Monday, February 23, 2009
Path a New Series
I've lazily created a new series that turns over most of the control to YOU!
Vote in the comments section below. Voting ends Wednesday night.
Control my destiny! Be show-runner!
Monday, February 16, 2009
www.Sevgn.com
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Monday, February 9, 2009
Acting Schmacting 2/5
Here's what I do and what I think.
* Had an audition for a lead in a new series today. Let me correct that, I was chum in the water for a "Name Actor". See, while I'm pretty damn good at what I do, my name is not bandied about to lead a new series created by prestigious writers.
Rather, I'm the guy who about four lines into my resume they might say "Hey, I remember you from show _". We'll chat about it, I'll relate a cute story about the experience and then I'll continue the audition. I'm recurring neighbor material right now, not lead actor in a series, comedy or not.
So why call me in? we'll there's always the chance that they might truly find exactly what they're looking for. More likely, it's an exercise to churn up interest with the more established actors. If Fred Savage hears that they're looking for the lead in a new series that he's perfect for, it gets his competitive blood going. they could just offer him the role, but why not make it a little more interesting.
It also helps if they already know exactly who they want and are already negotiating with them. Sure, the pilot won't get made without said actor, but if you're still looking /just in case/, said actor might sign on the dotted line a little quicker and without the need for the big trailer with Direct TV.
Having come to grips with my non-audition, I actually had a good time. I went in, did exactly the audition I wanted to do, thanked the casting director and left. We both knew the drill so the agreed upon activity went smoothly. Fred Savage will get the role, but I played it better. ha!
* Christian Bale. People are surprised by Bale flipping out. And yet, this occurs more than most people realize or care to discuss. Why? Two reasons.
One, if you're dealing with an intense actor, you're gonna get this. They are deep, deep, DEEEEEP in their process (think of all the work he had to do be Batman...oh wait, he just lowered his voice a lot...) and so anything can set them off. This is like a drunk elephant in a minefield - eventually something's gonna blow. Movie sets are hives of constant activity and sometimes the crew forgets the cardinal rule...
Two, nothing else matters except what's on the camera between action and cut. Bale knows this because they're paying him 20 billion dollars to bring credibility to a wavering series. Acting on camera is a game of millimeters and if something distracts you...even a little, it will show when your face is 80 feet high. In Michael Caine's book he talked about not having any movement behind the camera because your eye tracks that. When Bale steps in front of the camera, every person who is on that set needs to stop whatever they're doing. When McG (and that name is gonna haunt him as he gets older, huh?) calls "Action!", that's when things start to matter because Bale's eyes and his eyes alone are the only thing powerful enough to convince us that it's the future, robots rule and mankind's only hope rests in him. Not the camera work or the CGI or the sets or make-up or wardrobe or really cool Stan Winston animatronic robots. Christian Bale, solamente.
So did he go overboard with his tirade? In one respect yes, by about 150 seconds. The guy shouldn't have been there and that was unprofessional. A thirty second hiss-fit followed by a "I'm gonna take minute" would have got the point across and let the DP's superiors do his dirty work.
In another respect, the one where $200 million dollars hinge on his performance and not a light behind his face, no, he was spot on. Blow up and blow up BIG TIME so that you'll never have to do it in your career again. And don't think for a minute that if he wanted too, he couldn't have the entire crew fired that day. That's because the studio heads know his name opens the film, not the crew's.
That sounds cynical and negative, huh? Still, it also sounds about right, too. Art and money merge painfully in this business and every once in a while it gets exposed
* Had an audition for a lead in a new series today. Let me correct that, I was chum in the water for a "Name Actor". See, while I'm pretty damn good at what I do, my name is not bandied about to lead a new series created by prestigious writers.
Rather, I'm the guy who about four lines into my resume they might say "Hey, I remember you from show _". We'll chat about it, I'll relate a cute story about the experience and then I'll continue the audition. I'm recurring neighbor material right now, not lead actor in a series, comedy or not.
So why call me in? we'll there's always the chance that they might truly find exactly what they're looking for. More likely, it's an exercise to churn up interest with the more established actors. If Fred Savage hears that they're looking for the lead in a new series that he's perfect for, it gets his competitive blood going. they could just offer him the role, but why not make it a little more interesting.
It also helps if they already know exactly who they want and are already negotiating with them. Sure, the pilot won't get made without said actor, but if you're still looking /just in case/, said actor might sign on the dotted line a little quicker and without the need for the big trailer with Direct TV.
Having come to grips with my non-audition, I actually had a good time. I went in, did exactly the audition I wanted to do, thanked the casting director and left. We both knew the drill so the agreed upon activity went smoothly. Fred Savage will get the role, but I played it better. ha!
* Christian Bale. People are surprised by Bale flipping out. And yet, this occurs more than most people realize or care to discuss. Why? Two reasons.
One, if you're dealing with an intense actor, you're gonna get this. They are deep, deep, DEEEEEP in their process (think of all the work he had to do be Batman...oh wait, he just lowered his voice a lot...) and so anything can set them off. This is like a drunk elephant in a minefield - eventually something's gonna blow. Movie sets are hives of constant activity and sometimes the crew forgets the cardinal rule...
Two, nothing else matters except what's on the camera between action and cut. Bale knows this because they're paying him 20 billion dollars to bring credibility to a wavering series. Acting on camera is a game of millimeters and if something distracts you...even a little, it will show when your face is 80 feet high. In Michael Caine's book he talked about not having any movement behind the camera because your eye tracks that. When Bale steps in front of the camera, every person who is on that set needs to stop whatever they're doing. When McG (and that name is gonna haunt him as he gets older, huh?) calls "Action!", that's when things start to matter because Bale's eyes and his eyes alone are the only thing powerful enough to convince us that it's the future, robots rule and mankind's only hope rests in him. Not the camera work or the CGI or the sets or make-up or wardrobe or really cool Stan Winston animatronic robots. Christian Bale, solamente.
So did he go overboard with his tirade? In one respect yes, by about 150 seconds. The guy shouldn't have been there and that was unprofessional. A thirty second hiss-fit followed by a "I'm gonna take minute" would have got the point across and let the DP's superiors do his dirty work.
In another respect, the one where $200 million dollars hinge on his performance and not a light behind his face, no, he was spot on. Blow up and blow up BIG TIME so that you'll never have to do it in your career again. And don't think for a minute that if he wanted too, he couldn't have the entire crew fired that day. That's because the studio heads know his name opens the film, not the crew's.
That sounds cynical and negative, huh? Still, it also sounds about right, too. Art and money merge painfully in this business and every once in a while it gets exposed
Neither of these guys know how to light a scene.
* What the hell is going on with SAG? SAG president Alan Rosenberg has completely lost his mind. The majority of the SAG board wants to oust the current negotiator because we've been in limbo, without a contract or leverage for a year now and so he filibusters to stop it. When they take a written vote and still oust the guy, he files a lawsuit AGAINST HIS OWN UNION to prevent it from happening? The judge rejects the lawsuit TWICE and yet Rosenberg is going to appeal it.
So what does he do now? He composes and sings a song about the union.
http://www.youtube.com/wat
...uh...
hmm....
I...just...
(wow)
So I give up on SAG for a little while. we look like idiots and rather than defend this, I'm just gonna pull up a chair and watch it. Train wrecks and be exciting if you're far enough away.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
There's a Banana on You Head!
Here’s one of my son’s jokes:
Kiernan: Knock, knock.
Anyone: Who’s there?
Kiernan: Um…banana!
Anyone: Banana who?
Kiernan (beat. Looks around, thinking, then): There’s a banana on your head!
Of course, it’s a nonsensical punchline to every person in the world but he and I. I can trace its exact origins to a Richard Scary book I used to read for him. In one panel, the French Police cat is chasing a dog jewel thief through a busy restaurant. The patrons and waiters are all upended in various ways with food and plates flying. Though not scripted, I would provide the dialogue for each character, including the final, unfortunate customer who correctly stated: “There’s soup on my head.” This deadpan acknowledgement always got a laugh from Kiernan and I would sometimes repeat the scene three, four or five times that night. Kiernan is now synthesizing the joke into his own routine – one that misses the adult mark, but kills in the four year-old demo.
I walk the stage tonight at Universal Studios essentially repeating the same process Kiernan does, possibly on a more elevated scale. I’ve been called into perform at the Special Effects Stages during the holiday week. As a newcomer, I’m low on the roster, 44th to be exact, so many, many people need to be on vacation to put me in the theme park and on the stage. Christmas time is that time and as a result, I’m struggling to remember the 17 pages of dialogue and cues that come with this job. But I’m also playing the role of scientist tonight. Comedy scientist.
The show is unique in that it is scripted, but you are encouraged to add your own jokes. It’s also unique in that you are supported by three different rooms of amazing special effects displays. Giant screens show clips, huge turntables spin volunteers and monsters come to life. If a joke flops, you just push a button and the next amazing thing happens, erasing that momentary gaff. If your joke succeeds, you bask in it for a moment, but you eventually still push the button. Honestly, you support the show as small, possibly funny bridge between the multimillion-dollar multi-media.
So this show has become a sand box, a place to truly experiment with the endless variations of comedy. The material can either be my own freshly minted jokes, or I can cherry pick any of the other 50 people’s routines…some honed over the last 6 years of this show’s existence…and synthesize it to my own patter. I can experiment with rate and tone, long sets or fast gags. The possibilities are endless.
Example: You switch between “Host” and “Briefer” roles each show. The Host runs the first two rooms, the Briefer falls into running the third room after the Host is ‘removed’ from the show. You are briefly (Ha!) introduced at the beginning of the show and how you present your self is entirely up to you. Some are flamboyant, some are macho, some just wave and smile. The choice is yours.
Having played with the first two for a while, I finally settled on just the smile and a wave. I’m ditching the quick laugh in exchange for a bigger payoff when the host leaves in the second room. My reactions are my strong suit and if the audience sees me as pleasant and possibly unsure initially, then when I realize I’m suddenly in charge, I not only have a big laugh at my doorstep, but also the audience’s favor. I might still have those if I try for the flamboyant or the macho introductions, but I could also obfuscate the joke as people try to reconcile (consciously or unconsciously) my previous bravado with my current lost look.
Another Example: The Briefer exits the second room twice, terrified. It’s a funny bit, but I’ve never managed to maximize it. Some just follow the prescribed routine, running out and pretending to hit a wall backstage. Others ham it up with the audience before exiting, not hitting the at all. Both versions get a laugh and while I’ve been experimenting with the hammy version, again it pushes into the payoff reaction.
Final example: When the Briefer reaches the third room, he is in charge. He is responsible for placing several guests on stage at different stations and getting them to perform tasks. He also scores big comedy points by making fun of those guests at various points. It’s good-natured fun, but it also plays better if you have a bit of an edge. I play this pretty well, but at the cost of ditching the nice guy routine from the first two rooms. Suddenly the wide-eyed rube shifts into wise-cracking smart-ass. I could stay in character, but the alternative yields so much comedy fruit that it sustains the 8 minutes I have to hold that room. Considering also the fact that the last room also has the fewest effects and relies the most on the Briefer being funny, the math dictates the switch until I figure out a transition.
This all seems tiny and insignificant, doesn’t it? In the long run, it probably is. Again, I could just read the lines like a phonebook (do they still make those) and the flashy images and effects would dazzle most people into enjoying the show (and it should). This “Butterfly Effect” of comedy is primarily academic, and secondarily only useful to comics and bloggers, right?
Yeah, probably. This is really nuts and bolts stuff and I might not even be a certified mechanic to talk about it. But as always, if you can talk about the experience in terms of how it affects you, then you ‘re always right.
Twenty years ago, I would have done everything I could to reduce the variables for this show and maximize the comedic potential. In fact, that’s exactly what I did when I worked at Cedar Point and Sea World in my twenties. I polished my act, observed the results and then honed it again until I had the routine that statistically yielded the highest number of laughs per show. It was, to borrow the Lexus motto, a relentless pursuit of perfection. Even worse, I would often fume when co-workers got laughs from their own material. I would seethe at them and devise ways to top them or negate their jokes. It was ruthless and competitive and it squeezed all the fun out of being funny.
But nowadays, it seems different. Age has made me wiser or wearier, and in either case I can now accept the limitless permutations of a comedic moment and not doubt or regret the path I choose. The stream of funny is wide and vast; you can see the other jokes float by you. The difference is that I no longer pull out my paddle and try to beat them all to a shore that never appears. I still want to be funny, I guess now I can see that there is no perfect joke, just different ones.
It brings me back to my son’s knock, knock joke. I make it a point never to tell him that the punch line makes no sense. Further, he can sometimes go on a long riff of ‘knock, knock ‘jokes created on whatever is in his line of sight but with out any standard comedic payoff and I don’t correct. The number of knock, knock jokes is limitless and given the variables of time, audience or location, Kiernan’s jokes have the potential to be side-splitting and insightful.
Or they could simply be factual. Someday, we may all wind up with bananas on our heads.
It’s possible.
Kiernan: Knock, knock.
Anyone: Who’s there?
Kiernan: Um…banana!
Anyone: Banana who?
Kiernan (beat. Looks around, thinking, then): There’s a banana on your head!
Of course, it’s a nonsensical punchline to every person in the world but he and I. I can trace its exact origins to a Richard Scary book I used to read for him. In one panel, the French Police cat is chasing a dog jewel thief through a busy restaurant. The patrons and waiters are all upended in various ways with food and plates flying. Though not scripted, I would provide the dialogue for each character, including the final, unfortunate customer who correctly stated: “There’s soup on my head.” This deadpan acknowledgement always got a laugh from Kiernan and I would sometimes repeat the scene three, four or five times that night. Kiernan is now synthesizing the joke into his own routine – one that misses the adult mark, but kills in the four year-old demo.
I walk the stage tonight at Universal Studios essentially repeating the same process Kiernan does, possibly on a more elevated scale. I’ve been called into perform at the Special Effects Stages during the holiday week. As a newcomer, I’m low on the roster, 44th to be exact, so many, many people need to be on vacation to put me in the theme park and on the stage. Christmas time is that time and as a result, I’m struggling to remember the 17 pages of dialogue and cues that come with this job. But I’m also playing the role of scientist tonight. Comedy scientist.
The show is unique in that it is scripted, but you are encouraged to add your own jokes. It’s also unique in that you are supported by three different rooms of amazing special effects displays. Giant screens show clips, huge turntables spin volunteers and monsters come to life. If a joke flops, you just push a button and the next amazing thing happens, erasing that momentary gaff. If your joke succeeds, you bask in it for a moment, but you eventually still push the button. Honestly, you support the show as small, possibly funny bridge between the multimillion-dollar multi-media.
So this show has become a sand box, a place to truly experiment with the endless variations of comedy. The material can either be my own freshly minted jokes, or I can cherry pick any of the other 50 people’s routines…some honed over the last 6 years of this show’s existence…and synthesize it to my own patter. I can experiment with rate and tone, long sets or fast gags. The possibilities are endless.
Example: You switch between “Host” and “Briefer” roles each show. The Host runs the first two rooms, the Briefer falls into running the third room after the Host is ‘removed’ from the show. You are briefly (Ha!) introduced at the beginning of the show and how you present your self is entirely up to you. Some are flamboyant, some are macho, some just wave and smile. The choice is yours.
Having played with the first two for a while, I finally settled on just the smile and a wave. I’m ditching the quick laugh in exchange for a bigger payoff when the host leaves in the second room. My reactions are my strong suit and if the audience sees me as pleasant and possibly unsure initially, then when I realize I’m suddenly in charge, I not only have a big laugh at my doorstep, but also the audience’s favor. I might still have those if I try for the flamboyant or the macho introductions, but I could also obfuscate the joke as people try to reconcile (consciously or unconsciously) my previous bravado with my current lost look.
Another Example: The Briefer exits the second room twice, terrified. It’s a funny bit, but I’ve never managed to maximize it. Some just follow the prescribed routine, running out and pretending to hit a wall backstage. Others ham it up with the audience before exiting, not hitting the at all. Both versions get a laugh and while I’ve been experimenting with the hammy version, again it pushes into the payoff reaction.
Final example: When the Briefer reaches the third room, he is in charge. He is responsible for placing several guests on stage at different stations and getting them to perform tasks. He also scores big comedy points by making fun of those guests at various points. It’s good-natured fun, but it also plays better if you have a bit of an edge. I play this pretty well, but at the cost of ditching the nice guy routine from the first two rooms. Suddenly the wide-eyed rube shifts into wise-cracking smart-ass. I could stay in character, but the alternative yields so much comedy fruit that it sustains the 8 minutes I have to hold that room. Considering also the fact that the last room also has the fewest effects and relies the most on the Briefer being funny, the math dictates the switch until I figure out a transition.
This all seems tiny and insignificant, doesn’t it? In the long run, it probably is. Again, I could just read the lines like a phonebook (do they still make those) and the flashy images and effects would dazzle most people into enjoying the show (and it should). This “Butterfly Effect” of comedy is primarily academic, and secondarily only useful to comics and bloggers, right?
Yeah, probably. This is really nuts and bolts stuff and I might not even be a certified mechanic to talk about it. But as always, if you can talk about the experience in terms of how it affects you, then you ‘re always right.
Twenty years ago, I would have done everything I could to reduce the variables for this show and maximize the comedic potential. In fact, that’s exactly what I did when I worked at Cedar Point and Sea World in my twenties. I polished my act, observed the results and then honed it again until I had the routine that statistically yielded the highest number of laughs per show. It was, to borrow the Lexus motto, a relentless pursuit of perfection. Even worse, I would often fume when co-workers got laughs from their own material. I would seethe at them and devise ways to top them or negate their jokes. It was ruthless and competitive and it squeezed all the fun out of being funny.
But nowadays, it seems different. Age has made me wiser or wearier, and in either case I can now accept the limitless permutations of a comedic moment and not doubt or regret the path I choose. The stream of funny is wide and vast; you can see the other jokes float by you. The difference is that I no longer pull out my paddle and try to beat them all to a shore that never appears. I still want to be funny, I guess now I can see that there is no perfect joke, just different ones.
It brings me back to my son’s knock, knock joke. I make it a point never to tell him that the punch line makes no sense. Further, he can sometimes go on a long riff of ‘knock, knock ‘jokes created on whatever is in his line of sight but with out any standard comedic payoff and I don’t correct. The number of knock, knock jokes is limitless and given the variables of time, audience or location, Kiernan’s jokes have the potential to be side-splitting and insightful.
Or they could simply be factual. Someday, we may all wind up with bananas on our heads.
It’s possible.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
About the recession...
FYI - 95% of actor in the Screen Actors Guild make less than $7,000 a
year. My profession is in a constant recession.
year. My profession is in a constant recession.
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Bored of this site
I'm not liking this site any more.
It's not you, it's me.
Actually, it's probably nobody.
See, I envisioned this as a place to chat about acting. Specifically, my acting experiences and how I really felt about them. It would essentially be a port of my MySpace blog which had a following enough to make me consider moving the whole kit and caboodle to a site that does not pimp ringtones on the sides of my life. I'd build up a huge, cool-ass following and then parley that into a teaching job or something even better. It was pie in the sky and I was hungry.
But the reality of the blog became something different. In the walled garden that is Myspace, I can bitch about the industry with relative impunity. If a director sucked or an agent dissed me, I could vent there. Even if it was just a bad audition, I could dissect it in graphic details for the curious friends to see. The blog was (and is) restricted to only those that I deem suitable to read my blog.
But this is the wild world wide web. Everything is searchable. If I name a producer or agent who was a jackass to me, one simple vanity google of their own name and I'm in trouble. The town is too small to mouth off, and it's too dangerous when you are a mid-level actor like I am. I need them more than the reverse being true.
So I've ended up watering down my posts here, or just not posting at all. that makes this a boring, infrequently visited site - both by you and I. Honesty and creativity are currency on the web and I have neither here.
So I'll probably mix things up here a bit. I may rant on things that don't directly affect my ability to find a job, I might focus on one issue in particular. I don't know anymore.
Of course, the oddest thing right now about this blog is that I'm not sure anyone is actually reading it. This could be as close to writing a personal journal as I can get if it has the viewship I think is does. While there is something heroic to carrying on when no one else will listen to you, blog is not one of thos instances.
So I end here, and maybe I begin here too. I'll still blog about acting. It won't be exclusive, but it may become interesting.
It's not you, it's me.
Actually, it's probably nobody.
See, I envisioned this as a place to chat about acting. Specifically, my acting experiences and how I really felt about them. It would essentially be a port of my MySpace blog which had a following enough to make me consider moving the whole kit and caboodle to a site that does not pimp ringtones on the sides of my life. I'd build up a huge, cool-ass following and then parley that into a teaching job or something even better. It was pie in the sky and I was hungry.
But the reality of the blog became something different. In the walled garden that is Myspace, I can bitch about the industry with relative impunity. If a director sucked or an agent dissed me, I could vent there. Even if it was just a bad audition, I could dissect it in graphic details for the curious friends to see. The blog was (and is) restricted to only those that I deem suitable to read my blog.
But this is the wild world wide web. Everything is searchable. If I name a producer or agent who was a jackass to me, one simple vanity google of their own name and I'm in trouble. The town is too small to mouth off, and it's too dangerous when you are a mid-level actor like I am. I need them more than the reverse being true.
So I've ended up watering down my posts here, or just not posting at all. that makes this a boring, infrequently visited site - both by you and I. Honesty and creativity are currency on the web and I have neither here.
So I'll probably mix things up here a bit. I may rant on things that don't directly affect my ability to find a job, I might focus on one issue in particular. I don't know anymore.
Of course, the oddest thing right now about this blog is that I'm not sure anyone is actually reading it. This could be as close to writing a personal journal as I can get if it has the viewship I think is does. While there is something heroic to carrying on when no one else will listen to you, blog is not one of thos instances.
So I end here, and maybe I begin here too. I'll still blog about acting. It won't be exclusive, but it may become interesting.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Germ Theory
Did I ever mention I was a series regular on a Sci-fi show?
Probably did, but didn't make too much of a fuss of it. Maybe it's because the show got canceled after two years, somehow making me a failure because of it. Or it could be that it was on the Sci-Fi channel, which meant that few people watched it when it was on. Maybe it was that once it was canceled, it was never shown on the Sci-fi channel again for odd reasons, nor did it ever surface in syndication or DVD. It could be that I just didn't think I was that good in the show.
Whatever the reasons, I'm beginning to reevaluate them. This is helped by the fact that they finally released the first season on DVD, then on Hulu.com. But the final straw is when Hulu has released the second season online a few days ago. this was my season, primarily becasue they finally officially made me a series regular, but also because the writers and I had really started to dig into my character. The nebish, nerdy Eberts, long a wallflower in the action packed show was finallly getting a chance to stretch his legs and for me, my acting chops.
So here's an episode that I particularly like inthe second season. It's probably the easiest one to plug into as far as the blend of science fiction, action and comedy that the show did so well. It was also a great blend of the ensemble, everyone had something fun to do.
Watch as much as you want, I don't get paid so it doesn't hurt my feelings or my wallet if you stop early. It's a great little show that I'm just now starting to plug.
Probably did, but didn't make too much of a fuss of it. Maybe it's because the show got canceled after two years, somehow making me a failure because of it. Or it could be that it was on the Sci-Fi channel, which meant that few people watched it when it was on. Maybe it was that once it was canceled, it was never shown on the Sci-fi channel again for odd reasons, nor did it ever surface in syndication or DVD. It could be that I just didn't think I was that good in the show.
Whatever the reasons, I'm beginning to reevaluate them. This is helped by the fact that they finally released the first season on DVD, then on Hulu.com. But the final straw is when Hulu has released the second season online a few days ago. this was my season, primarily becasue they finally officially made me a series regular, but also because the writers and I had really started to dig into my character. The nebish, nerdy Eberts, long a wallflower in the action packed show was finallly getting a chance to stretch his legs and for me, my acting chops.
So here's an episode that I particularly like inthe second season. It's probably the easiest one to plug into as far as the blend of science fiction, action and comedy that the show did so well. It was also a great blend of the ensemble, everyone had something fun to do.
Watch as much as you want, I don't get paid so it doesn't hurt my feelings or my wallet if you stop early. It's a great little show that I'm just now starting to plug.
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