coming soon

through the actor's network, my scene partner, david levine, and i were lucky enough to be selected (through an audition process) to have a scene filmed and edited by the professionals at actor's access. and it will be available soon for viewing online! this is a great addition to my online portfolio until i get my reel together, and i'm pretty excited. i'll post the link once it's up.

is it possible?

will our business as performers suffer even more from the invasion of reality television than it already has? this article brings up an interesting topic--the american idol series has launched an invasion of its own...

The tentacles of the "American Idol" sensibility actually reach much deeper, into the very throat of the American musical, and may change forever the way Broadway sings. This is not a happy prognosis.
The style of vocalizing that is rewarded on "American Idol" - by its panel of on-air judges and by the television audience that votes on the winners - is both intensely emotional and oddly impersonal. The accent is on abstract feelings, usually embodied by people of stunning ordinariness, than on particular character. Quivering vibrato, curlicued melisma, notes held past the vanishing point: the favorite technical tricks of "Idol" contestants are often like screams divorced from the pain or ecstasy that inspired them.
The Broadway musical has always had its share of big-voiced belters, from Ethel Merman to Patti LuPone. But they have usually belonged to the tradition of Broadway as a temple to magnified idiosyncrasies, to performers for whom song is an extension of individuality. Which is why when Simon Cowell, the most notoriously harsh of "American Idol's" judges, describes a contestant as "too Broadway," it is meant as a withering dismissal. Carol Channing, Robert Preston, Jerry Orbach and Gwen Verdon wouldn't stand a chance in the court of Cowell. And if they were starting out today, they probably wouldn't stand a chance in Broadway musicals either.

just some food for thought. i thought i'd seen the worst of everything when a certain star of the dessert-likened high school virginity film was cast in a theatrical version of a classic hoffman role. sigh.

sidney lumet and slumps

i was given the gift of sidney lumet's book "making movies" several weeks ago. i began reading it while on vacation and i have since put every single one of his films on my netflix list. what an amazing talent, and what an admirable human being. his respect for artists of all types (including those many of us forget are truly artists), along with his candor and no b.s. attitude....
well i aspire to working with directors such as him, to becoming a respected actor in the eyes of directors with such all-encompassing talent and unimaginable creativity and dedication to the art of film making.
okay, now that i'm done slathering...
it's been a bit slow since returning from vacation, since the easter holiday is upon us, but i expect things to pick up again next week. i have/had an audition here and there, but nothing extremely exciting.
i did just read a wonderful script for a new 1/2 hour, which we will be working on in my class on tuesday--i am very much in love with one of the characters (aptly named "kate") and will do everything in my power to have a chance to read for it. it's some of the best comedic writing i've had the pleasure to read this pilot season. i would be so utterly happy to have a chance to be seen for it. and i am positive it will be picked up. so even if i'm not on it, watch for it--it's quite fun. it's called "dirtbags."
cheers, and if it applies, happy easter!

the actor's director

i find, like i imagine many actors do, that when someone asks me what i mean by referencing an"actor's director" it is not the easiest thing to describe with words. thankfully, denis leary has done it for me here:

Explained Denis Leary: "Here's what being an actor's director means. In this business, executives as well as directors and other people--nobody knows what they want, or everybody is trying to follow someone's agenda, and the last person they trust is the actors. So they all find this need to talk on and on and on and to tell you what you need to do--when, in fact, if you've hired the right people in the first place, they're already going to know what to do. The best kind of director gets out of your way and make everything else happen, and when you're lost or you have a question, they have an answer..."

also, the rest of this article is a worth a read. it is about one of the least recognized and most worthy actors of the title-noted sean penn/johnny depp generation. and i mean campbell scott.

it amazes and interests me how many really wonderful actors are so far from the radar and still making a successful and perhaps more joyous living at their passion.
and it gives me hope.

safehouse LA

last night was my official acting debut at the writers' group i mentioned joining. i was lucky enough be in a scene by aleks horvat with alex skuby and sean foley (would link for him but not sure which IMDB profile is accurate--anyway, i'm 98% sure he's the brother of scott foley, though i didn't ask cause i figure it probably gets annoying). my part was of a 5-year-old boy (go figure...), but it was great fun.
also hung out afterwards with a number of other very talented writers and actors as we grabbed a beer at a local joint. it was great fun to chat around with so many wonderfully talented people who are also just good fun and genuinely nice.
i look forward to seeing them again in 2 weeks.
i am going on my own personal hiatus for a few days so i will see you sometime next week.
cheers!

catching up

so i've been a bit absent this week...sorry about that. now let me see if i can recap the relevant actor-type events.

thursday i met with a new scene partner and talked over some project ideas--i am excited to work with him, as he is quite a talent and also a fun guy to be around. we haven't agreed on a scene yet, but i suspect we will before the end of today.
that night i went with some friends to a free preview screening of "off the map" and was disgusted to learn that there were only enough seats available for 2 of the 3 of us. so we ended up going for some wine and crepes on the promenade instead. i wonder how the movie was....i certainly had fun anyway.

friday i had an audition for a kellogg print gig. it went quite well i think and i am excited to hear if i've booked it. then i had my internship at the agency, but nothing eventful to speak of there.

saturday i finally saw "the cooler"--what an excellent film. that evening i went to the wrap party for "finding gloria bainbridge" and had way too much fun. i was able to see what they called a "rough cut" of the film--but it didn't look at all rough to me. in fact, i think it was fabulous and am very excited to get the final copy and pop some footage up on my web site.

that's it from la-la land for today. cheers!

good things

good news on the career front.

1. i was invited to be in a scene at the writers' workshop next week. since this will be the first gathering since i joined, i'm quite excited to be able to get up and strut my stuff.
2. the agency meeting i had friday has culminated in a sort of 30 day trial period, and they started submitting me already! crossing my fingers for some audition calls very soon (though hopefully not before mathilda is out of the shop...)
3. i've been getting a lot of audition requests--many for student films, but that's just fine with me. the more i audition the better i get at it.

my class

tonight i have my pilot class, and as i was preparing i just realized i forgot to post about last week's grand triumph over sitcom. yes, that's right, i've finally figured out how to conquer it! at the the very least i have figured out my sitcom "character." to use shari's word, my work was "brilliant" last week. you can't imagine how gratifying that is after working at this for weeks.

anyway, so tonight, i've apparently done well enough that i get a drama scene. which is just fine with me. seems like this year's drama pilots all have a bit of humor to them anyway, circa "boston legal" (aka, "ally mcbeal").

writers' group

i am so pleased to have been invited to join, via my friend emily, the safehouse LA writers' group. this is a venue for writers to put up pieces of their work for comment as they are working on projects.
what's in it for me, you ask?
i get to have an opportunity to read in the scenes. they select different actors each week and you get 1.5 hours of rehearsal just before the session. then you put it up in front of numerous other writers and actors.
these are well-known, working writers in the industry, and i consider it a privilege to be around them, watching them work, being part of the process.
now let's just see how soon i get called to read.

today's events & new booking

so today i have a rather busy day. 2 auditions and a meeting.

• first audition is for a grad NYFA film, in which i'd get to play a sexy psychologist--sounds fun to me, getting to use my brain and my sass at the same time.
• second audition is for an indie film, and the alliance group is casting it--they do a decent amount of stuff (and also apparently are related to a management team) so it's great to go in and read for them.
• the meeting is with a commercial agent to whom i mailed my new pix as part of a targeted campaign for representation. it is so nice to get a call from one of those offices, and i hope the meeting goes well. i can't imagine it won't as i am feeling very confident about my success in 2005.

as to the new booking, it's a USC grad short, and should be a fun time. they used a bit of the improv i did in my audition for the actual script, and because it's only 5 minutes, the shoot will be a quick few hours tomorrow. enough material to put on the reel, and takes very little of my time. perfect combination!

in case you are wondering about my callback, it went well. as far as i can tell! everyone was in and out very quickly so it's difficult to know. but i didn't seem to make any major gaffes so...one can continue to hope through today. and if i don't hear anything today then i assume they've passed since shooting starts on tuesday.

SAG/AFTRA 2005 theatrical contract enlightenment

i was reading this editorial type article on the possibility of negotiations on this contract after the march 1st ballot deadline. though i am not currently in either union, i like to stay abreast of what's going on. this article, though just 2 peoples' P.O.V., seems to address the matter in a way that gives real perspective on the issue.

In two prior contract negotiations, the producers’ negotiating team, the AMPTP (alliance of motion picture and television producers), absolutely refused to consider changes in the writers and directors Guild’s residual formulas for dvd’s. They faced possible union strikes there too and refused to budge. Those unions have seen the AMPTP’s resolve and backed away. The question is: why might the AMPTP be so resolved?? This important question is rarely asked when discussed by performers. Or if it is, the ringing simplistic indictment is because of their “Greed.”

Such an easy answer; so little to do with understanding our opposition.

Some people will tell you that dvd’s generate $22 billion dollars. But about a third of that money goes to the retailers (Blockbuster, Walmart, Target, etc.- who pay us nothing) leaving about $14 billion. Still a heck of a lot.

Now eliminate $4 billion dollars of sales on porn and $1.5 billion on sports shows that on which the Guilds don’t collect residuals. The pie is now $8.5 billion.

Subtract out another billion, because those are sales of product made before 1960. Residuals weren’t invented before then. The pot is now worth $7.5 billion.

Now eliminate producer production costs and other items to arrive at the actual profit, which the producers are required to base the monies owed to us; the total pie is $1.5 billion. Still a large number.

But, of course, it would be since $1.5 billion represents profits on all the dvd’s presently on sale and covering decades worth of films and tv shows. The reality will be that the actors will only see a gain in dvd residuals on product either made or distributed after July 1st 2005. That will still be a lot of money, but not as much as is being touted.

Moreover because of the way the residual pie is shared, the lion’s share of the extra money made would go into the pockets of the leads. Even so it is a transgression that actors share in so little of this burgeoning market and that is why this decision is so hard and so acrimonious.

“The producers are greedy. We’re only asking to increase our meager 0.9% share to a 12 cent increase. ” Well, every union negotiator knows that the AMPTP has a hard and fast mantra - "pattern bargaining." Which means for every "give" (like higher residuals on dvds or contributions to pension & insurance) the pattern of “giving” must be respected for the other unions. The pattern is as follows: one share to the writers, one equal share to the directors, and three equal shares to the actors (1-1-3). So when the actors ask for 24 cents (a 12cent increase on the 12 cents we already get), the producers think 40 cents (8cents to writers, 8cents to directors, 24cents to actors = 40cents). The pattern is a force of nature and each union uses it when they can to their own advantage.

You begin to see the AMPTP’s reluctance to budge on dvd residuals. Especially, when the tri-Guild (SAG, AFTRA, DGA) residual study educated us on how much producers lose on all but the most successful TV shows. Hard to believe, but it is a substantiated fact.

we as actors really need to start thinking about things thoroughly before we consider striking. not to say many don't, and not to say strikes have not been justified--but just like the presidential voting in our country, many people form opinions without or before knowing all the facts from every side. i think we all have a tendency to jump to one set of opinions and stick to them pretty fiercely, often basing them on incomplete information. it's all well and good to defend your rights, stand up for your principles, etc. i just feel a need to start focusing more on whether they are the appropriate points in a looming situation.

the bad with the good.

so, 15 minutes after i found out i have to replace the tranny in a car i just bought (see my other blog for my rant on this)...

i got a message for a callback on the episodic audition i had last week!

i had figured they decided to pass since the audition was last thursday, and television audition turnaround time is usually pretty quick...so it was great to get that call--especially on the tails of my other rather devastating news.

wish me broken legs!