Hi, it’s me again. I haven’t posted on Substack in well over a year, yet with no effort on my part, I continue to get subscribers (even paid ones.) I’m not entirely sure why, but I’m taking it as a sign to write and post again. If you are a new subscriber (I had 13 just past week) and came just for the Hollywood content, please scroll to the bottom to the P.S., as I’ve made some tools available. And for the rest of you, please allow me to reintroduce myself.
My Substack 2.0 (Refresh, Rebrand and Reintroduction as a Storyteller)
While I can never—nor would I want to—stop talking about Hollywood, I’m expanding my articles and storytelling beyond getting hired in the entertainment business. I’m interested in all kinds of stories now—my stories, your stories, funny stories, complicated stories, legal stories, wildfire survivor stories, stories of faith, Hollywood stories, and political stories. The signs have just been too big to ignore.
I met Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt by chance at his Barnes & Noble book signing earlier this year. I read his book, The Guy You’d Love to Hate, and have been absolutely mesmerized by his social media skills and storytelling abilities. Last week, I met California lieutenant governor candidate Janelle Kellman over Zoom and was genuinely impressed by her intelligence, competence, and warmth. I responded to a political auto-text sent by Attorney Scott Meyer who is running for California’s 30th Congressional district (my district,) that read in part, “I’m a real person and I’d love to hear your concerns.” I texted back with my real concerns. Not only did he reply, but he also texted me back from his personal cel, and we spoke for about 30 minutes later that day! I took these unplanned encounters as a sign to start up “Coffee with KP” again and hear their stories. They’ve all been invited and I’d love to have you attend too. Just reply to this email or leave a note in the comments with your interest.
I’d genuinely love to hear your story and know what brought you to my page. Like candidate Scott Meyer, I’m a real person and will absolutely respond. Thank you so much for reading this and I look forward to sharing some fun stories, “Coffee with KP” replays and fresh episodes coming soon. Tomorrow, you’ll get the replay of “CWKP and Producer of ‘Sinners’ Sev Ohanian” and trust me, you won’t want to miss it.
Big hugs, KP
PS — For those who are new here and are looking for real Hollywood info, here’s the short version of the last 10 years of this email blast to catch you up.
In 2016, I started My Grads Get Jobs and newsletter on MailChimp. I was an adjunct professor at USC’s film school teaching a course about the practicalities of breaking into the business of entertainment. I gave practical instruction on how to do it, including—but not limited to—creating resumes that stood out from the pile, introducing the video cover letter (this was pre-TikTok), and networking with ease, confidence, and authenticity. Over the course of five semesters, my class size grew from 25 students to over 100. I created the newsletter to post jobs and keep in contact with past students.
I left USC to expand my reach beyond one campus. I spoke live at various film schools and started an online class with students from universities and countries around the world. I spoke with students from USC, UCLA, Harvard, Yale, Columbia College Chicago, NYU, Hofstra, Penn State, LMU, AFI, Berkeley, and more. I had students log into my Zooms from France, England, Qatar, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Korea, Italy and, of course, the United States.
I created a framework for my proven methodology that helped over 1,000 people launch careers in Hollywood. You can access the replay to “Get H.I.R.E.D. in Hollywood” with the workbook via private link for $250. For those who see this post, I’ll include a complimentary 30-minute resume review/private coaching session over Zoom (info here.)
I created my own Zoom talk show called “Coffee with KP,” where I invited entertainment industry professionals to speak with my class (kind of like a group informational meeting.) They shared what they did for a living, how they did it, and gave advice on how my students could be successful too. I hosted 174 episodes, and most of my guests allowed me to record them. I’ve shared about 30 replays on this Substack to date for my paid subscribers.
I loved my business more than anything and thought I’d continue it forever. But COVID hit, the writers’ and actors’ strikes happened, and then the LA fires came. Life was no longer the same. I stopped helping people get hired, and I stopped posting on Substack.
I was hired by my brother Brett’s law firm, Parkinson Benson Potter aka PBP (they represent people who suffered losses in wildfires against the power companies who are responsible.) Part of what sets their firm apart is the belief that “your story matters.” They use emotional impact videos so clients can tell their stories in their own words. These confidential videos are used in mediation to support “non-economic” loss claims and help maximize settlements for clients. My younger brother Matt and I produced them.
Matt & I formalized “Legal Stories,” (www.legal-stories.com) a video production and consultancy company that helps attorneys and their clients tell personal stories. While we specialize in wildfire (Dixie, Maui and Eaton) we also produce videos for wrongful death, personal injury, day-in-the-life, trailer-to-a-trial and more. If you are an attorney—or know one—who might be interested in our services, please let me know. I can be reached at krista@legal-stories.com.
While my focus is building Legal Stories, I can’t resist helping motivated 20somethings who need help crafting a professional resume. For a limited time, I am offering Resume Reboot (three-hours of private coaching over Zoom. I’ll give you a resume template and over the course of 3 hours, we’ll share screens and craft a resume that tells the accurate story of your experience and make your resume stand out from the pile! For more info, reply to this email with your resume and let’s schedule our first session and get to work. Details here.
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