By Veena Bharwani

YOU don't normally put up with someone yelling at you over the phone.

Unless that someone happens to be a powerful Hollywood agent and you happen to be an intern.

Singaporean scriptwriter Joseph Tan was on the receiving end of one such call from Ari Emanuel, the founder of talent agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

Mr Tan, 30, was working as an intern answering calls and doing research in Hollywood director Peter Berg's production company Film 44 when the call came through.

He recalled: 'I picked up the phone and immediately a voice said, 'Peter, Sarah'.'

Presumably, the caller, who had yet to identify himself, wanted to speak to Mr Berg or producer Sarah Aubrey.

Added Mr Tan: 'I was a bit taken aback. Usually, when people call you, they usually start with a 'hello'.

'So I politely said, 'Sorry?' This time, the caller repeated, in a louder voice, 'Peter, Sarah'.

'Then I asked 'Who is this calling?' And he replied, yelling even louder, 'Ari Emanuel! Peter, Sarah, are they there?'

Mr Tan then hurriedly put the famous but testy agent through to Mr Berg's assistant.

'I had a grin on my face the whole time,' said Mr Tan.

The conversation, if one can call it such, lasted all of 30 seconds, but Mr Tan listed it as one of the highlights of his 10-week stay in Hollywood.

After all, Mr Emanuel represents director Martin Scorsese, actors Charlize Theron, Jessica Alba and Matt Damon, among others.

Mr Emanuel even inspired a character, Ari Gold, played by Jeremy Piven on the HBO television show Entourage.

Mr Tan, along with four other Singaporeans, were on a 10-week voluntary immersion programme from mid-June to last month in Los Angeles as part of their Singapore-based Creative Producing Degree.

The two-year degree is offered jointly by Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in Orange California. Each student paid $6,800 for the summer programme.

The students worked with internship coordinator Selice Eiseman in California, who helped them look for short-term internships in Hollywood.

Trying to get one in Hollywood wasn't easy, even with help from a coordinator.

Said Miss Lisa Teh, 23, a full-time student: 'We had to go through internship listings and send out resumes.

'Before I went there, I thought Hollywood was a glamorous place where people walked around with their chihuahuas and Prada bags.

'But I saw a lot of crazy people, especially on the number 212 bus I took, which went all the way to Hollywood.'

It took a month of sourcing and interviews for her to get an internship at Jim Henson Company, where she worked for eight weeks doing relatively mundane tasks like photocopying.

But she also had the chance to see how the new CGI-animated series Dinosaur Train was made.

Miss Asra Aman, 26, who managed to get an internship with FreemantleMedia, the company that produces American Idol, said: 'I too did mundane stuff like photocopying and making DVDs, but I also got a chance to watch the materials they made.

'From someone only familiar with American Idol, I learnt the sales aspect of the reality television business.'

There were other highlights - like watching and learning from famous Hollywood writers and directors - that made the trip worthwhile.

Comic genius

All the students attended the pre-screening of Judd Apatow's Funny People. After the screening, they had the rare chance to meet the director.

Said Miss Aman: 'He is known to be a comic genius and it was just amazing being there and listening to him talk about his experiences.'

Added Mr Tan: 'At Film 44, I had the chance to read scripts and the director of development there would ask me to read them and tell him why some scripts worked and others didn't.'

Another high point for Mr Tan was working with his writing hero Shawn Ryan, the man who created the television series The Shield and The Unit. He said he was also allowed to sit in on major creative meetings with writers and directors of the show called Lie To Me.

The meetings gave him a peek into how the creative process works in Hollywood.

'It was interesting for me as a scriptwriter to be exposed to that as the scriptwriting process in Singapore is different,' said Mr Tan, who has written some episodes of local television programme Calefare and other programmes.

Meanwhile, Miss Aman was told that she could contact the Singapore office of FreemantleMedia to see if she could work there.

She plans to do so after completing her degree in about 18 months.

Close encounters of the Hollywood kind

Kiefer Sutherland

Miss Lisa Teh and Mr Joseph Tan, spotted the star of 24 coming down the stairs at the Arclight Cinema.

Said Mr Tan: 'I told Lisa who that was and he stopped to look around and smile at us. I think he thought I was going to ask him for his autograph, but I froze on the spot and after a long awkward moment, he walked away.'

Conan O'Brien

Miss Asra Aman and Miss Teh spotted the talk show host near Arclight Cinema.

The star of The Tonight Show agreed to a picture with them, but insisted on standing in between the two ladies.

'That's how the ladies like it,' he said cheekily.

Peter Berg

Mr Joseph Tan was interviewed by one of the assistants when Mr Berg walked in.

Said Mr Tan: 'He narrowed his eyes and stared at me and then he said, 'Are you sure you want to intern with us? We are pretty crazy here'.'

Mr Tan then responded: 'I like crazy.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.