INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT

For your viewing pleasure...

2012-01-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of episodes from the recently wrapped "Lessons in Ethics" project. Produced, Directed (and co-written) by yours truly, James Huffman for Wolters Kluwer Law Business....

Case #10: Amy and the Conflicted Intern.

Amy is an eager and enthusiastic intern with a bright future. But there is something lurking in her past that might mess it all up.

Features Marjan Salehpour, Josh Spiegel and Mary Carrig.

Case #6: Nathan and the Inadvertent Disclosure

Nathan gets an email that he isn't supposed to see. Seeking advice, he shares his secret with Pamela, which may turn out to be a mistake.

Features Johnno Wilson and Kellie Roberts.

(Make sure you watch this one ALL the way through. I left a little something in there after the credits)

For your viewing pleasure...

2012-01-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

For your viewing pleasure...

"Dean and the Appellate Brief"

2011-12-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

Episode #1 from the "Lessons in Ethics" series. Pamela is an eccentric attorney, Dean is fresh out of Law school. Pamela recruits Dean to tackle an assignment he's not be qualified to take.

Produced and Directed by James Huffman for Wolters Kluwer Law Business. Features Alec Newman and Kellie Roberts.

"Lessons In Ethics" blipTV playlist

2011-11-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few episodes from "Lessons in Ethics," formerly known as the "Ethical Hypothetical" project, aka "The Beast," which I produced and directed (I also co-wrote a few of them. The funny ones, of course) There are 16 episodes total. These are about 95% finished. I still want to polish a few of them up...

The Professionalism Project

2011-08-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

"Misuse of Technology"

The Professionalism Project, part of the Aspen Video Series. Produced and Directed by James Huffman. Director of Photography, Kingsley Opara. Edited by Josh Spiegel. "Misuse" Features Joy Sudduth, Sherry Shaoling, Isaac Cheung, Kyle Carter, Brian Cashen and Jen McAllister. Script by Mary Ann Robinson and Alison Kehner, Legal Methods Professors, Widener University School of Law. Music by Lorne Norton.

Good times and Gag Reels.

2011-07-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

For you viewing pleasure...

The Family Law Project "Blooper Reel, a funny montage of goofs and gaffes from The Family Law Project, an industrial/educational project produced by James Huffman and indie city entertainment in July 2010.

http://vimeo.com/26723116

Looking to fill a few crew positions.

2011-07-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

For various shoot dates in August, September and beyond....

I'm currently seeking student filmmakers to fill crew positions for 3 upcoming video projects. I'm producing and directing a vignette-based project for a publishing company that specializes in learning materials for law students. The positions I'm looking to fill are considered hybrid roles that require, within reason, a certain amount of multi-tasking. I'm essentially looking for PA's, but PA's may have to play "scripty," grip, or 2nd AD. I'm also looking for a shooter with a 5D or 7D to be my "Camera 2" for B-roll type stuff. My shoots are very efficient as well as very laid back. Shoot days usually run 8-10 hours. Meals, copy and credit are provided, of course. I always use professional actors. While the rate will vary from project to project, I can pay $75 per day on this one. The rate for "Camera 2" will be a little higher. I really need a few smart, enthusiastic, reliable and helpful people to join the team. This can be a great learning experience for the right person and there is definitely potential for future jobs.

Please keep me your submissions simple and your cover letters SHORT.

Here's a tip: personalizing your introduction goes a long way. The minute I sense I'm reading a cookie cutter cover letter or something that was written "To whom it may concern," I delete it.

Talk to you soon....

James
jamescliftonhuffman.com

Make some noise!

2011-04-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

Yo... Adam Horovitz, Mike Diamond, Adam Yauch (I saw you a couple of times at Whole Foods in Glendale btw)... anyway... THANK YOU!! This is sh%t is brilliant.

Beastie Boys leak entire new album on YouTube:

Make Some Noise MSG - Beastie Boys streamed their entire new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 live at center court of Madison Square Garden. A Sasquatch came too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2XDsMU8a0M

You Are Listening to: the nitty gritty in any city

2011-03-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

How cool is this?

"You Are Listening to"... is an online art project that sets live police feeds to ambient tracks by Deutschtrance, Killer Wails, and other artists.

A San Francisco Web developer named Eric Eberhardt launched You Are Listening to Los Angeles on March 6 and added New York City on the 7th; other locations went up the next day. Eberhardt tells us that he’s “thinking of adding some additional cities and other audio sources soon but just taking care of some cleanup work—adding volume controls, etc.—on the existing sites first.” As of this writing, you can listen to five cities separately or simultaneously; either way, the layers of sound fold like fine fabric.

http://youarelistening.to/losangeles

http://youarelistening.to/newyork

http://youarelistening.to/sanfrancisco

http://youarelistening.to/chicago

http://youarelistening.to/montreal

Passed along via http://www.veryshortlist.com and Jessica Stone http://jessicaestone.blogspot.com/

(Muchos gracias)

More Fun stuff, that's free... like a buzzing baby bee

2011-02-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

Heard it from a friend WHO-OO-OO
HEARD it from a Frie-e-end who-oo-oo
Hear it from another... yada yada ya-DA-HAA...

More Fun stuff, that's free
like a buzzing baby bee
Not far from the tree
Effectively passed on to me.

This little buzzing bee was born on the blog of SAID THE GRAMAPHONE...

(ABOUT "Said the Gramophone" : "this is a daily sampler of really good songs. all tracks are posted out of love. please go out and buy the records!")

This bee wasn't bashful, but honest and humble
The buzz became bumble, then rose to a rumble
A toss and a turn and triple tied twist.
This message met the masses through A VERY SHORT LIST.

("Very Short List is a collection of distinct, free, daily e-mails that each recommend one must–see gem a day. All of our daily e-mails are archived HERE ")

Then an old friend
A very COLD friend
(Because its snowing)

Looked me up
Hooked me up
(Now her Knowing is showing)

OK...enough... on to the story:

BEST SONGS OF 2010 by SAID THE GRAMAPHONE

(http://www.saidthegramophone.com/archives/best_songs_of_2010.php)

Said the Gramophone was one of the very first MP3 blogs. It’s still one of the best, and for the past six years, the editors have outdone themselves with truly fantastic year-end best-of lists. This year’s list features 100 of the best songs released in 2010. Better still, every track is available as a free MP3 download.

You’ll hear familiar favorites (by Spoon, Sade, Arcade Fire, Kanye West, Vampire Weekend, and Alicia Keys, among not a few others), total obscurities (a Rwandan field recording called “Sara” is especially good), and songs by unknown artists who just might shoot to the top of your playlist. We downloaded every track and set our iPod to shuffle. But if you’re looking for a good place to start, check out Janelle Monáe’s “Tightrope” (which features OutKast’s Big Boi), or Peter Nalitch’s “Gitar” (which the editors describe as “part lo-fi pop, part yearning serenade, part post-Borat joke”). The links are still active but set to expire this month, so get these songs while you still can.

http://www.saidthegramophone.com
http://www.veryshortlist.com

by James Huffman
http://www.jamescliftonhuffman.com

Special THANKS to "Old Friend, Cold Friend" Jessica E. Stone
http://jessicaestone.blogspot.com/

seeking student filmmakers

2010-12-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

Indie City Entertainment is seeking student filmmakers to fill crew positions for various upcoming industrial, educational and viral marketing video projects. Currently we are producing a vignette-based project for a publishing company that specializes in learning materials for law students. This project will focus on lessons in "Professionalism." The available positions are considered hybrid roles that require, within reason, a certain amount of multi-tasking. We are officially looking for PA's, but PA's may have to play "scripty," grip, or 2nd AD. Our shoots are very efficient as well as very laid back. Our days usually run 8-10 hours. Meals are provided, of course. We always use professional actors. While the rate will vary from project to project, the pay is $75 per day on this one. We are looking at 2 days in mid January with more projects coming up throughout the year.

Please send resumes to:

jhuffmanproduction@gmail.com

Cross section of coolness (Best Albums of 2010)

2010-12-22T12:57:00.000-08:00

So I came across this "Best Albums of 2010" list this morning on MYSPACE of all places. I give Myspace a thumbs up on the effort. I like the way it covers a cross section of music authorities to give a better overview of which albums and which artists are making a serious impression... so of course I had to share.

But before you read on... I have to list my own personal top ten for 2010....

JAMES CLIFTON HUFFMAN'S BEST ALBUMS OF TWO THOUSAND TEN!!!

10- Tricky - Mixed Race

9- The Watson Twins - Talking To You, Talking To Me

8- The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream

7- The Budos Band - The Budos Band III

6- Delta Spirit - History from Below

5- Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs - God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise

4- Kid Cudi- Man On The Moon Part 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager

3- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat The Devil's Tattoo

2- Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer

1- The Black Keys- Brothers

But that's just me....

Ok, take it away MYSPACE....

This is truly a fabulous time of the year. Music snobs sit around a table and bicker with one another over whether this album was too over-produced, that record had great intentions but failed in execution or dude’s record just flat out sucked. It’s supposed to be a season of giving, but for people like us, tis’ a season of passing judgment. If you haven’t had a chance yet to check out our Best Albums of 2010, we highly recommend you take a look. But while we were at it, we scoured the Internet and took a look at what other reputable websites believed to be the ten best albums of the year.

There were a few winners across the board: Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy appeared as the best album on half of the lists we uncovered; Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs showed up on nearly every single list, as did LCD Soundsystem’s This Is Happening. Other universal favorites included Beach House’s Teen Dream, Deerhunter’s Halcyon Digest and Vampire Weekend’s Contra. But after that, it’s a wide mix of musical deliciousness. And that’s what makes this time of year special: You can discover new records, get reacquainted with the jams you already love and…. who are we kidding… rip on the LPs you already hate.

So without further ado, here are the Top Ten lists from across the Internet. You can now agree to disagree.

Myspace Music

10. Deftones- Diamond Eyes

9. Circa Survive- Blue Sky Noise

8. Crystal Castles- Crystal Castles II

7. Vampire Weekend- Contra

6. Sleigh Bells- Treats

5. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening

4. B.o.B.- B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray

3. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

2. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

1. Yeasayer- Odd Blood

SPIN

10. Robyn- Body Talk

9. Kid Cudi- Man On The Moon Part 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager

8. M.I.A.- MAYA

7. Grinderman- Grinderman 2

6. Janelle Monae- The ArchAndroid

5. Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

4. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening

3. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

2. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Pitchfork

10. Titus Andronicus- The Monitor

9. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti- Before Today

8. James Blake- The Bells Sketch EP/CMYK EP/Klavierwerke E

7. Joanna Newsom-Have One On Me

6. Vampire Weekend- Contra

5. Beach House- Teen Dream

4. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty

3. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

2. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Rolling Stone

10. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening

9. Eminem- Recovery

8. Robert Plant- Band of Joy

7. Drake- Thank Me Later

6. Vampire Weekend- Contra

5. Jamey Johnson- The Guitar Song

4. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

3. Elton John and Leon Russell- The Union

2. The Black Keys- Brothers

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Pop Matters

10. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty

9. Gogol Bordello- Trans-Continental Hustle

8. Titus Andronicus- The Monitor

7. Beach House- Teen Dream

6. LCD Soundsystem-This Is Happening

5. Arcade Fire-The Suburbs

4. Kanye West-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

3. Flying Lotus- Cosmogramma

2. The National- High Violet

1. Janelle Monae- ArchAndroid

NME

10. The Drums- The Drums

9. Liars-Sisterworld

8. Salem- King Night

7. Zola Jesus- Stridilum II

6. Foals-Total Life Forever

5. Laura Marling- I Speak Because I Can

4. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

1. These New Puritans- Hidden

Spinner

10. Gorillaz- Plastic Beach

9. Mumford and Sons- Sigh No More

8. Bruce Springsteen- The Promise

7. LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening

6. Best Coast- Crazy For You

5. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

4. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

3. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

2. The National- High Violet

1. Beach House- Teen Dream

Stereogum

10. Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest

9. Wild Nothing- Gemini

8. Antony & The Johnsons- Swanlights

7. Vampire Weekend- Contra

6. Sleigh Bells- Treats

5. Robyn- Body Talk

4. Sufjan Stevens- The Age of Adz

3. Beach House- Teen Dream

2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs

1. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Tags : Antony & The Johnsons, Arcade Fire, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, B.O.B., B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray, Band of Joy, Beach House, Before Today, Best Coast, Big Boi, Blue Sky Noise, Body Talk, Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, Circa Survive, Contra, Cosmogramma, Crazy For You, Crystal Castles, Crystal Castles II, Deerhunter- Halcyon Digest, Deftones, Diamond Eyes, Drake, Elton John and Leon Russel, Eminem, Flying Lotus, Foals, Gemini, Gogol Bordello, Gorillaz, Grinderman, Grinderman 2, Have One On Me, Hidden, High Violet, James Blake, Jamey Johnson, Janelle Monae, Joanna Newsom, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, King Night, Laura Marling, LCD Soundsystem, Liars, M.I.A., Man On The Moon Part 2: The Legend of Mr. Rager, MAYA, Mumford and Sons, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, NME, Odd Blood SPIN, Pitchfork, Plastic Beach, Pop Matters, Recovery, Robert Plant, Robyn, Rolling Stone, Salem, Sigh No More, Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty, Sisterworld, Sleigh Bells, Speak Because I Can, Spinner, Stereogum, Stridilum II, Sufjan Stevens, Swanlights, Teen Dream, Thank Me Later, The Age of Adz, The ArchAndroid, The Bells Sketch EP/CMYK EP/Klavierwerke E, The Black Keys, The Drums, The Guitar Song, The Monitor, The National, The Promise, The Suburbs, The Union, These New Puritans, This Is Happening, Titus Andronicus, Total LIfe Forever, Trans-Continental Hustle, Treats, Vampire Weekend, Wild Nothing, Yeasayer, Zola Jesus

"Sweet and Easy Sniper Song"

2010-10-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

We are headed down to San Diego this evening see JONSI put up his apparently MIND BLOWING show at "4th & B."

Every road trip needs a good soundtrack, so THIS is the latest mix that I made for me, you and my baby boo...

Composed A La Mode for our quick Trip A La Road road to San Die-GO....

"SWEET AND EASY SNIPER SONG" A mixtape by James Huffman

1- "You Can Tell" - She Keeps Bees - Nests - Alternative

2- "Haunting at 1300 McKinley" - The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream - Rock

3- "Sweet and Easy" - The Soledad Brothers - The Hardest Walk - Rock

4- "Dandelion" - Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM - Alternative

5- "Telephone" - The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream - Rock

6- "Blue As Your Blood" - The Walkmen - Lisbon - Rock

7- "Voyage" - Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM - Alternative

8- "Nite train"- The Von Bondies - Raw and Rare - Alternative

9- "The Sniper" - The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream - Rock

10- "Dark Horses "- The Soledad Brothers - The Hardest Walk -Rock

11- "Yellow Elevator #2" - The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream - Rock

12- "Torch Song" - The Walkmen - Lisbon - Rock

13- "The Lengths" - The Black Keys - Rubber Factory- Blues

14- "Mumbling Word" - Joe Bonamassa - Blues Deluxe - Blues

15- "Talking in Code" - Margot & The Nuclear So & So's - The Dust of Retreat - Alternative

16- "Release" - She Keeps Bees - Nests - Alternative

17- "Crash Hat" - The Bonfire Band - One Man Can't Carry Half a Piano - Country

ACTORS BEWARE or SCAM ALERT: AB CASTING (Redux)

2010-08-26T15:42:00.000-07:00

This BONEHEAD from a shady casting outfit in North Hollywood called AB Casting has been harassing me via email all week because he is not happy with a bunch of negative comments that were posted on this blog by myself (my comments were not really negative, but more cautionary) and a bucket-ful of disgruntled actors in the Los Angeles area... all of who stumbled across my blog while doing their own research on this company...

This is the email I received from them nice folks at AB Casting:

James Huffman, Just to let you know, what slander you are doing about AB casting is liabelous. We are watching you and will be forwarding this to our attorneys. When your score on IMDB --the most credible source in the industry is better than mine, when you have more credits than me, when get on over 200 sets, when you give actors more starring roles than I have, when you get a Best of North Hollywood Award, then feel free to write whatever comments you want. Just to clarify, we do not have a membership or registration fee. We charge if an actor wants to be on the website. Like LA casting for Actors Access. I dare you go after them. Good luck on that. Also, does Central give starring roles????? Go ahead and post this if you have any credibility and consider yourself an honorable man doing justice for the people, as you claim.

So yes... I posted something about AB casting on my blog a YEAR ago... based on my own personal negative experience with them... it wasn't even a NEGATIVE experience.. just a close call.. I declined to even WASTE MY TIME... and have since seen dozens of comments added from other other people who have wasted time or been misled in some way by this guy and his shady company...

Not only did this douche bag write me ridiculous emails all day threatening to sue me for Slander, Liable, defamation...and OH...here is a good one.... INCITING A RIOT.... he then tells me he is going to sue me for THREE MILLION in damages... which is HILARIOUS.

This guy actually he called my AGENT and told her she would be subpoenaed to be a character witness against me..... seriously? That's NOT hilarious.

Friggin nut job this guy..

So I offered to pull the original blog post and all the comments attached to it... and they sent me a message saying "too little too late" "damage has been done" ... and he kept writing me asking if I had insurance...

Anyway... I pulled it...took it all down ... didn't really feel like dealing with this dick-face anymore...

Last night I mulled it over... and this morning had a change of heart... so I will RE-POST it here for you all today... this guy is an A-HOLE... People deserve to have access to this information... and I aint rollin over for anybody.

ENJOY....

THIS is the original blog post that I wrote last August.....

Note to a fellow BLOGGER>>>

Yesterday I got a call from AB CASTING. They told me they wanted to meet with me to discuss possible representation... but there were a handful of things this guys said that led me to believe this was some sort of scam...

So this morning I got on my laptop and started googling.

I came across THIS>>>

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/tlg/1201842368.html

And then THIS>>>

http://scamsinla.blogspot.com/2008/07/business-scams-in-la.html

The blogger who created "Scams in LA" listed AB CASTING, among others, as a business to stay away from. While it appears that this blog is just getting started, I thought a blog that offers up to date information on scams in LA is a pretty good idea.... so I posted a comment>>>

HEY... thanks for posting this. I got a call from someone JUST yesterday from AB CASTING. The guy on the phone told me that they had my pic/resume "On file" and wanted to meet with me to talk about being one of their "represented" actors. I said "ok, I'd love to hear more about that." The guy gave me the address and I said "So when should I swing by?" he said "Anytime Mon-Sat 10A-9P" I was like "okay?" These guys want to meet with me but don't want to set an appointment? Then I said "Can you tell me again, the name of your office?" He said "AB CASTING... we are a division of blah blah blah..." So now I'm thinking "A CASTING office wants to meet with me about representation? That doesn't make any sense." So of course I googled them... and came across your post..which I appreciate... you will probably save a few people some time and effort...

I dig the concept of your blog... keep it up... I will definitely check in again.

Posted by James Huffman at 9:21 AM

14 comments:

Timothy L. said...

My wife and I were members of AB Casting. We joined them with the concept of having more avenues for us to get work. We were already working with "Central Casting" and "Jeff Olan". We had been a member for about 4 months and had never gotten a call for work - though we were working constantly for the other agencies. We had - up to this point - submitted ourselves for "every" project "A B Casting" had. We decided to call and find out why we had never been called? We were told we had to attend his seminar to "learn the ropes"! Learn the ropes? I've been acting since 1980 - my first film was "Final Exam" in which I played the Killer. My wife worked for Paramount and was in the development and cast is several episodes of "Star Trek Enterprise!" So - we decided to take in one on his seminars. The seminar was more of a "bragging" about me thing because all Mr. Guinan talked about was himself. Any information he put out was common knowledge to anyone who wanted to act and survive in LA. We left with question marks over our heads and asking ourselves "what was that all about?" One thing at this so called seminar that embarrassed me to no end was that this took place above Master Byong Yu's Gym on Lankershim Blvd. Master Yu was the guest speaker. HIS information was great but every time Master Yu would start to say something - Mr. Guinan would interrupt with his own opinion. You could see the frustration on Master Yu's face as he attempted to tune our Mr. Guinan and give his audience "real" information. I don't believe the seminars were ever held there again - though I'm not sure - because we never went back. The only other thing is - my wife and I were finally called to be "featured extras" (whoopie!!) in a "Major Film" being directed by "Damian Chapa!" OK - we had nothing to do so we went. We rode up into the hills of Hollywood looking for this so called "Mansion" where the filming was taking place. What we found was a large RV that housed the crew - makup and wardrobe. A one story house with a fenced back yard and this Mr. Chapa and Mr. Guinan walking around like "King Shi....!"The entire "Major Film" was being shot on a small hand held video camera! No 35mm Cameras or Redcam...just one guy holding the camera - a couple grips and that was it! They didn't even feed us after a full eight hours and then paid us only fifty bucks for our time! Some "Major Film!" Oh....and they both were trying to get into every woman's pants there too!My wife and I - since then - have moved on and have sold one of our screenplays called "Omega 1" which is slated to go into production in September. We even get to costar with several major TV and Film actors. You can see more at - www.omega1.tv - if you'd like to view the concept.Our suggestion is that you stay away from "A B Casting"! If you really want to work - as an extra - featured extra and possibly get more exciting work - go with "Central Casting" - "Extras Management" or "Jeff Olan" - all reputable agencies and you will get work. Anyway - this is our opinion. 8:50 PM

toxicpeaches said...

Thank you so much, Timothy. I went into their office today, btw, what the hell's up with their location?! I had to ask the pimp across the street for directions cause it wasn't even on Lankershim. Anyway, they "buzzed" me up when the door wasn't even locked- it was broken. Then I had to sign in but no one was even there. They called me in to talk to me, but insisted I sit next to the guy instead of across the desk from him. He showed me different sites to ensure me that it's not a scam and tried to set up my profile for $50. The guy who was talking to me didn't even seem like he was interested in whether I join or not. He was busy playing with business cards the whole time. Maybe he was trying to distract me cause I was questioning him, I don't know. Anyhow, I took one home with me to research this company before I jump into anything. Thank you for posting this up. I can't afford to be suckered at the moment. 9:35 PM

Tina said...

AB Casting. GeeeeezzZZZ... where do i start? This scam claimed that they are getting extras for NBC? I don't think so.Or mayby its not the same "NBC" that you assume. sneaky. They posted a craigslist ad claiming this was something akin to a cattle call with extras needed asap for a project. no name on the add just a bus address. i went to see out of curiosity. Crappy office. had you sign in and the guy comes out and has me sit BEHIND HIM then beside him. weird, so i cut to the chase. whats the fee for this? "well we help you break into the industry" Uh thanks but no.. i have done work before any one who asks for money upfront is a scam. I walked out. Now Actors Rep wants to see me. Still researching this co. They at least are asking for 10% of work.. that sounds a little better i guess. I never had to PAY anyone. For past extra and feature work the production paid and feed me on set. so we will see what they do for me, and if its worth my time. 11:51 AM

Mike said...

Running across companies like AB casting in this town is so frustrating because I know some poor saps are desperate to buy into it, hook, line, and sinker. I went in, thinking I was being seen for a project that shot in the upcoming month - simple enough. I printed out the CL ad and got the same treatment as other posters have commented, I was out of there. What I was told was, "this project shoots wed / thur and then again in 7 weeks, periodically (What the hell kind of production is that) and we want 50 bucks to take your picture." Okay, so you want me to give you fifty, I'll make 100 for 2 days work, then you may or may not call me in 7 weeks. The pics - I had a headshot / resume in hand and there are dozens of photos of me on the web.So here's the kicker - I left the building and went out to my car; a couple was walking up to the building, and they could tell I looked pissed. I told them of my experience and told them to turn away. Someone else approached the door, and I thought it was another potential victim, so I started my spiel and he told me I could march my butt right out of here (he works for them... oops) but if he wasn't scamming people, why would he get so defensive. If a place wants a piece of your paycheck AFTER they get you work, that's one thing, if they're asking for upfront cash with no promise of anything - RUN! 2:33 PM

ShihanTR said...

Well...Mike...it seems you are among the many that fall for "AB Castings" posts on Craigslist - and other places. Mr. Guinan is definitely scamming people to get them to register with his casting agency. There are agencies that do require "registration fees"...Central Casting charges $25.00 for registration and you I believe you get a pic taken and for an extra $10.00 you get another taken. I also believe you can give them your own photos at no extra charge..but takes longer to get them in their data base. I my experience with A B Casting - Mr. Guinan talks a lot - but says nothing. He has no interest in promoting anyone except himself and any "beautiful woman" he can slither up to. I've worked on may projects in LA...got my SAG Vouchers from "Monk" and "My Name Is Earl" - yet Mr. Guinian told me I needed to go through is seminars to be "really cast" for great projects he was producing! If you haven't joined "Central Casting" or "Jeff Olan Casting" I suggest you do so. They will get you "Extras" work or "Extras Management" and others. Read my posts in this column. Take care and be aware. 10:10 AM

Ken said...

ok, I just came to a conclusion. They ask you to sit so they can take a picture of you w/o you knowing. Go to their website and you will see that most people look like they arent prepared to take the photo. In addition, before they even talk to you they make you fill out a form. At the bottom of this form it asks for a signature giving permission to post a picture of you. And like I said they take your picture there w/o you knowing. 3:00 AM

mr.rubencervantes said...

Just left the totally unprofessional facade of a casting agency. every comment here is legit. im glad i saw through them to know not to shell out the 50 bucks. 6:51 PM

Paula said...

I am so relieved that I did my homework on this casting company before going to an open call with them today! I knew there was a problem when they didn't list their name "AB Casting" in the craigslist ad...that's when I googled the address to find out who they are and what they are about (and thankfully how I found this blog). Thanks so much for sharing this everyone! 10:15 AM

CTS said...

Hey everybody seems like you all know a lot about this stuff. What do you all know about Actors Rep?? They say they can get you work as an extra which I'm totally fine with but is that even legitimate?? 10:24 AM

shar said...

Woooo HOOOOOO!!! First of all I am NOT upset with them. I only report the FACTS. Truth that YOU can verify and look up least he remove it. Because they take stuff down when they find it on internet. But you can always contact SAG Signatory Department on 5757 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles,CA look it up on web or call them. Understand that, AB CASTING has a message on their site and they also CLAIM when people say bad things about them that they are upset because they didnt get work from their hundreds of shows.

First of all if they had hundreds of shows EVERYONE on their sickly website www.Abcasting.net would get work.

It is a known, verifiable fact that he works with DAMIAN CHAPPA who apparently is his partner. Google him.

Then AB CASTING will still be around they know how to get around all of SAG rules seems like. Many of us have turned them in for having SCAM auditions charging people for putting up a photo on their website for the year and they get NO work. Basically financing his films with Damian Chappa who is actor/producer all the films go to video ro Netflix Blocbuster for example look up Joseph Angelico, Joseph Gunian, AB CASTING producer,director, writer, actor. Joseph Gunian II, Josepah Angelico, Joseph Gunian, Joe Gunian CASTED, PRODUCED, 1. Office Paranormal (2012) (pre-production) (producer)2. Vigilante (2010) (post-production) (producer)

3. Hard Way Heroes (2010) (producer)4. Kill Factor (2010) (V) (producer)5. Cage Free (2010) (associate producer) 6. Bad Cop (2009) (V) (co-producer)7. Gurdian (2009) (co-producer)8. Mexican Gangster (2008) (co-producer)9. Investigating Love (2007) (co-producer)10. Beyond the Quest (2007) (associate producer)11. I.R.A.: King of Nothing (2006) (co-producer)

OK he also CHARGED ACTors to audition, upload photos to his site. basically he could be financing his films via the background talent. Then he has only these INTERNET movies and some show on TELEMUNDO that every casting director in LA is trying to send people there this dating show he does not named but through MUCKRACKING we found out it is Dos Corrazone or 12 Corrazones on Telemundo.

Now no problem with the WEBISODES on Internet that he calls movies. SAG was called the signatory department and of course they backed him up saying he had all his paper work in order. We have no problem with that but we have a problem when you are shooting a film that is a low low budget, and you LIE and tell you are shooting MAJOR high budet movies and have plenty of work. When anyone who is 18 to 25 ish can be on this telemundo show and get paid in cash 100 to 140 dollars if they contact the show or contact any of the other casting directors who do this show. It is NON union, NOn Aftra, Non SAG. but Guinian at AB CASTING now charge 60 for people who dont know he is a crook. If you ASK them what other films. tv shows they are doing they say they will call Cops on you

Very questionable. but everyone has to start somewhere which is why people may over look things that is when they have been SCAMMED 5:21 PM

shar said...

So everyone do your homework. dont get scammmed. ASk others who are successful in background who to go to. There are some nice people out in this world. I choose to believe that. 5:23 PM

Chuck E said...

Actors & Background Casting is a legitimate company that casts thousands of people every year in movies, tv shows, commercials and videos. They are currently casting several movies and have several more in pre-production. Not everybody who is registered with them gets work, and this is true with ANY casting company or agency. Anyone who promises work in this business is a LIAR. There are many scammers in this business with fancy offices and fancy websites, these companies charge way more than AB Casting does and offer nothing but lies and promises. They'll charge you hundreds of dollars for bad photography while AB Casting has an independant on-site photographer offering excellent quality headshots at $50 per look. These companies who are so jealous of AB Casting, are having people post lies about them. ANY company in this business here in the LA area will either take a percentage of what you make (which AB casting won't) or they will charge you some sort of service fee. AB Casting recommends that people join other LEGITIMATE casting companies in addition to themselves such as Central Casting, Jeff Olan, Bill Dance, Sande Alessi, Actors Access and LA Casting. If you go much beyond that list you are likely taking your chances. A legitimate company displays it's business license in its office for all to see and has a profile on IMDB. Check out AB Casting's and Joseph Guinan's IMDB profile and compare it to Actor's Rep's pathetic profile or Explore Talnts', oops they don't one. If you want to see a recent project of theirs go into YouTube and enter "OFFICIAL JOSHUA TREE TRAILER" At the end you will see credits for Joseph Guinan and Chelsea Zotta. You'll find Casting, Producing and Acting credits in Joseph's IMDB profile for Joshua Tree. The entertainment business is tough to succeed in, and many people will fail. Many of those become bitter and lash out at those who tried to help them. Companies that either are failing or trying to rip off people will trash honest successful companies. Even Central Casting is routinely attacked. In evaluating companies, trust only authoritative sources such as IMBD, not garbage thrown by failures, criminals and competitors. 9:01 PM

Wendy said...

I am new to the whole LA acting scene. I believe that this AB Casting has to be the same place that I went to. I wish I could remember the location. All I do know is that it was on a corner, it had street parking near some fairly nice apartments. When I went to go into the building, finding the actual office was a joke. I also had to sign in, no appointment just go down. So, after sitting in the Hallway, waiting for my turn, someone else had joined me. Then we both went in, and the dude sat behind a desk. In his attempts to "explain" the movies they and he had done, showing movie posters on the wall. Movie posters that weren't kept nice, overlapping, and just a crude layout. He said that this office you pay, something like $50, upfront then $150, and can take classes with that Guinan guy, who couldn't even be there to talk to any of us.

I have seen scams in my years out of L.A. Heard of Barbizon? "Be a Model or just look like one." It was the same thing basically. You went to Barbizon to learn to model/act. Granted I was 12, and I did learn a lot, it did nothing for my acting or modeling career. Just a notch in my parents check book for a few grand for just a few weeks, back in the '80s. Barbizon was so well known for the scam they have been featured in a 20/20 interview.

Back to this AB Casting. I was so disgusted by the movie posters they were so proud to be a part of. The office was in disarray. Really, you want ME to give YOU money! Aren't you supposed to do the work for me, then you would get a percentage.

Actors Rep. Yeah, they are on Hollywood Blvd or something, in a huge building. There I did make an appointment, sat in a waiting room to watch a video that looped, then was finally called in. When I was in the office, they had me do a cold read...and that day was the last day that I have heard from them. They sucked me in to, right when I had just moved to LA last year. They were casting for the next SAW movie or some other horror movie, and the Christina Aguilera movie which was about to shoot, "Burlesque".

I am trying to use Central, but the lines are always SO outdated, and they aren't looking for my type ever. I am still calling hoping, but rent needs to be paid. I just heard about Jeff Olan, I am going to try them, and see. In the mean time, I will try to take classes and hope that I will not regret moving from NY to finally follow my life long dream of acting!

Don't be a sucker

2010-08-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Don't be such a sucker.... seriously...

In light of the recent Sherry Sherrod fiasco... the current economic climate... the job market, the housing market... the recent ridiculous reign of the Bush administration... American Idol dumbing down and destroying the music industry.... the freak show phenomenon known as THE JERSEY SHORE...

and in honor of "well informed, well educated people capable of creative thinking" everywhere...

The few, the proud... as it sometimes seems...

I bring you 3 minutes of a fun poking, thought provoking, sort-of-but-not-really joking, GEORGE CARLIN cynic stroking, the-truth-shall-set-you-free soliloquy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

Some call it comedy... some call it crap...

But God bless George Carlin for saying exactly what he saw.

Based on this specific rant... i do disagree with him on one thing...

You DO have a choice.... you always have choices...

ONE choice you can make right here... right now...

CHOOSE to be a well informed, well educated person and exercise creative thinking...

It takes work... it takes awareness... but it's SO worth it.

Say hello to the steel guitar

2010-06-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

Robert Randolph, his singing, sliding, steel guitar... and his Family Band...are all BACK.

Aside from SOLD OUT performances at CROSSROADS GUITAR FESTIVAL in Chicago (6/26) and NYC's BOWERY BALLROOM (6/29)

You can actually catch them on NBC's THE TONIGHT SHOW.... tonight (6/22)

Robert Randolph and The Family Band play Amoeba Music in Hollywood tomorrow at 6PM, celebrating the release of their new album WE WALK THIS ROAD, produced by T-Bone Burnett.

We here at INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT... are all OVER that Sh%tt!!

"…his rip-roaring virtuosity and his gift for making his instrument sing without a word." – New York Times

From Amoeba.com >>>>

WE WALK THIS ROAD - Artist's Notes

"After we finished our last record, Colorblind, we began searching for a great producer to help guide the follow up. We wanted someone who understood me and the road I’ve walked this far, who understood our connections of my roots within rock and gospel and the church, who would help us put those things in their most compelling context.

T Bone Burnett shared the vision of how gospel, blues and rock could be put together in a way that could relate to my history and connect to my present. It was important to us that we make the record we wanted to make, even if the end result was unclassifiable. We just focused on making great songs and great music that spoke to me, and that reflected the way I try to speak to the world... "

(READ THE FULL ARTICLE at AMOEBA.COM)

AND...

Robert Randolph and The Family band will be playing TASTE OF CHICAGO on July 4th....

and I....

coincidentally...will be there...

NICE...

HAPPY FOURTH!!

James

What once was LOST...

2010-05-25T14:00:00.000-07:00

So that's it...

What once was LOST is now...

Uh... I don't know... I'm still trying to digest.

Regardless, The LOST series finale is now a part of history.

Whether we completely understand what happened or not.

And seriously, if you loved it, or if you got all pissy because you didn't get all the answers you were looking for... you HAVE to admit your were moved.

I thought the episode was awesome... I had tears running down the side of my face... and I'm OK with the fact that they didn't get a chance to explain EVERYTHING... I'm completely content and willing to accept what was offered.

I think they did the best with what they had... they could either try to connect and explain every last detail... all of it.... OR... give the show and the characters and the FANS the emotional send off it/we deserved.... i thought it was great.... my girlfriend was crying for like 15 minutes afterward.... and I was trying to pretend like I wasn't....

To quote my brother: "I found it emotionally satisfying but was a little underwhelmed by the storyline in general. Overall, it has been the finest TV show I've ever had the privilege to watch. And, it is cool how a long-running series like this lets you bond with characters in a way that is just not possible in the movies."

Very well could be the greatest show of all time.

My initial thought was that everyone died in the plane crash... they were all dead from the start... and for six seasons we've watched the souls of these people try to negotiate their way to heaven... and that meant resolving whatever issues they had on earth... "letting go," "forgive" etc etc

Of course their are tons of theories floating around in "Series-finale purgatory"

Here is one take:

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/tv/what-happened-lost-finale-explanation.php

Open to interpretation I would say... like any great piece of art.

Is there a right or wrong answer? Sometimes you just have to embrace whatever message you, yourself, can see, or hear, or feel... and THAT is what makes it right.

It's never too late to find happiness in Paraguay

2010-05-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

The HAPPY IN PARAGUAY video started making the rounds on the great wide interweb about 6 months ago....

HAPPY IN PARAGUAY is an oddly humorous (to the point of being REALLY F%$#ing Funny) remix of Star Trek: The Next Generation presented by DAY JOB ORCHESTRA

http://www.dayjoborchestra.com/

But since I personally discovered it LAST WEEK.... I'm posting it now.

What am I gonna do? I often find myself a few months behind the latest viral craze.

You know it's never too late...

Today can be the day
Don't worry
Be Happy... in Paraguay

5 Tips for Better Auditions

2010-05-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

These little tidbits came my way this morning courtesy of CAZT...

CAZT is a new website dedicated to helping actors get more out of the audition process.

Our actor friends spend a lot of time auditioning. It's like an unpaid, full-time job! But unlike at school or your job, you don't get any feedback. No one tells you what you did right, what you did wrong, and (worst of all!) no one tells you what you can do to improve!

Pretty basic stuff... but always good to refresh fundamentals...

5 Tips for Better Auditions

by Elisa Eliot, Founder & Owner of Elisa Eliot’s Acting Studio

www.elisaeliot.com | (310) 230-5233

Know your material
If you are given the sides in advance – prepare them! Use the methods you have studied in your acting classes to analyze the script. (Every actor beginner or professional should always be enrolled in acting classes to keep their craft sharp!) If the audition is a cold reading then take the time you need to make sure you have the scene(s) down. Don’t go in until you are ready. Either way you should be extremely familiar with your lines and situations so your head isn’t buried in the script.

Know your audience
When you get an audition one of the very first things you should do is some research! Look up who the major players (the director, casting director, writer and producers) are. See what else they have done - you are likely to get a better feel for the project and what they might be looking for.

Know the project
Or, in other words, know the format. Each format requires a different style of acting, and knowing whether you are auditioning for a sitcom, a single camera comedy, a drama, etc. can help immensely.

Be professional
The “industry” is a business and you should treat it that way! Always be on time. (Yes, even in LA you have to be punctual. Factor in plenty of time for traffic even if there might not be any.) Be respectful to your auditioners and your fellow actors. Dress appropriately… even if you are dressing the part. Have a crisp clean copy of your headshot and resume, not a wrinkly un-stapled one. Nothing says “Beware - Don’t hire me!” more than a rude, sloppy actor.

Nail your slate
Finally, first impressions are so important. And your first on-camera impression is the slate. Don’t fidget or look at your script or play with your hair or pick your nose (trust me I have seen all of these and worse!). Make sure portray confidence, affability, professional and personality! And SMILE!

CAZT is a service of The Casting Project, LLC, located at 916 N. Formosa Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046.

Toll free telephone number: (866) 925-2298 / (866) 925-CAZT

A spoonful of shredded Creed

2010-04-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

First... there was the lip dub...

"a type of video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in post editing with the original audio of the song. There is often some form of mobile audio device used such as an iPod. Often, they look like simple music videos, although many involve a lot of preparation and are well produced. The most popular lip dubs are done in a single unedited shot that often travels through different rooms and situations in, say, an office building."

I enjoyed wasting my fair share of quality time viewing the world's fine assortment of lip dub videos...

and just when I thought I was over it... maybe go outside and get some fresh air... play some frisbee or something...

ENTER THE SHRED....

A new rising viral craze, video shreds are currently taking up a majority my spare time... filling my precious minutes away from work with knee slapping laughter...

Take a video... any music video... and remove the audio... and insert your own... and you are shredding videos like the pro's..

The key is to make sure that the new audio is close enough to create the illusion that it's the original soundtrack... and absurd and ridiculous enough to be F%$king HILARIOUS...

"You want to see something great? Go to Youtube and type in CREED... SHREDS... 3. Do it and you will THANK ME later." -Fred Durst

Apparently, Some dude from Finland, Santeri Ojala (aka "StSanders"), is credited with originating the concept. He appeared recently on JIMMY KIMMEL, where he has a segment called INTERNET TALENT SHOWCASE. But that appearance was kind of a flop and didn't really represent the SHRED properly.

Anyway, there are handfuls of hilarious shreds all over the internet now. You can find shreds created at the expense of CREED, KISS, GUNS N ROSES and METALLICA.

I would have to say the CREED shreds are the best at this point.

Wanna something really funny?

CREED shreds courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/spiritswitchboard

There are many more out there...

Seek and enjoy

Indie City Song of the week

2010-03-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

The Uncomfortable Truth by Nneka.

This is really Good sh%t... grossly overlooked and underestimated... Nneka is a Nigerian-German hip hop/soul singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Warri, in the Delta region of Nigeria and then relocated to Hamburg, Germany at the age of 18.

THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH is off of her first US album release "CONCRETE JUNGLE."

Dig it...

The Uncomfortable Truth - Nnek...

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

2010-03-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

OK... so.... BRMC...... Black Rebel Motorcycle Club comes out with a new album on March 9th... I have been somewhat aware over the past few months but recently... totally spaced.... completely forgot about it...

Anyway BRMC is one my favorite bands of the past 10 years and they have show dates scheduled in LA at the ECHOPLEX (JUST up the road on Sunset, literally TWO minutes from my place) on 3/11... the 12th and the 14th... all of which are now SOLD OUT... dammit...

Maybe I will hit Craigslist and see if I can score a couple of tickets....

BUT they are playing at House of Blues in Anaheim on the 16th... currently NOT sold out...

Anaheim ain't SO bad... right?

AND... the new stuff is pretty good.... I just listened to a few tracks on their Myspace page...

http://www.myspace.com/blackrebelmotorcycleclub

My top 5 BRMC songs would be:

1>> "Shuffle Your Feet"
2>> "Berlin"
3>> "Faultline"
4>> "Weapon of Choice"
5>> "Ain't No Easy Way"

Just sayin....

Indie City Song of the week

2010-03-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

LITTLE SUNRISE from the Album INTO THE WIND by Bei Bei & Shawn Lee is a sweet little suckatash of song by Gu Zheng performer Bei Bei and Ubiquity producer Shawn Lee. It's a beautiful example of true world fusion, mixing contemporay funk and traditional Eastern music, showcasing Bei Bei's mastery of the GU ZHENG, an ancient Chinese instrument, a plucked half-tube zither with movable bridges and 21 strings.

Little Sunrise - Bei Bei & Sha...

If you've got the time and the inclination, check out the entire album... if not... HOT THURSDAY off the same album is also well worth the 3 minutes.

The 2010 Official Streamy Awards Nominees....

2010-03-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

Nominees in the OVERALL SERIES categories....

http://www.streamys.org

Best Comedy Web Series
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis
Easy to Assemble
The Guild
The Legend of Neil
Wainy Days

Best Drama Web Series
Angel of Death
Compulsions
OzGirl
The Bannen Way
Valemont

Best Hosted Web Series
A Comicbook Orange
Diggnation
Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show
Know Your Meme
The Totally Rad Show

Best Reality or Documentary Web Series
Interview Project
Mommy XXX
RADAR
Streak to Win
The Secret Life of Scientists

Best News or Politics Web Series
Auto-Tune the News
Rocketboom
The Tomorrow Show with Mo Rocca
The Young Turks
VBS News

Best Foreign Web Series
Flying Kebab
Girl Number 9
Noob
OzGirl
Riese

Best New Web Series
$5 Cover: Memphis
Girl Number 9
Odd Jobs
Old Friends
The Bannen Way

Best Companion Web Series
Assassin’s Creed: Lineage
Dexter: Early Cuts
Harper’s Globe
The Office: Subtle Sexuality
Weeds: University of Andy

Best Animated Web Series
Eli’s Dirty Jokes
Happy Tree Friends
Homestar Runner
How It Should Have Ended
Zero Punctuation

Best Branded Entertainment Web Series
Back on Topps (Topps)
Brainstorm (Altoids)
Easy to Assemble (IKEA)
Parts Art (Lexus)
The Temp Life (Spherion)

Best Experimental Web Series
Auto-Tune the News
Green Porno
HBO Cube
INST MSGS
Level 26

Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series
(Coming Soon!)

Epic Beard Man is Amber Lamps biological FATHER (No... not really)

2010-02-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

EPIC.... BEARD... MAN...

Seen it? heard about it?

Wanna see naked pics of AMBER LAMPS?

Who IZZZ Amber Lamps?

WHERE is Amber Lamps?

WHERE can I buy a pair of those PURPLE tights??

Will Lyanna Washington ever give Tommy Bruso his stuff back?

What STUFF could Thomas Bruso possibly have that is worth stealing?

WHO is STUPID enough to videotape themselves stealing a bag from someone and then post it on youtube for the entire WORLD to see? (Sorry, I have to answer that one: that would be Lyanna Washington)

When will they all be appearing on OPRAH??

Was that REALLY Tommy Bruso getting TASERED at an Oakland A's game in 2009? Did he officially get Oakland TASED?

Read on.....

On February 16th, 2010 Iyanna Washington, a college student from Oakland, CA (Youtube user iyannaw08) uploaded the video “AC TRANSIT BUS FIGHT I AM A MOTHERFUCKER” to Youtube; a video she recorded of a 50 year old black man and a 67 year old white man wearing a T-shirt that reads “I AM A MOTHERFUCKER” having a heated argument fueled by racial ignorance resulting in a physically violent confrontation.

You can get pretty much the entire story... past present and future on KnowYourMeme.com, a website dedicated to "Documenting Internet phenomena: viral videos, image macros, catchphrases, web celebs and more."

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/epic-beard-man

You can also read more at ENCYCLOPEDIA DRAMATICA... but please note the WARNING offered ta the top of the page...

This page is a WARZONE. It is highly unlikely that there are lulz between the e-bullets, but seasoned Æ veterans can be expected to clean it up once the retarded participants stop their editing. If you have something EDworthy to add, leave it on the talk page or get on #wiki for adminly help.

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Epic_Beard_Man

And feel free to enjoy the follow up interview with Tommy Bruso... aka... EPIC... BEARD... MAN...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9YqaLW2GQE

AND... if THAT'S not enough for you....

You can become a FAN on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Epic-Beard-Man/309361414500

Billy Corgan offers free music

2010-01-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

Billy Corgan offers new Smashing Pumpkins songs for free online

NYDailynews.com:

Rocker Billy Corgan is offering fans a free sample of the next SMASHING PUMPKINS album.

Monday at midnight, Corgan released "A Song for a Son," the first of 44 free singles, reports L.A. Times music blog Pop & Hiss. Frontman Corgan, who is the only original member in the current Smashing Pumpkins lineup, is calling the web-based project "Teargaden by Kaleidyscope."

The new single is currently streaming on Spinner. The entire album will be released in stages and at some point each song will be offered for free for a limited time.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/12/08/2009-12-08_bill_corgan_offers_smashing_pumpkins_latest_songs_for_free_online.html#ixzz0djxB7oIW

Billy Corgan offers a free look into new Smashing Pumpkins project

LATimes.com:

POP & HISS: The LA Times music blog

The band currently fronted by Billy Corgan, and the one still operating under the Smashing Pumpkins brand, despite featuring no other original member but Corgan, will release its first of 44 free singles tonight at midnight. "I am one of many more to come," Corgan sings throughout the slow-build rocker "A Song for a Son," the initial glimpse of his Web-focused "Teargaden by Kaleidyscope" project....

Download free music and more at SMASHINGPUMPKINS.COM

COACHELLA 2010 (with playlist)

2010-01-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

The lineup for COACHELLA 2010 has just been announced... and quite frankly, we at Indie City Entertainment think it ROCKS!!! If you scroll down, there is also 25 song preview included in case you'd like a little taste...

www.coachella.com

"The lineup for the eleventh edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which takes place this April 16-18, has officially arrived, and it’s about as hot as the sometimes triple-digit temperatures the Southern California festival is known for..."
(http://music-mix.ew.com)

"Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz will headline the 11th annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, to be held April 16-18 at Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif. Also confirmed are LCD Soundsystem, Faith No More, Thom Yorke, Pavement and the Specials. Other bands and DJs confirmed for the event include Vampire Weekend, Them Crooked Vultures, Phoenix, Tiësto, Deadmau5, David Guetta, MGMT and Public Image Limited. Tickets for the event go on sale Friday, Jan. 22 at 10:00 a.m. at Ticketmaster and on coachella.com. Three-day weekend passes are $269.00, plus surcharges. More details on layaway, camping options and lineup details can be found on the festival's website."
(www.billboard.com)

Friday, April 16th
Aeroplane
Alana Grace
As Tall As Lions
Baroness
Benny Benassi
Calle 13
Deadmau5
Deer Tick
DJ Lance Rock
Echo & the Bunnymen
Erol Alkan
Fever Ray
Grace Jones
Grizzly Bear
Hockey
Iglu & Hartly
Jay-Z
Jets Overhead
Kate Miller-Heidke
La Roux
LCD Soundsystem
Little Dragon
Lucero
Pablo Hassan
Passion Pit
P.O.S.
Proxy
Public Image Limited
Ra Ra Riot
She & Him
Sleigh Bells
The Avett Brothers
The Cribs
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Specials
The Whitest Boy Alive
Them Crooked Vultures
Vampire Weekend
Wale
White Rabbits
Wolfgang Gartner
Yeasayer

Saturday, April 17th
2 many DJ’s
Aterciopalados
Band of Skulls
Bassnectar
Beach House
Camera Obscura
Coheed and Cambria
Corinne Bailey Rae
Craze
David Guetta
DEVO
Dirty Projectors
Dirty South
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Faith No More
Flying Lotus
Frank Turner
Frightened Rabbit
GIRLS
Gossip
Hot Chip
John Waters
Kaskade
Klever
Les Claypool
Major Lazer
Mew
MGMT
Muse
Old Crow Medicine Show
Porcupine Tree
Portugal. The Man
Pretty Lights
RX Bandits
Shooter Jennings
Sia
Steel Train
The Almighty Defenders
The Dead Weather
The Raveonettes
The Temper Trap
The xx
Tiësto
Tokyo Police Club
Z-Trip
Zoé

Sunday, April 18th
B.o.B.
Babasónicos
Céu
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Club 75
De La Soul
Deerhunter
Delphic
Florence & The Machine
Gary Numan
Gil Scott-Heron
Gorillaz
Hadouken!
Infected Mushroom
Julian Casablancas
Kevin Devine
King Khan & the Shrines
Little Boots
Local Natives
Matt & Kim
Mayer Hawthorne
Miike Snow
MUTEMATH
One eskimO
Orbital
Owen Pallett
PAPARAZZI
Pavement
Phoenix
Plastikman
Rusko
Sly & The Family Stone
Spoon
Sunny Day Real Estate
Talvin Singh
The Big Pink
The Glitch Mob
The Middle East
The Soft Pack
Thom Yorke
Yann Tiersen
Yo La Tengo

AND.... a short playlist including some of our COACHELLA 2010 Favorites....

Coachella 2010

SEE YOU THERE!!!

Latest BUZZ on CATCH: WebTheatre/ Adescati dai siti di dating di Gabriele Niola

2010-01-12T14:29:00.001-08:00

The staff at ICE thinks THIS... is pretty F%$$#ing cool....

WebTheatre/ Adescati dai siti di dating

di Gabriele Niola - Una girandola di collaboratori per un poliziesco che scava nelle paure delle persone. Sullo sfondo, gli appuntamenti mediati dalla Rete

Roma - Alle volte la scarsità di opportunità lavorative canoniche unita alle possibilità di nuovi mezzi è l'origine delle idee. È il caso di James Huffman, attore americano residente a Los Angeles (come chiunque voglia fare questo lavoro ad alti livelli), impegnato in serie televisive indipendenti e progetti non particolarmente importanti, che ha deciso di affiancare a questa carriera anche dei progetti online ma non nella consueta veste di autore/produttore/attore/regista, come spesso accade per le webserie, quanto in quella di produttore e occasionalmente autore, come accade nelle serie per la televisione moderne. Il risultato di questo tipo di impegno e soprattutto delle scelte che Huffman (e gli altri) hanno preso riguardo la troupe è Catch, una serie davvero interessante che fa ruotare registi e sceneggiatori di episodio in episodio traendo il massimo vantaggio dall'eterogeneità.....

(http://punto-informatico.it/)

Recently, an Italian online magazine called PuntoInformatico.... posted the following article.... I don't read or speak Italian so i used Google Translate to read it.... the translation isnt perfect... but the feedback is undeniably positive...

THANK YOU Gabriele Niola!!!

WebTheatre / lured by dating sites

Gabriele Niola - A swirl of collaborators for a detective who digs in the fears of people. In the background, the events mediated by the Network

Rome - Sometimes the lack of job opportunities combined with the canonical possibilities of new media is the origin of ideas. This is the case of James Huffman, American actor living in Los Angeles (as anyone who wants to do this work at high levels), engaged in TV shows and independent projects is not particularly important, who has decided to assist in this career but also of online projects in the usual capacity as writer / producer / actor / director, as often happens with webserie than in the work of producer and occasional author, as happens in modern series for television. The result of this kind of commitment and above all of the choices Huffman (and others) have taken on the cast is Catch, a series that spins really interesting directors and screenwriters of episodes in episode taking maximum advantage of heterogeneity.

The basic idea of all may remember American Psycho (psychopaths that attract the opposite sex with appointments and then kill them in a brutal), but any criticism of hedonism has dried or 80s subtext of the concept of double, and contaminated with the social anxieties of our years.

Catch (episode came in seventh on nine under for the first season episodes and equipped with the usual "extra") proceeds with a wire but without a plot that unfolds in a linear episode episode. What happens from time to time are events in the real world among people conosciutesi online dating site on the imaginary Catch.com. In any event we understand a bit 'more about what triggers the violence and what are the factors involved, the mystery of the plot is clearly a central element, but each episode is filmed and written well enough to not focus exclusively on it. Catch it avoids the typical lack of production for the network and instead of focusing on what may be his strong point opts for a fascinating and interesting writing of individual scenes, with ability to manage different plots simultaneously. Excellent example of this is the sixth episode, which is introduced the figure of the detective (played by James Huffman) into the background (the story is that just the frame) the solicitation of another serial killer next door.

Updating the stereotype of the serial killer without too much fantasy, but with taste and knowledge of the mechanisms and the psychology of the average users of dating sites, Catch can do what every story should do: enact their audiences along with its uncertainties, or In this case, fear.

The discourse on the fringes of the series it stirs the cauldron of fear of eternal and inherent sense of guilt related to sexual attraction yield, mediated by the fragility of their relationships acquired in the network who try to become real. Without wishing to indictments against the Internet (not a thing to webserie!), Catch introduces a creeping banality of discourse that avoids the risks of networked communication to center the way in which phobias atavistic perpetuation translates into the language of the Internet .

Leaving a series between Gore and the police populated by many characters will die (aptly users hooked by the dating site) who show through their oddities fragility of love and a thirst not quenched, which are often the that humanity hidden figure that emerges strongly through the mediation of the anonymous network.

Sorry to see that a product so interesting, well done and exciting (it's still a crime) is not distributed in a prudent but simply thrown on YouTube.

Nominate CATCH for a "Streamy!"

2009-12-22T18:08:00.000-08:00

Aaah yes, its that wonderful time of the year, its STREAMY NOMINATION TIME!!!!

SHOULD you be so inclined, You can cast a quick and easy public vote for CATCH that would count as a nomination for "Best New Web Series" of 2009 and make my work eligible for a Streamy Award....

Its very easy to cast a public vote. You dont have to register or submit an email address. All you do is choose a category from the drop down menu (Best new web series), add the name of the web series, and copy and paste the following URL....

http://www.youtube.com/catchthefirstseason

and that's it... the site will allow one vote per IP address per day.

http://www.streamys.org/submit/public-submissions/

THANKS!!!!

From www.streamys.org >>>>>>

" Because, let's face it, television is SO last century"

As the first and most prestigious awards devoted to honoring excellence in web television, the Streamy Awards identify and celebrate the pioneers laying the groundwork for a new and dynamic entertainment medium. The Streamy Awards ceremony brings together the top talent, decision-makers and influencers shaping online entertainment, and awards are presented for the past years’ best achievements in 35 categories spanning multiple disciplines.

Currently in its second year, the Streamy Awards began as a grass-roots effort piloted by the leading minds in online entertainment and continues to share the spirt of rugged independence that drives creative expression online. The show is co-hosted by Tubefilter and NewTeeVee.

Reflecting the inherent openness of entertainment online, the Streamy Awards submissions process is free and and open to the public. Winners are selected by the International Academy of Web Television, an independent, member run not-for-profit organization representing a wide cross-section of online entertainment including actors, agents, composers, content developers, directors, journalists, producers, technology innovators and writers.

We encourage you to explore the site, submit your favorite web series or discover a new one, and perhaps become inspired yourself to share in this momentous explosion of independent creative expression.

The Top 100 Videos of 2009 in Less Than 3 Minutes

Between pranks, sports, tech, video games, singing, dancing, and television— there was a lot to choose from. These are the top 100 videos that became famous on the web in 2009, all in less than three minutes....

The Top 100 Broken Down One-by-One:

Cosmo Jarvis? Cosmo Jarvis?

2009-12-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Ever heard of Cosmo Jarvis? Kid's awesome. Next big thing. Singer, Songwriter, Filmmaker, Rock N Rolla. Check him out. For real. And I'll say I told ya so.

Two weeks ago I picked up a magazine called MOJO, which is some sort of UK based music magazine....

Funny thing about MOJO... some people have it...some people DON'T... YOU know what I'm talking about... yeah you do.

Anyway, MOJO magazine has a section called FILTER ALBUMS, which rates and reviews roughly 70-75 albums. ONE of those albums is a 2 CD debut by a New Jersey born, Devon raised artist who goes by the name of Cosmo Jarvis.

"Jarvis is 19, but penned some of his 2 CD debut's 18 songs aged 17. Inarguably gifted, he makes films as well as writing, playing and brilliantly engineering his wildly inventive music. Disc 1, subtitled Humasyouhitch, corrals lighter Cosmo tunes that mostly concern growing pains and unattainable girls (Mel's song: Jessica Alba's Number). Scatalogical, if entertaining, couplets arre the only marker of our host's juvenesence. Maxine, for example, melds deft baroque pop flourishes and fine BLUR-like hooks. Things get much darker on disc 2, Sonafabitch. He Only Goes Out On Tuesdays, all foreboding strings strings and bleak Eminem style reportage, concerns child abuse, while parental divorce song song Problems has a grungy, wonderfully miffed sounding chorus. Cosmo's switches between the grim and the ribald might sound problematic, but his debut is careful to isolate these qualities on separate discs. A fab new talent with imagination overload." (Mojo Music Magazine, Dec 2009)

So the fact that this kid is New Jersey born is what caught my eye, the review piqued my interest, and everything I found on his website kind of blew me away, just the fact that this kid is 19 years old and he has a body of work (Some of it created when he was 13-15 years old!!!), that some artists would spend a lifetime constructing. I love that he is writing and directing short films, which are alll fairly decent, as well as writing and performing music... and I have to say... his music is kind of awesome... He has a ton of tracks on his website for anyone to listen to...and already Ive found a dozen or so that I really like... songs that I found myself sitting there and bobbing my head to.

And I'm just talking about the stuff he's got on his website... I havaent even heard the stuff that's coming out on the double album. Cosmo's 2 CD debut is not yet available in the US... but dropped a few weeks ago in the UK... I did catch the video he has for the song PROBLEMS on Youtube... and I like it... I like it alot.

So I'm gonna say it ... I'm gonna call it... right here, right now.... Cosmo Jarvis is gonna be big.... the kid is for real... mark my words... and check out his stuff...

its good.

www.cosmojarvis.com

CATCH 6: Detective of the month

2009-11-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

Written and Produced by James Huffman; Directed by Wes Greeson....

Over The Edge - An Oral History

2009-10-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

From the I.C.E. staff**>>>

More cool and quirky content from across the internet....

OVER THE EDGE
An Oral History of the Greatest Teen Rebellion Movie of All Time

BY MIKE SACKS

In the spring of 1979, a small-budget movie with a somewhat corny-sounding name was released in just a handful of theaters in New York and Los Angeles, only to be pulled a few days later due to concerns that audiences would riot. Based (loosely) on a true story about suburban youth gone wild in the suburbs of San Francisco in the early 70s, Over the Edge would never receive wide distribution. In fact, over the next 25 years, the film would be shown in only a few art houses and on cable TV, until its eventual DVD release in September 2005.

The film, as certain critics like to label it, is a “lost classic,” and yet—unlike the majority of lost or “cult” classics—Over the Edge is actually worth seeking out. Filled with scenes that are difficult to shake, with teen characters played by real-life teenagers (how often does that happen anymore?), and with an authenticity so intense that it appears at times as if the film could very well be a documentary, Over the Edge remains as thrilling today as it must have appeared three decades ago. While somewhat raw and certainly not without imperfections, it’s easy to understand why Kurt Cobain claimed that the movie “pretty much defined my whole personality,” and why it so heavily influenced Richard Linklater in making his own ode to restless youth, Dazed and Confused.

Starring a 14-year-old Matt Dillon in his first screen role, as well as a cast of mostly young unknowns (discovered, for the most part, while they were ditching school), Over the Edge manages to highlight a problem that has only grown and become more problematic since the 70s: kids, stuck in the suburbs, far from any city center, with nothing much to do beyond the usual Teen Axis of Evil: drugging, drinking, and petty-criminal acts. (That the film was shot in Greeley, Colorado, less than an hour from where the Columbine High School massacre would take place 20 years later, is, at the very least, a sad, if bizarre, coincidence.)

The plot is simple: Carl (played by Michael Kramer), a decent teen who feels estranged from his distracted parents, befriends a miscreant from the poorer section of the community (Richie, played by Matt Dillon). The two, along with friends, including a druggie and a mute, attend parties, fire stolen guns, drink in abandoned, half-built houses, and get arrested (in a scene that birthed the classic line, sneered by Matt Dillon, “A kid who tells on another kid is a dead kid.”). Continually harassed by the local policeman Sergeant Doberman (Harry Northup) and looking for adventure, Carl and Richie attempt to run away in a stolen Jeep. They are caught, and Richie is killed when he aims an unloaded gun at Doberman. Carl escapes back to the development, where, later that night, a group of angry teens attack the junior high school while a parents’ meeting on youth violence is taking place. The teens lock the adults inside as they burn cars, shoot guns, and cause mayhem in the parking lot. They are subsequently arrested and sent off to “the Hill.”

On this, the movie’s 30th anniversary, Vice spoke with nearly 20 of the film’s cast and crew to try to piece together the often arduous making of Over the Edge, the frustrations felt upon its initial release, and how the film, all these years later, still manages to influence generation after generation of filmmakers.

CONTINUED...

http://www.viceland.com/int/v16n9/htdocs/over-the-edge-134.php

** The I.C.E. staff ranges from myself, to various actors, writers and filmmakers associated with indie city entertainment... as well as my little brother... who is consistently internet content curious... this little nugget was from him...

Paranormal Activity

2009-10-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

While you may or may not be brave enough to go see this film... the story behind this project is both impressive and promising...

We love to see more signs of big changes in the BIZ...

Surprise hit 'Paranormal Activity' scares money out of moviegoers

(From www.cnn.com)

The new horror movie "Paranormal Activity" could be filling movie studio marketing departments with fear.

Using a campaign of limited showings, social media and word-of-mouth fan buzz, the film has managed to become a breakout hit without the aid of a glitzy marketing campaign -- or even a traditional movie trailer.

According to Variety, the very low-budget film (it reportedly cost $11,000), which played in fewer than 200 theaters, raked in $7.1 million over the weekend -- a record for a limited-release film. The film had an impressive $44,163 per-screen average and placement in the top five of the box office ratings over the weekend.

"We think it's exciting that they are taking this grassroots approach to independent film because sometimes independent films do get lost in the shuffle," said Kevin Carr, a writer/reviewer for the site Film School Rejects. "It's a unique test to see if people can demand things outside of standard marketing campaigns."

"Paranormal Activity" bills itself as "the first-ever major film release demanded by you."

The movie, which was an audience favorite at the alternative Slamdance festival in early 2008, was acquired by Dreamworks (then a part of Paramount Pictures) two years ago.

The studio initially planned to remake it using better-known actors. But after studio executives, including Steven Spielberg, viewed it, they decided the film could stand more or less as it was (though director Oren Peli did shorten the film and shoot a new ending).

The movie gained buzz after Paramount began late-night screenings in college towns, and fans took to Twitter and other sites to hail the scary flick, which centers on a young couple who believe their house may be haunted.

Paramount increased the interest by urging fans to sign on to ParanormalMovie.com and demand theaters in their locations show the film.

Peli posted a video on YouTube expressing gratitude to the fans and urging them to continue rooting for the movie.

"I just wanted to take this opportunity to speak directly to the fans and thank you all for the amazing support," Peli said on the video. "It's just been overwhelming especially considering the long road this film had for three years and the studio wanting to do a remake."

More than a million people have heeded the call. The result has been a groundswell of interest rivaling that of big-budget films.

Megan Colligan, co-president of marketing for Paramount, said the studio had a limited budget for advertising the film, so its marketing had to be tightly targeted.

Moreover, condensing its atmosphere into a 30-second TV spot was a challenge, so executives opted to produce a trailer showing fans waiting in line for the movie and their reaction to the film, said Josh Greenstein, who also serves as co-president of marketing for Paramount.

"It was very important that we sold this as an experience and rather than just a movie," he said. "When people saw the movie they loved it so much and there is such a slow build of terror that you have to sit through to experience the full effect of the movie, so we changed the marketing techniques in advertising and online to make it more experiential."

The unique marketing campaign appears to have paid off.

"The fans have really made this their film and they are doing the bulk of the work [to market the film]," Colligan said.

"The film is selling itself," Greenstein added.

Critics have also taken notice, and have showered the film with good reviews.

In giving the movie an A-minus grade, Entertainment Weekly film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote "With its this-is-really-happening vibe, 'Paranormal Activity' scrapes away 30 years of encrusted nightmare clichés. The fear is real, all right, because the fear is really in you."

Overall, the film has earned a strong 85 percent approval rating at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

Moviegoers agree. Rajiim Gross, an iReporter who posted a review of the film, said he found "Paranormal Activity" to be much better than "Blair Witch Project," another indie-horror film to which it is being compared. Check out Rajiim Gross' iReport

"It actually scared the hell out of me," Gross said. "I saw it during the day and I would hate to be someone who went home after seeing it late at night."

Gross said he believed the studio was smart to leverage the Internet to spread the word. Video Watch Rajiim Gross' review of 'Paranormal Activity' »

"The best advertising is word of mouth," Gross said. "People tell 10 friends, they go see it and they tell 10 more friends and soon you have an entire community who wants to see it."

Carr, whose Film School Rejects site has been following the frenzy, said the movie "gets inside of your head" and benefits from the traditional fan support that horror films often enjoy.

That, coupled with the big cinema thrills and chills, should add up to continued box office success, Carr said.

"Watching it with 250 strangers in a movie theater and getting everybody to jump at the same time definitely has an effect," he said. "It's the event film right now of the year, which is something that needs to be experienced."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/12/paranormal.activity.movie/index.html

To you, from me, CATCH 3 (Sugar Free)

2009-10-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

Back with another episode from CATCH....

CATCH 3 (Sugar Free) - Watch more Funny Videos

CATCH 3 (Sugar Free) should be called CATCH REDUX. It's a revised edition of the original CATCH episode 1, and now features original music by Jamie Coon ("Crazy") and by Kxll Kxll Kxll ("Damaged").

KILL KILL KILL... or KXLL KXLL KXLL... of K1LL K1LL K1LL>>>

http://www.myspace.com/k1llk1llk1ll

http://www.youtube.com/user/Kxllxkxllxkxll

JAMIE COON... or... JAMIE COON>>>

http://www.jamiecoon.com/

http://www.myspace.com/jamiecoon

Bronson

2009-09-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

Went to see BRONSON at the Silent Theater in West Hollywood on Friday night. It was AWESOME.

Seriously, go see it...

"In 1974, a hot-headed 19 year old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to 7 years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. During that time, Michael Petersen, the boy, faded away and 'Charles Bronson,' his superstar alter ego, took center stage. Inside the mind of Bronson - a scathing indictment of celebrity culture."

Brutal, Beautiful, Edgy and Cool. Tarantino VS Kubrick. Refereed by Guy Ritchie. Coming to an artsy fartsy theater near you.

http://www.bronsonthemovie.com

Apparently,there is a rising movement to get Charlie Bronson out of jail....

http://www.freebronson.co.uk/

FREE CHARLIE BRONSON??

CATCH 2: Concerto in Blue

2009-09-15T08:17:00.000-07:00

Please enjoy the latest installment of CATCH, the web series....

"How's the online dating thing going?"
"It's good. It's a lot of work, actually."

"You are one lucky girl. You're pretty. You're smart. and you're SINGLE.... The day you get married is the day DARKNESS falls."

CATCH 2 starring Anne Judson Yager, featuring Cate Beehan and Jodina Scazzola, written and produced by James Huffman, Directed by Shirley Petchprapa, Edited by Casey Christopher.

Music by Foglizard:
http://www.foglizard.com

Gift of Vision:
http://myspace.com/thegiftofvision

CATCH is now available at...

http://www.youtube.com/user/catchthefirstseason (Please subscribe)

break.com/CATCHthefirstseason

http://www.dailymotion.com/CATCHthefirstseason

http://www.myspace.com/catchthewebseries

http://jamescliftonhuffman.com/catch.cfm

CATCH is coming. CATCH is cool.

2009-07-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

Posted today on http://www.indiecityentertainment.com/

CO: Here is some exciting news. The web series we've all been waiting for is set to make its official comeback in a couple of weeks. There has been a media frenzy over this dark comedy and quite frankly... I can't believe its almost here. The RE-launch... RE birth... the RETURN of CATCH the web series is looming... and I'm considerably stoked. You must be excited?

JH: THANKS Conan. Yes I'm excited!

CO: And you brought a clip?

JH: Yes Conan. thanks for bringing that up. I brought a clip. This is a scene between DETECTIVE JAMES, played by me, and Mike Fisk, played by the amazingly talented Bill Oberst Jr.

CO: can you give us a little back story or should we just dive right right in?

JH: No, I can give you a little bit. The series itself centers around Maggie, who is this sweet, girl next door type, played by the super awesome and beautiful Anne Judson Yager. Maggie just wants to find her true love, settle down and live happily ever after. The only problem is, she is a serial killer, and she is having a hard time finding that special someone. MIKE FISK, is her father, more like her estranged farther because he has been in prison for 25 years. He is actually a notorious sociopath who was a contract killer for the mob back in the day. DETECTIVE JAMES knows Mike Fisk personally because HIS father and Mike Fisk were childhood friends, they grew up together. Detective James father became a highly decorated detective and Mike Fisk sort of went to the dark side, murdering and dismembering people for a living. So in THIS scene, its basically MIKE FISK'S first day on the outside, and Detective James and his partner, Detective JONES, pay him a visit.

CO: Alright, well lets take a look... a clip from CATCH, the web series....

James Huffman clip from CATCH the web series

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5609967/14724471

CO: Very nice ,very nice. I can't wait to see it.

JH: yeah, its been a lot of work, but a lot of fun. And the music is great. I managed to enlist the help of a few really cool bands that contributed some kick ass stuff to this project... so when you see it... pay attention to the soundtrack...cuz its awesome...

CO: Will do. JAMES HUFFMAN, writer and producer of CATCH, the web series, everybody. Good luck, really.

JH: Thanks.

CO: We will be right back with SETH ROGAN.... dont go away.

"How to Peel Bananas Like A Primate" on Howcast

2009-07-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

Indie City Entertainment put together a short instuctional video that focuses on the recent banana peeling controversy. This version has been submitted to HOWCAST.COM as part of the Emerging Filmmakers How-To Video Challenge: Filmmakers, web video artists, and DIY experts, show us your coolest, baddest, flat-out flyest how-to video in 3 minutes or less!

The video is titled HOW TO PEEL BANANAS LIKE A PRIMATE, and it features myself and Ashley Cozine as my lovely assistant.

What would you say if I told you that I had information to share with you that would change the way you peel a banana? What if I told you that I have an ancient secret that dates back to the days of the homo erectus? Would that get you excited?

http://www.howcast.com/videos/213995-How-To-Peel-Bananas-Like-a-Primate

ENJOY THAT BANANA...

(And be on the lookout for the Directors cut. COMING SOON)

The debate over the future of web entertainment presses on

2009-06-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

I was directed to Web Series Dot Com this morning through a post on Twitter by the lovely @tarynsouthern, http://twitter.com/TarynSouthern

"It's unfortunate, but true. Branding is key if you want to make money off your original web series concept... http://webseriesmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/06/original-web-series-is-there-future.html "

WEB SERIES MAGAZINE DOT COM, http://webseriesmagazine.blogspot.com/

Web Series Magazine Dot Com is a blog on Blogspot. Founded by RICH MBARIKET in May 2009, Web Series Magazine provides up-to-date content on Web entertainment. Web Series Magazine's contributing writers are Victoria Drake, Eitan Wynalda and Sam Grover.

The latest post on the site is a Q&A Peter Hyoguchi, Founder of Strike.TV. Peter briefly discusses his background and the origins and future of Strike.TV...

"We would like to be the biggest purveyor of Hollywood content on every device available, every telephone, all over the Internet, on TV and in theaters. Pretty much everywhere. This is the renaissance of cinema and I think this art form is legitimate."

YES... the debate over the future of web entertainment presses on....

The world of web entertainment is the new frontier... it's fertile ground, but nobody seems to know how to capitalize on their crop. When I talk about writing and producing for the web, I always tell people that it's the like "The Wild West out there." That's what makes it exciting.

Every SHMO has a shot.... and that's AWESOME! Every writer, director, producer and actor across the globe has an equal opportunity to find an audience.. a GLOBAL audience... it doesn't matter of you've got thousands (or God forbid MILLIONS... for a web series? c'mon...really?) of dollars, if you build it... they will come. Bring your project to life, post it on the internet and you are making your work instantly available for the world to see... and Harvey Weinstein aint got nuthin on YOU!

Mind you, it's not easy, it takes a lot work to attract a formidable audience. Put aside all the "brilliance" that goes into a script, casting, principal photgraphy, sound design, blah blah blah. Of course you've got a great product... actually.... let's refer to it as a "work-of-art." Masterpiece aside, one has to consider all the elements that would make a Network pilot or an independent film successful and apply those traditional principles to a viral venue. You have to become as internet saavy as you are artistic.

Some of the best and brightest in the business have taken a crack at web entertainment... but even the most beaudacious budget can be a bust... there are no guarantees in any medium... but especially the web world... that gigantic global audience is as fickle and fleeting as it is gluttonous and gregarious...

So basicallly everybody is swinging in the dark. Nobody "Truly" knows what the hell is happening... where it's going... or what it all means.

Stuff will get figured out...theories will be composed... maybe even some money will be made... and then the internet... the humongous THIRTY BILLION HEADED MONSTER that it is... will turn those theories upside down... and we will be back to where we started...

I could go on and on... but I have yet to eat breakfast and I'm starving.... so let me just wrap this up by saying, if you are an independent writer, producer, director or actor... like myself... write it, shoot it, post it, share it... and then do it all over again... focus on the art form... make it about the work... not about the money.... forget about monetizing... capitalizing on your product... making a buck on the internet.... for now... make movies... write new stories... try new things... and forgive me for saying this...but THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX...

I think every acting teacher/coach I've ever worked with has shared this piece of advice with me.... and I think it is egaully applicable here... If you stay true to your vision, trust your instincts and bring your message, your art, your heart, to the world... the money will follow.

"Big shots are nothing more than little shots who kept shooting." I don't know who said that specifically, bit I really like that quote. Do with it what you will.

Michael Jackson, Jambase and lala.com

2009-06-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT honors the late MICHAEL JACKSON with a great playlist and an introduction to lala, "All the music you could ever want, playable in a web browser."

JamBase Remembers The King of Pop with a FREE Michael Jackson Playlist

http://www.jambase.com/Articles/Story.aspx?StoryID=18647

Following the sudden, shocking death of Michael Jackson yesterday (Thursday June 25), JamBase wants you to remember the music. Everyone knows Jackson's later days were mired in all sorts of unscrupulous accusations and activities, and while that's part of his story, it's really about the music. As we started selecting tracks for this FREE playlist we were instantly overwhelmed all over again by the power of these songs. The man may be a mystery (perhaps at best), but the music is undeniable. So fire up this playlist and get on the floor, get off the wall, and don't stop till you get enough!

Michael Jackson - Jambase remembers the music

lala: Where music plays

How Lala Works:

By clicking the "free playlist" button on the Michael Jackson Playlist and signing up for Lala (also free) you get all the songs for free to start your Lala collection. With sign up, you also get 25 songs of your choice for free, Lala has over 7 million tracks to choose from. Signing up for Lala is akin to signing up MySpace or Facebook - it's free and no credit card is required.

Lala enables you to build a web music collection - you can take your music and fuse it with a massive licensed catalog to easily play, buy, and share on the web from any location. You can add all the music you already have (MP3s, ripped albums, tracks bought on iTunes, etc.) to your collection on Lala for free.

If you're at home, work, a friend's house, where ever... your music collection is there too, all easy to access in a browser.

Once you have signed up you can stream any song in the Lala catalog, again a whopping 7 million tracks, one time, including all of the albums and songs that appear in Lala player widgets on JamBase.

You may be wondering after the first full play of a song, what happens then? Lala is a store, they sell MP3 downloads and streams, which they've dubbed "web songs." You can pay $0.10 for the web song and stream it an unlimited number of times from any computer, and an additional $0.79 to buy a downloadable MP3 without DRM protection. MP3s on Lala are typically $0.89 each. Any MP3 you buy on Lala is bundled with the "web song," which is added to your Lala collection for unlimited streaming.

You can add web songs to your Lala collection from JamBase by clicking the "add" button, visible by scrolling over the song in the Lala player. Once you add a song to your collection, you can stream it anytime on Lala or whenever you see it on a Lala player. As noted, to start you out on Lala, the first 25 web songs are free!

Check out the Lala FAQ for details: www.lala.com/#howitworks.

So get started with the FREE Michael Jackson Playlist!

LA WEEKLY: "How The Hangover Got Made"

2009-06-24T20:58:00.001-07:00

I saw the movie... LOVED IT.

I think most people are in agreement that the BEST part comes at the very end... maybe a bit beyond the end...

While I was waiting to get a haircut at FLOYDS on Melrose last week, I found a cool little article in LA WEEKLY about how THE HANGOVER got made>>

How The Hangover Got Made

Hollywood's comedy hit has a messy back story

By Nikki Finke

Published on June 10, 2009 at 9:28pm

If you listen to Warner Bros.’ version of the back story behind The Hangover, this weekend’s No. 1 film and the third-highest R-rated comedy opening ever, it sounds so very simple, like a class in Hit Moviemaking 101. And, I’m assured, the total pay of all three lead actors doesn’t even add up to the perk package Will Ferrell had on Land of The Lost. So The Hangover spec script is penned by the screenwriting team of Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and gets to director Todd Phillips, who reads the screenplay, loves it and has a deal at the studio. BenderSpink’s Chris Bender then approaches Warner Bros. SVP of production, Greg Silverman, with the script and director already in place. Jeff Robinov, who has been/is a fan of Phillips, makes the deal. “It was one of those things that simply came together — a script, a director, and all the ducks were in a row,” a WB source tells me.

Oh, really? Well....

http://www.laweekly.com/2009-06-11/news/how-the-hangover-got-made/

.... Meanwhile, Warner Bros. studio chairman Alan Horn is still trying to claim to the Los Angeles Times that all the credit for this movie goes to his studio, and to his little-liked No. 2, Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov. “It was Jeff and his troops who got Todd Phillips involved [no, that was CAA], allowed the movie to be R-rated [it was always R-rated], and let Todd make the movie he wanted to make [because Robinov can’t do comedy to save his life, and at best, it was exec Greg Silverman]. He clearly knew what he was doing.” Statements like this prove the old adage: You always know a mogul’s lying because his lips are moving.

South of Normal podcast 201

2009-06-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

Filmmakers James Huffman and Eric Jones are at it again. Introducing Season 2 of the South of Normal Podcast, a first hand account of the trials and tribulations of two guys trying to make their mark in Hollywood. Season two kicks off with a discussion about their intro, why they podcast, a pledge to improve the podcast, an update on their recent endeavors, and an informal review of TERMINATOR: SALVATION.

This is Indie City Entertainment's South of Normal podcast. James Huffman (writer, producer, director, actor) and Eric Jones (writer/director) discuss the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs, the apples and oranges, the good the bad and the ugly of the life and times of two independent artists and eternal students of the Hollywood game, collectively collaborating, scratching, clawing and cooperating their way to who-knows-where doing who-knows-what.

South of Normal (Redux): Season 1

2009-06-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

South of Normal Podcast, episode 101:

July 1, 2008>>> This was more of a test.... Our first attempt at podcasting... we are aiming at producing these bi-weekly... and we will be making adjustments as we go... we would love to get your feedback...

Plans for future podcasts include special guests, intro and outro music by local bands..or not so local bands (cant neglect my NYC people), special "on location" events and an interactive segment where we respond to listener emails... ALL COMING SOON....

(In the meantime...seriously...please check it out... Just click on the "Play" button at the bottom of this entry... then share your thoughts)

(45 minutes)

PRETTY LIGHTS free album downloads

2009-06-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

HEY... I don't know if this is your thing or not... but this artist has three full albums available for download online and some of his stuff is really cool... I'm diggin it... thought I would pass it along

http://www.prettylightsmusic.com/

By: B. Getz

Derek Vincent Smith

Derek Vincent Smith has started a fire. As Pretty Lights, the producer-wunderkind has embarked on a mission for world domination. Releasing two full-length albums online, both totally free, like a slow, churning, smoldering blaze, the phenomenon began to spread. By Thanksgiving of 2008, it had built to a five-alarm inferno. Filthy breaks, glitchy broken-beat, crunkadelic juno-bass and ethereal soundscapes wrought with a kaleidoscope palette of emotions had taken the ever growing massive by storm.

The mind of Derek Vincent Smith is a myriad of boom-bap, jazzy daydreams, tech-step nightmares, computer turntablism and manic beat mining. While his choice samples, drum breaks, melodies and composition are really medium fare, it is how he applies these elements that separates Pretty Lights from the proverbial pack.

Beginning with 2006's inviting Taking Up Your Precious Time, which was initially downloaded 5,000 times, the number reached 50,000 on the heels of his ambitious sophomore effort, the album that set off the explosion. A two set, 26-track monster, Filling Up The City Skies triumphantly announced Smith's vision as more than just fun on a Mac or head-nodders for the crew cipher. This indeed was artistic vision, a manifest destiny.

For both albums, Smith enlisted a variety of styles and influences while tapping into different genres, although the core Pretty Lights sound has remained throughout. The producer's double-disc Filling Up The City Skies maintains laid-back, introspective vibrations, working well-laced jazzy horns and psychedelic guitars over lush, erotic atmospherics. The songs are often strange amalgamations of styles, where tracks begin and end somewhere near the same point, with a strolling down-tempo drum track, programmed synth/keyboard effects and cloud-formed, slowly unfolding, dub-influenced bass lines.

Part of what makes each song a different experience is the direction of effects in layering the aural emotions. In the age of Ableton, Fruity Loops and the Mac-book selector, a new frontier of turntablism and production has risen. Smith is a beatsmith at the forefront of this movement. Despite his prodigious talents and incredible rise to fame, the Pretty Lights project is of humble bedroom beginnings.

Pretty Lights by Benjamin Maas

Growing up, Smith learned the basics on bass and flute, but as he reached adolescence and beyond, hip-hop became his passion. His Ft. Collins, Colorado high school crew competed amongst themselves to arrange the hottest beats using the constantly evolving computer technologies. Today, his set-up doesn't include any wheels of steel, but instead a laptop and a device that remains the secret to his illness, the Monome 128. Hovering over a grid of countless buttons and knobs used to manipulate and interface with prerecorded tracks, Smith is the master of this domain.

"I really haven't had any musical training at all in the traditional sense. Everything that has to do with music that I know, I taught myself, from the instruments I play to all the recording gear and software I use," says Smith. "I started making hip-hop beats in high school, but my production style really started to develop when I began acting as audio engineer/producer for the bands I played in through the years. Then, eventually I worked at a pro recording studio as a self-taught engineer/producer. Something about making hip-hop beats while also producing records for bands and working with live musicians helped to forge my own style of production."

Too often, sample-based producers are not respected by traditional artists, as they borrow pre-recorded efforts and use those sounds to create a veritable collage of others' work. In its inception, simplistic samples, or 'jacks,' gave the concept/process of sampling a bad name, particularly amongst the generations of musicians that originally recorded much of the music being raided. Nearly a quarter century later, the practice of sampling and hip-hop production, has been revolutionized into an art form. It begins with meditative, focused methods of digging or mining through vinyl in search of inspiration or muse.

Derek Vincent Smith by T. Voggesser

"I've never spun a record onstage in my life," Smith admits. "I've definitely developed a number of methods when it comes to finding the right pieces to make up a good PL track though. For example, when I go digging for vinyl at a record shop or a flee market or even a garage sale, there's usually a massive amount of albums to sift though, so it's all about getting a feeling or a hunch from each record and learning to trust those hunches."

What exactly might pique that curiosity or internal hunch?

"I look for printing style [matte or gloss], visual aesthetic, color palette, musician lists and what instruments they play," says Smith, "and basically, I form a snap judgment about each one as I go. Most get passed up, but the others get a listen on the battery powered turntable."

Smith's passion and process in his production create what are indeed compositions; in the world of digital turntablism anything and everything can be flipped. Chopped samples, programmed drums, and layers of sonic interplay allow producers to play the role of culinary artist, and the distinction that this is indeed original composition is not lost on Smith. His fervent belief in the process is evident. When all is said and done, the completed work is a canvas of masterful efforts, a road trip of feelings and sounds.

That is the beauty and allure of Pretty Lights' music. One moment they are introspective and thought provoking and the next minute may touch your heart. A brief, wicked aural attack of dub-step juno-bass may overwhelm the listener for a moment, only to quickly seduce them with the emotionally drenched "Maybe Tomorrow." Just when the vibes get smooth and controlled, an adrenaline-fueled "More Important than Michael Jordan" provides a spastic sonic orgasm. The feel-good fun of "Hot Like Sauce" gives way to the even spicier "Solamente." The transitions are endless and continue to amaze. For sample-based music, this really seems a new frontier of artistry. This is an original sound and definitive style, as in not borrowed but developed.

Pretty Lights by Benjamin Maas

"One thing I've run into a lot is people that immediately judge artists who sample as music thieves without enough of their own creativity to make good music on their own," says Smith. "Now, with some producers, I'd say that might not be far from the truth, but I strive to always use samples in a way that brings new life and feeling to them. For example, my whole sampling style is based on combining several samples from different records, genres and decades, that, when made to work together, can create completely new emotions and styles. For me, taking many different samples that are in different keys and tempos and making them work together beautifully is where the difficulty lies and a huge amount of the potential creativity exists in my production style."

When Smith does play a song from another artist, he doesn't just drop the jam and let it ride, nor does he simply rock a remixed version of the established song. Instead, in the spirit of the great Madlib or dearly departed J Dilla, Smith chops, alters, and completely reworks the song. It is often only somewhat recognizable, a reinterpretation that also harks back to the transitional arrangements jazz musicians would employ when playing established popular music.

Case in point is a Pretty Lights live mainstay "Regulate," the classic G-Funk anthem recorded by Warren G. and Nate Dogg. "I completely remade 'Regulators' with the original vinyl samples, and added a lot of synths and newer production techniques," explains Smith. "That's just fun for me, to find the same records that Warren G used and remake the same beat but in my style."

Continue reading for more on Pretty Lights...

I strive to always use samples in a way that brings new life and feeling to them. For example, my whole sampling style is based on combining several samples from different records, genres and decades, that, when made to work together, can create completely new emotions and styles. For me, taking many different samples that are in different keys and tempos and making them work together beautifully is where the difficulty lies and a huge amount of the potential creativity exists in my production style.

-Derek Vincent Smith

Another peculiar choice yet undeniably hot PL live jam is the 1993 hip-hop club banger "Rumpshaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect, with its rugged and rumbling bottom end, repetitive chant and intoxicating sax loop. Again, Mr. Smith comes thru with an inventive and effective interpolation of this textbook panty-dropper. One cannot escape the fact that the architect of this song, Teddy Riley, is a production legend in his own right and acted as Mr. Miyagi to a young Pharrell Williams' Daniel Laruso.

Pretty Lights by Benjamin Maas

But Smith doesn't stop there. Another production peer, Diplo, is responsible for the Grammy winning M.I.A. track "Paper Planes," and like a mad scientist Smith concocted an epic mash-up with the Wreckx-N-Effect cut. "As far as 'Rumpshaker,' I would always get that song and 'Paper Planes' stuck in my head at the same time because of the same lyric ('all I wanna do...') in the choruses, so I absolutely had to hear those cuts mashed up. I might eventually take it a step further and work in Sheryl Crow's 'All I Wanna Do.' I basically love to remix/re-create tracks from my past that I either loved or are reminiscent of some time in my life."

Pretty Lights is Smith's baby, his vision. However, one of the principle reasons the project is exploding with jam-centric types and becoming a sought after quantity on the festival circuit is their live performances. Smith steps his game up, delivering the goods with the assistance of live percussionist Cory Eberhard's relentless, metronomic beats, which provide an organic complement essential in this sub-genre. The pair combines stop-on-a-dime quickness with improvisational elements often lost on electronic artists.

"We've actually developed a system of sign language where I can conduct how it's going to go and still communicate it to [Eberhard]," says Smith. Like James Brown, Smith can motion his hand and the result may be a switch to an off-beat, a skip-the-snares and just play high-hat eight notes thing, which drops into jungle rumble madness or goes into a breakbeat. "We can take the music to places we haven't gone before, but he'll still know where we'll be moving to. It's a method of improvising where we can stay on the same page."

Watching Smith and Eberhard perform is entertaining, too. The drummer is wild with animated motion, flailing limbs and careening banter, while Smith is hulking, meditative, manning the production equipment with a leering intensity, his body swirling in motion with extreme rhythmic velocity, creating maximum torque.

And Smith is keenly aware of his perpetual groove.

Pretty Lights

"If I could get a taller table it would be a lot less hunch. I love seeing an artist really get into the music they're performing, and really that's all I'm doing. I need to have the stage volume loud as hell to really get into the cuts like I like to, and when the audience responds and feed me more energy, I get that much hype behind my table," says Smith. "When I play a real hype soulful track with a vocal sample that really hits me and means something to me, I can go fucking nuts. I've done it before. That's what it's all about though, feeling the music and letting it channel through you. What my body does is just a by-product of that flow."

The rise has been quick but Smith was ahead of the times even before his first show. He put his debut album online as a free download before Radiohead popularized the idea, and Filling Up the City Skies has already been downloaded nearly 70,000 times in the nine months since its release. On the heels of this frenzied ascension, Smith took the show on the road.

Music Matters' "BALLER'S BALL" last Thanksgiving weekend, in Athens, Georgia was a coming out party of sorts, a bomb whose reverberations torched the Southeast. But, the unassuming Smith knew he had truly arrived the night they dropped a relentless aural assault on the city that never sleeps. Deep in the Bowery, in a historic ballroom where many a prodigal child had plied their trade, Smith and Eberhard firmly and proudly planted the Pretty Lights flag.

"Ah, the Bowery Ballroom. That was a gig I won't ever forget," says Smith. "It's hard to describe the feeling of selling out my first headlining show in the most wicked awesome city on the planet. Something about playing in NYC just feels really special to me, and the venue as well as the energy from the crowd that night was so on point."

Derek Vincent Smith

In an amazing display of shooting stardom, Pretty Lights has gone from a relative unknown to a touring act in constant demand. Their recent itinerary betrays the arc of an artist building a whirlwind buzz throughout this great land. Peep game: Pretty Lights has already played Austin and Dallas, One-Eyed Jacks in New Orleans during Jazz Fest, and staged a veritable homecoming at Ft. Collins' Aggie Theatre with Lyrics Born, all just this past spring. Smith and Eberhard have also gigged in Tallahassee, Florida, Athens and Atlanta, GA, both North and South Carolina and San Francisco. This summer Pretty Lights will run the festival gauntlet, making stops at Bonnaroo, High Sierra, Rothbury, Forecastle and Camp Bisco, among others. "It's completely taken me by surprise," Smith says. "I'm still astonished by it. I'm just really grateful for it."

"Being able to make a living as a musician is what I wanted more than pretty much anything since I bought my first bass guitar in 8th grade. I endured many, many years of financial struggle, living week-to-week, and sometimes even being looked down at as pursuing adolescent and foolish dreams. So, I couldn't be happier that I am finally getting some recognition and am able to live comfortably doing what I love," offers Smith. "It has all happened so fast though, and the biggest way in which that has affected me day-to-day is in the adjustments I'm having to make in the way I write and create new music. Relentless touring can be very exhausting and often leaves very little time to focus on writing new material. It's a delicate balance, and I guess I'm still trying to find an approach that really works for me. The new PL album, which is on the brink of being released, was for the most part created during the limited time between shows, often in airports, airplanes, hotels and greenrooms."

It was the otherworldly "Finally Moving" that first caught the ear of this writer and became his winter season's theme music, and it's safe to say a PL tune is just as comfortable in the bedroom as it is in the club. This erotic, utterly sensual composition is the perfect marriage of down-tempo with smooth, sultry, melodic transitions, tensions and releases. The fact that this is baby making music is "just fine by me," according to a chuckling Smith.

And what about the name Pretty Lights?

"I saw this old poster for a 1966 Pink Floyd New Year's show that advertised the lights, and kind of started using that name before I was even trying to bring a light show," Smith admits. "Now that things are picking up, I definitely want to make it a big multimedia experience."

It's a safe bet that at the pace Pretty Lights are rolling, a big experience is indeed what's in store for them and their rapidly growing following. The PL sonic palette reaches far and wide, and while that kind of thinking can spell identity crisis, there's no mistaking it's Pretty Lights pumping from the speakers. It's always Derek Vincent Smith, and with lights this pretty and the future this bright, he best stay rocking those trademark shades.

PRETTY LIGHTS IN HD

Pretty Lights tour dates available here.

evan bregman

2009-06-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

I came across evan bregman's blog this evening and I found his perspective to very interesting... refreshing... almost enlightening...

evan bregman.com: "Lets make new media better before it gets old."

Monday, May 18, 2009>>>

The next step for web series aesthetics: Creating worlds, not just stories

http://www.evanbregman.com/?p=200

After a long, incubated gestation period during which audiences have been relatively meager, web series are beginning to come into their own, aesthetically speaking. We have genres and aesthetic styles unique to the medium - the vlog (Gemini Division, LG15), the mini series (Dr. Horrible), the gamer show (The Guild), the fanfic show (My Roommate the Cylon), fantasy (Sorority Forever), the how-to (You Suck at Photoshop, TikiBarTV), the unscripted comedy/drama (The Shatner Project), and the list goes on. We have starlets (Day, Rose, Southern) and stars (Parikh, the other Rose).

Now, it’s time to think bigger. Time to take these new aesthetics and styles and apply them to more ambitious projects with more complicated, robust narratives. I’m talking about graduating from linear, episodic narrative and going toward an interactive medium’s inevitable end point. We need to start building worlds, not just stories.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009>>>

What NBC’s ratings woes can teach us about TV and web series aesthetics

http://www.evanbregman.com/?p=244

It’s not news that NBC’s ratings are in the toilet, and the vast majority of critics will argue that it’s a result of the network developing and airing shows that have narrow audience appeal. Shows like Kings, 30 Rock, and the recently-premiered The Listener might be hailed by critics and appreciated by TV nerds like myself, but they don’t appeal to an audience large enough for broadcast television standards.

That’s the traditional way of thinking. But a closer look at the numbers in the age of Hulu and the DVR suggests something a bit different. People don’t watch NBC when the shows air, but NBC shows like The Office are some of the most-viewed premium shows on the web, and they’re DVRd more than most other shows too. What that says is people are watching - in fact they’re watching very closely, making appointments to make sure they have the time to sit down and catch every little Liz Lemon quip and small piece of elaborate production design in the Kings kingdom.

I’m suggesting that higher ratings are not about how narrow or broad the narrative content is. It’s more about the way that content is presented....

Keep talking buddy... I'm listening

Lo Down Digital Ho down...Shawty!

2009-06-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

While the kids at Indie City Entertainment hurry and scurry to drop digital dookies... we also like to take the time to honor, respect and recognize, girls and guys who rise to put surprise in our eyes... in the hopes that we ALL may one day SUPER SIZE... Be strong, Be Safe, Be Wise.

A guy at a hot dog stand told us about .... JUSTIN.TV?? JUSTIN.TV!!! Justin.tv is...

Justin.tv is the leader in live video and the place to broadcast and share video online.

http://www.justin.tv>>>
Founded in October 2006, Justin.tv is the largest online community for people to broadcast, watch and interact around live video. With more than 41 million unique visitors per month and 428,000 channels broadcasting live video, Justin.tv is the leading live video site on the Web, enabling users to create real-time connections with others around the world. Headquartered in San Francisco, Justin.tv is funded by: Y Combinator, Alsop Louie Partners and Draper Associates.

Some chick at the club started goin on and on about Christian Bale screaming and swearing on the set of Terminator and how FUNNY it was. What the hell? Has she been napping for three weeks? Probably, but THEN she told us about the Family Guy thing... BRAVO!!!

Yes, it's extremely played out by now, but Family Guy managed to squeeze in a spoof of the Christian Bale video during an episode. They use pretty much all of the audio and cut it so it sounds like Peter is interacting with Bale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcEsII0vlRI

Then this Drag Queen at Dairy King mentioned something about this...

Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Video Version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA

And LAST... but not least... My parole officer was all giddy about a couple of these...

Auto-Tune the News #2: pirates. drugs. gay marriage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBb4cjjj1gI

For the second time, pundits and news anchors urgently break into song to deliver the news. Download the mp3 here: http://amiestreet.com/music/auto-tune

The players in the news opera include: Andrew Gregory. You can also find him here: http://andrewgregorymusic.com/; Ruth Marcus on gay marriage; Kiran Chetry on marijuana; Sean Hannity and Hillary Clinton on pirates; Katie Couric on melting ice

Auto-Tune the News #4: spa regulation. serbians. sotomayor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGhsbRb_pqE

Urgent issues call for equally urgent harmonies, and they are provided by politicians, pundits, and gorillas alike in this chapter of news opera.

ON THE PAGE episode 88: The Democratization of New Media

2009-05-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

ON THE PAGE is a podcast that I have been following for about a year now and I have to say that not only it is very entertaining and fun... its really informative and has opened up my eyes to various aspects of the business and the world of screenwriting.

I found this particular episode especially intriguing (so i thought i would share) because it deals with the topics of New Media, web content... and the ongoing evolution of online entertainment.

In the scope of entertainment evolution, I consider myself an Australopithecus, aspiring to stand fully erect...

ON THE PAGE PODCAST>>

"Host and screenwriting instructor Pilar Alessandra invites guests talks about the craft and business of screenwriting! Pilar and her sidekick(s) have taped episodes on pitching, spec writing, webisode writing, writing for cell phones, video game writing, writer branding, finding a manager, procedural writing, writing for reality, personal networking and more.

Guests are successful writers, producers and instructors from all corners of the industry. Episodes are chock full of stories and advice and ready to share a laugh with Pilar and her producer. Pilar also adds nuggets of her own, offering “ten minute” writing tools that help you with everything from outlining to character development."

ON THE PAGE episode 88: The Democratization of New Media

Direct/producer Joe Pascual and producer Phoenix Gonzalez discuss their recent success with "Good Deeds and the Damage Done" in YouTube's "Project: Direct" short film competition, and expound on the democratization of new media with Pilar and Laurence.

Episode 88>>
http://blip.tv/file/2110131

More episodes. On The Page: Screenwriting on bliptv>>
http://onthepage.blip.tv/

ON THE PAGE official website>>
http://www.onthepage.tv

A note regarding ASPIRING LINE

2009-05-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I sent a note to the current editor for my web series, ASPIRING LINE>>>

Hey... ok...so new developments on Aspiring Line... its mainly that two actors featured in the solo takes called me and expressed concern over the fact that someone might see those videos and think they are real auditions and it might cast an unfavorable light on them... so... rather than field a bunch of phone calls from each actor every time I release one of those episodes... i think I'm going to retreat and not post them in that manner... plus i cant say I disagree with them...

so don't work on any more of those solo shots... and if you don't mind pulling the ones you have from your own youtube page (thats how one of them saw the clip), I would appreciate it...

If there is a way to cut some of that casting footage together so thats its obviously part of a fictitious world of hilarious comedy, cut away my dear... but if not... lets not waste any time on it

I still feel like there ONE more episode to squeeze out... SHOULD you be interested in tackling it... let me know... I have more raw footage to share...

thanks... and I hope you have a great weekend...

Casting actress 40-45

2009-05-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

I'm shooting a legal industrial video next Sunday, May 31st and I have to re cast the role of "The Client," wondering if you could refer anybody and/or pass the word along. "The Client" is a woman, any ethnicity, appearing to be in her mid 40's. I need an actress who can handle the material as this character gets very emotional during the scene.

Please be advised this is a non union, paying gig.

If you know of anyone who fits and is available and interested can you please have them contact me via email. Have them send pics/resumes to:

slimjimhuffman@gmail.com.

I'd LOVE to be able to do this without coordinating an official casting session... i know it's a long shot, but I thought I would reach out to friends and followers first... oh... and the sooner the better.

Thanks, and have a great weekend!

JAMES

Here is a snippet of the script to give you some idea of the scenario...

Jordan: so I guess we can get right down to it. You got fired, right?

Chris: Well, not really fired. It’s not like I did anything wrong. My job got eliminated because when the company got bought out, because they already had enough account executives.

Jordan: You do realize this is an employment at will state?

Chris: What?

Jordan: They can fire you without a good reason.

Chris: That may be true, but when I got my promotion they made me sign a contract. The contract said that if they let me go without good cause, I would get a big severance package. Now they are saying I can’t have the money because I was complaining about the new rules with some co-workers. That can’t be good cause. Don’t we have free speech in this country?

Jordan: Constitutional law doesn’t apply to this.

Chris: What about contract law? When I got that promotion, I thought I was safe and I bought a house. Now I am losing everything.

Jordan: Can I see the contract?

Chris should be visibly upset.

Chris: I don’t know where it is. I had to move. It got packed. LOOK. YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!

Aspiring Line: Episode 6 "The Cheesiest!"

2009-05-14T13:59:00.001-07:00

Aspiring Line: Episode 6 "The Cheesiest!"
Video sent by jcliffyhuf

Episode 6 "the CHEESIEST!" written and produced by James Huffman. Directed by Jim Spring and Meg Scibona. Features Peter Bush, Daryn Strauss, Lynn Justinger, Susannah Kennedy, Iris Espinoza, Leslie Miller Peith, Sharon Bushman, Tara Yanoviak, Katie Apicella, Ken Simon, Mike Shimkin, Don Puglisi, Jim Spring, David Arthur Bachrach, Stan Garb, Brant Spencer, Jude Waddy, Jason Nunes, Pai Wang

Captain's log, stardate 1212.9

2009-05-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

Ship's condition - heading back on impulse power only. Main engines burned out....

YES, I went to see Star Trek at the Arclight in Hollywood yesterday.. the 2:30 show on Sunday afternoon. It was awesome in so many ways. They did a great job casting CHRIS PINE as Jim Kirk... great job casting all around actually... Eric Bana was a great villian as Romulan enemy NERO... Whats his name from HEROES rocked the SPOCK...but Chris Pine really nailed his character... brought a young Captain Kirk to life without pushing or doing impressions. I was impressed by the performance. Aside from the casting, the action was gripping and exhilarating. The plot was solid and there were plenty of funny one liners to enjoy. The only thing I DIDNT like was the whole Leonard Nimoy thing... sorry... I'm sure that was a big deal for rabid Star Trek fans (there was one sitting right behind me who giggled and whooped and chirped her way through the entire movie.... and I'm talking like she was doing that in places that did not merit any type of giggling, whooping or chirping... come to think of it...she might have been semi-retarded... well... I guess that's being redundant, isn't it? or is that an oxy-moron...ooops... again.....being redundant). Anyway, the Nimoy stuff... I didnt like it. I thought the movie got kind of campy upon his arrival. Aside from that it was fantastic.

(back to reality)

I posted a few new links in the GOOD STUFF section of my website this morning:

Independent and fledgling filmmakers.... Your savior is here in the form of a hairless vegan, offering music tracks to be used for free in non-commercial film and video>>>

Artist/musician/celebrity tea brewer Moby writes "hi, i'll keep this brief: this portion of moby.com, 'film music', is for independent and non-profit filmmakers, film students, and anyone in need of free music for their independent, non-profit film, video, or short.... the music is free as long as it's being used in a non-commercial or non-profit film, video, or short. if you want to use it in a commercial film or short then you can apply for an easy license, with any money that's generated being given to the humane society. i hope that you find what you're looking for."

Film music / mobygratis.com : http://www.mobygratis.com/film-music.html

AND... A new blog by one of my dearest and closest friends slash top 5 favorite person of all time>>>

Operation Peace and Serenity: One woman's search for balance in a chaotic world.

(Jen Crews promises to keep it interesting)

http://peaceandserenity.wordpress.com/

FOLLOW FRIDAY on TWITTER

2009-05-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

I checked out Twitter this morning and everyone was going on and on about "Follow Friday." No idea what's going on... I looked into it...

FOLLOW FRIDAY AND TWITTER MEMES:

Posted on the BLOG HERALD (March 06, 2009) (Chris Garrett)

One of the most popular Twitter Memes is Follow Friday. It is a group thing where everyone suggests other Twitter users to follow, each Friday. One problem is....

http://www.blogherald.com/2009/03/06/follow-friday-and-twitter-memes/

My swift response to my own discovery:

http://twitter.com/slimjimhuffman>>>>

Okay okay #FOLLOW FRIDAY I will play @TheDreamDepot @BillCrosby @PresenceEnt @joshspiegel007 @jencrews @monkeyprime

Aspiring Line: Episode 5

2009-05-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

In the underground thespian system, artistically based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated dramatics who dare to commit these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as ASPIRING ACTORS. These are their stories...

EPISODE 5 features DEREK PEITH, TARA YANOVIAK and ASHLEY WREN COLLINS. Written and produced by James Huffman. Directed by Meg Scibona. Edited by Casey Chistopher. Brought to you by INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT.

http://aspiringline.blip.tv

Twitter Approval Matrix

2009-04-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

From New York Magazine's 'Entertainment" section>>>

NYMAG.COM

The Twitter Approval Matrix:

"Our deliberately oversimplified guide to whose tweets are worth following."

http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/56103/

If you are into the whole Twitter movement... the "comments" section of this article offers even more positive and negative Twitter leads....

Kickin it with the curry at Costco

2009-04-29T11:22:00.001-07:00

I'm watching I'M NOT THERE on DVD right now... while I'm writing this...

It's a pretty cool movie... very surreal and abstract.... but I'm having trouble following... there's a lot going on there....

I'm gonna have to watch it again... give it my undivided attention...

I'm just doing a little Wednesday morning multi-tasking...

blast a blog post
Peanut butter toast
self submit for some
web series host

I have a print casting to go to today over on Sunset and Gower.... first time I've heard from my commercial agent in MONTHS.

My IMDB credit for my role on BONES went through....it's official.... hooray

Thank you Amanda Chism.

The episode "The Critic in the Cabernet," is scheduled to air on FOX on May 7th.

I'm "The Critic" in the cabernet.

I posted a new worksheet on the wall of my apartment so I could organize all my story lines and plot points for CATCH, my web series...

I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head for this series that I was in desperate need of devising a more specific game plan for the project.

I threw a giant piece of paper up on the wall and created 15 categories that constitute the fundamental beats to a proper screenplay.

I am using one my favorite little books "SAVE THE CAT: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need," by Blake Snyder.

I'm also using the "Blake Snyder Beat Sheet," as a reference, which is where I came up with the 15 categories... those are the 15 beats that Snyder lists as the essential structure for any good screenplay.

So I started doodling all my ideas up on the wall... fitting story lines and moments into beats...

and BAM!!

I'm got a feature film...

Approaching this web series from this perspective changes a few fundamental principals of the project.... but I've got something good here...

I'm excited.

Now I have a lot of issue to face, questions to ask...and decisions to make regarding CATCH...

But this is EXACTLY what I needed...

I guess I can mull things over while I'm wearing my hair net and rubber gloves at Costco today... handing out samples of TASTY BITE Indian Food...

UGH.... Yes... That's what I'll be doing for the next two weeks.

It's a job... I'm not thrilled about it... but times are tough and I desperately need the money.

I've been seeking and submitting like crazy. A sampling gig at Costco is the only thing on the table right now...

So I'm gonna make the best of it.

Come on through and visit y'all!

I'll be kicking it with the curry at the Costco in Los Feliz today, tomorrow and Friday from 3P-9P.

Before They Were Kings: Part Seven

2009-04-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

BEFORE THEY WERE KINGS, Vanity Fair, 2004: Hackman, Hoffman and Duvall reason with rage>>>

Part Seven of an Estimated Eight...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Truth was their grail. As Duvall puts it, “To live truthfully in an imaginary set of circumstances, that’s what it’s all about. And do that, you now, in a somewhat effortless way.” Hackman learned to do it under George Morrison, still active today as president of the New Actors Workshop. At that time he headed the Premise, an improve troupe that performed in a tiny theater on Bleecker Street. The shy and introverted Hackman did comedy improvisations there. Morrison says, “He fell out of his shell, and learned to be funny, learned timing, delivery, voice.” Hackman says, “When I’m working on a character, I never get to the point where I don’t believe it’s still me. I think there’s everything in me. I think it’s possible that I could be anybody. When you think that way, all things are possible for you.” The disappointments, the rejections, the mental jobs, says Hackman, “create a resolve in you that no matter what kind of part you’re given, you can do anything. Give me the challenge. I can do it. The scarier the better.”

Ever since those beginning years, the three have always been risk takers in their choices of roles and characterizations. Hoffman’s first wife, now Anne Byrne Kronenfeld, is today a talent manager and believes that they “are among the last of a generation. You don’t see actors today go to the edge of a cliff and say ‘OK, I’m going to jump, and maybe I’ll fly and maybe I won’t.’ They’ve done that.” Hoffman describes the experience of flying: “If I tried to define what it means to be most alive, it’s when that cloud of mortality disappears. It’s when you’re in a place of timelessness. You’re free, really free. When that happens in life, there’s not a moment when you’re not completely in the moment. There’s nothing else we want, is there? Our work gives us a chance to have that.”

They are all able to project two opposing feelings simultaneously. One is vulnerability. Duvall and Hackman can draw on their shy kindness. Hoffman, believes Anne Byrne Kronenfeld, “touches the audience with his ability to find the appealing contradictions, even the humor, in the most unsavory characters. That reaches out to the audience.” Sometimes the class clown in him resurfaces. Performing with Ula Grosbard’s wife, Rose Gregorio, who played a whore with a blond wig covering her dark hair, Hoffman suddenly snatched the wig off. She remembers, “We broke up onstage, and the audience just went bananas. We made it part of the scene.”

The second undercurrent in the trio is a simmering, suppressed anger; an unpredictability. Duvall, the specialist in macho men sensitive at the center, explains “You should find some aspect of vulnerability in yourself. And the anger sits there. A sense of danger. What’s next?” Sometimes it is an explosion of rage. In 1965, Duvall again played Eddie Carbone in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, this time at the Sheridan Square Playhouse, a 199-seat, three-quarter-round theater with tables, close to, and level with the stage. One night Duvall noticed a man asleep several tables away during a scene that required him to threaten Jon Voight with a wine bottle. Duvall smashed the bottle on the nearest table, splattering glass, and woke the man up. Sometimes Duvall would simply spot somebody he thought didn’t like him and use the anger to feed his acting. According to Hoffman, even after Duvall’s curtain calls, as he walked offstage, he would lean over to the person and yell, “Fuck You!”

Hackman confesses that he could have modified some of his mean-guy roles, but “what interests me is to get that edge, get to that anger… A good thing about acting is that you’re allowed to be who you are. It’s OK if you’ve got some aspects of you that are dangerous.” After a movie or a dinner with Hoffman, Hackman would sometimes stand on a street corner and say, “I gotta go.” Hoffman explains what that meant: “He had to get in a fight. He’d go to some bar.” Hackman adds, “There’s a kind of catharsis about it. I don’t want to get hit, but I don’t like to take any shit.”

In Hoffman the rage is more hidden, but it can erupt if he feels that his fiercely held acting processes and judgments are being violated, especially by directors who seem to now nothing about acting. They are the ones who grow impatient if the actors gradually explore their characters, who want to impose their own ideas, who do not want to join the actors in jumping off that precipice – “What? Your wife just died and you want to start laughing?” The anger, Hoffman explains, “comes from your toes. It’s a wonderful feeling.” He adds, “Hackman doesn’t talk. He just picks the person up and throws them out the window.” Duvall says, “It’s hard to be diplomatic when you’re using yourself, your own temperament, to give what the character calls for.” When one film director told him to pause and smile, Duvall walked off the set.

(to be continued)

Hollywood Feels The Pinch...

2009-04-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

From the Guardian.co.uk >>>>>>

Hollywood feels the pinch: Film production at standstill.

Economy and migration of studio work elsewhere put many LA staff out of a job.

Bruce McCleery hardly had a day out of work in 25 years. As one of Hollywood's most sought-after lighting technicians, he worked on big budget movies like Independence Day and Mission Impossible III. He traveled the world as part of an elite group of technicians considered core members of a film production team. For the past few years, he developed a second career as a cinematographer, working mostly on small, independent productions or doing second-unit work on blockbusters such as Transformers II.

That, though, was before the bottom fell out of the film industry....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/apr/27/hollywood-film-industry

... Some of California's competitor states, including New Mexico and New York, have had second thoughts about their own tax packages because of budgetary woes - a fact that could yet work out in California's favor. The industry, after all, is still based here, and the Hollywood name still has a worldwide resonance. "If we can recover our recent losses," Audley said, "California can remain a major player."

For now, though, that remains a big if.

Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles

The Guardian, Monday 27 April 2009

LIP DUB

2009-04-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

I was over at my friend Josh’s place last night. We were working on CATCH episode 4… which needed a few quick touch ups. He showed me this viral video on Youtube because he wanted to show me this girl that he thought was exactly his ‘type.”

"Take a look at the girl in this video. This is like, my ideal girl. I wanna marry this chick."

So I’m watching this video, the girl is cute, definitely, but I was like:

“What IS THIS VIDEO? It’s AWESOME.”

“It’s just some lip synch thing. A bunch of people got together and taped themselves lip synching a song.”

“I’m LOVIN this. It looks like so much fun.”

“Yeah, it actually started this whole internet craze and then people all over did the same thing… lip synched a song and put it on Youtube. It’s now officially called LIP DUB.”

“Yo, I wanna do a lip dub. Look at that! That’s awesome.”

I went home and researched LIP DUB. I ended up watching like 200 LIP DUB videos. Now I’m obsessed. I’m a little miffed that this has been going on for like two years and I was completely clueless.

From Wikipedia…

A lip dub is a type of video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in post editing with the original audio of the song. Often, they look like simple music videos, although many involve a lot of preparation and are well produced. The most popular lip dubs are done in a single unedited shot that often travels through different rooms and situations in, say, an office building. Tom Johnson, a technical writer who blogs about Web 2.0's effect on communication, describes a good lip dub as having the characteristics, or at least the appearance of:

spontaneity: "It appears as if someone thought up the idea on the spot, pulled out their personal video camera, and said hey everyone, let’s all lip sync this song."
authenticity: The people, production and situation appear real.
participation: "The video doesn’t consist of one person’s spectacular lip sync, but that of a group, all participating together in this one spontaneous effort, which seems to communicate the attitude and mood of the song."
fun: the people in the video are having a lot of fun.

Wikipedia lists a handful of the current cream of the crop as far as lip dubs go….

· Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger

· Bienvenue chez les geek

· UniversityLipdub: 257 Weeks by Nine Days

· Digg Dubb: Groove Is In The Heart

· Fergalicious Lipdub

· Frontier Psychiatrist: allen girl lip dub

· CNET Australia office lip dub

· Lip Dub - Mr. Roboto by Styx

· Lip Dub: Journey's Don't Stop Believing

· Dane Cook Lip Dub - Dream House

· Purpose - Lip Dub

· Lip Dub : Lollipop

· Fatals Picards - L'Amour à la française (AOL France)

· Christophe Willem - Double je (Expedia France)

· Lip Dub created by New Zealand Radio Station ZM

· Don't feel like dancing (Mines de Saint Etienne)

Fun songs…great viral stuff… I love watching all these groups of friends and co workers get together and rock it like that…

To the drawing board!

Before They Were Kings: Part Six

2009-04-20T18:32:00.001-07:00

VANITY FAIR 2004: Hoffman, Hackman and Duvall deal with rejection>>>

Read the full article

Hoffman liked to provoke. He made a behavioral laboratory out of his job in Macy’s toy department, where Hackman would sometimes visit. Hoffman remembers, “We had a thing where we would outdare each other to see who was going to be more outlandish.” One day Hackman brought in his 18-month-old son, Christopher, and the two friends decided to test the Christmas crowd shopping in a glazed-eyed trance. Hackman put Christopher on the counter, and Hackman hawked him as a walking, talking doll, with real hair, $16.95. A woman said, “I’ll take it,” then touched real flesh and shrieked.

Hoffman, demonstrating hockey games, has his eye on Elaine, a sexy salesgirl selling tape recorders. He hatched a plan to impress her. While customers watched in shock, a badly dressed Hackman came on to her as a brain-damaged creep. The pint-sized Hoffman interceded, pushing Hackman out of the way and hustling Elaine down the escalator. Wearing a dopey grin, elbowing through the Christmas crowds like a big bear, Hackman followed them into the cafeteria, grunting, “UH, UH, UH.” Everyone stopped eating and watched as Hoffman shoved Hackman and yelled, “get your ass outta here big fella, and stop bothering this girl.” Saying, “Ok, Ok, take it easy,” and followed by Hoffman, Hackman backed into the men’s room, where they pounded on the walls and yelled and splashed water on themselves, then emerged disheveled, with Hackman holding his eye and Hoffman shouting, “Now just get out of here.” Next, says Hoffman, “Gene did the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.” Groaning, he staggered up the down escalator, getting nowhere. Elaine began to cry, screaming at Hoffman, “How could you do that? That man is sick!” Taking pity, Hackman came back and tried to explain, but Elaine ran off sobbing. Hoffman says, “You have to understand we were frustrated actors out of work, and there we had an audience. This was a solid one-acter. It held.”

Stocking their hoard of behaviors was one thing, but the chance to use them on stage was quite another. “No one starts at the top in the theater, and the bottom is a very ugly place,” says Hackman. Describing the ritual of auditioning for roles, he says, “You’d be on a bare stage reading with the stage manager, and there’d be two or three fuckers sitting in the 15th row of a dark theater, and you couldn’t see them. And then there would be this voice – ‘thank you very much’ – and you’d just leave. Or they’d say, ‘Uh, could you read the part of Jim in the third act,’ and I’d say, ‘OK,’ and you’d have to cold read for them. Or they’d say, ‘Uh, could you hang out for half an hour. We’d like to put you with someone else.’ And you’d go through this process – and already you’re thinking, since they didn’t send me away right off, maybe, just maybe… And in the end they would say, ‘Uh, very nice, really very nice… well…um… we’ll let you know.’ And you’d never here anything.”

Sometimes there were open calls, where no appointment was needed and hopefuls showed up by the hundreds. “It was madness, says Hackman. “A cattle call, they called it. A lot of people would get physical about where they were in line, and who had to go to work, so let me in front of you so I can get the hell out.” Gene Kelly once held an open call for a musical he directed. After Hackman stood in line and sang for a part, Kelly came to the edge of the stage and told him, “Nice try. Musicals are hard.”

Hoffman says, “The actor who go the part was always a piece of shit.” Those were the ones who immediately gave a full-out performance, which never became deeper and richer. Duvall called them salesmen. “The producers and directors,” says Hoffman, “are scared, see?” They want to see what you’re going to be opening night.” In radical contrast, the trio’s acting philosophy dictated giving very little at first – suppressing the acting of the character, waiting for the portrayal to arrive internally, instinctively. In addition, their lack of leading man looks made them hard to categorize. “I was trouble,” says Hoffman. His size and physiognomy made him seem un-castable. Duvall once called him Barbara Streisand in drag. Friends from that era, meeting the movie-star Hoffman, have said, “You were the last one I expected to make it.”

The three reacted differently to rejections. For Hackman “it was more psychological warfare, because I wasn’t going to let those fuckers get me down. I insisted with myself that I would continue to do whatever it took to get a job. It was like me against them, and in some way, unfortunately, I still feel that way. But I think that if you’re really interested in acting there is a part of you that relishes the struggle. It’s a narcotic in the way that you are trained to do this work and nobody will let you do it, so you’re a little bit nuts. You lie to people, you cheat, you do whatever it takes to get an audition, get a job.” He and Duvall occasionally made rounds together, and when agents refused to see them they slipped their photographs and meager resumes under the office doors. “We both knew we would never get a job,” says Hackman. “I gave a casting person a resume that was bullshit. I had no resume. He looked at it and said, ‘I see you played in such and such two years ago. That’s interesting. I was in that play and I don’t remember you.’”

To Hoffman, rejections meant that he had no talent. When he was told “You’re not right for the part,” he would sometimes yell, “You’re right!” and flee. When a mumbling stage manager was flat in his line readings, Hoffman was known to fling the script pages into the air and walk out. What particularly enraged him were casting directors who chose to read the lines looking down at the script instead of watching him. When Hoffman returned home after two, three, four failed auditions, he sometimes stalked around the apartment chanting, “I’m a great fucking actor. I’m a great fucking actor and nobody knows it!”

Despite the praise he received from teachers and the status he held in his circle, Duvall suffered from self doubts. After one of his first off-off Broadway performances, in George Bernard Shaw’s MRS WARRENS PROFESSION, he received a lethal review in the NEW YORK POST. The paper reported that the revolting romantic lead was “made even less palatable by Robert Duvall, whose spine tends toward a figure S, whose diction is flannel coated, and whose simpering expressions are moronic.” Reading it on a bus, he felt so sick that he had to get off. Duvall fled home to his parents in Virginia for three months, returning to the wars only because Ulu Grosbard kept reassuring him. Duvall says, “Thank goodness I had a good friend like Ulu, who still had, you know, faith, in what maybe I could do.”

Looking back, Duvall can say, “Each day is different. There’s a general frustration, but you’ve got to weather that and go on. You gather with guys like Dusty. We used to go to Cromwell’s drugstore on Rockefeller Plaza, make lots of jokes – gets you through the day. Downey’s steak house at night. That fills the day with a certain camaraderie, which is good.” One night Hoffman told Duvall, “We’ve got to talk about something besides women and acting.”

Television roles were rarely discussed. Tennessee Williams and Chekhov and Ibsen were infinitesimally dissected. Brando stories were swapped. Those sidewalk colloquies among the three sometimes devolved into battles over whose acting teacher and technique was right. The trio hewed to different versions of Stanislavski’s holy writ, which required reliving emotions and re-experiencing the five senses onstage. Hoffman describes Duvall exploding, “Bullshit! What do you man, you sit there for an hour trying to feel hot or feel cold!” Hoffman explains, “We were almost like religious fanatics. Our craft was the most important part of us.”

CATCH 3 and Coachella

2009-04-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning.....

CATCH Episode 3 (on Youtube) has been attracting an unusually high amount of hits/views over the past few days. I can't quite figure out why. CATCH 3 was viewed 75 times on Friday, April 17 and 300 + times yesterday, Saturday, April 18th.

300+ views is a huge spike compared to the 10 or so daily average to this point. 300+ views that came on a SATURDAY no less... hits are usually less frequent on the weekend.

Youtube's traffic reports leave much to be desired... but I WAS able to determine that about 85% of the hits were coming from an external link. I traced that external link back to a message board site caled Runboard.com.

Thats about as far as I got. I havent been able to locate the specific post or link... but I'd love to know where all the traffic is coming from.

Nobody is rating the episode or leaving comments, and the spike in views isnt translating into more trafiic to any of my other sites... still... 300+ on a Saturday... interesting....

Going to Coachella today with a couple of my new bestest buddies out here in LA. Its gonna be a scorcher. It's been really comfortable in LA for the past few weeks... few months actually.... but today and for the next couple of days, Its sunny, clear and in the high 80's, whihc means its gonna be HOT in the desert...

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley. The event features many genres of music as well as large sculptural art. The event has several stages/tents set-up throughout the grounds, each playing live music continuously.

The line up for today is The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.... Not necessarily in that order...

MY itinerary for today will include PUBLIC ENEMY...or course... Lupe Fiasco, The Kills, Clipse, K'naan, Gaslight Anthem, Mexican Institute of Sound and Friendly Fires...

Generously applying sunscreen as we speak.....

Entertainment Industry and the economy

2009-04-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

"Hollywood odd jobs drying up" Daily Variety

"Really? Tell me something I DON'T know M%$# F%$@!" James Huffman

Posted Tuesday April 14th on VARIETY.COM>>>>

By MARC GRASER, JUSTIN KROLL

Hiring freeze spreads:

Hollywood is feeling the chills of a hiring freeze.

Jobs that the creative community once relied on to stay afloat during rough times are themselves starting to dry up in this recession.

That includes everything from directing assignments at commercial production houses to positions at restaurants, bars, hotels and retailers. Even temp agencies have little to offer job seekers....

Read the full article at:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002420.html?c=3284

... The current situation may be dire, but recent numbers offer a bright spot for the future job market.

The number of entertainment jobs remained relatively unchanged in February vs. last year at around 122,200, according to the LAEDC. Org is forecasting a modest improvement in Hollywood with 1,000 more showbiz jobs to be created this year and 2,000 more next year, mainly because of increased pic and cable TV production.

"The increases in box office and cable are enough to offset the uncertainty this year," Kyser told Daily Variety, "(and) 2009 has gotten off to a very strong start."

Indie Films and the Internet

2009-04-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

Shirley Petchprapa, ISSARA FILMS, director of CATCH 6 and CATCH 8, passed this article on to me this morning.

Really good article.... lots of useful information....

DIY Distribution: Indie Films and the Internet

You’re not a big-shot Hollywood producer. You don’t have a PR agent. And your latest film or video isn’t going to set the world on fire. Should you give up? Definitely not. No matter how conventional or unconventional your production might be, there are ways to spread the word and find an audience. The upfront costs are usually modest, though you may have to rethink your approach in promoting your pet project.Victor Zimet and Stephanie Silber direct and produce documentaries through their company, Home Team Productions. One of their films, Random Lunacy, won the Best Documentary prize at the Westchester International Film Festival in March 2007. Hoping to build on that success, they took what they assumed was the next logical step....

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.studiodaily.com/main/work/10321.html

.... Whether these techniques will work for you may depend on whether you see the glass as half full or half empty. "Everything we do brings a little bit of success," says Home Team Productions’ Zimet. "If we try this, and it’s not as great a success as we thought it was going to be, I still think there’s something in it that did succeed. I’ll take it for that in my most positive moments, and just say, OK, let’s move on."

David English, January 1, 2009, Source: Studio Monthly

AMC contest update

2009-04-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

I received an email this morning regarding the AMC BREAKING BAD video contest>>>>

Dear contestant,

With over a hundred videos in the contest so far -- and more coming in every day -- it's important to remember that only the videos with the most votes will become finalists and qualify for a shot at a walk-on role on Breaking Bad (and a win $1000). If you want to secure a place among the top 20, now is the time to start drumming up votes.

Here are the top ten videos so far:

Ronnie Nase Breaks Bad (Boyertown, PA) Total Votes: 205
Daniel Janis Breaks Bad (Columbia, MD) Total Votes: 173
Nicole Whitney Breaks Bad (Indianapolis, IN) Total Votes: 133
Derrick Collins Breaks Bad (Colombus, OH) Total Votes: 92
Chad Nikolaus Breaks Bad 2 (Oshkosh, WI) Total Votes: 89
Brenda Whitehead Breaks Bad (Los Vegas, NV) Total Votes: 82
Angie Griffin Breaks Bad (Osh Kosh, WI) Total Votes: 79
Chris Rzepka Breaks Bad (Chicago, IL) Total Votes: 75
Jeff Mills Breaks Bad (Portland, OR) Total Votes: 72
Keisha Brown Breaks Bad (Greenville, NC) Total Votes: 71

Want to get in the race or move up the ranks? Link to your video on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. Post on list serves of any organizations/clubs/alumni groups to which you belong. Spam your friends.

Best of luck. Hope to see you in the next round! (Finalists will be announced on Monday, May 4.)

HEY>>>>> Please take a look at my short film submission ("James Huffman Breaks Bad") for the AMCTV contest...and don't forget to vote... THANK YOU.

http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad-contest/2009/04/james-huffman.php

Before They Were Kings: Part Five

2009-04-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

The fifth installment of the Vanity Fair 2004 article that highlights the early days in the careers of Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and "Bobby" Duvall>>>>

New York in the late 1950’s and 1960’s was a simpler, cheaper world. Hoffman’s share of the apartment he lived in was $10 a month. Hackman paid $22 a month for his East 20’s cold water flat. Nevertheless, he says, “in those days it was a question of which of us was most broke right then, and the other two would help him out.” The three supported themselves with survival-level jobs. Hoffman was a typist for the Yellow Pages, along with some 80 girls. He strung Hawaiian leis, checked coats at the Longacre Theater, helped move the Time Inc morgue to the company’s new building. “I’d do any job anywhere,” he says. “I had no shame.” Hackman, who was a relief man at Whelan Drugstores, says the customers “treated you like crapola.” Once, while he was employed as a doorman at a building in Times Square, on of his former Marine officers walked by and muttered “Hackman, you’re a sorry son of a bitch.” He sold women’s shoes at Saks 34th Street to annoyingly fussy women, but, he says “I managed to steal enough so I could retire from that.” For a few dollars, he would slip shoes to actress friends. Earning a princely $10 an hour, Hackman moved furniture for the Padded Wagon in Greenwich Village, hauling refrigerators into walk-up apartments, and he has no memory of being tired. He included Hoffman on one job and handed him a carton of books to carry up six floors. “I lasted about an hour,” says Hoffman. Once, Hackman and another actor were moving a valuable art collection, including a Picasso lithograph. The other actor went up to check the apartment and returned with a broom, which he tossed into the truck. “It went right through the Picasso,” says Hackman, “Like a spear. The owner was standing there, and he just about shit his pants.”

Duvall, who occasionally went job-hunting with Hackman, moved boxes at the Gertz department store and delivered messages for a dollar an hour. He pushed clothing racks in the garment district for a day and never went back. After three days he quit washing dishes at the Mary Elizabeth restaurant and, embarrassed, sent Hackman to pick up his paycheck. He got a night job at the post office in the Broadway district and quit after six months. He says he decided, I don’t want to be here 20 years from now. Returning from the post office early one morning, Duvall woke up Hoffman, who relates the scene: “‘Dustbone,’ he says, ‘you’re gonna here this. AGES OF MAN. I saw John Geilgud. He was drunk. They were dragging him out of the theater. I swear to God. It was freezing. The steam coming out of the manholes. Nobody on the street. He must have been in there all night, and they’re hailing a cab. Fuckin Geilgud! Just before he gets in, he puts his arms out to the empty street and he yells out, “Does anyone want to fuck an actress?”’ Duvall was like he had witnessed the Second Coming.”

The trio relished regaling one another with what they had seen and heard, sometimes by accident, on the street. They would demonstrate the walks they had witnessed that day. Duvall reported hearing a woman passerby say, “No Harry, it’s not the egg foo young; it’s the whole last six months.” Hoffman assembled an entire cast of characters from his job as an attendant at the New York Psychiatric Institute. Duvall would say, “Do the cop, Dustbone,” referring to a violent ex-cop who had had a frontal lobotomy and would stand with his legs apart, “Hey, Mr. Hoffman, my wife is coming today. She’s a real Dutch cleanser.” Hackman would spend parts of days alone on seedy, anything may happen 42nd Street, going to the cheap movie theaters that doubled as flophouses. He came away with oral dramas he had heard in the darkness, such as the man who yelled in a heavy New York accent, “You’re SORRY! You piss all over my wife and you say you’re SORRY?”

Unlike Hoffman, who could be serious and moody, then extroverted and explosively funny, Hackman and Duvall harbored an interior privacy. Something of a loner, Hackman would go for weeks without seeing his friends. Describing himself, Duvall says, “I liked meeting people, but you always had your own visions of the future, so you cut yourself off from being wholeheartedly social.”

All three young men were hyper perceptive and compulsively preoccupied with studying human activity. “As an actor,” says Hackman, “you become so alive in terms of being aware of other people and their behavior. In the early days it became – what’s the French word?- a RAISON D’ETRE. I’d get up in the morning, wanting to go, you know, out in the streets and just watch. It’s obsessive. That’s why actors are nuts. They’re different because their interests are different.” Duvall says, “You just see the way a guy walks; you’re looking for it, but you’re not looking for it. Something will grab you.” Hoffman adds, “Someday… if it’s in a community theater in Oshkosh and I’m 50 fucking years old, I will use it there.

Mitigating boredom, they turned their subsistence jobs into seminars on humanity. Working as a counterman at Howard Johnson’s, Hackman wondered, “What kind of improvisation could I do with this person?” He says “There was always somebody who was a pain in the ass. There was a crippled guy who cam in every day, and it was interesting because he knew he was difficult and he enjoyed being difficult. He’d leave a quarter or 15 cents tip and always say, ‘Gene, to the bank. To the BANK!’” Hoffman used a waiter job in a French restaurant to practice his French accent. If somebody spoke French to him, he would say that he needed to practice his English. During a newspaper strike, dressed as Paul Revere and wearing a sandwich board advertising the retail store Modell’s, he shouted out the news in Times Square. “That was acting!” he says.

MOBY does it.

2009-04-06T11:38:00.000-07:00

The New York Yankees Do NOT open in Baltimore today. You gotta love an opening day rain out.

Regardless... I can’t wait to go see the new stadium. I miss New York.

The North Carolina Tarheels are HOT. They play Michigan State in the National Championship tonight and they just look unstoppable. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever seen a Carolina team play this well.

When people ask me why I’m a Carolina fan, I say “I was BORN in North Carolina. Almost everyone is my entire FAMILY went to Carolina… except for me… er… and my Mom… she went to Wake Forest… and… ok my cousin went to Western Carolina… you know what I just like the Tarheels ok.”

I watched Jamie Kennedy’s documentary HECKLER yesterday. WOW… what an experience. It affected me for sure. It’s funny, honest… sometimes shocking. In all honesty, I, myself have posted writings on this site that were critical of another artists work. I’ve been rather harsh fro time to time. Granted, I’m always willing and more inclined to write positive stuff about films or TV shows or music that I really LIKE… but I have taken the time to sit here and trash a couple of stage productions as well as a film or two… and I don’t think I will ever do that again. In fact, I wrote a scathing review of Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TORINO a couple of months ago and have since removed it.

I’m an artist… not a critic. I'm one of the good guys. I know how much of yourself you give to offer up a project to the Gods. I know how painful it is to hear or read ANY type of criticism… after you’ve slaved and sacrificed to help make a project come to fruition. And what exactly am I contributing by unleashing my critique? What possible positive effect would my negative opinion have…on anyone?

From now I will praise work that I find intriguing, exciting… or simply great. I want to share positive and uplifting things with those I care about… and that’s it. Harsh criticism does nothing more than hurt… and that’s not why I do this.

I’ve been reverting to this LIST style of blogging lately. Is it a cop-out? It doesn’t feel like TRUE writing… it’s easier… I’ll say that… it allows me to share a series of experiences, thoughts and opinions without spending too much time on structure… If I find structure…great… if I don’t…whatever…it’s just a “list.”

The LIST format comes from that damn Facebook “25 things about me” thing that was bouncing around for a while. I enjoyed writing that… and I got great feedback… I thought to myself “I should do this more often… and hey… MOBY does it.”

Before They Were Kings: Part Four

2009-04-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hoffman... Hackman... Duvall.... PART 4>>>

.... Hoffman was joining a world of actors starting out, steeled against rejection, energized by hope and freedom. Hackman says, “There was a kind of feeling of Jack Kerouac at that time – ON THE ROAD – kids just wanted to have a good time and kind of experience things. It didn’t have anything to do with being successful – just wanting to try this thing and see if it worked.” Duvall remembers parties at Hackman’s apartment, with Faye, who was Italian, cooking pots of spaghetti for crowds of actors. One night after dinner, they all lay down on the floor, went to sleep, and woke up for dessert. “Yeah,” says Duvall, “those were good years, not knowing what the future was about. All these friends. Very important. Dreaming. That was fun.”

Duvall’s apartment was, to a degree, a youth hostel for a flow of actors and opera singers who stay a few nights or weeks, sleeping on the sofas. The rooms teemed with music – young singers, records of Broadway musicals such as WEST SIDE STORIES, and Hoffman, playing the piano. Duvall, a fine country-and-western singer, impersonated Hank Williams. At parties with candles in Chianti bottles and pizza, actors entertained with skits. Hoffman and Duvall improvised a routine called “Roger’s Rangers: The Toughest Unit in All the Services.” Duvall was the commander, Hoffman played the three rangers who at 70 degrees below zero have just run 10 miles on the ice, barefoot, with no clothes on, and now stand naked at attention after cold water has been poured over them. The commander walks down the line of soldiers and hits one across the jaw. Hoffman recalls, “Bobby would say ‘Did you feel that, soldier?’ I’d say ‘No Sir.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because I’m a member of Roger’s Rangers, sir.’ ‘Very good.’ The commander moves down the line, boom in the belly, boom on the jaw. Same routine. The third ranger is standing at attention with a huge erection. The commander pulls out his sword and, boom, cuts off his penis. Bobby says, ‘Did you feel that, soldier?’ I say, ‘No sir.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because it belongs to the man in back of me, sir’ Bobby loved that stuff.”

Hoffman, Hackman, and Duvall have always been propelled by an uninhibited willingness to dare. An actor in their circle, Elliot Gould, considered Duvall “very tough, very independent, great integrity,” and vividly remembers their first meeting. Hoffman brought Duvall around to Gould’s apartment and rang the buzzer. Peering out the peephole, Gould remembers, “I saw what looked like the back end of two very bald horses with out tails. They were the butts of Dustin and Duvall. I thought, OK, that’s fine. They’re saying hello, in their way. Interesting. I’m sure we all look fundamentally the same from that angle. They were both a coupe of ASSHOLES.” Years later, on the set of THE GODFATHER, Duvall, off-camera, mooned Brando during a take. “Hey,” says Duvall, remembering the incident, “You have fun. It’s harmless.”

“Bobby maybe was the most outrageous, uncensored,” says Hoffman. “Do anything on impulse.” Once, as they ate together in a diner, Duvall spotted two Puerto Rican girls walking by. Dragging Hoffman with him, he caught up to them. “Hey, talk English. My name is Bobby Duvall; here’s my friend Dusty Hoffman. We’re actors.” They ignored him. Desperate, he came out with a unique pickup line:” We live right around the corner. You want to come up to our apartment? We have new linoleum in the kitchen.”

For the unmarried Duvall and Hoffman, girls were central to their free-rein theater world. Hoffman admits, “We were obsessed with sex.” Duvall concurs: “It was like what a friend from England said about being an actor- ‘Bob, it’s the greatest leg opener in the world, isn’t it?” Acting classes were a gold mine. “There were always a few models,” says Hoffman. “One comes up to you and says ‘Hi,’ like you’ve never looked at her, while for six months, you’ve been imagining her in bed with you. And she says, ‘I’d like to do a scene with you,’ and WHOA, she picks a love scene, and you’re rehearsing and it’s ‘YES!’ That happened to me and to Bobby. Much as were adherents to our craft, we looked for classes with women.

In the early 60’s, after Hoffman had lived with a succession of girls and friends – even slept in a dance studio where he taught acting – he and Duvall shared an apartment on West 22nd Street. “I’d get lucky,” and have a girl sleep over, and we’d be in the shower the next morning, and Bobby’d take his clothes off and just jump in the fucking shower – ‘Hey, I’m Bobby Duvall. I’m his roommate. I’m an actor. What do YOU do?” Duvall counters: “Let me tell you what went on before. I came down and he had the girl up on the table, standing there naked, and he’s standing there like he’s a painter.” (Duvall measures in the air with an imaginary pencil.)

In 1963, Hoffman was rooming with an opera tenor named Maurice Stern, who had discovered a Laundromat where beautiful ballerinas worked. Any girl who would load his laundry, and touch his dirty underwear, he figured, liked him. If after a week he had not scored, he would move on to the next candidate. Stern particularly liked Anne Byrne, a 19 year old dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet Company who was studying in New York at the Ballet Theater. Stern wanted Hoffman to check her out. “Now, don’t do that sensitive shit,” he warned him. “You know what I’m talking about – you play that one song you’ve ever written and you get that Jimmy Dean look.” Stern took Byrne to a club called The Improvisation, where Hoffman played the piano for fun. “My heart pounded,” says Hoffman. “She was my fantasy girl. The unattainable.” His date, Phyllis, went to the bathroom, and Stern went to make a phone call. After a long pause, Hoffman said, “So, you’re a dancer,” She nodded and said “So you’re an actor.” No other words were spoken, but soon, he did do Jimmy Dean. Stern finished out the prescribed week without success, and Hoffman took over. On his motorcycle, they went to the beach and to art museums, and they read poetry together (Hoffman once organized a Sunday-evening poetry group).

When Anne Byrne returned to Philadelphia, he told Duvall, “I will marry her,” and the two men bet $100. After she returned from Philadelphia in 1969, he did. Hoffman adds, “Bobby’s never paid me.”

(to be continued)

Before They Were Kings: Part Three

2009-03-31T08:55:00.000-07:00

Original article published in VANITY FAIR, March 2004>>>>>

BEFORE THEY WERE KINGS

(Part 3 of .. God knows HOW MANY??)

Robert Duvall was the lead in that “A View from the Bridge, playing, at 26, Eddie Carbone, a sullen Sicilian longshoreman in his 40’s from Red Hook, Brooklyn, with accent to match. “In the first rehearsal,” says Hackman, “Bobby already had this kind of physical thing that he was doing – like an animal – kind of glided across the stage. I was really impressed.” Grosbard still recalls in wonder, “You see a transformation happen that you can’t put your finger on, except it’s unmistakable. What does he draw on to do that?”

Duvall was born in San Diego in 1931. His father, Howard, a naval officer who rose to rear admiral, resettled his family in a series of cities and ended up in Annapolis, Maryland. Adjusting to numerous schools, Robert, though smallish, found status as an athlete. In his loving, committed Christian Science family, everybody was a singer or performer. Howard, whom Robert sometimes referred to as the admiral, ran a tight ship. Discipline was “a good whack” and a “go to your room” says Robert’s brother, William. But because of Howard’s long absences on duty, their East Texas mother – extroverted, musical, a former drama major – was in charge. William Duvall describes Bobby as “a problem child in some areas; he didn’t always conform to the usual mother-father rules of the house. He had the rebel in him.”

Duvall was fundamentally at loose ends until, like his friend Dustin, he recognized his talent, probably inherited from his mother. A Duvall-family legend has four year old Bobby convulsing a table of cowboys at his uncles Idaho ranch by imitating and old sheepherder wolfing down his meal. Later, in front of a mirror, Robert would comb his hair like Lawrence Olivier and “do my own corny version of his Hamlet. I remember that. Yeah.” A conventional career was utterly alien. Remembering his days at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, Duval says “You don’t know where to go, what’s gonna happen. You feel lost. It was like, ‘What’s next? In my life? The next day?’”

Like Hoffman, he kept from flunking by becoming a drama major. Playing an adult in Arthur Miller’s ALL MY SONS, he spoke the final, emotional speech – “They were ALL my sons” – and felt spontaneous tears wetting his cheeks. He remembers, “I was like totally at peace. And I thought, Oh, wow, maybe I have something here.” His extremely critical acting coach assured him, “You can’t do much more with acting than that.” In 1955, after two years in the army, he moved to New York and was accepted at the Neighborhood Playhouse, presided over by the fearsome acting teacher Sanford Meisner.

The trio was completed in 1958, when Hoffman arrived in New York with $50 in his pocket and an invitation to sleep on the Hackman’s kitchen floor for a few days. To Hoffman, the city loomed cold and lonely and terrifying – “I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.” He clung to the two room apartment for three weeks, until Gene and Faye, with no privacy, had had enough. Finally Hackman placed Hoffman with Bobby Duvall in a sixth floor, three bedroom walk up apartment at 109th street and Broadway. Hoffman says “The feeling was that Bobby was the new Brando. I felt he was the one, and probably I wasn’t. In a sense I was their little brother – you know, ‘My friend Dustbone, he’s very talented.’ Gene was older and married, so I was the tagalong.”

(to be continued)

(view parts 1-3 HERE)

Breaking Bad and Buzzing

2009-03-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

AMC’s BREAKING BAD video contest kept me up and buzzing til late last night… or EARLY this morning… JJ and I had about a 10 hour editing session til about 2:30AM. We were working on cutting together a couple of entries….

TEN HOURS! To cut two separate ONE-MINUTE videos.

Just for fun, shits, giggles… whatever…. Just to shoot something for the sake of shooting something…. last weekend, I rounded up a small crew and a few actors and we gave the whole BREAKING BAD thing a go.

THE CONTEST>>>

AMCtv.com is seeking submissions for its You Could Be On Breaking Bad contest. Entrants submit a short audition video using one of three Breaking Bad monologues provided on the contest website. AMCtv.com members will vote for and comment on their favorite entries to determine the 20 finalists and 10 first prize winners; one winner receives the opportunity for a walk-on role in a Season 3 Breaking Bad episode on AMC. Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad creator-exec. prod. Finalists will be announced May 4; winners will be announced on or before June 1.

Visit http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad-contest. Submission deadline is May 1. No fees or purchases required. Possible pay provided; Grand Prize includes $1,000 cash prize and the chance for a walk-on role in a Season 3 episode of Breaking Bad.

Seems simple enough… right? So after shooting til the wee hours of the morning last week, and editing til the wee hours of the morning THIS week…. We completed two entries… cutting footage together…then viciously chopping it all down to fit the time requirements. JJ and I had our 1 minute, 75 MB submissions ready to go… and they look almost identical… not only is the look and feel similar (we used the same lighting scheme.), but the approach to the material is the same… I think we both tried WAY too hard to deliver a poignant and moving performance… of you look at some of the other contest entries… many of the entries are just bobbing heads…somebody starting into their web cam…reciting…or trying to act… some better than others.... you can see that there are a handful of clips that get creative with the assignment… and thus are enjoyable to watch… I might be getting too critical of myself… which I usually am…. but I feel like we took ourselves too seriously… I mean they look cool… dark, edgy…kind of film noir-ish…. But we also had to cut a few lines from the monologues to keep the clip under a minute….. You’ll see… whenever they get posted… we submitted last night at like 3AM.

What’s funny is that there will be two practically identical videos… one featuring actor JJ HUCKIN…and one featuring actor JAMES HUFFMAN…

That’s going to be confusing…. Not to mention we sort of look alike… two white dudes with short brown choppy hair… the only difference is that JJ is 6 ft 6… I’m only 6 ft 1… but you can’t really tell that from the video.

We probably should have thought about that when we were shooting, but we just didn’t have the time and a big enough crew to whip up a totally different scheme for each actor.

The one thing we noticed after we submitted our videos was that you can only get official votes from people who are REGISTERED with AMCTV.COM… so if I’m going to hit up all my friends and ask everyone to vote for me in this contest… they will all be required to sign up with AMCTV.COM… and most people I now will be like “F%$@ that.”

I will ask anyway… of course

I will let you know when the video’s are up.

www.jamescliftonhuffman.com

(The indie city entertainment site is currently down. Apparently I unknowingly let the domain registration expire and now I'm trying to get a handle on how to fix the situation. I'm working on it)

TubeMogul and Me.

2009-03-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

For the past two years, I have been maintaining and nurturing a creative/production collective that was democratically named INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT.

ICE will someday become a fully operational production/entertainment company...

Today... Indie City Entertainment officially registered with TUBE MOGUL…

“TubeMogul is the first online video analytics and distribution company serving publishers large and small who need independent information about video performance on the Internet and automated upload to the Web's top video sharing sites.”

http://www.tubemogul.com/profile/ICE

Currently, only one video has been uploaded and distributed, ASPIRING LINE: EPISODE 2.5. This particular episode will serve has a test run for future episodes of exiting and future web series projects like CATCH: THE WEB SERIES.

ASPIRING LINE 2.5 is available for viewing on the following sites….

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxlYjA99-Jk

YAHOO: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4740497/12661557

MYSPACE: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=54634367

METACAFE: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2612122/

BLIP.TV: http://www.blip.tv/file/1916154

VEOH: http://www.veoh.com/videos/v18077604cZspP8tX

VIDDLER: http://www.viddler.com/explore/indiecityent/videos/1/

REVVER: http://revver.com/watch/1557493

There are many more sharing sites available for us to post on… but we are just getting started.

We’ve had a handful of hits on Youtube, which is where most of ICE’s video projects are posted first. A link to the Youtube version was also posted on Facebook, so that attracted a few more views. Most of the other sites have only attracted a few hits (IF THAT).

METACAFE, on the other hand, has, for some unknown reason, accumulated 120 hits. Since we are just getting started on TubeMogul and have little to no knowledge or experience with Metacafe, its hard to say if that some sort of error, a fluke, or maybe MetaCafe has some distribution method that is far superior to any of the other sites.

ICE is brand new to many of these video sharing sites so we don’t have much of a following. Building an audience on any one of the many online channels takes time and persistence: recruiting “Friends,” as well as rating and commenting on a variety of other videos.

There is a reason these sites use the term “Sharing,” and it’s a two way street.

So to all my dear friends, foes, pimps and ho’s…

Could you please do us a HUGE favor and visit some of these sites? Then rate and/or leave a comment?

If a site like Blip.tv or Metacafe requires you to register in order to leave a comment… no sweat… totally understand if you don’t want to do that or have TIME to do that… but if its as simple as a couple clicks…

Your participation/feedback/attention would be MUCH appreciated…

Thanks…and stay tuned!

JAMES

http://www.jamescliftonhuffman.com

http://www.indiecityentertainment.com

Some semblence of sanity

2009-03-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

It’s an absolutely GORGEOUS day in LA.

It’s also really really quiet.

I don’t like when it’s quiet.

I’m going to try and NOT drive my car today. Do my part for the environment.

There should be a national “No Drive” day. Everyone leaves the car at home for the day. Of course there would be a few exceptions, but everyone else commits to not driving for a day. Transit authorities could use this opportunity to promote their services. Maybe they could create a festival atmosphere on trains and busses. Companies could promote their products and give away free samples. Free food and drink at the stations and depots. Private transportation companies could join in the fun and offer shuttle services. Set up bike rentals stands, Rent out scooters, mopeds, skateboards and rollerblades…. Juts for one day…can you imagine?

EARTH HOUR is coming up… its not exactly a “NO-DRIVE” day… but it’s a pretty amazing event… a valiant effort.

http://www.earthhour.org

“Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Coliseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness. In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights…”

EARTH HOUR starts at 8:30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. Saturday 28 March 2009… do it.

I’m in the process of developing a new web series.

It’s going to be something different than your average web series… sort of a New Media melting pot, part variety show, part music video, with elements of video art, news, social commentary, sketches, Shakespeare and some semblance of sanity…or better yet… insanity.

I’m having trouble naming this project. I’ve been calling it my digital variety show, which is boring, hard to get anybody excited about the project without a cool or catchy name.

I have a big piece of project paper stretched across the wall in my apartment. I keep writing possible names…
CHUNK
FLIM FLAM
CATNIP
THE NEW COUP REVIEW
WUNZ N OH”S
FREE BALL
DIGI DOOKIE
SO LO-FI
WILD OUT
PUNCH PARTY
RAPID FIRE
WRECKING BALL
JIM AND THE JOHNSONS
THE NEW COOL COLLECTIVE
MISFIT MAGIC SHOW
A LITTLE LEAVE BEHIND
JIMENY’S JAM
WIKIWHATNOT

… Still thinking.

http://www.jamescliftonhuffman.com

Before They Were Kings: Part Two

2009-03-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Before They Were Kings: Part Two

Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1930. His puritanical father worked on newspaper presses and restlessly moved the family to four states before settling in the backwater, corn belt town of Danville, Illinois. Gene dreaded hearing his mother say “Wait til Dad gets home.” He explains, “He always went too far. Laid it on pretty heavy.” Like Hoffman, Hackman went to a series of schools, but unlike his friend, he turned inward. In high school he never dated or went to a dance. At home in the basement, next to the coal bin, he built a cardboard house – “a place to hide. My own spot.”

His other sanctuary was the movie theater, where Jimmy Cagney, Errol Flynn, and Edward G Robinson were his favorites. Hackman says, “I loved the idea that somebody could convince me that they were a sea captain without being phony. I’d grown up shy – not unusual for actors. They want to show they’re more than that – people of import, substance. I think because I was shy I felt insecure, and acting seemed like a way of maybe getting around that. Getting to be somebody.” When Gene was 13, his father abandoned the family for years with just a wave of the hand to his son playing in the street. “It was a real adios,” says Hackman. “It was so precise. Maybe that’s why I became an actor. I doubt I would have become so sensitive to human behavior if that hadn’t happened to me as a child – if I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean.”

His Mother moved in with his grandmother, who considered him a weak character. At 16, he served a night in jail for stealing candy and soda, and, on an impulse permanently escaped his life. He lied about his age and enlisted in the Marines, serving four and a half years in China, Japan and Hawaii. He rose to corporal but was busted for fighting. He also got a taste of show business as an announcer on Armed Forces Radio. After a serious motorcycle accident he was mustered out, and in 1951 he settled in New York, living at the YMCA and hoping to become an actor. In order t receive about $150 a month from the G.I. Bill as a wounded veteran; he had to go to school. The G.I. Bill refused to pay for acting classes; regulation required schooling that would lead to a job. However, the bill qualified “painter” as a profession and paid Hackman’s tuition at the Art Student’s league – drawing had always been a hobby – and then at the nearby school of radio technique.

In 1953, still afraid to commit totally to acting, Hackman tried television production, in Florida, and then back to Danville. He returned to New York in 1955. The next year he married his girlfriend, a bank secretary named Faye Maltese, and together they headed for California and the Pasadena Playhouse.

His quick dismissal from the playhouse only served to galvanize his determination. Thinking, I’ll show them, he boarded a bus with Faye back to New York. He managed to get an unpaid internship in summer stock at a theater in Bellport, Long Island, building sets, scavenging for props, setting up lights. In a two-week production of Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge,” there happened to be one uncast role, Marco, a strong, silent Italian workman. The director, Ulu Grosbard, from the Yale School of Drama, filled it with Hackman, whom he came to know as “A complex guy; Very intelligent; a generosity of spirit; socially charming; a lot going on in him; a certain sense of being tormented with past ghosts and things. That’s part of what he brings to his work.” Grosbard was the first theater person to encourage Hackman. Backstage after one performance he told him, “Gene, you have got to keep at it.” Hackman, his voice trailing off in recollected awe, exclaims, “He actually said that, and, God it was just like…”

Robert Duvall was the lead in that “A View from the Bridge, playing, at 26, Eddie Carbone, a sullen Sicilian longshoreman in his 40’s from Red Hook, Brooklyn, with accent to match…

(To be continued)

http://www.jamescliftonhuffman.com

http://www.indiecityentertainment.com

Before They Were Kings: Part One

2009-03-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

In 2004, Vanity Fair published an article titled BEFORE THEY WERE KINGS. It was a 6 page piece about Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall, chronicling their careers from infancy to ultimate Hollywood success.

It’s a fantastic read…. Filled with stories about studying in New York City in the 60’s… about little breaks… big breaks… setbacks and survival… with plenty of anecdotes about chasing girls. I keep that article nearby, always, because it’s entertaining, it’s uplifting and it’s inspiring… and it never gets old.

I would recommend it to anyone and everyone…especially actors… the only problem is…its not available anywhere online. I’m sure you could go to a library and dig it up… but c’mon…who does that anymore?

So I thought I would do my part and try to archive the article… type it out here on my site… little by little… until I’ve created a document that showcases the entire story… I’ll do that because I believe that it’s time well spent… and I think other people out there will really enjoy it… and I hope that maybe another actor… aspiring, armchair or whatever…might also find some inspiration here…

Here goes>>>>>

BEFORE THEY WERE KINGS

Living on talent and odd jobs in 60s New York, Gene Hackman. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall knew what mattered: getting the break (and the girls). The stars talk to Richard Meryman about the friendship that kept them going.

The story begins in 1957 at The Pasadena Playhouse, in California. Gene Hackman – 27 years old, a married, ex-marine from Danville Illinois, rough hewn, six feet two inches tall, a self described :big lummox kind of person” – found himself surrounded by tanned, young “walking surf-boards.” He immediately latched on to a fellow misfit, 19 year old, five foot six inch Dustin Hoffman, who was burdened with a huge nose and a bad complexion and wore tattered Levi’s and a sheepskin vest over bare skin. Hackman recalls, “There was something about him that – like he had a secret. You knew he was going to do something.” An inspirational instructor, Barney Brown, sensed the same karma. He assured Dustin, “You are going to wind up being a theater person the rest of your life,” and persuaded him to go to New York against the wishes of his parents. “When Barney died,” says Hoffman, “I felt my ideal father had died.”

All three grew up in peripatetic families where fathers and discipline loomed large. Hoffman’s stickler Russian Jewish father, Harry lifted himself through sheer hard work ditch digger to Columbia Pictures prop man to set designer to founder of the Harry Hoffman furniture company, which went broke. His uneven fortunes moved the family into six Los Angeles neighborhoods, and Dustin had to find his place in six new schools. Short and acne riddled, he was mocked as “Dustbin.” “I felt ugly,” he says. “I was all nose.” He tried never to walk away from a girl in profile. When at last a pretty girl did pay a little attention to him, a boy stole up behind him and jerked down his pants, taunting, “Hit me, little Dusty.”

But his innate acting gifts saved him – sort of. He became the class clown and discovered the rush delivered by a laughing audience – though, he says “people used to say, OH, he’s a real comedian, which was like saying ‘He’s a loser.’” At home, says Hoffman “sometimes the house was as thick with tension as any house could be.” At dinners, for several days following a family fight, his father, mother, grandmother and handsome high-achieving brother would sit absolutely silent. Suddenly, eight year old Dustin would repeat the dialogue of the fight, taking all the parts. The family would look up, begin to laugh, and the tension erased. Hoffman muses, “I had never thought about acting. It was a great feeling to break the collective anger in the room. I mattered. I had an identity in the house.”

At Santa Monica City College, Hoffman studied medicine and music. To avoid flunking out, he took an acting course for a sure three credits and found that acting was “the first subject I ever felt I could concentrate on.” After a brief period at the Los Angeles Academy of Music, he enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse, where he and his friend Gene Hackman, agreed that they detested everyone else. Gene resisted the teachers approach to acting, and at the end of the first semester he received a grade of 1.4 – the lowest grade ever given up to that point had been 3.0 – and was dismissed.

(to be continued)

Vigilante Sex Scenes

2009-03-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

I'm working CSI: New York tomorrow morning

I'm watching WILL FERRELL: GEORGE W BUSH on HBO.

It's really funny

I would expect nothing less.

For CSI tomorrow I was cast as a lieutenant.

They said they would have cast me as a detective, but my hair is too long.

I went to get a haircut tonight at RUDY'S on Sunset in Los Feliz.

My call time tomorrow is at 7:30AM at CBS Radford.

Wait a minute, doesn't a Lieutenant outrank a Detective?

I went to see WATCHMEN last night at The Arclight.

I loved it.

I think Marijuana should be legalized.

I was confused much of the time.

I still loved it.

I think Marijuana should be FRANCHISED.

GREAT use of soundtrack. Really good music.

Seriously.

The lift on Prohibition (the prohibition of alcohol) helped America out of The Great Depression.

Imagine the boost our economy would get from the LONG OVERDUE lift on the prohibition of a substance that is far less damaging than alcohol.

80% of all violent crime is alcohol related. Less than 10% is related to the use of marijuana.

SO..... WATCHMEN is rated R.

Vigilante sex scenes.

Really good movie.

Today, I went one more day without eating meat.

I watched the second episode of season 2 of BREAKING BAD last night on AMC.

It was damn good.

I'm gonna keep watching.

My favorite song this week is THE HOWLING by THE PHANTOM BAND.

I'm still working on my web series re-launch...

SOMEDAY.......

www.jamescliftonhuffman.com

www.indiecityentertainment.com

www.youtube.com/IndieCityEnt

www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Huffman/555441190

CATCH gearing up for relaunch

2009-03-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

The basic concept is this:

Think DEXTER meets SERENDIPITY

or

HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU meets MR BROOKS

CATCH is a dark comedy that features Anne Judson Yager (BRING IT ON AGAIN, MINORITY REPORT) and Trevor Jones (NOTHING YOU'VE SEEN) as MAGGIE and JERRY, two star-crossed serial killers looking for love online.

What will it take to satisfy their quest for true love. How far will they go to find it? Are they destined to find each other? And will that magical moment be AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER? Or more like ALIEN VS PREDATOR? FREDDY VS JASON? MR.AND MRS. SMITH? And wait... what are they doing with all the bodies?

By the way, Maggie's father, Mike Fisk (Played by Bill Oberst JR.), is a former contract killer for one of LA's most powerful underground crime lords. Mike has recently been released back into society after serving a 25 year sentence at San Quentin. His one misson in the real world is to establish a relationship with his long lost daughter.

Ok, so while I do have a few episodes out there in the Universe, available for public consumption, I am in the middle of orchestrating a RE-LAUNCH of CATCH... the entire series, with new cuts of existing episodes (shorter, quicker, new music), and BRAND NEW episodes... EIGHT episodes total to mark a first season halfway point.... and it's all in the oven...almost ready.

Here is a link to a trailer for the series that is available on Youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OixUSOwxsB0

The super special, super assorted CATCH All Star team has been hard at work getting it all together. The following is an email passed along to ICE's super talented sound designer DL Eric Bucklin....

Hey...

last song buddy... then we will have officially replaced every song previously used in the original CATCH 6 mix....

So... STARE TO THE SUN, by BOY/GIRL.... This song will be for the hard opening of CATCH 6... Living under the CATCH DOT COM banner ads (front and back).... if we use the first 29 seconds of the song...Then fade it out and match it with the first 29 seconds of CATCH..

We ALSO use the LAST 40 seconds of the song to close out the episode... instead of what's there...THEN we have a proper front and back end... nice little bookends.

Give it a listen and you'll see what I'm talking about...

Plus the title STARING AT THE SUN...as everyone peers into their laptop monitors... I LIKE it!

Keep in mind .. the CATCH 6 intro as it stands is only 15 seconds long... So we will need to make room for 3 title pages (Indie City Entertainment presents) (in association with Issara Films) (CATCH) that we will stagger... creating a 29 second opening to match the music...

We need to add those opening tiles anyway... it will work beautifully

Does that all make sense?

call me if you are confused...

Be on the lookout for the CATCH web series re-launch...scheduled for mid to late April.

(Posted originally on www.indiecityentertainment.com)

KUTIMAN MIXES YOUTUBE

2009-03-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

I was browsing the web yesterday, reading a few of my favorite blogs, doing research, following links and what not...

I was scrolling through MOBY'S blog....

moby.com/journal

Moby posted a link to a video project titled THRU YO: KUTIMAN MIXES YOUTUBE...

I loved it... I got crazy inspired and started sending the link out to everyone I know....

Ok... so watch this video...or series of videos...its FREAKIN awesome... THIS is a 2nd or 3rd cousin of a project I am currently developing... it's somewhat in the ballpark at least.....

Imagine this KUTIMAN Youtube mix... but with a little more substance, relevance and variety...

Check it out...its really effin cool

http://thru-you.com/

Off to Anaheim

2009-03-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

I’m getting ready to go work my second day at the Natural Product Expo in Anaheim. The days are long at trade shows like this… and I’m on my feet all day. But I’m grateful for the work…and I’m grateful that client, who is there working the booth with us…is a laid back, fun guy from Australia.

http://www.expowest.com

www.balancewater.com

The product is BALANCE WATER… which we call a WELNESS BEVERAGE because each of the four variations (As opposed to “flavors”) contains a certain assortment of flower essences, all grown and hand picked in Australia. Those essences, while tasteless and virtually undetectable, offer a certain level of functionality, acting a homeopathic remedy or supplement. The “Traveling” version…for example… is designed to help overcome jet lag and motion sickness and other conditions associated with travel.

Nice packaging, interesting product…relatively new concept to the mainstream beverage market.

Earlier this week I received an offer letter to play a role in an upcoming stage production….well…. forget that….

IXSNAY on the Ziegfeld project.

I suffered a blow to the ego last night when the producers of “ZIEGFELD'S FOLLY: My Rise to the Middle," sent me an email RECINDING the offer to play on their “Hunky Guys,” in a two-performance run in LA in April.

So yeah… I guess I’m not doing the show.

It’s fine… I’ll live. I’ll also lose five pounds, get in even better shape and SHOW those M&%$@ F%CKERS.

Last night I saw this posting on Craigslist….

How much do you hate the Boston Red Sox, Celtics, or Patriots?

Southern California Media Production company who is producing a documentary about hard core sports fans is looking for people with big mouths, tons of opinions, and mutual hatred towards any sport team located near Boston.

If interested in participating in this documentary, please send us an email with your contact information, any website info, and brief explanation of your hatred towards any or all of the beloved Boston sports franchises.

Thanks.

All I have to say is…

HELL YEAH… I want to be in your movie!!!

So I whipped up a little note….

Hi-

James Huffman here... I'm an actor, writer, filmmkaer, currently based in Los Angeles...and I HATE Boston teams....hate em.

First of all... I grew up in NJ, just outside of the Big Apple. I love New York City with all my heart. When I graduated college I moved into Manhattan and spent the next 15 years walking the walk in the greatest city in the world.

When it comes to the greatest BASEBALL team in the world... I remember the exact moment I became a Yankee fan. It was October 14, 1976, during the ninth inning of Game Five of the ALCS against the Royals at Yankee Stadium, Chris Chambliss crushed a first-pitch, walk-off home run that sent the Yankees to their first World Series since 1964. I was 8 years old and I was hooked. Of course the following season was the season of 77.. and as lifelong sports fan, that season left a life long imprint on my soul.

To answer your question... I F%$#@*&& HATE The Red Sox... I also hate the Patriots and The Celtics... but that hatred stems from my desire to inflict and pain and sorrow on Red Sox fans world wide. The day The New York Giants upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl was probably one of the happiest days of my life. While I'm embarrassed to admit it, I had to be separated the following day as I almost came to blows with a girl (Who is a friend of a friend) who is a former Patriots cheerleader.... I was boasting about the victory and she accused me of being a fair weather fan.... that I just jumped on the bandwagon... I seriously would have choked her out.... ok I'm kidding.... no I'm not.... probably would have just shoved her to the ground...

There is so much more....

Like the time I stood on my roof in Hell's Kitchen and spilled beer on the heads of celebrating Red Sox fans as they danced on the sidewalk (in NEW YORK), celebrating the 2004 World series victory.... Not in MY Neighborhood folks... not in my neighborhood.

So yeah…seems like a fun, socially relevant project… I hope they call me.

Off to Anaheim!!!

Jimbeaux Huffmanlama, bullrider from Alabama

2008-11-02T17:16:00.000-08:00

SUNDAY...

Sitting here enjoying the thorough whuppin the Giants are handing to the Cowboys.

Also sitting here nursing a hangover. I went to a Halloween party last night in Sherman Oaks...had a great time. This particular party was held at an apartment complex. Three neighbors decorated their places and held a multi-room, multi-themed Halloween Ho-down... no pun intended...or...pun-intended. Regardless...my head hurts.

This was a costume party, and my original plan was to go as a hybrid version of "Lil Jon" and Gary Oldman's character, Drexl, from TRUE ROMANCE. I bought a dirty blondish colored dread lock wig, a couple pieces of gawdy gold jewelry...and I got a SWEET set of grills... or GRILLZ.... gold teeth with little embedded rhinestones.

I thought I was all set to go, but I couldnt get the Grills to set right in my mouth and the whole thing just wasnt working. The costume didnt work without the grillz...and I could get the grilllz goin.

So I set out Saturday to go with my plan B... I'd dress up as a Cowboy or Bullrider... mainly because I had a couple authentic western shorts and some nice tight boot cut western style jeans. What I needed was a hat.

So I went on Yelp.com and searched for a good nearby Country & Western store...came up with this....

SW Hill Country: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sw-hill-country-eagle-rock

Its a Country & Western shop up in Eagle Rock. Eagle Rock is an area nestled in between Glendale and Pasadena. I'm much happier to take a quick trip up to Eagle Rock than to try and hit any stores in Hollywood or West Hollywood...especially on a saturday afternoon.

I find the place...its like a 15 minute drive from here... walk in...and its half empty.... NOT half full if thats what you're thinkin... this guy is going out of business...or "taking a break. waitin out the bad economy" as the man behind the counter explained.

The good side of this is that he is selling everything for more than half off. I found exactly what I was looking for... a genuine high quality western straw... I had my hat.

I was all set to grab that hat and go... but i stopped for a moment, took in my surroundings, took a look at this nice guy who was on hard times....closing down his business... still super eager to help me pick out the right hat... and I said:

"So how much are these boots?"

I could't help it. I let him sell me a really good pair of ropers for 85 bucks.

Again.... he gave me a solid pitch and presentation... and sold me some really nice boots...for more than half off... and I can wear these boots... not just as a costume piece... but for ... i dont know... I'm just gonna wear the damn boots... they're good boots.

And I went to the party last night as Jimbeaux Huffmanlama, bullrider from Alabama.

Had a damn good time.... I even broke out The Robot।

monday market chicken omelette

2008-10-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Monday...

I just finished my early early morning promo gig shift... started at 6A...finished at 1P...now I'm over at Solar de Cahuenga... a cool little Hollywood coffe shop on Franklin. I figured I would try and sit myself down with a big iced coffee and try to get some writing done before I crash and burn.

They have a chicken omelette here that is really tasty...so I got that...doused it with hot sauce...and I'm off to the races.

I'm sitting here proud as a pig in my big bright New York Giants shirt. There is a dude over there in a Steelers hat that keeps giving me the evil eye. The Giants pulled out a win yesterday over the Steelers... deal with it buddy....I was nervous for a while watching that game...The Giants were shaky at best for three quarters...but then suddenly, in the fourth, they started playing and looking like the team that finished the season last year... all over Big Ben... shaking him up... taking him down left and right.... Amani Toomer making an awesome diving catch... and it was all over for the tin men.

DALLAS! Dallas is next week.... ooooh I cant wait.

(I F%$#@ hate the Cowboys)

So CATCH 3 finally dropped this weekend. I have it postd on Myspace and Bliptv... but not on Youtube just yet. I wanted to wait a couple of days before I hit Youtube and post it here on the blog. My next blog post will probably be CATCH 3.

The response has been okay so far. There are a few techincal issues I'm not thrilled with...but I think Anne's performance is this one is fantastic... and this episode is the first episode where I enlisted the help of a sound designer AND devoted the entire soundtrack to one band. All the music in episode 3 is from EIGHTEEN WHEELS BURNING off their new album "tweak'd out, strung up, and redlined" (MeteorCity Records).

I may try and do that with as many episodes as I can... I would love to have a different band score or donate music to the project. We'll see what happens.

Hey, if you like hip hop, you definitely have to check out COMMON MARKET. Ever heard of COMMON MARKET? They are a Seattle based, off the radar, hip hop band who just came out with a new album... its awesome....on my hot list right now>>>>

And I get nothing for writing that. Sharing the goods and spreading the wealth brings me joy....

The band is COMMON MARKET. The new album is TOBACCO ROAD.

www.commonmarketmusic.com

www.myspace.com/commonmarket

Ok...back to work....

कात्च ३

2008-10-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

CATCH 3

CATCH: Episode Three
Written and directed by James Huffman.
Starring Anne Judson Yager and Chris Tessitore

Director of Photography: James Huffman
1st AD: Eric Jones
Editor: Paul Kim
Sound Design: Eric Bucklin

SOUNDTRACK:

Eighteen Wheels Burning
From the album: "tweak'd out, strung up, and redlined"
MeteorCity Records

www.myspace.com/eighteenwheelsburning
www.18wb.com

GOD BLESS the ALCS

2008-10-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning ....

That damn heat finally broke... a nice healthy cool front blew in last night...and it was downright windy and COLD... Resulting in a beautiful. sunny and seasonably cool morning here in Los Angeles... I'm having a Chai latte... and I dont drink chai latte under the blazing sun I tell ya that...

We shoot CATCH 7 tomorrow ...with some covereage and an extra scene scheduled for Monday... it all came together over the past few days... I lost a sound guy, I found a sound guy... I've got lights Sunday, but not for Monday, then I get some lights for both days...

Its an interesting ride each time.... I'm just STOKED that I get it done each time.

Tonight I'm driving out to Thoussand Oaks to borrow a boom mic/boom pole for Monday...while I'm out there I will meet up with Wes (Director of CATCH 5), and take a look at a rough cut of 5.

Its crazy... CATCH 5 & 6 are almost finished and ready for general consumption... but its 3 & 4 that are giving me FITS. I'm seriously wanting to pull my hair out over these two episodes... and obviously..I cant show anyone 5 or 6 until I get 3 & 4 done... AY DIOS MIOS

My plan right now is to complete a 12 episode first season by the end of the year and take a break... spend a few months promoting the hell out of the series...and hopefully... tie in some sort of revenue...

I'm also planning to start shooting series # 2 (The Nobodies) in the beginning of 2009.

Yeah... I've got a lot going on.... I wonder if its too much.

So I was watching Game One of the ALCS last night and out comes David Archuleta from American Idol to sing GOD BLESS AMERICA. I CANT STAND American Idol... I am opposed to that stupid show on so many levels... YES, I know its like the highest rated show on TV...but that makes its all the more disturbing.... ANYWAY... David Archuleta steps up to sing...and I'm cursing under my breath... mumbling, grumbling... I'm so disappointed in TBS for allowing such a tacky desecration of such legendary event....

But David Archuleta did a damn good job...I have to say... he honored the song... and found a way to make it his.... to add some color and variation without pushing too hard (and F%$#@ ing it up) His voice was relaxed and confident. When it was all over, I was nodding my head...I think I even had some goosebumps....

I still hate American Idol.

The greatest web series of all time

2008-10-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

CATCH, the new series by James Huffman...thats me.... my series, CATCH is all over the place... the success of this series is almos entirely dependent on grass roots e-marketing...

I'm making the first few episodes available on every possible channel... the hope is that at some point, CATCH will enough of a following that I can direct million of fans to one dedicated web site that will host every new episode and every thing you always wanted to know about the cast and crew of the greatest web series of all time..... CATCH

THAT, my friends, is coming soon>>>

REVVER is a community of video lovers and artists. You’ll find the best online video content on Revver.com because we attract those who love the medium. Write comments, post video responses, build a network of friends, create customized playlists, or just sit back and watch your favorite shows. You’ll find it all right here.

CATCH teaser 2 on Revver.com

http://revver.com/video/1208235/affiliate/171189/catch_teaser/

CATCH 1 on Revver.com

http://revver.com/video/1208243/affiliate/171189/catch-episode-1/

CATCH 2 on Revver.com

http://revver.com/video/1208254/affiliate/171189/catch-episode-2/

BLIP.tv: A new class of entertainment is emerging that is being made by the people without the support of billion-dollar multinationals. Our mission is to support these people by taking care of all the problems a budding videoblogger, podcaster or Internet TV producer tends to run into. We'll take care of the servers, the software, the workflow, the advertising and the distribution. We leave you free to focus on creativity.

CATCH teaser 2 on Blip.tv...

http://catchthefirstseason.blip.tv/file/1303682/

CATCH 1 on Blip.tv....

http://catchthefirstseason.blip.tv/file/1303698/

CATCH 2 on Blip.tv...

http://catchthefirstseason.blip.tv/file/1303710/

It's all good

2008-10-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so sick of the Red Sox... I am officially a temporary Los Angeles Dodgers fan... went down to City Hall yesterday and got my permit... For the next few weeks...I'm all about Dodger Blue...except on Sundays...then I'm all about BIG BLUE.... the GEEE MEN...

But as far as baseball is concerned... Go Dodgers...Go Joe Torre...and I never thought I'd EVER say this:

Go MANNY BEING MANNY!!

I've been rehearsing with some of the cast and the producers of THE AFTER-LYFES. We are gearing up to shoot the weekend of the 18-19. They actually asked me to keep my schedule loose for that Thursday thru Tuesday...

No problem. This character is pretty similar to myself...not a stretch by any means...which is why I feel pretty well connected .

I'm back to trying to get CATCH 7 shot this weekend. I went out yesterday looking for a restaurant/diner location for a scene I wrote that involves the characters EDBO and SQUIB. EDBO and SQUIB are two crime family henchmen...or lackeys...who are trailing one of the main characters... at this point just to keep an eye on him.

I went in to Roccos Pizza on Vermont. Its a little, New York style pizzeria...not far from my house. I've noticed that thus place is totally empty on Sundays...probably bescause its across the street from LA CITY COLLEGE... aint no college kids around to eat pizza on a Sunday... aint no college kids anywhere near that campus on a Sunday. Anway, the guy at the counter gave me an email address and sent them an email:

My name is James Huffman. I'm producing a new web series titled CATCH.

I stopped in at the Vermont location this morning and I asked them if they ever allowed student or no budget filmmakers to shoot there...he said you "might" be open to discussing it...and gave me your email.

I am looking for very casual diner/restaurant to shoot a 2 page scene this coming Sunday, October 12th and the Roccos on Vermont would be ideal. I can arrange my shooting schedule so that we would be in the restaurant for no more than 3 hours and we could get it all done during your slowest hours, so as not to interfere with business.

I could also buy lunch for the crew before or after we shoot. It would be a small crew, 2 actors and maybe 4-5 crew members. AND...if it helps...we could use an establishing shot of Roccos to help promote the restaurant and we could include links or positive write ups in all our blogs.

So...yeah... I'm hoping we could work something out.

ROCCO repsonded later that evening.... "NO DICE VANILLA ICE"

Thank you for your interest, unfortunately right now we can not accomodate filming in any of our locations.

Oh well... I still have a few location in mind...I will hit them up today.

I went over to meet with Paul, our Indie City chief editor, and looked at a rough cut of CATCH 3. I loved 75% of it...hated 25% of it... its a long story...but the all the original footage we shot for this episode looks great...all the inserts or "pick-up" footage we got later...looks like shit... so its going to be a challenge...but I asked Paul to get creative... do what he can to disguise the bad footage.... I guess we'll see...should have a another cut ready by the start of next week...then I will have a sound design guy work on it... then HOPEFULLY... CATCH 3 will ready for release Oct 17-ish.

Oh yes...one more thing....

I git fired by HINT on Sunday night... which is more of an inconvenience than a traumatic event... they hired a new sales manager a few weeks ago and he and I were just NOT seeing eye to eye... so he inevitably got me canned... dick... it's fine, really. I was kind of secretly wishing I would get the opportunity to move on...so I guess I got what I wanted..

Anyway... I'm on the move...taking meetings...working shit out... looking for work...reaching out to promo companies... probably do alot more background work....and I'm pushing these CATCH episodes thru the post process... Oh and I'm selling my body for cash... as well as all my roommates stuff... Its all good...

The New Cool Collective....
indiecityentertainment.com

CATCH 1 on Revver.com....

One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.
Nietzsche

SAY HEY I LOVE YOU

2008-09-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

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

Crappy audition

2008-09-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

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.

DIRTY SEXY DEAD MAN WALKING

2008-09-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

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)

Perpetual Pounding

2008-09-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

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/

WIN? WIN?

2008-09-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

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?

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