Time for my 10 favorite random casting notices from the past few weeks:
***Hard Working & Emotionally Detached 55-65 Female (Any Ethnicity)
***Bitter & Judgmental 70-100 Female (Any Ethnicity)
***Seductive, Supernatural 23-27 Female (Asian)
***Top Notch Chola 21-40 (African American)
***Sexy & Scruffy Mid-20s Male (Caucasian)
***Sexy, Dangerous, Private Investigator (5'0" or shorter Caucasian)
***No Nonsense Tightrope Walker 23-27 Male (African American)
***Topless Dog Trainer 22-25 Female (Any Ethnicity)
***Thrill Seeking Scientists 25-54 (Any Gender & Ethnicity)
***Hairy Chested Men And The Women Who Love Them 30-60 (All Sizes & Ethnicity)
Do you fit any of these categories? If so, you could be famous!
Kind Of....Not Really...Just Forget I Said Anything.
The IMDb Link Of My Favorite Famous Person
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Where Were You Two Years Ago Today?
I know where I was at 10:05pm California time.
I was arriving at the Universal Hilton after a two day drive from Missouri. The departure from St. Louis was at 5am the day before in 30+ degree weather as snow started to fall on the streets.
Less than 48 hours later I was slightly zoned out from a two day cross country drive. We checked into the Hilton, went on the search for food and promptly passed out in our room.
Not exactly the most glamorous start to our California life.
We arrived with a TV, an Xbox game system, some clothes, two laptops, a small table and various pots and pans for the kitchen
We spent the first week finding a place to live, meeting with the woman who would become Zach's manager, buying furniture from Ikea, hunting for bargains on Craigslist and learning our way around the area.
Dana came on the road trip to help us get settled in California. She had to leave after the first week because she still had a contract with her job. Dana finally joined us for good in September of 2012.
(In no particular order) here's to two years of:
*Teen actors
*Stage parents
*Auditions
*Acting coaches and classes
*Valley girls (and boys)
*Horrible traffic
*New friends (for the kid and his parents)
*Second City improv
*Getting lost
*6 million hours (give or take) in LA traffic
*Parkour
*Watching "The Californians" on SNL as they describe your exact route to Baja Fresh
*Spending Easter Sunday with the freaks and geeks of Venice Beach
*Endless waiting to hear if Zach booked the gig
*Being an extra on "Modern Family" and "Killer Kids"
*Connecting with a band of fellow St. Louis transplants
*Meeting people from all walks of life
*3G and Roman The Porn King
*The endless free entertainment at The Plaza
*The endless free entertainment on Hollywood Boulevard
*The moment I said "Stupid Tourists" for the first time
*Celebrity sightings
*Agents
*Managers
*The comedy church
*Seeing the USA from my truck and Dana's jeep
*Movie premieres
*Getting my California drivers license
*Wearing shorts in January
*Contract gigs that have introduced me to new friends, new experiences and new philosophies
*Quality time and adventures with my kid that I never once imagined when he was born
And one other big salute:
*Here's to you for letting me ramble on, praise my son, make fun of the "beautiful people" of Hollywood and spend my time pursuing this creative outlet!
Thank you. There's always new stories to tell from Hollywood. I can't wait to share them with you.
The IMDb page of a certain two-year resident of Hollywood
I was arriving at the Universal Hilton after a two day drive from Missouri. The departure from St. Louis was at 5am the day before in 30+ degree weather as snow started to fall on the streets.
Less than 48 hours later I was slightly zoned out from a two day cross country drive. We checked into the Hilton, went on the search for food and promptly passed out in our room.
Not exactly the most glamorous start to our California life.
We arrived with a TV, an Xbox game system, some clothes, two laptops, a small table and various pots and pans for the kitchen
We spent the first week finding a place to live, meeting with the woman who would become Zach's manager, buying furniture from Ikea, hunting for bargains on Craigslist and learning our way around the area.
Dana came on the road trip to help us get settled in California. She had to leave after the first week because she still had a contract with her job. Dana finally joined us for good in September of 2012.
(In no particular order) here's to two years of:
*Teen actors
*Stage parents
*Auditions
*Acting coaches and classes
*Valley girls (and boys)
*Horrible traffic
*New friends (for the kid and his parents)
*Second City improv
*Getting lost
*6 million hours (give or take) in LA traffic
*Parkour
*Watching "The Californians" on SNL as they describe your exact route to Baja Fresh
*Spending Easter Sunday with the freaks and geeks of Venice Beach
*Endless waiting to hear if Zach booked the gig
*Being an extra on "Modern Family" and "Killer Kids"
*Connecting with a band of fellow St. Louis transplants
*Meeting people from all walks of life
*3G and Roman The Porn King
*The endless free entertainment at The Plaza
*The endless free entertainment on Hollywood Boulevard
*The moment I said "Stupid Tourists" for the first time
*Celebrity sightings
*Agents
*Managers
*The comedy church
*Seeing the USA from my truck and Dana's jeep
*Movie premieres
*Getting my California drivers license
*Wearing shorts in January
*Contract gigs that have introduced me to new friends, new experiences and new philosophies
*Quality time and adventures with my kid that I never once imagined when he was born
And one other big salute:
*Here's to you for letting me ramble on, praise my son, make fun of the "beautiful people" of Hollywood and spend my time pursuing this creative outlet!
Thank you. There's always new stories to tell from Hollywood. I can't wait to share them with you.
The IMDb page of a certain two-year resident of Hollywood
Monday, January 20, 2014
New Year = New Agent (Part 2)
When we last checked in with the hero of our story, he was working on landing a new agent...
Out of the mid-level agencies that called us about Zach, we interviewed with three of them. One was based in Atlanta (with a LA office), one was in Studio City and the last one was in Burbank.
The Atlanta based agency was nice but had more of a hip hop/urban lean to them.
The lady in charge of the Studio City Agency was sweet but had the personality of a preschool teacher.
The Burbank agency was my favorite because their office was in a rundown office complex that looked like the set of a 70s cop show with lower production values than a Quinn Martin production.
The main reason we met with these agencies was to make Zach more comfortable in dealing with high level agents. He wasn't nervous when he signed with his first agency because he didn't know enough about the business to be nervous. After two years of being a working actor in Los Angeles, he is very aware of the stakes involved in meeting with an agent.
All of the smaller agencies liked Zach and expressed interest in working with him.
The agency in Burbank, run by a guy who smoked cigars and looked like an older Ed Asner, called me on December 23rd to tell me they wanted to sign Zach. They were closing for the holidays but wanted to contact us and make the offer. I didn't tell them that I was standing in the fishing gear section of a Walmart in Newport Arkansas when they called.
I played dumb and told them that I wasn't with Zach and Dana at the moment. This was "sorta true" at the moment since they were in different parts of the store. The agency asked me to discuss the offer with them and to leave a message on their machine over the holidays.
We talked about it and decided to pass since we were holding out for a top level agency.
January rolled around and we were still without an agent. Zach's manager kept reassuring us we would be okay. I trust her but I felt my nerves getting more and more frazzled as time went along.
Dana and I signed Zach up for a "meet an agent" workshop for the first weekend in January. I mentioned the workshop to Zach's manager and she was thrilled because of her personal relationship with the agent.
The day of the workshop Zach entered the room to meet the agent. The first words from the agent? "Hi Zach, your manager had told me all about you."
No pressure...
Two days after the workshop we got a call asking Zach to come audition for the agency on the Thursday of this past week. Ummmmm...Yes we will!
The meeting was at 11am in a "well to do" part of town. The parking lot was valet parking so we let the attendants park the car for us. We checked in at the front desk and the security guard walked us to the elevator. The elevator didn't have buttons to push for the various floors. The guard had to swipe his security key to start the elevator towards the correct floor.
Once inside the office we waited for Zach's appointment time. When Zach was called back to the room, the nervous feelings (not Zach's feelings....the anxiety of his parents) kicked into overdrive.
He was back in the office for a sold 15-20 minutes before it was time for the parent portion of the meeting. Our chat with the agent consisted of talking about our backgrounds, current jobs, dogs, diabetes and sports.
At the close of the meeting, the agent thanked us for coming and said he would touch base with Zach's manager later in the day.
Less than an hour later my cell phone rang. It was Zach's manager letting me know he had a new agent!!!!
I was thrilled and surprised at the same time. I didn't expect an answer in less than an hour.
I hung up the phone and walked into the pizza place we chose to celebrate Zach's agent audition. The lunch started as a celebration of landing a meeting with a top agency. It ended up being a congratulations(!) meal.
There's a lot to do now that The Artist has new representation. We need to update his profiles on the various casting sites, send out thank you cards, update his resume with the logos of his agency as well as his manager, get new postcards to send to industry contacts and gear up for pilot season.
One final thought to wrap up this two-part tale:
I'm super proud of Zach. Not because he landed a top level agent (although I am proud of that fact) but because of the way he handled himself through the whole process. There's only so far he can go with the helping hand of his parents ad his manager. We can help him make the connections but he has to be the one to handle the auditions, cold readings and small talk with industry personnel.
He carried himself with a confidence that everything would work out for him. He wasn't cocky at all. He was confident in his abilities to show everyone what he is capable of right now...and what he is capable of in the future.
He handles pressure like a champ and doesn't lose his head.
I could learn a few things from him.
Did I mention this actor has a new agent???
Out of the mid-level agencies that called us about Zach, we interviewed with three of them. One was based in Atlanta (with a LA office), one was in Studio City and the last one was in Burbank.
The Atlanta based agency was nice but had more of a hip hop/urban lean to them.
The lady in charge of the Studio City Agency was sweet but had the personality of a preschool teacher.
The Burbank agency was my favorite because their office was in a rundown office complex that looked like the set of a 70s cop show with lower production values than a Quinn Martin production.
The main reason we met with these agencies was to make Zach more comfortable in dealing with high level agents. He wasn't nervous when he signed with his first agency because he didn't know enough about the business to be nervous. After two years of being a working actor in Los Angeles, he is very aware of the stakes involved in meeting with an agent.
All of the smaller agencies liked Zach and expressed interest in working with him.
The agency in Burbank, run by a guy who smoked cigars and looked like an older Ed Asner, called me on December 23rd to tell me they wanted to sign Zach. They were closing for the holidays but wanted to contact us and make the offer. I didn't tell them that I was standing in the fishing gear section of a Walmart in Newport Arkansas when they called.
I played dumb and told them that I wasn't with Zach and Dana at the moment. This was "sorta true" at the moment since they were in different parts of the store. The agency asked me to discuss the offer with them and to leave a message on their machine over the holidays.
We talked about it and decided to pass since we were holding out for a top level agency.
January rolled around and we were still without an agent. Zach's manager kept reassuring us we would be okay. I trust her but I felt my nerves getting more and more frazzled as time went along.
Dana and I signed Zach up for a "meet an agent" workshop for the first weekend in January. I mentioned the workshop to Zach's manager and she was thrilled because of her personal relationship with the agent.
The day of the workshop Zach entered the room to meet the agent. The first words from the agent? "Hi Zach, your manager had told me all about you."
No pressure...
Two days after the workshop we got a call asking Zach to come audition for the agency on the Thursday of this past week. Ummmmm...Yes we will!
The meeting was at 11am in a "well to do" part of town. The parking lot was valet parking so we let the attendants park the car for us. We checked in at the front desk and the security guard walked us to the elevator. The elevator didn't have buttons to push for the various floors. The guard had to swipe his security key to start the elevator towards the correct floor.
Once inside the office we waited for Zach's appointment time. When Zach was called back to the room, the nervous feelings (not Zach's feelings....the anxiety of his parents) kicked into overdrive.
He was back in the office for a sold 15-20 minutes before it was time for the parent portion of the meeting. Our chat with the agent consisted of talking about our backgrounds, current jobs, dogs, diabetes and sports.
At the close of the meeting, the agent thanked us for coming and said he would touch base with Zach's manager later in the day.
Less than an hour later my cell phone rang. It was Zach's manager letting me know he had a new agent!!!!
I was thrilled and surprised at the same time. I didn't expect an answer in less than an hour.
I hung up the phone and walked into the pizza place we chose to celebrate Zach's agent audition. The lunch started as a celebration of landing a meeting with a top agency. It ended up being a congratulations(!) meal.
There's a lot to do now that The Artist has new representation. We need to update his profiles on the various casting sites, send out thank you cards, update his resume with the logos of his agency as well as his manager, get new postcards to send to industry contacts and gear up for pilot season.
One final thought to wrap up this two-part tale:
I'm super proud of Zach. Not because he landed a top level agent (although I am proud of that fact) but because of the way he handled himself through the whole process. There's only so far he can go with the helping hand of his parents ad his manager. We can help him make the connections but he has to be the one to handle the auditions, cold readings and small talk with industry personnel.
He carried himself with a confidence that everything would work out for him. He wasn't cocky at all. He was confident in his abilities to show everyone what he is capable of right now...and what he is capable of in the future.
He handles pressure like a champ and doesn't lose his head.
I could learn a few things from him.
Did I mention this actor has a new agent???
Thursday, January 16, 2014
New Year = New Agent (Part One)
It was a good day for The Artist as he signed with a new agency. He moved from one agency ranked in the mid-20s to another one ranked in the top 10 in Los Angeles.
How did Zach end up moving agencies? By taking a risk that (thankfully) paid off.
The Artist and I moved to Los Angeles two years ago(!) in January 2012. We were lucky because he had already booked a pilot while we were living in St. Louis. Zach's winding road of acting jobs and contacts ran through St. Louis, Chicago and Minneapolis.
Our Minneapolis connection paid off in two ways. He helped Zach land the pilot and he also introduced us to the wonderful lady who would become Zach's manager. In other words, we made the move a little bit ahead of the game. There are so many struggling actors in Hollywood who have been here for years without a manager (much less an agent).
Signing with a manager is a good starting point because they can help you get in the door to see certain casting directors. They can only submit you for so many auditions because it's not their main focus. Managers are there to help you grow as an artist. To land the bigger auditions you need to sign with an agent.
Agents fall into two categories - Commercial and Theatrical. The two divisions break down exactly like they sound. Sometimes you're lucky enough to sign with one agency to represent you in both divisions (known as "across the board"). Many actors sign with different agencies for commercial and theatrical representation.
So...How does one go about getting an agent?
You could be like us and have an "in" with an agency. Zach's manager set up a meeting for him with a top level agency. The agency meeting for a child actor goes like this:
*The actor meets with the agent separately
*The actor is interviewed to find out if they are "all business" or if he or she has a life outside of acting
*The actor performs a monologue or a scene for the agent
*The parents are brought into the office to be assessed by the agent...In other words, this is how the agent determines if the child actor is being driven by stage parents
*The meeting ends and the agent (normally) spends a few weeks deciding whether to sign the kid actor
There are so many factors that go into that decision. A nowhere near complete list includes:
*Is the kid actor talented?
*Does the agency already have enough of whatever "type" the child actor is?
*Will the parents be too much of a pain to deal with?
*Is the kid marketable?
*Does the kid have range?
Zach signed a long-term deal with his first L.A. agency in early 2012 with an "out" at 18 months.
The first year was great for Zach at the agency. He was sent on plenty of auditions and was represented well by his agent.
And then it all fell apart...
The agency was run by two guys. Notice I said "was run" by two guys. The two heads of the agency started arguing and fighting and didn't get along anymore. All of the fighting led to only the top earners at the agency being sent out on auditions. The talent that didn't book as many high profile/high earning jobs (like Zach) fell through the cracks.
One of the two main guys ended up leaving the agency. Our 18-month option was on the horizon and we decided to get Zach out of there while we had a chance.
While it was nice to make a clean break, we were now in the super scary situation of not having an agent.
So how does one go about finding a new agent?
We made a plan with Zach's management team to keep him in the public eye with improv performances, casting workshops, red carpet events and submissions for acting jobs.
There are also services in Hollywood that advertise your headshot to various (lower level) agencies that are looking for talent. Dana and I submitted Zach's credits and headshots to see if we could get any interest. We honestly didn't think we would find a decent size agency in the cattle call process. Our main goal was to get Zach some appointments with the agencies and treat the interviews as practice for meetings with bigger agencies. At least we hoped bigger agencies would be calling.
To be continued...
Check Out The Hero Of Our Story On IMDb
*The actor meets with the agent separately
*The actor is interviewed to find out if they are "all business" or if he or she has a life outside of acting
*The actor performs a monologue or a scene for the agent
*The parents are brought into the office to be assessed by the agent...In other words, this is how the agent determines if the child actor is being driven by stage parents
*The meeting ends and the agent (normally) spends a few weeks deciding whether to sign the kid actor
There are so many factors that go into that decision. A nowhere near complete list includes:
*Is the kid actor talented?
*Does the agency already have enough of whatever "type" the child actor is?
*Will the parents be too much of a pain to deal with?
*Is the kid marketable?
*Does the kid have range?
Zach signed a long-term deal with his first L.A. agency in early 2012 with an "out" at 18 months.
The first year was great for Zach at the agency. He was sent on plenty of auditions and was represented well by his agent.
And then it all fell apart...
The agency was run by two guys. Notice I said "was run" by two guys. The two heads of the agency started arguing and fighting and didn't get along anymore. All of the fighting led to only the top earners at the agency being sent out on auditions. The talent that didn't book as many high profile/high earning jobs (like Zach) fell through the cracks.
One of the two main guys ended up leaving the agency. Our 18-month option was on the horizon and we decided to get Zach out of there while we had a chance.
While it was nice to make a clean break, we were now in the super scary situation of not having an agent.
So how does one go about finding a new agent?
We made a plan with Zach's management team to keep him in the public eye with improv performances, casting workshops, red carpet events and submissions for acting jobs.
There are also services in Hollywood that advertise your headshot to various (lower level) agencies that are looking for talent. Dana and I submitted Zach's credits and headshots to see if we could get any interest. We honestly didn't think we would find a decent size agency in the cattle call process. Our main goal was to get Zach some appointments with the agencies and treat the interviews as practice for meetings with bigger agencies. At least we hoped bigger agencies would be calling.
To be continued...
Check Out The Hero Of Our Story On IMDb
Thursday, January 9, 2014
It's Almost Time For The "Fifth Season" In Hollywood
The movie and television industry shuts down the last two weeks of the year. A few casting directors and agents were working until December 23rd but it was all over after that date. The entertainment business came back to life this past Monday (the 6th).
While much of the country is waiting for winter to end, Hollywood is gearing up for the start of its favorite season...A season native to this town and not enjoyed by any other part of the country:
Pilot Season.
January is a "ramping up" month because pilot season really kicks in at the beginning of February. Pilot Season is also when this town makes even more money from the business of show business.
If you go on Craigslist you'll find a ton of short-term rental options throughout Los Angeles, Orange County and Ventura County. There are MANY MANY MANY families that come to Hollywood with the dream of landing a pilot. Most of these same families don't want to commit to a long-term lease. Anyone with a spare bedroom, rental property or guest house in their backyard can make a ton of extra cash from January through May. They can charge a premium, and get it, thanks to the overwhelming demand for places to live.
Pilot Season is also a great opportunity for casting directors to increase their incomes for the next few months. The casting directors make extra money by conducting workshops at various acting studios in the area. You can find a workshop almost every day of the week at this time of the year. The goal is to be seen by, get feedback from and be remembered by the folks casting the various pilots.
Acting coaches see an increase in the size of their classes because everyone wants to better their craft. They also want to learn "the secret" to catching the eye of agents and managers in the hope of getting signed and represented in order to be sent out on auditions.
You'll also meet a ton of kids being home-schooled for the first time because their parents don't want to enroll them for only a few months before going back to their home school districts.
It promises to be another interesting few months in Hollywood during our favorite of the five seasons!
Can You Spare A Click For My Favorite Teen Actor?
While much of the country is waiting for winter to end, Hollywood is gearing up for the start of its favorite season...A season native to this town and not enjoyed by any other part of the country:
Pilot Season.
January is a "ramping up" month because pilot season really kicks in at the beginning of February. Pilot Season is also when this town makes even more money from the business of show business.
If you go on Craigslist you'll find a ton of short-term rental options throughout Los Angeles, Orange County and Ventura County. There are MANY MANY MANY families that come to Hollywood with the dream of landing a pilot. Most of these same families don't want to commit to a long-term lease. Anyone with a spare bedroom, rental property or guest house in their backyard can make a ton of extra cash from January through May. They can charge a premium, and get it, thanks to the overwhelming demand for places to live.
Pilot Season is also a great opportunity for casting directors to increase their incomes for the next few months. The casting directors make extra money by conducting workshops at various acting studios in the area. You can find a workshop almost every day of the week at this time of the year. The goal is to be seen by, get feedback from and be remembered by the folks casting the various pilots.
Acting coaches see an increase in the size of their classes because everyone wants to better their craft. They also want to learn "the secret" to catching the eye of agents and managers in the hope of getting signed and represented in order to be sent out on auditions.
You'll also meet a ton of kids being home-schooled for the first time because their parents don't want to enroll them for only a few months before going back to their home school districts.
It promises to be another interesting few months in Hollywood during our favorite of the five seasons!
Can You Spare A Click For My Favorite Teen Actor?
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