HOLLYWOOD ACTOR PREP by Dana Kaminski

It’s A Great Time For Actors. The Internet Allows Actors To Act, Publicly.

I have even recommended that you make your own product, at times.

I have also, always admonished that you must make sure, before you put your own product out into the world, that it is very top professional level…As far as the production value. Most crucially, make sure that your acting is ready to go out into the world. Your abilities.

The Acting That Goes On Digital Replays On Digital. Again, Again, Again…

Make sure that you have fine, high standards for yourself. Please think twice and then again, before you impulsively put yourself out into the world as an actor. Because digital content is not like a play. In a play, an actor can work through stuff, try out new skills, get experience. When a play is over, it’s gone.

When a film is finished shooting, it’s on the film forever. Digital is even more serious. Once your acting is on the internet, it is there forever.

I know how excited and ready every actor feels to be a performer. To be ‘doing it’ and getting people to see you doing it. (Acting, that is!)

Remember when you were in high school, and it seemed like adulthood would never happen?

Professional Acting Careers Do Happen.

When you have your professional acting reputation as your identity, you will want only that level of acting to be visible to your audience.

If you plan on being a professional actor, if you aren’t one already; make sure your acting ability is at peak professional level, before you put something out that could embarrass you later. Or worse. That could cost you a job later, a job that would have been a stepping stone in your career.

If you do a production that appears amateurish, you may be shooting your career in the foot.

If you are in a production that is amateurish, it is very hard to appear professional as an actor, with professional level chops.

If you really don’t have the professional level chops, as an actor; then it might be something to consider before showing the world, and your future employers, what you can’t do. Putting your limitations on the screen of the public, for all the world to see, and to replay again and again.

Take this advice with a grain of salt. Or don’t.
I know it’s a brand new world of artistic freedom, and it’s very exciting to be able to make your own product. Just as it is as accessible as can be, to make your own product, finding and watching product has become quite easily accessible too. That means that in the future, all past digital product will be at the touch of a button. That means that your resume won’t be on paper soon, so much as all your work will be viewable, instead. By searching.

And, yes, I know what it’s like to be an actor, with no credits yet, and how difficult it can be to break through and really get to act on something at a professional level. How hard it is to wait, to be able to start to act.

But, what I am sure of, because I have seen the actors who do become professionals, and very successful; and I have also seen many who don’t.

Foresight, planning, artistic development, and using professional wisdom, long before you get hired as a professional actor, is the best way of all.

Do you regard yourself as a professional actor? All I am saying is, making decisions based on impulse, impatience, and even desparation; can turn out very different, than making decisions with the inner security and prudence of someone who treats their profession as a career. Long-term career.

Best,

Dana

Please share, thanks…Even if you are mad because I just stuck a pin in your bubble.

(Professional acting ability, and using professional-level wisdom, isn’t easily poppable, like a bubble. By the way. It’s rock solid, like gold.)

Act like a professional, in your regard and in respect to your career, with respect to your highest self. Learn to act like a professional actor. (That’s why it’s called that.) And when you are ready to put something out for the public, and for your future employers to see, make sure it is only at the level that your future employers will want to employ you from…and employ you over all the other actors. Skilled professional actors.

You may be mad at me now. I am guessing that you won’t be so mad later, a few more years down the road…

For Some Actors, It Seems Like Bad News, But It’s Actually Good.

If there are not shortcuts, and there is no such thing as being ‘discovered’…

Then you have to be a good actor to succeed.

The good news about that is that professional acting is about great acting. A great actor has a kind of insurance.

The really great good news is that each and every actor who really expands and grows, as an actor, expands and grows throughout their life.

And a career such as professional acting with its unreliable reputation, can ebb and flow, but one thing profound thing does not change.

No matter what happens, for the actor that honors and has developed a craft; no one can take that away. Nothing can.

At the end of the day, it’s a mighty valuable thing to possess. (That’s something that you’ll just have to take my word for, perhaps.)

Don’t trust this entirely?

Well, good. You shouldn’t.

Yes, there are other ways, other reasons that actors get hired. Even acquire acting careers.

But none of them are reliable methods to become a professional actor, nor to survive, once you do. They’re based on chance. Who would try to achieve the important goal of their life, by leaving it up to chance?

But, if at an actor has great talent, great abilities; then the irregularities and unpredictability of the business become secondary.

Trailer for Iron Man 2 With Mickey Rourke

Iron Man 2 Poster with Mickey Rourke, courtesy and copywright ©Paramount Pictures.

Best,

Dana

Please remember to share this. Thank  you.

A Personal Happy New Year To All The Actors And Readers

…Of Hollywood Actor Prep!

We are embarking on a new decade!  I am thrilled to be along with you, as you fulfill your dreams of an acting career, and become an ever-finer performing artist.

You may know, that I am committed to actor activism, of my own design. I am certain that the world can get better at respecting actors; and that to be a professional actor should be easier, than it is, right now. Surely, it can be easier than it has been, for a long long time.

I am also, as you know, passionate about supporting actors who want, more than anything, to become professional actors. Who love their craft, and have an undeniable dream. Whose happiness really does depend on whether or not they pursue an acting profession.  (I know that feeling well, and that drive, and that illogical-seeming logic!)

I also understand that for many actors, it is a true calling. It is something that is like an identity, something that you are sure you were born to do. Certainly, something that is deep in your heart.

The internet makes it so easy to create a community and connect, and I am so glad that we are able to.  I am very pleased to support you on your journey. And very excited to watch your actualization occur, as it does.

I will be here.

Here’s my New Year’s Card for you…

My very best,

;~Dana

Don’t forget to come to this blog on Sundays, Noon PST, for:

Live Streaming, SUNDAY BRUNCH WITH DANA!

Tomorrow’s topic is : Time And Focus For Actors…

Let’s Start With My ProActor Workshop, May I?

Simply…

I realized that most people that offer actors classes, workshops, etc are really fakirs, posing as experts. Their information that they offer is often not correct.  Or not comprehensive.

(Too blunt? Well, look carefully. It’s just true.  You will see this a lot more clearly, after you become a professional.)

Or they are very creative with their imaginations, and great at social sites, marketing. They really don’t offer, nor can they, information that will educate any actor on how to become a professional actor.

I also realized (especially now that I am talking to so many actors online) just how much mystery and misconception is out there, at every acting level, about the acting profession. Most actors spend most of their career, some spend all of their career; on the wrong path, that will never lead them into The Industry. They never knew the way, but they thought they did.

I am talking about actors who get good training somewhere, maybe even college or grad school, or have a good coach! Still they don’t have a clue about what it specifically takes, to become a professional actor.  Sometimes, they are led astray by a self-designated expert.

Well, as you may know if you follow me on Twitter, or on this blog; especially if you have come to one of my weekly events:

• Streaming Sunday Brunch With Dana

..You may have had a glimpse into my encyclopedia of a brain, or my racer-rapid assessment skills.

Have I said that it will be live, interactive, streaming, and personal? In other words, I will look at your “look”, we will type your type,  your photos, your reel (if you have one. If not, you will learn how to get a great one, and it will be tailored to your strengths…) We will get everything and all that is essential, to professional level.

You will learn about getting an agent in the real world of acting, and about the different kinds, and different levels. You will be setting your sites on specific ones, the kind that can get you the real auditions.

I will tell you what personal and professional traits real successful working actors all have, and we will, together, work on those same skills and traits, for you to have.

I will tell you how to build your resume with the right kind of acting work, so that you will have a resume of professional level, and–sorry, but we will remove stuff too–the kind of items that I know are actually hindrances.  Red flags, that spell “amateur” to the real agents and the real casting directors.

We are going to “lay tracks” and define the path, that is a real working actor path. We are going to talk about time, and effort, and get very succinct, because time is precious. And it sometimes takes a lot of time to get to the goal, so if an actor wastes time on the wrong thing, or the wrong skills, or the wrong people; it can just wind up being too late, sometimes…Most of the time.

I will tell you how every aspect of the business works. For real. And you will leave this workshop savvy, and smart. Focused, and knowledgable.

We will work on your skills, your focus, your mindset, your individual plan. And much more,which I will not post publicly, for every other site to copy. (Once again.)

For the first time, I am offering my experiences,  my personal hard-knocks, observations, and assessment; from all my years on the inside, when I was a very successful working actress, and voiceover.  My experience as an acting teacher, and as an acting coach.

I didn’t have a relative in the business, I didn’t have any easy breaks. I made it. All within the same system that exists now, and with all the same kinds of hurdles. I know them well. I know how to surmount them.

WHY, NOWHERE ELSE, IS THERE A COMPREHENSIVE PROFESSIONAL ACTING WORKSHOP?

Why??

Because no one else has been a professional actor, and then came out the other side, and shared the information.

It’s that simple.

Here I am.

But I may not want to do this again, so catch it now.  And do I mean that.

There is so much info and you will be doing work, changing, morphing. It will change your life, and after this, you may be able to take on anything. Because acting careers are not easily made, not usually.

And, there are systems, methods, and secrets. Yes, there really are.

(And I learned them well, right at the Hollywood School Of Hard Knocks. It took years to earn my ‘diploma’…)

I will take only small groups, and try to group according to professional level and experience.

It will be supportive, it will be rigorous, it will be personal.  In other words, I will share my personal information, from all that I learned on the inside, and how to get there! And I will take each person, personally, and will get them up to snuff.

Are  you ready?

Sign up on the contact form, if you wish to be on the list for this workshop that starts in January. Eight weeks.

Get your funds ready, because…

As generous as I am…

It ain’t like this blog.

It’s extremely valuable information…Rare, unique, intense, exceptional, and very, very, valuable.

It’s not free.

♣

The One-On-One Acting Coaching With Dana, On The Internet …

Is also interactive, by way of Skype.

You can contact me by the clicking CONTACT –at the top of this page.

I can coach you on your career, check out your photos, prep you for an audition, critique a scene, even work on your technique.

For the one-on-one acting coaching, you pay for amount of my time-usage…So the choice is yours.

I am so happy to be starting the New Year getting some of you in full gear, for a real career. I am so psyched!

It’s the real deal, so you had better get yourself ready…

Best, As Ever,

;~Dana

If You Think That Giving A Rotten Audition For A Big Film Role Is Bad…

Or you made a big mistake onstage in front of a packed audience…

Have you seen the photo of Rihanna’s new ink?

It’s Rihanna’s philosophy, and it’s been mine, too.  Everything is a lesson. An opportunity to grow. As an artist, an actor.  And as a human being.

As an actor, I knew that I could either learn something that accelerated me toward being the kind of actor that I strove to be. Or not.

In auditions, it only made the subsequent ones, easier. If I could get over not doing it as well as I wanted, or worse(!), I had three choices:

1. I could beat myself up emotionally, and convince myself that I was not up to par.
2. I could devote myself, even more assiduously to my acting craft, so that I could insure that my skills would not let me down, in future auditions.
3. I could accept that some auditions just are not going to turn out perfectly. Which had an unexpected outcome, in fact.  By that accepting that, I was more relaxed about audition expectations, and more relaxed altogether, in my auditions.  Which made my auditions much better, because it allowed my talent to flow. Because I was more relaxed, I had more access to my full acting skill; my ‘acting instrument’ wasn’t stifled, by nerves, to be nearly unusable.

None of my personal auditioning philosophy, that I shared just now, would have happened if I hadn’t experienced some very uncomfortable casting opportunities.  Talk is cheap. Experience is huge.

Sometimes, my lessons were that there is a lesson. That, simply that. Like a magic, and uncomfortable, pointer to a certain something that wasn’t being worked on, that needed to be. In my craft, in my attitude, or in my psyche.

Often, it was that I had fallen back into the bad habit of being negative. Or being too hard on myself. Or not enjoying the path, the process, the evolution of becoming a professional. Patience, and gratitude for being involved in something I truly loved with all my might, is pretty big stuff. Yet with a strong focus on a goal, it was easy to forget how lucky I felt, to be in the process of developing myself, and really doing something that I loved so much.

Professional Actors Audition Differently

An experienced, professional actor, walks into an audition much differently than a novice actor.  They do the acting part of the audition differently, and they leave the casting room differently at the end. The entire time, a professional actor with some real solid work on their resume, relates to the casting director differently, certainly, than the novice actor. Or someone who has a fresher acting career.

One of the most beautiful things about acting, I believe, is that a professional actor can spend the rest of his or her life growing as an artist.  I’m not sure other professions are like that.  But, I wouldn’t know, either. Acting is the only real profession I’ve ever had.

Best,

;~Dana

PPS Do share, please, and thanks for paying this forward. Thanks also, for making an actor community in the world, and for being a part of mine!

♣

IMPORTANT NEWS:

I am doing a streaming workshop called the PRO ACTOR WORKSHOP. That’s right. I will teach actors how to be a professional actor…If you are interested, please use the ‘contact’ form to let me know.  You can find it at the top of this page.

I will be sharing all the things that I know and learned from being an actor, who was on the inside.  The real deal. I haven’t posted most of what I will be teaching, publicly; it hasn’t been here, or anywhere else; for that matter.

I’m not even going public with what my content will be, in this workshop. (Heck if I am going to give some of the fraudulent sites some real topics to hawk to gullible actors.)

I honestly know that you can’t learn this from any other “acting site”. Or live workshop, or class. It may change your life. I believe it will.  SIgn up, because I am getting very excited to do this soon…There’s a lot of material, and I can’t promise I’ll want to do this workshop again!

PPS  What I haven’t told you in this post is that I once made an onstage, cringemaking-for-life, error,  in front of a packed house. Only flat-out begging can get me to tell that tale…

This post was one of two that were corrupted today and will be back on soon.  In the meantime… If you are inquiring about the workshop, and want information about it, please use the contact form.

Why A Form? …Because of the “Must-Do’s”, for one.

They separate the Professional Actors from everybody else.

I am only giving out what kind of information I will be covering in my new workshop, to those actors who are interested in attending! It’s far too valuable, and this is one category of information that I am just not giving away for free. Plus, I will be sharing real insider experiential stuff, and that is nowhere else…to be found.

If you are interested in really knowing what separates the professional actors from the non-pros, and how they got to be that way, and how you can be that, too.

Leave your name and email, on this form. Click here for the link. Only Dana Kaminski will see these email addresses…This form is very secure.

…Getting very psyched, and I hope you are too!

Best,

Dana

(This is what that other post said in it’s little summary—

Legal Disclaimer:

No promises, claims, or statements here. Except, of course, a virtual truckload of experiential, and individually-focused, information about how to be a professional actor. And getting you that knowledge, so that you meet the qualifications of professional acting. For this New…

Do you think that was what broke the database? …The idea of that ‘whole truckload of information’ that I have been holding onto for all this time, and about to release…??

Or was it the authentic emotional chops of the  Crying Actors post that went up the next day?

Erma Bombeck was a newspaper columnist.

I read this near the beginning of my career.

Something about acting, choosing to pursue it, wholly, after the love and passion of it chooses you well before…

It seems to be just about as fully alive as anyone can feel. Can be.

Here’s Erma Bombeck’s lifefull, and wistful reminder. To live fully.
In every area.

It really does go faster than you can imagine, or foresee.

So if you are waiting to start your acting career until you get the perfect picture, or lose 10 pounds, etc. Start now instead.

Acting; or whatever you want, that will mean fully living for you…

Here’s what she wrote:

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER by Erma Bombeck

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the “good” living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television, and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderful growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I never would have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”

There would have been more “I Love You’s.”

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it… live it and never give it back.

Stop sweating the small stuff. Don’t worry about who doesn’t like you, who has more, or who’s doing what.

Instead, let’s cherish the relationships we have with those who DO love us. Let’s think about what God HAS blessed us with. And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually.

Life is too short to let it pass you by. We only have one shot at this and then it’s gone.

Best,
:~Dana

Please put this on your Facebook page, if you enjoyed it,

And do ReTweet!…Thanks very much!

(For reminding me of this by posting it recently, a hat tip to bitrebels.com.)

I  Do Have A Fondness For Tom Hanks, But I Am Not Feeling It For This ‘Vote Yes’ Video

I may comment a little later, a little more…  I have already commented on the SAG YouTube site where it plays.  Here is a link to see my small comment there.

You must know, if you are a regular reader of Hollywood Actor Prep, that I do not agree that it is a SAG Contract that anyone should  agree to.

From all that I have learned, I think every SAG Actor should ‘vote no’.

I think, if ratified, it will have devastating effects on 95% of the Actors that are SAG members. I think the “imperfections” that Tom Hanks speaks of can, and will, cause real hardship in actors’ lives.

Real hardship.

I don’t agree with his examples that he uses to illustrate his points. I don’t think they apply, in the way he uses them, and should not be any reason for actors to give up eating, health care, or their dream.  

Which is what the consequences could be, with this contract ratification. 

I don’t believe that actors can be blamed, in any way, for this economy or for its effect on the industry.  Anyway, Hollywood has had a better year than ever, according to Variety.

I don’t believe that actors should give up hard won protections, payments, and rights; that they are absolutely deserving of; because the economy is bad all around.

All the “vote no” actors are trying to do is to go back to the “table” with the AMPTP.  See, the AMPTP isn’t the Producers Union.  That’s a different union.  The AMPTP are speaking for the big powers: the Movie Studios, and the Television Networks.  Conglomerates like News Corp, run by Rupert Murdoch.  Those guys tell them where the line is drawn, and send them to the table with that line that they, as representatives, cannot cross.

Well, ‘that line’ isn’t fair. It’s putrid…So they will have to go back to the big guys and get a better offer.  A better ‘line’ that they can negotiate up to. That’s all. And they certainly can afford it. 

There is no impending strike.  Even if there was, and if  ’The Industry’ would suffer so…Well then that would make it a solution, by that same logic, wouldn’t it? Because, if “The Industry” would suffer from an Actors Strike, then the people at the top of “The Industry” won’t let a strike happen. They don’t want to be hurt, or their companies to be.

They’ll, then, simply pay actors a little closer to what they are worth.  It will be over in a snap…And everybody will win.

 

Remember though, no one wants to call a strike.  The ‘Vote No’ Actors Don’t.

We just don’t want to be stuck with the hardship in this contract. And the future that it spells out, in the fine print. The bold print, too. 

And no one wants to be blamed for a recession.  Especially when we are just an underdog, so don’t bully us and make it our fault. Or hold it up to us, to save. We are powerful talents and useful to our culture. But not with finance.

We are artists.  We have a hard enough time managing our own financial difficulties. Please don’t make us responsible for everyone else’s…

And joking aside, please don’t ask us to martyr ourselves, in order to save ‘The Industry’.  Not only is that absolutely not in our power, whether we vote no or not, whether we strike or not; it really isn’t up to us, not at all. We didn’t cause it, we can’t save it; and no amount of ‘Yes Votes’ or contract ratifications is going to change the nature of the acting profession, and put everyone “back to work”. It isn’t going to give actors any more work either, not more than they typically would have. Even though that’s the way that it sounds.

To ask us to martyr our own profession, as outlined in that contract, and by insinuating that actors are holding up the economy, is an insult. As is what, $24 dollars, one payment, for all the unlimited running of our performances by the studios and networks?  

$24 dollars.  That’s not an “increase”.  To call it one is almost a slur.

Frankly, I don’t know why they all spent so much on lawyers, and money men, and on the AMPTP, to trot out this whole,  big, nearly incomprehensible load of legal crap; why didn’t they just get a banner at Kinko’s and write across it: “WE DON’T THINK YOU ACTORS HAVE ANY VALUE “.

 

‘Big’ Was Purchased On VHS And DVD By Everyone I Know, And That You Know, And That Everybody Else Knows Too

(And I know they didn’t buy it because I had that measly part that was a booby prize because Penny gave the bigger part that I had auditioned for, the funny part, to her publicist because she looked funny. But couldn’t act. So it wound up on the cutting room floor.)

Neither Penny Marshall’s publicist, nor I, nor you, for that matter… made very much on VHS/DVD sales from Big. Even though nearly every American bought that movie.

Not one of the three of us, nor anyone else who acted in that movie made money on Home Video sales.  We got bupkus.  I don’t know if all three of us get regular residuals from it, I know she and I do. I guess you do too, because you are voting at SAG.

Why? Because SAG was going to go back to the table and renegotiate for it, in a few years.

Never happened.

Yeah. As you said, in the video, “double the DVD rates”.  But double bupkus, is still nothing, Tom.

 

In this area is where I am probably going to answer some specific points, one-by-one. Just as soon as I stop hyperventilating from such Post Traumatic Stress..

Tom, I think you are a kind man, a good man.  And you used to care about actors.  Declared yourself a part of the community of actors; and everyone felt, along with you, that it was true.

I just wish this didn’t feel like such a betrayal to your brethren.

Everyone is entitled to missteps, mistakes.

This one, though, has some major influence, laden with major ramifications.

I just wish that it wasn’t so, well…

Big.

 

Love, Peace, And Truth….

Dana

Did I hear you correctly, Mr. Scott Wilson?

How many hundreds of millions of dollars, did you say?  

(That won’t go to actors…)

Instead, then, who does that money go to? 

 

Just so you know, this video was just a general overview, off-the-cuff.  The specifics are coming shortly.

But, just a second…

Does this actor look familiar? Have you been following Hollywood Actor Prep this week? Monday’s Post?… 

Best,

;Dana

Please share on Facebook! You can also email this to your friends, as with all my posts, by using the white “SHARE/SAVE” widget below. It’s 2 clicks to your Facebook page, or to your email, from there.  All secure, too.

Twitter? You bet. Here’s a link to my page, so you can follow me.  My name is __dana__ on Twitter.

Some Professional, Middle-Class Actors Made Videos About Issues Of Grave Concern.

Do you recognize some of these professional actors, in these videos?

They Are Not From The Press, And That’s A Solid Blessing, In This Case

The good news is, these videos talk about the real issues; and just how imperative they are…How damaging it will be to accept this ‘AMPTP contract’, for the future of all actors, and to the profession altogether.

 

These middle-class actors did the math.  

For you.

They looked over the legalese, and all the boring stuff, so you don’t have to…

Maybe it’s because they are real working actors.  

And, they’re not obscuring what is important, with all that other stuff…gossipy-drama that most of the press puts front-and-center; when discussing SAG, altogether. And, yes, even most of the bloggers do that too.  Even those that claim to be “an expert” on the topic.  (Um, those people that write those articles, aren’t actors usually.)

 

Like I say, often, here at Hollywood Actor Prep…it takes a professional actor…

It takes an actor to understand an actor’s life.

It takes one to know one.  It takes one to understand one.  And, it takes one to inform  and advise another.

It takes an actor to explain what the issues are, and how it can impact all actors…now, and in the future.  

So, here they are.  Here we are. 

 

The Actors. You. Me. All Of Us…Solidarity.

I appreciate you watching these videos, and thank you for taking a look at the issues.  And I hope you will tell others.

….That’s far more than what the journalists have been doing. Ironically.  (It appears to me, that most journalists may not even know what the issues are, or that there are issues and conflicts.  Is it reporter-laziness?  Is it just easier to make fun of Alan Rosenberg, or talk about this star or that one, than to research about the AMPTP? Or do they think it attracts more readers?? Lots of people say that the reporters are also paid by the same people as those on the AMPTP, like Rupert Murdoch…That may be true, but I don’t think it’s that complex….I think it’s just laziness.  It takes time & effort, to look into a contract. Takes none,  to ‘throw mud around’. )

 

I think that actors, profoundly,  contribute to our culture.

And, to be redundant, because I will say this again and again, happily.  

(And then… once more with feeling!)

I think that actors are valuable.  

I think that actors deserve to be paid. And to be regarded as valuable professionals.  

I think that actors deserve to be treated with dignity, and allowed to earn money and healthcare…a living.

I believe that every time an actor performs, that actor should receive payment.

And that includes performances live, OR recorded.  

I firmly believe, that when any venue, studio, channel, or internet station, : especially when they make money from sponsors/advertising, and the sponsors are paying for productions that feature actors, that the producers should compensate the actors.  

Elementary, right?  Well, they don’t plan to.  

That’s what this is all about.  

Surprised?

 

Call me a “hardliner”, but I don’t think exploitation is ever acceptable.

And, I do believe the AMPTP contract is exploitative. And, I think they are quite aware of that.  I think they know the inherent implications that come along with it.  

Are you aware that they are clear, that they, flat out,  intend to keep all earnings for themselves. While using the work of actors, to earn it.  And there are earnings, and these earnings are increasing, all the time.  Especially on the ‘net.

All the while, the actors, will be unpaid and impoverished, as a result. Really. Impoverishing them individually, and their families, and all the ramifications that come with that.

It will have a devastating effect on the profession of acting, altogether.  A career that is regarded as perilous already. Rendered utterly, truly, impossible.

The AMPTP, quite consciously,  created this situation.  They knew, all along,  that they were offering actors a terrible, lessening, deal.  

They also used a lot of PR, they hired marketing experts, even for the internet.(Look it up on Google, if interested in more details.) They knew that the timing was terrible for a SAG Strike; and they were able to use the current public economic fear, to their advantage.

So they’ve been paying a lot to feed the public some very persuasive, and mostly, obfuscating information.

To the max, they power-played… They played on the public’s insecurity about the economic situation of our country, to somehow flip it around…and make the actor the “bad guy”. They played on the fear that every actor lives with, and professional insecurity. 

(And, some of the problems were waged between actors themselves…because like any lesser class in any social social system, in terms of wealth or power; when the lowest classes can’t fight back, they fight who the ones they can. Themselves.  Especially when the pressure, anxiety, and potential loss, is so high.)

 

Generally, the acting profession is a mystery, for the public.

Unfortunately, that has served to weaken the interest, and the severity of the actors’ side, in this conflict.

 

The public regards the acting profession, in one of two ways:

• Illogical, and fruitless, as far as income.
  • or
• Overpaid movie stars.

That’s just not so.  There are many, many actors who earn a living; just a living, in the acting profession.

 

As for actors, well…most don’t even know the issues, themselves.

I hate to admit that, and to see such lack of interest too.  But, I think I know why that is…

That has to do with their professional stature. Because, at different caliber levels, the professional experience vastly differs. As does the actors’ personal life. Social experiences, too.

Interests, and goals, too.  Perspectives.  

Younger actors,  who are just beginning, only can focus on trying to get a foothold in, professionally.  They aren’t concerned with livlihood, not yet.

And, the very successful stars, well, you’ve heard some of their opinions…but the truth is, they can’t relate.

It’s so very far from their experience…They just don’t need to worry about dollars-and-cents, in their lives. Things like residuals, and even the internet, are not issues that have anything to do with them. And they do live pampered, cloistered lives. (They actually do.)  So they just don’t get it.

Even though they may appear to be wise, it is within the realm of their “blindspot”.  Their perspective is just too far removed from actors, on the other strata.

 

As actors, we can always use support, but it’s very necessary, now.  

And, we need solidarity.  So please, connect with each other, and inform each other. 

And public awareness. (Because if the issues & facts & ‘the math’ doesn’t make it into the press, then we can get the knowledge out there, right?)

Please send this post to your friends who act, or wish to. Professional or not.   

Because if it’s your profession, your life, then they should know.  And, it would be good for you to support that profession…

It may be that if we don’t consolidate, there may not-be-an-acting-profession in the future.

We must get the issues out to the public, because it isn’t happening in the media, otherwise.  

…The actors’ stance and SAG  is losing power, every day, as a result.  

Please email this post to your friends, it’s so-o easy and takes a second, only.  Send it to all of them, because it’s very important to get the public to know the facts. Put it on your Facebook page…Your MySpace…

Use the “SHARE” widget down below, the white one…it will take you right to your email or Facebook page, etc. Directly, too, no clicking around or filling in stuff…

Thanks, for all of us…

And keep the faith. 

Follow me on Twitter, if you don’t already….my Twitter name is __dana__.  (Twitter registration is the shortest…!)

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkmKbRSfTlI[/youtube]

Once again, I ask you to please share by emailing to your actor friends, and to others, as well. Actors need the public to know, and to be in support of the profession, right now.

Best,
Dana

WARNING-NOT FOR THOSE UNDER 18

It  contains, what some consider, offensive language.  If you are under 18, don’t watch.  (This is a family-usable site!)

 

**************************************************************************************************************

Now … all my readers…ESPECIALLY ACTORS…

 

There are rules on a film set that everyone follows. For good reason.

I am not sure why the Director-of-Photography  was doing what he was, when he was; on the film set where Christian Bale had such a spectacular meltdown.  

Because, for anyone who has ever worked on a film, uh.  What the DP did is just not common, on-the-set, behavior.  As established, and carried out, on any movie or television set, that I’ve ever been.

….For  more  about common on-set rules and ettiquette, go to the following Hollywood Actor Prep post, The Best Way An Actor Can Act…(link)….

Now.  I know that Christian Bale’s rant is being passed around the globe; and everyone and their mama, is commenting, and judging.

I will only say that if you don’t know the rules and ettiquette that are followed on a film set, then it is good that you read this blog.

Because I have talked about it here, and will continue to post about it.

It’s very important, because these unspoken rules are followed by all professionals…

 

There are good reasons for the (unspoken) “film set rules”.

If you break them, it’s not bad  because you may cause a leading man to curse you out.

No.

The “rules of a film set” exist so that the movie can get made. Period.

And, so that everybody can do their job. And do it well.  Without  interference, distraction, or interruption.

 

Often, there’s a tremendous amount of pressure and stress on a movie set.

Expect, for example, long hours (sometimes 16 or 17 hour days)

• tight schedule
• technical glitches and problems 
• environmental problems
• re-shoots and mistakes
• health issues that interfere or compromise
• script changes
• budget problems
• unexpected, unexpected, unexpected (zillions of possibilities)

There’s stuff that the public can’t understand. And, you will only know about it, when you work and experience it. 

 

Sometimes, working on a film, is back-breaking-ly-hard.

For example, for scenes that are shot at night: the whole schedule gets suddenly changed.  Flipped. You may work that week, each and every night, from 5PM to 5AM. This happens when the prior week was all-day-shooting. With overtime.

Movie schedules, in general, are exhausting.  No matter what the budget.  There are often problems with “fitting everything in” to the time allotted.

You’ve heard the phrase: “Time is money”??   Well, time, on a film set, it costs a fortune.

…So, let’s just say that you are suddenly doing night shooting, after some time of  working a daytime schedule.  

(BTW, everyone on the set, is struggling through this flipped around schedule.)

And then, all together, you all…”go into overtime”.  (Yes, thanks to SAG, everyone gets paid more for the “overtime…but, that doesn’t help the strain, at the time)

As the hours go by, it gets more and more exhausting.
Now, you are working 17 hour nights, shooting until, past dawn…
And, perhaps, during the daytime, you have a hard time getting a full eight hours of sleep…

Maybe this night shoot is outdoors,  and it’s freezing cold.  But, in the scene, it’s not supposed to be…so there’s no jackets.
Or it’s really humid and hot, and the mosquitoes are biting at your ankle,  in the middle of your love scene.

Or your co-star may be drunk.  Or keeps changing the lines and, therefore, changing the scenes…

 

“Film Is Forever”***

This is one of the most important things I can share with you.

No matter how you feel or what is going on around you…

(…your personal relationships, your relationships on-set with the cast and crew, your relationships off-set with the cast and crew, or your trainer, or your agent, or whomever or whatever…)

That stuff will all disappear into your memory—but what goes on that film will last forever.

You need to make sure, as all kinds of things go on around you, before during and after each shoot, on set and off-set…

…that…what goes on that film is done to the best of your ability.

And that you are totally present, aware, and not distracted.  No matter what.

Not only is your career, your future,  and your professional reputation, dependent on that; but so is the success of the film.

…And the effectiveness of the story in the script.

…The other actors’ performances are depending on yours, as well. It’s all teamwork.   

I say it again, film sets are all teamwork.

Everyone must do their part to make sure they are doing everything they can to their own personal and professional best; as well as doing eveything possible to support the synergistic cast, and crew, in doing theirs.

That’s how trust is built.  The amount of trust on a movie set, is in direct correlation to how successful the finish product appears.  It’s holistic.

A set…where there’s war, or chaos…makes a stinker movie, in the end.

It’s all just too hard, like that.  There are 100’s of people that make a movie.  It’s all gotta work together.

 

Movie stars bear the blame, when a movie ends up a stinker.

All actors do.

I don’t know if you follow me on Twitter (and if you don’t, you are missing out, because I post a lot of little news items and pertinent stuff in my twitter tweets, so here’s a link) …but if you do, you’ll know that I pass around questions.  One question I asked was if anyone knows what a producer does??  I’ll post the answers in the next few days…(even have a funny response, from Michael Bay, a-hem)

Producers, directors, they may accept the Oscars, when their movie wins a “Best Picture” award…

But it’s the actors that get the public blame when a movie tanks.

And, it’s the films’ lead actors, the stars of the movie, that take the career hit.  Because the movie stunk.  

The acting might be good, but if the movie doesn’t sell tickets, the stars’ careers get affected.  

Sometimes, stars lose their careers, soon after a bad movie opens.  Completely.

 

As I said, I have no comment on what Christian Bale did.

(I’m not big on ‘judging’.)  

I do know that anger is a normal human emotion.  

As actors, we need to be comfortable with all authentic emotion, the gamut.

Even the uncomfortable ones, the less socially acceptable ones.

Anger is something that you must be sure you are comfortable with. Hearing, and expressing.

Because as an actor, you’ll be called upon to play it.  (In a script.)

It’s best, to be at a point, where you even enjoy it.

Wanna start now?

Shall we dance?  

___REMOVED VIDEO OUT OF RESPECT FOR CHRISTIAN BALE, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE ALL HEARD IT WAY TOO MUCH. Originally, I put the music remix up, because I simply thought it was funny. That was before I saw just how serious people took Bale’s outburst.  My own reaction was not as extreme, perhaps because I live in Hollywood!!

Update: I forgot to give proper credit to the artist who made the Christian Bale remix!  His name is Revolucian (Lucian Piane) and, by clicking on his name, you’ll reach his MySpace page…he’s about to mix RuPaul’s new jam.

(I have an additional update that will be coming up, in the next post…It’s also about actor, Christian Bale…)

Best,

;-Dana

 

Please subscribe by email through Feedburner, securely, by clicking here…And share Hollywood Actor Prep with your actor friends, and others.

And thanks, especially to the ones that have been spreading the word, about this blog… and Twitter…(where I’m   __dana__  )

Casting Director Radar

Listen, whether a Casting Director will admit it or not, their top priority…Radar Level #A …Is not whether or not you are right for a role.

It’s not even whether-or-not you can act.

Nope.

What is it?  

Well, I’ll let you conclude,  after I lay out a couple of things.

 

Making Movies, For Example

Let’s say there’s a movie that you want to act in.

Let’s say that you get the part, and your part shoots in some outdoor setting. (I’m using a exterior shoot as example, but all types of shoots have the similar needs.)

That means, that the sunlight is something that the scheduling, of the entire cast and crew have to work around.  In order to do that, most likely, the crew will be instructed, that day(s), before dawn, to do set-up.

The actors who are written into that scene, in the script, will have to be on set earlier than sun-up, most likely.

That’s so they can get into their trailer / dressing room; get into wardrobe; get into hair-and-makeup….

And so they can have breakfast while all that is going on (***SAG Contract Rules RULE!***)

And all the while, the crew is setting up all the tech stuff needed to shoot a film:

• The electricity
• The lights 
• The camera
• The film
• The set the props etc.

The Film Scene Begins To Shoot, Just About….

…When the sun comes up… Dependent, of course, if all  conditions are right.

 

Let’s Focus Back On You, The Actor.

Let’s say your entire part requires that you have two days of work scheduled, only.

Both of those days are to be filmed at the same location, the same exterior.

Than means, that you have a lot of work to do.  Other work, I mean, besides the on-set acting.

 

 

What would that other work be, that an actor needs to do?

Here’s just some, and these are “expected”.  That means, that every casting director believes that the agent, who sent  you in for the audition, sends only actors that have already trained under a credible and solid acting coach or teacher, that you have a good reliable skill set, and that you can deliver a righteously great, or even adequate performance that will look convincing enough, in the movie, for your two-day, supporting, role.

However, unless you have a substantial acting reputation, there is much that a casting director does not know… that they cannot know, unless you show them, in some way.

Casting Directors Have To Have A Lot Of Faith

(And some incredible ‘radar’, of course)

Because, except for your trumped-up acting resume (that he or she assumes is trumped-up because this is Hollywood…) 

… A Casting Director has no way of being sure that you will do the following:

• Learn Your Lines, Well in advance, and thoroughly
• Have a workable alarm clock, and enough time-organization skills to assume enough driving time and even allow for potential traffic problems
• Have a good car and enough gas, sense of direction, etc that will get you to the Exterior Location
• Get there in one piece
• Get there on time
• Get there sane
• Get there emotionally ready to work…and more…

Note: I haven’t mentioned anything about acting ability.

That’s intentional.

Because not only the casting directors; but the director, the producer, and everyone else there doesn’t want to think about it, but there is a big fear that floats above every project, everywhere, no matter what….When there are more than one person involved.

There is a dependency on that other person.

 

Hiring any actor is always a gamble.

For a major movie, it’s a millions-of-dollars-on-the-line gamble.  

Each shooting day can cost more money than you probably have made in your lifetime, so far.

If you, the actor, stayed out until 5 AM the night (before) or even two days before…

If you don’t take care of your car so it broke down enroute to the set…

If you are a drama queen and just broke up with your boyfriend, girlfriend, or both…

Or even if your alarm clock suddenly breaks during the night before the shoot, so you oversleep

Well, you then not only screwed your own reputation, 

But you screwed EVERYONE involved with the production.

You screw them out of loads and loads of money…

You screw them out of time to do a film, which there never seems to be enough of, technically, anyway

You keep many, many people that have shown up at work, waiting and unable to work

And, you piss them off, big big time.

 

And you make the casting director look like excrement.

Why?

Because… it is the Casting Director’s job to pick the right actors. 

The most dependable actors.

So then, what is Casting-Director-Radar-Priority #A?

 

‘From The Moment An Actor Enters The Room’…

What a Casting Director (and Director, Producer, Writer…) looks for, from the moment an actor walks in, and throughout the entire audition…

 I do believe they use all their senses, and instincts…and experience…and radar… from the git-go, 

…To assess and make sure,

… If they are considering you for the part…

 

…Is That You Can Be Absolutely Depended Upon To Absolutely Show Up.

 

Do you think it’s okay to be a foonk-up?  (As an actor, I mean…other people are not my business.)

In your professional reputation; or during an audition… in any way, shape, form, hint, red-eye, etc?

LIsten,  your personal life is not my business.  (You’ll notice that there is no gossip at Hollywood Actor Prep.)

Actually, none of it is my business.  None of your problems or your personal life, or even your lack-of-professionalism, it’s not my business.

It’s yours.

As an Actor, Your Professionalism Is Your Business

And if you don’t “take care of your business”; especially in that area, then you won’t work as an actor.

 

 

Here’s Mickey Rourke, discussing his own lessons learned, about professionalism, in acting….from  January 27,2009–On the Larry King Show.

 

Please share on Facebook, and MySpace.  And tell your friends, especially those that have a passion for acting, about this blog. Even, email. It’s all so easy, just use the “SAVE / SHARE” below.

Would you follow me on Twitter? Over 750 ‘creatives’ do already!  Here’s a link, and it’s my Twitter name  __dana__ .

And send some good karma back my way, and thanks…

Best,
;-Dana

 

I thank all of you, each and every one.  
This community, at Hollywood Actor Prep, is such a creative, wonderful group of people. You.

 

What a wonderful gift!

…This is how it all went, this year: without a whole lot of web expertise…  I started a site.  I had a simple little reason: I was tired of the acting profession being so hard for people to enter, “to do”.  I knew there were so many people, young especially, but of all ages, and all types and all kinds; that had a real true passion for acting. 

Yet, the mysteries of “the industry” and of “the acting business”, and the sheer lack of a “standard system” to enter the business; made it almost impossible to follow that passion.  To navigate the acting profession. For any person to do so, is considered, almost illogical!

A profession that I consider quite dignified; one that contributes, to a great degree to the culture. One that reflects the culture.  Certainly, a profession that has always been an art form, and that constantly evolves as such.  It’s also a profession that the rest of the world looks up at, with awe.

Yet, notoriously, it remains amongst the most difficult.

And even though I may not be in “the business”, at this juncture, I still have a passion for acting.  And, years and years of good, seasoned experience.  I know that acting is an elegant, raw, and magnificent art.  And, that it can be difficult to do well. And how to get through that, and do it well, in spite of the difficulty.

There’s an extra secret, that some of you already know. Acting ability is something that can grow throughout life.  Evolve. It is that, which makes it an art, and makes it very interesting, and exciting.  It is a profoundly true gift, to those who experience it.  It is a dimension of living, that cannot be explained, to those who do not have the experience. 

I get to share that passion, that excitement, here to you, and you share it back. In a marvelous, abundant wave, throughout this Hollywood Actor Prep community…because of the connecting power of the internet.

I hope you are ready for the coming year: To make big changes in your acting ability and to make some real ‘forward motion’ in your acting career.   

If you aren’t ready…well, you have a few more days until the New Year… so step it up, now…(And don’t gripe that I didn’t give you some fair warning!)

I’ve been talking this around town (in some of the highest offices), and I know that if we keep on with this community, and keep on sharing the word….This year, we can absolutely make some very big changes in the industry, and in the way that actors can “break into” and stay in, the business.

What was just an idea, at the start; is really becoming something great, and solid. Wow.

One more thing:  When I first began this blog, I hadn’t an inkling that SAG would become a national news item…that the Hollywood movie studios and SAG would engage in such a time-has-come struggle. I had no idea that there would even be a strike discussed, or that any issue concerning professional actors would arise, in the public arena!  This is actually a great “cosmic spotlight”, a serious blessed time, for actors.  It puts the acting profession, and its value, in the forefront.  

I send waves of joy, gratitude, recognition, and solid positivity; throughout this Hollywood Actor Prep community…To you and yours, this Holiday Season!

May that wave continue around and through the world, to each and every one of you.  May the support and blessings that you have gifted to me, swiftly reach back to you, at this time.  May this beauty  reverberate to your friends and family, and continue.  

I thank you, with love, for joining into my community, from the very beginning…For that, you will forever own some real estate, inside my heart…

I thank you for such an auspicious start!  

 

Best,

:Dana

Have you seen Mickey Rourke acting in ‘The Wrestler’ yet?

Are you familiar with the rest of his film acting resume??

If you don’t know his name, it may be because he was ‘outa the game’ for awhile. But…when he was ‘in it‘, he floored everybody. Came out of nowhere, into the spotlight with two little movie scenes; and then consistently gave the rawest, yet right on, performances.

This year, for “The Wrestler“, his acting performance may get the “Best Actor” Academy Award.

I hope so. (If you’ve been following this Hollywood Actor Prep Blog, then you know I respect Mickey Rourke, as an actor. I think he is an fine film actor, with consistent depth.)

His acting ability, talent, and skills, are rare…  Authentic, to the highest degree.

Here is an older interview with Rourke, where he discusses some film-acting experiences; in each, of the earlier films he was in.

Other things Mickey Rourke candidly discusses are:

•  
  • How he got his first movie role
    
  • Auditioning and getting into the Actors Studio
  • Performing at the Actors Studio in front of Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel (with little prior experience!)
    
  • Working with Francis Ford Coppola, on a movie with no script (!) called “Rumblefish” where he created the mythical character “Motorcycle Boy”
    
  • Creating a film script, by improvisation (!) while being assisted, musically, by Stuart Copeland of ‘The Police’.
    
  • The directors on his acting resume who “pushed him to the limit” and who he wound up respecting…
    
  • Which directors were perfectionists, and why he liked that; which directors were unlikable, and what it was that made them that way
    
  • And which ones had unusual ways of motivating the actors…

All of the actors, the directors, that you hear about here… are probably familiar names to you.
You probably, also,  heard of most of the movies that he talks about; because many well-known films reside on Mickey Rourke’s acting resume.

Enjoy!

 

If you would like to view film scenes from some of these movies that Mickey Rourke mentions here, you can find them at this post on the Hollywood Actor Prep Blog.  (‘Time For The Acting Of Mickey Rourke’)

 

Please share this blog with your friends, either by email or by clicking an icon below that will put it on MySpace, or Facebook.  

You can also “tip” the people who run this blog, by clicking below, securely!

 

                                                               

Best,

;Dana

©™

(All rights reserved by Dana Kaminski…no kidding.)

Current Residual Situation, AMPTP’s Offer Explained

Found this animation movie, about residuals, on YouTube. Cute…Short… Simple….Clear?

 

Does Acting Have Value?

What it basically comes down to is this:  The conglomerate corporations think that “talent” shouldn’t be paid everytime that they provide the audience with entertainment.  With talent.  With their visibility. Every time their likeness and abilities, and even gifts; are what is being watched, on a screen. 

They basically are saying that talent isn’t valuable. 

I value acting and actors.  

I think the general public values actors.  I think they cherish actors, I think that’s pretty obvious.

When anyone has a great theatrical experience; they count it as a wonderful life experience.  Be it live theatre, movie, or television.  Drama or comedy.  How much is that worth?

When they leave a theatre, of any kind, they often discuss the acting. The actors.

Acting has been around since the beginning of civilization, and has been cherished by the public, just as long.

How long have actors not had decent payment? For how many centuries, has this gone on?

It’s far too long.

Do you think acting has value?

Best,

Dana
Please share with your friends…
And treat me to a latte, if you’d like…