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Comment by facet1ous | Hacker News Reader

Of all fields, do these students _honestly_ expect that going to a 6 figure film program to will turn them into a successful filmmaker? Look around. All the people who have made it in Hollywood did so through via nepotism/cronyism or by busting their ass making their own movies and getting lucky.

You probably have more chance of success investing all your time and money into real projects and trying to market/distribute them than spending years in school and drowning in debt.

Easier said than done, but there's no way into that industry that isn't tough and an MFA degree isn't going to impress anyone.

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Precisely. I really don't understand the arts education industrial complex.

How many high level artists were taught their art in a prestigious university setting? And those that did.. how many actually finished their degree versus those that dropped out early because they were already on their way to success and didn't need the stamp of approval?

https://cinema.usc.edu/alumni/notable.cfm

Picking someone at random off the list

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Beimler_(screenwriter)?wp...

> He attended the University of Southern California, graduating in 1977 with a degree in film production.

> It was eight years before Beimler sold his first script, during which time he earned a living as a documentary cameraman – the same type of work that his father was involved in

lol.

The University of Spoiled Children may not be the best example for counterarguing nepotism/cronyism ;)

Right, first example I pick:

Will Ferrell, via wikipedia:

After graduating with a B.A. degree in sports information in 1990, he knew he did not want to do broadcasting.

He took up a job as a hotel valet where, on his second day, he tore a baggage rack off the top of a van by trying to drive it under a low beam. He also worked as a teller at Wells Fargo, but came up short $300 the first day and $280 the second; he was not stealing the money, but was just careless and error-prone.

In 1991, encouraged by his mother to pursue something he liked, Ferrell moved to Los Angeles. He successfully auditioned for the comedy group The Groundlings where he spent time developing his improvisation skills.

I think it's more likely that they aren't really comprehending the numbers. They look at the generations of film students before them who went to film school at a much cheaper price. In that case, those that didn't make a career out of it weren't trapped by the decision to go in the first place.

“ All the people who have made it in Hollywood did so through via nepotism/cronyism or by busting their ass making their own movies and getting lucky”

Having worked in the film industry, you’re more wrong than right here.

Based on your industry experience, which high-profile filmmakers owe their careers to posessing an MFA degree?

The New Hollywood crowd (to some degree, I guess - not my point); I’m pushing back against the cynicism of stating all successful people in the industry got there through nepotism and luck. Is there nepotism? Sure. Is there luck. Sure. But the same is true in business, politics, you name it. The vast majority of people who work in the industry just show up to work everyday and push it.

You're ignoring GP's "busting their ass" observation, which is probably key to this. No-one is going to hire someone to write or direct a movie based on their having a degree from some institution. It's either going to be because of their track record in the industry (because they busted their ass at the start of their career and had some lucky breaks) or because they have the right connections (so, nepotism). So I'd say GP's observation is right on the nose. Some successful filmmakers may have an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in a relevant subject, but their success in the industry has almost nothing to do with that qualification. Which raises the question of why anyone in their right mind would pay Columbia six figures to get such a degree, especially since their own faculty appear to be industry failures.

I fully agree that the MFA route is ridiculous (and exploitive).

I’m disagreeing with the premise that all successful people in the film industry only got their by luck, nepotism, cronyism, etc.

Everyone in a competitive field busts their ass. Do we say every businessmen, doctor, or software engineer is only successful in their career because they’re lucky/nepotistic/cronies?

Can you elaborate?

Yeah it may be better to try to make it on youtube or to participate in productions that go to youtube, to get into the field.

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