Can Zach Be There On Wednesday????

It's 7:30PM (CST) as I begin to type this post.  One week ago at this same time (5:30PM PST) I got a call from a casting director.  The call went like this:

Casting Director (CD): "Zach auditioned for me about a month ago and I thought he was really good even though he wasn't right for the part.  Can he work this Wednesday?"

Me: "Yes, he can work on Wednesday."

CD: "I'll send all of the details later!  Talk to you soon!!!"

Zach was now booked for a gig in two days.  I had no idea what he was doing, where he was going or how much he was getting paid...But he had a job in 2 days!

About an hour later I received a call from the wardrobe department.  I learned it was a baseball shoot and he needed to bring baseball socks, a glove and some baseball skills.  I still had no idea how much he was being paid, the shoot location or the call time.

Dana and I did some research on various casting sites and determined the shoot was for "Killer Kids".  It's a Lifetime program that shows the backstory of kids who commit the act of murder. 

I finally got the rest of the details on Tuesday.  The shoot was at a city baseball field near Dodgers Stadium with a 7am call time.  I also got the bonus "not enough adults" phone call.  The production crew was looking for parents already on set to be extras in the show.  In other words, Zach was going to be paid and I was going to be paid!

We arrived on set Wednesday morning as the sun began to rise over Los Angeles.  We also arrived to the sound of fireworks.  We couldn't figure out why fireworks were going off at 7am.  It turns out the field was located next to a police firing range!

Zach in costume after arriving on set.  FYI...The team name is not "Homeboy".

The super deluxe on-set wardrobe tent.  There was also a Cookie Monster tent.

Our craft services tent included fruit, crackers, candy, chips, bagels and gum.

The cast included one of Zach's best friends, a kid from his improv show and a 28-year-old playing a teenager.  The adults in the cast included two professional actors playing the parents of the victim and various parents and brothers of the kid actors.  I knew the mother of Zach's pal and had seen the brother of the improv kid at Saturday shows.  The other parents all seemd to want the money without having to be in front of the camera.  It was cutting into their reading, knitting and napping time.

Zach was in a few scenes at the start of the day setting up the events leading to the crime.  His morning scenes took us all the way to lunch. 

His big on-screen moment happened after our lunch break.  The director asked Zach if he could throw out a base runner by firing the ball from shortstop to home plate.  Zach said "no problem".  I looked at the parents in the stands and told them there was no way this would end well.

The Artist telling the cast and crew "No Problem!".

Zach has played football for years at an all star level.  He played baseball but it was always more of a social activity for him.  His friends played so he played/talked/laughed for 3 or 4 seasons.

He walked out to the shortstop position and got ready for the throw.  The director asked him if he needed to do a few practice throws.  Zach said he was ready and I (once again) told the extras this was going to be ugly.  The director yelled "Action!" and the runner took off for home plate while Zach charged the ground ball.  Zach picked up the ball and fired it towards home plate.  The ball and the runner were in a race towards home plate.

The ball flew past the runner into the hands of the catcher.  The catcher tagged out the runner while the actor playing the umpire yelled "OUT!".  The director called "CUT!" and told Zach the take was perfect.  The crew congratulated him on getting the runner out on the first try.  Every extra in the stands turned and looked at me.  I was proud of Zach, shocked he nailed the throw and very quiet as I left the stands.

Zach's last shot of the day consisted of him standing in the outfield watching a ball fly over the head of the center fielder.

His character is upset the other team hit a home run.

It was around 4:30pm when the kids wrapped for the day.  Zach came up to me and let me know he was ready to go home.  I was very happy to inform him that I still had one more scene to shoot and he was going to have to wait for me.

It was the first time EVER on a film set that he had to wait on me!  It was my favorite moment of the day.

Give The Gift Of A IMDb Click This Holiday Season!

Holiday Travel Questions

Here is a rundown of the questions we've heard the most in the 72 hours we've been away from Los Angeles:

*What is (fill in the A-List Celebrity name) really like?

*Are you rich yet?

*Do you live near George Clooney/Sandra Bullock/Brad Pitt, etc?

*I didn't see you in that commercial.  Are you sure you were there when it was filmed?

*How big is your Hollywood house?

*When will you be on Leno/Conan/Kimmel, etc?

*Why haven't you been on (insert name of favorite show)?

*Have you met the Duck Dynasty guys?

*Is everyone in Hollywood on drugs?

*I've heard (insert actor name) is gay?  Do you know if he is gay?

*Why do you always complain about traffic?  It's not bad traffic here.

*Why are you not a regular character on a TV show?

*Why did (insert favorite show) get cancelled?

*Can you get my sister/brother/nephew, etc. in a movie?

*Can you get me George Clooney's autograph?

*Is it really easy to book a role?

*When will you do something I've heard of before?

Give The Gift Of A Link Click This Holiday Season!

Back By Popular Demand!

Here's a list of my favorite casting call descriptions from November and December.  They are very amusing when taken of their project name and character breakdown context.

*Engaged, African American and Gay???

*Oblivious Optimistic 23-30 Female

*Tall, Lanky, Deadly US Marshall 40-50 Year Old American Indian Male

*Cruel and Unnerving Lackey 35-60 German or European Male

*Wise Sad Stout 10-12 Male

*Paranoid Threatening Early 20s Hispanic Male

*Noble 50-60 Female With Own Crutches

*Dark, Swarthy, Unkempt Caucasian Male 35-50

*Diamond In The Rough Female Who Loves Deer 43-55

*Lovable Early 20s Female Brat Who Can Handle Snakes

*Maid 25-30 Who Can Also Switch Hit in Baseball

*Soft Spoken Easy Female 24-30 Who Drives a Stick Shift

Give The Gift Of A Link Click This Holiday Season!

Making A List And Checking It Twice!

It's that time of year when the movie and television industry shuts down for the holidays.  There's still auditions and commercial shoots around town but (for the most part) everyone is preparing to take a well deserved break.

Zach is doing two types of homework:

***His homework for his two-days a week school to wrap up the semester.

***His other homework involves making a list and checking it twice before meeting with his manager.

That's right...It's time for his year-end review.

If this sounds like your job then you're on the right track.  Zach has to come up with a list of 10 goals he wants to reach in the next year.  He also has to review his goals from last year with his agent and determine whether he succeeded or failed in reaching those goals.

It's not often a 15-year-old gets to enjoy the same "work fun" as the adults in his life.

Looking at his goals from last year, he reached 7 out of the 10 goals.  The all important "sign an endorsement deal and get my dad a lifetime supply of Diet Coke" was not reached...But there's always next year!

The list needs to include more than "book a movie" or "land a series".  It needs to include steps we can take to improve his acting skills, increase his visibility and grow his career.

I have to admit...I have not missed doing this yearly task with any and all former supervisors!

It's time for me to stop typing.  The review is tonight and it's time to finish his prep work for the meeting.

The Always Awesome Link To Zach's IMDb Page.


 

One Job = Three Appearances

Zach makes another appearance on "Modern Family" tonight.  He is number 60 on the football team.

I guess he was instructed to play confused in this scene.

 

He shot for two days back in September for (what we thought) was one episode.  He appeared in the episode "First Days" and we realized there would be another appearance in the near future thanks to one plot point that wasn't addressed in the episode.

A few weeks ago, we were catching up on shows on the DVR and started the episode "A Fair To Remember".  There was a shot of Zach at the beginning of the show!

Zach on screen in "A Fair To Remember"

 

It caught all of us off guard (in a good way).  The episode didn't have much to do with football but it did set the plot point I mentioned above into motion.  The days that Zach filmed featured Manny as a member of the team.  After watching "A Fair To Remember" the three of us remarked, "Ohhhh...That's how he gets on the team." 

 

The football scenes were Zach's second time working on the show.  He (thankfully) had a good time again and walked away being impressed with the cast and crew.  A lot of people have stories about meeting actors and walking away less than impressed thanks to a not so friendly experience.  It's not always the fault of the actor but they (almost) always get the blame for the bad experience. 

 

Zach's had nothing but good experiences on the set.  He really enjoyed discussing football with Eric Stonestreet between takes.

 

If you get a chance, check out #modernfamily tonight and look for my favorite football player in the background.

 

Ready for action at 9/8c and 9pst on ABC.

 

One simple click lets you experience Zach's IMDb page





 

 

 

 

 



The Week(s) In Pictures

Sorry for the delay in writing a new post but (like everyone) it's been a crazy week of travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I'll have a post with more substance later this week.  For now, here are the past couple of weeks for The Artist...In pictures!

1.  Zach was part of a Red Carpet/Fundraiser event for the T.J. Martell Foundation.  This great organization raises funds to support research for leukemia, cancer and AIDS.  The event was held at CBS Studio City (a 5-minute drive from home!).

The Artist working the interview area.

 

 #karmin entertaining the crowd.

 

In case you get lost looking for the event, hang a left at the corner of Gunsmoke and Gilligan's Island.

 

A pretty cool rolling billboard supporting local job growth.

 

The King of the Cowboys lives on in Studio City.

 

The shows that film in Roy's building.

 

One of my favorite new shows of the fall TV season - #brooklyn99

 

Zach had a great time and I got free food.  A winning day for both of us.

 

2.  The Artist had an audition last Monday night that went well.  It went so well they told him in the audition room that he had a callback for the next night.  The callback was held at Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank. 

 

The callback was in the same building as the CBS series #thementalist (as if you couldn't tell from the photo).

 

"The Mentalist" offices are next door to the offices for Conan's show on TBS.

 

We found the @TeamCoco car as we were getting ready to leave the WB Studios parking lot.

 

A peak inside the back window of the @TeamCoco car (with a photobomb from Zach).

 

3.  Zach on Hollywood Blvd after attending a Second City event.

As always, dressed like a million bucks.

 

4.  And for no reason at all, Zach and a goat.  It looks like the goat is telling Zach a joke.

 

Thanksgiving is over and it's time to resume the life of a teen actor.  I'll talk to you later this week!

 

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