Author T. R. Locke : Before You Move to Hollywood.com : Make it in Hollywood

For Filmmakers, Hollywood Q & A

Why Red Tails is NOT a Black Movie

Posted on 21 January 2012

There’s been a lot of reporting lately about the importance of George Lucas’s new movie Red Tails for the Black community. The argument goes like this: If people don’t go see Red Tails, Hollywood will never fund higher budget black movies again. Although the basic altruism of White people might be moved by this argument, [...] Continue Reading

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For Filmmakers, Hollywood Q & A, Making it in Hollywood

Film Festivals, Yahoo Posts and Other Stuff

Posted on 11 March 2011

Check out my first article on Yahoo’s Associated Content. Let me know what you think. I’m going to start expanding my blog a bit to make it a more useful tool for screenwriters, actors, musicians and other folk in the biz. You should be seeing more content posted in more relevant areas soon as I [...] Continue Reading

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Making it in Hollywood, The Business of Entertainment

Rhianna and Chris Brown to play Ike and Tina in New “What’s Love?”

Posted on 08 December 2010

It seems lately that celebrities resort to the most ridiculous tactics to promote their new films and albums. With competition for news being what it is, the more sensational and outrageous a story hook, the more likely it will find its place on national news shows and in national magazines. Continue Reading

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For Actors, Making it in Hollywood, The Business of Entertainment

Lessons from DVD Extras–Getting Past the Cut

Posted on 14 May 2010

One of the great places to learn lessons about Hollywood is the commentary section of DVDs. It’s amazing the insights you can gain from filmmakers talking quite innocently about the process of getting the movie made. Continue Reading

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For Musicians, Making it in Hollywood

American Idol—Hollywood in Microcosm

Posted on 30 March 2010

While I was watching American Idol last week, it suddenly hit me—so much of what we see happening on that show serves as a perfect metaphor for Hollywood. Continue Reading

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For Actors, For Filmmakers, For Musicians, For Writers, Making it in Hollywood, The Couch-Therapy for Artists

Staying Encouraged: “Errendipity”- A Course in “Nearacles”

Posted on 08 February 2010

Sometimes there are no words to describe the level of frustration you can encounter when you follow your dreams. Especially if those dreams lead to Hollywood. When there are no words, make some up. But, by all means, stay on track. Continue Reading

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For Actors, For Filmmakers, For Musicians, Making it in Hollywood, The Business of Entertainment

How to Get an Agent Part 2

Posted on 20 January 2010

In this article, we will take a look at how actors, models, directors, singers and musicians can find an agent to represent them to Hollywood or New York. Continue Reading

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For Actors, For Filmmakers, For Musicians, For Writers, Making it in Hollywood, The Business of Entertainment

How to Get an Agent Pt. 1

Posted on 14 January 2010

The usual route to finding a talent agent involves sending out headshots or reels (if you are an actor or model) or query letters and screenplays (if you are a writer) or query letters and reels (if you are a director or producer) or CDs (if you are a musician). Continue Reading

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For Actors, Making it in Hollywood

How to Make “Extra” Money

Posted on 23 December 2009

The thought of being in the movies might be too unrealistic a dream for many people, but it’s actually easier than you may think. Continue Reading

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For Actors, For Filmmakers, For Writers, Making it in Hollywood

I Wish I’d Written Twilight!

Posted on 19 November 2009

I want to write something that big so bad. I want to have teens and their parents and grown people who should know better camped outside the theater talking about which is their favorite character. Continue Reading

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For Filmmakers, For Writers, Hollywood Q & A, The Business of Entertainment

What to Expect at Film Festivals

Posted on 11 November 2009

I have to admit that my initial answer to this question was less than favorable. I’ve attended about 20 film festivals in my life—only four of them intentionally. Continue Reading

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For Filmmakers, For Writers, Hollywood Q & A, The Couch-Therapy for Artists

Q&A: “Will Hollywood Reject Me for my Political Views?”

Posted on 04 November 2009

I received a question on my blog from a filmmaker and reader of my book. I’d like to answer his question in this post. For those who don’t know, in my book, I refer to the things I Wish I Knew before I moved to Hollywood as “WIKs”. The question is as follows: Mr. Locke, [...] Continue Reading

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For Musicians, Hollywood Q & A

When Should Singers/Musicians Move to N.Y. or Hollywood?

Posted on 21 October 2009

This is the forth in a series of articles about relocating to Hollywood or New York to follow dreams in the entertainment industry. Part III—Singers/Musicians When should a singer or musician move to Hollywood or N.Y? It’s a good question. And what’s interesting about this one is we’ve finally gotten to a category of entertainment [...] Continue Reading

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For Actors, Hollywood Q & A

I’m an ACTOR… Should I Move to New York or Hollywood?

Posted on 16 October 2009

This is the third in a series of articles about relocating to Hollywood or New York to follow dreams in the entertainment business. Part II–Actors If you’re an actor and you’re wondering whether it’s time to move to New York (the home of live theater and a decent amount of film production) or Hollywood (the [...] Continue Reading

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For Writers, Hollywood Q & A

I’m a Writer– Should I Move to New York or Hollywood?

Posted on 14 October 2009

This is the second in a series of articles about relocating to Hollywood or New York to follow dreams in the entertainment business. Part I—Writers. If it’s not obvious to you, let me just state this clearly up front—this is not a question a beginning writer should be asking. In my opinion, the only people [...] Continue Reading

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For Actors, For Filmmakers, For Musicians, For Writers, Hollywood Q & A, The Business of Entertainment

Do I Need to Move to Hollywood?

Posted on 13 October 2009

With a book entitled “What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved to Hollywood,” it is inevitable that I would get asked that question. After all, is it really necessary to move to Hollywood to be involved in the entertainment business? Johnny Depp lives in France. Morgan Freeman lives in Mississippi. Robert DeNiro lives in [...] Continue Reading

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For Actors, Making it in Hollywood

8 Essential Keys to Acting Success!!!—What One Star Says Actors Need to Know

Posted on 08 October 2009

“Here are some statistics you may not know—there are 120,000 SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild) actors in Hollywood. At any given time 85% of them are out of work. The average salary of a SAG actor is less than $10,000 a year. Most of them are just trying to earn the required $7,500 a year to [...] Continue Reading

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For Writers, Hollywood Q & A, Making it in Hollywood

When’s a Good Time to “F” the Rules in a Screenplay?

Posted on 01 October 2009

From a screenwriter in a forum: “F The Rules… …Is an idea swirling around in my head these days, despite being relatively new at this (I started writing a year and a half ago). I notice that people respond to my scripts when I ignore the rules (by rules, I don’t mean format), yet when [...] Continue Reading

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For Writers, Hollywood Q & A

How to Start a Script? Don’t Do What I Did!

Posted on 30 September 2009

The question that follows from a student filmmakers led me to the memory of trying to sell my first screenplay to Hollywood. What I learned from that experience was that the way you begin a screenplay can determine whether it ever finds a buyer at all. Check it out: “Hello writers! I’m writing a crime [...] Continue Reading

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