HOLLYWOOD ACTOR PREP by Dana Kaminski

Is this typecasting, or simply what casting directors call a ‘good fit’?

Sesame Street recently announced that they are planning to do a Muppets ‘Mad Men’ parody.

At Jezebel, the writer, Hortense played casting director, and assigned each Muppet a role on ‘Mad Men’, replacing the show’s real actors…

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Let’s break it down, shall we? Prairie Dawn as Peggy Olson: Like Peggy, Prairie Dawn is a writer who, often enough, is the only female Muppet in a world filled with males. And nobody can argue that she’s already got the hairdo down pat.

Lefty the Salesman as Don Draper: Lefty the Salesman wasn’t much of a salesman, but perhaps his attempts at selling shady merchandise to the folks of Sesame Street will help him prepare for the role of Don Draper. If nothing else, he looks good in a fedora.

Clementine as Betty Draper: Clementine’s boyfriend, Forgetful Jones, often neglects her due to his poor memory. Perhaps she could channel some of that frustration into playing the oft-neglected Betty Draper?

Cookie Monster as Roger Sterling: Roger Sterling always wants to have his cake and eat it, too. Related: Cookie Monster will happily play any role that can even remotely be linked to the consumption of pastries.

Bert and Ernie as Ken Cosgrove and Paul Kinsey: Though Bert and Ernie are best friends, they know what it’s like to not always see eye to eye. Will they be able to pull off the tension and jealousy that arises at times between co-workers Kinsey and Cosgrove? Of course they will, people. Bert’s uni-brow alone can bring the drama when necessary.

Telly Monster as Freddy Rumsen: Telly, like Freddy, is always a mess and can never seem to keep it together. They’re a sad-faced match made in Heaven.

Lady Two as Joan Holloway: A former girlfriend of Count Von Count, Lady Two clearly knows how to vamp it up, and her sassy dress and bright red hair are perfect for the part.

Elmo as Pete Campbell: Elmo is younger than most of his cast mates, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to grab the spotlight at every opportunity. Oh, he may seem cute, but he can’t be trusted. Elmo’s already succeeded in getting his own show-within-a-show on Sesame Street. Surely he understands Pete’s desire to get to the top.

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All Actors From The Cast Of  ’Mad Men’ Will Be Back On..

…Next season…According to the AMC website.

That is, of the usual human cast that you are so familiar with.

Season 3 begins at 10 PM, Sunday, August 16, 2009.

Like people, the ‘Mad Men’ series regular actors have two names….they aren’t marionettes or puppets, or even CGI.

And they don’t play superheroes, just real characters.

The Real Cast Of Actors Are:

• Jon Hamm

• John Slattery

• Vincent Kartheiser

• January Jones

• Christina Hendricks

• Elisabeth Moss

• Michael Gladis

• Aaron Staton

• Rich Sommer

• Bryan Batt

• Robert Morse

• Mark Moses

• Joel Murray

• Colin Hanks

• Alison Brie

• Anne Dudek

• Maggie Siff

• Rosemary DeWitt

• Darby Stanchfield

• Peyton List

• Melinda McGraw

You Think The Muppets Have Agents??

If they do, they sure are doing a bang up job of leveraging their talents.

I’ve covered them twice, now, this year…

Have you seen this Ricky Gervais and Elmo video, here, on Hollywood Actor Prep?

Would you kindly tell your actor friends about this blog? Post it on your Facebook page?

Thank  you.

Best,

;~Dana

This actor’s full name: Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

I saw him in ‘500 Days Of Summer’ at the LA Film Fest.

Here he is with Zooey Deschanel, who plays Summer, his romantic interest…

…In the movie that is poised to be this summer’s big love movie…The freshest summer love movie yet.

Too complicated?

It’ll all make sense when you see it. You’ll see what I mean, then.

Actors Zooey Deschanel + Joseph Gordon-Levitt

I took this with my iPhone. I have no clue why the light is like that…

Gordon-Levitt manages to be very cool, and likeable at the same time.

Go figure.

I guess it doesn’t hurt when your father was the news director at a public radio station, here in LA, called KPFK.

And your mother ran for Congress, in the ’70’s, on the Peace-And-Freedom Party ticket.

Remember him, as a child actor on Roseanne? On Third Rock?

That’s how I know he is deeply and thoroughly groovy. Gordon-Levitt is so authentic, organic, solid; being a child actor couldn’t do it’s normal damage…

His movie past included ‘Ten Things I Hate About You’, with Heath Ledger; and ‘Manic’. Zooey Deschanel was his co-star in that film, too.

Here they are in the trailer for ‘500 Days Of Summer’

Joe-The-Actor is also a writer and filmmaker.

He took an Elmore Leonard story, and made it into a screenplay, called ‘Sparks’.

Then, made a short out of it, cast actors Carla Gugino and Eric Stoltz; and previewed it at Sundance.

He’s showing only the trailer, for now…

Here’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt NOT Acting…

…Talking a little about acting.

He says that he likes to hang around with Russian clowns.

I wouldn’t mind if he hung around with this Russian clown, she who writes this blog…

Happy Summer!

;~Dana

Hugh Laurie just thrills me, as an actor. His acting, as Dr. House, is some of the best anywhere. I love the show’s premise, too; and the other actors are fine, fine actors.  But, Laurie is so good, that he could do it as a monologue, and I would still watch.

Here is the video audition, of  Laurie trying out for the television show. It’s an amazing audition.  

What I notice, most, is how much he is Dr. House, before he ever stepped on the set.  Just sittin’ in a chair with no makeup, and using a script in his lap: he is entirely Dr. House, and it is an almost seamless performance…captured on a camcorder.

Watch how well, during the scene, he relates to the casting director, who is feeding him the lines.  He just relaxes his talent, right into the character; and no one has to stretch their imagination,  to believe he is “that guy“.  His choices are so strong, he carries them out with such a confidence and ease, that he brings Dr. House to life, right at the audition.

You can see, it’s so well done…there was nothing to add or change, once he had the job.  

When auditions are this well done, there’s no way that any other actor can get the part.

Oh my.

Stuck in an editing stage, I actually have two separate posts :

1. An interview with a casting director, and I gave him “final approval” so when that gets back, I will post it
2. An article that I wrote on women’s roles in some smaller films, out now (but that has gone through a couple of revisions because I just can’t seem to stop myself from turning it into a rant…)
3. And, oh yeah…(Okay, three)I actually bumped into Richard Dreyfuss, while walking my dog, and I blabbered on about SAG-and-my-site-and-what-ideas-he-may-have-for -”younger actors”, and since he couldn’t commit be web address to memory  (no one can, can you?? Everyone please, sign up for the email, for heavens sake, they send my posts to your mailbox, and then you don’t have to try to remember!) ….so I emailed him a link to the blog, and hopefully we’ll hear from him soon…

So those posts aren’t ready, and I hope they are, soon..b-u-t, I do like to post frequently, and consistently…so as I was having an “online chat” with a friend, while having my  morning tea, today. I asked if he would like to do an impromptu interview by chat.

His name is John Mendoza, and he is a “stand-up”.  (Yes, and ha-ha, he is a stand-up guy, in fact, and I can attest to that; we have  been friends for over twenty years.  EmHm…However, you may not get that he is as stand-up as “all that”, by the words used his terse statements, especially here…but I can attest he is using comedic license…)

Click on his name, and you can see his bio, on IMDB.com, in a separate window.

You may recognize him from television, he even had his own television series, at one point.

If you haven’t seen his stand-up act,  you’re missing something.  He can, and actually only really does: make these tiny one sentence statements, and they are hilariously funny.  His “comic delivery” is so very special, and unique, only to him.

A vernacular note: I happen to know a lot of comedians, from my New York City days.  And they don’t call themselves comedians, usually; they call themselves”comics“.  Yeah, like the comic book, only they mean someone who does standup comedy.  

I am sure that Mendoza’s comedy won’t translate all that well to a page.  It really is true when I say, in general, about him: “You hadda be there”. If you are, you are probably laughing on the floor; while simultaneously, amazed, that he was able to turn an itty-bitty amount of words into something so unexpectedly hilarious.   

He’s sometimes scathingly mean with his viewpoint, or sarcastic; and it’s still hilarious.

Never once, does he crack a smile.  Nor does he even add any expression.  He’s deadpan, exponentially. And it’s that mix, the way he maintains his attitude and expression, with his comic statement, that makes tear-up-funny moments.

Throughout, he maintains his “Mendoza-ness”; giving off the impression that he’s barely interested, even; and this is while he is onstage.  That happens in “real life” too, by the way. He is the same.  

It’s too bad that his special and specific comedic-style didn’t transmit well to TV, when the network tried to make a show for him. Really too bad, because onstage, he is excellent.

He is touring, now; so he may be soon in your town.

 Chat History

11:33am

John

Miss Dana

11:33am

Dana

heynhey

whats the best thing about being in comedy

and this time answer the ‘f-ing’ question

11:33am

John

all good?

the drugs

11:34am

Dana

what s the worst

11:34am

John

the drugs

11:35am

Dana

what was the hardest thing to accomplish in the beginning

11:35am

John

cfear

fear

11:35am

Dana

and now?

11:35am

John

nothing

11:35am

Dana

can i post this on my blog?

11:35am

John

sure

11:36am

Dana

thanks lovey

gotta go only because i was waitng for someone to call back andthey havenow..

11:36am

John

got to jump on a plane

11:37am

Dana

write me from where evah

…no response…

 

 

Disclaimer: Just don’t believe what he says.  It’s bull, and not true.

Which shows might you watch for the acting?  I have comments, below this listing…

The TV shows premiering tonight:

7:00 PM ABC  Extreme Makeover Home Edition 

8:00 PM  CBS The Amazing Race

               Fox The Simpsons

8:30        Fox   King Of The Hill

9:00        ABC  Desperate Housewives

               CBS   Cold Case

               Fox   Family Guy

               ST    Dexter

9:30        Fox  American Dad

10:00      ABC Brothers And Sisters

               CBS The Unit

               ST  Californication

The Relevancy to Acting 

Californication

Californication is a must. It’s theatre, on TV.

Not only is the acting (David Duchovny) seamless, effortless, and relaxed-as-you-can-get; but the scripts are original and it’s great with as far as acting “relationships” (fa-real relating, modern).  It does jack up the uchh-Hollywood-sleaze-in-the-business..so if that already makes you creeped out, then don’t watch it…the show is so effectively done, the fear of being  “Hollywood-slimed” could  keep you from going after your career here!

Don’t worry…

Some people get H-slimed, others don’t.  (… If you keep your integrity, and stick with my site + blog…you can learn some good boundaries to stay out of that ‘world’ here…)  Generally, I find, some people are naive, and some people simply like sleaze and slime. They venture in, not just into Hollywood, but into the slime in Hollywood; they choose to walk right in.  Do they unknowingly get sucked in?

Some who get sucked in

Some do know it, as it happens. Yet,  it still happens, because they let it.  There’s conflict and discovery… and that’s what this show is about. 

Great drama often involves situations where the character is sinking into some lower state, and suddenly they find themselves immersed in an environment (external or internal) , that is different to what they know. Than what they’re familiar with. 

So how do you act that?

Acting is active.    

The most exciting roles, dramatically, are where the character is transitioning.  In the midst of it.  The discovery, where the character recognizes that he is not the moral or ethical person that he once was.  How he sees himself, the level that he holds himself.  The solidity, core of how he defines his identity, is transitioning.  He discovers as when we do, the audience.  We all discover it together; and then; we, as the audience, watch him struggle to try to get “himself” back. 

In this show, he almost can’t help himself; and there is an ongoing inner struggle there, and a human weakness and lack of control.  

I do love Californication, and don’t love to admit it… It really does a great job of portraying some  (existing somewhere)  ooh-yuk,slee-e-ezy  perspective of H’wood.  It’s a got a good lens on modern relationships, as well.

I give it a vote of very “real”.  Even though it isn’t a pretty “real”, not easy to take.  It’s art, like a David Raab play is: it’s “too much”, and that “too much” is part of what makes it art.

Can’t stand to watch it; and have to watch it…The tension is this: Is he going to pull himself up a little, or stay down; with his next step?

(I hate to use the word “character”, I just can’t think of a better way, right now.  It isn’t apt, not precise.  It distorts, describing acting.  As soon as I hear “character”–that makes it “once-removed”… it takes the connection out.  I do use “me” or “you” when speaking about acting; but when writing, that doesn’t “read” precisely, either–it doesn’t define…When I write or say “the character“;  immediately, it seems like detached acting, like bad acting, phony….)

Sociopaths, Psychopaths, Auditions

Dexter

Dexter is popular, I know.  From an acting standpoint, I think it’s good for research. Here’s a guy who actually is a sociopath.  (Sociopath and psychopath have the same definition; the “S” one is more polite, nicer-sounding! …Just some psychology F.Y.I.!)  

Actors often play those with mental disorders.  Again, it makes great drama.  Meaty roles to play, too. 

Dexter’s duality is that he works for the police, and is murdering people; two extreme sides within the same person.  

Personally, I find the premise to be too “gimmick-y”. However, it’s interesting to observe the acting choices, while watching the story; any sociopathic personality would be interesting to play, even without the “pushed” circumstances.  And they are unique.

Basically, sociopaths feel no conscience pulling at them.  They get their “thrills” in very different ways than most other people.  

Statistics estimate that there is one sociopath for every 25 people.  

Many don’t murder people, or even do other extreme, physically violent things. The pathology isn’t easy to detect, even by psychiatrists. But, they do have differences, and do act differently.

This kind of depth makes a role  interesting to play, because the symptoms are not obvious; they are under the surface, difficult to detect and define. Characteristically, sociopaths are quite engaging, socially.  These complexities can also make a role more difficult to play.

I always think it is a good idea, while watching performance, to keep one eye on how someone plays a role. What choices did they make?   Especially, when they’ve make a success of it.

I also think it is good to give yourself exercises, while watching.  You may do so, automatically; get in the habit, if not: of thinking how you might portray this specific sociopath, yourself… 

I’m not suggesting you play these parts in  your life.  

In Dexter, his pathology is central to the theme. 

When shows and roles become successful, that type of character becomes more prevalent in the “Breakdowns”.  There’s a good chance you’ll audition for a role like this, in the future, or at least do a scene in a class…

Best,

;Dana

The fall television season is underway. Want an easy schedule?

t night.   

Tonight:

 ABC 

UGLY BETTY 

(2 hours of) GREY’S ANATOMY

NBC

THE OFFICE  (followed by THE OFFICE SPINOFF*)

MY NAME IS EARL

ER

Jamie Pressley :: Actor :: My Name Is Earl

“30 Rock”, the big Emmy winner, won’t be premiering until late October.

No “Lost”, yet, (still my favorite show)—and it won’t be premiere-ing for a while…boo hoo!

No  “Miami CSI” yet either…they are scheduled for winter…

Harvey Keitel on Television

That’s really big news.  As far as great acting goes, well, Harvey Keitel is his own genre…

Movie actors didn’t used to migrate between television and film: it was really strict–one or the other, as a classification.  

What a great character he will be on the new show, called “Life On Mars”!  What great casting–  a hardened, weathered, New York detective.  

This show was already a hit, where it was conceived, in England.  On the BBC.

(Thank you, BBC, for creating and proving a hit; perhaps too creative to ever have passed up our past our “Network Brass”  to make it to air, here in the States.)

Another reason that it went right up, with a big pass, thru-the-ranks-of -network–was, that it started out as a David Kelley production (duh, “Boston Legal” etc)

[--and if you don't know who David Kelley is, may I send you, please, to the back of the room---]

He’s no longer involved, and the show is still on the lineup; with a few changes…cast  and city changes–it went from LA to NYC.

The story concept– “Life On Mars”:

Cop, in the middle of work, gets transported back to the 1970’s.  Same day, different year; same job, different cultural period!

Great.  Let’s hope it plays out that way!

The cast is a good, solid,  ”real actors”:

• Gretchen Mol
• Lisa Bonet
• Harvey Keitel (and again, I say: Harvey K.)
• Michael Imperioli 
• Jonathan Murphy
• Jason O’Mara   (Actor from Scotland, orig.)

Jason O'Mara

Best,

; Dana

Dancing With The Stars

ABC and Dancing With The Stars 

Reality television was included in the Emmys for the first time, this year.

Last night, “Dancing With The Stars” got some very high ratings; in this brand new television season.

Is “Dancing With The Stars” classified as “Reality TV”? Is that because it doesn’t contain professional actors; or rather, professional-actors-that-aren’t-acting. 

What do you think it means, that audiences are choosing “Dancing With The Stars” over other traditional types of television shows, as far as popularity goes??

…Just  putting out the question… 

How Actors Think About Reality TV

For actors, reality television means:
Shows without actors.

The more “reality” programming there is, the less jobs for actors.

There is actually a “master list” of all the auditions television, movies, and some legit theater–it’s called “Breakdown Services“… It’s a “wire service”, an auditions roster, it comes out daily. In Los Angeles.

Only some people are allowed access to “The Breakdowns”; they are the agents and casting directors, and some managers.

Easy equation, though, huh? Reality TV casts real people, so the numbers of auditions for network television lessens as they increase reality TV programming.

In other words, less professional actor casting.  Less auditions, less jobs available…

What accounts for the popularity of reality TV?
Is “Dancing With The Stars” really reality TV?

I’ll give my opinion sometime in the near future, and I do wish to mull it over some, and gather some more information.
In the meantime, I’m asking around….
;Dana