I've grown up in Mumbai, did college from Mumbai, many colleges, actually - Jai Hind, Ruia, Andrews, Wilson, Whistling Woods... Then I worked as a production assistant with Prahlad Kakar, and then I started acting.
You can't direct without a good crew.
My son works as a production assistant in television.
When Carpenter was shooting 'Vampires' in New Mexico when I was living there, I desperately tried to get a job working on that film, and I couldn't. So my first job as a PA was on a CBS movie of the week that was shooting next door, and whenever I could, I would sneak over so I could watch.
I've done so many funny jobs. I worked at a farmer's market through high school. I worked in the stock room of Ralph Lauren. I graduated to salesperson at Ralph Lauren, which was a big deal to me. I've been a P.A. I've been a stand-in. I've been an assistant's assistant.
My first job in the film business was working as a production assistant, and then a production manager on a documentary about Townes Van Zandt.
When you are cleaning, sweeping, swabbing floors and running around for the littlest of things on a shoot for an ad or a documentary, you realize how tough life is behind the camera.
Well, I tried being in front of the camera as a student and that was terrifying. But the press stuff about me growing up on his [film] sets has been exaggerated. I was an extra as a kid and I was also a PA [production assistant] on one of his movies, so I was lucky to get production experience. But I was nowhere near him.
It can really vary from movie to movie what the producer's role is and there are all kinds of producers. There are line producers who do a lot of the nuts and bolts work on the set.
I had joined Marvel in 1967, after a year in Vietnam and three years as a student at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Stan Lee, then the editor-in-chief, hired me as a production assistant.
I worked as a production assistant on a couple of films, and finally, I got a job at an animation studio as an editor. After that, work begat work. I got into directing music videos and commercials.
My very first real job in the industry was as a production assistant on a show called 'Infinity Factory' in 1976.
My first shift in broadcasting was 2-11 A.M., doing lots of grunt work and running the TelePrompTer for the morning anchors. Luckily, I fell in love the minute I walked into the newsroom, and I've never gotten over that.
You know, when you're a producer, you're a bit of a lackey. You're just making cups of tea and making sure they've got newspaper, stuff like that.
My first job after graduating was working with Robert Zemeckis. I got a job a week after graduating and moving to L.A. So I got to work on 'What Lies Beneath' and 'Castaway' as a PA, which is basically like a gopher.
I was a production assistant in the post department on 'The Surreal Life.' And it's been reported before that I was an assistant editor on 'The Surreal Life.' That is not true.
When I left high school, my dad was directing a film, and I went to work for him as a P.A. There were two wonderful editors, Bud Isaacs and Bernie Balmuth, working on the project, and every chance I had, I would go to the editing room to watch and learn from them.
When you were a stock player, you worked on anything that was shooting on the lot in any capacity.
I started at the 'Wall Street Journal Report' as a production assistant typing chyrons and rolling the teleprompter, and then I became a producer, producing stories in the field, then the show's line producer.
I'd like to be an assistant producer to a reality show.
I grew up in Los Angeles. I still remember when I was a junior in high school studying for the SATs. I had my job - I was actually a production assistant on a film - but on weekends, I would finish my prep tests on the beach.
