Actor Growth

For everyone who is wondering where I have been I have just been super busy with all of the Olympic events. Very happy that the Canada hockey team won gold today too.

I will be back in full force with acting relating ambitions soon of course.

Today while working on a show it was kind of interesting as people recognized me from previous work. Example, some of the production crew from other shows that are on hiatus were working on this show too.

You know what this kind of told me? In many ways I think that I have been on set long enough to establish a presence of sorts with a lot of the production personnel where at least people know that I am a reliable and professional person to work with.

So this made me think where if I start going to professional auditions consistently while seeing the same people that at least tells me that I have established myself with say the casting director where they deem me as professional enough to keep calling back. Who knows the type of doors that can open just by surrounding yourself with people who do film/acting related work everyday.

Alright, in the event there was actually a lot of discussion that was useful for script writers and producers too. Of course, for myself I am more interested in the acting side. However, I felt that maybe there are a few aspiring film producers that are reading my blog too and so here is a treat for you all.

During this question and answer period a member of the audience, who sounded like a producer himself, was asking the panel for some advice. Basically, many of the panel suggested that people need to start making their own work. So, this person was expressing how he has made his own films with a very tiny budget and when it came time to seek for private financing he was only able to attract one investor.

Therefore, he asked the panel if they had any advice for junior and intermediate producers on the things they can do to get projects off the ground and to achieve a similar level of success that the producers on stage have experienced. The two who were answering the question the most was first Matthew O’Connor from the company Reunion Pictures and Larry Sugar of No Equal Entertainment.

The volume was a little quiet as at times they weren’t speaking into the microphone. But this was the clip:

Would you do things such as mortgaging your home if you believed in your project enough? Even with the producers here they mentioned how you can use the Internet to promote your work. I know here in Vancouver there are a ton of web series that are being published on sites like Youtube in hopes that it will garner enough attention to then go to the TV or big screen. Some of them look pretty impressive too.

Another interesting tidbit that was mentioned here, which I think can help everyone, is how they all said that they had great mentors that helped them and that you would be surprised at how many people would be willing to help you if you just ask.

Towards the end of the Insiders Film and TV forum event there was a quick question and answer period. One question was directed at the casting director in regards to actors moving to LA in order to pursue a career in film. First, here is a clip of it(Sorry, was a bit shaky with the camera).

That was an interesting remark I thought about how LA wants to know and look at everyone. As well, I never knew that Cory Monteith in the show Glee sent a video tape to the producers of the show to aid him in getting the part. As you can see, the casting director was expressing that you will be found if you keep at it and don’t necessarily need to move to LA.

The follow up comment is something that I heard a lot of too on how in LA there are just so many actors where what you thought you had was unique in terms of looks and trait may not be the case when you go down there. Essentially, he is trying to reaffirm to the Vancouver talent pool that this is a great place to learn and grow. When the time is right, you will be found.

It’s true in many sense I suppose. At the same time, I have read a lot of stories on how for many Canadian talent people weren’t really getting anything until they packed their bags and went down south. It really is one of those different strokes for different folks scenarios I’d say.

Okay, so if LA is constantly trying to find new talent anywhere does that mean there is a hidden talent scout that I don’t know of who is secretly keeping tabs on me? lol. One thing about moving to the US that I find interesting is that many actors here that I talk to often target New York as their destination whereas in more mainstream conversations like these it always revolves around LA.

This is one debate I hear all the time recently when it comes to which province and city is more fruitful, so to speak, for actors trying to find work. Recently there was a huge debate here how Ontario has offered film productions tax credits to lure all the film productions over there while the BC government hasn’t done anything. In some cases, studios have been closing down here and moving.

For the most part I would say the big projects are American films and this session raised an interesting point about how it doesn’t seem like Toronto is really taking anything away from Vancouver when it comes to that. However, it seemed like people were in an agreement that what is definitely happening is that most of the Canadian projects are going to Toronto.

It was kind of funny I thought as when I heard the debate it almost came across as a conspiracy theory as if the Ontario government was plotting to steal work from BC artists. lol. Here is a clip of that debate:

That session reminded me how my old neighbor, who works as a professional compositor for various shows, told me that Vancouver has a lot of advantages compared to Toronto where it is just easier for people in LA to collaborate with. One thing he told me was the time zone and how that plays a role.

I’m inclined to say that if you are a less established actor, with all this in mind Toronto might be easier to build up your resume and portfolio. Considering Canadian productions have to use Canadian talent, for the most part, that means the odds of you landing big roles are greater.

At the same time, if the comments about how most of the US productions are still coming to Vancouver with the prospect that a ton of CW and CBS shows are arriving next year too that could mean bigger opportunities here. So, there really isn’t a one place is truly better than the other mentality I’d say.

I’m sure we would all love to just travel down to say Hollywood and see what happens, but as we all know that is just not realistic for many of us. There was actually a comment that was semi related to this too on the panel. Will post it next.

There was this letter that was floating around the Internet about the state of the film industry and what it means for us actors (Especially the ones that are not as known). It is a few days old, but I thought it was an interesting read nonetheless. It was this:

Dear Clients,

I wanted to take a moment and give you a number of important updates….

Before I begin, however, I wish to tell you all that I am so very proud of you all for your dogged determination during these most difficult times. Hollywood is being challenged on multiple fronts – labor uncertainty, paradigm shifting and the ‘great recession’.

I know a lot of your are getting antsy to get out more, and frankly many of you are in a tight financial pinch; as such, I wanted to describe to you all the current climate in LA and the factors influencing the current environment.

1. SAG STALEMATE: Since the SAG contract expired on June 30, 2008, there have been few to no STUDIO feature films (this does not include companies such as Lionsgate and the Weinstein Company who are not in AMPTP and as such have completion agreements). Some analysts say there are up to 200 feature films on hold. Around September, we started to see a mass movement of film actors to TV projects. Many of my “name” actors have done one-day guest stars (this is very typical right now), and we are seeing a number of Guest Star level actors doing CO-STAR roles. Remember from November of 2007 to March of 2008, due to the Writer’s Strike, again there were no feature films shot. So for the film actor, there has only been 4 months of work in the last 17 months.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Due to the lack of studio feature film production, BOTH film and TV actors are now competing for a limited number of jobs in the episodic and pilot environments.

2. PILOT SEASON: During the Writer’s Strike of 2007-2008, Studios adapted and used the void to eliminate pilot season as we know it. Gone are the days of hundreds of pilots. In fact, this year, there are only 67 pilots to have registered for production – of which only about 35 have been green lit for production.

And this year, due again to a sagging economy, studios and networks believe that by committing named stars to their projects, they will receive more money from this year’s up-fronts from ad agencies. They are banking on star power to leverage better buys at the all important UPFRONTS. So, stars and pop-stars like Richard Dreyfuss, Chevy Chase, > Brittany Snow, Elle McPherson, Rebecca Romijn, Ashley Simpson, Scott Caan, Skeet Ulrich, and proven TV talents like Kelsey Grammar, Eric McCormick, John McGinley, Joel McHale, Jenna Elfman, Donald Faison, Maura Tierney, Peter Krauss, Craig T. Nelson, Dax Shepherd, etc…. You do the math, 37 pilots… top stars being sought… BOTTOM LINE: the conflagration of the economy and a lack of roles being cast, means that this pilot season may be even more competitive than the concurrent regular TV market right now. So those of you who have gotten auditions for series regulars… feel great about that!

3. TV: While TV has been steady, again due to the conflagration of film and named actors doing Guest Starring roles, we have seen a horrible trickle down. Many Guest Stars are now doing Co-stars and Co-stars/Developmental Actors (those with less than 5 primetime credits) frankly are not getting seen much. One CD recently told me that she had over 25 women who would be considered ‘working actors’ going for a co-star role. BOTTOM LINE: Again, due to the abundance of name and working actors, many less-developed actors are not even being seen right now.

4. ECONOMIC IMPACT I – THE EROSION OF QUOTES/RATES: There are really three major impacts to actors during this economic crunch. First, we are seeing the erosion of quotes. Due to the availability of so many talented actors, CD’s and Producers are in the driver’s seat in negotiations. When they say, “well we got someone else who will do it for less”, they ain’t kidding. I have spoken to a number of my peers who have confirmed this erosion of pay for their actors. In short, right now, quotes are eroding and for many, the minimum has become the maximum pay.

5. ECONOMIC IMPACT II – THE CONCLUSION OF SAG STALEMATE: Many are hoping that with the end of this stalemate, Hollywood will get back to normal. I have to say, that I am not one who necessarily believes this. First off, due to the economic conditions, most studios have lost their millions of dollars from hedge funds; and European, Asian and Middle Eastern money has dried up. Even Stephen Spielberg has had to beg, borrow and steal to get his company financed …. And it wasn’t anywhere near what he originally asked for. I believe that, even after the SAG stalemate is over, there is probably not enough money for 50 Studio Feature Films to be done right out of the gate. BOTTOM LINE: While this will help us move towards normalcy, it will not be the cash cow some people think it will be. One side note, is that I expect that more formulaic projects will be down out the gate as Studios will be less likely to take significant risks since most of these projects will be financed by both the studio and their investors. In short, you will see more Iron Mans, Animation, and SAWs… they are money in the bank when you factor in ratios, etc.

6. ECONOMIC IMPACT III – OVERALL STATEMENT OF ENVIRONMENT: It is important that everyone follow the economic conditions closely. I know it is easy to be skeptical over the studios, networks, cablers, production houses, show runners, etc, losing money, but it is a cold-hard fact right now. These entities are truly in a difficult spot. If you have read much lately, there have been dramatic cut backs at every studio and network, from firings to asking show runners to cut between 2-7% of their budgets (not to mention the 25+% cutback shows like the Sarah Silverman were asked to swallow recently). Furthermore, these networks and studios are largely owned by conglomerates who have lost in the billions over the last 6 months. When I attended NATPE in January, all the talk was how to get ‘thinner.’ Everything is getting tight. Budgets, Marketing, Staffing, etc., and this will undoubtedly impact the actor. Also, the foreign sales market (where much of the TV and Film money is made, is being hit hard by the erosion of the US Dollar. So these entities are not able to recoup the costs they were in better days by the one-time explosion of the foreign markets. BOTTOM LINE: The economic conditions are forcing the industry to be as ‘thin’ as possible.

7. COMMERCIALS – INDUSTRY AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS: One analyst said last year, that 2008 was the worst commercial market since maybe 1974. I would not argue with this. Think about it: three of the top products/services for ad agencies are banks, cars and other financial services – all of which were struck down in 2008/early 2009 by this recession. This was confirmed when news struck that even the Super Bowl did not sell out advertising this year. The good news is that the advertising industry tends to be one of the first ones to be negatively impacted by a recession, but one of the first to grow as the recession moves to an end as advertisers of products want to start accumulating market share before the turn of the economy. Another impact relates to the overall conditions of the TV/FILM/PILOT situation. Many strong actors have made enough money on TV/FILM, etc so that they have not had to do commercials in years. Due to the last few years and the lack of work, many top actors are now back in the commercial market; thus again, causing a logjam in casting.

BOTTOMLINE: The economic slowdown has caused a dramatic decrease in ad sales and the lack of work has caused more actors to re-enter the commercial market.

THE GOOD NEWS!!
Okay, so that is where we are today. You know me, I try to always call it straight as I see it. So, I am not going to sugar-coat this either. I anticipate that 2009 will be a tough year overall for actors (and agencies). First off, the economy will not likely get straightened out until at least the 3rd to 4th quarter of this year and so all the factors above will remain in place through most, if not all, of 2009. Secondly, until the labor situation gets straightened out, we will not be seeing dramatic amount of film production, and this seems to be dragging along as well (as we enter the 8th month of the stalemate – it was announced today that SAG is thinking now about taking AMPTP to court for anti-trust violations). But again, even if it was finalized, there is not enough investor money to see the film production level normalize and increase for most, if not all, of 2009. Also, since movies cost around $40 for two (tickets, popcorn, etc) – this is not a recession proof field anymore. During our last significant recession, there were few choices for guilty pleasures to get away from the stress of our times – so many people flocked to the theatres. NOT SO THESE DAYS, one can go to the web, TV, cable (not around in 1974, 1982, 1988 much), Video Games, Netflix, RedBox (movie for a $1). So studios are probably not in any big rush to make films – as people cannot afford this once cheap diversion – better to divert for a few bucks to all the many other sources of guilty pleasures. OKAY, so that didn’t sound like good news…

The good news is that there are some paradigm shifts occurring that make 2010 -2012 look like it might be one of the most prolific times in Hollywood history. Due to technological developments, there are more platforms being developed than ever. The internet is driving millions of new viewers each year. Zillion is going to transform the way we view advertising. For those who don’t know, it has recently been unveiled by the maker of Real Player and the ‘mouse.’ It is a system that makes you watch ads before downloading movies (they already have 14,000 Titles ready for download), TV, other forms of entertainment to your TV Screen. However, the consumer can choose the products they want to see (let’s say you go retail clothing and watch a Macy’s ad and love the jacket; you can immediately click on the ad/jacket and go directly to their website where you can buy it). Also, you earn points by watching the commercials that you can use towards purchases. Furthermore, SONY and others are now selling TVs that wirelessly connect to your computer, so you can download TV/FILMS at anytime from your computer (websites like Hula, Netflix, etc) directly to your TV. In short, technology is making more platforms which will require more content than ever. Also, Cablers are all embracing doing scripted shows, some have up to 5 shows this year… again, more content is needed and thus MORE ACTORS!

BOTTOM LINE: More platforms = more content = more actors! So as long as SAG/AFTRA can protect your rates and jurisdictional issues, there will be more good compensated work than ever in Hollywood by 2010-2012.

There has been a sign of a possible agreement since then just to note. I wouldn’t be surprised if this scares away a large percentage of actors from investing in items such as headshots and workshops. Actually, reading this just makes it sound even more sensible for people like us to create our own work during the downtime.