OK... so... the Nominations for the 82nd Academy Awards were announced today by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak and Anne Hathaway...
BEST PICTURE?? Wow, that's a tough one. 10 nominees? Well.... I I PRAY I'm wrong.. and It pains me to face it... but I don't think any of the other nominees are strong enough to take it. AVATAR will probably win. But I think it should be either HURT LOCKER or PRECIOUS. That's probably because I am always pulling for the underdog (GO SAINTS). I have to be honest here... I haven't even seen PRECIOUS, but I love the story behind the film and the fact that the lead character is played by a no name newcomer (I mean that in the kindest way possible). So NO, I havent seen PRECIOUS.... but I'd be willing to put MONEY on Mo’Nique to get Best Supporting Actress.
And NOT to be too cynical.... because CONAN O'BRIEN told me NOT to be cynical... and I sometimes find myself leaning on the cynical side... but the OSCARS... in my opinion... are awarded based on FIFTY percent quality of work slash outstanding achievement.... and FIFTY percent politics slash marketing....
which is why I believe that AVATAR will win for Best Picture....
“Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
A STUNNING spectacle... no doubt... more like a cool ride at a theme park than an award winning film.... AMAZING to look at... but without the visual effects... without the 3D... its not THAT great of a film... and handful of TWO dimensional characters and a few DIALED in performances... hardly worthy.
“The Blind Side” (Sanda Bullock's film)
Haven't seen it. Not a big fan of Sandra Bullock movies... always so MTV-ish. I'm sure its probably a decent film... its a movie about FOOTBALL...and I love football... but whatever... doesnt mattter.... NOT GONNA WIN... surprised its even nominated.
“District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
D9 was cool... but during the first 45 minutes of the film I had NO idea what the hell was happening... I couldn't figure out WHO the story was about... many elements of the first act either didn't make any sense or just weren't believable.... these guys are aksing ALIENS to sign a piece of paper on a clipboard.... WHY would these big ugly Aliens...who eat CAT FOOD...and could rip a human apart and kick them a hundred yards away with no problem be willing to SIGN some document that is basically an EVICTION notice? why I should care? I remember saying to myself "So far, this movie kind of sucks." Once the story got going... I really liked it... but .... no... not worthy of BEST PICTURE
“An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
Haven't seen it. Almost went this past weekend with my girlfrfiend, but we saw Crazy heart instead. I will probably go check it out in the next couple of weeks... it may be good... but it's TOO indie... playing in Art House theaters.... will NEVER win for BEST PICTURE.
“The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
Saw it... I really really liked it.... but AGAIN... it's TOO indie... NO big names at all.... played the Art House joints.... I don't think HURT LOCKER can pull it off.
“Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
Quentin Tarantino gets an OSCAR?? That would be AWESOME. Mind you... he DID win one already. He won Best Original Screenplay for Pulp Fiction. But I'm always pulling for Quentin Tarantino. I liked INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS because it totally surprised me. It was SO different... and so much better than I expected it to be. You wanna win an OSCAR? Make a movie about "Killin Nazi's."
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
Like I said.... havent seen it.... but I'm pulling for the underdog. PRECIOUS won't win Best Picture but it will definitely round up an award or two.
"A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
I SAW this movie. I was CONFUSED. It was.... gooood (??)... I would give it an "interesting." Maybe if I was Jewish I would have more of an appreciation for the parody.
“Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
PIXAR... cartoons.... I'm sure it's delightful.... not my thing.... every few years a new animated film comes out and someone says "EVEN THOUGH it's an animated movie... THIS one is really good." So I go see it and I'm bored... I don't like cartoon movies... I'm always disappointed.... I've never seen an animtaed film that I liked..... WAIT.... Except for ONE....
SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER and UNCUT.... that was F%#*%$ing BRILLIANT.
“Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers
BEST PICTURE? Not in my opinion... but it COULD win.... I actually posted a few commenst about this movie in a recent blog entry....
(January 28th) I'm not going to say it wasn't good. It WAS good. It was your standard, solid major studio production, with a decent story and strong acting.... it WAS a good movie.... a good, predictable, bland movie. If you like really EASY, George Clooney movies.... go for it... you'll enjoy it. It WAS a little depressing at the end... so it WASN'T all warm and Fuzzy.... but It WAS what I thought it was going to be....
So that's where stand on the whole BEST PICTURE conversation.... WHY do we have TEN nominee's this year?
“After more than six decades, the Academy is returning to some of its earlier roots, when a wider field competed for the top award of the year,” said AMPAS president Sid Ganis. “The final outcome, of course, will be the same—one Best Picture winner—but the race to the finish line will feature 10, not just five, great movies from 2009.” In the ’30s and ’40s the Academy recognized between 8 and 12 Best Picture nominees each year.
Several groups, like the Broadcast Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, and the American Film Institute, have already been listing 10 best films of the year instead of five. And with the Oscars now doing the same, I’d say this could really help the chances of some more commercially popular films, which are often edged out of the running by typical “Academy films” like The Reader or Frost/Nixon. Certainly The Dark Knight and WALL•E would have made a top 10 Academy list this year—will we now see Up and Star Trek on the Oscar ballot?
The supersizing of the best-picture category was suggested during a postmortem with Bill Condon and Laurence Mark, producers of this year's ceremony, which boosted viewership from the previous year by 13%.
Still, considering the 2008 edition – when No Country for Old Men claimed the best-picture trophy – was the least-watched show ever, the increase was only a mild improvement. Which is why, to continue to draw more eyes, the academy would like Oscar to find room for more popcorn-type films in its diet.
"All the critics' 10-best lists have 10 films," Sherak says, explaining the logic behind the move for the March 7 ceremony. "And there have been 10 nominees in the past. Maybe it would create more interest and allow us to have more fun. Maybe a comedy or a blockbuster would be nominated. The board felt it was an idea that should be tried."
Don't limit yourself to one particular aim or ambition this year. Set yourself targets that are general in nature and wait to see which way fate wants you to go. There is a rhythm to your life which, if followed, will always point you in the direction of happiness.
This is my horsocope for today. I read it in the New York Post and I felt compelled to share it... if not with anyone else then with MYSELF... because I was really struck by how accurately this depicts me..... my process...
There is undoubtedly a rhythm... an unseen, unheard energy.... its always been there... and I can't say I've always been willing or wise enough to follow it ...
But I CAN say that I when I DO... I undoubtedly find happiness.
Ok, what is it? Wednesday? Where am I? What's goin on? I'm changing gears on this next corporate video project. I initiated the casting process this week and let me tell you somehting... I used to wonder why Casting Directors always seemed to have a certain disdain for actors. When I was back in New York, and I was auditioning 6-10 times a week, I would quite often take offense to the "rolling your eyes," "talk to me like I just pooped in my pants" attitude that one would get upon enyering a busy casting office for an audition. Now that I'm producing more often than I'm auditioning... I'm starting to see what drives that dynamic. The majority of actors you have to deal with when you are in the middle fo the casting process... are F%$#&^ retarded.... and I'm SORRY if using the term RETARDED offends anyone who actually is RETARDED.... How about I use the term... SPECIAL NEEDS? Ok? Alright so I have such a rant building up that I think I'm going to record a video blog later today so I can cover everything... but for now, maybe just a preview. Seriously... how many SPECIAL NEEDS actors does one have to deal with before one finds someone that you would actually CONSIDER casting and working with on a project? HOLY CRAP... from the beginning to end, which starts at the submission process, going through hundreds of emails, browsing pictures and resumes to determine who should even be invited to audition.... to the coordination and scheduling process... to the day of the audition... HELLO??? AAAAAGGGHHH.... does my car have an "I BRAKE FOR SPECIAL NEEDS" bumper sticker on it?? NO! Am I in customer service? Available 24/7 to take SPECIAL NEEDS calls on the SPECIAL NEEDS hotline and answer SPECIAL NEEDS questions and concerns? Do I CARE if you are SUCH a busy ARTIST and you submit for so many projects that you cant remember who I am, or what project I'm casting? Or what roles are available? NO!!! SPECIAL F%$#&^&^ NEEEEEDS!!!
Anyway, I've been bouncing the idea around of starting a video blog... and I think this might be the day. I promise I wont be TOO negative... I do have some contsructive criticism... some advice and helpful tips... but some of those tips are going to come in the form of a RANT... because for the past 48 hours... Ive been dealing with my fair share of SPECIAL NEEDS.
Also... I saw UP IN THE AIR this weekend. BEFORE going to see it, My girlfriend and I both pretty much felt the same way... from the commercials, UP IN THE AIR looks like a very Vanilla, predictable Romantic George Clooney Comedy. But then friends of ours started telling us how good it was... it was "better than expected," "dark and different," "surprisingly good!"
Really? Could it be? I feel like I could guess the whole story from beginning too middle to end based on the trailer... but UP IN THE AIR is getting great reviews... Metacafe gave it an 84.... and thats prettty good... I was definitely curious.
So the day came to go see UP IN THE AIR. We put on some pants, brushed out teeth, tied our shoes.... drove over to The Arclight in Hollywood..... and decided to see CRAZY HEART instead... Jeff Bridges is supposed to be PHENOMENAL.
So WAIT... hold on....
We walked up to the box office a little on the late side and the Arclight didnt have two seats together. So our Plan B landed us at the next showing of UP IN THE AIR, starring George Clooney.... hooray.
So how was it?
I'm not going to say it wasn't good. It WAS good. It was your standard, solid major studio production, with a decent story and strong acting.... it WAS a good movie.... a good, predictable, bland movie. If you like really EASY, George Clooney movies.... go for it... you'll enjoy it. It WAS a little depressing at the end... so it WASN'T all warm and Fuzzy.... but It WAS what I thought it was going to be....
A good friend of mine told me that UP IN THE AIR was "dark." Now, I like "DARK." So I was really hoping that this film could at least fill that expectation. At first, I really thought it would.
There is a scene in the beginning, a series of shots and explanations that set up the premise, where Clooney's character explains what he does for a living (He acts as a corporate Grim Reaper and terminates employess on-site) and tells us that "People do F^%$cked up sh%t when they get fired." To demonstrate we see a disgruntled employee, played by Zach Galifianakis (from THE HANGOVER) doing "F$#ckd up Sh%t after getting fired. The closing image to this opening scene shows that character on the roof of an office building holding a big riflke and assuming a snipers position.
So the WHOLE time I'm watching this movie.. I'm thinking "OHHHH snap.... Zach Galifianakis is going to shoot George Clooney! This is going to be AWESOME. Andrew said this movie was dark, but this is even better than dark!"
Well... Zach Galifianakis never shot George Clooney.... I was very disappointed.
I'm an aspiring actress looking for some focus and direction as I pursue my journey in the biz here in NYC. I just came across your inspiring interview, The Big Break, written by Margo Curry...
Are you still running the Audition Experience? The phone number was invalid and I can't find any info on it. Just curious. I know many folks go to one-on-one and actor's connection seminars and classes to meet agents and casting directors. I've started to do this. But you're approach was so fresh and interactive. I can tell you're passionate about helping others and creating a forum for questions and the exchange of information and experiences among actors. I would really like to join the Audition Experience, if the program is still in place.
Are you still in touch with Ginger Dicce? Funny how you describe her, because that alone makes me want to meet her and see if I'm truly 'qualified' to be in this business. I really respect the old-school way of thinking. Guess it works - did you shave for that next audition! But she got you a commercial! Very cool! I'm signing up to meet her next week 1/26 at Actor's Connection. Also thinking of taking a class with Sande Shurin.
You've done tons of soap work! I would like to work on the soaps - it's definitely one of my types. Which soap classes benefitted you the most?
Thanks so much!
Great Web Site!
Chessie Gumar
Hi Chessie-
Thanks for the email... and no... The Audition Experience is no longer in business... Actors Connection is probably your best bet... those workshop places all offer pretty much the same thing... BREAKTHROUGH, ONE ON ONE, ACTORS ALLIANCE, THE ACTORS MARKET... I've been to all of them...
I'm in Los Angeles now... I've been here since Sept of 2007....
If you meet with Ginger Dicce...tell her James Huffman says HI... she is a hoot... and a tough cookie....
And if you take a soap class... make sure its with a real Soap CD... I would start with Bob lambert... if he is still doing workshops... He is great... and if you meet Bob... YOu can tell him I said HELLO as well.
I took workshops with CD's from all the NY shows.... hoping to make the most of the opportunity to meet the casting people from each show face to face....
Good luck... and all I can say is perform, perform, perform... do as much as you can as often as you can.... have fun.... good things will come your way....
Happy MLK day! God Bless Martin Luther King JR. and all the great things his name has come to represent.....
"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."
Coincidentally... I watched... or RE Watched... a documentary last night called STREET FIGHT ... not really in OBSERVANCE of MLK, but the film is failry apropriate I think. "Street Fight" is a documentary by filmmaker Marshall Curry, chronicling Cory Booker's 2002 campaign against Sharpe James for mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Street Fight originally screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, whihc is where I first saw it. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
It's a great story about street level politics... and all that's good, bad and ugly... in the black community.... I highly recommend it.
It's also MONDAY.... so Happy Monday. Or Happy DAY OFF for most people. Its raining in Los Angeles, which is rare, and its supposed to rain all week... which is also rare. Although I will say that my first Januray in Southern California... back in 2008.... ALL the way BACK in 2008... was filled with cold weather and lots of thunderstorms... I was like "HEY, how come nobody ever told me about the CRAPPY January out in Sunny California?"
I'm still trying to get myself back in to the swing of things. I got back from my East Coast Tour on Januray 8th... so I sort of missed out on that quiet week after the New Year ... which for me suaully serves as a a time to rest, re group, make resolutions and just get ready to rumble....
My week after the New Year was spent trudging around in the SNOW and sub zero East Coast Cold... DAMN was it cold....
That's Kristen and I braving the elements to visit the Washington Monument on January 7th. It was SO cold!!!!
My East Coast tour this year was about three weeks long and covered Six states... some states I hit twice... and I covered multiple locations in New York and New Jersey. We had a lot of fun.... my girlfriend flew into JFK halfway through the trip to spend New years with me in NYC... We had a lot of fun... and we had a lot of SNOW...
On Dec 21st... I landed in Greensboro, NC and hopped in a van with my Brother Dave, Papa Jerry (My Dad) and my two nephews Keller and Casey. We traveled from Greensboro to Hickory to see as much of the Huffman Family as we could. We visited my Grandmother at The Lutheran Home. She was pretty much out of it on the first day but when we went back the second day she recognized us, held our hands (she actually grabbed on to my finger and held it tight for a good long while, forcing me to pry myself from her grip as we were leaving), and told us she loved us... whihc was nice... and a little sad.
We left Hickory on the 23rd and headed up to Fairfax, VA to spend Christmas at my Brother's and I got to finally meet my new NIECE, Marley. Dave and Holly adopted a little girl from China and traveled oversea's to fetch her last January... so this was my first chance to meet her. She is really really cute... and MAN...can that little girl EAT!!!
Seriously... Keller and Casey demostrate your usual finicky 5 and 7 year olds eating habits. They dont like much...so they end up eating a lot of pancakes and chicken fingers... but MARLEY?? Marley eats EVERYTHING!! Seriously unstoppable... she will take the food right out your hand if you're not careful. Its really funny.... for now.... hopefully that healthy appetite doesn't translate into a future appearance on THE BIGGEST LOSER.
After a few days in Fairfax and plenty of foolin around with the kids, I hitched a ride with my Dad and had him drop me off in Ocean Grove, NJ, whihc is right next to Asbury Park. My dear friend Jen hosted a little get together at her house in Ocean Grove.....focusing on the New York Giants game against the Carolina Panthers. The FOOD and the COMPANY were fantastic... the game absolutely SUCKED... I don't even want to talk about it.
That night I hitched a ride with my buddy AL, his wife Philene and his two little girls Olivia and Avery, to his beautiful new house in Suffern , NY. Al and I grew up together in Ridgewood, NJ and he erecntly bought this house in Suffern, which is actually a part of NY State but borders Northern NJ. I spent a couple days with Al's family, watching Football on TV and watching DEER roam around in his back yard.
Scheduling and coordinating a trip like this always presents a few challenges, and one of those challenges was trying to find time to see my Mother. She was doing her own holiday dance and was bounding up and down the East Coast as well. Fortunately we were both hanging around the North Jersey area at the same time, so we were able to get together. We had a nice lunch. I got the mussels at PASTAFINOS in Allendale, NJ. While I would have LOVED to go... I just didnt have time to drop in at the AB & G... Allendale Bar & Grill.
Ok... NEXT... I headed into Williamsburg, Brooklyn to hang out with my buddy Andrew. We went out to a bar called THE ABBEY in Williamsburg... drank beer and played BUCK HUNTER. Then we somehow ended up at a place called BEMBE on 6th street in Williamsburg... it was CRAZY packed in there... so we didnt stay long... and that was pretty much it.
Next Day I loaded in at my friend Jenny's place in Park Slope. Jenny was nice enough to let me sublet her place for New years Eve and Day. I wanted to have convenient and comfortable spot for my girlfriend and I spend New Years in New York. While I had been fkying solo for ten days and sleep9ng wherever... couch crashing just wasnt going to cut it. So, Kristen flew into JFK on Wednesday December 30th... no delays... no drama... thank GOD....
We spent the next three days bouncing around Manhattan and Brooklyn, we had a great New Years Eve at a party with friends in Hell's Kitchen (after MUCH deliberation and coordination with ideas and plans that came and went). This was Kristen's second time in New York City so we did a lot of sight seeing....
At this point I am running out of time and enthusiasm for details.... so i am going to defer to TWITTER to tell the tale of my trip.... I managed to send updates to TWITTER and FACEBOOK during my travels... because of course the WORLD wants to know what I'm doing at every moment....
Thank you for submitting your web series for consideration in the 2010 Streamy Awards. We've received your submission and, once we receive confirmation from PayPal, the International Academy of Web Television will begin reviewing your submission.
We'll be in touch if we have any questions once we process your information. Official Nominees will be announced in February 2010.
di Gabriele Niola - Una girandola di collaboratori per un poliziesco che scava nelle paure delle persone. Sullo sfondo, gli appuntamenti mediati dalla Rete
Roma - Alle volte la scarsità di opportunità lavorative canoniche unita alle possibilità di nuovi mezzi è l'origine delle idee. È il caso di James Huffman, attore americano residente a Los Angeles (come chiunque voglia fare questo lavoro ad alti livelli), impegnato in serie televisive indipendenti e progetti non particolarmente importanti, che ha deciso di affiancare a questa carriera anche dei progetti online ma non nella consueta veste di autore/produttore/attore/regista, come spesso accade per le webserie, quanto in quella di produttore e occasionalmente autore, come accade nelle serie per la televisione moderne. Il risultato di questo tipo di impegno e soprattutto delle scelte che Huffman (e gli altri) hanno preso riguardo la troupe è Catch, una serie davvero interessante che fa ruotare registi e sceneggiatori di episodio in episodio traendo il massimo vantaggio dall'eterogeneità.....
I recently noticed a spike in traffic directed to my website and traced it back to this article about my web series, posted on an Italian online magazine called PuntoInformatico.... I don't read or speak Italian so i used Google Translate to read it.... the translation isnt perfect... but the feedback is undeniably positive...
THANK YOU Gabriele Niola!!!
WebTheatre / lured by dating sites
Gabriele Niola - A swirl of collaborators for a detective who digs in the fears of people. In the background, the events mediated by the Network
Rome - Sometimes the lack of job opportunities combined with the canonical possibilities of new media is the origin of ideas. This is the case of James Huffman, American actor living in Los Angeles (as anyone who wants to do this work at high levels), engaged in TV shows and independent projects is not particularly important, who has decided to assist in this career but also of online projects in the usual capacity as writer / producer / actor / director, as often happens with webserie than in the work of producer and occasional author, as happens in modern series for television. The result of this kind of commitment and above all of the choices Huffman (and others) have taken on the cast is Catch, a series that spins really interesting directors and screenwriters of episodes in episode taking maximum advantage of heterogeneity.
The basic idea of all may remember American Psycho (psychopaths that attract the opposite sex with appointments and then kill them in a brutal), but any criticism of hedonism has dried or 80s subtext of the concept of double, and contaminated with the social anxieties of our years.
Catch (episode came in seventh on nine under for the first season episodes and equipped with the usual "extra") proceeds with a wire but without a plot that unfolds in a linear episode episode. What happens from time to time are events in the real world among people conosciutesi online dating site on the imaginary Catch.com. In any event we understand a bit 'more about what triggers the violence and what are the factors involved, the mystery of the plot is clearly a central element, but each episode is filmed and written well enough to not focus exclusively on it. Catch it avoids the typical lack of production for the network and instead of focusing on what may be his strong point opts for a fascinating and interesting writing of individual scenes, with ability to manage different plots simultaneously. Excellent example of this is the sixth episode, which is introduced the figure of the detective (played by James Huffman) into the background (the story is that just the frame) the solicitation of another serial killer next door.
Updating the stereotype of the serial killer without too much fantasy, but with taste and knowledge of the mechanisms and the psychology of the average users of dating sites, Catch can do what every story should do: enact their audiences along with its uncertainties, or In this case, fear.
The discourse on the fringes of the series it stirs the cauldron of fear of eternal and inherent sense of guilt related to sexual attraction yield, mediated by the fragility of their relationships acquired in the network who try to become real. Without wishing to indictments against the Internet (not a thing to webserie!), Catch introduces a creeping banality of discourse that avoids the risks of networked communication to center the way in which phobias atavistic perpetuation translates into the language of the Internet .
Leaving a series between Gore and the police populated by many characters will die (aptly users hooked by the dating site) who show through their oddities fragility of love and a thirst not quenched, which are often the that humanity hidden figure that emerges strongly through the mediation of the anonymous network.
Sorry to see that a product so interesting, well done and exciting (it's still a crime) is not distributed in a prudent but simply thrown on YouTube.
Please enjoy the latest and greatest installment of the CATCH web series saga... episode 7.....
Written and produced by James Huffman; Directed, shot and edited by Shirley Petchprapa.
Featuring Anne Judson Yager, Trevor Jones, JJ Huckin, Milo Erikson, James Huffman, Bill Oberst JR, Brian Wilson, Stephen Schaffold, Lisa Strauss, Stephanie Lavon, Megan Forrest, Bobby Raywatie
Aaah yes, its that wonderful time of the year, its STREAMY NOMINATION TIME!!!!
SHOULD you be so inclined, You can cast a quick and easy public vote for CATCH that would count as a nomination for "Best New Web Series" of 2009 and make my work eligible for a Streamy Award....
Its very easy to cast a public vote. You dont have to register or submit an email address. All you do is choose a category from the drop down menu (Best new web series), add the name of the web series, and copy and paste the following URL....
" Because, let's face it, television is SO last century"
As the first and most prestigious awards devoted to honoring excellence in web television, the Streamy Awards identify and celebrate the pioneers laying the groundwork for a new and dynamic entertainment medium. The Streamy Awards ceremony brings together the top talent, decision-makers and influencers shaping online entertainment, and awards are presented for the past years’ best achievements in 35 categories spanning multiple disciplines.
Currently in its second year, the Streamy Awards began as a grass-roots effort piloted by the leading minds in online entertainment and continues to share the spirt of rugged independence that drives creative expression online. The show is co-hosted by Tubefilter and NewTeeVee.
Reflecting the inherent openness of entertainment online, the Streamy Awards submissions process is free and and open to the public. Winners are selected by the International Academy of Web Television, an independent, member run not-for-profit organization representing a wide cross-section of online entertainment including actors, agents, composers, content developers, directors, journalists, producers, technology innovators and writers.
We encourage you to explore the site, submit your favorite web series or discover a new one, and perhaps become inspired yourself to share in this momentous explosion of independent creative expression.
City of Angers, a "Noir" style film, in which I play Detective Nick Sterling, has been selected to be shown at the Idyllwild Film Festival in Idyllwild, CA, January 11-16. The website for the festival is Idyllwildinternationalfestivalofcinema.com. Times are apparently subject to change, but right now they have City of Angers showing Wed, Jan 13th at 11am, and Friday the 15th, at 10am, both at the Caine Center.
I'm not quite sure if I'm going to attend. I will just be getting back from a 2 week trip up and down the east coast. I don't where Idyllwild, CA is... but from what I'm hearing... members of the cast and cre are talking about sharing a CABIN??? for the Festival??
TEXT: Hi James....It's April... from City of Angers - how are you? Are you going to the Idyllwild Film Festival by any chance for the screening? you ARE the lead:)
ME: When is it again? I don't think I'm in town... and I have no idea where Idyllwild is.
TEXT: I believe it starts the week of the 11th....thinking of going from Thursday through Saturday:) Just checking so maybe we can all share a cabin or something.
ME: sharing a CABIN?? what the hell? I don't know. Not sure if I'm feelin it.
TEXT: Michael Madsen will be there. He has two films being screened on Thursday-he knows my cousin and appeared in my good friend's film "Strength And Honour"...Mark Mahon.
ME: Let me mull it over.
TEXT: It COULD be a good time even if I don't like my part...thank God it's not a lead lead!
ME: Riiiight... well...like I said... let me think about it... I mean hey... ya never know... if MICHAEL MADSEN is going to be there!!!
TEXT: YES!!!! I am thinking photos with Michael for sure... right?!! it's all about being seen.... right?
ME: Riiiiight.... I will let you know... have a great holiday.
Good Times in Idyllwild!!!
ALSO....
I released the latest episode of CATCH on a handful of sites yesterday. I'm really happy with the way this episode turned out. I think it looks amazing... and I owe a big thanks to Shirley Petchprapa, her superstar directing and her shnazzy little set of lenses. I also love the way the music filled out the film. While I used to royalty free tracks from Kevin MacLeod and incompetech.com, I also was fortunate enough to get permission to use a couple of great songs from a few friends who also happen to be in a band. I owe a big thanks to the members of BOY/GIRL and KXLL KXLL KXLL. Most people who have seen it agree that it's the best one yet....
Get up stand up, go head and strike the band up. I'm up I'm up. Trying to spread wings and fly friendly skies within a morning page exercise. Speaking of skies, the weather is crazy. The Weather Forecast is CRAZY. There is a giant ICEBERG headed for AUSTRALIA!!! I'm guessing they should evacuate Australia? Its an ICEBERG!! won't it just roll up on shore and just melt? I'm sure somebody will try and bottle that shit and sell it as pure imported Australian Iceberg water. Meanwhile, in LA It was raining alll day Monday. High winds blew through Los Angeles and suddenly I was forced to put some pants on. The Weather Forecast calls for PANTS. I had gotten used to going bottomless. Speaking of bottomless, what the hell is going on with Tiger Woods? I don't get it. None of this makes any sense to me. Ok, yeah, the guy is a mega millionaire and a global celebrity and some weird shit went down at his house... but that incident has turned into a freakin CIRCUS. What am I missing? The guy drives his car into a tree and then issues an unnecessary, poorly worded press release citing TRANSGRESSIONS (what the hell does that even mean?) and that prompts dozens of women to come out and claim to be his action on the back nine? I mean, I get it... if the guy is out cheating on his wife and putting his enture family in jeapordy, then as a public figure, he deserves all this grief. Then again, ANY man who runs around on his wife and puts his family in jeapordy deserves that much grief... and MORE. But the PRESS release? Why did he do that? Why did such a private person write such a stupid statement? Instead of owning up and dealing with private issues privately... he made it worse... in fact it seems to me that he ignited the entire incident... agggravted the circumstances... whatever. AND WHAT DOES ANY OF THAT HAVE TO DO WITH GATORADE? I like Gatorade. ALLEGED INDISCRETIONS? ALLEGED INDISCRETIONS?? There is a WHOLE lotta hoopla poppin off based on Alleged Indiscretions. Oh BROTHER... the whole endorsement dropping parade... the TABLOIDS... the JUDGEMENT... its ridiculous. Tiger and his wife.. whats her name? Dutch model or something like that? Sorry, "I don't speak freaky-deaky DUTCH!" Tiger Woods and his freaky-deaky Dutch model wife... those two should go on NBC's THE BIGGEST LOSER. From what OI can tell its morphing into a blend of FAT CAMP and THE BACHELOR. THE BIGGEST LOSER.... MUST-SEE TV... Its a magical show where FAT people get whipped into shape... and apparently during the season final... Antoine & Alexandra, after losing like TWO THOUSAND lbs between them, got engaged. Let me interrupt myself right here by saying I DO NOT WATCH THIS SHOW... its boring... and it's reality TV and I absolutely CANNOT STAND Reality TV... but I DO see the benefit... to THE BIGGEST LOSER.... FAT, SLOPPY and IGNORANT people across America can see that its possible to put down the double cheeseburgers, pass on the cheesey fries, drink a few glasses of water instead of a giant COKE that you REFILL a dozen times a day, get off your ASS for 20 minutes a day...and you MIGHT... you just MIGHT... feel a little better.... and maybe not look so disgusting all the time. Anyway ... ANTOINE got down on one knee and proposed to Alexandria and they celebrated by stuffing their faces with ice cream cake. Wash it down with some pure Australian Iceberg water... I hear its packed with antioxidants.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all my Sagittarian friends
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY GIRLFRIENDS LITTLE SISTER, COLLEEN!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BUDDY DEREK PEITH... goof friend and annoying Cowboys fan... I left him a note this morning on his Facebook page....
"HEY... Happy EARLY Birthday buddy... even though you didnt BOTHER to send ME a birthday message SIX DAYS ago... its okay... I'm over it... THE COWBOYS ARE GAY!!! TONY ROMO is GAY... COLT McCOY is GAY... DALLAS is DONE... dead in the water.... happy holidays!!!"
I'm just a JERK. Hooray for me.
and HAPPY UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS TO DEBRA ANN HAJEK, CATE BEEHAN and HEIDI FIELEK....
Morning page morning page. Happy Birthday! dont ask my age. I'm kickin it crusty in a rusty cage. makin more money than minimum wage. I'm up. I'm down. When my birthday's in town. Try to clown around and disguise my frown. Its back and forth, gaining girth, my date of birth dont determine my worth. ok, ok, I'll stop the rhymin, thats just the way I ease into a good morning page exercise, a little freehand freestyle stream of consciousness stretch, a skuttle butt sketch. throw the ball to myself so i can turn around and fetch. I have NOTHING going on today. Not working. Slept in. Taking phone calls filled with well wishes from old and new friends. Enjoying all the emails and Facebbok messages from people I took eighth grade science class with. I have a lot to be grateful for on my birthday. I know I know, Thanksgiving was LAST week but I can dish up some REFRIED gratitude on my birthday. Can't have TOO much gratitude. Keeps me humble. Keeps my attitude in check. and you can ask my Mother... my attitude has a tendency to drift. I know I'm pushing it when my Mom has to try write me an email or call me and tell me to make some adjutsments to my perspective. Thats when I KNOW I need to reign it in. Speaking of Thanksgiving. Last week was awesome. My girlfriend, the sweetest, sexiest, smartest girl in the Universe, and that covers any planet anywhere, and i went up to San Francisco to spend the holiday weekend with her family. Her Aunt and Uncle live in Berkeley. We went up and stayed at the Hotel Durant. There were quite a few folks actuallly staying AT her Aunts place, her Mom, Dad, Sister, cousin, cousins kids, I think there might have been a second or third cousin hanging around the house, three dogs, a chocolate labe, an all black retriever style mutt and an old crotchety bull dog named Millhaus. Thanksgiving was great. The food was great. Everyone was very friendly and hospitable. IN FACT, her UNCLE went out and purchased an HD flatscreen and DIRECT TV so we could all watch football all weekend. Thats was really cool. The thing was, as Kristen explained it to me. Her Aunt and Uncle were not big TV WATCHERS, they HAD a TV, but it was a small one that was basically kept in the corner of the room. So of course, I was like, DAMN.... I envisioned a few us huddling around a little black & white tv set, fiddling around with the antenna trying to get at least ONE channel to come in... maybe, If we were lucky we get to watch the COWBOYS/RAIDERS.... hooray... and then when I realize that the GIANTS/BRONCOS game was airing on the NFL NETWORK... fuhgeddaboutit... there's no way... I might as well kiss goodbye any chance of seeing that one. So anyway, I adjusted my attitude, and went up there totally prepared to not watch ANY football on Thanksgiving. I was going to be a pleasant and gracious guest. Then when we got there... LO AND BEHOLD... a big BEAUTIFUL HD FLATSCREEN... and wait... whats that? Whats that you say? We have DIRECT TV?? well...you know what THAT means... DIRECT TV carries the NFL NETWORK... and the NFL NETWORK will be showing the GIANTS game... OH MY GOODNESS... HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY... I am GRATEFUL... I AM SO VERY GRATEFUL... then of course the Giants got their asses kicked by the Broncos and I wished I never even turned the game ON in then first place... DAMN YOU HD FLATSCREEN... DAMN YOU DIRECT TV... DAMN YOU ELI MANNING... would you please pass the gravy?? and I'll have another stiff drinks... the one with the gin? and the maraschino cherry? What's called? An AVIATION? Yes...pour TWO OR THREE more of those... Milhaus and I are going to drown our sorrows. Bleeeeccccchhhhhhhhh snifff sniff snifff snifff burrrrpppppttthhhh blecccchhhhh sllluuurrrrp burrrrrrppppttthhh growwwwllllll (thats Milhaus) blecccchhhh inhale.... exhale.... re join the festivities.... We were up there all weekend so we had time to go into San Francisco and check things out. I had never been to SF... so it was especially cool for me to get out and bounce around. Drove over to Sausalito, walked around at FISHERMAN'S WARF (a lot like South Street Seaport), Kristen and I got shnazzed up at night and went out for a few cocktails at the REDWOOD ROOM..which is inside the CLIFT (?) Hotel... had a few dirty martinis and then we wandered over to some CLUB... we didnt really know the lay of the land that well... so we stopped in at the nearest place that had any kind of buzz around it... whihc was this cheezy club... cant remember the name... paid 20 bucks each to get in...and BOOOM-CH BOOM-CH BOOM-CH BOOM-CH BOOM-CH BOOM-CH... it was ok... we gotta drink... maybe two... cant remember... found a smaller side rooom in the club... went in there, had a seat and people-watched for a while... which is always fun at a cheezy club. We took the scenic drive back from SF... so we drove down the coast for a few hours and took in the sites... stopped at Monterey for lunch... which was awful... we ate at some shitty pub called SLY McFLy? or some shit like that... the food sucked... beyond words... every have fried strips of RUBBER? that was our lunch in Monterey. We left SF around 10 or 11... got back to LA around 8. It was really a great weekend... Kristen and I get along so well and travel so well together that we seem to be able to make the most out of every trip.
So now Im back... and its my birthday... dont ask me how old I am cuz I will SLAP you across the mouth....
and now for a few Sagittarian horoscopes and IF TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY TYPE OF SHIT....
Check it out...
ASTROLOGY REPORT FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES>>
Today's birthday (Dec. 3): Your positive and conscientious approach to life will be celebrated. You'll be promoted to a leadership role. The next three months feature a quest. Your interests lead you to places you've never been. You'll fall in love in January -- or more deeply in love than you already are. Push yourself to personal victory in May. Your lucky numbers are: 34, 15, 49, 22 and 17.
NYDAILYNEWS.COM>>
Happy birthday, Sagittarius! You are a successful networker, which puts you in front of interesting and influential people. You're socially adept and that skill will be put to good use. This year is a powerful time, when your lifestyle can move up a notch.
NYPOST.COM>>>
BIRTHDAY THURSDAY: If you feel that your life has become a bit too predictable, a bit too humdrum, now is the time to do something about it. Ask yourself what it is you would choose to be doing if there were no restrictions. Then do it. You'll find a way if your desire is strong.
CAFE ASTROLOGY.COM>>>
IF YOU WERE BORN TODAY: You are a fervent, loyal, and spirited person who is true to yourself whatever the cost! You hold strong beliefs yet you are tolerant of others, even if you do enjoy a good debate and trying to "win" others to your perspective. While at times you can be restless due to an inquisitive and interested nature, you are also capable of great loyalty and dependability, valuing stability and permanency. You are generally good with money and not big on gambling it away foolishly. You are truly unique and not afraid to be yourself. Famous people born today: Daryl Hannah, Ozzy Osbourne, Julianne Moore, Anna Freud, Brendan Fraser, Katerina Witt.
GIORGIA NICOLS SAYS>>>
Actor Brendan Fraser (1968) shares your birthday today. You're creative, and are often passionately absorbed with whatever you are creating. You're extremely private, and can become obsessed about your work. You believe you should explore your ideas and use your gifted talents, often to the exclusion of other things. In the next year you will wrap up or finish something you've been involved with for the last nine years.
Ever heard of Cosmo Jarvis? Kid's awesome. Next big thing. Singer, Songwriter, Filmmaker, Rock N Rolla. Check him out. For real. And I'll say I told ya so.
Two weeks ago I picked up a magazine called MOJO, which is some sort of UK based music magazine....
Funny thing about MOJO... some people have it...some people DON'T... YOU know what I'm talking about... yeah you do.
Anyway, MOJO magazine has a section called FILTER ALBUMS, which rates and reviews roughly 70-75 albums. ONE of those albums is a 2 CD debut by a New Jersey born, Devon raised artist who goes by the name of Cosmo Jarvis.
"Jarvis is 19, but penned some of his 2 CD debut's 18 songs aged 17. Inarguably gifted, he makes films as well as writing, playing and brilliantly engineering his wildly inventive music. Disc 1, subtitled Humasyouhitch, corrals lighter Cosmo tunes that mostly concern growing pains and unattainable girls (Mel's song: Jessica Alba's Number). Scatalogical, if entertaining, couplets arre the only marker of our host's juvenesence. Maxine, for example, melds deft baroque pop flourishes and fine BLUR-like hooks. Things get much darker on disc 2, Sonafabitch. He Only Goes Out On Tuesdays, all foreboding strings strings and bleak Eminem style reportage, concerns child abuse, while parental divorce song song Problems has a grungy, wonderfully miffed sounding chorus. Cosmo's switches between the grim and the ribald might sound problematic, but his debut is careful to isolate these qualities on separate discs. A fab new talent with imagination overload." (Mojo Music Magazine, Dec 2009)
So the fact that this kid is New Jersey born is what caught my eye, the review piqued my interest, and everything I found on his website kind of blew me away, just the fact that this kid is 19 years old and he has a body of work (Some of it created when he was 13-15 years old!!!), that some artists would spend a lifetime constructing. I love that he is writing and directing short films, which are alll fairly decent, as well as writing and performing music... and I have to say... his music is kind of awesome... He has a ton of tracks on his website for anyone to listen to...and already Ive found a dozen or so that I really like... songs that I found myself sitting there and bobbing my head to.
And I'm just talking about the stuff he's got on his website... I havaent even heard the stuff that's coming out on the double album. Cosmo's 2 CD debut is not yet available in the US... but dropped a few weeks ago in the UK... I did catch the video he has for the song PROBLEMS on Youtube... and I like it... I like it alot.
So I'm gonna say it ... I'm gonna call it... right here, right now.... Cosmo Jarvis is gonna be big.... the kid is for real... mark my words... and check out his stuff...
INT. DINER. DAY.
An attractive young woman enters the diner and saunters past the two detectives, sitting down at a nearby table.
Detective James
Wow.... someone outta buy that girl a DRINK.
Detective Jones
It's NINE in the morning!
Detective James
Exactly
CATCH 6: Written and Produced by James Huffman; Directed by Wes Greeson; Features Bill Oberst JR, James Huffman, Brian Wilson, Amy Snively, Trevor Jones, Zack Sonnenberg and Anne Judson Yager...
My Girlfriend and I went to the Lakers game on Sunday night and were pleasantly surprised by a series of celebrity cameos. We were watching the Jumbo tron do its usual "Most annoying fan of the game," and "lets try and get two total strangers to kiss" business... and the all of the sudden ... a mini concert broke out... I guess the American Music Awards had been going on across the street at the Nokia Theatre and since The Lakers were well ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder... and its is Hollywood... might as well make the most of it... all of the sudden there is Fergie and Will.i.am ... on the Jumbo Tron... you could actually see them down there courtside.... and they started doing a little karaoke thing ... Will.i.am stood with a microphone at his seat and began to sing, "I Gotta Feeling," which has been something of a standard on the Lakers' sound track this season... The place went F$#%ing NUTS... then he introduced B-REAL from Cypress Hill... and then ...wait a minute.... is that A-ROD??? Yea! Thats A-Rod... what the??? Oh man... he is already going way too Hollywood for me... I was really starting to like you A-Rod... I hope this Hollywood thing doesnt get out of control.... Keep it real my man... just play ball... whatdya say? Anyway... of couse I was happy to see him... GO YANKEES!!! But that wasnt it.... about a half hour later... the song EMPIRE STATE OF MIND starts booming and LO and BEHOLD... Jay-Z WAS IN THE HOUSE. Again... the crowd erupted... and once the dust setlled... Jay Z and his entourage bounced... LA is the land of the after party, people... they got places to be...people to see....
Dont even get me started on the public transportation fiasco that ensued after the game...
For a team that didnt play a minute on Sunday, the New York Giants had a great week this week (The Eagles and the Cowboys BOTH lost).
Did the Patriots REALLY just BLOW a 17 point lead and lose to the COLTS? Did I REALLY just watch that?
Did the BRONCOS really just get rolled by the REDSKINS? UGH... the HORROR.
But THANK YOU Brandon Marshall for having an amazing Fantasy day and helping me and my girlfriend edge out a win this week... we NEEDE that (YES, we share a fantasy team. It's her team... I'm a silent partner).
AND did STANFORD?? STANFORD??? Did they really just TERRORIZE the TROJANS on Saturday? Holy crap! I LOVE THAT!
SATURDAY!!! Ask me what I did Saturday....
(What did you do Saturday?)
Me? Oh... I WORKED on Saturday.. I picked up a one-day job as a Brand Ambassador for T-Mobile, working at an event in ONTARIO. yes, Ontario is about an HOUR east of LA... but whatever... the pay was pretty good and these convention hall gigs are usually pretty easy... the only information I received prior to the event was that this would be pretty easy stuff... one person would be taking pics of consumers posing w/ these Honda motocross bikes and the other person would help with printing them out or dealing with consumers.
What I discovered once I arrived... is that i was working at the MATA EXPO
Yes... the MATA expo... is basically an expo for deaf people....
"MATA EXPO is more than just a trade show. It is an opportunity for companies, organizations, and individuals with talents to show off their sign language arts / deaf-hard of hearing products to thousands of people at once and make announcements about new products and services.
A Japanese word 'MATA' means 'See you later or again'. MATA is a symbolic word "visual concept + small world" in the Deaf-related community."
Would have been nice to know that in advance... although it wouldnt have made any difference.. but i guess it would have been nice to be prepared... I mean... I cant sign to save my LIFE... so I was really kind of useless.
There were thousands of people, milling about, hands and fingers flying in all directions... and the TAIKO... Oh my GOD... the Taiko... Japanese drumming... really really LOUD Japanese drumming... that was the musical entertainment for the day... I'm sure you can probably guess that the vibrations from the drum corp resonates through the room as a form of ambiance.
Now, I'm a big fan of any type of drumming... I love drum circles... DRUM LINE is a favorite movie of mine... but this TAIKO was LOUD... and I seriously thought I was going to lose my MIND.... and it was only 10AM!!
This event closed at 7PM.
I shuffled over to my event co -worker ... the only non-deaf person within a 20 mile radius...
"I seriously think I'm going to go insane."
"This is definitely different"
"Uh... yeah"
"It's not THAT bad"
"No... not THAT bad... NINE more hours"
"DON'T start doing that... please"
"EIGHT hours, FIFTY-nine minutes...and thirty seconds"
"Seriously, that's gonna make ME crazyz."
"EIGHT hours, FIFTY-"
"STOP!!"
"How the HELL am I gonna do this? How? This is so annoying. I dont know how to SIGN. I cannot bellieve i'm gonna have to F%$#@ do this BULLSH&T...all Mother F$#@ing DAY. F%$#k a Duck with a %$#@*&&%$**&%$. You gotta be f%$# kidding me."
"Okay... can you please stop murmuring? It's not really that bad."
"F$#@king Bullsh&% deaf expo... this is a F%$#& nightmare"
"Can I tell you something?
"Please"
"MOST of these people... can read your lips"
"OH shhhh$#%t"
AND... she walked away... leaving me to stand there and look like a complete asshole.
The day actually turned out to be NOT-SO-BAD after all. I adjusted my attitude and tried to make the best of it... which lightened the load, of course... and I'm sure a good dose of energy drink and another hour to shake off my hangover helped take the edge off as well....
Then T-MOBILE'S main attraction for the day arrived, Ashley Fiolek. Ashley is a 19 year old women's motocross champion... who also happens to be deaf. Pretty amazing I have to say, she changes gears by feeling the engine vibrations. She is also getting her fair share of buzz... She was the the featured guest on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly on November 5th.
Anyway, she spent the day at the T-Mobile booth signing autographs and posing for pictures. She was actually very sweet, gracious and kind... she spent the whole day smiling for picture after picture after picture and you could really tell... for many of the people who stopped by to visit... that she was an inspiration.
So I basically just focused on doing whatever I could to help her and help facilitate the autograph signing and the picture taking. She did most of the signing... which took me off the hook for the most part.
It was still a LONG F%$#ing day... I was exhausted by the time I got home.
Saturday night I stay in and watched a DVD with my girlfriend. We watched THE CLASS... French Film... got good reviews when it was making the art house circuit a few months ago...
"In an inventive adaptation of his novel about his experiences working in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Paris, François Bégaudeau stars as a replica of himself -- a passionate French teacher who presides over a classroom of diverse young minds. Not your standard drama or documentary but something in between, this Oscar-nominated film used three cameras during a largely improvisational shoot and features real students rather than actors."
Eh... it was so-so at best... extremely chatty... and subtle.... but not really in a good way.... i found it kind of boring and uneventful... think DANGEROUS MINDS only less dramatic... as in barely dramatic.... and FRENCH... so-so I say... je m'appele fromage....
So a couple of days ago I posted the latest episode of CATCH to a handful of video hosting sites... YOUTUBE, of course, BLIPTV, VIMEO, MYSPACE (just in case ANYONE is still out there cruising Myspace), VEOH, DAILYMOTION.... um... VIDDLER... uh... I'm sure there might be a few others... I'm just drawing a blank right now...
and BREAK.COM... and I have to ask... is EVERYONE on Break.com just completely twisted and retarded?
I posted CATCH 6 on Break and soon after I had a handful of comments posted on my profile...
break.com/_Soloist666_ : i find your work interesting
have you ever thought about filming something that invloves farm animals and women that are really desparate for money?
break.com/LeMoron : Sir
i'd lik to discuss a movie project basid on my avatar.thank yuo.(i allreaedy have a scritp)
break.com/0hLawdy : I like films with hairy
middle eastern women and mules
break.com/MuscleHic : Fvck is
this low budget garb? Unsub from me you 30yo pukes. Get a job and pay taxes
HUH?? What the hell is all that?
So I asked one of these guys why everyone on BREAK was retarded.... his response...
break.com/MuscleHic :In response to your question
Yea man its a circus and a very negative oriented site thus the appeal. Nice pseudonym "Huffman" lol you and Mario Lopez should do a fisting vid you Abercrombie clone
Apparently so... if you taken a look at Break.com... its like every 12 year old boy's wet dream... I'm sure any kid between the ages of 10 and 19 who has access to the internet is familiar with Break.com... you can see lots of boobs... lots of butts... drunk people doing stupid stuff... bar fights... stupid pet tricks... and more boobs...
This video pretty much sums up BREAK.com's purpose on this planet....
So I guess that's it... Now we know.... and I have to say... I find this gentleman's response to my question well crafted with a touch of demented twisted brilliance... seriously.
Morning page, morning page, I dont believe in burning Sage, I miss those days of plays on stage, I got Johnny Cash in a Rusty Cage, Its a welcome whisper crytsal clear, the starting pistol only I can hear, stay true to those things I hold dear, in the valley of the darkness, I shall fear, but fear is that which fuels my game, My fear that the song will remain the same, My fear I was conquered before I came, My fear that no one remembers my name. Get up stand up, build your brand up, if you gotta question then throw your damn hand up, do what you do with a handful of answers, cuz every new year they commandeer some new cancers. Its all up to you, you dont have to buy it, but try somehting new, wont kill you to try it, do what you do, and once its all through, read the review, you can always deny it, if the public is feelin you keepin it real then, do what you do to source and supply it. I got the Jim the Jam, the Sham the Wow, I Clown around town with a frown of a Brown Cow. I'm not too proud, to place a wish on a cloud, YO!! TURN THAT SHIT DOWN... Muthafucka its DAMN LOUD. Listen here, fear is only here so you can fear it, Dont touch the mic baby, Dont come near it, Dont stop the rock, Stop blocking the cock, You rub your feet across the rug, You be getting a shock, OW! Damn! They gonna call it the Jim Jam, The Fab Five Fergie, Or the Flippity Flim Flam, BAYAM! Thats exactly who I am, I'm in a BOAT with a GOAT, Eatin green eggs and ham, Ma'am? May I please take your coat? I got just what you need so read the rhymes that I wrote.
I've been challenged to a sketch it out FIGHT-DOWN. My 6 year old nephew Keller drew a little picture of King Kong vs. Godzilla and he sent word that he would like to challenge his Uncle Jim to a little “draw-down,” a show-down... or, a “fight-down” as my other nephew Casey sometimes says.
This is the second challenge from Keller. He drew a series on monsters a few months ago and challenged me to return fire with a few monsters of my own...
Which I lOVED doing... whipping up a few good MONSTERS? Hell yeah.... drawing, for me, is SO incredibly soothing and cathartic... any excuse to put everything aside and just start drawing crazy stuff with a few magic markers... I'm all over it...
So Keller sent me a dramatic sketch that embodied the raw emotion and primala brutality of this classic confrontation...
I retruned the favor with a couple of quick magic marker mash ups of my own....
Now I will go ahead and send over the originals so those kids can mark em up... make adjustments... put their stamp on them...make them more "Kid-approved"
BAYAM!! Yankees win Yankees win THATS RIGHT... the BIGGEST BADDEST MUTHA F%$@-IN BESTEST team in the history of SPORTS THE NEW YORK Yankees win... wow... that was a mouthfull... I tell you what... Its a great day to be a Yankees fan.. and all you NON fans, haters, heathans...and most people in New England...EVERYBODY in Boston... can SUCK IT. The New York Yankees won their TWENTY SEVENTH World Series title last night and its feels F$#$@ING GOOD. ...It's all about chemistry... that's it... thats what did it... I mean it doesnt hurt to have one of the most talented and expensive rosters in MLB... but even with that... you have NOTHING without chemistry... Texiera fit right in... so did CC... no bumps...no adjustment issues... Phil Hughes and Joba embraced their roles in middle relief... Mariano showed up as Mariano... but BETTER (i have a feeling we may have seen his last amazing moment on the mound last night), and A-Rod loosened up and allowed himself to have some fun... that was the difference this year... a cooler, more relaxed atmosphere... pies in the face, dancing in the dugout... NONE of that shit was going on in 08... wasnt happening in 07..or 06... or OH FIVE... BAYAM! hear what I'm saying?
BAYAM! I watched almost every playoff game from the ALDS to Game 6 at THE HAPPY ENDING BAR in Hollywood. I discovered HAPPY ENDING a few months ago when I took my girlfriend out... on one of our earliest dates... to watch a Yankees Red Sox game... yes, thats right... BAYAM! I'm super smooth... anyway... I discovered that HAPPY ENDING was a NEW YORK friendly sports bar... undeniably... and to top it off.. they actually have really good food (for a Sports bar)... thats where Kristen and I watched the Yankees BEAT the Red Sox.. it was only a mid season game... but I THINK it was the first time this season that Yankees were able to pull off a victory against those bastards.... the Yankees had been swept... TWICE... in previous meetings... Who would have thought that after losing EIGHT STRAIGHT... going 0-8 against Boston to start off the year that the Yanks would take it all in the end? So yeah, we watched that game and BAYAM! I fell in love with this bar.... it was during that game that we created the "Lucky Slouch." Every time i would slouch way down in my seat... the Yankees would do something good... I slouched deeper and deeper as the game went on... The Yankees won and BAYAM! the SLOUCH was born.... Of course I developed the superstition that we MUST watch every important Yankees game... TOGETHER...at Happy Endings to do our part in helping the Yankees win... then later I added the superstition that I had to order the delicious Happy Ending ribs so as to inspire the Yankee hitters to start hitting. They have really good ribs there...rrreeeaallly good ribs... the fish tacos are also awesome... oh and the buttermilk fried chicken skewers... reallllyyy goood... they come with this Rosemary syrup... holy crap its delicious... BAYAM!!
ALRIGHT... all that being said, I think I need to take a break from Happy Endings for a while... maybe a little break from massive amounts of beer and celebratory shots of Patron... and while the food is extremeley tasty... NOT so healthy... my digestive system has got its work cut out... I should be able move most of my inventory just in time for Thanksgiving...
THANKSGIVING??? Holy crap... in THREE weeks its going to be THANKSGIVING...
OK... Tuesday morning. I'm firing away on my laptop, drinking my tea, mobilizing plans to mobilize. Looking for freelance work, browsing breakdowns and mapping out the next few months. My contract with IZZE came to a close on Friday. And while I welcome the change and a much needed break from the day to day duties as a full-time beverage marketing rep, I will miss that steady pay check. The good thing is I have 2 more industrial video projects to produce... and there is the possibility of doing more.
Last week I finally finished shooting legal video project #2, which was not short on challenges. Project # 1 was a 15 page script and it was a walk in the park compared to the 40 page, 15 actor, big nasty barn dance that was... "legal video project # 2."
Now, dont get me wrong, I am not complaining at all... I love doing this stuff... but this shit aint easy... casting, locations, equipment, scheduling, coordinating and "wrangling" a roster of actors and their "quirky" habits, hard drives and fire wire cables, something I forgot that I desperatley need, something i brought plenty of that I dont need at all.... there is a precarious situation at every turn... and I forget to eat... forget to drink enough water... so I end up feeling like shit when its all done
I still love it.... and of course I find a way to cast myself so I can do a little acting... I do that for fun but I also end up saving myself a little money....
I'm fully aware that every project I will ever work on will offer its own special blend of challenges.... thats part of the fun... I learn from mistakes and lucky breaks... and I take the entire experience with me to the next one.
Project # 2 definitely forced me to work for it and earn my money... But now I have a long list of notes... the do's and dont's that will enable me to be a better, faster and more effective producer...
I could share a lot of the stories of horror and heroism from this last shoot, but I dont want to throw anyone under the bus... and one thing i know for sure is that when you blog... people read it... and if you lack sensitivity... air out peoples flaws and fuck-ups... people get upset... I'm not doing this to get people upset...
I will say this... every thing that went wrong on this shoot was laced with my own mistakes... I have no problem accepting responsibility....
Ok... that being said.... We got it... we shot it... we finished strong... moving on....
My work as a producer is actually moving in a good direction. I have a few other projects in my back pocket that I will be looking to get started in the next month or two. One concept is based in the world of branding and viral marketing... an idea that I've been bouncing around for a year now... and I'm fairly confident that this one will work... be successful.... I think it would be an effective tool for a brand... I just need to find a company or brand who sees the value in using viral videos as part of their marketing game. The other project I'm looking to kick start is based in basic online entertainment... its another idea that I've been playing with for a while... and I actually have a bunch of footage shot with this project in mind... but I need a LOT more to make this one go... doesnt help that one of my hard drives is flatlined right now. I had a 500GB Lacie hard drive that was holding about 2 years worth of work and one day it decided not to power up. At this point, I dont know if all hope is lost on it... it didnt CRASH necessarily... but its definitely playing dead. I havent had the time to explore my options, but I think I'm about to get moving on that....
Ok... this blog post has taken me HOURS to complete... if you figure in that I took a break to have breakfast (just some protein powder mixed with coconut water), watch Sportscenter six times, email my girlfriend, FACEBOOK my girlfriend... then I was forced to get on the phone with Verzion because they turned my phone off... and that was because I was like... 300 minutes over my monthly limit... NOT because I failed to pay the bill... I knew that's what you were thinking.... and I have to say... real quick before I sgn off here... that Verizon was very nice to me today... they told me that I would owe them 168 bucks in overage charges unless I switched my plan to include more minutes... whihc would cost an extra 20 bucks with the option to go back to my prigonal plan next month.... AND they reminded me to add up to 5 "friends & family" numbers... from ANY network.... that I could call anytime and not use up my monthly minutes... DUH!!! That is somehting I should have done a long time ago... but I guess I overlooked that option... so they really hooked me up... instead of just ramming me with the high hard one... like the good ole days.... so thank you Verizon Wireless... that was super cool of you...
Morning page again, back at it, trying to find a groove and start blogging on a better basis. scolded by my bestest, oldest, boldest buddy Al. "I feel i dont KNOW you anymore." LIfe is about to shift for me, again. My contract with IZZE sparkling fruit juice is coming to a close, so my daily full time duties of executing events at local grocery stores, fast food chains and corporate cafeterias will be reduced to an occasional support gig in the case of overflow or something big and special that requires my assistance. Thatr basically means that I am staying on the payroll in the off season. I just wont be working for them full time. They have already disucussed the option of returning for the next season in 2010, which is tentatively scheduled to begin in February. In the meantime I will get back to the freelance hustle that I know so well. I actually have a couple more legal industriual videos to produce, so thats good, I'm getting paid to produce. I'm cha-chinging that cheddar like charlie chaplin... yeah thats right... I said it... CHEDDAR! CHARLIE CHAPLIN CHEDDAR...Mutha F%$#@!!! And with these little producing gigs i get top spread the love around. I am able to hire people and throw them some paying work, especially the loyal and reliable friends that have donated so much of their time and energy to other projects of mine where they got nothing more than a couple granola bars and some shitty pizza (All pizza in California is shitty... sorry). So I'm happy with the fact that I can give back a little...you know... what comes around goes around... it helps me prove that I'm not totally full of shit. So producing these video projects will keep me busy, give me some street cred and put a little money in the bank... and MAYBE.... just MAYBE... I can get my acting game popppin again. I've been on a pretty significant acting hiatus since I started this IZZE job. My life has been so busy with a full time job, a few of these video projects, FOOTBALL season, YANKEE baseball... and a totally freakin awesome new girlfriend. So my acting career had to take a back seat.... but I'm makin a COMEBACK people. I feel like this year we may see the first proper PILOT season in quite a while. It seems like the past few years, each pilot season has been tainted by strikes and a piss poor economy. So MAYBE... just maybe... this year will be different.... Now I just need a new agent. GET TO IT... GET UP... GO DO IT... YEAH!! Nice slogan eh? I think it s hould go on a t-shirt. I said that to my girlfriend the other morning while trying to motivate her, and myself, to get out of bed... I accidentally rhymed... its kind of my trademark... and I thought that my newfound favorite phrase would do well on a t- shirt. I don't know why, but I want to start keeping a list of phrases that should go on t-shirts. I'm actually suggesting phrases should go on a t shirt quite often. THATS kind of my trademark. That and coming up with ridiculous names for a band... like I say something or hear some funny phrase and I say "HEY, that would be a good name for a band." Then everyone kind of shrugs and no one really says anything, maybe I get a half smile or somebody says "Yeah, thats funny...anyway..." and they continue the conversation that I interrupted with my trademark tomfoolery. My girlfriend likes my tomfoolery. She thinks I'm hilarious and makes me feel like I'm the funniest person on the planet. She is somehting else. I could listen to her laugh all day and never get sick of it. She has a trademark too. Her trademark is passing out in the car on the way home from the bar. doh, NO...he..didnt... sorry baby doll... love you. Good times with the GF. It gets better every day. I think we are going to spend New years together in New York. Then I want to take her up to Boston and we will probably zip down to DC and Fairfax, VA to see more friends, family and significant sights. I sent out an email last night to see if I could score a place to stay in Manhattan on New Years eve... long shot I know... a hotel room is not really an option becayuse they are, of course, expensive as hell on New Years eve. So I just threw this email out there to see if I got lucky...
"My girlfriend and I will be back in New York for New Years and I'm asking around to see if anyone would be willing to sublet their place for a couple of days... like 2... 3days tops... Ideally I'm looking for a place to stay on any or all of the following dates... Wed Dec 30, Thursday Dec 31st and Friday Jan 1st... We will be out and headed up to Boston on the 2nd and bouncing around from there...totally willing to pay for the sublet... If you or someone you know is planning on being out of town that weekend and might be interested in making a little cash on a weekend sublet... please let me know.... THX!!!"
Score! I had a handful of offers from a few good friends... thank you thank you thank you... but a good buddy from college took the prize by offering his place on 76th street for free since he will be out of town... and he is just a great guy who is always makes sure you have a beer (or two) in your hand... which is great... ok sometimes thats NOT so great... but whatever.... a friend is a friend...and beer is beer... and besides... this guy is forever grateful to me for writing a rap for him in college that he STILL uses to this day when he's in a pinch... When he is in doubt, he remembers that rhyme and breaks it out. He says he gets all kinds of street , office and dive bar cred with that line... he drops it with the doorman at the hottest club... and he is suddenly being escorted to the VIP room... and whispers it to the host at New Yorks fanciest five star restauarant and he has the best table in the house ... When he gets pulled over at a DUI checkpoint and the officer asks him if why he is wearing a plastic batting helmet with two beers and straws attached... he never fails to get a pass... just by uttering these words... in fact, I believe he met his past THREE girlfriends using this legendary phrase, authored by yours truly, way back in the early NINETIES....
"Can you CHUCK CHUCK CHUCK IT? Mutha Mutha F%#K IT! When I blow chunks, I blow chunks in a bucket!!"
No shit... true story.... unfortunately I think its also how he ended all three of those relationships....
CATCH 5: The Texafornian, written & produced by James Huffman Features Bill Oberst Jr., Trevor Jones, Caitlin Moreland and Megan Forrest Directed by Jai Walia; First AD Eric Jones; DP Richard Samuels; Sound Engineer: Eric I Bucklin; PA Brad Holtzman
This play list was created for a recent weekend getaway. Driving around Wine Country, Santa Barbara County... with my super sweet girlfriend riding shotgun...
Morning page again, Ok, I'm up. I'm here. Groggy but clear. Taking a sip of whatever's near. Ready to race, taking a taste. Jumping and Krumping with gumption and grace. Still on some sort of decline from a "REFINE my big behind" weekend. Touring WINE country in the big orange IZZE van, cranking my Klassical Konundrum playlist! Laying low with the Lompocodiles, conquering SOLVANG. Diggin that Dutch disco doo doo... Doing what they do in Santa Babara county, wine tasting, never done that before. Went up to Santa Babara for work on Saturday, worked an event at a Gelsons Supemarket for a few hours, took my girl with me, then we stayed up there and scooted around town for the rest of the day, scooted the entire region for the weekend, lunch on the beach, ate some really nice sized oysters... they refused to serve me any club crackers, tried a Hawaiin beer that I really liked, PRIMO? bounced around on Santa Barara's State street, Headed north up to Lompoc, CA, stopped by THE SHAMROCK in LOMPOC, local dive bar, caught an interestingly bizarre performance by a band called Le Petite Protest, laid to rest at the Holiday Inn Express, where the hallways smelled like Grandpa dropped a duece and let the Lysol loose. Wineries and Vineyards, tasting rooms, I love the way the wine descriptions are written, the flavors and suggestions, the character traits that give each glass a hint of mythology. Honeysuckle, Gunpowder, Sweet barbeque, savory, sinister, sweet and petite. imagine a blend, say, cabernet, beaudacious in lace, then of course, there was my favorite, gumption and grace. Melville, Lincourt, Beckman and back, made dinner and home, trout filet, with a little lump crab stack, and a super sexy salad. Sexy salad just wasnt quite enough. Tasty indeed, but I was too worn out for a weekend recap. Plans to reschedule...
CATCH 3 (Sugar Free) should be called CATCH REDUX. It's a revised edition of the original CATCH episode 1, and now features original music by Jamie Coon ("Crazy") and by Kxll Kxll Kxll ("Damaged").
KILL KILL KILL... or KXLL KXLL KXLL... of K1LL K1LL K1LL>>>
Morning page, Oh morning page, shall I burn some sage, record my rage? I've pulled the drapes. I'm eating grapes, green grapes, the cripsiest grapes Ive ever eaten in my entire life, these grapes are SO crispy that the first one I put in my mouth I had to spit out, i panicked. I thought somehting was terribly wrong. "A green grape cant be THIS firm! THIS crisp! Is this a ceramic grape? Am I eating glass? Wait....wait... i s this bad? is this bad?" I'm all better now and I'm REALLY digging the crispy grapes... firm, cruncy...delicious. Water for tea is over there boiling. I know., I'm not really supposed to multi-taks during morning pages, but as you know, I'm one to bend and break rules, thats juts what I do, and I'm not supposed to be sharing my mrojning pages swith people across the world, nor am I supposed to eat freakishly firm GRAPES while I write my morning pages either, so I'm gonna go over to the stove, take the boiling water off, and pour it into a big 20 ounce mug for my morning tea, one black one green, one chai... and I'm gonna do that now, and you, my brother, my Mom, my 4th grade teacher and anybody else, aint gonna have nothing to say about it, you hear? I've got everything under control... I do... so lets just relax.. and go with it...
Aaaaah, okay, tea is steeping, tea is good, tea keeps me from sleeping, tea gives me wood. whatever, never mind. okay so the heat has broken and I'm SO freakin happy about that. Summer here goes from like July to October... last year it went til November, and its all fine and fun in July, but once football season starts and everyone is pretty much OVER Summer, those 5 days stretches of 90 plus get really annoying. look at that I got up to pour water for tea and I totally lost my train of thought, so what I have to do in that situation is keep trucking along, anything, everything. Dont stop, dont think, write write write write, ooze ON wit ya bad self. Its Panda day for me. I hat Panda day. Panda day SUCKS. Panda day means I have to work TWO IZZE events where I set up a big tent and a table in a Panda Express parking liot somewhere and pur little samplkes for people, but there are never any people. I end up giving samples to like, 3 people when I'm there, and I have to set up the stupid 10x10 tent by myslef, which is doable, buts its realy awkward and difficult with one person. So I'm out in te parking lot, wrestling with this big tent frame and awning, trying to assemble the damn thing by myself, everyone is sitting in the restaurant, watching me, and I look like a doofus, like I dont know what I'm doing, dancing around this big, ungly, lanky metal frame that looks like some big alien spider. I used to have to do the same thing when I worked at 93Q Country in Houston, except I had to set up a big, 15 ft inflatable cow that was wearing a 93Q t-shirt and a cowboy hat. I would be out there in the 100 degree Houston heat dry humping this half inflated cow, trying to get the thing to stand all the way up and stand up straight....boy, THAT was fun.
UGH, strugglin, the jugglin, So I'm sittin here UGGLE-in, I'm at Solar de Cahuenga, had a meeting with Kingsley to discuss an upcoming project and that was fine, productive, now i'm trying to work on this CATCH script that Ive been struggling with for weeks now, Solar is cool, but its not the best spot for writing i have to say, very ditsracting, lots of pretty people sliding through, pimps, hustlers, actresses, Ryan Gosling comes here a lot, i've also see Steve Perry, and that chick that played JUNO, Ellen Paige? there is an old guy sitting on the couch to my left talking to this hot young asian girl. He is trying to teach her the ups and downs of the Film and TV industry. I'm sure he will try to convince her that he would give his best presentation with her IN HIS LAP, in the privacy of his two bedroom apartment, the one that he shares with his army buddy, as in WW II veteran. Still trying to get focused and write, struggling, i just went to break.com and watched a video of some unruly Detroit Lions fan get thrown out of the stadium for getting into it with some other people in the stands. the unruly fan was a CHICK, and they eventuallly had to retsrain her and drag her out in handcuffs, once they subdued her, the entire section was cheering. Ok, back to my writing. im writing here...again...like i did this morning becaue it seemed to help and i'm trying to kickstart my ass, i was going to write "kickstart my heart," but censored myself because I thought that sounded gay, not gay as in GAY, but gay as in corney. I refuse to straight up QUOTE MOTLEY CRUE. I think I AM making some progress though. I am sorting out my thoughts. I sort of know where I'm going, what I'm doing. I have a 2 page scene that I wrote a few months ago that would fit perfectly into what I'm trying to accomplish right now, but that laptop died, and all my data, scripts, music and porn, is all trapped inside the lifeless corpse that was... my first laptop... too much porn will do that to a perfectly good laptop, not that my laptop was perfectly good, it was big bulky, badass, like a big mobile military phone from the Korean War. So that wonderful scene I wrote that would really help get this ball rolling, kick this bus into drive, is pretty much of NO use to me at this point and time. Ok, I'm going to take another crack at this, step back and attack this, give birth in the blackness, imperfect with practice....
Get up, roll out of bed, WRITE, bang, do it, don't think, just start writing, morning pages, let it fly, no judgement, no performnace, whatever is there, whatever comes, dont stop, dont stop, stay in it, scratch your head, scratch your butt, drink your juice, drinking juice, not really juice, coconut water, love coconut water, this one has tangerine in it, its not bad, but i love coconut water by itself so i'm not one of those people that has to mask or fix the taste with some other juice, plain old, natural coconut water is just fine with me, they use it for plasma, its so clean and pure that it can be used for a plasma transfusion, lets hope I never need a plasma transfusion, but of I did, and they had to use coconut water, i would be okay with that, although i would probably request that use not use the tangerine flavor, the fan in the room keep the air moving, keeps me cool, its HOT as hell, but the sound is soothing, especially in my room, when I'm sleeping, it muffles the annoying noises that come from the neighborhood, dogs, car alarms, people digging through the trash and collecting bottles at 5 in the morning, this is like a morning pages exercise, it helps, it works, i should do tis more often, only, you are supposed to write morning pages in complete privacy and never let anyone read them, so you can allow yourself to write uninhibited, so you can allow yourself to express whatever you want, or whatever is inside and needs to come out, you have to allow yourself to write anything and everything, without a second thought, without self-judgment, without the fear of what others may think, and without the notion that you have to please or provide for ayone else. Just write, do it, let it fly, nobody will ever read it, so reach for the sky, or maybe let it drain, let it ooze, let it seep, get down in there, excavate, dig deep, its all about you, and no one else, this is your moment, your time, it helps, it really does, unleash your creativity, that creativity comes from getting out of your own way, be who you are, say what you feel, keep it real, now keep in mind that i'm doing this on my blog so of course anybody and EVERYBODY can see what i'm writing, so this is isnt the most raw exploration of this exercise, but whatever, i havent had as much time to post stuff on my blog, so i figure if im gonna write i might as well write it here, i dont care, i can share, if I start jotting down some crazy sick, dark stuff, i can always retract and not include that in my post, so, yeah, event cancelled today, so yay, free day, not really free, i have tons to do, but i have writing to do most importantly, and this is why i am doing this. I have to have a new draft of CATCH by tomorrow, i've had all week to work on it, but, Ive had a rough week, and besides, i work better with a really tight deadline, a 2 minute offense, like Eli, Go Giants. Eli reminds me of my brother, younger brother, little brother, partly because Eli is a little brother himself. what am I gonna eat for breakfast. I dont really have anything. I have some protein powder, and some coconut water, i even have the natural kind. looks like I will have a tasty down home plasma transfusion for breakfast.... YUM.
In observance of Music Monday, the way they dress to kill in Twitter Ville... please enjoy POP DIGGITY DAMN, numero dos from my POP DIGGITY slam. The stuff I'm bobbing my head to... right now... Yes I am...
Went to see BRONSON at the Silent Theater in West Hollywood on Friday night. It was AWESOME.
Seriously, go see it...
"In 1974, a hot-headed 19 year old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to 7 years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. During that time, Michael Petersen, the boy, faded away and 'Charles Bronson,' his superstar alter ego, took center stage. Inside the mind of Bronson - a scathing indictment of celebrity culture."
Brutal, Beautiful, Edgy and Cool. Tarantino VS Kubrick. Refereed by Guy Ritchie. Coming to an artsy fartsy theater near you.
Please enjoy the latest installment of CATCH, the web series....
"The day you get married is the day DARKNESS falls."
CATCH 2 starring Anne Judson Yager, featuring Cate Beehan and Jodina Scazzola, written and produced by James Huffman, Directed by Shirley Petchprapa, Edited by Casey Christopher.
In observance of Music Monday, the way they git it down in Twitter Town... please enjoy POP DIGGITY DOG, from my POP DIGGITY series, which represents my current top 10 tracks... the stuff I'm bobbing my head to... right now.. at this very moment... now if you'll excuse me... back to the music...
Monday morning... returned to Los Angeles from New York last night. The final verdict>> this past weekend... was awesome. Between showing my girlfriend around New York City for the first time, a fun night of slamming beers downtown with old friends, sight seeing in the rain, the Yankee game, Watching Derek Jeter becoming the all-time Yankee hit leader and the coolest New York City wedding you'd ever want to see... there was never a dull moment... I think I will need at least 2 weeks to recover... and my girl can't wait to get back and do it again...
I've got pictures... I will post on my SCRAPBOOK page later (Already posted on Facebook).
More later...
Monday morning also means much catching up to do...
I'm sitting here in my apartment, waiting for my episode of SURVIVING DISASTER to air on SPIKETV.
Yes, I die on TV tonight. I will watch myself yell and scream and get shanked by a terrorist on the premiere of SURVIVING DISASTER. Tonight at 10PM on SPIKETV.
I shot this scene in JANUARY at a special Hangar in Burbank. It was a lot of fun to shoot... and what I remember specifically about that day is how good all the background players were. Everyone who was playing a passenger was SO committed and SO vested in the circumstances that when I was stabbed and thrown to the ground, I could hear everyone whimpering and crying...and it felt SO real... it felt so real that I got goosebumps listening to everyone play the fear.. the terror... it was a really cool moment.
Moving backwards, I spent the past hour watching the rough cut of CATCH 2... over and over and over... writing notes as i go... this is the 2nd rough cut... I did this the other night.... watched the FIRST rough cut and spent an hour writing notes... I sent those notes back to the editor...and now we've got rough cut number TWO... which is better... but it stills needs some work...
I got my car back today... I brought it to the shop on Sunday night because I needed to replace my engine mounts... YES... Ive been driving around for months with an engine on shaky mounts... I'm sure that thing has been BARELY hangin on... not good... but what am I gonna do? I have been unable to pay for the repair...til now... So, I figured while they are fixing my engine mounts...they might as well look into fixing my air conditioning... right?
YES... for the past 2 years, I have been driving around LA with no AC... but seriously, its hasnt been so bad... I mean its California... so most of the time... its very comfortable... with a few hot spells...and then...yes...hot spells kind of suck when you have no AC... but... you know... I've been like ... a lone wolf... mr single guy... who cares? right?
Til now... see.. NOW... I have a girlfriend... so I'm driving my baby around LA in sweltering heat... in a car with NO AC... and that just aint right... right? what kind if boyfriend am I? So I had them take a look at my AC and see what they can do.
And I gotta tell ya... my AC? KICKS ASS now... not only is my engine screwed in nice and tight... but my car is like a rolling meat locker... a walk-in cooler... a desolate county in an arctic region... I told my girl that if she is gonna roll with me... she better bring a sweater!
GOOD boyfriend... GOOOOD boyfriend.
Gotta go... but I'll be back... I'm going to VEGAS this weekend... and New York the weekend after that... I still have to to tell you about the Billy Corgan show I saw this past Saturday night at PAPPY & HARRIETS in Pioneertown.
It was awesome... but I'm gonna have to get into it later....
CATCH, the web series, has officially embarked on its Re-Launch adventure with the release of CATCH 1 today. CATCH 1 was wiritten and produced by James Huffman, Directed by KIngsley Opara and features Paul Duraso, Stephen Schaffold, Ashley Cozine and Bruce Klefstad as Clyde McGillicuttie. This episode also features the music of the hard rockin, mysterious and multi-colored east coast band FOGLIZARD....
CATCH is available to viewers on Youtube, Metacafe, Break, Revver and MySpace, with more distribution deals pending...
Saturday morning.... I just slept for a solid ten hours... after spending the past couple of days fighting off some sort of immune system collapse... Whenever I get sick...or start to get sick...I start analyzing myself, tracing my path in an attempt to figure out what caused the collapse...
Its usually a combination of stress, lack of sleep and pushing myself too hard at the gym.... I run myself into the ground... my body gets really sore from a couple killer workouts... and then I start feeling feversih, light-headed and sometimes the sniffles...which pretty much describes me to a T over the past few days...
The X factor, in this mix, is the fact that I joined a new gym. I have been working out at CRUNCH up on Sunset and Crescent Heights for a year and a half. CRUNCH is a decent gym, but it's not really that close to me. I live in Silver Lake, CRUNCH is in West Hollywood. When I joined, I was working for HINT WATER and I was always in that area for work, visiting accounts and what not. So I could drop in for a workout midday.. or at any other time of the day actually...
ANYWAY... I joined 24 HOUR FITNESS..over in the same plaza as the arclight... it's no way NEAR as nice as CRUNCH.... but its a lot closer...a LOT cheaper.. and I can work out with one of my buddies over there... whihc kind of explains the killer workouts... a little competition can raise the bar a little bit....
So i think a result of being in a new workout facility...and being exposed to a whole new world of GERMS... contributed to me getting sick...
Well thats a fun and interesting littel piece of writing there... "how and why I caught a cold this week"
Gripping drama...
But wait... it gets better.... I fought back... I made a stand.... as soon as I started feeling down i started my SEND-ME-BACK-TO-HEALTH regimen...
Whenever I feel run down or start feeling sick-ish... I drink TONS of water... I guzzle down a liter every other hour. In the morning I add a couple of echinacea tea bags to my usual double bag green tea concoction. I pop three or four 500mg tablets of Ester C 4 or 5 times over the course of the day... that usually adds up to about 8000-10000 mgs of vitamin C in a day. I ony take that much vitamin C when i'm getting sick or feeling run down... I dont think its a good idea to take more than 500mgs a day on a regular basis...
THEN, comes my super healthy power sandwich...
For dinner... or for lunch... or BOTH.... My super healthy power sandwhich invloves my special tuna salad mix, which includes one can of tuna, one chopped up clove of fresh garlic, a half cup of chopped up broccoli slaw, a little bit of mayo, a little bit of olive oil, and spinkle in some black pepper and some CAYENNE pepper.... its gotta be spicy folks...trust me.... put that super special tuna salad mix on some good quality multi grain bread... top it off with some fresh spinach or some red leaf lettuce... and EAT that SUMOFABITCH....
Very important.... I wash it all down with a low sodium V8.
That sandwich will scare the bejeesus out of the common cold... or ANY formidable disease for that mattter... it also works wonders on creditors and annoying neighbors...
Ok... enough.... I'm healed... I'm cured.... I feel great.
Back to business....
I did have an editing session yesterday with Casey. We worked on a little gag reel using the footage from a legal industrial I shot a few months ago... AND... we worked on dropping in the sound design for the NEW CATCH episode one... I'm PUMPED.... STOKED... I'm F%$#@ LOVING it.... really makes the episode snap....crackle.....pop... Eric Bucklin did a fantastic job with sound design...
what all that means is CATCH is pretty much ready for re launch... I plan on releasing this episode in the next few days.. and then I will releasing a new episode every two weeks.... of course I'm already thinking that the follow up to this NEW episode one needs something ... a better follow up... and I'm starting to think I should shoot somehting new... of ocurse if I do that... it will be WEEKS before I am able to release Episode 2... which would essentially be this imaginary episode that I have neither written or even conceived....
So I will probably just drop episode 2 in a timely manner... and hopefully a new redux version of CATCH 3....
I am DAMN ready to get on with this...
CATCH IS COMIN!!!
Gotta go.... one more session todaay with Casey... then I'm going over to check out the Sunset Junction Street Fair slash Muisc Fest today...
Tuesday morning.... hazy... its been hazy every morning in Los Angeles for the past few weeks. The haze manages to burn away every day by noon... and there is no shortage of hot Summer simmering... but right out of the gate... its grey.
Watching Sportscenter, drinking my morning blend of green tea and black tea... and I'm shaking my head at Brett Favre. I love the guy. He represents all thats good with the game of Football... but he is kind of getting on my nerves. When he retired from the Packers... I got tired of hearing about him... I just wanted to move on... I wanted everyone to move on... I wanted Aaron Rogers to get his chance to be the man and lead his team... but Brett Favre just wouldnt go away... well... thats the way I feel now... I'm not pulling for him anymore... I'm tired of hearing about it.
I'm still working hard on better managing my time and my projects... I know... you've heard it before. I havent been able to blog nearly as much as I used to and when I do... I seem to be in the stame state as I was before... well... I havent quite found a happy balance yet. There are many days where I feel like my IZZE job has taken over and that leaves me a little frustrated. So its all a still a work-in-progress. I'm getting shit done.. definitely... but .I still have so much work to do to get this first season of CATCH (the web series) finished and I'm feeling anxious about it all because all that "progress" is really really slow.
Don't get me wrong... lack of happy balance does not mean lack of happy in general... I DO have to say... all that being said... that I am happy as SHIT right now. I may be moaning a little bit about getting my endeavors in order.... but LIFE IS GOOD.... I'm making steady money. I'm making my own schedule... I'm driving around town in a BIG ORANGE TRUCK!!! I have a new girlfriend that I'm crazy about. I'm going to Vegas in a few weeks to party it up with some of my coolest and closest friends. We have a free place to stay and a 9 person boat at our disposal. That's gonna be awesome!! Then the NEXT weekend I'm going back to New York for my best buddies weddding.... and I WILL be taking my girl with me... she has never seen New York... I just got Yankee tickets, so I'm gonna see a game at the NEW Yankee Stadium while I'm there.... and THATS gonna be awesome.... because the Yankees are awesome...
Seriously... I am LOVIN the way the Yankees are playing right now. I have my lucky Yankee hat perched up on a directors chair in my living room, with a little American Flag poking out from the same spot. I put the hat and the flag there on July 4th...when I GOT the flag... and please note... The Yankees are 23-6 since the All Star break....since I carefully placed my lucky hat and lucky little American flag in my lucky spot. Yeah, I'm crazy superstitious when it comes to that stuff.... can't help it... and I was pretty much walking around town with a gigantic four day BONER last weekend when the Yankees were sweeping the Red Sox.... couldn't help it...
Some FINE ass Mutha F%$#@ Baseball that was....
Ok... I'm gonna run...
I have to work a demo this afternoon at the Whole Foods Market in El Segundo... and I SWEAR...TO...GOD... I am going to get some writing done today... and that writing has to happen .... NOW...
Ok so I just finished watching the latest episodes of TRUE BLOOD and ENTOURAGE on HBO... and I have a few things to say...
TRUE BLOOD... I like it... How can you not enjoy some good sexy vampire action in the deep south...like deep deep Louisiana south... its hot... sexy, sweaty hot... I'm diggin it... but you guys at HBO are F%$#ING IT...UP... and I'm scared its gonna be JOHN FROM CINCINNATI all over again.... PLEASE don't let that happen... what do ya say? Can we reign it in a little bit? Narrow down the focus to the Vampires, The Humans..and the religious Zealots.. that threesome is strong, clear and effective... lots of good drama... and everybody likes a good threesome.
The rest of that stuff ... I'm like...HUH? Everybody is on acid and F%#$ING on the woods... some lady puts on a steer head and chases after a dude who usually turns himself into a dog...but this time...into an OWL...and flies away... WHAT??
Oh yes...thanks for including that scene on the dock with all the exposition... I appreciate the attempt to clarify... I do... But at this point... it's too late...I'm OVER it.... I just don't care anymore... CUH-mon, if you feel like you're havin to write in a ten minute scene to explain what HELL is going on with all that crazy stuff... don't you think you might have dug yourself into a hole? Seriously... I sat through like..ten torturous minutes of exposition... bored to DEATH..while the OTHER shape-shifter... the chick... backstabbing BITCH ... who turns into a FAWN in her spare time... stood on the dock in the middle of the night and tried to explain to dog-boy, what the hell was going on with all that bull-headed-acid-trippin-everybody-get-naked-in-the-woods-and-sodomize-a-pine-tree stuff... WHAT...EVER...
Don't even bother explaining... its really unnecessary... I'm so un-interested in that story line...just get rid of it...all of it... please... lets stick to the vampires... and Sookie... I like Sookie.
Ok ... ENTOURAGE...
OY...
Almost everybody SUCKS... I KNOW... I'm SORRY...I'm SORRY... Sorry Vince...sorry E...sorry Turtle... Drama... but its just not your year... It's not.... was it EVER Turtles year? WILL it ever be... no...probably not...but forget about that for a sec...
NOW... Jeremy Piven... Jeremy Piven is ROCKIN it... this IZZ HIZZ year.. He has always been the best thing about ENTOURAGE... but this season, the writers (and jeremy Piven) are really doing some great stuff with Ari Gold....I cant say enough about it... the Ari Gold stuff is great... Even down to every little wink and grimace... the non verbal stuff is genius...
And I'm sure that a lot of my appreciation for whats going on with Ari Gold is based on how he plays against the other characters and scenarios... which is true... of course... I can admit that...but....
Everything VINCE is phony filler bullshit... ugh... terrible... and all that sit com overacting that the rest of the cast is dumping on us (The audience) is just...bad...I'm sorry....
To be fair... the E storyline isn't SO terrible... and Kevin Connolly isn't doing such a bad job... but its still pretty damn boring... just to be fair...
I just watched the Charity Golf tournament episode... the one with Mark Wahlberg and Tom Brady... actually a pretty good episode...
I know right! After I just ripped the show and how SUCKY everybody is... .
To give Turtle some props, I love the part where Tom Brady shows up to meet the guys and Turtle won't shake his hand. When E asks him what that was all about, Turtle tells him he doesn't sleep with the enemy... and he points out that all his golf club covers are donning the logo of the NY GIANTS... How can you not love that?
In the wee hours of the morning, some Magic at Yankee Stadium...
I was home...keeping tabs on last nights game on my laptop... and I found myself glued to that laptop as the innings, minutes and update-refresh's crawled along.
I guess I could have gone to a sports bar to watch, but I was working and the game was in the 6th inning as I was wrapping up...
By The way, I was working at a gifting suite for the TEEN CHOICE awards. The event was held at The Magic Castle in Hollywood. A gifitng suite is where a handful of high-brow vendors...and a few not-so-high-brow... set up a table and offer their goods and services to celebs. They have gifting suites set up around the Emmy's, the Grammy's, any awards show or event that attracts a large number of high-profile personalities. The Personalities come through and check out all the goodies, and the vendors give it all up in the hopes that at least one celebrity will LOVE their product SO much that he/she will embrace the brand and spread that influence to millions of consumers... that dream usually translates to a snapshot of Bobb'e J. Thompson (The funny little kid from ROLE MODELS. He was there...with his Mom), wearing your t-shirt...or taking a sip of your amazing beverage... whatever... its all very desperate and anti-climatic...
Anyway, enough of that, I wrapped it up and loaded out at 6PM, checking the game on my cool orange phone... zero-zero in the sixth inning. Didnt make sense to fight rush hour traffic to get into a sports bar and watch 2 innings of shut out baseball, so I went home, made myself some dinner, and stared at my laptop...beer in hand... for like two and half hours...
HELL of a pitchers duel....
13th inning? seriously? damn....
15th inning? Tell me we are not going to to 16...
Bottom of the 15th... I'm tired, you're tired, you know A-Rod is tired. Something has got to give here. How much longer can this game possibly go?
THEN... my monitor shuttered and flickered, the frame refreshed, and the score of ZERO-ZERO made a sudden adjustment and the New York ZERO...quietly became a TWO.....
YEEEESSSSS!!!!!
Homerless in SEVENTY TWO At-Bats NO LONGER!
YES!!! A-ROD A-ROD A-ROD. I paraded around my apartment for a good... 3 minutes... pumping my fists...doing my best Joba Chamberlain... wishing I was there.
YES!!! Yankees WIN. The Yankees WIN. THAAAAAAA Yankees WIIIIN.
The Three BEST ways to piss of a Red Sox fan.... One: Beat Beckett; Two: A walk-off Home Run; Three: A walk-off Home Run by A-ROD ...
YES!! I celebrated by taking a haul off my digger and watching SUPERBAD...
"Well, Jules, the funny thing about my BACK is... it's located on my cock."
I went to screening earlier this evening at the LA ITV Fest. Its actually the 4th ANNUAL Independent Television Festival, which is a festival for independently produced, original and innovative television pilots and web series. The ITV Fest is held at the Laemmle Sunset 5, which just so happens to be located in the same plaza as Crunch gym...which is where I work out...
So as i was saying... I dropped in a screening tonight to see the lovely Nicole Feenstra in LOVE YOU TO DEATH.. at the Laemmle Sunset 5...right next to the gym.
LOVE YOU TO DEATH was a chapter in the DARK ROOM THEATER series which was presented as a pilot at the festival.
Nicole was really good. I haven't seen much of her work and I was impressed... BUT... the pilot lost my interest about halfway through... felt like it was an hour long piece that should have been a half hour... all in all it was good... fun... just started to drag after while....
Now I'm home...kind of out of it... I'm still trying to recover from a five day typhoon that just rolled through town here in Southern Cal. A typhoon that included a busy IZZE itinerary, a 2 day...or should I say... 2 night... CATCH shoot...on site... two late nights. That shoot pretty much whupped my butt... and got me anything BUT good and ready for a 2 day visit from Mom & Bob... who just happened to be driving cross country from North Carolina to San Fran to compete in the national finals of a seniors tennis tournament....
My Mother...God bless her... she plays tennis like there is no tomorrow. I guess when your 70 years old... that saying will resonate a little more than when your... say... 28-34... or 32-38... 30- 40...
Aside from Graceland, the Grand Canyon, and Vegas, Mom & Bob decided to hit Hollywood.
Mom received this note on her Facebook page>>
“Where are you staying in the LA area, I hope not LA.”
I responded>>
“Of course LA. We are kickin it Silver Lake style. Bob just bought a pair of skinny jeans and some purple chucks. Mom just got got a new tattoo. Now we're headed to Roscoe's for chicken and waffles.”
(Mom just got a NEW tattoo...as if she had one already, hehe)
Of course I figured while Moms in town she might as well meet my new girlfriend... so we did that whole thing... We drove out to the beach and had dinner at Malibu Seafood... then saw them off Sunday morning... then I spent some good quality time with my girl...went to brunch... went to see “500 Days of Summer" at the Arclight... which was excellent... and then she left for a week long VK in Mexico Monday morning... I think I miss her a lil bit... I gotta be honest I'm bitten and smitten with this one.... seriously... she is just about the sweetest, prettiest thing on the planet... anyway... I wont see her again til this weekend... I probably wouldn't have seen her til this weekend regardless... with or withOUT Mexico... but when your tellin a story... a little dramatic flare never hurt nobody ....
A renaissance talent agent, played by Me, James Huffman, has a quick strategy session with his biggest client, William Shakespeare. This clip is from the independent sit com pilot THE AFTER-LYFES>>
CO: Here is some exciting news. The web series we've all been waiting for is set to make its official comeback in a couple of weeks. There has been a media frenzy over this dark comedy and quite frankly... I can't believe its almost here. The RE-launch... RE birth... the RETURN of CATCH the web series is looming... and I'm considerably stoked. You must be excited?
JH: THANKS Conan. Yes I'm excited!
CO: And you brought a clip?
JH: Yes Conan. thanks for bringing that up. I brought a clip. This is a scene between DETECTIVE JAMES, played by me, and Mike Fisk, played by the amazingly talented Bill Oberst Jr.
CO: can you give us a little back story or should we just dive right right in?
JH: No, I can give you a little bit. The series itself centers around Maggie, who is this sweet, girl next door type, played by the super awesome and beautiful Anne Judson Yager. Maggie just wants to find her true love, settle down and live happily ever after. The only problem is, she is a serial killer, and she is having a hard time finding that special someone. MIKE FISK, is her father, more like her estranged farther because he has been in prison for 25 years. He is actually a notorious sociopath who was a contract killer for the mob back in the day. DETECTIVE JAMES knows Mike Fisk personally because HIS father and Mike Fisk were childhood friends, they grew up together. Detective James father became a highly decorated detective and Mike Fisk sort of went to the dark side, murdering and dismembering people for a living. So in THIS scene, its basically MIKE FISK'S first day on the outside, and Detective James and his partner, Detective JONES, pay him a visit.
CO: Alright, well lets take a look... a clip from CATCH, the web series....
JH: yeah, its been a lot of work, but a lot of fun. And the music is great. I managed to enlist the help of a few really cool bands that contributed some kick ass stuff to this project... so when you see it... pay attention to the soundtrack...cuz its awesome...
CO: Will do. JAMES HUFFMAN, writer and producer of CATCH, the web series, everybody. Good luck, really.
JH: Thanks.
CO: We will be right back with SETH ROGAN.... dont go away.
Indie City Entertainment put together a short instuctional video that focuses on the recent banana peeling controversy. This version has been submitted to HOWCAST.COM as part of the Emerging Filmmakers How-To Video Challenge:Filmmakers, web video artists, and DIY experts, show us your coolest, baddest, flat-out flyest how-to video in 3 minutes or less!
The video is titled HOW TO PEEL BANANAS LIKE A PRIMATE, and it features myself and Ashley Cozine as my lovely assistant.
What would you say if I told you that I had information to share with you that would change the way you peel a banana? What if I told you that I have an ancient secret that dates back to the days of the homo erectus? Would that get you excited?
Friday morning... I'm home getting ready to go out and do another IZZE demo...
I have to say, I'm going through some wicked withdrawls from working this job. I think because I have been freelancing and operating with such flexibility over the past few years that I'm not used to this kind of accountability.
I mean this job is pretty flexible, all things considered, but if I were to get a call today for an audition tomorrow... its likley I would have to turn it down unless they could give me a late afternoon time slot... which is always possible... but most of the time, when they call you with an audition time... you dont hagggle...you just take it and be grateful.
Anyway, I am still trying to get a better handle on the best time management, prioritizing strategy for myself.... and I'm trying to ignore the spiritual pains of working a full time job.
Basically it comes down to this... I dont like work.
In my ideal life I would write, and paint, and put on plays and make movies all day then go drinking and dancing all night... is that too much to ask?
In 2004, Vanity Fair published an article titled BEFORE THEY WERE KINGS. It was a 6 page piece about Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall, chronicling their careers from infancy to ultimate Hollywood success.
I've been transferring bits and pieces of the article to this site so other people, Hollywood enthusiasts, Hoffman, Hackman and Duvall fans, and aspiring actors, especially aspiring actors, would have the opportunity to read it, learn it and take away a little something for the road...
Summing it up, Hoffman says "If we had been at a party with a bunch of unemployed actors and somebody had said, 'See those three? They're going to be Hollywood stars,' the whole place would have erupted, and we would have been part of the laughter. Those years were all during the Beat Generation. Our affectation was anti-establishment. 'Making it," meant staying pure, not selling out. 'Making it,' meant doing the work. We're not different today. If something happened and it was over and suddenly we had to work in a community theater, we're there. And I'm telling you, we would love every minute of it." Robert Duvall has his own wistful coda: "It was a supportive kind of thing then, you know, sharing idealism. What could be. And once they were successful, you never saw anybody. It's very strange that way. Very strange." But fate may again step in. Universal Pictures is developing a script to star all three of these old friends in the near future.
END
(Seeing that this article was published in 2004, has such a film ever come to fruition?)
YO... sorry, I haven't had much time to write. I feel like my life has encountered so many changes in the past few weeks and I'm still trying to get my bearings... dare I say....
I still need to finish that 4th of July story... but like I said...I've been crazy busy.
I started my new job with IZZE a few weeks ago, and while it's been great.. its also been kind of struggle as far as time management. While I'm hustling around town for IZZE, setting appointments and doing demos in corporate cafetrias and stores like Whole Foods and Gelsons, I'm also creating and sending reprts, participating in conference calls and sometimes delivering cases of product for fundraisers and fashion shows.
Meanwhile, I'm STILL trying to get my CATCH web series re-launch off the ground, finish writng a few more episodes to get my first full season completely WRITTEN, and produce a handful of upcoming shoots.
Lets not forget that I'm STILL an actor.... helllo?
Now that I have a steady paycheck I want to get back into class, start training again... maybe a scene study or something... and I want to get back to the casting director workshops.... gotta make time for that too. My representation situation is in shambles right now, so my goal over the next few months is to improve that aspect of my life... new agent? new manager? I plan to have that handled by October...
Social life? I think I'm doing okay. I've got a good group of friends that I have a lot of fun with, so there is never a shortage of good old fashioned trouble to get into...
And then there is the girl....
Yeah... The Universe is funny I gotta tell you. I met someone in Hermosa...4th of July... met her out dancing ... this girl is really cool...tall...and gorgeous... and since I met her... the women in my life have been bouncing off the walls... ex's...friends...lingering potentials... all of them callling, emailing and texting... Ive been hit on or winked at all over the place (GUYS and girls...weird)... The Gym, the store, etc... and Ive received 3 emails since last then that involve an introduction to a friends single friend... its amazing...its cracking me up!
So this girl and I went out last weekend... and that went well. I plan on seeing her again Saturday night... so who knows...see where this goes?
So with all that on my plate, my blogging has been on the suffering side... I will stabilize eventually and be able to better prioritize and super size my time... thats funny...a few months again I was PRAYING that I could stabilize financially...now I'm trying to stabilize time-wise...
Oh ... one last thing... my buddies and I are throwing a party on Sunday, July 26th. It will be an 80's dancing get together. Me and my crew have been hitting this place called BANG on Hollywood Blvd over the past few months...we alwasy have a good time over there, so we decided to open up the invite and get a bigger group together. I created an event on Facebook.. and it went a little something like THIS>>>
We've done it before and we are doing it again! Bring your SIXTEEN CANDLES, bring yourself and bring a friend. We are rollin EIGHTIES style at BANG on July 26th. I still say, to this day, that final fight in KARATE KID was fixed. Hey, this FOOTLOOSE FLASHDANCE-off is not for the subtle or soft. We gonna get together and party like it's FERRIS BUELLERS DAY OFF. So that's it, that's your invitation, you can click again and READ IT, compose your best 80's clothes, put all that shit on and just BEAT IT... beat it... BEAT IT... beat it... get THE BREAKFAST CLUB and eat it...oooh!
Saturday morning. I've had a really busy week trying to get acclimated to a new schedule and new responsibilities. My new job with IZZE is picking up, I'm working on awiritng and producing a few more CATCH episodes, as well as orchestrating the CATCH re-launch....almost there...almost there...
I thinki I'm still trying to recover from last weekend. July 4th weekend... wow... I had a lot of fun during the first 4 days of July.
Me and my crew, JJ, Colin, Marcus and my roommate Eric were determined to have some good July 4th fun. We BEGAN with a plan, a BIG plan, a Larger Than Life Adventure, that fizzled before it ever got started. We made revisions, we made adjustments. We drank while we thank.. for a couple days actually ... We lost Marcus... We found Marcus... and ended up down in Hermosa Beach. Partying in Hermosa Beach for the 4th of July was crazy fun. We ate a lot, drank a lot, danced a lot. I ran into an ex-girlfriend (weird), Hadn't seen or spoken to her in TEN YEARS. She was wearing an Uncle Sam hat and a Red White and Blue Wig. I was wearing Party Pants. The Party Pants received mixed reviews. I met a gorgeous woman, She invited me to a n after party in PV.... so I WENT to an after party in PV (Palos Verdes), AMAZING view of the moon over the ocean in the wee hours of the morning.... and we lost Marcus... AGAIN...
If there was any theme to the weekend, it was 50 WAYS TO LOSE MOTHER F%$#@ ING MARCUS.
Here's how it all played out>>>>
Saturday, June 20th, 3PM: JJ calls me and asks me if I want to go to Vegas for July 4th weekend. He has a friend who lives there, and she and her husband will be out of town, offered up their place for us to stay. I say “Hell yeah!”
Sunday June 21st, 12PM: JJ calls me and asks me if I want to rent a boat in Vegas. If we get enough people to go, we all chip in, it wont cost that much, we'd be chillin on a boat on Lake Mead in VEGAS. I say “'Hell Yeah!!”
3PM: JJ calls me and tells me that there are now at least 10 people confirmed to go with us to Vegas and party on the boat. The cast of characters include Cate, Jeannette, Marcus, Mitchell, Wendy Two-Time, Lyndsey and one of Cate's friends, who lives in Vegas, and happens to be a stripper. I say “HELL YEAH!!!”
Monday, June 22nd, 5:02PM: The boat has been reserved. I'm stoked. We are gonna be partying like Gangsta's in Vegas...P DIDDY style. I find myself singing Andy Samberg's song “I'M ON A BOAT!” inssesantly.
Thursday, June 25th, 11:32PM: Still chanting “I'M ON A BOAT!”
Friday, June 26th, 1:16PM: JJ calls me and tells me he had a big fight with Cate on the phone last night. I'm thinking “No big deal, those two are good friends, they will surely sort out their differences before we all go to Vegas.”
Saturday, June 27th, 4:32PM: Vegas trip is canceled.
Saturday, June 27th, 5:02PM: Broken-hearted... I weep.
Sunday, June 28th: Day of Mourning.
Monday, June 29th: Back to the drawing board, brainstorming, nothing else seems as fun as being on a boat in Vegas. The Team has been downsized to JJ, Colin, Marcus and Me. Yes, thats right, we managed to wipe out our entire force of females in one fell swoop. We decide to roll with whatever comes our way and play it by ear.
Thursday, July 2nd: Marcus arrives. He is in the Navy and will be going out to sea for 6 months next week, so he really wants to hit it hard. We make plans to go out in Venice. We meet up with some people at THE OTHER ROOM, then migrate over to THE TOWNHOUSE, where the DJ kicks my ass with an awesome mash up mix. I danced SO much that my shirt was completely soaked. I was in no shape for an after-party. I needed a shower! That was fun.
Friday, July 3rdt 12PM: Hungover from last night. Still no solid plan for the 4th. There is a lot of talk about going down to Hermosa Beach. With a solid line-up of bars (The Strand), it's supposed to be a huge party on ANY holiday. The debate becomes:” what time do we go?” “Spend the day in LA and go Hermosa at night?” “Spend the entire day AND night down there and just grunge it out?”
3:30PM: I make a quick stop at ATMOSPHERE in LOS FELIZ and buy Party Pants. These pants are totally NOT my thing, slim fit, plaid pants. They were on sale and they fit pretty good. Impulse purchase.
3:45PM: I text JJ: “I just bought a pair of SLIMFIT PARTY PANTS!” he texts back: “NICE!!!!”
8:00PM: I decide to lay low and go see a movie. I'm thinking I'll save my energy for the 4th. JJ, Marcus and Colin are looking to keep the party going.
9:30PM: I meet some friends to go see DRAG ME TO HELL. One friend says to me “What are you wearing?” I say “My new PARTY PANTS! I just got em. It's my first time wearing them.” “It should also be your LAST,” He says. My other friend chimes in “I kind of like em.” I'm not feeling super confident about my pants.
11:59PM: After seeing DRAG ME TO HELL, I text JJ on my way home just to see whats up. I write” Wht up? You guys out?” He writes “Yeah, at Echoplex. Me Marcus, Colin, Wendy 2X and her friend. Good time. Come by” I debate, “I DO have my party pants on” Is that a GOOD thing, or a BAD thing? I wonder. I wonder. I pass. Forget it. I live close to The Echoplex. But I'm staying committed to my “Laying-Low” theme. I text JJ back “I'm gonna chill. Call you in the AM. get the plan together.” I go home, watch a little TV.
Saturday, July 1st 6AM: I get a text from JJ... “Late night, After Party. Lost Marcus, Call you when I wake up.”
6:15AM” I read the text... “6AM? Lost Marcus?” What the hell does that mean?" Am I happy or sad that I didnt meet them out last night? I go back to sleep... kinda happy.
10:15AM: I wake up. Didn't sleep so great, but whatever. I'm curious to find out what happened last night.
12:30PM: I've had my tea, eaten breakfast and taken a shower. I'm ready to put on my party pants and go have some fun. I text JJ: “WAKE UP, where's Marcus.” He texts back :”I'm up. No Marcus.” WHAT??
1:30PM: JJ calls and tells me that He, Marcus and Colin went with Wendy Two-Time to an house party after the ECHOPLEX. The party was crazy. Some lesbian went off on Colin, called him a douche bag, several times.... and Marcus ended up following some gay dude home in hopes of hooking up with the gay dudes pretty roommate. That was last anyone had heard from Marcus. Marcus did send a text to JJ at 9AM that read: 'Yes. Monkey.” Nobody can figure out what that means. So what do we do now, sit around and wait for Marcus to apppear? That could take alll day!
Happy Birthday America! For your July 4th listening pleasure, a special list of songs brought together to celebrate the coolest Nation on the planet....
Web Series Magazine Dot Com is a blog on Blogspot. Founded by RICH MBARIKET in May 2009, Web Series Magazine provides up-to-date content on Web entertainment. Web Series Magazine's contributing writers are Victoria Drake, Eitan Wynalda and Sam Grover.
The latest post on the site is a Q&APeter Hyoguchi, Founder of Strike.TV. Peter briefly discusses his background and the origins and future of Strike.TV...
"We would like to be the biggest purveyor of Hollywood content on every device available, every telephone, all over the Internet, on TV and in theaters. Pretty much everywhere. This is the renaissance of cinema and I think this art form is legitimate."
YES... the debate over the future of web entertainment presses on....
The world of web entertainment is the new frontier... it's fertile ground, but nobody seems to know how to capitalize on their crop. When I talk about writing and producing for the web, I always tell people that it's the like "The Wild West out there." That's what makes it exciting.
Every SHMO has a shot.... and that's AWESOME! Every writer, director, producer and actor across the globe has an equal opportunity to find an audience.. a GLOBAL audience... it doesn't matter of you've got thousands (or God forbid MILLIONS... for a web series? c'mon...really?) of dollars, if you build it... they will come. Bring your project to life, post it on the internet and you are making your work instantly available for the world to see... and Harvey Weinstein aint got nuthin on YOU!
Mind you, it's not easy, it takes a lot work to attract a formidable audience. Put aside all the "brilliance" that goes into a script, casting, principal photgraphy, sound design, blah blah blah. Of course you've got a great product... actually.... let's refer to it as a "work-of-art." Masterpiece aside, one has to consider all the elements that would make a Network pilot or an independent film successful and apply those traditional principles to a viral venue. You have to become as internet saavy as you are artistic.
Some of the best and brightest in the business have taken a crack at web entertainment... but even the most beaudacious budget can be a bust... there are no guarantees in any medium... but especially the web world... that gigantic global audience is as fickle and fleeting as it is gluttonous and gregarious...
So basicallly everybody is swinging in the dark. Nobody "Truly" knows what the hell is happening... where it's going... or what it all means.
Stuff will get figured out...theories will be composed... maybe even some money will be made... and then the internet... the humongous THIRTY BILLION HEADED MONSTER that it is... will turn those theories upside down... and we will be back to where we started...
I could go on and on... but I have yet to eat breakfast and I'm starving.... so let me just wrap this up by saying, if you are an independent writer, producer, director or actor... like myself... write it, shoot it, post it, share it... and then do it all over again... focus on the art form... make it about the work... not about the money.... forget about monetizing... capitalizing on your product... making a buck on the internet.... for now... make movies... write new stories... try new things... and forgive me for saying this...but THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX...
I think every acting teacher/coach I've ever worked with has shared this piece of advice with me.... and I think it is egaully applicable here... If you stay true to your vision, trust your instincts and bring your message, your art, your heart, to the world... the money will follow.
"Big shots are nothing more than little shots who kept shooting." I don't know who said that specifically, but I really like that quote. Do with it what you will.
This is my first attempt at posting a playlist that was created on lala.com. The following playlist... titled "Bring Baby Bro to the Know," was designed to help me share cool music with my brother, who is many miles away and way too busy to help himself to the heat. I tried to compose a list of songs that i think he'll like, as well as push the envelope, in regards to my impression of his style and taste... push it just a bit... and see what sticks>>>>
I will always remember Michael Jackson as the galactically gifted, sensational super-star, who sacrificed his entire life to entertain ALL OF US.
He had a million dollar smile and million dollar moves. He forewent a proper childhood..and a proper adolesence... because he busy wow-ing, winning over and warming the hearts of America.
And went he got old enough to REALLY get down...to REALLY get funky.. He did not disappoint.
I will never forget that night back in 1983 when he performed on the television special MOTOWN 25: YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER. He shook up the world that night. He broke out that moonwalk and made history. My jaw dropped. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. You could seriously hear gasps from every house in the neighborhood.... and I sat there with wide eyes and mouth opened for at least ten minutes before I could even muster a comment. It was like watching the first landing on the moon.... no pun intended... okay pun intended...
Watch this clip... and check out the vibe in the audience... even from an old video like this... the energy just JUMPS out at you... it is absolutely AMAZING... LEGENDARY... and it was Michael Jackson's FINEST MOMENT...
I was blown away... I spent weeks and months practicing those moves... all I wanted to do with my life was have a gang fight in a warehouse, wear a bright red leather jacket, and convince all the gang-bangers and rough-necks to break out into a really cool dance-off... and then run off into the night screaming and yelling... Actually...I think that may still be my only true aspiration... You know what? I think I'm going to do my own little Micheal Jackson dance-off...out in the streets...tonight at midnight... just to honor him... ... and all the magic he left behind.
I start a new job today... Last week I was hired for a full-time, 4-month gig representing a popular a sparkling soda in the LA market. The contract runs June 24th to Oct 31st. and its pretty good money... THANK GOD... so I should be able to stabilize financially, pay back friends, catch up on bills and what not... at least until Oct 31...
More significantly, now I can get back to focusing on my writing, producing and my acting career... since I wont have to spend ALL my time searching and submitting for work... which as many of you know...is a full-time job unto itself... in fact it's MORE than a fiull-time job... especiallly when you are picking up 1-3 day freelance gigs.. you have to be constantly scrolling through postings (Craigslist, Yahoo jobs, etc), you have to be able to jump on those listings a soon as possible in order too be considered...since there are thousands of people trying to get the same job.. if a new posting ops up at 10PM... you better jump on it... then, when you get hired... you have to WORK those gigs... so you work a few long days... and spend your free time searching and planning for the next one... and cross your fingers that you wont have to wait for 90 days to get paid... cuz then you have to spend time harrassing your employer for your check....and thats no fun at all.
All that BS takes up pretty much 100% your time and focus.. and that has been my life for the past 6 months. ... so this job comes as a big relief.
The legal video project is off to a good start. I produced a 5 minute industrial for one a legal publishing firm. The client seesm happy with the final cut and I'll be shipping out my first professionally produced DVD today. There is definitely the possibility of future work doing more of the same. Keepin my fingers crossed
Now that I'm going to have my hands full for the next few months (with the beverage gig AND hopefully a bunch of wiritng/producing and acting gigs), my travel plans have changed a bit. I was initially planning on spending a few weeks on the east coast in September... but now, since I'm working til Oct 31, I will still go to my friends wedding in NYC in September, but I think I'll put together a through east coast tour for December... spend the whole month bouncing around NYC, to Boston, to Fairfax, to NC and wherever else... it will be a lot of moving around... but I really want to visit everyone.... plus LA is DEAD in December anyway...so I doubt I'll be missing much.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to Jerry D Huffman, my Dad, proud Veteran, proud Father, my Hero. For all you've given, to your family, you're friends and your country. I love you Dad.
For all the hard times, there are moments and memories that shine twice as bright....
What the hell is the deal with HOTMAIL? If you have a Hotmail account... get rid of it...
I've received an OBSCENE amount of HACKED OUT spam from almost EVERYONE I know that has a Hotmail account...
PLUS... when you tell people you have a hotmail account... Your not exactly impressing anybody...
Its like saying saying hey.. I'm a huge MEN AT WORK fan .. I have their new album on CASSETTE TAPE!! Listen to it on my super sool DUAL CASSETTE BOOM BOX...
I'm in the sharing mood. So I thought I would post a couple list of awesome music that Ive rockin out to over the past few weeks...
I'm a HUGE hip hop fan. I've been diggin on dope beats and ryhmes since way back in the day.. and when I say way back in the day... i'm talking about playing RUN DMC's first album on casette tape til you couldnt play no more.... Sucker MC's... JAM MASTER JAY... It's Like That... and memorizing every word to LL COOL J's "Rock the Bells." And I'n not talking the version that was released on his first album (I Can't Live Without My Radio...which was awesome), I'm talking about the ORIGINAL version.... the raw LL version that NYC hip stations like WBLS and 98.7 KISS were pounding and pounding for MONTHS before that album came out... if you've never heard it...find it...get it... its a solid old school drum beat with a funky cow bell ... kickin it LIVE...as we used to say... the lyrics in that song were the stuff of legend...and when you heard it... you just KNEW... this guy... was more fly...than anybody else who ever try...
ANYWAY... trying not to get carried away...
My HIP HOP PLAYLIST for 2009 (so far)
(and not all of these songs were released in 2009..some are older... but I personally just discovered them recently)
1>> ROLL UP by Slow Suicide Stimulus
2>> QUIET DOG by Mos Def
3>> THE ONLY WAY by Johnson & Johnson
4>> COME & GOES by Sweatshop Union
5>> THE GUNSHOT by Nicolay & Kay
6>> ONE TWO by The Cool Kids
7>> CAPPUCCINO by The Knux
8>> BARE EDITION by Mathpanda
9>> WHEN I SEE YOU by Prodigy (Mobb Deep)
10>> MS. HILL by Talib Kweli
Get yerself a taste....its good shit...
Then.... "Hot" list... more along the lines of rock, pop and all things NON Hip Hop...
(Excluding "Country")
1>> SURVIVING by Powderfinger
2>> PERCUSSION GUN by White Rabbits
3>> WannaBe in L.A. by Eagles of Death Metal
4>> EARTHQUAKE HEART by The Dirtbombs
5>> STEP UP by Awesome Color
6>> SHIVAS R&R DUB by Arling & Cameron
7>> HEY SNOW WHITE by The New Pornographers
8>> THE HOWLING by THE PHANTOM BAND
9>> ROOIBOS - PALM WINE DRINKARD by The Stills
10> I SHOULD BE BORN by Jets Overhead
11> MOOGJUUS by The Bobby Hughes Combination
12> ALYO by the Hypnotic Brass Band
13> SUNLIGHT by Harlem Shakes
14> THE BALLAD OF JOHN HENRY by Joe Bonamassa
15> MOUNTAIN TIME by Joe Bonamassa
16> A NEW SKY by The Presets
17> LIFE'S A BEACH (Todd Terje Beach House Mix) by Studio
18> CISCO by Lindstrom & Prins Thomas
19> BUS STOP NO. 5 by The New Mastersounds
20> THE HANDBRAKE (Enest St. Laurent Remix) by Bent
Please enjoy a synopsis of my week. Brought to you in spurts and squirts, skips and skirts, tweeters and twerps, jabbers and jerks, sips and slurps, parties and perks, whining and wincing and WHATEVER WORKS! >>>>
Day 3 of an awesome weekend. Trying to get my wits about me for Bleacher Beach at Dodger Stadium.
Monday OFF. Trying to blog about my weekend... which at this point is as exhausting as the real thing.
jencrews@slimjimhuffman I can imagine but you continually surprise. Looking forward to getting the low-down.
@jencrews OH... Jen... you don't know the half of it...
NaeinVTIcon_lock@slimjimhuffman last time I checked, weekends only have 2 days.
slimjimhuffman@NaeinVT this particular weekend kind of looked sort of like an eight headed monster
NaeinVTIcon_lock@slimjimhuffman your life kind of exhausts me.
Going to work on new sit com called PLAYERS tomorrow. Shooting in Santa Clarita.
Tuesday morning on set. in holding. sharing horror stories and Christian Bale rant impersonations. Gooood for YOUUU!!!
The lady in crafty HATES me!
What the hell? Is it Wednesday? What time is it? Playing a "gym-goer" on ENTOURAGE today. I'd rather go back to bed.
on the set for ENTOURAGE. shooting at EQUINOX in west hollywood. Pretending to enjoy a muffin. I'm an excellent actor.
WOW... just wrapped on ENTOURAGE. officially a two hour day. wait... it's crazy early. What the hell do I do with myself?
@Nick Welch Livin the dream!!!
@slimjimhuffman @KenNewman How do I know Nick Welch?
@Ken Newman Canoe Trip I guess. You may have met him on other occasions, but I can't think of any.
@slimjimhuffman @KenNewman Ok... yeah... canoe trip... he was kickin rhymes by the riverside, right before my liver died, then a spotlight shined, He tried to hide, But his hyde was fried, Alibi denied, wave say bye misguided guy
KenNewman@slimjimhuffman NICE!!!
Ive been to work, the gym, AND the grocery store, all before noon. now 'Im off to do laundry before the Yankees/Red Sox MUSTKILLTHE RED SOX
OK, here we go. Digging in to do spiritual battle with the Gods of Baseball. GO YANKEES!!!!
NICE CATCH!!! Nick Swisher was DETERMINED to make good on that botched bouncing double. Consider it forgiven Nick! #Yankees
(Fucking Yankees)
Thursday OFF... and just had to go BACK to the courthouse to pay a TEN DOLLAR fine cuz i left court too early last time.
@jamiefishback @slimjimhuffman haha, seriously?! wow, they'll get you any way they can
@slimjimhuffman @jamiefishback Seriously, 10BUCKS! The judge said charge was dismissed. I walked the F%$# out. Nobody told me I had to do anything else.
@jamiefishback@slimjimhuffman so why the 10$, any actual reason why?
@slimjimhuffman @jamiefishback They sent me a letter:"You appeared in Division 63 on 5-26-09, BUT YOU DID NOT WAIT FOR YOUR PAPERWORK = $10
There is stuff I should do, and stuff I should not, let me say right now, I'm not feeling so hot.
Feel better today. Ready to play. Echinacea spray just made me turn gay. Gay as in HAPPY, not sucking %$#@. Rest was the cure and it sure did the trick.
Headed back out to Santa Clarita to work day 2 on PLAYERS, AFTRA pilot for SPIKE TV.
@jencrews@slimjimhuffman Is it legal to follow yourself?
@slimjimhuffman @jencrews I was following someone who was following someone who was following themselves, so I followed the follow
Back on the set of PLAYERS. Some old friends. Some new faces. The lady in crafty LOVES me!! (no she doesn't)
MOTHER HEN... just struck AGAIN!!!
just got home after 12 hours on set. Shooting my banana project in Studio City tomorrow
BANANA SHOOT TODAY: Hey... i realize this is totally last minute, but I am looking for an attractive woman to be in my banana infomercial. It's sort of a gag... a SLAP/CHOP sort of parody... I need a "Vanna White" to stand by my side and be my assistant in the video. We are shooting today(6/13) in Studio City from roughly 12-4. This is a viral thing...so its no budget and we cant offer any type of pay... but it will be fun. CALL ME
Banana movie worked well today. Just tried out TERRITORY BBQ, new joint in the hood, pretty damn good, pretty damn good.
Watching the fight on HBO. Clottey 85, Cotto 85 at the start of round 10, forget the cut, forget the knee, clean slate... LETS GIT IT ON!!! (cuz I'm gettin bored)
CLOTTEY is such a FAKER
just watched CHOP SHOP on DVD.
marco_cali@slimjimhuffman Was it good?
@marco_cali I liked it, CHOP SHOP is this subtle film about kids living in IRON TRIANGLE in NYC, commentary has great insight on filmmaking.
marco_cali@slimjimhuffman Sounds like it's worth watching. By the way, did you get a part as an extra on Entourage? That show is BIG in Australia.
@marco_cali Yeah, I've worked on the show a few times. Not my favorite show to work on, but it's still cool.
Sunday morning, headed down to Anaheim to work for the Angels.
working at Angels game. watchin the Yankees on my phone. WOW... 15-0?
Home, watching Lakers/Magic, 7 YR OLD GINA MARIE INCANDELLA IS AWESOME... go get em lil girl!
What's up with Magic Johnson and the Technicolor coat? Gold Jacket...WOW!!
I actually saw Magic Johnson at a performance of TOP DOG/UNDER DOG on Broadway a few years ago, and he was wearing a BRIGHT YELLOW SUIT... like WOW!!!
@ChrisKnowsBest is now following you on TWITTER!
@ChrisKnowsBest 2 Damen stehen vor meinem Parkplatz.Da ich parken will, hupe ich.Die Damen zeigen mir einen Vogel und gehen.Also nächstes Mal einfach fahren
slimjimhuffman@ChrisKnowsBest I have NO IDEA what you're saying, but I DIG IT man...I dig it ("yeah, you dig it the most" - Pulp Fiction)
Driving back out to Santa Clarita tomorrow to work on the set of PLAYERS. PLAYERS is a sit com pilot for SPIKE TV.
Spike TV just gave the go to a new 30-minute comedy called "Players", created by Matt Walsh who is one of the founders of the improv group Upright Citizens Brigrade. (www.coffeerooms.com)
I worked on PLAYERS earlier this week, Tuesday I believe... in usual fashion I came home with few good anecdotes...
I got yelled at... TWICE... by the nice old Craft services lady.
I got to set. I checked in and asked someone where the food was. That's usually my first task when I get to any set... figure out where Crafty's at. I set my sights...and swoop in to snag whatever's good.... or whatever I can get my hands on.. Then suddenly... SCREEEECH... this sweet old lady with a southern accent put her hand up in my face and proceeded to make it very clear that SHE was Mother Hen...and THIS is her coop.
"Good mornin young man. Is this your first time here?"
"Oh...uh...yes."
"Well then let me give you the tour so you know where everything is and how everything works."
(I'm thinking "Lady? A TOUR? It's Crafty. I think I can figure it out. What are you gonna do? Show me how to use the toaster?")
"Yes Ma'am."
"Okay, We've got hot breakfast over here... sausage and scrambled eggs... that's coffee right next to it... regular and decaf..."
That's sweet, but I know what COFFEE looks like
"...and over here, you've got your bagels, smoked salmon, and a few other things to go with that...
A handful of other actors come strolling into the coop.
"Oh...HELLO there... good morning! Is this your first time here? Better let me give you the tour...
This is my chance to escape. A few more enter the space.
"Okay everybody, I'm just gonna say this once, okay, so try to pay attention... Hot breakfast over here... scrambled eggs and sausage... Oh hey, good morning sweety... I remember you from yesterday... you just go ahead and help yourself... you know where evrything is... OK...coffee is heeere... and..."
At this point I've slipped away from the group and started toastingmyself a bagel. If Mother Hen did anything she got me all hot for the bagels and lox. I quietly composed my breakfast... speading cream cheese, pulling a few strips of salmon and a couple pieces of tomato and onion. I was in the zone...coasting to the finish line... going seemingly unnoticed.
There is a steady flow of people entering the space and I swear... she addressed every single person that came through... and if I remember correctly... made sure they ALL got "The Tour."
I was ready to make my exit.. but just before I slipped out.... the "premium tea" section caught my eye. I thought it would be nice to have a cup of high quality green tea. With one hand occupied by a full plate of bagels, lox and veggies, I used to my right hand to grab a paper cup, open a tea bag...and I even squeezed some honey into a cup. I was quite impressed by pwn dexterity. At that point all I needed was some hot water.
Hmmm... hot water....hot water... over by the coffee? No...coffee maker doesnt have a special spout for hot water... uh... hot water... crap...where the hell is the hot water? I noticed a very pretty girl perusing the breakfast options.
Thats usually my SECOND task when I get to set.... scope out the chicks...
"Hey... hi... how are you? You don't by any chance know where the hot water is, do you? Like...for tea?"
She looked at me with a slight smile...and before she could enlighten me... her eyes widened and she looked off into the background... freezing up.. saying nothing...
"What's wrong? Do I have food in my teeth?
She shook her head "No."
"Then what is the probl-"
"WHAT... can I do for you sweety?"
I was intercepted by none other than Mother Hen.
"Uuuh... hot water... for tea?"
"Now if you had PAID ATTENTION to my TOUR, you might KNOW where the hot water is."
"That's probably true."
"Ye-es"
"So... can you tell me where it is."
"It is right behind you in that silver little pot. Y'all please try to pay attention when I explain where everything is...okay? I really don't enjoy spending my day telling y'all where everything is over and over again."
"Oh...I see it thanks."
I looked towards the pretty girl.
"I saw that... I just didnt realize it was for hot water."
Mother Hen struck again.
"I had explained that to everyone else. I guess you couldn't be bothered."
"Sorry, I was busy over there toasting my bagel."
"mm-HM... anything else I can do for you?"
"No.. I think I'm good... thanks."
I went back to the holding area and sat down to eat... re-joining a few of my fellow actors.
"I have a feeling the crafty lady doesn't like me very much."
"Really?"
"Yeah, she just kind of yelled at me."
A voice from behind chimed in
"YEAH she did."
I turned around and it was the pretty girl.
"You better let her do her thing. She is just not havin it."
"Yeah, well now I know."
"Hows your tea?"
"It's very nice, thank you."
"My boyfriend drinks tea all the time. I don't like it. I need my coffee."
"Really? hm."
I gave her a semi-smile and a look like something suddenly smelled really bad and I turned around to eat my breakfast and drink my hard-earned tea... and look around for another belle of the background.
I sat, I scoped, I sipped, I quipped... we did all did what we do best as bakcground players... we waited... and waited...
There was something I couldn't get out of my head...
"My boyfriend drinks tea all the time. I don't like it. I need my coffee. "My boyfriend drinks tea all the time. I don't like it. I need my coffee. My boyfriend drinks tea all the time. I don't like it. I need my coffee. I need my coffee. I need my coffee - "
I popped up "You know what? I want some coffee!"
So I got up and hopskotched over to craft services. I was gonna have me some coffee. This was in no way an attempt to woo the woman with the tea-drinking boyfriend. I had a craving... and hell... the coffee is easy...and its FREE.
I entered the coop and gave Mother Hen a bratty sort of a smile and a shrug...as if to say...
"Hello there friend, Ms. Mother Hen, I'm back to crap on your lawn again!"
She did NOT appreciate my entrance. Nevertheless, she managed to purse her lips, cross her legs and go back to reading her magazine. I stopped, sized up my surroundings.. noticed another very attractive woman pouring herself a piping hot cup of coffee and I made my move. I sauntered over to stand next to her and give her the ole "up-and-down," which I disguised as an observation of her coffee process.
"Hows the coffee?" I asked
"I don't know. I haven't tasted it yet"
"I already had some tea, but now I gotta try the coffee."
I turned my chin to Mother Hen, got her attention and shot the following statement off in her direction...
"It better be good."
I turned back to take my turn at pouring a cup of coffee, in the back of my mind, I was aware that the lovely young lady had said somehting while I was attempting to antagonize the crafty lady, but I missed it... no big deal....
SO... the coffee... YUM. I don't even really LIKE coffee, but here I am, pouring myself some anyway. I reach over for the pot that rests in it's usual spot, but suddenly my hands felt wet...OUCH...suddenly my hands felt HOT.
OH NO, I had pulled out the coffee pot that was sitting in the middle of the brewing process. OH NO...coffee was pouring out, but there was nothing there to catch it!
"Put it back, just put it back." The pretty girl pleaded. Her face terror stricken.
"Ow, ow, ow, hot, hot, hot...OH YEAH" was my response
I pushed the coffee pot back into its proper place and the brewing process continued. A steady stream of piping hot coffee regained its composure and continued filling the half empty pot.
"It's all good. It's all good." I said
But it was definitely NOT "all good." Mother Hen jumped to her feet, moved to where she could see what was happening. Once she realized that i was...indeed.. crapping on her lawn... she let out a HOWL of epic proportions and followed that up with some of the most God-awful sounds I've ever heard... a bone chilling assortment of grunts and hisses... that made me feel like Frodo in the depths of MORDOR. She grabbed a handful of papertowels, pushed me aside and attacked my mess.
The crisis was contained within seconds... but this was FAR from over. Engulfed in a cloud of smoke and molten ash, bearing fangs, poised to slash and gash, I gasped. She spoke as she grasped...
"HERE..take this...FAST...and THROW IT...in the trash."
I said nothing. I took the handful of coffee soaked paper towels from here. I looked around... unfortunately I had trouble locating the garbage... I stepped this way... stopped and stepped that way-
"OVER THERE!!!!!!"
Wow, she was getting scary. Ok, so I threw the papertowels away. At this point I was out of the coop. All I had to do was turn to my left and could make a run for it... but...
I usually have a little milk with my coffee.
"Um, sorry... do you by any chance have any milk?"
She just stood there, GLARING at me, her terrorizing eyes bearing a demonic red glow. It was at this moment that I realized that Mother Hen and I would never be friends. Our relationship had suffered irreparable damage. I also noticed that I was standing with my back pressed against a large silver refrigerator. I spun around, opened the door and found myself face to face with a hafl gallon of whole milk...
I usually drink SKIM... but I didn't see any skim. I peeked from behind the big fridge door and she was still there... fuming.. and sort of "growling" under her breath... like some ornery old grizzly... so I went ahead and poured a little whole milk into my coffee, shut the door, looked back once just to make sure she wasn't following me with a butcher knife or anything... and I hustled out of there.
I caught up with the young lady who had witnessed the entire event.. She was walking slow so as not to spill her coffee. I was sloshing all over the place... no concern for spillage...
"Wow," I said "That was fun... ouch ouch... hot"
"Ha...yeah."
"I think she likes me."
"You're a train wreck"
(Train wreck? She just called me a train wreck! She totally digs me! Maybe we'll take lunch break together... exchange numbers... go on a date)
"I know. I know. Hey, I saw the coffee pot. I wanted some coffee. How was I supposed to know it was still brewing?"
"I told you."
"You told me what?"
"I said use the one on the top."
"You said what? What ONE on the top?"
"The FULL Coffee pot sitting on top?"
"Oh... is THAT what you said to me? Oh my GOD... I heard you say something... but I was talking to the lady... wasn't really paying attention."
"Just like my BOYFRIEND... he never listens to anything... enjoy your coffee"
She walked away and sat somewhere on the other side of the room.
HOLD up, WAIT a minute, when ya git behind, put yerself back IN IT....
Okay, I'm falling a little behind on my reporting and my sharing. So mind you, I STILL have to drop the details..or at least a synopsis of my weekend, as well as a few fun little anecdotes from my day on the set of PLAYERS, a SPIKE TV sit com pilot that will probably be airing sometime in 2024... kidding.
But I'm gonna have to hold off on that for right now....
First, I want to mention a mix, a master blastin bag of tricks, Take the Rock out the box, put on your feet and call em KICKS...
Ok, so LAST WEEK, when I was working the E3 Expo... and this is the LAST time I'm going to mention the E3 Expo... I had the priviledge of meeting and listening to the sick sounds of DJ MEDI4. The Alienware booth featured non stop mixing and DJ Medi4 was the dude who was bringing it... and IT...WAS...BROUGHT-EN.
I told him I was diggin his stuff and he told me I could download some of his mixes on Rapidshare or MegaUpload...or via his website... so I didn't waste any time...
This is one of Dj Medi4's sets from Bonnaroo 2007 and I'm gonna be rocking this all over town in my car for a good long while....
DJ Medi4 - Bonnaroo 2007 Volume 1 (Early Set) Tracklisting
1. Rare Earth - Celebrate 1971 (maybe my favorite opening tune)
2. Led Zeppelin & Black Sabbath - Whole Lotta Jigglin'/Sabbath 2007
3. Wolfmother - Love Train 2006 (really funky and dirty)
4. Queen - Fat Bottomed Girls (Z-Trip remix) 2007
5. DJ Zebra - National Bridge (Radiohead vs Fergie) 2006
6. CHAOS - Crazy Adidas (Run DMC vs Buckcherry) 2006
7. Arty Fufkin - Been Caught Stealing Your Rump 2005
8. DJ Moule - Crosstown Underground 2006
9. Free - All Right Now (re-edit) 1970
10. B-Boy Breaks
11. James Brown vs Beck & Peter Gabriel - Godfather of Soulhammer 2007
12. Paul Simon - Late In The Evening Remix 2005
13. The Turtles - Happy Together (re-edit) 1967
14. Missy Elliot - We Run This (X-Press 2 Remix) 2006
15. I:Cube featuring The RZA - Can You Deal With That? 2007
16. Khia - My Neck, My White Horse remix (DIRTY! NOT SAFE FOR WORK) 2006
17. MIA - Bucky Done Gun (instrumental & vocal) 2005
Here's a Megaupload download link. If you're not a "premium member" you'll have to wait 45 seconds to get the DL to start, but what's 45 seconds? If for some reason the link expires, someone please email me at info@djmedi4.com, and I'll re-up. Fiddling with the FTP server today, and should have it available to listen to from here shortly.
Now that E3 is over and my assignment as an Alienware Special Agent has concluded, I'm home resting bones. The Expo was actually a lot of fun. I saw some pretty amazing shit as far as gaming, graphics and animation goes.
Playing a Special Agent was pretty cool. We definitely got our fair share of buzz and attention doing our single file parades through the South and West Hall.
And a guy can't go wrong in a black suit and aviators.
One thing that was particularly cool, was the fact that we had these silver brief cases that contained "transmittors" that would send out jpegs and text messages to any mobile device using blue tooth or wi-fi within 75 ft of the briefcase. The message was designed to create more ALIENWARE awareness by inviting people to come by the booth in the South Hall and check out the new M17x , the "Most-Powerful 17" Laptop in Universe.
So I would cruise specific section of the expo, find a good spot and the stop, but the briefcase down and stand at attention. Not only was it fun to see people's reactions to my presence. I mean, I'm just standing there in my black suit, aviators and ear-piece, staring straight ahead, next to a silver biref case... so I was definitely attracting attention. But then people would start to receive the message on their phones... that was great... I could see guys reaching into their pockets...taking a look at their mobile devices...and looking at each other...looking around trying to figure out what's going on... then... theere would be someone who would put twow and two together and point at me and say "It's from HIM."
That's when I mobilize. I pick up the briefcase and disappear into the crowd.
Good times, met some good people...
Special Agent T7: Hard to match his intensity. T7 was quickly promoted to squad leader. With a thorough and genuine military background, he really got into is role... and he REALLY calls himself T7.
Special Agent Ouch: Sexy, smooth, swift and severe. One of our female operatives, she was the beauty AND the brains of the bunch.. To me, she emodied the essence of an Asian Halle Berry. T7 called her "Tsunami." When T7 gets jacked up and starts bouncing off the walls, Ouch reigns him in with a raised eyebrow, a stern look and a "re-LAX."
Special Agent Kirkwood: T7 named him "Ace." He reminded me more of FRED FENSTER, Benicio Del Toro's character in The Usual Suspects.... only add a hard core Boston accent. An interesting tidbit about Kirkwood is that he just finished writing a book titled "How to Think Like a Woman and Love Like a Man." You would have to meet him to understand how truly funny that can be.
Feedback and buzz from this week at the E3 Expo on LA:
Ok, so the party's over.... NOW what the hell do I do?
(Actually, I'm gonna be crazy busy this weekend, my college buddy Tony from Boston, actually I think he lives at The Vineyard, is in town for the weekend, so we arre going to do our fair share of partying. And then SUNDAY, I'm going to be at Dodgers Stadium in the Bleacher Beach section. Last week I worked a promo for The Dodgers and this week the Sales/marketing coordinator for The Dodgers asked me to basically "paper" the house and get 20-25 attractive guys and girls to fill BLEACHER BEACH on Sunday for the 5 o clock game. Everyone on my list gets to attend for free... as long as they're hot. Bleacher Beach is basically a beach party that goes on in Left field. A bunch of my friends are comped ... in the blink of an eye, I go from Alienware Special Agent to pimpin out the hotties. So I'm looking down the barrel of pretty wild weekend)
This week I will be appearing at the E3 convention as an Alienware Special Agent. The E3 Expo is the world's premiere trade show for computer and video games and related products. The show is owned by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of the companies, publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers and the Internet. About 6,000 attendees are expected this year. The E3 Expo targets gamers, technology enthusiasts, bloggers, top press, analysts, game creators, software partners, film/television studios, computer manufacturers, etc. This is an industry only show, so all attendees must be from a company representing these industries.
The activation of the Special Agent task force will support the worldwide launch the new Alienware M17x laptop, a gaming notebook that is super fast, very powerful, and highly anticipated by the enthusiast community
I will be decked out in a black suit, white dress shirt, black tie, black shoes, Aviator sunglasses, a silver briefcase, ear piece and radio. At first, my assignment will be to enter several Convention Center "adjacent" hotel lobbies, assess the situation and then mumur talking points into my radio... index finger to the earpiece is optional...
Nine agents will visit hotel lobbies and coffee shops within a 2 mile radius of the LACC to ignite awareness of Alienware’s unveiling stunt.
Later I will be engaging in an operation called "Special Agent Intercept." Two agents will personally escort targeted bloggers, analysts, press to the Alienware booth for their scheduled meetings with Alienware PR
Should be a fun event.
I was at the South Hall today for a few hours of de-briefing and from the looks of it... this convention is going to be pretty wild... and when I say wild...i mean the kind of wild that will causing gamers and technology enthusiasts heads to explode.
Alienware Special Agents will be on-site to clean up the mess.
The South of Normal Podcast will experience a rebirth today. My roommate and I have decided to come together, once again, to collaborate and produce a podcast project that we started about a year ago, but abandoned... for various reasons.
The podcast will serve as a daily/weekly account of our experiences as we strive to make our marks in the entertainment biz. We initially embarked on this little experiment because not only did we want to offer an oral history of our journey, but we wanted to share information and insight. Living in Los Angeles, we both of bring a "being-there" element to the table that many aspiring actors, filmmakers and writers all over the country might find useful. I like the idea of sharing my trials and tribulations with all those who are also struggling to find a voice.
So, what we are aiming to do is bring a little more organization and consistency as well as a more relaxed presentation...have more fun with it... thats what its all about.
You see, it's that dynamic that separates my roommate and I. He likes to take a very detail oriented, organized... well-though out approach to everything he does... which can sometimes translate into SO much deliberation....that nothing ever happens... while I'm more of a "jump-right-in," shoot first ask questions later kind of guy. I rely heavily on my instincts and find myself IMPROV-ing my way through many of my plans and projects... learning as I go.. isnt LIFE just one big IMPROV? Anyway, MY approach can sometimes lead to a finished product (or UN-finished product) that falls short... doesn't live up to the hype.
"BIG SHOTS are nothing more than LITTLE SHOTS who kept shooting."
Not sure where that quote came from but I love it.
Anyway, You can see how we may have come to a few forks in the road, become frustrated and thrown our hands up, but Eric and I have agreed to find a common ground and try to make this podcast work. A little more pre-production, a little more consistency... and I think a less rigid presentation... and we'll see if we can breath some life back into this BIOTCH.
I think we are actually going to go see TERMINATOR: SALVATION this afternoon so we can share or thoughts on the film. Since movies and TV are such a big part of our lives.. and a big part of what drives this town... we will likely be commenting on the new film releases as well as the state of our favorite TV shows.
Maybe I should share my thoughts on IRREVERSIBLE, which I Netflixed and watched earlier this week. This is a film that has be recommended to me time and time agin over the past couple of years. What I've been told is that it is a great movie, but it's really dark, really violent and its contains a rape scene that is NOT for the faint of heart.. supposedly one of the most brutal scenes EVER in modern cinema...
So after much deliberation and stalling...finding other fims to rent and watch. I forced myself to sit down the other night and give it a go.
As the film started I popped off a couple Facebook "status updates," and found some support from an old friend....
James: about to watch IRREVERSIBLE on DVD. I wonder if I'm ready. It's supposed to be great... and brutal... brutal but great...
Ellen: There's some pretty violent stuff, but it's an amazing film. I'm a huge fan of Vincent Cassel, both he and Monica Bellucci are great in this.
James: Ok, So far its like the French MEMENTO...on really bad acid.
(2 hours later)
James: I feel physically SICK after watching that film. As an artistic endeavor, I applaud the effort... its heavy, heavy stuff... gripping, moving... a really progressive piece of film-making... but as far as entertainment value... FUCK THAT... thanks but no thanks... that movie makes me want to go sit in the garage with the engine running... I feel the need to take a shower! ugh...
Ellen: It is a pretty horrific story, and there's a lot of awful things that happen (hello, fire extinguisher...) but unlike films that use gore/violence for the sake of using them, it's germane to the plot. It's certainly not the "feel good film of the year" for sure, but it is a phenomenal piece of work. I still remember reading Roger Ebert's review after the showing of it at Cannes and thinking "No matter how hard it is to watch, I have to see this movie."
Yeah... I'm still trying to remove that scene from memory.
I have officially seen IRREVERSIBLE...and the experience is just that....
Injured in a car accident at the age of 2, Ali Stroker grew up in a wheel chair. Earlier this month, she graduated from the Musical Theatre Conservatory at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. The summer before her senior year, she made the cut for an overseas summer theater program in Amsterdam, led by Tisch instructors. She has played Sister Aloysius in a European production of "Doubt." She is an actress, singer, writer and dancer... that's right... dancer.
Ali is the daughter of Jim Stroker, one of my high school football coaches. Mr Stroker was one of those guys that I looked up to as a kid. He was a coach and PE teacher at my Junior High. He would open the weight room every morning at 5AM so we could get in there and workout before school. He was also that guy who taught sex education to 13 year olds with a snarl and a DIRTY HARRY sensibility. We used to do impressions of Mr Stroker's health class lectures. Every kid had his own version, but it always involved squinting the eyes, gritting the teeth, clenching the fists and saying the word "MASSS-ter-BATION!"
Oh man... those were the days...
Anyway, enough about that... This is about Ali and her accomplishments. I don't know Ali, but, like I said, her father played an important role in my life as a teenager. I'm hugely impressed... by her, by the entire Stroker family... and I wish them all the best....
ACTRESS IS WHEELCHAIR-UNBOUND:
Ali Stroker found her gift at a young age and never let go. She fell in love with performing at 6, starring as Annie in a backyard musical with the neighborhood kids. They wore costumes, built a set, and her dad, Jim Stroker, played Miss Hannigan. Her mom, Jody Schleicher, will always remember that summer. "It just made her come out of her shell," Schleicher said....
... In her final months at school, Ali signed with a talent agent and has since filmed a commercial for MasterCard. Disney casting has an eye on her, according to her agent, Jed Abrahams of New York City's The Talent House.
Abrahams remembers that the first time he met with her, she dropped her pen. He recalled feeling uncomfortable, not sure whether he should help her. But she quickly spun around and picked up the pen. "She's totally comfortable in her own skin, that's something non-disabled people should aspire to," he said.
Am I slowly becoming a calloused and self serving producer type? I hope not. Every once in a while I catch myself saying or doing things that seem... very... "LA." and I dont mean the carefree California thing... I mean the cut throat "Ari Gold" thing.
I always used to say that about people who moved to New York and lived in the city for a while... that no matter where you are from... no matter what you are like... if you spend enough time in New York City... you start to wear it... you absorb certain elements.. and you become a "New Yorker," the good with the bad... you find yourself cursing out some sweet old lady (under your breath of course, but just as bad), for walking slow in front of you and keeping you from hopping the next express train... stuff like that.
Same thing in Los Angeles, there are certain elements that you will absorb if you spend enough time here... the "flakiness" for example... hard to believe but even the most reliable people I know come to LA and within weeks they've adopted this approach that being on time or even SHOWING UP for an appointment or verbally committed engagement is optional... really really optional.
Granted... if that verbally committed engagement revolves around money or some sort of career boosting opportunity... you can be damn sure that person will show.
This is definitely a competitive town... and time is money....
So I got this email from a girl I know, who is an actress and has been trying to dabble in the world of producing, she means well, but she has come to me several times asking me to meet with friends of hers who want to produce some short film or web series or whatever... asking me to basically donate the names and contact info of all the Directors, Cinematographers, sound people, etc etc for these projects... contacts and relationships that I've spent a lot of time and effort to cultivate and maintain.
I've had several other folks come to me with the same type of request and what they dont seem to understand is that I can't just give out all my contacts for the entire world of guerrilla filmmakers to rape and pillage... I just refuse to do that...
ANYWAY... this friend of mine emailed me a similar request and I shot back a direct and honest response...
And my response, while it IS totally honest... makes me wonder....
Ok... so I'm going to throw this out there... since you've come to me a couple times with similar requests/suggestions...
I'm not interested in sharing my resources or my advice with anyone... especially someone I don't know... unless it benefits me directly and immediately...
I love that you're meeting people and discussing projects... and I totally appreciate the fact that your are meaning well and thinking of me for stuff.... but this guys short film is of no interest to me... unless he has got a role specifically for me... and its a role that I really LIKE... OR... his script could be adapted to either CATCH... or ASPIRING LINE...
Does that make sense?
That being said... if you have friends... or know anyone...or come across anyone... that has a script that could be adapted to ASPIRING LINE... I'm interested... definitely...part for me or not... I want to start shooting more stuff for that series... and Im actually about to post a request for short scripts for that project... so ask around...
and then there is CATCH... if someone wants to write a 4-5 page script for CATCH... something of a horror/thriller/suspense/dark comedy sort of thing... I'm also interested... i will be actively seeking scripts with different "date and kill" scenarios for both Maggie and for Jerry...
For those two projects... I'd be willing to talk to people... meet up...and devote my "producing" time and energies towards...
or.. again... a cool acting role...
but I'm not gonna share my hard earned resources with just anybody ... its got to be worth it....
So I don't know... I wrote her back and asker her not to be offended or take that it a negative way.... and she was okay with it. If I'm going to gain any ground in this business, I have to put my own product, my own BRAND first... that doesnt mean I'm morphing into some EVIL ENTITY...
In 1955, the playwright Horton Foote happened to see Duvall play a weepy drunk in a Neighborhood Playhouse production. A few years later he saw him again on a TV show, playing a man falsely accused of child molestation. Impressed by the two performannces, Foote suggested him for the fear-inspiring but gentle Boo Radley in the 1962 film TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, for which he wrote the screenplay. That breakthrough was cemented in 1965 by an Obie for the second portrayal of Eddie Carbone in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE.
For years, Hoffman scraped along, teaching acting, working as a stage manager and an assistant director. He got a first break in the 1964 season at the tiny repertory Theater Company of Boston, where he succeeded in getting Duvall cast with him in WAITING FOR GODOT, which went to New York for one night and was seen by Ulu Grosbard. Hoffman's next break was in Morrison's 1965 HARRY, NOON AND NIGHT, which led that year to Grosbard's THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES when the original Broadway cast went on tour. After the first rehearsal, Hoffman spilled burning oil on his arm, and the wound became infected. He almost died. But that accident kicked off his future stardom. It meant he was available in 1966 to play a 40-year-old Russina clerk Off Broadway in THE JOURNEY OF THE FIFTH HORSE, which won him an Obie for Best Actor. It also brought him to the attention of the producer Theodore Mann, who cast him as a Cockney factory worker in the farce EH? The performance led to his being called the next year to Los Angeles to screen-test for Benjamin Braddock in THE GRADUATE. To do it, he turned down an audition for the film THE PRODUCERS. Mel Brooks called him and said "You'll be back." Hoffman arrived at the screen test sleepless and paranoid. He mangled Mike Nichols directions and enraged Katherine Ross in a love scene by grabbing her buttocks and yanking her close. As he was leaving, he apologized to her and Nichols. A New York subway token fell out of his coat, and one of the crew handed it to him, saying "Here kid, you're gonna need this." But Hoffman's confused panic was exactly what Nichols wanted.
I'm shooting a legal industrial video next Sunday, May 31st and I have to re cast the role of "The Client," wondering if you could refer anybody and/or pass the word along. "The Client" is a woman, any ethnicity, appearing to be in her mid 40's. I need an actress who can handle the material as this character gets very emotional during the scene.
Please be advised this is a non union, paying gig.
If you know of anyone who fits and is available and interested can you please have them contact me via email. Have them send pics/resumes to:
slimjimhuffman@gmail.com.
I'd LOVE to be able to do this without coordinating an official casting session... i know it's a long shot, but I thought I would reach out to friends and followers first... oh... and the sooner the better.
Thanks, and have a great weekend!
JAMES
Here is a snippet of the script to give you some idea of the scenario...
Jordan: so I guess we can get right down to it. You got fired, right?
Chris: Well, not really fired. It’s not like I did anything wrong. My job got eliminated because when the company got bought out, because they already had enough account executives.
Jordan: You do realize this is an employment at will state?
Chris: What?
Jordan: They can fire you without a good reason.
Chris: That may be true, but when I got my promotion they made me sign a contract. The contract said that if they let me go without good cause, I would get a big severance package. Now they are saying I can’t have the money because I was complaining about the new rules with some co-workers. That can’t be good cause. Don’t we have free speech in this country?
Jordan: Constitutional law doesn’t apply to this.
Chris: What about contract law? When I got that promotion, I thought I was safe and I bought a house. Now I am losing everything.
Jordan: Can I see the contract?
Chris should be visibly upset.
Chris: I don’t know where it is. I had to move. It got packed. LOOK. YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!
With only the help of such mentors as George Morrison and Ulu Grosbard at first, they subsisted on television work, Off Broadway roles, movie bit parts. Then flukes of fate brought breakthroughs. Auditioning for Morrison's ANY WEDNESDAY in 1962, Hackman was the only candidate who made everybody laugh. He was cast opposite the late Sandy Dennis, but she refused to do the play with him. She had just broken up with a man she had been living with, and he looked like Hackman. Just before the opening, the actor who had been cast, withdrew. When Sandy Dennis was told that Hackman would do the part after all, she wept, saying "I can't do it. I can't do it." She was cajoled to go ahead, and the play was a hit. The next year, Hackman had a small role in the movie LILITH, with Warren Beatty. Then Mike Nichols cast him as Mr's Robinson husband in THE GRADUATE, but fired him after a few days of rehearsals. Thus he was free when Beatty wanted him as BUCK BARROW in BONNIE AND CLYDE, a role that won him an Academy Award nomination.
In 1955, the playwright Horton Foote happened to see Duvall play a weepy drunk in a Neighborhood Playhouse production....
The Hollywood homeless are a scary bunch. Not only are they F%#@ ing crazy, but they are, for the most part, bold, brazen, beligerent. I worked a street promotion this weekend that required a lot of interaction with with the masses of people walking up and down Hollywood Blvd.... and anyone who knows Hollywood Blvd knows that interacting with people on the street... especially THAT street... means interacting with 2 types of folks and two types only... tourists and crazy f%#@ing homeless people.
At one point during the shift I turned to the little Latin girl I was working with and said: "You know what? I'm from New York. I've been around plenty of homeless people. I have to say, the homeless people around here scare the shit out of me." She looked a little shocked.. said nothing. She might I have been thinkng that I'm a big p%ssy... but whatever man... the street people in LA are NUTS... and most of them are seriously pissed off.
I was born in North Carolina, but I grew up in New Jersey, right outside of New York City. While my hometown is a cute little suburban municipality ("Village" actually), my life experience has never seen a shortage of urban plight. Poverty, crime, drug abuse, mental illness... its every where you turn. No matter where you live.
When I lived in the city, I spent a few years in the East Village, a few more years in Hell's Kitchen and I closed out my term up in Washington Heights (Back in the 80's referred to as the murder capital of NY). One of the things I love so much about New York is the variety of people you encounter on any given day. Where else in the world can you come across people representing dozens of different nations, persuasions and religions? The city is in a constant state of movement, it's fast, its furious, its global and it's glorious... its New York City... greatest city in the world... and the people rule the streets... and that's just what I'm getting at... There is this... primal, communal system of checks and balances... there is the concept of accountability... there is a code.
A few weeks ago I was in the car, sitting at a red light at Cahuenga and Hollywood. I noticed man moving within the crosswalk with a very exaggerated and erratic rhythm. He was sort of stomping.. flailing his elbows around. At first it seemed like he was just a harmless nut job, weaving in and out of the clusters of tourists, until he decided to gear up, rear back and lower his shoulder "NFL Linebacker" style into a teenage girl. She never saw what hit her.
He leveled that girl. He bounced off of the impact and resumed his march. He went after another one once he got to the curb. A few of the teenage girls friends and family turned to notice that she had fallen behind... and quickly became aware that she was on the ground. A few kind passersby stopped and helped her up. I dont think anybody knew what happened,,, except for me and probably the four or five other drivers and passengers sitting at the red light...waiting to go.
My heart started to pound. I was white knuckling the steering wheel. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and my eyes teared up a little. I wanted to get out. I wanted to put my car in "park" and chase that freak down, level him and bash his face into the sidewalk... maybe if I was lucky a bus would puling out and at just the right moment I could thrown him under it. Then I would get back in my car... the light would turn green... I would drive away... go home.... make dinner... watch TV.
I could still see him, that nasty, sick F$#@ of a mangy homeless guy. He was moving fast and taking the occasional step to lunch at another unsuspecting tourist. I could see that girl was now crying and her family was looking around, shrugging their shoulders and trying to console her. Any cops around? No.
I put the car in park. I took a deep breath. I wondered if I took an extra second to get the baseball bat out of the trunk, would I lose sight of the guy. Now the adrenaline was surging and my hands were shaking.
The light turned red. What happens when the light turns red and nobody moves? Drivers honk... like there's no tomorrow. Well THAT'S no different than New York. The sounding alarm of twenty or so horns made me jump. I fumbled to put the car in drive and I slowly rolled through the intersection. I lost site of the attacker. I drove home... made dinner... watched TV....
and thought about that moment for the next few days.
If that had happened in New York... that guy would have received a swift and immediate sentence. Within seconds, somebody would have reached out and taken a shot at him... a bike messenger, with a big fat chain.. a clan of street kids... a tranny hooker... they would have given him the beat down of his life... and everyone else would have joined in.. because there is a CODE.
SO... I'm working this street promotion this weekend... for HGTV.. and what we're doing is we are approaching families and/or potential fans of HGTV... we run up to the family...with balloons and noisemakers... and we give them a giant check to hold... ask them a few questions about HGTV and what shows they enjoy... and then I hand them an envelope with $25 cash. We also videotape the entire incident. HGTV hired a videographer to shoot the interactions... they also asked that same videographer to manage the team and the promotion... which was a mistake... this guy had literally NO experience managing anything. He was concerned with getting enough footage... getting the right footage... putting the ideal people on camera... thats all he really cared about.
He asked me to hold the cash... about 20 envelopes containing 25 bucks.
He asked one of the other girls working with us to talk to people on the street and find candidates. She would ask a group of friends or a family a few qualifying questions and then prepare them to be next. Then we run up on them with out roving HGTV parade.
It only took a couple of rounds for the curious homeless folks to see what was going on. Now, of course, this girl, who was basically given the job duties of a "Television field producer," was competent enough to know that we can't put some raggety-ass, burlap sack wearing "Fisher-King" type on camera... the videographer wanted FAMILIES and presentable people with a normal american dialect.... Not a group of Chinese business men... not a handful of Australian rugby players... and NOT homeless people...
The SHOW we were promoting centers around a competition betyween neighboring families who are all trying to win $250,000 to put torwads their MORTGAGE... see? No homeless people... because they want you to own a HOME.
She was doing okay, at first... BUT... she slipped... and she let one guy pass through the initial screening phase... he wasnt raggety... he looked sort of normal... but he did have a big backpack... and as it turns out... he wasnt "CRAZY," but he was.. a "traveling-type," kind of a "ticking-time-bomb?"
So there we are, handing out envelopes of cash to this person and that person... smiles...fun.... a mini-personal parade.. and this guy is waiting his turn... cuz he was TOLD he was next. Once the videographer got a look at him, he was like "no way. not puttin that guy on camera."
For the next hour, this guy stomped and stared, shouted, pouted, ranted and raved... he recited his entire military achievment...where he served... how many he's killed... oh yeah... it was gettin pretty tense. It got so bad that he was determined to make it impossible for us to do what we needed to do.
It actually came to a point where the videographer handed his camera to one of the promo girls as if to say to the heckler "Let's GO." The heckler of course, was so jacked up by the point that he tore his big backpack off and was immediately posed for combat. I think that scared the videographer. He rounded everyone and asked us all to head back towards the van.
The heckler put his back pack on... took a look at me and walked over in my direction. After all... I was holding the money...
"Look dude... dont start shit with me, please."
"I was TOLD that y'all was gonna DO ME NEXT!!"
"I know but she made a mistake."
"That big FAT ASSHOLE is a DOUCHE!"
"I know"
"He TOLD me you was gonna DO ME!!"
I'm trying to ignore how funny that sounds.
"It's not my call."
"Well, why dont you make it right and keep your promise?"
"Man, look, I dont work for HGTV. I'm just a guy they hired for the day. I don't make any decisions."
"You're holding the money dude!!"
"Thats just what they asked me to do."
At this point, the whole crew had moved away and it was just me and this irate crazy dude... a couple hundred yards behind.
"This is BULLLSHIT man. They TOLD me you was gonna DO ME?"
(Please.. please stop saying that... so loudly)
"Where are you from man?
"Huh?"
"Where are you from? I hear your accent."
"North Carolina"
"Really? Where?"
"I'm from Boone."
"No shit? I know Boone. Ever heard of Hickory?"
"Yeah, I know Hickory."
"My whole family is from Hickory. I was born in North Carolina, man."
"Really?"
"Hell yeah. I can hear that Carolina accent a mile away."
The videographer then decides he is gonna yell at me and tell me to come on... to get over to the van.
"THAT fat ASSHOLE is a DOUCHE!!"
"I know. I know. Don't worry about it."
"He TOLD ME you was gonna-"
"I KNOW. I KNOW! Please stop sayin that man."
"No WAY man, that shit ain't FAIR!"
"HEY... look. If I give you some cash will you let it go?"
I reach into my wallet and I've got a twenty and a five...
(great... could really use a couple singles)
"Here, I'll give you five bucks. Will you just take that and lets leav it alone?"
He takes the money, doesnt say anything, looks past me at the big fat asshole.
"Hey, whats your name?"
"Michael."
"Michael...from Boone...cool ...I'm James"
We shake hands. He wont look me in the eye. He is intensley fixated on the videographer (BFA). He turns and walks away. I go back down the street and meet up with my group... the BFA cuts me off:
"What the hell man? We're leaving."
"Leaving? I just took care of the guy. We're cool."
"Yeah right."
"I did. I gave him five bucks."
"What? You shouldnt have done that. Let's go."
And that was it. I finished the shift without incident. Went home... made dinner... watched TV
I'm auditioning today for an ANIMAL PLANET episodic. I originally thought this was a web series, but it seems I was wrong... fine with me...
I'm told there are no sides, but to come 15-20 minutes early to look over whatever character breakdowns they have and get a basic grasp on what they'll be asking me to do in the audition. Michael Donovan, the casting director, told me to plan on being there for about an hour, as they will be mixing and matching actors up based on look and chemistry and what not...
I submitted myself for this project on ACTORS ACCESS back in April (3 weeks ago)...
The Breakdown:
LOST TAPES, EPISODE #18
Continuing Series for Animal Planet (formerly called "Creature")
LOGLINE: A family renovating their new house discovers they are not alone. Initially, they attribute the creepy noises and midnight scampering to raccoons. But what they discover instead is a secret room in the house, a hidden lair inhabited by nocturnal beasts that feed on the blood of the living and have now been disturbed by their hosts!
DENNIS REDDING: Male, mid to late 30Â’s, all ethnicities. (Eddie's Dad, and Sarah's husband.) Dennis graduated from a top liberal arts college, went to law school, and landed in the corporate sales world - which earned him a comfortable living but left him relocating more often than he'd like. Then the economy took a dive, his company downsized and he lost his job. Now, he and his family find themselves downsizing, and having to move into a modest "fixer-upper" that should have been their "movin on up" to the big leagues.
It's nice to get a call for an audition based on any Actors Access or LA Casting submission. I swear, as an actor, and every daily grind actor wiull attest, it feels like I'm relentlessly dropping pennies in a fountain every day as I submit...and submit....and submit... to breakdowns through those services... sometimes I wonder if there is really is anyone on the other end.
Granted, there are probably thousands upon thousands of actors who submit for common roles on AA and LAC and I'm sure 2/3 of all thos submission never get seen. There are days upon days where I feel like nobody is listening.
So it's great to get a response. It validates my efforts and sends me back to the fountain with two pockets full of pennies.
KEN: Yeah, I read that. Well, most of it. I like Bill Simmons, but he can be a little long-winded. Funny, I don't feel bad about it even a little. I was ecstatic when I heard about Manny. I was literally high-fiving people. I tolerated him on the Sox, but I never really liked him. I kinda wish the Yankees got him in the off season. Roid speculation, who knows? Was Manny doing it in 2004? Was Ortiz? How about Sheffield, Giambi, Clemens, Petite and Arod? Maybe, maybe not? Nothing would really shock me at this point. I'll take the 2 WS wins though. And... I'll point out that the Yankees haven't done much since the testing began. As I recall, they didn't even make the playoffs last year. ;-)
I'm just enjoying being a sports fan in Boston right now. Last night the Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox all won. I'm pretty sure we are the only city with three teams still playing. BTW, what the hell is going on with Toronto? How do they keep winning?
JIM: Toronto is last years Tampa Bay... Over the past 5 or so years... while evryone has been talking about the Yankees and Red Sox... Toronto (and TB) have been quietly building quality teams with fresh talent... I wish the Yankees would do that... COULD do that... just accept the fact that we would have 2-4 mediocre seasons... but fill the roster with young hungry players and develop them... in real time... in the Big leagues... we would be back to a 1996 caliber team with bigger faster and younger versions of Bernie, Jeter, Mariano and Pettite...
KEN: You think New York will in the hunt in September?
JIM: I think they will... once they get a groove going... have a few 6 or 7 game winning streaks... but in the end your gonna have FOUR HOT teams up there in the form of Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay.. I'm skeptical that NY can prevail against all that talent... and not particularly Boston... cuz they are getting old too... late season they might just suffer the same fate... but TB and Toronto... watch out for those guys in September.
KEN: It will probably come down to injuries. That's good though. Should be a good season. I can't wait for A-Rod's first AB in Boson. There are so many good potential chants. Do you plan on going to the new Yankee Stadium this year? I'd definitely like to check it out. Hey, I just noticed all your urls at the bottom of the page. Man, you have one hell of a web presence!
JIM: I may or may not get a chance to see the new stadium this season. I'm back in New York for a wedding in September. I might try to see if I can score some tickets and squeeze it in. URL's... oh yeah... I know, I feel like I may be over-doing it with links in my email signature. I put a lot of stock in web presence... It takes a lot of work and that's just the tip of it... I'm a BIG believer in the revolution. I definitely think of myself as part of a new generation of independent artists figthing to stake a claim.... firing cannons for my own piece of land... its like the Wild West out there... there GOLD in them there Hills... I can smell it.
Ship's condition - heading back on impulse power only. Main engines burned out....
YES, I went to see Star Trek at the Arclight in Hollywood yesterday.. the 2:30 show on Sunday afternoon. It was awesome in so many ways. They did a great job casting CHRIS PINE as Jim Kirk... great job casting all around actually... Eric bana was a great villian as Romulan enemy NERO... Whats his name from HEROES rocked the SPOCK...in fact great perfomancs from everyone.... but Chris Pine really nailed his character... brought a young Captain Kirk to life without pushing or doing impressions. I was impresed by his performance. Aside from the casting, the action was gripping and exhilarating. The plot was solid and there were plenty of funny one liners to enjoy. The only thing I DIDNT like was the whole Leonard Nimoy thing... sorry... I'm sure that was a big deal for rabid Star Trek fans (there was one sitting right behind me who giggled and whooped and chirped her way through the entire movie.... and I'm talking like she was doing that in places that did not merit any type of giggling, whooping or chirping... come to think of it...she might have been semi-retarded... well... I guess thats being redundant, insn't it? or is that an oxy-moron...ooops... again.....being redundant). Anyway, the Nimoy stuff... I didnt like it. I thought the movie got kind of campy upon his arrival. Aside from that it was fantastic.
(back to reality)
I posted a few new links in the GOOD STUFF section of my website this morning:
Independent and fledgling filmmakers.... Your savior is here in the form of a hairless vegan, offering music tracks to be used for free in non-commercial film and video>>>
Artist/musician/celebrity tea brewer Moby writes "hi, i'll keep this brief: this portion of moby.com, 'film music', is for independent and non-profit filmmakers, film students, and anyone in need of free music for their independent, non-profit film, video, or short.... the music is free as long as it's being used in a non-commercial or non-profit film, video, or short. if you want to use it in a commercial film or short then you can apply for an easy license, with any money that's generated being given to the humane society. i hope that you find what you're looking for."
AND... A new blog by one of my dearest and closest friends slash top 5 favorite person of all time>>>
Operation Peace and Serenity: One woman's search for balance in a chaotic world.
The Hall of Fame baseball career of Manny Ramirez is being flushed down the toilet AS WE SPEAK.
So is that of Alex Rodriguez... but that is yesterday's news.
I worked two days on ENTOURAGE this week playing a driving instructor. We shot at the Auto Club Speedway out in Fontana, CA. Vince apparently takes Turtle and the gang out for racing lessons with brand new Ferrari's. I didnt get to drive the Ferrari, unfortunately.
My appearance on BONES is scheduled to air tonight. I wont be watching it. I'll be out celebrating a buddies birthday. I will catch it later on DVR.
My appearance on CSI: NY aired last night. I discovered this as I was channel surfing and I recognized the episode by some of the other scenes. I totally missed myself.
I auditioned yesterday for a video game motion capture and voice over project at Hydrogen-Whiskey Studios in Santa Monica. I sucked ass.
I watched THE STRANGERS on cable the other night... scared the shit out of me.
I still think the SWINE FLU is a scam. That pig smells fishy.
I'm writing my CATCH web series into a movie. I'm still going to shoot web series episodes... but they will be more committed to the fun and easy nature of popular web videos... the movie will be bigger, deeper... darker.
I learned the right way to eat a banana this week. Apparently humans are the only species to peel a banana from "what we know" to be the top. All other species... that happen to eat bananas... whihc I guess means monkeys... peel the banana from the bottom... and you know what... it is easier to peel... plus you end up with a little...banana handle on the bottom... its not a huge difference... but its definitely an upgrade to the banana peeling process as we know it...
I'm watching the Directors commentary on I'M NOT THERE... and I'm feeling right now that ... unless you are an AVID Dylan fan... and I'm talking a fan to the point of HISTORIAN... that watching this film a second time with the directors commentary is an essential part of the experience...
I'm gonna say mandatory.
I mean the movie is cool... interesting... at face value.
if I were going to sum this film up in one word so that any simpleton could quickly and clearly grasp its essence... I would say "Trippy."
Now...if you go back and watch the directors commentary, you get all kinds of insight and explanations... and you begin to understand that the entire film is structured around this abstract interpretation of Bob Dylan's life and his career... so you have.. at any given moment... a variety of jumps, cuts, flashbacks and flash-forwards, dream sequences and inside jokes... all based on interviews, eyewitness accounts, previously produced documentaries and good old Rock & Roll lore...
If you are familair with every account, every side to every story ever told about Bob Dylan... then you and this dvd will have a dance off with your pants off... knock yourself out.
Unfortunately for me... I'm not so "up to speed" on Bob Dylan...
The Directors commentary is great though..... to be honest... I actually found it really informative... shed light on a lot of stuff that left me scratching my head....
I would say check it out... see the film.... see I'M NOT THERE.
I wouldnt go so far as to say "just skip the first run-through and go straight to the commentary..."
In the underground thespian system, artistically based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated dramatics who dare to commit these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as ASPIRING ACTORS. These are their stories...
ASPIRING LINE: EPISODE 5 features DEREK PEITH, TARA YANOVIAK and ASHLEY WREN COLLINS. Written and produced by James Huffman. Directed by Meg Scibona. Edited by Casey Chistopher. Brought to you by INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT.
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” -Calvin Coolidge
My ex-girlfriend, Jessica, gave me that quote in a card on the eve of our final break-up. We were saying a tearful good-bye on a busy West Village street corner. I was leaving of Los Angeles the next day.
This quote has since become a great motivator for me. Today I'm inspired to share it again....
I don't know why.... Maybe its a because life has been so challenging lately. Maybe I'm closing in on my two year mark in LA... I love LA but my heart hurts for NY...
Mostly because re-visiting this moment actually makes me feel better...
Here it is as it was posted on this site 2 years ago...
SAYING GOODBYE
Last night was a rough one...
After Charlottes reading (She held an informal reading of her new screenplay...to hear it out loud and for feedback), I walked Jessica over to the 9th street PATH train and to say one final goodbye. Until that moment, I done a pretty good job of compartmentalizing....keeping my mind from wrapping itself around the gravity of the situation.....that I was leaving New York City....that we were truly saying goodbye .
This was it. We had lived together for months in a civil, mature manner as a "Now Defunct" couple operating with an "Exit Stategy." Some people didnt get it. Some people didnt buy it. We made it work. We managed and we did a pretty damn good job of maintaining a harmonious environment. We had become buddies.
Suddenly even that was ending...
We stood on 9th street and Sixth Avenue and cried and hugged and cried some more. Niether one of us wanted to be the one to walk away. Sound...Traffic...cars and people whizzed...beyond our ears....as we held each other, embracing our five years, wiping tears... promising great things ahead and acknowledging fears...
(I was really hoping this would be easier)
She stepped away and went down the stairs to the train. I stood there in that spot, unable to move, looking at the wall...looking at the sky...trying to get myself together before I had to walk away...because THAT would be the hardest thing to do...
I opened up a card that Jess gave me earlier. Inside was a personal note (Which will remain personal) and a quote from Calvin Coolidge:
“Press On: Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. "
As if I were at an open door of an aircraft at 13,000 feet, I took two steps backward...one deep breath...
I'm watching I'M NOT THERE on DVD right now... while I'm writing this...
It's a pretty cool movie... very surreal and abstract.... but I'm having trouble following... there's a lot going on there....
I'm gonna have to watch it again... give it my undivided attention...
I'm just doing a little Wednesday morning multi-tasking...
blast a blog post
Peanut butter toast
self submit for some
web series host
I have a print casting to go to today over on Sunset and Gower.... first time I've heard from my commercial agent in MONTHS.
My IMDB credit for my role on BONES went through....it's official.... hooray
Thank you Amanda Chism.
The episode "The Critic in the Cabernet," is scheduled to air on FOX on May 7th.
I'm "The Critic" in the cabernet.
I posted a new worksheet on the wall of my apartment so I could organize all my story lines and plot points for CATCH, my web series...
I have so many ideas bouncing around in my head for this series that I was in desperate need of devising a more specific game plan for the project.
I threw a giant piece of paper up on the wall and created 15 categories that constitute the fundamental beats to a proper screenplay.
I am using one my favorite little books "SAVE THE CAT: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need," by Blake Snyder.
I'm also using the "Blake Snyder Beat Sheet," as a reference, which is where I came up with the 15 categories... those are the 15 beats that Snyder lists as the essential structure for any good screenplay.
So I started doodling all my ideas up on the wall... fitting story lines and moments into beats...
and BAM!!
I've got a feature film...
Appraoching this web series from this perspective changes a few fundamental principals of the project.... but I've got something good here...
I'm excited.
Now I have a lot of issue to face, questions to ask...and decisions to make regarding CATCH...
But this is EXACTLY what I needed...
I guess I can mull things over while I'm wearing my hair net and rubber gloves at Costco today... handing out samples of TASTY BITE Indian Food...
UGH.... Yes... That's what I'll be doing for the next two weeks.
It's a job... I'm not thrilled about it... but times are tough and I desperately need the money.
I've been seeking and submitting like crazy. A sampling gig at Costco is the only thing on the table right now...
So I'm gonna make the best of it.
Come on through and visit y'all!
I'll be kicking it with the curry at the Costco in Los Feliz today, tomorrow and Friday from 3P-9P.
Truth was their grail. As Duvall puts it, “To live truthfully in an imaginary set of circumstances, that’s what it’s all about. And do that, you now, in a somewhat effortless way.” Hackman learned to do it under George Morrison, still active today as president of the New Actors Workshop. At that time he headed the Premise, an improve troupe that performed in a tiny theater on Bleecker Street. The shy and introverted Hackman did comedy improvisations there. Morrison says, “He fell out of his shell, and learned to be funny, learned timing, delivery, voice.” Hackman says, “When I’m working on a character, I never get to the point where I don’t believe it’s still me. I think there’s everything in me. I think it’s possible that I could be anybody. When you think that way, all things are possible for you.” The disappointments, the rejections, the mental jobs, says Hackman, “create a resolve in you that no matter what kind of part you’re given, you can do anything. Give me the challenge. I can do it. The scarier the better.”
Ever since those beginning years, the three have always been risk takers in their choices of roles and characterizations. Hoffman’s first wife, now Anne Byrne Kronenfeld, is today a talent manager and believes that they “are among the last of a generation. You don’t see actors today go to the edge of a cliff and say ‘OK, I’m going to jump, and maybe I’ll fly and maybe I won’t.’ They’ve done that.” Hoffman describes the experience of flying: “If I tried to define what it means to be most alive, it’s when that cloud of mortality disappears. It’s when you’re in a place of timelessness. You’re free, really free. When that happens in life, there’s not a moment when you’re not completely in the moment. There’s nothing else we want, is there? Our work gives us a chance to have that.”
They are all able to project two opposing feelings simultaneously. One is vulnerability. Duvall and Hackman can draw on their shy kindness. Hoffman, believes Anne Byrne Kronenfeld, “touches the audience with his ability to find the appealing contradictions, even the humor, in the most unsavory characters. That reaches out to the audience.” Sometimes the class clown in him resurfaces. Performing with Ula Grosbard’s wife, Rose Gregorio, who played a whore with a blond wig covering her dark hair, Hoffman suddenly snatched the wig off. She remembers, “We broke up onstage, and the audience just went bananas. We made it part of the scene.”
The second undercurrent in the trio is a simmering, suppressed anger; an unpredictability. Duvall, the specialist in macho men sensitive at the center, explains “You should find some aspect of vulnerability in yourself. And the anger sits there. A sense of danger. What’s next?” Sometimes it is an explosion of rage. In 1965, Duvall again played Eddie Carbone in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, this time at the Sheridan Square Playhouse, a 199-seat, three-quarter-round theater with tables, close to, and level with the stage. One night Duvall noticed a man asleep several tables away during a scene that required him to threaten Jon Voight with a wine bottle. Duvall smashed the bottle on the nearest table, splattering glass, and woke the man up. Sometimes Duvall would simply spot somebody he thought didn’t like him and use the anger to feed his acting. According to Hoffman, even after Duvall’s curtain calls, as he walked offstage, he would lean over to the person and yell, “Fuck You!”
Hackman confesses that he could have modified some of his mean-guy roles, but “what interests me is to get that edge, get to that anger… A good thing about acting is that you’re allowed to be who you are. It’s OK if you’ve got some aspects of you that are dangerous.” After a movie or a dinner with Hoffman, Hackman would sometimes stand on a street corner and say, “I gotta go.” Hoffman explains what that meant: “He had to get in a fight. He’d go to some bar.” Hackman adds, “There’s a kind of catharsis about it. I don’t want to get hit, but I don’t like to take any shit.”
In Hoffman the rage is more hidden, but it can erupt if he feels that his fiercely held acting processes and judgments are being violated, especially by directors who seem to now nothing about acting. They are the ones who grow impatient if the actors gradually explore their characters, who want to impose their own ideas, who do not want to join the actors in jumping off that precipice – “What? Your wife just died and you want to start laughing?” The anger, Hoffman explains, “comes from your toes. It’s a wonderful feeling.” He adds, “Hackman doesn’t talk. He just picks the person up and throws them out the window.” Duvall says, “It’s hard to be diplomatic when you’re using yourself, your own temperament, to give what the character calls for.” When one film director told him to pause and smile, Duvall walked off the set.
Have you ever seen so many Offensive Lineman go in the FIRST round? # 2, 6, 8, 21, 23, 28...
I think that's because of the Giants. The New York Giants had such a solid 2008 season and the Offensive Line got all kinds of buzz as the G-man marched towards the playoffs. I think the skill, the drive and the chemistry that the Giants O-Line possessed and demonstrated last season left a definite and thorough impression on the draft this year.
Sanchez is gonna be huge... let alone the fact that he is playing in New York...for the Jets... Mark Sanchez is going to the first big time NFL QB who is Latino... There is going to be a gigantic turnout of support... not just in New York....but on a national level... possibly a global level.... think about all the little Latino kids who are going to look up to Mark Sanchez.... and on his end... he has a mighty big torch to bear... and I mean that in a good way.... representing his community is going to add a whole nother layer of purpose to his game...to his career... to his legend.
I really HOPE that the addition of Matthew Stafford is going to make a difference to the Detroit Lions. Unfortunately, I dont believe ANY player is going to make a difference in Detreoit until they clean house... and I'm talking management... not personnell.
And MY BOYS... My GEE MEN... The NEW YORK... FOOTBALL...GIANTS... they got Hakeem Nicks... ok... great..whatever...how nice.... How can anyone honestly consider Hakem Nicks an adequate replacemnet for Plaxico Burress... He's no Plaxico... Hakeem Nicks is a good receiver... and a Carolina boy...so I got love for that... but he's only 6 ft tall... and what Eli Manning really needs is that 6 ft 5 inch I-will-catch-anything-you-put -in-the-air, receiver... a true... blue blooded... Plaxican... I was getting concerned until the 3rd round rolled around... and lo and behold they took RAMSES BARDEN... 6 foot 6 inch... 229 lb wide receiver from Cal Poly... Now THAT dude is a true Plaxican... he is SO Plaxican that they patted him down before they let him enter the facilities...
One last comment on the draft...
My buddy JJ is a big Broncos fan. For weeks I've been trying to console him as his team let one of the leagues most talented quaterbacks (Jay Cutler) slip away... and that comes after a horrid season... mishap after mishap... I said "JJ... Denver is going ot draft a quaterback, dude, Don't you get it? This new head coach wants to draft his own little baby... his own little hand picked project. "But they got Kyle Orton and Chris Simms!!??" "Seriously?" I said, "They are going to pick up Josh Freeman, or Nate Davis... or maybe even RHETT BOMAR.."
You remember Rhett Bomar... don't you?
I beleiev in Rhett Bomar. I think he might just be one of the best picks in the draft. It's a sleeper pick for sure... but whoever gets him could very well have a "time bomb tickin it time bomb tickin tickin."
Don't remember Rhett Bomar?
He was the hot to trot QB who played at Oklahoma 4 years ago and was supposed to be the next big thing. He was all set to play along side Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings? Superstar?) and the two of them were destined to lead the Sooners to a National Title. But Rhett Bomar got busted... busted for some sort of eligibility infraction... he had a part time job where he clocked in and was paid for hours that he apparently didnt work... total bullshit... I mean c'mon... we've all done that... especially in college... but Bomar was playing QB at a high profile school... national exposure... full scholarship, I'm sure... and he got CAUGHT.... so he got kicked off the team... transferred to Sam Houston State (Yay... my ex-girlfriend went there), never to be heard from again...
Anyway, I was following the draft this weekend... and I kept assuring JJ... Denver is gonna get that quarterback... watch... Ok...maybe its not Josh Freeman... Tampa Bay snagged him... ixsnay on Nate Davis... he went to San Francisco.... and then it was like Defensive Lineman after Defensive Lineman... Denver just wasn't grabbing a quaterback... what the eff McDaniels?
And then it happened... with the ONE HUNDRED and SEVENTY FOURTH PICK OF THE 2009 NFL DRAFT... THE DENVER BRONCOS PICK....
Thats RIGHT... I said it.... I called it... The Denver Broncos drafted 6 foot 5 inch 220 pound TOM... Brand...stater...
Tom Brandstater, the Phenom from Fresno State... and the FUTURE of the Denver Broncos... told ya.
Wait... whatever happended to poor old Rhett Bomar?
He was drafted in the fifth round by the NEW YORK...FOOTBALL.... GIANTS.
I'm working at Angels Stadium as part of the Angels Family Sunday Staff. They have a little mini festival at the stadium every other Sunday and they hire a bunch of people to supervise games that kids can play before and during the game...
I'm hoping I get to staff the WII station. I did that for a few hours last time and it was fun. They have the wii baseball set up. I pitched to the kids, who all waited in line to step and have an at-bat or two... I found that kids have an easier time hitting a slow hanging curve ball than any other pitch... you gotta keep things moving... ya know... Or if the kid is too good... either he/she has got the game at home or the kid is older and a little more skilled with the Wii.... throw em some heat... a nice 90 mph... quick flick of the wrist straight ahead... that will sit em down fast... NEXT...
It's saturday afternoon... I'm following the NFL draft, the Yankees/Red Sox game (On FOX TV here on the West Coast thankyouverymuch) simultaneously, and writing CATCH plot points up on the wall in my apartment....
I decided to create a CATCH web series work sheet after spending some time brainstorming this morning with my roommate and we both agreed that I had a ton of good story ideas to develop...but the series PLAN...as a whole...needs to be better organized... if I were to get a call from some network or some production company tomorrow...and they were interested in my series in ANY capacity... they would ask me what the plan is...or what that complete story line is... or to see the full script... and I would have a bunch of ideas...with no detailed game plan to show them...
Hence the worksheet paper tacked up to the wall...
Derek Jeter's birthday is on June 26. Regarding Derek Jeter turning 35: "NO team has won a World Series with a shortstop 35 years or older since 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers" says announcer Tim Carver. I say its about time the Yankees shook that stat up a little bit.
Aaron Curry just went #4 overall to SEATTLE. Aaron Curry is awesome. My Mom went to Wake Forest. I'm sure she is STOKED!!
This is kind of scary. Mexico City is basically in the process of shutting down.
If I was in New York, I would think to myself, “I feel pretty far removed from all that mess. They will surely get a handle on that ole “Swine Flu” before it spreads this way. I LAUGH at you…swine flu”
WHO (World health Organization) declares the deadly swine flu outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern."
BUT… I’m in LA. I’m on the WEST Coast. I’m pretty damn close to Mexico City. That’s not good. Better go buy some hand sanitizer and a truck load of Vitamin C.
HOME RUN!! Robbie CANO cold killin you bro!
Holy Sh&t... the Jets just took Sanchez...interesting.
I started watching SHOOT EM UP, with Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti, which I actually went to see in the theater (believe it or not) and I noticed that the soundtrack was different. They replaced a lot of the original score used in the theatrical version with a bunch of popular (or not so popular) songs… The HBO ON DEMAND version …which might be the DVD version.... who knows… now uses songs by WOLFMOTHER and… MOTORHEAD… as part of the soundtrack…. I’m confused… the movie is okay… but as one critic said… it does seem more like an exercise in excessive violence… don’t get me wrong… I like action and violence in a flick as much as the next guy… but you often feel like they are pushing the envelope just because they can… Paul Giamatti’s character feeling up the exposed breast of a dead pregnant woman… is a little much.
I’m LOVING this Yankees/Red Sox game this afternoon BTW… AJ Burnett is on fire and Robbie Cano is ROCKIN IT… 6-0 Yanks in the bottom of the 4th . OF COURSE AS I WRITE THAT BURNETT WALKS JD DREW TO LOAD THE BASES WITH ONE OUT… JASON BAY IS NOW AT BAT….
One of my favorite movies is CITY OF GOD. I recently read about a spin off TV series that was created based on the film. So I ordered it through Netflix and started watching CITY OF MEN on DVD….
It is often cited as a 'spin-off' of the film; City of Men is a less violent and more light-hearted affair with dramedy elements (the film adaptation is darker, sharing its roots of City of God). However, the two do share some common aspects: the directors, some of the actors, and the setting of the Brazilian favela with its background of gangsters and poverty.
The first DVD contained seven episodes and generally, I enjoyed it. I love the tone and the flavor of the series. It’s Brazil, so obviously it’s a world apart from anything we are used to on American TV, which is why I like it. You get to run with the kids in the ghetto… or The Favela. It’s a fascinating slice of life experience. So different from anything you know. I love the way the show takes you through every nook and cranny –
Yes…. I know, I just used a phrase coined by the English Muffin people to explain a Brazilian TV show about the favela…doesn’t quite match…
Varitek just hit a F%#@@*&% grand slam... you gotta be F%$@&* kidding me. HELLO??? Yankee Bullpen please??? can somebody stop the bleeding for %$#@& sakes.
HOME RUN JOHNNY DAMON. Thank you Johnny Damon. sheesh!
Spoke with Shirley earlier today... we talked about getting a LIP DUB project together…. I’m kind of obsessed but I think it would be a fun thing to shoot...
This is just a preliminary suggestion... and there are obviously millions of good song choices.... but I was thinking of getting people together for this song ...
With a Little Help From My Friends by Easy Star All Stars
since its a remake of a famous song... everyone knows it... plus the theme of the song is fitting... but best of all there are tons of backup "yeahs" and "Oh-Oh's" which would allow more people to participate and could create more action in the background... and this song has a strong ending... I don't know if we'd want to go acapella like some of the other Lip Dubs do... but the song ends nicely…
I’m working on cast and locations….
There is WAY too much going on over here right now... I'm gonna hve to shut this blog post down and focus....
I was over at my friend Josh’s place last night. We were working on CATCH episode 4… which needed a few quick touch ups. He showed me this viral video on Youtube because he wanted to show me this girl that he thought was exactly his ‘type.”
"Take a look at the girl in this video. This is like, my ideal girl. I wanna marry this chick."
So I’m watching this video, the girl is cute, definitely, but I was like:
“What IS THIS VIDEO? It’s AWESOME.”
“It’s just some lip synch thing. A bunch of people got together and taped themselves lip synching a song.”
“I’m LOVIN this. It looks like so much fun.”
“Yeah, it actually started this whole internet craze and then people all over did the same thing… lip synched a song and put it on Youtube. It’s now officially called LIP DUB.”
“Yo, I wanna do a lip dub. Look at that! That’s awesome.”
I went home and researched LIP DUB. I ended up watching like 200 LIP DUB videos. Now I’m obsessed. I’m a little miffed that this has been going on for like two years and I was completely clueless.
From Wikipedia…
A lip dub is a type of video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in post editing with the original audio of the song. Often, they look like simple music videos, although many involve a lot of preparation and are well produced. The most popular lip dubs are done in a single unedited shot that often travels through different rooms and situations in, say, an office building. Tom Johnson, a technical writer who blogs about Web 2.0's effect on communication, describes a good lip dub as having the characteristics, or at least the appearance of:
spontaneity: "It appears as if someone thought up the idea on the spot, pulled out their personal video camera, and said hey everyone, let’s all lip sync this song."
authenticity: The people, production and situation appear real.
participation: "The video doesn’t consist of one person’s spectacular lip sync, but that of a group, all participating together in this one spontaneous effort, which seems to communicate the attitude and mood of the song."
fun: the people in the video are having a lot of fun.
Wikipedia lists a handful of the current cream of the crop as far as lip dubs go….
Hoffman liked to provoke. He made a behavioral laboratory out of his job in Macy’s toy department, where Hackman would sometimes visit. Hoffman remembers, “We had a thing where we would outdare each other to see who was going to be more outlandish.” One day Hackman brought in his 18-month-old son, Christopher, and the two friends decided to test the Christmas crowd shopping in a glazed-eyed trance. Hackman put Christopher on the counter, and Hackman hawked him as a walking, talking doll, with real hair, $16.95. A woman said, “I’ll take it,” then touched real flesh and shrieked.
Hoffman, demonstrating hockey games, has his eye on Elaine, a sexy salesgirl selling tape recorders. He hatched a plan to impress her. While customers watched in shock, a badly dressed Hackman came on to her as a brain-damaged creep. The pint-sized Hoffman interceded, pushing Hackman out of the way and hustling Elaine down the escalator. Wearing a dopey grin, elbowing through the Christmas crowds like a big bear, Hackman followed them into the cafeteria, grunting, “UH, UH, UH.” Everyone stopped eating and watched as Hoffman shoved Hackman and yelled, “get your ass outta here big fella, and stop bothering this girl.” Saying, “Ok, Ok, take it easy,” and followed by Hoffman, Hackman backed into the men’s room, where they pounded on the walls and yelled and splashed water on themselves, then emerged disheveled, with Hackman holding his eye and Hoffman shouting, “Now just get out of here.” Next, says Hoffman, “Gene did the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.” Groaning, he staggered up the down escalator, getting nowhere. Elaine began to cry, screaming at Hoffman, “How could you do that? That man is sick!” Taking pity, Hackman came back and tried to explain, but Elaine ran off sobbing. Hoffman says, “You have to understand we were frustrated actors out of work, and there we had an audience. This was a solid one-acter. It held.”
Stocking their hoard of behaviors was one thing, but the chance to use them on stage was quite another. “No one starts at the top in the theater, and the bottom is a very ugly place,” says Hackman. Describing the ritual of auditioning for roles, he says, “You’d be on a bare stage reading with the stage manager, and there’d be two or three fuckers sitting in the 15th row of a dark theater, and you couldn’t see them. And then there would be this voice – ‘thank you very much’ – and you’d just leave. Or they’d say, ‘Uh, could you read the part of Jim in the third act,’ and I’d say, ‘OK,’ and you’d have to cold read for them. Or they’d say, ‘Uh, could you hang out for half an hour. We’d like to put you with someone else.’ And you’d go through this process – and already you’re thinking, since they didn’t send me away right off, maybe, just maybe… And in the end they would say, ‘Uh, very nice, really very nice… well…um… we’ll let you know.’ And you’d never here anything.”
Sometimes there were open calls, where no appointment was needed and hopefuls showed up by the hundreds. “It was madness, says Hackman. “A cattle call, they called it. A lot of people would get physical about where they were in line, and who had to go to work, so let me in front of you so I can get the hell out.” Gene Kelly once held an open call for a musical he directed. After Hackman stood in line and sang for a part, Kelly came to the edge of the stage and told him, “Nice try. Musicals are hard.”
Hoffman says, “The actor who go the part was always a piece of shit.” Those were the ones who immediately gave a full-out performance, which never became deeper and richer. Duvall called them salesmen. “The producers and directors,” says Hoffman, “are scared, see?” They want to see what you’re going to be opening night.” In radical contrast, the trio’s acting philosophy dictated giving very little at first – suppressing the acting of the character, waiting for the portrayal to arrive internally, instinctively. In addition, their lack of leading man looks made them hard to categorize. “I was trouble,” says Hoffman. His size and physiognomy made him seem un-castable. Duvall once called him Barbara Streisand in drag. Friends from that era, meeting the movie-star Hoffman, have said, “You were the last one I expected to make it.”
The three reacted differently to rejections. For Hackman “it was more psychological warfare, because I wasn’t going to let those fuckers get me down. I insisted with myself that I would continue to do whatever it took to get a job. It was like me against them, and in some way, unfortunately, I still feel that way. But I think that if you’re really interested in acting there is a part of you that relishes the struggle. It’s a narcotic in the way that you are trained to do this work and nobody will let you do it, so you’re a little bit nuts. You lie to people, you cheat, you do whatever it takes to get an audition, get a job.” He and Duvall occasionally made rounds together, and when agents refused to see them they slipped their photographs and meager resumes under the office doors. “We both knew we would never get a job,” says Hackman. “I gave a casting person a resume that was bullshit. I had no resume. He looked at it and said, ‘I see you played in such and such two years ago. That’s interesting. I was in that play and I don’t remember you.’”
To Hoffman, rejections meant that he had no talent. When he was told “You’re not right for the part,” he would sometimes yell, “You’re right!” and flee. When a mumbling stage manager was flat in his line readings, Hoffman was known to fling the script pages into the air and walk out. What particularly enraged him were casting directors who chose to read the lines looking down at the script instead of watching him. When Hoffman returned home after two, three, four failed auditions, he sometimes stalked around the apartment chanting, “I’m a great fucking actor. I’m a great fucking actor and nobody knows it!”
Despite the praise he received from teachers and the status he held in his circle, Duvall suffered from self doubts. After one of his first off-off Broadway performances, in George Bernard Shaw’s MRS WARRENS PROFESSION, he received a lethal review in the NEW YORK POST. The paper reported that the revolting romantic lead was “made even less palatable by Robert Duvall, whose spine tends toward a figure S, whose diction is flannel coated, and whose simpering expressions are moronic.” Reading it on a bus, he felt so sick that he had to get off. Duvall fled home to his parents in Virginia for three months, returning to the wars only because Ulu Grosbard kept reassuring him. Duvall says, “Thank goodness I had a good friend like Ulu, who still had, you know, faith, in what maybe I could do.”
Looking back, Duvall can say, “Each day is different. There’s a general frustration, but you’ve got to weather that and go on. You gather with guys like Dusty. We used to go to Cromwell’s drugstore on Rockefeller Plaza, make lots of jokes – gets you through the day. Downey’s steak house at night. That fills the day with a certain camaraderie, which is good.” One night Hoffman told Duvall, “We’ve got to talk about something besides women and acting.”
Television roles were rarely discussed. Tennessee Williams and Chekhov and Ibsen were infinitesimally dissected. Brando stories were swapped. Those sidewalk colloquies among the three sometimes devolved into battles over whose acting teacher and technique was right. The trio hewed to different versions of Stanislavski’s holy writ, which required reliving emotions and re-experiencing the five senses onstage. Hoffman describes Duvall exploding, “Bullshit! What do you man, you sit there for an hour trying to feel hot or feel cold!” Hoffman explains, “We were almost like religious fanatics. Our craft was the most important part of us.”
CATCH Episode 3 (on Youtube) has been attracting an unusually high amount of hits/views over the past few days. I can't quite figure out why. CATCH 3 was viewed 75 times on Friday, April 17 and 300 + times yesterday, Saturday, April 18th.
300+ views is a huge spike compared to the 10 or so daily average to this point. 300+ views that came on a SATURDAY no less... hits are usually less frequent on the weekend.
Youtube's traffic reports leave much to be desired... but I WAS able to determine that about 85% of the hits were coming from an external link. I traced that external link back to a message board site caled Runboard.com.
Thats about as far as I got. I havent been able to locate the specific post or link... but I'd love to know where all the traffic is coming from.
Nobody is rating the episode or leaving comments, and the spike in views isnt translating into more trafiic to any of my other sites... still... 300+ on a Saturday... interesting....
Going to Coachella today with a couple of my new bestest buddies out here in LA. Its gonna be a scorcher. It's been really comfortable in LA for the past few weeks... few months actually.... but today and for the next couple of days, Its sunny, clear and in the high 80's, whihc means its gonna be HOT in the desert...
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is a three-day annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley. The event features many genres of music as well as large sculptural art. The event has several stages/tents set-up throughout the grounds, each playing live music continuously.
The line up for today is The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, The Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, The Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, The Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.... Not necessarily in that order...
MY itinerary for today will include PUBLIC ENEMY...or course... Lupe Fiasco, The Kills, Clipse, K'naan, Gaslight Anthem, Mexican Institute of Sound and Friendly Fires...
I was looking for some suggestions on how to handle my upcoming BONES credit and how it appears on or should appear on IMDB, so I posted my inquiry on Hollywood Happy Hour, an entertainment industry Yahoo group and online support group with over a thousand members...
News, Schmooze, Reviews, and Interviews in Hollywood!
I am in need of some good advice, direction, suggestions... It basically has to do with managing an imdb credit. I booked a small role on BONES... really small... i would say it lies somewhere in the "Featured extra" category. I was sent to the lot by Central and I was told that I would be "interviewing" for a role... with the option to work that day should I be cast. Central gave me the role breakdown and that breakdown included a character name... "HOLT."
I went down to the lot...8AM call… and they picked me out of like 6 or 7 guys... I was cast as HOLT... I was asked to stay...the other guys went home. I basically spent the morning posing for a bunch of stills for the episode... I would be appearing in different places throughout the episode in the form of these stills (a few faux magazine covers, ID badge, etc). I got your standard pay 130/8. I don't really care so much about the pay...
But what I WANT to do is see if there is a way to squeeze an imdb credit out of the deal. My character has a name... and the episode is titled "The Critic in the Cabernet." I play the critic... the critic is HOLT. Anyone have any suggestions?
Hi James - I understand wanting to be able to put a credit for Bones on your imdb page, and I suspect that since the character had a name, there might be a way to do it. I'm sorry I don't know what that is. But, extra work is extra work is extra work, and it does not belong on imdb even if there is a name attached. Most cds can tell when someone is inflating their resume, and they don't view it favorably. If they're trying to decide whether or not to call in you or someone else why would you want to give them a reason to call that other person?
That's exactly right. Here's something interesting, the studios don't even look at imdb :O. They have their own way of checking on any major roles that you do. All that aside, you definitely don't want to get called out on inflating your resume or worse going in to see a CD and finding out that it was the one who cast the show. I know that people do this all the time, and like I said, I suspect there's a way, and that someone will let you know what it is; but from everything I've heard from cds, I'd suggest you just let it fall where it really belongs, which is extra work. My two cents, fwiw.
Hey James - I would totally add it if I were you...actually would you like me to try to add for you? There are a couple James Huffman's on IMDb; which one is you?
Where I totally disagree with the people who responded is you're not lying. You're not putting "co-star" or "guest star" on your resume. Hell, I'd put it on my resume as "featured" and explain if anyone asks. You're telling the truth. Why not be proud of it?
THANK YOU! My sentiments exactly... those people are BUZZKILLS... and I AM telling the truth... why not list the credit... right? There is a character name and the character is referred to in the title of the episode... plus I feel like anything on your resume that might provide a reason to have a conversation or open a dialogue when your in the room is a good thing... that's one of the motives behind the "Special Skills" section... I believe... Anyway, YES... if you would be willing to add it for me I would greatly appreciate it...
My episode appearance on BONES, Season 4, episode 25, “The Critic in the Cabernet,” is scheduled to run on Thursday, May 7th. I play the role of “Holt,” the critic in the cabernet. Thank you so much for reaching out....
WED, APRIL 15>>>
BRETT: I’m going to this event tomorrow night. I’m going to support Koren, do you want to come?
ME: Possibly, I hurt my neck yesterday, so I’m in a lot pain. Check with me tomorrow and I’ll let you know…
BRETT: What did you do? Can I help?
ME: Oh... I'm an idiot... i pulled a muscle/pinched a nerve at the gym... i had been there for like 10 min...and i felt something tweak.. I should have quit...called it a day... but was like... "whatever, i've only been here for ten minutes. gotta finish my workout… RAR." So I trudged through it and came home... a couple hours later I was dying... I'm brilliant like that... Wanna give me like a 3hour massage?
Less of Raves
More of Rants
This time I rise
Apologize in advance
For flipping birds
And using words
That dance.. and dance
And dance sans romance
I will make no such excuse
For my stance
Earlier this week... a anonymous MR XXX left me a nugget in my website Guestbook….
“Regarding Mandy.com Job Posting for unpaid Editor: Work for free? Great industry contact? No budget? Yea right!! Don't be sooooo cheep. So do you work for free James?”
First of all... before I state my well thought out response.... Hey… Mr XXX…. F%$# YOU…. f%$# asshole
I'm drawing up images of delivering a ruthless and violent death to “Mr. XXX.” I could go on and on about this subject… but, I’ll keep it short.. THIS F%$@& BULLS$%T pisses me off… this is a sore subject for me because jerk-offs like Mr. XXX peruse postings on Craigslist and Mandy and wherever else and they sabotage postings they don’t like….
Terrorists… essentially. They see a posting and they don’t like the rate of pay… so instead of choosing to move on and look for offers that they would find more attractive (If you don’t like what you see, CHANGE THE DAMN CHANNEL), they CHOOSE to act like an insurgents and FLAG the posting… if the posting receives more than one flag, it gets shut down… then NOBODY can read the post… and I guess that’s what the terrorists want… to shut you down … well good for you Craigslist terrorists… well done douchebags…
Ok so listen, I get it. You place a high price on your talent and services… good for you. You get your panties all up in a wad when you see someone looking to hire a person for little or no money in return. You decide to take matters into your own hands and you become a vigilante for Craigslist justice and you fire away.
Well that’s great, because now not only have you disabled that persons effort to find help for their project, but you nipped a perfectly good opportunity in the bud. It might not be an adequate opportunity for YOU… the big f%##@ douche bag… but it just might be a GREAT opportunity for someone else. You must be so proud.
I see it all the time on Craigslist. It happens ALL THE TIME. Not only do countless ads for PA’s, editors, DP’s, sound mixers and all other sorts get SHUT DOWN, but ads looking for promo people, caterers and bartenders also get ambushed.
Let me say right now, there are scammers out there for sure... we all now that... and I appluad those that are proactive in exposing craigslist hustlers and predators... but this isn't about those people. If you cant tell the difference between a scam and a genuine request for goods and services... If you are not "Pretty damn sure" then maybe you should just stay out of it.
Let’s say you are throwing a little party. You want it to be nice. Maybe you are throwing a 50th anniversary gathering for your grandparents… aw…that’s so sweet. Now you don’t have a lot of money to spend, so you are doing what you can to put this party together on a shoestring budget. You spend some money on decorations, clean the house. You buy some great food, maybe you appoint yourself the chef. You even go out and buy a nice assortment of beverages. Grandpa likes a good scotch. So after all that, you’ve got 50 bucks leftover. Wow, wouldn’t it be great if you could get someone to serve drinks at your party, find someone to step in as a casual bartender to really add a nice touch to this event?
You know it’s not a lot of money. You are perfectly aware that a good bartender is used to earning 100- 200 bucks a night. But MAYBE, there is someone out there that would be willing to bartend at your party. Maybe… that’s what’s great about Craiglist. You can post your offer and there is a good chance that what you are offering is something that SOMEBODY…SOMEWHERE could benefit from … so you go ahead and post your ad.
But wait…what’s this? Your ad gets flagged…and then it’s REMOVED. Why? Maybe it’s some quirky error. So you post again. Thirty minutes later… your ad is flagged and removed.
You know why that keeps happening? Because of the jerk-offs who browse Craigslist and think that your offer, your little twenty word posting represents some horrible injustice to bartenders everywhere, and they are NOT gonna let you get away with it.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, there is a guy who sits home alone, depressed, maybe he just got laid off, maybe his girlfriend dumped him, maybe he just moved to LA and doesn’t know anyone and he just WISHES he had something to do on Saturday night. Maybe he is a bartender. Maybe he dabbled in college. Maybe he worked at some of the trendiest night spots in New York. Maybe he is broke and he could really use the fifty bucks. Hard times all around, right? Shit, he might be so lonely and so bored that he would do it for FREE… just so he could spend the evening at a party… serving cocktails to a nice group of people.
But he is never going to get that fifty bucks, because he will never see your ad. He will be denied the opportunity to decide for himself if working at your party is worth it. WHY? Because of douche bags that flag ads on Craigslist.
Don’t you get it? By flagging ads you are undermining the very principles that make Craigslist so great. Your selfish actions are messing with other people’s progress.
I’m a filmmaker…. And I’m as broke as the next guy.. I'm a struggling artist scratching and clawing to find my way, make my mark...be heard... and pimpin aint easy baby...that's for sure.... but I still believe that I can endure these hard times and continue to produce fun projects. I also believe that there are people out there that see things the same way. There are Directors and DP’s and Sound people that just want to work on something… and understand that working for free … for the time being…is okay… it kind of comes with the territory.
If you don’t believe in working for free… then just PASS. A non-paying gig is not for you? That’s cool… nobody will ever have an issue with that. But don’t flag my stuff and make things difficult for me… you don’t even KNOW me… Run along... do your thing… I wish you the best… but stay out of my G%$#@ Damn business.
So… that being said… I left my own little nugget for my nugget brained little rodent note-leaver….
Hi Mr XXX... so...you're THAT guy? Hey, if you want to have a conversation about my ad... feel free to email me... Id be happy to chat... swap stories... share some insight... maybe YOU could teach ME a thing or two... but whining anonymously on my website...that's just chicken shit, man.
The fifth installment of the Vanity Fair 2004 article that highlights the early days in the careers of Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and "Bobby" Duvall>>>>
New York in the late 1950’s and 1960’s was a simpler, cheaper world. Hoffman’s share of the apartment he lived in was $10 a month. Hackman paid $22 a month for his East 20’s cold water flat. Nevertheless, he says, “in those days it was a question of which of us was most broke right then, and the other two would help him out.” The three supported themselves with survival-level jobs. Hoffman was a typist for the Yellow Pages, along with some 80 girls. He strung Hawaiian leis, checked coats at the Longacre Theater, helped move the Time Inc morgue to the company’s new building. “I’d do any job anywhere,” he says. “I had no shame.” Hackman, who was a relief man at Whelan Drugstores, says the customers “treated you like crapola.” Once, while he was employed as a doorman at a building in Times Square, on of his former Marine officers walked by and muttered “Hackman, you’re a sorry son of a bitch.” He sold women’s shoes at Saks 34th Street to annoyingly fussy women, but, he says “I managed to steal enough so I could retire from that.” For a few dollars, he would slip shoes to actress friends. Earning a princely $10 an hour, Hackman moved furniture for the Padded Wagon in Greenwich Village, hauling refrigerators into walk-up apartments, and he has no memory of being tired. He included Hoffman on one job and handed him a carton of books to carry up six floors. “I lasted about an hour,” says Hoffman. Once, Hackman and another actor were moving a valuable art collection, including a Picasso lithograph. The other actor went up to check the apartment and returned with a broom, which he tossed into the truck. “It went right through the Picasso,” says Hackman, “Like a spear. The owner was standing there, and he just about shit his pants.”
Duvall, who occasionally went job-hunting with Hackman, moved boxes at the Gertz department store and delivered messages for a dollar an hour. He pushed clothing racks in the garment district for a day and never went back. After three days he quit washing dishes at the Mary Elizabeth restaurant and, embarrassed, sent Hackman to pick up his paycheck. He got a night job at the post office in the Broadway district and quit after six months. He says he decided, I don’t want to be here 20 years from now. Returning from the post office early one morning, Duvall woke up Hoffman, who relates the scene: “‘Dustbone,’ he says, ‘you’re gonna here this. AGES OF MAN. I saw John Geilgud. He was drunk. They were dragging him out of the theater. I swear to God. It was freezing. The steam coming out of the manholes. Nobody on the street. He must have been in there all night, and they’re hailing a cab. Fuckin Geilgud! Just before he gets in, he puts his arms out to the empty street and he yells out, “Does anyone want to fuck an actress?”’ Duvall was like he had witnessed the Second Coming.”
The trio relished regaling one another with what they had seen and heard, sometimes by accident, on the street. They would demonstrate the walks they had witnessed that day. Duvall reported hearing a woman passerby say, “No Harry, it’s not the egg foo young; it’s the whole last six months.” Hoffman assembled an entire cast of characters from his job as an attendant at the New York Psychiatric Institute. Duvall would say, “Do the cop, Dustbone,” referring to a violent ex-cop who had had a frontal lobotomy and would stand with his legs apart, “Hey, Mr. Hoffman, my wife is coming today. She’s a real Dutch cleanser.” Hackman would spend parts of days alone on seedy, anything may happen 42nd Street, going to the cheap movie theaters that doubled as flophouses. He came away with oral dramas he had heard in the darkness, such as the man who yelled in a heavy New York accent, “You’re SORRY! You piss all over my wife and you say you’re SORRY?”
Unlike Hoffman, who could be serious and moody, then extroverted and explosively funny, Hackman and Duvall harbored an interior privacy. Something of a loner, Hackman would go for weeks without seeing his friends. Describing himself, Duvall says, “I liked meeting people, but you always had your own visions of the future, so you cut yourself off from being wholeheartedly social.”
All three young men were hyper perceptive and compulsively preoccupied with studying human activity. “As an actor,” says Hackman, “you become so alive in terms of being aware of other people and their behavior. In the early days it became – what’s the French word?- a RAISON D’ETRE. I’d get up in the morning, wanting to go, you know, out in the streets and just watch. It’s obsessive. That’s why actors are nuts. They’re different because their interests are different.” Duvall says, “You just see the way a guy walks; you’re looking for it, but you’re not looking for it. Something will grab you.” Hoffman adds, “Someday… if it’s in a community theater in Oshkosh and I’m 50 fucking years old, I will use it there.
Mitigating boredom, they turned their subsistence jobs into seminars on humanity. Working as a counterman at Howard Johnson’s, Hackman wondered, “What kind of improvisation could I do with this person?” He says “There was always somebody who was a pain in the ass. There was a crippled guy who cam in every day, and it was interesting because he knew he was difficult and he enjoyed being difficult. He’d leave a quarter or 15 cents tip and always say, ‘Gene, to the bank. To the BANK!’” Hoffman used a waiter job in a French restaurant to practice his French accent. If somebody spoke French to him, he would say that he needed to practice his English. During a newspaper strike, dressed as Paul Revere and wearing a sandwich board advertising the retail store Modell’s, he shouted out the news in Times Square. “That was acting!” he says.
The New York Yankees open at the NEW Yankee Stadium tomorrow against Baltimore. That makes my heart hurt a little bit… in a good way. I can’t wait to go see the new stadium.
The North Carolina Tarheels are HOT. They play Michigan State in the National Championship on Monday night and they just look unstoppable. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever seen a Carolina team play this well.
When people ask me why I’m a Carolina fan, I say “I was BORN in North Carolina. Almost everyone is my entire FAMILY went to Carolina… except for me… er… and my Mom… she went to Wake Forest… and… ok my cousin went to Western Carolina… you know what I just like the Tarheels ok.”
I watched Jamie Kennedy’s documentary HECKLER yesterday. WOW… what an experience. It affected me for sure. It’s funny, honest… sometimes shocking. In all honesty, I, myself have posted writings on this site that were critical of another artists work. I’ve been rather harsh fro time to time. Granted, I’m always willing and more inclined to write positive stuff about films or TV shows or music that I really LIKE… but I have taken the time to sit here and trash a couple of stage productions as well as a film or two… and I don’t; think I will ever do that again. In fact, I wrote a scathing review of Clint Eastwood’s GRAN TORINO a couple of months ago and have since removed it.
I’m an artist… not a critic. I know how much of yourself you give to offer up a project to the Gods. I know how painful it is to hear or read ANY type of criticism… after you’ve slaved and sacrificed to help make a project come to fruition. And what exactly am I contributing by unleashing my critique? What possible positive effect would my negative opinion have…on anyone?
From now I will praise work that I find exciting… share my thoughts with those I care about…. and that’s it… because harsh criticism does nothing more than hurt… and that’s not why I do this.
I’ve been reverting to this LIST style of blogging lately... and I kind of feel like it’s a cop-out. It doesn’t seem like TRUE writing…. it’s easier… I’ll say that… it allows me to share a series of experiences, thoughts and opinions without spending too much time on structure… If I find structure…great… if I don’t…whatever…it’s just a “list.”
The LIST format comes from that damn Facebook “25 things about me” thing that was bouncing around for a while. I enjoyed writing that… and I got great feedback… I thought to myself “I should do this more often… and hey….MOBY does it.”
.... Hoffman was joining a world of actors starting out, steeled against rejection, energized by hope and freedom. Hackman says, “There was a kind of feeling of Jack Kerouac at that time – ON THE ROAD – kids just wanted to have a good time and kind of experience things. It didn’t have anything to do with being successful – just wanting to try this thing and see if it worked.” Duvall remembers parties at Hackman’s apartment, with Faye, who was Italian, cooking pots of spaghetti for crowds of actors. One night after dinner, they all lay down on the floor, went to sleep, and woke up for dessert. “Yeah,” says Duvall, “those were good years, not knowing what the future was about. All these friends. Very important. Dreaming. That was fun.”
Duvall’s apartment was, to a degree, a youth hostel for a flow of actors and opera singers who stay a few nights or weeks, sleeping on the sofas. The rooms teemed with music – young singers, records of Broadway musicals such as WEST SIDE STORIES, and Hoffman, playing the piano. Duvall, a fine country-and-western singer, impersonated Hank Williams. At parties with candles in Chianti bottles and pizza, actors entertained with skits. Hoffman and Duvall improvised a routine called “Roger’s Rangers: The Toughest Unit in All the Services.” Duvall was the commander, Hoffman played the three rangers who at 70 degrees below zero have just run 10 miles on the ice, barefoot, with no clothes on, and now stand naked at attention after cold water has been poured over them. The commander walks down the line of soldiers and hits one across the jaw. Hoffman recalls, “Bobby would say ‘Did you feel that, soldier?’ I’d say ‘No Sir.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because I’m a member of Roger’s Rangers, sir.’ ‘Very good.’ The commander moves down the line, boom in the belly, boom on the jaw. Same routine. The third ranger is standing at attention with a huge erection. The commander pulls out his sword and, boom, cuts off his penis. Bobby says, ‘Did you feel that, soldier?’ I say, ‘No sir.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because it belongs to the man in back of me, sir’ Bobby loved that stuff.”
Hoffman, Hackman, and Duvall have always been propelled by an uninhibited willingness to dare. An actor in their circle, Elliot Gould, considered Duvall “very tough, very independent, great integrity,” and vividly remembers their first meeting. Hoffman brought Duvall around to Gould’s apartment and rang the buzzer. Peering out the peephole, Gould remembers, “I saw what looked like the back end of two very bald horses with out tails. They were the butts of Dustin and Duvall. I thought, OK, that’s fine. They’re saying hello, in their way. Interesting. I’m sure we all look fundamentally the same from that angle. They were both a coupe of ASSHOLES.” Years later, on the set of THE GODFATHER, Duvall, off-camera, mooned Brando during a take. “Hey,” says Duvall, remembering the incident, “You have fun. It’s harmless.”
“Bobby maybe was the most outrageous, uncensored,” says Hoffman. “Do anything on impulse.” Once, as they ate together in a diner, Duvall spotted two Puerto Rican girls walking by. Dragging Hoffman with him, he caught up to them. “Hey, talk English. My name is Bobby Duvall; here’s my friend Dusty Hoffman. We’re actors.” They ignored him. Desperate, he came out with a unique pickup line:” We live right around the corner. You want to come up to our apartment? We have new linoleum in the kitchen.”
For the unmarried Duvall and Hoffman, girls were central to their free-rein theater world. Hoffman admits, “We were obsessed with sex.” Duvall concurs: “It was like what a friend from England said about being an actor- ‘Bob, it’s the greatest leg opener in the world, isn’t it?” Acting classes were a gold mine. “There were always a few models,” says Hoffman. “One comes up to you and says ‘Hi,’ like you’ve never looked at her, while for six months, you’ve been imagining her in bed with you. And she says, ‘I’d like to do a scene with you,’ and WHOA, she picks a love scene, and you’re rehearsing and it’s ‘YES!’ That happened to me and to Bobby. Much as were adherents to our craft, we looked for classes with women.
In the early 60’s, after Hoffman had lived with a succession of girls and friends – even slept in a dance studio where he taught acting – he and Duvall shared an apartment on West 22nd Street. “I’d get lucky,” and have a girl sleep over, and we’d be in the shower the next morning, and Bobby’d take his clothes off and just jump in the fucking shower – ‘Hey, I’m Bobby Duvall. I’m his roommate. I’m an actor. What do YOU do?” Duvall counters: “Let me tell you what went on before. I came down and he had the girl up on the table, standing there naked, and he’s standing there like he’s a painter.” (Duvall measures in the air with an imaginary pencil.)
In 1963, Hoffman was rooming with an opera tenor named Maurice Stern, who had discovered a Laundromat where beautiful ballerinas worked. Any girl who would load his laundry, and touch his dirty underwear, he figured, liked him. If after a week he had not scored, he would move on to the next candidate. Stern particularly liked Anne Byrne, a 19 year old dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet Company who was studying in New York at the Ballet Theater. Stern wanted Hoffman to check her out. “Now, don’t do that sensitive shit,” he warned him. “You know what I’m talking about – you play that one song you’ve ever written and you get that Jimmy Dean look.” Stern took Byrne to a club called The Improvisation, where Hoffman played the piano for fun. “My heart pounded,” says Hoffman. “She was my fantasy girl. The unattainable.” His date, Phyllis, went to the bathroom, and Stern went to make a phone call. After a long pause, Hoffman said, “So, you’re a dancer,” She nodded and said “So you’re an actor.” No other words were spoken, but soon, he did do Jimmy Dean. Stern finished out the prescribed week without success, and Hoffman took over. On his motorcycle, they went to the beach and to art museums, and they read poetry together (Hoffman once organized a Sunday-evening poetry group).
When Anne Byrne returned to Philadelphia, he told Duvall, “I will marry her,” and the two men bet $100. After she returned from Philadelphia in 1969, he did. Hoffman adds, “Bobby’s never paid me.”
Hey.... Please take a look at my short film submission for the AMCTV contest...and don't forget to vote... comments are also most welcome... THANK YOU.
AMC’s BREAKING BAD video contest kept me up and buzzing til late last night… or EARLY this morning… JJ and I had about a 10 hour editing session til about 2:30AM. We were working on cutting together a couple of entries….
TEN HOURS! To cut two separate ONE-MINUTE videos.
Just for fun, shits, giggles… whatever…. Just to shoot something for the sake of shooting something…. last weekend, I rounded up a small crew and a few actors and we gave the whole BREAKING BAD thing a go.
THE CONTEST>>>
AMCtv.com (prod.) is seeking submissions for its You Could Be On Breaking Bad contest. Entrants submit a short audition video using one of three Breaking Bad monologues provided on the contest website. AMCtv.com members will vote for and comment on their favorite entries to determine the 20 finalists and 10 first prize winners; one winner receives the opportunity for a walk-on role in a Season 3 Breaking Bad episode on AMC. Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad creator-exec. prod. Finalists will be announced May 4; winners will be announced on or before June 1.
Visit http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad-contest. Submission deadline is May 1. No fees or purchases required. Possible pay provided; Grand Prize includes $1,000 cash prize and the chance for a walk-on role in a Season 3 episode of Breaking Bad.
Seems simple enough… right? So after shooting til the wee hours of the morning last week, and editing til the wee hours of the morning THIS week…. We completed two entries… cutting footage together…then viciously chopping it all down to fit the time requirements. JJ and I had our 1 minute, 75 MB submissions ready to go… and they look almost identical… not only is the look and feel similar (we used the same lighting scheme.), but the approach to the material is the same… I think we both tried WAY too hard to deliver a poignant and moving performance… of you look at some of the other contest entries… many of the entries are just bobbing heads…somebody starting into their web cam…reciting…or trying to act…. you can see that there are a handful of clips that get creative with the assignment… and thus are enjoyable to watch… I might be getting too critical of myself… which I usually am…. but I feel like we took ourselves too seriously… I mean they look cool… dark, edgy…kind of film noir-ish…. But we also had to cut a few lines from the monologues to keep the clip under a minute….. You’ll see… whenever they get posted… we submitted last night at like 3AM.
What’s funny is that there will be two practically identical videos… one featuring actor JJ HUCKIN…and one featuring actor JAMES HUFFMAN…
That’s going to be confusing…. Not to mention we sort of look alike… two white dudes with short brown choppy hair… the only difference is that JJ is 6 ft 6… I’m only 6 ft 1… but you can’t really tell that from the video.
We probably should have thought about that when we were shooting, but we just didn’t have the time and a big enough crew to whip up a totally different scheme for each actor.
The one thing we noticed after we submitted our videos was that you can only get official votes from people who are REGISTERED with AMCTV.COM… so if I’m going to hit up all my friends and ask everyone to vote for me in this contest… they will all be required to sign up with AMCTV.COM… and most people I now will be like “F%$@ that.”
Original article published in VANITY FAIR, March 2004>>>>>
BEFORE THEY WERE KINGS
(Part 3 of .. God knows HOW MANY??)
Robert Duvall was the lead in that “A View from the Bridge, playing, at 26, Eddie Carbone, a sullen Sicilian longshoreman in his 40’s from Red Hook, Brooklyn, with accent to match. “In the first rehearsal,” says Hackman, “Bobby already had this kind of physical thing that he was doing – like an animal – kind of glided across the stage. I was really impressed.” Grosbard still recalls in wonder, “You see a transformation happen that you can’t put your finger on, except it’s unmistakable. What does he draw on to do that?”
Duvall was born in San Diego in 1931. His father, Howard, a naval officer who rose to rear admiral, resettled his family in a series of cities and ended up in Annapolis, Maryland. Adjusting to numerous schools, Robert, though smallish, found status as an athlete. In his loving, committed Christian Science family, everybody was a singer or performer. Howard, whom Robert sometimes referred to as the admiral, ran a tight ship. Discipline was “a good whack” and a “go to your room” says Robert’s brother, William. But because of Howard’s long absences on duty, their East Texas mother – extroverted, musical, a former drama major – was in charge. William Duvall describes Bobby as “a problem child in some areas; he didn’t always conform to the usual mother-father rules of the house. He had the rebel in him.”
Duvall was fundamentally at loose ends until, like his friend Dustin, he recognized his talent, probably inherited from his mother. A Duvall-family legend has four year old Bobby convulsing a table of cowboys at his uncles Idaho ranch by imitating and old sheepherder wolfing down his meal. Later, in front of a mirror, Robert would comb his hair like Lawrence Olivier and “do my own corny version of his Hamlet. I remember that. Yeah.” A conventional career was utterly alien. Remembering his days at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, Duval says “You don’t know where to go, what’s gonna happen. You feel lost. It was like, ‘What’s next? In my life? The next day?’”
Like Hoffman, he kept from flunking by becoming a drama major. Playing an adult in Arthur Miller’s ALL MY SONS, he spoke the final, emotional speech – “They were ALL my sons” – and felt spontaneous tears wetting his cheeks. He remembers, “I was like totally at peace. And I thought, Oh, wow, maybe I have something here.” His extremely critical acting coach assured him, “You can’t do much more with acting than that.” In 1955, after two years in the army, he moved to New York and was accepted at the Neighborhood Playhouse, presided over by the fearsome acting teacher Sanford Meisner.
The trio was completed in 1958, when Hoffman arrived in New York with $50 in his pocket and an invitation to sleep on the Hackman’s kitchen floor for a few days. To Hoffman, the city loomed cold and lonely and terrifying – “I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.” He clung to the two room apartment for three weeks, until Gene and Faye, with no privacy, had had enough. Finally Hackman placed Hoffman with Bobby Duvall in a sixth floor, three bedroom walk up apartment at 109th street and Broadway. Hoffman says “The feeling was that Bobby was the new Brando. I felt he was the one, and probably I wasn’t. In a sense I was their little brother – you know, ‘My friend Dustbone, he’s very talented.’ Gene was older and married, so I was the tagalong.”
I’m going to try and NOT drive my car today. Do my part for the environment.
There should be a national “No Drive” day. Everyone leaves the car at home for the day. Of course there would be a few exceptions, but everyone else commits to not driving for a day. Transit authorities could use this opportunity to promote their services. Maybe they could create a festival atmosphere on trains and busses. Companies could promote their products and give away free samples. Free food and drink at the stations and depots. Private transportation companies could join in the fun and offer shuttle services. Set up bike rentals stands, Rent out scooters, mopeds, skateboards and rollerblades…. Juts for one day…can you imagine?
EARTH HOUR is coming up… its not exactly a “NO-DRIVE” day… but it’s a pretty amazing event… a valiant effort.
“Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden GateBridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Coliseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness. In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights…”
EARTH HOUR starts at 8:30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. Saturday 28 March 2009… do it.
I’m in the process of developing a new web series.
It’s going to be something different than your average web series… sort of a New Media melting pot, part variety show, part music video, with elements of video art, news, social commentary, sketches, Shakespeare and some semblance of sanity…or better yet… insanity.
I’m having trouble naming this project. I’ve been calling it my digital variety show, which is boring, hard to get anybody excited about the project without a cool or catchy name.
I have a big piece of project paper stretched across the wall in my apartment. I keep writing possible names…
Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1930. His puritanical father worked on newspaper presses and restlessly moved the family to four states before settling in the backwater, corn belt town of Danville, Illinois. Gene dreaded hearing his mother say “Wait til Dad gets home.” He explains, “He always went too far. Laid it on pretty heavy.” Like Hoffman, Hackman went to a series of schools, but unlike his friend, he turned inward. In high school he never dated or went to a dance. At home in the basement, next to the coal bin, he built a cardboard house – “a place to hide. My own spot.”
His other sanctuary was the movie theater, where Jimmy Cagney, Errol Flynn, and Edward G Robinson were his favorites. Hackman says, “I loved the idea that somebody could convince me that they were a sea captain without being phony. I’d grown up shy – not unusual for actors. They want to show they’re more than that – people of import, substance. I think because I was shy I felt insecure, and acting seemed like a way of maybe getting around that. Getting to be somebody.” When Gene was 13, his father abandoned the family for years with just a wave of the hand to his son playing in the street. “It was a real adios,” says Hackman. “It was so precise. Maybe that’s why I became an actor. I doubt I would have become so sensitive to human behavior if that hadn’t happened to me as a child – if I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean.”
His Mother moved in with his grandmother, who considered him a weak character. At 16, he served a night in jail for stealing candy and soda, and, on an impulse permanently escaped his life. He lied about his age and enlisted in the Marines, serving four and a half years in China, Japan and Hawaii. He rose to corporal but was busted for fighting. He also got a taste of show business as an announcer on Armed Forces Radio. After a serious motorcycle accident he was mustered out, and in 1951 he settled in New York, living at the YMCA and hoping to become an actor. In order t receive about $150 a month from the G.I. Bill as a wounded veteran; he had to go to school. The G.I. Bill refused to pay for acting classes; regulation required schooling that would lead to a job. However, the bill qualified “painter” as a profession and paid Hackman’s tuition at the Art Student’s league – drawing had always been a hobby – and then at the nearby school of radio technique.
In 1953, still afraid to commit totally to acting, Hackman tried television production, in Florida, and then back to Danville. He returned to New York in 1955. The next year he married his girlfriend, a bank secretary named Faye Maltese, and together they headed for California and the Pasadena Playhouse.
His quick dismissal from the playhouse only served to galvanize his determination. Thinking, I’ll show them, he boarded a bus with Faye back to New York. He managed to get an unpaid internship in summer stock at a theater in Bellport, Long Island, building sets, scavenging for props, setting up lights. In a two-week production of Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge,” there happened to be one uncast role, Marco, a strong, silent Italian workman. The director, Ulu Grosbard, from the Yale School of Drama, filled it with Hackman, whom he came to know as “A complex guy; Very intelligent; a generosity of spirit; socially charming; a lot going on in him; a certain sense of being tormented with past ghosts and things. That’s part of what he brings to his work.” Grosbard was the first theater person to encourage Hackman. Backstage after one performance he told him, “Gene, you have got to keep at it.” Hackman, his voice trailing off in recollected awe, exclaims, “He actually said that, and, God it was just like…”
Robert Duvall was the lead in that “A View from the Bridge, playing, at 26, Eddie Carbone, a sullen Sicilian longshoreman in his 40’s from Red Hook, Brooklyn, with accent to match….
In 2004, Vanity Fair published an article titled BEFORE THEY WERE KINGS. It was a 6 page piece about Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall, chronicling their careers from infancy to ultimate Hollywood success.
It’s a fantastic read…. Filled with stories about studying in New York City in the 60’s… about little breaks… big breaks… setbacks and survival… with plenty of anecdotes about chasing girls. I keep that article nearby, always, because it’s entertaining, it’s uplifting and it’s inspiring… and it never gets old.
I would recommend it to anyone and everyone…especially actors… the only problem is…its not available anywhere online. I’m sure you could go to a library and dig it up… but c’mon…who does that anymore?
So I thought I would do my part and try to archive the article… type it out here on my site… little by little… until I’ve created a document that showcases the entire story… I’ll do that because I believe that it’s time well spent… and I think other people out there will really enjoy it… and I hope that maybe another actor… aspiring, armchair or whatever…might also find some inspiration here…
Here goes>>>>>
BEFORE THEY WERE KINGS
Living on talent and odd jobs in 60s New York, Gene Hackman. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall knew what mattered: getting the break (and the girls). The stars talk to Richard Meryman about the friendship that kept them going.
The story begins in 1957 at The Pasadena Playhouse, in California. Gene Hackman – 27 years old, a married, ex-marine from Danville Illinois, rough hewn, six feet two inches tall, a self described :big lummox kind of person” – found himself surrounded by tanned, young “walking surf-boards.” He immediately latched on to a fellow misfit, 19 year old, five foot six inch Dustin Hoffman, who was burdened with a huge nose and a bad complexion and wore tattered Levi’s and a sheepskin vest over bare skin. Hackman recalls, “There was something about him that – like he had a secret. You knew he was going to do something.” An inspirational instructor, Barney Brown, sensed the same karma. He assured Dustin, “You are going to wind up being a theater person the rest of your life,” and persuaded him to go to New York against the wishes of his parents. “When Barney died,” says Hoffman, “I felt my ideal father had died.”
All three grew up in peripatetic families where fathers and discipline loomed large. Hoffman’s stickler Russian Jewish father, Harry lifted himself through sheer hard work ditch digger to Columbia Pictures prop man to set designer to founder of the Harry Hoffman furniture company, which went broke. His uneven fortunes moved the family into six Los Angeles neighborhoods, and Dustin had to find his place in six new schools. Short and acne riddled, he was mocked as “Dustbin.” “I felt ugly,” he says. “I was all nose.” He tried never to walk away from a girl in profile. When at last a pretty girl did pay a little attention to him, a boy stole up behind him and jerked down his pants, taunting, “Hit me, little Dusty.”
But his innate acting gifts saved him – sort of. He became the class clown and discovered the rush delivered by a laughing audience – though, he says “people used to say, OH, he’s a real comedian, which was like saying ‘He’s a loser.’” At home, says Hoffman “sometimes the house was as thick with tension as any house could be.” At dinners, for several days following a family fight, his father, mother, grandmother and handsome high-achieving brother would sit absolutely silent. Suddenly, eight year old Dustin would repeat the dialogue of the fight, taking all the parts. The family would look up, begin to laugh, and the tension erased. Hoffman muses, “I had never thought about acting. It was a great feeling to break the collective anger in the room. I mattered. I had an identity in the house.”
At Santa Monica City College, Hoffman studied medicine and music. To avoid flunking out, he took an acting course for a sure three credits and found that acting was “the first subject I ever felt I could concentrate on.” After a brief period at the Los Angeles Academy of Music, he enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse, where he and his friend Gene Hackman, agreed that they detested everyone else. Gene resisted the teachers approach to acting, and at the end of the first semester he received a grade of 1.4 – the lowest grade ever given up to that point had been 3.0 – and was dismissed.
This story appeared in the New York Times today… I love this stuff…. One of those great everyday New York City stories… and this guy is an actor… how about THAT?
Subway heroes, as they are inevitably tagged even before the grease from the tracks is rubbed off, come along every now and then — indeed, as the story of Chad Lindsey suggests, perhaps more often than we know.
Minutes after rescuing a man who had fallen onto the subway tracks at the Penn Station stop on Monday, Mr. Lindsey managed to melt back into the anonymity of the city, escaping the notice of the police, paramedics and subway workers.
“I’m of many minds of being in the spotlight,” he said after a call from this reporter, whose short account of the accident on The New York Times’s City Room blog on Monday prompted one of Mr. Lindsey’s friends to disclose his identity on Tuesday. “But what the hey,” he said…
Leap to Track. RescueMan. Clamber Up. Catch a Train.
I’ve officially gone 9 days without meat. I guess I’ve fallen into a little dietary adventure.
My week as a vegetarian started off by accident, really... or maybe not by accident but a result of my circumstances.
I worked the Natural Foods Expo last weekend and at the start of the weekend I was digging up dimes and nickels to buy enough gas just to GET to work. So naturally I was scavenging the show every day for free samples and anything else I could take home. I ended up with 10 boxes of DORSET ORGANIC CEREALS, 4 bags of POPCORN, INDIANA popcorn, 4 half gallons of ZEN/SOY Soymilk, 12 one-liter bottles of BALANCE WATER, handfuls of GOOD EARTH tea bags…. and a TON… an undisclosed amount… of Korean Ginseng tea.
Working this job at the trade show turned out to be a blessing in the fact that not only did I desperately need the money, but I desperately needed the FOOD.
So I’ve been eating cereal and popcorn, and drinking lots of tea for the past week.
I went to a comedy show last night with a friend and as soon as she hopped into my car, she looked at me and said….
“You look great. What have you been doing?”
“I don’t know…. Looking for work?”
“No, your skin looks great! You look really healthy.”
I thought about it for a second.
“Well, you know what? I haven’t had any meat for a week.”
She lit up.
“THAT’S IT! You haven’t had meat for a week? Really? Your skin totally shows it… wow.”
She is NOT a vegetarian, by the way.
So at this point I’ve gone 9 days without any meat. I think I’m going to keep the streak alive… see what happens… see how I feel.
Don’t get me wrong… if I start craving some meat I’ll be first in line for a nice big cheeseburger.
PS>>>> And I have received a couple of checks that I had been waiting on. So I'm not as broke as I was ten days ago. I figured I'd throw that in there so my Mother won't worry.
I was up at 5AM this morning. I worked on CSI this morning, playing the role of a Clark’s County prison guard. My call time was 7AM. We were done at noon… which is pretty awesome.
The episode features Henry Thomas… like… “the kid from ET” Henry Thomas.
I’m home right now doing more wheelin and dealin…job searching… submitting for acting work… emailing back and forth with a director….. two editors…and a sound designer.. My Dad called to say hi… he’s concerned about me and my financial situation… I just text’d a friend of mine to see if she wants to go do a few rounds at Runyon…
She just hit me back… I’m gonna meet her over there at 5
And… wow… my friends Kerry just sent me this fantastic email. Kerry is a good friend from New York. She used to work for me when I was a Team Manager for Red Bull. She lives in San Diego now, but we’ve always managed to stay in touch. She is a very cool chick.
Anyway… I love this:
I just finished reading Ellen Burstyn's auto-biography titled "Lessons In Becoming Myself" that Angelica was kind enough to lend me. It was almost 500 pages long and I couldn't put it down. I laughed out loud, I cried, I was inspired. But mostly ... when I did finish it and closed it: I felt proud to be an actress. Even as I type this all out, I'm getting choked up. There were certain pages I dog earred b.c. of the following passages. I wanted to share them with you ... my "actor friends" b.c. I think you'll love them too!!!!
The 1st part is about what she experienced after filming The Last Picture Show
"I thought I would be friends with these people for the rest of my life. And we are friends whenever we see each other. We are in each other's hearts in a way that is special to these circumstances of coming together, having an intense, creative, intimate relationship, and then saying good-bye. Over the years I've gotten used to the idea that this incredible intensity was temporary. That we would fall in love with each other and then it would be over. We return to our lives, but we do take a vital memory with us. I can't see Cloris or Jeff or Cybill in a film or at an opening, or even by chance in a restuarant, without feeling I'm seeing someone who was once very important to me, and that I remember so fondly."
"By then I'd answered my own question of why, as Kazan said, 'talent, like beauty, fades.' It came to me in a quote from Ouspensky: "Art is the search for beauty, as religion is the search for truth." The operative word here is search. It is not the finding; it is the search. That's why, after an artist has won awards and received the world's acclaim, she can make the mistake of believing she "knows". It is in the "not knowing" that the search occurs."
Her friend and fellow actress, Vivian Nathan, suffered from Alzheimer's. She went to visit her and told her about an experience she had on stage during a recent preformance. Her friend said this: "Sometimes you are onstage and something happens. It's like you are no longer acting. The play just comes through you and you just get out of the way and let it come. When that happens, it's like a door opens to another dimension ... Once the actor experiences that, he's never the same. It's what keeps us going."
"Again, that lesson: we can't always choose our circumstances, but we can choose our response to them."
<---- She was actually talking about LIFE here but acting is life, isn't it? I read that sentence over and over thinking how true that is whenever we pick up a new script, a new play ... The character's circumstances are already there for us, in black and white. It's just another way of saying we have to make choices but I fell in love with it.
One of my favorite parts/passages in the whole book is just one line: "To be an artist is both a gift and a responsibility."
I hope this finds you well and loving this beautiful life we live. oxoxo Kerry Lynne
I’m getting ready to go work my second day at the Natural Product Expo in Anaheim. The days are long at trade shows like this… and I’m on my feet all day. But I’m grateful for the work…and I’m grateful that client, who is there working the booth with us…is a laid back, fun guy from Australia.
The product is BALANCE WATER… which we call a WELNESS BEVERAGE because each of the four variations (As opposed to “flavors”) contains a certain assortment of flower essences, all grown and hand picked in Australia. Those essences, while tasteless and virtually undetectable, offer a certain level of functionality, acting a homeopathic remedy or supplement. The “Traveling” version…for example… is designed to help overcome jet lag and motion sickness and other conditions associated with travel.
Nice packaging, interesting product…relatively new concept to the mainstream beverage market.
Earlier this week I received an offer letter to play a role in an upcoming stage production….well…. forget that….
IXSNAY on the Ziegfeld project.
I suffered a blow to the ego last night when the producers of “ZIEGFELD'S FOLLY: My Rise to the Middle," sent me an email RECINDING the offer to play on their “Hunky Guys,” in a two-performance run in LA in April.
So yeah… I guess I’m not doing the show.
It’s fine… I’ll live. I’ll also lose five pounds, get in even better shape and SHOW those M&%$@ F%CKERS.
Last night I saw this posting on Craigslist….
How much do you hate the Boston Red Sox, Celtics, or Patriots?
Southern California Media Production company who is producing a documentary about hard core sports fans is looking for people with big mouths, tons of opinions, and mutual hatred towards any sport team located near Boston.
If interested in participating in this documentary, please send us an email with your contact information, any website info, and brief explanation of your hatred towards any or all of the beloved Boston sports franchises.
Thanks.
All I have to say is…
HELL YEAH… I want to be in your movie!!!
So I whipped up a little note….
Hi-
James Huffman here... I'm an actor, writer, filmmkaer, currently based in Los Angeles...and I HATE Boston teams....hate em.
First of all... I grew up in NJ, just outside of the Big Apple. I love New York City with all my heart. When I graduated college I moved into Manhattan and spent the next 15 years walking the walk in the greatest city in the world.
When it comes to the greatest BASEBALL team in the world... I remember the exact moment I became a Yankee fan. It was October 14, 1976, during the ninth inning of Game Five of the ALCS against the Royals at Yankee Stadium, Chris Chambliss crushed a first-pitch, walk-off home run that sent the Yankees to their first World Series since 1964. I was 8 years old and I was hooked. Of course the following season was the season of 77.. and as lifelong sports fan, that season left a life long imprint on my soul.
To answer your question... I F%$#@*&& HATE The Red Sox... I also hate the Patriots and The Celtics... but that hatred stems from my desire to inflict and pain and sorrow on Red Sox fans world wide. The day The New York Giants upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl was probably one of the happiest days of my life. While I'm embarrassed to admit it, I had to be separated the following day as I almost came to blows with a girl (Who is a friend of a friend) who is a former Patriots cheerleader.... I was boasting about the victory and she accused me of being a fair weather fan.... that I just jumped on the bandwagon... I seriously would have choked her out.... ok I'm kidding.... no I'm not.... probably would have just shoved her to the ground...
There is so much more....
Like the time I stood on my roof in Hell's Kitchen and spilled beer on the heads of celebrating Red Sox fans as they danced on the sidewalk (in NEW YORK), celebrating the 2004 World series victory.... Not in MY Neighborhood folks... not in my neighborhood.
So yeah…seems like a fun, socially relevant project… I hope they call me.
After a chilly, rainy... and BUSY Wednesday, a sunny clear and cool Thursday is a welcome change. I’ll tell you what, the LAST thing you want to deal with in LA is a rain on a busy day. Even a slight MIST will virtually DOUBLE the amount of time it takes you to get anywhere… and that was me yesterday.
I’m shooting a few pick-ups for CATCH 11 today. I have yet to even start PRE production on CATCH 9 & 10… but by golly… today…I will wrap shooting on CATCH 11. CATCH11 was SUPPOSED to be CATCH 9… but then I ran into a few snags in the form of unreasonable, difficult and just plain crazy … actor scenarios (tantrums).
I love my actors. I love all actors. I AM an actor… and believe me…I love myself… but when I stand on the writer/producer side… I see why people can develop such a DISDAIN or actors. After dealing with two separate situations, I was forced to fire one actor and make some MAJOR story line adjustments to compensate for all the drama. That’s why I have to turn CATCH 9 into CATCH 11, writing and producing a NEW CATCH 9 & 10 to set it all up… balance everything out…
(Pimpin ain’t easy.)
Yesterday I booked an acting gig myself for a show that’s coming to LA in April.
I seek, I submit and I secure… the obscure…and it all happens… time and time again… on CRAIGSLIST.
I’m basically playing a “Hunky” guy in a supporting cast of “Hunky” guys in a show called “ZIEGFELD'S FOLLY: My Rise to the Middle," which feature actor/comedian Michael Ziegfeld.
ZIEGFELD'S FOLLY will be at the ACME COMEDY THEATER in LA April 15th & 16th.
A buddy of mine called me this morning with a funny story...
"So I bought iLife for my new Mac and I ws opening up everything and upload the software when I see this picture there. I look closer and I'm like HOLY SHIT... that's James Huffman. It was YOU man, posing with all these little kids in a classroom. Me and my roommate laughed for like an hour."
So there is it... once again... photos from that little DigitalVision stock shoot from FOUR YEARS ago has resurfaced. So far those photos have appeared in a poster in the Hallways at UCLA, on several onine banner ads, in the NEW YORK TIMES... in an article about NYC teachers who leave the profession after 2 years... there's more I just cant remember.
But if you buy iLife... take a good look.. I'm in there somewhere.
Too bad I dont get paid for all those appearances. I made about $500 on the shoot.
I'm up early... I have a pretty busy amd long day ahead of me...
TO DO LIST:
Laundry (Only time to do it before Monday)
Pick up Anne's Baking Pan from shoot location
Buy Cinder Block
Intrerview with the guys from Bliss Tea
Get to the Gym
Session with Kingsley (final editing on CATCH 5, record ADR with Dennis for CATCH 8)
Coffee shop, writing, browse breakdowns and job listings, submit
Drive out to Thous Oaks to get mics from Wes
Swing by JJ's to scout his roof for a shoot
Get home, have dinner
Call in next weeks avails for background work with Network Casting
Return emails, writing, browse breakdowns and job listings, submit, submit, submit
All they talk about is RECESSION… how BAD everything is… in fact TODAY…they started to throw the D-Word around… DEPRESSION… a DEPRESSION economy?
Great.
What a way to start the day…
No more news for me… thanks but no thanks. I know what’s going on out there… I don’t want to be told over and over again how BAD things are…how CONCERNED… SCARED we all are…or should all be… I got that message months ago. I could do without the doom-saying affirmations… focus on something more positive…
Truth is….energy is different this week… a lot different.
I’m working a 3 hour promotion today for a Restaurant Downtown. It only pays $50…but hey… 50 bucks is like 30% of my total net worth right now…so I will take it.
I started writing again. I found a groove last night and ran with it. I’ve been so mentally and emotionally consumed with survival, jobs and paying bills that I have been unable to write anything.
I got some good work done last night.
Yesterday I auditioned for a web series project. This particular web series is written and produced by a good friend of mine from New York. Fortunately for me, reconnecting with friends from New York has become a nice little supporting theme over the past week.
This particular friend of mine has been in Los Angeles for roughly the same amount of time as me. She has also been writing and producing web stuff, very much like myself. So when I saw her name in the breakdowns as a writer/producer of a financially backed web series, I shot her an email, congratulations, and asked her if I could audition for a role in her project. Fortunately for me, there is a role in the breakdown that works for me, so she set me up.
I got to the audition and the hallway was jammed with people waiting to get in the room…. Didn’t expect that…. But everyone wants to work on a web series these days…. Big names, small names ,no names…they make for potentially great exposure… add the fact that this project is a paying gig… that’s going to attract a lot of actors… a LOT of actors..
It was great when at one point, my friend came out to check the list and bring the next actor in, and she saw my name on the list and said...
“Oh great James Huffman is here. Where are you? Oh HEY James!”
She waived and went back inside. Leaving the flooded hallway of actors to stare me down, size me up and wonder…
“Who the heck is THAT guy?”
I love that feeling...
The audition went fine. I felt pretty good about it. Because this project has a bona fide production company behind it, they have to put everyone on tape and take the entire casting process to the next round. So, I’m not really expecting any favors. It was nice enough for her to invite me to audition.
After the audition, I went and registered with this service for background work... I’m not thrilled by the idea of spending hours and hours on a set somewhere as a background actor. But times are tough right now and I don’t have much room to be picky. I have tried to sign up with a couple other services in town, but it just hasn’t worked out. There are a few well-known background services in town and they have more than enough people on their roster. I found NETWORK CASTING a few days ago and made an appointment. They are a smaller biz... relatively new.... The people I spoke to on the phone seemed really nice… the good thing about these guys is they guarantee at least 3 days of work a month (to cover the $60 monthly fee)... they will get you 3 days of work for free before they ask you to pay their monthly fee... and they are currently looking for new people...
Watching Talk Soup… Talk Soup is funny… old reliable… if you need a good laugh… Talk Soup is always there.
Rough week… I have to say… rough in the fact that it was SO…slow…
I’m spending alot of time these days combing Craigslist, Actors Access, LA Casting, Monster Jobs, Hot Jobs, CareerBuilders. I’m pounding out headshots, resumes… more resumes… cover letters and resumes… brief bio’s that explain why I’m the best person for the job… and resumes…. All day long…
And with that kind of aerial assault comes a certain amount of return on your investment… at least SOME sort of return… but this past week… the week that WAS (Thank God)… There was NO return…
I felt like I was living in a Black Hole…. The energy and momentum of the Universe, The World, The Neighborhood… seemed stagnant… non-existent… and in times like these… when everyone I know is struggling… everyone I know is looking for a job, or feeling the pinch of a job that cuts available shifts to work IN HALF… a time when LA is literally LITTERED with “FOR RENT” signs… Throw in an atmospheric FLAT LINE… and MAN… there is no way around it… You are FEELI N the weight… and it’s HEAVY.
Then Friday comes along…
BAP… WOW… THWACK…. KA-POW
Suddenly, I’m slammed. Weeks worth of blasting the masses with my credentials gathered and grew, building enormous strength and power along the way until finally… This dark and deliberate cloud in the sky opens up and unleashes an unrelenting category 5 of response and reply.
Its started with a Craigslist posting….
2 promotional models needed for trade show next week
opening for a promotional job
trade show at the Convention center
Friday: March 6th 10am to 6pm
Saturday: March 7th 10am to 6pm
Sunday: March 8th 10am to 4pm
Location:
Anaheim Convention Center
800 W. Katella Ave
Anaheim, CA 92802 USA
My client is an all natural water company. Knowledge of yoga, holisitic, natural foods, etc is helpful.
You must be comfortable informing people at the trade show about the product.
I need 2 brand ambassadors (guy or girl)
You need to be outgoing and talkative.
You will be working directly with my client so I need people who can leave a good impression.
So I whipped up a quick cover letter and a resume and submitted. Within 15 minutes my phone rang. Lo and behold, this particular gig was being handled by an old friend of mine back in New York. Apparently she recently started her own promotions company and this is one of her first clients. So when she saw my picture and resume, she called me right away and booked me right away. She was so happy to hire someone she knows and trusts for one of her first out-of-town jobs.
I don’t know who was more grateful or relieved…. Me or her.
After that, the phone just kept ringing. I took part in 2 different preliminary phone interviews, set up several in-person interviews for next week, booked a job for Tuesday, took an audition for Monday, set an appointment with a manager, I was setting audition times for my own casting that I’m holding Sunday, I scheduled sessions with 2 editors, exchanged notes with my sound designer, exchanged notes with one of my directors… all while maintaining my feverish pace of seek and submit. I eventually pulled myself away to get out of the apartment…get some fresh air…. go to the gym… ended up taking another quick phone interview on my blue-tooth as I was driving over…
Quietly making note of several new FOR RENT signs along the way.
Nate Robinson is ON FIRE since he won the NBA Slam Dunk contest. He is putting up an average of like 26 pts per game since the All Star break.
Is this really happening? Are the NEW YORK KNICKS coming to a boil?
I really hope so.
I went to see GRAN TORINO last night. WHY? I’m not really sure. It didn’t receive any Oscar nominations….and one would think that I would make the effort to see any of the films that were invited to the Big Dance that I have yet to see…. But no… The day after the Oscars ceremony I went to see GRAN TORINO. Maybe it’s because I was made so curious by the contrasting recommendations of my friends.
When GRAN TORINO came out, I saw the trailer on TV and really had little interest. One good friend went to see it and he said it wasn’t anything special…and if my gut feeling didn’t indicate any outstanding desire to see the movie…then my instincts were probably right…
But then other friends starting talking about how good it was….
“If you love Eastwood, you will love this movie.”
“Best film, I’ve seen all year”
Metacritic.com gave it a 72 (based on reviews Nationwide)
(Benjamin Button got a 70; Doubt a 68)
Rottentomatoes.com gave GRAN TORINO a 79%
(Benjamin Button got a 74%; Slumdog a 94%)
I’m a Clint Eastwood fan as much as the next guy. I’ve enjoyed his work as an actor since I was a kid. Now I am even more enamorate of his work as a director. He has taken his years of knowledge and experience in front of the camera and used it to his become a masterful director.
But GRAN TORINO…was
SCREEEECH>>>>
I chose to erase my blog post at this point... I went on a tirade... my original commentary was a ridiculous rant...expressing my dissatisfaction with the a handful of elements of the film...
Thursday… Thursday? No…. Friday… those Monday holidays always mess me up.
Nothing amazing to share today…
The process is still a process. The journey is still is a journey.
I’m still looking for work. Still auditioning and hoping to book something… wanting to book everything.
Late last week I was wrapped up in a few first and second interviews for “day-jobs,” “survival-jobs,” non-acting gigs…. None of them panned out…. Frustrating.
Keep looking…keep trying…
Tuesday I interviewed with a company called POLITE IN PUBLIC….
Polite in Public is an innovative new company that is redefining event photography and helping brands connect with people. Polite in Public uses the most advanced digital photography systems on the planet! Just seconds after your picture is taken it is magically transformed into the punchy fun images you see on this site!
Polite in Public had a photo booth set up at Paris Hiltons party a few weeks ago. I posed for a few photos with a few friends… it was fun. So I knew what was up.
I interviewed with them on Tuesday. Tomorrow (Saturday) I’m doing a little ride-a-long, training shift with them at some event in Hollywood.
This job would probably serve me as a side gig. It doesn’t pay a lot, but it’s mostly night work. It’s easy work and I would spending time at different events around town… seems to me it will be worth the time and effort.
Yesterday I auditioned at CBS Radford for a new LIFETIME Network pilot. ALLIGATOR POINT is a sit com pilot starring Cybil Shepherd.
They are looking for Small town… Southern, specifically… military types for the show….
It was cool little field trip… I met the shows producers. And I got to walk around the CBS lot. It was my first time walking through the Radford lot… Radford meaning its one of several CBS lots… this one on Radford street…off of Ventura in StudioCity.
Ok, I have to run. I’m driving out to Van Nuys to meet up with one of my editors. He has one of my hard drives and he’s been cutting together a couple new episodes for ASPIRING LINE…. my OTHER web series.
Then I’m taking my hard drive over to another editor’s house to transfer some CATCH footage. Then I have to take THAT footage over to ZOE, the DP, on Sunday… because ZOE has made it very clear that she wants to color correct the final cut of any episode that she worked on.
Usually, the editor does the color correcting… but since Zoe has been pretty adamant about doing it herself. I suppose I will oblige. What can it hurt? I mean, it’s inconvenient, I’ll say that… because I have to shuttle hard drives around… costing me time, money and gas…. but I will give it a shot… see what happens. I have no idea what she plans to do or what kind of magical result she expects to have on the final cut….
I just realized my last post was exactly one week ago today and my first line read:
“It’s a rainy Monday morning in sunny California.”
I had a pretty busy week, last week… mostly good. I just couldn’t find the time to sit down and write.
MONDAY….
I had an audition at CAZT for a commercial. The casting director was Danny Roth. I knew Danny back in New York when he was running The Casting House downtown. It was good to see him. We had a good chat before I auditioned. He has apparently been in LA for a few years now. He was casting for two different projects. He had me read for one. Then he realize that I was better suited for the other project, so he handed me some sides and asked me to go out into the waiting room, read over the new sides and come back in a few minutes.
CAZT is a studio that holds 5 or 6 casting rooms. So there are usually a few other projects being cast at he same time. While I was waiting, a casting director stepped out of the room next door and called out for the next actor. Strangely, I recognized the voice. I looked over there and lo and behold….
ULYSSES from T&T CASTING!!!
Holy crap! I know Ulysses from New York. He used to run his business in the same building on 26th street as Creative Acting Company (Where I used to study), and where I used to run my seminar business. He is a great guy. I walked over, gave him a hug, said hello. He kind of looked at me like he had seen a ghost, but he warmed up eventually. He told me he has been here in LA since July. He asked me if I brought my lady out here with me (meaning Jessica). I told him that Jess and I are friends and she is back in NY….
“Oh shit… well…you know…these things happen.”
“Yeah, it’s all good. We talk all the time.”
“Tell her I said Hi. I dragged my girl out here. She didn’t have much of a choice.”
I laughed…out loud. Everyone in the room looked at me like “Who is this guy that’s buddies with TWO of the casting directors in this place?”
I think its CRAZY that TWO casting directors that I know from New York were holding auditions in the same office, on the same day, in rooms right next to each other… and they neither of them knew the other. I left there with this strange sense of serendipity.
TEUSDAY…
I shot a print ad for MILLER HIGH LIFE in the backyard of a house in Studio City. The basic premise was that I was a guy barbequing in the backyard, feeling good, flipping burgers and brats, sipping on a Miller High Life, and wearing my favorite Miller High Life apron. The ad is designed for a nationwide in-store promotion for Miller High Life branded gear. Unfortunately for me, you probably won’t see my face. If you happen to be in a grocery store or a liquor store in the next few months and see a poster with a guy barbequing in the backyard, feeling good, flipping burgers and brats, sipping on a Miller High Life, and wearing my favorite Miller High Life apron… well that’s ME… pleased to meet ya.
WEDNESDAY…
WE got a break from the bad weather of late and staged a shoot for CATCH, my little-web-series-that-could. Aside from a few late actors, everything was looking good. I felt like I had a solid script. I had scene that involved two of my best actors…and Shirley was directing. Shirley’s footage always looks great.
Then Mike Fisk showed up. Or, the actor who plays Mike Fisk… and granted, I hadn’t seen him in months… but he looked like he just stepped out of a MAKE OVER show.
I cast this guy because not only is he a really good actor, but he has a unique and incredibly interesting look He was able to carry the hardened, edgy look of a sociopath after 25 years of incarceration, while at the same time, possess a certain likeability, a softness that would enable the audience to buy the fact he is a father who wants to do right by his long lost daughter.
The actor I cast showed up. Mike Fisk, unfortunately…did not.
I asked the actor if he could fix his now ultra mod hairstyle and make it look a little more simple… slick it back maybe? He said NO…because he had an audition later.
The hair on my neck was standing up.
So we moved ahead with the shoot. We did manage to get some nice performances out of all the actors… but I was just INCREDIBLY unsatisfied with the way Mike Fisk looked… not to mention pissed the F%#@ off that he just decided to show up with his own agenda…and basically refuse to alter his hairstyle. No heads up…no prior discussion… just SURPRISE… “I look like one of the JONAS BROTHERS!”
Without getting into a long explanation and documenting the conversations that went on between this actor and I about his desire to play “kinder…gentler” roles…as well as his refusal to go back and re shoot a TWO PAGE scene with a slicked back or combed over hair style… as if it would cripple his CAREER….
I’ll just say that I am in the middle of weighing my options, considering new story lines and wanting to pull MY hair… completely the F%$@ out.
That’s just my week up to Wednesday….and I have to get going….
I have an audition today over CAZT... for something... office guy... the breakdown listed DANNY ROTH as the casting director. I used to audution for Danny in New York. He also used to come in and be a guest speaker from time to time for my actor seminars.
(I used to own and operate a seminar program called THE AUDITION EXPERIENCE. Think LEARNING ANNEX meets INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO)
We were SUPPOSED to shoot CATCH: EPISODE 8 today, but its a no go. I had to push it to Wednesday. Now I'm hoping that its not raining on Wednesday... forecast says 50/50.
I'm still knee deep in post-production dealing with my CATCH series AND my ASPIRING LINE series. I've been bouncing all over town meeting with editors and a sound designer, preparing for a RE-LAUNCH of CATCH... the entire series, with new cuts of exisiting episodes (shorter, quicker, new music), and BRAND NEW episodes... all in the oven...almost ready.
ASPIRING LINE is chock full of footage. I should be able to release 2 new episodes by next week.... I'm hoping.
I shoot for MILLER HIGH LIFE tomorrow in Toluca Lake. Thats the print job I booked last week...random booking... Craigslist....open call.
Normally, I wouldnt be interested in a membership (with monthly dues) based theater company, but take into consideration my new 2009 mantra "Audition for Everything," and add that fact that this company is not only nearby, but they offer casting director workshops and a handful of alluring opportunites as part of the membership. Sounded good enough to me. I took the appointment and showed up prepared.
The audition was quick and easy. I performed a monologue from LOBBY HERO by Kenneth Lonergan, revisiting the role of Officer Bill.... a role I played and LOVED to play during a run of LOBBY HERO at Manhattan Theater Source in 2006.
What impressed me most was the space. The Underground Theater Company occupies a really nice looking theater space on Wilton and Fountain... such a relief. I can't tell you how many times I have walked in to a theater audition and thought to myself "I really dont want to have to come to this place and perform for the next 6 weeks. I really dont want to come to this place AT ALL. I dont want to invite my friends and family to this place either."
This was totally different. I looked around and saw a lot of potential... nice space... they have a cozy little lobby and an anex that has another smaller, workshop space. I performed my monologue, chatted with a few folks and I bounced.
I was off to attend the first official Indie City Entertainment meet-up of 2009. That's a whole other story, but we had a great meeting... 13 people showed up... more than I expected. We had an assortment of snacks and we actually had quite a productive little party. I think as a collective we all walked away with a renewed, re-energized feeling. We have plans to start working on some really cool projects.
I spent the remainder of my day/evening listening to and organizing royalty free music for CATCH episodes... senidng a sound designer and a couple of editors a butt load of emails..... and I watched HELLBOY II on DVD... which was.... eh... visually interesting...lots of cool reatures and effects... but I could take it or leave it.
Last but not least.... Sonyia Joiner, the Underground Theater Company director, sent me an email last night inviting me to join the company....
Thank you for auditioning at The Underground Theater for membership in our resident theater company. On behalf of the theater, I wish to invite you to join our company.
It's been raining for the past day and a half here in LA..... non -stop.... Downpours. Aside from getting drenched on my way to and from the car... it's actually kind of nice. I slept soundly last night with the window open... listening to the steady rain fall.
I had a job interview this morning with a Wine & Spirits company. I showed up, dresssed to kill, suit and tie...soaking wet. Yeah... I dont have an umbrella.
After the interview I got a call from a casting office...
They wanted to put me on hold for a Miller High Life print job. Which was GREAT...but it's SO random. I read their posting on CRAIGSLIST of all places....
THURSDAY, FEB 5th ONLY!!
Casting Caucasian and Hispanic males 25 - 35 years in age. MUST HAVE A FIT / TRIM BUILD for national Print ad for Miller Beer. Open casting casting tomorrow only between 10am - 4pm. Please DO NOT attend casting if you are under 25 years of age. We are only casting FIT / TRIM caucasian and hispanic males. DO NOT ATTEND if you are otherwise.
Casting Location:
Out of Frame Studio (behind Calumet)
1126 N. Citrus Ave
Hollywood CA 90038
Thank you.
An OPEN CALL...on CRAIGSLIST... is not exactly something I'm chomping at the bit to attend... in fact... a year ago I would have scoffed, rolled my eyes, turned my nose up, slapped my knee, thrown a shoe, shaken a stick and danced an Irish jig... just to make it perfectly clear I was NOT INTERESTED.
But my attitude as changed. When I first moved to LA, I felt like I had paid enough dues to be more selective as far as what I would audition for. I figured if I came to LA to be on Prime Time, I'm not going to waste my energy on chasing my tail around town for nickel and dime projects. I had essentially become the character I always feared... the one we all mocked... ineffective, hallucinatory, delirious, wasting away... Hoping my agent was out there leading some sort of charge in my honor..... while MY AGENT OF GREATNESS lead colossal armies to victories on the battlefields of the Balkans, waving my flag... chanting my name.... I hung back..... waiting for the phone to ring... hooray for me.
As a result, my auditions in 2008 were few and far between. Rolling up on 2009, I knew I needed to make some adjustments. The ADJUSTMENT...was simple....
Audition for EVERYTHING!!!!
(That line is meant to be read like Gary Oldman's dirty psycho detective in THE PROFESSIONAL)
(One of my favorite movies)
Everything... seriously. For years in New York, that was my strategy. I scoured postings anywhere and everywhere... and I auditioned for anything that came up... scoffing at nothing. So right here, right now, as a realtive newcomer to Los Angeles, its time to bring it all back, go retro, kick it old school....
Because its all about momentum. It's about energy... activity... action. I found that the more I submitted, the more I auditioned. The more I auditioned, the more I worked. The more I worked, the more contacts I made. YES...I worked on a lot of crappy projects...but for every 10 crappy jobs...there were 2 good jobs.
To quote Thomas Jefferson....
(I love this quote)
I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
And in my case, that's absolutely true. So here I am, scouring and scavaging websites 2-3 times a day... banging and blasting out pics/resumes like there 's no tomorrow.... LA CASTING, ACTORS ACCESS, NOW CASTING... RED TUBE... whoa... not Red Tube... nevermind....
OK... back to Craigslist. STILL not the best place to find legitimate breakdowns or auditons... but if you sift through all the junk, you come across a good one every once in a while.... like anything on Craigslist...LOTS of junk...an occasional gem.
So I set out on Thursday with every intention to go to that casting. It almost didn't happen. My first attempt proved futile because I just couldnt find the damn place. I was getting frustrated, driving around adjacent blocks for an hour. That particular page in my key map is ripped out and long gone due to overuse. So I was swinging a bat in the dark. I gave up to go have coffee with Shirley and talk about our shoot on Monday. After the meeting, and a few moments of lazy, self-sabotaging contemplation... I decided to go back and give it one more try...
And now I'm booked to shoot a National print ad for Miller on Tuesday the Tenth.
Hey. How are you?? I have been having a little bit of trouble over here which is why no word since the Giants debacle…but I think I am getting the hang of it. For me, the sleep deprivation is killer – I need 8 hours and I am lucky if I get 1.5 straight! Do you believe that f-ing game? We still need to discuss, because it actually felt like Eli didn’t want to play out the season anymore. So I am watching Gossip Girl between nursing sessions and I just saw Kathiy– she played a realtor on Gossip Girl! How are you doing?
Hi Jen-
Well I'm sorry you've been having trouble... hang in there... it will get better. My Brother and Holly had a helluva time with Keller... neither of them slept much...and Keller was insanely loud and cranky for a while... they had grandparents coming in and helping out just to alleviate some of the pressure.... of course Casey was an angel... I was aways feel like a baby can sense the anxiety and will respond accordingly... By the time Casey came around, Dave and Holly were cool cats about the whole raising baby thing... so Casey had no reason to act up... thats my theory anway...
Yeah... that Giants game sucked... just like old times heh? I'll hand it to The Eagles... they were HOT (SO happy they didn't go all the way). I was nervous to play them .... The Giants play calling was questionable too... phasing out Amani Toomer? Brandon Jacobs UNDER used...AGAIN.... but hey... Carolina and Tennessee both got jacked as well... so i guess it was just one of those seasons.... The Giants will be back.... don't you worry.
Thats great you saw Kathy on GOSSIP GIRL. She is all over the place. She was on Gossip Girl last night. She appeared on LIPSTICK JUNGLE a few months ago.... Then there is her Verizon commercial. She is the hardest working actress I know... she deserves it... she had that appearance posted on her facebook page... I didnt get a chance to see it though...
I shot a scene for a new show on SPIKE TV yesterday. It's a new show that will start running in July. The working title is SURVIVING DISASTER. The basic premise is theyrecreate disasters and crisis situations and instruct viewers on how to respond and behave in those sitautions... how to survive those situations. They put the host of the segment, some sort of expert, right in the middle of the scene and he jumps between talking directly to the camera, offering up information and insight, and interacting with the people in the scene. The scene we shot yesterday was a "UNITED 93"- esque scenario where a group of terrorists take over a commercial airplane, forcing the passengers to come up with a way to thwart the effort and take the plane back. It was SO much fun.
I was cast as the arrogant guy who tries to be a hero and ends up getting himself killed.
We started at 7:30AM and we shot at a studio in Pacoima called AIR HOLLYWOOD....
Air Hollywoodis a los angeles based aviation-themed film production studio specializing in airplane mockups....
I went in there all excited to get to work. The director was this really cool, laid back British guy named Mark. He pulled all the principal actors on to the plane and talked us through the day, first as a group, then individually, character by character. Then they got everyone dressed and seated everyone on the plane. I was in the last seat, in the last row.... and I sat....and sat...and sat... ugh... I did nothing for almost 7 hours... I was bored out of my mind. They were up front shooting the first class passengers and the then blocking and shooting the takeover of the cockpit... basically working their way towards the back.
The only benefit to sitting all the way in the back on the plane was that I was able to slip out the back exit at lunchtime and hit the buffett before the rest of the cast could squeeze themselves through the front exit.... suckers.
So FINALLY, around 5PM...they started getting to the good stuff. It started getting crazy. The director had the terrorists chasing the passengers to the back of the plane. Everyone was screaming and crying. I have to say, I was really impressed by the committment of many of the extra's. They were so into it. They were really believable as panic stricken and terrified passengers. The hair was standing up on the back of my neck.... seriously.
And so it is written...
One of the terrorists grabs a girl from the aisle and holds a plastic knife to her throat for everyone to see. Then the terrorist, in a demostration of ultimate evil, cuts the girls throat and kills her. The entire plane erupts in horrified screams and whimpers. One man, seated WAY in the back... One man...bored silly for seven hours... One man, dressed in khaki pants, a tan shirt, a brownish tie and a brown sweater vest (to compete the ensemble) stands up... and decides to take action. As the passengers around him huddle together. He pushes his way through the terrified group and works his way toward the killer. A few passengers notice what he is doing and they urge him to stop... to no avail.
As our on site expert, narrator and former navy SEAL, speaks to the camera and explains to the viewing audience that its best to stay calm in this type of situation, assess the situation and not jump to some knee-jerk reaction, our hero viliantly passes through the frame in the background.
The Man in the brown sweater vest charges the muderous villian. As he barrles down the isle, lusting for vengeance, screaming for justice, a sleeper terrorist jumps from his own seat, brandishes his own sharp, plastic weapon and tackles The Man, stabbing him several times in the back. He tosses the lifeless body of our arrogant hero aside and joins the party at the front of the plane.
It was awesome. I was on set for 13 hours but I was totally pumped when we wrapped, so it took me a good long while to fall asleep...
So that's the run down of my shoot yesterday. I can't tell you what happens next. You are going to have to watch the show.
Anyway, hang in there Jen... catch up on your sleep when you can... and take your vitamins. I will talk to you soon.
I like The Cardinals. How can you not? Cinderella story...total underdogs... and I'm talking ten year underdogs...twenty year underdogs... The Arizona Cardinals have been the WORST team in the NFL more times than I can care to count... but they are at the big dance today... and I'm pulling for em.
Big difference from last year…. Last year I was he wrapped up in some sort of “out of body” experience... possessed by some divine vision of victory for the New York Giants. That was me… the crazy man walking around LA talking shmack to anyone who would listen. I KNEW, without a doubt that the Giants were going to upset The Patriots and I was out to warn everyone that The G-men would shock the world… and of course… they did.
My plan for today is to swing by the gym and work out for an hour or so, then head over to my buddy JJ’s place to watch the game. He is not having any type of party. It will just be two or three dudes watching a football game. I amaze myself with the act that I’m determined to go to the gym today. I’ve been somewhat of a workout fiend lately. I don’t what it is… I guess my recent obsession has been fueled by my New Year’s resolution to shed enough body fat to expose a six pack…. mix that with the desire to shake up my workout regimen and incorporate some new activities... I’ve been feeling a little burnt out from hitting the weights all the time… so now I’m doing a lot of boxing training (jumping rope, heavy bag}, and I’m going to Runyon Canyon a couple times a week.
Friday, I had a job interview at 10AM. Then I went to the gym. I jumped rope for twenty minutes, fumbled around (miserably) with the speed bag for 20 minutes, and then pounded the heavy bag with furious intensity for 4 three-minute rounds.
After that, I went over to Runyon Canyon and met up with Cate for a double lap. One short lap and one lap up the longer, higher and much more difficult trail equal about 4 miles. At the top of lap 2, I felt like lungs were going to explode.
Once all that was done, I ran a few errands, came home and collapsed…potentially done for the next few days.
Then I get a call from JJ around 9PM. He is going ROLLERSKATING with a group of friends and wants to know I want to go. I’m thinking “Damn, I’m tired. I don’t want to move off this couch… but roller skating sounds fun.” I used to roller skate when I was a kid, but it’s been a LONG time since I had skates on my feet…. So I went.
And it was. It was a lot of fun. Some friends of friends of friends rented out the entire rink and held a private birthday party from 10:30P to 2A… so the rink was not crowded at all. I got on the rink…fell a few times… found my groove…. and I was off to the races. I was flying…doing the crossover around the turns… accelerating full force on the straight-a-aways… it was just me and the rink… I probably looked a little silly. I wasn’t really socializing, just skating loops around everyone... obsessed again.
When it was all over, I rolled back to return my skated and collapsed. I was SO tired. I got home at 3:30AM….spent most of my Saturday tending to my wounds and trying to recuperate.
I did spend some time on Saturday getting caught up on a few of my TV shows. One show specifically was FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS… and guess what y’all…
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is BACK!!
You gotta see this show… it is SO well done and SO under-appreciated.
Season one was great. Season TWO was a huge let down... I must admit…. And I had all but forgotten that Season three was looming… in fact I MISSED the first two episodes…. but I came across that Metacritic.com review and they had given FNL Season THREE a score of 84, which is pretty damn good.
So I watched the first two episodes…and it was just like old times. The story lines are solid, believable and poignant. The acting is fantastic…and the TRUE test… I couldn’t get through an episode without tearing up… I don’t what it is, but this show really gets to me. I used to get choked up all the time during Season One. Here I am again… sitting in on Season Three… wiping tears on my shirt sleeve.
I gotta get out of here… the gym is calling my name.
On January 13th, I auditioned for a role on an upcoming SPIKE TV show called SURVIVING DISASTER...
NEW YORK, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Spike TV has given the green light to two of its most ambitious new projects for series and has renewed its successful original series, "DEA," all slated to premiere in 2009. Production on the new distinctive original series "Surviving Disaster" (working title) and "Deadliest Warrior," and season two of "DEA" will begin
this fall, it was announced today by Sharon Levy, senior vice president of original series for Spike TV.
"Spike TV is taking action-packed programming to an entirely new level," says Levy. "We're thrilled to be in business with some of the most talented and successful producers in the industry and bring this programming to viewers."
In "Surviving Disaster," Spike TV presents a series, unlike any other on television, that may actually save a life. What's the best way to survive an earthquake, shark attack, plane crash, bioterrorism, hostage crisis or deadly tsunami? For the sake of viewers and their families, it's imperative to know how to survive disaster, both natural and man-made, and former Navy SEAL Cade Courtley (Mark Burnett's "Combat Missions") is just the guy to lead viewers to safety in this elaborate step-by-step weekly series. With some of the most elaborate disaster simulations ever created for television, "Surviving Disaster" is a look at how people can arm themselves with knowledge that could save their lives in the event of disaster.
I was called back and put on tape later that week and booked this past Monday, the 26th. My scene will be set up much like the legendary UNITED 93 scenario that took place on 9/11. A group of passengers stage an attempt to overtake hijackers on a commercial airline.... and guess what happens...
Well, I can't tell you that... you're going to have to watch.
I've actually been fairly busy with auditions over the past few weeks. I auditioned for a production of THE SHAPE OF THINGS yesterday in North Hollywood. It's a three performance showcase type of thing that goes up in early April, which, under West Coast (Hollywood) conditions, is ideal. This was obviously a non-paying project, but THE SHAPE OF THINGS is a great play and I'm at the point now where I would love to be working on anything... just to be active.... happy to have the opportunity to act...happy to have the opportunty to audition. Anyway, I read for the role of PHILLIP. The director asked me to come back a few hours later for a call back. I returned for the callback, read again...director gave me some notes... I read again.. and I was done.
Today I'm headed over to Santa Monica for a casting at Sessions West Studios. It's for a San Diego Tourism Board commercial. The Role: Dad at the Beach - male, 30s. Attractive, fit, outgoing and aspirational yet real.
One of the reasons I'm auditioning more than usual is because I've been relentlessly submitting myself... all day...all night... Since I'm not working a lot right now... I have time to keep a steady eye on Actors Access, LA casting, NOW casting and craigslist. I'm blasting out submissions with reckless abandon... honestly... it;s so competitive out here.... if you want the audition...you have to be obsessively agressive...
I'm looking forward to getting the west coast collective meetings back up and running. We have a tentative date schedule for our first meeting of 2009... Sunday, February 8th. Last week, I sent an email out to every past, present and potential Collective member I could think of:
Hi-
So as we are all trying to get our bearings, set out goals, lay the groundwork for a productive year...and ride out Mercury's retrograde...
I'm putting together a plan for the reintroduction slash reinvention of the ICE collective meeting...
First off... I'm looking at putting together ONE "official" meeting per month... likely to be on a Saturday or Sunday.. and this meeting will most definitely incorporate some sort of food/meal/brunch scenario... Locations will vary.
The purpose of these meetings will be to regroup and socialize, of course, but we will also be setting some very specific goals for the following month. If we take the approach of say... a theater company.. our objective being to create quality work, to stay busy...and simply to engage in the art and craft of acting (and in this case film making), we will close every meeting with a final decision and a definite plan to shoot one or two projects and put the proper plan and people... in motion...
I will be reaching out to people on a consistent basis to bring fresh faces, talent and perspectives to the group and I'm hoping to cultivate thorough and beneficial industry relationships by doing so... for everyone involved...
I'm hoping we can set up a system where each meeting is managed/coordinated by a different person... once a month... one or two different people can decide WHERE we have the meeting, WHAT that meeting is going to entail... and make it happen.
Pitching in for a rented space is an option. We can always meet at the Colfax Soul Shack. Hortense House? We could meet over coffee at Solar de Cahuenga. Brunch at HOME? Bowling? A picnic at Griffith park? Karaoke? a screening? A big group movie date? Hiking at Runyon? Riding the Metro? Playing in traffic on Ventura Blvd? Petting zoo?
Whatever... as long as we have an opportunity to brainstorm and address current issues.
So I need to hear from you. I want feedback, availability, a general idea of who is interested and who is not....
I think its time to come together... to build our existing base of brilliance and bring more cool, driven, talented people together.... Lets be proactive. Lets' push the envelope...and really explore what we can accomplish....
So next Sunday we get back to it. I already have a good list of potential projects and concepts to discuss and possibly... hopefully.... start working on.
Posted by Extra TV Staff on January 25, 2009 10:43 AM:
Actors and actresses of the guild will be honoring their peers with the SAG Awards tonight -- and the winners tonight could predict who will win Oscars in February! The films up for Best Picture at the SAG Awards include four of the flicks nominated for Academy awards -- "Milk," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Slumdog Millionaire," and "Frost/Nixon." The final nominee is "Doubt," which didn't receive an Oscar nod.
I have not seen FROST NIXON or MILK. All I’ve seen from MILK is a short clip on INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO during JOSH BROLIN’S appearance. Based on what I saw, I was really impressed by Brolin’s work. I need to see that movie…
What I HAVE seen at this point is THE WRESTLER, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and BENJI BUTTONS.
THE WRESTLER… touching… edgy, gritty, and dirty. Mickey Rourke was great. Marisa Tomei was great. Marisa Tomei was hot. But what really stood out for me is the way I FELT this movie. Darren Aronofsky did an amazing job of creating this dark, sleazy world. I FELT every ache and pain. I felt the grit… I felt the dirt… the despair…the desperation. Mickey Rourke won a Golden Globe for best actor for this performance I applaud his journey. He did a phenomenal job in this role. One little side note o this film… I studied/trained for a while back in New York at Black Nexxus with WASS STEVENS. He played one of the promoters in the film. He also has a SPRINT commercial running right now... a bunch of teachers using two way radios to track down a missing student and send him right to detention.... seen it?
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON… big movie… big actors… impressive make-up and definitely a curiously strong story… but I wasn’t really BLOWN AWAY. I couldn’t help but feel like I had been there before. I thought it was cool to see how they told this story. I thought it was cool how they aged and DE-aged Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett… but I couldn’t get past the idea that I was watching a literal hybrid of FORREST GUMP and BIG FISH… which made a for less engaging experience for me. And to tell you the truth, I HATED the ending. That stupid whiney daughter just walks off? Ah forget it… I won’t give anything away…
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD… hmmm… I could write and write…talk and talk about this one. First of all…it seemed to me that this film was written as a play. The magic was all in the dialogue… and there was LOTS of dialogue. One of the great things about really good theater is it makes you think… a well written play leaves you with so many thoughts… sometimes unanswered questions… then you go with your friends or your date and you sit at a coffee shop or a bar and talk about it…discuss… sometimes for hours. What you saw, how you felt… why you felt that way…what this meant to you versus what it may have meant to someone else…
This is the way I felt after REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, which is a good thing for sure. In fact, I feel like I need to see it AGAIN just to try and make sense of it all. Because, like I said, the magic is all in the dialogue…offered up like a puzzle.
The problem I have with the film is more of a personal thing, I think. From the moment this movie starts, these two characters, this couple, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Winslett start fighting…and it just…never…STOPS. It made me feel anxious and irritable. There were moments where I said to myself “I don’t know if I can’t take much more of this.” It was a personal reaction that has a lot to do with the fact that I grew up with what felt like an incessant flow of fighting and arguing between my parents. They separated when I was 12 years old. While I love and admire both my parents, I swore to myself that I would never ever live like that… and that probably has a lot to do with the fact I haven’t married yet.
(That’s not blame Mom... just a little honest introspection xo)
OK… so…
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE… I said it before and I will say it again… WOW… really well done… moving… excellent acting… visually engaging… different and new…
Ok, you know what… this blog post has turned into an hour long writing exercise…. I’m hungry, so I’ll say one last thing….
I went to see SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE last night and all I have to say is....
WOW
Ok..maybe i can say a little more than that....
The cinematography was amazing. Slumdog was directed by Danny Boyle. Danny Boyle directed 28 DAYS LATER. I love 28 DAYS LATER for its incrdedibly inventive and intriguing visuals... all shot on video and na very low budget. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE embodied that same visual essence, only with it was more poignant and colorful...
(made with more money)
The acting was fantastic. I was particularly impressed by the 2 little boys who started out the story. These kids are like 10 years old..at the MOST... and their performances were so rich...entertaining...moving...
I was totally lost in this story... which for me is the sign of a great movie... my immediate world was totally suspended for 2 hours and I was completely captivated.
I was walking on air for the rest of the evening, until I went to bed.. with a smile on my face.
Then I woke up this morning.... and I was BACK TO THE FUNK.
So what the hell is going on? Everyone I talk to is in SOME kind of funk.... myself included. No matter where they are (Socially, emotionally, financiall) or what they are doing, there is one thing that seems to be constant ... THE FUNK. People respond to an overall funk differently... some better than others... its challenging regardless...
I'm choosing to attribute THE FUNK to the current state of MERCURY RETROGRADE. If you follow Astrolgy, its a window of NON-opportunity that usually last about two weeks and pops up 3-4 times a year.
Many of my " friends-in-the-funk" were unaware of the existence and effects of the retrograde, but found great comfort in the fact that its supposedly OVER on Feb 1st. Everyone seesm to be more comfortable managing the melancholy or the mayhem if they have a specific out date.
So whether you believe in that stuff or not... if you are feelin THE FUNK... hang in there... it's all gonna turn over.
In fact, I think instead of having just a simple Super Bowl party...chips, salsa, pizza and beer.... we should all have a Super Bowl celebration slash Mercury Retrograde closing ceremony....
From www.astrologyweekly.com>>>
Here we go again... Mercury goes retrograde once again. It happens 3 times a year and it lasts for about 3 weeks. This time is from January 11, 2009 to February 1, 2009.
This is an important period, and we should be aware of the effects associated with this astrological influence. Since it is so often, we must learn what it means and how to take advantage of it.
From www.astrologyzone.com>>>
Why would the Universe give us Mercury retrograde? Because to move forward it is sometimes necessary to backtrack and reconfigure our paths in life. It is important to reconsider, repair, reflect, and reconnect. Mercury forces us to slow down and fix what's broken, and in so doing, rethink things. It also gives us time to get to projects we have put on the back-burner.
Some activities are lucky or actually improve when Mercury retrogrades. You are likely to bump into old friends that you haven't seen in years. Adopted children tend to find their birth parents during Mercury retrograde periods, or people locate their long lost siblings. Prosecutors often find clues to crimes that had previously remained unsolved for years. (Although sometimes the reverse is true--there is a greater danger, or example, that police can bungle evidence during a Mercury retrograde period, for clear thinking doesn't come easy for any of us then.) Mail that went astray weeks or even years ago shows up during Mercury retrograde. Some things that were lost reappear.
From Interesting Thing of the Dayhttp://itotd.com : "A virtual museum of interesting things">>>
So is there anything real to Mercury retrograde? Certainly the astronomical phenomenon as such is not in dispute. Every planet spends some time in a retrograde state relative to Earth during the year, and this is nothing more than a quirk of geometry. But what about the supposed manifestations in daily life? Well, astrologers eagerly point to major world events that occurred during Mercury retrograde periods and purportedly show the hallmarks of its influence. Notably, the 2000 U.S. presidential election—which was without a doubt a profoundly weird case of confusion, delay, and difficulty in making decisions—occurred during Mercury retrograde. There are hundreds of other examples, but it’s difficult to evaluate them without carefully comparing them to events that occurred when Mercury was not retrograde. By its very nature, the effect is so subjective that it would be impossible to pin down definitively.
Even astrologers allow that Mercury retrograde—or any astrological configuration, for that matter—doesn’t cause anything as such; it’s rather an indication, a sign, a symbol. The positive spin is that because communication difficulties tend to occur during these times, it’s a good opportunity to meditate, to reexamine priorities and projects, to give special consideration to your interactions with others. Nothing that happens is truly the fault of Mercury retrograde; instead, it’s an indicator of where your awareness and attention should be.
There you have it.... take it for what it is... I gotta go..... burn some jasmine or something
Big day tomorrow... Inauguration Day... All the pageantry and optimism is really nice. I dont care who you support...who you voted for... or how you feel about the economy, the war, education or the bailout... you HAVE to be able to appreciate all the positive energy floating around out there...
And if you cant see past your disdain for certain political elements to enjoy such a brilliant display of unity... you should pick up a book and revisit what it means to be an American...
We are all in this together... words to live by
I have a conference call today. I signed on with a new beverage and we have a 2-3 hour web conference training session today. Yes, I know its technically a holiday, but I'm not doing anything special today...there's no football on ... so... I've got a conference call.
This is an interesting job opportunity and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's a new beverage...another start up...but they are BRAND spanking new... you cant buy it anywhere yet... very much unproven...shit I havent even TASTED the stuff yet... and the pay structure is 80% commission based... and that, my friends is LESS than ideal... working on commission sucks.... unless of course you are selling high end products and rakin in the bucks... at $2 a case... I'm not gonna be raking in anything... but hey... I'm happy to have the opportunity...I'll give it a go and see what happens.
I wrote two more episodes for CATCH yesterday. I'm in the process of reworking all the existing footage.. and getting things in better order to build a better story... I'm getting the series ready for a submission to StrikeTV, which (SHOULD it be accepted) will be great exposure for everyone involved. So I'm rounding up all the proper contracts and paperwork...releases and such... and I'm getting all the muisc cleared... replacing what needs to be replaced.... I'm really looking to incorporate independent music all of types for every new episode.... but thats a lot of work.... again... I'll give it a go... see what happens...
I'm on my way to an audition (First audition of 2009), so I'll be brief...
HUGE congrats to Mickey Rourke for winning a Golden Globe. I saw THE WRESTLER back in New York over the holidays and I thought it was F%$@@# great.... dark, depressing, moving... fantastic.
YES, I did go to Paris Hiltons house on Saturday night. I was out with a frew friends, bouncing around in Hollywood and one of the girls in the group got a call from Sean Stewart, Rod Stewarts son (booty call). He invited her up to the party...and she, appropriately, arrived with 5 friends. 3 of whom were DUDES. I'm sure he was stoked.
The party was fun. There were cupcakes, little pizza's, pannini's and LOTS of mac and cheese. She has her own little disco in her house, complete with a stripper pole, that everyone and their MOTHER felt the need to take a crack at.... pun intended...not intended...ok INTENDED. She has a dog slash doll house in the back that houses 5 or 6 little chihuaha varieties. The house is an exact replica of the mansion in it's shadow, complete with a balcony and winding staircase. I spent quite a bit of time petting the dogs. They were DYING for attention and freaking out for anyone to reach over the fence anbd pet them.
We left the party at 4AM and ran into Jesse Metcalf outside, asking people if he could catch a ride down the hill. Aparently the people he came with left him behind. So we squeezed unto JJ's Lexus amd gave Jesse Metcalf a ride home from Paris Hiltons house.... f%$@@ surreal.
Ok...I gotta roll...
In response to my own blog post last week... the one about how my mood and motivation was , for the most part, meager and morose... I leave you (Or leave myself) a horoscope that I found in todays DAILY NEWS:
FROM THE NY DAILY NEWS (Jan 13, 2008):
Nobody knows more than you, Sag, that a positive attitude can actually change your life. But even an optimistic archer can fall prey to a despondent moment now and again. Shake off feelings of uncertainty about life and get on with creating and following your master plan. Remember, life is for living!
I hit Runyon Canyon today.... it was gorgeous as always. Ashley and I meet up to discuss future plans for The Collective and instead of meeting for coffee (Thats SO 2008), we decided to walk and talk...HIKE and talk... burn and sweat...and talk.
I think we had a pretty productive meeting... we also both slid and fell...thats some treacherous terrain up there.
I just finished watching the final 3 episodes of DAMAGES: Season One on DVD. DAMAGES is awesome... my latest TV obsession... and I was kind of in a rush to get caught up on the show. Season Two started on January 7th.
I highly recommend it... stellar performances by everyone involved... YES including Ted Danson.
(It airs on F/X)
Speaking of damages... there was an earthquake last night... a 4.5... I felt the hell out of that thing.... Around 8PM I was sitting in my apartment watching the game and the whole room started shaking... not enough to do any real damage... and not even enough to knock anything over... but it was still pretty freaky... and over in about 5 seconds....
Ok, anyway
Ladies and Gentlemen... my Ipod top 50 for 2008...
(I always feel compelled to share what music I'm listening too... for a handful of reasons...and for the simple fact that I just like to share... it's a list of 50 songs that have been there for me, throughout the year, 50 songs that gave me inspiration, 50 songs that, for one reason or another, I've held dear)
So, that being said... my top 50 songs for 2008 are...
(I kind of feel like Casey Kasem right now)
Drum roll please!
1) Salute Your Solution - The Raconteurs
2) Go Left - ED, Gift of Gab and Lateef
3) Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon
4) Ain't No Grave - Crooked Still
5) Sick Thing to Do (James Bem's A&G mix) - Bitcrushers
6) A New Sky - The Presets
7) Ms. Hill - Talib Kweli
8) Lookin at your Face - Nino Moschella
9) Oh Sister - Andrew Bird
10) Pussyfootin' - The Bamboos
11) The Future Calls The Dawn - Felix Da Houscat
12) Energy - Apples in Stereo
13) Delta Dawn - Skeewiff
14) Chateau Strut - Doyle Bramhall
15) Being Here - The Stills
16) The Last Trumpet - Lyrics Born
17) Up From The Hill - Chris Knight
18) Where I Belong - Honey Root
19) All The Stars - Nomo
20) I Want You Back (Z-trip remix) - Jackson 5
21) Malemolencia - CeU
22) Stiff Jazz - dZihan and Kamien
23) WannaBe in L.A. - Eagles of Death Metal
24) Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti and Spearhead
25) Right as Rain - Adele
26) When I See You - Prodigy (Mobb Deep)
27) One Two - Cool Kids
28) The Gunshot - Nicolay & Kay
29) Everybody Clap - The Strange Fruit Project
30) O Shot - The Gay Blades
31) El Dorado - Animate Objects
32) Harder Than You Think - Public Enemy
33) Om:The Meaning of Life - The Village Green
34) Growin in it - Diplomats of Solid Sound
35) Come On - The Panderers
36) Chicken Payback - A Band of Bees
37) I'm Glad You're Mine - Darius Rucker
38) Lone Pilgrim - Crooked Still
39) Right Back Where We Started From - Army Navy
40) We Do We Go - Nomo
41) Rooibos - The Stills
42) I'm Amazed - My Morning Jacket
43) The Camel - Fat Freddy's Drop
44) All Night - Damian Marley
45) Hip Hop is Dead - Nas
46) Shake It Off - Lyrics Born
47) Move Shake Drop Remix - DJ Laz
48) Fee Da Da Dee - The Guggenheim Grotto
49) Bring It On - Lenny Kravitz
50) Be Your Own - One Self
Its Thusday afternoon... and its an absolutely amazing day in LA. It's a sunny seventy degrees... super nice. I'm at Solar De Cahuenga in Hollywood trying to get some writing done...trying to motivate, find some inspiration... CREATE some inspiration.... do SOMETHING to get out of this RUT. I think I'm about to formally conclude that I am unable to perform effectively (ie. get anything accomplished) at Solar de Cahuenga. There are way too may distractions here... too many gorgeous women... too many celebrity drop ins... i cant focus... I do mmuch better at Silver Lake Coffee Co... the vibe is a lot more chill... its a great place to hunker down with a cup of tea and let the imagination fly... plus they have better parking.
All is not lost on Solar de Cahuenga. For one, like I said before, there are pretty people of all shapes, sizes and colors drifting through here all day long... if you like people -watching... this is a great spot.... but this place is actually ideal for having a casual meeting...mainly because its in Hollywood... centrally located and easy to reach for most people.... so its always a fair request to ask someone to meet here. Silver Lake Coffee co is over near me..which is farther east...and unless I'm meeting with someone who is farther east... Solar is the better choice.
Anyway, here I am.... supposedly reworking a few CATCH scripts... but I'm feeling stuck... so here I am, pecking away at my laptop for your consideration....
You know what? I think I'm going to pack it up... go to the gym...work off my angst... and get home in time to watch the Florida/Oklahoma game... I'm feelin Florida.
I will get back to my scripts... I will get back on the bus.... Right now I'm just trying to get it together... see clearly.... find my way....
It's late... I'm about to go to bed but I wanted to jot down a few thoughts first.
It's a new day, it's a new dawn...
And I feel like I'm working extra hard to stay positive. Ever since I got back from New York... ever since the year turned... I havent felt that same optimistic drive that I usually feel as we embark on a new year... things are tough right now... Everywhere I look, the news is bad... there's this gloomy presence that I just can't shake....and its not just me... every time I turn around I having the same conversation... seems like everyone I know is hurting financially... and looking for work.... Everyone is anxious...uneasy.
The Economy is in the crapper, unemployment rates keep going up, there is still an actors stike looming...a strike that's been looming for months... and the simple threat of another strike has basically resulted in a defacto strike... a brown out of sorts.
So I'm doing what I can... trying to keep it all in perspective... but it really feels like a struggle right now.
I don't have any nice arc to this story. I'm not gonna drop some clever anecdote, quote or rhyme to wrap it up. I'm writing this more for myself than anything else. I'm stressed out.
OK... so it's Friday, January 2nd... that weird day after New Years Day... it's cloudy... quiet...
Regardless, Happy New Year!
I'm sitting here watching THE SUGAR BOWL, and I'll tell ya... UTAH is up 14-0 and they look good... fast...really fast...they came to PLAY today. Alabama looks confused... they cant keep up.
Anyway... so I had an interesting New Years Eve. Instead of going out and spending a lot of time in an overcrowded hot spot and a lot money on drinks, I jumped on the opportunity to work security at a big party in the Hollywood Hills. I was planning on laying low, watching some football, and possibly even sleeping right through it all. I just got back from a 2 week east coast holiday tour where I got pummeled by a snowstorm, traveled from Manhattan to Hoboken to Asbury Park to Hoboken to Farfax, VA to Manhattan to Ridgewood to Brooklyn to Northport to Manhattan to JFK. I saw plenty of friends, spent Christmas with Mom and Bob, my Brother, his wife and my two nephews. I saw my Father in Long Island. I had more than my share of drinks and debauchery.
THATS the kind of hangover I was coming back to Los Angeles with... so I was FINE with napping away the New Year. Then I got a call from my buddy Paul... not Small Paul... Big Paul. (Sorry, thats an INDIE CITY insider reference)
So Big Paul calls me and asks if I can work with him at a party on New Years Eve... doing security. I've never really done security before... but hey...I'm game...and they are paying cash.... and I... love...cash.
The party was held at the top of Laurel Canyon in the "castle-like" home of Gary Morgan. Gary Morgan is a long time Hollywood stuntman, stunt coordinator and the inventor of the BIG JOHN toilet seat....
This is not a joke folks... every bathroom in the house was equipped with a bonafide double wide...
The house was amazing, perched at the top of the canyon, unobstructed, with a stunning view of the city below. The view was particularly cool on New Years Eve because of an erie cloud cover that saturated the city with dense fog. Since this house was so high up on the hill, we were above the fog and Los Angeles looked like it literally had a blanket laying across with various assortments of lights beaming through.... very "Dark Night."
Paul and I arrived early enough to take a quick tour and meet everyone... cousins, uncles, in-laws....a super nice family... great group of people.. and NOT an obese bunch either... as you might guess... being the royal family of toilet seats for fat folks... they were a pretty healthy looking crew.
My job for the night was to handle the guest list. As people approached the top of the driveway... technically the BOTTOM of the driveway.. I would locate their name on the list and pass them on through. Gary told me early on that I didnt have to be TOO strict. As long as people knew anyone in the family, knew enough to drop the right name, if they were in costume, or if they were pretty...and not obnoxious, i could send them up.
It was a fairly casual outing. I don't have any good gossip for you. I didnt turn anyone away. I didnt throw anyone out. For the most part everyone was cool. I was entertained by frequent visits from Skippy of FAMILY TIES (he lives next door) and Mark Wahlberg... not THAT Mark Wahlberg, the other Mark Wahlberg. I walked up to the party at 11:45 and had a good stiff drink and watched the big private ball drop. They had their own own huge New Years ball installed and they, of course, lowered it at the stroke of midnight, with a vast, glittered and glowing view of LA in the background.
I have to admit it was pretty f%$@ing cool.
So after ringing in the New Year, after managing the hordes of people trying to leave the party and get on the shuttle van...and after single handedly changing some lady's flat tire...
(One of Gary's guests had a flat as she was trying to pull out, so I offered to help her put the spare on. I was down and dirty changin that damn thing...in my suit and tie... filthy....but I got it done. The lady offered me some cash but I didnt take it. I told her to have a good New Year)
After helping more people catch the shuttle; after apprehending a guy who backed in to Paul's parked car while Paul was at the bottom of the hill; After telling the final stragglers that the shuttle service was now CLOSED; after getting PAID; after thanking Gary and his family and after a delicious piece of cheesecake.... it was time to go home....
It was 5AM.
Slept til one o clock New Years Day... watched USC/PENN STATE... I was pulling for Penn State... then I managed to get myself off the couch, out of the house..and I went to see BENJAMIN BUTTON... all by myself... which was great... start the new year off with a nice little "Artist's date."
Its New Years Eve 2008.... I got back to Los Angeles yesterday. I was exhausted. Two weeks of bouncing around the East Coast, 4 days of bouncing around with my nephews and 1 all-nighter in New York City that landed me right back at JFK at 5AM had most certainly taken its toll.
I came home yesterday and slept for 13 hours.
What am I doing for New Years Eve?
No plans... I figured I would probably sleep til Saturday. So when my buddy Paul called and asked me to work security with him at a big party in The Hills... I said hell yeah.... easy money.
So thats my New Years Eve... greeting party goers ... assuring safety... securing the perimeter... and stealing an occasional cocktail along the way.... burp.
Looks like another long lost project of mine has surfaced.
"332221222" is a short film I did a few years ago for NYU student filmmaker Rob Lockhart. My character is appropriately named "The Villian." An interesting factoid about this projecft is that the title is based on the name of a song by Don Ellis and the film goes as far as the music will take you. (PS: there are a few bad words)
You can click on the link below and view it directly on Blip.tv
My best to you and yours
May you find more open doors
May you settle all your scores
Get lean and eat S'mores
Ok... NOW...
Once again BACK is the incredible.....
Introducing a new trailer for CATCH, the web series that tells the story of MAGGIE and JERRY, two star-crossed serial killers searching for true love. CATCH is written and produced by James Huffman and features Anne Judson Yager, Trevor Jones, Bill Oberst JR, Amy Snively, James Huffman, Brian Wilson, JJ Huckin and Milo Erikson.
Its a cold (West Coast cold), rainy day in LA. The city has shut down for the most part. This is my second December in LA LA Land and it seems to me that there is a unified drop in action, energy and efficiency that renders the city pretty much useless until we kick back up the SECOND week of January.
I fly back to New York tonight. I'm catching an overnight flight out of LAX, which lands me at JFK around 7AM. So I will dragging around Manhattan tomorrow morning looking for something to do.
I'm pumped to go home. I totally psyched to be back in New York, to see a handful of my finest friends, and I'm seriosuly stoked to spend some quality time with my 2 nephews, my brother and his wife. They are in the middle of a significant amount of drama, they are putting the two family dogs to rest due to an overwhelming amount of medical issues, and finally, after years of planning and waiting, they are adopting and bringing their adorable little girl home from China. They leave for China on the 27th. So they've got a lot going on. Hopefully some god old fashioned Huffman Family Holiday fanfare can alleviate some of the pressure.
While I'm looking forward to getting back to my loved ones and my beloved Big Apple, I'm feeling considerably deflated. Aside from general social concerns and the obvious challenges that result from a crappy economy and ANOTHER looming actors strike, my ego is bruised from getting my butt handed to me this past weekend.
I spend the past few weeks working up a nice 22 page script for my web series CATCH. This script had become a writing challenge that I was really proud of. It's 22 pages that would be broken into 4 short episodes. I had a lot of fun writing it...and the crew I was putting together was equally excited to bring this material to life.
So I was feeling ambitious and I was thinking I could get a cast and crew together and knock out this great series of epsiodes in the dawn of December. The town itself going dark, some people are still around. Seems like a perfect opportunity to rally troops and shoot hoops...know what I'm saying?
And it was coming together beautifully. I worked out a deal on an office location in Marina Del Ray. Shirley, one of my favorite directors, was set to direct. Zoe, my favorite cinematographer, was signed on...even though its not her ideal scenario. What I mean by that is, Shirley likes to direct AND shoot. She wants to operate camera when she directs. ZOE, as a DP, or cinematographer, prefers to bring her own mini-crew...including her side kick Yvonne, who always camera ops. Since Shilrey is operating camera...is creates a "crossing the line" scenario that theoretically demotes ZOE to gaffer.
I realy like Zoe's work, so I went back a few times to reuqest her presence, I prsented it to her in a variety of ways, just short of begging. I asked if she would consider working on this project in a capacity that would serve Shirley AND Zoe. At first she was like "No Thanks," but right before I was about to start placing ads on Mandy and Craigslist, ZOE agreed to join the team... awesome.
I got Dj Eric to be my sound man...love Eric... he loves CATCH... warm fuzzies all around.
I EVEN managed to find my Spanish speaking cleaning ladies. Whihc was kind of an unusual request... and a tall order... pun intended. THIS is what I was looking for:
Fabiola and Felicia - Possible Recurring / FEMALES / 30 TO 60 / Hispanic, Latin; Seeking two women, ideally identical twins, but could be sisters of the same height, or two women who strongly resemble each other. Must speak Spanish. These two women will play cleaning ladies who work the night shift in a corporate office and stand by while their evil boss, working late, is brutally murdered.
I had friends calling me and emailing, rolling there eyes. "Good luck with that" they said.
I even put an ad on Craigslist...and people on CRAIGSLIST wewre leaving me notes, scoffing at my request. Man, I tell ya...some people are such HATERS...NAYSAYERS... why be so negative? What good does that do? It's really sad how many people are out there...ACTIVELY combing thru ads on Craigslist...and taking the time to write me messages telling me how I will fail... that I CANT do this...or CANT do that...
Well guess what... and this is exactly what I love about Craigslist:
Dear James, you have lucked out!! I am a former professional housekeeper who is now an actress...I also speak Spanish AND not only that but my daughter is also available-we look very much alike and everone thinks we're sisters. She is also latin...We would love to help you out tomorrow. I can email you photo and resume if you like. My daughter also has acting experience.
Take THAT.. naysayers
So there I am... getting it all together... through the power of positive thinking, professionalsim and pure perseverance, I've got myself a shoot.
After dealing with a few last minute scheduling challenges, I managed to get the cast and crew into Marina Del Ray and onto the site, into the office space...EARLY, I might add. My location contact was supposed to meet us to let us in for load in and set up at Noon, but LUCKILY, we were there early and came across an opportuntiy to get into the space BEFORE noon...and before my contact had arrived. So I jumped at the chance to get a jump on setting up.... and THATS where my luck ran out.
First off, apparently one of the crew guys deciuded to prop open the front door to make loading in a little easier. He forgot to ever close that door. That door eventually set off an alarm that set off a chain of events that set of the inevitable IMPLOSION of my shoot.
The alarm alerted the the owners of the building, who alerted the office manager, who came over to the office location...on her day off... to find a film crew setting up lights and camera in her space... you can imagine her concern when, after asking one of the crew members what was going on, she was told "We are shooting a student film!" Ooops.
One thing led to another...and within the hour, we were wrapping it up, packing it up and going over to the local bar to drink away the pain.
I accept total responsibility. I was wrong to invade the space without our location contact. If I had waited for him. he would have been able to tell us about the alarm, and he could have diffused the situation with the building manager... by simply being there and knowing what to say. But he wasnt there... he was 30 minutes away.
I knew I was trying to cut corners...and I knew that I was taking a chance. I believed...like I always do... that could pull it off. What I should have done... I should have passed along the sensitivity of the situation to my crew. I should have had a thorough meeting with everyone before we got in there so we all knew what to say and how to say it. What can I say? I took a gamble..and it blew up in my face.
I mean, gambling, taking risks and operating with an essence of espionage is how I've been able to pull off every shoot up to this point. I guess this was bound to happen at some point. What did I learn? Where do I need to make adjustments? Well, I will always gamble... taking risks... being bold ... its what I know... it's the only way I can make all this shit happen without dropping 25 grand. So what do I do? How to I make sure this doenst happen again. The answer? Espionage... dont laugh... I'm totally f%$#@ serious....Its either that or try to come up with 25 grand... and right now..thats just not an option.... so espionage it is... true guerrilla filmmaking with a dash of 007....better and more thorough pre production... we have to operate like a stealth unit of CIA operatives... like Navy Seals.... Jason Bourne... like Oceans Eleven... one good conversation with everyone in the crew could have prepared us all for any potential snags or curve balls...and we would have been golden.
Honestly though, this hurts. Four days later I'm still smarting. This is definitely gonna leave a mark on my reputation as a producer. I am really fortunate to have such an understanding cast and crew and core group of friends... otherwise this would be a lot more damaging.
So... it is what it is... The Universe has spoken...NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!
We plan to regroup and make another run in January or February.
I've been crazy busy... I had a brutal week last week...really early days... planning for a big shoot this past weekend... that fell apart (details to come later)... and I was sick all week... trying to manage a cold ...and couldn't get any sleep to recover properly.... PLUS I had a dozen friends throwing christmas and bday parties that I had to drop in on...long week... I was all over the place...
still trying to recover
I DID get 2 new Myspace pages posted this week>>>>
I should have a new trailer for CATCH ready by the end of the week...and quite possibly a new ASPIRING LINE episode...I will fill you in later on the gory details of the fiasco formerly known as the CATCH 8nine10 shoot.
I am supposed to be at the Ford Models Christmas party tonight...but I started feeling sick this morning and chose to cancel. I have an early early day tomorrow and I'm shooting CATCH 8, 9, 10 and 11 this weekend... I cant afford to fall too far under. I can't afford to fall under at all. So to all you gorgeous Ford Models... all you freakishly tall, hot sexy Ford Models enjoying your annual Christmas party AT THIS VERY MOMENT:
Happy Holidays! I miss you and love you all. Warm, Snug hugs... kisses...more kisses..and the occasioanl dry hump. Feliz Navidad.
A few years ago, I played a samll role in an independent horror film titled DEAD SERIOUS. I played the role of Major Landis, a preppy, foul mouthed militia member with a hankering for hunks of gay vampires (don't ask).
Now, I was under the impression that this film was all but extinct... But wouldnt you know, DEAD SERIOUS is back. I received the following email from Moodude Films producer Michael Hein:
Dear Dead Serious Cast & Crew,
Well, it's been a long time coming, but Dead Serious will have its national television premiere on MTV's Logo network this coming Thursday night at midnight.
The film will have network dates all though 2009, but as of today what we know for certain is December 11th at midnight through 2 AM December 12th.
Joe and I would like to thank everyone involved with Dead Serious. Making this film has truly been a labor of love and we are very proud of the film we all made together.
Cast:
Becky- Katie Apicella
Mario- Mario Giacalone
Stephen- Josh Conkel
Billy Poppins - Peter Bush
The Assistant - Daryn Strauss
Also featuring - Ashley Wren Collins, Ken Simon, Tara Yanoviak, Mike Shimkin, David Aurthur Bachrach,
Edited by Josh Spiegel
Music composed and performed by Lorne Norton III
Saturday morning... chillin .... drinking my usual morning green tea, two organic green tea bags with two organic Ginger tea bags... tasty...and it wakes me right up...
Friday, late afternoon, I had finally recovered from my birthday celebration, which was loads of fun... Wednesday night's festivities entailed margaritas and Mexican Food at BARRAGAN'S, losing my bankcard at BARRAGANS....then partying with friends at THE SHORT STOP in Echo Park......lots of shots.... tequila mostly....dancing... bacon wrapped hot dogs...and the attack of the 50ft Woman (Highlight of my night)
Thursday morning was all about the headache and the cold sweats... a couple close calls but I managed to retain possession of all my cookies.
So Friday, late afternoon, I had finally recovered from all the fun on Wednesday night. I decided to celebrate my recovery by going out. I went to HUSH LOUNGE in Hollywood last night... I was Krumping and doing the Robot til closing time... AAH... youth
So today, I'm gearing up to put in a solid days work in Anaheim at THE JINGLE BALL. I will working the event in a big Blackberry Storm costume. Yep, you read that right... I'm getting paid like $50 an hour to walk around the event dressed up like the new Blackberry. There will be a paid escort (Not THAT kind of escort...I wish), to walk me around. So I'm assuming I wont be able to see very well. The escort will likely be there to make sure I dont trip, or walk into people...or get assaulted...
I kid you not. People respond to costume characters in a variety of ways. I will let you know how it goes.
Yes...thats right... today, December 3rd... is my birthday.
I have to say I'm a bigger fan of Facebook today than I was yesterday due to the fact that I had so many Facebook birthday messages. I was seriously rendered speechless for like... three long seconds.
I am planning on having dinner with a lady friend this evening and then heading over to The Short Stop in Echo Park. I posted in invitation to join me for birthday drinks earlier this week and it went a little somehting like this:
The Huffman Holiday Ho Down comes to Town
This Wednesday night at The Short Stop
Echo Park, 1455 W Sunset Blvd
Ok, so lets just say... It's a Holiday party that falls on my birthday. I'll spare you the sermon but it's "Determine My Worth" day. "Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and BOOZER!"
Just COME to my party... or I'll feel like a LOSER.
IF TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY....
(According to the experts)
Your ability to get along with all kinds of people will open many new doors for you over the coming 12 months. Remember, you don't have to be good at just one big thing, you can be good at a wide range of smaller things. It all adds up to success.
- NYPOST
Happy birthday, Sagittarius! Ambitious and optimistic, you continue to smile even when your hope is fading. You're a generous and sincere person with a happy-go-lucky side, and you try to do everything in a spirit of joy. If last year presented more questions than answers, then the coming year will be a time to get to the bottom of things. Try seeking some solo time; get away from the world and its distractions, and practice reflection to gain inner wisdom.
- NYDAILYNEWS
It's your year to get more love flowing through your life as you let go of the past and mentally create your bright future. Your projects expand and your talents sharpen through the next seven weeks. There is a substantial advance in your love life in January. You're promoted in April. In June, travel delights. Taurus and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are 5, 26, 44, 20 and 17.
- LATIMES
Happy Birthday: Your ability to detach yourself from the past and the negative will be your best asset for getting ahead this year. There are gains to be made and, although some of them may be at the expense of others, it's time to make that decision. Quit waffling about what you should or shouldn't do. Your numbers are 4, 13, 24, 27, 31, 33, 45.
- THEBERGENRECORD (NJ)
Here is episode one of my new web series ASPIRING LINE. This is a sit com based on an acting school in New York where I spent many hours, days, years of my life. That acting school has since dissolved. This series is about more than just a fledgling acting school...its about more than questionable theater and humiliating auditions... It is about the millions of performers who will pour their heart and soul into the craft, every day, and never make it...it's designed to give a voice to every actor out there who may never find one...I hope you enjoy it.
(And by all means...PLEASE...Vote, Rate Comment, Share... it makes all the difference in the world. Thanks)
It's Tuesday...before Thanksgiving... so its pretty much a dead week...more so for some than others. I just went from a two week roller coaster ride to a flatline... which is nice...dont get me wrong... I desperately needed the downtime...it just sort of a shock to the system.
I'm going to be meeting with three different editors this week... today, tonight and tomorrow... trying to make use of the downtime and move forward on a few CATCH episodes and that gosh darn acting school sitcom project I've been draggin my feet on since August of TWO THOUSAND SEVEN!
I think I will have... and I stress the word THINK... I think I will have a new episode of CATCH... which is more like a trailer... but it should be ready to go by December 1st... I guess we'll see...I'm taking a look at a rough cut tonight... I will be taking a look at a rough cut of CATCH 3.5 sometime today as well... We shot CATCH 3.5 last week and I'm hustling to get that one out before I drop CATCH 4, 5 & 6 because I wanted to more throughly introduce some of these characters... The guy who is editing CATCH 3.5 is this cool, older English gentlemen. He has worked on some big projects. He edits feature films and stuff like that, but I met with him and he is interested in my series and willing to help out on an episode or two as long as it doesnt interfere with his paying work. He is a super nice guy and cant wait to see what he does with the footage.
And then there is the acting school sit com series... formerly known as AND...SCENE. I never really liked that title because I never felt like it rolled of the tongue very well... on the title page of the script it's called BAD APPLE STUDIOS... but I didnt like that one either...doesnt quite express the essence of the story...
So here it is...the title I'm going with... this project shall hereby be named and referred to from this day forward as...
ASPIRING LINE
When I asked around for title suggestions and feedback on a lists of titles, very few people placed any money on ASPIRING LINE... but the audience award winners were just never that good...in my opinion... and my gut kept telling me to go with this one... so I have to honor my instincts and use the title I feel good about...and while I appreciate everybody's feedback on the subject... sometimes a mass of feedback can interfere with the vision... that holds true for any sort of creative endeavor... feedback from friends, family and followers is great... but you have to allow your instincts to run the table.
So... ASPIRING LINE... I like it , for one, because it refers to the sensitive nature of debate on the concept of an "Aspiring Actor." In New York, the general consensus in the community of artists is that you are not required to call yourself "Aspiring." If you are studying...if you are appearing in a play...even if its a 30 seat shit box on the Lower east Side... if you are doing it...then you are doing it... You are an actor... and you have every right to call yourself that. In Hollywood...the opinions vary, but one things is for sure....in relation to THE BIZ...you are simply "aspiring" until you dont have to tell ANYONE you are an actor...because they already know.
I also like the title because of the way it plays on the phrase "Firing Line." I think any actor can relate to that concept as it applies to the life of an artist. Every day you dump your heart and soul on to the pavement for the sake of an audience... much of the time to face disappointment. We step up to that line, time and time again, to be fired upon... and then we get up, brush ourselves off...and do it all over again.
It's hard. It;s humbling. Some never get back up... but it's the ones that do that have the best chance of making it...
So thats it...thats where I'm at on ASPIRING LINE...
Enjoying a little downtime ater an extremely grueling week... a week that isn't quite over.
At this point I'm about 1 week and a half behind on a good night's sleep. I have been working a Blue Shield promotion for the past 4 weeks (4 more weeks to go). This promotion entails waking up at 5AM, hitting the town in a big branded van with a female co-pilot (the ONLY perk on this gig) and stalking old people in parking lots and senior centers, offering free bottles of water and SUGGESTING they consider signing up with Blue Shield without actually SAYING such a thing.... because THAT would be illegal. Instead we throw a bunch of them in the back of the van and drive around the block a few times playting recorded music with subliminal messages. Take it from me, it is the HIGHLIGHT of their day.
When I'm not kidnapping and torturing golden girls and silver sneakers... spreading joy and good will in the community, I'm running around town picking up CATCH footage, tapes and hard drives from one group of editors and shuttling it over to a different editor here and another editor there... meetings at coffee shops, fixing up final drafts and forwarding forwards...
AND THEN there's CITY OF ANGERS... More early call times and long days to add to my early call times and long days...
The only reason I have any downtime tonight is because the shoot today for CITY OF ANGERS was in such disarray when I got on set that they shut it all down... to reconvene tomorrow.
I rolled up to the location and there were actors pacing around on the front lawn, doors being slammed, guys in the crew walking around shaking their heads... the lead actress walked right past me, got in her car, burned serious angry ingenou rubber and sped away. I found the director out back by the pool. He looked happy to see me...and sad to send me home. Nonetheless.... Here I am...home.
CITY OF ANGERS is an independent.... extreeemely independent... FEATURE length project, written as a true "film noir," in which I am playing the LEAD character of Detective Nick Sterling. CITY OF ANGERS is writer/director Ken Wilson's first project...EVER.
Yes, it's true... no experience, no prior record of short film projects or music videos... never worked on a legit set as a PA or 5th AD... none of that.... he's just a regular guy... a regular guy who works at the post office...who loves his wife and his adorable little five year old daughter... He's a guy who wants to make movies. He wrote himself a script. he got himself a camera, a shotgun mic and boompole, a set of lights... he's doing it.
And I want him to succeed.....
If for no other reason than the fact that he has the courage to get out there and make it happen.
It's true, he has no idea what he's doing. He has read a few books. He has asked a few questions. He watches the audio commentaries on every DVD he rents. And still, he fumbles along. But it doesnt matter...
He has had mulitple actors drop out...some have walked off his set in the middle of the day. I think almost every character he has cast has been re cast at some point due to some actor bailing on him. Shit... I was like his THIRD choice for the lead role. He called me and offered me the role only after the first and second choices dropped out or suddenly became unavailable.
But it doesn't matter....
And I will be honest... I am WAY over qualified for this film. My training and experience far exceed that of my cast mates. I have worked on bigger and better productions. I am further along and way beyond (dare I say "above"). When one of the actors showed up this week... hung around set for a few hours..and suddenly declared...in front of everybody...that he "Just can't do this," I completely understood.
But it doesn't matter. Because Ken Wilson, first time writer/director, is braving the elements. He is doing it and he is learning as he goes.
And I LOVE that shit!
I'm in dude...and I'm giving you all I've got because I believe in what you're doing...
The fires are apparently pretty bad out here... I'm surrounded by smoke... fortunately my neighborhood is not prone to wild fires... but there is a lot of smoke...
I drove down to Long Beach yesterday to start shooting a few scenes for a new short film I'm working on and there were ashes falling from the sky down there.
(I'm okay Mom)
Sunday night... 10PM ....I am just now sitting down to watch the Giants play the Ravens...
I shot a new episode of CATCH today... the working title has been CATCH 3.5 for a few weeks now... but it may just become CATCH 4. Once I get the trailer ready that I've been working...which will basically be episode 4... I will be working to get the footage we shot today whipped into episode 5... or 4 if you count the proper Ep 4 as a promo and not an episode... I'm getting confused...
Too tired for all that... regardless...we got some really nice footage today... I'm stoked (thats California for "happy")
In fact I'm too tired for all this... I feel like I'm sleep-blogging...
One parting gift for all my loyal readers...
My new SONG OF THE WEEK:
Om: The Meaning of Life by The Village Green>>>
This is good, solid, rock song, not too hard, not too soft... catchy and melodic...but breaks somethin off before you can get too comfortable....what I really like about it is that it is broken into 3 acts... Very much an old school effort....like something Led Zeppelin, or Queen would do... takes you on a little trip.
Check it out... I'm diggin it...that's all I know.
Got a small crew together yesterday for a shoot in the desert... Palmdale to be exact.. It was F%$# cool man. The desert can be striking... meaning absolutely beautiful.... we got some great footage. Shirley Petchprapa was the director. I am HUGE fan of Shirley's.... great to work with...very talented... you guys havent seen her work yet...but she directed (AND DP'd) CATCH 6...which is coming soon...and it looks awesome.
More news about CATCH.... I have been hustling aorund town all week collecting footage from all the directors who have worked on the CATCH series in the past few months. One of my editors and I will be puting together a hybrid episode 4 slash series trailer using footage from CATCH 4 and clips from 4 or 5 of the upcoming episodes. The reeason I'm doing that...well...there are TWO reasons....
ONE... most of the feedback I've received on CATCH 3 is based on the upcoming stoyr lines... everybodys' like "Ok, Maggie dates a guy. She kills a guy. We get it. Does anything else happen in this series?"
The answer to that question is YES... and it kind of sucks that, at this moment, with all the great work we've done with this series over the past few months... we have nothing to show for it... so I'm putting a bunch of that work out there... even if the episodes arenmt ready to roll... I want people to see all the good stuff coming down the pipe.
ALSO... second reason.... there is a bunch of episode 4 footage that I'm not super psyched about... much of it didnt turn out the way I wanted... so I'm tyring to make revsions.. doing some re writes to justify good takes VS bad takes... and that will leave me with HALF an episode.... so I'm getting creative.... and that creative venture will become CATCH 4.
With all that re-working and re-writing...I was feeling a liitle down about the series... feeling like I was swimming uphill...and I got completely RE-inspired yesterday when I received an email on the Indie City Entertainment Youtube page from former Lonelygirl15 writer Mary Feuer. She became an Indie City Youtube video subscriber and left a message behind saying "Good Work."
In case you were unaware...a little background on Lonelygirl15...
(From Wikipedia) lonelygirl15 was an interactive web-based video series which began in June 2006, and ended on August 1, 2008. The show focuses on the life of a fictional teenage girl named Bree, whose YouTube username is the eponymous "lonelygirl15", but the show does not reveal its fictional nature to its audience.
Lonelygirl15 is one of the pioneers of the web series world. I've been keeping an eye on the trials and tribulations of that series for a while and it has definitely shaped my own efforts.
Mary is working on a new series called WITH THE ANGELS....
...the fish-out-of-water story of Taffy Simpson, a small-town Arkansas girl swimming in the freak-infested waters of Venice, California. WITH THE ANGELS is available on Youtube....
And on WWW.STRIKE.TV , the tagline being "Hollywood unplugged." here is an excerpt from the ABOUT section of the Strike.tv website....
STRIKE.TV was born out of the writers strike. In December 2007, we challenged the members of the Writers Guild - create original programs for the Internet and we will provide you with a website and ad revenue. The ad revenue profits will go to the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund, now since absorbed by the Actors Fund's Entertainment Assistance Program. The EAP has been offering financial relief and other services to entertainment industry professionals negatively impacted by the strike.
Anyway... all that being said... it was great to receive a little recognition...however small and insignificant it may seem... it meant a lot to me.
I cant' really say anything that hasnt been said... I'm amazed...I'm thrilled...I'm excited...
I'm sure.
Barack Obama is our President Elect... and it's right...it's true...and it's good.
I was so impressed last night ...by everything. The national turnout of voters was historic. The fact that we as a country elected a young bi-racial charismatic senator named BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA is almost beyond belief. It's amazing... it's magical. Obama's speech was perfect... grounded and inspring....
And the people of this country were DANCING IN THE STREETS!!
A drum circle on a Brooklyn street corner... A honking, flashing, screaming at the top of your lungs traffic jam at Hollywood and Vine...
WHEN was the last time you saw that? When was the last time you FELT that?
This is RIGHT. This is TRUE...and this is GOOD.
I was equally impresssed by John McCain's speech. He was gracious and proud. He spoke about unity. He spoke about the sublime signifigance of this moment in history. He handled the hecklers BOOING in his audience like a pro.... he said great things in the face of defeat.... so much so...that it didnt really seem like a defeat... which is why it was so brilliant.
Because last night there was no defeat.
We are moving into an new and exciting era as a nation... regardless of who you support...regardless of how you voted.
Sitting here enjoying the thorough whuppin the Giants are handing to the Cowboys.
Also sitting here nursing a hangover. I went to a Halloween party last night in Sherman Oaks...had a great time. This particular party was held at an apartment complex. Three neighbors decorated their places and held a multi-room, multi-themed Halloween Ho-down... no pun intended...or...pun-intended. Regardless...my head hurts.
This was a costume party, and my original plan was to go as a hybrid version of "Lil Jon" and Gary Oldman's character, Drexl, from TRUE ROMANCE. I bought a dirty blondish colored dread lock wig, a couple pieces of gawdy gold jewelry...and I got a SWEET set of grills... or GRILLZ.... gold teeth with little embedded rhinestones.
I thought I was all set to go, but I couldnt get the Grills to set right in my mouth and the whole thing just wasnt working. The costume didnt work without the grillz...and I could get the grilllz goin.
So I set out Saturday to go with my plan B... I'd dress up as a Cowboy or Bullrider... mainly because I had a couple authentic western shorts and some nice tight boot cut western style jeans. What I needed was a hat.
So I went on Yelp.com and searched for a good nearby Country & Western store...came up with this....
Its a Country & Western shop up in Eagle Rock. Eagle Rock is an area nestled in between Glendale and Pasadena. I'm much happier to take a quick trip up to Eagle Rock than to try and hit any stores in Hollywood or West Hollywood...especially on a saturday afternoon.
I find the place...its like a 15 minute drive from here... walk in...and its half empty.... NOT half full if thats what you're thinkin... this guy is going out of business...or "taking a break. waitin out the bad economy" as the man behind the counter explained.
The good side of this is that he is selling everything for more than half off. I found exactly what I was looking for... a genuine high quality western straw... I had my hat.
I was all set to grab that hat and go... but i stopped for a moment, took in my surroundings, took a look at this nice guy who was on hard times....closing down his business... still super eager to help me pick out the right hat... and I said:
"So how much are these boots?"
I could't help it. I let him sell me a really good pair of ropers for 85 bucks.
Again.... he gave me a solid pitch and presentation... and sold me some really nice boots...for more than half off... and I can wear these boots... not just as a costume piece... but for ... i dont know... I'm just gonna wear the damn boots... they're good boots.
And I went to the party last night as Jimbeaux Huffmanlama, bullrider from Alabama.
Had a damn good time.... I even broke out The Robot.... and a little Michael Jackson...
and I have a definite thing for Strawberry Shortcake.
Maggie and Mickey went on a date; Maggie is desperately seeking a mate; Maggie and Mickey were having some fun; Then Maggie decided he wasn't "The One."
CATCH: Episode Three
Written and directed by James Huffman.
Starring Anne Judson Yager and Chris Tessitore
Director of Photography: James Huffman
1st AD: Eric Jones
Editor: Paul Kim
Sound Design: Eric Bucklin
SOUNDTRACK:
Eighteen Wheels Burning
From the album: "tweak'd out, strung up, and redlined" courtesy of MeteorCity Records
I just finished my early early morning promo gig shift... started at 6A...finished at 1P...now I'm over at Solar de Cahuenga... a cool little Hollywood coffe shop on Franklin. I figured I would try and sit myself down with a big iced coffee and try to get some writing done before I crash and burn.
They have a chicken omelette here that is really tasty...so I got that...doused it with hot sauce...and I'm off to the races.
I'm sitting here proud as a pig in my big bright New York Giants shirt. There is a dude over there in a Steelers hat that keeps giving me the evil eye. The Giants pulled out a win yesterday over the Steelers... deal with it buddy....I was nervous for a while watching that game...The Giants were shaky at best for three quarters...but then suddenly, in the fourth, they started playing and looking like the team that finished the season last year... all over Big Ben... shaking him up... taking him down left and right.... Amani Toomer making an awesome diving catch... and it was all over for the tin men.
DALLAS! Dallas is next week.... ooooh I cant wait.
(I F%$#@ hate the Cowboys)
So CATCH 3 finally dropped this weekend. I have it postd on Myspace and Bliptv... but not on Youtube just yet. I wanted to wait a couple of days before I hit Youtube and post it here on the blog. My next blog post will probably be CATCH 3.
The response has been okay so far. There are a few techincal issues I'm not thrilled with...but I think Anne's performance is this one is fantastic... and this episode is the first episode where I enlisted the help of a sound designer AND devoted the entire soundtrack to one band. All the music in episode 3 is from EIGHTEEN WHEELS BURNING off their new album "tweak'd out, strung up, and redlined" (MeteorCity Records).
I may try and do that with as many episodes as I can... I would love to have a different band score or donate music to the project. We'll see what happens.
Hey, if you like hip hop, you definitely have to check out COMMON MARKET. Ever heard of COMMON MARKET? They are a Seattle based, off the radar, hip hop band who just came out with a new album... its awesome....on my hot list right now>>>>
And I get nothing for writing that. Sharing the goods and spreading the wealth brings me joy....
The band is COMMON MARKET. The new album is TOBACCO ROAD.
From the desk of Indie City beat reporter Pinky Powell....
Indie City Entertainment producers James Huffman and Eric Jones were out scouting bands Tuesday night (Oct 22nd) and ended up at Hollywoods legendary Viper Room on Sunset Blvd.
"We were in the area trying to catch a performance at THE ROXY by THE KIN." explained Eric Jones,
"But I had the wrong information and we missed the entire set. I received an email from these guys saying they went on at 10:30P, but when we got there, we learned that THE KIN had already come and gone, the set started at 8:30P."
THE KINis a pair of eclectic, harmonizing brothers, Thorry and Isaac Koren, originally from Australia, whom Jones had connected with back in New York. Jones and producing partner, James Huffman, have been considering THE KINS music for several upcoming projects.
Jones wasn't ready to give up. "We missed out on the set, but we had already paid for damn parking, so we decided to walk down to The Viper Room and see what was going on there."
The two Indie City patriots arrived at The Viper Room just in time to catch the opening number of BOOMKAT, Taryn Mannings pop-rock-hip-hop-chop-shop-evenin-slop musical endeavor. Taryn Manning is best known for her role as Terrence Howard's right hand hooker in HUSTLE & FLOW.
The name Terrence Howard, by the way, has been buzzing lately as he addressed publicly last week's news that Don Cheadle will be replacing him as Jim Rhodes in Iron Man 2. He called it "the surprise of a lifetime."
"We walked into the The Viper Room as the band was introduced, and we both looked at each other and said 'is that the chick from Hustle & Flow?"
"(At the Boomkat show) Terrence Howard wasn't bouncin in the front row or anything, but DJ Qualls definitely was," Huffman added, "at that point we were like 'yeah, thats the chick from Hustle & Flow."
Huffman, apparently a huge hip hop fan, to the point of being slightly snobby, didnt hold back in his review. "The Hustle & Flow chick has a got a great voice for a front man...front woman...front chick... I enjoyed her singing...she was rockin it... but when she was rapping I wanted to kill myself...or throw garbage."
We wrapped shooting for THE AFTER-LYFES yesterday. It's all done...in the can. It was a lot of fun to shoot. I mean how could it not be? Tallk about being in my element. I was playing the lead character in a sit com pilot.... I was able to show up to set and just be a goof ball... it just doesnt get any better than that.
After-Lyfe's producer/writer Shawn Crane sent me a nice note late yesterday:
James - Just a quick shout-out to say how much I enjoyed working with you and seeing you bring Adam to life… EXACTLY the way I wrote him. It took me a while to cultivate Adam, but only four days for you to bring him to fruition, so thank you for that… you’re a talented actor to say the least.
So sad its over....or...is it just beginning?
Now I need to do a postcard and head shot mailing. I want to send a note to all the LA casting directors in town whom I've met so far and say HI... let them know I was particularly fantastic this weekend ... and its also time to do another formal mailing as I continue my search for an agent...
THATS RIGHT .. I am in the market for a new agent. I am looking for a new commercial agent (I have been working with one commercial guy for a year now, BUT he is just not that effective), and I am looking for a theatrical agent.... so I can start getting in the room on network and cable episodic as well as feature film castings.
Tonight is workshop # 2 in a 3 week workshop I'm taking at ACT NOW in Sherman Oaks with the lovely Erica Silverman.
And....CATCH 3...is ....almost....ready....
I made a few last minute changes to the sound track and sound design this week.... and Paul, the editor has been slammed at his day job... so...what are you gonna do... I'm hoping to drop that mamma jamma by Friday...
The soundtrack to the episode has been provided by a really cool, hard rockin band called EIGHTEEN WHEELS BURNIN... from their new album: "tweak'd out, strung up, and redlined," courtesy of MeteorCity Records.
Along with a really talented new sound designer, Eric Bucklin, EWB makes this episode sound pretty effin awesome.
On SUNDAY, I'm meeting with a different editor who has been working on the CATCH 4 footage... no idea what to expect... what I DO expect is to have that episode ready for release on November 7th...
NOVEMBER 7th? Holy cow... the fall always just FLIES by...
OY! I've got a birthday coming up... December 3rd.... My orignbal plan was to just ignore it.... but I think I want to go to Vegas.... seriously... maybe that first weekend in December? Gather a bunch of friends and enjoy a few days of debauchery and dysfunctional behavior.
Actually no partying for me... I shot all day for THE AFTER-LYFES. I had a 730 AM call in Malibu...and since I live near downtown... I was up at 5:30A so I could get clear, get my gear and my rear together and get out the door by 6:30A... and I have an 8AM call time in Marina Del Ray tomorrow.
But now I'm home..watching the ALCS... cheering for Tampa Bay... only because I LOVE to watch Boston lose.
Day one on set with The After-Lyfes was a lot of fun. I have been doing so much writing and producing I had almost forgotten what it feels like to be on set solely as an actor. It's SO nice to have a team of people working all day to secure and maintain an environment condusive to fun, freedom and a good, old fashioned homestyle performance.
I'd say things went pretty well. Without giving away too much, my wardrobe today consisted of a business suit, a confederate soliders uniform, the gown of a Roman emperor and the garb of a court jester. The court jester outfit was my favorite. I had a little scene with William Shakespeare.
And check this out, remember the other day when I found myself in a situation where I was forced to choose between earning some much needed extra cash and accomodating the producers of the After-Lyfes to the fullest extent (consequences be damned; caution to the wind; yadda yadda).
What do you think I did?
CUH-MON...you know me better than that! I called out for that day of work and I freed up my schedule. I'm totally available to shoot any day all day between Saturday and Tuesday. I made the choice.
And here's the best part of the story....guess what was waiting for me when I got home today. I had an unexpected check in the mail. QUITE a nice surprise. I cant exactly say from who, or for how much. Lets just say The Universe approves of my choices.
So to The Universe, my family, my friends and all you David Archuleta fans.... I extend my sincerest gratitude.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Now, I'm gonna watch the rest of the game and drink a few beers.... The Universe bought me a six pack.
Its Friday... when you're as busy as I am....Friday means nothing...
I'm not working today, so I'm spending the day working with my script for the pilot I'm shooting this weekend. I made the decision to forfeit the extra income on Monday (Thank you Jeff Williams) and make it clear to the producers of The After-Lyfes that I was undeniably free, available and committed... I also made sure they knew I was kissing cash goodbye... for them... Oh the sacrifice!
I'm also trying to finish writing CATCH 8 and 9... I have two excellent directors waiting to receive updated drafts from me... the sooner I can get those scripts ready...the sooner we can get the shoot together... the closer we are to finishing season one... whihc will eventually be available on DVD.... how do you like that?
ALSO... came up with a really cool concept for CATCH season TWO yesterday. I was driving along...cuz that's what you do in LA....had a few thoughts pop into my head...those thoughts morphed into another series of thoughts...and then I started getting excited...so I called my roommate and bounced it off him... I can usually tell if an idea is worth persuing based on the immeidate reaction of a few of my closest confidants...
I got what I was looking for....and now its ON..... just you wait.
By the way CATCH 3 is in the hand of a sound designer... should be ready by Monday...
Fingers and toes....
Fingers and toes...
(I am now singing "Fingers and Toes" to the tune of the old Christmas time song "Silver and Gold")
Fingers and Toes...
Fingers and Toes..
(All day...I'll be singing that all day...no one to blame but myself)
When I blogged the other night about David Archuleta's performance during Game One of the ALCS... "I'm not a fan of American Idol... hate the show...but I really enjoyed this kids version of GOD BLESS AMERICA... blah blah blah..."
I had no idea I would incite such a response...
I DID enjoy his performance...seriously... I don't think I will be going out and buying his album...but his God Bless America was definitely impressive.
So aside from the numerous comments that have been left behind by David Archuleta fans (See the comments section of the previous post), my site traffic numbers have been INSANE.
To all you David Archuleta fans of the world..... Thanks for stopping by...
This is no joke... these people take their David Archuleta very seriously. Over the past 48 hours I've had hundreds of visitors from:
Hey, since you're in the neighborhyood....be sure to check out my new webs series CATCH...
CATCH is a dark comedy, written and produced by James Huffman, that features Anne Judson Yager (BRING IT ON AGAIN, MINORITY REPORT) and Trevor Jones (NOTHING YOU'VE SEEN) as MAGGIE and JERRY, two star-crossed serial killers looking for love in all the wrong places.
That damn heat finally broke... a nice healthy cool front blew in last night...and it was downright windy and COLD... Resulting in a beautiful. sunny and seasonably cool morning here in Los Angeles... I'm having a Chai latte... and I dont drink chai latte under the blazing sun I tell ya that...
We shoot CATCH 7 tomorrow ...with some covereage and an extra scene scheduled for Monday... it all came together over the past few days... I lost a sound guy, I found a sound guy... I've got lights Sunday, but not for Monday, then I get some lights for both days...
Its an interesting ride each time.... I'm just STOKED that I get it done each time.
Tonight I'm driving out to Thoussand Oaks to borrow a boom mic/boom pole for Monday...while I'm out there I will meet up with Wes (Director of CATCH 5), and take a look at a rough cut of 5.
Its crazy... CATCH 5 & 6 are almost finished and ready for general consumption... but its 3 & 4 that are giving me FITS. I'm seriously wanting to pull my hair out over these two episodes... and obviously..I cant show anyone 5 or 6 until I get 3 & 4 done... AY DIOS MIOS
My plan right now is to complete a 12 episode first season by the end of the year and take a break... spend a few months promoting the hell out of the series...and hopefully... tie in some sort of revenue...
I'm also planning to start shooting series # 2 (The Nobodies) in the beginning of 2009.
Yeah... I've got a lot going on.... I wonder if its too much.
So I was watching Game One of the ALCS last night and out comes David Archuleta from American Idol to sing GOD BLESS AMERICA. I CANT STAND American Idol... I am opposed to that stupid show on so many levels... YES, I know its like the highest rated show on TV...but that makes its all the more disturbing.... ANYWAY... David Archuleta steps up to sing...and I'm cursing under my breath... mumbling, grumbling... I'm so disappointed in TBS for allowing such a tacky desecration of such legendary event....
But David Archuleta did a damn good job...I have to say... he honored the song... and found a way to make it his.... to add some color and variation without pushing too hard (and F%$#@ ing it up) His voice was relaxed and confident. When it was all over, I was nodding my head...I think I even had some goosebumps....
DODGERS vs PHILLIES tonight... Game one of the NLCS.... GO DODGERS.
I've been keeping busy this week taking meetings....
My roommate and I are meeting with someone today who is interested in co-producing our upcoming MONTHLY FILM PROJECT... we are still trying to lay out the logistics of the event itself, let alone the first shoot. We recognize the need for a team of producers..and what we are looking for...is someone with the right experience and attitude... who would be interested in producing in exchange for an opportunity to direct one of the monthly films... Thir girl we are having lunch with today seems to be in alignment.
I've been meeting with more editors. I met with someone who I might co-produce with... another guy who is an editor...but actually turned out to be Director/DP/editor whatever it takes....and this guy actually owns a camera and some other basic gear... He's the best kind of person to meet... a triple threat...quadruple threat... whatever....thats what we (meaning Indie City) need, talented, driven, smart people that can do more than just one thing.... and are eager to work on fun projects....so yeah, that was a good meeting... that guy, in particular, may end up directing an upcoming episode of CATCH....
Speaking of CATCH... I'm on the hustle again this week, trying to put a shoot together this weekend for CATCH 7... and CATCH 3 1/2... I'm in the process of co-writing an insert episode that I will be trying to squeeze in the weekend as well... its a very ARTSY episode... I'm co-writing it with a guy who writes poetry... so it should end up having a very "Shakespearian" feel... it should be very cool....I'm actually really excited to try and pull it off...
We've got our first shoot date scheduled for THE AFTER-LYFES. We will be shooting all day in a conference room somewhere in The Howard Hughs Center on Oct 21st. I'm sure I will getting together will my cast mates between now and then to play around and run lines.
I'm so sick of the Red Sox... I am officially a temporary Los Angeles Dodgers fan... went down to City Hall yesterday and got my permit... For the next few weeks...I'm all about Dodger Blue...except on Sundays...then I'm all about BIG BLUE.... the GEEE MEN...
But as far as baseball is concerned... Go Dodgers...Go Joe Torre...and I never thought I'd EVER say this:
Go MANNY BEING MANNY!!
I've been rehearsing with some of the cast and the producers of THE AFTER-LYFES. We are gearing up to shoot the weekend of the 18-19. They actually asked me to keep my schedule loose for that Thursday thru Tuesday...
No problem. This character is pretty similar to myself...not a stretch by any means...which is why I feel pretty well connected .
I'm back to trying to get CATCH 7 shot this weekend. I went out yesterday looking for a restaurant/diner location for a scene I wrote that involves the characters EDBO and SQUIB. EDBO and SQUIB are two crime family henchmen...or lackeys...who are trailing one of the main characters... at this point just to keep an eye on him.
I went in to Roccos Pizza on Vermont. Its a little, New York style pizzeria...not far from my house. I've noticed that thus place is totally empty on Sundays...probably bescause its across the street from LA CITY COLLEGE... aint no college kids around to eat pizza on a Sunday... aint no college kids anywhere near that campus on a Sunday. Anway, the guy at the counter gave me an email address and sent them an email:
My name is James Huffman. I'm producing a new web series titled CATCH.
I stopped in at the Vermont location this morning and I asked them if they ever allowed student or no budget filmmakers to shoot there...he said you "might" be open to discussing it...and gave me your email.
I am looking for very casual diner/restaurant to shoot a 2 page scene this coming Sunday, October 12th and the Roccos on Vermont would be ideal. I can arrange my shooting schedule so that we would be in the restaurant for no more than 3 hours and we could get it all done during your slowest hours, so as not to interfere with business.
I could also buy lunch for the crew before or after we shoot. It would be a small crew, 2 actors and maybe 4-5 crew members. AND...if it helps...we could use an establishing shot of Roccos to help promote the restaurant and we could include links or positive write ups in all our blogs.
So...yeah... I'm hoping we could work something out.
ROCCO repsonded later that evening.... "NO DICE VANILLA ICE"
Thank you for your interest, unfortunately right now we can not accomodate filming in any of our locations.
Oh well... I still have a few location in mind...I will hit them up today.
I went over to meet with Paul, our Indie City chief editor, and looked at a rough cut of CATCH 3. I loved 75% of it...hated 25% of it... its a long story...but the all the original footage we shot for this episode looks great...all the inserts or "pick-up" footage we got later...looks like shit... so its going to be a challenge...but I asked Paul to get creative... do what he can to disguise the bad footage.... I guess we'll see...should have a another cut ready by the start of next week...then I will have a sound design guy work on it... then HOPEFULLY... CATCH 3 will ready for release Oct 17-ish.
OK... so I was doing some Googling today...looking up old friends on facebook...reminiscing of fun times past...what not...
I say to myself "I wonder what ever happened to my old friend DUSTY McGEE?'
When I lived in Hoiuston, I worked for 93 Q Country for 5 years. When I was there, I buddied around with a guy named Craig, officially known as DUSTY McGEE, the maverick radio DJ occupying the 7-11 shift.
Dusty McGee was on fire back then... I'm talking late 90's. As an on-air personality for a top, major market radio station, he was livin the life of a local celebrity. He was young, good looking guy with a sharp wit and more charm than he could handle. He and I used to run around together, hitting the clubs, chasing women and sharing a general taste for trouble...
I guess his appetite got the better of him....
I came across this article today:
Former DJ Accused in Robbery Convicted of Crime 3 Times Before
The man now dubbed by officials as "the Preppy Bandit" made a name for himself years ago. Harris County Sheriff’s Office detectives gave him his latest nickname because of the stylish dress they say he's sported in several hold-ups he's accused of pulling in the past few weeks.
But before that, Caudill was known as "Dusty McGee," a country-western disc jockey at 93Q, until 10 years ago, when he and his radio partner got arrested for cocaine possession, while doing a "live" broadcast from a South Houston nightclub. Caudill got deferred adjudication probation on that charge.
Thats a damn shame... but if you read the article... you'll see how many times he managed to catch a break... early release, "deferred ajudication probation"
I tell ya...that's a testament right there as to how M&%$* F%$cking charming this guy was ...
FINALLY...that LA heat broke... I've been getting my ASS kicked all week by this late September brutality... just relentless...and no evening cool-off...all week its been mid 90's during the day...mid 90's all night long... I 'm serious!!
I'd love to go out and celebrate the first cold front of the year...but I'm friggin exhausted... hustlin around in that heat all week has taken its toll... plus I've been runnin and gunnin all week trying to put another CATCH shoot together...
CATCH 7...I was all primed and ready to go... as of last night.... this is where I was at>>>>
estimated start time 9A at The Designated Patio location at the corner of Blah Blah and Blah Blah Blah in Gobbledy Gook.
(Names changed to protect the innocent)
We will be shooting all of Jerry's exteriors and the Jerry/Alicia scene.
(Jai, Zoe and I met this morning and did a quick walk-through at this location. I took a couple of pics. I will send them to you tonight. Also, lets talk tomorrow to cover all the details for Saturday)
PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT be there Saturday morning. I have a rehearsal in Marina Del Ray. My roommate, Eric, will be the first AD and he will have keys to location B, so he will be responsible for letting everyone in to the apartment.
We already know that the sound guy is out at 3
Trevor suddenly has an specific out time. he asked if he could be out by 1...I told him we could aim for 1:30... but no promises. If you guys can get to Location B by 110-1130... its possible. This is why I'm giving the keys to Eric so you guys can move right over to Location B.
Ok so...
When we are done with the exteriors we will head over to the 2nd location... which is less than a mile south of location A...this is where we will get the CO/POV shots of Jerry completing the kill.
PS: I will have a Plan B in place if we run into issues at The Designated Patio location
And THAT was just the plan for SATURDAY... I had a separate but equal list of hazards to wrestle with on Sunday.
This morning I decided to call the whole thing off.... POSTPONE, I should say.
Yeah...it really sucks...but I was swinging at so many curve balls that I started thinking I should step out of the box for a second... This shoot was getting more and more difficult.... and I wondered if I was pushing too hard. I am all about driving forward...finding a way to make it work... but sometimes you feel like the Universe is sending you a message...and this time I just felt like I was being told to back off.... so I backed off.
I had scheduling challenges. I lost my location on Sunday and had Friday afternoon to find a new one. I found myself with a cash flow problem that left with me no funds for craft services (drinks, snacks, lunch), AND...the forecast is calling for RAIN on Saturday. It RARELY..almost never... rains in LA...but on the one day of the year its going to rain...I'm planning on shooting a series of exteriors...guerrilla style...
I just uploaded a trailer and the first two episodes of CATCH to Bliptv. Could you be so kind as to go check it out, rate it, or leave a comment, maybe even pass it on to your friends and family? Thank you for your support. I need all the help I can get.
Monday morning... back at it... another busy week ahead...
I was up late last night writing CATCH 7. I worked on CATCH 8 on Friday night and came up with a really cool episode... I think... but I can't take all the credit... I have been correspnding with a writer in Colorado, who used to live in LA, who is a fan of CATCH and asked if he could submit some of his writing for future episodes... and CATCH 8 is BASED on his draft. I really liked some of the ideas in his script...but he wasnt quite connected with the charcters like I am...of course... so I basically re wrote that episode with his concept in mind... and I think it turned out good... and of course we will share a writing credit on that one.
Anyway, that was Friday... LAST night I was plugging away at CATCH 7...which I am planning on shooting this coming weekend. I was stressed out because as of 8PM last night...I really didnt have much of an episode...a couple of ideas...some handwritten notes... but no semblence of a script...
Then I came up with something, started writing and I was off to the races... finsihing up around 2AM...what a relief because I had the director, the DP, NEXT WEEK'S director (I hope) and the actors all waiting for the script.
CATCH 7 will present a new challenge as far as shooting and for sound...but I know we can handle it and it will be really cool when its all said and done.
CATCH THREE....by the way...is A:LMOST there... ay yay yay... I am going over to the editors place on Thurdsy to look at a rough cut... if that rough cut is in good shape... I should be able to release CATCH 3 by Monday... fingers crossed...
CATCH FOUR... initially the director was going to edit a cut...and I thought we were groovin on that one...but it turns out that he was unable to work on it due to some sort of glitch in his software... so I have to get all that footage back from him...and get a new editor to start working on it.
Its funny...because CATCH 5 and CATCH 6 are practically finished!!! unfortunately... You won't see them for at least six weeks while I get 3 and 4 ready for the world.
First official table read of THE AFTER-LYFES is this coming Sunday in Malibu. The After-Lyfes is the independent sit com pilot I booked a few weeks ago. I play Adam Lyfe, who is one of the lead characters...if not the only lead... The writer explained to me that when he wrote this part, he imagined him as a little bit of J.D. from Scrubs, combined with a little more of Michael from Arrested Development. I think thats pretty much me in a nutshell. I tell you what...I'm looking forward to finally get moving on this project... meet the other actors, etc. The script/concept is a distinct mix of SCRUBS and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT with a time/dimension travel thing going on... did I mention the table reading is in MALIBU? I think that's pretty cool.
Ever heard of THE STILLS?
I came across an advance release of their new album OCEANS WILL RISE on Emusic a couple of weeks ago and I find myself listening to the whole album again and again...it definitely has a pop-friendly 80's rock feel to it...the album has some really great songs... I would say its kind of Coldplay-ish... but Canadian.... Montreal... very enjoyable... my favorites are BEING HERE, I'M WITH YOU and ROOIBOS PALM WINE DRINKARD
Also...the new song by MICHAEL FRANTI and SPEARHEAD? SAY HEY I LOVE YOU?
Its F%$# great... just a happy happy feel good song for all the party people ... this one I listen to at least 5 times in a row before I can move on... seriously.... puts a smile on the face every time...
We knocked out another one this weekend... CATCH 5 is IN...THE...CAN.
We shot CATCH 6 last weekend...shot a little out of sequence for various reasons...
So now I have episodes 4, 5 & 6 wrapped and ready for post. In fact, Shirley, the director for CATCH 6, apparently has a rough cut ready to look at...which is fantasttic... but we are struggling a little bit to get episodes 3 and 4 up to speed... so CATCH 6 is at least a month away from being premiered.
(We actually have a couple inserts to shoot for episode 5)
This past weekend was another smooth and solid performance by everyone involved. I have been so lucky and I am so grateful for how smooth everything has gone on shooting days. Granted, I've been a crazy man in overdrive all week long getting everything together, but once we get started on the shoot day... its been awesome.
Here is the call sheet I posted for cast and crew saturday afternoon which maps out the CATCH 5 shoot on Sunday....
Hey guys...
Here we go again! Everything has been going so well the past few weeks and everyone has been doing fantastic work... I am extremely grateful and again, looking forward to getting to it tomorrow and creating a F%$#@* awesome episode FIVE...
I've attached the script in case you need it.
We are planning on shooting the entire episode on Sunday... minus the yoga class....Here is the way its all going to play out.
Sunday:
Location A: West side of Echo Park Lake, Glendale Blvd at Santa Ynez Street 90026
Crew call 7:00AM
Actor call 7:30AM: Mike Fisk exteriors (tai chi, wandering, etc)
Cast... Mike Fisk: Bill Oberst Jr.
CATCH 5 CREW...
Director:Wes Greeson
AD: Jennifer Patterson
DP: Zoe Van Brunt
Camera Op: Yvonne Chu
Gaffer: Stephen Schaffold
Sound Engineer: Jim dineen
PA: Jennifer Patterson/Stephen Schaffold/James Huffman
Writer/Producer/PA..whatever: James Huffman
Location B: Jeannette's kitchen, 4310 1/2 Willowbrook Ave. 90029
Scene: Jerry and Jeannette breakfast/Anne kills Nerd Guy
Crew call 9:00AM
Actor call: Trevor/Amy 9:30AM (OUT BY 12:15P), Anne 11:30A
Cast... Jerry: Trevor Jones; Jeannette: Amy Snively; Maggie: Anne Judson Yager; Mr Louisville Slugger: As himself
* Location B is in a duplex on Willowbrook- back house; Silverlake between Hoover and Virgil-- one block south of Santa Monica. Look for 4308 Willowbrook.. 4310 is tucked away in the alleyway.)
** Amy Snively, playing Jeannette, will be making breakfast for the scene and she is going to go ahead and make enough for all of us to eat... so the finest Kosher breakfast will be available at location 2...I'll get some coffee as well)
Location C: Caffe Cine Citta, 3031 S Figueroa 90007 (near USC)
(110 to Adams, go left at light, right on Figueroa, diner is about a mile down on the right)
Scene: Detectives Jones and James; Maggie meets Nerd guy
LUNCH break at 2PM
Crew/actor call 3PM - 6PM
Cast... Detective Jones: Brian Wilson; Detective James: James Huffman; Maggie: Anne ; Nerd Guy: Zack Sonnenberg
*** We have this space from 3P-6P so please be on time. I plan on buying lunch for everyone at the diner to make sure we have everyone on set before 3.
I just saw that new MASTERCARD commercial..with the little kid doing The Robot..."We Want the Funk" playing in the background.... his buddies join in... love that ad.
Had a crappy crappy audition yesterday.. meaning I sucked.... I got this email on Tuesday night:
James
what is your availability tomorrow? I know it is very short notice, but we are looking for our "Ryan" and want to shoot within the next two weeks. let me know.
thanks
I told her I could be there, just tell me when and where. She wrote me back and gave me the address and the time of the casting, 12-5. She said she would Fwd my info to the casting director.
When I got there, I was handed the sides, a 3 page scene, paired up with 2 actors who had been there reading with several other guys, and rushed into the room after reading through the scene for roughly 45 seconds. Needless to say, I was lost. My scene partners were off-book...they were either prepped in advance (sides made available), or they had been reading with so many other prospects that they just knew the scene. Regardless, I was awful, couldnt find cues, couldnt find lines...ridiculous....
But what's the lesson here? If you are an actor you've been told this before. Take charge of your audition. If I wasnt ready, I should have spoken up and said, "I'm not ready," "I need a few more minutes." Thats a totally reasonable and acceptable request. Its just hard in an audition scenario to have the presence of mind to say that. I find myself in such an "eager to please," "eager to be easy, agrreable and likeable" mode that I will go along with whatever the casting director says.
So...there you have it...lesson learned...maybe...if not learned... then acknowledged... with the hope that next time I can put that theory into practice.
Looks like MISS "Concerned Oberserver" took a few moments out of her busy day to write me another love letter.
A few weeks ago, I expressed my distaste for many of the policies and actions of the Screen Actors Guild as well as my concern over the impending strike. While I do understand the importance of SAG and I hold all that has been established and accomplished by The Guild in the highest regard, I still believe that change is in order.
Change is good.
Well, apparently some people, Miss Conerned Obsrever especially, don't like it when someone speaks out against The Guild. So she responded to my original post, but instead of establishing a productive dialogue, she told me to stop complaining and accused me of having no idea of how the business works. In fact, her opening line was "That's the kind of talk that will make your career extinct."
I replied to her comments by pointing out that in her efforts to lash out and attack me for speaking out, she kind of missed the point. I also wished her good luck in removing that giant stick in her ass.
Mind you, I have no idea who this person is, I didnt know until this morning whether I was dealing with a man or a woman. "Concerned Observer" has the audacity to come to my site, with my name, face and philosophies exposed, and leave anonymous notes...
Like this one...left for me this morning:
It's true, you do have a right to express your opinion, just as I have a right to express mine. If you can't handle that, you should remove the comments portion from your blog.
UM... I would say I'm handling it just fine. You come to my site and leave comments. I have every opporuntiy to delete it, at my leisure, but I dont. I even showcase your comments by posting them in their own dedicated blog post. I love the fact that you are expressing your opinion. You can talk yourself into a hole every day of the week as far as I'm concrened.
Simple and narrow-minded? I should say not. If anyone in this strained dialogue is narrow-minded, it is the person who hans't yet managed to get his SAG card after 'paying his dues' and 'playing by the rules'... how old are you anyway, 40? I guarantee if you had your card, you wouldn't be moaning. Besides, you came here from New York...practically anyone I know with any kind of resume has gotten their card from one of the seven Law and Orders out there. I suppose that's the fault of the establishment too?
You know what? You're just stupid. What makes you think I don't have my SAG card? Look at my resume. Look at the top of the page here. Seven Law & Orders? You are swinging at nuthin.... and by the way, I'm 77 years old...suck on that, sister.
And I did read your post again...what makes you think I am a SIR? Another place where you are incorrect.
Oooh, good one.
Again, this whole conversation started with me making comments about the politics of The Screen Actors Guild, and by merely SUGGESTING that a change is in order, I'm fielding moronic comments by an anonymous zealout whose most effective response is to attack me and my career.
Good luck with that lady.
And I'd like to leave you, one last time, with my closing sentiments from our first debate...
"So, that being said, I wish you the best..."Concerned Observer." Because, when it comes down to it, we are all in this together. I also wish you a little bit of enlightenment...some personal power....and maybe some assistance with pulling that big giant stick out of your ass."
And for the sake of togetherness, good karma, positive positivity and all that fine fuzzy stuff... feel free to disregard the "Giant Stick" part of that sentence... I dont really mean it...its just there for dramatic effect.
YES... by Dirty Sexy Money story... I worked on the show last week....not much of a story... Dirty Sexy Money was a bust... I was cast on site as a NY art critic...they spotted me and instantlly recognized brilliant potential... a certain intangible je ne se quois that made me stand out....they pulled me from the line, prepped me and pushed me out to the huddle with all the promise of an NFL rookie... I was wardrobe'd, makeup'd... stood in with the stand in... got lit... and enjoyed a few easy rehearsals with the.. absolutely beautiful... Zoe McLellan
And then after the first take for tape... it was all over....they bumped me... i was "Too Good-looking" to be an art critic...and I was (probably) too tall for the camera to get the right angle over my shoulder...so they grabbed some old man in the background and put him in there... to be honest the old guy looked a lot more like an art critic than I did... I'll give him that.
DIRTY SEXY DEAD MAN WALKING... I nodded to ZOE, my "future wife of the moment," she said "Goodbye," ever so softly and sympathetic, and I stepped away. Dejected, heart broken, embarrassed (I say this in jest, for the most part, but I was YANKED from my throne in front of the entire cast: principal AND background), I found a quiet place on set to curl up and hide. My only choice was to take the recently vacated spot on the couch... where the old man was sitting before he devastated my career. I sat on the swanky furniture piece next to his former date, the lovely old woman he left behind. I went from trendy uppity NY art critic at the hottest gallery in New York...to the lame dude on the couch with his 80 year old girlfriend.
I decided to make the best of things. I used the circumstances to create a new character.... and hey...at least I wasnt on my feet all night. I was fortunate enough to be able to lounge out and relax. I basically just sat on the couch and played the angry, bitter drunk at the gallery opening.... snarling at passers by.... good stuff.
Saturday morning, pounding away on my laptop, shooting CATCH 6 tomorrow and Monday. Monday I'm an actor in this thing, finally, I'm actually introducing my self as the new character DETECTIVE JAMES, sort of an extension or a reincarnation of Detective Clifton James from THE PLAYING FIELD, my little 48 hr film project. So I'm barreling down here. I'm finishing up all my line producing duties, I got all my actors in order, 2 great sound guys, an AD to replace my roommate (he had to leave town due to a family emergency); I got the DP from last week to bring in his lighting kit and play the role of Camera assistant/gaffer, I'm grateful he was willing to accept that role. I secured all my locations earlier this week with a fiunal thumbs up from the owner of a great little cafe late in the day yesterday.
Yesterday was a crazy bouncing, balancing act between HINT, a commercial audition in West Los Angeles and a ton of line producing... followed by a last minute HINT delivery to the Whole Foods in THOUSAND OAKS...thats really really far ...then....in an attempt to avaoid rush hour traffic on the 101 west of the 405...which looked absolutely terrifying as I passed it headec out to Thousand Oaks, I scooted up the 23 to the 118...hoping to hop on the 170 on the north side of it all and just free fall back down into Hollywood... well...guess what was going on up on the 118 yesterday in the Simi Valley? Yep, you guessed it...a commuter train derailed...yeah...wreckage....carnage....national news... 6 choppers in the air...and LOTS of bumper to bumber...going nowhere traffic.
Ugh.
I did make it home...eventually... with enough time to change my clothes, brush my teeth, pound a Red Bull and head out again. I was injvited to a dinner party in West Hollywood. A friend of mine from HIGH SCHOOL lives here in LA and she and I hang out from time to time...so she invited to me to a dinner party she was throwing.
Amazingly, I made it...a liitle late... but I made it.
(And I havent even MENTIONED my fun litte experience on the set of DIRTY SEXY MONEY on Thursday. I will post that later)
Slept in a bit this morning (badly needed).
And here I am.... pounding away on my laptop.
I did take a minute to inhale...or exhale..I can't remember...and came across this invitation to join the HOLLYWOOD WEB TELEVISION Meetup group. They have a networing event coming up on September 24th. It looks cool... I definitely dig the concept...right up my alley... so I RSVP'd.....
The Hollywood Web Television Meetup: "Taste the Future, it's Delicious"
We are trying to pull together all of LA's rich, diverse web production talent for the purpose of sharing resources, finding opportunities for collaboration and working together to help all the talented content creators out there thrive in this emerging market.
New speakers announced: Kim Evey: Producer of the web phenom "The Guild" (http://www.watchthegu...) and run away hit "Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show" (http://www.gorgeousti...) and Greg Benson from Mediocre Films (www.mediocrefilms.com): Edgy, decidedly un-PC comedy shorts & series that combine great laughs with high production values. As of Sept. 2008, Mediocre Films is the #27 All-Time Most Subscribed channel at YouTube. We will also be joined by Lydia Antonini, Director of Digital Development at Warner Brothers. Please register today and come join our thriving community of online content creators!
Ok...one more thing before I bounce....
I was interviewed at a coffee shop the last time I was in New York. You can fnd it here:
My official "2nd Unit" call time for DIRTY SEXY MONEY tomorrow is 2:30PM. Which means I will have plenty of time to fulfill my HINT duties, go rock that audition, and get to the set with time to spare.
(I am humbled and truly grateful)
And....I'm about 75% ready for the CATCH 6 shoot this weekend...
2 sound guys locked in; 5 actors locked in (need 4 more confirmations); 3 locations locked;
Need a DP/gaffer; a First AD; and 2 PA's
Hopefully I can get that tomorrow or Friday.
Last week I didnt get it all locked til saturday morning.
It's Wednesday, September 10th, 2008, and my second year in Los Angeles is officially underway. September 8th was actually my official landing anniversary.
It all feels pretty good as I sit here reviewing the year, acknowleging accomplishments, giving thanks for my good fortune and all the good people in my life...pondering my existence...
And this is just Year One... I'm not supposd to be completely acclimated, settled and comfortable utnil Year Two.... thats what I'm told...I dont know quite that means or what that feels like...but the people I talk to all seem to agree on it...many even say that they themselves didnt know what people were talking about until THEY hit their two-year....then they knew exactly what people were talkin about.
We'll see.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks agon, I booked the lead role in an independent pilot for a 30 minute sit-com called THE AFTER-LYFES. We are scheduled to shoot in Mid-October. Yesterday I received an email from the producers with the latest draft of the script....
James:
Title: The After-Lyfes Genre: Original 30-minute situation comedy Logline: A seemingly typical, albeit slightly socially impaired family, that is set apart by their continual sense of déjà vu…déjà vu that happens to be factual. Pitch: Arrested Development meets Scrubs
I’ve attached the script, so please begin to dissect it and give me your thoughts regarding Adam. Note that when I wrote his part, I imagined him as a little bit of J.D. from Scrubs, combined with a little more of Michael from Arrested Development.
I'm totally pumped for this. First of all, I feel really good about the character and the concept. I think I've been well cast if I dont say so myself. The fact that the producers are open to my feedback on the writing and the charaacter is a huge plus as well... so I'm really feeling it... its going to be a good experience...
Last night, I put together another Indie City meeting. Last night's meeting, however, was a little different. We have been fielding short script submissions for our projected 2009 monthly film project (Much like the Proactiveactor NYC project of 2005), and I decided to send out a posting for actors to come in and help us bring some of these scripts to life. As a result, we had a solid turnout for the meeting/reading last night, with a handsful of fresh faces, who all actually did a great job reading. I also recorded most of the meeting and will post those recordings in the form of a 4 part podcast.
That should be up in a couple of days. This whole podcast thing has been a work in progress. I have ONE official podcast posted on the I.C.E. site, but my roommate and I have recorded 5 or 6 of them. The problem is that, since I've been learning the recording software, equipment and the wqorld of podcasting as I go, I've screwed up a few times and many of those podcasts had to be trashed. I'm getting the hang of it though. I will let you know nwhen the next podcast episodes are ready and available. You might find it interesting. You also might find it incredibly boring.
Ok, so tomorrow...I have somewhat of a dilemma...
I am booked to do more background work...I THINK its DESPERATE HOUSWIVES....but when I called to confirm my availability, they said it was for DIRTY SEXY MONEY. Whatever it is, I blocked out the day and made myself available. Now, at this point, I dont have any information. I dont know what my call time will be. It could be 9AM. It could be noon.
What I also have for tomorrow, is an audition. The audition is for a film called THE PETERSON PROJECT. The breakdown was posted in Backstage a couple of days ago....
Fresh Planet, Inc. is casting Peterson Project, a crime thriller feature. Cambria Hankin, casting dir. Shoot starts Sept. 27.
Seeking—Male #1: early-late 30s, light/dark brown hair preferred, intense eyes, very complicated but can come off as a very loving father figure to young boys, uses this to his advantage to lure his victims, need to be able to portray evil yet innocence, challenging solid lead role, strong film, TV, and stage actor, actors "dream role"; Male #2: 18 to mid-20s, can be a slight character type or off/edgy, bit of a rebel type, timid but then is lured into the web of deceit and destruction, great part for edgy young actors who love doing indie films, strong resume required, LEAD. Note: Both roles are Caucasian.
I thought this looked like an interesting project. It's a paying project. So I sent them my stuff....
Dear James-
You have been requested to come and audition for the role of Bob in "The Peterson Project."
Sides are on Showfax.com under "Peterson Project" or Lisa Pantone/Cambria Hankin. You do not need to know the callback sides, just the Bob/Kyle sides. Please be off book as much as possible.
Please email back to confirm.
Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 1:15pm
So here is my dilemma... it's highly unlikely that my call time tomorrow for background work will turn out to accomodate this audition time. So what do I do if I have to choose one or the other?
Background work: guaranteed days pay; meet new people; lots of food; working on set of a network program. If I cancel, I could hurt my chances of getting work of this nature in the future. By the way, I could really use the extra money. I've said before, I'm not a fan of doing background, but right now, it fulfills a few short term needs.
Audition: Its an audition, for a lead role; it's not background. I could forfeit the days pay doing background.... I could go and book the role, work on the project and be walking the red carpet this time next year. I could also go and not book it. The casting, the project, the producers could be a total joke. I could end the day with a big ole goose egg.
I should post an oficial poll here and see what the public thinks....
Oh well...I gotta go.....
hey, you never know, maybe my call time for tomorrow will come up and allow me to get to the audition AND get to set on time...WIN WIN?
I'm friggin tired man. We shot CATCH 4 yesterday. It was longt day but I have to see I think we got it. I think it went well.
Last week I was all over the place trying secure the locations, secure a good crew. I really wanted to upgrade on the quality for this shot and get a good DP and a good sound guy to come in and help out. It all came together last minute, but it came together....
As we were scheduled to shoot Sunday monring, I was able to send the following email out Saturday afternoon:
Hey guys...
Looking forward to working with all of you tomorrow and creating a kick ass episode 4...
I've attached the script in case you need it.
The Plan is for the crew to meet at 8A at Kenneth Hahn Park, 4100 S la Cienega 90056 (About 10 min south of I-10). I think t costs $4 to enter...per car... I will reimburse if that's the case. First scene will be at the pond, which will be about 1/4 mile inside on your right.
Actors call is at 9A.
Crew:
Director: Jai Walia
AD: Eric Jones
DP: Richard Samuels
Sound Engineer: Eric I Bucklin
PA: Brad Holtzman
Writer/Producer...PA..whatever: James Huffman
Cast:
Jerry: Trevor Jones
Samantha: Caitlin Moreland
We have access to location 2 (2140 W. 139th Street, Gardena, CA 90249), from 4P-8P. Mostly interior (Mike/Sophie scene) with one or two quick exterior shots (prison yard)
Cast:
Mike Fisk: Bill Oberst Jr
Sophie: Megan Forrest
ALSO... as far as food... I was planing on getting your standard assortment of bagels in the morning and pizza for lunch. If anyone cannot eat pizza and/or bagels and has suggestions as to what I can pick up as an alternative, let me know... I will try my best to accomodate.
Feel free to call me or email with questions
Now....we had a bumpy start due to the fact that we got kicked out of our first location. The security people at Kenneth Hahn park spotted us setting up and were all over us within minutes. Fortunately we had a plan B and we all scurried over to Brace Canyon Park in Burbank and managed to shoot everything we needed, undisturbed...with time to spare...
2nd location was smooth sailing...the only challenge we had was the fact that around 7PM we started losing daylight faster than we could get our final exterior shots....still...we managed...
Jai did a great job directing. The crew was great. The actors all did a fantastic job...
I AM sitting here...in my lucky chair...wearing my lucky shirt... and my lucky underwear (havent washed them since the Super Bowl) ... drinking my lucky beer (Negro Modelo)...and watching the NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS.... THE GEEEE MEN... BIG BLUE.. THE SUPER SPOILERS... what else what else... OH... uh...SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS???
And DAMN...they look GOOD...offensively and defensively.
well...except for that... Amani Toomer is not paying attention...
and....Ok...yeah THAT TOO....ugh...
I can't believe its Football season already.
I cant believe I'm looking at my ONE YEAR anniversary of moving to Los Angeles. I flew from New York to LAX on Setpember 8th, 2007.
Its crazy man.
Word on the street is that it usually takes two years to truly acclimate and get your groove on in this town...so for my halfway point... I'm feeling pretty good.
Never mind the fact that the girl I was seeing dumped me last night. THAT didnt feel very good.... but... it is what it is... not much I can really say.
Going to see a friends play for opening night tonight at a theater in Dowtown LA. There will abe a handful of good friends there so it should be fun.
Ok...halftime is upon us... I gotta go...I'm shooting out emails and postings in my search for a sound person and DP for this weekend... We are shooting CATCH 4 this weekend...
Many things still up in the air.... so I'm on the hustle...
I've held one casting session already for this role. That happened a couple of months ago. I have yet to find the right actress...so I'm still looking....but I need to cast the role fast, because we are shooting CATCH 4 next weekend.
I got a call from the producers of THE AFTER-LYFES a couple of days ago while I was in New York. Looks like we will be shooting two weekends in mid to late October. I'm looking forward to that. It will be nice to focus solely on acting...creating and developing a character...just being allowed to play....have fun.... I could use some good old fashioned fun.
Seems I got someone a little upset by comments i made in a blog posting a couple of days ago about the pending SAG strike...
This is what I said:
Now that there is another strike pending... who knows how that will effect the results of my mailing... I dont want to get in to a rant about a looming strike. ... but word on the street...word on the STREET.... is that many aspects of production(s) are being halted due to the fact that there MIGHT be a strike....ugh...sick of that shit. Do you guys realize...sorry...I know I said i wouldnt do this.... Do you SAG jerk offs realize? That one day... ONE day ..we will be watching a director..an actor...best actor...best supporting...maybe best score...best screenplay....we will WITNESS....a beatuful...compelling film...receive an ACADEMY AWARD... and that piece of work will be entirely unrelated to ANY union... you unions will strike your way right out of the food chain, man... and WE...will keep pushing forward...WE.... will rise above.... we will adapt, survive, strive... .and succeed. Go ahead...hold out...strike... and face extinction.... get SMART... SAG...or get squished.
As a result of these comments...I received the following response yesterday:
That's the kind of talk that will only make your career extinct. It's almost as if you have no concept of how this business works. There's no way we will see an Academy Award like that, because without SAG the Academy Awards would not exist. Maybe if you wanted to start your own non-union awards show you could see results like that. Unions provide guaranteed wages and residuals, good working conditions, health insurance, pension, things that non-union productions don't have. Get smart, kid, and stop complaining. - A Concerned Observer
So... Mr...or Mrs "Concerned Observer," I should just sit down and shut up? "Thats the kind of talk that will make my career extinct?" Interesting, and typical. Is that some sort of intimidation tactic? First of all, you are not the first SAG zealot to write me and attack me...in fact whenever I get an angry response from one of you guys it's always the same...simple and narrow-minded. Second of all...you didn't really READ what I wrote...did you? you just got so offended that I expressed my frustration with the administration...that I challenged the status quo......that you lashed out and attacked me... you threaten my prosperity...tell me I should "stop complaining." I pay my dues. I play by the rules, and I have every right to be dissastified. In case you were unaware, I also have the right to express my opinion.... on my own blog and anywhere else (You have a problem with that maybe you should seek residency in CHINA). THIRD of all.... never say never pal. This business is changing, whether you like it or not.... and its just that kind of thinking, that kind of stuffy, stodgy resistance that fuels the fires of revolution.
Now if you are offended because I use the term "SAG jerk-offs"...well, I'll give you that...I apologize... (Sticks and stones...get over it, kid).
Now, may I suggest that you go back and actually READ what I wrote... I seek change SIR...I'm not satisfied with the way things are.... so I will NOT stop complaining....the current state of affairs is just not good enough... its OLD...its TIRED.... it's weak...and you know it... which is why you feel the need to write me and attack my statement without even acknowledging my point or my persepective.
So, that being said, I wish you the best..."Concerned Observer." Because, when it comes down to it, we are all in this together. I also wish you a little bit of enlightenment...some personal power....and maybe some assistance with pulling that big giant stick out of your ass.
I'm sitting here at JENKINSONS in Point Pleasant, NJ... drinking a few beers and typing away on my laptop... I'm supposed to be on vaction...and for the most part i am...but I havd to sit down here and shoot out a few emails to the cast and crew of CATCH 4...which we are planning on shooting Sept 6 and 7.... so obviously there is a bit of pre production to handle...especially since I have yet to cast the role of SOPHIE...this is the basic breakdown:
Seeking SOPHIE: African American or Hispanic woman, 40-50. Sophie is a prison guard who has one scene with Mike Fisk as he prepares to leave the prison grounds forever. There is a chance this character will return due to the slight hint of a possible romantic connection.
SOPHIE is a badass...but she has a passionate nurturing side...she has known MIKE FISK...Maggie's father...for 25 years...and now he's walking out those doors into the cold cruel world....
So yeah... i need to cast SOPHIE...and cast her soon....
AND.... i gotta go.... headed back to the beach house to meet up with some friends for a little Jersey shore dinner....
(back in LA next Saturday)
Oh...one last message from my 3 year old nephew Casey... he would like to say something to everyone.... to my vast and massive global audience... gather round people...listen up...Casey's got something to say.....drum roll please... the cool, calm and collected cat... the kid we call call Casey says:
State Hospital escapee James Huffman was captured last night after an emergency room doctor at Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi recognized him as a patient who was admitted early yesterday.
He is under police guard at the hospital with a broken right wrist and broken right leg, police said.
Huffman, 38, arrived at Pali Momi by ambulance at 5:30 a.m. yesterday. Huffman told the doctor he jumped from an overpass on the H-3 Freeway. The doctor called police after seeing Huffman's picture on a 10 p.m. television news report.
Huffman escaped through a window at the Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe sometime after 8 p.m. Wednesday by breaking the window lock. He had previously escaped on April 5 and was recaptured the following day. Huffman was committed to the hospital Dec. 18 last year when a state judge determined that he was mentally unfit to stand trial for a January 2000 robbery.
Huffman has previous convictions on the mainland for violent offenses.
(This story was actually posted June 15, 2001)
(I came across it as I was Googling myself)
(Don't laugh. I Google myself once...sometimes twice a day...its perfectly normal)
Its CRAZY!! It's dark man... thats for sure....but I love the way its shot. I mean aside from all the extreme shaky sequences... I love the way things get framed as if they are being taped by some scared shitless dude holding on to a handy cam.. Its really really cool. Its really the way I like to shoot. I love finding really obscure ways to frame the shot and tell the story. So I was diggin the camera work in Cloverfield.
(Anybody else notice "Jackie Jr" from SOPRANO'S playing a policeman amidst the panic in the first half of the movie? "If ya naught injured, keep mooovin.")
I had read all the negative buzz related to the shaky cam and how people were getting nautious at the theater... and its possible that happned....if you watch it at home you wont get the effect to that extreme.
Decent story... love that the cast is all unknowns... and really edgy cinematography.....I would say Cloverfield is a good movie.
So...last night... I did background on DESPERATE HOUSWIVES... it ws actually fun. I lucked out because I was "picture picked" to be at the table with some of the principal's...so I was right there in the middle of the action... and will be right there in the scene whenever the episode airs...
(Sorry Mom...I have no idea when that will be)
What I DO know, is that I'm at a banquet, sitting at a table with the red head...Marcia Ross...and one of the younger characters... um...dudes name is.... hmmm... nice guy... totally col with chilling out and chatting up the background actors.... what the hell is his name? Oh... Charlie Babcock... thats it... and Felicity Huffman... yes...same last name...NO...no realtion...and NO..didnt ever get the chance to make some clever joke to Felicty... nor did I plan to... anway...Felicity's character approaches the table I'm sitting at and she's wasted... kind of funny.
I'll tell you somehting else... Felicity Huffman spent her entire lunch hanging out in the background holding area chatting... privately...with some friend of hers who seemed to either work for the show or he was doing background...maybe a dayplayer... who knows...
(Yeah...not the best gossip in the world...but its all I got.)
So now I'm watching Cloverfield again with the Director's Commentary running... its good stuff...very very informative.... I've said it before...I will say it again... every actor...and every filmmaker should watch and/or listen to the directors commentary on EVERY movie they see...some are better than others...some DVD's dont even offer it...but ...even if you've seen the movie in the theater...get the dvd and check out the commentary... there is SO much good information to soak up... be a sponge people...be...a sponge.
OK...so there's more...
I booked something...I had an audition on Monday...and I stone cold booked it.
I booked the lead role in an indepedent 30 minute pilot. I will be playing the role of Adam. Again, thats about all I can tell ya. I think it's going to be pretty cool though. The story kind of reads like a cross between ELI STONE and QUANTUM LEAP. We will be shooting late September, early October.... I'm told.
And thats it for now... still holding down the beverage job...looking around for a decent alternative... i'm putting together a mailing to find a good theatrical agent that is going out in small increments... now that there is another SAG strike pending...
(DONT DO IT SAG... DONT strike...seriously...your just gonna piss everyone off... especially me. Its a lose lose dude...LOSE LOSE.)
Now that there is another strike pending... who knows how that will effect the results of my mailing... I dont want to get in to a rant about a looming strike. ... but word on the street...word on thye STREET..is that many aspects of production(s) are being halted due to the fact that there MIGHT be a strike....ugh...sick of that shit.
Do you guys realize...sorry...I know I said i wouldnt do this.... Do you SAG jerk offs realize? That one day... ONE day ..we will watching a director..an actor...best actor...best supporting...maybe best score...best screenplay....we will WITNESS....a beatuful...compelling film...receive an ACADEMY AWARD... and that piece of work will be entirely unrelated to ANY union... you unions will strike your way right out of the food chain, man... and WE...will keep pushing forward...WE.... will rise above.... we will adapt, survive, strive... .and succeed.
Go ahead...hold out...strike... and face extinction.... get SMART... SAG...or get squished.
(GOOD NIGHT)
"Technology of the future may sexually harass you if it doesn't kill you first. Written & Produced by Tim Keefe Directed by Ross Gabriel Sebek Starring: Andrew Heikkila as the Watercooler Ariana Citriani as Vicky James Huffman as Sam Peter D. Michael as Merv Michael Magor as Ray Camera Lance Kaplan 1st AD Mackenzie Smith Makeup Rose Lopez Sound Aaron Botwick Michael Magor Editor Charles K. Staples Soundtrack Producer Ben Holst."
The Olympics are kind of pissing me off this year. Well...not the "Olympic" but the way the American media is trying to ruin the Olympics. It just seems like the American tabloid culture is trying to turn The Olympics...a treasured global event...into a circus... not a circus...more like a freak show.... some kind of Travelin Carny and Old Crow Medicine Show.
"Michael Phelps eats 100,000 calories a day. He's got to be cheating somehow"
"Those Chinese gymnasts are 9 years old... and they have WMD's "
"The Basketball teams from Spain should be punished for ridiculing Asian people..they are probably harboring terrorists"
Give it a rest people... just let them play. Can we just enjoy the games for the games and not make a mockery of the whole thing?
Anyway...
It's my Brothers Birthday today:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BROTHER!!!!
Hope its a great one.
Finally...a trailer for the comedy series "AND...scene."
(Still somewhat undecided on the title)
This series is about more than just a fledgling acting school...its about more than questionable theater and humiliating auditions... It is about the millions of performers who pour their heart and soul into the craft ...it's designed to give a voice to every actor out there who may never find one...
(Thank you thank you thank you to everyone that made this possible)
Produced by myself and Susannah Kennedy, this trailer features The directorial talents of Meg Scibona and Jim Spring, along with hilarious performances by Josh Conkel, Katie Apicella, Leslie Miller, Sharon Bushman, Derek Peith, David Arthur Bachrach, Don Puglisi, James Huffman, Thomas Vilorio and more.
Ok, that being said...and with much more to come, I hope you enjoy it...
Picking up new headshot prints today. I'm planning a new mailing to see if I can find myself some fresh representation. After posting a ton of new pics and hitting up people for opinions, I picked one and had 50 printed up. It's the same pic I have posted right now on my Facebook page. I'll save all the character shots for email submissions and use more of a traditional shot for mailings and hard copy use.
Got a call from Central Casting on Friday. Looks like I'll be doing a day of background on "Desperate Houswives" next week.
I also met with more directors on Friday. The idea is to open up the collaborative process and get fresh talent to direct upcoming episodes of CATCH. I'll keep wiritng and producing...but I think letting different directors make their personal mark on the project will help create buzz for the series... also, since I'm going to be appearing in upcoming episodes...I'd like to be able to focus on my character and not be distracted by whats going on on set. All this collabortion means that I will have to start churning out epsiodes... so I need to start writng...
also entertaining the idea of enlisting more writers to work on the series....see how that goes... should be an interesting cooperative experiment..
SO...after a small screening last night.... I'm getting ready to post 3 new projects on youtube and the Indie City website...
I'll be posting the latest episode of CATCH. Episode 2... "The Playing Field," Indie City's 48 HRFP film (chosen as one of the best of LA 2008)... and a 3 minute trailer for the comedy series that I started shooting last Summer in New York. The same comedy series that I've been asking around to try and come up with a good name. After sending and receiving a bunch of text messages and emails, throwing around potential titles... I narrowed it down to two names: "And ...Scene" and "Breaking Legs."
"And...Scene" was sort of a temporary working title I was using last year...one of 2 or 3 working titles actually.... I was calling the project a few different names...depending on who I was talking to. "And...Scene" is cute...doesn't quite roll off the tongue... I'm just not in love with name.
"Breaking Legs" I really like. I think it's great for a title...but its actually being used... "Breaking Legs" is the title of a very popular Mafia-based showbiz comedy that ran here in NYC for a long time and is now played in every summer playhouse in America.
The other day I was googling "Breaking Legs" to see what I came up with and I came across this youtube clip titled, of course, "Breaking Legs." And guess what this lovely little film clip featured... a montage of footage of people actually breaking legs... disgusting.... I couldnt look away....it was awful...real clips of people in different sports...like a professional wrestler jumping down on his opponent from the ropes and wheh he lands, his legs snaps and basically just dangles from his body...NASTY....anyway.
Up late last night...sitting with two different editors at two different locations working on 3 different projects...all of which are being screened on Sunday...
Late last night I was going through hours of footage that was shot last Summer for a sit com pilot that I co wrote, co-produced...
Man, I havent laughed that hard in a while...there is a lot of funny funny stuff there... I cant wait to start churning it out.
The initial plan was to create a 30 minute sit com pilot...write a few more episodes...and pitch that bitch... anywhere and everywhere.
Well...one year later...after a move to the West Coast and plenty of acclimation time...I'm still sitting on all this great footage... so for the time being...I'm going to be whipping together a few short episodes for the internet while I start writing more material for the series...
Anyway...a trailer for that project will be screened on Sunday as well and will likely be posted on Youtube and the Indie City website on Monday.
This particular project has to receive an official name. I have played around with a few working titles...but nothing has quite had the pleasure of sticking.... It was "Just Point Me" for a while...which is a shortened version of "Just Point me in the Right Direction." JPMITRD is the name of the short play, written by Marcus Jones, that inspired the series concept. I was calling it "Bad Apple Studios" for a while. "Bad Apple Studios" is the ficticious name of fledgling New York City acting school that serves as the setting (and a character) for the series.
But still havent quite found the right one.
So today, just on a whim, I decided to send a text message to some of my more creative friends...asking for some help on the matter. I popped out a text to about 20 people, figuring I'd get maybe 5 responses. 2 minutes later I was getting slammed...
Trying to field text messages and respond to a barrage of incoming contributions while driving is no easy task. But I managed.
This is what my afternoon looked like:
JIM: need your help...and one or two word title to a short film or series about an acting schol filled with hapless actors doing questionable to terrible theater.
Brandon: hey bro! long time no talk. try BAGHEAD.
Chuck: BAD COMPANY
JIM: not bad mr peck not bad
JIM: Whats up Brandon! How goes? When u coming out to LA?
Chuck: I'll think on it a bit more, beer would help.
JIM: Thats even better! BEER WOULD HELP!
Charlotte: Scool of Ack-ting and Trauma
JIM: Thats not one OR two words!
Charlotte: Ugh...lemme think some more...
Brandon: Entertaining the idea.
Therese: Duh...CREATIVE ACTING.
JIM: Too cose to home...not catchy enough. How are you by the way?
Charlotte: ACKTING School
JIM: Nah
Charlotte: DRAMARAMA DEPARTMENT.
JIM: I like DRAMARAMA.
Therese: Tired of working for a living. How are u?
JIM: Story of my life. I'm fine. Hustlin ass out here.
Charlotte: DRAMARAMATRAUMA.
JIM: You just gonna keep adding words on the end? DRAMARAMATRAUMA YO MAMMA!
Stephen R: TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE...or maybe SMALL ACTORS.
JIM: Clever...but too long...SMALL ACTORS is kind of mean.
Stephen: Story of my life.
Charlotte: OBAMA.
JIM: okay...this is getting silly.
Therese: how about SOUND & FURY.
JIM: Nice! I like that one.
Trevor: THE BOARDS.
MIKE B: INTENTION or THE MAGIC "IF"
Simona: AND...SCENE! I like how every bad actor lest people know their scene is over.
JIM: Yeah...I had that one on my list for a while...sounds too much like a board game.
Trevor: BETRAYING PORTRAYING
Andrew: READING LINES
Charlotte: OBAMA's DRAMARAMA TRAUMA MAMA
JIM: Go away.
Andrew: DOING MACBETH
Trevor: PRETENDERS
Ben: ALTERNATIVE ACTING SCHOOL: Jump on the short bus to success.
JIM: Can you come up with something a little longer?
Ben: That was the title and the tag line.
JIM: Cool...thx
Shimmy: HAM SANDWICH, 3-ACT DRAAAMA, GIVE EM THE HOOK.
JIM: Nice, nice, nice.
Seth: PRETENDER POINT.
JIM: Hm? Starring Katie Holmes? Shot in Wilmington, NC and airing on the WB?
Start of a a new week.... as is every Monday...but this week is different... I made the decision last week to shake things up...make some major changes in my situation here in LA. I mean...I'm coming up on a my one year mark since I landed here on the West Coast...and while I've made progress...accomplished a few things.... I think its time to make some adjustments.
The day job is a big one...funny...that old term "Day Job." That;s an anitquated phrase...nowadays, artists and performers work in so many different environments and fields that DAY JOB hardly applies to anything... it bascially refers at any job that is not artist related...
Anyway.... my job as a beverage sale rep here in Soutern California has been good to me. I have enjoyed many months of solid, full time work... freedom and flexibility... that being said... I have two major issues that are causing me to consider a move...
Number one...I'm not meeting any new people when I work...I'm basically a lone wolf out there...driving from store to store..all over LA...all day long...I'm by myself...sure I meet store owners and managers... but thats not really doing much for me socially or professionally.... so while I love the freedom of not having to report to an office or ocation every morning...I would also love to have a group of people that I work with that can potentially become friends on some level...maybe those co workes can help me build my network of contacts on a professional level as well...
Ok...so number 2... I'm in my car...all the time...not just getting to and from work...my work keeps me on the road constantly...all day.... which is not great for the environment...not great financially...and not great mentally and emotionally... everyone is in there car in Los Angeles...but I'm using my car more than the average person... I'd love to find a way to cut that down.
Ok..so that being said... Friday night I started searching Craiglist and reaching out to marekting companies to test the waters...see if there is any work out there as a market manager or brand ambassador...I'm also going to Central Casting tomorrow to register for background work...not crazy about doing background...but it could be a temorary solution. I could meet new people and I would be on set for the day...not driving around in my car.
Now...the only draw back to all this...is having the flexibility to audition...which I DO have right now in my current job... the problem is.... Right now, I'm not auditioning all that much... which is another thing I need to adjust... I'm working on that as well... trying to find fresh representation....with my new headshots I've got a mailing planned...I'm still taking the casting director workshops...blah blah blah
So if I can give my audition frequency a boost...that could trump everything else and I'll just suck it up and stay right where I am.
What does one do when they experience their first earthquake? Have a drink...do a shot? Go to church...pray?
I was actually in the car when it all went down. I was stopped at a red light and I suddenly felt the car start to sway. It reminded me of when I was a limo driver back in Houston and folks would raise the partition and get freaky in the back of the cab. I looked around for a moment, wondering if what I felt was really "What I felt," and I didnt really notice anything unusual. The light turned green. I rolled on through. I stopped at the next light about half a mile down the road and it was all over. It wasn't until someone came on the radio and started commenting about the earthquake that I realized that I waas really feeling an earthquake.... cool.
I hope that will always be the extent of my exposure to earthquakes.
On my way out the door here in a few minutes to perform my daily duties as a SoCal HINT sales rep. I have accounts to visit over in Venice, Santa Monica and Brentwood.
When I get home tonight I have reports to finish...especially my mileage report for the month of July. I get remibursed, like, .46 cents a mile...which is a federally mandated number... and what sucks is that .46 cents a mile does not reflect the huge increase in gas prices over the past two years... so that little mileage reimbursement plan isnt exactly fair anymore.
I also have to send follow up emails to all the directors I met the other day. I posted something on Mandy.com explaining that I was looking for directors to collaborate with on my internet series CATCH. So I set up interviews and met with about 10 different people on Monday evening. Everyone was great. An interview is just an interview though. It will be interesting to see who rises above and turns out to be a solid, productive collaborator.
The idea is that I introduce a few different directors and allow them to work their magic on a few different episodes of the series. That way I can focus on writing, producing and actually acting in a few of the epsiodes. I can also increase the exposure and keep the material fresh...for the audience AND myself.... so I'm really looking forward to this little experiment.
I spent a lot of time this past weekend on the new Indie City website. I had initially started building a website through Yahoo small business services...but didnt get very far...simply because the Yahoo service doesnt offer that much...and I'm not really familiar with how to create a site using the Yahoo tools.... but I DO know how to work with Bandzoogle (Thats the service that powers THIS site). So I spent a few weeks building a new Indie City Entertainment site using bandzoogle and unveiled it this weekend.
The site unveiling was uneventful. I havent sent out a blast to the masses yet...I guess because I feel like it still needs a few finishing touches... but please...by all means...check it out... i think it fairly represents the collective and gives the viewer a better idea iof what we are all about...where we've been....where we are going:
I'm starting to plan the next Indie City screening party.
I just got permission to use a cool new song for the next CATCH episode.
The Yankees have won 5 straight.
I'm in a good mood....
So the next Indie City Entertainment party is going to happen the first week of August...lilkely to be Thursday August 7th. We have had the first few I.C.E. parties at THE BRIDGE in Universal City...but the party promoter there has not returned my calls...and I think she is upset with me because she was expecting us to have a party there on the first Thursday in JULY... I made the decision to NOT have a party in early July...due to the holiday... and neglected to give her a heads up.... so she got a little pissy with me...
If she wont work with me on the next party...I will find another place to hold the event... simple as that... keep moving forward... forward...forward...
I'm obsessed with moving forward.
I'm expecting to have a few good things to show at the next event. First off...the LONG awaited follow up to CATCH: Episode One... appropriately titled CATCH: Episode Two. Ideally, I would love to be able to release a new episod every month...but when you are actiung as a producer working on favors and good will (And NOT cold hard cash), timetables and deadlines are sort of hard to mandate, implement or expedite...LIFE has a tendency to get in the way... so here we are...TWO months after the release of Episode One...
I'm also planning on screening a trailer and Episode One of the "yet to be titled" sit com series that I produced and shot last Summer in New York. The series was co written by myself and Marcus Jones...a playwrite I worked with last year. The series is about a screw ball acting school and al the funny things that go on inside...and OUTSIDE...The Actors Studio....
(Hey, maybe there's the name)
On top of all that...We will be showing THE PLAYING FIELD, which is our submission to the 2008 Los Angeles 48 Hr Film Project... a film that was surprisingly chosen as a finalist.... one of the "Best of LA 2008."
Now I just have to find a suitable venue... I'll let you know.
(I'm drinking some really good Shiraz right now. Just thought I'd share)
So the good news of the day is that I received the following email from a rep for a band calledTHE GAY BLADES :
Sorry I've been so MIA. Just got back home yesterday morning from a pretty grueling tour. Feel free to use the track "O Shot". Please just include artist information once its done and a promise that if you make it big time, you can purchase the usage at a fair price.
The Gay Blades
"O Shot"
Ghosts, 2008
4Never Records/Triple Crown Records
Check it out...the song and the band was referred to me by a friend and I one I heard it I instantly recognized it is being perfect for the closing of the next CATCH episode... I might even try and stretch the favor and use it for a couple more... sort of as a temporary theme song... its perfect...it really is...and its a kick ass song either way
(Thank you Thank you Thank you)
Did I mention the Yanks have won FIVE straight... good stuff man... I'm gonna try and catch a game at the stadium when I'm back in New York the last week of August... a few days at the Jersey Shore with my brother, his wife and my little Tasmanian nephews...a few days in New York...one last night at the legendary...soon to be torn down... Yankee stadium....and all is right with the world.
Speaking of my Tasmanian nephews... I got a letter in the mail two days ago from my brother and he had folded up a few of Keller's drawings and shipped them out to Califonia for me too loo over...the note attached said... I'm reading from it right now...
Keller wanted to share some of his Monsters. he is hoping you can draw some in return and send them back. Are you KIDDING ME? HELL YEAH!!
I was walking in the door as I red the note...I literally dropped everything I was holding and immediately pulled out my sketch pad and magic markers. I don't think I even ate dinner. There was nothing in the world that I would rather have been doing than drawing pictures of Monsters for that kid. It was amazingly theraputic. I mean...happy to do it for Keller...even happier to do it for ME...I loved the idea of seeing his sketches...and love the idea of sending some my own sketches back... But he has no idea how badly I needed that.
I mean he's only like...FIVE.
(I probably over did it. I send him so pretty elaborate MuthaF%$#@ monsters)
What was once a healthy dose of my photo shoot from two weeks ago will now become a daily dollop of dorkiness, dashing and damn foolery...
If I post a page full of photos it slows down the script..or the feed ...or whatever you might call it... it just takes twenty minutes for the blog to finish loading... so.... scratch the collage... I will just share a couple photos every day...for ETERNITY!
(Photos courtesy of the lovely Tiffany Kyees)
Exhibit A: The "Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids" look.
Exhibit B: The "I think I just broke the copier" or "I just pulled the fire alarm" look.
Productive day yesterday...yes...I spent my Saturday (And saturday night) working on a variety of things.... I spent a few hours working on the new Indie City website... I worked on re writing the sit com script from last Summer... I went through three CD's of new photos (I had another shoot for headshots this week)... I uploaded a handful of the new shots to sendoutcards.com for my next round of postcards.... did a litle pre-production for our NOBODIES shoot...that I HOPE is going to finally get underway this Wednesday....and I managed to get myself to the gym.
So a couple of days ago I had a second headshot shoot with Tiffany Kyees. Tiffany is the headshot photographer that I worked with a coupe of months ago when I organized a full day of shooting between her and several Indie City Members. I went back to her because for one.. she's cool. She did a great job.... and she's inexpensive...or should I say..."Reasonably priced.... still...I didnt quite get what I needed first time around... plus I got my haircut and I wanted to have my shots reflect the short clean cut look I'm sporting as opposed to the laid back, shag, dude-hair style I was rockin before.
Anyway...aside from all that....what I really needed was a series of character shots... I know, I know...people back in New York cringe at the thought... for years we made fun of people who had photos done in different costumes...a doctor shot, a business man shot...and detective shot...a mob guy shot... HA HA HA.... dorks....in New York you have TWO shots...a commercial and a legit...smiling and serious...
Then I come ut to LA and I see that everyone has 5-10 separate headshots...one for each type of role you would potentially be called in to read for. My agent asks me of if I have any other pictures I can send over...he asking me for different looks...like in scrubs...in a suit and tie...a lab coat... I like "uh...no." I have two perfectly good headhsots...commercial and legit... and I've worked very very hard to find the perfect outfit, hair style and expression for those TWO all encompassing, versatile masterpieces I call my HEADSHOTS. My agent explains that the actors he has that get all the auditions are the ones that have a roster of looks...a PORTFOLIO of looks, costumes and characters. I'm told if I want to audition as much as these guys do...I will go out and get some new photos done with characters in mind.
"F%$@&&^ that, man...I ain't doin it...no way" I would say to myself. I New York we laugh at your silly PORTFOLIO.
As I start asking around I start to realize the gravity of the situation. Every New York actor I spoke to who had beeen out here for more than a year said the same thing:
"Oh yeah, when I first got out here, I was like NO WAY....no F%$@#E$ way. I'm not doing that. It took me a YEAR to finally come to terms with the necessity of it."
So there you have it. I had that conversation about 5 or 6 times before I was even willing to acknowledge the necessity.
It reallyt comes down to competition. The competition out here is absolutely fierce. There a lot of good actors...here are a lot of actors PERIOD...there are a lot of good lookinmg peope who are not terrific actors but are castable... so to stay compettive...you have to make it easy for a casting director to see you i the role...boittom line...how do you make ti easy for them? If you want to audition for GREYS ANATOMY or for SCRUBS.... have a photo ready with you in your scrubs...ready to go...ready to work... like they could click and drag you from your photo right to set... BANG...youre woring on Greys Anatomy.
Take a look at this guy... a link to his IMDB page was sent to me to use as a reference... apparently he gets called in ALL the time...for EVERYTHING....
So I shot four different looks... scrubs were NOT part of the mix... the photographer charges by "The Look" so I could only afford to do 4 looks. I went with "The young dad/young teacher," "The office guy," "The blue collar/borderline red neck guy," and "The CSI/Special agent/detective guy."
I have the CD's but I dont have web ready files available yet so I can;t share these pics just yet...but I will say I pretty happy with the outcome...plus..it was a lot more fun to shoot. The difference being...and when I talk about a difference I mean the difference bteween shooting for characters and shooting the NY way...aiming for a commecial and legit shot... the difference is that the pressure is off to capture that PERFECT expression and look for your TWO headshots... I find myself trying SO hard to create a soft, approachable, likeable persona that I just cant relax...and then most of the photos come out looking like shit...I'm trying too hard...
As I was shooting for characters, i suddenly realized how much fun it was to take pictures...or to be photographed. The pressure was off to get the ULTIMATE look that covers casting possibility and I allowed myself to cut loose...make goofy expressions (My specialty...ask my Mother) and become the character for the sake of getting a fun shot....felt so much better.
So I will post a few of those shots at some point this week. Lets hope I can become one of those guys that gets called in all time.... better yet...lets hope I become one ofthose guys that BOOKS all the time.
I sent her a birthday card through SENDOUTCARDS.COM... which is a new service I just signed up for. I had been gearing up to start sending out postcards to LA casting directors on a regular basis...but I hadn't been over to Reproductions to print up 50-100 postcards... hadn't set asid time to sit down and write out dozens of "Thank Yous" or two dozen 'Hey, I'm still in the game YO's." In fact I had already taken 3 or 4 workshops with primetime casting directors and had YET to even send out a "Thank you/Nice to meet you" card. Then I met this nice young lady name Danielle at one of the Indie City screenings and she explained to me that she works for a company that provids a postcarding service that I might find useful.
It's called sendoutcards.com and it's wesbite that allows me to log on (After officially registering and paying a one time users fee), browse through dozens of greeting card and postcard styles, helps me design my card and enables me to address the card, affix postage and expedite the transaction via the US Postal Service. It's fantastic, the entire process is handled right there on the site. I can upload a photo...ANY photo...create the postcard... and send it right out. Prior to sendoutcards.com...I would have to GO to a reproductions lab...pay for a 100 or so QUALITY postcard prints...wait for the lab to complete the order... then take my prints home...sit down and start writing out my little NOTES... address each card...get stamps....and PHYSCALLY mail the damn things.... with sendoutcards.com what used to take AT LEAST a week...can now take an hour...
This is totally sounding like some INFOMERCIAL...my I'm actually offering a genuine testimonial.... I can seriously send out postcards with a different photo each time...I can send out thank you cards...invitations to Indie City screenings...and a BIRTHDAY CARD TO MY MOM....
(Don't you just love how I bring it all back...full circle... like a good solid HAROLD)
(Thats IMPROV talk. Only a trained improvisor would know what the hell a HAROLD is)
Ok....
Oooops... big font....sorry about that...
So..whats going on my life? Hmmm. I have to say I was feeling really homesick for about a week leading up to and including July 4th. I don't know, I mean any holiday makes me wish I was back in New York with all my peoples.... baseball season make sme kind of homesick too... I don't get to watch Yankee games here anytime I want... and the fact that the All Star game is happening this year at Yankee Stadium kind of makes my heart drop a little too.
I'm not like DEPRESSED or anything...I just miss you guys back there and it kind of punches me in the stomach from time to time.
I also feel like lately EVERYTHING has been extra challenging. My job with HINT, my finances, the projects I have in post, the projects I have in PRE-production... my writing, my acting, my GALL BLADDER... it all feels lately like a challenge...one big hurdle after another...
Like I've got some Mercury in retrograde disorder or something... It will pass...I'm sure.
So I'm still trudging along...still pushing..... always.
And hey...the Yankees just won three in a row...thats a step in the right direction...RIGHT?
It was a F%#$$#@ difficult three games...but they won...so there.
Okay....I gotta go... I'm in the middle of checking out music from independent bands that I can get the rights to for the CATCH series...for THE NOBODIES and for our podcast.... I'm telling ya...I am DAMN busy...I'm not messing around here...
Ok... yesterday I got caught up in this mass email/accidental reply all/high drama fiasco... it was so damn funny that I have to share...
here is the way it went down>>>
Tuesday 2:16PM: I get the following email from Seth, i see its a FWD with some sort of political relevance..I also see that its been cc'd to a MASSIVE amount of email addresses (I'm slightly salivating):
I have signed the "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less." petition on AmericanSolutions.com because to lower gasoline prices and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we need real solutions to our energy challenges. I hope you will sign the petition as well. Please sign the petition today at: www.americansolutions.com
Tuesday 2:18PM: I get the same email…again… from Seth.
Tuesday 2:19PM: I get the email for a third time.
Tuesday 3:22PM: A response to Seth’s email from someone named Jessica:
seth I hate to tell you this but this is the most retarded email you have ever sent me. Drilling and paying less for gasoline isnt the right solution and untill americans get their heads out of their asses and realize that we need to use a renewable resource it will NEVER get better...I dont understand people that think that it should be cheeper...I think it should be more expensive and we are lucky that we have it so cheep now....there is a limited supply in the world and we are consuming it all just to waste.
Tuesday 3:24PM: I know who Seth is, but I don’t know who this girl is, maybe an old friend of Seth’s? I do see that her rebuttle has been sent to everyone on Seth’s MASSIVE cc list. I continue reading:
You get this kind of response because you sent it as a forward. I hate stupid forwards. the end.
Tuesday 3:25PM: Ok so maybe they’re not “good” friends. But again, I agree. I hate forwards too. The End. Oh wait…Not the End? I read on:
Sorry about Lauren...I felt it coming....I know you to well I guess. And yeah...take what you are feeling and multiply it by oh lets say 1000 and you might feel some of the pain that I went through when it was us.
Tuesday 3:26PM: Um….okay this is getting awkward…keep reading:
Not to make you feel bad but yeah...we had a lot more history and a lot more ups and downs with each other so it stunk more. The mean part of me is glad that it happened to you but the friend part is sorry that you are hurting.
Tuesday 3:27PM: Wow… she hit REPLY ALL… This message went out to at least 500 email addresses....this is great stuff.
So I am sorry...it will get better...just next time you see yourself doing this to someone else...think twice and be tactful because you know how it feels.
take care. Jessica
Tuesday 3:35PM: A REPLY ALL from someone named Jonah:
way to "reply all" ya retard.
Tuesday 3:51PM: A REPLY ALL from someone named Gladys:
I AGREE!
Tuesday 3:59PM:And yet ANOTHER “Reply all” from a nice girl named Maura:
I do not know any of you – but I just had to say- WE ALL MAKE mistakes – no one is perfect – I am sure you feel horrible that you sent this out to everyone….
Jonah- give the girl a break – c'mon- you never did a stupid thing? Life is hard enough without bringing other people down – why would you purposely do that? That is not a reply all mistake – that is intentional …..i kind of have to wonder what is worse
Tuesday 4:11PM: a “Reply All” from Lisette:
Lisette here,
I'm protecting myself from receiving junk mail.
Please click the link below to complete the verification process.
You have to do this only once.
Tuesday 4:20PM: I cannot resist… I mean, I gotta get a piece if the action, right?
Hi... I don't know any of you...but this is SO much fun
"CATCH is a dark comedy, written and directed by James Huffman that features Anne Judson Yager (BRING IT ON AGAIN, MINORITY REPORT) and Trevor Jones (NOTHING YOU'VE SEEN) as MAGGIE and JERRY, two star-crossed serial killers looking for love and checking out the online dating scene. Are they destined to find each other?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKaEPd-l2_M
Tuesday 4:35PM: a “Reply All” from someone named Wade:
Today I received this email from the 48HR Film Project people... Indie City Entertainment and "The Playing Field" made it as one of the best films of 2008!!!
"The Playing Field" was written by me, James Huffman, directed by Eric Jones and Edited by Paul Kim. It stars James Huffman as "Detective Clifton James," Anne Judson Yager as "Rhonda Donnellson," Chris Tessitore and Heidi Fielek as "The Players."
Read below>>>>>
Hello 48HFP Los Angeles Filmmakers--
The judges have made their decisions. Here is the lineup for the 48
Hour Film Project "Best of Los Angeles 2008"
To find out who the award winners are, plan on attending the:
"Best of Los Angeles 48HFP"
Screening and Awards Ceremony
Wednesday, July 2 8:00 p.m.
Fairfax Theatre
7907 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Here are the Best Films of Los Angeles 2008:
"2042" by Digital Technique
"Barefoot" by Last Minute Productions
"Brutal" by Lasrever
"Dr Ronald Donellson's Fit-Its & Fabulous Remedies" by The Jobless
Talents
"Life After" by Cultural Detritus
"Mashin' Impossible" by Apples & Oranges
"Moment of Silence" by Par-t-com Productions
"Recipe for Danger" by You'll Eat It and LIke It
"Stuck" by Jeffrogee
"The 4th" by Barstow Productions
"The Memo" by JAZ Pics "The Playing Field" by Indie City Entertainment "Three Potatoes & A Spud" by Miscellaneous Entertainment
"Y Tu Nana Tambien" by Daywalkers
TICKET SALES
Tickets may be purchased at the Fairfax Theatre Box Office
Forward this email to your team members so that they can come out and
see this year's "Best of Los Angeles" 48HFP. Plus, don't forget to
invite your family, colleagues and friends to attend the screening!
We'll be gathering after the screening at:
Swingers
8020 Beverly Blvd
See you on Wednesday.
Peter Fox
Los Angeles Producer
48 Hour Film Project
pfox@igc.org
323 244-0291
http://www.48hourfilm.com/la
I've been kicking my self in the ass for not pushing harder to get acting career rolling...I've been so busy working on the writing/producing/directing that I've kind of been neglecting my actor self...
anyway... I'm seriously so friggin mad right now that I lost an entire blog post...
on that note....I'm gonna go...
here are the top 8 songs on my ipod hot list:
Pussyfootin by THE BAMBOOS
MS HILL by Talib Kewli
The Bomb by BITTER:SWEET
ENERGY by Apples in Stereo
The Last Trumpet by LYRICS BORN
SALUTE YOUR SOLUTION by The Raconteurs
The Camel by FAT FREDDYS DROP
A NEW SKY by The Presets
The HEAT in Southern California has subsided.... thoroughly enjoying the cool down...
Really busy...as usual...juggling all my day-job-premium-essence-water-duties with my actors activities and my writer/producer/director activities with trying to maintain some sort of personal social life... hmmmm...yes....social life.... almost forgot.
Monday we start shooting scenes for THE NOBODIES...the next internet series created by myself and produced with the help of Indie City Entertainment...
I've been jotting down ideas and writing rough drafts for a few months now and we are finally ready to start rockin and rollin... I'm actually really looking forward to this one...we have SO much material to work with...and its a comedy... so its going to be a lot of fun to create.
Ok... thats all I've got for now... I need to chill out...wind down...relax...watch somehting funny on TV...and.... go to sleep..... back at it tomorrow....
WATER COOLER OF THE FUTURE is a short film I worked on last Summer in NY, right before I came out to LA. Created by TIM KEEFE. I got an email from him today....
Dear cast, crew, friends, and family:
The website hosting "Water Cooler of the Future" is now accessible. I would like to sincerely thank you all for your hard work, encouragement, support, and superb ability. I am very pleased with the result of our endeavor.
Its about 11Am on Monday morning just South of Normal in Los Angeles, California. I am tired, sore and cranky... but I feel good.
Indie City Entertainment tackled the Los Angeles 48 Hour Film Project this weekend and I would have to say... hmmm... what would I HAVE to say...
We finished? We submitted a complete short film with a beginning, middle and an end. We made it to the drop off point with our finished product and handed it in with minutes to spare. So, provided all of our paperwork is in order, we are officially enetered as a competitor.
The screenings for GROUP B (Thats our group; part of groups A-F; 80 teams participating) will be held on Wednesday, June 18 and Thursday, June 19 at the:
Fairfax Cinemas
7907 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA. 90048
Group B Wednesday, June 18 8:00 pm:
4 Doors from a Strip Club Joseph Tran
Balls Out Pen15 Albert Aguilera
Black Lightning Spence Fuller
Cine Alma Pictures John Gonzales
Indie City Entertainment James Huffman
Life On Its Side Productions Susan Lee
Magic Lantern Trevor English
New Spirit Cinema Paul Ratner
Purple Potatoes Svetlana Dekic
Roach Coach Rogelio Velazquez
The Sleezy Threezy Eric Larkin
You'll Eat It and Like It Anne Edkins
LASREVER Peter M Smith
Friday night, the 48HRFP kick-off meeting was held at the Lounge at The Landmark Theater in West Los Angeles, 10850 West Pico at Westwood Blvd. Each time was aksed to attend with no more than 3 representatives, so I asked my roommate Eric to go over there with me. We sat around for about 30-45 minutes and eventually they called my name and I went up to thye front of the room and pulled my team's "genre," our "Character" our 'Prop" and "Line of Dialogue." Basically the way it works is every team randomly pulls a "genre" and that sets tone, or theme for each teams film. Every "genre" is fairly represented by at least one team in each of the 6 groups. Then every team in every group gets the same character, prop and line of dialogue to incorporate. Once they announce the common 3 ingredients, all the teams stampede out of there and run off to write their story and start shooting.
The 2008 Los Angeles 48 Hr Film Project official list of ingredients:
Character: Ronald or Rhonda Donellson, game host
Prop: 3 or more potatos
Line of dialogue: "Leave it to me, I'm a professional."
Indie City's official genre: Detective/Cop
And we were off. We went back to our apartment on Hoover street and met up with the rest of the team. We didnt have everyone over, just 8 of us. We bounced around ideas until about 11PM. At 11, I kicked everyone out and started writing...and writing....and writing... I finished a first draft... a working draft at 3:30AM.
I wrote a story about a private detective/former police officer who finds himself in the middle of a foot chase and a rendevous with a woman in a red dress. A flashback takes us to the detective's home office/garage two days earlier. Our protagonist is sitting in the dark, contemplating retirement (Which is code for suicide). Rhonda Donnelson, a femme fatale equipped with a desperate dilemma, a red dress, a great pair of legs, enters, thwarts the detectives effort to "cancel his membership," and the story taks off from there.
Once the script was finished, I went to sleep. At 7AM I was up and at it. Eric and I made a few casting decisions...
James Huffman (ME) to play Detective Clifton James
Anne Judson Yager to play Rhonda Donnelson (Game host)
Heidi Fielek and Chris Tessitore to play a team of assassins
Ashley Cozine to play Cliftons ex-girlfriend
Any other supporting roles would have to be developed and cast on the fly....
and, again, we were off.
We met up with the team in Burbank, had a brief pre-production meeting, and headed over to our first location to shoot all the chase scenes.
That's why I'm so sore today. I got to set, dressed in a suit and tie, and started running aorund like crazy in these chase scenes...with shoes NOT designed for running and without doing any sort of warm ups.... stupid.
We shot all day...finally wrapped at midnight. Went back to Burbank to shoot one last scene early SUNDAY morning, and spent the rest of the day at our editors apartment whipping it all together.
I made it out to The Landmark and turned in our film with minutes to spare. Forget the fact that my CAR broke down on the freeway earleier that day on the way to the editors place from our last location. I was forced to deal with calling a two truck and finding a mechanic to take the car and agree to pay the tow and work on the car. Not to mention we all were in post production HELL, operating on minimal sleep. Not to mention I had to borrow a car to get over to the drop off point and I got LOST trying to find I-10 from the editors apartment on the way.
But we got it done....and I'm tired, sore and cranky.
PLAYING THE FIELD
written by James Huffman
Concept contributors: Ben Stevens , James Huffman, Eric Jones, Ashley Cozine, Chris Tessitore, Anne Judson Yager, Heidi Fielek, Tom Funk.
Directed by Eric Jones
Starring James Huffman
with
Anne Judson Yager
Heidi Fielek
Chris Tessitore
Ashley Cozine
Editing by Paul Kim
Production Staff: Heather McGonigal, Heather McHugh, Stephen Schaffold, Tom Funk, Ben Stevens, Paul Duraso
Because of time contraints and lack of sleep, the film we ended up submitting is not, by any means, perfect ,and there are certainly technical glitches that were overlooked in the last 2 hours of post production. So we will probably try and polish up the film before we post our work for everyone else in the world to see... but we do plan on making the project available on Youtube and Myspace or wherever else.
Apparently people were experiencing difficulty viewing the first episode of Catch on Myspace...
Episode One is now on Youtube:
"CATCH is a dark comedy, written and directed by James Huffman, that features Anne Judson Yager (BRING IT ON AGAIN, MINORITY REPORT) and Trevor Jones (NOTHING YOU'VE SEEN) as MAGGIE and JERRY, two star-crossed serial killers looking for love in all the wrong places. Are they destined to find each other? And will that magical moment be Serendipitous? Or more like Alien VS Predator 3?"
CATCH is a new internet series, written, produced and directed by me.
It features Anne Judson Yager and Trevor Jones as Maggie and Jerry, two star-crossed serial killers seeking a soul mate in the City of Angels.
"Can you find Prince Charming using online dating?"
CATCH is dark. CATCH is funny. CATCH is a cross between DEXTER...and SERENDIPITY.
I had an official world premiere screening party at The Bridge last Thursday night and I have to say it went pretty well. Because of The NBA playoff game...which included The Lakers.. I was forced to push my premiere back until AFTER the game, whihc turned out to be a blessing in disguise becasue when I finally got the greenlight to screen my stuff, there was still a large group of people in the bar hanging around after the game... and it was that group of people that offered up a fantastic real time reaction to my work.
I have to say that when the basic concept of CATCH was born, it was that very moment that I envisioned; A genuine, gutteral audience reaction that is swift and precise, quick and loud. It was that very moment that motivated me to keep pushing...to write...re-write...cast produce and direct and promote... in fact..I had put so much work and so much time into getting this little series rolling that I had almost forgotten where and why this whole idea started... until I heard that crowd explode... seriously...it was like a mini explosion... totally caught me off-guard... but when it happened it was a HUGE satisfying rush.
I received flowers from Anne, the lead actress playing Maggie, a hundred handshakes, compliments up the Wazoo and a tongue in my ear from what I think was an extremely intoxicated new fan.
I cant wait for you to see more...
ENJOY>>>>>
(PS: comments posted on MySpace or Facebook would be much appreciated)
To all Filmaka members who submitted to the FX comedy competition, THANK YOU very much. We received over four hundred submissions, most all of high quality. We had more laughs than we knew what to do with. After the long and difficult process of selecting the finalists from these exceptional films, we and FX Network settled on a dozen finalists to work with. They are:
Adam & Eva by Yvonne DeLaRosa
The Escort by Alex Jorgensen & Mat Barbeau
Flicks With Dicks by Quad Deuce Productions
Frame Wranglers by Chris Kas
The Gospel Ruth by Nora Gruber
Happy Endings by David Green, DJ Lubel & Jake Avnet
Kick Your Ass by Anshul Joshi
Losers by Bill Caco
Missionary Positions by Eric Bergemann
On The Boulevard by Robert Ellsworth & Christina Cannarella
Pig Pen Productions by Niall Madden
Swinging With The Finkels by Jonathan Newman
CONGRATULATIONS to all our finalists and we are excited to be taking the next steps with you!
To those of you who did not make it to the final round, this is not the end of your opportunity. We are already looking at other outlets for your work, including other contests and distribution deals. We may be contacting some of you about creating web series for us here at Filmaka, or about other exciting opportunities. Filmaka is an ongoing project to turn your passions into professions. Thank you all for the time and energy that went into creating your remarkable work.
We plan on ANNOUNCING THE FX WINNER ON JUNE 16th, and we will be posting all the finalist videos then.
Keep checking Filmaka.com for the many exciting new contests we will be launching this year.
My dearest friend Jen called me today...she is finally back from a nice long honeymoon in Italy... and she came back pregnant...
WHOA!!!!
What?
Hold up...
Yep...she got knocked up (HER words, not mine)...
She also called to ask me to give her some new music. She has apparently been listening to the same songs I put on her ipod like two years ago...
So...for you Jen... here is a carefully chosen list of songs that I've been diggin on for the last few months... I know you will dig as well:
JENS NEWLY KNOCKED UP, HIP HOPPED AND ROCKED UP...PLAYLIST
Shake It Off (Bad Dreams Part 2) by Lyrics Born
The Last Trumpet by Lyrics Born
Bluebird by One Self
Be Your Own (radio edit) by One Self
When I See You by Prodigy (Mobb Deep)
Harder than you think by Public Enemy
Ms Hill by Talib Kweli
Lady Don't Tek No by Latryx
Do it Now by Mos Def
Ghetto Rock by Mos Def
Push by Pharoahe Monk
Good Clothes by Little Brother
Run The Numbers by El-P
Move Shake Drop Remix by DJ Laz
Fever (Dirty Version) By Rhymefest
Give it what you can by The Meters
El Dorado by Animate Objects
14th St Break by The Beastie Boys
Berlin by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Crazy Bitch by Buckcherry
Awe by Citizen Cope
Chateau Strut by Doyle Bramhall
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by Incredible Bongo Band
Bring it On by Lenny Kravitz
Pussy Footin by The Bamboos
Got to Rock - DJ Vadim featuring Zion
Let it Go - The Village Green
Suntoucher by Groove Armada
Magnolia Soul by Ozomatli
BlackForest by Radio Citizen
We Do We Go by Nomo
And here is your Calm Cool Collection:
Deceptively Yours - DJ Strobe Seedy Motel Sunset Remix by The Peter Malick Group
Butta Fly Love by Martin Luther
All My Days - Alexi Murdoch
Where I belong (Single Edit) - Honey Root
Facing East by Thievery Corporation
Morning Song by Zero 7
In the City by Boca 45 Feat. McKay
malemolência by CéU
Soixante Trois by Tinariwen
Have Hope by Jennifer Kreisberg
The Place to Be by Zeb
Bluey by Fat Freddy's Drop
I just got home from workshop one (of three) at Act Now (In Sherman Oaks) with Casting Director Peter Pappas (Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory).
It was fun... I was feeling prety good going in because I was still riding high from my performance last night at The Sherry Theater in North Hollywood...
"Whats that?" You say "You performed at The Sherry last night?" You ask "I didn't know you had a performance last night." You grumble and wine
Neither did I.
I performed last night in a 24 hour play festival hosted by The Sherry Theater (11052 Magnolia Blvd). I received a text message saturday afternoon asking if I was available or interested in helping out a friend (of a friend of a friend of someone I don't even know) in a 24 hour play festival Sunday night (That would be tomorrow). I wrote back and said I would do it.
"Shit, I aint got nuthin goin on tomorrow night" I thought "I'll do it" I shouted out loud (Thrusting my fist to the sky)
Once I had committed, I was instantly refreshed. I was excited. I have been jonesing for some stage time for a few months now and BANG! The Univerese drops a little nugget right in my lap; A decent sized, challenging, low maintenance, light committment, tasty morsel.
AND it was actually my FIRST offical West Coast stage performance....
I met with the playwright/director and the rest of the cast (Her boyfriend and another gal pal of hers) around 2P on Sunday. We shook hands, sized each other up and did a quick read through.... and guess what... the play was actually pretty damn good. Not only was it a solid piece of writing...it had substance, literary relevance and it honored classic material. It was funny with just enough room for a warm fuzzy feeling here and there.
The play, called "Love Bandits," (Bandits was the festival theme that each playwright was required to work with) was about Romeo and Juliet (Yes..THAT Romeo and Juliet), but in this contemporay adaptation...which is more like an afterword or an addendum...we discover that Romeo and uliet actually FAKED their death, made a clean getaway and started a new life together...in hiding...
Unable to take on real jobs so as to protect their anonymity, the star crossed lovers turn to hustling, stealng and everything else to survive and put food on the table. As you can guess, this is a lifestyle that gets old qucikly. Romeo and Juliet struggle with their siutation, with their choices and with each other.
It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. And an evening at the theatre might not end with a big "Why?"
Anyway, tech was at 5, dress rehearsal at 7, house opened at 8:45. We did pretty good if I dont say so myself. We damn sure had the best written piece of the evening.
And I was SO...SO happy to be up there on stage... felt great... it was really somehting I needed...
So A big warm "Thank you" to Nicole (Writer/Director), Kristin (My friend who hit me with the text) and The Universe... I'm truly grateful.
So this week...
Big party on Thursday...CATCH One is making its World Pemiere... I'm really excited... and a little nervous....
A little update on the party (I had to post the following message on the Evite and Facebook):
Hey... just wanted to give everyone a heads up... in honor of Game one of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Celtics, which starts at 6PM on Thursday, we will screen Episode One of CATCH immediately following the game, my guess is around 9-9:30. which will be followed shortly thereafter by a screening of Ashley Cozine's short film TRUST ISSUES. I will, of course, be there watching the game prior to the official Indie City start, which, I guess, is now 8PM.
I went to Vegas on Friday and I cant seem to right myself... I'm all disoriented.... Vegas is crazy... but I loved it... it was great.... I drank ALOT...and won a little money...I managed to keep the same amount of cash in my pocket all weekend... spend a little... lose a little...win a little...spend some more...lose some more...win it back... then on Sunday, after I checked out of the hotel... checkout was 11A...my flight didnt leave til 4:30P...I sat downstairs in the sports booking area to watch the Yankees game...while I was there... I managed to pick up $250 on an exacta box...
I also made friends with a couple of local guys who enjoyed calling me "Pimp," all afternoon... these same guys.... who seemed to fit the description of "Pimp" a lot better than me... decided to pick a fight with a group of college guys from Georgia...wasnt much of a fight though...actually my Pimp pals pretty much scared the shit out the 8 college boys and ran them off... I wasnt sure if I was supposed to hop in if a melee went down...Like "I got your back Pimp! I gotcha back Playa!" Or if I should roll my tired, dehydrated self and my carry-on luggage away from all the action and stay cleart... I did neither...I just sat there...basically right in the center of the altercation...hoping it would all blow over and I wouldnt have to get up and move.... I was comfy...and really hungover... after the college boys fled ... my Pimp friends calmed down and went back to cracking jokes with me...They thought it was hilarious that I didnt budge with all this static blowing up all around me....like I was THAT cool.... these guys loved me....calling me dude...calling me Jack...calling me Pimp...
And would you LOOK at the TIME... I've got to go to the airport... nice to meet you fellas.... good luck with everything...all your Pimping
So I'm back... back with a new Vegas Pimp approach to pushing my product....
Last night I went to the 3rd and final session of the Todd Sherry workshop I've been taking at ACT NOW for the past few weeks. We worked on Guest Star roles this time. I wasnt very pleased with my work. I was given a scene from MEN IN TREES and I was paired up with a really cute Asian girl...she was pretty hot...what can I say? Now, granted, we didnt get much time to prepare...we did what we could with the time we had...and in an actual casting session...the actor would never be paired up with another actor for a scene...the actor always reads with the official "reader." Regardless, I was really hoping to make a better impression with the material than I did. I could be mis-representing what really happened... it's possible...I dont know... I wasnt TERRIBLE... I just didnt NAIL it...
Todd Sherry is the 3rd casting director I've met so far in a workshop setting, so I'm at the point where I have to start sending out postcards every 6 weeks or so to remind them that I'm still out here... chomping at the bit...
I start a new workshop this coming Monday...with who I cannot say...I forget...I'd have to go look it up...and I dont feel like doing that right now... its another 3 weeker with a pretty reputable casting office here in LA....thats all you need to know...
I had a short meeting yesterday the guy who is editing CATCH: EPISODE ONE. He put together a rough cut. We discussed what works and what doesnt. He actually came up with some really cool stuff, but the basics of the episode...the main scene... The lighting...some of the acting...I'm not every happy with it... without getting into too much detail, the on set collaboration between myself (Director) and the DP didnt produce the ideal shots... I wasnt quite getting what I wanted...but we were running out of time at the loaction...so I had to compromise.... and I end up with footage that I'm not crazy about....I'm hoping we can fix it.... but there will definitely be parts of the episode that I'm going to be presenting in protest.... protesting who? What? I guess myself... lesson learned....
Indie City Entertainment is an organization that serves the professional and artistic needs of a wide variety of industry players. We are the NEW West Coast Collective, a coalition of creative cats, currently congregating in California.
So I'm setting up another Indie City sing-along... a melting pot of monthly meeting, marketing maneuver, mosh pit, mix-tape and magic show...
Seriously...its sort of a cross between BARBERSHOP, BEERFEST, BEVERLY HILLBILLIES and BAADASSSSS!
And if THAT'S not enough for ya.... get this...
This event will also serve as the official screening party for the WORLD premiere of episode one of CATCH, the highly awaited internet series created by myself, James Huffman and Indie City Entertainment.
CATCH features Anne Judson Yager as "Maggie" and Trevor Jones as "Jerry," two
star-crossed serial killers looking for love in all the wrong places.
This our second in a series of monthly mixers. Aside from showing off our work, we will be mixing it up with like-minded, hard-working, creative individuals and catching up with those we consider cool.
Please join us as we celebrate an abundance of positive energy...
(We love you...and we don't go around saying that to just anyone)
Its so hot that yesterday I discovered that if you leave a bottle of wine sitting on the front seat of a hot car... windows cracked of course...that bottle will slowly open itself...pop it sown cork...seriously...and dribble the contents of the bottle...in this case a very nice cabernet...all over the interior of the car...
I walked up to my car and I swear I thought someone had broken in. It looked like someone got into my car, opened a bottle of wine and chugged half of it. I investigated furthere and found that no such intrusion had occurred... thankfully.... my nice bottle of cab just got hot and blew up....
Took a really good workshop at ACT NOW on Tuesday night. It was a workshop with Todd Sherry, who is a casting associate for the show "Chuck." He is also a current working actor...
I've taken many a workshop on my path to greatness and I have to say this one...which is a 3-weeker...so this past Tuesday night was part one of three... was one of the best I've taken...
Todd not only had a lot of great insight as to how to make a great impression when you are auditioning...but the format of the evening was set up to provide a very interesting and informative.
He started out with a basic introduction that took on the appearance of a Todd Sherry stand up routine. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, he was funny. He told some great stories about actors who had wonderfully and naturally won over producers during casting sessions as well actors who found numerous ways to work themselves OUT of a role... even after they had been cast and shot an episode. He even shared a few of his own personal blunders.
After that he broke us all up into 5 or 6 groups for a mini callback. He assigned and handed out sides to everyone actor and had each actor enter the room and audition for the part. Aside from the group up to bat, everyone sat in and observed each audition. Thats the part that I found so valuable. I love watching actors bring something different to the role, or to to the text. It's fun and you can really learn a lot from that type of experience.
Anway, it was good...looking forward to the next two...
Sunday night... evening....dusk.... its like 7:30...
We are closing in on the deadline for the F/X online pilot competition. I decided to work with the editor on getting together a 1-3 minute version of ARMGUARD for the race. I spent the afternoon polishing up a 2 page pitch, with general notes on the concept, themes and character breakdowns. By midnight tonight, we have to submit the two page presentation with the 1-3 minute pilot episode....
YOU HAVE AN IDEA FOR A TV COMEDY...
WE HAVE A TV NETWORK...
FX Network (Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck,The Shield) is looking for their next hit comedy and you have the opportunity to create it for them. Make a 3 minute comedy film think a mini-pilot – that is a sample of the show you would like to make. It should introduce the premise and the main characters.Along with that, you need to upload a 1-2 page brief which outlines the plot of future episodes, the main characters, and the themes....
From the competition submissions, ten semi-finalists will revise their shorts based on notes from FX and receive $1,000. The Network expects noticeable differences in response to their notes, so shoot in a manner which will allow flexibility....
After the shorts are revised, one winner will be chosen to receive a budget of up to $40,000 to create a 15- to 20-minute presentation. FX will then decide, based on that presentation, if they want to produce a full-length pilot and possibly order the series for production. If they do, FX will, subject to good faith negotiation, enter into an agreement with the Competition Winner with respect to production services for the series.
So ARMGUARD it is....
ARMGUARD is a project that has been sort of hanging around for a couple of months...lacking any clear direction. We shot episode one a couple of months ago and we've just now started editing.
I started writing and ARMGUARD because while we...the group...Indie City Entertainment...were tossing around ideas for things to shoot...projects to develop...one of the girls in the group found us a location to shoot in for free. The location was a real-life small security company in Glendale where the girl who hooked us up actually used to work. She went to her former boss and asked if we could use the office after hours to shoot. The nice man said yes, which was great, but what was even better was that when I went over to check out the spot, I immediately feel in love with the whole building, let alone the office.
It's this really basic 5 story...i think 5 story... lets just call it a 4-6 story building that stands alone...it doesn't look OLD...but it looks dated...like a pair old bell bottoms.... really ugly wood panels line the walls in every hallway... and the office itself is just two rooms.... a desk in each room...computer monitors on top... a fax machine over here, a raggety plant over there...on the wall is a series of certficates, a calendar, an American flag and a snapshot of the boss with Arnold Shwarzenegger.
What really got me excited was the stuff in the closet. This office...being a fully operational nickle and dime security company, had a whole closet full of security uniforms. I was so thrilled by the fact that we not only had open access to this office... at no cost... we had a built in wardrobe department.... I immediatley went home and wrote the whole "WE'VE GOT WARDROBE!" bit. Itr was only a one page bit...but it definitely got me going.
So we got a cast and crew together and a few weeks later we shot a six page episode. SINCE then... I got so busy writing, producing, directing and building some buzz for my CATCH series that ARMGUARD kind of got put on the back burner.
So THIS...is a test... I did get some great feedback on the little one- minute ARMGUARD trailer that we posted... we also screened the trailer at the party on May 1st....and now we've got this FX competition... We will see what kind of impression ARMGUARD can make in the contest.... but I'm starting to think it might be time to kick this donkey in the ass....
I posted the new CATCH trailer last night on MyspaceTV... great response so far... 224 views and 5 comments...
This trailer was created primarily for the industry mixer/screening party we had we had last week. Its much longer than the usual trailer because I wanted to give all the actors involved a little something to look at... somehting to cheer about...even the cool graphics in the beginning... was Paul Kim, a great editor, flexing his creative muscles for the crowd... check it out:
CATCH features Anne Judson Yager as "Maggie" and Trevor Jones as "Jerry," two star-crossed serial killers looking for love in all the wrong places.
What will it take to satisfy their quest for true love. How far will they go to find it? Are they destined to find each other? And will that magical moment be Serendipitous? Or more like Alien VS Predator 3? By the way…what are they doing with all the bodies?
Stay Tuned....
CATCH features Bruce Klefstad as Clyde McGillicuttie, Stephen Schaffold, Heidi Fielek, Kristin Downey, Akume, Caitlin Moreland, Paul Duraso, Chris Tessitore, Lisa Strauss, Ashley Cozine and Hudson Oliveira...
Some of the feedback...
Just watched the new trailer, and I think it's AWESOME! Great work! Loved the Catch.com founder. He was perfect.
wow congrats it looks really good, I like the Black and white choice
too...
Dude, it's really good. Seriously. Great job.
Makes me curious- Looks good- Shot great- Good luck...
Bruce Klefstad (aka Clyde McGillicuttie) sent me an email tonight:
I have sent the link for CATCH to all my friends and acting buddies. They all love it and think you guys did a bang up job. My daughter (SAG actor) sent it out to her list also, and got some great responses, also. Your series should do well.
The premiere of episode one is schedule for Thursday June 5th at the next ICE screening party at The Bridge in Universal City. Ep 1 will be posted on Myspace the following day...
watching the directors commentary for MICHAEL CLAYTON... its good...I'd actually give it a thumbs up... informative...good mix of technical movie making (and screenwriting) insight and observations/notes on each actors process....
Had an audition yesterday... my ONE audition for May... kidding...I hope TO GOD I have more auditions in May....it was for a board game called PARTINI... I think its a drinking game... they had four of us hanging out, palying the game and having fun with each other...it was at a "3 of Us" style casting office at 1020 North Sycamore Avenue....
The Indie City party at The Bridge Thursday night went great...great for a first event...not perfect...
The turnout was solid... I had about 40 RSVP's on the Evite...with the notion of about 15-20 more who had expressed interest but either didnt ever receive the Evite...or never bothered to RSVP...
My guess is that we had around 30 people there specifically for Indie City...probably around 20 or so attending as regular patrons of The Bridge...and by 10PM...We had roughly another 30 who were there for the TAKTILE CD listening party... an event that was sheduled to go down right after ours.
So it was a good start... we had a few technical difficulties getting the DVD to play ....so after I hushed the room...and made an announcement..and an introduction....there was dead air....dead, dead air.......a large group standing there, waiting to see the new CATCH trailer...and it took ten minutes to get the DVD to play correctly...with sound... ugh
The guy behind the bar finally got it figured out.... and we moved on from there... but for me...it was a REALLY tense ten minutes.
Like I said...it was good for our first event... I am planning on having another one June 5th... the first Thursday in June. I should be able to screen Episode one of CATCH... maybe even episode two... and episode one of Armguard...
It's HOT here in Los Angeles... the weather here is supposed to stay steady at 70-75 all the time... its hot and heavy 90 plus today..as it was yesterday...
Don't have AC here in the apartment...so it gets a little stuffy when its really hot out...not unbearable..like those heatwave days in New York...but not ideal west coast conditions.
(warning: segue approaching)
As I sit here typing I've got the DVD of the movie HEAT, with Deniro and Pacino, playing in front of me, its sort of playing in the background, but its placement, is in front of me. I'm actually listening to it because I've got Michael Mann's audio commentary rolling.
I've been going back to alot of movies I've seen before to watch them again with the audio commentary rolling. As a writer/director/actor there is SO much great information in those speacial feature commentaries. It usually includes personal notes, observations and experiences of the writers, directors and actors...and they all comment on each others work. It is an incredibly valuable resource. You would have to be a fool to pass all that up. Some commentaries ae better than others, of course but any and every rising writer/director/actor should check out the special features of every DVD they can get there hands on and listen to the audio commentaries.... trust me.
Earlier this week I listened to Quenten Tarantino's commentary as a writer on TRUE ROMANCE, which was great. he talked about TRUE ROMANCE as his first real screenplay, how much of it was autobiographical, the struggles he went through to get the film made AND how he was in the middle of directing PULP FICTION when TRUE ROMANCE made its premiere, so he went to the premiere with the cast of PULP FICTION...really cool shit.
I've been busy working all weekend. Not for HINT, but I've been doing a lot of prep for Indie City's first party....sort of a mixer slash screening party. I've posted stuff on Facebook, Myspace and created an Evite. Here is the party info that I've been building and pumping out all week:
Please join us next Thursday, May 1st, 8PM
@ The BRIDGE
3256 Cahuenga Blvd
Universal City, CA
"Artist and Industry": Brought to you by CO2 EVENTS
Featuring INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT:
Indie City Entertainment is an organization that serves the professional and artistic needs of a wide variety of industry players. We are the NEW West Coast Collective, a coalition of creative cats, congregating in California.
This our first in a series of monthly mixers. We will be screening trailers of current projects; Mixing it up with like-minded, hard-working, creative individuals and catching up with those we consider cool.
DIRECTIONS
From the Valley: Where Ventura blvd. turns into Cahuenga blvd West. just West of Barham blvd. in the Starbucks lot. No sign; center door red lights.
From Hollywood: Highland ave North to Cahuenga blvd W cross Barham turn into Starbucks shopping center on right. No sign; Center door red lights.
I've been working with a couple of editors to get material ready to show. I should have two good trailers for my CATCH series and one trailer for the ARMGUARD series. One other thing about the ARMGUARD series, the initial plan was to show a little one minte trailer of one episode that we shot two months ago. I've been so busy with the CATCH series and a handful of other things that I never got around to writing episode two of ARMGUARD. So I'm watching the rough cut of the trauler and I have no idea what is to come of this project. At the same time, I receive from an email that is promoting another one of these "Create a 3-minute pilot" for FX....
FX Network (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck, The Shield) is looking for their next hit comedy and YOU have the opportunity to create it for them!
Make a 3 minute comedy film – think a mini-pilot – that is a sample of the show you would like to make. It should introduce the premise and the main characters. Along with that, you need to upload a 1-2 page brief which outlines the plot of future episodes, the main characters, and the themes.
So, the editor did such a good job with the one minute trailer that I talked to him about this little compettion and he agreed to whip up a 3-minute piece to submit. The deadline is Thursday, May 1st. I just need to put together the 1-2 page brief...and like I said...I haven't been doing a loit of writing for this... but I should be able to knock something out by Thursday.
I've seen a few of these online "mini-pilot" competitions come and go...and I'm a little skeptical. I just feel like if you've got a really great idea for a show, or a solid concept...and I've got a handful of them...you could do a lot more with it... you could do yourself a lot nmore justice...by nurturing your product and seeking out a better scenario for your ideas or your plan than handing it over to an online competition... I could be way off...I could be wrong...and it could be a great opportuntiy for independent producers to showcase their work... but I'm not sure I trust the process.... and I do have a firm belief in the value of my ideas.... I've got some solid, marketable, money making shit I'm sittin on...
ARMGUARD, however, I'm not in love with... I just happen to have enough footage available to create a 3-minute pilot. I just happen to have an editor working on it right now. So what the hell, I'll submit it..and we will see what happens.
Hey James. Me again - the "aspiring actress." Just wondering, how do you stay confident despite people occasionally not liking your work or style, or just basically making you feel like you're not any good? I worry that my lack of self confidence will hinder me as I try to get work when I'm older. I haven't got much acting experience as yet but I feel so unconfident about my ability and it's even worse when people make it clear that they doubt me. You know what I mean?
Hey ... you know it sounds like you are in a place where you are still learning...not that we ALL arent in a perpetual state of learning... but if you "haven't got much acting experience," like you say, you should focus right now on developing your craft. Work on anything and everything. Get involved with as many projects as you can. Take an improv class or join a long form improv group. Learning the art of long form improv did WONDERS for me. Long form improv can make you fearless!! Get on stage, in a class or in an actual production. Big or small, get as much stage time as you can. I know that every time I've been in a stage production... regardless of whether the play was good, bad or forgettable... good director, bad director... good cast mates, bad, or just plain forgettable... the one thing I always took away from the experience was more stage time...and more stage time gave me more confidence...and it sounds to me like confidence is what you seek.
And I agree...confidence is what you need... so go get it...the more you do...the bigger and better you will feel about your work...and you will come to understand... to quote the wise and great Dr Suess:
"Those who mind, don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind."
I had an awesome weekend... Busy...but awesome...Another top 5 California-moment-to-date:
I was working an event for HINT down in San Clemente, which is a little surf town just south of Laguna. HINT donated two pallets of product to a party hel by the Kelly Slater Foundation, so we went down to set it all up, ice it all down, and make sure everything was pretty and proper. Then we hung out out the rest of the day and mingled. Here is a little press release detailing the event:
Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder performed a special 90-minute show in front of an exclusive group of celebrities, pro surfers and members of the surf industry Saturday at a Kelly Slater Foundation benefit in San Clemente.
A crowd of 700 gathered at a private home near the former Western White House as World-famous surfer Kelly Slater hosted the fundraiser in San Clemente to raise money for Surfrider’s Save Trestles campaign and MiOcean, among other charities. Slater was M.C. of the show that also featured a guest appearance by Ben Harper and rare musical appearance by Slater himself.
Actor/director Sean Penn and actresses Cameron Diaz and Laura Dern, and University of Hawaii quaterback and 2007 Heisman Trophy candidate Colt Brennan were in attendance. World tour star Taylor Knox, former WCT surfers Pat O’Connell, Peter Townend and Lisa Anderson, and recent XXL award winners Mike Parsons and Greg Long were also among the attendees. Teenage surfing phenom Courtney Conlogue helped serve up Nalu’s Island Grill.
Before the auction, Robert Shriver, brother-in-law to Gov. Schwarzenegger who was recently fired from the State Park and Recreation Commission along with Clint Eastwood for opposing the governor on the toll road issue, kept the audience thinking about the cause.
“We all thought ‘you must be kidding’” Shriver said of first hearing of the toll road plan. “They’re not kidding. This fight is not over.”
Vedder seized the evening to make political points and joke.
“Half the songs I ever wrote were written in the ocean, so this is my way to give back half the publishing,” he quiped. Later, after knocking off a edgy cover of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down,” which he called an “activist song” he shouted “Take your (expletive) road and put it somewhere else!”
Noting the attendance of friend and fellow surfer Penn, for whom Vedder contributed songs to the film “Into the Wild,” he said “Sean was looking for a way to donate, so he’s set up a booth and for $500 he’ll punch you in the face,” Vedder joked. “Then he’ll sign the wound in neosporin.”
Wednesday..... Got my taxes done last night... YAY!
Good for me, right? Whatever...
Hey... IRS....GO F%$#& yerself!!!!
Got it all done just in the nick of time... I'll tell you that. I submitted at 10PM on April 15th....
Why not? The early bird gets what? a kick in the ass?
Headed out to work early this morning and took care of a handful of HINT errands... then hustled my butt back home to catch the YANKEES....playing the %$$%% RED SOX.... on ESPN2...
I dont get many regular season Yankee games on TV out West so when ESPN throws me a bone... I'm gonna pounce on it, clamp down with all my might, get my slobber all over it and shake it around like a rag doll... toss it up in there air and pounce again...roll over on my back...shake it some more...slobber some more...I think you get the point...
(BOBBY ABREU and AROD hit back to back home runs in the FIRST!!!)
I just got off the phone with the event planner for The Bridge, which is a new lounge in Studio City as well as the venue for Indie City's first party on May 1st. The conversation went well. I think its going to turn out to be a good match...a good fit for both sides. The Bridge is relatively new and they want to explore a few new ways to get exposure and bring people in. Indie City Entertainment is relatively new and we want to explore new ways to get exposure and bring people in. Whats great is that the people at The Bridge, based on our concept and feedback, are designing an artist-oriented theme for Thursday nights. So the night we have our event, there will be a few other "featured" artists and all the pertinent players and hustlers. Should turn out to be cool little party... Just what I was hoping for...
(NY 3 BOS 2... Big Papi can't hit... Big Papi's lost his Mojo)
(I hate Manny)
(I actually love Manny. He's a f%$# great hitter...he's cool...unshakeable... and he KILLS the ball....I totally respect the guy... I respect his skills...I FEAR his skills...and I respect his public personality... he plays HIS game)
(AND he just got called out on strikes! A-HA...F%$$# You Manny...sit down ya big baby)
Ok...back to blogging...
So Monday night.... we shot more footage for CATCH episode 1... WHICH...I believe...I hope... could possiblel be finished and available to make its PREMIERE at the party on May 1st... we'll see.... I'll do what I can to make that happen...I still have a few inserts to shoot to finally wrap on the RE-SHOOT of episode one...
Let me tell you something about RE-SHOOTING episode one...
First of all... I decided to re shoot episode one for a handful of reasons. The MAIN reason was that I had access to an HD camera. I shot episode THREE in HD. So I figured I should go back and try and produce every episode in HD. It will take a little work, but I think its totally worth it. ALSO... when I first released the teaser... I noticed that there were a few points in the text.... in the monologue that should have been more clearly represented in the episode itself... I ALSO...I ALSO... I ALSO...
(NICE CATCH MATSUI!!!)
Also...I came up with an idea that would be great for episode one and a great opener for the entire series. Then, with all that going on, the person who was in the process of editing the ORIGINAL episode one footage was lagging... that person had other priorities...The thrill was gone...and the job just wasnt getting done.... so BANG... arm twisted... We reshoot..
(Dang it... The Sox tied the game... 3-3..bottom of the 4th)
We got MOST of what we needed...mission 90% accomplished...but afterwards, my roommate and I sat here, exhausted... and we both agreed that the day felt a lot like work...it wasnt very fun... it's supposed to be fun...it usually IS fun. We were both really tired and really cranky... Re-shoots kind of suck... HD or no HD..
The following evening, Monday evening, we were scheduled to get everyone together to shoot footage for this new idea I came up with....the intro thing...
(BASE HIT!! MATSUI in to score. GIAMBI to 3rd, and MOELLER takes a double and an RBI. Yanks lead 4-3. Wait a minute, who is MOELLER?)
We were tired, a little frustrated and the collective energy was low, but we trudged along. We got set up...
(JETER is up with the bases loaded....two outs)
Once we started shooting, everything came together. All the actors did a great job with the material I gave them. We caught some really nice, natural moments on camera...and it was FUN. We all spent the evening cracking up and doing whatever we could to not burst out in laughter during a take.
(BASE HIT DEREK JETER! BASE HIT DEREK JETER. DEREK JETER strikes again)
So the shoot Monday was packed with redemption. What was really great about the shoot...and accidentally brilliant...if I do say so myself.. was the fact that this new idea I came up with incorporates multiple actors... so I was able to get almost every Indie City actor involved in the project in one fell swoop.. which is fantastic... I didnt even don on me until the shoot was over how great it will be to have EVERYONE... almost everyone... appearing in the first episode... CATCH can now become a stronger representation of the group and what we are all about...plus....
(CRAP...the Red Sox have loaded the bases with NOBODY out)
Plus... now that everyone is involved...everyone has a renewed enthusiasm... a re-energized attitude towards the group...towards this project and hopefully all those that will follow....
(DAMMIT... Boston just knocked in two runners... NY 7 BOS 6... 5th inning)
So where o where has James the Actor gone...where o where can he be?
I received this blog comment the other day:
Hey James, just wanted to say I've been reading your blog and really enjoy it. I'm an aspiring actress myself and it's very inspiring Keep up the good work and keep writing!
I get blog comments like that from time time and I think thats really cool. THANK YOU....I love hearing from people who read my blog. It reminds me how important it is to be there for other artists. It reminds me that we are all in this together.
It also reminds about the sleeping giant that is my acting career.
(Robbie Cano rips it into right field. POSADA scores. This game is tied at nine in the bottom of the fifth)
When I moved to Los Angeles, I was very aware of all those that struggled before me... All those that are struggling right now. So many of my peers had sound advice from all sounds and perspectives. "Be patient." "It takes two years to feel like your acclimated." "Stay focused." "Get a 310." "Don't get an 818." "Don't tell people you're an actor."
Wait.... what? DONT tell people I'm an actor? Seriously?
Yes...seriously...trust me... you gotta hold that card.
So moving to LA meant I was basically starting over. I think about how my life as an actor looked and felt when I was trying to find my way in NYand it helps me get a handle on progress. I had few connections. I had no network and my resume was barren. In NY, It took 5 years for me to wrap my head around who was who, where to go, what to say, how to play. I found my groove, found my way, found gigs that pay, learned how to play.
I'll do the same damn thing out here in LA....
(Look at that... AROD doubles, JORGE doubles, Yankees lead the Red Sox 13-9 in the bottom of the eighth)
(HOLY cow GIAMBI drops a base hit into shallow left. He gets a double. It's 15-9)
(I've been blogging officially for 4 hours now) What I'm saying here is that I'm not gonna sit around and wait for someone to give me PERMISSION to have a voice...be heard. All this writing, producing and directing is my way of staying active, my way of being PROACTIVE. It MAY even fortify my purpose. I will pray. I will work. I will fight. I will write. I will do whatever it takes....while I keep, create and relentlessly knock at that gate... while I shout and pound with my fist until those who happen to be the keepers of the gate are moved from their sullen, somber state, from all that is on their own plate, from their hate....maybe not HATE...but distaste.... from their distaste to admiration...
Man... I'm tired... fried...totally fried... but good fried... like fried in a nice organic safflower oil...
yeah... I'm up at 3:30 AM...its Tuesday morning... 6:30AM for all my NYC peeps....
Its 3:30 AM pacific time and I'm watching HD files bounce from one hard drive to another... passing through one unsupecting laptop...well...thats not true...I reckon that laptop suspects sumthin...
I've got to make the transfer before I go to bed... because my roommate takes his laptop with in the morning (I have to use HIS because its a MAC and both hard drives are formatted as such)
So I'm sitting here staring at my hard drive which is hooked up to my roommates laptop, which is hooked up to another hard drive. That hard drive is a little HD drive that connects to an HD video camera... the HD camera that I used yesterday and today to shoot more CATCH footage...NEW footage for epsiode one and re-shoots for episode one...
One way or another... episode one is coming down the mountain... like a fat nasty avalanche.
Aaah Wednesday.... back in LA after spending the weekend in New York for Jen's wedding. Jen is one of my dearest friends and a top five favorite person in the world. FYI...this was her SECOND wedding. Husband number one turned out to be a "recreational" user with a habit that was bigger than anyone realized and woudn't go away. Anway, Jennifer and Matt got married in Asbury Park and had the reception at the Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church in Asbury Park. They held the reception at The Berkeley Hotel in Asbury Park... great to see everyone...
Meeting with a potential new manager tomorrow. He represents one of the girls involved with the Indie City collective. I'm hoping things go well so we can work something out and get some good things accomplished. From speaking to him on the phone, he seems like a good guy.
Shooting more CATCH footage this weekend. The release of Episode 1 has been delayed...mostly because I'm not happy with the results of the original first episode...not happy with a handful of things...so after a few weeks of fretting...stressing...analyzing...and pondering... I'm getting everyone together for a re-shoot... I want Episode 1 to look awesome... Epiosde 2 and 3 are great...I want 1 to be great as well... so here we go... back to square one... its actually a re-visit... not a step backwards.
We have a few more interesteing things brewing as a result of people floating in and out of the collective:
>>I'm helping one of the members write a treatment for a ten episode internet series for a group that is ready to finance a quality project.
>>Small Paul's roommate has a short film that he is trying to produce and he dropped in on a meeting this week to have his script read and to discuss his plans and ask for our assistance.
>>Indie City Entertainment has set a date for our first in a series of monthly networking parties. This MONUMENTAL event will be held on Thursday, May 1st, at a lounge in Studio City called The Bridge.... i think thats the new name...formerly The Casting Office... which is how most currently remember it....at 3256 Cahuenga Boulevard W...
From EATER LA:
CAHUENGA PASS: There was much to-do when the divey Casting Office shuttered last summer, and we now have the goods on its replacement: "A new NY themed tequila bar called The Bridge (with no sign out in front, just two red lights over the door) just opened at 3256 Cahuenga Blvd." We can't find a phone number to confirm, but a Starbucks employee (yes, the Starbucks is open) said there is an unnamed bar in the same complex. Good enough for us. [EaterWire Inbox]
I'm having my first rassle with West Coast pollens...and I'm getting a whuppin.
I used to have allergies really bad when I lived in Houston... Spring and Fall would just kick my ass all over town...
Then I moved back to New York and the allergies were dormant for the most part.
And now I'm sneezing 8 times in a row and scratching a vicious itch in the back of throat with the back of my tongue... fun stuff.
I brought my trusty cast and crew together yesterday to shoot Episode 3 of CATCH.
CATCH 1 is almost ready. Leetal should be putting the finishing touches on it this week. I'm hoping to have it posted on Youtube by the end of the week...
(I hope)
CATCH 2 is in the books and in the hands of another editor. Small Paul is the guy who workd on the legal spec and did a fantastic job. I cant wait to see what he does with CATCH 2.
(We call him Small Paul because we have two Paul's in the collective...Big Paul and Small Paul)
CATCH 3 was shot yesterday... on a new camera...HD...
We started at a little park nestled in a quiet neighborhood in the Burbank Hills
Brace Canyon Park, 2901 Haven Way, Burbank, CA 91504
I went out saturday afternoon to do some last minute location scouting. Brace Canyon Park is actually just up the hill from our second location, which is the apartment we use for MAGGIE'S apartment.... It was the LAST park I scouted and it was EXACTLY what I wanted, exactly how I envisioned the set to look. So I was happy. The only challenge was that it rained overnight so the entire park was soaking wet. Fortunatly we were able to work around it and deal with it.
Brace Canyon Park, I believe, is responsible for my allergy attack...but I'll be ok.
Anyway we've got some really great footage yesterday... I worked with a new DP...he did a great job....nice easy-going personality...brought to us by Trevor Jones, who happens to be playing the role of JERRY.....and BTW...great performances all around... Trevor was great... Caitlin Moreland played the role of Samantha...Jerry's unlucky picnic date... Caitlin was really really good at taking direction and making nice subtle adjustments according to my notes. She definitely exceeded my expectations.....and Anne was once again fantastic playing the sweet and vicious, merry and murderous MAGGIE.
Episode 3 should be a good one...
Small Paul is going to edit CATCH 3 as well.
This morning I sent over a sketch of my ideal timeline as far as releasing all the CATCH episodes:
Hi Paul-
As far as timelines... here is what would be ideal for me
(This should give you plenty of time. Very little pressure)
4/04: Catch Ep 1..which is in the hands of Leetal...should be ready for release this week...i'm hoping... Friday I'm thinking
Monday, 4/14: Then...we give that episode a week 's run and have you drop a new 1:00 trailer on their ass...
Monday, 4/21: Then..a week after that...Ep 2 is posted...
Monday, 4/28: week after that...maybe another trailer (If we have material for it)...
Monday, 5/08: and a week after that come Ep 3
Hows that sound?
Sounds good to me.
ANd tonight....another Indie City meeting ...
Sup Y'all....
A Big Hearty thank you to everyone involved in the CATCH 3 shoot yesterday... great group...great work...Thank you so so much
resending this email as a reminder>>>>>
To all Creative Cats of the Collective Collaboration Nation:
Tonight we meet in North Hollywood ....
We have a few new scripts to read...and LOTS of strategizing to do
Monday March 31st
7PM
10757 Hortense Street, North Hollywood 91602
It's been SUCH a weird week. The week after easter Sunday usually is. Actually the week after any holiday is almost always a little bit off...slow... out of whack...
I didnt travel over Easter weekend, so I was ready to rock come Monday morning, but the collective conscience ...the common energy surrounding me was not in alignment with my intensity.... which most directly meant that I couldnt get anyone to return my calls and emails...
So I was forced to focus my energies on more invidual aendeavors and activities... basically I got a lot of writing done. I re-wrote a large portion of CATCH: Episode 3... which we are planning on shooting this weekend (You can see why I'm on edge about people returning calls and emails). I wrote another short spec script based on a viral video concept...a concept that I believe will turn into a decent money-making venture. And I also re-worked the oiutline for the entire CATCH series as it stands right now as well an outline for another series I trying to get off the ground currently titled THE NOBODIES.
So... I THINK i should be able to get the Episode 3 shoot underway on Sunday. I've got everyone and everything in place, including a new camera... I managed to secure an HD camera this weekend, which is an upgrade from what we've been shooting on... the only thing I'm missing is a DP...or a camera operator...which is kind of important... but I'm not worried about it... I'll find someone.
Last night I worked an event for HINT. Hint co-sponsored a movie premiere at the Egyptian Theater on Las Palmas Ave and Hollywood Blvd. The movie is called "Chasing Baja," a documentary on the Baja 1000 desert race. We had a sampling booth in the lobby for the pre/post premier festivities. We also rolled out “hintTV”, our first foray into hint branded content.
We received a "pre-game" celebrity list, which is a list of all the celebs scheduled to attend....
Pink- Recording Artist; Eva La Rue- CSI:Miami; Parnelli Jones- Indy 500 Winner, Baja 1000 Winner; Dylan Bruno- Numb3rs; Bart Johnson- High School Musical; John Schneider- Actor; Ray Everham- NASCAR Team Owner; Leyla Milani- Deal Or No Deal; Adrianne Curry- My Fair Brady; Johnny Campbell- Has Won The Most Consecutive Baja 1000s; Adrienne Janic- Overhaulin’; Erin Crocker- Professional Race Car Driver; Kevin Covias- American Idol; Maria Conchita Alonso- Actress; Mia St. John- Professional Boxer; Paige Hemmis- Extreme Home Makeover; Sunkrish Bala- Notes From The Underbelly
I may or may not have met a few of these folks... hard to say... I saw familiar faces...shook hands with people on the fly... passed out a ew bottles of HINT...shook a few more hands....
The one person I DID meet, who I recognized, who also happens to NOT be on the pre-game list:
That would be "Wolf" from American Gladiator. Dude's kind of hard to miss.
I'm gonna make myself some eggs and sausage for breakfast.... I will revisit this post shortly thereafter....
Wow... okay so I never got back to this post yesterday (Its now Monday morning, March 24th).
On Saturday, I had an 11AM workshop at a place called ACTNOW. It was workshop number two in series of three workshops with a casting associate from Rick Milliken Casting. Their most notable casting credit is for the FOX show BONES.
We are basically doing cold paired scenes, getting notes from the guest and running the scene a second time with notes. It's a nice relaxed atmosphere and Christine, the casting associate, is really nice, very personable and approachable.
Right after the workshop I got a call from my agent. He had an audition for me later that same day. Its kind of unusual to get a call from your agent on a Saturday. It's also unusual to get an audition for a commercial on Saturday, but hey, I'm in town, not doing much of anything else...let's have it.
The audition was for a Mexican Avacado commercial. I thought it went well.
It was gorgeous out here in LA yesterday for Easter Sunday. My original plan was to be a good boy, stay in Saturday night, lay low, the get up early and meet up with my friend Heather and go to a nice 9AM service over in Santa Monica, then brunch somewhere...
Unfortunately I couldnt keep myself out of trouble on Saturday night. I went over to the rooftop bar at The Formosa Cafe for a few drinks with my buddy Trevor and a few friends of his.
And when I walked up to the roof deck, there just happened to be an Absolut Vodka promotion going on up there..and that promotion just happened to be run by a girl from Indie City... Helps to have friends in high places...or have friends with free drink tickets...
So next thing you know I'm enjoying all kinds of Absolute premiums and party fun....
And posed for the following picture...
Point of the story is... I couldnt get my ass out bed Sunday morning and go to church.
I was, however, somewhat productive on Easter Sunday...
I started setting up the Indie City Entertainment website:
The site is in its early stages so there is not much to see. I'm working on it. I did feel it was important to secure the domain name so when someone googles Indie City Entertainment, they can find somehting...anything...
Last night I had a session with the editor for CATCH: EPISODE 1 and believe it or not, I think we are almost there. I think we are going to be able to pull together a nice looking premiere episode. It was really getting frustrating for a while, Leetal put together a rough cut. I wasn't happy with it. I sent her a list of notes. She got a little insulted. I asked if we could work on it together. She made some time for me and grumbled a little bit. I called it a collaborative effort. She called it a "Supervised Session." THEN we got together and started going over the footage. After hours of moving stuff around, trying different takes and angles... We accidentally came across somehting that ended up saving the crucial scene. So I left Leetals place last night feeling relieved and optimistic.
It's a bright and shiny Monday morning. No Indie City meetng tonight. Ther are a hadnful of group members still ut of town. I'm coordinating another shoot for this coming Sunday. I'm trying to get CATCH: EPISODE 3 on the books. If I book that avacado commercial then I may very wel be in Mexico for a day or two this week. I'm also going to waiting to hear this week if I can get the greenlight on the Legal Spec project.
Sorry for the confusion... I posted the spec a few days ago and then made a few necessary touch-ups... and now it's been RE-released....
The latest from Indie City Entertainment, this is a pilot or a spec video created for a top legal education publishing firm. Produced and directed by James Huffman; 2nd Team Director: Eric Jones; Director of Photography: Leetal Platt; Editor and graphics: Paul Kim; Featuring Anne Judson Yager, Stephen Schaffold, Bruce Klefstad and little Trevor Strem.
The trailer for my new internet series "CATCH" is now available on Youtube...
"CATCH" is a new short internet series... a dark comedy
Written, produced and directed by ME, James Huffman
Starring the brilliant and beautiful Anne Judson Yager as MAGGIE
Trevor Jones as JERRY
Also featuring Stephen Schaffold, Chris Tessitore and Ashley Cozine
First AD: Eric Jones
Director of Photography: Leetal Platt
Editor: Leetal Platt
Sound Technician: Paul Duraso
Production Assistant: Paul Kim
On Saturday I successfully directed Episode TWO of my short series "Catch," which I also wrote. Sunday night we worked on, finished up, Episode one of ARMGUARD, my short sit com series. I played the role of Billy Booty. I'm also the writer/producer on that one, Eric Jones, my roommate, was the Director.
TODAY, we are shooting a vignette that will be submitted as a spec to the legal textbook company I have been negotiating with. If all goes well, I'll will be producing a series of legal videos, whihc could turn out to be a nice gig and a solid boost to my Producer/Director resume.
All that being said... I am so friggin busy I can barley see straight...I'm not complaining...no way... its great... I just have a lot on my plate.... I'm stuffing my face..
The my week will end with me working THURS - SUN at a Natural Food Expo in Anaheim for HINT, and taking two Casting Director workshops, one Thursday night and one Saturday aftrenoon...
Gotta get my actor butt back in the game...
Speaking of my Actor butt...
New pics...I shot with photographer Tiffany Kyees last week.... I needed photos that were in alignment with the Hollywood standard and I think I got em...check it out:
Its Friday night... I'm so tired. This week has been really busy. We shoot Episode Two of CATCH tomorrow... so forget being tired...I'm pushing on...
Here is a letter I just sent over to my DP:
Hey-
(This email is for Leetal...but I'm CC'ing the relevant players so everyone's up to speed)
Here is run down of tomorrow and a few notes:
9A at Silver Lake Coffee Co, 2388 Glendale Blvd 90039; Friendly chat between Maggie and Lisa
12P at my place on Hoover , shooting Jerry's pre-date prep and lip synch
** I'll get some food and we can have lunch at my place
4:30P at Hortense House, shooting Maggie and Mickey exterior
8P at Stephen Schaffolds apt, Jerry and Michelle scene, exterior
I'll have Small Paul on set tomorrow...so if you want or need a break... we can have him DP here and there...its up to you...you just let me know... I want to keep everybody fresh...I know its a long day...
I've also asked Small Paul to edit this episode... I don't want to overload you with stuff to work on....plus I'd like to give him a chance to show us what he can do.
The scene at the coffee shop is going to be minimalist...guerrilla style... we dont have open permission to shoot there...so we will be practically sitting at the table with the characters... a very Paul Greengrass feel to it... to the coffee shop owners or managers it will appear as if we are just a few folks having some coffee and playing around with a video camera. Don't worry...if we get bounced...I have a plan B. But we should be fine.
ALSO...Each scene is going to open with a particular establishing shot...which will then dolly in to meet the characters at the top of the scene.. but we can talk about that in the AM.
I got back to the West Coast on Sunday but I've been slammed since I hit the ground.
But hold on...lets go back...
New York kicked my ass. I was determined to see as many friends as I could in the 7 days I was there. I trudged through flurries and sleet and blistering sub zero winds to go bar-hopping in the East Village. I drank dirty Grey Goose martini on the rocks after dirty Grey Goose martini on the rocks. I hung out at LIT on 2nd Avenue til 4AM...LIT is another one of these grungy, edgy East Village bars that allows pretty much anything and everything... and it was all going on.... believe me... it was fun...except for the music...the music they play downstairs at LIT is AWFUL. Granted, the hip thing in many clubs and lou nges is 80's music, both authentic and replicated...which is fine... but even for 80's music...the shit they were playing at LIT was horrible...
The DJ hit a low point in the evening and played some annoying, pseudo-catchy, electro pop track (That I've never heard before) that kept singing "Ice Cream Ice Cream Ice Cream" over and over again... I looked across the dance floor and saw my buddy Andrew dancing in such a way that could only be described as some sort of Bob Fosse inspired homage to THE WIGGLES.
I immediately rushed over to him and forced him to stop:
"DUDE...STOP ...RIGHT NOW...what the hell are you doing man? SERIOUSLY, You look like a SOCCER MOM."
So we all got out of there before we lost anymore dignity...and yet strangely enough...We ended up right back at the same spot the next night... I'm not realy sure how that happened..or why...but it did.
ANYWAY, Sunday morning rolls around and I'm due back at JFK by 10AM at the LATEST... I leave Williamsburg around 8:30.... and I dont get my ass to the terminal til 10:20...my flight departs at 11:05!!!!
ITS TOO LATE TO CHECK MY LUGGAGE. I CANT GET A LATER FLIGHT. I'M REEEEEEALLY HUNGOVER. MY ONLY OPTION IS TO DITCH MY LUGGAGE AND FLY WITH WHATEVER I CAN CARRY ON. WHAT DO I DO? WHICH WAY DO I GO? I THINK I MAY THROW UP A LITTLE BIT. SOMEBODY HELP ME...PLEASE!!!
The nice woman at the check-in counter walks to a back room, pulls out a small rolling suitcase...about 1/3 the size of the one that is sitting next me, holding all my clothes, my shoes, and my hard drive with 30 hrs of sit com footage on it. She tells me I can trade my big suitcase for her small suitcase, which I would then be able to either carry on or gate check. She suggests that I try and squeeze as much of my stuff into the tiny piece of luggage...and basically forfeit whatever doesnt get packed...
Its 10:30...my flight leaves at 11:05...and I still have to get through security... so like a wild dog at a land fill..I rip open my suitcase...right there in front of everyone waiting to check in, and I start pulling items and either shoving them into the new luggage and bidding a tearful goodbye. Shoes, socks, t-shirts.... I'm digging...tossing...folding...squeezing... then I stop...wipe the sweat from my brow...dry heave a little bit... look up at the 50 or so people on line all staring at me...give a cordial half-smile...and resume....
I didnt do so bad...I only had to leave behind a pair of shoes, a few t-shirts, two long sleeve thermals...and my PRACTICALLY NEW super spacious CLAIBORNE rolling suitcase.... UGH!
I Rush over to the security check point and....
"WHAT???"
"You want me to unpack? Do I have what? YES...its my hard drive...okay, I'll open up my luggage...You have NO IDEA what I just went through to pack this thing. Huh? Yes, I have a few bottles of lotions and gels and stuff in my shaving kit....can't take it on the plane? Okay fine, throwing it in the trash. THIS? Oh its my lap top..okay I'll take it out... my shoes...oh yeah... sorry...taking off shoes."
It's 10:45AM....flight departs at 11:05AM ...tic... toc...tic...toc....dry...heave....dry....heave.
I've got 7 or 8 trays laid out at the checkpoint... one with my laptop...one with my hard drive... another with hair product and organic lotions and deoderants....a shoe over here...a shoe over there...
"My WALLET! Where is my WALLET? Oh...its in my back pocket. shew."
A tap on my shoulder...
"Excuse me is that yours?"
"what? YES...thank you"
Lovely... a few pairs of my underwear have landed on the floor about ten feet away. My good samaritan didnt actually pick them up for me, she just pointed them out...I wouldnt picking up some stange man's underwear off the floor at the airport either.
tic...toc...tic...toc....dry...heave...dry...heave... shove two pairs of underwear in my jacket pocket.
SUCCESS!! I've been given the green light at the checkpoint and given permission to RE-PACK the big mess I've created in the process of OBTAINING my precious green light.
tic...toc....tic...toc...
Now I'm barreling down the corridor like a big runaway snowball rolling towards the gate. I've got about 7 minutes to catch that damn flight. My new luggage doesnt really roll that well...so it keeps tipping when I pick up more speed than it can handle...I stop.. reset...resume..and roll....stop...reset...resume...and roll.
tic...toc...tic...toc...
I come flying around the corner and the lady at the gate recognizes my panicked expression...
"You trying to get on the 11:05?"
"YE.....YE..... YESSSSS."
"Okay, cuh-MOn sweetie you're almost there. I'll get the door."
"TH....THA.... THHHHH.... thank you."
Forget the dry heaves....I felt like I was about to have a heart attack.
But I made it... believe it or not....I F%$#@** made it. I sit in my seat at 11:03AM. We leave the gate at 11:06AM.
As we taxi, I look out the window and catch a quick glimpse of a baggage handler on the ground below. Something there looks oddly familiar so I lean in and press my face to the window to ge a better look.
(This didnt go over so well considering I was in an AISLE seat)
And there he was... this baggage handler is staning there sizing up a really sweet PRACTICALLY NEW super spacious CLAIBORNE rolling suitcase. He's shaking it, lifting it, inspecting every inch. He's cradling it like a newborn. He closes his eyes and presses his lips to the durable exterior.
"Did he just wipe a tear?"
He looks up catches me peering out the window. He gives me a big smile, a thumbs up and mouths the words "THANK....YOU." He holds up the suitcase and moves it back and forth as if the suitcase is doing a little jig for my benefit. The handler joins in on the jig and suddenly I'm watching the two of them engaged in a joyous waltz down the runway. They disappear together in a warm fuzzy fog of happiness.
Its F%$#&&* FREEZING in New York City.... Bone chilling....amazing how thin your blood gets after 6 months in California....
I'm in New York...sitting in my hotel room... The Comfort Inn in Maspeth Queens... the elegant, luxurious Comfort Inn in sexy sunny Maspeth Queens...with a breathtaking view of MT ZION Cemetary...
Oh no... I'm totally serious... I'm in a hotel room that overlooks one of the largest..and scariest cemetaries the greater New York area has to offer...
Manhattan skyline in the background...dead folks down in front...
Finally picked up my hard drive yesterday. The hard drive with all of my sit com pilot footage from this past Summer. I took the G rain out to Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn and met up with the guy who was initially slated to edit the project. He managed to upload all my footage before he got booked up working on a feature film.
I'll take it back to LA and sit down with an editor and see if we can start squeezing out short episodes for Youtube...and then I'll start writing for it again... see what kind of life I can breathe into it...
I'm meeting with Susannah tomorrow... my co-producder on the sit com project... What I want to discuss with her is how we can continue our relationship on a bi-coastal level.... how can we work together...build strength and momentum...develop great projects...utilizing our simultaneous access to LA and NYC...
I don't really have anything specific in mind...but I think we can hammer somehting out...a few ideas anyway...
Gotta run...
(Oh wait...)
I'm throwing my little Jim Huffman ho down this Friday night at Bleecker Bar, 56 Bleecker St...near Lafayette....7:30 ish... Come one Come all....Hopefully I will see you then...
(I just learned that they might cancel Friday Night Lights)
Please don't cancel my favorite show. I LOVE Friday Night Lights and it would be a travesty to pull it. The acting is wonderful, simple and sweet. The musical score is moving. The characters are so genuine and honest. Friday Night Lights is about so much more than football. Yes, I'm a huge football fan and I talk about football aot and I make tons or references, parallels and analogies, but what I love about this show is so far above and beyond the basic premise... beyond the game of football
GRANTED...Season 2 has not been as strong as Season 1... but now that the strike is over...FNL has the opportuntiy to regroup and orchestrate a winning drive.
(Ok ...fine...that was a little cheezy)
Yes, its true... NBC's Friday Night Lights is looking at the chopping block...
DON'T DO IT!!!!
(AP) - With the writers strike over, a number of shows are in limbo as network executives plot their new schedules. Most notably, the fate of "Friday Night Lights" hangs in the balance.... The hourlong drama, based on the 1990 book by H.G. Bissinger, focuses on a high school football team in Dillon, Texas. It's a deftly written (and elegantly scored) series about a small town in which football is both a blessing and a curse.....For its first season, the Writers Guild Awards nominated it for best drama series. A critic for The New York Times has gushed: "I love `Friday Night Lights."'
"Friday Night Lights takes place in fictional Dillon, Texas and tells stories of family, friendship, love, loss, success, failure, self-discovery and religion that seem nothing like fiction. Some shows attempt to be about too much, and the characters and storylines suffer as a result. Friday Night Lights, on the contrary, introduces you to the characters and lets you see the daily interaction, the simple conversations, family dinners and football games so that you truly feel as though you are following the lives of real people. They seem human. As every episode draws to a close, you wonder how each character will spend the next week and what life will bring them next."savefridaynightlights.tv
Definitely NOT a typical week in "Sunny" California. It's been cloudy and cool all week.
So we got it done. I would call Sunday's shoot a success. We started rolling camera around 11A and wrapped at 5:30... I have to say..the whole thing went ALOT better than I had anticipated.. Everyone there to volunteer their time to be a rew member was awesome. My roommate really surprised me. I asked him to be my A.D. and he was such a key player...instrumental in the success of the day that I'm going to make sure he's there for me for all of my upcoming shoots. Granted, he was late getting to set, and he totally forgot to bring his girlfriends small TV that we were going to use as a monitor on set...but once he got there and got settled...he was great...
So we've got Episode One of CATCH. In hindsight.. there were a few things that we should have shot as coverage that we missed... but all in all...we've got what we need... we got the first one done and we can only get stronger as we move forward.
This shoot was a real boost for group morale as well. I brought this group together back in November...and we've done alot of talking...alot of planning and discussing...but talk only gets you so far. I think everyone was ready for some action. Or maybe just ready to see if I could make things happen...walk the walk. We needed this shoot to fortify our confidence. Especially after our botched shoot a couple of weeks ago.
So you should be able to see a teaser for CATCH online in the next week or so. I'm not sure if I'm going to post Episode one right away, or wait til we have 2 or 3 episodes ready for viewing, have a screening party...and THEN post them online for the rest of the world... thats the way I'm leaning anyway.
Episode Two is scheduled for shooting on March 8th.
Next week...I'm in New York. HINT is sending me back to New York to spend the week helping out with a new distributor launch. While I'm there, I'll be able to see all my friends, My Dad, and I'll be able to pick up my hard drive from tne editor was started working on my sit com project back in September.
He basically uploaded all of the footage we shot this Summer onto a hard drive that I purchased on Amazon and shipped to him in Brooklyn. Now I'll take it back to LA with me, sit down with an editor out here, take a look at all the footage...and start whipping up some episodes...
So... soon... in the next couple of months... you will hopefully be able to see a new sit com series resulting from all the work we did this Summer... I will keep you posted.
So what about James Huffman the ACTOR? He's still here...still hanging around... ready to be called upon at a moments notice.
Not without my fair share of challenges. Here's a little story of frustrating dumb luck:
I had been referred to a manager here in LA by a good friend of mine who used to be in LA, then she booked a contract role on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, and moved back to New York. This Manager, who she met while she was out here in LA, was a key player in that success. So based on her suggestion, I sent the Manager my headshot and resume. My friend called ahead and let him know I would be making contact...and after a few weeks...possible even a month ...the Manager tried to reach out to me... the problem was... I had changed my number... YES... I changed my number last week and finally disconnected my 917...went 310...and the NEXT DAY I get an email from my friend back in New York saying that her Manager tried to call me and my number was disconnected....ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!! She gave me his number and suggested I call him... I did...now I'm waiting for him to get back to me... fun.
I signed up to take a few of these three-week workshops with casting directors in mid-March at a place called ACT NOW. At least that way, Manager or not, theatrical agent or not, I can spend some face to face time with people that can call me in for Prime Time TV. I'm looking forward to that. I'm ready to be seen. I'm ready to start auditioning. I'm DEFINITELY ready to book.
No partying for me... I'm home working on story boards for tomorrow. We are all set to shoot Episode One of my latest creation "CATCH." CATCH is a short episodic that follows the lives of two metropolitan singles, MAGGIE and JERRY, who are desperately seeking their soul mates. Maggie and Jerry dont know each other...yet... but these two hopeless romantics actually have a few things in common, they are both exploring the online dating scene, and they are both serial killers.
It's a dark comedy... my tagline:
"CATCH does for online dating what JAWS did for a day at the beach" Indie City Entertainment
I'm in of those states right now where I lie in bed at night and stare at the cieling.... really hard to fall asleep.... I've been writing alot.....I have characters and concepts..scenes and scenarios bouncing around in my head....
I've been hustling around, working my bev job, visiting accounts, making deliveries, spending a couple of hours at a coffee shop (With free wi-fi) to write, getting to the gym (pulling a muscle in my side), running meetings with the new collective...INDIE CITY ENTERTAINMENT, location scouting, pre-production for my shoot(s)... and trying to get to sleep....
I dropped out of that play I was working on so I could be availabe to work a beverage convention in Vegas the last week of February. Then I get a call from my boss telling me that they need me to go to New York Feb 25-29 because we just signed on with Big Geyser, new distributor and they want me to be there for the big kick-off and do some "Ride-withs."
"Wait..isnt the Vegas trip Feb 26?"
"Yeah, youre not going to Vegas."
"Are you serious? C'mon man."
"Sorry, you gotta go to New York."
FINE... I dont get to go to Vegas. I think it SUCKS, but whatever, I'll get over it. And HEY..I'll take a trip to New York...see all my peoples...hugs and kisses for everyone....
But please...please...please dont make me work with those monkeys at Big Geyser.... UGH... I had to do that when I worked with ZICO and I HATED it... its like some cruel joke... %$$@**&&*&&
(I think I just puked a little bit)
Again...whatever...I'll get over it... It would AWESOME to go to Vegas and work the convention...but it will be great to see everyone in New York.... I can also personally pick up my hard drive with all the sit com footage from this Summer and take it back to LA with me...so I can finally move that project on to the next stage...
Ok, lets change gears, change direction a little bit here...
This Sunday I've got everything lined up to direct my first episode of CATCH, a short episodic that I wrote with the intention of posting it online. I held a casting last month...cast all the leading roles... revised the scripts a few times...held a rehearsal last Sunday...and now we are about ready to shoot EP 1...
This past Monday night we had a few new faces at the Indie City Meeting. One of the new faces was guy who seemed to a perfect fit for us. My roommate worked with him on a film project last week and extended an invitation to attend a pow wow. He's an actor who has started writing and producing his own material. He commented on how impressed he was with the energy of our group. He offered a few suggestions as far as future projects and we read one of is short scripts.
So TODAY, as I'm sitting at the Silver Lake Coffee Co working on one of my CATCH episodes, I receive an email from this guy:
Hey-something huge just came up-call me when u have a chance.
Ok...i have no idea what that could possibly mean and how or why that would affect me, but I give him a call. He explains to me that he has just established a relationship with a production company and they are looking for content. He asks me about this CATCH series I've been writing and would I be interested in letting him read it and possibly produce it through this production company.
So....I don't know. I just met this guy. Do I want to just hand over my scripts, my concept and my control? I mean I'm set to start shooting in 4 days... BUT... an upgrade in production quality would be nice...
This was my reply:
Hey Jonathan-
So the attached script is Episode one (Out of five finished) of CATCH... formerly CATCH.COM
The lead roles have been cast and we are planning on shooting Episode One this weekend. I would be willing to postpone the shoot if I thought I could get a better quality production team working on it.
Read it over and lets talk about it.
So at this point I'm thinking... I, the writer, could hand off the script and let these guys produce... and I play the male lead... so I relieve myself of all producing duties and get back to why I started all this shit in the first place... to act....
(get back....get back....get back to where you once belonged)
PLUS...that way I'm also still actively connected to the project...as opposed to some writer who just signs away his work...
SPEAKING of acting...
(kind of sort of a segue there)
Strike is ending...everybody in town is rolling up their sleeves and getting ready for some kind of anticipated feeding/casting frenzy... and I'm as ready as anybody else to get myself a piece of the action...
I'm meeting with a few workshop studios this week to get started in some casting director workshops...hoping to get my ass in front of some people who can get me in front of more people who can hire me for Prime Time.
The timing is Ripe
Best believe the Hype
Big big stuff comin
Flyin down the pipe...
Its Thursday, February 7th...and I'm STILL walking around screaming about the NY GIANTS.
I watched Eli go on Letterman last night. Dave was giddy. He obviously got a huge rise out of that game. He couldnt praise Eli enough...it was great.
I went to the gym last night for some boxing training...and I pulled a muscle...its friggin killin me. I was poppin the hand pads pretty well. The tariner told me I was pulling my punches (Not throwing a full punch). He was telling me that my punches had too muvh tightness, not enough pop. Some he backed up a little and made me launch jabs and right crosses using my full reach. It was working great. My punches were snapping and popping, floating like a butterfly, stiingin like a bee...
Then he changed up the sequence and told me to start working uppercuts and after three or four combinations....RIP... a muscle below my rib cage, somewhere between my oblique and my lower lat started KILLING me. It felt like someone stabbed me. I just dropped my arms (If I was in a real fight I would have gotten knocked on my ass), hunched over and with a grimace waved the trainer off.
So today I've been trying to work with an ICY HOT patch on my sore spot, but I'm in a considerable amount of pain.
The trainer suggested I rest it and start taking yoga to keep all my muscles stretched properly. He's probably right.
Had an interesting run in this week...actually TWO interesting run-ins..
I went to a birthday party at THE EDISON downtown a few days ago. The party was for the relatively new-ish girlfriend of my relatively new-ish best buddy Trevor Jones.
The Edison is a very cool, world class lounge that retains architecturaland mechanical artifacts; an homage to its history as the first private power plant in Downtown LA.
So it's Trevor's Girlfriend's twenty-first birthday (Thats right) and we are there to toast and do birthday shots.... which is what you do at anyones twenty-first birthday.... its been a while but I Do vaguely remember what people do when they turn twenty one.
When the evening kicked off, the guest of honor's Parents were there. Her father was actually a Hollywood journeyman and acting teacher. He has a very distinct look that has booked him countless roles as Native American or Mexican characters.
Anyway that was all find and good...nice little party...YAY, you're twenty one... more Yager...tell me all you've seen in Hollywood...blah blah blah....has nothing to do really with my interesting run-in.
I went up to the bar to get latest drink of choice, a Grey Goose martini...on the rocks...dirty... I don't know why but I've been craving those sukcers for a new weeks now... not the best craving to have...especially since a Grey Goose martini is a pricey martini... Ok..so
The BARTENDER... I order my drink...and we both do a double take and say "I know you!" at the exact same time. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually placed her back at good ole Creative Acting Company.
When went back for my FOURTH Grey Goose martini (I'm just kidding MOM, don't freak out), we established our own six degrees of separation...said hi...how have you been...and she got swallowed up by the insane demands of a thirsty crowd.
So YESTERDAY...as I'm sitting at Silver Lake Coffee Co, working on one of my scripts, and guess who walks in... Diahnna...Bartenderl from The Edison.
We chat for a few minutes..
"Okay, thats twice in one week. Too weird. I'm giving you my number."
"I know. Thats so funny. Do you live in this area?"
"I live in Echo Park."
"Really, I'm close to Sunset Junction, just south of Normal, actually."
"That's funny."
"Yeah"
"Hm"
"Funny"
"Yeah"
"Anywayz."
"Shmur (Duh)"
"Well, I have a meeting at Warner Brothers in an hour and we are going to do some prep. I've been writing and producing material for the internet"
"Really? Me too! I'd love to hear more about what your working on."
"Well then we definitely need to get together."
"Absolutely"
"Here's my card. Thats my cell. Check out our site. You can see some of our stuff"
"I will. Good luck with your meeting."
"Bye."
VERY interesting...much of what you'll find on this site is very much in alignment with what we at Indie City Entertainment are playing around with.
It's popping up all over the place...there is a lot of activity...a lot of energy bouncing around in the internet webisode (I hate that word), interent entertainment arena....
Oh MAN... I would give anything to be in New York today for the parade...
UGH... looking at all those photos of fans in the streets of New York makes me so happy...so sad...my chest feels heavy and it actually brings me to tears... I wish, wish, wish I was there.
This season... this journey... this AMAZING victory feels MONUMENTAL...its hard to explain... its become so many things for me personally... I'm a little surprised at how emotionally connected...how deeply affected I am by the whole experience...
The game of football in general means so much to me because some of my most valued life lessons and experiences occurred when I was playing High School football at Ridgewood High in Ridgewood, NJ.
But as a spectator, as a devoted fan, I watch those games every Sunday and it lights a fire inside...it inspires me, it gives me hope, gives me strength and makes me want to throw up, pull my hair out, collapse and writhe on the floor...and get back up and do it all over again.
Its LIFE, unfolding in front of you, that which is good, that which is bad, that which is impossible, that which is magnificent....one step forward, two steps back, then, by some stroke of magic, maybe the hand of God, you’re 10 steps ahead and your doing things that you always knew you could....don't think...just do it. This is what you've always wanted.
This season started 0-2 and I was packing up my stuff back in New York. As the Giants set out on a long treacherous road trip, I set out to move my life to Los Angeles. I said goodbye to those who I held closest and with a heavy heart, I went out looking for road wins.
And I was doing it... making friends, finding work, finding a car, getting an apartment. I was putting points on the board. Nothing spectacular, but fundamentally sound....I was playing my game, a conservative one, an effective one... Road wins.
The Giants racked up a string of wins and I did a double take... "Wait a minute...they're doing pretty well." Suddenly they were 6-2.
Then it got rocky. And I have to say I was one of many calling for changes...drastic changes...I was frustrated...I was pissed. I had seen Eli Manning play with flashes of brilliance. "Where did it go? Why can’t he play like I know he can play 100% of the time?” Why can’t he be more like Peyton?" I thought that maybe he wasn’t going to live up the expectations. This might be it for OLE ELI. Maybe the Giants should think about drafting a new QB...and get a new head coach....and trade for this guy...get rid of that guy...do SOMETHING.... I was frustrated. I was angry. My faith was tied up in knots...
And so was my life...I was in financial trouble...I had run out savings... I DID land a job...just in the nick of time...but I was struggling week to week...waiting for paychecks to come so I could cover a bill that was overdue... Of course the WGA strike was another considerable blow to deal with. I was homesick...I was here on the West Coast while my family and friends got together for the holidays. I sat here in my apartment alone on Christmas morning. I really missed my family and friends at Christmas, far more than I was willing to admit.
The last game of the season...the Giants play the Patriots. I'm thinking if the Giants can beat the Patriots to end the regular season...it will make it all worthwhile...all the frustration, all the screaming and swearing at the TV... just to give New England a good game and break the perfect run... just for shits and giggles..
So close....SO close.... it almost happened. The Giants lost by three points to a team that had become the Iron Mike Tyson of the NFL. The Patriots had practically annihilated every team they faced. The Giants, in spite of a loss that was tough to swallow, and receiving harsh criticsim for playing full speed with every starter in a game considered by many to be meaningless, found something out there…
And whatever it was that they felt…I could see... I saw a transformation. I saw Eli Manning grow up that day. It reminded me of that scene from FORREST GUMP when Forrest tries to run away from those mean kids with his clunky leg braces and Jenny screams “Run Forest Run,” his braces collapse and he gallops out to pasture. Eli Manning was finally ready. For God’s sake I saw Eli Manning RUN the ball. I saw Strahan commanding the field. I saw Plaxico’s brashness undeniably justified.... I saw the birth...or maybe the re-birth of the NEW, New York Giants. My New York Giants
It was after that game that I knew...without question... that the Giants and the Patriots would meet again in the Super Bowl.
I knew it. I believed it...with every ounce of my being. There was no doubt in my mind.
That belief translated into my own personal transformation. Suddenly I’m a rejuvenated version of my previous self. I’m inspired. I’m walking tall. I’m thinking big, and I’m oozing gratitude. Thank you thank you thank you…for the good the bad the happy the sad, the wrong the right, the day the night, the fight in the dog and the dog in the fight.
Week after week, the Giants answered their critics. Week after week they did what every announcer, analyst and average Joe said they could not, would not.
Again, this was more to me than just televised sports….this was Life…every day…all around me.
MY LIFE: Laying itself out, getting hands on the ball…and keeping the toes in bounds.
MY LIFE: ducking from the grasp, stepping away from the chaos and heaving my heart and soul to the heavens.
MY LIFE: Reaching to the sky with every last inch, closing my eyes and holding on, for dear life, to whatever I just came down with.
Thank you Eli Manning. Thank you Michael Strahan. Thank you Plaxico, Brandon, Amani, Osi, Justin, Ahmad, Tyree. Thank you Tom Coughlin. Thank you New York City.
This has been an experience I will honor and cherish…an experience I will carry into battle for eternity.
I TOLD you... I KNEW they could do it. I've been saying it for weeks. I was siting at a bar last week asking te bartender if she thought they would have a big crowd for The Super Bowl. I explaind to her that I was a HUGE GIants fan and I wasnt sure if I could handle watching the game at a bar. Then some jackass next to me leaned in...all smug and overconfident...
"You know the Patriots are gonna win, right?"
"Really? Why dont you give me your cell phone number so I can call you when the Giants whup your ass."
He paused...taken aback by the crazed and serious look on my face...
"Good luck man"
I said nothing....just stared im down. He slid a few feet down the bar and finished his drink.
Our first shoot as Indie City Entertainment didnt happen last night. I hustled my ass of all week to work on the script, get all the actors and the crew lined up. We were scheduled to start load-in and rehearsals at 6P, followed by the arrival of the DP/Director and one late actor arival (Of course). It all played out beautifully and at 7:30PM, when the DP arrived, we were pretty much ready to go....and that's as far as we got...
Leetal (DP/Director) had technical difficulties with the camera that ended up disabling the entire shoot. So I basically had to call it off and send everybody home.
Of course we walked across the street and had a drink...toasting to a successful "DRY RUN."
Yeah, I'm disappointed.... Disappointed that we didnt get anything done last night, but I can't be mad at anyone. Shit like that happens... if I look at with the idea that "Everything happens for a reason," I feel a little better. It would be worse if I were PAYING for use of the location and crew and I had just flushed a few thpusand dollars down the toilet. If anything it gives me time to work on the script. We have rescheduled that shoot for Sunday Feb 10th.
It's all part of the process...can't let it slow you down.
I found myself in another disappointing situation this week. I had to drop out of the play I have been rehearsing for over the past month... I'm bunched up with conflict.
I've never ever bailed on a prodcution before and i've ALWAYS placed my work as an actor before anything. I've never allowed a day job to interfere.
That all changed yesterday.
I received an email that I would be required to work a convention for HINT at the end of February in Las Vegas (Wow, VEGAS? Cool. I've never been to Vegas. Can you believe that?). I can't get out of this one. I'v already weasled out of a couple of out of town assignments, so it was impressed upon me by my employers that my attendance at this show was mandatory. Since I was completely aware that I was overdue for working a show for HINT, I immediately said yes (No problem). Then I looked through my calendar and realized that "5 Chairs" has performances that run right through that same weekend (CRAP).
I value my opportunties to perform and be a part of a stage production more than anything...far more than opportunities to be a player in the beverage industry, but i cannot afford to lose my job. So I have to do somehting that makes my stomach turn... I have to drop out of the play.
I feel terrible about it. They have a month to find someone else and get that person up to speed.
(Ugh)
So I've got some blues this morning...
Maybe a Big Blue Super Bowl victory will raise my spirits.
(I think it will)
Speaking of blues... a little musical mention..
Doyle Bramhall's album IS IT NEWS received a Grammy nomination for "Best Contemporary Blues Album"
And its pretty damn good... nominations like "Best Contemporary Blues Album" don't get a lot of attention and many times go unnoticed, but if you like Blues....this is good shit.
Another productive meeting last night... checked out a potential shooting location and that little visit saw the birth of a new short sit com...
Its a small security company with an office in Glendale...old school wood panels that line the walls in the entire BUILDING....let alone this one office space... and the whole bulding is empty after six...
So a new concept has been born... We'll be shooting SOMETHING in the space on Friday.
(Gotta start writing)
I could also use this location for some of the vignettes I hope to be producing as part of this legal industrial video project I'm cultivating.
In fact...pertaining to that project...
I am actually meeting with a friend/co-producer to discuss some budget stuff tonight...we are meeting for a drink at Ye Rustic Inn on Hillhurst...
(Gotta get moving on that.)
and OH YEAH...
iiiiiit's SUPER BOWL week!!!
I don't think I've ever been this pumped for a Super Bowl game. The question is...where do I watch it? Haven't decided yet... I've watched the past four games at home...free to scream, cheer, fall down and get back up again... and it's worked so far...I don't know how I feel about breaking the streak...or sharing my bizarre game time behaviors with others...
There are a few people in my collective who are having a party in Burbank...but I dont know if I can subject THEM to my antics... but it IS the Super Bowl... I should try and go to a party.
"They don't tell you about the three weeks in January that SUCK ASS"
It's been raining for like two weeks straight here in Los Angeles. Poor Jessica came out to visit and saw about two minutes of sunshine over the course of four days.
I'm pretty busy this morning so I can't get into too much detail right now...but Jessica and I attended Benny Medina's birthday party on Friday night at his home in the hills and it was CRAZY...SURREAL... and a lot of fun.
We danced, we drank and we celebrated alongside Paris, Mariah, Macy, Cuba, Dylan, Rebecca, Kevin, Jermaine and John...just to name a few....
I have to say that THAT party was the highlight of my Hollywood experience to date... it was seriously like some bizarre dream.
I've got a busy HINT day ahead, an audtion at 11:30, rehearsal for my play at 5 and an Indie City meeting at 7... so I gotta GO...
Things are starting to heat up... I'm telling ya...
TONIGHT...I just finished cleaning the entire apartment... and I'm talking I scrubbed the damn bathroom from top to bottom... I sorted and organized all my junk, my unfolded clothes and unmentionables... I did laundry...had to wash towels and sheets... and I put up a new mirror and some Van Gogh prints in my room....
It was all overdue,...this place was gettin a little funky... but I also had to tidy up for my weekend guest, the lovely Jessica Stone. (Mind you I still don't have any bedroom furniture and all of my clothes are folded in semi-neat piles in the corner...but...nevermind all that). She is flying in to LA tomorrow and we've got all kinds of stuff going on... busy busy busy
Tomorrow night we are going to see BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB at THE KEY CLUB. Which I'm psyched about. I got the tickets from someone off of Craiglist (You KNOW how I love Craigslist), after missing out on the flash that was the web only ticket sale for the one night only show on the Sunset Strip.
BRMC has been a recent favorite of mine as far as bands go. They rock.
Friday night we've got a fancy shmancy black tie event to go to with some hoyty toyty hollywood hit men (and women)... it will be a nice elbow rubbing op.
I'll take her back out to the airport early Sunday morning, and then its off to the races again for me. I have to interview a handful of candidates for crew positions within the new collective...mostly editors who responded to an ad I posted on Craigslist (You KNOW I love Craigslist). After the interviews, I have a rehearsal... whew...I'm staring to get dizzy just thinking about it...
I'm in rehearsals for "5 Chairs," which will open late February at The Attic Theatre and Film Center5429 W. Washington Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90016
After reading through the script a few times I saw an opportunity to improve on some of the material by doing some minor rewrites. Fortunately, the playwright was not offended by my offer. She actually liked my revisions and now she's going to give me a minor writing credit.
(yay me)
One of my characters, Matt, a former High School football phenom, has a monologue in the play where he describes his journey from High School All-American to starting in his first game at Alabama to the injury that ended his lifelong dream. I basically reworked the piece so it sounded more like a guy obesessed with football talking about football. The playwright admitted that she wasnt very well versed on the subject and welcomed a man's...or should I say a FAN'S touch.
As the "5 Chairs" process picks up steam, so does the momentum of Indie City Entertainment. I'm doing a lot of planning and brainstorming to get cast and crews lined up and prepped for a series of skecthes that we are going to shoot and post one YouTube as well as for Episode One of my internet series CATCH (Which is still offically a working title, formerly Catch.com).
On top of all that, I'm trying to get a crew together to shoot a couple of specs for this industrial project that was proposed to me last week by a long time friend. It's paying work and there's a truckload of it... so it is definitely in my best interest to produce a good couple of specs for him and make him look good on his end.
If it works out, I can drop the beverage activities and focus on artistic endeavors...namely writing, producing and acting... and a little oragamy here and there...
and on top of all THAT...
THE NEW YORK GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE SHOW!!
No one thought they could do it...Everybody wrote them off...all the sports analysts are flabbergasted...its F%$@& AWESOME!
(And they can win it all...they can beat the Patriots...I'm telling ya)
(If you don't recognize the quote, it's actually referring to the 1951 New York baseball Giants and "The shot heard round the World")
Nevermind...
How proud am I? Elli Manning andTHE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE SHOW
How exhausted am I? That fourth quarter alone sliced 6 years off my life. What a friggin rollercoaster man.... Giants intercept Farve, fumble the ball on the run back...Green Bay recovers....Bradshaw breaks one wide open on a draw and finds daylight... I'm leaping up on the furniture screaming my head off...
So The Giants are going to the Super Bowl...and I tell you what... They can beat the Patriots... mark my words.
What a way to end my week...
Also just finished watching THE WIRE... looks like another great season lies ahead...unfortunately...its the FINAL season..
You know what I just heard about the THE WIRE? The opening theme song? Its called "Down in the Hole," and every season they use a new version of the song performed by a different artist....I was totally clueless... thats a really cool idea though... I can't believe I never realized it was the same song....
Season 1: Blind Boys of Alabama
Season 2: Tom Waits
Season 3: Neville Brothers
Season 4: DoMaJe
Season 5: Steve Earle
Pretty cool, huh?
So the comedy of errors continues on my sit com pilot that I've been TRYING to produce since Summer of 07. After months of post-production activities marred by misfire, mix ups and miscommunication, I was finally able to make an arrangement with the guy who was originally on board as the editor. The deal was that I would purchase and ship a hard drive over to his place in Brooklyn and he would upload all the footage of mine...hours and hours of footage that he had already spent a good amount of time digitizing...on to this hard drive...then ship it back to me...
Or better yet..since Jess is flying ot here in a few days, maybe he could meet up with her, hand over the hard drive...and she brings it with her...save me some money and time...
I JUST want to get all of the dailies in my possession. I want to get this damn project moving again...and I cant do that unitl I have the footage... so i can SEE how it all LOOKS (Thats right, I have yet to see ONE SECOND of tape... I've been in LA)
I go to AMAZON...purchase the drive....arrange to ship the drive to this guy...and it runs me about $125...I even paid extra for two day shipping..
I get an email late Friday telling me that the hard drive has arrived...and then a phone call early Saturday morning informing me that I BOUGHT THE WRONG KIND OF HARD DRIVE!!!!
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRGGGG%$$%#!!
Are you kidding me? There is an entire series here of unfortunate incidents that have taken place over the past four months...missed emails...emails wth no attachments...missed calls....no returned phone calls....I left you a message...you never got my message... two of the tapes can't digitize...its crazy...
So NOW...I have to get this guy to re-pack the hard drive and drop it off at a post office...then I have to buy ANOTHER hard drive...wait for him to upload...and for him to ship it out to me.....
The whole thing is beyond laughable at this point...
But hey, I'll keep pushing...press on...never give up... whatever it takes to get it right...get it done...
Heavy heavy fog this morning. I roll out of bed and I can see out across Los Feliz and Hollywood...barely...usually I can see Griffith Park from my bedroom window. I can see the HOLLYWOOD sign. This morning I see murky white mist. I see a thick patch of fog that looks like its just hanging out on the back porch of one of those hpuses in the Hollywood Hills...like a guest that crashed on the couch because he couldnt drive home last night...and now he's hanging around waiting for pancakes.... go home foggy...party's over...
The Sun will show up later...represent...burn it all away. But for now.... The Fog is makin himself at home.
I roll out and on to the floor, next to the bed. man, my lower back is stiff...makes me feel like I'm 75. I assume the position. That would be the "Child Pose." I sit in the Child Pose for a good five minutes. It really helsp me get started in the morning. After a few more stretches I hit the notepad. Call it Morning pages. Call it my gratitude book. I start writing anything. Whatever is going through my mind when I wake up, I scribble down in a notebook. Lately, I've been practicing expressing gratitude. I list all the things in my life that I am deeply grateful for. I may go off on a tangent about something. It is always an exercise in freehand stream of consciousness...so I may start writing about how sleepy I am, or how my back is stiff...because I worked ten hours at the Fancy Food Show at the Sand Diego convention center yesterday... ten hours on my feet,...one hour breaking down and packing up...and what FELT like ten hours drivng back to LA from SD....how about how FOGGY it is outside...eventually I direct my thoughts back to gratitude.... good for the soul...
(Thank you Jess)
I've been writing lately about how grateful I WOULD be if I could spend my time working on my artistic endeavors instead of hocking bottles of water all week long. I am truly grateful for a flexible, fair and full-time job as a Southern California beverage sales rep, but I'd rather be snowboarding (If you know what I mean).
(maybe you don't ...know what I mean... sort of an inside joke... the used Mitsubishi Diamante I bought back in September came with a license plate cover that reads "I'd rather be snowboarding." Free of charge. My friend Heather loves to point it out everytime she sees my car)
I stumble out to the kitchen and my roommate says "Good MORNING sir!" OY... good morning dude... I kind of want to throw my banana peel at you...but good morning....grrrrr....I know he means well...and there are worse things a person could say to another person first thing in the morning...but its the same phrase...verbatim...word for word..exactly the same thing...every day...day after day...week after week...morning after morning.... "Good morning sir" "Good morning sir" "Good morning sir"
Say "Hi." Say "What up fool." Say NOTHING. Let me walk around for a few minutes before we have to start speaking at all....variety is the spice of life...switch it up...for the love of...God, Christ, watermelon, whatever...stir the pot...shake it up a little bit...please!
I pause...gratitude gratitude gratitude...positive positive positive...happy happy happy.
I steep some tea...got some good organic green tea/black tea/CHAI tea blend that I'm really enjoying... highly recommend it.
I Sit down, turn my laptop on and I send out an email to members of Indie City:
Hello maniacle matriarchs of new millenium miracles-
Some of my NYC peeps reached out to me after receiving news about the Big Bang birth of Indie City Entertainment. So I've put us on the list to participate in the following project. Lets be sure to discuss Monday night.
Tag, You're It! The Exquisite Corpse Film Experiment A South By Southwest Film/Interactive panel & Film project
Tag, You're It! is a filmmaking experiment that explores creative collaboration. Tag, You Are It! is a project that explores how the exquisite corpse experiment could be applied to film making. In 2008 a group of film makers will come together to create an exquisite corpse film, collaboratively creating a feature film. Each team will create a 4-5 minute segment on film or video. When they are finished they will pass the last minute of their film to the next team....
We have quite a few things to discuss at our next meeting. One of them is the casting session we held this past monday. I've written five episodes of a internet serial currently titled CATCH (Formerly CATCH.COM). We are planning on shooting Episode One in mid February. I held a casting session to see who would be best suited to play the two lead roles: Maggie and Jerry.
The casting session was alot of fun and a fantastic case study. I had a basic idea of who would be right for the role but after seeing all the auditioners (Not many 5 girls, 3 guys), I was forced to sort through all the impressions...pre and post ...and figure who would help deliver the best possible rendition of my writing. I must say I was thoroughly impressed with some...and equally disappointed with others.
Because we are a constructive and supportive collective, I'm hoping we can air out everything that went down this past Monday. I would love to offer up as much direct and honest commentary as I can. I think that the actors involved can really benefit from some good old fashioned feedback. I will run the idea by them first...just to make sure they are comfortable with it....I would be....I'm always game for some good contsructive feedback...but that's me...you never know...some peope just DO NOT want to be on the hot seat.
Combing through more emails, I found this one:
Hi James,
I sincerely thank you for the great audition, but I am sorry to say you didn't get cast, this time. It just came down to a lot of factors, and it was a very tough choice. I promise to keep your picture/info/video as primary cast interest for my next film, planned for late summer.
Thanks again!
Jeff
Fair enough....I read for an independent film project a few weeks ago....
After a few more hours sorting through emails and tending to various duties HINT related, INDIE CITY related and JESSICA related, I got a phone call from DAVE...high school buddy...long time dear friend.... and former neighbor (Back in Ridgewood his family lived in the apartment upstairs from mine). We talked NFL...playoffs...NY Giants (He doesn't think they can take Green Bay. I assured him they most certainly CAN take Green Bay), and then we talked business. He has a proposition for me that could prove to be lucrative. Like LEAVE my day job lucrative. How about THAT?
I won't get into details until it really starts to materialize, but it smells good... really good...
IRVING, Texas (AP) -- Tony Romo can go wherever he wants with Jessica Simpson now. Eli Manning and the New York Giants knocked him and the Dallas Cowboys into the offseason Sunday.
Having to wait out long, slow drives by Dallas, Manning made his few chances count, throwing two touchdown passes to Amani Toomer and getting a 1-yard touchdown run from Brandon Jacobs for a 21-17 victory that put New York into the NFC championship game for the first time since the 2000 season.
Say Good night Tony, T.O., Tank, Terry, Jerry, Julius.... Jessica (Simpson).
Friday night...12:38 AM here.... THREE THURTY EIGHT AM back east...
I should start calling people back in New York....just to say hi....ya think?
I went to class tonight...back to the good ole ex-er actor class at Black Nexxus...
Ross the Intern is the modern day Larry Bud Melvin...
The New York Giants are going to STOMP the Cowboys on Sunday...
Funny story...
I had a meeting on Thursday with my HINT boss Peter and the new sale manager. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss stratgey for 2008 and so I could meet Ben, the new sales manager...basically my new "boss." At some point during the meeting, Peter says to me....
"I'm going to need you down in San Diego Monday morning at 9:30AM. You'll work the day with us at the Fancy Food Show and the nwe have a mixer that I need you to attend-"
WHOA...suddenly I'm thinking to myself "I can't be in San Diego Monday night! I have a collective meeting. I am holding a casting for this mini-series I've been writing over the past two months. I've been doing all sorts of planning and coordinating for this meeting. I can't...and i WON'T cancel slash postpone slash reschedule...no F%$#@ way. And SECONDLY...how about a little heads up? You're just gonna mention in passing that I'm supposed to be spending two days in San Diego? What do you think I'm just sitting around every night waiting for you to give me something to DO?
(It would actually be fun. I'd love to hang in SD for a night or two, BUT, this time around, Indie City trumps HINT)
"Um...yeah...Peter...I have something going on Monday that I can't reschedule. I'm sorry. I had no idea you were expecting me to work the Show."
Silence...a blank stare...from both of them.
"I didn't talk to you about the Fancy Food Show?"
"No, this is the first I've heard of it."
Pause
"What do you have another gig? Whats the deal?"
"I'm sorry. I just have an appointment that I can't change."
Pause. A glance of disappointment.
"Okay, why don't you come down SUNDAY morning and work the show with us from 10-5, head back Monday."
"Oh my God.... you're killing me....murmur...Giants game...murmur murmur...playing the cowboys....murmur playoffs."
"Whats that?"
"Sunday is the Giants game! It's the playoffs.... they play the COWBOYS!"
"Seriously?"
"Well...yeah"
Pause...a standoff.
(I'll quit...I swear to God..right here...right now)
"Ok, come down TUESDAY and work the show. Then help us break down."
"DONE. I'm there. Thank you.... you are the man...give me a pound."
Pause. Two adult white men give each other a pound.
Wednesday Night...aint a DAMN thing on TV... I'm actually watching the Richard Donner Cut of SUPERMAN II... so far I can barely tell the difference... Apparently, As much as half of the film contains never-before seen material...
Of course it s been a long long time since I've seen this movie... I tell you what..I'll never get tired of hearing that theme song...its awesome.
When I was a kid, my little brother and I would go fishing on Lake Hickory with my Grandfather and I used to sit on the chair at the front of the boat while we skimmed across the lake at top speed. I would reach my arms out and pretend I was Superman. It actually felt like I was really flying. If I looked outward, all I could see below me was the still water passing below, as if there was nothing holding me up but superpowers. Then I would hum the theme song, and since the wind was breaking against my face, I would hum to the point of screaming and no one could hear me... except myself...
Of course my Grandfather and my Brother could SEE me sitting up there at the front of the boat with my arms stretched out and probably thought I was a goofball...but that's okay.
So Monday night the west coast collective reconvened, regrouped, refreshed at Hortense House in North Hollywood. It was another good meeting. We had, I think, our highest attendance, with 17 people sitting in and particpating. The big news of the night was that we FINALLY agreed on a name:
INDIE CITY ENTERTAINENT
After a few weeks of brainstorming, collaboration and deliveration, my roommate and I whittled it down to TWO finalists: Indie City and Flixsmith.
Of course, ONE name was created by me and one was created by him. We tried to decide just between the two of us, but he was in favor of using the name he created (I think he partly wanted to be rewarded for taking the lead and coordinating the name search).... and as I phrased it (As we stood there in a stand-off):
"I like both names, but if both names had fallen off the side of the boat, and I could only save one...I would let your name drown."
So we agreed to take the two finalists to the group and go for one last vote.
I went to see THERE WILL BE BLOOD the other day at THE ARCLIGHT on Sunset....
I actually rode my bike over there.... 3.5 miles.... I took Fountain all the way over from my neighborhood...its a pretty quiet side street that runs parallel to Sunset...Sunset is a little too busy and too crazy for me to be biking through town....way too many cars coming in and out of parking lots...Fountain actually runs all the way through Hollywood and West Hollywood...
I'm doing my best to find ways to get around without using the car...WAY too many cars on the road in Los Angeles.
Anyway... THERE WILL BE BLOOD...F%$#&& brilliant... Daneil Day Lewis... genius... BEST ACTOR...no question... I can't say that BLOOD will get best picture... it's POSSIBLE...its a great film...but NO COUNTRY is going to give it a run for its money... ATONEMENT? Forget it... don't waste your time.. INTO THE WILD? It's good...but not THAT good... Hal Holbrook for best supporting....thats my vote...
But Day Lewis? I swear its some of the best acting I've ever seen... I was blown away....
I lost my job again....exact same shit that happened to me last January. I've been working my ass off for a start up company...a new beverage thats trying to take off....and they just ran out of money...."Sorry, you're doing a great job, but we cant afford to keep you. If we get more investors involved, we'll have more money to work with and we can put you back to work, but right now, we've got nothing." CRAP!!!!!!
I feel like I'm in a rebuilding phase right now. ..working on becoming a better actor...I'm writing, painting, rehearsing, working on my voice. I'm reading books hoping to develop my perspective, further develop as an artist. .I just sometimes need to step away from all that mess...just have fun with what I'm doing....do for the sake of doing....feel like a kid again....enjoy being creative....for myself.....my peace of mind.
FEBRUARY 2007:
Went to see a great show last night at BB KINGS in Times Square. It's been a few years since I've seen a COWBOY MOUTH concert, but it REALLY hit the spot last night. It was just what I needed. The venue was small enough that I could get right up to the stage and take it all in....and roomy enough so I could jump around, go crazy and dance my ass off!
Holy crap it's FRIDAY already. This week went by FAST. Well, I've got some good news. My beverage sales job has been saved. The two guys who founded the company managed to squeeze another large sum of money from another investor, which has enabled them to PAY me for services rendered and RE-hire me...indefinitely.
I am going to declare myself Financial-Core, which basically means I would be considered a dues-paying non-member, eligible to worth both union AND non-union jobs...the drawback is that I forgo my right to vote within the union...which ...at this point is just FINE with me.
Two weeks ago I had a really good read on a script....a comedy... about three actors and a director in the early stages of rehearsals....The reading went over so well that the playwright, Marcus Jones, contacted me and asked me if I was available to play the role on early March for an evening of performances, sponsored by the RCL workshop, which may end up moving on to the SAM FRENCH ONE ACT FESTIVAL in June.... The OTHER short play I've committed to is called OBLIVIOUS and its written and will be directed by Dennis Hurley. This play wont go up until April, which is perfect. We will be performing as part of an evening of short plays at The Manhattan Repertory Theater, which is on West 42nd St and 8th Avenue.
It's 5AM....WHY am I up? I was lucky enough to book a little promo gig for Nivea today...We'll be outside handing out Nivea samples and a rose to women passing by for Valentine's day... Have you looked outside? Its freezing and we got like 4 inches of snow overnight...I'm going to be outside....handing out free stuff... It's 5AM...what the hell am I doing?
My Mother wrote me yesterday and told me that I needed an attitude adjustment. She's right. I have been doing a lot of bitching and moaning and complaining lately. I've been oozing negativity. I'm going to put a stop to that right...NOW. (Thanks Mom...I love you)
MARCH 2007:
I can't believe I'm going to be in Los Angeles tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to some nice sunny California weather and a little escape. As luck would have it, I have a few auditions come up that were all scheduled for the week that I'm away. That seems to happen any time you leave town. I'm just gonna let it go. It wasn't meant to be.
HEY DUDES!!!!! Greetings from Sunny California! Monday we met up with our friend Heather, who lives in West Hollywood. We had lunch at a cafe called URTH'S CAFE, sat a few tables away from TRICKY... yesterday.... back to West Hollywood and had dinner at JONES CAFE, met up with a few more New York actor friends who live out West now, and ate the most Amazing Apple Pie I think I've EVER tasted.... Ok, I'm on vacation....must get away from this computer....
Well GUESS WHAT....Jet Blue canceled ALL flights to New York yesterday due to the storm and the earliest flight we could get on is Tuesday!!!! HOLY SMOKES....STUCK IN LOS ANGELES....well....I guess if there is any place I'd rather be than snowy slushy New York right now it's sunny California...
So I'm back...back in New York and I think I'm about 85% committed to making the move out to the West Coast in September. You just cant help but be charmed by the weather and the landscape...picked many brains out there...asked many questions...entertained many a debate...and all the scouting and investigating points to one conclusion... do not be afraid to fail....the only failure would be to shy away from the journey...the failure would be to let the fears and doubts hold me back....see what i'm gettin at? I'm all about LA now....I can SEE it...I can FEEL it.....
APRIL 2007:
I have the week off because I quit....YES...thats right....I was quite my other job...the kids beverage I was repping that hasn't paid me since March 1st.....they owe me a BUTTLOAD of money.
I've been working as a team leader, or Market manager for Tartan Week 2007, which is basically a two week event in New York City designed to promote tourism in Scotland. I'm directing and supervising a street team , dressed in kilts, passing out booklets in different areas around Manhattan. Exciting stuff.....I've been up super early and haven't a day off since I got back from LA. The program ends on Friday and the I have the week off until I start another campaign for NBC and THE TODAY SHOW.
Got a call from Bobby Lambert yesterday. He booked me for small role as a limo driver on ABC's All My Children. I shoot next Tuesday.
Happy Easter!! Big night tonight! Season premieres of THE SOPRANO'S and ENTOURAGE on HBO. I'm psyched. Its the final season for Tony Soprano....cant wait to see its going to turn out.... Yankee's are losing 6-3 to the Orioles in the 7th inning at Yankee Stadium. Is that SNOW i see coming down out there on the field? Yep....some good ole easter Sunday flurries...
I have a 2:30PM call time today at ALL MY CHILDREN....today I play a limo driver...My ONE line is "Your car is ready sir." So I've been practicing all morning...in the mirror...during breakfast...in the shower.. Your CAAAAAR is ready sir... YOUR car is ready....sir. YER CAR'Z RIDDY SUR (Sounds like Forrest Gump)
Your car is READ-Y...Really really ready....like rickey-rickey rackey-rackey ready sir...hollah!
So Wednesday morning I had a plan. I had a strategy. I was scheduled to work on this mock protest from 7AM to 1PM. I also had two auditions during the same time block. So what do I do? The plan was to slip away from the protest... suddenly...I start feeling really ill. I start to feel dizzy...and naseous....worse by the minute...I'm trying to keep it together...trying to snap out of it...but nothing is working.... I managed to get in there and read my copy with some level of conviction. I sort of hoped that my condition would contribute to a memorable performance...
You are never going to believe this. After all that drama I went through last week to get through that PLANTERS audition...getting stuck at the mock protest...falling ill...getting a call from my manager cursing me out for not appearing at my appointment time...and finally getting over to the casting office, sick as all get out...looking like some freebase junky whose been snorting ritalin and drinking Old Grandad for breakfast...and then spending the next three days in bed with a nasty stomach virus....WELL...I got a CALLBACK for my dazzling performance
I worked a promotion late last night... Two hours of work....hundred fifty bucks...thing is I had to dress up as this evil and ominous "Lord of the Rings" character...roaming around Herald Square in a torn and tattered hooded gown...and a plastic sword.
MAY 2007
Last minute booking on Friday....Late Thursday I got the call....I was on an 8AM bus Friday morning....I booked a print job that shot down in Atlantic City....The shoot was easy enough...Me and two other models at BALLY'S in the spa....by the poolside....in the hot tub....getting a fancy shmancy shave in the salon....I think its all for in-house literature...or some type of newsletter...I'd be very surprised if ANYONE i know ever see's it...decent money for a day of lounging at the spa in a robe and flip-flops.
That Wildfire in Los Angeles is CRAZY. You see THAT? The sky behind the Griffith Park Observatory? SCARY...orange and black....freaky....Like Satan himself standing on the ridge...dancing in the hills....Mick Jagger-style.
I had a call back for CREST SPINBRUSH this morning. The first audition happened last week and I walked out feeling prettty good. Most of the time I hold the belief walking out of an audition convinced that you "nailed it" is the kiss of death. Nevertheless, after my fisrt CREST audition...I really felt like I nailed it.
Forget the fact that I never got the call about my CREST SPINBRUSH commercial. That I'm FIGHTING for a positive perspective....struggling with disappointment and doubt. Forget the fact that I DID book another Under-five on AS THE WORLD TURNS. A bittersweet booking, I shoot ATWT on the same day that they are scheduled to shoot that damned CREST spot. Never mind all that. Never mind the Greys Anatomy season finale. Never mind the Yankees lost AGAIN and are now 9 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the Al East... Never mind all that.... The CAT fell out the WINDOW...fell two stories...broke his leg.
JUNE 2007
Saturday, June 9th, the 2007 Sam French Off Off Broadway Original Short Play Festival at the American Theater for Actors, 314 West 54th Street, 2nd Floor. JUST POINT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: Written by Marcus Jones. Directed by Alexis Hadsall, Featuring James Huffman, Susannah Kennedy, Patrick Wickham and Eva Nicole
Up at 6AM, I left my apartment around 7:45 to make it down to the Hotel New Yorker on 34th Street by 8:30. I was scheduled to appear in the character of a "Pulp Era" private detective (ala Sam Spade) in the annual Book Expo America tradeshow at the Javitz Center.
I WAS up at 4AM this morning...and I DID slip in to a wetsuit and hang around midtown with a big red surfbaord...with about 20 other guys in wetsuits...doing a promotion for JOHN FROM CINCINNATI...which premieres this coming Sunday on at 10PM HBO
Thursday night...the final performance of LEE/GENDARY took place at the Samuel Beckett Theater on West 42nd Street. We had a sold out house (Unfortunately many people were turned away at the door). The audience was awesome. They were warm, appreciative, receptive and very vocal. The show ended with partial standing ovation and a double bow. We had a few drinks afterwards at a bar on Ninth Avenue with our adoring fans. Seriously, peopled loved the show and many of them followed us to the bar and asked us questions about the show.
"My first piece of advice to someone who is serious about being a professional television or film actor is this: Move to Los Angeles. Moving to Los Angeles can be difficult, but it is the only city that doesn't put a ceiling on where you can go with your career. New York is the place to go if you want to do theater, but if you want to be in film and television, move to L.A." Jenna Fischer
JULY 2007
Happy FIFTH of JULY everybody!!!! I am in Fairfax right now taking a severe beating at the hands of my nephews Keller and little Casey. Spending a few days with the little ones help me keep in touch with my own inner child....not that I am anything BUT a walking adult 10 year old...hanging with two Tasmanian devils reminds me how far I've drifted (Get back to where you once belonged). I've been in Hickory NC over the past few days as well and I'll be back in NYC tomorrow. AND THEN....In less than two months I embark on an adventure that will inevitibly become the ride of my life....
Also....speaking of making an impression. I got a call on Friday from another agent I freelance with explaining that SOMEONE I auditioned for a few months ago called him and wanted to check my availability in August for a new project. So, having NO idea who was booking me or for WHAT...I was put on hold for the first week of August.
I had an interesting week. I had a few good auditions. I got fired from the Amstel Light gig. I had dinner at Smith and Wolenksy's...at the same exact time there was a massive expolosion on Lexington Avenue. I worked a Harry Potter promotion and passed out worthless crap amongst the absolute insanity at "Harry Potter Place" in SOHO.I did more planning and coordinating for two projects: My move to Los Angeles and my sit com project.
My girlfriend, Jessica, and I are not going together. Jess and I have decided to part ways...a difficult but very mutual decision....we still live here at this apartment...and we are just sort of hanging out...making the best of things...It is awkward at times...but most of the time its like we are roommates...friends....its sort of like we are graduating...we've been dating for four years and now...at the end of August...we will go down separate roads...Iwe are both surprised by the maturity of the situation...Its also heartbreaking and hard to look away from the sadness... I probably wont realize how much I miss her until I'm really away...when I really do miss her. Then it's going hit me like freight rain.
AUGUST 2007
Aaaaah ....is it delivery? No.... it's DiGirono's Pizza... Had a lot of fun on set yesterday shooting a commercial for DiGiorno's Pizza. Its actually a FOOD NETWORK promo for DiGiorno's Pizza.
Audition Friday for SAMSUNG....going in for the role of an Offensive Coordinator. I'm gonna book that damn spot...dammit. Shooting a scene for a sit com short on Sunday....funny little scene...looking Forward to that. Playing producer on Friday and holding auditions for my own sit com pilot project. I think I'm determined to drive myself completely insane before I leave for Los Angeles...in LESS THAN 30 DAYS!!!
Had a callback for a CDPHP commercial. I have no idea what that expect that it seems to be some sort of health insurance. This is the audition from last week where I played a young Dad coaching a little league game.
I was placed on hold for a GMC/ESPN/MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL commercial. The shoot was set to take place tonight and since I havent heard from anyone confirming time, location and wardrobe....I think I may have been passed....I guess I didnt make the cut...
So...believe it or not...aside from preparing for a cross country road trip/move my entire LIFE to the West Coast and tying up loose ends on a personal level...I'm co-writing and producing 5 episodes of a sit com pilot....I'm freaking INSANE. Lo and behold...its all happening...I've got episodes in rough draft form...ALMOST ready for shooting (Which begins next week by the way), I've got 4 directors on board, all busy putting their teams together...I've got TWO locations secured....and I was lucky enough to get access to these locations...free of charge....thank you God, The Universe, Buddah, Allah, The Pope, Bugs Bunny, The Dalai Lama, Joe Torre , The New York Yankees, Mom, Dad, Rhonda Byrne and Anthony Robbins.
HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE at 302 Broome Street in Chinatown.... my going away party did some poppin and lockin after one too many Red Stripes....Sunday morning I laid down to sleep at about 3AM...again...and at 7AM..again...I was up and getting ready to go shoot our last day of shooting at Theater for the New City. We got all of our scheduled shots done and in a timely manner. We wrapped shooting for a handful of actors and closed up shop in the East Village. Then I dragged my limp, lifeless body all the way back uptown and crashed on the couch in a semi-vegetated state.
SEPTEMBER 2007
Wednesday morning...September 5th.... Hard to believe I'll be in Los Angeles by the end of the week. I fly out REALLY early Saturday morning.
So...I THOUGHT i was all set up with a place to crash in LA when arrive on Saturday....apparently not so much.. My friend Bobby called me today to inform that her "boyfriend" has decided that its is unsuitable for me to crash at her place and that i needed to make other arrangements... Yes...a fine time to address such an issue...THREE days before I land at LAX...I didn't even know she HAD a boyfriend....
We stood on 9th street and Sixth Avenue and cried and hugged and cried some more. Neither one of us wanted to be the one to walk away. Sound...Traffic...cars and people whizzed...beyond our ears....as we held each other, embracing our five years, wiping tears... promising great things ahead and acknowledging fears (I was really hoping this would be easier).
She stepped away and went down the stairs to the train. I stood there in that spot, unable to move, looking at the wall...looking at the sky...trying to get myself together before I had to walk away...because THAT would be the hardest thing to do...
So I made it....I'm here in Sunny California....Saturday afternoon/evening I took all my stuff to my temporary residence here in Burbank and chilled out for the evening. There are 4 or 5 people staying here temporarily during any given week, with 2 or 3 permanent residents. I havent quite figured out WHo exactly is really living here and who is just crashing for a while. So it's a decent...tolerable situation...a little awkward since I don't really know anybody... and I'm sleeping on an aero-bed in the middle of the living room...
1) Without God - The Word
2) Orange Sky - Alexi Murdoch
3) A Day at the Races - Jurrasic 5
4) Los Angeles - Ill Lit
5) Mama's Room - Under the Influence of Giants
6) Berlin - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
7) Cobrastyle - Teddy Bears
8) Can't Ride Like Me- Papoose
9) Throw it on me - Timbaland
10) Better People - Xavier Rudd
11) I'm Gettin Ready - Patty Griffin
12) Jesus Walks - Kanye West
13) Level - The Racontuers
14) So This is Love - Van Halen
14) Shuffle Your Feet - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
15) Lady Don't Tek No - Latryx
16) Sea to Sea - Matisyahu
17) Rehab - Amy Winehouse
18) Awe - Citizen Cope
19) Bloodhounds on My Trail - The Black Angels
20) Run The Numbers - El-P
21) Home - Marc Broussard
22) Icky Thump - The White Stripes
23) Gravity - John Mayer
24) Peter Piper - Run DMC
25) Mr Me Too - Clipse
26) Free Stress Test - Professor Murder
27) Spiral Staircase - Kings of Leon
28) I'll Fly Away - The Word
29) Workin Day and Night - Michael Jackson
30) Future Sound - Jurassic 5
31) Crazy Bitch - Buckcherry
32) Idlewilde Blue - Outkast
33) Liberation Front - Thievery Corporation
34) Let's Kill Ourselves - The Pony's
35) Give it what you can - The Meters
36) The W.A.N.D. - The Flaming Lips
37) T.B. Sheets - Van Morrison
38) Que Pasa feat. Deuce Eclipse - J Boogie's Dubtronic Science
39) Mean Streets - Van Halen
40) Can You Rock it like This - Run DMC
41) Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
42) 320 - Project Jenny, Project Jan
43) Public Enemy #1 - Public Enemy
44) Zombie - Fela Kuti
45) Love and Peace or Else - U2
46) Deep South - Layo & Bushwacka
47) Get Buck in here - DJ Felli Fel
48) Don't Sweat the technique - Eric B & rakim
49) Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
50) September / The Joker - Fatboy Slim & Wind & Fire Earth
It's Saturday...December...whatever...end of December...New Years Eve is Monday night. I have made any solid plans yet. I usually enjoy my New Years Eve activities most when I don't plan to far ahead. I wait til the last minute and then hop on the best possible, best available scenario... sounds like the story of my life.
Things hjave been really slow...really quiet here in LA for the past week or so... I get the feeling that a LOT of people leave town for the holidays... You can still fnd traffic out here...if you look hard enough...its out there...even when nobodies in town.
I spent a lot time writing over the past week. I've been working on a short web series that I want to produce through my new actors collective...which has yet to find a name (More on that later)
As far as my writing goes, I am MUCH more productive when I go sit down with my lap top at a coffee shop. So I've hit the Silver Lake Coffee Co quite a bit lately and I've managed to knock out two more episodes. Now I've got five. Five shorts that are ready to shoot. I'll put a casting session together for the project in early to mid January with plans to shoot Episode one in February.
I sent the following email out to the group a few days ago:
Hello good people of the Kick Ass Collective Continuim....soon to be named something else
I want to hold a casting for our upcoming internet/film festival mini series, catch.com (which is a working title...for now) at our group meeting on Monday January 14th. We will still have our Jan 7th meeting...but I figured we could use that time to regroup, review and refresh..
As you know...there are two lead characters, Maggie and Jerry and a handful of supporting roles (several "dates" and Detective Jones). I want to give everyone the opportunity to read for every role..lead and supporting...but more immediately...I want to make a casting decision on Maggie and Jerry for the first episode, which we are planning on shooting in February.
I want to have one casting and one callback... and I will have some specific requests of those who will be auditioning.
So please let me know if you would like to read for either role and I will send you sides and more details about the project.
I have a few favorites for the character of Maggie...but its really going to come down what each actress can do with the character...what she can do with my writing...and how well she can handle a baseball bat.
(I can't really expalin...that would be a spoiler)
Casting for the character of JERRY could go in any direction. I was initially writing that role for myself...but if I find that someone else might suit the project a little better... I have no problem going in that direction. I'll have to see how the casting goes.
Now...the NAME of this little collective we'v e put together is gong to be decided on Jan 7th...for once and for all. We've tried on several occasions to decide on something in a group setting....we brainstormed...we even had a vote...and I had to override the final vote because the naems we came up with were just to mundane...to average...boring... I think at this point most of the people in the group are just waiting for me to decide on a name and move on.
So right now, with the help of my rommmate, we have three giant strips of paper taped up on the walls here in the apartment, with potential names scratched all over the place.
He thinks that out name should clearly indicate what we do. His contributions are names like "Vidmakers," "Unbound Force" and "FlixSmith."
I am leaning toward something a little more abstract, with an emphasis on the name being catchy and fun to say... maybe some type of alliteration... the meaning is applied through success..
I've been coming up with names like "Now Hounds," "The New Crew Collective," "GameChange," "Shiftchange," "Buttermilk" and "Brick Through."
We'll narrow it down to ten names, check those names for availability, ask for another group vote and make a final decision...once and for all.
The end of December also means that I'm going to have to find a new gym. I've been doing the Golds Gym hustle here in LA for the past four months and my travel pass expires 12/31.
So after doing a lot of research on the best gyms in the area I came across the foloowing post from a disgruntled gym-goer on YELP.com:
The most MADENNING gym in Southern California....this place is a snobs dream come true....What I'm saying is that this is the WORST city in the history of the world to put a gym that supposedly caters to all types, because there is only one type of person at this gym: The Hollywood Entertainment crowd. From Sun-up to Sun-down, models, actors, agents and anyone else with plastic surgery and some botox, come here to see and be seen under the guise of "working out"....
Crunch is for the elite, the elite are not always friendly to people who are not elite. this means if you want people to smile at you and treat you kindly but you aren't a model, then go to 24 Hour Fitness or anywhere else. If you have loads of money, a decent reputation in Hollywood so that people whisper about you as you pass by, or are the fresh new face on that stupid soap opera or are f*ckable enough to be passed around by the Hollywood power players, this is your new office, your new home, the very place you live for. Welcome home star...
It would be a really good gym if it weren't so EXPENSIVE, EXCLUSIVE and populated by it's current clientelle.
I read through the whole review...read it again...just to make sure I got it right and thought to myself:
THANK YOU Mr. John H. Yelper, for your honest and direct assessment. Your detailed account of the current state of affairs at CRUNCH FITNESS has been very helpful. The only thing I have to say in response is this...
DAMN...I'm gotta be working out at CRUNCH. I'm going over there RIGHT NOW. That is EXACTLY where I need to be. Thank you again John H Yelper.
Sincerely,
James Clifton Huffman
Fresh new face
Future Hollywood power player
Merry Christmas everyone... I hope you all have a fantastic holiday...whether it be traveling or just chillin out at home...
It's 70 degrees and sunny here for my first California Christmas. I am so grateful for all my good fortune this year...and I'm a little sad that I'm not with my family and loved ones for Christmas.
Its nice to have al this quality downtime...have the apartment to myself...have plenty of time to chill...ride my bike around the neighborhood...get some writing done...watch a bunch of movies..
(This weekend I've seen BLACK BOOK, SICKO, SUPERBAD, NIGHT WATCH, THE UNTOUCHABLES...and I went to see I AM LEGEND...with plans for even MORE tomorrow)
But it still kind of sucks to be away from everyone on Christmas.
Here is my little Holiday set up...
I'll get up and open my presents on Christmas morning...then I'll probably have a protein shake for breakfast... I guess if there is one upside to being here on Christmas is that I'm not eating all that holiday food.... Then I will go for a bike ride... which is more of an ass-kicking leg workout in these hills than a nice leisurely roll... then maybe watch another movie.... or go to see the new Daniel Day Lewis film THERE WILL BE BLOOD... looks awesome... Daniel Day Lewis is always awesome.
Oh wait... I forgot to mention...
NEXT week...I will be going onto a local CBS news show...Palm Springs, I believe...and I'll be doing a live segment about "Healthy Holiday Beverages." I'm stepping in on behalf of HINT and I'll basically be playing the role of a "Healthy Holiday Beverage" expert.
Its on at like 6:30AM this coming Thursday or Friday... so I dont think that many people will see it...but I will do my best to tape the segment...hopefuly I can post it on this site.
The sun is back after a few days of clouds and rain here in LA.
I drove over to The Radisson Hotel in Culver City Wednesday night in a torrential downpour for an audition. I was a little unsure about what I was getting into because this particular audition was based on a self submission through....well...I'm emabarrasssed to say it....a posting on Craigslist.
Repsonding to casting notices on Craigslist is not a common practice of mine, but I happened to come across a posting a few weks ago that claimed to be casting for an indie horror/comedy that would be shooting in China.
China? I've never been to China....So I said "What the Hell," and I sent them my info.
A few days later I got a response and an invitation to come read for one of the lead roles, which brought me to Wednesday night... in the pouring rain.
I ended up reading a few scenes with a man named Henry. He explained that he was building a filnm production studio/media complex in China and he would be producing films there for American audiences, using American actors and American sets.
He enjoyed my read...and I have to say...the script was good...what I read of it...i thought it was funny...a dark comedy of sorts... we talked for a few minutes about my career and my life...he explained that if they dont call me back for this project I should expect a call for future projects...
And that was it...I walked back out into the pouring rain, got in my car...and suffered through more LA nightime torrential downpour traffic on I-10...stopped at my 7-11 on Virgil and Santa Monica...picked up a box of Taquitos...went home and watched SUPERBAD....
It seems so quiet ... Holidays are coming up...I'm here in LA...my family and friends...my dearest...are elsewhere... I'm not sure how that will affect me come Christmas... I do have other friends in the same boat... so we will all get together and hang out...dinner...movie...lots of drinks...run through the empty Hollywood streets....
But I'm sure I will still feel a touch of sadness on Christmas morning...
I sent a message out to the Collective this morning..
By the way...we are still working on a name... we came down to a vote on a final four a few weeks ago...then deceided all the names were boring...
I'm hoping by the next meeting...Januray 7th, we will have a good name to agree on and move forward with...under....AS!
Hello good friends of the Collaborative Collective Nameless Shameless Coup...
YES, I write and talk about football alot... I love football...
Bears Vs Vikings...
Adrian Peterson... Vikings rookie running back... potential superstar...potential legend....runs like no other... I knew he was gonna be a star player back when he was a freshman for Oklahoma... gotta stay healthy... gives and takes alot of punishment...I'm nervous for him... you know who he reminds me of?
Bo Jackson.
Not in running style...but in his physical presence on the field...Bo Jackson was AWESOME...power...speed...."Bo knows THIS, Bo knows THAT." A force to be reckoned with, Bo Jackson was destined to break every rushing record know to man... Even in the PRO'S, he was a man among boys....then he got hurt...had to have hip replacement surgery...and his career was over... barely gotten started.
So...yeah, it's Monday, December 17, eight days away from Christmas. I'll be spending the Christmas holiday out here in LA...my first California Christmas.... should be interesting.
I had a pretty busy week last week...
Most of my business had to do wth HINT. I was working alot...driving alot...visiting accounts...Coffee shops, gourmet deli's, grocery stores....boring day job bullsh&%
(I am SO grateful for my boring day job bullsh&%)
Wednesday night I went to a friend's holiday party at Nics Martini Bar in Beverly Hills. The girl who threw the party is a friend I know from New York. It had been about six years since I had seen her. We've been trying to connect for coffee over the past three months to no avail, so I figured going to her holiday party would be the best way to see her and say hi.
The party was fun. There were a few people at NIC'S that I knew from a WAMU promotion I worked a few weeks ago. They were doing a (very low key) promotion for PLYMOUTH GIN. Lucky me, I got them to give me free drinks. I was forced to become a Gin & Tonic fan for the evening, which I'm prefectly willing to do under the right circumstances.
When I saw my friend I almost didnt recognize her, she really looked like she had been living in Los Angeles. She is a stylist now with lots of fancy shmancy friends, a few pseudo celebritities and a couple-a-common-folk.
At one point during the evening< i guess I was in the right place at the right time and I was invited to go into the cold vodka room. A very flamboyant "Tour guide" slash host fitted me with a fur pimp coat and matching hat (You have to wear one because the vodka room is actually a big refrigerator stocked with the worlds finest vodkas), and I hung out on there for a while...good times....I felt like Flava Flav.
Thursday night I laid low... I watched RESCUE DAWN with my roommate and his girlfriend...
RESCUE DAWN was wierd...I couldnt quite grasp what was happening. I mean, yeah...in a basic "I Love- Seth-Green-movies" sort of way... I get it...its about some POWS who eventually escape...
But ...i dont know.. on the other hand...I didnt get it... it was a very strange portrayal of eccentric characters...a strange portrayal of a prison camp in viet nam... I like Christian Bale's work..and I like Steve Zahn...but...I would have to say thumbs down on RESCUE DAWN.
FRIDAY...TGIF...
I had an audition Friday afternoon...YAY.
And this one was actually an audition that didnt involve GOLF. I didnt have to swing a club, or pretend to be a golf pro (In a room filled wth real Golf pro's).
I had three lines of text to work with...which is a first for me in Los Angeles...
And I SCREWED IT UP.
You would think I would go in totally prepared. You would THINK I would have my three lines memorized with a plethora of choices at my disposal...an ARSENAL of choices...
Nope... I took it for granted and thought I could read it a few times and have no problem. I had a problem. The last line gave me FITS. I just couldnt spit it out the way it was written. It was sort of a tongue twister, but still....
Some people really hate insurance. We want to change that. With a 24 hours claims line and a money-back claims guarantee, we’re changing home and auto insurance.
I botched it and botched it and botched it again. I was kicking ass on the first line...smooth with the second...and bumbling idiot closing it out...its was the "24 hour claims line and the money back claims guarantee" that kept tripping me up.
The casting director was cool. He said If I get called back I would have to get that line down. He assured me that I did a good job. He was probably just being nice.
(BE PREPARED.... jackass)
Friday night I tagged along with my buddy Dan to the Chateau Marmont holiday party. Dan is a bellman at the hotel and every year they throw a grand holiday party for the staff.
Open bar...free food...really really goooood food...I got to meet a bunch of the guys that Dan works with, which was cool because they all had crazy Chateau Marmont stories...many of them involve well known celebs and most of them are so outrageous they are hard to believe... but they are great for parties.
Saturday I had to work. I had to do an in-store demo for HINT at the WILD OATS on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. It wasnt exactly what I would prefer to be doing with my Saturday, but it was ok.
Sunday was low-key... went for a bike ride in the Silver Lake Hills... which totally kicked my ass. Then I watched the NY Giants suck eggs against the Redskins.
And that brings me to this very moment...
The Bears are beating the Vikings 6-3 in the 2nd Quarter. Adrian Peterson is a having a so-so day so far....and I'm hungry.
TWO auditions tomorrow...two different film projects... both appointments were acquired through self submission (Backstage, I believe).
I went over to Santa Monica this morning for work. As a HINT representative, I had to stop in to the WILD OATS market on Montana and pay a visit to the store manager.
While I was walking in, I noticed a woman entering the store in front of me. She was carrying her little boy... 2,3, 4 years old...
The woman was Carrie- Anne Moss... the hot chick from THE MATRIX...
I think she was in MEMENTO...as well as a bunch of other stuff.
Anyway, as far as a basic celebrity sighting...that was it... But it vwasn't the celebrity sighting that struck me.
As I was leaving, I walked down the sidewalk to my car. Instead of parking in the designated WILD OATS parking lot, I decided to park on the adjacent side street.
Just as I got to the point on the sidewalk where the parking lot ended, I looked over and noticed a man standing behind a mini van. At first it seemed as if he was putting something in or taking something out of the trunk of his vehicle.
Wheh I looked closer, I saw that he was really just sort of hanging out there, looking tpowards the entrance to the market. Then I noticed what he had in his hand...a big, huge telephoto lens and camera.
THIS DUDE WAS A LURKING PAPARAZZI!
He was literally tucked away in the corner of this parking lot behind a mini van.
At first I found it curious that he was there for Carrie-Anne Moss. She is not really the type. She's not someone you see a lot of Paparazzi pictures of floating around...and she hasnt really been that active lately...career-wise...
I guess you do see these speads in those stupid magazines that show a collage of celebs on their downtime...pushing strollers, grocery shopping, eating a burrito..
Then I wondered if the guy was there specifically for Carrie...or does he just camp out at the WILD OATS every Monday morning hoping to get a few shots of SOMEBODY famous? Anybody.
I don't know...it gave me a wierd feeling...kind of like the first time you see your cute little house cat come home with a mangled dead mouse in his mouth.
Sunday morning... forced to watch the Cowboys Lions game because the Giants are not on TV here in LA this morning...
Anyway....
So I booked my first West Coast theaterical gig a few weeks ago. I will be performing with an ensemble cast in the stage production of 5 CHAIRS.
I don't know much about what I'm working on...I have yet to read a script. During the audition process I performed a monologue and read sides from "When Harry Met Sally" and "Do The Right Thing." I read the role of SAL...
Don't laugh...
My basic understanding of it is that 5 CHAIRS will be a monologue driven piece, incorporating multiple characters, I may be playing a few different characters myself...
So that's it...thats all I know. All I can really do is cross my fingers and hope that this will turn out to be a positive experience and a worthwhile project... I'm sure it will. It will be whatever I make of it.
Yesterday I received a pre-production email regarding our reherasal schedule and the announcement of our venue:
Hello Everyone,
We hope you are all enjoying the holiday season!
We have spoken to many of you in the cast and crew and due to scheduling with the strike and workloads we are going to begin everything in January. So below is the new schedule.
5 Chairs January Schedule January 8th - Read Through 7pm (actors do not need to have their parts memorize yet) January 10th - Production Meeting 7pm Starting the 15th Every Tuesday and Thursday Rehearsal at 7:00pm - 9:30pm
*In February the rehearsals will be 3 days a week til production week which will be Feb. 25.
Location: The Attic, 5429 W Washington Bl, Los Angeles
Again congrats to our actors! Over 75 people auditioned and you all impressed us the most. Please give me a call next week to discuss your assigned characters. Thank you and we look forward to working with you in the new year!!
Cheers,
Rebecca, Aja & Scott
As far as our theater goes....I dont know much about THE ATTIC. I will ask around and see what I can dig up. This is what I found just searching around on the internet:
Tomorrow night we have our FOURTH official collective meeting. We've been really fortunate to have a free space available to us. We've been meeting in the rec room at one of our members apartment complex in North Hollywood.
So tomorrow night, we should finally agree on an official name for our group. We tried to vote last week, but the overall consensus was that we didnt have a name on the block that really excited anybody, so we brainstaormed some more and then put the vote off for another week. Everyone is supposed to put in their vote (First, second and third choice) by tonight (Sunday) at midnight.
These are the choices:
Pacific Coast Collective Pacific Artists Collective West Coast Artist Collective United Pacific Artists Spectrum Artists Group Active Artist Alliance Power Player Productions The Brilliant Resilient The Greatness Group The Trees Knees The Avenging Artists Northbound Productions Northbound Collective Northbound Lane Productions Tortured Soul Productions The Tide Group The Tide Collective
If anyone out there wants to put their two cents in...please..by all means...
I went to see NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN today at The Vista Theater in Los Feliz. Its a really cool theater...and its very close to my place...I can actually walk there...seriously...walking distance....
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN was pretty damn good...I must say... its also pretty damn dark.. Its one of those movies that stays with you long after you leave it... not in a warm fuzzy way...more like a pensive disturbed way...
Woody Harrelson has a small role...like many of the supporting actors in this film...but he does a great job...Josh Brolin is great...Tommy Lee Jones is great...and this Psycopthic Killer...Javier Bardem...he plays the ultra-brutal killer Anton Chirgurh....really really well done... an awesome villian...MORE than a villian...THE ULTIMATE villian.
I'll tell you something else... this is the kind of movie that will polarize an audience...
You see...there are two kinds of movie goers out there...I will refrain from offering my definition of the two sides... figure it out fcor yourself...but those two sides see movies in an entirely different light...and when you open discussions about NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN you can really see who lands on what side...
Go see it...and tell me what you thought...let me know what struck you...how it made you feel...
Aside from being my birthday, Monday Night was our THIRD official collective meeting...and it went well.... we had about 15 people show up...among other things we tried to vote on a name...so we could move forward with plans to develop a website, Myspace page...really get to work on some brand awareness...
Nothing yet...a few solid leads...but nothing really exciting... we've got about 48 more hours before we count votes...and cut off any more last minute entries.
We actually got to do some acting work at this meeting. We just did a basic round-robin-cold-read-auditionscenario type-of-exercise...and we had one person from the group play the role of Director and give notes and/or adjustments...
We meet again next Monday.
In light of this whole writers strike...we have to do SOMETHING to keep sharp...to stay focused...The strike....ugh...the strike the strike strike....
NEW YORK (Reuters) - CBS Corp Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said on Tuesday he was not sure there would be a quick resolution to the screenwriters strike against Hollywood studios because the two sides remain "far apart."
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The TV industry braced Tuesday for what could become a long strike by writers, even as both sides returned to the bargaining table.
ACTRESSARCHIVES.COM - The writers strike has definitely done more harm than good for television over the past month, but that's not to say it hasn't done anything good. For one, the refusal of Hollywood's union scribes to put pen to pad has brought with it an opportunity for non-union writers...And now it seems the strike will be responsible for spicing up basic cable with a few shows previously available only on premium channels.
CBS is taking the reigns in this unprecedented move to maintain viewers during a time when new material is scarce. The network will be moving a couple shows from its Showtime cable unit to its basic CBS channel.
"Dexter is probably the first one to go on... with some edits," CBS Corp. president and CEO Les Moonves said to investors on Tuesday. "It fits with our crime shows."
Ok...I support the WGA. I hope they get this whole thing resolved soon...cuz I'm starting to ITCH, man...I came out here to knock a hole in the Universe...to pitch my tent... make my dent...to shed the Clark Kent and upgrade my rent...represent...Get Rich or Die Tryin like my man Fitty Cent.
Ok enough of that....
In the meantime...I'm practicing patience... I'm bery fortunate to have a full time non-industry day job to keep me going....I guess the lack of action gives me the chance to fortify my place with my day job...so when things start up again...I'll be better equipped to multi-task...
I think the Universe is looking out for me. Different people...with various LA experience have said to me on numerous occasions...be patient.... I dont much of a choice now do I?
TODAY IN SPORTS:
I am really worked up over all these Johan Santana trade talks...
ESPN.COM - The Twins may have reached the point where they have the best offers they are going to get from the Yankees and Red Sox for pitcher Johan Santana.
With the Yankees' offer now upgraded to include top young pitcher Phil Hughes, the Twins spoke again with the Red Sox late Saturday afternoon, sources say, and Boston generated a few new ideas for its proposed offer.
MLB.COM - The Twins certainly have received offers for Santana, but it's apparent that none have satisfied the team's wishes just yet. The Yankees included Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and another prospect in their offer. In Boston's case, the Red Sox have put forth two packages -- one headlined by pitcher Jon Lester and another featuring outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.
DONT DO IT... FOR THE LOVE OF GOD...DONT DO IT.... If Those Steinbrenner boys get rid fo Phil Hughes AND Melky...I will bo SO F$%#@ pissed....
ITS A MISTAKE...KEEP HUGHES and MELKY...KEEP THE ROOKIES...DONT SELL OFF OUR FUTURE!!!!
Today's birthday (Dec. 3): Your wishes for others, which have been so generous and complete, are what will happen in your own life this year. The fruition of projects, the kinship of like thinkers and long-overdue financial remuneration are all features you'll enjoy. Invest in your education in June. There's a new living arrangement in November. Scorpio and Libra adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 35, 1, 7 and 3.
NY DAILY NEWS:
If it's your birthday
Happy birthday, Sagittarius! Being a sensual creature, you're most happy when in love. Anyone on the receiving end of your amorous advances will remember the encounter for a long time to come! In the year ahead, you'll be in your element; it is one in which spirituality and sentimentality will align. Open yourself to loving and being loved, concentrate on solidifying your close personal relationships and nurture the heart.
AND MY FAVORITE BIRTHDAY HOROSCOPE....
From the NEW YORK POST:
December 3, 2007 -- You will be a bit of a celebrity this year. All eyes will be on you. What have you done to deserve your superstar status? Who knows, but you must play up to it, even if you are the kind of Sagittarius who values their privacy. Next year you can go back to being anonymous - if that's what you want.
