If I ever open-up an acting school, that's what I'm calling it. With a possible "With William C. Vaughan" attached to the end to make sure people know what's what and who's who.
When last we left our hero(?), I was auditioning for the Scooby-Doo Prequel. Well, the audition went well. Not much more to say than that.
After I did the "Doo", I was called to audition for the most far-off thing for which I've been sent-out for so far. A 35-year-old gay Russian geologist who is blasting-off 400 million miles away from earth. Yeah. I thought a coaching was in order.
Optimally, I'd get a dialect coach, but without a phone number for one and with limited time, I could only get an acting coach. I wanted a dialect coach for the accent, but after working the scene once with the acting coach it turned-out my faux-Ruski was acceptable. This is the first time I've coached with this particular teacher (another VFS instructor). His methods are a little different, but he really helps bring the character closer to the actor, to make the scene more real. I got a pretty good reaction from the Casting Director at Brooksbank, so the coaching paid-off. Whether I got the role or not, I gave a good audition, the most real and natural I've done thus far. Given the challenging role, I'll chalk that up as a success.
I was supposed to go back to set for "I Love You, Beth Cooper" on Wednesday, when I received a called from the 2nd AD telling me they may need me instead on Thursday ... or not at all. Y'see, the 2nd AD told me that Chris (as in Columbus) has cut the scene together (as in "edit", not "erase" or "discard") and he found that the scene can work without my shot. So, Wednesday afternoon, before my first Cactus Club shift, I get the call telling me they don't need me anymore. And that's the end of that tale. I'm pretty disappointed, but hey, it's out of my hands. All that's left to be done is book the next role ... hopefully with more lines and, if I'm lucky, a shot of my face. Here's hopin'.
The worst part about not going to set is that I had to pay for my haircut instead of getting hair and make-up to do it for free. I got my ears lowered on Thursday at a place called "The Chop Shop", which has a kind of 50's car-motif thing going. It looked way too cool for me, but I excel at being a round peg in a square hole and fitting into places I don't belong. Or not.
Like I mentioned, I had my first Cactus Club shift Wednesday at the Ash St. location. It was trial by fire, and I certainly didn't expect to be walking with a tray and running food to tables on my first day, but aside from a handful of table-number-screw-ups, I did alright. I had a second shift added Thursday because I wasn't going to set (dang) and therefore I'd be missing the opening night of Indiana Jones (daaAAAAaang). I did better that night, felt more comfortable. It's way more hectic than security, which is a good thing, as two hours can pass without even noticing it when it gets busy. It'll be a hard-working, short-staffed summer, but I hope to be serving within a few months. It's all up to me. And them, part of it is up to them.
It's my last Friday at Black Box, tomorrow's my last shift. I shall miss it so. Paladin's treated me well, and the people at Black Box have been great. My Manager said there's always a job for me at Paladin, so I know that, even in my darkest hour, I at least won't be homeless. Not working graveyards has been a great choice, and the hours got worked-around if an audition came-up. I need to keep telling myself that once I reach server at Cactus, I'll be making more money. It's the name of the game.
To bookend on the acting class theme, I finally registered and paid-in-full for a Scene Study Class with one of my favourite VFS instructors, in a class specifically for VFS Alumni. I've wanted to branch-out and try classes with instructors I've never had before, but I know I can still learn a lot from this guy. It's been ten months since I've graduated and taken a real acting course, so this is way overdue. It promises to raise my audition-success quotient by 200%!*
*Results not typical.
Showing posts with label I Love You Beth Cooper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label I Love You Beth Cooper. Show all posts
Friday, May 23, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Surpassing Expectations
The "Scooby-Doo" audition went well, well enough to get called back; for another part. The reason I hope this gets picked-up as a series, is just that: the incidental roles that come with episodics. My agent once told me that a few years ago there were something like 14 episodics shooting in Vancouver and currently there are about ... four or so ... but don't quote me on that. Seriously, don't.
Like I said, episodics are good. Not only is there the chance that you could be cast for the pilot and be a series lead and have a decent, constant paycheck for a while, but also there's the aforementioned incidentals that may only have a few lines in one episode, or turn into a recurring character (popping-up every now and again) or even a series regular (in about every episode, but not a major character.) Any way you slice it, it's a nice piece of working pie for actors, and that's a good thing. Unless you hate pie and actors, in which case buddy, yer readin' the wrong blog.
I was asked to read for Brooksbank again on Thursday, this time putting in a full eight-hour day. I'm going to keep tight-lipped on what I read and who I saw, because my agent and his daughter warned me against spilling my guts about the projects and screwing myself professionally. Remember, I'm broadcasting this for the world to see with my big fat name emblazoned right on the front page, I'd hate to shoot my career in the foot by accidentally mentioning a secret project and/or name. What I can say was the reading was, again, a real learning experience, and a tonne of fun. It's really interesting to see what actors can get away with in the room, and it's going to free me up for future auditions because, like my second term Audition Technique teacher drilled into our heads: It's your audition. Really, the Casting Director shouldn't object to anything that helps the actor give the best audition possible. Mistakes are allowed, and perfectly OK, even I messed-up a few times. That's the beauty of taping. Luckily my screw-ups weren't severe enough that they didn't want me to read for them again, because they asked me to do another full day on Friday, which I had to turn-down because I had Cactus Club Expo Orientation that morning, and my security job in the afternoon. I wish reading was my full-time job, that would be sweet. I still don't know what they're paying me but, heck, I'd do it for free (but don't tell them that.)
This security gig is going to be tough to leave. As I write this, I'm watching the Dallas/Detroit game, and am fully intent on watching the Philadelphia/Pittsburgh game tomorrow. I can Blog, chat on MSN/Facebook/the phone pretty much all weekend, and the people I work with in the afternoons are pretty cool. They're sad to see me go, and who can blame them. Trust me, I've seen the alternative, and as far as security guards go, I'm pretty dang personable. Heck, that's a big reason I'm leaving: My people skills can be better utilized elsewhere.
I've hashed-out a training schedule at a different Cactus Club location, just so I'll be trained-up by the time the new restaurant opens. First impressions are important, and the first few weeks of being open are going to call for nothing less than a top-notch effort from everyone. I don't know what to expect, but it's going to be fun, no matter what I have to do to make it so. I used to get a certain rush from being busy at previous jobs, and unlike my current job, boredom will not be an issue at Cactus Club.
I finished the novel of "I Love You, Beth Cooper". It was very funny, and looks like it will make for a fine film. Highest recommendation. Speaking of, my agent told me they might want me on set for Thursday the 22nd, instead of Wednesday the 21st. I'm free for whatever, so long as they give me fair warning and don't mind cutting my hair. I haven't cut it in over two months because I didn't want to screw continuity, and also because they can cut it for free. Yeah, I'm cheap like that. Free haircuts, so long as I keep booking roles. My agent is expecting me to do two more times by years end.
I hope I can surpass his expectation.
Like I said, episodics are good. Not only is there the chance that you could be cast for the pilot and be a series lead and have a decent, constant paycheck for a while, but also there's the aforementioned incidentals that may only have a few lines in one episode, or turn into a recurring character (popping-up every now and again) or even a series regular (in about every episode, but not a major character.) Any way you slice it, it's a nice piece of working pie for actors, and that's a good thing. Unless you hate pie and actors, in which case buddy, yer readin' the wrong blog.
I was asked to read for Brooksbank again on Thursday, this time putting in a full eight-hour day. I'm going to keep tight-lipped on what I read and who I saw, because my agent and his daughter warned me against spilling my guts about the projects and screwing myself professionally. Remember, I'm broadcasting this for the world to see with my big fat name emblazoned right on the front page, I'd hate to shoot my career in the foot by accidentally mentioning a secret project and/or name. What I can say was the reading was, again, a real learning experience, and a tonne of fun. It's really interesting to see what actors can get away with in the room, and it's going to free me up for future auditions because, like my second term Audition Technique teacher drilled into our heads: It's your audition. Really, the Casting Director shouldn't object to anything that helps the actor give the best audition possible. Mistakes are allowed, and perfectly OK, even I messed-up a few times. That's the beauty of taping. Luckily my screw-ups weren't severe enough that they didn't want me to read for them again, because they asked me to do another full day on Friday, which I had to turn-down because I had Cactus Club Expo Orientation that morning, and my security job in the afternoon. I wish reading was my full-time job, that would be sweet. I still don't know what they're paying me but, heck, I'd do it for free (but don't tell them that.)
This security gig is going to be tough to leave. As I write this, I'm watching the Dallas/Detroit game, and am fully intent on watching the Philadelphia/Pittsburgh game tomorrow. I can Blog, chat on MSN/Facebook/the phone pretty much all weekend, and the people I work with in the afternoons are pretty cool. They're sad to see me go, and who can blame them. Trust me, I've seen the alternative, and as far as security guards go, I'm pretty dang personable. Heck, that's a big reason I'm leaving: My people skills can be better utilized elsewhere.
I've hashed-out a training schedule at a different Cactus Club location, just so I'll be trained-up by the time the new restaurant opens. First impressions are important, and the first few weeks of being open are going to call for nothing less than a top-notch effort from everyone. I don't know what to expect, but it's going to be fun, no matter what I have to do to make it so. I used to get a certain rush from being busy at previous jobs, and unlike my current job, boredom will not be an issue at Cactus Club.
I finished the novel of "I Love You, Beth Cooper". It was very funny, and looks like it will make for a fine film. Highest recommendation. Speaking of, my agent told me they might want me on set for Thursday the 22nd, instead of Wednesday the 21st. I'm free for whatever, so long as they give me fair warning and don't mind cutting my hair. I haven't cut it in over two months because I didn't want to screw continuity, and also because they can cut it for free. Yeah, I'm cheap like that. Free haircuts, so long as I keep booking roles. My agent is expecting me to do two more times by years end.
I hope I can surpass his expectation.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
"Show More Character"
Thinking I would walk into a room of various scurvy sea-dogs, it turned-out I was the only guy who thought to dress as a sailor to audition for the role of a sailor, and sadly my hat only lasted one take in the audition room.
"It's the kind of thing the director would want to see," explained the Casting Director when she told me to take it off. It was also a tad disheartening to hear every guy who went in before do close to the same thing I was doing choice-wise. I wish they'd soundproof that door better.
Something that surprised me when watching the first "Night at the Museum" (doing my homework, natch) was the logo for "1492 Productions" who is the only other production company on my resume that isn't from VFS. Yep, Chris Columbus produced the first one, along with Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan (all three are producing "I Love You, Beth Cooper") and all three are producing the sequel. I have my fingers crossed for a possible call back and possible producer-director session. Like, I have all ten fingers crossed here, and it is NOT easy to do that and type at the same time.
I called my agent after the audition, as per usual.
"When did you first shoot on Beth Cooper?"
"Uh, about two weeks ago ... yeah, two weeks ago today, and then I went in again last week."
"Yeah, 'cuz they usually pay you after nine days, so I'm just wondering what's going on here ... I need to call (the Casting Director) and ask her if they're bringing you back."
You mean they may NOT?
It was also odd that he'd ask the CD and not, y'know, someone on the movie itself. So now it's back to waiting by the phone again ... not like I do anything else.
He did go on to tell me that a friend of mine in the agency tested for something in LA yesterday, flying out there at 3:30 am. They didn't go with her, but my agent says "she's getting close." I hope she is, she's working her little fanny off, and deserves everything she's earned.
When I got home (after running to and from the bank to pay for my helpful BC MSP) I had two e-mails from my agent. The first one said that the role of Stavros (the character I read for "Spectacular!") went to someone else in the agency. The second e-mail said this:
"Everyone says your work is good and keep going. One thing is to show
More character and lossen up. Just a suggestion"
I called a buddy and got to watch the first Canucks game of the season with him, which was one of the last games of the season. In fact, it's the game they lost to officially miss the play-offs. Great. So it's screw the Western Conference, and go Pengiuns. Hockey's got me so stressed.
I guess I should lossen up.
"It's the kind of thing the director would want to see," explained the Casting Director when she told me to take it off. It was also a tad disheartening to hear every guy who went in before do close to the same thing I was doing choice-wise. I wish they'd soundproof that door better.
Something that surprised me when watching the first "Night at the Museum" (doing my homework, natch) was the logo for "1492 Productions" who is the only other production company on my resume that isn't from VFS. Yep, Chris Columbus produced the first one, along with Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan (all three are producing "I Love You, Beth Cooper") and all three are producing the sequel. I have my fingers crossed for a possible call back and possible producer-director session. Like, I have all ten fingers crossed here, and it is NOT easy to do that and type at the same time.
I called my agent after the audition, as per usual.
"When did you first shoot on Beth Cooper?"
"Uh, about two weeks ago ... yeah, two weeks ago today, and then I went in again last week."
"Yeah, 'cuz they usually pay you after nine days, so I'm just wondering what's going on here ... I need to call (the Casting Director) and ask her if they're bringing you back."
You mean they may NOT?
It was also odd that he'd ask the CD and not, y'know, someone on the movie itself. So now it's back to waiting by the phone again ... not like I do anything else.
He did go on to tell me that a friend of mine in the agency tested for something in LA yesterday, flying out there at 3:30 am. They didn't go with her, but my agent says "she's getting close." I hope she is, she's working her little fanny off, and deserves everything she's earned.
When I got home (after running to and from the bank to pay for my helpful BC MSP) I had two e-mails from my agent. The first one said that the role of Stavros (the character I read for "Spectacular!") went to someone else in the agency. The second e-mail said this:
"Everyone says your work is good and keep going. One thing is to show
More character and lossen up. Just a suggestion"
I called a buddy and got to watch the first Canucks game of the season with him, which was one of the last games of the season. In fact, it's the game they lost to officially miss the play-offs. Great. So it's screw the Western Conference, and go Pengiuns. Hockey's got me so stressed.
I guess I should lossen up.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
"So I Hear You've Got a Blog ... "
... is what the nice lady said to me in the hair/make-up trailer. I was stunned.
"How did you know?"
"Oh, someone told me."
She went on to explain that when I signed-on for the movie (I don't remember signing a "contract" per se) that there's a confidentiality agreement involved, and though it would very fun and exciting to write all about my first day on major set, I don't want to get the Fox legal team on my tuccus. I sure don't.
"You also don't want to be out of the movie. This could kick-start your career, you don't want to ruin it."
Now, here's my biz class in action: people know what you do online. If you broadcast something to the entire internet, they will find it, and it's in a company's best interest to know who is talking and what they're saying, especially when dealing with confidentiality agreements. Also be mindful of what you put online: pictures, what you say to others, it can all be tracked, and easily.
Really, I appreciate the courtesy (and maybe she is a fan, who knows) because I didn't really know what I could or couldn't say about being on set, and I still don't, but now that I know people are watching, I'll be more careful.
Obviously I'll still be talking about the auditions; I don’t sign anything until I'm hired. However when I go to set, those days will be kept to me and those closest to me, not broadcast for the world to see. Really, the less I say about the actual gigs the better, and if you want to know anything about the movie … go watch it.
I would rather write about it, though. I really wanted to tell people what a day on set was like, without giving anything away anything about the scene or the plot, but I also need to be careful about what I say about other people. I try to be mindful of naming names, and I like to think I only speak highly of most people, but I still need to be careful. I wanted this Blog to be the outsider's eye into the wacky world of entertainment, but I still need to make sure I have a career to write about. This is where the “I Love You, Beth Cooper” saga ends.
Remember when I suggested a PSA that said "Internet Blogs: are you sure you know who's reading?"
I guess I'm not so sure.
"How did you know?"
"Oh, someone told me."
She went on to explain that when I signed-on for the movie (I don't remember signing a "contract" per se) that there's a confidentiality agreement involved, and though it would very fun and exciting to write all about my first day on major set, I don't want to get the Fox legal team on my tuccus. I sure don't.
"You also don't want to be out of the movie. This could kick-start your career, you don't want to ruin it."
Now, here's my biz class in action: people know what you do online. If you broadcast something to the entire internet, they will find it, and it's in a company's best interest to know who is talking and what they're saying, especially when dealing with confidentiality agreements. Also be mindful of what you put online: pictures, what you say to others, it can all be tracked, and easily.
Really, I appreciate the courtesy (and maybe she is a fan, who knows) because I didn't really know what I could or couldn't say about being on set, and I still don't, but now that I know people are watching, I'll be more careful.
Obviously I'll still be talking about the auditions; I don’t sign anything until I'm hired. However when I go to set, those days will be kept to me and those closest to me, not broadcast for the world to see. Really, the less I say about the actual gigs the better, and if you want to know anything about the movie … go watch it.
I would rather write about it, though. I really wanted to tell people what a day on set was like, without giving anything away anything about the scene or the plot, but I also need to be careful about what I say about other people. I try to be mindful of naming names, and I like to think I only speak highly of most people, but I still need to be careful. I wanted this Blog to be the outsider's eye into the wacky world of entertainment, but I still need to make sure I have a career to write about. This is where the “I Love You, Beth Cooper” saga ends.
Remember when I suggested a PSA that said "Internet Blogs: are you sure you know who's reading?"
I guess I'm not so sure.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Super Smashed, Brother
Well, what else is Shamrock Day for?
On Sunday I decided to finally enter this gen of game consoles, and stuck with the ol' tried and true Nintendo. Their elusive white box debuted in November 2006, and it's still nigh impossible to get in this town in March 2008, except if you know where to look. It's my way of celebrating the first gig, and also my way of breaking one of the cardinal rules of acting: don't count your money before you get it (I think that applies more so if you're expecting residuals, but still).
The Wii rules for many reasons I shan’t indulge in here, lest I increase the "nerd quotient" of these bloggings by 14% (it already sits at a staggering 58% as it is), but I will say that the Virtual Console is the best freaking thing ever. I can play Metroid, Star Fox, Mario, and Zelda all on the same console ... and then have them all smash the ever-loving bejesus out of each other in the same game. Sweet. My roomie has a bunch of games, so huzzah for not having to buy any. Yet.
Also, when did the Mooseheads get those black jerseys that say "Halifax" across the front? They're pretty boss.
Monday I was on my way to get the appropriate liquid encouragement for the evening's festivities, and got involved in an impromptu 100m dash with my lady roommate, when from the heavens above, the dainty, wisp of a woman I was with was smashed on the noodle with a Subway bag full of water from one of the higher rooms of the hotel that’s directly across from our apartment. Couldn't make it up if I tried, one minute I'm yelling "way to go track star!" and the next, in a huge splash, she's on her hands and knees, soaking wet, confused, upset and hurt. Her new iPod was knocked from her hand, but thankfully that wasn't broken, and though she had a headache, there wasn't anything worse than that and a tiny cut on her scalp.
A guy from a across the street saw the whole thing, and took it upon himself to talk to the people at the hotel desk about it. They had security try to find the room, but it was difficult; it could have come from anywhere. So with no one reprimanded there wasn't much to do but leave our phone numbers for a follow-up. It's not the hotel's fault, but it is their guests that preformed the act, so they’ll have to shoulder the responsibility. The whole thing was just such a wacky incident, and we were laughing about it soon after.
After the roomies got back from class, we engaged in a night of drunken Smash Bros., "Would You Rather?" and the always-disappointing late-night trip to Denny's. It's the most fun I've had in a while.
Now, with yesterday's revelations, the Wii may get paid-off before I get paid for actually acting. Here’s why:
I got a call from Kevin, the wardrobe guy (no word from the lion or witch, yet) telling me my costume fitting is Wednesday at 2pm. Uhm, I thought I was going to set Wednesday?
"No, it's for Thursday, the 20th."
OK, I thought, I've been wrong before (recall the "Altitude" callback where I showed-up a full 24 hours early for the audition.)
So, I just took Kevin's word for it, and went back to sleep.
My agent's assistant called later, and sounded surprised when I told her of the change. She said she'd call back and figure things out, and, without having to play tennis before getting back to me, called just a few minutes later.
"What time did the wardrobe guy call you?"
"Uh, it was like 10 ... 10:45, 'round there."
"OK, well we're going to get you compensation. If it was before ten, then we'd only get 50%, but since it was within 24 hours, it's the day-rate minus the buy-out."
The day-rate is around $330 for an actor. That’s $330 for doing nothing.
"Also, they have you credited as 'William Vaughan’; do you want the 'C.' in there?"
"Uh, yeah, tell 'em to put that in there, better be consistent," even though imdb.com makes note of people being credited slightly differently. For example Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Alternate names" are: Philip S. Hoffman / Philip Hoffman / Phillip Seymour Hoffman (two l's)/ Phil Hoffman.
While grocery shopping later that day, the 2nd Assistant Director called me (amid a torrent of dramatic phone calls, you don't wanna know.)
"So, your fitting is tomorrow at 2pm, but Chris wants to see people in hair and make-up before they go to set, so can you make it to (somewhere, I forget what she said) at around 6pm tomorrow? We're doing night shoots."
Well, the night time is the right time for me, and seeing him the day before will take care of any pre-shoot jitters. Now I'll have to fall violently, un-workably ill on Thursday night instead. It's so hard to plan a good sickness these days.
With all this happening, I still need to put that pilot audition on tape for the LA person. I’ll have to sleep tomorrow morning, so that’s out, and I’ll need to sleep Thursday before I go to set, so it looks like Friday it is, but it’s Good Friday, so the studios may be closed. Putting stuff on tape is actually a real pain when you have to find your own reader, call to book the time (the studio I called yesterday was closed at 4:15) and pay for them to tape you. But hey, show me the guy who said it’d be easy, and I’ll show you a guy that the drug-sniffing dogs would have a field-day over.
Also, work is short-staffed in our final weeks of the contract, so they’ve been calling me to work overtime (I had to do 13 ½ hours on Friday night) which couldn’t happen at a worse time. The company taking-over the security contract is paying a prettier penny, so it may be worth my while to get on with them and stay here a while. Well, we’ll see if any restaurants want me first. With the never-ending renovations upstairs, sleeping in the day is once again an upstream swim, so graveyard has lost its “appeal”. It’ll be over soon.
At least the Foo Fighter’s concert is on Sunday instead of Saturday (what’s with me being a day early for EVERYTHING?) so I can make that without any problems … except I’ll have to miss going to Empire Theatres by myself to watch Wrestlemania 24.
Aaannd, the “nerd quotient” just hit 65% with that last remark. A new record!
On Sunday I decided to finally enter this gen of game consoles, and stuck with the ol' tried and true Nintendo. Their elusive white box debuted in November 2006, and it's still nigh impossible to get in this town in March 2008, except if you know where to look. It's my way of celebrating the first gig, and also my way of breaking one of the cardinal rules of acting: don't count your money before you get it (I think that applies more so if you're expecting residuals, but still).
The Wii rules for many reasons I shan’t indulge in here, lest I increase the "nerd quotient" of these bloggings by 14% (it already sits at a staggering 58% as it is), but I will say that the Virtual Console is the best freaking thing ever. I can play Metroid, Star Fox, Mario, and Zelda all on the same console ... and then have them all smash the ever-loving bejesus out of each other in the same game. Sweet. My roomie has a bunch of games, so huzzah for not having to buy any. Yet.
Also, when did the Mooseheads get those black jerseys that say "Halifax" across the front? They're pretty boss.
Monday I was on my way to get the appropriate liquid encouragement for the evening's festivities, and got involved in an impromptu 100m dash with my lady roommate, when from the heavens above, the dainty, wisp of a woman I was with was smashed on the noodle with a Subway bag full of water from one of the higher rooms of the hotel that’s directly across from our apartment. Couldn't make it up if I tried, one minute I'm yelling "way to go track star!" and the next, in a huge splash, she's on her hands and knees, soaking wet, confused, upset and hurt. Her new iPod was knocked from her hand, but thankfully that wasn't broken, and though she had a headache, there wasn't anything worse than that and a tiny cut on her scalp.
A guy from a across the street saw the whole thing, and took it upon himself to talk to the people at the hotel desk about it. They had security try to find the room, but it was difficult; it could have come from anywhere. So with no one reprimanded there wasn't much to do but leave our phone numbers for a follow-up. It's not the hotel's fault, but it is their guests that preformed the act, so they’ll have to shoulder the responsibility. The whole thing was just such a wacky incident, and we were laughing about it soon after.
After the roomies got back from class, we engaged in a night of drunken Smash Bros., "Would You Rather?" and the always-disappointing late-night trip to Denny's. It's the most fun I've had in a while.
Now, with yesterday's revelations, the Wii may get paid-off before I get paid for actually acting. Here’s why:
I got a call from Kevin, the wardrobe guy (no word from the lion or witch, yet) telling me my costume fitting is Wednesday at 2pm. Uhm, I thought I was going to set Wednesday?
"No, it's for Thursday, the 20th."
OK, I thought, I've been wrong before (recall the "Altitude" callback where I showed-up a full 24 hours early for the audition.)
So, I just took Kevin's word for it, and went back to sleep.
My agent's assistant called later, and sounded surprised when I told her of the change. She said she'd call back and figure things out, and, without having to play tennis before getting back to me, called just a few minutes later.
"What time did the wardrobe guy call you?"
"Uh, it was like 10 ... 10:45, 'round there."
"OK, well we're going to get you compensation. If it was before ten, then we'd only get 50%, but since it was within 24 hours, it's the day-rate minus the buy-out."
The day-rate is around $330 for an actor. That’s $330 for doing nothing.
"Also, they have you credited as 'William Vaughan’; do you want the 'C.' in there?"
"Uh, yeah, tell 'em to put that in there, better be consistent," even though imdb.com makes note of people being credited slightly differently. For example Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Alternate names" are: Philip S. Hoffman / Philip Hoffman / Phillip Seymour Hoffman (two l's)/ Phil Hoffman.
While grocery shopping later that day, the 2nd Assistant Director called me (amid a torrent of dramatic phone calls, you don't wanna know.)
"So, your fitting is tomorrow at 2pm, but Chris wants to see people in hair and make-up before they go to set, so can you make it to (somewhere, I forget what she said) at around 6pm tomorrow? We're doing night shoots."
Well, the night time is the right time for me, and seeing him the day before will take care of any pre-shoot jitters. Now I'll have to fall violently, un-workably ill on Thursday night instead. It's so hard to plan a good sickness these days.
With all this happening, I still need to put that pilot audition on tape for the LA person. I’ll have to sleep tomorrow morning, so that’s out, and I’ll need to sleep Thursday before I go to set, so it looks like Friday it is, but it’s Good Friday, so the studios may be closed. Putting stuff on tape is actually a real pain when you have to find your own reader, call to book the time (the studio I called yesterday was closed at 4:15) and pay for them to tape you. But hey, show me the guy who said it’d be easy, and I’ll show you a guy that the drug-sniffing dogs would have a field-day over.
Also, work is short-staffed in our final weeks of the contract, so they’ve been calling me to work overtime (I had to do 13 ½ hours on Friday night) which couldn’t happen at a worse time. The company taking-over the security contract is paying a prettier penny, so it may be worth my while to get on with them and stay here a while. Well, we’ll see if any restaurants want me first. With the never-ending renovations upstairs, sleeping in the day is once again an upstream swim, so graveyard has lost its “appeal”. It’ll be over soon.
At least the Foo Fighter’s concert is on Sunday instead of Saturday (what’s with me being a day early for EVERYTHING?) so I can make that without any problems … except I’ll have to miss going to Empire Theatres by myself to watch Wrestlemania 24.
Aaannd, the “nerd quotient” just hit 65% with that last remark. A new record!
Friday, March 14, 2008
"I Love You, Chris Columbus"
This week's been pretty dead acting-wise. The last time I talked with my agent before today was Monday before going to my "Paul Bergie" audition for "I Love You, Beth Cooper". I left him a message after the audition, and went on my merry way.
The apartment directly above mine has been the proverbial pile of manure to my fly of rage in the past months, as it seems someone up there thought themselves as quite the Mike Holmes and decided to pound the every loving material out of their floor. Now, they were very respectful, keeping their activity between the hours of 9-5, which-- wait, that's exactly when I'm trying to sleep. That's a horrible time to be pounding the floor, and it caused me to pound my fists into the headboard in unseen retaliation.
So this week I see a notice saying that "a condo on the 20th floor" will be renovating in the "coming weeks". Fan-damn-tastic. They will be starting the JACKHAMMERING OF THE FLOOR on OR AROUND March 12, and MAY NEED some EXTRA TIME to finish-up on the 13th. It didn't take me long to ascertain that "a condo" was the same condo that the aforementioned screw-it-yourselfer owned. Well, at least they gave us fair warning, which was enough for me call-in a favour and sleep on my buddy/co-worker/classmate's couch in an apartment that didn’t have an audio re-enactment of November 9, 1989. I'm not too good with couches, they’re far too cramped for my liking, so I was lucky when his roommate (and my buddy/classmate as well) let me use his bed while he left for work for the day.
So far this week, I've been without a quiet home to sleep in, I found out that the loan in my RBC account needs to be paid back (I forgot that there's Provincial Loan AND a National Loan ... oops), and I found out where I'll be working security when the contract I'm on is up. Good week to not have to worry about auditioning.
So today in my buddy’s bed, my agent finally calls.
"Are you frustrated yet?"
Now this is one of the reasons I like him so much: he gets it. He understands that there’s a lot of work to be done, but there’s gotta be a reward at some point. Was mine ever coming?
"Uh, yeah," I replied, trying to downplay how I feel.
"Don't be, just keep working hard, and things will click for you."
That's all I can do is work. It's been my philosophy all along, and it's something my agent stands-by. He wants his clients to work hard, because talent and looks can only get you so far. If you've got the work ethic, things WILL happen for you, plain and simple.
He asked me if I wanted to put something on tape for a Manager in LA that he'll be visiting next week. This is the first optional thing he's slid my way, and of course I'll take it. It's for a show called "Harper's Island", this is for the pilot. It's going to be directed by John Turtletaub (National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and National Treasure: Weekend at Lincoln’s). I'm not entirely sure what it's about (the website with the script asks you to pay $10 to download it), so I'll just have to stick with what my sides say, and go from there.
So I tried to get to sleep again, remembering that both "I Love You, Beth Cooper" and "Jennifer's Body" (which I kind of gave-up on, but they never said no outright) begin shooting on Monday. Looks like after auditioning for four different characters, all four of them in front of the esteemed director of “I Love You, Beth Cooper”, I'm coming away with naught but the stories I’ve written here.
The phone woke me up a few hours later and all fears were relieved.
"You just booked yourself your first little gig."
Awesome.
I booked Paul Bergie on "I Love You, Beth Cooper", shooting Wednesday, and paying actor’s scale rate plus 130% buy-out. I don't really know what that means exactly, other than it means more money, which rules.
"This is just the beginning, there will be bigger ones," he told me.
I have no doubts there, and what better way to start-out than, literally, the smallest way an actor CAN start-out? At least this one-liner is memorable.
"Is it something Grammy can watch?" my mom asked.
"A-hah, no," I said. I don't even think she could watch it, but I digress.
"Oh no, you don't saying any bad words, do you?"
"No, but if I had one of the other parts I would."
23, on my own in Vancouver, a working actor, and I still gotta make sure I don't say any naughty words, even if they're written for me and I'm paid to say them.
My folks were happy for me, of course, and I called my brother. It was his birthday today, and he asked if my getting the part was my birthday present to him. I should have said yes.
"How much is the phone bill this month?" (we're on a family plan, and the payments are withdrawn from my account).
"Aw, don't worry about it, I'll pay for it."
"Are you sure? That's expensive."
It is, but when you consider how self-involved I am that I was surprised when Facebook had to remind me that my bro's b-day was coming up, and that I had no idea or plan to get him anything, something expensive should be my penalty.
I talked for a good long time to a good dear friend of mine back home. We have a, a-hem, past together, and have gone lengths of time with nada communicado, but we're cool now. Everything was going great until she asked why I'm not dating. That just stopped me dead. Y'see, I can talk about anything, for hours, but when it comes to that, I'm about as expert as a palsy victim doing brain surgery with a pipe wrench (thank you, Frank Miller.) Seriously, I had a girl ask me why I'm not interested in her, and I just stuttered and stammered, and I don't even think I answered her question at all. I'm not going to delve too far into it, but I'll just say "it's complicated" right now.
"You're just goal-oriented," she said. Yeah, that works. And really, with the schedule I'm maintaining, I hardly have time for myself, let alone someone else. I can't even honestly say I don't WANT to see someone; I just can't. And I can't even articulate my thoughts better here. If I feel like it, I'll write about my internet "dating" history. That'll be good for a laugh.
I came back from the gym and my room-to-the-mate tells me that a guy from the costume department called me, and to call him back before 9pm. It was 9:07pm when I found this out. Did I dare risk it all and call him anyway, throwing caution and my future into the wind? Yeah, I did.
“Costume department, Kevin speaking.”
"Hello, this is Will."
"Uh, refresh my memory again?"
"From 'I Love You, Beth Cooper', I'm playing Paul."
"Oh, Paul BERGIE! Yes, yes, I need to get your sizes."
He hadn't even seen a picture of me yet, so he asked my eye colour, hair colour, my height, approximate weight, and the few things I knew off-hand such as waist, inseam, shoe size, etc. The one thing I didn't know what suit size, so he had to talk me through finding the size on my suit jacket.
"It should be on a white tag in the inside left breast pocket."
"Uh, I don't see a number, it just says 'Joseph and Feiss'"
"Oh, so it's a Moores suit."
Well, now he knows what a high roller I am. I finally found the size, and I let him know the suit was a little big for me. Like, I really stressed that point.
"And, are there any colours you just won't wear?"
"I'll be honest with you man, I really don't care, throw anything on me." Little does he know, he's dealing with the least-fashionable actor he's ever worked with. He let me know he'd call me Monday to arrange for a costume fitting on Tuesday (which I think I get paid for also, have to ask the agent about that).
So after all this acting excitement, I was looking forward to going out to a dinner party for some of my friends in Richmond Saturday night, when I checked the work schedule and see that Saturday's day shift is a "split shift", and I see my usual 2330-0730 has become 2330-1130. You gotta be kidding me. There's no way I can be in Burnaby at 11:30am and then Richmond at 7:30pm and sleep enough that I won't die from working Saturday night and being up all day Sunday to sing in the choir.
I’m shooting on Wednesday, and since work isn't allowing any nights off until the contract is up, on Tuesday night I shall fall violently ill and make a miraculous recovery come the next morning. I’m sorry, but I refuse to pull a “Chasing Stories” and stay up for three straight days for my first day on a professional set. I've taken one night off since starting with the company, and now they aren't allowing anymore? Go right to hell. There are priorities, and I certainly won’t give them to the company that outright lied to us about how they were handling placement after the contract is up.
Obviously I can't quit now. I still need a job, and especially after finding out how much money I owe for my loans, I gotta be careful with my money. But there are alternatives to security.
The job hunt begins again, starting this week.
The apartment directly above mine has been the proverbial pile of manure to my fly of rage in the past months, as it seems someone up there thought themselves as quite the Mike Holmes and decided to pound the every loving material out of their floor. Now, they were very respectful, keeping their activity between the hours of 9-5, which-- wait, that's exactly when I'm trying to sleep. That's a horrible time to be pounding the floor, and it caused me to pound my fists into the headboard in unseen retaliation.
So this week I see a notice saying that "a condo on the 20th floor" will be renovating in the "coming weeks". Fan-damn-tastic. They will be starting the JACKHAMMERING OF THE FLOOR on OR AROUND March 12, and MAY NEED some EXTRA TIME to finish-up on the 13th. It didn't take me long to ascertain that "a condo" was the same condo that the aforementioned screw-it-yourselfer owned. Well, at least they gave us fair warning, which was enough for me call-in a favour and sleep on my buddy/co-worker/classmate's couch in an apartment that didn’t have an audio re-enactment of November 9, 1989. I'm not too good with couches, they’re far too cramped for my liking, so I was lucky when his roommate (and my buddy/classmate as well) let me use his bed while he left for work for the day.
So far this week, I've been without a quiet home to sleep in, I found out that the loan in my RBC account needs to be paid back (I forgot that there's Provincial Loan AND a National Loan ... oops), and I found out where I'll be working security when the contract I'm on is up. Good week to not have to worry about auditioning.
So today in my buddy’s bed, my agent finally calls.
"Are you frustrated yet?"
Now this is one of the reasons I like him so much: he gets it. He understands that there’s a lot of work to be done, but there’s gotta be a reward at some point. Was mine ever coming?
"Uh, yeah," I replied, trying to downplay how I feel.
"Don't be, just keep working hard, and things will click for you."
That's all I can do is work. It's been my philosophy all along, and it's something my agent stands-by. He wants his clients to work hard, because talent and looks can only get you so far. If you've got the work ethic, things WILL happen for you, plain and simple.
He asked me if I wanted to put something on tape for a Manager in LA that he'll be visiting next week. This is the first optional thing he's slid my way, and of course I'll take it. It's for a show called "Harper's Island", this is for the pilot. It's going to be directed by John Turtletaub (National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and National Treasure: Weekend at Lincoln’s). I'm not entirely sure what it's about (the website with the script asks you to pay $10 to download it), so I'll just have to stick with what my sides say, and go from there.
So I tried to get to sleep again, remembering that both "I Love You, Beth Cooper" and "Jennifer's Body" (which I kind of gave-up on, but they never said no outright) begin shooting on Monday. Looks like after auditioning for four different characters, all four of them in front of the esteemed director of “I Love You, Beth Cooper”, I'm coming away with naught but the stories I’ve written here.
The phone woke me up a few hours later and all fears were relieved.
"You just booked yourself your first little gig."
Awesome.
I booked Paul Bergie on "I Love You, Beth Cooper", shooting Wednesday, and paying actor’s scale rate plus 130% buy-out. I don't really know what that means exactly, other than it means more money, which rules.
"This is just the beginning, there will be bigger ones," he told me.
I have no doubts there, and what better way to start-out than, literally, the smallest way an actor CAN start-out? At least this one-liner is memorable.
"Is it something Grammy can watch?" my mom asked.
"A-hah, no," I said. I don't even think she could watch it, but I digress.
"Oh no, you don't saying any bad words, do you?"
"No, but if I had one of the other parts I would."
23, on my own in Vancouver, a working actor, and I still gotta make sure I don't say any naughty words, even if they're written for me and I'm paid to say them.
My folks were happy for me, of course, and I called my brother. It was his birthday today, and he asked if my getting the part was my birthday present to him. I should have said yes.
"How much is the phone bill this month?" (we're on a family plan, and the payments are withdrawn from my account).
"Aw, don't worry about it, I'll pay for it."
"Are you sure? That's expensive."
It is, but when you consider how self-involved I am that I was surprised when Facebook had to remind me that my bro's b-day was coming up, and that I had no idea or plan to get him anything, something expensive should be my penalty.
I talked for a good long time to a good dear friend of mine back home. We have a, a-hem, past together, and have gone lengths of time with nada communicado, but we're cool now. Everything was going great until she asked why I'm not dating. That just stopped me dead. Y'see, I can talk about anything, for hours, but when it comes to that, I'm about as expert as a palsy victim doing brain surgery with a pipe wrench (thank you, Frank Miller.) Seriously, I had a girl ask me why I'm not interested in her, and I just stuttered and stammered, and I don't even think I answered her question at all. I'm not going to delve too far into it, but I'll just say "it's complicated" right now.
"You're just goal-oriented," she said. Yeah, that works. And really, with the schedule I'm maintaining, I hardly have time for myself, let alone someone else. I can't even honestly say I don't WANT to see someone; I just can't. And I can't even articulate my thoughts better here. If I feel like it, I'll write about my internet "dating" history. That'll be good for a laugh.
I came back from the gym and my room-to-the-mate tells me that a guy from the costume department called me, and to call him back before 9pm. It was 9:07pm when I found this out. Did I dare risk it all and call him anyway, throwing caution and my future into the wind? Yeah, I did.
“Costume department, Kevin speaking.”
"Hello, this is Will."
"Uh, refresh my memory again?"
"From 'I Love You, Beth Cooper', I'm playing Paul."
"Oh, Paul BERGIE! Yes, yes, I need to get your sizes."
He hadn't even seen a picture of me yet, so he asked my eye colour, hair colour, my height, approximate weight, and the few things I knew off-hand such as waist, inseam, shoe size, etc. The one thing I didn't know what suit size, so he had to talk me through finding the size on my suit jacket.
"It should be on a white tag in the inside left breast pocket."
"Uh, I don't see a number, it just says 'Joseph and Feiss'"
"Oh, so it's a Moores suit."
Well, now he knows what a high roller I am. I finally found the size, and I let him know the suit was a little big for me. Like, I really stressed that point.
"And, are there any colours you just won't wear?"
"I'll be honest with you man, I really don't care, throw anything on me." Little does he know, he's dealing with the least-fashionable actor he's ever worked with. He let me know he'd call me Monday to arrange for a costume fitting on Tuesday (which I think I get paid for also, have to ask the agent about that).
So after all this acting excitement, I was looking forward to going out to a dinner party for some of my friends in Richmond Saturday night, when I checked the work schedule and see that Saturday's day shift is a "split shift", and I see my usual 2330-0730 has become 2330-1130. You gotta be kidding me. There's no way I can be in Burnaby at 11:30am and then Richmond at 7:30pm and sleep enough that I won't die from working Saturday night and being up all day Sunday to sing in the choir.
I’m shooting on Wednesday, and since work isn't allowing any nights off until the contract is up, on Tuesday night I shall fall violently ill and make a miraculous recovery come the next morning. I’m sorry, but I refuse to pull a “Chasing Stories” and stay up for three straight days for my first day on a professional set. I've taken one night off since starting with the company, and now they aren't allowing anymore? Go right to hell. There are priorities, and I certainly won’t give them to the company that outright lied to us about how they were handling placement after the contract is up.
Obviously I can't quit now. I still need a job, and especially after finding out how much money I owe for my loans, I gotta be careful with my money. But there are alternatives to security.
The job hunt begins again, starting this week.
Monday, March 10, 2008
"A Man Of Many Roles"
Yesterday my agent called me,
"Goddammit, they want you to read for Beth Cooper again. You read for them on Friday, right?"
"Yeah," (wrong, I read for them on Wednesday.)
"For Paul Bergie?"
"No, I read for Dustin on Wednesday."
"Oh ... OK. I'll give her a call and call you back."
Alright.
So I'm thinking he'll call back in like, five minutes. This totally put me on edge for the rest of the night, as I wonder if he called the wrong guy, or if he didn't what this fourth character will be about. About five agonizing hours later, I see that I missed his call (had my phone on vibrate 'cuz I was having a text message conversation while at dinner, and keeping it on loud would be the height of rudeness.) For some reason my phone wasn't connecting to the network, so I had to call my voicemail from the phone of the persons house I was at. I could hardly hear the message from that phone, so I called again from mine and heard:
"So we got it figured out, I was just playing tennis, that's why I'm getting back to you now (I didn't mind waiting, nope, not at all). So you've got an audition at 6:10 for Paul Bergie, it's a producer-director session. It's a one-liner, so I'll get to the office early tomorrow to send it to you ... you shouldn't need too many hours to work on it."
So I've gone from lead character, to incidental character, to lead character's buddy, to one line in a flashback. But hey, a gig's a gig, and I'm in no position to complain about getting anything. I mean, after this audition I'll have auditioned in front of Columbus three times, so that's pretty dang cool.
So today I got everything together to be out of the house at 1 o'clock because we were having the carpet in the apartment cleaned. We stuck around until the guy was finished, which was around 2:30 or so, and headed to Metrotown in Burnaby to kill some time while we waited for the carpet to dry. I called my agent while I was there,
"You've been in their room four times, I asked them why couldn't they just give it to you (at least I wasn't the only one thinking this), but they had to see the guys there for a callback."
I only spent about 45 minutes there at Metrotown before I had to hop the SkyTrain to get to the SeaBus to grab the bus to get to the studio's "side entrance". I enter the waiting room to see the usual crew of handsome-lookin' dudes, and I instantly become dismayed when I a guy I know as a VFS grad was there for the same part. Looks like my dream will never be realized where I walk into a completely empty waiting room where the Casting Assistant comes out to tell me that no one else showed-up, so they'll just give to me. Oh, and here's the keys to a new BMW, it's just taking-up space on the lot, you might as well have it, just mind the briefcase full of money in the trunk, I guess you can have that too.
Columbus and Radcliffe enter, late, and the actors start pourin' in. I get my turn, and right away Chris says "You're back!"
"That's right," I say.
"You are a man of many roles" (how 'bout you just give me one aready!)
"Well, that's the actor's way." Wasn't even sure what I meant by that, but I hoped it made me sound like a professional go-getter.
I read my ... line, and Chris said that the read was good, but he wanted me to take a bit more time with it. So there, now he's directed me, cool. As I was leaving the room the Casting Assistant asked me if I can read for "Loser Clerk". "I already did," I said, so this thing just turned into a "Loser Clerk" callback. The guy who auditioned for "Paul Bergie" after me was also asked to read for our favourite convenience store employee. There were some other guys in the room being called back for him too ... but no Jason. Take that, times two! I read "Loser Clerk", and held the last moment of the audition as I was leaving, just to have some fun with it, show them I'm in good spirits, and a blast to have on set, I mean, I'm just a riot.
When I got home, I received feedback from the general audition I did last week (the one I was lat-- I mean, right on time for.) The e-mail read "pretty good comic timing, great character look."
I'm the guy who puts the word "character" in "actor". Wait, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, I'm the guy who ADDS the word "char" to "actor" to make "character". Yeah, that's a lot better.
"Goddammit, they want you to read for Beth Cooper again. You read for them on Friday, right?"
"Yeah," (wrong, I read for them on Wednesday.)
"For Paul Bergie?"
"No, I read for Dustin on Wednesday."
"Oh ... OK. I'll give her a call and call you back."
Alright.
So I'm thinking he'll call back in like, five minutes. This totally put me on edge for the rest of the night, as I wonder if he called the wrong guy, or if he didn't what this fourth character will be about. About five agonizing hours later, I see that I missed his call (had my phone on vibrate 'cuz I was having a text message conversation while at dinner, and keeping it on loud would be the height of rudeness.) For some reason my phone wasn't connecting to the network, so I had to call my voicemail from the phone of the persons house I was at. I could hardly hear the message from that phone, so I called again from mine and heard:
"So we got it figured out, I was just playing tennis, that's why I'm getting back to you now (I didn't mind waiting, nope, not at all). So you've got an audition at 6:10 for Paul Bergie, it's a producer-director session. It's a one-liner, so I'll get to the office early tomorrow to send it to you ... you shouldn't need too many hours to work on it."
So I've gone from lead character, to incidental character, to lead character's buddy, to one line in a flashback. But hey, a gig's a gig, and I'm in no position to complain about getting anything. I mean, after this audition I'll have auditioned in front of Columbus three times, so that's pretty dang cool.
So today I got everything together to be out of the house at 1 o'clock because we were having the carpet in the apartment cleaned. We stuck around until the guy was finished, which was around 2:30 or so, and headed to Metrotown in Burnaby to kill some time while we waited for the carpet to dry. I called my agent while I was there,
"You've been in their room four times, I asked them why couldn't they just give it to you (at least I wasn't the only one thinking this), but they had to see the guys there for a callback."
I only spent about 45 minutes there at Metrotown before I had to hop the SkyTrain to get to the SeaBus to grab the bus to get to the studio's "side entrance". I enter the waiting room to see the usual crew of handsome-lookin' dudes, and I instantly become dismayed when I a guy I know as a VFS grad was there for the same part. Looks like my dream will never be realized where I walk into a completely empty waiting room where the Casting Assistant comes out to tell me that no one else showed-up, so they'll just give to me. Oh, and here's the keys to a new BMW, it's just taking-up space on the lot, you might as well have it, just mind the briefcase full of money in the trunk, I guess you can have that too.
Columbus and Radcliffe enter, late, and the actors start pourin' in. I get my turn, and right away Chris says "You're back!"
"That's right," I say.
"You are a man of many roles" (how 'bout you just give me one aready!)
"Well, that's the actor's way." Wasn't even sure what I meant by that, but I hoped it made me sound like a professional go-getter.
I read my ... line, and Chris said that the read was good, but he wanted me to take a bit more time with it. So there, now he's directed me, cool. As I was leaving the room the Casting Assistant asked me if I can read for "Loser Clerk". "I already did," I said, so this thing just turned into a "Loser Clerk" callback. The guy who auditioned for "Paul Bergie" after me was also asked to read for our favourite convenience store employee. There were some other guys in the room being called back for him too ... but no Jason. Take that, times two! I read "Loser Clerk", and held the last moment of the audition as I was leaving, just to have some fun with it, show them I'm in good spirits, and a blast to have on set, I mean, I'm just a riot.
When I got home, I received feedback from the general audition I did last week (the one I was lat-- I mean, right on time for.) The e-mail read "pretty good comic timing, great character look."
I'm the guy who puts the word "character" in "actor". Wait, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, I'm the guy who ADDS the word "char" to "actor" to make "character". Yeah, that's a lot better.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
"You're Going To Have a Crazy Day"
I thought I'd put my phone on "silent" today. I was expecting a call from Securiguard regarding my reassignment when the contract is up at the end of the month, but they could wait, and if my agent called, I'd just get back to him ASAP. I've been up since I bolted (literally) out of bed at 9:35am Tuesday, and I needs me shut-eye. I get a call from nature that I answer before going to bed, and take a look at my phone to see: 1 missed call. The agent. Well, since I'm up ...
He left me a voicemail that simply said "call me", so call him I did.
"Did you just wake-up?"
"Uh, yeah," it was easier to say than "I haven't really slept yet."
"Key-rist, the life of an actor," or the life of a graveyard security worker, but we'll go with actor, "what are you doing at 2 o'clock today?"
Sleeping. "Nothing!"
"Well, I want you to come in and do a voice thing."
Voice thing? Can't get anymore vague than that, and I try to sleep for a few hours more before I go in to do something with my voice.
While waiting for my luxurious acting transport to arrive (read: bus) that old cad calls again.
"You're going to have a crazy day."
Great.
"They want you for 'I Love You, Beth Cooper' at 3:45 to read for Dustin, but they want you to read Kevin."
Wha?
Dustin is one of Kevin's army buddies, and when I read "Loser Clerk" last week, Dustin was being read by all black guys. I let my agent know this.
"Yeah, well, they want to go this way with it. It's a producer/director session."
So Columbus, we meet again at last.
When I arrive at the agency, I find out this "voice thing" is another radio commercial for, drum roll please ... oven-roasted almonds. Just smashing. Before I did this, my agent gave me the "Dustin" sides, and was telling me he was trying to get me an audition for a new series his friend Michael Rymer (producer and director of Battlestar Gallactica) was working on. He said Michael saw my head shot, and thought I looked too young, by my agent pressed for me, saying I was more mature than I looked. It's that danged youthful head shot he made me get, curse the day! We got to talking about how expensive it can be to be an actor, paying for transport and tapings like I did yesterday, and like Sara had to today.
"She's been putting a lot of things on tape for LA, she's getting pretty well-known down there," and as he walked away he casually mentioned, "They know about you, too."
I discovered the agency has a recording studio attached to it, and I tried my best to be youthful and energetic with these danged almonds, but I just didn't get there. I was being coached my my agent's daughter who wants me to listen to the radio to hear what the other guys are doing and how they're sounding. They want me to take a workshop, which I don't mind. Anything to improve myself, really.
I grabbed another luxurious city bus back to my apartment, and my agent calls again to tell me I have an audition for Michael Rymer's pilot tomorrow at 1:25. Hoo boy. He says it's a big one, which just relaxes me further. At the apartment, I grabbed my old "Kevin" sides, and figured an audition of this magnitude called for the most luxurious transport that money could buy: taxi!
The $27 taxi ride gets me there about 30 minutes early, which is just my style. I head to building #4 where a sign on the door says to use the entrance on the other side of the building. I enter side 2 and sign-in and wait for a bit and then get asked to wait over on side 1, since I'd be going in last and there wasn't much room on side 2 (they were casting for "Supernatural" on side 1.) While I'm waiting, I hear the Casting Assistant say "the execs are here," and I immediately sit-up straight when I hear them chattering outside the door. In comes Chris Columbus and his fellow explorers, and I greet them with a "Hey, man!" like we're old buddies, which we pretty much are. I say hi to the producers, and following all of them is Jared, they guy I read against for Kevin, that also didn't get it (it went to Brendan ... or that LA guy, we're not quite sure.) We both basically have no idea what's going on when they tell us to read one scene from Kevin's sides, and we might not even DO Dustin's, But hey, we're acting in front of Columbus again, so who are we to complain. We also both thought we're at least likely to get SOMETHING from all of this.
We get ushered back over to side 2, where I see a young middle-eastern looking guy holding sides for "Loser Clerk." Take THAT, Jason!
I go into the room, give everyone a "'sup?" and see that they remembered me. I read the "Kevin" scene and Chris said "that was awesome," and then read Dustin's stuff that I just got this afternoon. It was only about four lines or so, but they were split-up over four scenes and were a little tough as far as eye-lines go, but I made the most of it. I just had fun with it, and the guys seemed to like it.
I call my agent afterwards, as I do with every audition, and he tells me about an acting coach the agency "believes in" that he'd like me to work with for tomorrow's audition. It's a big deal, so I'll need some big help. I give her a call, and I work with her tomorrow at noon, right before my audition. I tried to sleep this evening, but the roomie was chatting and watching TV the next room over, which woke me up, and couldn't put to sleep again.
So tonight I work, tomorrow, I'll get home, go to the gym in the morning, go to my coaching, go to my audition and then ... sleep. So long as I don't have another "crazy day."
And to think, I would have slept through all of this had I not checked my phone this morning.
He left me a voicemail that simply said "call me", so call him I did.
"Did you just wake-up?"
"Uh, yeah," it was easier to say than "I haven't really slept yet."
"Key-rist, the life of an actor," or the life of a graveyard security worker, but we'll go with actor, "what are you doing at 2 o'clock today?"
Sleeping. "Nothing!"
"Well, I want you to come in and do a voice thing."
Voice thing? Can't get anymore vague than that, and I try to sleep for a few hours more before I go in to do something with my voice.
While waiting for my luxurious acting transport to arrive (read: bus) that old cad calls again.
"You're going to have a crazy day."
Great.
"They want you for 'I Love You, Beth Cooper' at 3:45 to read for Dustin, but they want you to read Kevin."
Wha?
Dustin is one of Kevin's army buddies, and when I read "Loser Clerk" last week, Dustin was being read by all black guys. I let my agent know this.
"Yeah, well, they want to go this way with it. It's a producer/director session."
So Columbus, we meet again at last.
When I arrive at the agency, I find out this "voice thing" is another radio commercial for, drum roll please ... oven-roasted almonds. Just smashing. Before I did this, my agent gave me the "Dustin" sides, and was telling me he was trying to get me an audition for a new series his friend Michael Rymer (producer and director of Battlestar Gallactica) was working on. He said Michael saw my head shot, and thought I looked too young, by my agent pressed for me, saying I was more mature than I looked. It's that danged youthful head shot he made me get, curse the day! We got to talking about how expensive it can be to be an actor, paying for transport and tapings like I did yesterday, and like Sara had to today.
"She's been putting a lot of things on tape for LA, she's getting pretty well-known down there," and as he walked away he casually mentioned, "They know about you, too."
I discovered the agency has a recording studio attached to it, and I tried my best to be youthful and energetic with these danged almonds, but I just didn't get there. I was being coached my my agent's daughter who wants me to listen to the radio to hear what the other guys are doing and how they're sounding. They want me to take a workshop, which I don't mind. Anything to improve myself, really.
I grabbed another luxurious city bus back to my apartment, and my agent calls again to tell me I have an audition for Michael Rymer's pilot tomorrow at 1:25. Hoo boy. He says it's a big one, which just relaxes me further. At the apartment, I grabbed my old "Kevin" sides, and figured an audition of this magnitude called for the most luxurious transport that money could buy: taxi!
The $27 taxi ride gets me there about 30 minutes early, which is just my style. I head to building #4 where a sign on the door says to use the entrance on the other side of the building. I enter side 2 and sign-in and wait for a bit and then get asked to wait over on side 1, since I'd be going in last and there wasn't much room on side 2 (they were casting for "Supernatural" on side 1.) While I'm waiting, I hear the Casting Assistant say "the execs are here," and I immediately sit-up straight when I hear them chattering outside the door. In comes Chris Columbus and his fellow explorers, and I greet them with a "Hey, man!" like we're old buddies, which we pretty much are. I say hi to the producers, and following all of them is Jared, they guy I read against for Kevin, that also didn't get it (it went to Brendan ... or that LA guy, we're not quite sure.) We both basically have no idea what's going on when they tell us to read one scene from Kevin's sides, and we might not even DO Dustin's, But hey, we're acting in front of Columbus again, so who are we to complain. We also both thought we're at least likely to get SOMETHING from all of this.
We get ushered back over to side 2, where I see a young middle-eastern looking guy holding sides for "Loser Clerk." Take THAT, Jason!
I go into the room, give everyone a "'sup?" and see that they remembered me. I read the "Kevin" scene and Chris said "that was awesome," and then read Dustin's stuff that I just got this afternoon. It was only about four lines or so, but they were split-up over four scenes and were a little tough as far as eye-lines go, but I made the most of it. I just had fun with it, and the guys seemed to like it.
I call my agent afterwards, as I do with every audition, and he tells me about an acting coach the agency "believes in" that he'd like me to work with for tomorrow's audition. It's a big deal, so I'll need some big help. I give her a call, and I work with her tomorrow at noon, right before my audition. I tried to sleep this evening, but the roomie was chatting and watching TV the next room over, which woke me up, and couldn't put to sleep again.
So tonight I work, tomorrow, I'll get home, go to the gym in the morning, go to my coaching, go to my audition and then ... sleep. So long as I don't have another "crazy day."
And to think, I would have slept through all of this had I not checked my phone this morning.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Damn You, Jason!
My "Roll-up" record improves to 2-3, winning another glorious coffee, which means another rim to roll-up. I'll let you all know ASAP how that goes! I know you all care so much! !!
Nothing gives me more motivation to blog than data-entry, which is what I'm currently faced with at work. So let's you and I have a chat, shall we?
Awesome, I thought as I signed-in at North Shore Studios for my second (third?) "I Love You, Beth Cooper" audition. I'm the only guy here for this part, I realized when I scanned-through all the names and saw I was the only guy with the privilege of reading for Loser Clerk. The only other guys in the room were auditioning for the role of one of the friends of the character for which I was first submitted (me and Brendan kinda thought that if they were going to "give" me any role, it'd be the role of one of the friends.) I'm definitely not going to be "given" this role, as all the guys reading for it were black, which I don’t real “read” as (although I did play a Puerto-Rican before, so you could say that ethnicities are my specialty, along with commenting on the state of a woman’s pants upon arrival in a foreign land.)
So I'm feeling pretty good, no one else in the waiting room, I'm calm, I'm cool, I'm collect. Then one guy walks in, whom the casting assistant recognizes immediately, gives him a mug with his name on it, and pulls-out a chair with the same. She snaps her fingers and a frantic-looking teenager with a headset and clipboard rushes out of nowhere to ask this man if there's anything he can get for him, coffee, tea, Carmel macchiato. This man is Jason, and he's out for the same part I am. I even recognized him from a distance (I wasn't wearing my glasses or contacts, my dang pink-eye made Loser Clerk look like Enraged Clerk) from a number of commercials and TV shows, including that car commercial where he's playing with all the knobblies and whirly-bobs in this awesome automobile when his S/O comes along and puts the kibosh on all that. I enter the audition room, which is much sparser than it was last time, and I do my thing and feel pretty good about it.
It was certainly one of my better ones, because I "found" something in the room, which meant the discoveries I made while working on it continued right up until I did it for the Casting Director. That may not make much sense to the “normies” (non-acting folk), but the actors should get it. The “little people” just wouldn’t understand.
I exit the room, and see Jason putting on a red apron, looking like a real winner of a Loser Clerk, talking to the Casting Assistant about how wearing glasses never comes-across in the audition, how it seems too cartoony. Good thing I didn’t wear mine, although it made it more difficult to "connect" (more acting parlance, I apologize, normies) to that big light blur I was acting with.
So the Jason thing threw me, and this is where it hit me that I really need to practice what I preach. There's no controlling who you go in against, you're really only competing with yourself. So why should I be upset when I go up against the pros? If anything, I should be flattered. I've said a million times, you don't audition to get the part; you audition to get another audition. So what does it matter if the other guy gets it? At least they're seeing me, and these are huge Casting Directors who cast for huge projects.
"You know what this means? It means you're on their list, they like your work, and if you don't get the bigger parts, they'll see you for these smaller parts," explains my agent. Role size doesn’t matter to me at this stage. I'm lucky that I got as far as I did with for the roles for which I was called-back.
"And the nice thing about going-out for these big features is that they pay 130% buy-out, so even if you're just an actor ("actor" means you have at least one line, but less than ... eight? I think) you're making over a grand a day." Oh yeah, I forgot that I’d get paid for this.
I get home and plan to sleep between 1pm-7pm, go to the gym, eat, and go to work. Of course I go to sleep and my phone rings every hour or so, either being work, or my agent. Work can screw itself (they wanted me to start early), but the agent I never tire of hearing from. I missed his call, so I get this voice-mail: "You've never done this before, but I want you to put something on tape for this Casting Director, I'll send you an e-mail with the details." Something on tape? This could only mean one thing: Los Angeles.
I helped my great friend, Sara (she's the best) put something on tape that was being sent to some CDs down in Californ-eye-ay, so I figured this might have been what I was in store for. Did my agent have so much faith in me that he wanted my smiling face seen in the land of the free and the home of the brave? I check my e-mail to see what it is I need to work on for my star-spangled friends, and see tha--Winnipeg? I'm submitting to a CD in WINNIPEG?
Yes, but it's actually a good thing. This is for a lead in a new series for The Comedy Network, written and directed by a bunch of people that have so many credits I don't even know where to begin. It's called "House Party" (no relation to the immortal Kid n' Play series of the same name) and it's about, well ... a house party, telling the story of a different guest each half-hour episode (kinda like “Lost”, only nothing like “Lost”). The characters look really interesting, and the sides I have are pretty damn funny, so I should have fun with this. It’s right down my alley, especially the scene where I'm being awkward with a girl I have a crush on; pretty much my trademark.
To “put it on tape” (that means I have to recor—oh, I guess that one’s pretty obvious, even to the “normies”) I have to go a studio and pay them to film me and send the tape away. I wanted to use my iSight camera on my MacBook, but that just doesn’t yield the same result as a professional studio. So it’s up to me to find someone to read with (like I did for Sara), and book the studio time before Thursday.
As long as Jason doesn’t show-up at the same studio to put himself on tape for the same part, I should be OK.
Nothing gives me more motivation to blog than data-entry, which is what I'm currently faced with at work. So let's you and I have a chat, shall we?
Awesome, I thought as I signed-in at North Shore Studios for my second (third?) "I Love You, Beth Cooper" audition. I'm the only guy here for this part, I realized when I scanned-through all the names and saw I was the only guy with the privilege of reading for Loser Clerk. The only other guys in the room were auditioning for the role of one of the friends of the character for which I was first submitted (me and Brendan kinda thought that if they were going to "give" me any role, it'd be the role of one of the friends.) I'm definitely not going to be "given" this role, as all the guys reading for it were black, which I don’t real “read” as (although I did play a Puerto-Rican before, so you could say that ethnicities are my specialty, along with commenting on the state of a woman’s pants upon arrival in a foreign land.)
So I'm feeling pretty good, no one else in the waiting room, I'm calm, I'm cool, I'm collect. Then one guy walks in, whom the casting assistant recognizes immediately, gives him a mug with his name on it, and pulls-out a chair with the same. She snaps her fingers and a frantic-looking teenager with a headset and clipboard rushes out of nowhere to ask this man if there's anything he can get for him, coffee, tea, Carmel macchiato. This man is Jason, and he's out for the same part I am. I even recognized him from a distance (I wasn't wearing my glasses or contacts, my dang pink-eye made Loser Clerk look like Enraged Clerk) from a number of commercials and TV shows, including that car commercial where he's playing with all the knobblies and whirly-bobs in this awesome automobile when his S/O comes along and puts the kibosh on all that. I enter the audition room, which is much sparser than it was last time, and I do my thing and feel pretty good about it.
It was certainly one of my better ones, because I "found" something in the room, which meant the discoveries I made while working on it continued right up until I did it for the Casting Director. That may not make much sense to the “normies” (non-acting folk), but the actors should get it. The “little people” just wouldn’t understand.
I exit the room, and see Jason putting on a red apron, looking like a real winner of a Loser Clerk, talking to the Casting Assistant about how wearing glasses never comes-across in the audition, how it seems too cartoony. Good thing I didn’t wear mine, although it made it more difficult to "connect" (more acting parlance, I apologize, normies) to that big light blur I was acting with.
So the Jason thing threw me, and this is where it hit me that I really need to practice what I preach. There's no controlling who you go in against, you're really only competing with yourself. So why should I be upset when I go up against the pros? If anything, I should be flattered. I've said a million times, you don't audition to get the part; you audition to get another audition. So what does it matter if the other guy gets it? At least they're seeing me, and these are huge Casting Directors who cast for huge projects.
"You know what this means? It means you're on their list, they like your work, and if you don't get the bigger parts, they'll see you for these smaller parts," explains my agent. Role size doesn’t matter to me at this stage. I'm lucky that I got as far as I did with for the roles for which I was called-back.
"And the nice thing about going-out for these big features is that they pay 130% buy-out, so even if you're just an actor ("actor" means you have at least one line, but less than ... eight? I think) you're making over a grand a day." Oh yeah, I forgot that I’d get paid for this.
I get home and plan to sleep between 1pm-7pm, go to the gym, eat, and go to work. Of course I go to sleep and my phone rings every hour or so, either being work, or my agent. Work can screw itself (they wanted me to start early), but the agent I never tire of hearing from. I missed his call, so I get this voice-mail: "You've never done this before, but I want you to put something on tape for this Casting Director, I'll send you an e-mail with the details." Something on tape? This could only mean one thing: Los Angeles.
I helped my great friend, Sara (she's the best) put something on tape that was being sent to some CDs down in Californ-eye-ay, so I figured this might have been what I was in store for. Did my agent have so much faith in me that he wanted my smiling face seen in the land of the free and the home of the brave? I check my e-mail to see what it is I need to work on for my star-spangled friends, and see tha--Winnipeg? I'm submitting to a CD in WINNIPEG?
Yes, but it's actually a good thing. This is for a lead in a new series for The Comedy Network, written and directed by a bunch of people that have so many credits I don't even know where to begin. It's called "House Party" (no relation to the immortal Kid n' Play series of the same name) and it's about, well ... a house party, telling the story of a different guest each half-hour episode (kinda like “Lost”, only nothing like “Lost”). The characters look really interesting, and the sides I have are pretty damn funny, so I should have fun with this. It’s right down my alley, especially the scene where I'm being awkward with a girl I have a crush on; pretty much my trademark.
To “put it on tape” (that means I have to recor—oh, I guess that one’s pretty obvious, even to the “normies”) I have to go a studio and pay them to film me and send the tape away. I wanted to use my iSight camera on my MacBook, but that just doesn’t yield the same result as a professional studio. So it’s up to me to find someone to read with (like I did for Sara), and book the studio time before Thursday.
As long as Jason doesn’t show-up at the same studio to put himself on tape for the same part, I should be OK.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
"He's Not Gay In His Softness"
At the "Altitude" callback, I saw Brendan, one of the guys I was up against for the "I Love You, Beth Cooper" role. He asked if I was still reading for "Beth Cooper", and I told him that my agent told me they "went another way" with it. Turns out they went Brendan's way, which I expected, but he said it was between him and another guy, and he wasn't sure if it was me or not. Looks like it's now between him and some guy from LA, which is funny, because I could have sworn someone told me they were only casting in Vancouver (my agent's daughter said they were probably casting in LA if it was for a lead, so it looks like she wins.)
The callback itself went alright. I read it once for the director and his crew, and got a "good ... some good moments there ... " and did the awkward "yeah, thanks ... yeah ... " for a few seconds before I realized they only wanted to see it once (everyone who went in while I was waiting did it at least twice.) So, as I was leaving the Casting Director came out and gave the waiting room full of actors notes on the scene, along the same lines with what he told me the day before. When I closed the door on my way out, I couldn't help but hear "he's not gay in his softness ..." so I guess I know how that last line came across.
I'm 1 for 2 in the "Roll-Up-The-Rim" series, with as decisive donut victory. This, however is countermeasure to my new "nutrition" philosophy (y'know, eating is such a big part of nutrition ...) so I have to bid this free pastry adieu, and donate this donut to my roommates, who can eat anything and still win a swimsuit contest (but only in the "freestyle" category.)
That night I helped a team of nurses shoot a video, and was appointed the director/camera man. This was for a school project, and this took me back to my Life Teen days, directing a group of people with no acting inclinations or talent. Whatever, they'll get an "A" anyway.
I had to head to choir practice late and learn ... three songs that I already knew from Life Teen. Oh well, I got a ride to work on time, so I can't complain. This was my first Wednesday choir practice since May, when I had to leave it to make time for school. I think I'm busier now than I ever was at school, but I find you have so many more hours in the day when you eliminate sleeping. And speaking on that, I was actually seeing spots last night, it's the most tired I've felt in a long time, and that's saying something. I only slept for a few hours that day, between coming home from work and going to my audition, and I felt more tired when I woke-up than when I went to sleep.
I just got a call for another "Beth Cooper" audition. I mentioned before they may want to give me another role, and tomorrow morning I get to go out for the part of ... "Loser Clerk." I'll just channel some Rogers Video days, and I'll be fine. Looks like a funny little part, and I'm really not complaining, although a name wouldn't kill 'em. Even if it was like "Lost Clerk Eugene", I'd be happy.
On Tuesday morning next week (I'm positive on this, I read my e-mail and everything) I'm meeting some more Casting Directors before it starts picking-up in this town again. All I need to do is material I feel I would be sent-out for, so I'll just grab something I've already done, and let 'em have it.
It's the calm before the storm. Let it rain.
The callback itself went alright. I read it once for the director and his crew, and got a "good ... some good moments there ... " and did the awkward "yeah, thanks ... yeah ... " for a few seconds before I realized they only wanted to see it once (everyone who went in while I was waiting did it at least twice.) So, as I was leaving the Casting Director came out and gave the waiting room full of actors notes on the scene, along the same lines with what he told me the day before. When I closed the door on my way out, I couldn't help but hear "he's not gay in his softness ..." so I guess I know how that last line came across.
I'm 1 for 2 in the "Roll-Up-The-Rim" series, with as decisive donut victory. This, however is countermeasure to my new "nutrition" philosophy (y'know, eating is such a big part of nutrition ...) so I have to bid this free pastry adieu, and donate this donut to my roommates, who can eat anything and still win a swimsuit contest (but only in the "freestyle" category.)
That night I helped a team of nurses shoot a video, and was appointed the director/camera man. This was for a school project, and this took me back to my Life Teen days, directing a group of people with no acting inclinations or talent. Whatever, they'll get an "A" anyway.
I had to head to choir practice late and learn ... three songs that I already knew from Life Teen. Oh well, I got a ride to work on time, so I can't complain. This was my first Wednesday choir practice since May, when I had to leave it to make time for school. I think I'm busier now than I ever was at school, but I find you have so many more hours in the day when you eliminate sleeping. And speaking on that, I was actually seeing spots last night, it's the most tired I've felt in a long time, and that's saying something. I only slept for a few hours that day, between coming home from work and going to my audition, and I felt more tired when I woke-up than when I went to sleep.
I just got a call for another "Beth Cooper" audition. I mentioned before they may want to give me another role, and tomorrow morning I get to go out for the part of ... "Loser Clerk." I'll just channel some Rogers Video days, and I'll be fine. Looks like a funny little part, and I'm really not complaining, although a name wouldn't kill 'em. Even if it was like "Lost Clerk Eugene", I'd be happy.
On Tuesday morning next week (I'm positive on this, I read my e-mail and everything) I'm meeting some more Casting Directors before it starts picking-up in this town again. All I need to do is material I feel I would be sent-out for, so I'll just grab something I've already done, and let 'em have it.
It's the calm before the storm. Let it rain.
Monday, February 25, 2008
"This Stupid Business of Ours"
I have a callback for "Altitude", that teen thriller that I pre-screened for weeks ago, and for which I was too old. This was my first "audition" (I count Stargate as the true first audition because like I said, this was a pre-screen) and I had all but forgotten about it so I never expected anything from this. I don't know too much about it, i.e: who the director and producer I'm working in front of tomorrow are (imdb.com has failed me, yet again) and all I have to work with are some notes from the Casting Director.
When my agent called he said I'm still up for the "Jennifer's Body" role, and the people from "I Love You, Beth Cooper" are still interested in giving me a different role, but he so appropriately quipped "That's just the way it goes in this stupid business of ours." This is my introduction to The Biz 101, but hey, I gotta play by the same rules everyone else does. No one said it was easy, logical, ethical or fair, so I shouldn't expect it to be. I'm doing good work, getting good feedback, and according to my agent it will be "Only a matter of time," before I book something, and that it's "Going to get crazy busy soon."
I told him, "I hope so."
When my agent called he said I'm still up for the "Jennifer's Body" role, and the people from "I Love You, Beth Cooper" are still interested in giving me a different role, but he so appropriately quipped "That's just the way it goes in this stupid business of ours." This is my introduction to The Biz 101, but hey, I gotta play by the same rules everyone else does. No one said it was easy, logical, ethical or fair, so I shouldn't expect it to be. I'm doing good work, getting good feedback, and according to my agent it will be "Only a matter of time," before I book something, and that it's "Going to get crazy busy soon."
I told him, "I hope so."
Friday, February 15, 2008
"They Went Another Way"
I didn't get "I Love You Beth Cooper." My agent just called about a half-hour ago to let me know that "they went another way." I really appreciate him calling me, and he said he wanted to "let me off the hook," which lets me breathe a sigh of relief that I at least got an answer.
Really, this whole "Beth Cooper" ordeal was way more than I ever expected when my agent first called me with the breakdown on February 5th. I was ecstatic just to receive the callback, to get to read for Columbus and to go on that wacky studio "adventure" and get to hang with two experienced actors. I've received compliments abound, and I cherish all of them, and the response from the people that read this, and that I've talked to this project about has been wonderful. I'll never forget this.
I'll have been signed with my agent for one month as of Sunday, so to have all this happen so fast has been a real blessing. He told me on the phone today that he's "not worried about me," and that "I'll do fine." Very, very reassuring to have him believe in me, and I know it's a combination of my work, talent, and of course, luck to have made the impressions that I have made.
Is this too much too soon? Have I created a higher expectation of myself to live up to? We'll see. I certainly won't expect a callback from every thing I go out for, and if anything I should take this as a reassurance of my abilities, that I am castable, and that it's only a matter of time, really, before I book something. Just keep working hard, and it will happen.
They're still looking for a role for me in "Beth Cooper." I kind of figured they'd give a major role like this to someone more experienced anyway, so they'll probably look for something smaller for me, just because I'm starting-out. But hey, consideration for another part is all I can ask for, I'd love to still be a part of this project.
I can sleep easier now (I was actually sleeping just fine when he called me ... ) and I look forward to the next project for which I'm sent-out. I know that you don't audition to get the role, you audition to get another audition. All you can do is work hard, and do your best with the material given, then it's all in the hands of the Casting Directors. You can give the best audition of your life and still not be called back, just because a few other guys did that little bit better, or had the right look for that particular role. There is a lot of luck involved, as any actor will tell you. I love how I talk like a seasoned vet after auditioning a whopping six times. I'll probably read this in a year and laugh my little tuccus off at how I thought I knew it all.
A classmate of mine read for my agent today, did the same memorize-a-huge-audition-and-make-a-big-impression read that I did. He's interested in her, which is great, and is letting her see some other agents before she makes her decision, just like he did with me. This girl is very talented, and I'm glad VFS Acting class 28 is taking-up space on his wall.
Onward and upward, bring on the next one.
Really, this whole "Beth Cooper" ordeal was way more than I ever expected when my agent first called me with the breakdown on February 5th. I was ecstatic just to receive the callback, to get to read for Columbus and to go on that wacky studio "adventure" and get to hang with two experienced actors. I've received compliments abound, and I cherish all of them, and the response from the people that read this, and that I've talked to this project about has been wonderful. I'll never forget this.
I'll have been signed with my agent for one month as of Sunday, so to have all this happen so fast has been a real blessing. He told me on the phone today that he's "not worried about me," and that "I'll do fine." Very, very reassuring to have him believe in me, and I know it's a combination of my work, talent, and of course, luck to have made the impressions that I have made.
Is this too much too soon? Have I created a higher expectation of myself to live up to? We'll see. I certainly won't expect a callback from every thing I go out for, and if anything I should take this as a reassurance of my abilities, that I am castable, and that it's only a matter of time, really, before I book something. Just keep working hard, and it will happen.
They're still looking for a role for me in "Beth Cooper." I kind of figured they'd give a major role like this to someone more experienced anyway, so they'll probably look for something smaller for me, just because I'm starting-out. But hey, consideration for another part is all I can ask for, I'd love to still be a part of this project.
I can sleep easier now (I was actually sleeping just fine when he called me ... ) and I look forward to the next project for which I'm sent-out. I know that you don't audition to get the role, you audition to get another audition. All you can do is work hard, and do your best with the material given, then it's all in the hands of the Casting Directors. You can give the best audition of your life and still not be called back, just because a few other guys did that little bit better, or had the right look for that particular role. There is a lot of luck involved, as any actor will tell you. I love how I talk like a seasoned vet after auditioning a whopping six times. I'll probably read this in a year and laugh my little tuccus off at how I thought I knew it all.
A classmate of mine read for my agent today, did the same memorize-a-huge-audition-and-make-a-big-impression read that I did. He's interested in her, which is great, and is letting her see some other agents before she makes her decision, just like he did with me. This girl is very talented, and I'm glad VFS Acting class 28 is taking-up space on his wall.
Onward and upward, bring on the next one.
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