My Brother the Actor

I don't hear from my brother all that often, but I happened to be looking at Facebook and saw some notes he posted about acting. I was curious and asked him about it. This is his reply. I am really excited for him.

Okay so I was laid off in October and kinda took it easy for a couple weeks, doing some small projects at home. Stuff I never had time for when I was employed. Anyway, I spiffed up my resume and started the job hunt. Not overly serious at first because I didn't want to appear desperate. As time went by I started feeling more and more anxious. After the holidays and after talking with colleagues who were out of work longer than me, added to the fact that I wasn't getting any calls back, I officially became desperate.

Somewhere around mid January I said screw it. I'm going to look in other areas. I thought, I worked at 84 Lumber, I sold kitchens and baths, I was in management at McDonalds. I could do any one of these things again. I got discouraged when even these types of places weren't calling me back either. Then I saw an add for movie extras. That sounds cool, I'll get paid for standing around or walking on a sidewalk or something. I sent my resume and they called me back the next day, we made an appointment for an interview. They turned out to be a talent agency. I liked what they had to say so I went out and got head shots taken and I signed up for acting classes.

The agency called me that night to ask if I could go to Connecticut for an HBO special they're filming. They turned out to have enough so I didn't go. The following Friday they called me and told me they got me on Ugly Betty and to call the casting director for instructions. I worked that on the following Tuesday, Groundhog day. It was a lot of fun and I decided that - Hey, I could do this for a living! It wasn't hard work...took 14 hours but Hey I'm on film now! The other extras told me about websites that you could sign up for to get alerts for when parts become available within your profile stats. So I signed up with a couple.

Then I got a call from the agency this past Friday morning asking me if I wanted to do a movie in Spanish Harlem later that afternoon. I agreed and was up there in a little over an hour. Bumped into Geraldo Rivera. BTW, I literally bumped into America Ferrara a.k.a. Ugly Betty during filming. Anyway, I was just a background actor in "Miracle in Spanish Harlem" 5 hours of work. While I was on set I saw an email on my Blackberry from another casting director in need of extras for a movie they were shooting in Queens the next day, Saturday. I replied that I was available and she sent me all the details - wardrobe, times, etc. and asked me to confirm if I'd be there. I confirmed and the next morning I was out and on my way to Queens with my business suit, an overcoat, and another business type change of clothes. We went from 11am to around 8pm-ish. This one I got a lot of on camera time. They gave me the role of a boss in the office and gave me my own office with a secretary.

That was very cool, I had 6 on camera scenes - no speaking though, just working around the office while the two main characters did their lines. That was fun.

Then last night I auditioned for a company that grooms talent for a week long talent fest down in Orlando twice a year. They have connections with and invite all the Hollywood studio people, not their assistance but the heads of casting and talent searches themselves. It's sort of a showcase of talent and at the end if people like what they see they call you back for interviews, work, contracts, etc. They say if you get a call back they are interested in working with you. Well, I really thought I blew it, I was so nervous, shaking, quivering, etc. There were over 200 people there and they said they were only choosing 20 - 25% to come back and talk about career paths. Like I said I thought I blew it and came home and broke the news to Coll and said "okay, next"! Then this morning I got a call asking me to come back because they liked my audition and they think that I have marketability. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was shocked. So we went there today and they signed me up to work with them, to be groomed by them, and to learn what I need to know to be successful in "da business". Also, they will coach me and get me ready for the showcase in Orlando, either in June or January. It's all very exciting right now.

I will keep you posted on how things go. I have an orientation with my new group on the 27th of this month.

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Important Guest

We have a guest from Sweden, who is living and working in NYC. As we talked, it turns out he is an actor/writer/director. His name is Casper Andreas. A number of people make this claim, but I did find him on IMDB www.imdb.com/name/nm0028220/ . Quite impressed, plus he and his partner Ryan are really sweet guys and fun guests. Ryan is a medical doctor. One of Casper's films will be shown at the Gay Film Festival here in September.

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Matt Damon Speaks Out?

I posted a video on the right of Matt Damon speaking about Sarah Palin. Obviously, I am no closet Democrat, I am out there for all to see, but yet I still have some question about Matt Damon. Yes, many actors have gone on to politics riding on their celebrity to win elections. What was the name again of that B category actor that became President again? Then there is the former Zelda Gilroy character from the Dobie Gillis Show, in real life Sheila Kuehl who is a State Senator in California. Although many would like to forget, the Terminator is now Governor in California. There was a wresting champion as Governor in Minnesota. Surely, there are other screen guild members occupying government seats elsewhere also. But, by what political acumen makes Matt Damon a spokesperson? Even if one is to discredit his credentials for such, listening to this video did bring something to mind. Health insurance. He spoke about McCain's age, which triggered a problem we face with each vacation we take. Although I am able to readily find travel insurance for health care around the world for a nominal fee, it is a real issue finding it for Ron. He does have Blue Cross/Blue Shield; however, this requires an out of pocket payment and the hopes of being reimbursed 80% of the costs IF they agree with the charges. We have had experiences early on here in Hungary where tests were medically necessary for ruling out a cancerous growth, but BC/BS refused to cough up the reimbursement. Medicare does not provide coverage outside of the U.S. Ron now has Hungarian health insurance, which I have to admit is much better than any we had in the States. With Ron being over 65 years old, there are few choices for travel insurance and the few we have found are exorbitant. AARP is worthless, so don't even suggest it. Been there, tried that. Here is the link in my thinking on this. A U.S. citizen over 65 years old cannot get reasonable health coverage while outside of the country. Yet, we would consider risking the economic, political, and national security of the 'greatest nation in the world' in the hands of a 72 year old man who once had cancer. The key in what Matt Damon states is the phrase "actuary tables". We base so many things on actuary tables, the premiums we pay for health insurance, life insurance, death probability and more. Where does McCain fall on this table? Touting his 92 year old mother is a smoke screen to try to convince the public he has good genes and longevity, but where is his father? According to the actuary tables, U.S. women live longer than men do historically, so shoving your elderly mother in the public eye is no proof of anything. Being just the tip of the iceberg, it has made me wonder what Americans are thinking or rather do they think at all?

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