Stacey Snider

You have to have a strong idea for a hit movie, a strong core idea that resonates emotionally. It also has to technically achieve its goal - it's got to be well-written, well-paced, and interestingly told.

Don't be limited by your job description.

I have always felt that my career was not going to be a straight shot up, but more of a kind of rolling wave, so that I could raise my children. So I got pregnant when I was the head of production at a studio, and I became chairperson at a bigger studio when I was pregnant with my second daughter. You just do it!

The bulk of my calls are from agents who are letting you know about material that's coming your way.

I had a passion to not be a secretary forever. I was mindful of the customary career trajectory, and I knew I had to do something remarkable.

You can't do everything, at the same time, always, and forever. But if you look at your life and your career as a long, winding river, you can get to your destination.

Be serious. You've got to do the job you were hired to do well, but there's always more you can do. When I was an assistant, I would say to myself, 'You may not be an executive, but act like one.' I would volunteer for any creative assignment - read scripts, do 'coverage,' write notes.

This is fundamentally true of the media business, the rigmarole you go through while trying to make 25 movies while not seeing your kids.

Get a hobby. Maintain your friendships. Hang out with other people.

The only way the gender divide affected me was the social things the younger guy executives could do with their bosses. I don't know what went on in the clubs, because I didn't go. I made sure my work was stellar, and that compensated for whatever social time we weren't spending together.