Graduate from one of the top film schools in the world (FSU) then move to L.A. and Hollywood will embrace you with open arms right? Unfortunately education does not determine or guarantee you anything in the film community. Recently, I got the privilege to talk with Eric Fleming about his new film The Almost Guys and the foothold he gained in Hollywood. “My entire career comes down to a seven minute short film I made called Fallen Arches.”

After graduating from FSU film school in 1994 Fleming moved to L.A. and says that, “It was horrible, I was a grip on sets for almost four year.”. Then he got a reel of free film and made a seven-minute short that apparently gave him the break he needed. “The first major call I got was from Eddie Murphy asking me to lunch.” Since then, Fleming wrote shows like RAH MTV and several other TV pilots and spent his off time playing golf with celebrity, Michael Keaton. “Michael Keaton is one of the coolest guys to meet.” So how do you make it in this biz? What should filmmakers do to get noticed? Fleming says, “Just shoot!” He also hinted that any dedicated filmmaker should eventually go out to L.A., Fleming adds, “Hollywood is like a little country club and to get in you have to jump over the wall.”