HOLLYWOOD ACTOR PREP by Dana Kaminski

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

At Lincoln Center, In New York City, this week…

I have an experience, to relate, about Tom Hanks.  From the movie, “Big”.

I acted, in a scene, with Tom Hanks.

Um, hm.

And, Tom and I shared a dressing room.

Um, hm.

At the same time.

Um hm.  

(Exceptionally unusual, BTW, in “the business”.)

And, no, we did not.

Um, em.

(If that’s what you are wondering…watch those assumptions, Bud.)

“Our” little acting scene was shot on location, in  NYC… An “interior” in an office setting; they used an authentic large-scale office space in a full-staffed, multi-room with multi cubicles, advertising agency… in a midtown Manhattan skyscraper. 

In the middle of a New York, work-week.  

For the “Big” film set– a not-so-big-area was sectioned off.

 …With temporary cardboard walls, tall grey ones held together by gaffer’s tape.

Even though it looked like a reception area, it wasn’t the authentic one. That one was in operation,  on the other side of the building, and the halls really went as far as you could see.

As a matter of fact, the “real”  business day was going on all around us; actively,  using most of their regular work space.

Which put a whopping limit on the normal acreage that a film crew normally uses, and needs to shoot.

What for?… Props, and sound, and camera equipment, and electrical stuff, and of course,  ‘hair + makeup’ trailers/rooms, wardrobe storage, and…

…Dressing rooms.

‘Hair + makeup’ was planted, literally, in the hall.  It was a makeshift set-up, just outside the reception-area-set…

There was a chair, for the actor to sit in, and an area where the makeup person had all their large toolboxes that open into mini-stairs of all the colors, brushes, sponges. And there was a mirror with the lights around it.  As I remember, it was smack in the middle of a hallway, and there were employees of the real agency, coming-and-going, around us.

 

Overall, the production had one big multi-purpose room.  

That is, aside from the actual shooting set.

In real life, I think it was a small conference room. 

I remember the long table, with chairs around it. 

All the other actors hung out there; actors from other scenes in “Big” were there, as well… as each scene wrapped, another one would begin. So, it was a ‘talent’ holding area.  

I had a two or three day hold, there, altogether. Lots of waiting, but much better pay…

There were racks of clothing was in there, it was also ‘the “Big” wardrobe room’.

And, it was also the only dressing room, on set…

Tom and I were the only ones, in our particular acting scene, that even had “wardrobe”.  

The other people in the scene, except for the younger actor,  (friend-of-”Josh Baskin”) were “extras”, professionally called “background”.  

Usually, even those with “special bits” arrive and work in their own clothes. 

Often those clothes are approved in advance, by the costumer.  Sometimes background-players are advised what type of outfit to bring, and are asked to bring a optional changes,  the morning of the shoot.

It’s unusual for an actor ‘with a speaking part’, to wear his/her own clothes, when acting professionally. 

Jared Rushton, who played that friend, in “Big”, did.  I remember that a wardrobe person told me that they felt that  Jared looked great in his own choices; and that they couldn’t have dressed him better, than he did on his own.. in his real life…  : }   

        (And, his acting was as natural as his clothes, wasn’t it?)

So, Jared didn’t need a dressing room.  

That left only two people in that entire Manhattan high rise, on that day, in need of two changing rooms…in a crowded office building in the busiest section of a city that doesn’t have a definition for private space…

1. Tom Hanks, an actor who had recently become a household name across America
2. Dana Kaminski, an aspiring actor who very few had heard of, but luckily had worked with the director’s brother, Garry Marshall, prior… 

(Secretly, our unknown actress was, a tinch sullen, but no one could tell….perhaps, that is a story for another time.)

Here’s ‘Our’ Acting Scene, In The Movie, “Big”

I don’t think anyone that worked on that movie could have predicted that it would become as popular as it did, and has remained.  

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

…This post a teaser, an intro,  for two topical posts; that I have on deck, for the blog.

The upcoming posts don’t have much to do with me, except, I’m the writer….

They do, have everything to do, with Tom Hanks.

Um hm.

Best,

;Dana

Down below: Is a SHARE/SAVE button.  It makes it so simple and quick.

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Are Actors Clueless About SAG and the Strike?

What’d I tell ya, huh?  The biggest problem with professional union actors ever having a hope-in-hell of getting paid for “New Media” is that practically no one has a clue about what it’s all about!

Many actors don’t know. Or can’t digest all the abstractions and complexities… (Abstractions: future media, tech, business forecasts…Complexities: business, legalities, details…)

Dennis Hopper Gives A Good Try…

…Here, in this interview I found on “Fancast”:

Dennis Hopper had some choice words for reporters regarding the possibility of a Screen Actor’s Guild strike during today’s promotional panel for the new series Crash on the Starz network, even joking about his buddy Jack Nicholson, whom he shared the screen with in the iconic film, Easy Rider.

“I don’t wanna go between Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks,” He joked “But I guess I’d have to side with Jack. Out of the 120,000 in SAG there’s 7,000 people that make their living primarily acting and the others have other jobs. Generally if it comes to strikes they do it because they want more benefits, which isn’t necessarily great for the industry. I hope it doesn’t come to a strike. I hope we don’t go out and strike, but beyond that I have no knowledge.”

Are Actors Asking For More “Benefits”?!…Enter Don Cheadle…

Don Cheadle, who is the co-executive producer of the new series, chimed in, saying “We sort of gave away the farm at the last writers strike. These residuals, they’re our lifeblood, I’m lucky because I work pretty consistently, but a lot of people work month to month and I hope we can come to some agreement without coming to a strike. And its not just writers who take the hit, its caterers, cleaners, restaurants too.”

 

Feet Firmly Planted In Both Camps

Hollywood-speak, and everyman-speak.

Caring for both sides, and caring for all sides.

Encompassing all, and saying nothing.

Then, of course, there’s the what-the-heck-are-they-talking-about element, overall. 

(…That is, btw, our native form of communication: “Los Ang-evasive”…)

Don Cheadle, Executive Producer

I have to give some cred to Don Cheadle.  Not only is he a solid, and fine, actor; but in this situation, he is also an exec-producer…That makes him, well, split down the middle:  he’s an actor, so he’s SAG, and a producer, so he’s then AMPTP.   (In case you’re “new”, those are the two union opponents, in the SAG Actors struggle.)

I think he does a very diplomatic job, and on the fly! 

I think he shows some empathy, too; but, he sprinkles it around so liberally,  it diffuses the intent.

Actors With Two Different Styles

Yet, they both elicit the same response…

One…big…

—-”HUH??”—-

(…Just like the rest of the world, about the SAG Strike…but again, I preach, please be informed! SAG link…)

Actor Misconceptions

I got quite a few responses from the “MythBUST #1: Agents” post.  

Few things to say, just for today:

Hold on!!!

Dana Serious Kaminski

I really wasn’t finished with that post…I think I will continue with the ”ACTOR AGENT” topic until the “ACTOR SOLUTION” stage …that should happen, I guess, by the end of next week, or week after.

For decades, I’ve been accruing and keeping this information (of which I will put all of it on this blog and on the Hollywood Actor Prep Website), and it’s all inside my brain, but I am used to it, and don’t realize how much there really is…  that is, until… each and every time I set out to write a post…

I suddenly am aware that there is a whole lot of ground to cover.  Basically, for every post, there is at least 5 times the amount that I cut-and-save for a later date.  

(There is so much information, that I can’t really figure out a good clear way to organize it on the website, and there is so much to put on there, that I simply keep putting that whole section, of Hollywood Actor Prep, off.  There just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in a day!)

The last post was only the beginning, and I will cover all the different kinds of agents, within the stratas of actor representation; so you are educated about the system.  Then, I will go over the different ways to put yourself in a good “agent-representation-readiness” state, so that you can go and try to get one.

Then we’ll discuss determination, moxie, and methods…

I didn’t mean to make it seem absolutely hopeless.  I wasn’t finished yet.

And, as I have written down before… I am really committed to making things better.  I am mulling over and discussing-around the different ways that I can approach the problem.

The More Reader Feedback, The Better

Almost EVERYONE that contacts me, feels sheepish.  They tell me, or warn me, that it may be a “dumb question” or a “stupid”  whatever…

What they don’t know is that those questions and responses are a kind of  great thing for me, that’s when I know that the blog is reaching people, and those that I think it’s suited for.   

I know how mysterious the business appears, from outside “Hollywood”.

I am doing this blog for that very reason.  

When I get the emails, the tweets, the facebook messages, the comments here on the blog: I know, then, better, what needs to be addressed. Each and everytime,  (especially to the emails and the tweets) that’s my litmus as to where to “go” next on the blog, and to what degree.

Those letters + tweets are my golden guide.  Really.

And they melt my heart, as well.

I deeply cherish you all.  And, I “get it”.

Onward and upward…

All of us.

Regarding Twitter

What a discovery…  And unexpected…

I joined Twitter  (which is the easiest, simplest thing, btw..), because it seemed like a good way to let readers know when I put a blog post up, in the beginning of this blog.

Surprisingly, I have met some wonderful people there who have become real friends, and that I am so glad to be tweeting to, and I wait for their tweets!

Twitter is an odd, kooky, internet invention…Everyone can go on, but all anyone can “post” in the form of “tweet” is one line.  That’s right, just about one sentence.  All of the people that you follow (it can be a few, or 1000’s) post “what they are doing” at any one time.  

It’s great fun. ( You’ll see what I mean, once you get started.)  You can do it straight from your computer, and you can go and read your tweets anytime or all the time.  (I just go on about once or twice a day, but some people get SMS text tweets, all the time, to their cell phone!)

It’s a good way to give Hollywood Actor Prep feedback, or ask questions, and…

…get immediately alerted when I put up a new post!

If you want to “follow me” on Twitter, go and sign up at www.twitter.com.

1. Just choose a short name, or just put your own real name there to use.

It’s that simple.

2. Then put my twitter name, as someone to follow.  In the least, you’ll be alerted as to when I put up a new post.

So, if ya did just sign up for Twitter (free, and no private info required ‘cept email, and that’s private too if you wish, or you can even put a fake one, perhaps!) come back to this post, and click on my name right here, with the two lower-dashes on either side.  

My twitter name is __dana__

You can tweet to me, then, instant… feedback on the posts, questions, and just be a part of that community.

Hollywood Actor Prep on Facebook

I also started a “group” on Facebook. (Click on that link to it.)

I am going to do a separate post about that, early in the week…

But if you are on the blog today…you’ll be the first to know.  It’s for you.

I wanted to have a page for forums, and bulletin board type stuff, and even a spot to put your reels, and photos.

I could do it through my own webhost, but Facebook has it all set up there.

So go on and sign up there.  Post  your photo or comment or anything…(within Facebook rules, that is!)

I want us to be a more communicative and cohesive community.

You see, it’s your feedback, questions, comments, fears, doubts, and confidence…that keep this blog up.

Really.  

That’s what makes it worth all the effort here.
 

Is My Experience, And Information of Value?

If you find the Hollywood Actor Prep Blog to be informative, and valuable…

Please tell at least 5 friends.

For every article/post that you find valuable.

Because I get the “stats” of how many people are reading.

If it keeps going up, I will keep putting in all this time.

And– I have new thing–a Paypal Donate button…

If you don’t have 5 friends that you think would be interested, then perhaps, you want to treat me to a latte! Or chai tea???

Thank  you.  All.

Best,

;-Dana

Tom Hanks, Dana Kaminski...

©®

I am providing some articles from the web. They give an overview, and foundation, but some of the information may be outdated; you’ll notice it, if so.  

They give a good background, overall.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

(All in italics is directly from the wikipedia site, their notes…)

The strike would stem from the current handling of royalties from the sale of films distributed through new  methods. This includes royalties earned from Internet distribution services such as iTunes, as well as DVD sales, neither of which are currently written into actors’ contracts. The strike date was set for July 7, 2008, chosen due to its coinciding with the expiration of several contracts between the labor union and the AMPTP. Talks are currently being held on the possible terms of a renewal, but the two sides* are reportedly far from any deal.

[Dana's author note: *AFTRA did, in fact, settle. SAG did not; and the settlement by AFTRA created conflict between the two actors unions.]

 

 

FROM TV GUIDE, BRITISH EDITION:

US screen actors’ guild has no plans to strike: union chief

Jun 29, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — The president of the US Screen Actors Guild said on Sunday there were no immediate plans to strike against Hollywood studios, even though a contract with the studios was set to expire late Monday.

“We have taken no steps to initiate a strike authorization vote by the members of Screen Actors Guild. Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction,” said SAG president Alan Rosenberg in a statement.

With the contract due to expire at midnight on Monday, negotiations between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have so far failed to produce a deal, raising concerns of another crippling Hollywood strike after a screenwriters’ walkout earlier this year.

But Rosenberg said talks would continue.

“The Screen Actors Guild national negotiating committee is coming to the bargaining table every day in good faith to negotiate a fair contract for actors,” he said.

Entertainment industry press have said most major movie studios had already planned their schedules to complete filming on existing projects by Monday.

And television studios were reportedly set to carry on filming episodes for as long as possible to stockpile material in case of a strike.

Complicating the issue is a feud between SAG, with 120,000 members, and the other major actors union, the 70,000-strong American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), after the smaller union gave tentative approval to a deal proposed by the studios.

SAG’s leaders say the agreement undermines their own negotiating position, and are aggressively lobbying 44,000 guild members who also belong to AFTRA, urging them to reject the deal when it goes to a vote.

The spat between the two unions has pitted A-list actors against fellow stars, with the likes of Tom Hanks, Kevin Spacey and Alec Baldwin siding with AFTRA and Jack Nicholson and Ben Stiller supporting the guild.

The disagreement prompted George Clooney to issue a statement on Thursday calling for unity, saying a split between the unions would only strengthen the position of the studios.

“The one thing you can be sure of is that stories about Jack Nicholson vs. Tom Hanks only strengthens the negotiating power of the AMPTP,” Clooney said.