October Casting Call Roundup

By popular demand, it's the return of the latest and greatest film and reality TV casting calls that have hit my email inbox in the last few weeks.  Are you ready to see if you have what it takes to make it in Hollywood???

***Smart, Superficial, Independent 18-27 Mandarin Speaking Female for lead as Undercover Ninja Nanny in SAG film.

***65-75 African-American Vietnam Vet Male with a love of boy bands for TV pilot.

***Unrealistically (almost superhuman) attractive man in his late 20s to play Glorified Male Companion in a web series.

***Looking to rent a Prsche for three scenes to film downtown this weekend.  Do you have a Prsche in decent shape?  If so, I'd like to rent your Prsche!  (And yes, it was spelled that way all three times)

***Are you a Celebrity?  Are you close to being a Celebrity?  We're looking for a Celebrity to record commercials for radio and TV advertising.  If you're interested and a Celebrity (or close to being a Celebrity), please respond with your credentials as well as your IMDb link.  We'd love to know what shows or movies you've appeared in over the years.

We look forward to learning more about your Celebrity status.

***Looking for a smart kid who can be a smart ellic to our host. (Yes, it was spelled "ellic")

***Looking for a smart sassy independent 10-year-old to be the lead in a film about the world's youngest CEO.  The actor will be the CEO of a Hookah company that targets pre-teens.

***Have you been attracted to your wife's sisters?  Have you acted on it?  Are you still acting on it?  Do you feel comfortable revealing it to your spouse?

***Looking for a gifted 20-30 female to portray a dead hooker murdered by a Rick Ross type music producer in a parody of "The Sound Of Music".

***Seeking a 45-57 Asian female who can throw a convincing windmill pitch.

***Seeking a young Adam West type actor to portray the Emperor of Japan in WWII.

***Good at baseball play by play?  Seeking a 30-35 male to call PBP for a scene in a feature about goat baseball teams.

If you fit any of the above casting calls, I'm a little worried for you.  Having said that, good luck becoming a star!!!

I Hope This Guy Doesn't Fit Any Of These Casting Notices

How Do Most Actors Pay The Bills?

It's been an interesting year for me.  I've met a variety of actors thanks to Zach's acting projects.  The one thing I've noticed is most of them don't make a full time living as actors.

How do these folks fill their time and pay the bills?

I didn't meet anyone who waited tables (which is the occupation everyone thinks of as "the job" for actors).

Here are the 5 most common professions among the folks I met this year:

***Temp Work/Contract Work
I met a few folks who work at home taking care of data entry, typing and transcribing.  These skills allow them to make extra money with little to no responsibility.  The lack of any office to travel to on a daily basis helps them balance work and auditions with no problems.

***Babysitter
Besides the actors I met this summer, I also know three other Los Angeles residents who babysit for a living.  It's a gig that allows you a good amount of flexibility.  Of course, it helps if you're good with kids!

***Dog Walker/Dog Sitter
This is a great option because you can take the pooches out early in the morning and late at night.  It's a schedule that frees you up for classes and auditions.  Put up some flyers on street corners or in a coffee shop and you'll be in business.

***Personal Trainer
Actors need to stay in shape and look their best at auditions.  Why not put your time to good use and make some extra money teaching classes?  You don't have to work at a gym to be a personal trainer. There's also a big market for good looking personal trainers to be lusted after by their clients.

***Promo Work
There are a ton of companies (some long standing and some fly by night) that are always looking for event workers and promo models.  A lot of this work consists of handing out flyers, demonstrating products at Costco or in grocery stores, conducting surveys and getting people to sign up to vote or support local issues.  If you don't mind interacting with the public then this is a good side job for you. Plus, you should be skilled at talking to complete strangers if you want to be an actor.  Meeting casting directors and going to auditions is a big part of the acting process so you need to be comfortable interacting with others.

I'm sure there are other side jobs for aspiring actors.  The list above are the jobs I heard most during conversations on set.  It's always interesting to hear how people pay their bills while chasing their dreams.

This actor has a side job called "going to high school".

You Can Take The Man Out Of Camp...But His Back Reminds Him Of Camp Bunks

Dear Mom and Dad,

Zach and I are home from a wonderful week in Oregon.  We're happy to be back but we are still talking about our fellow campers.

I'm glad to be back in civilization because I now have a good Internet signal and can share the excitement of camp with you in photos.

We stayed at an actual girl scout camp founded in 1924 outside of Sandy, Oregon.  Here's the sign that greets you when you enter the campgrounds.

Shhh...This is "Hollywood Magic".  The real name is of the place is Camp Namanu.

Here the guy that founded the camp.  His picture makes him look like a Scooby-Doo villain.

The first thing we did at camp was get some dinner.  The folks filming the pilot had great cooks on staff that gave us filling meals and plenty of snacks in the kitchen.  I know you were worried about my one food item request but it was granted by the camp counselors.  I had plenty of Diet Coke!  My request was rewarded with cases of the lovely drink available at all times since we were nowhere near a store.

The guy Zach is talking to is named "Porcupine" and he lives on the camp grounds.

After we ate dinner on the first night we made our way to our cabins.  The ride to the cabins, as well as the camp, took place at night so it was hard to tell where we were going and how far it was from the mess hall.  We got to our assigned cabins and here's how we were able to tell which building was our cabin after hours:

We were in the kids section of the camp with the "Pooh Bear" names.

The one piece of art/decoration on the cabin wall.

We quickly discovered the lack of reliable Internet and cell phone signals in the camp.  That's why I couldn't send you any photos before this letter.

It was time to explore the camp after we woke up the next morning.  It was interesting to put together buildings and distances in the daylight.

The exterior of our cabin.  We were the only cabin residents 5 of the 7 days of the camp session.

A structure in the meadows in the middle of the camp grounds AKA "A Thinking Spot".

Don't be fooled by the photo.  Too cold to swim!

The cabin belonging to Zach's character, Willy.

"The Wishing Rock" out in the woods.  I wished for world peace and a better Internet connection.

The first day was a table read of the script and scene rehearsals.  It was interesting to watch the cast bond as a unit so quickly.

Costume fitting.

Zach only had a couple of scenes on Monday morning so we rode into town that afternoon to try and get my Wi-Fi hot spot repaired.  Tuesday was a day off for him so we goofed around in camp during the morning.  We spent the afternoon in town at a local coffee shop so I could get some work done for clients.

This was posted at the coffee shop.  The phrase "Portland's French Troubadour" made me LOL.

Zach was on set working the rest of the week.  You'll be proud of me because I made a lot of new friends during the second half of the week.

I was the only person at camp with no assigned position for the pilot.  I was afraid that my award at the end of camp would be "Best Camper With No Purpose".  I pitched in wherever possible.  I helped set up tables in the mess hall, built tents for a night scene and collected and transported luggage on the final day of camp.

The entire week was fast and furious but it was fantastic to watch a group of people passionate about a project band together despite little sleep, a rapidly approaching end of shoot deadline, chilly weather conditions, late night scenes and various personality types.  The entire camp quickly bonded and worked together to further the dream of making "Camp Abercorn" a reality.

The crew trying to stay warm on the last night of shooting out at the lake,

One of the scenes involves the campers being in a lake at night.  Here is a "before and after" of Zach on the last couple of days of shooting:

Dry Scout.

Wet (but happy) Camper.

The cast and crew stayed up all night the final two nights of the shoot to make sure every scene was perfect.  I watched filming for a few hours the next to last night and then went into the production office to take care of some social media work for various clients.  That entire night (for me) can be summed up in these words: tamales, Oregon beer, wet actors, social media content creation, little sleep and a lot of laughs.

I've taken up enough of your time and I need to get back to work.  

Zach and I are ready to get back to camp to continue working on "Camp Abercorn".  The one change I'll make on the next trip?  Bringing a blow up air mattress for my back. I'm not exactly cut out for sleeping on bunks anymore!

Camp Abercorn - Ready To Go!

The IMDb page of my cabinmate at Camp Abercorn.

My Latest Letter From Camp Abercorn

Dear Mom and Dad,

We’ve had a lot of adventures so far and met so many people at Camp Abercorn.  The only downside to the camp is a lack of a decent internet signal.  It’s keeping me from sending you any photos with this letter.  I’ll show you the photos when I get to another location with decent Wi Fi.

The first night at camp was short because we got in so late in the evening.  “We” being Zach, myself and two of the other actors on the show.  Zach is the only teenager actually playing a teenager in the show.  The other “teens” are in their 20s.  They are all super nice to Zach but slightly older than him.

It wasn’t until Sunday morning that we got a good look at the camp grounds.  On Sunday, it looked green and lush and just like summer.  By Tuesday, the temps had dropped and the leaves had started changing colors.  Fall is now in the air.

The first full day in camp (Sunday) was nothing but a rehearsal day.  Zach practiced a scene where he announces a contest as well as a scene where he chases after another camper on a bike.  The bike scene is the first scene he shot on Monday.

Each cabin is equipped with 12 bunks.  Not beds.  Bunks.  Everyone was advised to bring sleeping bags to camp to use for extra warmth and sleeping comfort.  The cabins all have indoor plumbing.  The only non-bathroom lights in the place are in the living room as you enter the cabin.  The bedrooms have no lights or electricity so it’s definitely bed time when you go to your room at the end of the night. 

There are three places that get a decent cell phone signal at camp:

*The parking lot at the top of the hill (entrance to the camp)

*The meadow in the middle of the camp grounds

*The back parking lots by the cabins. 

The back parking lot is outside our cabin.  It’s really odd that the signal areas are all an equal distance from each other.  You’ll usually find a gathering of people in the lot walking around trying to find any spot where they can get two or more bars on their phones.

The other thing about camp is that it is an actual boy/girl scout camp.  There are no TV’s, no game rooms and no general stores to pick up any necessary items.  The main social activity at night is dinner in the dining hall.  It’s where everyone gathers to talk about the day and spend time together away from the set.  It gets dark around 7pm so once dinner is over, people head back to their cabins for the night.  There is no night “activity room”.  People either chat in their cabins or hang out in the dining hall before calling it a night.

It’s always exciting to meet new people.  We’ve met quite the group of characters here at camp:

*There are two guys that take care of the camp grounds.  The older one is Charles and he lives on the grounds.  The other one is Porcupine and he lives up to his name.  His is 19, has a pointy beard and likes to throw knives into logs.

*Jake is a volunteer that is involved with a local boy scout chapter.  I met him while he was preparing to trim some of the trees.  He told me all about the wonders of Oregon with a smile that made think he was recalling some horrible deeds he committed in the recent past.  He excused himself to go work in the woods.  The next time I saw him he was running from one part of the woods to the other like Forest Gump with the grin of a crazy person.  He was waving the tree trimmer in the air and whistling at the top of his lungs.

*The lack of a decent internet signal has caused me to go into town a few times.  My first trip was a drive to Portland to exchange my Wi Fi hot spot.  One of the show producers was heading there to pick up some equipment so I went along for the ride.  I was told by AT&T technical support that I could exchange the device at any retailer.  I found an AT&T corporate store in Portland and was told the best thing for me to do was to go back to the town closest to camp and make the exchange there (in case I still had problems it would be easier to get to that location).  I made it to the local store later in the day only to discover the store did not have a device they were willing to give me (long story about the inconvenient and unyielding policies of AT&T) but I could easily get one back in Portland.  This 4-hour adventure involved me, Zach, a production assistant, AT&T employees telling me it would break the laws of the company to exchange the device in store after 14 days of my owning the hot spot, the random discovery of a Blockbuster store that is still in operation, the fact that AT&T corporate employees are not able (or willing) to dictate policy to their store employees and the music of Radiohead serving as the soundtrack of a drive through the wilds of Oregon at night.

*The next trip into town was in a cab driven by Malcom.  He is best described as a silver haired cab driver who wears a leather jacket with sleeves he cut off by himself.  Other facts about Malcom include:

A. He performs marriages as a side job

B. He has been married multiple times

C. The celebrities he has met in his life are Robert Blake, Steve McQueen and John Denver

D. He is the owner and only employee of the cab company and is on call 24/7

E. He has not slept a full night in 5 years

F. He loves to drive people home from bars so he can spread the gospel to them late at night

G. He once had a neighbor who was convinced Malcom’s dog could speak racial slurs

H. His cab has a photo of a horse on the side of the vehicle

I think that’s enough from camp for today.  I don’t want to share everything at once.

Talk to you soon from Camp Abercorn - "Ready To Go!"

#campabercorn

My Favorite Camp Abercorn Camper

Getting Ready For Scout Camp

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm almost ready to travel to scout camp.  The flight to Oregon is this Saturday!  I can't believe it's almost time to meet my new friends.

The name of the scout camp I get to attend this year!

It's certainly going to be a change of pace from the heat of the San Fernando Valley.  Looking at the 10-day forecast shows highs in the 60s-70s and lows in the 40s.  We'll be in the Pacific Northwest Temperate Rainforest.  It's been too long since I've attended school to know what all of those big words mean for global warming, the melting ice caps and the need for sunscreen at camp.  I did follow your advice and bought a poncho and a sleeping bag so Zach and I can stay warm at night.

It looks like a movie set but it's a real scout camp.

I've been told there will be Internet access which is good because the MLB playoffs start this weekend and I want to keep up with the games.  Plus, how will I know what's happening in civilization if I can't watch TMZ???

The interior of the cabins.

I know you worry about me and my sense of direction.  No need to worry because there will be plenty of people there helping to make the TV show.  In fact, here is a photo of them hanging out at the camp tree house.

The fear of ridicule from my fellow campers will keep me from getting lost.

Finally, we'll all be eating our meals together.  We've been told to expect delicious, but basic, meals which pretty much describes my personal cooking style.  I should have no problem keeping my stomach full.

I have to go pack now.  If you get a chance, please send a care package.  You know how much I love crackers, s'mores, craft beer and comic books.  I promise to be good and share with my fellow campers.

I'll write again soon and let you know how things are going at camp.  I'll also let you know about Zach's adventures filming the pilot episode!

Here at Camp Abercorn, adventure is in the air!

I'm Attending Camp Abercorn With This Guy!