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industries - collaboration is good . If you see something one way and I see it another way , if we work together then it ’ s highly likely that we can both see it a different way that neither of us did initially that ends up better than both of our initial ideas . A lot of times people feel like you ’ re standing in their way because you ’ re not doing it exactly the way that they want you to do it . You have to get them to understand that , “ No , we ’ re better together .” We ’ re better if it ’ s an idea that you and I both think is amazing as opposed to just one of us . Just because we ’ re working together on a vision that ’ s a little bit different from the initial one that you came up with alone doesn ’ t mean that we aren ’ t working towards your vision . That it is still an iteration of your vision . You have to get people to buy into that .
MADE : So when you ’ re looking for partners and leveraging collaborations , what do you look for in people and companies that you work with ?
WP : In terms of partnerships and companies , you definitely look at track record and you look at relationships . It ’ s really , really important no matter what you do to maintain good relationships because before I enter into an agreement with another company , entity or person , I always want to check references . I want to do my research and do my own work on that person or that business . If they ’ ve gotten a bunch of bad reports and a bunch of people saying negative things then it ’ s highly unlikely that I ’ m going to go into it with the same level of trust ( if I go into at all ) that I would with somebody who ’ s had a good relationship with people and everyone has positive things to say . It ’ s important . A lot of times , especially the younger people in this generation , they want to “ keep it real ”, they want to be honest . They want to be in your face , not worry about the politics and be unfiltered . Well , that ’ s not how business works . The way business works is that people work with those that they like and hear good things about . If you ’ re somebody that doesn ’ t know how to manage relationships , doesn ’ t have good people skills , you ’ re probably not going to be somebody that others are going to recommend to work with .
MADE : How do you think upcoming actors can break into the industry and pave their own lane without all of the experience - specifically those who may not have a track record , but they may have talent being one who ’ s still early in the industry ?
WP : Well remember , building a resume is just what it sounds like . You have to build it and sometimes you have to build it from the ground up . Sometimes that means that you just have to get on a set any way possible . That may be being an extra , being in the background and then you work your way up getting to know the casting director , director , producer and then you can get an audition . You may not get the job off your first audition . You may have to audition a hundred times . But it is about building it . It is about not just going from step A to step Z , but continuing to climb and making sure that you don ’ t just go to step A and just stay at A . You must get to B , C , D , E on down the line if you ’ re progressing , only if you ’ re progressing - even if it ’ s slow . Even if it ’ s at the rate that you don ’ t want it to be . Even if you ’ re not the number one person on the call sheet , above the title on the billboard , and got a bunch of movies coming out . If you ’ re working better today than you were yesterday , than you were the day before , than you were the week before , than you were the year before then you ’ re progressing . That ’ s what important .
MADE : Seeing the difference within the industry , from the 2000s to now , do you have any tips for future producers on bootstrapping in a digital era or being resourceful ?
WP : The tip that I would have is using the resources that you have . You may not have the same level of resources that I have or maybe someone with a long track record may have . But , that doesn ’ t mean that you
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