Being a product of the 60’s in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury and graduating Berkeley in the early 70’s, I had fantasies of becoming a great criminal defense lawyer handling the hot political cases of the day.

Instead, I ended up representing the indigent adults in San Francisco’s largest ghetto, an extraordinary community, although my clients were far from politicos. But not before being rejected outright from law school, a seeming failure I had to overcome and a harbinger of what awaited me in LA (yes, every single film is a failure many times over before it becomes a success… more on that another time).

I quickly realized the harsh day-to-day reality of legal defense was not well-suited to my temperament, so I ran away to Los Angeles just as I was entering my 30s, to the fantasy world of storytelling and film. Norman Mailer had described filmmaking as “a combination circus, military campaign, nightmare, orgy and a high” and that sounded right up my alley.

So I arrived, knowing nothing and nobody, proceeded to rent offices and launch a literary management firm, with zero clients. I went to every screening, gathering, party, joined every organization I could find. And played tennis. Turns out that was my best strategy. In the middle of the afternoon, LA’s tennis courts were filled with writers. Who else would be playing at that hour ?

Ignorance does turn out to be bliss, so long as it’s accompanied by a very stubborn streak and a daily regimen of persistence.

The writers’ strike of ’88 hit Hollywood not long after my literary management business had really begun to take off. Finally, I’d built what looked like a successful business. At that moment, the Writers Guild of America made a decision that would shut down all production, in fact the entire business of film and television. The talk on the street was the strike wasn’t going to end any time soon, and all our businesses were quickly shutting down. The strike lasted approximately ten months, which seemed an eternity.

As soon as the strike hit, I approached one of my screenwriting clients (J.F. Lawton, who wrote “Pretty Woman” among other amazing scripts) and told him it was time for him to direct his first ‘low budget’ indie film. I asked him to pick a script from his ‘stack’ at home, one that could be produced cheaper than cheap, and off I went to raise money.

Empire Pictures – a B minus minus company that went out of business several years later – offered $200,000 to finance our project “Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death”. I grabbed at the opportunity.

With that money in hand, J.F. directed and I produced our first ultra-low budget film with Bill Maher, Shannon Tweed (the only film where the producer – me – insisted she keep all her clothes on !), and Adrienne Barbeau. Two weeks of prep, eleven days of photography, and a couple of weeks of post-production and… voila ! We had our first film. It was guerilla filmmaking meets the keystone cops, but we learned more from that little film than I could ever have imagined. And I got the bug for producing. Humble beginnings…

Imagine you just won an oscar.

You’re standing on stage holding a shiny gold statuette.

You begin your “thank you” speech.

Who are you thanking ?

Who are the people who helped you get up on that stage ?

You can’t possibly thank them all, but there’s an after-party and they will all be there. You’ll embrace each one, thank them personally. Without them, this special night would never have happened. Who are they ? Your TOP 100 is a list of those very people who will play a seminal role in your success in the future. Your future begins as soon as you make them a part of your present.

In any other industry, your ‘Top 100 List’ (aka your ‘Dream 100 List’) might be called your ‘best buyer’ or ‘best ally’ strategy. You want to be clear on your criteria for putting someone on your TOP 100 list, because these are the people you will focus on and succeed in making a part of your professional circle and conversation.

There’s a precise system for researching and identifying, then segregating into your ‘A’ list and your ‘B’ list, those who belong on the Top 100 list for you and your project, but I’ll leave that for another discussion.

Your list will grow to include a smart and diverse mix of talents to suit your long-term goals. If you’re a screenwriter or filmmaker, for example, your Top 100 would strategically list a cross-section of agents, producers, managers, studio executives, casting directors, sales agents, creative executives at independent companies, financing connections, line producer (to prep your film’s budget), and so on. Logic dictates you’ll not have an equal number from each category on your list, focusing on greater numbers of producers than sales agents, and more agents than casting directors, and so on.

Once you’ve decided to add a name to your Top 100 list, research or google them for articles, press releases, life details such as where they went to school, clients they represent, past jobs or projects or companies, as well as people with whom they’ve been associated. Keep track of whatever information you unearth by entering that as well into your database. Every time you make contact, even if a simple phone call to get the correct spelling of their name, is yet a further opportunity to learn more about this person.

Fundamentally, this is a campaign to win the attention of and rapport with people you deem truly relevant or important. It’s not about one phone call or one letter. In fact, consider a letter simply a means by which you soften them up to your next call. Life is a process, not an event, so be consistent and, when you do break through the clutter, treat them like they are special, because they are.

Be prepared. It will require pig-headed determination and discipline over time – moreso for some connections to be made than for others. Refuse to give up after a first or even a second rejection. That’s merely your cue to become more determined, albeit never wavering from a thoughtful, professional and charming demeanor.

How important could your project or conversation be if you were to give up after one or two rejections ? I’ve hired people in the past simply because they were relentless and wouldn’t go away. Everyone respects persistence in the face of resistance. Only those who behave inappropriately ever become labelled a ‘stalker’. So be consistently persistent, and just avoid any approach or behavior that could be perceived as crossing the line into stalker-dom.