Life with The Artist has been busy (as always) and I hope to have news on a new project or two soon. Until then, here are some "Five Favorites" from the last two weeks.
Five Favorite Overheard Conversation Lines:
1. "He doesn't have an ounce of real blood left in his body!"
2. "Don't think of it as replacing a bad actor...Think of it as saving a bad actor from undeserved success".
3. "I supported the decision to chop off his head. It's the way of my country".
4. "I like to think of my type as a blonde with obvious enhancements".
5. "Are those his real butt cheeks????"
Five Favorite Casting Notices:
1. "Are you ready to be part of the Superbowl of Billfishing?"
2. "Do you have a cat or kid from hell?"
3. "Are you a Free Mason and a Magician?"
4. "Have you ever wanted to swap places with a Danish Prince?"
5. "Looking for a female, age 20-25, willing to date one-eyed 75-year-old male for a new reality show."
Five Favorite Stage Parent Moments:
1. The dad who passed his phone number to the casting assistant "in case she wants to discuss the project over drinks."
2. The mom who spent her entire time in the audition room telling everyone that God had this role in the bag for her kid.
3. The father who made sure to point out that the kid was only his stepson so he wasn't responsible for his lack of talent.
4. The mom that showed up in the exact same outfit as her teenage daughter.
5. One mom asked me if I enjoy being be the "errand boy" for my kid and his career. I answered "I'm better off being his errand boy instead of being the guy who has to wake up and face you first thing in the morning".
If you get a chance please check out Zach on IMDb!
Zach Louis IMDb
Friday, May 31, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Making Connections And Getting Seen In Hollywood
What is the one question I'm asked the most by families just moving to Hollywood?
***How do I get my child seen by the people that make casting decisions????
The easiest way to accomplish this is by attending casting workshops. You can find a workshop almost every night of the week at acting classes and studios around the city.
The casting workshops are hosted by the number 2 or 3 person at the big casting offices in town. The head CD (casting director) sends his (or her) top people to address the workshop.
The workshop usually follows this format:
*The CD opens the workshop with a 5-10 minute rundown. The speech covers his (or her) experience in the industry and movie/TV casting credits.
*The CD opens up the floor to questions from the audience. This is the chance for the folks who want to be working actors to ask their burning questions and solicit advice. Unfortunately, it often turns into stage parents taking over the Q&A to find out why their little darlings are not stars.
I was in one casting workshop that became a forum for two moms to complain about their kids being passed over by CD's who don't know a thing about talent (in their opinions).
I finally got a chance to ask a question.
I asked, "Do you find that kids are easy to work with but you're not willing to put up with parents that don't know how to mind their own business?"
We haven't been back to that venue for another workshop.
*The actors come prepared with a scene to read for the CD. Research plays a big part in scene selection. You have to find out what kind of shows the CD/the CD's office is working on currently. It makes no sense to do a comedy scene if the CD's office is casting one of the various CBS crime dramas.
*The actor then gets a one-on-one session with the CD. The session is anywhere from 5-10 minutes. The scene is performed and the CD gives feedback to the actor. The main goal is to make a good impression on the CD so you will be kept in mind for future projects.
The workshops cost anywhere from $29-$99 so picking and choosing a workshop with a CD that caters to your acting skill set is important.
The Artist has made some great connections through acting workshops. Some of the connections have already paid off and (we hope) the other connections will pay off in the near future!
Zach Louis IMDb page
***How do I get my child seen by the people that make casting decisions????
The easiest way to accomplish this is by attending casting workshops. You can find a workshop almost every night of the week at acting classes and studios around the city.
The casting workshops are hosted by the number 2 or 3 person at the big casting offices in town. The head CD (casting director) sends his (or her) top people to address the workshop.
The workshop usually follows this format:
*The CD opens the workshop with a 5-10 minute rundown. The speech covers his (or her) experience in the industry and movie/TV casting credits.
*The CD opens up the floor to questions from the audience. This is the chance for the folks who want to be working actors to ask their burning questions and solicit advice. Unfortunately, it often turns into stage parents taking over the Q&A to find out why their little darlings are not stars.
I was in one casting workshop that became a forum for two moms to complain about their kids being passed over by CD's who don't know a thing about talent (in their opinions).
I finally got a chance to ask a question.
I asked, "Do you find that kids are easy to work with but you're not willing to put up with parents that don't know how to mind their own business?"
We haven't been back to that venue for another workshop.
*The actors come prepared with a scene to read for the CD. Research plays a big part in scene selection. You have to find out what kind of shows the CD/the CD's office is working on currently. It makes no sense to do a comedy scene if the CD's office is casting one of the various CBS crime dramas.
*The actor then gets a one-on-one session with the CD. The session is anywhere from 5-10 minutes. The scene is performed and the CD gives feedback to the actor. The main goal is to make a good impression on the CD so you will be kept in mind for future projects.
The workshops cost anywhere from $29-$99 so picking and choosing a workshop with a CD that caters to your acting skill set is important.
The Artist has made some great connections through acting workshops. Some of the connections have already paid off and (we hope) the other connections will pay off in the near future!
Zach Louis IMDb page
Monday, May 6, 2013
All Of These Items Made Me Laugh
Here are my Top 10 favorite casting notices from the last 3-4 days:
***Ethnically Ambiguous Overachieving Female Flute Player
***Male Mercenary
***Calm and Evil Female
***Innocent yet Vicious Female
***70s BMW for Crime Reenactment Show
***Is Your Dog Smarter Than Your Wife or Husband?
***Did You Suffer Third Degree Burns In The Throes Of Passion?
***Male Puppet Master Who Believes His Puppets Are Real
***Green Screen Roller Blade Talent
***Can You Squirt Milk From Your Eye?
The casting notices above prove there is a show or movie for everyone in Hollywood!
Zach Louis IMDb
***Ethnically Ambiguous Overachieving Female Flute Player
***Male Mercenary
***Calm and Evil Female
***Innocent yet Vicious Female
***70s BMW for Crime Reenactment Show
***Is Your Dog Smarter Than Your Wife or Husband?
***Did You Suffer Third Degree Burns In The Throes Of Passion?
***Male Puppet Master Who Believes His Puppets Are Real
***Green Screen Roller Blade Talent
***Can You Squirt Milk From Your Eye?
The casting notices above prove there is a show or movie for everyone in Hollywood!
Zach Louis IMDb
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Award Show Day Post-Game Recap!
I'm back in Los Angeles, and back to my blog, after a unexpected trip to Memphis. I had two relatives suffering from the same ailment in two different hospitals. Things are looking better for both parties so I was able to make it back for the Young Artist Awards.
The YAA's are considered the kid version of the Oscars in Hollywood. They are a big deal in terms of industry visibility, peer group building and red carpet face time.
The event was held at Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City. The Lodge is a Valley landmark known for its connection to old Hollywood. The Lodge used to have a trout farm and was used by John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and tons of other actors as a drinking hangout and family fishing destination. The Lodge is located near the old Republic Studios and was a cast and crew favorite.
Much like the Oscars, getting ready for the Young Artist Awards took a great deal of planning.
The search for the perfect suit took three weeks. The suit had to be age appropriate as well as red carpet appropriate. It's a fine line between trying too hard and looking too casual for the red carpet.
The next step was working on his overall look. There are hundreds of industry types at this show so it's important to strike the right balance of looking his age while still looking like he can play younger and older parts. The mother of his best buddy in our old apartment complex is a great hair stylist. She went to work on Zach on Friday to get him "that perfect look".
The photo below shows the final product:
.jpg)
Armani suit and new hairstyle
The Red Carpet started at 11am so we made sure to arrive by 10:30am. Zach's category was "Best Performance In A DVD Film - Young Actor". There were six actors up for the award and one of them was Zach's co-star in "Golden Winter". We ran into Austin the moment we arrived at the ceremony. They did not wear the same color on purpose!
It looks like purple is in for 2013
All of the kid actors were approached by the public for autographs and photos. Zach had almost all female trying to chat with him and get his autograph.
One of several autograph seekers
With country music group, Jetset Getset
They recently made the "Who New To Watch In 2013" list
The Artist made his way to the Red Carpet line. The photo ops were outside the Lodge and then the press interviews were inside by the main ballroom. The press included local newspaper and TV outlets, Internet sites, international press and teen cable channels.
Zach waiting his turn in the press interview area
We finally made our way into the ballroom at 1pm. The atmosphere was electric with a DJ handling the music while excited kid actors ran from table to table greeting each other.
The ballroom!
Zach and his manager
The ballroom before the official start of the ceremony was one of my favorite parts of the event. It was nice to watch the kids spend time together and show tons of support for each other. We knew 4 or 5 kids that were up for awards. They all cheered for each other and had a great time.
Zach's name was not called as the winner when his category was presented. I'm sure he was a little disappointed but he still had a great time. All of his friends came over to tell him congratulations even though he didn't win. The Artist made sure to hand out some running hugs and high fives when two of his best friends won their categories.
Zach starts rehearsals for a new movie this week. His awards show experience today gives him the drive to work hard so he can be part of the awards show fun next year!
Zach Louis IMDb Page
The YAA's are considered the kid version of the Oscars in Hollywood. They are a big deal in terms of industry visibility, peer group building and red carpet face time.
The event was held at Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City. The Lodge is a Valley landmark known for its connection to old Hollywood. The Lodge used to have a trout farm and was used by John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and tons of other actors as a drinking hangout and family fishing destination. The Lodge is located near the old Republic Studios and was a cast and crew favorite.
Much like the Oscars, getting ready for the Young Artist Awards took a great deal of planning.
The search for the perfect suit took three weeks. The suit had to be age appropriate as well as red carpet appropriate. It's a fine line between trying too hard and looking too casual for the red carpet.
The next step was working on his overall look. There are hundreds of industry types at this show so it's important to strike the right balance of looking his age while still looking like he can play younger and older parts. The mother of his best buddy in our old apartment complex is a great hair stylist. She went to work on Zach on Friday to get him "that perfect look".
The photo below shows the final product:
.jpg)
Armani suit and new hairstyle
The Red Carpet started at 11am so we made sure to arrive by 10:30am. Zach's category was "Best Performance In A DVD Film - Young Actor". There were six actors up for the award and one of them was Zach's co-star in "Golden Winter". We ran into Austin the moment we arrived at the ceremony. They did not wear the same color on purpose!
It looks like purple is in for 2013
All of the kid actors were approached by the public for autographs and photos. Zach had almost all female trying to chat with him and get his autograph.
One of several autograph seekers
With country music group, Jetset Getset
They recently made the "Who New To Watch In 2013" list
The Artist made his way to the Red Carpet line. The photo ops were outside the Lodge and then the press interviews were inside by the main ballroom. The press included local newspaper and TV outlets, Internet sites, international press and teen cable channels.
Zach waiting his turn in the press interview area
We finally made our way into the ballroom at 1pm. The atmosphere was electric with a DJ handling the music while excited kid actors ran from table to table greeting each other.
The ballroom!
Zach and his manager
The ballroom before the official start of the ceremony was one of my favorite parts of the event. It was nice to watch the kids spend time together and show tons of support for each other. We knew 4 or 5 kids that were up for awards. They all cheered for each other and had a great time.
Zach's name was not called as the winner when his category was presented. I'm sure he was a little disappointed but he still had a great time. All of his friends came over to tell him congratulations even though he didn't win. The Artist made sure to hand out some running hugs and high fives when two of his best friends won their categories.
Zach starts rehearsals for a new movie this week. His awards show experience today gives him the drive to work hard so he can be part of the awards show fun next year!
Zach Louis IMDb Page
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