Celebrity Sightings in Everyday Life

According to "La La Land", Hollywood is the city of stars. It doesn't matter if you are actively looking for celebrities or just going about your daily routine. You are bound to spot a famous person if you a resident here for any length of time.

Here are some celebrity encounters that happened to us while we were simply living our daily lives:

• The Black Power Ranger - Zach was recently at a comic shop when another customer entered asking for a copy of the Justice League/Power Rangers graphic novel. He heard about the book and wanted a copy since his character was in the story. It turned out he was the actor that portrayed the Black Ranger in the first generation of the Power Rangers franchise.
• Brian Posehn - This is another celebrity comic shop encounter. Posehn is a fan, as well as a writer, of comic books. I've often seen him shopping for books at various stores in the area.
• Kayne - Zach almost ran into Kayne at the grocery store . Neither one of them was watching where they were going and almost had a collision. Thankfully, Zach was much younger so Kayne didn't feel the need to yell at a kid.
• Toby Keith - Dana and I were walking Doc one day when a giant redneck vehicle parked near us. A lumbering redneck stepped out of the vehicle and spotted Doc. He walked over to pet him while saying "Hello Puuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuupeeeeeee". Doc smiled and wagged his tail. It seems that Toby Keith liked our dog.
• Various Kardashians and Katherine Heigl - They shop at a Ralph's near our home. The oddest part is the grocery store is nowhere near the area of town where the Kardashians live so I can't figure out why they shop at this particular location.
• Shia LaBeouf - I had an encounter with Shia late last year that can best be described as a staring contest on his part.
• B.J. Britt - Dana used to work for the Lupus Foundation of America. B.J., along with other cast members of "Being Mary Jane", was a celebrity guest at the event. We got a chance to chat with him as were working the walk and he was great with the crowd. 
• Margaret Avery - Margaret is also part of the cast of "Being Mary Jane". Dana had the opportunity to lunch with this lovely lady before the walk and found her to be charming and down to earth. 
• Nick Cannon - The MC for the Lupus walk one year. As nice in person as he seems on TV. Nick took the time to work the crowd and talk to everyone that wanted to meet him. He even went on the walk with the participants. 
• Mike Farrell - The voice of "Pa Kent" from "Superman: The Animated Series" and part of the cast of "M*A*S*H*". He came in our store back in December. He seemed like he a nice guy even though he DIDN'T BUY ANYTHING!!!!
• Casa Vega - A very "old school" restaurant that has been in business since 1956. I have walked to it many times to enjoy their food. It is also a favorite of many celebrities. Over the years, I have seen stars such as Blake & Gwen, Jessica Simpson, Mariah Carey, the Kardashians (again), Jennifer Aniston and Selena Gomez entering and leaving the building.
• Studio City Farmers Market - There is always a crowd of paparazzi at this Sunday valley staple. While I don't understand why there is a demand for photos of celebs buying fruit, I guess someone wants to see photos of Sandra Bullock buying oranges.
• Hal Sparks - Zach opened for Hal during the Burbank Comedy Festival. We had the chance to chat with him after the show. Hal was very complimentary about Zach's comedy and also gave him some very helpful advice about how to further his comedy career.
• Mike Arnoldi - Don't recognize the name? Mike was a child actor in the various "Bad News Bears" movies. He is now a publicist for red carpet events 

We've also had the chance to meet other actors and directors over the years on various sets and at red carpet events. These encounters were at places where you expect to meet others in the industry.

It's always more interesting to see celebrities in "real life" when they are not "on for the camera". We have met very few jerks over the years. It just proves that if you treat celebrities like regular people, they will act like everyday people around you.

This actor doesn't act like a jerk to others.

Have You Taken Care Of Your "Pilot Season Essentials"?

Even though streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu provide new content throughout the year, pilot season is still a big deal in Hollywood. Actors flock to Los Angeles every January to try and book a role in a pilot on one of the major networks.

Even if you think you are completely prepared for pilot season, there is still a checklist of items to help you make the most of your pilot season experience:

Have Your "Essentials" In Place - Whether you already live in Los Angeles, or you are making the move here for pilot season, there are a number of "essentials" you need to have in place. They include:

1. A place to live - Rent prices increase during pilot season because of the number of people looking for housing. Don't think you'll arrive in Los Angeles and easily find an affordable place to live. Have your housing set-up in advance of your arrival.
2. Money - Los Angeles is not a cheap city when it comes to housing, gas and daily needs like food and clothing. Make sure you have some savings set aside in case of an emergency.
3. Face Time with your Agent and Manager - If you have an agent and/or manager in place, stop in and see them before pilot season casting calls begin. You want to be top of mind when they are submitting talent to casting directors. There are thousands of actors trying to land parts in pilots. Make sure your team knows you are ready to work by taking the first step to discuss your pilot season goals.
4. Online Presence - Social media is certainly an important part of your online presence but it is not the only way to showcase yourself, and your acting abilities, online. Is your current acting reel online? Is your IMDb page updated? Do you have your own website with clips, credits and a bio telling people more about you? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, what are you waiting for???

Have Reliable Transportation - Make sure your vehicle is in good shape because you'll be spending a lot of time on the 405, 101. 134 and other number filled roads. It is a good idea to have an extra set of audition clothes, headshots and resumes in your car. An emergency supply can save you a lot of stress if you don't have time to run home to prepare for a last minute audition.

Acting Lessons - Regular classes with an acting coach will keep your performing skills up to date. Even if you don't want to take a regular acting class, be prepared to do private coaching sessions before a big audition. A private session can help you get "off book" as quickly as possible. Knowing your lines, and not having to constantly look at the script, allows you to connect with the casting director and/or your scene partner during an audition. Would you rather showcase your acting ability or your reading skills?

Relax and Stop Worrying - Worrying too much about booking a role during pilot season can impact your acting performance thanks to the pressure you are feeling. Don't get in your own way and ruin your chances during an audition. The casting director will want to get a natural performance out of you and that won't happen if you are filled with worry.

Pilot season is here and you will want to make the most of your opportunities. Once you have the "pilot season essentials" covered, you can focus on acting and landing your dream role

This actor is looking forward to a busy pilot season.

Six Years and Counting

At this time six years ago, we were preparing for a road trip to California. 

We left St. Louis around 5AM on January 21st after much discussion, soul searching and moments of doubt. The decision was made to take Zach to Los Angeles to pursue his acting dream. 

My truck was filled with as many of our belongings as possible while still being comfortable for a long drive. We had to take a good amount of Zach’s clothes since he would have auditions and other acting events. I took some jeans, about ten shirts, a pair of sneakers and most of my socks and underwear. I figured I could buy anything else I needed once we got to California. We also packed a TV, Zach’s Xbox 360, pots, pans and a computer.

Even though she was staying in St. Louis for a little while before moving to Los Angeles, Dana took a week of vacation to help us get settled. She needed to make sure her boys were safe in California before she could relax.

As we traveled across the country, I looked forward to the adventure as well as getting away from the Midwest winter. I would be able to enjoy the weather in California while making it back to Missouri for late springtime weather.

I never made it back for the nice weather in the spring.

As I look back on six years in Los Angeles, I am glad to say some of the first kids Zach met here are still his good friends to this day. Plus, he has an acting coach that has been a good mentor to him and a manager that has been supportive of his every move. His comedy career continues to grow and his acting career has taken him to film and TV sets around Los Angeles as well as across the US.

Dana has worked for nonprofits, continued her voice-over career, grown her iCandy brand and been successful working and living in Los Angeles. 

As for me, here's to six years of observing and writing about:

• Child/Teen actors
• Stage parents
• Comedy clubs
• Agents
• Managers
• Hollywood
• Comedy festivals
• Auditions
• Los Angeles
• Casting directors
• Disney
• Nickelodeon
• San Fernando Valley
• Improv
• TV and movie sets

I've also spent six years making a living doing marketing, public relations and copywriting jobs in the industries of:

• Cosmetic surgery
• Cryptocurrency
• Spices
• Physical fitness
• Events in small towns in Texas
• Insurance quotes websites
• Protecting your home from hurricanes and other natural disasters
• Crowdfunding
• Library ladders
• Moving companies
• Too many others to mention

I couldn't imagine that we would be here six years. I was just taking it day to day when Zach and I were here by ourselves once Dana went back to St. Louis. We were in a new city and only knew each other. My main concern was helping him figure out how to start his acting career here. Even though he can drive himself to set now, I still help him keep track of his auditions, wardrobe, head shots and other daily essentials of being a working actor in Los Angeles.

Thanks for reading my blog for the past six years. I look forward to sharing more adventures from Hollywood with you!

This actor already has a big audition lined up in early February.

The Year In Review For Zach Louis

I started writing this update from the very frigid South where we were visiting family for the holidays. One of the main questions actors get on a daily basis is "What have you been in lately?"

It makes sense that people want to know if they will be able to watch a relative/actor in a movie or TV show.  However, they often seem to think any work by the actor doesn't count if it doesn't appear on their TV set or in their local movie theater.

Zach accomplished quite a bit this year in terms of advancing his career. In fact, here are the Top 10 moments of Zach's professional year:

1. Sharp Objects - This is the title of the new Amy Adams HBO show. Zach played a drunk high school wrestler in one episode of the show. Even though the episode was filmed in May of this year, the show won't air until summer 2018.
2. Fresh Off the Boat - One of the first "industry connections" Zach made in Los Angeles was a guy that books actors to play football players on TV shows. The actors are either real football players or actors that have the size and build of football players. Zach was called into action again this year as a football player on this ABC sitcom.
3. The Marriage Zone - One of two plays Zach was in at the same time in North Hollywood. The theatres were about 2 miles apart which made it easy for Zach to perform in both productions back in July, August and September.
4. Somewhere in the Middle - The second No Ho play AKA "the play with the better snack selection during the show".
5. Burbank Comedy Fest - Hundreds of comics from across the country sent in submissions for this comedy festival. Zach was chosen to participate for the second year in a row. Plus, none of his sets were lumped into "teen comic" nights. He was placed in showcases with veteran comics.
6. Flappers Comedy Club - The first club that took a chance on Zach by booking him on a regular basis in 2016. They had him perform multiple sets in 2017. While Zach fit well with many of the comedians he opened for at the club, he probably meshed the most with the sensibilities of Hal Sparks the night they performed together.
7. The Ice House - While this is not a new comedy venue, it is a new club he is performing at on a regular basis. The Ice House has multiple locations but Zach always performed in the main room at the Pasadena location. 
8. The Laugh Factory - This club is one of the most famous comedy venues on Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. Zach had his first chance to take the stage there just a few weeks ago. The thing that instantly struck him was the fact that it was "one big room". Flappers and The Ice House have multiple stages and rooms so Zach was happy to find out that The Laugh Factory is a venue with multiple seating levels while still being one large room 
9. Mike Sager - Mike is a bestselling author as well as a award-winning journalist. He contacted us about writing a profile feature on Zach and his loving, supportive and amazing parents. The feature also includes an awesome video profile. The article and video are being shopped around and I hope to have some news soon about a home for the project in 2018.
10. AGT - The year closed with an email (out of the blue) from one of the casting producers of "America's Got Talent". She had seen Zach doing stand-up earlier in the year and asked him to provide some video for her to show the producers of the show. We helped Zach go through his sets from various clubs and found a strong set to send her. They must have liked what they saw because he has an audition with them in early February. It certainly bodes well for 2018.

Thanks for following along with Zach's adventures in 2017. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2018!

This actor is looking forward to a successful 2018.

My One Sided Celebrity Staring Contest

It's not hard to run into a celebrity in Los Angeles. This is the movie capital of the world and many Hollywood actors and actresses make their home in the cities around Los Angeles.

In other words, the chances of spotting a celebrity at the gym, the gas station, the grocery store or a restaurant is high on any given afternoon.

Dana and I recently had an encounter with a celebrity that can best be described as "odd" and even "kind of bizarre". The celebrity seemed way more interested in looking at us than we were interested in checking out this person known for his roles on the big screen.

We stopped to eat at a place called Sharky's which is a chain of Mexican restaurants throughout California (as well as random locations in Oregon and Nevada). Sharky's is one of those places that is never your first choice for dinner. However, it is a good choice when you are in a hurry to eat if you have other commitments that night.

We had other commitments last Wednesday night so we stopped by Sharky's in Studio City to grab a quick dinner. We entered the restaurant and got in line to order. The first thing we noticed was a baby moving his high chair across the floor by thrusting his body in a forward motion. Everyone was smiling and laughing at the baby including one guy sitting in a chair waiting for his "to go" order.

I figured the guy was with the family watching the baby. I also assumed he was sitting away from the baby in order to chase the kid in case the high chair went too far from the table.

I soon discovered I was wrong as the guy kept staring at the two of us. I recognized him right away but, honestly, I didn't really care that he was famous. I was just curious why he seemed to be having a staring contest with us.

Dana didn't care as well but she did want to make sure it was the person she had in mind. She started to ask me and I just replied with "Yes". We kept chatting while trying not to pay attention to the fact that this person was staring at us. We walked up to the counter to order and were right by "the mad starer". He kept staring as we placed our order and his gaze never left us once. It was odd and unnerving at the same time.  I looked down and my zipper was in the correct place and I didn't have any food on my face. I could not figure out why he was staring so much but I just kept ordering and ignoring the situation.

After we ordered, Dana found us a seat. After we sat down, the staring person promptly left his seat and disappeared to another section.

About 5 minutes later, the server at the counter yelled "Order for Shia!" and the "mad starer" appeared out of the darkness to claim his food. Shia LaBeouf grabbed his bags of food and then walked over to the salsa bar. Of course, I was standing at the salsa bar and realized he was staring at me again. I kept getting my salsa while Shia did the same thing. The only difference was Shia was staring at me the entire time.

Once he left the building, on foot, to wander down Coldwater Canyon Avenue, Dana and I spent out meal talking about the weirdness of that experience. His stare was not mean. He was not staring as if he was trying to figure out if he knew us from somewhere. It was just a straight ahead stare that you often see in people planning to chop up another person with an axe.

It was much like this blank stare with a little more intensity to the blankness:

The "Shia staring contest" certainly counts as the oddest celebrity encounter I've had in recent memory. I can't begin to tell you why he had his staring ability focused on us. I do know that some of his past encounters in public have ended with the police being called to the scene. My goal was not to win the staring contest. My goal was to eat my dinner without having to explain to the police why Shia LaBeouf ended up freaking out on me.

In related news, I will not be dining at the Sharky's in Studio City anytime in the near future.

This actor doesn't uncomfortably stare at others in public.

The Proof Is In...I Am Not A Jerk!

Spoiler Alert: I'm not exactly a warm and fuzzy person.

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?

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.

Acting and Performing Opportunities During the Holiday Season

The holidays are almost here and everyone likes to find ways to make extra money to buy gifts for family and friends. While there are plenty of retail jobs available, there are a number of opportunities for actors to make money while still being able to use their acting skills.

• Halloween theme park jobs - It doesn't take long to get to a theme park if you live in Los Angeles. We have Universal Studios, Disney, Six Flags and Knott's Berry Farm and each one of them does some kind of holiday festival or event. Actors have the chance to work as characters that scare park guests as well as hosts/performers in shows. Zach has been working at "Halloween Horror Nights" at Universal during Halloween. The event happens at night which gives him time during the day for auditions and school. (Yes, I know that Halloween is almost over but it is something to keep in mind for next year.)
• Holiday singing and dancing - Halloween is not the only time theme parks need performers to entertain guests. Christmas is a big time for employment opportunities thanks to the parks putting on holiday themed live shows that include song and dance numbers.
• Work in a retail environment without having to sell items - Song and dance numbers also happen on a regular basis in malls and department stores. They hire performers to entertain shoppers with Christmas carols, perform background music while people shop and (of course)  work as elves and holiday helpers while Santa Claus is talking to kids.
• Entertain the public around town - There are agencies that hire singers and performers to entertain retirement communities and schools during the holidays. It is a great way for singers and dancers to practice their craft while still making money.
• Demonstrating products - These are the folks you see at Costco on the weekends sharing news about exciting products, promoting great deals and sampling amazing food items. While it is a sales job, the person promoting the product still has to memorize a script and be convincing about how great the item is and why shoppers can't live without it!

The above examples are just some of the ways actors can do what they love (perform) and make extra money between booking roles. The holidays are stressful so any chance to get out in public and perform for others is welcomed by those who enjoy entertaining for a living. Plus, all of these jobs certainly beat sitting in an office all day doing a temp job in front of a computer!

This actor has been scaring people at Halloween Horror Nights