Back in LA

Well, things have changed a tad since my last post. I am back in LA after shooting a feature and short film, and also doing a standup show. I also talked to the writer/director of two pilot scripts and, since I am on board and helping so early, he offered to make me co-executive producer, which would turn into $50k per episode for me (with ten episodes planned for the first season), on top of whatever I make as an actor. 

Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris, and it seems like the most politically hopeful time since before Obama. We get that it is a false hope, that it will only slow our descent into fascism, but it is still nice to see that Trump stands a decent chance of losing.

The standup show incorporated slapstick, which took barely any prep and was the highlight of the show. I had only thought of the bit a couple days before doing it, but it resulted in 16 seconds of laughs as I threw myself around. Very fun and easy, much easier than writing something clever, and it seems less risky. No one is too drunk to comprehend slapstick. So now I have to write to that some more I guess. Especially since no one else is doing it?

Now my brain is churning around my feature film idea. I am remembering so many little jokes from Hot Shots! that I would love to emulate in a glorious genre juxtaposition.

I should find out this month whether I made it into any of these comedy festivals. Kinda scary, because I now know that I need more stage time to get better. I have exhausted the writing stage. So the clock will be ticking if I get in. Time to start rehearsing those one-liners with a ukulele...

Last Independence Day

Yesterday was, as many were casually calling it, our last Independence Day. The Supreme Court has given great power to the president, and because democrats and republicans are essentially the same, the current lame duck president will do nothing of significance with those powers to fix anything, and the republicans will wait until their nominee is elected to office in November.

So now I am finally watching some WWII documentaries, since history is obviously repeating. First thing Hitler did when he got a decent chunk of power was to have his secret service just assassinate all leaders who posed a threat to his power, even if they were on his side. Will Bernie Sanders and AOC be assassinated next year if Trump wins?

I have a week to prepare for this standup show. I still cannot seem to figure out how to use my one-liners. I am now going to try to print them out in sort of flash card style. And of course, I have other sets that I would like to try out, but I keep editing and rewriting them. Plus I have to figure out the choreography and voices, depending on the one.

Back in Texas

Living the dream. Flew into Dallas and days later, was wearing a green screen suit for a feature film. All of the actors can act, the DP knows what he is doing, and a longtime producer friend is consulting. My part was mostly contortionist stuff casting shadows, so I was in compression shorts being creepy, and it was reportedly impressive. The best part about this role is that it is all blocking, so I do not need to memorize lines. The fact that I give notes on the script is just a bonus that I bring to the table.

Then after that night shoot, I got an email from my writer/director friend with the script for a short film we plan to shoot at the end of the month. I read it once and gave my notes, which were incorporated into the script. He noted that the last film we shot was much better from my pitches, one of which was a quick final line.

Another writer/director, whose pilot script I had already read and given notes on, said that he had effectively changed the second half of it based on my notes, and he wrote in an acting role for me.

The clock is ticking for this standup show in a week and a half. I really want to make myself finish writing and then perform a particular standup set that would show off my contortionist skills in a bit of a Robin Williams-esque manner. I want to do this in part because it is a longer set, and if I can get it good and tight, it should really set me apart at festivals.

After years of hair stylists asking if I dyed my hair, and then them letting me know that I have gray hair (as if I had not noticed that trend starting a decade ago), I finally dyed my hair black last night. Well, I dyed the roots, so there are still long gray strays intermixed. It cost five dollars and like half an hour to fix this insecurity.