertainment. Gordon calls upon her own experience working on the television series PARTY OF FIVE, the movie RUDY and many more. There are many books that teach job-seekers how to write resumes or ace interviews, but not many books like ACTION! Uniquely designed for individuals who are interested in a career in the entertainment industry, whether they are recent college graduates or middle-aged career changers, ACTION! takes the formula out of the job-hunting book to the next step, telling its readers not only how to write their resumes, but where to send them, how to keep their jobs once they are hired, and how to advance in their career.

This book is an excellent over-view of the television & film world. If you’ve got your production goals set higher than local broadcast news, than I HIGHLY recommend this book. There’s a great section on putting together your production resume, great real-world advice from Sandra & her production colleagues, detailed descriptions of what every position on a Film & TV set does, valuable info on how to work in various markets (Chicago, New York, LA, etc). I bought the book a few months ago and had the fortunate chance of meeting the author, and she is genuinely a wonderful woman who truly wants to help those interested in getting into & succeeding in “the business”.

This book is also an easy & quick read, I read most of the book on a flight out to LA from Chicago. “Action! Establishing your Career…” is an ESSENTIAL read if you plan on moving out to LA and you don’t have many production contacts there…I’m looking at you recent college grads! I’ve even recommended this book to friends who are actors on their way out to the coasts so they are educated about sets, crews, etiquette, etc.

“Action!” is a much easier & faster read than “The Independent Film Producer’s Survival Guide” (which is itself a great book, but more of a legal resource, basically saves you from asking your entertainment lawyer dumb questions).

I’m not a newbie to production and this isn’t a fake review, I’m a freelance Commercial Producer who is also very active in Chicago independent film; having served as producer on 4 features in the past two years, negotiated distribution deals for features, and I remain active in the scene via a Chicago based non-profit indie-sponsorship company. I find that I continue to pull “Action! Establishing your Career” off my bookshelf to use as a reference on projects.