It is a sunny (surprise, surprise) Labor day morning in LA and Carl Hansen on his cell phone arrives apologizing profusely for being late. It seems one of his roommates spent the night in jail. Ah, just another day in LA. We are meeting at the Coffee Bean on Sunset to discuss his new position as Production Coordinator for Showtime's "Interscope Presents: The Next". Originally from Beverly, MA, Hansen knew that he always wanted to make movies. His uncle gave him a video camera at the age of 10 and he and his cousin made a short called TANK BATTLE consisting of tank models being blown up to the tune of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire". At fourteen, Carl wrote a letter to the Associate Producer of the film HOUSESITTER and gained access to his first Hollywood movie set as a production assistant. Carl was hooked. He attended Ithaca College where he was able to get his hands on a camera during his freshman year and by the time he graduated had written and directed three short films. Here began a recurring pattern for Hansen who says, "Better to learn by trial by fire than instruction."

Hansen scored three internships in LA his junior year of college. He worked at Universal Studios in the marketing department, Interscope Communications and on the set of ENEMY OF THE STATE. Taking a job at a pH meter company in Beverly, MA Carl saved up enough money and called on contacts from ENEMY OF THE STATE to get a job as a PA on ANIMAL FACTORY directed by Steve Buscemi in Philadelphia. Carl left that job early to get a job that he was dying for on THE PERFECT STORM. He explains, "I really want to make movies in Massachusetts and this was the first major budgeted movie to come along. I was dying to work on it." Towards the end of the film, Carl got a call from Dot Aufiero offering him a job on STATE AND MAIN. "Only thing was that it was as the animal wrangler PA. I had no idea what that meant. I was picturing sticking my arm up a cow's ass, but really I just had to help out with the dalmations and the rest of the time I was on set," explains Carl.

Armed with experience "Paing" on 4 studio films and $6000 of savings, Carl headed west. Carl decided that he was going to take it easy once he got out to LA and not rush to find a job. A week later, he panicked that he didn't have a job and took a position as a PA on Nora Ephron's LUCKY NUMBERS. The connection - the 2nd AD on the film was from ANIMAL FACTORY. For the next two years Carl paid his rent by working steadily in production. After September 11, however, things slowed down. He was out of work for a month and then got a job with Tuck Media on a show for Court TV called "Hollywood and Crime". This was the beginning of the Reality TV era. Shortly after, Hansen got a job as clearance coordinator for a new show called "The Osbournes." Hansen told all his friends not to watch this awful show where he felt bad being on set with a family fighting all the time. "I didn't want to exploit the poor people!" Carl says. Little did Hansen know that another reality show he would work on would become a big hit. Recruited as a location manager for a show called "Big Choice," Hansen traveled to France for three months to oversee 20 women competing for the affection of one millionaire. The day after shooting wrapped, Hansen and the rest of the crew read in Variety about a show they just made called "Joe Millionaire" and about how the millionaire was just an average Joe. The crew was just as bamboozled as the contestants.

Hansen has accepted the new position and the big LA battle that is the culmination of selecting MC's from five cities to compete against each other will be this Friday. The show will air on Showtime in the beginning of November and Hansen will oversee all of the post-production as well.

So, what's next for Hansen? Writing and directing outside of the reality arena. "I have written a couple of slapstick, gross-out comedies with a friend from my reality shows. He is showing them to his agent at CAA right now. I have also written a feature called 'Commitment Fish' that I plan to direct in MA next year. I am trying to attach actors and get studio interest," says Hansen.

Having just arrived in LA myself, I take this opportunity to ask Hansen what advice he'd offer filmmakers coming to this coast. "Be open-minded and take every opportunity possible. Don't ever feel that there is a job that is beneath you, because in the future that may be where you met your best contacts. Stay positive. Yes, it has its drawbacks and definitely isn't home for me, but it is a fun place and if you stick with it long enough, you can make your dreams come true."