The Producers of "Rat Dog" Share the Ups & Downs of Hollywood
By: Darrell Takara

Robert Scott, the esteemed writer-director of such classic UH Magazine segments as "The Adventures of Dick SpaceFace," and "Rat Dog," returned to SVFA on May 22nd with the co-producer of "Rat Dog," Mace Bacon, to share their experiences in the Hollywood film industry.

Scott was a member of SVFA in the mid to late eighties. His experimental piece, "Rat Dog" won him an internship with the television show "Magnum P.I." This helped Scott obtain invaluable experiences in the professional film industry. After graduating from the University of Hawai'i, Scott later went to L.A. for the Directors Guild of America (DGA), Assistant Director Training Program. Scott successfully completed the DGA training program and then began his career as an assistant director. He worked as a 2nd assistant director on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "China Beach," and "Jag." Scott, one of SVFA's most successful alumni, said that while he has a good paying job that is somewhat rewarding, he works 20 hour days and hardly ever sees his family. He advised that one should take stock of what one really wants to do.

While Scott's success in the industry is impressive, Bacon's story shows the downside to the industry. When he arrived in Hollywood, the DGA had a strike and Bacon was forced to work for the action film circuit, an exploitative, "straight to video" type industry. "It was a case of really bad timing," he recounted. After nine months, Bacon grew tired of the abuse, not to mention the low pay, and quit.

As he left, he realized that there were a hundred film school grads waiting to take his place. It was a very sobering image for SVFA members present at the talk.

In addition to relating their experiences, they both gave advice on how to succeed. "The most impressive thing is that you do a feature while in college or grad school. That will get you noticed right away," said Bacon.

"You really have to go out and hustle and work harder than anybody else around you, longer than you think you can, and that's the best way to achieving success and I think it applies to any field," Scott added, "there are a lot of people with more impressive degrees from NYU or USC, that necessarily isn't the end all. There are other people from Hawai'i that are successful in the field because of their hustle."

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