FantasyTown

FantasyTown turned out spectacularly. John and Mike Frenden know how to make film, and the actors they choose to work with were uniformly good. No wonder that, for the second year in a row, John's film earned the "Audience Favorite Award!" It also got the overall award for costumes.

I played Hal Haynes, Court Clerk. Just a few lines, but character development was crucial. Of course I did what I usually like to do--select my own wardrobe: jeans, jacket, white shirt, string tie, cowboy boots, ten gallon hat and half-specs; as well as beard and hair parted crisply down the middle.


That's John Frenden to my right in the screen shot, and Jason Glick to my right.

The film included saloon girls, Indians (speaking in native language) on horseback, school kids, cowboys and one of the best swamp monsters in movie history (played by Jim Cernanec, Jr). It was shot on location at Fry Family Farms and Museum of Western Reserve Farms and Equipment in Richfield, Ohio.

See the movie here: (http://www.youtube.com/actorloganfry).

Swamp Thing I

Finished 48 Hour Film Project filming on Saturday. What a blast! Of course I can't post a comment until the screening on Thursday--just let me say that John Frenden, and his brother Mike, were superb; as were the cast and crew. Seven times better than last year--and it takes some mighty fine filmmaking to beat "Alien Robot Invasion." .

The Intervention

I just got back from the first night's shoot of Lara Klaber's "The Intervention." I play the role of the dead body. Hope I pulled it off. We got to a nice house in Cleveland Heights at 6:30 PM, but waited for the sun to go down before the actual shoot began.

Nice equipment, and a dolly track set up in the living room, turning the corner into the dining room. The furniture was removed, as well as the rug--there will be blood!

The movie is a CSU student project. One of the best I've seen: a girl with dissociative personality disorder is released from an institution, and while being helped by her psychiatrist and family--murders them all. Kristen Deyling plays the central role of Daphne, but has three sisters and a brother who co-occupy her headspace. Very nice acting.

For me, the challenge was playing a dead body. I could have just lay there, but I wanted to achieve a more sinister look. I needed to lie still with eyes wide open and mouth agape. Not easy to hold eyes open for an extended period of time while the camera rolled.

We wrapped at about 10:30 PM. Time to wash off the blood.

Color

The trailer for "Color" is up. This is Cory Sheldon's film involving corporate intrigue and unusual human sensory capabilities: Lux Davis is a tetrachromat.

I had a small role as a private physician--six lines. Primary filming was nearly two years ago. The trailer looks great (I'm not in it, though). Here it is:

http://vimeo.com/4182964

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Satisfied

Dave just sent me a copy of the "Unsatisfied" via e-mail, DVD to follow. It's short but interesting. I'll post it in as soon as I get the go-ahead.

Just Psycho

Untitled "Eliot Ness documentary" rapped at 1:45 AM. A strange shoot at an old mansion in Lakewood. A couple outside scenes; then it started to rain. Still good for mood; but tricky for electrical. And keeping lighting and cameras dry. On the other hand, we got some million dollar scenes for free.

Then inside for some light butchering--but no real bodies. Finally the interrogation. What kind of doctor wears his hat in the house? Well this one did. Good for shadows and contrast on my face. I also got a big, bushy moustache. No one will recognize me in this film.

John Frenden looks good as Ness. He nailed the look. Looking forward to the final cut.

Torso Murder Psycho

This came as a surprise. John Frenden (who produced "Alien Robot Invasion") e-mailed early this morning. Would I like to play Dr. Francis Sweeney, the infamous "torso murderer" - filming tonight in Cleveland? John's doing a historical documentary based on Cleveland's Eliot Ness for a competition. I'll need to pull together some props; color my hair and pull together wardrobe--but I'm up for it.

Talked with John this morning. Filming at his office. He said not to worry about script. It will be an interrogation. Just come in character. Insane doctor--torso murderer.

"Unsatisfied"

"Unsatisfied" -- it was Dave Salzman's CSU student project: the story of a man whose life has become an exercise in repetition and boredom. Since the script required the same activities over an extended period of time, I needed five changes in outfit, so Village Thrift was the place to shop.

Filming was in Broadview Heights; and it went great--except for the "co-star" who thought anything over 5 hours was way too long for any project. So she stormed out; requiring a rewrite; making me the sole actor for the film. That was okay by me.

So back again about a week or two later: same scenes, and a few more that were supposed to be filmed before my co-star departed. All went well. It was a wrap.

I can't wait to see the finished film.

"Closure"

Yesterday was hectic. Filming for "Closure" was set for 5:00 pm; but that was the time I needed to have Mike at the airport for a flight to Nashville. Then one of Joanne's friends called Wednesday; asking if she could stay over for the night with two kids going to a jump rope event in Norton. So that meant keeping the fire going in the old part of the house; which meant splitting wood and drying it on the stove. Some bill paying and banking, too.

So I got to Virginia Marti, where the filming was to occur, at 6:30 pm--just a few minutes after Len Ganley, the director, and film crew arrived. A hectic day for them as well, I guess.

Filming went well, although I am still not completely comfortable. But hopefully three takes will produce enough tape for the project. If it all gets pulled together, it will be submitted for a Doorpost Film Project.

Oh, I got to play Detective Engel; caught in a private drama as a young girl tries to reconcile her love of her brother; with the love of the one who killed him. Vanessa Flores played Julia--and was terrific!

Salt and pepper

After I dyed my hair New Year's Eve for the "Julio" audition, I ended up looking like Rod Blagojevich. Just too much black hair. It was really embarrassing when I went to the dentist's office or bank--but I did it for "my craft!"

I finally got it cut off yesterday; and feel a great deal better. It's pretty much a buzz cut; and strangely, some of the hair remained black, as if it hadn't grown out. Leaves a nice salt and pepper effect.

I shouldn't make too big a deal over it; but it will be the last time I go to the extreme of a drastic--and semi-permanent--change in appearance just for the chance to do an audition in Cleveland, Ohio.

At least when I did the "Indiana Jones" audition in New Haven, CT, and dressed like a professor from the 1950s, I could change back to my normal style without having to wait six weeks for my hair to grow out.

Visit China!

The official website for "Visit China" is up! It looks really great.


I had a chance to see a clip during the "Julio" audition; but can't wait to see the whole film. It couldn't be more timely.

Go to:

http://www.visitchinafilm.com/

P.S. That's me - third character from the left - in the poster above (click on image for larger view).

Disheartened

I probably expect too much. The last two auditions seemed to go very well. Directors, DPs all very encouraging. Went all the way on the last one--dyed my hair jet black--which I now totally regret. Looks like Dennis Kucinich after a bad day at the beauty parlor. The time before that was an audition at Akron U on the very worst day of the winter.

The one before at the comic shop in Strongsville was never much of a prospect. The part was probably already cast before I got there; but they let me read a few lines. Like a bad audition on "American Idol." They were very nice; but seemed truly bored.

The clincher, though, was last Friday night when I tried to explain my plot concept to a friend about what I thought would be a killer zombie movie. She couldn't get away fast enough. And then I sulked away.

Ooops--just heard from another director. The DVD for "Unsatisfied" (I'm the only actor in this recent student film) is on the way!

Things aren't so bleak, after all.

Marnie

Just added a pic of Marnie Schulenburg and me. Marnie was the waitress at Roscoe's Wings Bar for the movie "Made for Each Other" (she has a hilarious scene with George Segal); and production had just closed for the day. I wasn't at all hesitant to approach Marnie; because she was a totally great person on set; focused yet very natural. I think it was earlier during a break when she told me about her role as Ali in the TV drama "As the World Turns"

That's the great thing about being an extra on smaller projects. If you stay in the background, don't get in the way of production, or become a personal nuisance, you really have the opportunity to meet wonderful people who have done a great job in film and TV. So here's the pic (I'm obviously star-struck!):

YouTube Downloads

Joanne just heard about this from an AAC (alternative augmentative communication) listserve.

In the past, I've spent hours trying to figure out how to download YouTube vids; but this new method takes seconds. Just substitute "kick" for "www." in the URL of the video you want to download (remember to knock off the "period after www").

For example, if you want to download the trailer to "Made for Each Other," go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q55FwwZkns

and substitute "kick" for "www."

http://kickyoutube.com/watch/?v=7q55FwwZkns

Eleven formats are offered. I'm on a Mac G5 and MP4 worked great (I also downloaded an AVI; but I got a window telling me I needed an extra plug-in to play it). I didn't try FLV.

MOVIE NOTE: Yes, that's me in the red shirt, sitting at the bar, as Dan (Chris Masterson) walks by.

Rule of Threes

The cast has just been announced for "Julio." I am neither attorney Waters nor Father Flannery. Except for my brilliant black hair, it's not all that great a loss. It follows the "Rule of Threes."

The Rule of Threes posits that in any casting situation, one-third of the time an actor will audition who is far better for the part--and will get cast. Another third of the time, someone will show up who is far less suited; but, for any of an innumerable number of reasons, will also get cast for the role.

And a third of the time--and this is actually a very good result ratio--you will get the role.

Film and television have their own form of the rule: one-third of the projects will have been worth the effort; the other two-thirds a bad use of clean air (Let's not put "Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss" back in the player).

Tanzanian Craftsman

I made this post as a media experiment. This video shows a craftsman near Mt. Meru in Northern Tanzania making a machete. My wife was on the camera; and she and my daughter, Zibby, can be heard in the background.

The video is a direct upload from the desktop to blogger; although it was uploaded to the computer originally via iPhoto. It may be possible to upload directly from the camera via the USB2 connection and the memory card.



The format is .avi, as permitted by blogger. This is the format created by the Fuji Finepix J150 camera; but again, I don't know whether an upload can be made directly from the camera. Note that both video and audio are uploaded.

Final note: I uploaded via a DSL connection; and it still took a little while. In other words, it takes a good connection to successfully upload. Also note that the maximum upload to bloggger is 100 MB. This 52 second video is a bit over 40 MB.

Is there a future in acting?

Is there a future in acting? Give me some time to think that one over. It has several aspects.

Firstly, I suppose, is there a future in acting in general? With the advent of digital technologies, the entire concept of acting is changing. What about that old actor: Max Headroom? Crude at the time, Max presaged a future of acting where human characters would not depicted by real humans on the screen at all. These weren't mere cartoon characters; they started to take on more human attributes. Soon they may be indistinguishable from their human counterparts.

Oh, but there are still voices and personality to give life to the characters, you may say. Who is Shrek without his voice? But voices, too, can now be wholly digital; and I am not talking merely about the voice of Steven Hawking. Augmentative speech devices are being used for many more individuals than Hawking alone; and the same technologies are being used in film as well. And these artificial voices are becoming fully more human-like.

The Screen Actors Guild, debating whether to strike on this cold winter afternoon in January, confronts these issues; as well as the simple issue of payment when an actor's work is delivered in new formats, YouTube being not the least--or most--of these.

Well, to that add: Is there a future in acting in Cleveland? Now there's a good topic. Some think that Cleveland has all the resources and talent; and all that needs to be added to the mix is tax credits! I'm all for more acting opportunities in Cleveland and surrounding areas; but doubt that tax credits are the answer. I won't make friends with that assertion, that's for sure.

Finally, there is the question: Is there a future for acting for me: Logan Fry? I should probably stick to that simple question, something I know a little about: at least from a very personal perspective.

So I'll use this blog to explore that question, with errant observations on other matters along the way.

The question for now is: Where's Julio?