Film
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.
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.
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.
Now that the strike is over, work flow can return to normal.
Here is a normal workflow - calm calm calm calm, swell - 5 PROJECTS AT ONCE - GO!
The calm will return, but I’m looking forward to getting ‘the best barrels ever…get pulled in and spit right out…and just drop the lip and smack in WHABAP, drop down - SWABAA, and after that just drop in, just ride the barrel, and get pitted, so pitted’. Look up funny surfer interview for this reference and an internet legend.
Actually, here you go anyway.
Merry Chrimbus - HERE HE IS
Since I didn’t take any pictures on this set, here’s one the director took of the DP.
Maybe it tells the bittersweet story of the end of a finely crafted piece of collaborative art.
For me this was an opportunity to represent part of what it means to be a parent. It gave me a glimpse into the future of how devastating it will be to send my children off into the world, and a reminder to enjoy the time with them now - when they are still so small that one uses my body as a training mountain to climb, or when the other follows his curiosity to ask me - ‘did you make any friends at your acting work?’
I believe I did. I’m eager to watch what becomes of it all.
There’s a strike happening. It’s up and down, talks and then no talks.
Still there are some projects out there, if you look for them. Get back training weekly, get your chops back together, and put some tapes down on the ones that come your way.
One of them catches. It’s the type of role you’ve wanted to do for awhile. It doesn’t rely on your height. It doesn’t rely on your mean mug. It relies on an experience you have every day to your children. It feels like your life, but in a slightly different universe.
Additionally, it’s a film. You can take space to let more of your life in. Unlike TV, there’s not a clock ticking in the back of everyone’s head. It’s all a huge relief. You are grateful.
But then you realize you have to work out the schedule of your real children and this parallel family. Fortunately you have a real wife, unlike the absent one in the story. Again you are grateful.
Here are some of my favorite things that I watched this past year:
The Rehearsal - it’s absurd where it went and ended up but I love that they basically gave this man the money to take his artistic whims wherever he wanted.
1883 - Oh, you want more story than dialogue? Everything that could happen to you when playing the Oregon Trail, happens here through brilliantly written and performed and shot scenes. Every aspect is fantastic. Also a textbook way to use voiceover like it is here - to frame this violent world through the hopeful eyes of a young woman exploring it. Usually voiceover seems like a lazy way to lay out story. Not here. Taylor Sheriden is one of the best storytellers in the game right now.
Top Gun : Maverick - Just peak action. HRRRGN, HRRRGN, percussively breathe through the sharp turns of this aerial extravaganza.
Reacher - Likely never loved a character more than Reacher, and I think this hunky dude nailed his perspective. Lotta big guy being hungry humor I can relate to, lot of uncomplicated fun of a classic action thriller.
Severance - a slow burn that pays off hugely…you’ll be glad you watched a few too many ‘walking down a labyrinthine hallway’ scenes in the end.
Adam McKay - nearly any of what he touches is thoroughly excellent.
And here are some slight criticisms of entertainment these days:
I can now tell when a show is ‘doing a thing’. Like there were a lot of talks in pre-production about tone, and style, and there are wigs, and there’s some cool color correction, and it just takes me out of it really quickly. Basically valuing style over content. Have a good story first, then have it live in another world. With so many in the TV and film production game, it’s likely just a product of statistics. But it makes me change the channel really fast. And I lament the sunk cost of just creating a mood. Actors fall into the same trap of doing what they think it feels like or looks like instead of telling an authentic truth about themselves. I’ve done it.
I hope we are over saturated with charismatic con men and women. I know people are stupid and believe what they want to believe, and that there will be people who abuse this. I just find it incredibly boring. Yes, people will lie to get what they want. Lotta great performances are highlighting the morally bankrupt. Is that really what you want to do with your life?
Not everything needs to have musical numbers. I think executives really overshot trying to ride the trend here. Sometimes your leads can’t sing that well. It’s not pleasant listening to people who aren’t good singers. Leave it out and let the story do its thing.
I’m very much against throwing violence against children into a show. Likely because I’m a father now. It seems like a cheap attention grab to crudely engineer stakes. Very sensitive to how violence is used so cheaply to garner our sympathy and hatred of the characters.
Hey, but what do I know? I’m just a guy who’s trying to navigate this deluge of content and spot the trends that aren’t bearing any more fruit.
The Rule of Booking - when you make plans to leave town you will be offered a job to stay.
You cannot game the Rule of Booking. It has to be a legitimate travel plan, and it has to cost you dearly to choose one or the other. You can either see your close family that you haven’t seen in a year, or go take part in telling someone else’s story.
If you haven’t seen the documentary ‘Val’ yet, and you’re in the arts, it’s worth a look. It’s a look at his life as an actor through the many lenses from home footage that he shot while working different jobs.
Most actors would be happy with the career of this legend. It’s illuminating to see that even he has had his misgivings about roles he has taken, and choices he has made. It’s nothing I wouldn’t expect - I hear most actors, and people for that matter, are always looking toward the next thing, wanting more.
Desire is what makes human beings human. (an insight from my friend Miles)
He ends the film with footage from him playing Jim Morrison, reflecting on his own nature as an artist, and there’s a great deal of synchronicity between the two. He sums up his approach to acting by offering that he’s found a little bit of himself in the character, and found a little bit of the character in himself.
Another inspiring bit was how he unabashedly pursued roles that he wanted, failing more often than not.
Siempre luchando - a favorite Puerto Rican quote of an actor I worked with (Rudy Willrich) that I’ve held on to.
Happy to say some recent work has made it through post production!
Relentless Filmworks shot and edited the four scenes you can find in my the new section of my site below:
Above is a compilation of short clips of each for a reel that can only be described as sizzling. Watch yourself.
My co-stars were great and can be found making believe around the world in the best possible ways. Cheers to Chase Drews, Paige Simons, Zach Chyz, and Anonymous L. Jones.
Much thanks to my acting teacher Amy Lyndon, who has a keen eye and technique that is rivaled only by Russian Olympic gymnast coaches.
The first day we shot was exactly a year from the time I first met in person with Relentless. It’s been a year.
In the beforetimes, I met with a reel production company and was about to shoot this thing here. Exactly one year later we made it happen.
The goal was/is to get an accurate representation of where my work is now in different genres of TV/film. I’m very excited to see how it turned out.
If anything, it was a very fun exercise in realizing a vision.
This here is possibly the first feature film project that I’ve helped develop, albeit in a very tiny way (act breakdowns and troubleshooting plot).
It’s an adaptation of a philosophical book that swept the world a while ago. You may have heard of it, or not.
The result is a little more surprising than what you’d expect.
It was fun to see choices and plot points you’ve come up with manifest themselves in such a well produced movie.
It was my first glimpse into how a feature film gets made. It was illuminating to see the different viewpoints combine to produce this final result.
'Again' is premiering at Tribeca Film Festival. Can't wait to celebrate the work of our project and others. SO. EXCITED.
From the intuitive wizardry of director Alexis Jacknow, to the intricate emotion of my co-star Aubrey Dollar, to the gut punching sweetness of the script by my wife Bekah Brunstetter, to the inventive eye of DP Rick Diaz, to the effete swiftness of producers Stephanie Hall Marin and Tyler Evans, I think we've got something worth watching.
If you want to support this film, please go here - https://www.seedandspark.com/fund/again#wishlist
Whenever someone asks me what my favorite movie is, I have to think of the most recent one I've seen, because I love movies so I just defer to 'most recent' instead of 'of all time'. I think it's a waste of time qualifying which one you particularly like out of all the movies in the world because that's changed for me over time. So here's my new favorite.
This is a very detailed, seamless, and believable story that calls out a generation of man-children.
In the above picture this father is taking a picture of an incoming avalanche that is terrifying his children and wife. Each frame in this movie is storytelling at its best.
Some of the scenes ran much like a sketch, with three beats heightening within the bounds of realism; others ran like a psychological thriller, with tension punctuated by a subtle joke, usually at the expense of modern man's pride; others were silent, ethereal poems that underscored the comic tragedy of our era's shifting values.
I'm proud to have played a small role in a short that has made its way to quite a few festivals already, with more hopefully to follow. Coming up is its premiere at the Women's Independent Film Festival, where it has garnered 4/6 awards, including Best Screenplay, Best Music Video, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.
Please join me in celebrating the hard work and vision of this great creative team (Steven Espinosa, Mary Agnes, Daniel Lynn, Adrianne Richards, John Grady, Avi Quijada, Diana MacNeil, Michael Challenger, Hannah Louise Beavers) and help us win the Best in Show Audience Award by voting at the screening!
Tickets here -
http://womensindiefest.com/2013_IndieFest.html
Hope to see you there!
I'm proud to announce that 'Snow' is now available for purchase or rent on Amazon.
It's currently screening at numerous festivals, and is being developed into a feature film.
Follow the stirring narrative of the father of epidemiology in his quest to prevent the spread of cholera in London.
Here's the link -
If you have a moment to give it a positive rating on Amazon, that would be wonderful.