Upcoming Shows - The Five Star Weekend

SO MANY PLACES TO READ THE SAME THING!

It’s here! At least the announcement of it being here soon, is here. The cat’s out of the bag, the beans have been spilled, and the butter’s getting hard (RIP CH).

I’m very proud of all the work that has gone into this show from a team I’ve gotten to know a little better as it has progressed.

Having an inside view on how the sausage gets made from start to finish gave me a better understanding of the sausage factory that is Television.

I’d recommend to anybody, but especially to actors, to take any opportunity you have to sit in on production meetings of any scripted project, or to produce anything yourself. You will learn so much about what your role is and isn’t. It can give you a lot of freedom to do the work within your lane, and to do your best work.

We (me just as support crew/sounding board) are toward the end of post production, and embarking on the promotion of the show. There are so many questions about font, art style, slogans, logos, etc. that it reminds me of house renovation or planning a wedding. Just this end part of it is at that scale.

Editing is the hardest part of a project, from experience having produced my own reels, short form content, and a web series, and it remains true in TV. Even more so, given how many cooks want to get in that kitchen. Editing is a much overlooked and underappreciated job that is absolutely essential. On an indie project, they’re the first person to be paid, because they’re so in demand and undersupplied that they can absolutely ask for and get compensation. So please, don’t be like DeNiro, thank your local editor.

In Development - Industry Standard

Five years ago, when the world stopped making most things for a year, all there was to do for my wife and me was develop ideas for TV and film.

Just yesterday we learned that a TV pitch document we created for a studio is still used today.

The studio uses it as an example to other writers of how to do a pitch document.

I’m proud. We put in a lot of work on that document, and though the show was never brought to fruition, even creating a roadmap that was emotionally compelling and understandable, especially given the source material, is a win.

The book was very complicated to adapt to TV - it’s basically written like 24 (each chapter takes place in an hour), but in reverse. It was also a bestseller about a highly divisive topic. So, high bar.

Sometimes I find constrictions on a story as helpful, in that they narrow the focus. They create a puzzle of hoops and mazes to jump through that can only yield something creative and unexpected.

Wrapped - Five Star Weekend in Nantucket

It’s been a little over a week since we returned to LA and settled in after a long shoot in Nantucket.

Nantucket is a darling town full of quaintness and cobblestones, and has some spectacular beaches and good food. Apparently it’s a place for drinking and spending money, but most of my time was spent alternatively watching the kids and enforcing the law in this alternate reality.

It was just a delight to hang w/ the cast and crew on this little island - it all felt like camp (at least I imagine because I’ve never been). We all got our own room assignments, and because the island is so small you’re running into your coworkers on your day off, exchanging tips about where to get the best ice cream (some say Juice Bar, my kids say Jack and Charlie’s).

One of my favorite new things was precision driving an F150 around. When the AD tells me “you were 6 inches off the mark”, I instantly understand how precision the driving is. With the stunt coordinator Shauna whispering directions over an in-truck walkie, and with a pro tip from our truck driving teamster Jared (who has ripped off some impressive precision driving stunts), I was able to pull it off most of the time.

It was so much fun, and now that shooting is all finished, all we can do is wait for it all to cut together and be as enjoyable as the vision and people.

Wrapped - National Commercial

Just finished a long day yesterday for my first commercial shoot!

Was for a well known phone company that rhymes with Horizon, and was a baptism by fire into the quantum world of mini-scenes that comprise a 30 second commercial.

There were puppeteers, giant blue screens, a celebrity, passing studio tours full of people who sometimes waved, racks and racks of wardrobe with little changing pods, and endless hours shooting the shit with the small group in my spot.

We formed our own little squad, and it felt very much like an orientation for school or camp given that it was the first one for two of us. One of the people in my group was a former famous Viner (RIP Vine may you come back soon) who gave us the scoop on how that all went down. Another had done two movies as the lead when she was very young. Another, like me, had 2 kids that required childcare coordination as the day went a bit long.

The audition process was equally mercurial - in one audition I was a viking, and in the next I was some kind of businessman.

My son once told me “you just do nonsense” regarding my job, and yesterday it couldn’t have felt more true.

Wrapped - Five Star Weekend in LA

This is a celebration of Los Angeles and its relevance as a hub of entertainment.

Listen - TV and film are going global in the name of cutting costs and bottom lines and all that. But look - you get what you pay for.

The talent is where it always has been. I’m not talking about actors or directors (primarily). I’m talking about crew. It is a professional army of talent who create an environment so fluid that creatives can step in and do their best work. And all the facilitators - the drivers, the caterers, the assistants - they makes the transitions easy, enjoyable, and smooth. Their families are here, supporting them as they endure 6 day weeks for 10-14 hours a day. And they, in turn, support the creative team, who are enduring similar hours and expected to recreate a simulacrum of reality in emotionally charged circumstances. The most efficient system is here because it has attracted the best of the best.

Now let’s talk about the creative team.

This show is stacked with talent in the cast, directors, and cinematographers.

Look at the current cast and creative lineup for The Five Star Weekend and you’ll see what I mean. It’s easy to say yes when the production is in your backyard.

I can’t say enough praise for the talent on this show. I’m ecstatic that this team of stars (cast, creatives, and crew, I’ve also heard the executives are coming along too) get to do it some more on Nantucket. The majority of my episodes are there, so I’m grateful that I’ve only just started.

I really can’t wait to share this work, because it seems like everyone is making it the best that it can be.

What's Up - Next Level

I just closed a deal on an offer to play something a little less henchman thug, a little more small town public service worker.

It’s a step up from roles I’ve played on TV before and one that’s been in the works for a while. It’ll be a great opportunity to have some fun.

The stoke is at maximum level. The cast, directors, writers, and showrunner are all extremely talented. It’s a fun world.

Wrapped - Countdown

Here’s my parallel universe clone as imagined by AI in a show I just wrapped with some of the most delightful people to be around.

I got to dip my toe in this thriller as a biker goon and play make-em-ups with people I’ve long admired on TV and film. Everyone in the green room were people I had seen before who gave me the feeling that ‘oh I remember them in a lot of different things, all of them great performances’.

One of the days was a big group scene, so it turned out to be a long day - but was made so much easier by being surrounded by positive attitudes. You forget how much fun it is to work hard and get to that sweet sweet ‘martini shot’ of the day. Makes you respect how hard being a regular on a set is, whether it be cast or crew, because they’re doing this day after day - pumping out the hits.

My son asked me how my job playing a ‘tough guy’ was at my acting work. Very fun, little dude, very fun.

What's Up - The Rule of Booking

There are no rules. Maybe just guidelines - stay loose, swing through, be you on a very specific frequency.

Excited to get back on the procedural horse and have some fun for a couple of rowdy days.

New Favorite - Mr. In Between

This show falls into the fantasy of ‘older guy who is still a badass’. I fully acknowledge this is a feature of this entertainment that draws me in, being squarely advancing towards middle age (depending on what metric we use here), and yet I enjoy it anyway.

I usually internally chuckle at these shows/movies and how ridiculous they are in fulfilling the protection fantasy of older dudes who are righteously violent. I can’t fully invest in the reality of a story if it seems to be fulfilling these fantasies, but I do enjoy them all the same. It’s entertaining, but at a distance. A couple of examples are ‘Nobody’ and the later movies of the series ‘The Equalizer’ - I have no problem with enjoying the entertainment of these, but I’m just bemused by the amount of violence these older gentlemen are capable of inflicting because they’re just THAT GOOD at it. It’s fun, I get it, beware old men in the trade of violence because there’s a reason they’re still alive and all that.

At what point do they stop due to the invulnerable enemy of entropy? Why not see a movie of a badass in a walker slamming people about? Would love to see that dark comedy.

I digress, again - no beef with this genre. I just want to celebrate this show, because the violence within it seems plausible. This fellow Ray here has a sharp instinct for when to use violence, he employs it quickly/usually pre-emptively, he gains the upper hand through tactics (experience), and it ends quickly. He also endures injuries that remain for the entire episode, if not through multiple episodes. He loses things dear to him that he can’t get back. The episodes with his disabled brother are heartbreaking, tackling the pains of a debilitating condition from the POV of the person going through it. Their storyline was incredibly moving and possibly the best part of it.

There’s also a great teen/dad dynamic going on, a few oddball friends that are fun, and a great deal of comedy, often peppered with sage perspectives on how the world works. Also - accents. Good on ya if you watch it.

In Development - TV Greenlight

I know I’m one of a thousand fathers/mothers on this victory/success, but a project I’d been developing/consulting on just got the greenlight. My fee of late has been a character in the project, so I’m looking forward to having some fun on what’s going to be a delightful show.

And of course all of the credit belongs to the showrunner. I’m a big fan of hers. Maybe her biggest? Likely if size is a factor that’s true. I will fight anyone for that title.

The lead of this show was the lead of a show I first booked a featured spot on when I came out here and got into the game. So when it all pans out this will be a full circle kind of thing.

What's Up - Training

The movie I’m working on involves a big fight scene. I’ve always loved fight choreography. It’s all just pretend, until now. I think I’ve rediscovered a new love - boxing. It’s killing the two birds with one stone - trimming down my mass and turning my body into a believable force for violence.

What's Up - Development Wins

While TV production slowly ramps up, I’ve been developing various projects with my people (wife and friends), and just wanted to share some wins there. My success rate with this is pretty solid, so I may soon officially add a second shingle to my shop.

A friend had a rare opportunity to pitch an animation show to a production company with the rights to a very popular IP. He’s a talented writer, been in the running on quite a few ‘lists’ for a screenplay he submitted to ‘the contests’, has some very funny sketch content out there, but not quite worked on TV yet. YET. I’ve been coaching him through pitch after pitch on this, and it has gone as well as it could possibly go, so here we are in the final running, pitching to one of ‘the streamers’. And I’m still in his corner.

In Development - Untitled Horror Feature

I am stalking a story set in the woods with my writer/director friend. It’s a horror. The thrill of the hunt floods my veins as I develop a feature wherein I will play the lead.

It brings up questions - in what ways can I carry a story forward? What do I have to say about the subject matter? How the hell are we going to fund this thing?

It’s a rare chance for creative control that for actors is mostly only inherent in film. It’s just the beginning of the expedition, which is to say - extensive planning. Journey of a thousand steps and all that. Catch you in the wild.

Wrapped - Reel Scenes

With a stagnation in new shows (from negotiations with the IATSE, and a more conservative approach to production) comes another break I’ve decided to make what can.

Fortunately, life with kids is an embarrassment of riches as far as things to do, and moments to behold. I’ve very much enjoyed spending time with the two little ones.

But still, duty calls from time to time - this time in the form of other actors needing scene partners for their reels. Just wrapped two shoots, one with Relentless Filmworks, and the other with I Look Like Myself, two great reel production companies in LA that will shoot and edit scenes that belong in a variety of genres and mediums.

Check em out if you’re in the market for such a thing. I might even be your scene partner if you’re looking for a farmer, or a high fashion thug skimming his boss, or a lovelorn widower.

New Favorite - Fallout (TV Series)

Ahhh Hakunin. The beginning of a great journey.

Ol tree in the head Harold. So fun.

Adaptations are tough - especially for something very widely loved. Balancing what fans originally loved, the challenge of creating something new within an established world, and the input of your producers/distributers is probably challenging.

You needn’t read my praise to know that - the new Fallout TV series is widely lauded by critics for good reason - it’s very well done. It’s clear the tone of the game has been translated faithfully, the world design is immaculately detailed, and the story is something new and surprising.

The balance of tones immediately made me think - “oh, these people have actually played the game.” Or more likely, all of the games. The detail on the set and props made me think that the people making them really enjoyed it. The story is familiar and in the spirit of the game, but has its own surprising turns, and actually provides the world of Fallout with more clarity.

I’ve loved the game series since it was in bird’s eye view. Fallout 2 is particularly memorable because of the characters you meet (both the writing and voice acting is stellar). I’m stoked there’s a second season coming, and hope they continue to explore what they can do with this thing.

What's Up - Tony Awards

Very proud of my wife today for her hard work on The Notebook: The Musical. For her, being a book writer was kind of an invisible job - that is, if you’re doing it right it’s not really noticed. So I know she feels very lucky to have been honored in this way.

It’s a strange thing to parse out the pieces of a collaborative work like this, being that the actors and book are very directly related to the music and direction and design and everything else that goes into it.

On the set of a network procedural, I thanked the director for his help in getting me to where I needed to be, and he kept chalking it up to, “well it’s a collaborative art,” kind of saying - ‘you did this too, and everyone else, no other way it can happen’. It’s true. Which is why those awards shows take so damn long. So many people to thank.

And lets be real - nobody loves a good award show like the entertainment industry. We’re out here congratulating each other left and right. We really do need the validation though - we’re not making something that lasts or that you can tangibly hold. We need the validation as fuel to convince us to keep going on to the next thing.

Also - now a great thing that will never/immediately get old is I can introduce Bekah as my ‘Tony nominated wife’.

What's Up - New Manager

I have joined up with a new manager at Aegis Talent.

Aside from having an amazing person in my corner, their company’s name implies that I will be heading into battle with either a ‘shield of Jupiter’ or ‘mantle of Zeus’. It’s a breastplate or shield of majesty, possibly made of goatskin or covered by it. Adorning myself with a kingly god’s boon can likely only be a good thing.

This was made by AI, and I’m wondering what this great role is that AI thinks I’m bound to play. Looks pretty rad.

Red Carpet - The Notebook Opening

Photo by Michaelah Reynold

Photo by Michaelah Reynold

Here’s me being very proud of my wife for her work writing the book for The Notebook musical.

My sister in law Jacy Ceccarelli styled us both. What a whirlwind rollercoaster ride this, and our visit to New York in general, was.

This production is the culmination of 6, maybe 7 years, of consistent work. It garnered rave reviews in the Chicago production, and generated mixed reviews in New York. Most people love the show, but it is slightly different than your average musical, and it’s about a movie, so I understand it’s an easy target.

I would expect a more diligent approach from New York professionals though - it’s disappointing that some of them cannot engage with what is moving to the majority of the audience around them, even if they are not moved themselves.

The music and book reflect the piece - a layered construction of a love story grasping to be remembered by the lovers, which builds toward a final transcendent moment that celebrates one of the best and enduring capacities we can hold. It takes the core themes of love and loss from the book and elevates them in symphonic beauty.

I’ve never been a fan of performative, campy, or splashy musicals that seem to delight the biggest energy vampires in any drama class. I prefer plays with music, or musicals with heart, and this is both, probably more the latter. A couple of my favorites have been Passing Strange (mounted at the public), and Three Penny Opera (mounted by a South African troupe in an old church in London using drums and sticks for percussion and sets).

In that way, my wife’s work adds value to the market. It provides another option that people love to embrace and celebrate.

What's Up - Work Life Balance

The aforementioned work life balance is a relatively new concept, previously known as life. I’m a fan of the simpler term, but want to acknowledge how one can prepare you for the other.

With my wife out of town for work, I’ve been in charge of the mornings/nights of both children, which has been an adjustment. To all the caregivers who do this always, I am impressed/humbled. It’s a multi-tasker’s dream, and minimalist’s nightmare. Here’s a small stream of consciousness of me in the midst of it at before dinnertime - is she on the couch? no, playing with that - good, maybe a minute then, careful cut carrots not fingers, did he say dad? oh he found it, zucchini? no, still more carrots - is she on the couch? put her in here? no still playing with that, nuggets 20 seconds maybe 25 will he eat some? no, no letters left - what else? has he pooped? when? fiber - apples first so cinnamon doesn’t scatter - does she have fruit left? etc.

It’s a flow, I’m a shark, always moving from one microtask to the next, a flurry of meal prep for three different ages.

When an action comedy project comes through the pipeline, the clearly written character and action gives me a direct path through an enjoyable experience. There are quick transitions that require focus, but none of them feel very challenging given the number of transitions my life requires, and the focus is a delightful break from the frenetic pace of whack-a-mole that happens when two children need different things at the same time.

What's Up - Stylist

Fashion cycles around and around. It’s funny to see kids wearing what people wore in high school. The clothes are getting bigger, the hair floppier, and the pants baggier.

I’m on board with baggier pants, as long as it trends 20s 30s 40s and not 90s. The rest of it I’ll leave at Hot Topic. Skinny pants don’t fit these legs that have to hold up my big ol butt and body. Baggier pants make me feel Swooshy ™. Some kinda karate master, or painter, or jazz dancer - something masterful that requires movement.

Got a big opening night coming up to celebrate my wife’s hard work. Sister in law’s a stylist. Sent along this reference point based on my ideas. We’ll see how close I come to this lewk. This guy is an ambassador from some land of mastery. If I get halfway there I’ll feel great.

Point is - ask your people for help. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be having as much fun with this mission.