Sailor Hat FTW

I'm digging this new weekend job, it's like the old job, only better in every way: Better hours (although it's hella early in the morning), better location, the computer has speakers, so I can watch DVDs all day (finally finished season 2 of Lost on Saturday), I work by myself, and the twin plasmas in the lobby can be turned-on to the hockey game or any other channel. It's a nice way to make money.

I now work exclusively for Paladin, who took care of the remaining three months with Securiguard somehow. I couldn't work for both (Securiguard's doing, not Paladin's) so I'm sticking with the new company. I'll go on record and say that Securiguard is the most poorly managed company I've ever worked for. Such a pain in the rear cheeks to deal with. I'll be happy to give them back their yellow jacket and vest and never deal with them again.

The Night at the Museum 2 call back went well. I was relieved to walk into a relatively empty waiting room, but that changed quickly. The place was a swarming hive of talent, which always gives me anxiety; even if they're not all competing with me, it's just the crowdedness of it all. Makes me edgy.

BUT, I did "lossen up" and showed some character in the room. I introduced myself to the director, Shawn Levy, and realized how awkward it is to meet people in the audition room. I've always felt awkward doing it, but today I realized why: no contact. They're over there, sitting on the couch, looking to employ you in their motion picture, and you're just kind of standing on the mark going "hey, how's it goin'?" without a hearty handshake, or even an enthusiastic "respect knucks" to seal the deal.

First thing I asked him was,
"Hat or no hat?"
"Yeah, I liked the hat, it helped me picture it."
Sailor hat FTW.
I did the first take, and got some direction from an "actor's director" (according to my agent, who also said he wouldn't have any time to give direction.)
"I liked the read, I just want to see you try it with less 'eager beaver' energy. I just want to see if you can settle into it more."
That may not make sense to most people, but it did to me, and I gave a solid second take. They seemed to like it, and I left feeling pretty good.

I called my agent as per usual, and he said he had some MONEY for me. I keep forgetting about that part. I'll be picking it up tomorrow. It won't be my first professional paycheck, I received that last year doing a Walla* gig that I was set up with through VFS.

*- Walla is essentially giving audio ambiance to scenes. Six actors stand in a recording studio and "voice" the people in the background. You can hear it on movies and TV shows if you listen for it, but it's turned down so low that you can hardly make-out anything specific. It's fun to do though, not a bad was to make $75 for six hours work.