There is one fact about Hollywood that I knew before I moved to town. It wasn't until I was here for a few weeks that I realized everyone is "working on a deal".
I've heard people discussing their deals at the gym, in the apartment complex, waiting in line at a food truck and while I've been helping the boy with his homework.
The art of the deal seems to be the number one thing on the minds of all Hollywood residents. My favorite "pitch" has to be the time I saw a tow truck driver pimping his screenplay to a producer while hauling away his car.
I've also noticed that none of the producers and directors in town "get" any of the people that haven't closed their deals. I wouldn't say denial is a dominant emotion in most of the people trying to make it in show business. I'd say they all have a very healthy opinion of their abilities. Unfortunately, none of them have made the right connection to recognize their gifts.
How do I know this fact? My waiter (the creator and screenwriter of a time travel trilogy focusing on a circus) told me so at lunch the other day...
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Do I Still Get One Phone Call?
Zach went to improv class this morning so I decided to take care of a few errands. I haven't carried any cash on me for 3 days so I went by the bank.
After getting a $20 from the ATM, I went inside the branch to break the $20 into a $10, a $5 and five $1's.
I handed the bill (that I had just gotten from their ATM) to the teller. He looked at it once and then told me, "This is certainly a funny looking twenty-dollar bill". I replied, "Why? Does it have a clown on it?"
The teller told me it weighed more than a normal $20. Where did I get this funny bill?
"Outside at your ATM in front of the building...the one with the camera built into the ATM and a camera above the machine."
He called over another teller who looked at the bill, and then at me, with a doubtful glare.
Even though I explained (again) that I got the bill out of their ATM...and that they could review the camera footage...and check my bankcard activity...they were giving me the impression that I was guilty (in their minds) of trying to pass a fake $20.
Cut to 15-minutes later...
I'm still trying to get my $20 bill changed into smaller bills. I am now standing at the window with two tellers, a manager and a security guard. I guess it didn't help that I asked them if they wanted to check my hands for wet ink.
I talked them into checking the ATM card activity. They pulled up the card history on their computer.
The history showed that I had used the card in the last 15-20 minutes. (Check)
The history showed that I used the card at an ATM in Sherman Oaks. (Check)
The history showed that I had the used the card to get $20. (Check)
The history showed that I got the money at their ATM. (Check...For the win!)
Instead of an apology, they told me everything looked okay and they would "let me have the money".
I asked them if I earned any extra cash from them for my time, effort and patience in dealing with their "super bank security" game. I would be happy with an extra $5.
The manager so "NO" and walked away. No "sorry for your trouble" or "have a nice day" from any of my new bank friends.
I can't wait until the next time I get to go to the Bank..of the Sherman Oaks area...located in America.
After getting a $20 from the ATM, I went inside the branch to break the $20 into a $10, a $5 and five $1's.
I handed the bill (that I had just gotten from their ATM) to the teller. He looked at it once and then told me, "This is certainly a funny looking twenty-dollar bill". I replied, "Why? Does it have a clown on it?"
The teller told me it weighed more than a normal $20. Where did I get this funny bill?
"Outside at your ATM in front of the building...the one with the camera built into the ATM and a camera above the machine."
He called over another teller who looked at the bill, and then at me, with a doubtful glare.
Even though I explained (again) that I got the bill out of their ATM...and that they could review the camera footage...and check my bankcard activity...they were giving me the impression that I was guilty (in their minds) of trying to pass a fake $20.
Cut to 15-minutes later...
I'm still trying to get my $20 bill changed into smaller bills. I am now standing at the window with two tellers, a manager and a security guard. I guess it didn't help that I asked them if they wanted to check my hands for wet ink.
I talked them into checking the ATM card activity. They pulled up the card history on their computer.
The history showed that I had used the card in the last 15-20 minutes. (Check)
The history showed that I used the card at an ATM in Sherman Oaks. (Check)
The history showed that I had the used the card to get $20. (Check)
The history showed that I got the money at their ATM. (Check...For the win!)
Instead of an apology, they told me everything looked okay and they would "let me have the money".
I asked them if I earned any extra cash from them for my time, effort and patience in dealing with their "super bank security" game. I would be happy with an extra $5.
The manager so "NO" and walked away. No "sorry for your trouble" or "have a nice day" from any of my new bank friends.
I can't wait until the next time I get to go to the Bank..of the Sherman Oaks area...located in America.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
It's not all glitz and parties in Hollywood.
The past couple of days have almost seemed like "normal life" in Los Angeles.
Zach has been busy every day doing homework, acting classes and going to auditions. I've been staying busy keeping his schedule organized and making sure we make it to every class and audition.
The two highlights of this week:
***Zach auditioned for, and made it into, an Improv Troupe! His first meeting is this Saturday morning. He'll go to the comedy club every weekend for four weeks and then the troupe performs a show on the 5th Saturday. Everyone in the group gets a cut of the box office on the day of the show. The best part of this for me? The club is within walking distance of our place!
***Zach was busy signing various paperwork on his first day of school. The teacher asked him if he wanted to be called "Zach" or "Zachary". He told the teacher it made no difference to him what name they call him at school. Zach is now known as "Tito" at his school.
I am so proud of everything Tito has accomplished in Los Angeles!
Zach has been busy every day doing homework, acting classes and going to auditions. I've been staying busy keeping his schedule organized and making sure we make it to every class and audition.
The two highlights of this week:
***Zach auditioned for, and made it into, an Improv Troupe! His first meeting is this Saturday morning. He'll go to the comedy club every weekend for four weeks and then the troupe performs a show on the 5th Saturday. Everyone in the group gets a cut of the box office on the day of the show. The best part of this for me? The club is within walking distance of our place!
***Zach was busy signing various paperwork on his first day of school. The teacher asked him if he wanted to be called "Zach" or "Zachary". He told the teacher it made no difference to him what name they call him at school. Zach is now known as "Tito" at his school.
I am so proud of everything Tito has accomplished in Los Angeles!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
So...Where Have We Been For A Week?
The artist and I have had a busy week. All of our activities have not been related to acting but we've been on the run all week!
Zach and I flew to St. Louis last Friday afternoon. The visit was important for a few reasons.
It gave us a chance to visit his mom and to make sure our dog remembered our faces.
Zach really wanted to hang out with his friends on Friday night but we kept telling him "no way" because his mom (and dog) had not seen him in weeks.
We got to the house at 9:30pm and Zach was greeted at the front door by 10 kids jumping out from behind the house armed with water balloons, over-sized boxing gloves and silly sting. The rest of the night was filled with way too many hyper kids and the artist having a great time.
In our brief visit to St. Louis, I:
***Changed the oil and fixed the back brake lights on the jeep.
***Took care of a tree in the back yard with a chain saw.
***Took Zach to the orthodontist to get invisalign braces (so he can remove them at photo shoots). We had
the molds made before we left St. Louis but we had to go back and make sure they fit his mouth.
***Ran him by his old school to return his text books and have lunch with his friends.
***Took him to his orthopedist appointment.
***Had dinner on Monday night with some friends.
I made sure to schedule the trip around acting jobs. I also made sure his manager and agent knew exactly when we were leaving Los Angeles and returning to town on Tuesday. Everyone knew the plan so what could change the time frame of the trip?
How about a last minute voice over audition on Tuesday at 5pm?
Our flight was scheduled to land in Los Angeles at 3:50pm. I parked in a lot 1.5 miles from the airport. The wait time for the shuttle would be at least ten minutes and then the ride to the truck would also be 10 minutes. The earliest I could leave the lot was 4:10pm/4:15pm. His manager and agent called me on Monday at 5:30pm St. Louis time asking if I could be in Burbank at 5pm LA time on Tuesday.
I don't know if you've ever experienced the joy of rush hour traffic in L.A. but there is NO WAY to get from LAX to Burbank in 45 minutes in rush hour traffic.
Dana and I spent the next hour on the phone with Delta Airlines trying to get an earlier flight out of town on Tuesday. We could get a flight but the cost to change flights would be almost the same price as buying new tickets.
I called the L.A. folks and shared this news and they said "Why don't you just cut an MP3 audition and send it to us tonight?
My first thought was "Why didn't you say that was an option in the first place????"
By the way, I am just venting...Not complaining! I would rather have the problem of the artist being in demand for auditions!
Speaking of auditions...
He had an audition last night to join an improv troupe. I just got the call as I am typing this post that he made it into the group!!!!
The rest of this week is filled with a couple of auditions, school, homework and a meeting with his agent.
He is a busy boy...And that is a good thing!
Zach and I flew to St. Louis last Friday afternoon. The visit was important for a few reasons.
It gave us a chance to visit his mom and to make sure our dog remembered our faces.
Zach really wanted to hang out with his friends on Friday night but we kept telling him "no way" because his mom (and dog) had not seen him in weeks.
We got to the house at 9:30pm and Zach was greeted at the front door by 10 kids jumping out from behind the house armed with water balloons, over-sized boxing gloves and silly sting. The rest of the night was filled with way too many hyper kids and the artist having a great time.
In our brief visit to St. Louis, I:
***Changed the oil and fixed the back brake lights on the jeep.
***Took care of a tree in the back yard with a chain saw.
***Took Zach to the orthodontist to get invisalign braces (so he can remove them at photo shoots). We had
the molds made before we left St. Louis but we had to go back and make sure they fit his mouth.
***Ran him by his old school to return his text books and have lunch with his friends.
***Took him to his orthopedist appointment.
***Had dinner on Monday night with some friends.
I made sure to schedule the trip around acting jobs. I also made sure his manager and agent knew exactly when we were leaving Los Angeles and returning to town on Tuesday. Everyone knew the plan so what could change the time frame of the trip?
How about a last minute voice over audition on Tuesday at 5pm?
Our flight was scheduled to land in Los Angeles at 3:50pm. I parked in a lot 1.5 miles from the airport. The wait time for the shuttle would be at least ten minutes and then the ride to the truck would also be 10 minutes. The earliest I could leave the lot was 4:10pm/4:15pm. His manager and agent called me on Monday at 5:30pm St. Louis time asking if I could be in Burbank at 5pm LA time on Tuesday.
I don't know if you've ever experienced the joy of rush hour traffic in L.A. but there is NO WAY to get from LAX to Burbank in 45 minutes in rush hour traffic.
Dana and I spent the next hour on the phone with Delta Airlines trying to get an earlier flight out of town on Tuesday. We could get a flight but the cost to change flights would be almost the same price as buying new tickets.
I called the L.A. folks and shared this news and they said "Why don't you just cut an MP3 audition and send it to us tonight?
My first thought was "Why didn't you say that was an option in the first place????"
By the way, I am just venting...Not complaining! I would rather have the problem of the artist being in demand for auditions!
Speaking of auditions...
He had an audition last night to join an improv troupe. I just got the call as I am typing this post that he made it into the group!!!!
The rest of this week is filled with a couple of auditions, school, homework and a meeting with his agent.
He is a busy boy...And that is a good thing!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
A dadager's work is never done...
The past week has been consumed with auditions (a good thing), the actor making new friends at our apartment complex (a good thing) and getting him enrolled in school in California (good for the dadager...a necessary evil for the artist).
One of the main ways to get him seen by a variety of casting directors is attending workshops. The workshops vary in their focus. Some of the sessions deal with commercial work while others are geared towards movie and television acting.
All of the workshops have one constant feature---Parents who want to tell you how talented their kids are and how the kids got all of the talent from them.
In the past 7 days I have met:
***One "39 year old" mother who launched into a long monologue about her budding rap career and her amazing level of street cred.
***A dad who is convinced that his son is the second coming of Tom Hanks (even though Tom Hanks has not left us).
***A woman who likes to print out audition choices for her daughter and place them on the floor. The final audition choice is made when their dog picks one of the sheets off the floor.
Welcome to Hollywood...Where everyone has a say in the careers of young actors!
One of the main ways to get him seen by a variety of casting directors is attending workshops. The workshops vary in their focus. Some of the sessions deal with commercial work while others are geared towards movie and television acting.
All of the workshops have one constant feature---Parents who want to tell you how talented their kids are and how the kids got all of the talent from them.
In the past 7 days I have met:
***One "39 year old" mother who launched into a long monologue about her budding rap career and her amazing level of street cred.
***A dad who is convinced that his son is the second coming of Tom Hanks (even though Tom Hanks has not left us).
***A woman who likes to print out audition choices for her daughter and place them on the floor. The final audition choice is made when their dog picks one of the sheets off the floor.
Welcome to Hollywood...Where everyone has a say in the careers of young actors!
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