At the bottom of this post you'll find more information on the SAG daily background rates and bumps.

I've started doing some background (extra) work as a means of earning extra income. Most of my day consists of re-applying sunscreen and sitting quietly while I wait to be called to set. Of a 12 hour day, I'd say that 8 hours are spent waiting to wait on set. Regardless, the money is pretty good, especially considering that I'm often able to do freelance projects while in holding.

The entire industry is anxious about a potential SAG strike. That is, the entire industry except almost every actor I talk to. I am consistently surprised by how little my fellow actors know about the current state of negotiations between the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) and the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Perhaps it's because there's very little difference between a strike and no strike for most actors - less than 5% of SAG members are employed on sets at any given time.

Los Angeles is a big city and the possibility of "making it" often seems so remote that it is very easy to lose sight of what you want most. A simple example from my life this evening:

I want to watch The Fountain to escape and be entertained. However, what I want most is to travel around the world making a film with my friend Gabriel.

To do what I want most I have to save money so that I can continue to pay rent in LA. Thus, I need to stop watching The Fountain, take my laptop to Starbucks and get some work done.

James Avery at Fred 62’s
A couple weeks ago, my entire family descended upon Los Angeles for Memorial Day weekend. The best thing about family visiting, outside of getting to see them of course, is that they'll often foot the tab when you go out to brunch. Such was my scheming when I suggested that we go to Fred 62's, a great 24hr diner run by a crack-team of short order cooks and punk-rock waitresses.

My friends Phil "Captain 3D" and Deepa invited me to see an animators' screening of "Kung Fu Panda" earlier this evening. Both Phil & Deepa are employees at Dreamworks Animation – the folks that brought you Shrek. Phil is the "global director of stereoscopic digital photography" or some other equally long title for "the guy that makes 3D animated films fly out of the screen at your face." Deepa works in the texture department and is currently making computer generated buildings look like they're made out of real concrete, steel, and glass.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Keeping Track of Who You Know

In this life you can and will get people's business cards. This is a good thing. In fact, you should make a point of asking people that you meet and have a conversation with for their business card. Why? It's that whole networking thing that all the acting career books keep harping about.

My son quit teaching high school after 3 years, packed up the U-hual and took off for LA. Check out his blog to learn what it is like to just be another actor in LA. http://actorslog.blogspot.com/