Putting my best face forward...
Even though I have had some luck at being picked as an extra, I am reminded that snapshots are not as effective as professional headshots.
I was asked to be a husband to a delightful actress as a Background couple (BG) in a Shem Creek restaurant scene for a show called WE LOVE YOU, hopefully, to be seen on the YouTube Red subscription network.
Casting people and the film's Director may have a clear image of the character they want...or just a vague feeling. A pro headshot comes in handy in helping them make a decision.
Local production of tv shows has been fairly active and I am pleased that I was chosen as a non-speaking extra to appear on the small screen in season two of
VICE PRINCIPALS and the second season of
THE INSPECTORS.
Even after the scene has been shot - and after I've signed all the paperwork to be paid - there is no guarantee that it will actually get on the air.
I decided I like doing this and wanted to "up my game" with some professional headshots.
Fortunately, I know
Joseph Nienstedt, a multi-talented photographer, who was all set to capture me in several headshots.
Made an appointment and Joe spent well over an hour to get a smiling shot and a more serious one. This way, I could be considered as a happy-go-lucky nice guy with a ready laugh.
Or, as a stuffy judge, politician, or even a sympathetic funeral director.
Maybe a seen-it-all detective or simply a lovable grandfather in a family setting.
Hey, I like all of those options!
I'm still basking in my nice long scene with actress
Sheila Cochran where the two of us reacted to a scruffy, battered, bleeding guy
who shuffles toward us. Sheila is a great "hospital screamer!"
This is in the Adam Sandler film THE DO-OVER, that started streaming since Memorial Day on Netflix.
Ok, I have my new headshots and will send them when applying for roles in a tv show or movies filming nearby. It's a good, fun thing to do when you're retired.
And, best of all when you're picked and you nail it.
(Click on the photos and links for more details.)
About the only time I write in cursive is my signature. Maybe I'll get to do autographs some day.
Labels: #headshots, autographs, comforting husband, cursive writing, funeral director, Joseph Nienstedt, signature, smiling and happy-go-lucky, stodgy politician
"Book 'Em, Dano..."
My Mom taught me to enjoy reading.
Thanks for a lifetime (so far) of a very fulfilling habit.
In short, I have LOTS of books lying around.
Often I will have several book-marked to resume reading again when I'm sitting at the kitchen table.
Or another on the couch.
Or pick one up again at my desk.
In the car, I keep an audio book in the CD player.
So, it's no big surprise I found
Paper Back Swap, a club where you list books you have to trade and other members pick which ones they want.
Online, I look at their list and request any that interest me.
Paperbacks, hardcover and even audio books.
We receive a point after we mail them and they are received.
We then use the point to
"buy" a book. And this time the sender pays the postage! We pay postage when we send one out.
Ah, but it gets complicated when you meet an author and he signs your book.
David Baldacci wrote a short note to me in the front of his latest book at an Authors Luncheon a few years ago.
I had mentioned to Dave I had reviewed one of his earlier works for
The Post and Courier.
His note praised me as a reviewer though I doubt he had seen what I had written for the paper's Arts & Travel section.
Pretty trusting guy.
But wait, it gets even more involved.
Lawrence Block, another writer I really enjoy, sends out a newsletter about specials and new books he's working on.
I saw
"Ariel" and noted that the scary story was centered in Charleston, SC.
Well, naturally that was ordered, along with a
Matthew Scudder book and one other.
When they arrived, I saw that all three are autographed.
I have a growing small stack of books I will
NOT be swapping.
(Click on the photos and links for more details.) I think the best audiobooks are the ones narrated by the author. It's not like songwriters who can't sing. Tina Fey was the perfect reader of her book as was Craig Ferguson.
Who's YOUR favorite author?
Labels: ARIEL, Authors Luncheons, autographs, Craig Ferguson, David Baldacci, Lawrence Block, Matthew Scudder
