Pilots and Photos

Well, it looks rather certain that I did not land the Nissan spot. Too bad. Today I had a callback for a sitcom pilot. It went well. They said the decisions will be made on Friday.

My acting website now displays some of my new photos if you are interested. Check out www.joeboyd.net.

Callbacks.

I'm all better. I was hurting for 48 hours...mainly just a fever. Then I woke up yesterday and felt fine. The body is strange like that I guess. Lets talk about the "callback" for a second, shall we? Before moving here I had auditioned in LA for about ten projects. I had three callbacks (second auditions) and booked once out of ten. Since moving here I have had thirty-five auditions and booked three smaller projects but no callbacks! (The projects that I booked didn't have callbacks.) So...yesterday was my first real callback since moving here. It was for a national Honda commercial. (The nation is Canada, but what are you gonna do?) It's a very clever and funny spot. Callbacks are at once exhilirating (you realize that someone actually liked something about you) and incredibly frustrating (you show up to find twenty other guys who look exactly like you that they also liked.) It feels like you have almost booked it, until you get to the audition then it feels like even more of a longshot than the first time.

I was talking to a guy waiting with me yesterday. He was saying that his wife always ask how his auditions go and he says "fine." "She hasn't quite got the grasp of the whole lottery system of commercial auditions," he said. When he said that it hit me. At this level...the callback for a major commercial...it's all about the client liking somebody's ear lobe or eye color or smirk more than the next guy. Somehow that relaxed me. So I went in and pretty much nailed it. Five times. They kept saying, "That was really great, just try this...", etc. I left knowing that in that moment I had completely delivered exactly what they wanted. I could just tell. Now I just have to wait this weekend to see if they liked one of the other guy's eye lashes or bone structure more than mine. Cause the other reality is, at this level, most everybody nails it all the time.

Sick.

I have gotten sick somehow. I was in bed for almost 24 hours with a fever and some stomach issues. I have to work tomorrow on a web-based teacher training video. So not getting well is not really an option. I'm also supposed to try to squeeze in an audition during my lunch break tomorrow as well. Should be an exciting day. Here's to hoping I don't blow chunks on the set.

Show me depressed..."Oh, I'm good at that one!"

It seemed rather vain to keep putting pictures of myself on my blog, but then I thought: What's more vain than having a blog in the first place? Since this journal is about my life and this week of my life has largely been about my new headshots, I figure I'll show off a few of my favorites. This one will be sent in for the CSI-ish shows. It reminds me of the guy on HOUSE for some reason. My agent hates my hair in this picture, but I'm going to keep it anyway. There is a lot of Joe in this picture. If that makes sense.

And...I booked again! (yea!), but it's still rather low pay (boo!). $100/day plus meals and gas money. I'd take that everyday if I could get it I guess. It shoots one or two days next week. I play a second grade teacher for a company that makes instuctional videos for the LA school district. I'll be working with little kids for the first time. We'll see how that goes.

I'm a little discouraged with no callbacks from the last few big SAG commercial auditions. I really thought that I nailed the DELL spot. They still may call, but at three days out, probably not. We are still doing well here and haven't gone seven days without a Las Vegas visitor, thanks to a surprise visit from Doug last night.

New Headshots!!

I just returned from a four hour photo shoot! I have over 400 pictures to go through now to choose 6 to post on the casting websites and 2 or 3 to mass reproduce for paper submissions. I couldn't be more pleased with my photographer (Dan Chapman, if you are looking...) or my proofs. My agent saw them and said, "We have a lot of work to do...these are all great."

I'm so glad that my first Hollywood headshots were actually the fourth time that I have had them taken. I finally know the different types and characters that I can play, and more importantly, the types that I get called into auditions for.

Tonight I have to trim them down to 50 so that my agents can make the final decisions. (My agents used to be managers, which bleeds through. I really like it that way. Everytime I see them they pretty much tell me what to do. (ie: get a haircut, don't wear that shirt in public, don't lose any more weight, etc.) In a business where nobody generally gives a crap about anyone else, its nice to know they care, even if it's mainly about the 10% they get from me. Advocates and blunt suggestions are harder to come by then you might think.

4 Auditions, 3 Shirts

I had a good audition for a Dell spot yesterday. It was the best I've felt in a long time afterward. We''ll see. Tomorrow I have three auditions: one for the LA school district, one for Diet Pepsi, and another for Pioneer. Tuesday I go to get my new headshots. I'm excited about having them taken so that I can have more options when submitting to people. Hopefully they will help me get more theatrical (film and TV) auditions. I have some new snappy shirts to wear. I guess if nothing else I get 3 snappy shirts out of the deal. One can never have too many snappy shirts.

Back To One!

The first time I was on a movie set they kept saying that and I had no idea what they wanted me to do...(see title). It means go back where you started and do the scene again. So...

Back to work! I had a rehearsal today for the comedic short that I will be shooting tomorrow and Saturday. It's funny...not very high brow, but funny. (There are more than a few farts throughout.) I have 7:00 am calls the next two days, so it will be early to bed, early to rise. Well, early to rise anyway.

Of course, I got called in for a great audition tomorrow which I can't do because of the shoot. It's a Volvo commercial that shoots for 7 days in Hawaii at 500 per day plus travel, food, 4 star hotel, etc. My agent is trying to get me an audition at the callbacks Monday, but I haven't read for this casting director yet, so that may not happen.

We signed up Aidan for pre-school today. Three days per week for the mornings. I think he will really like it. He always likes being in classes when we go to different churches. Eli finally said that he is excited about first grade. (He's not as big a fan of the classroom setting.) I hope he likes it.

I had to take the Keirsey temperament analysis for the first time ever. I came out an "INTP". It said I should consider being a mathematician or a linguist...the only two subjects in high school that I hated and didn't get A's in. But, also on the list were actor, writer and fine artist. The very first position on the "least common career choices" was "leader of religious organization." Hmmm....

It also said that other people with my personality were Plato, Einstein, Sartre, Descartes, Jung, and Tiger Woods. Which only proves if I was smarter or able to play g0lf I might have amounted to something by now. (I'm pretty sure that was a debasing self-destructive comment common to us INTP's...) It's really cool to say, "I don't believe in personality tests," so I'll say it now. I don't believe in personality tests. Too bad there's something to them.

I found at essay online about INTP's. We are less than 1% of humanity...so that explains a lot. Also, it says that many INTP's become artistic photographers. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about that. I've always suspected that I can see beauty...I just can't create it with paint or pencil. I'm mainly intimidated by the actual equipment, cameras, etc. It's time to move past that. I'm going to start becoming a photographer now. Read the essay here if you want.

Cuts, Bruises and Multiple Piercings

We took a few hits this weekend. Nothing major really, but lets just say we have been using our new health insurance. Eli cut his foot on a rock at the beach a few days ago. He's been to the doctor twice and they assure us that it's not a very deep cut, but he has it bandaged and hasn't been able to walk for three days. He's been crawling and hopping around the house.

Aidan followed suit by falling off the chair at the dinner table and injuring his finger. We don't think it's broken but it is very swollen and he reinjures it every few hours. I spoke at six church services this weekend and my throat is angry with me. I'm a little out of practice with the whole multiple church service thing...it can be more physically taxing than most people realize. Somehow Debbie has remained healthy, which is good since she is the bread winner now and all.

A few interesting things from tinseltown: 1. I booked another short film that shoots this weekend. It's very funny, in a potty-humor/SNL sort of way. I play the lead. It will be good to get in front of the camera again. 2. I have an appointment next week for new headshots with a fancy Hollywood photographer. My sessions in Las Vegas lasted about 20 minutes, this one will be 3 hours. I don't love photo sessions, but its part of it and I finally have a grasp on the sort of pictures that I need to get auditions I want. 3. I met a few interesting people at church with Hollywood connections. They are very excited about trying to help me, which is unexpected and exciting.

And oh yeah, Dennis Rodman was at church this Sunday and heard me speak, though I had no idea he was there and didn't see him myself. So...that's something I guess. A friend of mine went up to him and welcomed him, but she called him "Rodney." He didn't correct her.

I could have walked faster

I spent most of today on the 405. To be more exact, I spent over two hours on a ten mile stretch of the 405 between Santa Monica Boulavard and LAX. Friday afternoon traffic is the worst. I had planned on taking the 5 home, but the radio said to avoid it. It wasn't really as frustrating as you might think. I think I'm still just happy to be here. I didn't even plan on going into LA today but my agent had me drop off my headshots at a few places, one of which was CBS Studio City. The sumbission was for some comedy sketches on the Late Late Show. I normally watch Conan, so I had better catch an episode in case they call me in.

I taught on Jacob tonight at Lifelines. He was a real piece of work if you think about it. I told the story, but I still can't get my hands around God's capacity to bless such a selfish, manipulative jerk. That may be the point, maybe I'm that big of a jerk and God blesses me anyway. Who knows?

It has been a very Vegas weekend here. I saw Sean O'hair and Dale Neven in Hollywood yesterday, then Tim Dunfield and Gene-o were playing at a coffee shop last night in Fullerton. Sabrina spending the weekend here too. It's nice to be with family.

We haven't gone more than seven days without seeing someone from home. It looks like that may continue for a while...I like it that way.

Midweek Update

My ever practical friend Doug Parks came to town two nights ago and planted many seeds of doubt regarding my plan to buy the Prius. Allen's comments made me a little suspicious as well. I think we will be looking for something cheaper that gets good gas mileage.

No auditions this week so far, but I have two tomorrow. Debbie has been working more and more with the catering company, which she seems to really enjoy. It's a little strange for both of us to be working...a little odd that we now have three part-time jobs between us, but overall things are good.

I'm teaching again at the main church services this weekend for The Crossing here in Costa Mesa. That means I have the Friday teaching, two on Saturday and three on Sunday. I can see a Sunday nap in my future. I'll link the weekend message to my blog next week for those of you interested.