Published: December 07, 2009
Michael Jackson's Former Publicist Michael Levine on Success in Hollywood
By Bruce Edwin 
An Exclusive Interview by Bruce Edwin
Michael Levine: I did not go to college, I'm self educated, I started working for myself when I was 18 years old, I've never held a job (...) Seven years ago I founded something called the LBN ELERT for breaking news, it is now read by 317 thousand people per day, in all 50 states, 24 foreign countries, and it is free. Any of your readers can go online, send me an E-mail, subscribe to the E Alert, and get it for free. It's a very, very valuable tool.
Bruce Edwin: I agree it is. (Find the site here below). Michael, I guess I wanted to begin at the beginning, you've had a fascinating life, and still do, and you began as you said, self employed...
Michael Levine: Self taught- self employed. And the magic of that is that, anyone can do it, if you are; any one reading this is- sufficiently motivated, they can teach themselves almost anything they want. Its bloody hard work, but, it can be done. The game is not easy, the game is not fair, but with enough burning maniacal rage, the game can be won, though not easy and though not fair...
Bruce Edwin: You have used the metaphor of someone holding a gun to one's head in order for them to be motivated...
Michael Levine: What I believe is that people become very motivated when their survival is at stake, and if you can convince yourself to become equally motivated by excellence and creativity, with the same degree of intensity that you are by survival, you will do amazing things.
Bruce Edwin: That's great. For someone to just go from childhood to be self employed how did you do that?
Michael Levine: Well, I started doing a lot of entertainment promotions; I was always interested in the entertainment industry. I was always interested in Hollywood, and politics. And when I was a very young guy, and I was living in New York, I thought about what I'd like to do with my life. And I figured out that all politics was, is Hollywood for ugly people.
Bruce Edwin: Ha Ha. I love that.
Michael Levine: Therefore I moved to L.A., because that's where the beautiful people were, and that's where the entertainment was, and that was the industry I loved, I'm very interested in politics as well, but it was not the area I chose.
Bruce Edwin: I see, and so you began doing P.R., and I want to ask you about this distinction, publicity versus P.R., because I know in your bestselling book Guerilla P.R., which I highly recommend by the way, I believe you mention a distinction...
Michael Levine: Public Relations is a broader topic. P.R. is a part of public relations, with media attention. Look, I think that people reading this need to understand this, and this is, they are a brand. And in addition to them being a brand that they can gift wrap themselves to make their brand worth more, perceived to be worth more, kind of like a Tiffany box, a gift. And I think it's very valuable to recognize that gift wrapping has a profound impact on the psyche in a way, on what you think and believe. And since people make decisions for logical and emotional reasons, emotion is a very important part of life.
Bruce Edwin: Definitely, that makes a lot of sense...
Don't miss part two of our exclusive interview with Michael Levine in our next issue, as he discusses How to Succeed in Hollywood, New York City, thoughts on The World Trade Center, and much more, online December 16th, 2009!
For more information on the A-list public relations firm of Michael Levine, Levine Communications Office, visit: www.LCOonline.com
For more information on Michael Levine, be sure to visit his website at www.MichaelLevineWebsite.com
If you do not already subscribe to the Levine Breaking News E-Lert, you will be doing yourself a favor by getting free knowledge and entertainment every day. Visit and sign up at: www.LBNELERT.com
For press / media, or booking requests of Mr. Levine, contact: www.StarpowerManagementLLC.com
Tel: 310-226-7176.
© 2009, The Hollywood Sentinel, All rights reserved.
Bruce Edwin is editor of The Hollywood Sentinel and President of Starpower Management, the celebrity focused model and talent firm. Contact Bruce at TheHollywoodSentinel.com
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