The first day on set!

Zach was beyond excited this morning because it was his first day on the movie set.

He's been in movies before in St. Louis, and on the set of "Boss" in Chicago, but today marked his first time on the set of a Hollywood movie.

The morning started with a necessary evil for child actors in Hollywood...A two-hour block of school.

The laws governing child actors state they can only be on set for 9.5 hours each day.  They can work/act for five hours, go to school for three hours, take a 30-minute meal break and have one hour of recreation time.  The crew was busy doing some scenes with one of the adult actors so the kids were sent off to spend time with their on-set teacher.

The teacher was great in a "seen it all" way.  If you named a child actor in the last 20 years he would give you an instant answer along the lines of:

***"That boy is a piece of trash."
***"I showed him how to roll his own smokes."
***"Her mom fed her drugs all day!"

I was super amused by this guy.  He seemed to really like the kids on set today.  He even seemed to like being a teacher.  I don't think he liked any kids that went on to become major stars in Hollywood.

The next item on the work schedule was lunch.  The food available all day included bagels, cereal, peanut butter, jelly, bread, fruit by the foot, oranges, granola bars, tea, soda, water, milk, cheese and cookies.

Our lunch was a BBQ feast with pork, turkey, mashed potatoes, salad, slaw and rolls.

After lunch, the boys went to wardrobe and makeup for 30 minutes to get ready for their scenes.  Before they could do their on-camera work, they had to finish another hour of school.

If you've been following the timeline above, they've been on the set for three-and-a-half hours and still haven't shot any scenes. 

They went on set after the final hour of school and shot for about 20 minutes.

While the crew was getting ready for the next shot, the boys were sent away for their hour of recreation time.

The actors went back on set after their hour break and filmed three scenes.  The director wrapped for the day and sent them home!

Here are some photos from day one of the movie shoot:



The artist getting in touch with his character.

Waiting for the cue for "Action!".









I'd say the first day was a fun experience for Zach.  I hope the rest of the shoot is just as great for him...and the rest of the cast!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4115971/

A Short (But Sweet) Update

Zach landed his first Hollywood movie role today!
He begins shooting next Tuesday and his production schedule runs through May.  He has a few days off and some "hold days" in case of bad weather messing up any of the scheduled days.

I wish I had taken a photo of his face when I played him the voicemail message from the director telling him he got the movie.  The look of pure joy on his face was amazing!  He hasn't said much about it since the last audition but I could tell he REALLY wanted to land this part.

That one moment made my day...and maybe my year.

I wish I could give you more film details but I am looking at a script that says "do not share or distribute with anyone".

Sorry!

How To Fill A Slow Week

It's almost the end of pilot season so the amount of casting calls has slowed down in the last few days.
There are always roles to be cast in independent films and commercials BUT the amount of meaty TV roles will be scarce until mid-summer.

So what does a dadager do to keep the acting chops of the artist in good shape?

The dadager keeps him busy with a combination of improv and acting classes. 

I got lucky because I found a great acting class for him in Sherman Oaks.  The class is about one mile from our home and is perfect for him for a couple of reasons. 

The teacher has woked with actors who later landed large roles in the "Twilight" films, "Superman Returns", "Bring It On" and "Star Wars: Episode One".

The class is filled with 20-25 kids each week so it gives him a chance to interact with kids his own age trying to become working actors.  I love the fact that it gives him a sense of community in his new environment.

The improv class is less than a mile from our place.  The class allows Zach to use the crazy side of his personality in a forum that encourages kids to act out and be goofy.

He has a weekly schedule filled with school, auditions, classes and quality time with his peers.  Zach stays busy and focused and that makes me a happy dadager.

If you haven't had a chance to check out his IMDB page...here is the link to the artist:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4115971/

Do You Want To Give Me A Gift?

Actors spend the days they don't have an audition looking at casting sites for their next audition. 

We have the various casting sites and passwords saved on three computers and two phones.  We can check the latest audition notices from any location during the day.

I realize that Christmas is MONTHS away but I know what present you can get me this year:

***A Printer.

I realize a printer is not the most exciting gift in the world.  I can tell you that a printer would be the most welcome present in the world.

The apartment complex (much like a hotel) has an office space for the residents to use during the day.  The only problem is the office has ONE computer and ONE printer.  The complex consists of five buildings so you can imagine the amount of people trying to use the single computer to print out their latest sides.

I've become a master of printing emails as fast as possible at FedEx Office (also known as the artist formerly known as FedEx Kinko's).  The location in Sherman Oaks charges 45-cents per minute and the Studio City location charges 30-cents per minute.  I can get into my email, find the audition sides, and print them out before I hit two minutes. 

Once you add in the printing charges, I can get out of there for around $5-$7 depending on the amount of pages to print.

Having told you all of the above info, imagine my horror when I opened an email and discovered I needed to print a 96-page script!

The last thing I heard leaving the store was the FedEx Office manager telling me I would not be allowed in their store again if I continued to use "that kind of language" while printing a script.

Driving the TMZ

Did you know that the "TMZ" in the TMZ website stands for "thirty-mile zone"?  It's also known as the "studio zone" in Hollywood. 

The center of the TMZ is the corner of La Cienega and Beverly Boulevards.  The zone includes parts of Los Angeles County, Orange County and Ventura County.

Zach and I drove a lot of the zone yesterday because he had two call-backs and one new audition.  I got lucky because I was able to spread the various audition times throughout the day to give me enough buffer to arrive at each location on time.

What do you think when I tell you our first call-back was a 10-mile drive from our place?  I imagine you think it's a 15-25 minute drive.  The drive from Sherman Oaks to Santa Monica took 52-minutes in rush hour traffic.  Just a fact of life in Hollywood....

The second part of our drive was at lunch time (from Santa Monica to the AFI location in beautiful Griffith Park).  The route took me through the city so there was a lot of "stop and start" driving.

We had a two-hour break between the second and third meetings.  Zach took advantage of the break to have some lunch and stop by our place for a wardrobe change. 

The final meeting was in beautiful downtown Burbank.

The hardest part of the entire process is happening right now for Zach.  What is it? 

Zach has to wait and hear if he got any of the jobs he auditioned for yesterday.

Cue the Tom Petty! 

It's all about sales...

I mentioned the other day that everyone in Hollywood is working on a deal.

The other skill everyone in Hollywood is working on?  Their sales pitch.

You have to realize that everything in the casting process involves sales.  A sample list includes:

*The head shot you take to put on casting sites
*The stats you list along with your photo
*The agent pitching you for the job
*The manager selling you on the audition
*The actor making a good first impression entering the room (how you look and carry yourself)
*The audition for the casting director
*The impression you leave when you exit the room

All of the above steps involve a form of salesmanship on the part of the actor.  The actor is the product and there are many steps to follow to get to the consumer.  In the above case, the consumer is the casting director.

Can you make your sales pitch stand out on a daily basis when there are so many other actors (salespeople) trying to beat you with their "product"?

Your answer to that vital question will determine if you make it in Hollywood.