It's not that I don't like spending time with others. I just have little use for talking about myself for any length of time.
I like people to tell me what they need/what is on their mind so I will know what needs to be done. Let's get to the point and get moving ASAP.
Having said that, I recently discovered my personality is not as combative as some people believe.
In 2016, I was contacted by Mike Sager. Mike is a journalist who has written for Rolling Stone and Esquire, He is also an author whose articles inspired the feature films "Boogie Nights" and "Wonderland". He discovered my blog and contacted me about doing a feature story on Zach and his Dadager. It seemed like an interesting idea but we could never get our schedules to line up before the idea disappeared into the night.
Fast forward to this year as Mike and I touched base about the story idea. His editor wanted him to come to Los Angeles and interview out family. The story would touch on the journey that led us here as well as what a "Dadager" does for the career of his child/teen actor.
Mike and his film crew spent a weekend with us in September. The whirlwind weekend, filled with an intense interview process, included:
- Mike interviewing Dana and myself over dinner at Jerry's Deli. Dana and I discussed the decision making process behind moving to Los Angeles and what life is like having a teen actor.
- Interviews with Zach as he discussed his reasons for wanting to make acting his career, He also talked about the weird world of being a teenage stand-up comedian in the Los Angeles comedy scene.
- Mike and his crew went with us to The Ice House in Pasadena to film Zach's debut at the club.
- A few interviews, with the three of us together, discussing show business and how it impacts our lives on a daily basis.
- Even Doctor Murgatroyd AKA Doc The Dog got in on the action by insisting on sitting with us during one of the interviews.
The weekend with Mike is the most I've talked about myself/discussed the past in many years. I am not big on reminiscing about the past. I am more interested in the present as well as where I am heading in the future.
The weekend seemed to go well. Mike got a lot of good footage of Zach at The Ice House and some fun interviews at our home with all of us. The time spent looking back helped us focus on the future by examining the goals Zach is trying to achieve with his career/
I can feel your question about the interview...When can you read the feature article about Zach?
Mike put the article together and also made a short film piece containing footage from the comedy club and our interviews at home. He submitted them to his editor and discovered there was not enough drama or conflict in the piece.
In other words, I was not the cliche "evil stage parent" most people think of when it comes to parents of child/teen actors.
To his credit, Mike refused to do a rewrite that would have cast me in a bad light. He could have easily redone the piece to make his editor happy by making me a giant stage parent whose only concern is living off his kid.
The editor wanted a story featuring a stage parent like this guy: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lavar-ball-plaschke-20171121-story.html
So, what will happen to the story and the short film?
Don't get me wrong...I am kind of a jerk. I'm just not a "stage parent using my kid to live out my show business dreams" jerk.
A feature story about this actor is coming in the near future.
The weekend seemed to go well. Mike got a lot of good footage of Zach at The Ice House and some fun interviews at our home with all of us. The time spent looking back helped us focus on the future by examining the goals Zach is trying to achieve with his career/
I can feel your question about the interview...When can you read the feature article about Zach?
In other words, I was not the cliche "evil stage parent" most people think of when it comes to parents of child/teen actors.
To his credit, Mike refused to do a rewrite that would have cast me in a bad light. He could have easily redone the piece to make his editor happy by making me a giant stage parent whose only concern is living off his kid.
The editor wanted a story featuring a stage parent like this guy: http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lavar-ball-plaschke-20171121-story.html
So, what will happen to the story and the short film?
Mike and his team are shopping the story around and getting some advice from folks in the entertainment industry. I'm not sure what outlet will pick it up and run the story. I will definitely keep you posted in the future.
For now, the initial outcome of this project is proof that I am not as big of a jerk as many believe me to be.
Don't get me wrong...I am kind of a jerk. I'm just not a "stage parent using my kid to live out my show business dreams" jerk.
A feature story about this actor is coming in the near future.
