|
2005, 2006
Second Billing
I cannot really fathom as to why, when working on the feature documentary
Strictly Background,
that I completely neglected to keep notes on what dates what was done where and when.
I think I first saw the audition notice on nowcasting.com and
as one of the reviews even mentions,
I was not only an hour early but was first in line.
The early spring audition in 2005 mainly was each applicant sitting on a stool for the camera and regaling a few anecdotes and stories about experiences and such.
I do not recall how many people that director
Jason Connell
interviewed, but he knew straight off the bat I was definitely one of those he wanted in his film.
Initially Jason chose twelve or thirteen people, but narrowed it down to ten on which the film primarily focuses:
Apparently Jason had done a little bit of background work himself, and on set met Jay Michaels.
The idea of a documentary about the background artists' "lifestyle" appealed to Jason and he began to put together his idea/s.
Each of us was interviewed on our own in our own respective domiciles.
I do not recall the date at which Jason and
cameraman Bryan
arrived at my place (even amusingly startling me by having the camera already running for my opening the door initially to admit the two into my domicile), but generally I spoke for probably three or more hours.
Jason would ask questions, to which I would provide A Complete Answer, meaning, the question goes unheard: the answer has to start out worded like a Miss America answer, a la, "The reason I became an actor..." et al.
Jason had specific topics on which he wanted each of us to touch, and as I predicted when I saw the final product, the interviews were almost montages, each of us with the More Compelling Responses showing our answers.
Some of the editing was a bit... judicious.
I had brought out several of my standard Bring To Set wardrobe, including but not limited to my doctor/lab tech coat.
I was pleased I'd be showing this, so potential casting people would see me wearing it, even if briefly.
In the final cut all that is shown is my remarking of a mechanic's type shirt (which I've yet even to need), and my mentioning having "liberated" it from a brief job that didn't work out.
No hint I even own a lab coat, even though I've worn it in two commercials, and for a few student films.
Not surprisingly, studio films refused to allow Jason's project to film any behind-the-scenes stuff, so innovatively, Jason found small indie projects that would allow him to film on their set, in exchange for their actually booking actors from the documentary.
In this way I was booked as a Under-5 contract role for the indie film
The Achievers
(a SAG-Experimental
[payment deferred],
(but it was never released or picked up for distibution),
and I did some background for a small feature that became titled
Tripping Forward.
I think someone told me they actually saw that at a screening someplace, but they didn't spot me.
In the actual Strictly Background film, apart from showing me on set, and later our being thanked, et al, there is a momentary clip of my being in holding, but it isn't focused on me.
I noticed this the second or third time I saw Strictly Background.
In the moment I can be seen chatting with a very pretty newbie actress; at the time when we were close to done for the day, she and I swapped information but hers got misplaced and I never heard from her.
Terry, Cary and Marvin worked a funeral scene for the very funny
Bob Goldthwait directed indie feature
Sleeping Dogs Lie
its titled changed to
Stay
for its DVD.
I Netflixed it when I discovered its updated title.
After accuing over seventy hours of footage, the task began of editing.
I had provided Jason with some photos taken on-set, as well as titles of films on which I worked.
Jason took clips from our released-on-DVD films and set up an effect that causes the clips to go into black and white, except for the background artist so s/he is easily spotted.
The finished feature's first official screening was at the Raleigh Studios screening room on Merose, across the street from Paramount.
Each of the cast was picked up in a white Hummer'sine (in leiu of an actual limosine) and driven to the studio.
(Ironically once there we were then each respectively on our own: afterwards I literally had to walk home, unaware at the time of John Richards living within easy walking distance of me.)
Jason conveyed to us that major execs at Disney were in attendance, and they assured him Strictly Background would kill at film festivals.
They weren't wrong.
At the
San Fernando Valley International Film Festival,
Strictly Background tied for Best Documenary, right out of the gate winning its first film festival award at its first film festival.
It would win seven Best Documentary awards, total.
I learned of John Richard's proximity when the cast was urged to attend the
Newport Beach Film Festival,
and Mark Nobel and I each made our way to his place.
Inside we met John's wonderful wife Elizabeth, and their grey parrot Dolly.
Dolly instantly took a shine to me, which both Elizabeth and John noticed, considering Dolly is very particular as to who she likes right off the bat.
I also learned John is his screen name: there's already a Jack Richards (his real name), so for working on film sets he goes by John.
Sadly, the film did not win at the Newport Beach festival, but it had a utterly full house, and everyone loved it.
We had a Q&A in the front afterwards, and we each mentioned a few Up To What We'Ve Been Since the film was shot stuff.
One couple afterwards claimed to have seen and recogized me from
Blades of Glory,
for which I thanked them, but couldn't be sure if they were being polite as complimentary as they could or what.
In Blades of Glory the best view of me has me almost off frame at the left.
The couple must be really observant.
There was an afterparty at the nearby mall's Ikea (!), and Jack and I had discovered a strong mutual interest about which we discussed between being contratulated by various people, including a super cute Canadian woman who all was bursting into tears for us about how badly treated we backgrounders are treated, etc., etc.
Foodwise, I was thrilled as they had Swedish Meatballs, on which I filled myself.
Well, it was an Ikia, after all...
Noting one of the cast members' rides decided to leave early and pretty much abandoned him there, Jack agreed to take him home.
Through much of the ride home he espoused his um... views on various subjects about which Jack and I had begun speaking.
Mutually Jack and I quickly realized we'd best wait until we had him dropped off before Jack and I could converse freely.
Even though he finally did fall asleep through the latter half of the long drive and we realized we could continue our discussion, Jack and I continued to speak in more hushed, conspiratorial tones as not merely to maintain the backseat passenger being qui— er, that is, letting him sleep, but also in case he did wake up and suddenly realized he was hearing what "horribly controversial" topics Jack and I were discussing (such as ghosts and hauntings, the paranormal in general, and metaphysics).
|
|
2007
More film festivals
Just as I was wondering about visiting back east for Memorial Day weekend for my
mother Jeannette's
birthday, Jason notified me that he had submitted Strictly Background to the three New Jersey film festivals about which my mother had told me, the information of each of which I'd immediately conveyed to Jason.
We had missed the one for Montclair, which sucked as I/we could have had a massive turn out for that, but the
Hoboken Film Festival
had accepted it, screening it the first week of June.
So I made the travel arrangements to spend a week with my mother, as well as
my brother
and his family, and Mom and I planned to attend the film festival.
It turned out the Hoboken Film Festival was relatively new, and despite a moderate amount of press, it really didn't promote itself in a way that we had the biggest turn out.
But those who attended loved it (as did my mom).
Jason and I fielded a few questions, but the feature was the Very Last Film the film festival showed.
Mom had I knew where it was, as one of her films was also screening at the festival, in which she played a judge (the film was okay, but might have been better had not the majority of the "actors" spoken as though New Jerseyans all speak like badly stereotyped Brooklyners).
Jason's passion for the Strictly Background project was contagious.
He created his owm films festivals
(the
Los Angeles United Film Festival,
the
Tulsa United Film Festival
[Tulsa, Oklahoma being Jason's home town],
and the
New York United Film Festival),
each at which the film was the highlight
(none of the festivals were judged-festivals, and being a fair minded fellow, Jason would not have "let it" win if they were).
At the September 2008 New York United Film Festival,
Strictly Background
is scheduled to be shown again on the seventh of September.
Amusingly, Jason would indicate some new angle that wasn't always quite the way it was initially conveyed.
We were "all" asked to take part on a local cable talk show,
The Gregory Mantell Show,
but on arrival learned that the host wanted to speak with three specific actors sitting in with Jason, each having their own segment.
The rest of us could watch it in the studio, but we were not an official Studio Audience; we had to keep silence throughout the half hour taping.
We were also "allowed" to come in during the show's closing credits.
Essentially we just rush the stage
(the entire episode is online here).
The feature screened and won at the Cork Film Festival in Ireland
(Louis managed to get out to that one, and was treated like quite the celebrity),
and it screened in Norway, winning again there as well, even selling out over a locally made documentary.
|
|
2007, 2008
Release
A film producer friend of mine was curious as to a possible theatrical release, but inquiries were met with vague Something In The Works responses.
My producer friend even offered to see of a deal could be brokered, but Jason was busy with its final Los Angeles screening and never got to returning the call, and missed the opportunity of a theatrical release.
My producer friend suspected either Jason really had some awesome theatrical release deal about which he couldn't speak, or that he was being polite and actually Had Nuthin'.
It turned out the "big in-the-works deal" was
Strictly Background going direct to DVD,
which the entire cast understandably had dreaded.
The film screened at the
Fine Arts Theatre
on Wilshire.
Even my great supervisor Amanda from my temp day-job came to see it, enjoying it very much.
We had a big Q&A afterwards, and Jason showed off the Norway trophy he'd finally received in the post.
Jeff Olan
(also very featured in the film),
invited the cast to a big afterparty nearby he'd set up.
Jack and Elizabeth had offered to drive me home, though we were curious about the party.
According to the printed-out invitation, after 10pm it was $10 to get in to the restaurant/bar, and it was hitting ten already.
As we passed it we could see Mark going through his pockets for cash for admittance.
Having to pay for a party (technically for which was For Us), as well as having to spend time seeking out a parking spot (for which more money would have to be spent), we sadly chose just to head home.
|
|
Summer 2008
DVD
The mid-July DVD release got moved to August 5th, which I learned when Strictly Background moved from my Netflix Saved List to my actual Netflix Queue.
Jason agreed to create a QuickTime .mov file of my
McDonalds commercial,
so it can be added to my
demo reel.
He told me there was a tentative,
possible
screening at Hollywood OS in Burbank.
This was
confirmed by an independent source,
and online I went and found the event information for 02 August.
Jason also indicated a possible eventual screening at SAG: I wondered if I would have to find out on my own as well if that were to come to pass.
Coinciding with Jason's birthday, Thursday 31 July was a cast DVD release party at the Casting Grill near Universal Studios.
Having made prior arrangements, I walked over to Jack Richards's place, and we chatted before he got ready.
Dolly seemed very pleased to see me and spent much of my time there on my shoulder, giving me li'l kisses and insisting on my attention, including but not limited to making some very peculiar sound effects, saying "How are y'?," and occasionally making a strange sound that could have been imitating a dog.
Jack's wife Elizabeth drove us there (Jack drove back, dropping me off, then Mark who'd requested a ride).
We arrived "late," a bit after the 7:30pm scheduled "start" time, learning Jason had only just arrived.
As more and more of the cast arrived, we did what we could to catch up as to who was doing what.
Jack had already relayed how he had seen a gig for 50-Something Kissing Couples: he enrolled Terry Bolo to be a partner in it... the two went to Central... Terry got three day's work and they didn't book Jack at all...
As my guest to the event I invited my friend
Jennifer,
who had seen the documentary at two or three of its screenings.
Also in attendence were the lovely and pleasant Carla and Angela of
Hollywood OS, and of course, Jeff Olan (who accepted a copy of my demo reel).
As a birthday gift I gave the appreciative Jason three nice large photos of his dog Brody, two of shots in which was Jason as well (I'd taken the shots a few weeks earlier when I picked up the updated promo cards
promoting the DVD release).
Eventually the group moved to the second level and viewed the DVD's Bonus Features.
Most of them were great, but I am not thrilled with what I classify Propaganda Editing, meaning, editing something to imply something other than what took place at the time (e.g., murdered David Koresh being made to look like a nut but only playing partial sentences out of context, or interviews of 9-11 witnesses reporting the WTC cellar explosions taking place minutes before either of the plane collisions, yet the aired reports omitting any reference to the WTC cellar explosions taking place minutes before any actual plane collision).
In my case, unbeknownst to me during my in-apartment interview segment, Bryan had filmed aspects of my apartment.
We never went into my bedroom, and no footage was filmed therein; having acquired my roommate's permission, we filmed in my roommate's relatively more spacious area.
But the shown footage of some of the nearby mess of my roommate's (a few computers in various states of repair), the greasy stove at its very worst (between my roomate's monthly Clean Everything To Spic and Span binges), but no disclaimer of those facts.
Gee, thanks, guys.
An interview segment regarding my work on
The Practice
omits the start of the story, so there is no mention of it being a Day Player contract role; as I had no lines, the use of clips almost seems as though the work was very Featured Background, which was anything but the case.
With the Favourite Film segment, one almost can get that they cut away from me the instant I state the first of several titles.
Then when many of the others cite The Wizard of Oz, as I do as well (albeit my reference to the classic being omitted), when they cut back to me declaring my ability to recite all of [The Wizard of Oz], it comes across to my still refering to the one title of my listing that they "allowed" me to say: the South Park movie.
These irritants aside, the Bonus Features are rather well put together.
I actually wish there had been more.
There is a few shots of exterior MOS footage of me in the feature, of which I have no memory about what I may have been speaking, and I wouldn't have minded seeing what some of those must have been.
|
|
Saturday August 02, 2008
"Final" screenings
The documentary was screened at a 2pm and a 5:30pm showing at
Hollywood OS.
Their online page for the event listed one or two cast members, but from Jason we learned if we were able to attend we could, so for the 2pm showing there were seven or eight of us.
For the 5:30pm it was down to four or five (plus Jeff Olan, who was there for both screenings as well).
Predictably it was very well received, and each of the Q&A segments was far longer than any of the film festival Q&A's I'd attended.
At one point I managed to plug Hollywood OS
(as I'd once subscribed to their service; in the film one even sees me online at my Hollywood OS profile).
I was also able to clarify my
Day Player contract role
for
The Practice,
as Cary and I each related the experience of our respectively Having Our Own Trailer/s.
Between the two screenings we hit a restaurant next door which had somewhat sketchy service.
It was also extremely pricey, and I was about to leave to forage on my own, when Jason, caught up with the day's events in general, generously told me to go ahead and order.
Later it turned out he really wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, but he still made good on it; I assured him I would pay him back but he just offered I take him out for coffee someday soon.
As it was, Mark all but stiffed his part of the check, despite after having consumed lots of food on the table much of which either wasn't hit or was supposed to be communal (such as the garlic bread, one large piece of which he took before I could get to it; at his plate he tore it in half but instead of placing one half back on the communal plate, he just placed it on his plate and proceeded to eat the first half...).
Jason by then had actually moved to another table, with Angela and Carla of Hollywood OS, and Jeff Olan.
Jason was not thrilled to learn (not from me) of Mark leaving barely enough to cover what he'd ordered (as opposed to what he'd eaten), and not even a tip.
(At the Thursday party, when a platter would come, Mark simply consumed it so no one could have any of the chicken wings, et al.)
The second Q&A finally ended around almost 8pm.
As Hollywood OS in on Magnolia and it was Saturday night, I had
no
idea as to what time the next bus was scheduled to come by, if any more were to come by that time.
The very lovely and friendly
Carole Woodle
graciously had her son drop me at the Univesal Red Line.
Carole is a professional Oprah impersonator, despite her being far prettier.
She is certain she's worked on something with me, but as often happens, she and I couldn't figure out on what.
For such an eventuality, I had actually printed out a copy of
my reports page,
and then managed to neglect bringing it along with me.
|
|
Tuesday August 05, 2008
DVD: the "review," of sorts
The version of Strictly Background is a "little different" than the version that is on DVD, though the majority of that is due to the score.
Jason could not get the rights to many of the more relevant songs he used, so the Film Festival Version effectively had a "temp track."
Jason's friend
Frank Lenz
was brought in at the 11th hour and did a score to replace the music the film cannot use.
At the "DVD Launch"/Jason's birthday party Thursday July 31st, the Bonus Features were shown to all in attendance.
Called "Extras," as a bit of a word play, they are broken up into two sections: Group Interviews and Individual Clips.
As with much of the film, all that is shown is true, but there is still a lot very much misrepresented (almost to the point of seeming mean spirited).
As previously indicaed, as anyone who really knows me is aware, my favourite film in the entire world is
The Wizard of Oz.
In the Group Interview, I begin to rattle off a few titles of films of which I never tire of watching, mistakenly
not
naming the classic 1939 Oz film first.
Anyone really paying attention may notice that it is an abrupt
cutting away from me
the instant I name the
South Park movie
as the first title,
but
it falsely comes
across
as though
that
is my favourite film.
Even more irritating
(and this is one of the mean spirited bits),
while other cast members
do
mention
The Wizard of Oz,
when it finally
does
cut back to me, declaring how I can recite [The Wizard of Oz] verbatum,
the editing
comes across
and/or willfilly though wrongly
implies
as though I am still refering to the
South Park movie,
and
not
The Wizard of Oz.
In a segment called Homes, they show my answering the door.
At no time in the feature or the Bonus Features is
my part
of my apartment ever shown.
With his previously acquired permission I used my roommate's area as there was more room in which to film my interview segment.
Again with truth-albeit-misrepresented:
without my knowledge or my consent,
Bryan filmed the then-disarray of my roommate's area, including but not limited to
my roomate's
computers in various states of repair,
an overly
greasy stove
(from my roommate's oft grease-filled cooking),
as it was near the time my roommate would go into one of his monthly to bi-monthly cleaning binges, where the place would become so spotless to seem as though we'd barely just moved in.
Had I even
suspected
this filming of my roommate's apparent but inaccurate messiness would be done, I would have notified my roommate aforehand and we'd have cleaned the place immaculately.
I expected only to have shown for the feature
me sitting in the chair.
While I am shown retelling my experience
working with Sharon Stone,
the segment completely omits any reference to that gig
being a Day Player contract role.
Now this does
not
mean I never "deliberately" embarrassed
myself
on my very own in
Strictly Background;
in the Individual section, my explaining my Badger moniker includes my showing the
"This is why you have a Badger"
t-shirt a previous girlfriend had made for me as a gift.
The shirt in the clip got a
huge
laugh at the DVD release party, so I felt self-conscious, but at least I knew I did that on my own: no one t'blame but myself
(at least Jack's wife Elizabeth was thrilled to hear me citing the comprehensive Ted Andrew book
Animal Speak).
At least I learned the feature documentary was initially extremely popular on its DVD release.
The previous day in my
NetFlix queue
the title came up as having a
Short Wait.
In the very early morning hours of August 05, its release date, the
Strictly Background DVD
came up as being a
Very Long Wait
(emphasis added).
|
