Tom Cruise (Les Grossman) - MTV Movie Awards
There are some fights in the film industry not worth having no matter how talented or respected you are. It's very easy for people to become 'blacklisted' from one bad experience, one offensive conversation, and one stupid remark. In fact, many careers have been destroyed by people's egos and bad behaviour, even from a distance. Some actors have been trampled on because of what they believe in, because of what they've said and people today have to be more careful when they use social media as privacy no longer exists.
Below are 4 people who are capable of damaging careers with little effort and let this be a warning to a select few who think it's ok to attack or mock people by showing off or just being ignorant.
1. Publicist
A powerful publicist can quite easily destroy someone who they don't like by using their media contacts to create news stories and 'false truths' in order to undermine them in the press. Think of the publicist as a 'propaganda' expert who knows how to get newspapers and bloggers to write stories with a certain angle.
The worst part of this is, it helps newspapers make money, while a lot of people who are targeted in these stories are powerless to stop the lies. This machine is a big money earner particularly in Hollywood, because controversy sells, so if a publicist has a serious beef with someone, they can quite easily do the damage.
2. Authority blogger
In some ways an authority blogger can do even more damage than a publicist if they've got an influential audience in a particular industry. Getting on the wrong side of the media, journalists or bloggers is a dangerous path to take. In fact, one story coming from an authority blogger can easily spiral into a damaging ordeal for an individual's career.
Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan are two celebrities who have had to deal with this kind of damage, and not necessarily because of the way the behaved with people in the industry, but the way their comments and attitudes were perceived by major bloggers. That is something very hard to fight even if it wasn't their intention to offend others.
3. Personal assistant
The PA is a behind-closed-doors influencer. Regardless of what people may see a PA as, being on the wrong side of a PA can close doors to a whole community, major companies and other business ventures. They are trusted by influential people and it is their word and their overview that will affect outside relationships.
4. The movie executive
While not as powerful as the examples above, a bad relationship with a movie exec at a studio can get people blacklisted very quickly from a whole range of opportunities. It is a small community and in that community, private discussions about one particular individual can become 'industry knowledge'.
You can check out more in-depth film guides and success stories from people in the film industry.
