Getting on the plane...

I'm just now getting on the plane for Chicago. When I should be landing in Chicago.

Y'know, I could have spent a hundred bucks less and got 4 more hours of sleep to end up in Chicago at the same time.

Not that I'm keeping track.

And those are my knees, perv.

United Airlines sucks...

I'm supposed to be in Chicago right now.

I'm meeting my brother, who's driving from Ann Arbor, MI, to pick me up, and we're roadtripping to Houston (by way of New Orleans) for his new job.

I'm supposed to be in Chicago right now.

The flight was on time last night. At 5 a.m., as I'm heading out the door to get a side with silver-screen debut acting buddy Aaron Hallaway, I get notice the 6:40 a.m. flight was delayed until 8:30, due to a "crew rest delay."

They wouldn't switch me to a 6:30 American Airlines flight, unless I was an international traveler in danger me missing my connection -- even though there were 3 seats left when they closed the door.

At 8 a.m., 5 minutes after the next American flight to Chicago had left, they informed the gate agent (not her fault) the flight is now further delayed 'til 10:45, 'cause they're short one flight attendant. Is this a union thing? The flight is only 1/4 full.

I'm supposed to be in Chicago right now. My brother is.

"Spider-Man 3" teaser trailer is up!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/spider-man_3.

Comic Book Fanboys/Movie Lovers/Kirsten Dunst fans (or Tobey Maguire fans; it's his B-Day today) unite!

Excelsior!

48 Hour Film Project (Group A screening)

I saw the Group A screening for the 48 Hour Film Project today.

My picks'd be:

1. Hidden Places
2. The Arrival
3. You Bleed, You Buy/Latino Roadshow/Jimmy Rigged

Cell phones for the homeless

Did I miss a memo somewhere?

I was at lunch, stopped for a light before crossing over Austin's MOPAC/Parmer intersection. I saw one of the regular transients with his sign requesting money, walking up and down the line of cars, when -- I kid you not -- he put his sign down to take a cell phone call.

He was asking for money.

Has a cell phone.

This is the same guy last year for whom I was moved to run over and grab a big Wendy's lunch, came back, couldn't find him, then nearly ran over him coming out of the grocery store with 4 12-packs of Bud Light.

He's asking for money, drinks a lotta beer, and has a cell phone.

I am amazingly disappointed right now...

"Tysus & Zianne" Update: Alex Lawrence

Previously:

• The Audition
• Landing the part
• The voice session
• The behind-the-scenes interview

Here's another update on the Tysus & Zianna computer-animated short for which I did the lead voice over.

This time, I'm focusing on Alex Lawrence, the film's writer/director/producer, and principal behind D.H. Lawrence Productions.

Check out Alex's Website -- The guy's quite a bit of a renaissance man.

He's got a bunch of nice stuff on his site, and I'm particularly struck with his being a computer modeler, and concept artist -- not a combination you see a lot, and one that's definitely in demand.

Like I said, there are a lot of good pieces on the site, but in particular, check out the following for Tysus & Zianna kinds of stuff:

• Concept Art (has 3 pieces from Tysus & Zianna, Including the Death Knight, whose bum I totally kick)
• Digital Stills ("The Citadel")
• Animations(Check out the The "Wheel of Time - theatrical trailer" to get a flavor of what Tysus & Zianna could be -- and this was 5 years ago!)

Interviews for "Tysus & Zianna"

I did some interviews for Tysus & Zianna Wednesday night -- whatta blast.

Dan Parsons is freaking amazing. His lighting and setup created a warm, professional, studio-like ambiance, and the hi-def camera (in capable hands) puts out an incredible picture.

The interview was lot of fun, and I left with a ton of "what I would have done different" ideas rolling around my head. Not in a negative way at all -- this was my first interview of this kind, some I'm giving myself grace. I just noticed things about myself watching the playback, and can make corrections and more interesting choices the next go-round.

I guess that's one of the big things I took away from the night -- just a like for a character, it's important to make strong choices for the interview.

We then watched some of Dan's other stuff, including his/Alex Lawrence's previous CGI animated piece, Wheel of Time. Five years ago, and the thing is tight, compelling, and fluid, and the technology (and Dan and Alex) have just gotten better.

The interviews'll be used to tease Tysus & Zianna on the upcoming Website over the next year, and'll be added to the DVD for distribution.

I'm really excited to be a part of this.

I went to the Alliance gig Monday night

I went to the Alliance panel and party at MOMO's Club Monday night.

It was a good, informative meet, with a lot of big local industry folks giving of their time and knowledge to help Texas "raise the bar" for film and commercial work. There was also an update on the state legislation/incentive front (go to the Texas Motion Picture Alliance Web page; read; become informed; become a part of it).

The attendance was much skimpier than the previous meeting (which was insane and hot and dangerously overcrowded). There were probably south of 125 people, whereas last time saw north of 300. Not sure what the deal was, but when I finally left, I noticed an abnormal number of empty parking spaces and meters on West 6th street, so maybe it wasn't just the event that was short on attendance.

It was a good experience, though, because the three panels (Talent Agents, Coaches, and Casting Directors) were candid, and so giving of their info -- and they were entertaining, to boot.

On the relational side, I touched base with 14 or so people I know, and met a few more, including a couple of coaches with whom I wanted to meet and talk with in person. A bit of a banter weight evening from an Adam perspective, but great on the quality, if not quantity, of folks ... ;-)

I am so off my game, though; not a single business card given out. What up with that, Adam? All you did was trade numbers and Emails via phones. Kids with their toys today ...

Oh, and check out the official Alliance site for details about that group.

The Alliance meets today!

"The Alliance is having another Panel and Party!"

The Alliance is a group of talent agents, casting directors, coaches, and other Biz folks, and "exists to develop and promote Central Texas area actors, and to ensure continued use of Austin for TV and Film."

The party starts at MOMO's Club at 5:30 p.m., with the real meat at 6 p.m., and drinks and networking opportunities for all hours afterwards.

Check out the official notice.

His name is Cam ...

Learn his name. Learn to laugh at him.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day -- I hope you're enjoying it!

I'm having a great day, though I'm a bit recently ambivalent.

I just watched the original Transformers Season 2 episode, "Autobot Spike", as a sort of semi-homage to the holiday, and I teared up a bit in some of the relations between characters Spike and Sparkplug.

I couldn't get myself where I needed to be in Friday's audition, but I tear up at a cartoon.

I need to stop thinking so much during auditions.

I just auditioned for "The Hitcher"

I just auditioned for the remake of The Hitcher, and ... it is what it is ...

This was an intense audition where I'm a deeply religious dad, and my wife and kids have just been killed in front of me, and I'm dying. It's a brutally tough part (for a bunch of reasons), and I thought I was going to be able to get myself where I needed to be for the audition.

Not so much.

Fortunately, Beth Sepko gave me good direction that let me take it further than I was taking it on my own.

This role is incredibly important to me for a couple of reasons. First, it humanizes the film's main characters in a way the original (still excellent) did not. Secondly, it's a dark, cathartic place for me to go. I really want this role, but it certainly won't be "fun".

But, the audition is what it is, and it's done. God willing, something comes of it ...

Voice session for "Tysus and Zianna"

I had a good recording session last night for Tysus and Zianna, the animated short for which I auditioned last week.

Alex Lawrence and Dan Parsons are really talented, entertaining, and enjoyable folks with whom to work, and fellow voice talents Candace and John rounded out the cast.

We recorded at a home studio that was new to me, owned by John Arispe, and it is a solid, double booth studio, well-constructed with all the necessary gear, and John (and his son, John) both really know their stuff.

The recording session itself was a little unconventional, because normally each actor's lines are recorded independently of each other, then mastered later. Last night, we ran through the script in a linear fashion, recording all of our lines together. This makes it quicker from a production perspective, but longer for the actors. It does make it easier to react off of each other, though.

There are also several physical and fight moments in the short piece, so I had to do a bunch of grunts and various other sounds of exertion that had me working up quite a sweat. Mixed appropriately, they should sound cool. Mixed inappropriately, and these could be so used against me ...

Anyway, good, fun session last night, with talented folks with whom I'd choose to work again (I'd been wanting to work with Dan in particular for a few years), so a very positive experience overall.

Now, I'm off to an intense audition for the remake of The Hitcher, which is a brutally tough role that scares me ...

Getting my blog banned in Utah...

There was an episode of "Picket Fences" that was banned by the network's Salt Lake City affiliates in the nineties because it featured a men's urinal. I've got 6 times that, Utah!

Feeling good ...

Today, in the space of 10 minutes, I got two phone calls. The first said I had an offer on my house. The second said I got the lead in an animated film.

All this on the way to the airport to head out to CA for non-Biz business travel, which could suck, but hey, it's still the Bay Area.

If I were stranded somewhere, I want two tools ...

If I were stranded somewhere (uninhabited island, abandoned Death Valley gas station surrounded by giant mutant ants, etc.), I'd want two tools:

• Vise-grip pliers
• Heavy-duty, all-metal hammer

If the vise-grips are large and sturdy enough, and I'm able to use them as a hammer, I could forego the actual hammer in lieu of a multi-head, ratcheting screwdriver. But that may be cheating the "only two tools" scenario.

Everyone should have a pair of vise-grip pliers.

Voice over audition today

I had a good, quick voice over audition for a partially animated upcoming film, Tysus and Ziana.

Alex Lawrence and company made it a good, comfortable audition, and I got to read for a couple of parts (the titular main character and a "death knight" (which is so cool)) a couple of times.

Tysus and Ziana is what I'll call a fantasy piece (so that I don't give too much away), and from the couple of sides I cold read, it's pretty well written and not hoky -- which is tough to do with fantasy (seriously; watch Tom Cruise in Legend; and that's Ridley Scott).

I realized today I haven't auditioned at the Dougherty Arts Center since Nightlife (I so could have been a vampire, or jaded journalist, or whatever), and there's something sentimental and real that I like about the experience (it's not the parking, though; definitely not the parking -- freaking construction).

The audition was short, because there was no wait, and I have a mongo sinus infection, so I had to hold myself together and get my voice where it needed to be for a brief window before I said "thank you" and bailed so I could cough my lung up in the parking lot next to my truck (seriously, check the parking lot west of the Dougherty Arts Center; it's probably still there, angry and flopping around like a salmon that just got a bad haircut).

Anyway, short audition, but enjoyable, and the folks seemed together and pleasant.

I do need to stand during auditions, even when they have chairs and ask me to have a seat. Unless it's industrial VO, why sit?

This is part one of my possible "3 days, 3 auditions", with this being the committed fantasy, tomorrow possibly being campy, and Monday being the most emotionally demanding audition I've ever done. Diversity of roles is one of the things I love about being an actor.

I need to decide whether to do tomorrow's audition, and I pray to get to do Monday's before I fly out of town...

Environmental Irony

It's an Ozone Action Day in Austin. It's one of those "hot, sunny, still days when conditions are most favorable for the accumulation of unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone."

People are supposed not use exhaust-producing tools (lawnmowers, etc.), drive only when necessary, and carpool.

This weekend is also the 2006 Republic of Texas Biker Rally, where thousands of non-carpooling vehicles will descend on the capital of Texas.

I find this funny.

I bought something because it was on sale ...

Please understand, I don't buy things just becuase they're on sale. I buy them because I want them, or because I "need" them (loosely speaking).

Yesterday, I bought something I neither "needed", nor wanted (necessarily).

I went in to (grudgingly) buy one thing, and there was a "half-price off the second" deal going on. So I rooted around until I found something that I actually had forgotten at one time I thought I "needed", and bought it.

I don't do that. Usually.

And what was I buying?

Shoes. Freaking. shoes.

I don't buy shoes, either, but I'd had this pair for 4 years, and the inside soles, outside soles, and laces had all finally given out. So I was (grudgingly) buying shoes. Which I don't do. Generally.

And I bought two pairs, only because the second pair was on sale.

I don't buy shoes. I don't buy things just because they are on sale.

Usually. Except this time.

I don't know me anymore ...

Audition updates from last week

Last week was crazy (good) on the acting front -- three auditions in 4 days.

Info has started to trickle in on some of them. I'm guessing I didn't get the Sam's Club national gig I auditioned for Saturday, because Action Figure's sign up sheet requested our mobile numbers "because we'll be casting this weekend" (even though the thing doesn't shoot until June 30). And I haven't heard anything.

I did get an Email yesterday for the FirstCare gig that said, "If you are receiving this message, you did not get a callback ..." (and it had a frowny face; my agent is very empathetic). But I heard today Action Figure is going to go with a new concept, scrapping the last round of auditions, and doing it again. So there's a chance.

I haven't heard from the Flatland voice over audition yet, so there's stil hope on that front, too.

And believe it or not, 1 out of 3 would be rocking stats for an actor. Acting is 95% perseverance, as far as I'm concerned ...

Moving, Days #3 and #4

Moving Day #3 wasn't that hard, mainly because I got started too late to do
much useful (delayed because of a late-running audition and spending waaaay
too much time/money at Lowe's; those guys have got a brilliant market
concept). Anyway, yesterday was mainly replacing nobs and fixtures to dress
up the place.

Sunday was more productive, if tedious ( and though still with a late
start). But I did fix some plumbing, hang accordion doors, add baseboards
and quarter-round, patch (cut, fit, and mud) drywall, water the lawns, take
out the trash (at both houses), get another load from the old house to the
new house, and buy a coffee table and a bunch of shirts for auditioning
this summer.

The shirts are for auditioning. The coffee table is for sitting at while
I'm not auditioning ...

It's 2 a.m. I hurt all over, I'm tired, and I'm feeling kind of pissy.

That was a fun audition ...

That was a fun audition.

I just finished an audition for a Sam's Club SAG national commercial
(cha-ching), a la Action Figure, and it was a lot of fun.

I like improv auditions. I don't like having to mime/mock actions with
pre-scripted dialog, but that's what is audition was. That said, it was
fun. I was miming throwing stuff into the back of an imaginary car for an
imaginary camping trip; adjusting the rearview mirror as I yelled jovially
at my nonexistent kids; throwing the car into reverse and backing over a
curb; trying to get my wife (a la actress and audition partner Elise
Ballard as excited about my insanity as I was).; etc.

We got a good several takes, which always makes me happy.

I think the director was Matt Hovis, but I'm embarrassed to say I'm not
positive.

Y'know, This whole week has been really good on the acting front. Having
three auditions in the space of 4 days has really loosened my up on the
audition front. The timing couldn't be suckier (in the middle of the house
move), but it's not like I'm going to turn down opportunities to audition
for Jeffrey Travis, Beth Sepko, or Action Figure.

On the move activities ...

I'm so tired

Yesterday's Moving Day #2 was brutal. I took a few loads solo in my truck
while waiting for friends.

And I have some rocking friends. They spent their Friday evening to help me
move. Very generous.

I think the suckiest part was unloading the attic. It was literally like
120-degrees, and I was handing heavy stuff down to the guys, squatting over
the access opening, trying not to drop stuff on them. I woke up so many
times last night, just hurting.

Now, I'm sitting on wooden stairs, waiting for my shot at a a national
audition that was supposed to start at 10:40. And I'm not even on deck yet
(if I was on deck, you wouldn't be getting this).

I need to get done, so I can begin Moving Day #3.

My ass is so sore...

Another audition for Action Figure Films

I had an audition for a local(ish) health care commercial, with Action Figure, a cool little production company for whom I've auditioned before.

Not only did I get to read for the parts for which I was "supposed" to audition, but I saw there was a decent chunk of AVO dialog, so I asked if I could read for that, too, and they generously accomodated.

Then, while leaving the audition, I got a call from my rocking agent (it's her birthday tomorrow, send her lots of love -- and some tangibles), with another audition with Action Figure tomorrow, this time for Wal-Mart (my first audition for them was for Sam's Club).

This so rocks, but is seriously hectic in the middle of Move Day #2 ...

I had a fun voice audition today

I had a fun voice audition today for the animated version of Flatland, the book by Edwin Abbott Abbott.

The book is great literature, brain brushing on the science and mathematics, side, and has a good message about logic, philosophy, challenging the unseen, and pragmatic faith.

The film's directed (and co-written) by Jeffrey Travis, who was there for the audition. I got to ready for Travis a few weeks ago during Will Wallace's one-day workshop.

I've been working the solid little script for a while, and got to read for about 7 fun, incidental little parts. Besides workshopping the script and characters, I've been running around with a "Roll'n'Ruler", which is a nifty little gadget I think I got in the 80s that "replaces protractor, compass, ruler, triangles, T-Square, Ellipse templates, french curves & parallel ruler."

Basically, it's a cool gimmick I've been using to draw little geometric shapes on flat surfaces everywhere as I prepared for the audition. And I took it into the booth. For grounding.

Anyway, fun audition. Like I said, about 7 characters, and about 18 core voices, then variations off of those. Lot of fun, and the guys were really easy going about the whole thing.

Here's hoping ...

Yellow light district

This guy I know is a really talented photographer, and his latest great Photoshoot cracks me up.

You can check his stuff at Flickr, with "Yellow Light District - 2" being my favorite.

He's doing this for a contest, so if you want to support him, check out his blog for registration/voting instructions for Fark.com.

I own a new house!

I closed on a new house yesterday.

This is exciting and unsettling at the same time.

The only thing that makes the phrase "I own a new house!" less exciting is its corollary: "I own an old house, too."

Yeesh. Time to sell that bad boy.

So, if you're looking to move into Round Rock and want a great starter home with easy access to 1325/MoPac, IH-35, and McNeil, please contact me and make a ridiculously huge cash offer.

Please?

(in bed)

Let's face it -- I'm pretty immature.

One regular exhibition of my lack of maturity is with fortune cookies (wait, it's not as bad as it sounds).

I like fortune cookies that are (A) Genuine fortunes (none of this platitudes crap), or, failing (A), then (B) Funny when appended with the phrase, "(In bed.)"

This particular fortune, while not necessarily the former, is definitely the latter:

I take pride in knowing not only am I "Among the lucky", and "the chosen one", but among the People of Luck, I am the Lucky Chosen One in a very, very important context.

Which makes me better than Neo.

(In bed.)

I was trapped in my house this morning ...

I'm trying to sell my current house, which means (with my current string of "luck") things are going terribly bad.

I had to repair the foundation, which included them putting a support pier under my drain line, which cracked it (of course). I had to have a plumber come and fix the line, and now there's a 4-foot hole up and under my foundation, which needs to be filled (understandably).

Since plumbers are incredibly expensive as diggers, I told them thank you very much, and hired someone else to bring dirt in (the excavated clay won't pack back in; back to the "luck" thing), fill in the hole, and haul off the old dirt.

This was supposed to start tomorrow.

Imagine my surprise when I opened my garage door today and saw a mound of dirt blocking my exit. The only way out was going to be to plow through part of the mound, up and over my lawn (avoiding the retaining wall), and over the curb into the street.

I called the guy and registered by concern, which he genuinely seemed at a loss to understand. I told him I was worried about damaging the lawn, since I'm trying to sell the house (ironic, I know, since there's a freaking huge hole in my front yard).

So asked him if that did happen, would he be willing to help me re-sod the damaged area.

His response?

"You want me to come get the dirt and we call it quits right now, Bud?"

Uh, that seemed a little unwarranted. Especially since he's supposed to be providing me service.

So I talked him down (he never apologised for any of this), then made the Guiness Book of World Records billion point turn inside my garage to get out, over the dirt, miss the retaining wall, miss the mailbox, over the curb and into the street. And there are only minor indents in the lawn (thank goodness we haven't had any rain lately).

Ah well. If it's not this it's something else, and no use getting myself worked up ...

Recognizing Diversity ...

"Recognizing diversity" should not mean "lowering the bar".

Loki's a nubby!

OK, I'm not a big believer in "luck", "chance", "fate", or their variants (though I've got empirical knowledge of the power and applicability of "randomness" and "chaos").

However, I'm beginning to wonder if my dog, Loki (and/or I), is/am cursed.

Loki's already gone through a lot, but last week, she had to go in for an emergency tail amputation. The details leading up to the surgery aren't pleasant, so let's just summarize them as follows:

Crate tail. Gangrene. Dogs lack the cognizant abilities of humans.

The net result being Loki now looks like a stocky, brutish vizsla.

So, not only is Loki not getting cool new stuff (like an anti-cat rocket tail) for the small fortune getting pumped into her, but she's getting body parts taken away (so, far, the spleen and tail).

I wonder if I should have asked them to keep her pieces, so I can build a back-up dog ...

Happy Mother's Day!

E3 2006

I'm a video and PC gamer, so if I'm not writing here this week, it's probably because I'm posting like mad on my video game blog for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

Check it out:

• Adam Creighton, Computer and Video Gaming blog
• Updated E3 blog

Fun stuff ...

Selfish birthday weekend: Day #4

The Blow-By-Blow:

• Selfish birthday weekend: Day #3
• Selfish birthday weekend: Day #2
• Selfish birthday weekend: Day #1
• And so it begins ...

Selfish birthday weekend: Day #4

Yesterday (Monday) was "Selfish Birthday Weekend Day 4", and the official end to my birthday 4-day weekend o' playing.

It started out disappointingly enough. Even though I as on vacation, I got hassled by work (for something "needed to be fixed right away", and did not need my involvement), and another run to the vet for poor ol' Loki.

Things picked up after that, as I was able to attend the last part of a very special someone's performance, a Kerbey Lane late breakfast lunch with loved ones, the back home for a bunch o' blogging and video game related shenanigans.

I treated myself to another 3-plus mile run, which sucked with the humidity (breathing was a chore), but I was able to get in the zone and mentally story board a key scene from one of my multi-IPs, MoH.

Then, it was more video game semi-journalistic work before acting buddies Aaron Hallaway (his headshots are wonky on the Agency site -- use the one on the far right for reference) and Adam Langley kidnapped me for a birthday celebration.

It started out with a "mobile cave of manliness", which consisted of the passenger side of the car filled with black balloons and streamers -- kind of a Batcave, but cooler, because it was mobile (if not necessarily safe).

We hit Fox & Hound for dinner, beer and darts (I sucked at the first game, and I suspect they let me win the second), then to Draught House for a grudge match to finish a pint of Arrogant Bastard (that stuff'll slap you around if you're not eating a meal at the same time), followed by a smoother (and more appreciated) hefeweizen. And good, important conversation with guys I think the world of.

Then we were off home, which I made more interesting by popping the balloons (about 100) at opportune times (like when changing lanes or entering/exiting the freeway). There was a brief stop at a Whataburger when I mentioned I've been in Texas 9 years and never eaten at one (and I was riding with "Mr. Whataburger" Langley). They're honey chicken biscuit is good.

And I got another Xbox 360 wireless controller (suh-weet!) -- and a jigsaw puzzle, plumbing goop, and a prize fighter belt. You kind of have to be us to get it.

Great, great evening, and a great way to end a birthday weekend.

Today, of course, hurts -- but it's worth it.

Selfish birthday weekend: Day #3

The Blow-By-Blow:

• Selfish birthday weekend: Day #2
• Selfish birthday weekend: Day #1
• And so it begins ...

Selfish birthday weekend: Day #3

Yesterday (Sunday) was "Selfish Birthday Weekend dday 3", and my official birthday.

I spent a great lazy morning with coffee, a fried egg and bagel sandwich, the Sunday paper, and several more issues of the New Avengers comic book -- which I now have to stop reading, because it referenced the recent Secret Wars mini-series, which I have, but have not read. Damn crossovers!

Then it was off to lunch with Loved Ones at Pok-e-Joe's (sorry, Vegans), to Best Buy to treat myself to a Wacom graphics tablet (for that top-secret project I keep teasing about), Fry's to replace all of old-gen Xbox controllers with dirt-cheap Bluetooth controllers, then home to enjoy some more relaxing, reading, and playing in the back yard.

Then dinner at Buca di Beppo with Loved Ones again for a great birthday dinner.

Then home for some more Biz work, and to watch Yours Mine & Ours. Really nice birthday. And I got another Xbox 360 wireless controller, the first season of 24 on DVD, and another Captain America toy.

"What's my age again?"

Selfish birthday weekend: Day #2

The Blow-By-Blow:

• Selfish birthday weekend: Day #1
• And so it begins ...

Selfish birthday weekend: Day #2

Saturday was official Day #2 of my planned selfish Birthday weekend, and I'm having a good run of it.

Slept in, read quite a bit, then was off to Cracker Barrel for brunch(ish) before heading home to do a bunch of blogging (Acting x3, Video Gaming, etc.).

I then got caught up on a bunch of video game videos, game art, interviews, and a couple of demos, before treating myself to another 3+ mile run.

Then it was off for a get together with a ton of friends, and a very sweet happy birthday cake and ice cream episode.

Then home to get caught up on some TV (The Apprentice and a couple of Justice League Unlimited episodes -- and "Ancient History" was really lacking in continuity and importance and voice acting), some more reading, and bed.

Great, great weekend.

Selfish birthday weekend: Day #1

The Blow-By-Blow:

• And so it begins ...

Selfish birthday weekend: Day #1

Yesterday, which I took off from work, was official Day #1 of my planned selfish B-Day weekend.

Not bad.

My plan was to "sleep in", which didn't work out quite as planned. I had this goal of 10 a.m., but as the clock crawled past 9 a.m., I was about crawling out of skin with boredom, so I nixed that plan.

Next on the agenda was to research Cinco de Mayo, part of the reason I took Friday off.

I'm an all-American mutt, but the two strongest parts of my heritage are Irish and Mexican (which means I drink a lot and then pick fights with myself). Seriously, though, I wanted to remind myself of the importance of the holiday -- not because I claim any credit for the actions of that side of my heritage (I personally believe no one can take credit for heroic actions unless they performed said actions), but because I think it's important to understand specific examples of heroic tenacity and sacrifice.

This day is about 4,500 Mexicans defeating 6,500 French soldiers, through "a combination of their tenacity, inhospitable terrain, and a stampede of cattle set off by local peasants". Amazing.

Then, it was off to catch Mission: Impossible III -- really good movie.

Then, it was off to Fry's to treat myself to Halo 2:Original Soundtrack Volume 2, which is (for me), much better than Volume 1. Then to Dragon's Lair to visit my oft-abandoned comic book pull box.

Cinco de Mayo dinner was at Chuy's (of course) with loved ones, then home, where we caught up on recorded TV for the week, and I further treated myself to the first 10 issues of New Avengers.

Man, Brian Michael Bendis knows dialog ...

Free Comic Book Day #2

As part of Free Comic Book Day, I headed over first to Dragon's Lair, then to my local Hastings.

I picked up the standard freebies for this year (X-Men Runaways, The Simpsons, etc.), and Dragon's Lair was throwing in a grab bag of back issues, too, so I picked up a bunch of one-shots (including a Marvel Team-Up with Captain America and Black Widow; I don't like Scott Kolins art, but I do like Studio F's coloring).

Free Comic Book Day!

Today is National Free Comic Book Day!

Head over to a local comic book store -- most staff are excited to expand people's understanding of illustrated literature, and can make recommendations based on your tastes.

Have fun!

And so it begins ...

Last year's birthday was OK, but ended up being kind of mheh.

This year, Cinco de Mayo and my birthday hit the same weekend, so I've decided to have an admittedly selfish take, and treat myself to 4 days of general me-ness.

And it started out well today, before my 4-day mini holiday has even officially begun.

My boss got me a massage, which I don't do, but ended up a really a good way to start the day. Plus, I was really productive today, and got a nice card from my past and current teams, before my current team took me out to an early happy hour ("early" at BigHugeCorp being after 5 p.m.). One Shiner Bock, two Dos XX, one Guinness, an order of bacon jalapeno poppers, and 64-plus ounces of water later (and a great, fascinating conversation about the intricacies of the Lebanese Freedom Fighters told from a first-hand experience), it was time to head home.

I treated myself to a 3-plus mile run, at that white witching hour of early dusk in the Central Texas early summer where the fireflies kept me company as I made aggressive work of my circuit (thanks in part to Living Color and Method Man), with the tail end of my run superceded by one of those instant, impressive, massive thunder and lightning storms unique to this part of the world.

I learned a while ago that entitlement attitudes are pretty stupid, so I realize nothing else may go my way for the rest of the weekend.

And if today is all I get, I'm really OK with that. Great way to start the weekend ...

The spork...

Someone invented the spork. That someone was brilliant. Or insane. Not sure which.

Han Solo shot first!

The mega Empire that is Lucasfilm just announced the original (non mucked-with) Star Wars trilogy will be available this fall!

Fox Home Entertainment will be releasing individual, 2-disc sets each for Star Wars; The Empire Strikes Back; and Return of the Jedi. Each set will have the 2004 digitally remastered (some would say, bastardized) version of the movie, and the original theatrical edition of the film (in glorious Dolby 2.0). We get to watch Star Wars as it was in 1977 (and Empire in 1980 and Jedi in 1983).

Check out the news at ComingSoon.net.

And, since it's Lucasfilm, it's not going to be just the trilogy released.

Also to be released at the same time will be LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, the sequel to LEGO Star Wars, one of the best concepts since combining peanut butter and chocolate.

There will also be a new line of toys from Hasbro and LEGO, a new book (Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn, set 1,000 years before Episode IV/A New Hope), and the book, The Making of Star Wars: A New Hope (both titles to be published by Ballantine Del Rey).

And that's not even talking about the CGI series currently under development (and under wraps) at Lucasfilm Shanghai, and the live-action TV series slated for 2007 (which has got to be better than the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special).

FedEx vs UPS

Hmm . . . looks like FedEx got the prime spot. Wonder if UPS is ticked. That would be a good rumble.

Class was hard last night

I had a one-session workshop with Will Wallace last night. I really like and respect Will, and get a ton out of his workshops each year.

And last night's class was ... really hard. Seriously, I was up all night, and my stomache's in knots.

I mean it was a good class, too, and I may write some more about the details of the class later, but I need to talk about what messed me up.

We were doing my scene, and I wasn't getting where I needed to be on my own. Will gave me three rapid fire directions, which I took in-stride with the scene, and created three immediate levels of texture to my performance.

We got done with the scene, and Will said, "Gah, Adam! You took the direction and you did it! In stride, in the scene, you got there! But you don't let you give yourself that same direction, and you don't let you do something with it."

Probably one of the better summaries of where I'm stuck right now.

I know I get stuck in my head. I know that problem is not unique to me among actors. I knew that's one key area I needed to work on when I talked to my agent last week about what kind of coaches I should be thinking about. She told me I need to work with folks that can get me out of head.

Hey, it's OK if I recognize I've got a problem; I don't need other folks pointing it out to me. Which Will also did after the exchange above. And right before a really cool guitar analogy that made a lot of sense to me.

This isn't limited to my acting.

It's my life. That's why acting is so important to me.

I'm a head person. I'm a leader and an intellectual and while I'm also driven out of the need to act ethically and morally, I can get pretty separated from my heart in work, religion, relationships.

Acting gets me my heart back. For me it links the mind and the soul and makes me more of a whole person and gets me closer to myself and other people and God.

This is so important to me -- not just for the Craft, but for me.

AAAAAHHHHH!

I was working through so much stuff last night, and was getting frustrated about things like I felt like I had made some pretty strong choices for my scene last night, but they were the wrong choices (acting is relative). And I get frustrated that I feel like I keep making the wrong choices.

And that's usually where I stop -- frustrated and stuck.

But not last night. Oh, no -- Last night was "Epiphany/Grow-up Night #372". Last night I started to dig into why "I keep making the wrong choices."

I think in scene work I keep looking for that hook in my real life that makes the scene "come alive" for me. The way that plays out is something like I find the germ of something (selfish relationship fight) and over-amp it for the scene (husband/wife divorce scene).

Which is fine, except for me (wait for it) ...

I try to make the scene happen, rather than let the scene happen.

There. That was one of my big ephiphanies. But it couldn't stop there. Noooo -- Now I needed to figure out how to let the scene happen, rather than make it happen.

*sigh*

Thinking nonstop about how I'm stuck in my head is probably not a good way to get unstuck in my head.

I am so freaking tired ...

Good audition ...

I just had a really good audition with Scott Rice (Synthetic Pictures), Beth Sepko, and Sheila Steele over at Beth Sepko Casting.

Rice got quite a bit of festival buzz for Perils in Nude Modeling, and his commercial stuff seems to get a huge, positive comedic kick from his narrative work.

The guy was genuinely a pleasure with whom to audition, and seemed to be having fun auditioning people. Beth and Sheila are absolute pros, which makes an audition rock.

Plus, Scott's done a spot for Activision, and I'm a video game junkie. So that made me more excited to audition for him (no, I realize it could have been just a gig for him, but the thing is fun and slick -- check it out at Synthetic Pictures ("ACTIVISION - GINA").

Oh, the audition was for the Austin American Statesman (Central Texas newspaper), and is full of witty double entendres ...

"I Wear Makeup ..."

Gus Van Sant

Tonight's Austin Film Society/University of Texas class speaker was Gus Van Sant.

Gus. Van . Sant.

Van Sant is the director behind Mala Noche, Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Good Will Hunting, Elephant, and a bunch of other great stuff.

Tonight wasn't so much of a historical walk through of the guest speaker's filmography (though there was some of that), which was a nice change of pace.

We watched some of his early stuff, including Junior, a short of his cat chasing light reflected off his guitar as he played a song, which was part of his experiment in creating $50 films.

Van Sant did marketing in New York for a couple of years, then moved to Portland, OR -- he said he felt it was better to live and make films there, and not be aware of Hollywood -- at least at the time.

When asked how he got Drugstore Cowboy, he pointed to the festival success of Mala Noche, and said he thought people (producers) are honestly looking for films that work.

"They can see the script for what it is," he said. He said they're looking for the unseen, where everything else (story, cinematography, casting, acting, and editing) come together, and he feels Mala Noche demonstrated that.

He further noted that when you watch a film, "Most of the time, you see the holes, because you're forced to -- they're too big."

We watched a couple of clips from Drugstore Cowboy (the opening voice over montage and the "dog hex" scene). Turns out the opening intro 16mm flashback/forward montage was filmed by all of the actors, and they at first didn't know what they were going to do with it, but used the footage and the last-minute voice over to help set up all characters to appease the studio execs -- "The voice over is about 'Executive Notes'."

"I believe in a lot of what executives like. I don't dig my heels in and fight, which I see a lot of filmmakers do. You might as well try it. I can always take it out later."

We watched the campfire scene from My Own Private Idaho, which it turns out River Phoenix re-wrote and set the shots up for, and Van Sant supported.

We then transitioned to Gerry, the 6-minute, single shot, no dialog Salt Flats scene. Long, and not real accessible, but a fascinating clip. He said they also shot the film in sequence, with him editing at night, so after the first week, they had a rough cut of the first 30 minutes of the film.

Gerry and Elephant are "different" films, which Van Sant said were liberating him from "the list" way of making a movie, where working through a film in a deterministic way isn't "fun" -- it's a akin to working through an errand list, where "if you can get milk and batteries at the same place -- bonus!"

He spoke about his more commercially accessible films (To Die For, Good Will Hunting, and Finding Forrestor), and said Good Will Hunting was actually a film he did "for the people". He considers it a Marxist film, though "it ended up being somewhat Capitalistic."

He also said the Weinsteins tried to pay off Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, so they could put Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in the roles. Thankfully, they declined the offer.

We also got to see a clip from Paris, je t'aime (2006) (segment "4th arrondissement"), which was fun and quirky short with heart.

During the Q&A session, some interesting stuff came out.

Like on directing Nicole Kidman (To Die For) -- "Directing Nicole ... there was no directing going on. She already had it." She evidently showed up with 6 months of rehearsing/coaching, and 12-15 exercises per scene.

"She was an anchor, which I've never really had with other actors."

He did say he had his best collaborative relationship was with Phoenix, and mentioned one professional Swedish actor (whose name I'm embarrassed I didn't catch), who would do anything requested, without fear of appearing silly -- which led to this generalization about actors:

"If you ask them to do something that makes them feel silly, only the bravest
will do it."

He compared that to "less professional" (fresh) actors, who don't know it's hard to take themselves someplace, so they just do it.

I really enjoy hearing directors talk about actors, and I took away stuff to watch for, and to have fun with.

Overall, Gus Van Sant was a joy. He was comfortable in his own skin, fun, and very sharing of his experience and philosophies.

Good way to spend an evening.

Mark Cuban

I'm pretty inspired by Mark Cuban's speaking in last week's Austin Film Society/University of Texas class.

The class started out slowly (rolling traffic light black outs delayed Cuban getting to UT, the proctor played waaaay too much of The Eagles' "Life's Been Good" before he allowed Cuban on stage, then he asked for applause from the fans of the Cuban-owned Dallas Mavericks (which was fine), but then asked where the Spurs and Rockets fans were (which led to, uh, arguably louder applause).

From founding system integrator and reseller MicroSolutions (and selling it to CompuServe, Inc./H&R Block for $6M, to founding and selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in stock, to saying the hardest thing anyone can do is be an actor, to founding 2929 Entertainment, to buying the Landmark Theatres and Magnolia Pictures chains, to purchasing and re-energizing the first hi-def satellite network HDNet, he got my creative and entrepreneurial juices flowing.

By his own admission, there wasn't a time in Cuban's life "where I wasn't entrepreneurial."

On the entertainment front, Cuban made news recently with the controversial "Day-and-Date" release of Steven Soderbergh's Bubble in theaters (Landmark), television (HDNet), and DVD (Magnolia Pictures). Normally, distribution channels each get their own window, and theaters in particular don't like their already (and, I would argue, self-caused) shrinking profit window mucked with. Outside of Landmark, 70 theaters in the nation showed Bubble.

He admits it's a challenge: "How do you help people get movies, how they want, where they want, when they want, and have it have value at every point in the distribution?" (Cuban doesn't include Video-on-Demand (VOD), which he says removes tiering value for Day-and-Date.)

I was interested in the details of how Cuban moved into each vertical space, like with 2929 Entertainment, limiting risk and learning a little on Godsend, getting a little riskier and learning a little more on Criminal (great and under-rated film; Warner Independent did the film and John C. Reilly a big dis-service in their lack of commitment), and I'm looking forward to next 2929 releases We Own the Night and Akeelah and the Bee.

Cuban likened acting to corporate business, which (unlike sports, he said), "You only need to be right once."

"[Actors] just need to find that one thing that works for them."

So, Cuban has done a lot -- what's his secret?

"I'm a big believer in learning," Cuban said, "Most people keep doing things the same way. But if you can stop, absorb it, analyze it, you're ahead of the game."

And later, brings it back to the fact that he spends 70% of his time on the film side:

"Nobody's smarter than the [film] business."

Which has recently driven him to read about the film business for hours at night before bed.

Other tidbits from Cuban:

• "The first challenge for an independent film maker is not to lie to yourself."
• "Independent film makers need to realize theirs is not the only money in the value chain at risk."
• "Right now, to distribute a movie there are gate keepers no matter what -- Whether it's a big movie or a small movie."
• "To develop an hour drama right is about $750K per episode."
• A new HDNet Films reality TV series is in the works, with Dennis Rodman "Rodmanizing" straight-laced folks (a la Queer Eye for the Straight Guy).
• On his and his partners'/companies' mission: "Where we see hypocrisy, let's try to free people from hypocrisy."
• Unlike the disappointing (and, I would say, a bit hypocrital) message of a lot of AFS/UT speakers, Cuban said college is important, if for no other reason than "The point of college is to learn how to learn."

I got the sense that is something looks hard, Cuban looks to whether that's a reason to do it.

"I just like to take on controversial subjects. Period."

Corporate Inspiration

These inspiring words yesterday from the Chief Marketing Officer from BigHugeCorp, on the revamp of our bonus and incentive plans:

"Many people believe a meritocracy is an appropriate structure within which to work."

Fun with messing with people

Today is a fun day for messing with people.

I'm a pretty clean-cut guy by nature of my position at BigHugeCorp. But today, I'm unshaven, hair unkempt, wearing work jeans and an untucked button down. People have stopped in the hall, stared in the stairwell, told me I look like I just got out of bed, and asked if I'm "okay".

Not that the point was to mess with people. I actually had two things going on today.

1. I had a meeting with my agent, where one of the topics was what the more relaxed look for my new headshots should be (this).
2. There's a lead for an indie short for which I hope to audition, and this is how I see the guy.

Side benefit is I get to mess with people...

"Managers who are not leaders are not managers, even..."

...

I need to be on set somewhere.

...

"Process Improvement: Can I Make . . . "

"Process Improvement: Can I Make a Difference?" -- Do I really need to spend days in Vegas for training topics to which I already know the answer?

march of the pigs

Turns out Nine Inch Nails "march of the pigs" is a good get-ready-for-the-corporate-idiocy prep tune. Who knew...

Turns out a Guinness with deep company isn't conducive to sleep.

Neither is adding a media experience as rich as Oblivion for the Xbox 360.

The net result being I'm a bit thinkish tonight.

I'm reminded how important to me it is that people change.

People change.

I change.

Growing (moving forward) or not (ostensibly moving backward), I change.

I don't get to stay stuck. By nature of entropy, that deterministic descent into disorder, I'm either getting better or I'm getting worse.

I'm either growing or dying. Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually. Intellectually. Growing or dying.

I rock or I suck.

I am constantly doing so much. People are amazed at how much I do. Hell, I'm amazed at how much I do. And I'm not being cocky -- I just have these constant moments of stopping to assess and having one of those Matrix/Neo/Reeves "Whoa" moments at all the pretty brands in the fire. And it's not that I'm just throwing as much as I can at the wall to see what sticks (though there's an element of that) -- it's that I have so much to do. And if I don't keep myself growing Emotionally/Physically/Spiritually/Intellectually, I'm dying. Emotionally. Physically. Spiritually. Intellectually.

I'm inspired when I hang around people who are all over figuring out their own growth, and take an active role in it.

I'm saddened by people who seem seriously stuck in some area of their life, because they're not stuck.

They're dying.

Being a human is exhausting.

My epiphany for the evening is "you haven't changed a bit!" is either pleasantry or superficiality. But it's not sincerity.

"Why ..."

Today is one of those days that makes me seriously question the company for which I work.

When it rains, it pours. It's been literally doing that all day outside, and while I love it on the natural front, on the metaphorical equivalent front ... not so much.

The last two days have been filled with people who have responsibilities not doing their jobs, and them being OK with saying, "Yeah, that should be me, but I'm not going to do it."

They've been filled with character disorder, lack of accountability, lack of foresight, like of backbone, and lack of integrity.

I do not understand how some people get promoted.

While I plan and scratch and pull and earn everything I have position-wise, other people just put in time, and are promoted to be better paid bumps on logs. I seriously don't get their value add, other people don't get their value add, and they can't tell me what they do, or how it benefits the company.

And the process!

I'm a process guy, but stupid process and human screw-ups make me crazy.

Here's one brief example. today, I've gone through like 12 re-submissions of a form for installing software in a data center. The form and process are supposed to be controls to keep bad software from going into Production, and is supposed to instill checks and balances so that any qualified person can do the installation. Here's an abbreviated version of how this played out:

THEM: Your request is rejected because you haven't included the reason for the request.

ME: That's "Reason Code" equals "CUST", which is short for "Customer requested change to system". You told me to put that.

THEM: Your request is rejected because in Section 8.1 you haven't included the service for which you're requesting the change.

ME: I list the service name on line 2 of Section 8.1.

THEM: Your request is rejected because in Section 8.1 you haven't included the impact for the change you're requesting.

ME: I list the impact (service, Customer, Environment, Application and Database) on lines 3-5 of Section 8.1.

THEM: Your request is rejected because in Section 8.2 you haven't included the server name for the change you're requesting.

ME: I list the server name on line 3 of Section 8.2. It's also on line 3 of Section 8.1.

THEM: Your request is rejected because you don't list the name of the person who tested the change you're requesting.

ME: I've include the name of the person who tested the change in the "Tested by" field.

(Ad Nauseam ...)

Seriously. Stuff like this.

All. Freaking. Day.

Do cigarette laws increase cigarette and related sales?

I've been thinking about this since attending SXSW shows.

Austin as a city -- and therefore clubs and bars in the city -- are now smoke-free. So, smokers can't puff away on cigs while rocking out -- they need to step out, smoke a quick one, miss music, and go back in.

So, do people smoke less of a cigarette, in order to get back inside to hear the music? Does this partial smoking increase their consumption, and therefore, spending?

Or maybe it decreases it, because they don't want to miss the entertainment.

But then I was at the airport, and noticed the "No cigarette lighters beyond this point" signage, and a bin for disposing of lighters. Are BiC and Zippo making a mint off of the Patriot Act? (I'm being a bit unfair, but inquiring minds want to know.)

Anyway ...

I saw Tim League speak as part of last night's AFS/UT Master Class.

League (below on the left, trust me), is the guy who started the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, built it into a big part of what keeps Austin weird, franshised it, and then reduced his scope to make sure he and his wife were still having fun.

Still the owner of three of the four Austin locations (Downtown at 4th and Colorado; South Lamar at Lamar Plaza; and the Village at Anderson west of Burnet), I learned a lot from League.

He was a mechanical engineer for Shell, and hated it. Passionately. He leased a theater in Bakersfield, CA, and made a go of it for two years, before devising an exit strategy, doing some research, then opening in Austin.

He's a great example of an entrepreneur, and a guy who followed his passion (movies), rather than the money. And he had a guardedly supportive extended family.

Good stuff, and some cool insight into the details of how the theatrical exhibitionist world works, and how the big dogs in the industry are really going downhill.

SXSW update

Robert "Guided by Voices" Pollard is a showman. A charismatic, compelling
showman.

Pollard finished the Antone's/Merge Records showcase tonight with a bang of
an hour-long set. The dude's got like a million songs, and played about a
dozen -- old, current European single,and a couple from his upcoming Merge
Records album coming out Oct. 10th.

Great, great set tonight from all Merge label artists. For the Pollard and
Superchunk experience, I must say drunk people suck. Really, really suck.
Made me wish I'd packed a camera phone so I could belittle their sorry
hides for the World Wide Web to see.

But, they weren't enough to ruin the evening, or even detract from it that
much.

SXSW update

Camera Obscura was a pleasant surprise. Clean, lilting vocals from this
Glasgow-sent band.

They have a lot of clapping in the new songs. Which is fine. Lot of
clapping, good. Lot of clap, not so much, I'm sure.

Uh, Mr. Pollard, on deck, please?

SXSW update

Superchunk so ROCKED! These guys have gotta have at least another album in
them.

All of their kidding about hoping to be "discovered" aside, they did at 3
or more kick-ass new songs just for SXSW, and they'd make at least an
awesome LP.

SXSW update

Ah, Essex Green does not disappoint. New stuff from the new album coming
out Tuesday.

Next: Superchunk!

SXSW update

Annie Hayden (NY, NY) also doesn't suck. And also rocks. Kind of a Liz
Phaire(ish) sound (but not content). Sweet/quirky/compelling stuff.

SXSW update

White Whale DIDN'T suck. As a matter of fact, they were slick. And had some
emotional depth. I'm looking forward to their album in September(ish).

Here's hoping next act Annie Hayden (NY, NY) also doesn't suck. And also
rocks.

SXSW update

We got into Antone's, and'll probable be here the rest of the night,
wrapping up with Superchunk and Robert Pollard...

Beer me ...

SXSW update

Globlin Cock sucked. Not so much when performing, but the whole black robe druidish F-ing other word when they weren't performing thing got annoying.

So we left. Now we're at Fado for dinner.

Then we'll try to get back into Antone's for Superchunk and Robert Pollard.

SXSW Music

My brother's visiting Austin for the first time, so we're SXSWing it.

We're at Antone's, where Clap Your Hands Say Yeah just finished a solid
set, and are waiting for Globlin Cock, who I suspect will suck.

But SXSW this year is all about being surprised ...

St. Patrick's Day partying!

I started out at Fados for several hours, then found out one of my favorite yearly traditions - Pubcrawler - though on the bill, was NOT performing. So I left - but not before running into fellow agency talent Brent Smiga ("The Cassidy Kids"). Dude is talented. Now I'm at Dog and Duck Pub. Where Pubcrawler IS performing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I saw jumping off bridges as part of SXSW this afternoon.

Check out my other post here.

I went to the V for Vendetta regional premiere last night, as part of the SXSW Festival.

The movie doesn't actually open until Friday, but the studio folks were nuts about protecting this film.

It is so freaking hugely ironic that to get into a movie warning about letting ourselves get into a police state, we were subject to electronic and physical search, and all cameras, camcorders, and mobile phones had to be checked in prior to entry.

Hugely. Ironic.

I'm trying to decide if this a clever meta-hype stunt, or a potential marketing nightmare.

Check out my other blog for the write-up.

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot;
I know of no reason,
why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

I went to the SXSW world premiere of The Cassidy Kids, from Burnt Orange Productions, Texas's own home-grown production company, with a unique partnership with the University of Texas Film Institute.

The film was very good, with particularly strong performances from Austin talent Gabe Folse and Brent Smiga.

It's a really cool feeling to watch a film and its credits, and know so many people behind and in front of the camera. Very cool.

Even better was hanging out afterwards with acting buddy Aaron Hallaway, and biz-types Chris and Julie; those are good folk.

Today was much better than yesterday's South-by outing ...

Crumb.

The film portion of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival is well underway, and this year it's a bit slow for me.

I did go the Austin Film Society's open house at Austin Film Studios.

Kind of cool to get a bit of history on the 20-acre facility, the onsite vendors, and the potential for the space.

I was bummed the tour wasn't more inclusive of the available office space, interaction with the onsite vendors, etc.

It was also an "open house" in the negative sense of the word -- kind of a "come in, hang out, whatever" kind of shin dig, and not lot of energy or positive vibe, which was (understandably) a bit of a downer.

Plus it was like 90-degrees yesterday as we wandered around what was the tarmac of the old Austin airport.

I did run into Stephen, a student producer for whom I auditioned for a role as Batman. I'm pretty picky about student films, but this was Batman. They ended up casting based on who fit the suit, and the mean spirited side of me was happy to hear they didn't have a good experience with the actor.

Stephen and co. seemed like good folks though, and I hope cool things come out of SXSW for them.

And for me.

I'm an AFS member, which got me in to the open house, but gives me no other discounts during the festival -- not even the AFS sponsored events, which seems a little embarrassing.

I am going to try to hit The Cassidy Kids tonight. There are some real talented folks in this film, and I'm also supposed to meet "someone who knows someone" tonight.

I've been hearing that a lot lately, so whatever. If it happens, it's gravy.

Maybe see you there?

I added a new audio clip to the "Voice" part of the site.

This is from Write of Passage, a send-up/homage to old and new classic suspense and horror flicks. This particular bit is from Scream.

Check out my video section for a separate video clip from the project, and my previous posting for the history of the whole thing:

• "I added new clips ..."

I added a new clip to the "Videos" section of the site:

• Clips from the working actor

This brief snippet is from Write of Passage, a send-up/homage to old and new classic suspense and horror flicks. This particular bit is a combination of I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Birds.

History of the whole experience:

• I just auditioned ...
• I got a part ...
• Voice session ...
• On my way TO ...
• On my way FROM ...
• I am so freaking TIRED!
• More ...

I'll get my voice clips from the "Voice session ..." on the site soon.

Clerks

I picked up the "Clerks" Tenth Anniversary DVD.

I'm inspired to watch/rewatch Smith's stuff after seeing him speak on
Monday.

Weird -- never thought I'd think there was something "comforting" about
watching "Clerks".

Almost "The Breakfast Club" comforting.

And the 3-disc DVD is a treasure trove o' goodies -- for fans of the film
(or Kevin Smith), or students of independent film.

An acting buddy of mine told me he kind of likes "the new, edgier Adam."

F**K THAT SH**!

Just because I hadn't slept for 5 days while chasing down the software/service-installation-gone-bad-from hell, wasn't combing my hair, and have been spewing profanity since I was probably overly affected from seeing Kevin Smith speak while I was seriously sleep deprived does NOT make me "the new, edgier Adam."

What the f**k?

I may have been a been a wee bit affected by the whole Kevin Smith thing.

I actually called one of my dogs a c***sucker yesterday.

He gave me a look like, "Dude, that was totally uncalled for. Besides -- I'm a dog. So it's not really an insult -- you're just jealous."

OK, maybe I'm a little edgier ...

Kevin Smith was Monday night's guest lecturer for the AFS/UT Masters class I'm taking, and it might have been the most hilarious few hours I've spent in a long time.

Clerks Kevin Smith.

Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II Kevin Smith.

Kevin. Fucking. Smith.

(Seriously, I think that's his middle name.)

Kevin was self-deprecating, and kind of cavalier about the studio system, but he was obviously comfortable in his own skin (speaking in front of an unusually large class), and through his stories and anecdotes showed he's deceptively savvy about the business side of the Biz. And he was a forerunner in the use of the Internet for leading his films.

He said he admired Ang Lee, and what he termed "isolation flicks" -- every movie is different -- Brokeback Mountain; The Ice Storm; Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and so on. And he, like most comic book fans, is pissed about The Hulk.

Complaints about Smith's movies generally center around the content -- profanity and sexual jokes. If you see his films, saw his presentation at the Independent Spirit Awards, or hear him speak, I think you realize this is not just part of shtik -- it's part of who he is. Unlike Eddie Murphey or George Carlin, who arguably used content for shock value, Smith is being himself, making movies that interest him, then his friends, if anyone else likes it, "everyone else is gravy." Not that I'm saying he's just that; people reductionism sucks.

I really like how he talked about his relationships. With his wife, his friends, his parents. I'm really into hearing about people's soft spots lately.

And we got to see a bit of Clerks II, which doesn't come out until August.

Soundbites or other things that stuck with me (WARNING: May contain poopy words):

• (On changing a film based on test screenings and focus groups) "It's a risky proposition when you take a movie out of the filmmaker's hands and start listening to the audience."
• (On where he gets his ideas for films) "I just take shit from my life and kind of try to make it more entertaining."
• On dialog, he said he used conversations from life as his starting point, then throws them out, dresses them up, removes the monotone, and so on.
• (Reading a death threat he received for Dogma) "You Jews [Smith's not Jewish] better invest all the money you stole from us and invest in flak jackets, because we're coming after you with shotguns. [Signed] 'Your Brothers in Christ'."
• (On accusations he's going "back to the well" with Clerks II) "There's nothing that says you can't draw fresh water when you go back to the fucking well."
• (On his public spat with Disney) "And, ultimately, I got to call Eisner a prison rapist. So it all worked out in the end."
• In a fight between Magneto and Darth Vader, Magneto would win. And if Magneto had been on the Millenium Falcon rather than Obi Wan Kenobi, "That would have been a totally different movie."

I was seriously sleep deprived from a 4-day botched software production issue, so my social filters were a bit off. Turns out that's not good when listening to Kevin Smith.

I can't stop swearing.

Kevin Smith is in the house!

Kevin Smith ...

Kevin Smith is the guest lecturer for tonight's AFS/UT Master class. He's not here yet...

Just left the AFS party

I just left the Austin Film Society party at Ringers in Austin. Sadly, our peeps didn't win.

Now, it's off to catch Ultraviolet at the theatre with buddy Hallaway ...

I've got a new project!

I've mentioned in past posts about my various projects -- seven, actually -- that are destined for at least a movie format, but also comic book and/or video game.

My mind has been racing since last weekend's shoot, and the stuff I got to work with on the green screen and 360-degree camera.

Now, inspired by specific statements and actions from people like Will Wallace, Mike Judge, Richard Linklater, and Vin Diesel, I'm starting a new project.

I'm keeping details a bit quiet, but know it's different in genre, tone, and target thatn my other seven projects. It'll be an episodic kind of thing, letting me flex my voice and writing talents, should be a lotta fun to make and experience, and have some (hopefully) clever (but not heavy handed) parody and homage.

No timeline yet, but I'm chomping at the bit to get the first "pilot" out there, and see just what I've gotten myself into.

We'll see ...

Saturday (March 4) is STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo, in Austin.

I met a lot of great independent comic and media writers, artists, and business folks at last year's inaugural expo, so I'm hoping to make it this year.

Check out the STAPLE! Website for the skinny, and I hope to see you there (in between Oscar and Independent Spirit Awards parties).

I feel so rockstar . . .

I feel so rockstar . . .