Saturday, after the Family Golla did the basic running around errands and buying a crepe myrtle, I abandoned my family for three hours to stand in line of an 'open' casting call only to be told that by Chris, the casting director, that it would be another seven hour wait from where I was currently standing and he shut the line down.
Now, you might be wondering WHY I wanted to attend the casting call. Well, it was either that or FarmVille. No, not really, but I thought it would be interesting and fun. And it was. No, I didn't come close to even signing up or having my mug shot taken, but I visited with people in line, something a stay-at-home mom and writer doesn't do very often. Yes, I conversed with strangers AND I LIKED IT!
Oh, true, one of the topics discussed was Disney World. The lady in front of me had just come back with her crew (two of whom were standing in line (4 and 14) along with their friends, roughly the same age. And then there was the lady behind me with her daughter (8) who are planning to go to WDW over Christmas break. She'd been to Disneyland, but never WDW. I had to give her the 'biz'. I love the place, so I know my excitement shined through!
And then there was the young dude behind her who had acted in a few things (commercial and indy flic). I did learn that acting and finding a job were very similar to publishing. You can't get a job unless you have an agent, but you can't get an agent unless you have acted. Sound familiar. Yeah, that's what I thought, too.
Anyhoo, I went home after three hours having moved maybe 50 feet and needing to travel another 500 more to the Holy Grail of filling out the form. But would I do it again? Yeah, probably. I still think it would be fun. And working on a movie set would be eye opening to say the least. I'd love to gain another perspective and learn something new.
Until then, I'll be working on my DEMON synopsis and my tweaking my first 50 pgs for a contest. If anyone wants to volunteer to give it a once over, then I'll take you up on it. I need to know if it makes sense to someone not familiar with the story.
Write on!
It does sound like a fun day. If acting was your dream, I know you would've stuck it out.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the movie?
No title yet. I heard the working title while standing in line, but can't remember: Experiment D? Or something like that. It's a romantic comedy with Ben Affleck (seen a week ago with Jennifer Garner and kid(s)) and Rachel McAdams.
ReplyDeleteStill it would have been fun. Oh, well.
Sounds like it was fun anyway!
ReplyDeleteI saw the news story on that Saturday night. I should've watched instead of just listening. I might have seen you!
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in San Diego, they put out a call for audience members for a ballet scene with that cute little Russian guy dancer. All you had to do was show up in evening clothes (with a bag lunch!) and they'd take as many as the theater held. A friend and I wanted to do it just for fun, but we were each other's babysitter, so there was no one to leave the kiddos with. We could have made the cut, too, because it turned out not enough people showed (it was mid-morning) and they had to go recruit more.
It was, Lydia! And I'll try it again if I see the notice, though I'll get there a wee bit earlier.
ReplyDeleteI think the economy played a part in the long lines, Marilyn. Plus the guy behind me was telling all about SAG and how to get recognized by them. Once recognized you have credibility.
ReplyDeleteI got plenty of acting/film/modeling work without eve having to join SAG or AFTRA. You don't have to join to have credibility; there are pros and cons to being a member of the union. I did have a kick-ass agent, though!
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing the one you did with Doctor's Hospital, Jods.
ReplyDeleteLike any business, anybody can hang out a shingle that says "agent." My agent happened to be the real deal - he's retired now, but he represented or worked with most of the major names in Hollywood at one time or another, and was one of the major execs at SAG for years and years.
ReplyDeleteI imagine the writing business is the same - you've got to find an agent that's the real deal, and who has the knowledge, experience and connections to get you where you want to go.