"Mom you're Embarrassing Me!"

"Mom you're Embarrassing Me!"  

.... my now 14 year old blurted out as I was talking to a woman about the upcoming Hasbro casting I was doing.   "Really Mom?  This is like the second time today, she sighed and walked away."  I smiled and continued talking to the woman I had approached in the middle of the mall.  Daughter number one later taunted that she would never call because it was creepy....they called.

So that I do not continue the ongoing embarrassment of my daughter I will put out here the same information I was looking for in mall and at the beach and everywhere else.

This is a Hasbro Casting for a print ad,  I am looking for a mother/daughter team (daughter age 3-6) models. This could also be a an Aunt/niece team.  The shoot is happening in the Boston area the end of September.  It is estimated that there will be 3 days of work but at this time I am unsure how many days or hours each model will be needed.    Please submit recent snapshots of the mother/daughter together and individually (prefer smiling showing teeth)  and measurements (height, pants, waist, eye and hair color and age of child) to darlene@wsmtalent.com by 9/9/13.

American Psycho

For years the goal of an entertainer was to find an agent.  Then when you finally get one, letting people know who it is, was a little like that scene from American Pyscho when they all compare business cards....

Instead of comparing type and paper...it is who booked who.

So you can imagine my shock when the first time in a quarter century I heard form my actor friend Dave, "why should I pay an agent when I can go direct?" 

So when I stopped choking and picked myself up off the floor, I looked at him and said, "Really?" "How much time do you have to chase down auditions and send out your information?"  Dave works 5 days a week and the last time I had a commercial for him he turned it down because he had to work.  He agreed that it was a good point. 

Twenty-five years ago the only way to find an actor was in a filing cabinet, my filing cabinet. Or on slots on my wall.  Now the beauty of the internet has brought everybody and their brother who wants their 15 minutes of fame, into the giant pot.  It's like open season.

The roles that professionals were once offered are now offered to lesser actors at a fraction of the price.  Why?  Well, maybe because we the general public accept things like YouTube as entertainment. 

Five years ago a small local production would have paid about $1000.00 per Non-union model/actor for a days pay.  Today this is what I found from a similar small production:

TALENT & CREW - DAY RATES

Actors & Talent

$200-$500 Actors (costs vary based on experience)
$20-$100 Extras 

 Fifteen years ago I would bring models into NYC at that time I was hearing that they were seeing a lot of the same models...I ended up booking a lot of clients because of it.  These days due to the internet and easy access I see submissions coming in from all over...ahhhh the internet.  Agents are there to make sure the client are getting a professional, not someone off the street.  We spend time and money developing talent.  Most clients understand the difference.  Those are the clients I wish to work with.

So my answer is this: Really good talent is represented.  When all of this craziness changes, agents will still be here comparing type and paper.

Post Script:  Dave ironically paid for lunch.

Johnny come lately...

About a year ago there was a lot of noise from a certain casting director about a local film maker and his debut film.  She was throwing all her support behind the film trying to get it distribution.

Sometime later...I, by chance, attended an event that the writer, producer was also at.  We talked, he was doing the film festival thing and was on his way to London.  We exchanged cards and I went home and checked out his trailer online.  It was good, really, really good.

www.oxymoronsmovie.com

Meanwhile, I was working closely with a producer from LA and his creative director from NY to get one of my musician onto the soundtrack for his film.  I asked him for advice on distribution on the local filmakers film and sent him the link to the trailer.  He too, thought it was good and was interested in seeing the whole thing but could not promise help with distribution.

I requested copies of the movies one for me and one for the LA producer from the filmaker's business manager.  They only had one.  I took it home to watch it.

I emailed him this:

Johnny,

watching the movie.  Overall I think it was good.  The lighting and camera work was great as well as the sound.  The acting was also really good.  Johnny...you were excellent.

Weaker parts of the movie were that it lacks character development. There were some great lines between the brothers that made me want to hear more  "I love you, I'll bail you out" That is friggin classic and the whole antagonist thing between the cop and the Hickey brothers felt more like an underlying element rather then the main event.  Going forward, you may want to keep it in mind, or at the very least if you hear these same things again, speak with someone who can help develop your script with you.  Dave Pulson comes to mind.

Just my opinion. 

I know you know it's a good film.  Technically I think it is great.  It is acted it out well.  The storyline and character development could use a little something.  That I wasn't expecting. 

Let me process it all and get back to you.  I am already half way through the movie again, so I may just watch it one more time...

Talk to you soon. 

Deep down I thought...I can not believe I brought this LA producer in on this shit.  The LA producer was awaiting the copy of the movie.  So now I had decision, I could look incompetent by not sending the movie (in hindsight the better choice) or follow through and look like I have no idea about the basics of film making. Foolishly,  I sent the copy.  I did approach the film maker and his business partner about reediting or reshooting the film...they looked at me in disbelief, having read too much of their own press.

I was invited to their premier and I brought several friends that I knew would give me a real opinion.  I didn't have to wait long before hearing, "Who is that?  Why is he here?  I'm sorry, I'm lost".  The LA producer never responded to the movie I handed to him and I never got my musician into his film.  I do not think the the two are related.

Johnny has ended up in jail and that film community that supported him so much has turned on him quickly.  Saying he was out just to make a buck...uummm, yeah?!?  And if you were living in LA Johnny would be splashed all over the TMZ and his business manager would be figuring out how he could capitalize on the free PR.