Carlos Kotkin - The Accidental Executive

 

Hello. When I was 20 years old, I got a job working as an assistant for an old-school Hollywood producer named Edgar Scherick. I dropped out of school, which terrified my mom. I told her I was an artist, I didn't need college. If anyone ever expressed concern, I would let them know I was valedictorian in my high school. 

 

So, I was working for Edgar. My main responsibility working for Edgar was to drive him around town to his various meetings. I had to drive his huge whale of a BMW. At the time, I owned a tiny Toyota Tercel. So, this is exciting for me. 

 

And Edgar, the first day I went to work for him, said, "If you're going to work for me, if you're going to drive me around, you can't dress like you're in junior high school," which was pretty spot on, because this shirt that I'm wearing right now, I've owned since the seventh grade. [audience laughter] Don't tell anyone. So, Edgar brought me to Macy's, and he bought me five suits. My first suits. He was like Richard Gere and I was Julia Roberts trying on. [audience laughter] Kind of like that, but not at all. So, I've never looked better driving Edgar around town. 

 

He had a project, a script, that he was developing at 20th Century Fox, and I would drive him over there, and then Edgar would take me into the meetings. And beforehand he would say, "If you have anything to contribute, speak up. Don't be a sissy." [audience laughter] So, I'd go in the meeting, and he would introduce me as his associate. I wasn't his assistant, I wasn't his driver, I was his associate. I would participate. I would speak up. I would say things like, "I think when she has a dream, she should dream about an eagle." [audience laughter] I would say things like that. [audience laughter] 

 

So, I worked for Edgar for two years, and then I was ready to move on. And with Edgar's blessing, I wrote to the executive that I got to know through those script meetings at 20th Century Fox, I told him that I was looking for something new. He brought me in for an interview. I didn't know what for. I didn't know what I was interviewing for. I figured maybe he needs another assistant. I go in there and I sit down. It was the strangest interview I ever had. He asked me, "What kind of movies do you like? What books have you read?" Basically, we were speed dating. [audience laughter] 

 

At the end of the interview, he looked at me and he said, "You're well within the ballpark of studio executive. [audience laughter] I'm going to talk to the president of the studio in an hour, and I'm going to tell him that he should sit down with you." And I thought, “Oh my God, that's what I'm here for?” That's what I thought. But I said, "Okay, that sounds cool. [audience laughter] Well, I'll meet with the president." [audience laughter] I realized that he saw me in a different light. To him, I wasn't Edgar's driver. I was the guy in the expensive suit who spoke up at the script meetings. I didn't correct him. That's what I was. I did do that. [audience laughter] 

 

So, a week later, I'm sitting in the office of the president of 20th Century Fox. It's just like you would imagine. It was a huge office. He had a booming voice, and he would yell things like, "Get Tom Cruise on the phone." [audience laughter] He sat down with me. He's holding my resume. At the bottom of my resume, I put "Education: USC." I didn't put any dates. [audience laughter] The first thing that he asked me was, "What kind of degree does a person get when a person graduates from USC?" And I said, "Well, when a person graduates from USC, a person gets a bachelor's degree." [audience laughter] 

 

He sat up really straight and he said, "Are you telling me that you dropped out of college?" And I said, "Yes, but I was valedictorian in my high school. [audience laughter] I can totally do this job." We actually got into a debate about the importance of having a degree. It got so animated that at one point, I told the president of 20th Century Fox, "You sound like my mother." [audience laughter] And he hired me. [audience laughter] [audience applause] 

 

So, I went from being Edgar Scherick's driver to studio executive at 20th Century Fox. I was given my own office. I was given an assistant, a British man who made me very uncomfortable. [audience laughter] I tried never to ask him for anything, ever. I was going to premieres all the time. It was a lot easier to get dates. Agents and producers were taking me out for drinks, and I would show up in my Toyota Tercel. [audience laughter] They would look at it like dogs that you're hearing a funny noise. [audience laughter] I eventually upgraded to a Corolla. But even so, I get all the time, people would say, "You're not like the others." 

 

I remember one time I was walking back to the executive building, to my office, and I ran into this casting director that I knew from when I was a production assistant on a movie, and she saw me in my suit, and she started laughing. She said, "Are you an extra in something?" [audience laughter] And I said, "No, I'm an executive." I gave her my business card as proof, as evidence. She looked at it, she laughed, and she gave me a big hug. She said, "Don't worry, Carlos. I won't tell anyone." [audience laughter] 

 

So, I did a good job. I was there for two years, and I got the hang of it, and I would say things like, "This script, There's Something About Mary. I think it would be a funny movie." And that worked out. But ultimately, it was a good experience. It was a learning experience. It was clearly an opportunity, but it wasn't me. I felt like my spirit, my soul was being stifled. I hated my shoes. [audience laughter] So, after two years, I told the president of the studio I was moving on. I did move on to more creative endeavors. I made a lot less money. But this opportunity to share with you guys and to express myself more creatively and to hopefully connect and relate, this to me is much more of a fulfilling, golden opportunity. Thank you.