My Movie Making Nightmares - Part Deux

Less than two months after I shot my first short film, I auditioned for and was cast in two feature length digital movies.   Digital has changed everything.  Now anyone with a video camera can make their own movies...AAAAAANNNNNNDD they do.  We are talking extremely low budget here.  And since I was non-union with little on camera experience, I did these movies for the footage for a reel.

 

The first film was produced by a young man with his own production company. His sister ran the auditions and did all the paperwork (i.e. signing your life away since there is no union jurisdiction) and she was also the caterer (she did all the cooking).  The film was shot on location in a vacant flower shop in Pomona, California, which is about 40 miles east of LA! The flower shop in effect was our studio, but only until December 5^th, at which point it would reopen for the holiday season to sell poinsettias. Exteriors were shot in the alley behind the shop where some homeless people had set up a little cardboard shantytown. Oh! Did I mention that our director’s father worked as the accountant for the florists’ owners?

 

The movie was about a young guy who has taken a job as a production assistant on a low budget vampire flick.  It’s his first day on the set and shows all the characters involved in the making of the movie and actual scenes from the vampire movie.  I played the part of the director of photography who speaks very softly, so softly in fact that no one can understand him when he speaks, except for our leading man, the PA.  I had a supporting role in this one and was only required for maybe two days of filming and both of them were just a few hours long.

 

My first day, I was called at 7:30 a.m.  The only other person who was there at that hour was our makeup girl.  Our leading man showed up a few minutes later, but our director didn’t show up for about 45 minutes.  He apologized profusely.  He never did this, but he had been up late the night before since the shoot ended around midnight and then he had to go home and prepare for the next day’s shoot.   There was a third actor involved in our scene as well.  When we were in makeup, he explained that he wasn’t prepared for the scene we were shooting because he had forgot his script on the set over the weekend and so he had not prepared.  So while we were in makeup, he was running his lines.  

 

We shot the scene in the back room of the shop. It’s our leading man and me. He’s supposed to be painting some props for the next scene that’s being shot and we talk about his girlfriend and their imminent breakup.  The third actor plays the part of the director and star of the vampire film, a former 1970s action star.  He comes into the middle of the scene.  We set up, rehearse and shoot the scene up until the third actor’s entrance.  He has to enter through a door that is shut.  We get to his entrance and nothing happens.  The director calls his name, “Curtis! Are you there?”  “Yes.”  “Did you hear your cue line?”  “No!”  “ Do you know what it is? It’s…”  We do it again.  Curtis does not enter the scene.   Director to writer/producer, “Go out there and cue him.”  We shoot again.  Curtis enters.  He delivers his lines to the wrong actors.  He doesn’t know which lines are to me and which lines are to the other actor. We cut and shoot again.

 

Incidentally, his line readings are awful.  I hate to sound unkind but they were very amateur.  The director got tired of cutting so finally he just kept the camera rolling and asked the writer to give him line readings and they asked Curtis to just repeat after Erik.  It worked.  He actually sounded convincing.  

 

BTW, in order to give you an idea how low budget this film was, the director was also the director of photography and the cameraman.  There was one light instrument used in this scene.  And the battery on the camera was out of power when we started.  Yes, that’s right, real big time movie making here.  

 

I had to wonder about Curtis.  He was a nice enough guy and all but I got the impression this was all very new to him, acting that is.  But it wasn’t just that, there was something else.  A few weeks earlier, we had a table read of the script with the entire cast present.  He sat next to me.  There were words that he kept mispronouncing. Not just difficult words, but easy ones too.  I thought maybe he was a little slow, but that didn’t seem right.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized he must be dyslexic.  It was the only explanation I could come up with. At one point he leaned over and asked me what ___ was.  I told him the word and he proceeded to mispronounce it. 

 

He was supposed to be this threatening character in the movie and he had none of that when he read his lines, until he was given a line reading by the director or writer and he copied them, then he sounded menacing.  It was great.  He was a big soft-spoken man in his mid-late thirties I’d say.

 

During a break my second day of shooting, I asked the director what Curtis’ story was.  Was he in fact dyslexic? No, he apparently only had a sixth grade level education. Thank you US education system!

 

Incidentally, the second day our leading man was over an hour late!  This did not go over big with the director, who was also late that day but only by a few minutes. And then he had the same problem with the camera, the battery was dead when he started to shoot the first scene.

 

Like the previous film, I was given little direction.  I wasn’t quite sure how soft spoken I should be.  I mean I had to be heard by the audience right?  But I couldn’t be too loud or the joke would be lost.  It was more a question of the character being that indistinguishable.  So I had to play him really low key and as if he had very little personality so he just kind of blended in to the background.

Film was never finished. Never saw or heard from the director after about a year.

Next week, my magnum opus...Wally Sitch Private Dick. Oy vey!

 

My Early Adventures in Los Angeles

I recently came across some notes I wrote 16 years ago detailing my my first experiences in as an actor in LA. It was intended to be a one man show about whats it really like as a working actor in LA.  Enjoy :

I was cast in my Second short film while I was filming my first.  This time, I had one of the leads. I was very excited about it.  It was a comedy set in the Air Force.  It was sort of like Office Space set in the military.  A lot of Austin Powers type humor in it.  I really felt good about this one.  The writer-director (another hyphenate) was a young guy who worked as an engineer in the Air Force.  He had just gone to film school and this was his first film. The story was based on his experiences on the job.

 

I played the antagonist of the piece, an ineffectual boss who stands in the way of getting the job done.  His name was Maj. Oscar Meyer.  That’s right, like the hot dog.  He was a brownnoser who treated his subordinates like dirt and kissed up to his superiors.  One of the running gags was that he had brown stuff on his nose whenever he came out of a meeting with his superiors.

 

It was a lot of fun, but there were also many problems.  The film was shot on location in an office in downtown LA.  Like the previous film, we only shot over the course of two weekends because everyone had full time jobs. Two of the main scenes were shot in a meeting room, which had glass walls on either side.  In the first scene, the one wall was covered with green screen for some special effects shooting.  There were two cameras being used simultaneously and combined with the glass and the lights, it took a few hours for the scene to be lit properly.

 

Two of the actors were not called until later in the day.  One of them, had requested permission to leave early because he had plans that night. He wanted to leave around 7:00 p.m.  He was not called until about 3:00 p.m.  He and his scene partner were there on time and were not called to the set until after 6:00 p.m.  He was not happy.  He had less than an hour.  He was all flustered and he kept forgetting his lines.  All he was thinking about was the fact that he had to get out of there.  We did take after take, and he kept blowing his lines.  Finally, at 7:15 he announced he was leaving.  He told the director he had to be out of there by 7:00.  And he left.  We continued to shoot the scene around him.

 

Now what got all of us, was this.  This is a man who has been in the business for over 20 years and knows how things work.  When you’re shooting a movie, especially a non-union or low budget film like this, you know you’re going to be there all day and night. Why would schedule something for that evening.  The director should not have granted permission to him.  Secondly, what the hell was he doing for three hours!  I mean he was there from 3:00 to 6:00 and then he gets on set and keeps blowing his lines.  He should have been running lines with his scene partner instead of complaining about not being able to get to his date on time.

 

That actor was fired between weekend one and weekend two of shooting. Fortunately, his big scene was not scheduled to shoot until the second weekend.  It turns out, he had been trouble all along.  We had a rehearsal on location a couple of nights before shooting began and he fought the director on every bit of direction he gave him.

 

While we’re on that subject, let’s talk about the direction you get as an actor on a student, short and/or low budget indie film…not much.  It’s pretty much left up to the actor, unlike stage.  I had to make all my own choices and quickly.  I’m not saying that as a stage actor I depend completely on the director.  I do make my own choices, but you do have that long rehearsal period in which you can explore and work together on finding the character.  That doesn’t exist in film and many film directors don’t work much with their actors.  You have to come in prepared and with your character there.  It was a struggle.  In my case, it was doubly difficult because I felt I my acting was too big or stagy if you will.  But no one was correcting me, so it must be all right.  Still, I couldn’t help editing myself. In fact, it was my “staginess” that got me the part.  The director wanted someone who was more theatrical in his or her acting style.  This did not fill me with confidence.  Was I too “stagy”?  I must do something about that. I must tone it down.  Once again, I was not pleased with the final result on film. I swear I gave a better performance than what ended up on film. He seemed to choose the one take where I didn’t say the line the exact way I said it in every other take.  

 

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience.  I liked most of the other actors.  I thought it was a funny movie and it was a great part for me.  The final product wasn’t the best quality.  There were some pretty cheesy looking cuts and edits in the movie that reeked of amateur filmmaking.  I felt the script was really funny when I read it, but then on screen, it didn’t look so good.  Chalk it up to experience.

 

Next Week

Part Two: My first starring role in a feature! What could possibly go wrong?

I'm All Shook Up

Hi there! It's been awhile. What have I been up to? Well, I've been back in San Diego performing in San Diego Musical Theatre's (SDMT) production of the Elvis Presley musical All Shook Up. I play Jim Haller the leading lady's father. It's a fun role and its a great showcase for me.  I've had a blast. Yesterday was our final performance and now I'm back in Los Angeles and reality.

Fan artwork of our cast. 

But first, let me backtrack. I was approached by the artistic director about a month before the auditions to come in for the role Jim. Well, I wasn't familiar with the role so I did some online research and saw it is a nice role with a decent story so I said yes.  I went to the callbacks and knew as soon as I was reading the sides that this part was written for me. I got the part!

I went into this show thinking, "This is great. It's going to play to my comedic strengths, really allow me to be big and goofy. I can really do something with this part." And while that is true to an extent, I realized quickly that while I have a couple of really funny moments in the show, my character actually has a very sweet, touching story line.

First, let me say that I love working at SDMT. They put on superior productions. The casts are always amazing as are the staff and crew. And I did have fun backstage with this crew.  And I had fun onstage.  I got to play all the emotions from sad and lonely to head over heels in love and giddy to heartbroken and it felt great. I got laughs. I got tears. My favorite thing was when the audience would audibly say "Awwww" after I get rejected by the object of my affection.

Here's an example:

This job was a gift. I got to do everything I love on stage. Sing, dance, be goofy and get laughs and then play some nice tender, sweet moments.  It was a gift. I said that before. It bears repeating. I've been in dozens of shows over the years. I have many, many favorites among them. I have been very lucky that way.

I gave up a very nice paying job a couple years ago because I wasn't happy and I HAD to pursue acting full time. It is the one thing in my life that brings me joy. And sometimes we as actors forget that. We get bogged down in the business side of show business. The constant auditions and overwhelming rejection, the ridiculous insecurity and struggle to survive on little or no income. it sucks. It's tough. I struggle every day. There are days when I just don't know if I can keep going. This is why I do theater. It brings me joy. I can be somebody I can't be in life.

My favorite place to be in the whole world is in the wings backstage watching the show. One of my rituals is to go onstage by myself behind the closed curtain before the show starts, listening to the audience on the other side. (Oh. I also use that time to stretch because at my age, if I don't stretch before a show...well let's just say it saves me some pain later). Why did you have me on my knees so much?! God, were my legs stiff every morning!

Another joy, watching younger actors grow in the process. So proud to work alongside and watch them discover and grow as artists. This cast was amazing from top to bottom. Not a weak link in the bunch. All so very hard working and professional. 💗

So thank you to Jill, Robert (so glad we got to work together), Neil (the first person to cast and direct me at SDMT), Ron, Steve, Heather, Jessica, Max, Janet, Amy, Preston, Crystal, Jaz, Andrew, Don, Michael, Erin and Gary.

Richard

Pretty Women from Sweeney Todd

Pretty Women from Sweeney Todd sung by me in The gift of Song benefit at Repertory East Playhouse in April 2013. Part of a tribute to Sondheim evening.

The Show Must Go On - The Actor's Nightmare

Actors...Ever have that dream where you're on stage and you don't know you're lines, you blocking or even what the show is that you're doing? Of course you have. We all have.

Well this weekend, I nearly lived it for real. That's right! I went into a new musical that I had never seen, read nor even heard about with 24 hours notice and no rehearsal. And I survived.

Friday night art 5:00 I received a message from an old colleague at Acme Comedy Theatre whose wife is in a new musical opening that evening in about 3 hours. One of the lead actors was in the emergency room and they knew nothing about his condition, ailment, when or if he would be back in the show. He had been asked to do it but he's not a singer (although I think he could have handled this character's one song). His wife asked if he knew anyone that could sing and act and jump in on a moment's notice.  And that's how I ended up in a new musical.

I was up for the challenge. It's been a while since I've done something like this, gone on as a replacement with little to non rehearsal. And I felt my mind needed it to prove that my mind was still agile enough at my age,

I was told that the show's composer was prepared to go on in the role that evening. I could simply come and watch the show and then jump in to Saturday night's show. I arrived at the theater an hour and a half later. It was very deja vu for me. I did two shows at the at theater 14 and 15 years ago and had only been back on a couple of occasions since both over a decade ago. So weird to be there again after all these years and to walk in the theater and see a signed poster if one of those shows with my autograph hanging on the wall house right. My very first show in Los Angeles was in that space.

So, I arrived and watched as they ran the composer through what would be my scenes. I was handed a copy of the stage manager's script and went in search of a FedEx Office to make a copy. As I went through the script I noticed that my character was named Cindy, not Sidney as was I had been told. I was confused. Turns out this was an older version of the script before my character's gender was changed. (Not the only one either, a formerly male character had been changed to a female so it evened out in the end).  Why the stage manager had an old version of the script was beyond me, but who am I to question.

So I went up to the booth to watch the show. I still knew nothing about this show called Mary of the Avenue. When Sidney came on stage I turned on the recorder on my phone so I could have a recording of the song I had to learn. I watched the show, and after made arrangements with my scene partners to meet at 5 on Saturday before the show.

I went out with friends and stayed out way too late (that's a story for another time). Cancelled my work hours on Saturday and stayed in so I could focus on my lines. Now the good news is that I play a reporter so I could use a clipboard in certain scenes when I was on the scene reporting to my TV audience. That way I was able to put the pages of the script for that scene on the clipboard and use it as a crutch when I was on stage.  I showed up at 5 and we ran my scenes a few times and then I went to the booth to learn my song. I definitely needed to have my script in my hand for that!

I did the show. The announcement that I was going on as a replacement was not made until intermission. The producer thought that if he made the announcement prior to the start of the show that the audience would be conscious of me looking down at my script periodically, but if he said nothing they wouldn't be as aware of it and it would be even more impressive when they found out that I was a last minute sub with no rehearsal time nor no knowledge of the show whatsoever until approximately 24 hours before going on. It worked! They totally fell for it.

Although I was never told about the curtain call. Well, no worries, I thought. I'll just ask who I follow and where I go. Great.  No problem. Worked out fine. And then when we all took our group bow...the music started playing and the cast started singing one of the songs from the show...and not my song! What?! After all that? I get through the show without incident and then that gets thrown at me. What is this song. Do I stand here like an idiot and just grin at the audience? Do I move my lips and make it look like a bad ventriloquist act or bad dubbing on a foreign film? No! I'm going to try and sing a long. A song I don't know. A song I've only heard once. And so I opened my mouth and sang. I followed along. The melody was pretty easy to pick up and as for the words I just a split millisecond behind the cast. Seriously. I was basically echoing them but only barely.

When I walked off stage, I went into the dressing room and said I wish someone had told me that I had to sing in the bows! The composer /producer came backstage and apologized for thinking to tell me and teach me the song. But then also noted how I just dove in and sang along and he couldn't believe how I appeared to know the song, Only his trained eye could tell that I was actually about a split second behind the cast.

So I did it. I went on again today and it was better. Next weekend I'll be onstage without a crutch, totally off book. But for now...Phew! I've still got it!