IFH 842: The Art of Networking in Hollywood – Real Strategies That Work with Erman Baradi & Brandon Waites

Alex Ferrari 0:03
Enjoy today's episode with guest host Dave Bullis.

Dave Bullis 1:54
Without further ado, I talk to two guys who have been named some of the best networkers out in Hollywood. These guys are both fantastic. And we talk a lot about networking, getting your foot in the door, meeting people at parties. I mean, now, do they attend parties, but they also throw their own parties. This is episode with guests Erman Baradi and Brandon Waites.

Brandon Waites 2:19
Yeah, well, growing up, I always had a strong interest in going to the movie theaters and watching movies, reading books, and, you know, in my own imagination, create creating that book within my own mind. And as I got older, into the military, a lot of our off time we would watch movies. There's not much else to do. So I started watching movies over and over, and at a certain point it's more like, Okay, what else can I learn about this movie? So I started doing you know, whether it was research or watching behind the scenes, and I just got more and more interested within the filmmaking aspect, producing, directing, all that. And while I was in the military, I actually had the opportunity to do security for the guys Michael Bay and his team for the Transformers movies, and that just basically kind of reinforced my interest. I was like, You know what? This is definitely what I want to do. And once I got out, I, you know, started building my connections, and going from there, met Ramon, and we built a couple companies, and we're still pushing it.

Dave Bullis 3:23
So when you were working with security for Michael Bay, was that, like all the Transformers movies, or just a particular one?

Brandon Waites 3:30
It was the first one that was based out in Alamogordo White Sands area. And then I ended up moving, once I got out of the military, and moved out here to, you know, Tucson, Arizona at that time, and they started filming. I want to say it was the second one out here in the Boneyard. So I was around for two of the films,.

Dave Bullis 3:51
Gotcha, gotcha. I remember the the second one is the one where, or maybe was the third one where they went to Egypt. And I can't remember which transformers that is, but I remember they went to Egypt for one of them. And I just would, I just remember, but, well, not just Egypt, but they, I remember they were going to all of these different places like that. And I'm always just wondering, you know about, about security, about places like that, because you brought it up, because, you know, you see all these big, big productions. And even when they're here in Philadelphia or in New York, you know, usually they have pas that are like guarding entrances and exits. I always think of myself, you got to have somebody else, you know, a 20 year old pa telling you not to go down an alleyway or whatever is sometimes just doesn't cut it

Brandon Waites 4:34
Right, right! Yeah. Well, we did more. So was security for the actual like aircraft and the flight lines, anything that was military related, making sure no one was going where they weren't supposed to, you know, certain parts of aircraft aren't supposed to be filmed, and then making sure the filmmakers aren't being bugged by, you know, anybody trying to get on base just to see them. Yeah, so that was kind of my job at that time.

Dave Bullis 4:59
Gotcha. And that's. Yeah, and I wasn't completely off base when I was talking about the PA, because I was wondering, because you mentioned, yeah, you kept people off. You know, certain people off, the out of their way, which is important, really cool, quick story. I was actually one time filming at a, on an air at a on an airstrip, and we got approached by one of the, I feel, what do you even call it maybe a director of whatever. And she goes, Okay, you guys have to stop filming at this particular time. And we said, why? And she goes, there's a VIP coming in. And so as we're filming, these two jets came in, and then we were told that we absolutely had to end right now. And later on, we found that Joe bought that was Joe Biden coming in.

Brandon Waites 5:41
Oh, wow, yeah. What's was it on a military installation?

Dave Bullis 5:45
Or no, it was a, it was a airport up here in Philadelphia. Oh, cool, cool. So apparently, I don't think he landed there. I think the airspace, like everything, had to be cleared out. Or maybe he did, because they said, if we, if we didn't leave, we were gonna get stuck there.

Brandon Waites 6:04
Oh yeah, probably security was gonna get super tight or something, yeah.

Dave Bullis 6:08
And that's when there's all the Jets, like, these are fighter jets. And I was like, oh yeah, this isn't, you know what I mean. This is kind of odd. So that's when I, I, we just kind of broke down and left, but, but, yeah, that's, my one brush. Then I later on, I got to meet Joe Biden again at another event. But I'm sorry, that's a whole nother story. I don't think people want to hear me talk about Joe Biden.

Erman Baradi 6:29
No, you're good. That's for another that's for another episode.

Dave Bullis 6:34
Yeah, the Joe Biden episode.

Brandon Waites 6:36
So my question is, when you met him the second time, did you tell him thank you for interrupting your filming?

Dave Bullis 6:42
I only got to shake his hand for, you know, and it was like, boom, he was gone. I didn't get to talk to him or anything. So okay, because it was in passing, and it was, it was what, that's a whole nother story, though. But, and then also joining us is Arman. Arman, I want to say, you know, thank you so much for coming on, because you and I have been back and forth, and we you and I met way even before I met Brandon. You and I have been talking back and forth, and then I had on a mutual friend of ours who name escapes me at the moment. Damn, it always happens, yeah, but who's I always do this? I always blank out when I'm interviewing people, but she and I were talking and, oh, this is gonna kill me. She's gonna murder me that. I can't remember her name right now. Oh, anyways,

Erman Baradi 7:30
What does she do?

Dave Bullis 7:32
She lives in Dallas. She's a consultant. She does Whitney Davis, there you go. Yeah, as you tell, I'm an excellent storyteller. He remember that person, you did that thing?

Erman Baradi 7:48
So that that one city, that one state,

Dave Bullis 7:51
Yeah, exactly that person, she does that thing, yeah. So that's so she kept saying, when she was on, she's like, You got to have her mom on. You got to have her mom on. So I said, You know what? I've been friends with him for a while. I've been trying to get him on, but it's like we can never actually get our schedules to meet.

Erman Baradi 8:06
Yeah, we've been Twitter friends for what, maybe five years now. Yeah, yeah, we can't. We just kept, like, in passing, like, Hey, what are you doing this Saturday? Or, you know, like, it's like we always miss each other, but hey, we have each other now. So that's, that's what's important,

Dave Bullis 8:22
Yeah, yeah. It's like two ships in the night, my friend, we were just constantly. It's so, yeah. So yeah. I remember when I first met you on Twitter, too. Again, the power of Twitter through networking. And I remember, you know, us going back and forth. And now, you know, and then we, when you know, we got to talking again pretty regularly. I was like, Oh, great. You know, his, his, he's built up this following, I see all these awesome things you're doing, and now I'm glad that we can actually talk, because I want to actually, you know, we can sort of start getting into this stuff. But so I'm going to ask you, though, the same question, Erman you know, how did you get started in this whole, whole wacky world that we call the film industry?

Erman Baradi 8:59
So I also had a curiosity in storytelling. When I was a kid, I was just like anyone else in the 90s. I was a big fan of Power Rangers and all that stuff. So as a kid, I thought it'd be cool to be like that on TV. I thought I would want to be performer. So, you know, I would play pretend with my brothers, you know, at home, and be Power Rangers and others kind of superheroes come sixth grade, I entered a very smart school for it was a magnet school as well. We called it in Virginia Beach. And, you know, I found myself not so academically, academically gifted as other people. So I kind of used the outlet of writing to to get away, if that makes sense. And I was given the opportunity to join active class or other electives. But, you know, I didn't see them, a lot of Asian Americans on television. So I thought, okay, I probably need to go towards another route. So, you know, I would be sitting there in math class and science class, and while other people write formulas, I'll be writing like stories in my notebook, you know? So I kind of cultivated my love of writing in middle school and in high school, all my high school, all my English teachers were like, Yeah, you need to be a writer. You need to pursue this more. So, like every year they say this. Say exact same thing, and I'm okay. So I took their worst consideration, and I went to film school out of Virginia Beach. After film school, I, you know, did a lot. I did some internships here and there in Virginia Beach, and then it kind of led me to an internship in LA so I went to mosaic, which shares the same floor as Atlas entertainment. So Atlas, Atlas entertainment does all like the big movies, like they just did just League, they did Wonder Woman, they did the Dark Knight series. Mosaic was more so the literary slash management side. So I learned how to do script coverage there. I did a lot of script reading. And after that, I went back to bridgerton beach, and I hopped on social media and kind of created a name for myself on social media. So I created the name Irma in LA, because it was kind of like a wink wink, nudge nudge. People think I would. People thought I was in LA and I was not in LA. So I get all these organizations contacting me because they thought, because through social media, to thought I was in LA. So there was these conferences, these screen nightgown organizations asking to hire me. And, you know, I kind of played along. I was like, Yeah, sure, I'll do this. So when I did the conferences, when I did other script coverage for other organizations to kind of segue into doing events, segwayed into doing celebrity interviews and interviewing filmmakers, etc, so all that kind of snowballed into just a network of people. So I told myself, you know, before I move I moved to LA. By the way, it took me five years before I moved to LA. I want to know at least 500 people. So that was my goal, was to just create a network of people. Because I know a lot of people kind of rush into the city without a plan, without knowing anybody, and I was, I was not going to be that person. So, yeah, it took me a few years to just snowball my network. So that's why I started doing events. You know, me and Brandon do a competition, screenwriting competitions, filmmaking competitions. So it was a five year 656, year plan for me.

Dave Bullis 12:30
Yeah, do you find that that's that that's kind of common, where people just move to LA without a plan?

Erman Baradi 12:37
I've, I've had a lot of friends who lasted like a month, two months, because, you know, I get it. Lot of people just want to do it, you know, and it's harsh, man, because, you know, I nothing. I'm not talking bad about anybody. But some people come here to do the whole, you know, bartender thing, waitress thing, waiter thing, and they're miserable, and they don't know anybody in the industry, and they come out to these, like, you know, like club events, even, like, or they expect to meet, like a producer at the bar, you know, they it's funny and, you know, and I, like I said, I wasn't going to be that person. I want to know people beforehand, before coming out. So I just laid a foundation, you know, whether it be social media, through events, through just asking people to take meetings. That was my foundation. Sorry, I did that for many years, and it's, it's been growing. It's been growing. So for other people who want to come to the city, yeah, I would just, just have a, have a plan, you know, or even network beforehand, before coming out here, before you change your address, make sure you know quite a few people,

Dave Bullis 13:46
Yeah, and I know what you exactly, what you mean Erman I've had friends too who have moved out to LA without a plan. And some of lasted like, you know, a couple months. Some lasted a week. I actually had a friend who moved out there for a week. He moved Yeah, yep. He actually flew out there, and he was like, I just got to do it. He on a whim. He like, just got all this stuff together. He didn't, he didn't really know anybody, per se. He had a few friends here and there, but they were on the same boat. They were all, like, struggling, working as bartenders or whatever, hoping to meet somebody at a bar, just like you stay, you know, just like you said. And he was here for about here. It was there for about a week, and then he said, I just can't do it. He ran out of money, he and he had nowhere else to go. And he actually got the got the plane ride back, and that was it. And has never been back. So

Erman Baradi 14:42
I know. Oh go ahead.

Dave Bullis 14:43
No, I was gonna make a joke, but I was just gonna say the city, the city kind of crushed his soul, but,

Erman Baradi 14:50
Oh no, yeah, I know a film student of mine who came to LA thought he had the best script ever said to himself, you know, I'm gonna get hired in the month. Month, and a month went by. He nothing happened. So he left.

Dave Bullis 15:04
Yeah, so, you know, as we sort of talk about, you know, the the how, you know, a lot of people have gone and and experienced, you know, the, you know, the sort of the dark side of it. Have either of you, Brandon or Armand, have either one of you had somebody who's actually gone out there and gotten, gotten, you know, I hit or gotten, I don't know what maybe in play. I guess I don't always have your eight either of you ever, ever known somebody like that who's actually gone out there and kind of struck gold?

Brandon Waites 15:34
Oh, yeah, yeah. Actually, we've had a few people from our mixology events that have, you know, networked through our events, and just by doing that, they've been able to secure some type of job. Iman, I don't know if we're allowed to, you know, say names or anything, but if we are all I should say,

Erman Baradi 15:51
I don't want to say Dave, yeah, but going off of what Brandon said, we had somebody come in for my home city, Home City. She came in, and a week after coming in, she went to one of our events, and, well, behold, she got a she got a assistant position with an actor that's pretty, pretty well known nowadays because he came to the event too. So stuff like that. I mean, we've, we've been blessed to help people, to help people, other people, but event, I do know somebody who came out here on, you know, having, having the talent she, she didn't strike gold right away, but can be, like, a year or two later, she got one of those, what do you call it? You know, those comedy troupes that have those writing initiatives. It was one of those things where she, what had like one of those writing she became a member of women's writing troops based on her channel. So it can't happen. It can't happen. And I'm not saying, I'm not saying that people, it doesn't happen to some people, but a lot of people just don't have plans. So just going back on that, yeah, it's, it is kind of does kind of crush you here, if you don't have any goals lined up, you know, like, yeah, yeah,

Brandon Waites 17:04
I was gonna say it could also be a lot of luck, you know, being at the right place, at the right time, and bumping into somebody who you know has the ability to hire you, you know, at a Starbucks or whatever. So I recommend, if you know anybody that either they're not from more from LA, or they are from LA, get out to as many like networking events as possible, because you never know who you're gonna meet.

Erman Baradi 17:29
Yeah, and dress nicely.

Dave Bullis 17:33
Yeah. You know, it's funny. Erman I remember one time I went to an event here in Philadelphia, and I was going to talk to this, to this person, again, I'm not using any names or anything. It's just, you know, all just just a story. And I ran into this person who I was going to meet randomly, because I looked for him when I got there, he wasn't there. You know, an hour or so went by, and finally, as I was getting ready to leave, he There he is. This guy was so belligerently drunk, the bartender was trying to take his keys away from him so he didn't try to drive home.

Brandon Waites 18:09
Wow, yeah, yeah, don't do that. Don't do that at networking events. You know, Erman, I kind of have a funny story, and I'll try to, I'll try to make it quick so I don't want to take up too much time, but just to go off of you never know who you're going to meet, and you never know where Arman myself and Armand myself and another friend, we decided to go see a movie at the Arc Light in LA, and we ended up, you know, after the movie was War of the Worlds, right or not? War of the Worlds, War Of The Planet Of The Apes, right? Erman, yes, sir, yeah. So we finished the movie, and we walk out, and I tell her mom, I have to go use the restroom. So I go the restroom real quick. And while I'm in the restroom, he ends up texting me, but I don't get his text because the service in the little bathroom area. So I come walking out, and he's like, Hey, man, he's over at the bar area. He's all excited. And I'm like, who I thought he was talking about, our friend who went to go validate his parking and I was like, who our friend? And he's like, No man, didn't you get my text? And I was like, No. And so we're walking up the stairs during this conversation, and he's like, cutie, Quentin Tarantino. And I'm like, No way. Like, I started shaking with excitement. I look over and there's Quentin Tarantino standing at the bar with his fiancee. And I mean, that was such a cool opportunity. We hung out there for like 30 minutes. We chatted, shook his hand. Super cool, super cool moment.

Dave Bullis 19:31
So was he actually approachable when he went up to him?

Brandon Waites 19:34
Yeah, he totally was. He's gonna let me buy a drink for his fiance. But when she came back, she was in the restroom as well. When she came back, he told her, like, hey, these guys are gonna buy, these guys are gonna buy you a drink. And she's like, No, no, it's all right, I'm not thirsty. So, you know, he, yeah, he came over to us and told us, like, Hey, don't worry about it. So that was kind of a little let down, because, you know, we saw it as an opportunity to chat with him some more once we brought the. Drink over.

Erman Baradi 20:11
But funny story is, after that happened, we kind of like, took the L we took the loss, and we sat down for like 30 minutes trying to figure out how what's our next move? How do play this. So sat there for 30 minutes like just trying to figure it out. And finally we we got the courage again to re approach him and say, Hey, this is what we do.

Brandon Waites 20:29
Yeah, yeah. We give Him our business cards. And then we shook his hand one more time, and we took off. We don't want to bug him too much, but he was super approachable. He was cool, you know, I don't know if anyone's seen that clip of him where, you know, I think it was up in what's called parks, yeah, yeah, up at Sundance, where the paparazzi is filming them, and he kind of goes off on the dude at Starbucks, kind of pushes him. He's not like that. I mean, the dude just wants, wants his own space. And I think he asked that dude, you know, Hey, leave me alone, man, and the dude was kind of antagonizing situation. He's not like that. You respect him like a human being, and he's going to treat you like when I asked him if I could take a picture, and he said he like. He appreciated that I was there. He definitely shake my hand, but he didn't feel like taking pictures at the moment. So you know, I respected his wishes, and I didn't get punched.

Dave Bullis 21:25
Well, I mean, you were in the Air Force though, Brandon, you could take care of yourself, right?

Brandon Waites 21:27
Oh yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely, go ahead.

Dave Bullis 21:32
Those gonna say like, you know, I don't know if they're if they're still doing the hand to hand, or if they're just going to all BJJ, but I'm sure either way to handle yourself, right?

Brandon Waites 21:40
Oh, yeah, they teach you all that. My career field was security forces, which people aren't familiar with that in the Air Force, it's basically the MPs for the Air Force, military police. So yeah, we have to go through all that training over at San Antonio, San Antonio's Air Force Base, which is also known as Lackland Air Force Base.

Erman Baradi 22:03
Yeah, Brandon can totally take on QT.

Dave Bullis 22:06
Sure. We got to talk to the UFC see if we can get this to happen. But, but so let me just ask you this, you guys, you know, you did everything professional. Obviously, you don't want to be that person to that goes up and says, like, Oh, here's my screenplay or here's my movie pitch. You don't want to be that person, obviously, because the three of us know better than that. So let me ask you this, just looking back on it, is there anything that you guys would have done differently?

Brandon Waites 22:37
Oh, yeah, yeah. One thing I would say, um, somebody like Quentin Tarantino. You know, there's a handful of people in the film industry that, you know, I would love to meet, just because I'm a big fan. And I kind of, I would say, we probably approached him before we gathered our senses. We were super excited. You know, you, your adrenaline takes over, and you kind of start shaking. So I would say, take a deep breath, realize that they're people too, you know, and approach them calmly. Because, honestly, Roman can attest to this. I love Quentin's movies, Pulp Fiction. Resort dogs, yeah, yeah. Reservoir Dogs. I was trying to think of the one with Jamie Foxx slipping my mind. Django Unchained. Yeah. Django Unchained, you know, I love all those movies. So when I saw him, I just, I kind of, like lost my senses. Instead of being like a, you know, a filmmaker who wants to work with him, one day, I became a fan, and I I lost my senses for that moment. And instead of, you know, approaching him to talk about, you know, like, Hey, I'm a filmmaker too, it was more so like, Hey, can I take a picture with you? Like, I didn't know what to say, you know, I kind of lost, I lost my brain for a moment. But like Ramon said, like her mom said, we sat down at the tables near the bar where he was sitting, and we kind of talked to each other, and, you know, took deep breaths and figured out how we could re approach him professionally. And he was super cool. He took our business cards, thanked us for for being respectful to him, and his his fiancee, tried to give a muffin to our other friend that was there. So, I mean, they're cool people, yeah,

Erman Baradi 24:22
Yeah, yeah. I would have, for me, just going back on the whole playing thing, we could have, I guess, you know, teamed up first and kind of strategized before approaching him, because Brandon, Brandon calls me like, Brandon calls me the less shy one of the other two. But for me, like, as a fan, I literally, brand could tell you, I stood behind Brandon. I was like, Brandon, like, I can't talk to him right now. Like I'm sweating, like my knees are shaking right now, dude. So Brandon. Brandon had a bigger call that day he approached, and I kind of stood behind him. Like, yeah, what he said, what he said? Like, I was just super shy, man.

Brandon Waites 24:59
And yeah. Right, yeah. He was my hype man that day. Yeah? Well, he said, Yeah, we, we want to take a picture.

Dave Bullis 25:08
So her mind was kind of like the Flavor Flav, yeah, exactly. You know, I've had friends who've actually on the actually, I've had people on the podcast who actually worked with with Quentin, and actually they worked on Django together. And it was, his name was John Connor, not the guy from Terminator, but Connor, he actually worked in the counter department for for Django. And he was like, Yeah, qt is one of the greatest guys to work with. And you know, he goes, he knows his stuff, and he's just, you know, he The days are long, but he goes, everyone's having fun. He goes, like, you know, Tarantino directs in his crazy ways energetic. And he goes, he's just an awesome guy didn't know, just in general to work with.

Brandon Waites 25:58
Yeah, yeah. I believe it, because when we met him, he was the same way. He was like, Oh, hey guys, hey, like, like, super excited to, like, meet us. So, yeah, you could buy a drink. Like, like, I think that's just how he is. He has a energetic personality about him, whether he's actually shooting a film or if he's, you know, hanging out at a bar. He's just a really cool person.

Erman Baradi 26:20
Yeah, I saw a behind the scenes feature at one time of a scene shot for for not wearing dogs Pulp Fiction. It's the the twist scene, and he's like, beyond the camera, dancing himself, so like that. That's a personality we want to work with in the future. You know, those types of directors and producers and cetera, who have fun while on set, not just like we're not just militant on set, you know, you do this, you do that, but who can provide a really energetic, fun atmosphere, exactly.

Dave Bullis 26:54
So is there? Has there ever been another time, though, like, where you sort of been going these networking events? Because, you know, I wanted to talk to you guys about, you know, networking and hustling. Networking and hustling in Hollywood. I know hustling sometimes can be, you know, a weird word. Sometimes it has a negative connotation, but I think it's a good thing. Now, you know, when people say hustling, it's not, you know, it just means you're, you're grinding it out, you're working, you're, you're trying to pursue something, you know, you know. And that's what I wanted to talk to you guys, mainly about, is these, you know, hustling and networking. In Hollywood and so just to sort of, to just continue this conversation, you know, what were some of the things that way, you know, when you first got to town, maybe that, or even just networking online with people like Arman, you, you mentioned this too earlier on about networking online, you know, what are some of the things that you've done or you do now that really have benefited you? And just, just finding and talking to people, like finding certain people to talk to, or even happy or, or even the best, when people reach out to you and say, Hey, or, you know, hey, Brandon, here, I'm on, I found you online, you know, like, so what are some of the tips that you could share that of some stuff that's that's helped you out?

Brandon Waites 28:02
Oh, yeah. Vermont, yeah, yeah, I'll go first. Just something that I've noticed, whether it's, you know, people reaching out to us because we are starting to produce projects, or getting in contact with finance areas who want to produce films that we're producing, or whatever, the big thing is, when you reach out to somebody is Don't, don't make it seem like you you just want to use that person for the resources you need to be more so, like you want to build a relationship or friendship with that person. So like, when Arman and I first reached got together. Armand was holding a event, and I could have been one of those people that just, you know, message her mom. And was like, hey, Armand, like, Can I can I get some tickets to your event? Like, hook me up, dude. I wasn't like that. I had messaged her mom. And I was like, Hey, man, you know what, I'm actually a student at one of your your school in Virginia, but I was taking the online master's program, and we from there, we just kept talking, and we built a friendship that turned into a partnership. So building a actual relationship and not just trying to use somebody for their resources, that's a very valuable tip I would I would share.

Erman Baradi 29:23
Yeah, and going off of that like people may find it frustrating that building my relationship takes over, takes time, but it does take time. You know you're not gonna work with so and so because you message him one time, be like, Hey, can I work with you? No, it's gonna, it takes, it's gonna take a series of conversations before you finally work with somebody. So that is very key. What Brandon said. Another thing I would say is kind of like podcasts like this. I I would take even starting it off, you know, the last three or four years. I would take any interview, no matter how big or small was you. Because if someone wants to work me, they can literally Google me and see my my history, my background. They can see my interview, see what I'm about. So if, if someone approached you about an interview, no matter how big or small it may feel, take it and yeah, so when I reach out to this, when we when we do events or do contests, and when we do some outreach, I say, Hey, here's some background on us. You know, would you like to do it with us or not? And because of the fact that we have searchable names, it does go in our feet.

Dave Bullis 30:46
So, you know, you mentioned big or small. I mean, so you've gotten so you're doing a pretty small interview right now, Armand, but, but no way. So, but no, no, yeah, yeah, it's, there's me, and then there's like, the Marc Maron podcast, right? So, so, but no, it's, you know, all kidding aside, you know, I realized that zu Orman is, you know, there's when I a couple years ago, when I was doing projects, I and I just sort of reached out and said, hey, you know what's out there? Because I didn't know. And there's so many people who were wanted to me to come on to do different things, or do a podcast or and that this is like it when it was still in it, and it's still, it's somewhat infant stages. And there were different people asked me to do, like, you know, articles or not articles, but like an interview, and it'd written up and stuff like that. And, you know, I started to realize when people are going out to do projects like, let's just say, you have a movie at Armon, and you're looking to, you know, get publicity for it and everything. You know, I think everybody wants to be in, like, The Hollywood Reporter variety. They also want to be on Mark maron's podcast. They all this and that. But then I go on the flip side, and I say, you know, what if you just did, instead of just doing, doing one interview to hit like a million people? What if you did 10 interviews that did 100,000 each, or 20 that did 10,000 each? Do you see where I'm going with this? And I think you have more of a shot with the latter, because, you know, most of us don't have friends that have, you know, a million reaching whatever they do, whether it be YouTube or podcasts. So I think that's, that's something that a lot of filmmakers, especially, you know, indie filmmakers, who have a budget of, you know, let's just say, under what, under under 4 million or under five, I don't know. Just use that as a barometer if they have that. You know, usually there's a market for that. There's a niche for that. And then also, there's a, you know, there's a lot of different ways you could play that, in terms of going on a podcasts, even, even when I get pitched to this podcast, it's, I get so many emails, and that's why, and I'm like, a little nobody in Philadelphia, I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be like Mark Marin or Adam Carolla or any of these other guys. I mean, they must get floored every every five seconds.

Erman Baradi 33:04
That's so true. Yeah, yeah. But See also, if I was a celebrity and I was approached by a podcast like, that's brand new, and that had, like, maybe two listeners, I would actually take it, because what if that podcast blew up because of me, that I can be like, Hey, I helped us this new, you know, media company blow up. So who knows? Man, you might be able to get, like, a big time filmmaker one day, and they they help your numbers grow, and they can be like, Hey, I helped Dave bulls podcast become what it is today.

Dave Bullis 33:38
I've actually reached out to a lot of people to kind of do that. Hopefully I end up being the filmmaker that does it for myself. You know what? I mean, I can kind of be, like, there you go. Even better. Yeah, exactly. I like to be the guy who launched, you know, and then you kind of have the pot. You kind of live in both worlds because, you know, again, you just try. Because I see people online all the time, they're always trying to get, like, you know, Kevin Smith or whoever, on their podcast and, and by the way, I think Quinn Tarantino, I think he's very smart for acting on social media because, because I think he realizes if he got on there, it would be nothing, but people just pitching him with stuff. Oh, geez, absolutely. So as we, as we sort of talk you about, you know, and then that's what, again, one of the reasons it's one of the bad spots of social media, you know. But usually social media, you know, I always tell people, it's a tool like anything else, you know. So people sometimes can go really bad. Sometimes you can go really well. And that's why, you know, I think a lot of celebrities, though, they get pissed all the time, like, I mean, Kevin Smith uses it to kind of sort of dialog with people. Sometimes, Tom Cruise just talks one way, you know, I mean, so it's kind of, you know, everything is kind of, you know, how you wield it. And, you know, just before I forget, I wanted to mention to Arman, I You mentioned the people reaching out to you on Twitter. I actually had somebody reach out. It's been Instagram, and Instagram is slowly becoming my favorite social media site. And I had this, this company reach out to me, and they sell, they help you get their real estate company in Hollywood, and they started following me, and I followed them back, and they reached out to me immediately. So it's like, you know, an auto DM, and right off the bat, they're asking, if you know, I'm in the market for a home out in Hollywood, and I'm just, I'm just, I'm already, I'm like, oh, right, we're already getting the conversation just started, and you want me? You want to sell me a $3 million home? All right?

Erman Baradi 35:34
Sounds great. Oh my God, dude, wow.

Dave Bullis 35:38
People, yeah, it was just funny, man, because I was like, you know, usually you have some kind of, you know, I mean, I don't know, a pitch like that is really hard to swallow. Being like, Hey, you want to buy a house out of Hollywood. I'm like, no, what the hell. That's a hell of a way to start something. But yes, because I had the writer of John Wick on the podcast, Derek holstead and Daryl nice. And Derek was even joking about that. He goes, Yeah. He goes, my his wife. Before he wrote John Wick, was like, Listen, you know, when you write something well and sell it, we'll go and we'll buy a house in Malibu or whatever. And he goes, Yeah, we went looking at houses after he sold John Wick, and they were starting at like 1.5 for these little dinky houses that were like, absolutely nothing. He's like, this is $1.5 million Wow. I mean, it's just like, the real estate market is just crazy. The real estate market is just crazy, man. It's just, I don't know. I just always find that stuff funny, especially because I saw there was, there was a news story recently about this house in California. It was foreclosed on, and it went for like, 1.2 million, or something like that or something, and it was like, this little dinky house that was in total disrepair. But the real estate market out there is just in such demand that that's, that's how it's that crappy house sold so just, it just goes to show you, man. But you know, just as we continue talking about networking, you know, Brandon, I want to ask you, and then I'm going to throw the same question to you, Armand, you know, what was, what was, what is like the worst networking experience you've ever had?

Brandon Waites 37:18
That's a That's a good question. Um, can I think of anything? I mean, most of my networking experiences have been pretty good. Armani, can you think of anything I've told you in the past that has gone gone wrong for me? Safe? Um, yeah. Everything's going good.

Erman Baradi 37:47
Yeah, I've never met personally, like, I don't have any stories of me like messing up, but I will say this, I this is something I witnessed firsthand. We had an event back in my hometown, Virginia Beach, two years ago, and one of the main speakers was Alan lankets, who was Oscar nominated for straight out of Compton. Yeah. So after the event, we had this mixer with all the speakers and all the attendees. And, you know, we were fortunate to have all the speakers come out to actually attend and then hang out with the attendees. So that was cool. There was a person who approached a circle that Alan gathered like, you know, there's, there's five speakers, and so each speaker had, like, their own pocket of people talking to them. And so Alan was talking to somebody and or the group of people, and this random person, I guess, who came to the event, he approached him with a script in hand, not just any script in hand, but it was crumpled up. Like it was even, like, first off, don't give someone your script first and foremost, like in the middle of a conversation, but like it was like, crumpled up, like stains all over it. It was so professional, it was so bad. And Alex looked at him like, yeah. Like, I forgot he said, but I can just imagine what was going through his head. Like, Fine Time, buddy. Don't do that ever. So that was, like, a that's a big no no when you literally give your script to somebody in the middle of a mixer or middle of a conversation, that's, like, the absolutely wrong way to do it. So I'm I was very embarrassed about that, but that's a funny story to tell, like, looking back,

Dave Bullis 39:23
Yeah, it's the stories like that, you know, which I was kind of, you know, when I asked the question I was kind of looking for, because even, you know, most, I mean you and Brandon, I know you guys know what you're doing, and obviously you're not gonna, you know, go off the deep in or anything and but usually when you see other people at networking events, that's when things start to get go bad, especially when they're newbies and they're very, very desperate. You know, I've just seen, I've seen the gamut of things happen. But really quickly, a funny, funny story, speaking of Quentin Tarantino, a friend of mine ran into Tim Roth at a networking event. And cool and true story. This is a true story. My friend goes, my friend goes, Hey. He goes, so he meets Tim Ross I think is it was his manager or agent? And he goes, so what do you do? He goes, Oh, I'm an agent, manager. And he goes, my one of my clients is here, Tim Roth. And he and my friend says it Tim Roth, I shit you not. He goes, so what do you do? And Tim Roth goes, and Tim and Tim Roth goes, Oh, I'm an actor. He goes, You ever seen any Quentin Tarantino's movies? He goes, Yeah. He goes, well. He goes, I'm in pretty much all of them. And my friend was like, Oh, really. So my friend tried to give Tim Roth his business card. He was, no, no, I won't take yours, but you can take mine. And Tim just gave him his business card, and that was it. I told my friend, he should, he should, you know, whatever he has to do, even if he has to write a snail mail letter, just say, Here you go. Say, remember me. I'm the guy who didn't know who you were. I think he was. I think he would have stuck so out. You know what I mean. I think he would have, like, been so memorable that I think Tim would have remembered him if he had said that to him,

Erman Baradi 41:18
That I Yeah, that would be a fantastic story. Or, or kind of a throw, a callback, you know, like, yeah, do you remember you? Because you're the guy who didn't remember who I was, and thanks for having the guts to to remind me that

Dave Bullis 41:35
He's like, You're that guy who doesn't know anything, right?

Brandon Waites 41:41
Yeah! Oh, yeah. I was gonna say, I think that's a great story to tell, because when you are at those networking events, you should, you should do some what of your, of your research on the people that are going to be there. And you know, if you know somebody's name, you know, but you don't know what they look like. Google them real quick. I mean, we have the amazing technology within our fingertips. You know, you have a phone. Type in, you know, one of our good buddies, you could type in Jeff Howard. A lot of people, you know, they know his movies, but they might not know who he is. He's the CO writer of Gerald's Game on Netflix or Oculus or Ouija, Origin of Evil, and he's a great guy. So you could hear that, oh, Jeff Howard's going to be at this event. You might not know what he looks like, but before you walk into that event, Google his name. You see what he looks like, and then you can walk up and not, you know, make the mistake of actually bumping into Jeff Howard and saying, what do you do? You know, it makes you look a little more professional, if you know who these guys are, even though they're not as famous as the guys in front of the cameras.

Dave Bullis 42:48
Yeah, I don't know why people don't use the internet more, or you have your phone with you at all times. Everyone has a phone with him at all times. I know. Yeah, seriously, and I don't know why people don't use it more when they're going to go talk to people. I mean, there was a thing here in Philadelphia for M Night, Shyamalan, and, like, as soon as it was over and he was coming off the stage, people were like, asking him, like, Hey, how can I pitch you a script, this and that? And he was, you know, and he uses the answer, oh, just send it to my office. Well, you know, I know exactly what's gonna happen with that script, if they've ever send it where it's just gonna go right into the shredder. So, you know what I mean, but it's just, you know what I mean? It's just, it's they don't understand how anything works. I think that it's like someone's gonna read their screenplay right then and there, you know? I mean, it's just, uh, I you know? I mean, like they just think that it's everyone's gonna stop whatever they're doing. And I had a friend of mine who was trying to give a script to Lee Shriver, and I'm like, No, don't do that. Please don't do that. Don't just leave him alone. Because they she was like, I because they were in the same place a couple of times she goes, I think he's in here. I think I'm gonna give it to him. And I said, please don't, please don't do it.

Brandon Waites 43:59
That reminds me of the movie, the room with who was it? Joe Apatow in that movie. How so painful, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's crazy. Have you? Have you seen the room? Dave, yes, yeah, yeah. You remember the scene where he walks up to Joe Apatow, who's having dinner, and he wants to give him a script, and Joe Apatow is like, I wouldn't read your script in a million years. Like, get out of here. You know, that's what it reminds me of, is people trying to do too much. And again, it goes back to what I said earlier. Like, if you somehow find a way to build a relationship with these power movers in Hollywood, like, oh, invite them out to coffee. You know, that's a big thing that Armand and I do before we ask them to do events or whatever, we'll ask them if they'll meet up for coffee. And what that does is it lets them see that, you know, you're not just trying to make first contact. Say, Hey, let me send you a script. You're. Saying, Hey, let me buy you a coffee so we could talk. I want to get to know you. And yeah, I'm not that. I'm not saying the odds are a lot better, but that actually makes them more open to meeting up with you if they have the time. A lot of these guys are busy 11 months out of the year, 12 months out of the year, they don't have any time, but if they do, you know, they're more than willing to meet for coffee and give advice,

Erman Baradi 45:26
Yeah, and the worst thing they can say is no. Like, if they say no, it's like, okay, well, let us know when you are let me know when you are available. And I'd love to take your coffee then. So yeah, a lot of times we'll be out of town too busy, or they're not native, or they're not native with this current project. Like, okay, well, hopefully next time, when you're Do you have breathing, when you do have time to breathe, and let me know, and I'll love to take you then and just continue that conversation. Like, even if you say no, like, don't just drop off. Don't just end it there. Make sure you kind of just follow up. What is the worst that could happen? Then them saying no, you know,

Brandon Waites 46:00
Yeah, yeah. And another thing I want to say real quick is that you don't just need to build those relationships with the big producers, the big directors and whatnot. Try to find out who their assistants are, who interns for them, and build those relationships, because most likely those guys are going to move up in Hollywood. And if you already have a friendship, you know, with, I don't know, the assistant to Steve Carroll. You know that person might be the next studio head or the next producer of Steve Carroll's, Steve Carroll's production company, I don't know. And it works. I mean, Dana Brunetti is a big producer in Hollywood. He's done House of Cards, he's done Captain Phillips. And one of my really good friends is his assistant, and I think now he's his creative executive for her company. So, I mean, you never know where those assistants interns are going to end up. A lot of people, you know, see the assistant, and they're like, Oh, you're just his assistant. They don't realize how much work these guys put in for these big a list producers, a list stars, directors, and they get noticed, and that gets them bigger jobs. So that's something else I would I would share.

Erman Baradi 47:17
Definitely, it's the sense are important. And everybody said it's too like everybody who's been to our panelists, just said, make sure you get well. You make sure you get on the radar, since they will come bigger in the future, and you're a technical gatekeepers to anything you do with their podcast. You send them an email if you're if you're not nice to them, they can literally block it. You know, also agents, managers and publicists getting along with them too, because they're the ones who are the team of these power players. So make sure you have a good standing relationship with them as well.

Dave Bullis 47:56
You know, somebody once told me a tip, and I want to get you guys, your guy's opinion, that was excellent English, by the way I'm talking and like, you guys opinion. So I want to get both of your opinions on this. Somebody once told me that if you want to get a screenplay to like, let's just say, a producer, a manager, an agent, that you should send it specifically to the assistant first. And what I mean by that is you actually address it to them and say, like, if I was like, let's just say, you know, Brandon, let's just say you were Armands assistant and, and, you know, you and I addressed it and you said you and I wrote in the email, or I wrote in the in, you know, whatever. And I said, you know, Mr. Weights, I think this would be an excellent project for your for your boss, you know, Mr. Ferrari, you know, could you know, if you read this, I really think blah, blah, maybe, maybe even write something in the subject line, just to get an open the email like, you know, this has been script recommended by one of the script the script reading services, and in the body you write, you directly, you make it right to them that way. You're it's it, and you are sincere about it that way. You're not just kind of like, you know, treating them like, sort of like a lackey, you know what I mean, and saying, like, hey, look, I just want to get to your boss. What do you think about that?

Brandon Waites 49:18
I think it's a good idea. Honestly. I think that you don't even have to mention, like, you know if, if I was her mom's assistant, and you're sending it to me, I don't even think you have to mention her mom by sending it to me, because you know that if it's good, I'm going to get it into her mind's armand's hands, and if I get it into his hands as his assistant, then I'm going to get recognized for finding the material so you could send it to me like dear Brandon. I wrote this amazing script that I think fits your guys's slate of films, and I would like for you to check it out and give me your feedback. And you never mentioned her mom's name. Well and I feel like, okay, I'm being recognized. I'm his assistant, and this person recognized me as part of the company. And, you know, I read the script and I love it, and I'm gonna reply back to you. You know what? I think this has some potential, and I'm going to take a turn on. And I think by doing that, you're right it, it develops a relationship with the assistant. It makes them feel important as well. You know, because, like Roman said, they are the gatekeepers. They are the guys who get the screenplays, they read the screenplays, and they're the ones that tell the their bosses whether they're good or not,

Erman Baradi 50:43
Yep, yep. In addition to that, 100% agree with Brandon. In addition to that, I would go with these as a tool, because if you go to the agent or manager, the first thing I'm gonna ask is, you know, how much are you offering? So because they could think of it from the from the business aspect, but if you hit up the assistant, yeah, what Brandon said, they may think, Okay, well, this script is fantastic. This is the assistant. I think this is my end this is my way of getting getting bigger in the industry. So, yeah, I think it's smart to hit the assistant's first. Actually, didn't think about that way until you mentioned it. And I was like, that makes sense. So, yeah, I do agree with you guys on that one.

Dave Bullis 51:27
So, and just, just to continue along with that too, query letters, you know, I mean, you guys have, you know, interned agencies. You guys have been around, always, producers and now, and you know, as you've, guys have progressed in your careers. How have queer do queries that are like query letters? Do they still work as as well as they used to? Like, if I were to email somebody, you know, first off, do they even work still? And two, if they do, like, what are some of the things that you've seen or heard or producers have said that I've actually gotten them to either open up the email or the assistance to open up the email rather. And actually, you know, I think that's the hardest part, because I think you see all these emails that are coming in. And, I mean, I mean, I remember talking to somebody at William Morris Endeavor, and he said that he usually, you know, 90% of the time he just without even opening he just clicks on the on the side panel there and just clicks, delete, delete, delete, delete, you know what I mean, and doesn't even open them.

Brandon Waites 52:23
Yeah, I think it depends on the how busy the company is. You know, there's smaller production companies that are very successful. I interned with benders pink at that time. It was called benders pink under JC, Spink and Chris bender. They're the producers of worthy Miller, The Hangover movies, a lot of comedies. They were also what Oscar nominated for a history of violence. So I think one of the important things is there's so many companies like that that are successful but not really known, and by researching them, seeing what type of genres they do, you can send those query letters, and if, if your screenplay matches their slate of films, I think they would be open to it, but you need to, you need to be able to ward your, you know, your query a certain way. It can't be a whole bunch of rambling, you know, it has to be short, sweet, and to the point when I interned there, they did go through query letters, but there had to be something within the meat of the email that interests them. You know, and vendor Spink was known for mostly comedies, like I said, if they got, I don't know, some drama that didn't fit their slate, they're not going to look at it. They're looking more for the stuff. They have a first look deal with New Line Cinema. So they're looking for films that new line wants. You know what I mean?

Erman Baradi 53:47
Yeah, yeah. And on that same note, yeah, try to be succinct as possible. Don't make it a long letter, because obviously no one has time to read that. You know, don't send an email. Don't send an email with a message of like, that's to take up, like, five to six paragraphs. They're not gonna have time for that. Absolutely don't. If you're saying query letter, don't touch a script already. That's a big no no. Like, like, the point of a query letter is to get the attention of it, of the person reading, not to already send your your material. So that's a huge no no. And I've it's happened to I've experienced that at Mosaic, you know, when I entered there people doing that as a writer, I've done that in past, too, my mistake, but, you know, I've grown from it. But yeah, and on the same notes for queer lawyers, I think they still do work, but you got to remember that people like WME, they only they're going to work with you if you already had credits, if you already have a name. So if you're brand new to the industry like you, try not to send letters to agencies of that stature. You know, CA, WME, Uta, aim for the smaller ones. Aim for the ones too, because they're the ones who are still looking for talents, new talents. So my advice is to go for the. Are the quote, unquote smaller level management companies and agencies, yeah?

Brandon Waites 55:06
Because once it gets into their hands, they're the guys that can take it up to those bigger studios management companies. Yeah, yeah.

Dave Bullis 55:15
And that kind of leads into my next question. You know, you guys started the film Empire, and, you know, there's, there's a writing contest, you know, that that's sort of, that, that's sort of, it's kind of the nucleus of the whole, of the whole thing. And somebody once also told me that these writing competitions are really what they look for, because they can see now if this writing piece can stand out against all these other writers, you know, and that way you're not sending, you know, emails to managers whoever, just saying, hey, read my screenplay, because they don't know if it sucks. I mean, let's be honest here, guys, there's probably a good chance it does suck. You know, I remember there was a, you know, I mean, there's a guy on Twitter called the bitter screenwriter, or the bit of screen reader, and he just, you know, he's seen so many of these scripts. He's just like, What the hell is going on here, you know, so, so, you know, that's why I think again, screaming competitions. I think that piece of advice is really good, just making sure you focus on the, on the writing competitions. But, you know, just to, just to go into that, you guys created the film Empire, and when you guys decided to form a partnership, you know what, what is, you know, the your screenwriting competition aspect, you know, what is, was there? Did you think that there was maybe a feel, that there was a need for, you know, a different kind of screen guarding competition, you know what I mean, like? So, what was kind of the impetus to create the the film Empire and the writing competition?

Brandon Waites 56:41
A lot of go ahead Erman,

Erman Baradi 56:45
Yeah, so being, you know, doing events and all stuff for people, that was one level of helping people network and break in, right, having a face to face, we wanted to take it up a notch and reach people on a global scale. So because events are very brick and mortar, right? So when you do contests, literally anyone from anywhere in the world can can win and take a meeting and take a Skype session with any of the mentors. So what we want to do was mentor meetings. So it's one thing to to win a contest and get cash, right? Awesome, cool. You got $1,500 awesome. You know, it pays your your rent for the month. That's fantastic. But we wanted to, what we wanted to do was have people already in the industry give feedback and mentor meetings to our winners, because it's more than just a meeting. It's about cultivating their talents, and our winners get to ask questions that they may not have a chance to otherwise. You know, for example, one of our mentors for our our very recent mentor contest is Tommy Harper, who was formerly a Bad Robot, Bad Robot, but he executive producer for like the Mission Possible films and Star Wars films, etc. So on a on a regular day, someone in London may not be able to meet him, right? But through our contest, we break down our wall, our winner gets a chance to have a Skype session or in person meeting, depending on where they're located with people like him, because it allows them to cultivate their their their talents, and, you know, ask questions that they would have no other chance of of doing so in any other situation. So we want to give, we want to provide a kind of a platform, if you will, for blossoming filmmakers and generators that could use the extra push or advice from people already working in the industry.

Brandon Waites 58:52
Yeah, and to pick and to piggyback off of what Roman is saying and something that I said earlier. By doing this, our winners are able to in their mentor meetings, they're able to develop the relationship, you know, instead of, you know, just bumping into them and saying, Hey, read my script. This is their opportunity to sit in front of them, build a relationship if they hit it off. Who knows, maybe the producer they're meeting loves the script that they won through our contest, and that producer now wants to produce their pilot or their their feature film, or maybe just slice their attitude and want to hire them for some position. So our contest mentor meetings is the opportunity to develop more intimate meetings, mentorships for our winners, not

Erman Baradi 59:44
Yeah, the first thing to the first thing to any of the first thing to any relationship, is getting in the room with somebody you know. So where Brett said, even if they don't get their script made per se from this producer or whoever they're meeting, they may have something else for them.

Brandon Waites 1:00:10
Yeah, yeah, and the meetings are the mentor meetings are important. That's the person's opportunity to provide a first impression. So we're all about developing relationships. That's how Arman and I both have started off and made our way to where we are now within Hollywood, we're still young, we still have long ways to go, but that's that's like the core of where we've got where we are, and we're trying to help other people that may have the screenplays that are really good, but don't have the opportunity to get in the room, and we're opening those doors for those people.

Dave Bullis 1:00:53
And I think that's, that's the crux of all this opening doors. You know what I mean? I think that's this whole business about relationships. Hell, life is about relationships. And I think opening doors is one of the flip parts of it, exactly so. So how can people enter the screwing competition by the way?

Erman Baradi 1:01:15
Yes, either the filmempire.com or you can find us on Film Freeway. On filmfreeway.com is the platform we use. I think a lot of festivals and contests use as well. But definitely check us out at the film empire. filmempire.com

Dave Bullis 1:01:33
And I'm gonna link to that in the show notes. Everybody you know but before we sort of kind of, before we get to the parting thoughts, I just want to ask one final question, Brandon and Erman, is there anything so, Brandon, I'll shoot you this, this, this question you first, is there anything that you'd like to say to sort of put a period at the end of this whole conversation?

Brandon Waites 1:01:58
Um, no, I just really, and I know I keep stressing it. To get into the industry, you got to have thick skin. You have to be able to you got to be patient. One of our good buddies, Adam robitel. He's a director of The Taking of Deborah Logan and a new movie calling called Escape Room. I want to say, when we met him over at Blum house, also, he didn't insidious the last key. He told us that he'd been pushing for what, 1015, years, Armand, yeah, and he said, You have to have a lot of patience. And it's been about 15 years. I want to say that he's finally getting his opportunities doing Sony Movie. Now. He's pitching all over doors. I mean, the doors have have been open for him, but opportunities are just coming for him, and that's because he's, you know, he's pushed through the ups and downs of being in the industry. And there's gonna be lots of downs. There's gonna be days where, you know, you get an email from producer that says, you know, leave me the excuse me, I won't cuss leave me alone. Okay? Yeah, I mean, I've gotten some where producer be like, leave me the fuck alone. You know, don't message me again. It happens, and it's gonna feel like a punch to the stomach, and it sucks. But the tough the people who really want to be in the industry, they're just going to shrug that off and go on to the next producer, to the next director that they want to work with and try to get into their door and develop a relationship with those guys. So develop those relationships. Have a thick skin. No, it's not going to be easy. Just keep building relationships, and those relationships are going to grow upon each other. So those are probably my parting words.

Dave Bullis 1:03:44
Do you think it's wise, though? Like when if a producer would say that, like, leave me the fuck alone, like he I mean, because you could be the next big thing, and you could come back and say, Hey, you're the guy who told me to fuck off.

Brandon Waites 1:03:56
I'm hoping. I'm hoping. But no, I don't think us. Yeah, you know, I the producer that I talked to. I want to say he was more so co producer, or whatever, but, you know, I'm not really gonna take that to heart if I work with him someday, awesome. But I don't know maybe he was just having a bad day the day he told me that, but there's so many producers out there in Hollywood, a majority of them want to see other people succeed, people who are dedicated and want to be in this industry, and they're willing to talk to you. But I mean, in every industry, there's a jerk out there, and those jerks, you know, their karma will come. But, yeah, you just have to have that thick skin, because you are going to get some emails from some rude people sometimes, you know it's going to happen, so just have that thick skin.

Erman Baradi 1:04:56
Yeah, absolutely. It's funny, because just like a few months ago. Know, I emailed this agent, and it wasn't even about me. It was asked. I was inviting him his I'm not him. I was inviting his clients on a band of ours. And this guy should have said, Please take me off your list. I'm like, I I'm asking you about your clients. Don't you want that? Like, don't you want something for your client? You know, and people like that. She's like, Well, you gotta consider, even though it is small town and where it gets around a lot, he's just one person, he she's just one person, you know. So there's always other people to contact industry. So don't, don't like, you know, don't put yourself down if you get a no, because it's gonna happen a lot, so there's gonna be a lot of no's. But once you get that yes, that's what, that's what, that's what that's what's important, you know, you can get 100 no's and get that one yes, but that one yes is what's going to be the the significant, you know, answer that you'll get in your career. So yeah, going with Brandon said to have a thick skin, definitely, definitely keep networking and for I don't know if everyone knows this out there listening, but you know what we think we mentioned earlier, is not from LA. He's from Arizona. I just moved to LA last year, so I've been networking for five years. So with that being said, you can literally network from anywhere, you know. So with the with the invention of the internet, there's no excuse not to be able to reach out to somebody and create that rapport from the comfort of your own home. So even if you're not in LA, you can still network. You know, networking isn't about the four, the four, the four walls around you. It's about the the action of creating a relationship with somebody.

Brandon Waites 1:06:46
There you go, Gary V. The Gary V

Dave Bullis 1:06:54
Yeah, you know, I see the a lot of Gary V stuff. I actually got his latest book, and I took a few notes. And I, you know, I, I have a friend of mine who does a lot of social media stuff, and he swears by Gary V and everything he does. And I have another friend who does social media stuff, and he goes, Don't buy books on social media. He was just, just do it. So I don't know, you know, there's so much, so many tips on social media. And, you know? And I mean, Arman, you got 26,000 followers, so I'm pretty jealous,

Erman Baradi 1:07:25
Is has start somewhere. Had to start at a point of where I can grow that, you know, I like to tell people this, to get a million dollar dollars, you to start with $1 you know. So for me, 26 didn't come overnight. I had to grow that for the last five years, and I want to thank like you asked to do interviews, because if you were to Google me, you can find all the interviews. I can't sell out an event because I can't sell at an event without people being to find an interview. It was like, oh, it's full event. But wait a minute, I I don't can't find anything on you. Why would I buy tickets to your event? Or why would I even go to the film Empire if I can't find interview? Fire? No. So want to thank podcasts like you and any other press that I opportunities like this, because you're the reason why we get 26,000 you know, followers. So yeah, social media is very important. Definitely grow it. I guess, to go back on the other question about, you know, a parting words, but definitely, to me, is important nowadays. So definitely grow your social media when you can. And social media is a different monster, but also kind of the what Brandon said earlier, you constantly do some outreach. You know, you might find some cool people on on Twitter that you may not meet in person in any other given situation, so definitely hit them up, you know, contact them and kind of build that relationship over time.

Dave Bullis 1:08:50
Yeah, definitely. And I think social media is important, especially when you use it correctly. You actually are using it, and you're actually out there, you know, trying to network and meet people and, you know, just, you know, generally, whatever your goal is, you're trying to achieve with that goal. But, yeah, seriously, that's how we met. Man, just randomly, and I've met so many people on Twitter, and now I'm meeting more and more people on Instagram. This is just a side note, by the way, I don't know. Maybe you guys see this too. I see a lot of these. I shouldn't get into it. I'll say that, do it okay. So I would, I will give I will give it a peer pressure. So I see a lot of these models, let's say, and I saw this girl the other day. I followed her her Instagram, months and months ago, and I this picture came up, and it's her, like, bent over on a balcony wearing almost nothing. And obviously, because, you know, I'm a heterosexual guy, so it caught my eye. But here's the funny part. Okay, in the text of the post, there was all this text about, like, she's gonna knock somebody out. She's talking about, like, empowering herself. She's talking about this. I mean, it was like, it was so many points of topic she was going back and forth on, and none of them had anything to do with the photo that she was that she took of her bent over on this balcony. And I'm just like, What message are you trying to convey here? Like I'm lost. I don't know. I don't know what to feel about this post.

Erman Baradi 1:10:35
Dave, first advice. I don't appreciate you talking about my girlfriend like that.

Dave Bullis 1:10:40
Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Erman Baradi 1:10:44
No, you'll get a lot of those nowadays. You'll have like, a model take a picture of themselves in the bikini, and they, they try to have some type of inspirational quote underneath it. It's like, what like? You're gonna get a like? You're gonna get a like on the picture because of what you're wearing, not because of the quote underneath it, you know.

Dave Bullis 1:11:00
So, yeah, it's stuff like that. And I just don't know, you know, I kind of go back with, you know, in social media, and we could do a whole podcast about this, but they always say the Vern, the vrin, which is, you know, V R, I N, which is valuable, rare in a minimal and not non exchangeable, or not non, whatever, non substitutable. And you look at that, and I kind of, as I've kind of had that my mind now is looking through other people's social media, and I could see now why some people have taken off and other people haven't. And it's just, you know, a lot of times when I see those, those photos from from different, you know, models and stuff like that, with the inspirational quotes. I don't know. It's kind of like, I don't know, because everyone, because other models are doing the exact same thing where they're posting, you know, and they're posing in a certain way, and they're also posting an inspirational quote or whatever. So the rarity of that kind of goes down, by the way, I'm a huge Gary V guy. I've studied, you know, some of Tai Lopez's stuff, you know, back and forth about, you know, some of the social media stuff. So, so I could talk your ears off about this, but I won't, though, because you'll be all bored and be like, What the hell is this guy talking about? So I'll just be like, You know what I mean? Like, it's just sometimes with social media, I honestly think it's very easy to go down a rabbit hole with this stuff, and I will save all that for another time. Everybody So Brandon, where did we will find you out online?

Erman Baradi 1:12:35
Oh, geez, I think we lost him. Well, if we lost I can give you socials, yeah, I also agree, yeah. So you can find Brandon Waites at, B, W, A, I, T, E, S, 07 that is bwaites07 on Twitter and Instagram. You can find me at erman_la, E, R, M, A, N, _ LA on Twitter and Instagram, and you can find the film empire on Instagram, at the film empire and on Twitter at the_film_empire. You can also find us at mixology on both Twitter and Instagram, M, I, X, K, N, O, W, L, E, D, G, Y.

Dave Bullis 1:13:11
Armaan, I want to say thank you so much for coming on. Brandon, I want to say thank you for coming on. I think we lost you. In fact, I know we did. I could see he's not in the room anymore. But I want to say thank you for both of you for coming on.

Erman Baradi 1:13:22
Thank you, sir. Until next time!