I knew there was some weird reason I was sitting through a Zac Efron monologue. Anyways, we shot this less than a month ago, and I love a quick turnaround! I think a lot of folks watching it thought it was an SNL parody, coming out of the first break. Certainly seemed like one.
15 April 2009
30 March 2009
Slumdog Millionaire Child Star Made More on a Pepsi Commercial Than the Movie
Click the title to go to the link.
Gee, does anyone see a parallel with the movie itself? What is the difference between the production company and the character who kidnapped the children to exploit on the street for spare change? At least the kids have an opportunity to capitalize on their fame now. But if a rising tide raises all ships, they should all be given the opportunity to reap the benefits of what they earned, and undoubtedly, use that money to help their families and neighborhoods.
The media coverage of this issue has come and gone, because traditional media have the attention span of an ADHD teenager and are too lazy to revisit a story once it has passed through the radar. It is pathetic but not surprising that they won't even continue 21-pound-per-month payments for her education. Thankfully, the issue can be revived with every job she takes from here on out.
But if this is allowed to become the norm, expect a LOT more "outsourcing" of the film industry.
Worldwide gross of nearly THREE HUNDRED MILLION dollars, and this little girl--all of these kids if this is true--were USED for the profit of other, more powerful figures. (Estimated budget was $15 million.)The nine-year-old was plucked from Mumbai’s slums to act in Danny Boyle’s film but, despite its runaway box office success, she went back to the same life as before.
The film’s executives then set up a trust fund for her and the other child stars.
But Rubina’s father, Rafiq Ali, claims the cashflow had stopped.
He said: 'The Slumdog Millionaire people haven’t kept all their promises despite the media attention.
'We have no information about the supposed trust fund - and the £21 a month that they were giving for her studies has stopped coming.
Gee, does anyone see a parallel with the movie itself? What is the difference between the production company and the character who kidnapped the children to exploit on the street for spare change? At least the kids have an opportunity to capitalize on their fame now. But if a rising tide raises all ships, they should all be given the opportunity to reap the benefits of what they earned, and undoubtedly, use that money to help their families and neighborhoods.
The media coverage of this issue has come and gone, because traditional media have the attention span of an ADHD teenager and are too lazy to revisit a story once it has passed through the radar. It is pathetic but not surprising that they won't even continue 21-pound-per-month payments for her education. Thankfully, the issue can be revived with every job she takes from here on out.
But if this is allowed to become the norm, expect a LOT more "outsourcing" of the film industry.
10 February 2009
New Major League Baseball logo
There will inevitably be a second record book. This can be their logo.
04 February 2009
Learnins
Bonnie Gillespie recently posted her end-of-2008 column, inviting readers to tell her what they learned about their craft in the past year. What I learned was that booking ten commercials in 12 months no longer means squat. A full 87% of my acting income last year came from one commercial, and I nearly called in sick for that one. I absolutely needed every single one of those other bookings just to get by until Capital One started running in the summer. I would be toast, right now, unhappy in another day job or busting ass from sun to sun creating whatever business I could to get by had I not booked that job. (It certainly seems that collecting Unemployment Insurance from the State of California is not a guaranteed proposition any more!)
We have commercial contracts to be renegotiated in a few months. Since the 2000 contracts, I believe, we have been royally buggered on the cable deal, and the internet buyout yields just enough cash to pay a month's rent and groceries, provided you have a STELLAR deal on rent/mortgage.
It was a conversation with Hans Howes that inspired me to shoot for double digit bookings. He told me his record was 11 commercials in a year. of course, that was a much different time and a few of those may have been from the Marlboro Man campaign. But giving yourself a ridiculous goal like that, as long as it's grounded in reality and you believe in it, is the first step in accomplishing a ridiculous goal.
How does one wind up still living one month or one car accident away from being flat broke after booking ten commercials? Here's how it breaks down.
Capital One: my meal ticket in '08. Thank you, squid.
Hormel/Lloyd's BBQ: My cold meal off the floor. Internet only, right here.
Advil: Excellent spot, stunt work, bruises, and special effects on the cheap. It showed apparently, so they kept it on the shelf and killed the campaign.
VW: Awesome experience, worked with Bobby Knight. Fartknocker improvs a scene without me and they use that take. See blog post below. Booked Advil and VW on the same day.
Sprint: Cutting room floor. Booked same week as Advil & VW, so imagine how rich I thought I'd be right now.
VisitLasVegas.com: Actually aired for a few weeks, but only good enough for cable money.
Bud Light: Removed from set and replaced with female moments before the master shot.
Epson: Hey, I survived one! This one is currently online, playing during internet series including The Office. Lots of people have told me they saw it, but at least I got a flat rate. Actors in The Office episode didn't get squat. Plus, I wound up buying two of the printers I was hawking, they are that good.
Apple: Specs were changed, no money for potential conflict was offered, so for the first time ever, I actually refused a job. Really hope that was the right decision.
KGB: Finished off the year with this late booking and this one is airing, of course, on cable only. Felt like I kinda snuck in on that one, a lot of established actors grace that campaign, and I'm pretty certain I was one of the only ones on that set working at scale. Still, I'll out-earn what I got for all but one of the other bookings.
And one more that I've forgotten. (Because like most of the others, it went nowhere.)
I have to be proud of myself for not counting on anything. There have been several times over the past few months when I coulda pulled the trigger...coulda walked out of CostCo with that 52-inch plasma and gotten myself hooked up to a lot of fun toys. Had I done that, I wouldn't be writing this. I'd be babysitting the yoots of LA under the guise of "substitute teaching." Or back to the back-breaking messenger biz, or carjacking. Had I done that, I would have had a much harder time replacing my car, which finally reached its breaking point at the end of the year. So what has I learnt? For one thing, I'd rather have quality than quantity. Two network ads trumps ten internet ads every time. And don't buy a lot of stupid shit because you need to pay rent six months from now.
So while I'd love to renew that goal of a dozen commercials, I'll be happier with two meal tickets. Oh, and I've also learned that if you are in the market for a new printer, do not hesitate to snap up the Epson Artisan 800. Highly highly recommend! Use your Capital One card if you have to.
We have commercial contracts to be renegotiated in a few months. Since the 2000 contracts, I believe, we have been royally buggered on the cable deal, and the internet buyout yields just enough cash to pay a month's rent and groceries, provided you have a STELLAR deal on rent/mortgage.
It was a conversation with Hans Howes that inspired me to shoot for double digit bookings. He told me his record was 11 commercials in a year. of course, that was a much different time and a few of those may have been from the Marlboro Man campaign. But giving yourself a ridiculous goal like that, as long as it's grounded in reality and you believe in it, is the first step in accomplishing a ridiculous goal.
How does one wind up still living one month or one car accident away from being flat broke after booking ten commercials? Here's how it breaks down.
Capital One: my meal ticket in '08. Thank you, squid.
Hormel/Lloyd's BBQ: My cold meal off the floor. Internet only, right here.
Advil: Excellent spot, stunt work, bruises, and special effects on the cheap. It showed apparently, so they kept it on the shelf and killed the campaign.
VW: Awesome experience, worked with Bobby Knight. Fartknocker improvs a scene without me and they use that take. See blog post below. Booked Advil and VW on the same day.
Sprint: Cutting room floor. Booked same week as Advil & VW, so imagine how rich I thought I'd be right now.
VisitLasVegas.com: Actually aired for a few weeks, but only good enough for cable money.
Bud Light: Removed from set and replaced with female moments before the master shot.
Epson: Hey, I survived one! This one is currently online, playing during internet series including The Office. Lots of people have told me they saw it, but at least I got a flat rate. Actors in The Office episode didn't get squat. Plus, I wound up buying two of the printers I was hawking, they are that good.
Apple: Specs were changed, no money for potential conflict was offered, so for the first time ever, I actually refused a job. Really hope that was the right decision.
KGB: Finished off the year with this late booking and this one is airing, of course, on cable only. Felt like I kinda snuck in on that one, a lot of established actors grace that campaign, and I'm pretty certain I was one of the only ones on that set working at scale. Still, I'll out-earn what I got for all but one of the other bookings.
And one more that I've forgotten. (Because like most of the others, it went nowhere.)
I have to be proud of myself for not counting on anything. There have been several times over the past few months when I coulda pulled the trigger...coulda walked out of CostCo with that 52-inch plasma and gotten myself hooked up to a lot of fun toys. Had I done that, I wouldn't be writing this. I'd be babysitting the yoots of LA under the guise of "substitute teaching." Or back to the back-breaking messenger biz, or carjacking. Had I done that, I would have had a much harder time replacing my car, which finally reached its breaking point at the end of the year. So what has I learnt? For one thing, I'd rather have quality than quantity. Two network ads trumps ten internet ads every time. And don't buy a lot of stupid shit because you need to pay rent six months from now.
So while I'd love to renew that goal of a dozen commercials, I'll be happier with two meal tickets. Oh, and I've also learned that if you are in the market for a new printer, do not hesitate to snap up the Epson Artisan 800. Highly highly recommend! Use your Capital One card if you have to.
10 October 2008
My Giant Squid Encounter (Capital One)
This is the story of how I landed one of the coolest jobs I ever had: being violated repeatedly by a giant squid on national television. Long gone are the days when a commercial actor could count on 2 or 3 jobs being able to pay for a year of life as an actor. This spring, it took me seven jobs just to survive until July. So I am long overdue in telling the tale of the job that brought me out of debt for the first time in almost fifteen years.
Let's start at the beginning, with the audition. It was a holiday, Presidents' Day or something, and for the first time in a few years I was sick. Nothing horrible, I've handled much worse. But it was bad enough for my roommate to insist on driving me to Santa Monica and back. I did the Emergen-C, the multivitamin, Jamba Juice with an energy boost, a little bit of crack...whatever it took to stand up. Delivering the lines would require some Divine assistance.
The first audition is usually you and the session director, running the camera and walking you through the blocking and the denoument. (Did I just remember a word from college? And did I spell it right?) A stuffed snake was clipped to a C-stand (that's Industry-speak for 'metal thingy.') Obviously you can't rehearse that whole upside-down part of the ad, so the auditioners wrapped the snake around our faces for the famous "What's in your wallet?" line. As for the callback, I read for a different commercial in the same campaign. But I read that line the exact same way. That's the one bit of advice I could pass on to others after this process. Don't give them your own brilliant interpretation of their campaign. It's not "What's IN your wallet?" It's "What's in your wallet?" Not too hard, not too soft, just a bit of emphasis on your. The ad agency and writers spent a long time coming up with their slogan, and they've already pored over every possible way to deliver the line. You, as the actor, are the empty vessel who is there to deliver the goods exactly as they and the director envisioned. Coke is IT. I LOVE this game.
A couple more days pass, and I have a second callback. Usually, this happens when they are down to 2 actors whom they both like, but just can't decide on. This time, it was a stunt callback. I drove north into the Simi Valley to the stunt coordinator's home, and strapped myself into a flying harness in his studio-sized "garage." They wanted to make sure I could handle doing a few flips and hanging upside-down without wigging out. No prob.
A couple of weeks later, we started a 1-day, 1-night shoot at Paramount Studios. First night was for the interiors of the Nautilus-inspired sub. I was First Mate Roderick to the Captain, played by Rick Overton. I learned on set that the shoots had been marred by several snafus. I wanted to bring some good Mojo to the set and help change misfortunes. I accomplished this by puking twice after coming down from the harness.
I was strapped into a vest with wires running down my pant legs and attached with Velcro to my ankles, and then strung up from a pulley 20 feet above. A guy on set puled me up and down on the pulley as I flailed around trying to pull levers for the good captain. I wore two wool sweaters, sandwiching the vest, plus an undershirt that I sweated through in about a minute. I was then wrapped up in the giant foam tentacle, furnished by the Stan Winston folks. (I may always regret not grabbing that souvenir!) Luckily, I had to be drenched with water before every take, so I never got too hot.
I had to lay on the floor after pinning the tentacle to my person, and then they could lift me up feet-first on the harness. We soon learned several valuable lessons. First, I could not hang and be jerked around upside-down for more than about three minutes. Well, I could. It was just the going back down and standing right side up that caused the problems. So early on, I lost half my breakfast. Bravo to the crew for the convenient trash can.
I went back up to my "one position," that is, hanging out like Batman again. This is the part when we learned what a great idea it was to slime up the squid and drench me with water before hanging upside-down. Sliming the squid involved brushing the foam with a clear, thick goo that is the thickening agent used in fast food milkshakes. And I will never, ever have another fast-food milkshake. But brushing that stuff and then spraying it and me down with water caused this crud to go straigh up--uh--down my nose. And that's when I lost the rest of my breakfast. I took a few minutes off, popped a couple of Pepto and was ready to rock the waves again. At lunch, I played it safe with a salad and a couple slices of bread. Had no idea where my energy would come from, but I got through the rest of the day with no incidents and plenty of laughs.
Part two of the shoot came two nights later in the "tank" at Paramount. The tank is a section of parking lot which is about three feet lower than the rest of the lot. Pipes fill it with water, and a neighboring building is a solid wall that can be painted to suit the production. (I believe this is where the end of The Truman Show was filmed.) This night really brought it all home what a huge production it was. The Nautilus was in the middle of the tank and the director, cinematographer, and a few others camped out on an island in the middle of the water. Giant fans sprayed water onto the set as three men in jet skis went in circles in each corner of the tank to create the waves. The noise generated by all of these things going on at once was enough to make it very difficult to hear the director through a megaphone only 20 feet away. Upon seeing all of these things in action during a rehearsal, I realized the good old-fashioned movie-making I was a part of. Old school effects and techniques followed by weeks of post-production CGI effects that I'd see only when it aired.
It was one of the most physically demanding acting jobs I've ever had, and it was months later when I had the pleasure of pointing, clicking, and oh my Gaw paying off my Capital One card! Yes, I've got one. And I'm hoping when I go and use the Card Lab myself, I can use a picture of Roderick in all his slimy glory.
Let's start at the beginning, with the audition. It was a holiday, Presidents' Day or something, and for the first time in a few years I was sick. Nothing horrible, I've handled much worse. But it was bad enough for my roommate to insist on driving me to Santa Monica and back. I did the Emergen-C, the multivitamin, Jamba Juice with an energy boost, a little bit of crack...whatever it took to stand up. Delivering the lines would require some Divine assistance.
The first audition is usually you and the session director, running the camera and walking you through the blocking and the denoument. (Did I just remember a word from college? And did I spell it right?) A stuffed snake was clipped to a C-stand (that's Industry-speak for 'metal thingy.') Obviously you can't rehearse that whole upside-down part of the ad, so the auditioners wrapped the snake around our faces for the famous "What's in your wallet?" line. As for the callback, I read for a different commercial in the same campaign. But I read that line the exact same way. That's the one bit of advice I could pass on to others after this process. Don't give them your own brilliant interpretation of their campaign. It's not "What's IN your wallet?" It's "What's in your wallet?" Not too hard, not too soft, just a bit of emphasis on your. The ad agency and writers spent a long time coming up with their slogan, and they've already pored over every possible way to deliver the line. You, as the actor, are the empty vessel who is there to deliver the goods exactly as they and the director envisioned. Coke is IT. I LOVE this game.
A couple more days pass, and I have a second callback. Usually, this happens when they are down to 2 actors whom they both like, but just can't decide on. This time, it was a stunt callback. I drove north into the Simi Valley to the stunt coordinator's home, and strapped myself into a flying harness in his studio-sized "garage." They wanted to make sure I could handle doing a few flips and hanging upside-down without wigging out. No prob.
A couple of weeks later, we started a 1-day, 1-night shoot at Paramount Studios. First night was for the interiors of the Nautilus-inspired sub. I was First Mate Roderick to the Captain, played by Rick Overton. I learned on set that the shoots had been marred by several snafus. I wanted to bring some good Mojo to the set and help change misfortunes. I accomplished this by puking twice after coming down from the harness.
I was strapped into a vest with wires running down my pant legs and attached with Velcro to my ankles, and then strung up from a pulley 20 feet above. A guy on set puled me up and down on the pulley as I flailed around trying to pull levers for the good captain. I wore two wool sweaters, sandwiching the vest, plus an undershirt that I sweated through in about a minute. I was then wrapped up in the giant foam tentacle, furnished by the Stan Winston folks. (I may always regret not grabbing that souvenir!) Luckily, I had to be drenched with water before every take, so I never got too hot.
I had to lay on the floor after pinning the tentacle to my person, and then they could lift me up feet-first on the harness. We soon learned several valuable lessons. First, I could not hang and be jerked around upside-down for more than about three minutes. Well, I could. It was just the going back down and standing right side up that caused the problems. So early on, I lost half my breakfast. Bravo to the crew for the convenient trash can.
I went back up to my "one position," that is, hanging out like Batman again. This is the part when we learned what a great idea it was to slime up the squid and drench me with water before hanging upside-down. Sliming the squid involved brushing the foam with a clear, thick goo that is the thickening agent used in fast food milkshakes. And I will never, ever have another fast-food milkshake. But brushing that stuff and then spraying it and me down with water caused this crud to go straigh up--uh--down my nose. And that's when I lost the rest of my breakfast. I took a few minutes off, popped a couple of Pepto and was ready to rock the waves again. At lunch, I played it safe with a salad and a couple slices of bread. Had no idea where my energy would come from, but I got through the rest of the day with no incidents and plenty of laughs.
Part two of the shoot came two nights later in the "tank" at Paramount. The tank is a section of parking lot which is about three feet lower than the rest of the lot. Pipes fill it with water, and a neighboring building is a solid wall that can be painted to suit the production. (I believe this is where the end of The Truman Show was filmed.) This night really brought it all home what a huge production it was. The Nautilus was in the middle of the tank and the director, cinematographer, and a few others camped out on an island in the middle of the water. Giant fans sprayed water onto the set as three men in jet skis went in circles in each corner of the tank to create the waves. The noise generated by all of these things going on at once was enough to make it very difficult to hear the director through a megaphone only 20 feet away. Upon seeing all of these things in action during a rehearsal, I realized the good old-fashioned movie-making I was a part of. Old school effects and techniques followed by weeks of post-production CGI effects that I'd see only when it aired.
It was one of the most physically demanding acting jobs I've ever had, and it was months later when I had the pleasure of pointing, clicking, and oh my Gaw paying off my Capital One card! Yes, I've got one. And I'm hoping when I go and use the Card Lab myself, I can use a picture of Roderick in all his slimy glory.
04 August 2008
Wal-Mart China: First Trade Union Formed. Wal-Mart USA: Employees Told How to Vote. Mao's Frozen Corpse Turns Red, White, and Blue with Envy
USA! USA! USA!
This country is broken.Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has operations in 15 countries, many of which have at least some employees that are union members.
The United States, Keck said, is the "clear exception."
The change comes at a time when Wal-Mart is already battling the proposed Employee Free Choice Act -- which might allow unionization of Wal-Marts on this side of the ocean -- by attempting to sway its employees from voting Democratic.
13 July 2008
30 June 2008
YOINK! Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want that job? You're a bit too...male.
Well, here I am in my cave, blogging with a refreshing import brew by my side. Which is odd, since I was supposed to be on set for commercial #7 of '08, extolling the virtues of a certain mass-produced domestic beer, which shall remain nameless, but will heretofore be known as "Pisslyte."
The story begins last weekend, with an unusual Saturday afternoon callback. Normally not a big deal to me as I don't venture far these days, but of course, that's the one weekend I had a plan to get out of town. And at this rate, probably the only vacation I will get until Thanksgiving, if that's a vacation. So I delayed my road trip a full day to make the callback.
Fast-forward to today. I'm on set, after three walk-thru rehearsals, moments away from last looks and getting the establishing shot. That's when a production manager asks me to follow him for a second.
Yeah, that's your first clue that something's amiss. When a set full of half a dozen principals and 8 or 10 extras patiently wait in their places, a guy having you follow him out of the building is a bad thing.
So, it turns out that the big honcho from Pisslyte had just arrived on set. Mr. Big Cheesenuts, fresh off his private jet, takes a look at the lineup of the 3 "hero guys" and thinks.
"Too much penis."
Cheesenuts want girl with boys. Cheesenuts not satisfied with only one girl in spot, so I guess Cheesenuts picked his favorite extra and totally made her day. And home I went.
Not much you can do in that situation. I do take a lot of solace in knowing just how many crew members there I had worked with 2 or 3 times in the last few months. They've seen me do some crazy shit to sell product, they know what I'm all about and we'll have a good laugh about it one day, just as heartily as we laughed about how Verizon doesn't like paying its stunt men. Man, good times! I look forward to Cheesenuts seeing my other spots running later this summer and just knowing he's seen that face somewhere... But chances are, tomorrow morning he won't even remember he commercial-cockblocked me. I, meanwhile, am revising my expected income this year by a good 15-25%. Wonder how Cheesenuts would feel about that kind of a salary adjustment. For the actor, it is another reminder of that saying with the chickens and the hatching and whatnot.
But that's all you can do. Throwing a tantrum, taking it personally, anything other than just taking it gracefully is bad for business and would ruin any goodwill built up between actor, agencies, and crew. And it would make things awkward when it comes time to shoot whatever import/independent brew commercial is waiting for me in the coming weeks. This is the time not for sulking, but for putting my energy to just how amazing it would feel to be hired as the spokesman for any rival import, or good beer. And to make it successful enough to put a nice dent in Pisslyte's quarterly earnings. "Highly motivated actor seeks beverage campaign! Preferably a beverage with flavor, but willing to consider all options..."
In the end, I'll get my session fee for the day, which will pay for my groceries in late July or early August. Unless I have to pay for something else, like the bills that are 2 months late, and then all bets are off. It's phenomenal to have booked this much work this year, but I have needed every single penny of it. July looks bleak, as I will have about $300 after rent is paid. (And a maxed-out credit card.) I have no idea when any more checks are due, and the only reason I will be plus-300 rather than minus-300 is the economic stimulus bribe check which finally arrived. So the next time to feel like ridiculing your waiter/waitress for their acting career, keep in mind that they may very well be consistently working. Acting full-time is an edge of your seat, hold-your-assets journey. Ups and downs are guaranteed, so take it easy on the drinkie.
And don't forget to tip your waitstaff and pay your stunt men!
The story begins last weekend, with an unusual Saturday afternoon callback. Normally not a big deal to me as I don't venture far these days, but of course, that's the one weekend I had a plan to get out of town. And at this rate, probably the only vacation I will get until Thanksgiving, if that's a vacation. So I delayed my road trip a full day to make the callback.
Fast-forward to today. I'm on set, after three walk-thru rehearsals, moments away from last looks and getting the establishing shot. That's when a production manager asks me to follow him for a second.
Yeah, that's your first clue that something's amiss. When a set full of half a dozen principals and 8 or 10 extras patiently wait in their places, a guy having you follow him out of the building is a bad thing.
So, it turns out that the big honcho from Pisslyte had just arrived on set. Mr. Big Cheesenuts, fresh off his private jet, takes a look at the lineup of the 3 "hero guys" and thinks.
"Too much penis."
Cheesenuts want girl with boys. Cheesenuts not satisfied with only one girl in spot, so I guess Cheesenuts picked his favorite extra and totally made her day. And home I went.
Not much you can do in that situation. I do take a lot of solace in knowing just how many crew members there I had worked with 2 or 3 times in the last few months. They've seen me do some crazy shit to sell product, they know what I'm all about and we'll have a good laugh about it one day, just as heartily as we laughed about how Verizon doesn't like paying its stunt men. Man, good times! I look forward to Cheesenuts seeing my other spots running later this summer and just knowing he's seen that face somewhere... But chances are, tomorrow morning he won't even remember he commercial-cockblocked me. I, meanwhile, am revising my expected income this year by a good 15-25%. Wonder how Cheesenuts would feel about that kind of a salary adjustment. For the actor, it is another reminder of that saying with the chickens and the hatching and whatnot.
But that's all you can do. Throwing a tantrum, taking it personally, anything other than just taking it gracefully is bad for business and would ruin any goodwill built up between actor, agencies, and crew. And it would make things awkward when it comes time to shoot whatever import/independent brew commercial is waiting for me in the coming weeks. This is the time not for sulking, but for putting my energy to just how amazing it would feel to be hired as the spokesman for any rival import, or good beer. And to make it successful enough to put a nice dent in Pisslyte's quarterly earnings. "Highly motivated actor seeks beverage campaign! Preferably a beverage with flavor, but willing to consider all options..."
In the end, I'll get my session fee for the day, which will pay for my groceries in late July or early August. Unless I have to pay for something else, like the bills that are 2 months late, and then all bets are off. It's phenomenal to have booked this much work this year, but I have needed every single penny of it. July looks bleak, as I will have about $300 after rent is paid. (And a maxed-out credit card.) I have no idea when any more checks are due, and the only reason I will be plus-300 rather than minus-300 is the economic stimulus bribe check which finally arrived. So the next time to feel like ridiculing your waiter/waitress for their acting career, keep in mind that they may very well be consistently working. Acting full-time is an edge of your seat, hold-your-assets journey. Ups and downs are guaranteed, so take it easy on the drinkie.
And don't forget to tip your waitstaff and pay your stunt men!
25 June 2008
SEVEN!
For the second time this year, I've done the ridiculous and booked two (or more) national commercials in a week, bringing the total to seven in 2008. I'm not sure what I have to say for myself. I will try harder. Seriously, I'm on pace to pass Barry Bonds in several categories. Let me just say right now that I am not now, nor have I ever been on the juice. Although I do occasionally take the Juice Plus vitamins.
And it couldn't have come at a better time. The funds have dwindled to $43 after my pension/health care payment went through automatically. Not enough to fill the tank any more. I've run up the balance on my credit card giving me only $80 or so for emergencies. I've talked to my agent's assistant about letting me know when I can come in to pick up any checks that arrive, as every day counts at the end of the month. This month's ass-saving check will be the $600 economic stimulus bribe, and it will be the only way I pay my $600 share of the rent. Thank goodness I have stocked up a lot of frozen foods, groceries will have to go on the back burner for the next week, at least. And there's another great benefit of booking: I will be fed well.
And like the sands through the hourglass, these are the days of the "middle class screen actor." An actor who has far surpassed his known parameters, lived within his means, and booked an enviable amount of work. And it took booking five commercials in the spring just to have enough to make it to this point at the end of June. I was, for the umpteenth time since moving to LA, at the end of the line, about to consider calling former employers who are still on speaking terms with me. Kidding. I wouldn't call the ones who aren't.
Here's a chart detailing average actor salaries broken down by years of experience. I'm fortunate enough to be on pace to be on the high end of this range. To be fair, none of my nationals have aired yet, but that can be expected. After you shoot a commercial, you could be waiting a few weeks, months, or more than a year before it airs. Crazy stuff happens. But these times in between those life-giving residuals are getting more and more difficult to cover.
And the AMPTP wants to roll the goal posts back into the stadium parking lot.
17 June 2008
Auditions are Getting Expensive
I've been keeping meticulous mileage wreckords for a few years now. Why, I don't know, because I've never once qualified for the mileage credit come tax time. But I have to satisfy the obsessive-compulsive demon within, so I can tell you down to the mile what I drove last year. (If you cared, and since the IRS doesn't...)
I've done enough OCD driving about town to know that my car gets roughly 23 miles per gallon. My closest audition is a twenty mile round trip. There's $4.00 right there. More often than that, however, are the two-gallon Santa Monica auditions. And at least half of those will be three-gallon trips during rush hour. So, for one audition on the west side from the Fred Dome in Glendale, I could be paying about $15.
I never bothered to calculate mileage expenses down to the mile, even in my time as a messenger. But the other day, I missed a street and before I knew it, took a five-minute, five mile detour. And there's another dollar.
Now figure in the proverbial they who always say booking one job for every 100 auditions is par for the course. If that's average, then the average professional actor is still waiting tables, personal assisting, house sitting...whatever it takes to scrape by in this city, and are lucky enough to duck out for an audition every once in a while. The primary focus on SAG's contract negotiations is restoring the strength of the middle-class actor.
I'm so grateful to be able to say that I've booked six jobs in my last fifty auditions. But I never would have expected that I would need every last penny to stay afloat for the last three months. Two of those bookings were national commercials in which I didn't make it off the cutting room floor. One job is (so far) internet only, which will net me a couple grand over the course of a year. One is on the shelf due to some mysterious circumstance, and I'm still waiting on Capital One to air. So even after going on a 6-for-51 tear, which included 4 national commercials, I'm down to my last $200, with a $900+ credit card balance. (Yes, it's a Capital One!)
This is the time of the month when I start looking ahead at what I will have in the bank come rent time. And I start gathering all the items I can find which might net me a few bucks on ebay. It's amazing how many times I've skirted by because of a surprise residual check, and I think I'm due for a holding fee before July. Sure do hope I am! But just living this "middle-class" actor life is an incredible leap of faith.
And coming soon...the story behind the Capital One gig.
I've done enough OCD driving about town to know that my car gets roughly 23 miles per gallon. My closest audition is a twenty mile round trip. There's $4.00 right there. More often than that, however, are the two-gallon Santa Monica auditions. And at least half of those will be three-gallon trips during rush hour. So, for one audition on the west side from the Fred Dome in Glendale, I could be paying about $15.
I never bothered to calculate mileage expenses down to the mile, even in my time as a messenger. But the other day, I missed a street and before I knew it, took a five-minute, five mile detour. And there's another dollar.
Now figure in the proverbial they who always say booking one job for every 100 auditions is par for the course. If that's average, then the average professional actor is still waiting tables, personal assisting, house sitting...whatever it takes to scrape by in this city, and are lucky enough to duck out for an audition every once in a while. The primary focus on SAG's contract negotiations is restoring the strength of the middle-class actor.
I'm so grateful to be able to say that I've booked six jobs in my last fifty auditions. But I never would have expected that I would need every last penny to stay afloat for the last three months. Two of those bookings were national commercials in which I didn't make it off the cutting room floor. One job is (so far) internet only, which will net me a couple grand over the course of a year. One is on the shelf due to some mysterious circumstance, and I'm still waiting on Capital One to air. So even after going on a 6-for-51 tear, which included 4 national commercials, I'm down to my last $200, with a $900+ credit card balance. (Yes, it's a Capital One!)
This is the time of the month when I start looking ahead at what I will have in the bank come rent time. And I start gathering all the items I can find which might net me a few bucks on ebay. It's amazing how many times I've skirted by because of a surprise residual check, and I think I'm due for a holding fee before July. Sure do hope I am! But just living this "middle-class" actor life is an incredible leap of faith.
And coming soon...the story behind the Capital One gig.
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