the new place...


I was talking to Zak a little while ago about twitter and he quipped, “This is pretty much the end of personal websites, huh?” and I pretty much agreed with him. I mean, I still find having a personal website very useful, especially for my acting work, but as far as sharing what’s going and voicing opinions and all that, twitter’s proven to be a really great tool.

That being said, I still should be doing a better job of keeping this page updated! As usual, life has been on overdrive, the most obvious result of this hyperactivity being that Whitney and I have finally moved to a new place. Honestly, I think a lot of people were getting tired of hearing us talk about hoping to move--we have been complaining about the hunt for probably eight or so months! But we loved our old place and had no reason to make any real major compromises when it came to what we wanted out of a new home...and then this place comes along, not a block and a half away, and, well, we basically had to take it. We’re still renting, which, honestly, is fine for me right now, owning sounds like a pain in the ass and I doubt we can afford anything resembling the place we are renting now.


The living room...slowly getting into shape

So, things are good. Work is super challenging right now, as I immerse myself into a totally new paradigm for our products (it’s a pain but it’s a good thing), and my Norton Table character made an appearance at our global sales and marketing conference in Las Vegas. It was a lot of fun, I got up on stage and basically introduced the senior staff in the consumer business, making jokes about each of them as I went down the list. What was crazy is how little I could actually prepare for the piece! I had a few notes about each person, but really, as I was standing backstage, I really didn’t have that much to go on, I was really relying on thoughts coming to me once I got in front of people. It was crazy--like, it goes against everything I’ve learned regarding rehearsal and preparation, but I have been doing these interview shows so often that I realize that once I hop into character, thoughts, reactions and jokes actually come to mind much more quickly than if I try to anticipate and plan everything out. I am a bit nervous--I certainly can’t depend on things coming to mind, but it was nice that everything clicked that one time.

The acting front has been irritatingly slow. I had a great pilot audition a few months ago, but nothing came from it, which doesn’t really matter because I don’t think the show is going to be picked up anyway. I have jumped back into acting class with Brian Reise, which has been great, and have been attending quite a few workshops with casting directors at ITA. Basically, I am trying to shake things up a bit, because whatever I have been doing for the past year or so just has not been working.

I’ve gleaned a few things from some of the workshops that I wanted to get down on “paper”. If you are an actor, you might find these tips useful. If not, you may find them interesting and useful in terms of keeping things in focus when interacting with folks.

• When auditioning, focus on the person you are interacting with. Like, really, it sounds so obvious, but it can be really hard to focus when you are in a room with a lot of people watching you, not to mention dealing with the camera, the monitor, etc. If you are being filmed, what is important is not entertaining the folks in the room, but making sure that you nail the performance as seen by the camera. The best way to do this, it seems, is to focus, intensely, on the person you are reading with, really listening, really engaging with them--this focus will be picked up by the camera and be seen by the producers. This was a big change for me--I usually entertain the room, you know? By grounding myself with the other person, it helps keep the scene moving from an honest place.
• If your character is asking a question, realize that this question is often the key to the character and, probably, the scene. Figure out why the character is asking it, understand the implications of the answer to that question--whether or not you get an actual answer. When the character is asking a question, the character is admitting a need--the character wants that answer, he has an intention to get that information. Like it or not, that old saw about needing an intention for your scene still holds up and, if committed to, will give the scene a strong foundation. I was trained to ask, “What do I want?” at the beginning of every scene (some teachers suggest asking that for every line) and I think I stopped doing that at some point. The scene is there for a reason--TV and film are so expensive that it would be cut unless it was absolutely necessary--that reason is the key to expressing that character as best as you can.
• When you are auditioning for a part, for those 3-4 minutes, that part is yours. No one else has it--you have booked it for that period of time Don’t think of the audition as a try out--it’s the job, it’s the actual opportunity to do the piece. I had some teachers insist we drop the word “audition” and replace it with the word “job.” This can be a useful tactic, not only because it helps you focus on the piece more, but it takes out the “this is just my best try at the part” factor. The audition, the interview, is you--it’s you doing the part, it’s you on the set, it’s you during lunch, it’s you working with the director, it’s you being hired.

I will add more items to this list as I go, but those are the first ideas that come to mind. I go on so many commercial auditions that I think I have started to be much less stressed about them, which is technically a good thing, but I think that it might have lessened the stakes a bit. I don’t know--I really don’t...commercials are just so quick, so specific; you don’t even get the script until you show up and then your audition is not so much a scene but a quick situation. It’s tough.

From the Hotel Laguna, in Laguna Beach

Much coming in the next few weeks. I will be up in San Francisco for the Apple Developer Conference, I’ve got a wedding coming up, Ravi’s planning a big birthday, and, of course SDCC is coming up in July. My weekly article at iFanboy is back on Wednesdays, and I am working on at least two murmur articles as well. I’ve also submitted three treatments to a producer...we’ll just have to keep pressing on.


PS - My friend Matt Ferrucci has just started his new webseries, Real Men Real Issues, and he’s doing a great job adding new content to the show on a regular basis, unlike this website. Check it out and see what you think.

Tags: life, acting, auditions

Solar car on Old Middlefield Road

Every month on iFanboy.com, I do a “Grab Bag” article, which is basically a mishmash of news such about movies, TV and comics. I do it as kind of homage to Herb Caen and people seem to like it, so I am going to post the content of the article on this site as well, since I am pretty sure many of you who read this don’t read my weekly column (I don’t blame you--it can be pretty...specific). It’s funny to go add my iFanboy writing to this site--the tone is very different, given the audience and the material--but it’s a nice way to round out what I tend to talk about here. Anyway, hope you like it.

Before I start in on that, I wanted to point you to the web spots page, where I have posted an edited version of the iFanboy WonderCon show. They let me get on camera and do some improv and I wanted to share it with you. I took out the other parts of the show, but if you have time, do check out the full version, there are some great interviews, including a few with the Watchmen cast, Zach Snyder and illustrator Dave Gibbons. Forgive the size of the video ---I will re-encode it and clean up the transitions as soon as I can. Anyway, it’s new stuff and new stuff is good.

And now... the March Grab Bag!

* * * *

Hard to believe, but it's already that time of the month. (You know, I've written that sentence before, and it still never seems to come out right, but I am just gonna do it because I am tired of typing it.) This article is due in about 11 hours, but I have been on a slight vacation. I say slight because although I was indeed on vacation, by a pool, reading comics, in Las Vegas, it was actually very windy and hailing. So, I've had my margarita (ill-timed, but one of the drawers that holds all of the pots and pans---a shelf, really, in cabinet like thing, under the burners--broke, so I had to fix it) and my burrito (which was fine and did not need repair) and even watched an episode of The Simpsons, in HD no less (when did I stop watching Simpsons and why did I stop? When did that happen? I like that show!) and now, I am writing with Withnail & I playing in the background (Withnail & I is a great British movie that you must watch if you have ever dealt with actors or been drunk, or dealt with drunk actors, which, well, if you have ever dealt with actors in the first place is, in a word, often). I am bit peeved because, well, I am having aspect ratio issues--everything is right, everything is apparently correct, but it just looks off somehow. No matter, it's the grab bag, and I have stuff to tell you about.

* * * *

"Oh, great, Mike's here? Who invited him?"

So, at top of mind, my mind at least, which you are getting a little bit more of than you actually want right now,is the recent series finale of Battlestar Galactica. Now, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the screening of the episode with the cast and crew on Friday, and I must say, it was a really, really incredible night. You might as well read The Hollywood Reporter's account of it here, but suffice to say, it was a really inspiring evening. I have been following the show (writing letters to SciFi.com to support it going to series, etc) since the beginning, and I feel very lucky to have been there for the finale. Yes, I saw and talked to many of the actors and directors, but that wasn't really why it was awesome. It was awesome because everyone came together to say goodbye to what had been their lives for almost seven years, to say farewell to a show that really did redefine just how good television could actually be. Producers Ron Moore, David Eick and director Michael Rhymer (who was mentioned specifically as being a key reason why the show was was so successful from a creative point of view) all delivered a show that was pretty much uncompromising in its mission to tell a great story with believable, engaging and challenging characters, and I for one will miss the show greatly. Now, I just have to figure out how to get on Caprica, which starts filming in earnest this summer.

* * * *

Imagine a greater name.

Speaking of the SciFi channel, as much as I hate to say farewell to BSG, I must say I hate the new name of the network even more. Behold, SyFy. Yes...I think, actually, that is phonetically "siffy". So...incredibly lame. According to Tim Brooks, "The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular." Let's see...let's just see...what kinds of things do these "geeks" like? Can you say Lord of the Rings? Star Wars? Dark Knight? Spider-Man? I mean, videogames? It's bad that you associate the channel with all these things? Incredible to me. I think Brooks is also being kind of sexist--like, so, are we to assume that women don't like the science fiction? Really? I just...it irritates me and I didn't even care about this stuff until I found out they were changing the name. I mean, I liked the idea that a channel could be devoted to science fiction...but I guess I'm just some dork who lives in my mom's basement, right? Ah, well. I should be careful, I guess--like I said, I really want to be on Caprica and I probably shouldn't talk too much trash about the network if I want a job there. But still--siffy?

* * * *

Spock, Kirk and Bones have just heard about a new series and are not amused.

Speaking of siffy, er, silly--do we really need a new Star Trek TV show? No, we don't, but don't tell that to to Bryan Fuller, creator of the quite-beautiful-with-some-great-acting-and-quirky-point-of-view-that-many-us-recorded-but-never-got-around-to-you know, watching-Pushing Daisies. I guess he wants to make an "old style" Trek. How this would coexist with J.J. Abrams' upcoming theatrical release, which is much more modern, with its Apple Store-like bridge and irritatingly good looking cast, would still have to be resolved, but, hey--I am all for any show that casts actual actors. Speaking of Trek, the writer of the linked article digs a bit at Deep Space Nine, which is unfair--that show was actually quite good, and the last two seasons were all part of an ongoing plot, which paved the way for episodic shows like Heroes, Lost and, yes, Battlestar Galactica, produced by DS9 alum Ron Moore. So don't hate--Netflixagate!

* * * *

Spider-Man 4: Payback's a Bitch, Spidey!

Still with the video and the sound, news of Spider-Man 4 continues to trickle in, with director Sam Raimi talking about the apparently Dunst-free aspect of the film so far. Money quote: "I can't imagine making a 'Spider-Man' movie without Kirsten." He then insisted, "Of course it can be done..." I, for one, don't care at all about a new Spider-Man movie. I am not sure why--oh, that's right, number three sucked and I don't believe that they can actually make another good one. Yeah, I guess I am being cynical, but, I mean...do we really need another one? The movies make a ton of money, and if they can make Pirates of the Caribbean 4, then they might as well add a fourth Spidey flick. But I am not at all convinced you need Kirsten Dunst. In fact, forget about her--bring in Black Cat and a brief cameo with the Fantastic Four and we'll be set.

* * * *

I need me a pair of those shades.

Finally, I guess ABC is remaking V? You know, the one with the lizards in human skin with the mouse eating and jaw popping? That's all I remember about the original, to be honest. That and the jumpsuits. On the other hand, I guess Fox is making a series based on DC's Human Target, which I think actually makes a lot of sense as a TV series. I liked the books--let's hope they do that one right.

* * * *

In the "I hinted at it and it became true" department, I can happily tell you for certain that dance music duo Daft Punk is indeed doing the music for Tron 2 (though they are not calling it Tron 2: Electric Boogaloo). One more Tron!

* * * *

Remember when I thought I was being all thoughtful and creative by writing about what books we should recommend after our "other" friends asked what they should read after Watchmen? Well, I've been seeing lots of DC ads in comic books discussing exactly that--you can see their recommendations at afterwatchmen.com. Good job on that, though I must say they should be running these ads in Entertainment Weekly and other actual magazines. I mean, DC is already admitting that people don't know which comic books to read after reading Watchmen, so it's pretty certain that this audience is not reading this month's Justice League, you know? But good try anyway. Marvel should have done this with their movies--it's a great way to get new folks into comics. Or at least trades. On a related note, GQ magazine has a whole feature about what comics to read after Watchmen. Top of the list? Madman, which should make Ron happy. The article, written Alex Pappademas and Kevin Sintumuang, is actually pretty good, and actually mentions a few books that we talked about in my article, including All-Star Superman and Criminal and others I totally spaced on, like Alias, The Nightly News and Fell. Nice one, guys!

* * * *

Finally, in the "Last Minute Conor Save" or "Mike apparently has a crush on Marcos Martin" Department, I bring you another amazing cover by Mr. Martin, this time for the upcoming 70th Anniversary of Captain America:

Okay, it's Tuesday and I have a cold sore the size of a grape on my lip, a (group) lunch with a senior vice president of my company and a ton of work to do, but I need to finish this up...

Went snowboarding this past weekend and had a blast. I have been trying to go all winter but so far, each time I have gone locally, it was a total bust (literally, if you bring my busted thumb into the mix), so I had high hopes for this trip to Mammoth. I mean, after my last visit, I basically was ready to give up, because I just wasn't getting it and the whole idea of spending a bunch of money to go up and down a hill, over and over, again, falling throughout, just wasn't making any sense. Thankfully, everything was much more fun and interesting, and I remembered why I was drawn to it in the first place: it was new, it was physical, and it really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Like, when you have to go down the side of a mountain that literally gives you vertigo looking at it as you go up the lift, you are forced to dig deep and just go for it the best way you know how, right?

I was twittering a bit while I was up there, but basically I figured out how to turn consistently and I didn't break anything. It was a lot of fun, and I was relieved that I was actually learning how to build on what I was learning, run after run. I also came face to face with the limitations of my physical body. Like, I am in shape, but after four hours, I was beginning to make mistakes. Mentally, I was ready but my body was lagging a bit by the time 3pm rolled around. I was carving too hard on my left hand turns, I was hesitating when I should have been committing and just getting sloppy. Of course, when it's that time of day, everyone's kind of flubbing here and there so I didn't feel too badly, but it was still interesting to experience. It's not like I my typing gets worse toward the end of the day, you know?

So, I will post a few pictures of the scenery, but all in all, I'm relieved.

Okay, that was snowboarding. Now we move to acting.

I had dinner and spent the evening with two Broadway actors on Sunday night (along with some other friends). I was talking to a woman who was 75 and had made a living as a stage actor the entire time--she never had to wait tables. She had just come off of playing the Nurse in Medea in Canada, and we had a great conversation about breath and its relationship to intent; she opens up with a wish to the gods and she had initially thought she needed to get the line out in one breath, but then realized it worked when she broke it up with intakes of air. I suggested that this made sense, because often when you are in that "wish making" mode, you pile on wish after wish, and the breath supports that moment, gives encouragement to those wishes--you see kids do this all the time. We had a great chat about this and she remarked that I should be teaching or directing, which, I must say, coming from her, was one of the nicest compliments I've received in years.

Again, it's those moments of validation that I guess I need just to make sure I am not deluding myself, you know? If I can have an evening talking about acting with two fantastic, well known and celebrated actors, where it's a real give and take, then I have contributions that I can make. Now, now...well, I am not sure. I am doing what I can. Tricia remarked that when she got into acting when she was in Australia, it wasn't something that everyone wanted to do, compared to today. Like, it wasn't a career that normal people wanted to pursue, so it was easier for her. So, she got in early..and stayed. But you know what? Even with her experience? She still has to audition. Never stops.

This is a tough time for actors, moreso, I think than any time before. We all know that there are fewer shows being made and fewer movies being released this year, but what you may not know is that many, if not most, of the "good" roles are being offered to movie stars first. If you watch TV at all, you've seen this happening. I've talked about this before, so I will leave it there, but it's a strange time now, to be sure. I'm sticking with it, of course, but I gotta say, it would be nice to get some auditions. All in good time. In the meantime, I can relish evenings like Sunday, where I can listen to stories and experiences and enjoy moments of inspiration that made me want to be an actor in the first place. Inspiration is all around us, we can just get so caught up in our daily lives that we forget to look and listen.

I’m back from Tokyo. I have some shots on flickr here and will have a rundown later, but I just wanted to update the site; I noticed that a bunch of pages were missing...

anyway, more soon!

Lobby floor at the Encore in Las Vegas

I am sitting here in a Caribou Coffee near Plain City, Ohio, watching with no small amount of dread all of my work email downloading to my machine. I am supposed to be on vacation, but I can't connect to my work email from my sister in law's place, so I thought I would check it out...oy, what a mistake--I have over 130 emails so far, and it's still sucking them in. Totally frustrating.

When I was at Razorfish, I went on this rather awesome leadership training program (I know how it sounds, but hey, I got to to Sweden!) during which we took a ton of courses, one of which was effective communications. I'll spare you the details, but the most effective was face to face...the least was email. I get over 1400 emails a month from work.

Anyway, I'm having a pretty good trip so far if I choose to ignore how long it took to get here (17 hours). We had two cancelled flights, so I ended up going from LA to Phoenix to Las Vegas to Charlotte to Columbus. We got to spend 6 hours in Vegas, so we went to a few hotels (Whit wanted to check out the Encore, which was pretty nice) and ate and walked around.


and time passes.

Well, now I am in the air heading to Tokyo. It's been frustrating, I have to say---I just have had zero time to update this particular blog. I need to figure out how to channel my myspace updates to this page--I was uploading a lot of photos throughout my visit to Ohio and it was, honestly, just easier to share what was going on that way (damn you, Facebook! You and your convenience.) And then, with the weekly iFanboy article, ongoing Norton blogs, and more work for murmur.com...I'm just writing everywhere but here.

So far, the Tokyo trip is smooth, but sadly I am on United. While they didn't charge me for checking a bag, the food is awful--no surprise there, just disappointment--and now they charge for drinks! Not to sound like an alcoholic, but, I mean, wasn't that one of the fun things about flying international? So weak. Flying a US airline just sucks now and it will probably never get better.

I was in Tokyo two years ago to talk to various Mac press and, like I promised, I am back to talk about our latest offering. Unlike last last time, however, Whit's not coming, which makes it not as fun--- we travel really well together and she has a knack for finding fun activities and neighborhoods. We went through the guidebooks last night so I have a good idea of where I am going to be (this super, super hip hotel in Shibuya, the Cerulean Tower, a few blocks away from my office). I get in Tuesday afternoon, so, I hope to get some sleep here so I can out at night around the hood.

Pete, Whitney, Kim, Cindy...and Walter

Our visit to Ohio was a lot of fun, if shorter than we wanted thanks to US Airways canceling our flights--we were about 17 hours late. It was crazy--every other carrier was flying into Columbus, so we think they cancelled the flights so there would be no chance of their planes being snowed in the day after. So, instead of flying to Phoenix and then continuing on the same plane to Columbus, we waited four hours to fly to Vegas, where we found that they cancelled our second flight, so we were in Vegas for 7 hours and then went to Charlotte, then to Columbus that next morning. We made a night of it, though; I put our bags in a locker and we took a trip to the Encore hotel and proceeded to make our way to the Mirage. It was actually a lot of fun, so it wasn't a total waste of time. Still, though--I can't see myself paying for another US Airways flight in this lifetime.

Seeing Whit's family was a blast, though. I am very much myself with them and everyone gets along quite well. I met my nephew Walter (almost two years old), which was fun. Where we were in Ohio (outside of Columbus much of the time) could not be more different than LA, which was refreshing, for the most part (though I think we drove more there than I do in LA, since everything is spaced so far apart). We had our "second Xmas," complete with tree and turkey dinner, and as I looked outside at the snow, I felt very fortunate.

The rundown:

- My brother Chris leaves Wednesday morning to start bootcamp for the US Navy. He will be gone for two months, basically unreachable, as, as he puts it, "has every shred of individuality stripped away" and turned into a sailor. He was pretty nervous about it, but he's more excited now. It should be crazy interesting to hear his stories--we are not a military family by any stretch so it's all new to us.

- Acting has been slow, thanks in part to my having to be away from LA for two weeks. Basically, if I am gone for two weeks I am out of commission for three or even four (doesn't do me any good to audition for a part that I am not going to be around to film). I had a really solid audition for a great part on a Nickelodeon show, but I have not heard back yet, so I assume I did not get a callback.

- Work is good, but I am still overwhelmed with emails, as I mentioned above. It's super frustrating,and since I can't connect to anything while I am in the air (a good thing, for the most part), I am sure I will be flooded when I get back. Still, going to Tokyo is a huge perk and I am not complaining, just whining.

- Writing has been capsized by the traveling and online writing commitments, but I added two characters to a show that I am writing that really round the whole thing out. I have this idea that I honestly think could really be successful on commercial television. I am excited about it because the set up itself is a platform on which one can just write story after story. I just need to get the pilot written and sketch out the first part of the season. Then...well, I am not sure; I guess I send it to my agent and shop it around. But now that I have the cast rounded out, I feel like all I gotta do is lock myself away for a week and bang out the script. (And yes, I realized that I am actively not doing that now.)

Okay--let's get this posted. I’ll try to do daily Tokyo updates.

Tags: ohio, tokyo, travel, life

Here’s to you, West Coast

Well, we’re almost done with 2008. I’ll resist the urge to do a long list (I’ve gotta do one for next week’s column anyway), but it’s worth taking some time to take a deep breath and, in a way, be relieved to have even survived this year of pretty awesome ups (at least one, with the “did that actually happen?” Obama victory) and a whole litany of low (and lower) lows. The other day I actually had to turn NPR off--it was just one miserable story after another. One hopes for happiness and joy during the holidays and this year it seemed that everyone had to fight for a grimace, let alone a smile.

But it was not all that bad, of course. I just got back from San Francisco--I’d share my photos, but many of them were lost due to a technical problem that’s almost too annoying to go into here--which, as usual, was a mix of vacation and Pony Express style darting between family, friends and, sometimes, rest. It was great to see everyone, of course--special appearance by Pepe needs to be called out here--but as far as actual relaxing vacation? Nope.

Every time I go back to San Francisco I seem to notice something, and this time was no different. I couldn’t help but notice how precious so many things seemed to be. I tend to be pretty...jocular? this time of year, especially when I go to San Francisco, but almost everyone I interacted with, whether it be a restaurant’s hostess or coffee plebe, was just...dour. So cool that to be nice to someone that wasn’t glum was too much effort. It was frustrating as hell, to be honest, because it underscored the perception of San Francisco being self-absorbed and haughtier-than-thou, you know? Cheer up, folks! You live in a great city! Enjoy it--and the people who are returning home to visit. It just doesn’t makes sense to me to take oneself so seriously, especially in San Francisco. They need a return of a rave scene or something, to knock them about.

But my friends seemed to be doing well, same with my family. Saw my cousin Patrick play jazz and saw a theatrical version of Star Wars with Kenji, Sam and Whitney. Oh, and I went to the new Academy of Sciences, which I have been looking forward to checking out for years and years. The building’s pretty great--if, somehow, small-feeling, perhaps because of the two massive spheres that inhabit the main space. They bend over backwards to tell you how green the building is, with insulation made of blue jeans and the cement warmed by hot water...but I gotta tell you, I never took off my jacket and scarf inside! I was disappointed by the two exhibits on either wing--it was mostly reading and watching videos, which, well, you can do on a website, you know? A museum has to be more than reading and viewing. The aquarium below, was nice, but really dark and claustrophobic--it was like being an intestine. Of course, it was also super crowded, but I still felt that I was just winding my way through a deep cave with some fish in the walls. They did retain the original seahorse railing (and crocodile pit, complete with the white one), which I have known since I was a few years old--that was great. But, in the end, while there was a lot on how screwed up the environment is and how humans better change or we’re all going to be d-e-d dead, I just didn’t feel like I was learning anything. It was mostly focused on earth sciences--there were no space exhibits as far as we could tell. It’s gorgeous, though--I am really, really bummed I lost my pictures of the roof and the exhibits. Next time, I guess.

I get it, the museum is still finding its voice, but for $25, I thought it was kind of a ripoff--and believe me, I came into it really wanting to like it, even after spending 2 hours outside in 40° weather...

Yesterday I took a day off work and basically ran errands. It was nice, I started off at The Griddle and ate breakfast while reading some comics. As happens more and more, some guy started talking to me about comics and I mentioned that I write for a comic book website, and his reaction was like, “That’s the coolest job ever!” and I had to admit that it was actually kind of cool (though a weekly column does not a full time job make). While I have been pretty down on this year, it’s been mostly because I just didn’t make the kind of progress I was hoping to make with my acting career. But on a purely selfish level, things were pretty good:

• Whit’s surgery went well
• I had a lot of fun meeting new friends at WonderCon and Comic-Con
• I am writing for iFanboy
• I did a ton of yoga and I am closing in on two years of practicing
• I’m working on some great scripts both by myself and with Nick
• I produced those shorts for work
• I have been asked to be in a few short films
• My friends are healthy, having kids, still working and seem to be happy
• My own work is going quite well and I am still learning a lot

So, farewell, 2008. Let’s all have a healthy, happy and peaceful 2009, shall we?

Last week, I ended up visiting both of my agencies. My commercial agency was actually bought by another one (I am now represented by Talentworks Los Angeles for commercials; ACME is, as of last Friday, done--check out the press release if you are interested), so I got to go to the new office and sign a bunch of paperwork. (On a sidenote - I am with the same agency as William Shatner! How rad is that?) Suffice to say--I am really excited about 2009.

I’ve talked about it before, but the relationship one has with their agents and manager is just so...specific, you know? I have a small phalanx of great people that are working, hard, to get me auditions. Just getting an agent...I mean, that took awhile, and then it took even longer to find an agent that was able to get me work in the first place. I am incredibly fortunate, really, to have Imperium-7 and Talentworks working with me, it is incredibly humbling.

Anyway, I had a really good meeting with Emily, Brian and Mandy at Talentworks. They have been very supportive and encouraging and have always made me very welcome whenever I come by and say hello. And I was grateful to them for being so great on Friday, to be honest. It’s been a tough year, as you know. I’ve done a lot of work, but most of it was non paying. Great experiences*, sure, but, like, I’m not helping anyone pay their bills, you know? So, when you meet with your agents, there’s this feeling, this overwhelming feeling, of “thank you for being so patient--it will get better, it will!” The fact they kept me on during the move brings me to the title of this entry--it’s validation, it’s trust that this team believes in me and that belief, that support is, really, one of reasons why I keep at this. It’s the main reason, of course, but it’s a big kick in the ass to keep me positive.

All people, but artists and performers in particular, despite their loud protestations, need validation. However, to admit it somehow means that you are weak, that you are doing your art to please other people. And, to some extent, that argument is correct. I act to entertain people (friends and family especially), to make them feel something. If I suck at it, people will not be interested. If they are into it, then there is a degree of validation to my endeavor. To an extent, that validation keeps me going, it makes me work hard to be “better” -- to make more honest choices, to rely less on theatrical tricks, to work in projects that people will want to watch. Validation does not mean “you’ve done it, you’re good” -- it means, “hey, you are on the right path, keep going.”

So whenever I get a nice email from my agent or manager, even a short one, it puts a skip in my step. I know how that sounds--it could very well sound needy and lacking of self confidence. It’s not, trust me. If I was lacking in self-confidence I would be living somewhere else.

Validation has changed, for me, through the years. When I first started out, like, in high school, validation came in the form of laughter and applause. Makes sense; those were first cues that I was getting something right. Then, later, in college, it was more about getting validation from other actors and directors (something that has definitely not gone away (nor will it ever)). When I was doing summer theater way back when, I loved that I could do a show for a bunch of people who didn’t know me--I could just do the show and disappear into the night. There, the validation came from making each show sharper and fuller. In New York, it was all a mix. Now, the validation comes from the feedback and training I am getting in class and, of course, from the others I have discussed above.

Of course, there is overt validation--how many people come to see the show, what reviewers say, etc. Ironically, in my day job, I have the same challenge--the products we release are offered up, for validation, I suppose, to the Mac community and Mac press. I have several press interviews next week to talk about what we are doing and whenever we get a new product out, we are constantly wondering what the product reviews are going to say--the higher the rating, the higher the validation, resulting in credibility in the Mac community and, business wise, increased sales.

We all wrestle with validation and our relationship with it. Every job requires someone to validate how well we are doing. The struggle with growing older is figuring out to compromise the feelings of “I don’t need the validation of someone who doesn’t get it, man” and “Wow, if I do a good job, there will more opportunities”. To accept the value of external validation without compromising your independence and idealism, to enjoy that wrestling match...is that where the wrinkles come from?

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* These are already posted on the web at Enormous Productions, so I feel like it’s okay to talk about them now Remember those spots I did for work? Well, here they are. Hope you like them.

Tags: validation,acting,work

No, that’s not a picture of me right now--it’s terribly hot these days and
I am just trying to throw it out into the universe--chill.

Whenever I have weeks like the ones I have been having recently I try to think back to when I was hectically unemployed in Brooklyn and how I used to long for a regular job with a steady paycheck. I would imagine being able to sit in a comfortable office chair and just know that there was going be a certain degree of stability.

So, when I express some frustration at the amount of energy and time that work has been demanding of me lately, just know that yes, I do realize that things could be a lot worse. (Because they were, totally, astoundingly bad.)

iFanboy.com is down right now as I write this, but check out their pick of the week section--I recorded a recent show (iTunes link - I am in the Action #870 ‘cast) and even wrote about it my Wednesday column. The column’s been hard, I gotta admit--I am really trying to write about stuff that hasn’t been mentioned on the site before, but there are times when I feel the piece is too rushed or not as well written as it could be. No matter, it’s a fun gig, it’s keeping me active and it’s just kinda cool to have that happening in my life.

Acting work has been non existent. I feel like I have stepped back in time and am back to one audition a month. This is not true, of course, but I would be remiss if I didn’t admit that I was more frustrated than ever. But it makes sense--commercial work is going to be slow for awhile now as companies become more realistic with their marketing budgets and TV shows and films are still navigating their schedules and trying to cast better known folks than lil ol’ me. I mean, Harvey Keitel and Christian Slater on episodic TV? Harvey Keitel? When’s Pacino’s 30 minute single camera sitcom coming? It’s fine, we’re all in the same boat, though I do admit I felt a bit of chagrin when I signed off my right to be paid for the Jessica Biel LiveEarth spot to be aired throughout India. I’m gonna be huge in Pune, just watch! But who cares, really, right? It’s all coming as it comes.

Politically, I was amazed to see all the pundits talking about how great John McCain did in the third debate last night. I can’t help but feel that they need to say that so they can resist being accused of being biased. McCain, as I am sure you’ll remember, seemed like an angry, petulant grump who was much more interested in scoring points so he could sound tough when he got back on the stump than offering the voters an idea of what he would actually do as president. No matter--I saw this video and realized that I was well on my way to being a position where I really liked my president, which, well, you know, has been a long time in coming. Can you believe what McCain said about abortion and women’s health, by the way? The guy’s a jerk, I don’t see how anyone can possibly not agree. Also, check out Rolling Stone’s feature on the myth of McCain-good reading (and watching, check the related video). I sit next to an admitted hard core right wing evangelical white man at work and he’s been really agitated, lately. Like, fuming. It’s kinda great. I sent in our stuff so we can vote by mail--I figure this way we won’t be standing in line so others won’t have to wait as long...

Best. Ride. Ever.

Randomly, we had a product launch party at Disneyland last week. I gotta say, it was actually really fun. The best part was being able to leave and get appetizers and drinks at Downtown Disney and then go back in the park, really. You have to be able to escape and then go back in. Still, it wasn’t that crowded and I was able to check out all the rides I used to like as a kid. I hadn’t been in 14 years, so the place has definitely changed, but even the cynical slacker in me still enjoyed seeing little kids having so much fun.

On a bit of a more somber note, I have two memorials to attend this weekend, which is sad, poignant and just...reality inducing? Michele’s dad passed away a few weeks ago, so we will be attending that service on Sunday, but Saturday we are attending a memorial for our friend Jeff’s infant child, who contracted a disease and I guess never really had a chance. He was a twin--not identical, I think--and the other baby is apparently fine, but I can only imagine how painful this must be for Jeff and his wife. That’s on Saturday. So, it’s a time, really of reflection and gratitude to be alive--not to sound hokey, but I mean, it goes hand in hand with what I have been learning in yoga: when it comes right down to it, all we have is our breath...so breathe deep--it’s what makes us alive.

Tags: disneyland, politics

Posing with the iFanboy "Who Needs a" Booth Babes

Wow! Long time no talk. I actually had a bit of a panic--I lost the website on my local drive, so when I was at home longing to update the site, I couldn't until I got back to work and got my backup. Still have no idea what happened, but it's all back, so that's good.

The past few weeks have been a blur. I went to Comic-Con (check the iFanboy story here) and that was pretty great (photos here). I ended up having a pretty fantastic last day of the con, where I was able to get lunch with James Sime (the man behind Isotope), his gal Kirsten Baldock (author of Smoke and Guns) and Darwyn Cooke (one of the best creators working today, in my opinion), which was a lot of fun. It's weird, you know? Like, the whole comic book thing. For awhile, it was just my own thing, and was basically a curiosity for my friends--like, I really didn't talk about them that much, but I just kept reading them and all was good. Over the past few years, I have inadvertently gotten more and more involved in the comic book community, which has been a lot of fun. I mean, I remember driving to San Diego three years ago with Whitney listening to the iFanboy podcast and Whitney kept saying how I should be on the podcast since I kept talking back to the guys and explaining what they were talking about to her. Flash forward to the present and I already have one show under my belt in addition to the column! Funny how things work out that way. Whit and I were also mentioned in Whitney Matheson's PopCandy column, too, which was fun.

But back to the lunch with the gang. Yes, it was fun having lunch with someone whose work I admire like crazy (I think I have all of his recent books), but it was also just really interesting to learn more about and more about the industry and the personality types and the challenges you meet when making a living making funny books. It's a completely different world, and it was fun to hear Darwyn's battle stories.

Then, that night, completely out of the blue, Whit and I joined Kirsten, James and Jon to have dinner with Grant Morrison and his lovely girl Kristan. Like, if you are a comic book fan, you know how cool this is, to be able to write about having dinner with Darwyn and then have dinner with Grant. Like Darwyn, Grant is a major creative force in the industry--he's rewriting the DC Universe right now in Final Crisis--and we had a great discussion that went from astronomy to philosophy to mythology and back again. It was a fantastic night and capped off a truly fantastic show. I must say, I am happily surprised that Whit and I have gotten more on the "inside" of the comics scene---getting a chance to talk about stories and art have inspired both of us to keep on being creative. I mean, Whit took Grant and Kristan around JPL the other day. How cool is that?

I will probably write about this in my column next week, but these conversations and others have really shown me that comics are a great way to tell timely stories (you can write, draw and publish a comic faster that it takes to write a novel or produce a film, with fewer people getting in your way) that go beyond regular prose but stop short of a movie. Comics are a great way to tell stories that can incorporate the concepts that one might be more used to reading about in regular books but with the imagery, design and spectacle one might see in movies or TV. I'll go off on this next week.

In other news, summer continues and things are definitely picking back up with the acting life. I have been on a lot of auditions and callbacks but the big news was that I was called straight into producers for a show last week. In the June 25 entry, I talked about an audition I had that went really, really well but was disappointed to hear nothing back about it at all. I admit, it sent me into a small tailspin--really small, but my tail spun just a little bit--because again, I knew I had nailed something, I knew I had absolutely rocked the audition, but nothing came out of it. Well, I did get something out of it--another audition. Basically, I guess I had made an impact on the casting director, so when she had a role that she thought I would be go for, she skipped the pre-read (where I audition for her, she tapes it and then sends the tape to the producers who then decide whether or not to bring me in) and brought me in with her to audition for the producers and writers in their production office and studio. It was a tiny role, but the audition went well, and even though I didn't get the part, at least I did well, which makes her look good, makes my manager look good, and everyone's happy. It's been said that you only need 5-6 casting directors on your side to get a career going, so hopefully's she's gonna be part of TeamRomo™.

Other items:
- Matt, Pepe, Jonathan, and Eugene were here for a few days after their crazy BroTrip™. It was great to see them all, especially Pepe, who spends his time in Berlin, so I rarely, if ever, see him.

- Zak, Megan, and Kendra are up in San Francisco this week and I am really frustrated that I can't come up to see them. I mean, I could, but it would probably only be for awhile and I am planning on getting out to New York in September or October anyway, so I will check them out then.

- Work is going really well. I am actually spending part of my time writing scripts for a few projects that you may see on a computer screen near you; I will keep you posted. It's quite cool to get a chance to use my background in acting and writing in my day life, it's a very nice perk. We have a LOT of stuff I am working on, which is both exciting and intimidating. Busy...

Okay, time to go. Happy Day.

Tags: comics, comic-con, san diego

10:40AM...

I'm posting two entries this time around because I got wildly distracted from my last one--it was getting a little too unwieldy and then by the time I got back to it, life got a lot more interesting.

I am currently waiting in the waiting room while Whit recovers in the recovery room. She had her surgery this morning and it all went great, they removed the fibroid, which, for something that is entirely natural, looked really, really unnatural. We got a picture of it but I guess I won't be able to get it bronzed...

Anyway, so the hard part is basically over, now we just let her sleep. I guess she's going to be staying here for a day or two, which is kind of annoying, but it's for the best. I am pleased that the procedure went by so quickly--the surgery was over in basically 2 hours.

Briefly:

1 - MacWorld was actually kind of cool this year, there was a good amount of enthusiasm. the new products, while not groundbreaking, are solid iterations. It's interesting that apple is charging $20 for iPod touch users but giving the AppleTV update for free. both are significant improvements, not sure how they decided on the $20 fee. And I still hate the 24 hour rental window (you have the rented movie for 30 days, but only 24 hours from the moment you press "play"--it is cool that you can move it from device to device, but wow, itunes...it's becoming it's own operating system now)

2- had a terrific audition for a pilot which I guess is not going anywhere. they changed the character around, so when I went in, I was asked to do something completely different. It was a great experience, and I was happy to show the casting director that I could flip the script on the fly, but I am a bit sad that I couldn't go further with it. I really love the show and really loved the character (or, at least, the one I was working on)...who knows. But at least the casting director saw me in the first place. Just need to be brought back.

3 - This week's theme so far is "my friends are totally awesome". I had a great night in San Francisco with the boys and then even saw some of the girls later. It was a really fun night and while I am always sad to leave my SF crew behind, to come back to such a wonderfully supportive army of LA friends has been a very humbling experience. I have been sending out little email updates regarding Whit's morning and everyone has been really keen to help out, etc. And, of course, the NY crew has been more than into it as well (Ravi, you are more than keeping it real from the International angle). Again, my friends are totally awesome.

4 - Last year at time, I was in Japan. Now I'm in a waiting room in a hospital in Beverly Hills. As I live, the future becomes less and less of a mystery and more of a surprise.

more soon.

Tags: Health, general