Wow, it pays to have low expectations!
Well today concluded the three-day Audition-o-thon for Graveyard Shift. It started off rocky with Tuesday having no people show up, but it gave Jared and I an opportunity to read books and make fun of ourselves and the fact that no people were showing up. The way we figured it, we weren't paying for the room or advertising (we DID advertise btw, flyers all around a week in advance, I just printed 'em for free) so the only thing we were losing was free time. And honestly, I am the undisputed King of Timetowasteopolis. So yeah, Tuesday came and went and we figured "Alright, two more days of nobody showing up, more chances to read books, more chances to crack wise about ourselves." Of course Jared couldn't be there Wednesday, which meant I had to go it alone. Or so I thought, it turned out Cody had been let ouf of class early and would be wasting time with me on Wednesday.
Now here's where it gets surreal. Cody and I sat there Wednesday for about 25 minutes, me twiddling my thumbs because I forgot a damn book and him reading his new Physics book. Suddenly the door opens and I'm scared to death. A person? I haven't dealt with people before! I'm confused, and frightened! Lo and behold it is Chris Bucker, friend of Lindsey and Meghan. He gives me a little info sheet and we discuss which part he wants to try out for, picks a "side" (snippet of the script that's all highlighted and stuff), I turn on the camcorder and he starts. He hadn't practiced any of the scenes or worked out any movements, but I was really digging his interpretation of the character. So we proceed to go through two more sides and I'm having fun when all of a sudden the door opens and ANOTHER person walks in!
This dude's name is Chad and he wants to try out for Bill, a part I envisioned a 40-50 year old playing. Still, I'm learning from this audition with Chris that the process is fun so I hand Chad Bill's side and then get back to Chris's audition. I thank Chris for trying out and tell him we'll definately find a part in the movie for him, and then we move on to Chad.
Chad is one crazy, funny dude. He takes this part I can't IMAGINE a younger person (he was about 23, but compare that to the age I WANTED Bill to be) playing and blows it out of the water. He had memorized the lines and had all of these great gestures/motions worked out, and when he was done I was wracking my brain to see if there was any reason Bill couldn't be a 23 year old. We were having so much fun (and we still had an hour of audition time left) so Chad tried out the other side of Bill's we had available, one he hadn't even read. Even with the cold reading he was entertaining as Hell: for example, at the end of the scene he emulated Bill's rocket belt taking off by grabbing his belt buckle and lifting himself off of the ground, laughing maniacally and then HURLING himself towards the window. I desperately wanted him to read for Steve but he said he had no interest in large roles, he wants the silly small ones. This kid is truly a character actor in training. Anyway right after Chad is finished with his second reading the door opens and ANOTHER person walks in!
At this point I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. Three auditions in a row! It turned out this fella was named Chris as well and he only came in because he saw the signs for the audition and wanted to see what was going on. Chad left and I made certain his contact info was all legible and heartily thanked him for coming in. Now I briefly went over what our movie was about to Chris and pondered aloud what parts he could try out for (Extraneous Love Interest, Heroic Black Guy and Dan were all out, obviously). I picked up Wayne's side and said "Here, I think you should try out for Wayne." He asked about the character and I said "Basically he's the epitome of asshole car guy." Cody later pointed out that this sounded kind of odd, like "Here, I think you should be this part, he's an asshole!" Ah well, thinking ahead was never my strong suit. Anyway Chris tried his hand at Wayne and considering he had no idea what any of this was about he did a very decent job. After he read for Wayne I had him try out for Steve and it was another decent performance, he was very rigid but that made sense considering he was reading the dialogue/actions for the first time. I'm not sure if we'll be able to find a part for him but he really didn't seem into the idea of a zombie comedy like Chris Buckner and Chad were. Basically he came because he wanted to audition for something and he did just that, and I thought that was cool. After Chris left I jokingly looked outside, telling Cody there might be a line of people waiting to try out. There wasn't anybody in the hall and that set me back in the groove of not taking myself seriously again, which is the state I'm most comfortable in.
So Jared came up today (Thursday) and I showed him the audition footage. He agreed with my take on Chad but felt Chris was a little too wooden, which I think is the fault of him not knowing the part as opposed to a lack of talent. Plus he fits the part so well physically, so Jared and I think the best plan of action will be to call him back for a second audition where he'll have to prepare something to memorize and have moments and such. Anyway after watching the tapes we made our way to Keene and went about the now-familiar task of setting up the room for auditions. Then we proceeded to sit down and waste time for an hour and a half. Now follow along with me: Jared comes Tuesday, nobody shows. No Jared Wednesday = Three auditions. Jared comes Thursday, nobody for an hour and a half. Suspicious, right?
Fortunately my former Blockbuster cohort Kevin Letourneau showed up, as he promised he would. Kevin actually provided me with a very professional headshot (so now I'm lugging around an 8x10 photo of a man's face, can't pray the gay away Stefan) and proceeded to show us his version of Steve. Damn this kid can act. Jared was here this time so he read against Kevin and I just got to sit there and watch the performance, picking up on little nuisances and such. The thing that impresses me so much about him is he's always doing something. He does that neat actor thing where when he's not saying anything in a scene his eyes will move around and he'll make little mannerisms, the way people actually do. As opposed to, say, standing perfectly still and waiting for your next line. The only problem I found while watching him was I REALLY couldn't see him playing someone as awkward and nerdy as Steve. I know this'll sound funny but Kevin seems too good-looking to play this sort of part. If there's one thing I can't stand in movies it's an outright attractive guy playing a "nerdy" role. But honestly, Kevin's too good an actor to waste. Maybe we can properly nerd him up, or find a better role for him. I want him to be involved SOMEHOW, because he's been a huge supporter of the script and the drive to get it made and I really appreciate that.
We proceeded to try out a couple Steve scenes and I was really impressed by what he did with them. Plus I got to see Jared read for Extraneous Love Interest, after which I told him I was really considering trying a new spin on that character, a more "modern" take if you catch my drift. Jared scowled and said no. So yeah, I had to get to the horrible car place to pick up my car I've been without for a week and then go to work, and as such kinda had to rush out of there. I felt bad that Kevin drove an hour and a half for a 15-minute audition but it turned out he had some Keene-bound friends to visit, which made me feel better.
Now I know a lot of people would read this and say "Six hours of audition time and you only had four people try out? That's pathetic!" The great thing is I never felt discouraged. I went into all of this with no expectations and even after getting three people in a row on Wednesday I still told Jared when he came Thursday "Be sure to bring a book." I figure if we hold a couple more auditions elsewhere during the summer and try to snatch some stage actors/theater group people (i.e. "older people") we'll have the movie cast. Only then will I tell them all they're working for sandwiches and deffered payment (meaning they get a percentage of the "profits", which I'm too honest to pretend we'll ever have but I gotta learn to lie convincingly).
So, uh...how about news that DOESN'T pertain to the movie I talk about making way too much? I mean I know everybody needs their passion and we gotta respect people's drive to create but JESUS, shaddup already! Hence why I LJ-cut the whole audition experience, in case you really don't want to read endless paragraphs describing my last three days. I keep forgetting how different Livejournal's format is from Diaryland or Xanga. I would write endlessly on those but somehow the final product would appear somewhat readable. I just glanced at everything I just wrote and it looks fucking HUGE. Gotta compensate somehow, I suppose. *bah dum pish* Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. Man, only 5 more days 'til I'm 21. It scares me shitless, to be honest. 21 is where you're considered a completely independant legal adult and therefore it makes sense that you're supposed to start acting like one, be on your way to accomplishing something or give up on your dreams and commit yourself to a lifetime of corporate drudgery. I mean I know I don't want to be the same way I am now when I'm 30 but I like to imagine I'll be doing SOMETHING that involves the things I consider myself moderately good at, not just working 40 hours a week to pay for my own existence. I really shouldn't be this bleak about the whole thing, it's a huge leap between 21 and 30. Although something I was considering recently is how quickly time starts to pass by as you get older. I mean consider what happened to you between the ages of 1 and 11. Massive, life-changing events, right? Now consider 11 to 21. Some defining moments of your life, huge changes in your demeanor and hobbies and likes and dislikes and everything, but it's not exactly like you did anything as important as learning to walk and talk. Then we get 21 to 31. Girlfriends, wife, work, maybe even a baby. Most people seem to almost wake up one day married and with a kid, that's how fast it happens. 31 to 41. Work work work work work, you're basically living for the sake of other people now. It just goes on and on. Terrifying.
Hey, I got an idea. Let's NOT wax nostalgic for a life we haven't had yet and instead get with enjoying what I've got going now. Sounds groovy. Speaking of groovy, anyone who reads this should make damn sure they're coming to my birthday party Saturday, May 8th. I don't care about presents, I want PEOPLE. Although presents would be nice too... seriously though, this party will surprise the crap out of you, I will guarantee that. Well I won't guarantee it, but I still heartily endorse everyone attending. I wish I could give you guys a hint of what it'll be, but you know how I am about surprises. I loves 'em so much.
Well I wish I had some funny image to finish this entry off with but...I don't. Or do I?
Now here's where it gets surreal. Cody and I sat there Wednesday for about 25 minutes, me twiddling my thumbs because I forgot a damn book and him reading his new Physics book. Suddenly the door opens and I'm scared to death. A person? I haven't dealt with people before! I'm confused, and frightened! Lo and behold it is Chris Bucker, friend of Lindsey and Meghan. He gives me a little info sheet and we discuss which part he wants to try out for, picks a "side" (snippet of the script that's all highlighted and stuff), I turn on the camcorder and he starts. He hadn't practiced any of the scenes or worked out any movements, but I was really digging his interpretation of the character. So we proceed to go through two more sides and I'm having fun when all of a sudden the door opens and ANOTHER person walks in!
This dude's name is Chad and he wants to try out for Bill, a part I envisioned a 40-50 year old playing. Still, I'm learning from this audition with Chris that the process is fun so I hand Chad Bill's side and then get back to Chris's audition. I thank Chris for trying out and tell him we'll definately find a part in the movie for him, and then we move on to Chad.
Chad is one crazy, funny dude. He takes this part I can't IMAGINE a younger person (he was about 23, but compare that to the age I WANTED Bill to be) playing and blows it out of the water. He had memorized the lines and had all of these great gestures/motions worked out, and when he was done I was wracking my brain to see if there was any reason Bill couldn't be a 23 year old. We were having so much fun (and we still had an hour of audition time left) so Chad tried out the other side of Bill's we had available, one he hadn't even read. Even with the cold reading he was entertaining as Hell: for example, at the end of the scene he emulated Bill's rocket belt taking off by grabbing his belt buckle and lifting himself off of the ground, laughing maniacally and then HURLING himself towards the window. I desperately wanted him to read for Steve but he said he had no interest in large roles, he wants the silly small ones. This kid is truly a character actor in training. Anyway right after Chad is finished with his second reading the door opens and ANOTHER person walks in!
At this point I had to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming. Three auditions in a row! It turned out this fella was named Chris as well and he only came in because he saw the signs for the audition and wanted to see what was going on. Chad left and I made certain his contact info was all legible and heartily thanked him for coming in. Now I briefly went over what our movie was about to Chris and pondered aloud what parts he could try out for (Extraneous Love Interest, Heroic Black Guy and Dan were all out, obviously). I picked up Wayne's side and said "Here, I think you should try out for Wayne." He asked about the character and I said "Basically he's the epitome of asshole car guy." Cody later pointed out that this sounded kind of odd, like "Here, I think you should be this part, he's an asshole!" Ah well, thinking ahead was never my strong suit. Anyway Chris tried his hand at Wayne and considering he had no idea what any of this was about he did a very decent job. After he read for Wayne I had him try out for Steve and it was another decent performance, he was very rigid but that made sense considering he was reading the dialogue/actions for the first time. I'm not sure if we'll be able to find a part for him but he really didn't seem into the idea of a zombie comedy like Chris Buckner and Chad were. Basically he came because he wanted to audition for something and he did just that, and I thought that was cool. After Chris left I jokingly looked outside, telling Cody there might be a line of people waiting to try out. There wasn't anybody in the hall and that set me back in the groove of not taking myself seriously again, which is the state I'm most comfortable in.
So Jared came up today (Thursday) and I showed him the audition footage. He agreed with my take on Chad but felt Chris was a little too wooden, which I think is the fault of him not knowing the part as opposed to a lack of talent. Plus he fits the part so well physically, so Jared and I think the best plan of action will be to call him back for a second audition where he'll have to prepare something to memorize and have moments and such. Anyway after watching the tapes we made our way to Keene and went about the now-familiar task of setting up the room for auditions. Then we proceeded to sit down and waste time for an hour and a half. Now follow along with me: Jared comes Tuesday, nobody shows. No Jared Wednesday = Three auditions. Jared comes Thursday, nobody for an hour and a half. Suspicious, right?
Fortunately my former Blockbuster cohort Kevin Letourneau showed up, as he promised he would. Kevin actually provided me with a very professional headshot (so now I'm lugging around an 8x10 photo of a man's face, can't pray the gay away Stefan) and proceeded to show us his version of Steve. Damn this kid can act. Jared was here this time so he read against Kevin and I just got to sit there and watch the performance, picking up on little nuisances and such. The thing that impresses me so much about him is he's always doing something. He does that neat actor thing where when he's not saying anything in a scene his eyes will move around and he'll make little mannerisms, the way people actually do. As opposed to, say, standing perfectly still and waiting for your next line. The only problem I found while watching him was I REALLY couldn't see him playing someone as awkward and nerdy as Steve. I know this'll sound funny but Kevin seems too good-looking to play this sort of part. If there's one thing I can't stand in movies it's an outright attractive guy playing a "nerdy" role. But honestly, Kevin's too good an actor to waste. Maybe we can properly nerd him up, or find a better role for him. I want him to be involved SOMEHOW, because he's been a huge supporter of the script and the drive to get it made and I really appreciate that.
We proceeded to try out a couple Steve scenes and I was really impressed by what he did with them. Plus I got to see Jared read for Extraneous Love Interest, after which I told him I was really considering trying a new spin on that character, a more "modern" take if you catch my drift. Jared scowled and said no. So yeah, I had to get to the horrible car place to pick up my car I've been without for a week and then go to work, and as such kinda had to rush out of there. I felt bad that Kevin drove an hour and a half for a 15-minute audition but it turned out he had some Keene-bound friends to visit, which made me feel better.
Now I know a lot of people would read this and say "Six hours of audition time and you only had four people try out? That's pathetic!" The great thing is I never felt discouraged. I went into all of this with no expectations and even after getting three people in a row on Wednesday I still told Jared when he came Thursday "Be sure to bring a book." I figure if we hold a couple more auditions elsewhere during the summer and try to snatch some stage actors/theater group people (i.e. "older people") we'll have the movie cast. Only then will I tell them all they're working for sandwiches and deffered payment (meaning they get a percentage of the "profits", which I'm too honest to pretend we'll ever have but I gotta learn to lie convincingly).
So, uh...how about news that DOESN'T pertain to the movie I talk about making way too much? I mean I know everybody needs their passion and we gotta respect people's drive to create but JESUS, shaddup already! Hence why I LJ-cut the whole audition experience, in case you really don't want to read endless paragraphs describing my last three days. I keep forgetting how different Livejournal's format is from Diaryland or Xanga. I would write endlessly on those but somehow the final product would appear somewhat readable. I just glanced at everything I just wrote and it looks fucking HUGE. Gotta compensate somehow, I suppose. *bah dum pish* Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week. Man, only 5 more days 'til I'm 21. It scares me shitless, to be honest. 21 is where you're considered a completely independant legal adult and therefore it makes sense that you're supposed to start acting like one, be on your way to accomplishing something or give up on your dreams and commit yourself to a lifetime of corporate drudgery. I mean I know I don't want to be the same way I am now when I'm 30 but I like to imagine I'll be doing SOMETHING that involves the things I consider myself moderately good at, not just working 40 hours a week to pay for my own existence. I really shouldn't be this bleak about the whole thing, it's a huge leap between 21 and 30. Although something I was considering recently is how quickly time starts to pass by as you get older. I mean consider what happened to you between the ages of 1 and 11. Massive, life-changing events, right? Now consider 11 to 21. Some defining moments of your life, huge changes in your demeanor and hobbies and likes and dislikes and everything, but it's not exactly like you did anything as important as learning to walk and talk. Then we get 21 to 31. Girlfriends, wife, work, maybe even a baby. Most people seem to almost wake up one day married and with a kid, that's how fast it happens. 31 to 41. Work work work work work, you're basically living for the sake of other people now. It just goes on and on. Terrifying.
Hey, I got an idea. Let's NOT wax nostalgic for a life we haven't had yet and instead get with enjoying what I've got going now. Sounds groovy. Speaking of groovy, anyone who reads this should make damn sure they're coming to my birthday party Saturday, May 8th. I don't care about presents, I want PEOPLE. Although presents would be nice too... seriously though, this party will surprise the crap out of you, I will guarantee that. Well I won't guarantee it, but I still heartily endorse everyone attending. I wish I could give you guys a hint of what it'll be, but you know how I am about surprises. I loves 'em so much.
Well I wish I had some funny image to finish this entry off with but...I don't. Or do I?