With Oliver Stone’s South of the Border film premiering in DC next week, I got to tag along on a bunch of site visits with Keith Blackman, my internship supervisor and PR representative for Oliver. This is when I realized that the public relations field is a lot about who you know and the strings that everyone pulls for each other.
We visited three possible locations for the reception that will follow the Silverdoc Film Festival next week. The first location was being pushed by the event sponsor, yet the environment just didn’t mesh well with the movie and the guests that would be attending. The second location was just too ‘blah’ although, they did treat us to a nice lunch. The third location, just like in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, was just right. But with the event being just a week away, there were too many logistical issues to work out. In the end, the forth location worked best and the reception is going to be held at the award-winning restaurant Teatro Goldoni. It’s perfect: modern and well known.
I have learned that you have to be able to be personable, but not too personable in this industry. Everyone is very polite and courteous- yet always keeping their options open for all possible opportunities. Nothing is finalized ‘til its in writing. It’s an alluring and cutthroat line of work.
