Thursday evening... chillin out
First official table read of THE AFTER-LYFES is this coming Sunday in Malibu. The After-Lyfes is the independent sit com pilot I booked a few weeks ago. I play Adam Lyfe, who is one of the lead characters...if not the only lead... The writer explained to me that when he wrote this part, he imagined him as a little bit of J.D. from Scrubs, combined with a little more of Michael from Arrested Development. I think thats pretty much me in a nutshell. I tell you what...I'm looking forward to finally get moving on this project... meet the other actors, etc. The script/concept is a distinct mix of SCRUBS and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT with a time/dimension travel thing going on... did I mention the table reading is in MALIBU? I think that's pretty cool.
Ever heard of THE STILLS?
I came across an advance release of their new album OCEANS WILL RISE on Emusic a couple of weeks ago and I find myself listening to the whole album again and again...it definitely has a pop-friendly 80's rock feel to it...the album has some really great songs... I would say its kind of Coldplay-ish... but Canadian.... Montreal... very enjoyable... my favorites are BEING HERE, I'M WITH YOU and ROOIBOS PALM WINE DRINKARD
http://www.myspace.com/thestills
Also...the new song by MICHAEL FRANTI and SPEARHEAD? SAY HEY I LOVE YOU?
Its F%$# great... just a happy happy feel good song for all the party people ... this one I listen to at least 5 times in a row before I can move on... seriously.... puts a smile on the face every time...
http://www.myspace.com/spearheadvibrations
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Crappy audition
I just saw that new MASTERCARD commercial..with the little kid doing The Robot..."We Want the Funk" playing in the background.... his buddies join in... love that ad.
Had a crappy crappy audition yesterday.. meaning I sucked.... I got this email on Tuesday night:
James
what is your availability tomorrow? I know it is very short notice, but we are looking for our "Ryan" and want to shoot within the next two weeks. let me know.
thanks
I told her I could be there, just tell me when and where. She wrote me back and gave me the address and the time of the casting, 12-5. She said she would Fwd my info to the casting director.
When I got there, I was handed the sides, a 3 page scene, paired up with 2 actors who had been there reading with several other guys, and rushed into the room after reading through the scene for roughly 45 seconds. Needless to say, I was lost. My scene partners were off-book...they were either prepped in advance (sides made available), or they had been reading with so many other prospects that they just knew the scene. Regardless, I was awful, couldnt find cues, couldnt find lines...ridiculous....
But what's the lesson here? If you are an actor you've been told this before. Take charge of your audition. If I wasnt ready, I should have spoken up and said, "I'm not ready," "I need a few more minutes." Thats a totally reasonable and acceptable request. Its just hard in an audition scenario to have the presence of mind to say that. I find myself in such an "eager to please," "eager to be easy, agrreable and likeable" mode that I will go along with whatever the casting director says.
So...there you have it...lesson learned...maybe...if not learned... then acknowledged... with the hope that next time I can put that theory into practice.
Had a crappy crappy audition yesterday.. meaning I sucked.... I got this email on Tuesday night:
James
what is your availability tomorrow? I know it is very short notice, but we are looking for our "Ryan" and want to shoot within the next two weeks. let me know.
thanks
I told her I could be there, just tell me when and where. She wrote me back and gave me the address and the time of the casting, 12-5. She said she would Fwd my info to the casting director.
When I got there, I was handed the sides, a 3 page scene, paired up with 2 actors who had been there reading with several other guys, and rushed into the room after reading through the scene for roughly 45 seconds. Needless to say, I was lost. My scene partners were off-book...they were either prepped in advance (sides made available), or they had been reading with so many other prospects that they just knew the scene. Regardless, I was awful, couldnt find cues, couldnt find lines...ridiculous....
But what's the lesson here? If you are an actor you've been told this before. Take charge of your audition. If I wasnt ready, I should have spoken up and said, "I'm not ready," "I need a few more minutes." Thats a totally reasonable and acceptable request. Its just hard in an audition scenario to have the presence of mind to say that. I find myself in such an "eager to please," "eager to be easy, agrreable and likeable" mode that I will go along with whatever the casting director says.
So...there you have it...lesson learned...maybe...if not learned... then acknowledged... with the hope that next time I can put that theory into practice.
Monday, September 15, 2008
DIRTY SEXY DEAD MAN WALKING
OK..OK
YES... by Dirty Sexy Money story... I worked on the show last week....not much of a story... Dirty Sexy Money was a bust... I was cast on site as a NY art critic...they spotted me and instantlly recognized brilliant potential... a certain intangible je ne se quois that made me stand out....they pulled me from the line, prepped me and pushed me out to the huddle with all the promise of an NFL rookie... I was wardrobe'd, makeup'd... stood in with the stand in... got lit... and enjoyed a few easy rehearsals with the.. absolutely beautiful... Zoe McLellan
And then after the first take for tape... it was all over....they bumped me... i was "Too Good-looking" to be an art critic...and I was (probably) too tall for the camera to get the right angle over my shoulder...so they grabbed some old man in the background and put him in there... to be honest the old guy looked a lot more like an art critic than I did... I'll give him that.
DIRTY SEXY DEAD MAN WALKING... I nodded to ZOE, my "future wife of the moment," she said "Goodbye," ever so softly and sympathetic, and I stepped away. Dejected, heart broken, embarrassed (I say this in jest, for the most part, but I was YANKED from my throne in front of the entire cast: principal AND background), I found a quiet place on set to curl up and hide. My only choice was to take the recently vacated spot on the couch... where the old man was sitting before he devastated my career. I sat on the swanky furniture piece next to his former date, the lovely old woman he left behind. I went from trendy uppity NY art critic at the hottest gallery in New York...to the lame dude on the couch with his 80 year old girlfriend.
I decided to make the best of things. I used the circumstances to create a new character.... and hey...at least I wasnt on my feet all night. I was fortunate enough to be able to lounge out and relax. I basically just sat on the couch and played the angry, bitter drunk at the gallery opening.... snarling at passers by.... good stuff.
(Dont miss DIRTY SEXY MONEY, Wednesdays, 10PM on ABC)
YES... by Dirty Sexy Money story... I worked on the show last week....not much of a story... Dirty Sexy Money was a bust... I was cast on site as a NY art critic...they spotted me and instantlly recognized brilliant potential... a certain intangible je ne se quois that made me stand out....they pulled me from the line, prepped me and pushed me out to the huddle with all the promise of an NFL rookie... I was wardrobe'd, makeup'd... stood in with the stand in... got lit... and enjoyed a few easy rehearsals with the.. absolutely beautiful... Zoe McLellan
And then after the first take for tape... it was all over....they bumped me... i was "Too Good-looking" to be an art critic...and I was (probably) too tall for the camera to get the right angle over my shoulder...so they grabbed some old man in the background and put him in there... to be honest the old guy looked a lot more like an art critic than I did... I'll give him that.
DIRTY SEXY DEAD MAN WALKING... I nodded to ZOE, my "future wife of the moment," she said "Goodbye," ever so softly and sympathetic, and I stepped away. Dejected, heart broken, embarrassed (I say this in jest, for the most part, but I was YANKED from my throne in front of the entire cast: principal AND background), I found a quiet place on set to curl up and hide. My only choice was to take the recently vacated spot on the couch... where the old man was sitting before he devastated my career. I sat on the swanky furniture piece next to his former date, the lovely old woman he left behind. I went from trendy uppity NY art critic at the hottest gallery in New York...to the lame dude on the couch with his 80 year old girlfriend.
I decided to make the best of things. I used the circumstances to create a new character.... and hey...at least I wasnt on my feet all night. I was fortunate enough to be able to lounge out and relax. I basically just sat on the couch and played the angry, bitter drunk at the gallery opening.... snarling at passers by.... good stuff.
(Dont miss DIRTY SEXY MONEY, Wednesdays, 10PM on ABC)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Perpetual Pounding
Saturday morning, pounding away on my laptop, shooting CATCH 6 tomorrow and Monday. Monday I'm an actor in this thing, finally, I'm actually introducing my self as the new character DETECTIVE JAMES, sort of an extension or a reincarnation of Detective Clifton James from THE PLAYING FIELD, my little 48 hr film project. So I'm barreling down here. I'm finishing up all my line producing duties, I got all my actors in order, 2 great sound guys, an AD to replace my roommate (he had to leave town due to a family emergency); I got the DP from last week to bring in his lighting kit and play the role of Camera assistant/gaffer, I'm grateful he was willing to accept that role. I secured all my locations earlier this week with a fiunal thumbs up from the owner of a great little cafe late in the day yesterday.
Yesterday was a crazy bouncing, balancing act between HINT, a commercial audition in West Los Angeles and a ton of line producing... followed by a last minute HINT delivery to the Whole Foods in THOUSAND OAKS...thats really really far ...then....in an attempt to avoid rush hour traffic on the 101 west of the 405...which looked absolutely terrifying as I passed it headed out to Thousand Oaks, I scooted up the 23 to the 118...hoping to hop on the 170 on the north side of it all and just free fall back down into Hollywood... well...guess what was going on up on the 118 yesterday in the Simi Valley? Yep, you guessed it...a commuter train derailed...yeah...wreckage....carnage....national news... 6 choppers in the air...and LOTS of bumper to bumper...going nowhere traffic.
Ugh.
I did make it home...eventually... with enough time to change my clothes, brush my teeth, pound a Red Bull and head out again. I was invited to a dinner party in West Hollywood. A friend of mine from HIGH SCHOOL lives here in LA and she and I hang out from time to time...so she invited to me to a dinner party she was throwing.
Amazingly, I made it...a little late... but I made it.
(And I haven't even MENTIONED my fun little experience on the set of DIRTY SEXY MONEY on Thursday. I will post that later)
Slept in a bit this morning (badly needed).
And here I am.... pounding away on my laptop.
I did take a minute to inhale...or exhale..I can't remember...and came across this invitation to join the HOLLYWOOD WEB TELEVISION Meetup group. They have a networing event coming up on September 24th. It looks cool... I definitely dig the concept...right up my alley... so I RSVP'd.....
The Hollywood Web Television Meetup: "Taste the Future, it's Delicious"
We are trying to pull together all of LA's rich, diverse web production talent for the purpose of sharing resources, finding opportunities for collaboration and working together to help all the talented content creators out there thrive in this emerging market.
New speakers announced: Kim Evey: Producer of the web phenom "The Guild" (http://www.watchthegu...) and run away hit "Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show" (http://www.gorgeousti...) and Greg Benson from Mediocre Films (www.mediocrefilms.com): Edgy, decidedly un-PC comedy shorts & series that combine great laughs with high production values. As of Sept. 2008, Mediocre Films is the #27 All-Time Most Subscribed channel at YouTube. We will also be joined by Lydia Antonini, Director of Digital Development at Warner Brothers. Please register today and come join our thriving community of online content creators!
Ok...one more thing before I bounce....
I was interviewed at a coffee shop the last time I was in New York. You can fnd it here:
http://phillster-wwwbloggercom.blogspot.com/
Yesterday was a crazy bouncing, balancing act between HINT, a commercial audition in West Los Angeles and a ton of line producing... followed by a last minute HINT delivery to the Whole Foods in THOUSAND OAKS...thats really really far ...then....in an attempt to avoid rush hour traffic on the 101 west of the 405...which looked absolutely terrifying as I passed it headed out to Thousand Oaks, I scooted up the 23 to the 118...hoping to hop on the 170 on the north side of it all and just free fall back down into Hollywood... well...guess what was going on up on the 118 yesterday in the Simi Valley? Yep, you guessed it...a commuter train derailed...yeah...wreckage....carnage....national news... 6 choppers in the air...and LOTS of bumper to bumper...going nowhere traffic.
Ugh.
I did make it home...eventually... with enough time to change my clothes, brush my teeth, pound a Red Bull and head out again. I was invited to a dinner party in West Hollywood. A friend of mine from HIGH SCHOOL lives here in LA and she and I hang out from time to time...so she invited to me to a dinner party she was throwing.
Amazingly, I made it...a little late... but I made it.
(And I haven't even MENTIONED my fun little experience on the set of DIRTY SEXY MONEY on Thursday. I will post that later)
Slept in a bit this morning (badly needed).
And here I am.... pounding away on my laptop.
I did take a minute to inhale...or exhale..I can't remember...and came across this invitation to join the HOLLYWOOD WEB TELEVISION Meetup group. They have a networing event coming up on September 24th. It looks cool... I definitely dig the concept...right up my alley... so I RSVP'd.....
The Hollywood Web Television Meetup: "Taste the Future, it's Delicious"
We are trying to pull together all of LA's rich, diverse web production talent for the purpose of sharing resources, finding opportunities for collaboration and working together to help all the talented content creators out there thrive in this emerging market.
New speakers announced: Kim Evey: Producer of the web phenom "The Guild" (http://www.watchthegu...) and run away hit "Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show" (http://www.gorgeousti...) and Greg Benson from Mediocre Films (www.mediocrefilms.com): Edgy, decidedly un-PC comedy shorts & series that combine great laughs with high production values. As of Sept. 2008, Mediocre Films is the #27 All-Time Most Subscribed channel at YouTube. We will also be joined by Lydia Antonini, Director of Digital Development at Warner Brothers. Please register today and come join our thriving community of online content creators!
Ok...one more thing before I bounce....
I was interviewed at a coffee shop the last time I was in New York. You can fnd it here:
http://phillster-wwwbloggercom.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
WIN? WIN?
It's Wednesday, September 10th, 2008, and my second year in Los Angeles is officially underway. September 8th was actually my official landing anniversary.
It all feels pretty good as I sit here reviewing the year, acknowledging accomplishments, giving thanks for my good fortune and all the good people in my life...pondering my existence...
And this is just Year One... I'm not supposed to be completely acclimated, settled and comfortable until Year Two.... thats what I'm told...I dont know quite that means or what that feels like...but the people I talk to all seem to agree on it...many even say that they themselves didn't know what people were talking about until THEY hit their two-year....then they knew exactly what people were talkin about.
We'll see.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I booked the lead role in an independent pilot for a 30 minute sit-com called THE AFTER-LYFES. We are scheduled to shoot in Mid-October. Yesterday I received an email from the producers with the latest draft of the script....
James:
Title: The After-Lyfes
Genre: Original 30-minute situation comedy
Logline: A seemingly typical, albeit slightly socially impaired family, that is set apart by their continual sense of déjà vu…déjà vu that happens to be factual.
Pitch: Arrested Development meets Scrubs
I’ve attached the script, so please begin to dissect it and give me your thoughts regarding Adam. Note that when I wrote his part, I imagined him as a little bit of J.D. from Scrubs, combined with a little more of Michael from Arrested Development.
I'm totally pumped for this. First of all, I feel really good about the character and the concept. I think I've been well cast if I dont say so myself. The fact that the producers are open to my feedback on the writing and the charaacter is a huge plus as well... so I'm really feeling it... its going to be a good experience...
Last night, I put together another Indie City meeting. Last night's meeting, however, was a little different. We have been fielding short script submissions for our projected 2009 monthly film project (Much like the Proactiveactor NYC project of 2005), and I decided to send out a posting for actors to come in and help us bring some of these scripts to life. As a result, we had a solid turnout for the meeting/reading last night, with a handsful of fresh faces, who all actually did a great job reading. I also recorded most of the meeting and will post those recordings in the form of a 4 part podcast.
That should be up in a couple of days. This whole podcast thing has been a work in progress. I have ONE official podcast posted on the I.C.E. site, but my roommate and I have recorded 5 or 6 of them. The problem is that, since I've been learning the recording software, equipment and the wqorld of podcasting as I go, I've screwed up a few times and many of those podcasts had to be trashed. I'm getting the hang of it though. I will let you know nwhen the next podcast episodes are ready and available. You might find it interesting. You also might find it incredibly boring.
Ok, so tomorrow...I have somewhat of a dilemma...
I am booked to do more background work...I THINK its DESPERATE HOUSWIVES....but when I called to confirm my availability, they said it was for DIRTY SEXY MONEY. Whatever it is, I blocked out the day and made myself available. Now, at this point, I dont have any information. I dont know what my call time will be. It could be 9AM. It could be noon.
What I also have for tomorrow, is an audition. The audition is for a film called THE PETERSON PROJECT. The breakdown was posted in Backstage a couple of days ago....
Fresh Planet, Inc. is casting Peterson Project, a crime thriller feature. Cambria Hankin, casting dir. Shoot starts Sept. 27.
Seeking—Male #1: early-late 30s, light/dark brown hair preferred, intense eyes, very complicated but can come off as a very loving father figure to young boys, uses this to his advantage to lure his victims, need to be able to portray evil yet innocence, challenging solid lead role, strong film, TV, and stage actor, actors "dream role"; Male #2: 18 to mid-20s, can be a slight character type or off/edgy, bit of a rebel type, timid but then is lured into the web of deceit and destruction, great part for edgy young actors who love doing indie films, strong resume required, LEAD. Note: Both roles are Caucasian.
I thought this looked like an interesting project. It's a paying project. So I sent them my stuff....
Dear James-
You have been requested to come and audition for the role of Bob in "The Peterson Project."
Sides are on Showfax.com under "Peterson Project" or Lisa Pantone/Cambria Hankin. You do not need to know the callback sides, just the Bob/Kyle sides. Please be off book as much as possible.
Please email back to confirm.
Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 1:15pm
So here is my dilemma... it's highly unlikely that my call time tomorrow for background work will turn out to accomodate this audition time. So what do I do if I have to choose one or the other?
Background work: guaranteed days pay; meet new people; lots of food; working on set of a network program. If I cancel, I could hurt my chances of getting work of this nature in the future. By the way, I could really use the extra money. I've said before, I'm not a fan of doing background, but right now, it fulfills a few short term needs.
Audition: Its an audition, for a lead role; it's not background. I could forfeit the days pay doing background.... I could go and book the role, work on the project and be walking the red carpet this time next year. I could also go and not book it. The casting, the project, the producers could be a total joke. I could end the day with a big ole goose egg.
I should post an oficial poll here and see what the public thinks....
Oh well...I gotta go.....
hey, you never know, maybe my call time for tomorrow will come up and allow me to get to the audition AND get to set on time...WIN WIN?
WIN WIN? ANYBODY?
It all feels pretty good as I sit here reviewing the year, acknowledging accomplishments, giving thanks for my good fortune and all the good people in my life...pondering my existence...
And this is just Year One... I'm not supposed to be completely acclimated, settled and comfortable until Year Two.... thats what I'm told...I dont know quite that means or what that feels like...but the people I talk to all seem to agree on it...many even say that they themselves didn't know what people were talking about until THEY hit their two-year....then they knew exactly what people were talkin about.
We'll see.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I booked the lead role in an independent pilot for a 30 minute sit-com called THE AFTER-LYFES. We are scheduled to shoot in Mid-October. Yesterday I received an email from the producers with the latest draft of the script....
James:
Title: The After-Lyfes
Genre: Original 30-minute situation comedy
Logline: A seemingly typical, albeit slightly socially impaired family, that is set apart by their continual sense of déjà vu…déjà vu that happens to be factual.
Pitch: Arrested Development meets Scrubs
I’ve attached the script, so please begin to dissect it and give me your thoughts regarding Adam. Note that when I wrote his part, I imagined him as a little bit of J.D. from Scrubs, combined with a little more of Michael from Arrested Development.
I'm totally pumped for this. First of all, I feel really good about the character and the concept. I think I've been well cast if I dont say so myself. The fact that the producers are open to my feedback on the writing and the charaacter is a huge plus as well... so I'm really feeling it... its going to be a good experience...
Last night, I put together another Indie City meeting. Last night's meeting, however, was a little different. We have been fielding short script submissions for our projected 2009 monthly film project (Much like the Proactiveactor NYC project of 2005), and I decided to send out a posting for actors to come in and help us bring some of these scripts to life. As a result, we had a solid turnout for the meeting/reading last night, with a handsful of fresh faces, who all actually did a great job reading. I also recorded most of the meeting and will post those recordings in the form of a 4 part podcast.
That should be up in a couple of days. This whole podcast thing has been a work in progress. I have ONE official podcast posted on the I.C.E. site, but my roommate and I have recorded 5 or 6 of them. The problem is that, since I've been learning the recording software, equipment and the wqorld of podcasting as I go, I've screwed up a few times and many of those podcasts had to be trashed. I'm getting the hang of it though. I will let you know nwhen the next podcast episodes are ready and available. You might find it interesting. You also might find it incredibly boring.
Ok, so tomorrow...I have somewhat of a dilemma...
I am booked to do more background work...I THINK its DESPERATE HOUSWIVES....but when I called to confirm my availability, they said it was for DIRTY SEXY MONEY. Whatever it is, I blocked out the day and made myself available. Now, at this point, I dont have any information. I dont know what my call time will be. It could be 9AM. It could be noon.
What I also have for tomorrow, is an audition. The audition is for a film called THE PETERSON PROJECT. The breakdown was posted in Backstage a couple of days ago....
Fresh Planet, Inc. is casting Peterson Project, a crime thriller feature. Cambria Hankin, casting dir. Shoot starts Sept. 27.
Seeking—Male #1: early-late 30s, light/dark brown hair preferred, intense eyes, very complicated but can come off as a very loving father figure to young boys, uses this to his advantage to lure his victims, need to be able to portray evil yet innocence, challenging solid lead role, strong film, TV, and stage actor, actors "dream role"; Male #2: 18 to mid-20s, can be a slight character type or off/edgy, bit of a rebel type, timid but then is lured into the web of deceit and destruction, great part for edgy young actors who love doing indie films, strong resume required, LEAD. Note: Both roles are Caucasian.
I thought this looked like an interesting project. It's a paying project. So I sent them my stuff....
Dear James-
You have been requested to come and audition for the role of Bob in "The Peterson Project."
Sides are on Showfax.com under "Peterson Project" or Lisa Pantone/Cambria Hankin. You do not need to know the callback sides, just the Bob/Kyle sides. Please be off book as much as possible.
Please email back to confirm.
Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 1:15pm
So here is my dilemma... it's highly unlikely that my call time tomorrow for background work will turn out to accomodate this audition time. So what do I do if I have to choose one or the other?
Background work: guaranteed days pay; meet new people; lots of food; working on set of a network program. If I cancel, I could hurt my chances of getting work of this nature in the future. By the way, I could really use the extra money. I've said before, I'm not a fan of doing background, but right now, it fulfills a few short term needs.
Audition: Its an audition, for a lead role; it's not background. I could forfeit the days pay doing background.... I could go and book the role, work on the project and be walking the red carpet this time next year. I could also go and not book it. The casting, the project, the producers could be a total joke. I could end the day with a big ole goose egg.
I should post an oficial poll here and see what the public thinks....
Oh well...I gotta go.....
hey, you never know, maybe my call time for tomorrow will come up and allow me to get to the audition AND get to set on time...WIN WIN?
WIN WIN? ANYBODY?
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