Thursday, October 25, 2007

Last Week at LAX



I'm finally in the right state of mind to talk about what happened last week. As you know, I had a lot going on: a commercial shoot, a major interview at an ad agency, freelance work, a dickhead agent, etc.

The commercial shoot ended up being scheduled for 3 AM on Wednesday morning and it turns out they needed to vacate the premises, at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), by noon. My interview at the ad agency was scheduled for 1 PM. Fortunately, I wasn't scheduled for work that week until Thursday.

On Wednesday, the shoot ended right at 11:30 AM and I had time to change, sign some papers, and drive up the 405 freeway to my interview near UCLA. I arrived about 20 minutes early and so used their bathroom to clean up and collect my thoughts. After all, I had been wearing a pilot's uniform and was awake all night long doing take after take. The picture above is of the pilot and one of the flight attendants, Tom and Angie, who were in the shoot with me. They really do look like they work for an airline, don't they? Tom and I have similar backgrounds as he was in the TV news industry and now works for E! as a producer.

I also worked with two other very cool actors, Lorenzo and Amaya. Amaya has a radio show on karmaair.com and I'm listening to one of her shows right now called "Stargazing," which is all about Hollywood gossip.

There were also a ton of extras involved in the shoot, and I made the mistake of trying to check in at the extras table when I arrived for the shoot. I was immediately redirected to the principals' trailer so that I may be treated as the star that I am (or think I may be).

Well, I had a grand ol' time on the shoot. It was for a French company called Orange and I must say that the French folks on the shoot were very, very cool. The director was a very nice gentleman who kept correcting my actions. Lorenzo and Amaya later asked someone if I was the only actor whose name the director remembered, because he was always saying my name or giving me direction. Lorenzo then teased me the entire morning by saying my name and telling me not to look in the camera, or to walk faster, or to walk slower, etc. Was I screwing up the entire shoot? It sure seemed like it. But later, when we asked one of the assistant directors about it, he just smiled and said the director just enjoyed picking on me the most.

Later, when we were doing a closeup, I asked the makeup girl, who is also French, why she wasn't putting more makeup on me and she said that I looked "beautiful enough already." Now, I'm not one to look for compliments — okay, I am — but when she heard me protest and then relent and say, "Thank you," she said, "Seriously, you do. I mean that."

Will somebody please let me in on the joke? Tell me I'm on Candid Camera or something. Oh, by the way, I got the job at the ad agency. I start next week. I swear, this all feels like a dream. I just hope in my dreamworld they don't give me an office cubicle next to someone too terribly obnoxious.

Actress Search

An actress friend in Seattle sent this about a search going on from Santa Monica, Calif. Go figure, huh? Anyway, sounds like a great opportunity for a young woman looking for a break.




JAPANESE AMERICAN ACTRESS
FOR
“TOKYO ROSE” PRODUCTION

Director Terry Sanders is casting dramatic feature "Tokyo Rose." The story follows the life of Iva Toguri, a young Japanese American woman, falsely accused and convicted of treason, following World War II.

Seeking — Iva: in her 20s, slim and diminutive; intelligent, funny, strong, yet vulnerable. Must be Japanese American. Wonderful opportunity for the right woman.

Please send demo and pictures to Terry Sanders, American Film Foundation, 530 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 201, Santa Monica, CA 90401. For questions, email am.film@verizon.net.

Monday, October 15, 2007

At a Crossroad

OK, I'm shootin' from the hip, but I seriously think I may drop my commercial agent. What a dick. I know agents are supposed to be that way, but seriously, why the attitude? I was being a total professional with him. And even when he got all dickish on me, I didn't even snap at the prick. I think I may do the commercial and drop the fucker.

I still have a schedule conflict on Wednesday. No one is committing, so I have two open appointments that day. Personally, I don't give a damn about the commercial. The other appointment is that important to me.

Just finished my taxes tonight. Yes, I know it's late in the year. Today is the last day to file them, fyi. So, if you're just getting started, good luck on that!

Don't know if it's obvious but I'm getting sloshed on vodka mixed with frozen fruit. I think I have pineapple and papaya in my glass. It's pretty damn delicious, actually. Well, with Grey Goose, how can you go wrong?

Tomorrow, I'm working from home. It seems that there was a major accident on I-5 near Santa Clarita. Yes, I know it's cleared up now, but I already emailed on Sunday and said I wouldn't be in 'til Thursday, so nyah! I'm working from home the next few days! I have a ton of shit to do, too.

But mostly, I'm just glad not to be driving up north. Obnoxious cubicle neighbor was not quite responding to my latest tests. I'll have to start the evasive shock treatments. Seemed to work on the rats in my clinical psych labs pretty well.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Booked Another Gig

I booked the commercial I got put on avail for. It's not a big one, since it's only airing in France, the French territories such as St. Lucia, and possibly the Internet. This one's for Orange, which is, uh, some type of corporation.

Anyway, it shoots next Wednesday, which worries me greatly. It seems I have a very important appointment scheduled that same day and I won't be able to change it. What to do? What to do?!

Well, looks like I'll just have to make it work. And hopefully, I'll be able to find out more about the shoot day at my wardrobe session tomorrow. I'll be playing the role of a co-pilot, by the way.

Crap. Tomorrow's a busy day. I pick up a magazine to proofread from one of my clients early tomorrow morning before driving to work in Valencia. Then at noon, I head back into town to Beverly Hills for my wardrobe fitting. After that, I drive back to Valencia and finish up my work. Looks like I'll be having energy bars for lunch.

At some point, depending on how my workload is, I might get in a little work on the magazine. Then around 6 or 7, I'll head on down to Koreatown to meet my girl, who will make it all feel better. She has that kind of effect on me, ya know?

Two Left Feet

Yesterday afternoon, I took off from work early and went to a commercial audition for Ford. It was my third audition scheduled this week, but the second one I actually attended. On Monday, I just couldn't get out from the office on time to make a print aud.

One of them was a callback for a commercial, which I'm now on avail for. I don't know why I'm on avail for it since I think I did a really shitty audition — both times! Oh, and last Thursday, I had a call for a McDonald's commercial where I did a REALLY shitty audition. Before they even saw me, they put me on "first avail," which means they think I might be their first choice. Guess I blew that one.

It's not that I'm trying to do bad on these. I am just really out of practice, and unless the action I'm supposed to do is something easy and familiar, I'm not going to be able to access the imagination very quickly. On the McDonald's call, I had to speak in Japanese while improvising an action.

Yesterday, at the Ford call, I was playing a ballroom dancer. Does that mean I can ballroom dance? Nope. I was actually playing someone taking dance lessons ala Shall We Dance?

A guy with two left feet attempting to dance? I think I can manage that one pretty well.