Home Sweet Home

After a month in L.A., I'm finally back home. I got extreeeeeemely busy for the last week I was there, so I didn't update this blog. Here's what went down.

I had a meeting about two weeks ago with a casting director from ABC, who told me that an actor/actress needs three crucial things to make it in Hollywood.

1. An agent (got that)
2. To be a member of SAG (the next big movie I do, I'll be entered into SAG)
3. Get to know all the casting directors you can.

The last task is one that my manager has had me working full time to do. When I'm not auditioning for something, I'm going to "general" meetings, which serve only to meet a casting director, casting executive, etc., and have them get a sense of who you are. The purpose of this is to keep you in mind for future projects, which can lead to more auditions, which can lead to more work for me.

My last week in L.A., I had maybe an average of 5 appointments a day. Half were general meetings, and half were auditions. Some meetings went well, others I made a fool of myself. Some auditions went really well, a few not so much. But hey, that's how it goes.

In addition to all these meetings and auditions, etc., I have to deal with the uncontrollable traffic in L.A. Luckily, some appointments were in close proximity to one another, but I still made it to these appointments with barely enough time to make to the next one.

Here are some films I remember auditioning for:

Road Trip 2
Yep. There's a second one. I think they're using an all-new cast, but I could be wrong. I didn't recognize any characters from the first one.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice
This one was interesting. It's a Disney movie. I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with the original "Sorcerer's Apprentice" short that appeared in Fantasia. You know, the one with Mickey Mouse and all the dancing brooms. Well, Disney's making a film with the same title, but it doesn't necessarily deal with that same plot line. There are some interesting little cross-overs, however. You'll learn more about this next year; I can't say anything more.

Solitary Man
This audition I reeeeeeally want. It's an independent film starring Michael Douglas, and Susan Sarandon is attached. I read the whole script in an hour; it was captivating. This one would be a lot of fun. As for the plot, I won't give anything away. It's not even on IMDb yet.

Funny People
This is the new Judd Apatow film (He did The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad,). I had auditioned for this months ago for the part that inevitably went to Jonah Hill. I was skeptical from the start when I auditioned. I asked my manager, "Why even try? Jonah Hill is in that little circle of filmmakers, and it wouldn't make any sense not to use him." She told me to try anyway, so I did. At least it was good practice. I auditioned again, this time for a much smaller bit part. Still, it would be great to be involved in this film in any way. It's bound to be hilarious.

Alice in Wonderland
This is Tim Burton's new film. I didn't audition for this, per se. But, whatever casting director is working on this film called my manager and asked me for my waist size. How mysterious is that? They're interested in me, at least. More as this develops.

Besides those auditions, I also visited a company called "Independent Artists," which is in the same building as "Endeavor," my agency. Independent Artists seem to specialize in one thing in particular: voice-acting. After I met with a few people, I read a few voice-overs for them. It was a lot of fun, and I can definitely see myself doing this. I went in a second time to read a few more. This doesn't mean they're going to use my voice for the projects I read for, and I didn't get paid or anything. I basically auditioned for the roles, but in this case, the audition is a lot less stressful in that I can do multiple takes of any line I want until I get it right (or, at least right in my mind).

Lastly, I did a bunch of general meetings. I now have a large collection of "Visitor Passes" from various studios like ABC, NBC, CBS, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and a few more I can't remember. It all blurs together; it really does. When someone gives me their card, I keep it, because I probably won't remember their name.

That pretty much wraps this up. I'm home now, making videos (I made a new Jimmy Jango video last night), and working at the grocery store. I'm waiting anxiously to hear if I got any of these parts I auditioned for. In the meantime, I have an independent film that I'm working on in October that I need to prepare for.

Stay tuned.