Made some good money today, 13+ hours of work. There was a lot of sitting around, so tomorrow I plan on bringing bunches of stuff to do with me.
The place was a mad house, 100+ dancers and extras. Lunch was the climax of the day, as a fight broke out. Dee and I learned that it was over a stolen chair and there weren't any punches thrown. This was not nearly story-worthy enough, so we created our own version of what happened and it goes like this...production unwittingly booked two opposing gangs, when one of the members noticed the opposing gang colors of another extra tucked away in his duffle bag, shit went down. D-Day and his homeboys came out with knives and a sawed-off shotgun, Rump Motha and his bitches met that with uzzi's and brass knuckles. There are different accounts of how many shots were fired, but Rump Motha went down. I saw the blood, it wasn't pretty man. That is pretty much what we told people that asked us about it.
Then there was this old bitchy SAG actress, who when she reached the end of the banquet during lunch and found no mashed potatoes instantly called over the SAG rep who was on set today. You fight a worthy and noble battle you skank hag, the potatoes are on their way. Don't shit out your shriveled up blackened heart just yet.
The set was grand, the costumed extras looked amazing (it's all fairy tale themes) and the dancers moved beautifully. It's a sight to see live. Can't wait to be home. I've had very little sleep.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
The Cemetery Belt
I have been asking myself the question for a while now. Why is there no real subway route between Queens and Brooklyn? The system makes NO sense. You have to ride all through Manhattan and finally loop around. You can plan for at least an hour and 15 minutes of MTA. A while ago I heard Dave say something about cemeteries. So this morning on my way to work, I decided to look into it.
FACTOID:
There are about 17 cemeteries that form what has been referred to as the "cemetery belt" on the border of the Kings and Queens counties. This 'natural' border of course makes any subterrian ambitions impossible between the lands of Brooklyn and Queens. Why such a concentrated area of coffin grounds (sounds a lot like coffee grounds)? All I could find on that was.... As real estate increased in Manhattan and the island became more populated with new buildings and people, old cemeteries were getting in the way. So the "remains" were tranferred to new cemeteries is a less popular area (queens/brooklyn.) Oh and one last bit, Bojangles can be found in the cemetery belt....dancing on the tombstones I'd like to think.
FACTOID:
There are about 17 cemeteries that form what has been referred to as the "cemetery belt" on the border of the Kings and Queens counties. This 'natural' border of course makes any subterrian ambitions impossible between the lands of Brooklyn and Queens. Why such a concentrated area of coffin grounds (sounds a lot like coffee grounds)? All I could find on that was.... As real estate increased in Manhattan and the island became more populated with new buildings and people, old cemeteries were getting in the way. So the "remains" were tranferred to new cemeteries is a less popular area (queens/brooklyn.) Oh and one last bit, Bojangles can be found in the cemetery belt....dancing on the tombstones I'd like to think.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
The Scurge of Karpathia, the Sorrow of Maldabia
It was a good day, my minions!!! I did the very thing I said I would, which was call around for work. I called three different agencies, each of them have little going on right now. But I ended up getting work for the next three days! So I am going back to "Enchanted" to stand-in. It's a huge ballroom scene, wild costumes, and period dancing, and it should be much fun. I know at least one of the extras (way back from "Perfect Stranger(s)" and the other stand-ins) so I am hoping to have a good time. I don't mind pushing a little harder for work when I need to. I haven't been in the game all that long, so I don't take it personal when I have to remind people I exist and could use some employment. I'm just happy it seems to always work (knocking on wood.)
Aside from that, I finshed reading and reviewing the South Central Comedy. The writer was really talented and I commended him in my review. Now I am reading some kind of supernatural science fiction thing. Honestly, I haven't progressed in it enough to figure out what's going on.
The good times continue! I FINALLY received my last tax form, so now I can file and get some green back. I also got a form in the mail to collect a lost check way back from the beginning of February. YES, give me money, so that I may live again. (Ghostbusters 2 reference, as is the title, is that bad, do you think less of me?)
Oh and yeah, I did manage to get outside today.
Aside from that, I finshed reading and reviewing the South Central Comedy. The writer was really talented and I commended him in my review. Now I am reading some kind of supernatural science fiction thing. Honestly, I haven't progressed in it enough to figure out what's going on.
The good times continue! I FINALLY received my last tax form, so now I can file and get some green back. I also got a form in the mail to collect a lost check way back from the beginning of February. YES, give me money, so that I may live again. (Ghostbusters 2 reference, as is the title, is that bad, do you think less of me?)
Oh and yeah, I did manage to get outside today.
Peanut Butter Junkie
Some people are addicted to drugs, porn, gambling....I am a nut when it comes to Peanut Butter, especially in the last month. I eat the shit like it's going outta style. And we all know peanut butter ain't never gonna go outta style. I eat it on bananas, I have peanut and jelly sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly toast, the list goes on...well, not really but I eat those three VERY often. All this peanut butter gluttony has got me thinking maybe I should start buying all natural peanut butter again. Standard peanut butter is loaded with sugar and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, neither good for you by any means.
....that's it. I'll be back later.
....that's it. I'll be back later.
Out of the Box
I need to write a new query letter for my script. The % of invitations or even responses has not been inspiring. So I need to rack my brain and come up with something catchy and different, something out of the box! I need to figure out how to best pitch this thing. What angles to take. The keywords to use when I am asked what my script is about. This is the way I need to start thinking. Like someone hell-bent on selling a script. Boo-ya!
Monday, May 29, 2006
The True/False Test
Another day of all work. It was back to the production company search today, mostly to find phone numbers and the development people I need to inquire about once I reach their office. Then I entered into another screenplay contest. The contest was FREE, yet there was a catch. I have to read four scripts entered by other contestants and submit reviews of each one. The scripts they send me are different genres than the one I entered, to guarantee my feedback isn't biased. The review that is required of me is pretty extensive- loglines, character descriptions, story summaries, comments, T/F test, the works. Still I don't mind it. It's nice to have something to read actually and to see how other people put together stories in the screenplay medium. It's also good practice in these aspects that I need to start concentrating on. Today I read a science fiction story. It was entertaining, I don't think I should talk about it out of respect for the author, so I won't. But I spent a good amount of time in my responses, as I hope those who read my script will do. Then I started read another story, a comedy, set in the inner city of LA. Talk about a contrast. Quite funny though.
This is the SECOND day this week that I haven't stepped outside. I get caught up in the above things and then tell myself I don't have time to go outside and not be... productive. Still, I find myself getting irritable during day and by the end of the night I regret that I didn't go out and enjoy the day. It's just hard to be productive out of my apartment. Writing is a different process free-hand, a different way of thinking. It's hard to explain, but I am much more comfortable using a word processor, that way I can rearrange words, sentences, make sense of things in a non-linear way. And then there's the internet, the source of all knowledge. And my biggest waste of time. The rest of the day was pretty obscure, there was a work-out, plenty of eating... fuck, I am boring... I need some work, just to have something to do, to get out around other people. Of course then I'll be frustrated that I am not capable of doing what I am doing now. Hmmm....
Does anyone know if there is a hurricane headed for NYC, or has my mother gone mad? I've been told it's not for a good 10 days anyway. If I had to evacuate I think the only things I would concern myself with would be my acoustic guitar and my laptop, which holds much of my life's work. If the situation was more desparate, I would just grab my back-up disks (theoretically I have these) and get out. The rest could float into the ocean for all I care.
This is the SECOND day this week that I haven't stepped outside. I get caught up in the above things and then tell myself I don't have time to go outside and not be... productive. Still, I find myself getting irritable during day and by the end of the night I regret that I didn't go out and enjoy the day. It's just hard to be productive out of my apartment. Writing is a different process free-hand, a different way of thinking. It's hard to explain, but I am much more comfortable using a word processor, that way I can rearrange words, sentences, make sense of things in a non-linear way. And then there's the internet, the source of all knowledge. And my biggest waste of time. The rest of the day was pretty obscure, there was a work-out, plenty of eating... fuck, I am boring... I need some work, just to have something to do, to get out around other people. Of course then I'll be frustrated that I am not capable of doing what I am doing now. Hmmm....
Does anyone know if there is a hurricane headed for NYC, or has my mother gone mad? I've been told it's not for a good 10 days anyway. If I had to evacuate I think the only things I would concern myself with would be my acoustic guitar and my laptop, which holds much of my life's work. If the situation was more desparate, I would just grab my back-up disks (theoretically I have these) and get out. The rest could float into the ocean for all I care.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Ain't no such thing as the first amendment anymore, bitch!
It feels like I am unemployed. I haven't worked since last Tuesday. Needless to say, it's disturbing me. Welcome to a life without security. This is my first dry spell since making acting my full-time thing, so I think my worry is somewhat justified. Still I believe I will get something thrown my way soon. And anyway, this week I am going to do whatever it takes to get work.
So my days off have been mostly, writing, recording, exercising, wasting time online or doing career related stuff.
Today I did a bunch of research online to find out what actors own production companies (to send scripts to). Once I found if an actor owned one, then I had to find the address, then I had to try to determine whether the company was still in business. A-LONG-PROCESS! I was at the computer most of the day. I broke up the work with some recording. Several hours and 16 names later, I decided that was enough work for one day. I got out of the apartment and went to the park near-by. I must say I do live in a VERY nice area. So it's a 12 minute walk to the subway, 15 minutes to groceries, but it's one block from a beautiful green park and two from a glistening river. I brought my writing book with me and sat on a bench. Once I opened the book, I realized I wasn't really in the writing mood. So I let my head rest against the back of the bench in an almost comfortable position and just enjoyed the breeze and the sun for a bit. This prompted my next literary move. And then I began writing. Finally the family of kids behind me whittled away my patience and the sun was going down, so it seemed time for me to go back underground. OH! There was a point when this fly-thing appeared on me. It looked much like an ant, but it had small wings on its butt. I had never seen anything like it before, so I was going to take a picture of it, to show all. But as I went for my phone, it disappeared...then it reappeared and as I studied it again, I saw it WAS an ant, that had a mosquito attached to its ass. How does that happen? Anyway, I couldn't leave you with nothing, so...I took this picture of a fly Dave and I encountered a couple of weeks ago. It was so big that Dave didn't believe it was real. The quarter is for perspective.
So my days off have been mostly, writing, recording, exercising, wasting time online or doing career related stuff.
Today I did a bunch of research online to find out what actors own production companies (to send scripts to). Once I found if an actor owned one, then I had to find the address, then I had to try to determine whether the company was still in business. A-LONG-PROCESS! I was at the computer most of the day. I broke up the work with some recording. Several hours and 16 names later, I decided that was enough work for one day. I got out of the apartment and went to the park near-by. I must say I do live in a VERY nice area. So it's a 12 minute walk to the subway, 15 minutes to groceries, but it's one block from a beautiful green park and two from a glistening river. I brought my writing book with me and sat on a bench. Once I opened the book, I realized I wasn't really in the writing mood. So I let my head rest against the back of the bench in an almost comfortable position and just enjoyed the breeze and the sun for a bit. This prompted my next literary move. And then I began writing. Finally the family of kids behind me whittled away my patience and the sun was going down, so it seemed time for me to go back underground. OH! There was a point when this fly-thing appeared on me. It looked much like an ant, but it had small wings on its butt. I had never seen anything like it before, so I was going to take a picture of it, to show all. But as I went for my phone, it disappeared...then it reappeared and as I studied it again, I saw it WAS an ant, that had a mosquito attached to its ass. How does that happen? Anyway, I couldn't leave you with nothing, so...I took this picture of a fly Dave and I encountered a couple of weeks ago. It was so big that Dave didn't believe it was real. The quarter is for perspective.
Sunday is usually the only time I make an effort to relax to some TV. But instead of the regulary scheduled programs, tonight it's NASCAR. GRR! Is NASCAR the modern day chariot race, the Indy 500 the Circus Maximus? I wonder if its the same audience. I shouldn't say that. My sister watches NASCAR. OH GOD! My sister watches NASCAR!
Just to explain the format of Dead Land, so there's no confusion- it is centered on four characters. Kalju, Clancy, Dave and I each have our own character. We each write a continuous story of our character, though you will most likely see a Clancy story, or Kalju story directly follow mine and so on. And occassionally when are characters join forces we will join forces as writers as well. If you are interested in the writer, the entry ends with who wrote the piece.
Last but not least, today I entered "Pussyjunk" into both Wikipedia and Wiktionary, but alas they did not appreciate my contribution and sent me an email informing me that they deleted the definition from their database. Freedom of speech my ass!!
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Dead Land
When Clancy and Kalju were in NYC visiting Dave and Me, the four of us agreed that we would all collaborate on some sort of online story. I think I suggested the idea, but really it was something I had been interested in since I heard about it from Dave, who was participating in one with some other people. Well the time is nearing and Dave and I are nearly done with our first entries. Clancy and Kalju are now in the know and hopefully hatching lots of character substance. We are all pretty excited to be working on something together I think. And I am very pleased with where each of our journeys begin. I don't want to give anything away, so I am done talking about it for now, except that it's title is, Dead Land.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Already feelings of resentment
I resent that fact that I had to post a picture of myself to put a picture of myself in my profile. It makes no sense. I will continue to write worthless blogs until the picture is pushed off this page.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
