As industries go, finding success in the entertainment field can be difficult. Geographically, growing up in East Cobb is not exactly Los Angeles or New York. Neither of these factors played into Walton High School graduate (Class of 2007) Morgan Greenwald’s plans as she chose to pursue a path that would allow her to blend her interests in entertainment with a viable career. Now a successful Director of Development in a Los Angelesbased entertainment firm, Greenwald spends her days developing and producing scripts for television shows.
As long as she can remember, Greenwald had a passion for movies and television. Not exactly sure how that passion was going to play into her future, she chose Northwestern University, which is well-known for its film degree. She headed to Northwestern after graduating from Walton High School and there discovered her niche in program development while producing short student films. Greenwald received degrees in both radio/television/film and economics.
In 2011 Greenwald headed for the Los Angeles area to pursue a career in the entertainment field. “L.A. is all about paying your dues,” explains Greenwald. “I came here with no job, but with a lot of determination. A few internships helped me land a position with my current employer, Tom Lynch Company. Starting out as an executive assistant, I was given the opportunity to prove myself and am now Director of Development.”
As director, Greenwald has most recently developed and managed the original series, MAKE IT POP for Nickelodeon, serving as Associate Producer for the show, and VACATION CHASERS for HLN, serving as Co-Producer for this show. She also co-produced S.H.R.I.E.K, a web television series for the Hub Network and Hasbro Studios. Although her company targets a broad audience, its core business is kids and teen programming. Her job involves working with writers to create shows, communicating with the networks as to what they are looking for in a series, and producing the final product.
According to Greenwald, the skills that she has honed are tailor-made for her position. “I know a good script when I see it, and I feel that I have a talent for translating to the writers what the networks want in terms of story and character development,” she says. “In other words, I know how to keep both sides happy.”
When asked about the glamorous aspects of working in Hollywood, Greenwald replies, “If you think working in Los Angeles is glamorous, turn around. That’s a façade more than anything. The reality of the entertainment business is that it’s hard work, and 9-5 days don’t exist.”
She did go on to say that she has received a few perks of the trade, such as attending events and concerts related to her job. She is still looking forward to her invitation to the Oscar and Emmy Awards.
For East Cobbers who have interests in pursuing the entertainment field, Greenwald suggests a move to Los Angeles after getting a degree. Although there are several U.S. colleges, such as Northwestern University, New York University, and University of Southern California to name a few, that offer top-notch film degrees, college recruitment is essentially nonexistent.
“Entertainment is very much a relationship business,” says Greenwald. “And because so many people want to break into this business, companies and producers don’t come looking for you even if you have proved yourself in college. You must go to them. You have to build a network for yourself and demonstrate your own original point of view.”
Article written by Carmen C. Abernathy
Reprinted from EAST COBBER’s February 2016 issue
