I just dug this archived blog post out of my yahoo inbox when I was searching for a short script I wrote a while back. I found the script and also found several entries from the past 10 or so years.
I started blogging in 2005. I moved to Los Angeles from New York in 2008. Many of my blog posts are self inflicted pep talks to keep myself focused on my acting career… which has also sort of evolved into a producing, directing and writing career. I remember sitting in my old apartment on North Hoover Street, watching the Yankees play the Red Sox on that good ole used leather couch that I picked up from Craigslist. I was involved with an group of actors and writers that got together every week in North Hollywood to workshop material, talk about auditions and the BUSINESS in any capacity. The name of the group was “indie city entertainment” which eventually became the name of my small production company that is still alive and kicking… well…. struggling to survive is more like it but indie city is still hanging in there. With the help and support of that group… I was writing and directing a web series called “Catch.” We ended up producing 7 episodes over the next few months. It’s a project I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately. What I’d like to do convert all my old scripts and unfinished drafts into a feature. I think that’s a movie people would like to see. Anyway… what we gonna do right here is go back…. to Wednesday, April 16, 2008…..
Wednesday….. Got my taxes done last night… YAY!
Good for me, right? Whatever…
Hey… IRS….GO F%$#& yerself!!!!
Got it all done just in the nick of time… I’ll tell you that. I submitted at 10PM on April 15th….
Why not? The early bird gets what? a kick in the ass?
Headed out to work early this morning and took care of a handful of HINT errands… then hustled my butt back home to catch the YANKEES….playing the %$$%% RED SOX…. on ESPN2…
I dont get many regular season Yankee games on TV out West so when ESPN throws me a bone… I’m gonna pounce on it, clamp down with all my might, get my slobber all over it and shake it around like a rag doll… toss it up in there air and pounce again…roll over on my back…shake it some more…slobber some more…I think you get the point…
(BOBBY ABREU and AROD hit back to back home runs in the FIRST!!!)
I just got off the phone with the event planner for The Bridge, which is a new lounge in Studio City as well as the venue for Indie City’s first party on May 1st. The conversation went well. I think its going to turn out to be a good match…a good fit for both sides. The Bridge is relatively new and they want to explore a few new ways to get exposure and bring people in. Indie City Entertainment is relatively new and we want to explore new ways to get exposure and bring people in. Whats great is that the people at The Bridge, based on our concept and feedback, are designing an artist-oriented theme for Thursday nights. So the night we have our event, there will be a few other “featured” artists and all the pertinent players and hustlers. Should turn out to be cool little party… Just what I was hoping for…
(NY 3 BOS 2… Big Papi can’t hit… Big Papi’s lost his Mojo)
(I hate Manny)
(I actually love Manny. He’s a f%$# great hitter…he’s cool…unshakeable… and he KILLS the ball….I totally respect the guy… I respect his skills…I FEAR his skills…and I respect his public personality… he plays HIS game)
(AND he just got called out on strikes! A-HA…F%$$# You Manny…sit down ya big baby)
Ok…back to blogging…
So Monday night…. we shot more footage for CATCH episode 1… WHICH…I believe…I hope… could possibly be finished and available to make its PREMIERE at the party on May 1st… we’ll see…. I’ll do what I can to make that happen…I still have a few inserts to shoot to finally wrap on the RE-SHOOT of episode one…
Let me tell you something about RE-SHOOTING episode one…
First of all… I decided to re shoot episode one for a handful of reasons. The MAIN reason was that I had access to an HD camera. I shot episode THREE in HD. So I figured I should go back and try and produce every episode in HD. It will take a little work, but I think its totally worth it. ALSO… when I first released the teaser… I noticed that there were a few points in the text…. in the monologue that should have been more clearly represented in the episode itself… I ALSO…I ALSO… I ALSO…
(NICE CATCH MATSUI!!!)
Also…I came up with an idea that would be great for episode one and a great opener for the entire series. Then, with all that going on, the person who was in the process of editing the ORIGINAL episode one footage was lagging… that person had other priorities…The thrill was gone…and the job just wasnt getting done…. so BANG… arm twisted… We reshoot..
(Dang it… The Sox tied the game… 3-3..bottom of the 4th)
We got MOST of what we needed…mission 90% accomplished…but afterwards, my roommate and I sat here, exhausted… and we both agreed that the day felt a lot like work…it wasnt very fun… it’s supposed to be fun…it usually IS fun. We were both really tired and really cranky… Re-shoots kind of suck… HD or no HD..
The following evening, Monday evening, we were scheduled to get everyone together to shoot footage for this new idea I came up with….the intro thing…
(BASE HIT!! MATSUI in to score. GIAMBI to 3rd, and MOELLER takes a double and an RBI. Yanks lead 4-3. Wait a minute, who is MOELLER?)
We were tired, a little frustrated and the collective energy was low, but we trudged along. We got set up…
(JETER is up with the bases loaded….two outs)
Once we started shooting, everything came together. All the actors did a great job with the material I gave them. We caught some really nice, natural moments on camera…and it was FUN. We all spent the evening cracking up and doing whatever we could to not burst out in laughter during a take.
(BASE HIT DEREK JETER! BASE HIT DEREK JETER. DEREK JETER strikes again)
So the shoot Monday was packed with redemption. What was really great about the shoot…and accidentally brilliant…if I do say so myself.. was the fact that this new idea I came up with incorporates multiple actors… so I was able to get almost every Indie City actor involved in the project in one fell swoop.. which is fantastic… I didnt even don on me until the shoot was over how great it will be to have EVERYONE… almost everyone… appearing in the first episode… CATCH can now become a stronger representation of the group and what we are all about…plus….
(CRAP…the Red Sox have loaded the bases with NOBODY out)
Plus… now that everyone is involved…everyone has a renewed enthusiasm… a re-energized attitude towards the group…towards this project and hopefully all those that will follow….
(DAMMIT… Boston just knocked in two runners… NY 7 BOS 6… 5th inning)
So where o where has James the Actor gone…where o where can he be?
I received this blog comment the other day:
Hey James, just wanted to say I’ve been reading your blog and really enjoy it. I’m an aspiring actress myself and it’s very inspiring Keep up the good work and keep writing!
I get blog comments like that from time time and I think thats really cool. THANK YOU….I love hearing from people who read my blog. It reminds me how important it is to be there for other artists. It reminds me that we are all in this together.
It also reminds about the sleeping giant that is my acting career.
(Robbie Cano rips it into right field. POSADA scores. This game is tied at nine in the bottom of the fifth)
When I moved to Los Angeles, I was very aware of all those that struggled before me… All those that are struggling right now. So many of my peers had sound advice from all sounds and perspectives. “Be patient.” “It takes two years to feel like your acclimated.” “Stay focused.” “Get a 310.” “Don’t get an 818.” “Don’t tell people you’re an actor.”
Wait…. what? DONT tell people I’m an actor? Seriously?
Yes…seriously…trust me… you gotta hold that card.
So moving to LA meant I was basically starting over. I think about how my life as an actor looked and felt when I was trying to find my way in NYand it helps me get a handle on progress. I had few connections. I had no network and my resume was barren. In NY, It took 5 years for me to wrap my head around who was who, where to go, what to say, how to play. I found my groove, found my way, found gigs that pay, learned how to play.
I’ll do the same damn thing out here in LA….
(Look at that… AROD doubles, JORGE doubles, Yankees lead the Red Sox 13-9 in the bottom of the eighth)
(HOLY cow GIAMBI drops a base hit into shallow left. He gets a double. It’s 15-9)
(I’ve been blogging officially for 4 hours now)
What I’m saying here is that I’m not gonna sit around and wait for someone to give me PERMISSION to have a voice…be heard. All this writing, producing and directing is my way of staying active, my way of being PROACTIVE. It MAY even fortify my purpose. I will pray. I will work. I will fight. I will write. I will do whatever it takes….while I keep, create and relentlessly knock at that gate… while I shout and pound with my fist until those who happen to be the keepers of the gate are moved from their sullen, somber state, from all that is on their own plate, from their hate….maybe not HATE…but distaste…. from their distaste to admiration…
and they open the gate..
OPEN THE M%#@** F*&%$ ING GATE!!!!
(I can do this all day)
(Oh look…Yankees beat the Red Sox 15-9)
GOOD NIGHT EVERYBODY!!!
Jcliffyhuf & The Healthy Stuff 