Is there a future in acting?

This is a periodic journal of events in my episodic career as an actor. I say episodic, because there's nothing really very regular about it.

So far I've done extras work in major features, and small roles in independent film. I'm willing to do the background work in major film, since it's a paying proposition, and there's the opportunity to see the best at work. Background work in unpaid film is just not something I'm willing to do.

Locations have been Ohio, Connecticut, Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan. I'm willing to go to NYC, NJ or Chicago for an extras role--even if I only break even. Cleveland is still problematic, although it got a little better in the Summer of 2011.

Michigan has been the place to go. I spent more than a month in Detroit, Ypsilanti and New Baltimore in 2010 on four different film productions. Real Steel was the biggest and most challenging: four different background characters in three different scenes.

In 2011, it was Oz: The Great and Powerful (see more below). Almost two solid months of work. I lived in Michigan for that one.

But Governor Rick Snyder worked hard to get film credits withdrawn, and (if history is any guide) that will be the death knell of the film industry there.

Strangely enough, my most recurrent role is that of the undead or zombie. You can read more about that here: The Secret Zombie Diaries.

Enough for now.

Fun Time with the Kings of Summer

If Wednesday's audition was ungodly bad, Friday's filming was terrific! The casting director (from Orlando, FL, I believe) put out an urgent casting call for an older gentleman for the film: "Toy's House" (later renamed "Kings of Summer"). I sent pics and resume, and she told me to report Friday the 13th at a hospital in the east side of Cleveland. I had a scruffy beard, but she said to keep it -- but to bring a razor just in case.

I always check IMDB for info, and found that Megan Mullally was one of the actors. The scene would be in an elevator, and I fantasized how great it would be to be in a scene with Megan Mullally -- and in an elevator!

I talked with Rance Martin and Terry Wylie in holding, but Terry left shortly.

After five hours or so, I finally got wardrobe and make-up. I would be in a wheel chair, being pulled into the elevator.  Basically got a tee-shirt, hospital gown, robe and flip-flops. I met the nurse who would transport me, but unfortunately cannot recall her name. Then we were called to set about 8:30 PM (I got to holding and signed in at 1:30 PM, knowing I would be a little early). At set they gave me a [fake] IV for a drip and oxygen mask. Not too much of me will be seen.

So the scene goes a little bit like this: two younger actors go onboard the elevator, then the nurse pulls me in. The first time in I saw a cute woman with red hair -- it was Megan Mullally! Dreams come true!! The elevator didn't want to cooperate, however.

I can't say too much more, except that there were 12 takes. But we got it right eventually. It should be a very funny scene in the movie! While not grand, this is the type of work I enjoy doing -- at least for now.

Underdogs

Auditioned for "Underdogs" last Wednesday. A youth football feature filming in Canton, OH. Lillian Pyles just sighed when I walked in the door. Then she wanted to add about four or five new lines to the read (despite the fact that she sent me the scripts that very morning). "You can take a few minutes downstairs to learn them," she said.

I've been on sets (many times) when the actors don't know their lines after having had them a week. Just too busy, I guess. But five or ten minutes just isn't going to work for an old actor like me. I told her I learned the lines she sent me. "Okay fine, we'll go with what you have." Even at that, it threw the entire audition off. And she only let me read the lines once (it's been my experience that even bored casting directors generally allow for more).

I'm sure it was a waste of time for both of us.

NYC: I'm Back

After "Oz: The Great and Powerful," my next big adventure was "Boardwalk Empire," starring Steve Buscemi. Grant Wilfley Casting handles extras casting, and I routinely submit. GWC has a policy of hiring only from the Tri-State area (NY, NJ and CT), however, but I keep trying. My last gig with them was "Taking Chance," the story of Chance Phelps, killed in Iraq. He was brought back to Dubois, WY for burial, and my scene was the community memorial service in Dubois High School. A school in NJ stood in for Dubois, and actors were needed who looked like "Midwestern types." I fit the description.

I'm not sure if there was a criterion for "Boardwalk Empire." So far I have been in a speakeasy scene, and an awards ceremony in Enoch "Nucky" Thompson's Catholic Church. I can't say too much more until the episode aires. I was both in the congregation, and later reception. Sitting in church, cross-overs for the reception. The church, by the way, was in Brooklyn.

The speakeasy scene was even better - I sat right next to Nucky's table in the speakeasy. I do have at a small chance to be seen in the scene (but you can take nothing for granted in film and TV).

The Players Club next to Gramercy Park in Gramercy was the location. 

For my role, I bought the glasses at Mr. Fun's, but despite their incredibly low cost (about $3.00), they were very good for the period. I had my hair specially cut for authenticity, and it was re-cut on set by make-up ("We can't use Ohio haircuts here," I was told). My hair was then glued down with "cement." It was as stiff as a wire brush.

Back to the future...

I can see that I haven't posted very much on this account lately. Too much work! The new deal now is: "Oz: The Great and Powerful." Thirty-two days on set since October 1!

"Oz: The Great and Powerful"

Alas, I can't say much (if anything), about it, and it doesn't make its premiere until March 8, 2013. That's more than one year from now! I think I can say that I'm a member of a select group of background actors who have their own make-up artists, and these make-up artists are the very best in the world.

My own artist is Howard Berger, who won an Academy Award for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)." When he's super busy, I've been with Bob Kurtzman, Craig Reardon, Mike Mills, Ozzy Alvarez, David Dupuis, Toni G, Jonathan Shrover, Mark Landon and Greg Funk. They're all the best of the best!

The cast is terrific. Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis, James Franco--and more. And there will be Munchkins!

Wish I could post a pic of my character, but I don't even have one. This is one tight set. You will love it, though.

The set is in Michigan, north of Detroit. Can't wait to get back!

School and Fun

My own life is a bit dull. The acting gigs are great, but i'm still usually just background. "Real" actors and crew sometimes think of us as set furniture. So every once and again, I'll copy pages from the blogs of my wife and children. My wife, Joanne, is in Kenya now. She's an AAC whiz (augmentative speech for those who lack vocal capacity--and even some who cannot do signing). She is in Kenya to share her knowledge. Here is a recent post:

Tuesday was Sapling Trust day. One of the Sapling Trust teachers had asked me to come and observe her class of three young children with autism. I spent quite a bit of time with her, gave her a few basic suggestions for encouraging communication, but concluded that what would be the most beneficial would be to have an assistant to help manage the wide variety of behaviors.

I then spent nearly an hour with a deaf 21-year-old artist/computer geek who was having a bit of a problem finding the drawing program that wold allow him to open a file he had created. I offered a few suggestions and from then on he was always 3-4 steps ahead of me. Using his flash drive, he was able to transfer the program to the appropriate user area, complete the required registration, re-install it, and open his file to show me a his rendering of an apartment complex. He also enjoys drawing cars and copying and designing commercial logos.

In Eunice's class, the morning's focus was on singing about action words - washing and wiping in particular. Each child got a chance to "wash" a towel in a basin of soapy water. The lesson became even more functional after a large amount of water was spilled on the floor, and we began singing about the teacher washing and wiping the floor.

I walked a couple of long blocks to a busier intersection where I could hail a tuk-tuk to take me to the Nakumatt Nyali , where I exchanged about $40 in Tanzanian currency into Kenyan shillings and met Stephanie. We walked to her house, had a lunch of rice and curry, and caught a matatu to Haller Park.

Haller Park is a green urban sanctuary. There are trails, snake exhibits, a 3:00 PM giraffe feeding one can participate in, crocodile and hippo feedings to watch (check out the monkeys sneaking in for their share) and a huge whale made entirely from discarded flip-flops.

Back at the house, Stephanie's mother shared home remedies that have been passed down in her family - I'm looking forward to trying the the one for sleep.

Another calming walk on the beach. The views were even more breathtaking today. We were able to walk way out because of the neap tide. Neap tides are particularly weak tides that occur twice a month - during the first and 3rd quarter moons - when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other. The sun cancels out much of the moon's gravitational pull, resulting in smaller differences between high and low tides (Thank you wiki answers!).

Looking back toward land

Jack, the neighbor's dog, accompanied us on all
our beach ramblings.

Back at the house, we washed the sand off our feet and left our flip-flops outside to dry.

Big Mistake.

When Stephanie's parents were ready to leave for town, only one flip-flop could be found. The usual canine suspects were rounded up and the sand pits were surveyed, but no flip-flop could be found.

I did several small buckets full of laundry at the Poly. Everything dried quickly with the help of the powerful ceiling fan, except for the final load of three items (2 needed the next day), which I had pinned up just before storm - and power outage - hit at 2:15 AM. 

Have I mentioned that Mombasa is hot? The kind of hot where sweat pours down your face after just a minute or two outside? The kind of hot where being inside without a fan almost constitutes abuse? Luckily the rain brought an immediate drop in temperature, so the absence of the fan was tolerable.

You can read more here: AAC in East Africa

Plague: Last Episode for the Season

Yesterday was filming for the final episode of the season of Plague: The Diary of Ben McReady. The location was Aviation High School, near Burke Lakefront Airport. The high school is abandoned now, but provided a good set.

We arrived just after 8:00 AM. I signed Joanne and me up for make-up, but I was kicked off before completing my first zombie. I had applied the make-up far too thickly. But Joanne did a superlative job, and it was good she was there: with far more zombies than my last shoot, Joanne, Gwen and Chialla Geib was the entire make-up department, joined by others temporarily during the day.

I was one of their first victims. Gwen put the prosthetics on first. She found a recipe online for pouring liquid latex on a cookie sheet, then pressing in small pieces of tissue paper or cotton balls. After it dries, it can be painted with regular latex paint. These she applied directly, not prepping the skin first with clown white cream, as she had done for episode seven. The clown white was added later, and this was Joanne's station. Joanne also did shading on the eyes and a little spiderwork on the face. Chialla did this as well, although for me she applied liquid blood, pouring into my hands an supervising the application on my head, face and shirt. The result was pretty convincing.

I basically hung out most of rest of the morning, then participated in another student film being made at the same time. Then I noticed a crowd gathered around an interior door, intently watching some activity within. I went over. It was a choreographer teaching about 16 students the steps for Michael Jackson's Thriller. I tried to mimic the movements, little knowing that I would be enlisted later.

Finally, we were called for the major scene of the day. Our cars had been randomly placed in the parking lot when we arrived. For this scene, the zombies were randomly placed around the cars. On "action" we were to mill about, until a family tried to run through us to safety. As they ran through, we grabbed at them, taking two or three down. Then we feasted, as only zombies can feast.

After major filming, Wendall called for volunteers, or at least, that's what I thought he was calling. He then lined us up. I was soon to learn that I, too, would be dancing to Thriller. A couple of times I tried to escape, but Ern kept reassuring me that it would be fine. Fortunately, I was in the back. I hope I didn't mess things up too much. Otherwise it should be very good.

It was a very good day.

Shaved!

Sometimes personal life trumps professional obligations. I grew my beard for Not in Ohio, sent my photos to Real Steel with the beard, and auditioned for Lilith with it. But I've gotten no feed back from Lilith (too soon, really), Real Steel doesn't need it, and Not in Ohio is just a bit shaky now.

On the other hand, I have two legal appointments at big time Akron law firms, and a trip to Probate Court as an Estate Executor, and my beard is just frankly strange.

It's off (I can always grow it back in a month).

Plague: The Diary of Ben McReady

I was a tree zombie for the Tri-C project: Plague: The Diary of Ben McReady (Season 1, Episode 7). This is one of those roles as an extra that you don't want to pass up -- one of those roles as an extra which is the exception to the rule. Simple: the instructor for the class making the film is Wendell Hinkle. As good as it gets in Cleveland.

It gets better: when I landed on site, I got the role of the tree zombie--the featured zombie in Episode 7. It's ugly! It's truly, truly ugly!! I can't even recall thrusting out my tongue. (I think the part just took me over--one of those things that happen with good actors--and thankfully, for me too).

Not in Ohio

The cast for Not in Ohio is being announced as I write. I be a pirate--a right pretty pirate, dontcha know. To check out the rest of the cast, click on the link below:

Cast of: Not in Ohio

It's a mighty handsome group.

Death of the Dead

Trailer No. 1 for Death of the Dead is now online on YouTube, Vimeo Facebook and other locations. Below is the trailer on YouTube:

Death of the Dead

Near nuclear reaction around the globe! Not only has the movie been noted and commented on in the United States, but also in the major zombie press of the world.

And what a reaction! Some of the editors and commentators are eager to see the finished movie, others are skeptical--and some are downright hostile (sometimes the best reaction of all). Whatever the case, none can ignore it. Bring it on!

Below are just a few of the zombie sites that have taken notice. Not included are the tons sites which include Death of the Dead on feeds, or lists of upcoming movies, new releases and trailers. Enjoy:

English:

Row Three

"No Romero isn’t up to his old tricks again . . . yet. And considering the pure awfulness of his last outing, that is a good thing. But along comes a zom-com sort of borrowing from the franchise’s “. . . of the Dead” series . . .

Have a look under the seats for the teaser of Death of the Dead, complete with Ninja Zombies; not from the director who brought us Avatar.

(Romero may be subject to the same brain-eating plague that infected Sam Raimi: the bigger the budget, the crappier the movie! Quentin and Rodriquez are among the few who can pull it off.)

A World on Fire

"Here’s a film that is due out later this year which mixes the heart warming antics of the karate kid with a mass of hungry zombies. Mind you, these aren’t normal zombies. These are ninja zombies. Or so the large spectacled heroin quips as she stares out a blood spattered window.

"This is a film not made by the director of Avatar, reads one of the credits. Another reads that it is an epic film of low budget proportions, clearly embracing the cheese that appears to be dripping out of each of its pores. The movie appears to focus on a nerdy karate student who must fight off some zombies. She finds a magic belt that turns her into “the hotness” whereby she fights the undead in a very high riding miniskirt.

"This could be a cult hit, or completely miss the mark. I have a hard time watching movies that “know” they are funny. I find the best kind of humor occurs when characters don’t realize they are being funny. These characters are so committed to their worldview that humor arises from natural conflict. For example, I didn’t laugh at Shaun of the Dead because Simon Pegg was being silly, but rather, I laughed at how Shaun coped at his nightmarish situation.

"Still, this still could be really funny. Let’s just say, I’m reserving judgment for the final cut. In any case, I’ll drop a word on any future developments."

(Now that's a solid review)

BuyZombie

"If you have been following BuyZombie for awhile you know that I am also a fan of B Movies, independant films, and ninjas – this film should be right up my alley and I cannot wait to let you know. Humor horror flicks are always hit or miss but I think this one has a lot of potential from what you can see here."

(btw, as its name suggests, BuyZombie is the place to get all your zombie needs, including the t-shirt: "zombies only want you for your brain")

The Pulp Movies Trailer Park

"An epic feature full of brains, boobs and bad ass bitches, Death of the Dead is fun for the whole family"

(proving once again the power of taglines)

CliqueClack

". . . you have to get a look at the trailer for Gary King's Death Of The Dead, starring Christina Rose. It’s like I sat on Santa’s lap and told him what movie I wanted for 2010, and here it is."

(doesn't get better than that!)

Horror Movie Girls

Just the trailer and taglines in a very neat box. The site focuses on horror chicks and bad-ass bitches. A good post on Rose McGowan, and how she got into film. Look for a solid review of DOTD when the full theatrical version is released.

The Zed Word

Just a page for the trailer for now, but other good things on this blog. I enjoyed reading the review for Plague of the Zombies. The Zed Word motto: "When there's no more room in hell, the dead shall blog the earth"

Arabic:

KHALeD Alenezi BLOG

قد لا يكون "Zombieland" ولكن "Death-of-the-Dead" ويعد بأن يكون معلما بارزا في نمط Troma والنوع الكسول.

(Comment: "It may not be "Zombieland" but "Death of the Dead" promises to be a milestone in Troma-style zombie movies." OK, I added the comment, but it brings "Death of the Dead" to a significant portion of the international audience--one that can't be ignored.)

French:

Vie de Geek

Alors au début j'ai crû que c'était un faux vrai trailer, mais je crois que finalement c'est une comédie gore parodique produit par Strange Stuff, on verra bien, en tout cas moi je surveille ce truc de près !

("So at first I thought it was a fake trailer, but I think ultimately it is a gore comedy parody produced by Strange Stuff. We'll see in any case. I'll be watching this thing closely!" - Fake trailer? Not on your life!)

German:

Splatter Movies

Jaja...

Kaum ein Tag ohne unsere Untoten Gesellen. Und auch dieser kommt mal wider aus der Indi-, bzw Billigecke.

ABER! Ich glaube dieser dürfte trotzdem einen besonderen Blick wert sein, den es ist diesmal eine Komödie und zwar eine der wunderbar bescheuertesten Sorte. Und zumindest im Trailer, haben sogar ein paar der Gags bei mir gezündet. Außerdem finde ich das Brillen-Chick echt scharf.

("Comedy of a wonderfully silly variety"! "Really hot chick in glasses"! Agree totally!!)

Fleisch Industries

Von Strange Stuff Productions kommt diese actiongeladene Zombiehorror Komödie, die für einen Low-Budget Film recht interessant und sehenswert ausschaut, aber vorallem recht witzig rüberkommt. Inszeniert wurde der Film von Gary King und als Darsteller seien vorerst Christina Rose, Jack Abele, John Riddlebaugh und Rick Montgomery, Jr. erwähnt.

Fleisch Industries? The Germans get into it good! And they seem to have taken fondly to "Death of the Dead" Loosely translated:



"From Strange Stuff Productions comes this action-packed zombie horror comedy, which looks like a quite interesting low-budget film worth seeing, and especially comes across very funny. The film was directed by Gary King, and were initially mentioned as actors are Christina Rose, Jack Abele, John Riddlebaugh and Rick Montgomery, Jr. . ."



Fleisch goes on to give the synopsis of the film. I think they're going to like it! Alert: When you click on the link you'll get to a "moved" page. Just click on the moved "here" link.

Hungarian:

Zombiebuzi

Ez egy nagyon beteg, idióta film lesz, de tényleg!

(Completely idiotic? Hey guys, give us a break! This isn't from the Director who brought us Avatar!)

Japanese:

エキサイト

死者の死. ビデオだけ. 論評無し. 楽しみなさい!

(Okay, no commentary, but they posted the vid and gave it a window. In the vast world of film, eyeballs count!)

Russian:

Фильмы про зомби

Хоррор-комедия Смерть живых мертвецов: море мозгов и обнаженных тел, а также крутые девицы! Не страшно, зато почти Трома-стиль.

("Death of the Dead" has finally reached from Moscow to the steppes. I think they like it!)

Spanish:

Amanecer Zombie

Si no recuerdo mal, los protagonistas de El diario de los muertos grababan un documental titulado "La muerte de la muerte" y quizás bajo esa premisa el titulo de la película que os vengo a hablar hoy se titula"Death of the dead"... quien sabe.

Gary King es el encargado de dar forma a esta película de bajo presupuesto pero que se nota que le han puesto ilusión y amor a una serie de géneros tan dispares como el humor, la acción, la fantasía, la ciencia ficcion y el terror entremezclandolos todos juntos en una hipotética batidora y dándole forma bajo una producción de Strange Stuff productions.

Vamos,que otra cosa quizás no... pero Bo Buckley (el guionista de este film) se ha tenido que fumar una buena cantidad de porros, porque vaya historia.

(Based on a documentary within The Diary of the Dead? Bo Buckley smoking pot in making this film? Enquiring minds want to know--but I guess they'll have to wait until the full feature hits the silver screen!)

Abandomoviez

"Cuando un autobús de la escuela de karate rival atropella por accidente a dos científicos, una extraña sustancia de un bidón se vierte en el sistema de alcantirillado intoxicando la ciudad y a los propios karatekas convirtiéndolos así en una especie de ninjas zombie"

(But Wanda and her teacher save humanity with the help of a magical belt that gives incredible power)

Nido de Cuervos Noticias

This site covered all the basics, but then a comment was added by a very snooty fan:

"Creo que la pregunta es más que obligada . . . POR QUE? Nunca dejaran de castigarnos la retina con bazofias así...en fin, he visto cosas peores y sigo vivo . . ."

(punish the retina? Well, you probably have seen worse, but are you sure you're really still alive)

Almas oscuras

A mí este tipo de películas me atrapan, me cuativan. Y sé perfectamente lo complicado que resulta defender una propuesta como Death of the dead: comedia zombie independiente(con lo saturados que estamos de comedias zombis) . . . Así es, no hay por dónde cogerlo. Zombis karatekas, cinturones mágicos, testículos . . . ¿Mala de narices? Probablemente. ¿Ganas de verla? Pues sí, qué le vamos a hacer.

(This kind of film catches me. And I know exactly how complicated it is to defend a proposal such as death of the dead: independent zombie comedy (so saturated are we with zombie comedy) . . . So . . . zombies karate, magic belts, testicles, bad noses? Probably. Do I have a desire to see it? Yes, what can I do)

To which someone added: "

Pero, pero, pero . . . WTF! Zombies!! Karate a muerte en [un pueblecito cutre de los USA]? . . . Sexy y cutre, la combinación perfecta de la serie Z"

(yes, sexy and tacky--the perfect combination for a low-budget film)

Swedish:

RST Video

Wanda och hennes sensei slåss mot ett gäng helt galna ninja-zombies. Till sin hjälp har Wanda ett magiskt bälte.

("Wanda and her sensai fighting a bunch of completely insane ninja-zombies." In a word, yes!)

So that's it for now. Keep posted here and at: StrangeStuff! And keep in mind, the comments above are just for the trailer--wait 'til they see the full feature film! Hold your hats!

Death of the Dead

The trailer for "Death of the Dead" is out. Worth a look:
> > Death of the Dead

If you like it, become a fan:
> > StrangeStuff

Screenwriting Foxhole

I just joined "Screenwriting Foxhole," and if any of you folks come on over, I want you to know that my criticism of Avatar is simply the observations of an interested fan. In discussing the film, Cameron should be held to the highest of standards. He did, after all, have the cred and the budget and the resources.

And I do like the look of his creation for reasons wonderfully expressed in: Luminous 3-D Jungle Is a Biologist’s Dream in The New York Times. He just came up short in the story. Not much of a good example for screenwriters who depend on plot and character development.

I'll still see Avatar again.

Made for Each Other

Wow! I finally saw Made for Each Other. Great cast, including Chris and Danny Masterson, Patrick Warburton, George Segal, Bijou Phillips, Lauren German, Marnie Schulenburg, Ginger Kroll, Michael Lee Gogin, Samm Levine, Kyle Howard, Debargo Sanyal and the hilarious Leslie Hendrix.

I've watched it maybe seven times. Joanne once or twice--including the whole movie during dinner last night. You can catch it on Charter, Comcast, Cox and Time-Warner.

We did it via web connection. Blown-up full screen on a 17-in iMac, it's acceptable--when viewed from about 5 feet. Joanne thought it was a bit corny, but I loved it. A definite DVD buy when it comes out!

I'm in every scene at Roscoe's Wing Bar, by the way, in red, blue and black shirts (for the different nights of action--I was a true Roscoe's regular! My kind of bar--although I generally go for the legs rather than the wings.) Actually, in the reconciliation scene, I played two different wings regulars, as is apparent when you see me in both the blue and the black shirts! (You only see the back of my head and shoulders from a distance in the shots with the black shirt).

You'll also catch me in the final "second wedding" scene--far right of screen in long pan wearing silver-grey suit. Patrick Warburton was the rabbi, which I absolutely missed at the time. And it played off an earlier, inside joke at about 40:50:

"The man once became an ordained rabbi for a 3-line student film--went to rabbinical school and everything." - Mack's Assistant (Debargo Sanyal)

That line really resonated, after some of my own attempts to "become the role," including the terrible hair-dye disaster for the ill-fated Julio audition. Or my upcoming audition as a pirate for Not in Ohio. The line gave me the final resolve to shave my head:



"Face it, Will, you say you'll never be a pirate, but you're off to a rip-roaring start" - Cap'n Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean (Curse of the Black Pearl)--first script.

Anyone need another biker zombie?

Fearmakers

Just became a follower of the Fearmakers blog. This is the group that turned me into a full-time zombie. Okay, I'd done "I Am Legend," but wasn't fully committed to the zombie role as a career choice. But Fearmakers (or actually the low-budget, micro-division of Fearmakers: Strange Stuff Productions) came to West CleveTown in November (2009) for filming of "Death of the Dead." The first week of filming was at a martial arts studio in Westlake as part of a zombie herd. The following week at a biker bar in Barberton as "The Old Man." Don't I look the part?


The gorgeous gal is Christina Rose, with credits including Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Deadheads, all My Children, and the exotic dancer in Jukka (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3010903/).

Of course it's filmed out of narrative sequence, so in the scene filmed in Westlake the week before, I was infected with the zombie strain. Can't wait to see the film--trailer should be out soon.

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

.

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.