Audition: “e-bay” @ Shane Casting. This one goes well. As I was leaving, I thought how amazing it is that I even got an appointment for this commercial. There was 6 men of virtually all types in my group. I’m sure I know 100+ men that were right for it, but not everyone will get an appointment.

I look at it this way:

I go from one of the 10,000’s of men that are right for it
To fewer that have representation
To even fewer who are actually submitted by agents
To even fewer that have agents whose submissions get looked at
To WAY fewer who get appointments, maybe 100-200 I’d think.

To all of that I say “wow”. I am very fortunate. Thank you KSA!

Audition: “TBS Promo” @ Beth Holmes Casting. It goes well, simply and easy.

Audition/Print go-see: “Adidas” @ Vicki Goggin Casting. WHAT!? This is like the fourth print go-see I’ve had this year. I’m actually getting less surprised when I get calls from the print department. Thank you Jenny & Rose! I even finished those drop-offs from yesterday.

GASSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh! Many are saying to boycott Exxon. I’m not sure what it’s all about, but I’m jumping on the bandwagon. BOYCOTT EXXON!! BOYCOTT EXXON!! I’m sure there are many others that are laughing all the way to the bank too.

I did drops all day today and I am exhausted. I didn’t even get them all done, I’ll finish tomorrow……I guess.

Audition: “CitiBank” @ Joe Blake Casting. This one was mostly improv and it was a blast. I was paired up with Wayne Wilderson, who is also a KSA commercial client who I see him on TV waaaay more than me. We had a great time. Hopefully, we’ll both get called back.

Audition: “That 70’s Show” @ G. Charles Wright Casting. I really wanna get on this show! I’ve auditioned for it a couple of times now and hopefully I’ll score one of these days. I felt great about the audition, so we’ll see.

After I left I went to do drop-offs at some of the other offices at CBS Radford and ran into Craig Welzbacher. Craig is the one who let me in on his callback for the “Honda” commercial 3 years ago. We both booked and got to go to Tokyo, Japan for additional spots. He’s a great actor and a great guy.

Then I went over to the “Will & Grace” casting office where another friend was auditioning. I dropped an updated photo and resume. They are currently casting 4 shows.

This is where something really, really cool happened. I was looking for Jeff Greenberg’s office, which I believe has moved, and spotted David Kohan. David, along with Max Mutchnick created smash hit “Will & Grace” and I worked for them on “Good Morning, Miami”. We chatted for a bit, he was testing out a new road racing bike. He asked what I was up to and said “when something comes up, we’ll get you right back in there”. That was cool, they are doing “W&G”, “Twins” and “Four Kings”. I won’t wait by the phone, but hopefully it’ll turn into something in the future. I just like having as many possibilities as I can out in the universe.

Reader: “Dreamgirls” @ Debra Zane Casting. I just have one question. How in the heck did I get so lucky? Today I had Tisha Campbell and Raven sing to me. I mean SING to me. Let me tell you, those women got skills! It was unbelievable, I walk in the door and 2 seconds later Tisha is right front of me spilling her heart out in song. It’s painfully obvious why these women are stars…there is no question about it. Also, they are both very, very nice and personable.

Go-See: "Verizon" @ Brigid McBride Casting. Another print go-see?! Yeah! This is the third print go-see this year. I hope I can get another avail that would eventually lead to a booking.

YES! Back in the saddle as a reader for "Dreamgirls" @ Debra Zane Casting. As I've said before - simply amazing. It's such a great thing to see the other side of the business in such a high profile office.

Today, I was treated to the most amazing singers - and they “was all up in my grill” singing to directly ME!! It was like a dream come true. One of the songs was Jennifer Holidays' version of "And I'm Telling You". It was crazy. After the first actress/singer performed, I had goose bumps. They even had a pianist. It was completely surreal. Fortunately, for everyone, I wasn't required to sing. The other scenes had dialogue so I got to work too..

As I've said before, being a reader is an incredibly insightful way to learn about the casting process. I got a chance to see and hear some really cool things; I’ll wait to see the final product on the big screen. Ooops, I forgot, I myself auditioned for it several weeks ago!! Maybe I’ll be in it too! I probably would have heard by now. Well, who knows, it doesn’t start shooting until January.

Audition: "Sprint" @ Ross Lacy Casting. This goes well. My callback ratio isn't the greatest at this office. Hopefully that will change; at any rate, I had a great time.

Tonight I attended, what was supposed to be, a SAG Presidential Debate Meeting. The only problem is that the opposing side chose not to participate. I usually attend a couple of meetings a year and more often than not I leave with not such a great feeling. To be honest, I sometimes wonder exactly what side the higher-ups of the Guild are on. I don't pretend to know the real in and outs of all the contracts, but some things just seem weird. I could never understand why "we" hired Bob Pisano, the former the CEO that recently resigned. I mean, he was on the board of directors of Net Flix the whole time. I don't blame him for not giving up his seat on the board, I’m sure he was making a lot of money but I don't understand why SAG hired him. I believe it was pretty obvious what side he was on...and it wasn't ours. I don't know, it just seems that SAG, in so many ways, is playing catch up while the producers watch us fight.

If you, like me, used to not too much attention to the Guild stuff that comes in the mail I beg of you to check it out. We need guidance and soon. We have to have more informed voters so we can all earn a living in this crazy business. As I wait for my residuals for “The Terminal” it pains me to know how little of the pie we get while the studios get so, so much. On the surface, it seems to me, that if we actors were aligned with the directors and writers we could get our fair share.

==========
==========

This is an email I received as an example during a recent negotiation. It shows how things can be:

Thank you SOOO much for your recent email. I have tried till I'm blue in the face to explain what happened to me on the movie Seabiscuit, which you referenced in your email? [Note: we pointed out that the Writer and director of "Seabiscuit" each made $650,000 from DVD sales.]

Please feel free to share this information in ANY of your materials as it will further breakdown HOW LITTLE will show up in the actors' pockets and how MILLIONS of dollars will be lost in the future.

A few key points on "Seabiscuit" and another movie I worked on, "Catch Me If You Can".
Seabiscuit - pay rate for me: 1 day, Scale plus 10%. "Take it or leave it." Sound familiar? I took it. THINKING, great book, big movie, big budget, RESIDUALS - WRONG!!!!

The movie grossed over 200 million at the box office, then went on to become the #20 Top Selling DVD of ALL TIME at 6.6 MILLION UNITS. But I had to split the 12 CENTS that actors got for each of those 6.6 MILLION UNITS with 90 other speaking roles!

Net pay for me for one day: $538.00
Residuals: $458.00 - And that's for EVERYTHING - DVD, Cable, Pay TV.

Films of this size are skipping cable and syndication and cutting right to cheap, mass-produced DVD's which offer PURE PROFIT.

Now I will use Catch Me If You Can as my other example:
2 days at $800 (my quote at the time - you'll see why fighting for your quote is worth the risk of losing the job.) [Note: this is also a good example of why the proposed 3% increase in minimums is meaningless.]

My residuals for Catch Me If You Can: $5,200. Almost 3 times my initial salary. Same 200 Million at the box office - BUT - not anywhere near the DVD sales of Seabiscuit. BUT - A LOT of HBO, Cable and Pay-Per-View.

The DVD issue is worth sending these guys back to the table. Any penny above what we have now is worth MILLIONS in the long run. The STARS have to come out on this since they have even more to lose than we do. They came out late in the Commercial Strike - I say - bring them out now.

I will send your email to all my friends with that thought in mind that ANYTHING we get above NOTHING now is worth the good fight. WE MUST NOT be fed this b.s. from up top. They misjudged us when they tried to sell us on the merger and on the dues raise. I think they're doing that here, too.

Yours in Brotherhood,

[Name deleted at writer's request.]

==========
==========

Is that a wake up call or what? Arm yourself with knowledge and then vote!!

Audition: “Diet Pepsi” @ TLC/Loree Booth Casting. YES!! I’m assuming this is another Joe Pytka-directed spot. I recently did the “IBM” spot for him. Cool.

Word on the street has it that the role of the young husband is being recast on the ABC Comedy “Hot Properties”. I worked on the pilot and in the same scene with the husband. So, of course, I’m wondering that when they recast it are they going to re-shoot the scene……and are they going to hire me again. I know they replaced one of the four female leads so I’m wondering if they are just going to re-shoot the whole pilot.

Anyway, I talked to the casting associate today and she said they only re-shot the females leads scenes. So I guess I’m safe.

Drops, drops and more drops. Other than that it’s been cricket sounds round these parts as far as appointments. That’s cool, I had a busy week last week and was hoping to book something. I didn’t……….yet. All of the auditions went well and I am very happy about that. I’ll get something else soon.

I talked to the ad agency for the “IBM” spot today to see when it might start running. She said it was going to through market testing at the moment and they should know next week and she’ll call me then. I hope it test well!

Audition: “Bailey’s Irish Crème” @ Melissa Martin Casting. It goes well and I think I’m really right for it, so we’ll see.

Audition/Producers “My Name is Earl” @ Dava Waite Casting. It’s an NBC comedy starring Jason Lee & Jamie Pressly. Dava has called me in twice before, for "Yes, Dear" & "Hot Properties" and I've scored both times. I'm ready to be 3 for 3.I was happy with how this one went, it was quick-fast in and out.

Audition: “Dreamgirls” @ Debra Zane Casting. This is the feature film starring Beyonce Knowles, Usher Raymond, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. Debra and casting associate, Tannis Vallely, have been very loyal supporters of my career. It’s funny that I got an appointment for this because just last week I had to fight the urge to drop another photo to their office for a new Steven Soderbergh project that I think they are casting. Steven cast me in “Ocean’s Twelve”, but the role was cut before I even film it. I don’t know if I’m right for anything in the project, but I’ll try and try again.

Their office, just down the street from my apartment, is a film casting gold mine. I do drops there on a regular basis. As individuals, we sometimes think the casting community forgets about us and in many cases, it’s true. They have so many others from which to choose. I’m trying my best to prevent them from forgetting about me; without being a nuisance. When this call came from my agent I said “YES!!”

I gotta tell ya, getting to read @ Debra Zane's office is a pure treat. It's more like a rehearsal or even shooting. Tannis runs the camera, they put a wireless microphone on you, they have studio lights and Debra is actually in the scene with you!! I mean, as an actor, you kinda have to switch gears because it's odd to get that much attention during an audition. Oh yeah, they schedule actors in 20-30 minute time slots. WHAT? Yeah, so you rarely even see another actor while you're there. These people really want to help you be the absolute best you can be.

When I arrived I had 5-7 minutes to warm it up in the space where I would be reading. They gladly answered my questions and we put it on tape. In the end I was happy and they seemed happy so we'll see what happens.

Audition: “Gilmore Girls” @ JaM Casting. I actually booked a role on this show back in September of 2002, but I wasn’t able to do it because I was already booked on “Good Morning, Miami”. So here is another shot for me. It’s for two episodes.

I felt really good about the read; at minimum I think they’ll bring me back if I don’t book this time. The only thing I didn’t like was that my character yelled in the scene; he was breaking up a fight. I was pretty loud in the room, but I don’t think it was a deal breaker.

Wow another audition?! Almost. Before I even got this message for the appointment I got the message that it had been cancelled. It was for "Strong Medicine" and Lori Sugar Casting, but the role was written out of the episode. They said they'll get me in for something else soon. Cool, at least I'm on the radar. I've auditioned and gone to producers for the show 3 different times, but the last time was like 3 years ago. I will keep trying.

Callback: "Cheese Nips" @ Mimi Webb-Miller Casting. This was from last week; the same office where I got into the little spat with the session runner. She was there today and approached her, tapped her on the shoulder and told her "that I was on my behavior today". She just laughed; I told her that I felt horrible about it and even wrote about it in my journal. She said she told her boyfriend. We are fast friends now; things usually work out. Anyway, this callback went really well. Time will tell how it really went.