The Jackson Journal

Come join the Lombardi Street Fan Club and support your favorite character and/or crewmember

2009-07-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Open Call: Lombardi Street; all roles available

2009-06-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

Lombardi Street, a new web-based episodic series centered on the lives of six young people just going off to college for the first time, is holding an Open Call. All roles are currently available.

If you are interested in being considered for any role, you must do the following:

* Visit www.lombardistreet.com and become a member (doing so is completely free; the Lombardi Street website functions like any other social network, e.g., Facebook, MySpace, etc.).
* Submit a 1-to-2 minute monologue, on video (webcams are fine), by no later than Friday, 6/12 at 6:00pm PST via the link provided on the front page of the Lombardi Street website. The monologue should be fully memorized and rehearsed, and should be a piece that you feel best represents who you are. Monologues from extant plays are preferable, but monologues from any source are fine.

* Please do not submit anything other than what has just been specified, or provide us with a link to your work on another site. Any submissions that do not adhere to the above guidelines will not be considered.
* Final auditions will be held in Los Angeles between 6/22 and 7/1. Actors asked to come to final auditions will be provided with sides. All actors who reside more than 200 miles from the Los Angeles County border will be flown to Los Angeles, and may be asked to stay in LA for more than one day. Round-trip airfare and accommodations will be provided in these cases.
* Lombardi Street will be governed by the SAG New Media contract and pay will be scale. Principal Photography for the first 6 episodes will take place throughout Northern California, will begin in mid-August, and will run through mid-September, although we currently anticipate that no single actor will be needed for more than a week of shooting (plus some pre-production time -- minimal rehearsal, costume fittings, etc.) at this time.

The breakdown of currently available roles is as follows:

Gabriella Lombardi (female, 20): not a glamor girl, but can make heads turn if she wants to; strong-willed, gritty, and smart; very distraught over recent loss of her grandfather; Italian-American.

Angelina Lombardi (female, early 40s): Gabriella’s mother; a “functioning” alcoholic; a bit detached after years of chasing away her personal demons with booze; loves her daughter intensely and only wants the world for her, but has difficulty expressing it.

Carmine Lombardi (male, mid-40s): Gabriella’s father; the epitome of Italian-American family values (both the good and the bad) and hard work; has spent nearly his entire adult life working 16 hours a day to keep his father’s landmark restaurant afloat; loves his daughter, but intensely disapproves of her choice to attend college away from home.

CJ Lombardi (male, early 20s): the heir-apparent to his father, but not yet nearly as crushed by the weight of responsibility that his father has felt now for years; level-headed, but the kind of guy who wouldn’t hesitate to jump anyone who tried to hurt his sister.

Aunt Lucia (female, mid 60s): Carmine’s Aunt, Gabby’s great aunt; the family matriarch, now that all of the older woman have passed on, but doesn’t let it go to her head; understands two things – family and what it means to be a woman in a large Italian family.

Alice Carmichael (female, 18): shy, but very intense; sheltered and yearning to break out; raised in an off-the-grid earthship and loves country life; home schooled and a brilliant student; dreams of becoming an actress - despite a prodigious aptitude for advanced mathematics.

Doug Carmichael (male, early-50s): Alice 's father; a quiet man at home in the wild, which belies his genius as a mathematics theoretician; was once on the verge of rocking the world with his radical formulas and structures – until math became more real than reality; his years of self-imposed solitude are about to come to an end as his daughter enters her freshman year of college.

Nancy Carmichael (female, mid-40s): Alice's mother; was a gifted mathematics scholar who fell in love with the brilliance of Doug when she was in grad school; struggled to deal with Doug's obsession with mathematics, until Alice was born, shifting Doug's focus to his daughter; now that Alice is off to college, Doug and Nancy will be alone for the first time in 18 years.

Little John (male, 17): a gregarious, pleasant-looking Karuk Indian; Alice’s only real childhood friend; modern, but simultaneously intensely respectful of his tribe’s traditions.

Christopher Hallstrom (male, 18): quarterback of the football team; going to college on a full athletic scholarship; always knew he'd break out of the small town; bright, amiable and capable; could be a great student, but is content to be a good one; has everything – talent, looks, friends, girls, a solid family... and a secret even he's not completely aware of yet.

Jack Hallstrom (male, mid-40s): Chris’ father; typical West Texan; successful local businessman who has given his family a good,=2 0stable life; a strong proponent of the “get it done” theory of life – failure isn’t an option; it doesn’t even factor into the equation.

Kathryn Hallstrom (female, early-40s): once the typical, hot Texas bride, is now the typical hot Texas mom; the kind of woman who is way smarter and intuitive than her surroundings have ever allowed her to express; loves her children and appreciates the life she has been afforded, although not always the personal cost of that life; is the only member of the Hallstrom family who has a inkling of Chris’ secret.

Mike Hallstrom (male, 15): Chris’ younger brother; wildly intelligent and quick; unlike most kids his age who can’t get away from their cell phones, Sidekicks and PSP’s, Mike is constantly glued to his Kindle; understands his brother’s stature as the “local stud”, and bears no grudge against him for it, but has little desire to be like him.

Brent (male, 30s): Chris’ boss at the local movie theater; sharp as a tack and very gay; could do more with his life, but has settled for stable and the emotional comfort that comes from being “out”; understands full well what it means to be a gay man in West Texas and has adjusted his life accordingly; Chris’ only real mentor.

3 High School Nerds (male, teens): think Anthony Rapp and Adam Goldberg in Dazed and20Confused, or any similar hyper-smart high school nerds yearning for inclusion.

Football Player (male, 17): the Left Tackle (meaning, he’s big – 6’+ and at least 280 lbs.); the de facto “sergeant at arms” of the “popular” clique; pretty typical teenager, besides his size; lives for football and partying.

Chelsea (female, 17): one of those way-too-hot Texas high school girls who knows she never needs to do anything more than wake up in the morning and put on tight jeans in order to guarantee herself a comfortable, secure lifestyle.

Father (male, late-30s): typical, close-minded, bigoted father of four young children who hates anyone and anything not white, straight and Christian – just because.

Chris’ 3 High School Buddies (male, 16-18): jocks, popular, close-minded, but not aware that they are; typical Texas high school boys who play football and are the dukes and princes in the court in which Chris is king.

Jasper (male, mid-40s): police detective; went to high school with Jack; has lived in this town his entire life, and has been doing this forever; is generally content to let boys be boys, but the law is the law and he never regards any transgression of it lightly.

Allison Richards (female, early-30s): hot, knows it, works to keep it that way; maybe, only maybe, looks a bit old to b e a college freshman, but does not act that way; a party girl, she loves the boys and they love to love her; enjoys the luxury of money and loves to spend it; no relationship is too shallow, or experience too experimental (MAY REQUIRE BRIEF NUDITY).

Patrick Winters (male, 6): small, reserved, somewhat traumatized by the recent loss of his father and his mother’s absence; polite, smart, attentive.

Joan Winters (female, mid-to-late 30s): Allison’s best friend and Patrick’s mother; looks younger than her age; well-educated; professional demeanor; friendly, but with a hint of steel; a lioness who will do anything to protect her cub, even if that means being separated from him; has recently lost someone dear to her, but does everything she can to mask the loss for her Patrick’s sake.

Ellen Smalls (female, 65+): Joan’s mother and Patrick’s grand mother; imposing, reserved, suspicious of strangers, and somewhat passive-aggressive; clearly cares for her grandson; small-town middle-America.

John Smalls (male, 70+): Ellen’s husband, Joan’s father, and Patrick’s grandfather; short and retiring, but not afraid to put his foot down when he absolutely must; friendly and studious; cares for his grandson; lives in the same small town he was born in.

Gregory (male, 35): rugged and in good shape; a private investigator for the wealthy; adventurous, sl y and greedy; a healthy sense of humor about who he is and what he does; a bit too impulsive for his own good, at times (MAY REQUIRE BRIEF NUDITY).

Jake LeMott (male, 17): a pit bull from the wrong side of the tracks in a very tough Boston suburb, but extremely careful to mask the smallest hint of his under-privileged upbringing; can look older than his years depending on how he presents himself; every move is calculated and designed to impress; would never loose in a fight just because he would never stop fighting; does what has to be done to get what he wants.

Patty LeMott (female, late 30s): a tough lady who loves her son and has worked her entire adult life as a diner waitress to support him; she was probably once quite beautiful, and still has some lingering beauty, despite many years struggling to survive in a tough Boston suburb

Kelly (female, 20): beautiful, red hair; outgoing, irreverent; obviously puts in the effort to maintain her appearance.

Shamus (male, 29): way older than his actual age; the kind of guy you don’t mess with unless you want to wake up shackled to a rock at the bottom of the Charles River; unshaven and muscular; a volatile temper: a shrewd businessman with no scruples; makes no bones about where he’s from and who he is.

Businessman (man, 30s-40s): cold, calm, all business, unfazed by pretty much everything, tall

Aiah Kelvin (male, 20): tall, African, dark-skinned; stoic; very reserved; has had tragedy in his younger years, but has, at least, appeared to entirely acclimate to the US since his adoption by an older American couple; loves his parents; an intuitive student; a good athlete; likes soccer; ability to speak Krio preferable, but not required.

Kevin (male, 18): Aiah’s closest friend; great shape; irreverent; going into the military instead of attending college, at least for now; extremely loyal.

Betty Kelvin (female, mid-50’s): small, plump; very “Minnesotan”; loving and protective of her adopted son; sensitive.

Martin Kelvin (male, late-50’s): friendly; proud of his son; an unassuming, but sharp wit; very kind.

If you have any questions, please email casting@lombardistreet.com.

On-camera Audition Intensive - NYC

2009-05-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all NY peeps,

This class is being offered by a friend of mine who I went to grad school with, and who now teaches on-camera acting at NYU and The Strasberg Institute. Jen's a great person, and this is a wonderful opportunity to study at a very reasonable price with someone who definitely knows what's what.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Websites http://www.jennifermccabe.com
Studio: 212-726-0475

Dramas share top prize in Palm Beach

2009-05-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

14th Annual film festival honors 'Skin,' 'Machan'
By ANDREW STEWART

Sophie Okonedo starrer "Skin" and helmer Uberto Pasolini's "Machan" tied for top kudos Monday at the 14th annual Palm Beach Film Festival.

Former tells the story of a black girl born to white Afrikaners in apartheid South Africa, while the latter follows a group of slum dwellers who overcome their circumstances to compete in a handball tourney in Bavaria.

Charles Martin Smith's "The Stone of Destiny" nabbed director kudos.

Fest's docu prize went to "The Legacy."

Monday's "500 Days of Summer" closed the fest, which opened April 23.

'Skin,' 'Machan' win at Palm Beach Fest

2009-05-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Five-day festival picks 'The Legacy' as best doc

By Gregg Kilday

April 29, 2009, 12:26 PM ET

"Skin"
Anthony Fabian's "Skin," starring Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill and Alice Krige, and Uberto Pasolini's "Machan" tied for the best feature film award at the 14th annual Palm Beach International Film Festival, which handed out its awards on Monday.

The five-day fest presented its award for best feature film director to Charles Martin Smith for "The Stone of Destiny."

Andres Faucher's "The Legacy" was named best documentary feature.

The award for best short film went to "Gone Fishing," directed by Chris Jones.

Audience choice awards were voted to David Lisle Johnson's "In My Pocket" as best feature and Dori Berinstein's "Gotta Dance" as best documentary.

The audience award for best short film resulted in another tie, going to Meredith Scott Lynn's "Parental Guidance" and Deb Hiett and Richard Kuhlman's "A Bit of Counseling."

The Voices of Local Films honors were awarded to "The Outlaw Emett Deemus & the Porno Queen" for both best film and audience favorite. Best director was awarded to Afgen Sheikh for "La Huerfana" (The Orphan).

Following the awards ceremony, the fest closed with the screening of Marc Webb's "(500) Days of Summer."
'Skin,' 'Machan' win at Palm Beach Fest
Five-day festival picks 'The Legacy' as best doc

By Gregg Kilday

April 29, 2009, 12:26 PM ET
Anthony Fabian's "Skin," starring Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill and Alice Krige, and Uberto Pasolini's "Machan" tied for the best feature film award at the 14th annual Palm Beach International Film Festival, which handed out its awards on Monday.

The five-day fest presented its award for best feature film director to Charles Martin Smith for "The Stone of Destiny."

Andres Faucher's "The Legacy" was named best documentary feature.

The award for best short film went to "Gone Fishing," directed by Chris Jones.

Audience choice awards were voted to David Lisle Johnson's "In My Pocket" as best feature and Dori Berinstein's "Gotta Dance" as best documentary.

The audience award for best short film resulted in another tie, going to Meredith Scott Lynn's "Parental Guidance" and Deb Hiett and Richard Kuhlman's "A Bit of Counseling."

The Voices of Local Films honors were awarded to "The Outlaw Emett Deemus & the Porno Queen" for both best film and audience favorite. Best director was awarded to Afgen Sheikh for "La Huerfana" (The Orphan).

Following the awards ceremony, the fest closed with the screening of Marc Webb's "(500) Days of Summer."

It’s a Tie In Palm Beach

2009-05-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

by Peter Knegt (April 29, 2009)

Anthony Fabian’s “Skin,” and Uberto Pasolini’s “Machan” tied for best feature at the 14th Annual Palm Beach International Film Festival.

“Skin,” starring Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill and Alice Krige, based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era. Commented Feature Film Jurors Shohreh Aghdashloo and Debbie Frank, “This is a hopeful and powerful story that is still relevant after 50 years, with race issues, religion issues…all the same universal struggle to understand we are all human, despite our differences.”

“Machan” follows a group of desperate slum dwellers living on the margins of society who find an invitation to a handball tournament in Bavaria. Said our jurors, “The story of these loveable losers who transcend their humble origins to make a whole new life, starts on a serious note about believing in one’s self and makes you laugh along the way.”

The jury also voted to determine the winners for Best Documentary, Best Short Film and Best Director, while audiences voted for their favorite in categories of features, documentaries and shorts. The jury for the 14th PBIFF consisted of: Academy Award-nominated actress Shohreh Aghdashloo and Debbie Frank, COO of the Frank Theatres, who judged the Feature Films; Director Aaron Wells and writer/director Tas Salini, Film Professor, Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, who judged Documentary Films; and Emmanuel Itier, film producer, who judged the Short Films.

The Award for Best Director of a Feature Film went to Charles Martin Smith for his film, “The Stone of Destiny.” Said Aghdashloo and Frank, “Charles took an ordinary story and made it a human experience. None of us are from Scotland but we certainly did connect with it for the fact that everybody struggles to have their own identity.”

The Award for Best Documentary Feature went to “The Legacy,” directed by Andres Faucher, which made its World Premiere at the fest. Commented juror Tas Salini, “The Legacy is a celebration of life, hope and passion for music. It was beautifully shot and skillfully edited.” Aaron Wells added, “It’s a well-told story and intertwining Ludwig & David Arben’s stories, each at opposite ends of their careers, made it much more than documentary about a bunch of kids and their love for music. It’s one of those films where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

The Award for Best Short Film went to “Gone Fishing,” directed by Chris Jones. Said juror Emmanuel Itier, “Gone Fishing is a tale full of humanity and love; words that are so commonly forgotten in these days and times of struggles. This is truly a film about fishing for your dreams and how the ones you love are the ones who make you shine. After watching Gone Fishing you really want to say to that special one: ‘I love you’.”

The Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film went to “In My Pocket,” a World Premiere feature directed by first-time director David Lisle Johnson. The film details the journey down the dark spiral of drug addiction.

The Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature went to “Gotta Dance,” directed by Dori Berinstein. The film chronicles the debut of the New Jersey Nets first-ever, senior citizen hip-hop dance team - 12 women and 1 man - all dance team newbies, from auditions and rehearsal through center court stardom.

There was a tie for the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film, which went to “Parental Guidance” and “A Bit of Counseling.” “Parental Guidance, “written and directed by Meredith Scott Lynn, featured best friends Max and Ava who go camping with their respective parents and remind each other of the mature high-road they are forced to take in light of the inadequacy of grownups. “A Bit of Counseling,” a comedy written and directed by Deb Hiett, Richard Kuhlman, was about a couple seeking therapy for an unusual problem, and finds an unusual solution.

The Voices of Local Films honors were awarded to “The Outlaw Emett Deemus & The Porno Queen” for both Best Film and Audience Favorite. Best Director was awarded to Afgen Sheikh for “La Huerfana” (The Orphan).

“We enjoyed some tremendous audiences this year, which is proof positive that our community is starved for some great independent films,” Randi Emerman, PBIFF Executive Director, commented in a statement. “But at the center of our success this year were the filmmakers, who were enthusiastic, engaging and passionate!”

Kevin Jackson interviewed at the Newport Beach Film Festival

2009-05-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

"The Legacy" wins Best Documentary Feature at Palm Beach

2009-04-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Publicity contacts:
Carol Marshall
C - 213/598-5888
Carol@cmarshallpr.com

Local Press Contact:
Elizabeth Kelley Grace
561-702-7471
lizkgrace@aol.com

THAT’S A WRAP!
PALM BEACH CLOSES 14TH ANNUAL FILM FEST
* * *
FILM AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

PALM BEACH, FL (April 17. 2008) – It was a true celebration of film as the Palm Beach International Film Festival celebrated its 14th installment. After five days of screenings, the jury votes were tallied to determine the winners for Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Short Film and Best Director, while audiences voted for their favorite in categories of features, documentaries and shorts. Jury winners and Audience Choice Awards were announced at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony.

Randi Emerman, PBIFF Director, commented, “We enjoyed some tremendous audiences this year, which is proof positive that our community is starved for some great independent films. But at the center of our success this year were the filmmakers, who were enthusiastic, engaging and passionate!

The jury for the 14th PBIFF consisted of: Academy Award-nominated actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand & Fog, 24) and Debbie Frank, COO of the Frank Theatres, who judged the Feature Films; Director Aaron Wells (whose film Rock and A Hard Place screened at last year’s fest) and writer/director Tas Salini, Film Professor, Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, who judged Documentary Films; and Emmanuel Itier, film producer, who judged the Short Films. The jury was particularly appreciative of the effort each filmmaker put into their projects and felt they should be commended for the creative energy that went into each film! The winning films were:

The Award for Best Feature Film went to two films:

Skin, directed by Anthony Fabian and starring Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill and Alice Krige, based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era. Commented Feature Film Jurors Shohreh Aghdashloo and Debbie Frank, “This is a hopeful and powerful story that is still relevant after 50 years, with race issues, religion issues…all the same universal struggle to understand we are all human, despite our differences.”

And Machan, directed by Uberto Pasolini, which was shot in Italy, Germany and Sri Lanka. Living on the margins of society, under impossible pressures, a group of desperate slum dwellers find an invitation to a handball tournament in Bavaria.

Said our jurors, “The story of these loveable losers who transcend their humble origins to make a whole new life, starts on a serious note about believing in one’s self and makes you laugh along the way.”

The Award for Best Director of a Feature Film went to Charles Martin Smith for his charming film, The Stone of Destiny. Said Aghdashloo and Frank, “Charles took an ordinary story and made it a human experience. None of us are from Scotland but we certainly did connect with it for the fact that everybody struggles to have their own identity.”

The Award for Best Documentary Feature went to The Legacy, directed by Andrés Faucher, which made its World Premiere. Commented juror Tas Salini, “The Legacy is a celebration of life, hope and passion for music. It was beautifully shot and skillfully edited.” Aaron Wells added, “It’s a well-told story and intertwining Ludwig & David Arben’s stories, each at opposite ends of their careers, made it much more than documentary about a bunch of kids and their love for music. It’s one of those films where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

The Award for Best Short Film went to Gone Fishing directed by Chris Jones. Gone Fishing is a tale full of humanity and love; words that are so commonly forgotten in these days and times of struggles. This is truly a film about fishing for your dreams and how the ones you love are the ones who make you shine. After watching Gone Fishing you really want to say to that special one: "I love you".

The Audience Choice Awards for Best Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature and Best Short Film will be announced at the Closing Night Party.

Following the awards ceremony, PBIFF closed its 14th edition with 500 Days of Summer, directed by

###

"Rudo Y Cursi" sells out; other Sunday highlights at the fest

2009-04-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm mentioned in the OC Register again. Gosh -- I really sound like a mover and shaker. :)

Friday night at the Newport film fest

2009-04-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, I was at the Newport Beach FF. Thanks to Richard Chang and the OC Register for noting it. :)

Local filmmaker debuts two films on the world stage: WTEN, Albany, NY

2009-04-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

The article is a little inaccurate -- it refers to EL PASAJERO as a documentary (it's a narrative), and it says the screening at Newport Beach is the film's premiere (EL PASAJERO has actually already screened at 10 festivals, winning awards at five of them) -- but, hey, press is press, right? :)

http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?s=10243533

EL Pasajero highest rated film at Newport Beach

2009-04-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

Check us out on the "bside":

http://newportbeach.bside.com/2009/buzz

Hollywood's Dirty Little Secret

2009-04-21T08:41:00.001-07:00

I find myself in a very odd position. For most of my professional career in the entertainment biz, I have been on the outside looking in. Part of this has been by design; part is due simply to the Herculean effort required to make yourself stand out in a sea this large, especially when you have neither money nor any significant connections to give you a "jump start". Now I feel the need to defend, if only in a fairly inconsequential way, the very business that has caused me countless nightmares.

It's still true to a very large extent (that I'm on the outside looking in), although in the past several years the door has begun to crack open for me, so... I have my foot in the door, if not yet my entire body. I work, sometimes not for nearly enough, but always doing something that I love; I'm able to pay my mortgage and live in a nice home; I even have to turn down jobs sometimes (I can't tell you how weird that was the first time, after years of struggling to get any job in the biz); I'm truly blessed, and I know it.

Because I've spent so much time on the outside, I completely understand the frustrations and anger of those who are starving out on the street while the "beautiful people" inside Ago dine on lamb carpaccio and endive salads, sipping their apple-tini's in between bites (btw, for those of you who aren't familiar with NY, LA, or Las Vegas, that's pronounced "Ah-go"). I mean, "F" those freakin' people in the "A", right? "All they have that I don't is a wealthy relative. Hey! -- that's Owen Wilson... God, Armageddon was a piece of shit. My retarded 5-year-old step sister could have written a better script than that. This business is completely up it's own ass!"

I've said those words, or ones just like them, more times than I can count.

Btw, interesting side note: I once said almost those precise words about Argmageddon -- while dining at Ago -- except for the part about Owen Wilson... because I didn't realize until one of my mortified friends pointed it out that Owen Wilson was actually sitting at the next table. True story.

But anyway, then something happened. As trite as it seems when I think about it now, it really did change everything for me:

I attended the 2-year screenwriting program at Writers Boot Camp. As my classmates and I were approaching "graduation", we were asked to prepare a short statement discussing a "light bulb" moment that we had experienced during the two years that had just passed. At first, I wasn't sure what to say, to be honest, but then I remembered something:

I have one relative who is "sort of" in the biz. During the 1970s and much of the 80's, my uncle (through marriage) was a senior executive for several of the big record labels (Atlantic, Polygram, etc.). He left the music biz under less than glorious circumstances, and what followed was about a 10-year gap during which I've never been quite certain what he did. Starting in the late 90's, however, he decided he wanted to try his hand at movies and TV. So, like any good nephew who isn't actually related to you by blood, I started pestering him for an opportunity.

Now, he had been out of the music biz for at least 10 years, doing God knows what to get by, and he had very few contacts within the film/TV world. He did have one contact who, as it turns out, is a pretty big deal these days, but at that point my uncle was just another nearly-broke indie producer trying to get a project set up somewhere, so he was very guarded with his one contact (still is, btw -- both nearly broke and guarded with this contact). None of this really seemed to register with me at the time, though.

Finally, however (early in 2002, if I remember correctly), I got a call from him. He had formed a partnership with two guys who nobody has ever heard of, but who work all the time. One of the partners had a "content agreement", of sorts, with a little straight-to-DVD distributor who specialized in "urban-themed" (read: "black") content. It was in the months following 9/11, and their business was hurting because nobody wanted their usual fare anymore -- violence, drugs, etc. They needed some comedies. So, they turned to my uncle's partner, looking for content, and my uncle and his partners turned to me. "You want a job, kid? Well, here's your chance." It was a nothing job, in terms of the money, but it was work, it wasn't going to take long, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was a movie that would actually be distributed (albeit on DVD).

Keep in mind that I'm a white guy from the 'burbs in upstate New York, and my writing partner at the time was a punky upper middle class Jewish girl from Buffalo. What the hell did we know about the "black experience"?

We wrote the first draft of our script in 6 days (not by design, per se, but because we were told there was a rush to get content to the distributor). But then we didn't hear from them for three weeks. We were really starting to get worried. Finally, they called to set up a meeting. We thought they were going to trash us.

But the opposite happened.

They thought the script was so good that they didn't want to "waste" it on this dinky straight-to-DVD company; they wanted to polish it up and take it out to the big boys. Wow! Of course! Why not?

All these years I had been scraping, clawing, trying to make something, ANYTHING break my way, and suddenly some script that I had written for the six people in Harlem and South Central who don't have anything better to do on a Saturday night than watch some dreck that didn't even make it to theaters was being read by people like Ice Cube and Russell Simmons, by Fox and Fox Searchlight, Phoenix Films, Castle Rock, Jersey Films, Showtime, Dimension Films -- and many, many others. Holy crap! How the hell did that happen?! I'm still a white guy from the 'burbs, right? (insert me checking myself in the mirror)

It had been the first time in my life that I hadn't written something just because I wanted to, but because someone had actually asked me to, and suddenly it was completely clear to me: I had finally written something that someone else actually wanted to read. Why? Because a) the script had appeal to people other than me, and b) it was actually well-written. Today, when I look back at everything I wrote before this time, I'm actually kind of embarrassed. What was I thinking?!

This is what I talked about as my "light bulb" moment at my graduation from Writers Boot Camp. I still consider it the day I "became" a professional writer. The script never got made, unfortunately, and obviously it would have been far better for me if it had, but that's not really the point, for the purposes of this conversation. Scripts get made into movies, or not, for a variety of reasons, many of which have little to do with the quality of the script. Once you handle the writing part, the rest is really in the hands of the Universe, at least to a large extent. What's important is that it had been read, because it was something worth reading. Says who? Says someone other than me, my family or my friends. And that "someone" did what people do in this business -- he started giving it to other people to read, and those people gave it to still more people, and so on. I had written something good, and so it had been given a shot, at the highest levels of this industry. It didn't work out -- oh well -- but at least I had been given a chance, I had a nice credit for my resume, and I had learned an important lesson.

I finally realized what I had either been ignoring all those years, or had been blissfully ignorant of (I'm not really sure which). I could never figure out why the biz didn't "get it", why they weren't chomping at the bit to be in the presence of my glorious light. Why was I, with all of my talent, still standing outside on the street, knawing on the piece of beef jerky I had just lifted from a bulk jar at 7-11, when some doofus with the most f'd-up nose ever seen on a matinee idol was sitting next to Sheryl Crow in a shi-shi restaurant, eating gourmet lettuce and raw meat?

Because, before this moment, I simply wasn't ready.

Most of what I had written before this moment hadn't been particularly well-executed, and none of my scripts had concepts that showed much potential to appeal to others. Very early on in my career, years before this moment, I had written something that was pretty well-executed, and it had gotten into the hands of this old-school New York producer. I'll never forget the day we met to discuss it. I had barely stepped off the elevator when he stuck his head out of his office -- which was all the way down at the far end of a very long hallway -- and screamed, "Why the hell did you write this?!" When I got into his office and sat down, he said, "Kevin, you're obviously a talented writer, but why don't you write something that someone would actually want to go see?" It took me ten years before I really understood what the hell he was talking about.

I thought that I knew it all, and that I was so talented that, no matter what I wrote, you were an f-ing idiot if you didn't jump at the chance to pay me $1 million for it. If I thought it was good, if I thought it was a great idea, of course it was a great idea - because I said so. The moment I realized I had to write something that someone else thought was a great idea, I actually wrote something pretty great. I had taken the time to actually learn about the thing I had been pretending to do (that was the point of my two years at Writers Boot Camp), and, for the first time, I had taken into account what someone else might actually be interested in.

I had finally emerged from my chrysalis, and you know what? -- I've been getting paid to write pretty much ever since.

Does this mean that I only write what I get assigned? No, not in the least. But now, when I write my own stuff, I always ask myself, "What about this is going to be entertaining to someone besides me?" That was the missing piece for me. I had been excluding myself without even realizing it. Because if no one besides me thinks it's any good, it probably isn't (sorry -- friends and family don't count). AND, since I'm fortunate enough to have been blessed with a little bit of talent, and I've taken the time to hone my craft, if I write something that DOES appeal to someone besides me, people will take notice. THAT is how this whole friggin' business works.

And that is Hollywood's "dirty little secret".

Hollywood is a meritocracy. Yes, there's tons of narcissism and nepotism, too, but this whole industry is based on finding the next great idea, the next great talent, etc. It doesn't matter if you're Drew Barrymore or some white dude from the 'burbs writing about black dudes in the hood; if you're idea is truly great, if it truly has the potential to appeal to someone besides you, someone will notice it, if for no other reason than they'll think they can make money off of it. It's much easier to get noticed if you "know someone", no doubt about it. But if you're persistent, if you truly have a great idea, if you know what "having a great idea" even really means, and you have both the talent and know-how to execute that idea, you will eventually stand out. It is very rare for someone who possesses these qualities to fall through the cracks. Nobody wants to believe this because it's too painful for many people to accept that they either a) don't have a truly great idea, b) don't have what it takes, or c) simply don't "get it".

Believe me, I know first-hand how difficult it is to accept this. But I'm living proof that it's true.

The Audience and The Creative Process

2009-04-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe it would be more appropriate for me to entitle this "The Audience and Writing". But I think what I have to say here applies to all creative endeavors.

I recently posted Jake Coyle's article from Backstage, which talks about the trend of "darker" comedies. I wasn't really going to say much about it (I thought it spoke for itself), but the responses I've received so far have convinced me that a little more discussion might be warranted.

Someone responded to the article by saying that he's getting a little tired of seeing the same 5 guys making all of the comedies right now (i.e. Apatow and co., McKay and Ferrell, and Adam Sandler). That's sort of precisely why I posted the article -- I want more writers to recognize the trend, get in on the fun, and take advantage of it. (CLICK HERE to read the article)

More importantly, though, lately I've been involved in a lot of discussions that focus on this issue of "darkness" in comedies. I've been working with some other writers (some of them quite experienced, some not) over at Lombardi Street (http://lstreet.ning.com) on a series of skits that are intended to help promote the site. Several promising skits have been submitted for consideration, but there has been a great deal of concern that certain pieces are too dark, or too "harsh", to appeal to a broad audience. I've actually been kind of surprised by this, because with the exception of one piece (which wasn't meant to be a comedy anyway), I haven't seen anything in any of these skits that I thought was "too dark". Actually, most of these skits, although at times very promising, could benefit from some more "edge".

And so all of this has led me to comment on the issue of taking one's audience into account when writing something intended for an audience.

The current trend for mainstream comedies is to be a little darker; at least, so it seems. But why? That's easy, in my opinion: because the typical "consumer" of those comedies trends a bit darker. I'm sure this had more than an minor impact on the Studios' decisions to release these comedies. Also notice that I said "typical" consumer; of course this isn't true for everyone who watches and enjoys comedy.

By "darker", all I really mean is "more sophisticated". Let's use the Internet as an example, since all of us (all who are reading this anyway) use the Internet these days: We all know that those who use the Internet the most frequently, who are most likely to use the Internet to watch a "show" or a "viral video", tend to be younger and more sophisticated than their predecessors. This does not, in any way, mean that our writing should be sophomoric. In fact, it means the opposite -- that our audience tends to be far more sophisticated than we give it credit for. Understanding this is important to the future success of anything intended for a mass audience.

Additionally, although this is most certainly a trend, and like all trends will eventually come to an end, these sorts of trends don't exactly work like "fashion trends", for example. Fashion trends tend to come and go, and to a certain extent are cyclical. The kind of trend we're talking about here, however, at least to a degree, operates on principals that are a little closer to something like Chaos Theory. Even if you're not a theoretical physicist or a philosopher, you've probably heard the whole "You can't take milk out of the coffee" idea (certainly, if you've ever read a Tom Stoppard play, you've heard this). We are trending "darker" and more "sophisticated" as a society, and while there will be inevitable "blips" on the radar (during which we get a little "lighter"), there's really no going back from this. This is part of what Roger Corman realized in the 60s and 70s, and I'd say things turned out pretty well for him.

Just as an example, my wife and I were recently discussing what would happen if someone tried to make The Wizard of Oz today. We both love The Wizard of Oz, but almost simultaneously we said the same thing -- "Would never happen" (unless it was some sort of revisionist version by someone like Tim Burton, in which case it would likely be -- you guessed it -- quite dark). If someone tried to make The Wizard of Oz today, that person would be "excused" (and not very nicely, I might add) from every studio, major production company, and other major film financier. Today's audience, in general, is simply too sophisticated for The Wizard of Oz. Just look at our popular cartoons, even most of the ones intended specifically for children -- even they are much, much darker than this (WAY darker, in some cases).

This also doesn't mean that your work should not be "hopeful" or "redeeming" in some way -- it should, ideally. But if you don't recognize and take into account the "state" of your audience, you're severely handicapping your ability to actually reach and impact the majority, because your work is just not going to be "relevant" to that majority. Again, please note that I'm specifically talking about "the majority" here. This is important because most of us are not attempting to create something that might become an art house cult classic; most of us are attempting to create something that we hope will have mass appeal, so we have to take "majority trends" into account.

Simply put, you have to not only "know" your audience, but also be able (as much as possible) to anticipate its "next move" (this last part isn't as true in the Internet world because of the speed at which information gets disseminated on the Internet, but it's still valid to a large degree). Maybe this has been drilled into my head because I've been working in NY and LA for almost 16 years, and so it's second nature to me. Slumdog Millionaire did this quite brilliantly, and I think we all know how that turned out (regardless of whether we like the film or not; I, for one, was not a big fan of Slumdog, but I still recognize its success and the incredible savvy on the part of Danny Boyle that led to that success).

So, am I saying those words that so many writers consider to be sacrilege? That when you write, you actually have to write for an audience? Beyond your own personal "audience of one" or "audience of a few"? Well... yes. And no. But mostly yes. At least if you want to make your living at this. At least if you want your work to impact the greatest number of people (which is why I, for one, write; there are FAR easier ways that I could pay my mortgage, so if I didn't think I had something to say that could be of value to a lot of other people, I certainly wouldn't put myself through the trials and tribulations of being a professional writer).

I'm not advocating that we all become "hacks", that we pander to the audience just so that we can pick up a paycheck. That's the worst of possible scenarios. You have to care about what you write; otherwise it'll just be superficial, uninspired dreck. But if you don’t take into account the tastes and mood of your audience, you stand little or no chance of ever actually reaching that audience.

In general, writers, particularly "unseasoned" writers, need to better educate themselves about their potential audience, put a little more thought into what that audience might want, and focus on writing things that will appeal to that audience, not just to themselves.

Comedy Darkens, Matching Leaner Times

2009-04-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

I don't think I can say it any better than Jake Coyle did in his article in Backstage, so I'm not going to even try. This is clearly the direction that we're going in, at least for the time being. Of course, you never know how long the trend will last. All that's for certain is that it, like every trend before it and every trend to come, will eventually come to an end.

I can only hope that more writers will take advantage of this window to explore some potentially riskier topics in comedies. I know I'm certainly going to try.

April 14, 2009
By Jake Coyle

NEW YORK - Dark times call for dark comedy.

With the economy in tatters and the last decade's prosperity appearing a sham, some of the most influential tastemakers in comedy are turning to black humor and delusional characters to match the disaffected times.

"Observe and Report," which opened last week and stars Seth Rogen as a brutality-bent security guard who dreams of vengeful glory, has more in common with "Taxi Driver" than "Knocked Up." One of the darkest widely released comedies in years, "Observe and Report" makes direct references to the recession-era Martin Scorsese 1976 film that celebrates its psychotic hero.

The film, written and directed by Jody Hill, follows "Eastbound & Down," the pitch- black HBO series about a washed-up baseball player, played by Danny McBride.

Will Ferrell and collaborator Adam McKay — a year removed from their most twisted film, "Step Brothers" — just finished a Broadway run of "You're Welcome, America," in which Ferrell played President George W. Bush.

"Now that the whole system has collapsed and been shown for what it is, if you went and did a comedy like `The Animal' or `Wayne's World' — a great comedy — it wouldn't work now," said McKay. "If you're going to do comedy about (today's times), you better get a little dangerous and ugly."

The turn comes on the heels of a dominant run by lovable losers and earnest outsiders, highlighted by "The 40 Year-Old Virgin," "Old School," "Knocked Up," "Pineapple Express," "Wedding Crashers," "Superbad," "Talladega Nights" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Often with Judd Apatow or McKay behind the camera, the films have come from an overlapping and likable group of actor-comedians including Ferrell, Rogen, Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel and Jonah Hill. On TV, Tina Fey's "30 Rock" and the cast of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" have similarly featured a brand of comedy that suggested you could be both funny and nice.

But there's been a disturbance in the force.

"We like starting with a character that you're disgusted by and hate," McBride says, "but somehow you can't take your eyes off watching his story and seeing where it goes."

No one is pushing comedy into darker territory more than McBride, Hill and their other writing partner, Ben Best. The three went to film school in North Carolina together and first collaborated on the cult comedy "The Foot Fist Way," in which McBride played an arrogant tae kwon do instructor.

In "Eastbound & Down," McBride stars as Kenny Powers, a foul-mouthed relief pitcher, whose 'roid rage and declining fastball boot him out of baseball and bring him back to his hometown as a substitute teacher. Despite a big league ego, he's a small-town failure, resorting to drugs and strippers.

If anyone, Powers is the face of the new dark comedy.

"We don't play the comedy for laughs," said Hill, who also co-wrote and co-directed "Eastbound & Down." "A lot of the stuff that people maybe are going to be shocked about or think `That's dark, they went too far' — I think that's just funny."

Hill believes "Observe and Report" is best viewed as a serious film with comedy in it. He dislikes broad comedies, and instead cites `70s anti-hero character-driven films like Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy" and Sam Peckinpah movies.

"The Sopranos," Hill said, was "funnier than a comedy."

Clearly, the visions of McBride and Hill appeal to other comedians. Ferrell and McKay's production company picked up "Foot Fist Way" and the two were executive producers on "Eastbound & Down."

"You're seeing more characters who are way out of touch with their lack of success and come down almost in a death thrall," said McKay. "The shading has gotten a little darker, there's no question."

Fans of Rogen who come to "Observe and Report" expecting something in the Apatow vein are bound to be surprised.

"It's always exciting when you find something you really like that you can tell is not what you're doing," said Rogen. "Our movies have some shocking stuff in them but I would never really describe them as dark. `Pineapple Express' has tons of people getting murdered, but I really would never call it a dark movie by any stretch of the imagination. A violent one, but it's all light and in good fun."

Black comedy has never had the reputation of tremendous commercial appeal. Good ones can have staying power, their bitterness still powerful years later — movies like Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" (1964), Sidney Lumet's "Network" (1976) and Alexander Payne's "Election" (1999).

But persuading studios to bankroll darker material isn't always easy. After all, the more palatable Apatow formula still appears to be working: The recently released bromance, "I Love You, Man," with Rudd and Segel, has grossed $50 million in its first three weeks of release.

An early lesson in commercial success for Apatow was the 1996 dark comedy "The Cable Guy," which he co-wrote and produced. Though the Jim Carrey film made $60 million, it was considered a flop.

Instead, Apatow pursued realistic, warmhearted comedy in the tradition of "Terms of Endearment." This summer, he'll release his most dramatic film yet: "Funny People," in which Adam Sandler plays a standup with terminal cancer.

"Step Brothers," starring Ferrell and John C. Reilly as middle-aged boys still living with their parents, took the comic standby of adolescent adulthood further than it had ever been taken. It grossed just over $100 million, suggesting moviegoers might follow their comic heroes' darker flights of fancy.

McKay and Ferrell are preparing a movie — already bought by Sony — tentatively titled "B-Team," to star Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as cops. Said McKay: "Crime has been turned upside down, so we're trying to play with those kind of ideas."

McBride acknowledges that HBO might not have been quite aware of what it was getting when it signed on for "Eastbound & Down." Their pitch, McBride said, suggested his character would learn from his young students.

HBO was initially "very split" on "Eastbound & Down," McKay said. But ratings continually increased for the six-episode series and last week, HBO announced the show will return for a second season next year.

Hill gives every credit to Warner Bros. for giving him freedom on "Observe and Report." But he acknowledges that he has had to listen "a lot" to executives concerned about offending various demographics. In its first weekend of release, it took in $11.1 million, a fair but unremarkable debut.

"Hopefully what `Eastbound & Down' and now this movie does, it will (be like how) Elvis Presley is not shocking anymore," said Hill. "Somebody else or we'll try something new that will take things up a level again."

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

EL PASAJERO finally to get its premiere in its country of origin - Venezuela

2009-04-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

www.eltiempo.com.ve/noticias/default.asp?id=186111

For my non-Spanish speaking friends, here's the gist of the article:

"After participating in 13 international film festivals and obtaining 5 important prizes, EL PASAJERO finally arrives to our country. It is the first production of the Venezuelan-based Producciones Norte del Sur. The film is directed by Venezuelan filmmaker Andrés Faucher, who will present the work on the 13th of May at the Tresnocho Cultural in Caracas."

Whatever happened to auditioning with monologues from plays?

2009-04-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

I've seen quite a few auditions lately that use pieces from films, and even though I'm in Hollywood, I don't quite understand it and would never recommend it. Is there some teacher out there telling students to do this? Over the years, I've probably had 10 or 15 people audition for me with pieces from films, and I have to be honest -- something in me shuts down immediately as soon as I recognize that it's from a film.

Using pieces from films is problematic for a couple of reasons:

1) Regardless of your skill as an actor, it's very difficult to separate the role you're performing from the actor who originated it, especially if that actor gave a great performance. I'm not alone in this -- it's true for everyone for whom you will ever audition.

2) Screenplays are written in a different way than stage plays are. Screenplays are written visually -- they're meant to be filmed and shown on a screen -- and so huge parts of what is being communicated (even in a monologue) is being done so visually. Without the visuals, a lot is missing. Stage plays, on the other hand, are all about the words. There is no camera to communicate information to the audience; it's just the actor and the words. I think it's for this reason that monologues from plays tend to stand on their own much better than monologues from screenplays do.

There are thousands of plays out there, with wonderful characters who speak beautiful, powerful words. Pick one and dig in. I can't wait to see it!

A scene from THE LEGACY

2009-04-14T14:39:00.000-07:00

THE LEGACY will have it's world premiere on Friday, April 24 @ 5:00pm at the Palm Beach International Film Festival.

CLICK HERE for more information or to purchase tickets in advance.

EL PASAJERO - trailer

2009-04-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Our next screening will be Friday, April 24 @ 12:30pm at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

CLICK HERE for more information about the screening or to purchase tickets in advance.

THE LEGACY - trailer

2009-04-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

THE LEGACY will have it's world premiere on Friday, April 24 @ 5:00pm at the Palm Beach International Film Festival.

CLICK HERE for more information or to purchase tickets in advance.

A clip from EL PASAJERO

2009-04-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

Our next screening will be Friday, April 24 @ 12:30pm at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

CLICK HERE for more information about the screening or to purchase tickets in advance.

First three pages of HOLY FUNK

2009-04-13T23:36:00.000-07:00

Holy Funk is a screwball romantic comedy about an indecisive, atheist, bi-racial hippy from Seattle who chases his heartbroken Nubian princess girlfriend to LA after making the mistake of telling her he's not ready for marriage, and then has to convince her eccentric family that he's black enough, Muslim enough and "down" enough for their daughter.

To read the first three pages of this script, go to:

http://lstreet.ning.com/profiles/blogs/first-three-pages-of-a-script-2

First three pages of SONERO

2009-04-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

A down-and-out former Salsa singer who threw away his chance at success gets a second shot when the care of a young boy is thrust upon him by a dying friend. Combining the heart of The Champ, the gritty realism of City of God, and the music of El Cantante, Sonero is a story about the universe returning the favor when we take responsibility for our own lives and do the right thing.

To read the first three pages of this script, go to:

http://lstreet.ning.com/profiles/blogs/first-three-pages-of-a-script

First three pages of an untitled script

2009-04-13T23:32:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote this script when I was in grad school. It was inspired by a man I met while I was working as a caddy at Westchester Country Club, about 45 mins north of NYC. He had come from an amazingly rich family, but chose to reject the life of privilege, and, eventually, through a lengthy series of events, became the biggest pot dealer in Texas during the 1980s. When I knew him, he was on parole, having served six years at Huntsville Federal Penitentiary. He was in the midst of trying to rebuild his life and was attending Columbia University on a scholarship. Truly amazing guy, with a truly amazing life story.

A few years earlier, I was working as a cook at a Mexican restaurant to help pay my way through undergrad. One day one of my fellow cooks, a (legal) Mexican immigrant, was telling me the story of how his family's farm had been devastated by the droughts that took place in southern Mexico during the 1980s, and he related to me what he claimed was a Mexican proverb about the nature of life (although, I've never been able to verify through any other source that this is an actual proverb in Mexico): "Algunas veces la llevia nunca viene". In English, that translates pretty directly to "Sometimes the Rain Never Comes".

That became the title of my script.

Then the script got optioned by a company in LA. I had written an epic drama about the story of this man's life, but in typical Hollywood fashion they wanted to focus on the drugs. The pot became Ecstasy; the main character became a drug dealer who just happened to come from wealth, rather than a man who had come from wealth who just happened to become a drug dealer (which is what I had written); and so on. Much of the poetry was being expurgated from the script, and with each new pass it felt like the story was almost becoming a farce. As a title, "Sometimes the Rain Never Comes" just didn't fit anymore. In a 3:00am fit of frustration and delirium, I renamed the script "Billy Rides a Pony" (it was mostly a joke, but it came from the fact that the main character had spent a good chunk of time working for his alcoholic, off-the-reservation grandfather as a thoroughbred horse trainer).

Now, I'm officially considering it "untitled". The following first three pages are an amalgam of the two different ways in which the script has been approached (like most experiences, the experience with the company that optioned the script did yield some good things, so I've kept them).

To read the first three pages of this script, go to:

http://lstreet.ning.com/profiles/blogs/first-three-pages-of-a-script-1

First three pages of RECIPROCITY

2009-04-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

The lives of an illegal immigrant fleeing poverty and chaos in southern Mexico, and a first-generation Mexican-American sheriff in the midst of a heated re-election campaign, suddenly collide when the immigrant gives up his dream of a better life in order to save a young American boy who he finds abandoned in the Arizona desert.

To see the first three pages of this script, go to:

http://lstreet.ning.com/profiles/blogs/first-three-pages-of-another

What's the point of a monologue audition?

2009-04-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

I've recently been reminded of something that I've seen so many times over the years, something that seems pretty much endemic among actors -- a lack of understanding of the purpose of a monologue audition.

So, here's my unsolicited advice to all actors everywhere:

Think about it from the perspective of those for whom you are auditioning (i.e., directors, producers, etc.). If I, as a director, ask you to prepare a monologue from a completely separate piece from the one in which you may ultimately be cast, what am I looking for? What am I hoping to see? What am I gaining from seeing you "perform" something completely unrelated to the actual project for which you're auditioning?

The answer to all of these questions is "YOU".

THAT'S what I want to see. That's why any acting teacher who knows the first thing about auditioning will tell you to pick audition monologues that are "close" to you. Auditions are NOT the time to stretch yourself; they are the time to show the director and/or producer who YOU are.

I don't care how you interpret the character. I don't even really care how well you identify and convey the "intentions" of the scene (of course, it's almost always more enjoyable to watch someone who understands what the scene they're performing is actually about, but, at this point, all I really care about is that you have SOME intention that comes through clearly; whether or not that intention is appropriate for the given scene is largely a matter of opinion, and largely up to a director to determine, not the actors, so, at this stage of the game, nailing the precise intention of the scene is irrelevant -- sorry writers and "Stella Adler" actors out there, but it’s true).

So...

Do you have anger in you? Enthusiasm? Sadness? Something "quirky" and less definable? Have you ever been in love, and can you show me what that's like for you? Have you ever lost someone or something dear to you, and can you show me what that's like for you? – in other words, any and all of the things that all people, and therefore characters, experience. Which of those things can you show me? The reason why you choose a monologue in the first place is because it enables you to show these sorts of things about yourself, these “sides” of you.

Furthermore, and even more importantly, please "act" as little as possible in your audition. What the hell am I talking about? Well...

Do you want to show me what you’re like when you’re overjoyed? Fine, be overjoyed. When you’re feeling desperately sad and hopeless? Okay, be desperately sad and hopeless. It’s your audition, and you've been asked to present a prepared monologue, so you get to choose what you want to show (whatever aspect of you, through whatever monologue you feel best allows you to bring that aspect of you out). However, whatever you choose, don't "play" it -- be it. I know that sounds hopelessly "Method-y", but there's really no other way to describe it. And even if the idea of "the Method" makes your stomach turn, remember that the whole goal of an actor is to get people to believe that the character you're playing is actually going through a real experience. So, in your audition, you have to convince me that you have the ability to do that. And a big part of convincing me is by showing me a willingness to share something truthful about yourself in an honest way, so that I can get a sense of the different experiences and emotions that you could possibly play, and play believably.

Basically, this is a long-winded way of saying that, as a director, I want to see how open and available, how “elastic”, your instrument is. Everything else (character, interpretation, even the words you’re speaking to a large extent, etc.) is secondary in a monologue audition. If you can’t show me any “elasticity”, then I won’t know whether or not I can work with you to “shape” that elasticity into a character who experiences the whole range of human emotions; I won’t know whether or not you have either the ability or the willingness to “go” to those places.

Building Character and story

2009-04-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts on creating characters and stories in screenplays.

http://lstreet.ning.com/profiles/blogs/building-character-and-story