Where We've Been Hiding

So to give a little backstory, we made the sojourn to Sundance, got snowed on and got the flu.

But we also made some great connections. So fabulous were the connections, we've been crazy busy with pitches, meetings and studio visits, all the things this pair of struggling writer/directors need to give us a little hope. We can't share until things are locked and signed on the dotted line or close to there. But thanks for your patience while we worked our asses off. It's a reminder to hang on to hope and believe!

CONGRATS TO OUR MOOBIE MOMMA AND POPPA!!
Eric and Gina of our web series IT'S JUST A MOOBIE are the proud parents of baby Miles and you can see for yourself he's a total cutie.

You can post well wishes here or go to their moobie WEBSITE. Welcome to the world baby MILES!

We'll miss Eric and Gina's moobie reviews for now, but know any free time they have is dedicated to getting some sleep. Congrats again you two. We know you'll be back soon for the big moobie releases coming our way this summer if not sooner. And in case you missed any of their rebiews, you can catch some of their oldies but goodies on the spent tv network. 

FAST TRACK RETURNS

The next episode of FAST TRACK is in our capable editor's hands and should be up on SPENT TV soon. Here's a behind the scenes shot of talented cast member Jeannie Bolet! She plays a lit agent in Hollywood. And we know what that means....

FLYERS ANYONE?

Look around town at your favorite coffee shop, brew stop or even on the street for our SPENT TV flyers. We're hitting the pavement, spreading the word. So give us a shout if one lands in your neck of the woods.

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Thanks to all of your votes, and our procrastination, we have a winner in our first annual BEST ACTOR ON SPENT TV AWARD. The competition was heated, went down to the wire. But a clear fan favorite emerged. Announcement and pictures will follow soon! Thanks for voting!

LET THE AWARDS BEGIN - PLUS WHAT'S AHEAD FOR SPENT IN 2012

SAG, LAFC, BFC - ETCETERA, ETCETERA, ETCTERA

Screen actors, film critics and probably even plumbers associations have begun weighing in on their choices for best performances and best films for the calendar year 2011. Some of the the best film choices announced so far are "The Artist" (a SPENT TV favorite); "Hugo""The Descendants""War Horse" and "The Help." On the acting front, Glenn Close, George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Jean Dujardin and Viola Davis among others have garnered best acting nods.. Tomorrow the Golden Globe nominations are announced. We're so excited and wonder what trinkets Harvey bought the HFPA voters this year to insure as many nomies as possible!

We'd love to hear from you and what your personal choice is this year for best picture. So, post your choice. We'll tally the results and one of you lucky little posting buggers will win a gift card, that's right! A giftie card of your very own! Only one random posty will win. It will be very scientific you know, one of the producing partners at SPENT will be blindfolded, led to the computer and be forced to randomly stick a finger on the winning post!  So leave a comment and post your best pic pick TODAY!

LLA - MORE PICS
Our last shoot of LLA epside 2 was so much frighin' fun, we just want to keep sharing the behind the scenes love including these two:

First CORY GLUCK and JOHN NAGLE arguing about who is more of a LESBIAN LOVER at the beach.

And here's KYLE HEFFNER aka WESLEY, getting ready ready to make his move on CATHERINE BREWTON who is about to kick him to the curb for a park ranging woman played by CHARLOTTE KYLE.

MUCH FROM SPENT FOR THE NEW YEAR

Our New Year's resolution is to give you more interactive, entertaining profoundly exuberant stuff on the SPENT WEBNETWORK. So get your mouse and digits ready to watch. Our next episode of FAST TRACK, number 4 shoots in early February, but FAST TRACK 3 will be up after the first of the year. LLA #2 will be up before the first of the year and #3 shoots the end of January. As we mentioned before we've got two new series coming soon and of course this kicks off the awards season frenzy for Gina and Eric and It's JUST A MOOBIE.

NEW ACTORS---------------SO PLEASE VOTE!

We've added a new list of actors on the blog and they need your votes. If you haven't already you can watch them first on the Spent new or classic channels. 

Go to the right side of the blog and scroll to the vote box.

LLA EPISODE #2 AND THE B-STORY

LLA #2 - IN THE CAN
Yep, despite downed trees and power outages, LLA Episode #2 is kind of in the can. Our three newbie cast members JOHN NAGLE, LINA HALL and BEN LAUTER survived the taunts and hazing on set by our regulars. Thankfully, they will also joining us for future episodes!

Lina Hall's talents create a tsunami on set!

Run and gun shooting in LA can be a challenge as everyone knows and fallen trees and down power lines prompted a last minute change of location, so our two day shoot morphed into an extra day and additional pick up shots. Oddly too, our new mic and old camera were suddenly possessed on some scenes, so we had video wavy lines, orbs and static raspy audio at one point like we'd happened upon a ghost adventure reality show.

John Nagle and Cory Gluck - DATE HETERO1

All in all the weekend was hell of fun. Guest stars CATHERINE BREWTON and CHARLOTTE KYLE had us cracking up with their animated depiction of penis envy. Yep, I said it.  Too bad you missed it.

THE B-STORY #2    RUNNING OUT OF TIME

Coming off a fantastic weekend of shooting is always a high. Really who couldn't or shouldn't be grateful for being able to actually create. And I am. I'm grateful to write, grateful to direct, grateful that such amazing actors trust their talents with me. It's humbling always, overwhelming sometimes, that I get to play with such a group of talented men and women.

And of course, I should stay in the gratitude, live in the moment as all the self-help gurus and spiritualists say, but truth is I'm scared. I'm scared I'm running out of time. Yep, I a'int the disco whipper-snapper that I used to be. The six inch platform wearing party-girl who could guzzle beers till dawn and still show up for a seven am class.  And I'm not the thirty year old or forty year old I once was, at least not to the development executives, the agents and managers and the financiers who otherwise might be inclined to take a chance and give me a break. So there are days when I wake up and I am scared that my time on the planet in the life I know will run out before my dreams come true.

It's a pressure I put on myself, I know, or my knees put on me when it takes me longer to get up after a shot. But a pressure it is and a real one. When I was younger, when life got complicated and choices had to be made, there always seemed to be another tomorrow to get started on my dreams. But at fifty four,  time seems so much more precious and in my case, scarier, because the big break, my big break seems so far away and maybe, too late.

So there you have it, a little fear. A little self doubt.  But I don't throw in the towel ever. If I have learned one thing it is that I am a writer/director, I define myself by it and latecomer or not, it is what I will always be. I may be a scared, wobbly-kneed old lady dreamer, but I am still - a dreamer.

Holidaze!

As the day of food indulgence fast approaches, the people at SPENT TV want to thank you for tuning in to our original online programming and for your support. This year has been a challenging one for us, the economy and personal hurtles within our families have made getting our projects finished and up on the web a sometimes exhausting one. But still we prevail. And as we look forward to juicy stuffing and bourbon soaked pumpkin pie we want to thank our generous talented actors, our amazing crew, and again all youze folks for sticking with us. Next year begins a new season, with two new shows we are sure will make you laugh, cry, and want to throw things at your television sets.

OSCAR DREAMS

For many, winning an Oscar or any award that recognizes excellence of craft, is a dream. It starts young, maybe watching the dress-up glitz and glamour on the TV screen or perhaps less altruistically, dreaming of the additional bucks and power an Oscar win sometimes bring. Whatever the reason, there are those who dream of walking that red carpet one day. And there are those who actually get there.
This time of year is officially the beginning of what is known in Hollywood as "Award Season," the weeks of new releases, promotions and parties that result in an award nomination. Or not. Historically it's the time that studios and distributors roll out their Oscar hopefuls onto the big screen. It's also the time when more "thinking" films are premiered, or so it's said. Trade-to-trade publications, like the Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety used to love this time of year because it translated into big dollars from all the ads those studios and other trade business' would place to promote their films and stars.

But in recent years  "Awards Season" and ad money have not walked hand-in-hand. The growth of the internet, the continuing bad economy, and the uncharted world of non-traditional media advertising have for the most part taken away the big ad dollars for the trade-to-trade  business', diminishing their own sales staff's "oscar dreams" of pricey cover ads and those I'm-going-to-Paris bonuses.

But back to those wide-eyed Oscar dreaming creatives. Over time, many of those dreamers own golden aspirations have been tarnished or squashed by the entertainment industry's "politics." Good actors who watch roles go to not the best audition,  but to the best in bed. Talented writer's who take dozens of meetings and are told over and over again they are brilliant only to never be produced. Directors who spend years as an AD wondering what they may have said or who they may have pissed off to keep them forever in the second position. No matter what the craft or what the dream, everyone reaches that crossroad, that threshold of obstacle or mini day of reckoning that requires one of those life-changing decisions: go forward, stay put or turn back.

And what happens from there is the stuff of an Oprah, Dr. Phil or Good Morning America segment . The dreamer either walks the red carpet, or not. The journey is either a rewarding one or not. A person's life is either made rich by the experience, the situations and the people, or not.

It takes true strength, courage, and more than a little craziness for anyone to aspire to creative heights. Red carpet dreams or not. Seriously, what other vocation is based on so subjective a success?

So here's a toast to those that do, those that dream to be the next Clooney, or Fuqua, or Spielberg or Apatow, Jolie, Hardwicke or Fey.

Casting Director Workshops - Up for Discussion and More

Spent TV has always been a production company that is pro-actor. We recognize and realize the important and immeasurable contribution actors bring to our projects. And while we ain't rich (Cary likes to say "yet") we have always tried to give what ever we could. We have gone out of our way to work and meet SAG and AFTRA standards, even when it was like pulling embedded teeth just trying to get information from them.
As an independent production company we often cast talented actors who are new to LA and looking to get active and get out there. We are also often asked about casting workshops and if they are of benefit or just cha-ching machines for those who put them on. We recently read an interesting blog by Matthew Lessall that takes up the subject. When asked, Spent TV has been a supporter of some of the LA based workshops that offer actors the opportunity to get in front of legit casting directors at a reasonable cost but at the same time have steered clear of those that promise the world and charge a mini-fortune or others that feature individuals that have not been on a show or part of any active film project for years.
In response to the criticisms circulating now about the worksops,  Lessall shares " Most actors in the workshop only want to get in front of me to show me that they can act and 90% of the time, they are trying too hard, not listening, not acting. So when it comes time for me to make adjustments, I spend time with each individual to show them specifically what I am looking for in an actor. I do this repeatedly during the class and I hope that by the 20th actor, the class begins to see that there is a method to my madness and that my instruction on technique has a purpose and comes from over 10 years of casting, 6 years of professional acting, and years of training in classical acting, Meisner, etc… So, yes, when I go to a workshop, it is about my conducting just that: A WORKSHOP ON ACTING. "
This is often in stark contrast to what some organizations do and say when it comes to the workshops they offer. Several actors Spent TV has worked with complain the casting director they've paid for gave them no notes on performance or just a single comment at best - that's a lot of nothing for upwards of $75. And some were no longer casting the show they were represented as being a part of.
So what are your thoughts? Where else might a new to LA actor go to get such immediate access?


COMING SOON: LLA EPISODE 2
After a summer-long hiatus, LLA episode 2 is shooting soon. Regular lesbian lovers KYLE HEFFNER, ROBERT BELL. DORIAN MARTIN and CORY GLUCK are returning for more of their lesbian loving adventures. If you haven't seen episode one watch it on SPENT or YouTube.

And check out our full webnet! We love your comments and emails, so keep them coming!

In Between

Over the past few weeks we've engaged in multiple conversations with other creative people on how Internet content plays into the distribution paradigms of the future. As we've made mention in this blog before, the challenge is always to get eyes on your product. The more eyes your stories reach, the more opportunity you have to actually realize some monetary compensation and be able to live off of the talents you have.

Today, there is no one true paradigm of how to get your series up, seen and funded to sustain them. One could also argue that much of the creative content up on the web is poor at best. The struggle some talented creatives also have is trying to work with both SAG and AFTRA even under their "new media contracts." Insurance is still required, often costing hundreds of dollars. It's also been our experience both SAG and AFTRA do not return emails or calls. So while we wait to fill things out and do the right thing, our shoot dates just roll by. For those with full financing, this is probably whining. But when you are working 40 hours a week to pay bills and support your creativity on the side, the lack of follow up from SAG and AFTRA are just another headache you don't need.

That said, we often find ourselves in-between - good enough for people watching our series to love them and ask for more from us. Not funded enough to be able to shoot through for two weeks and pay the thousands of dollars required to cover the requirements from all the unions. So we keep plugging along, grateful for the pioneering spirit of this new media world and grateful for the talent that opts to work with us despite the obstacles.

SPENT'S FALL SEASON BEGINS SEPTEMBER 30!

Every inch of our collective Spent TV bodies are sore and our brains are fried as we prepare away to make Spent's Fall season of web programming a good one. Our continuing series remain - Fast Track, LLA, The One and of course, It's Just a Moobie. But beginning in October we have some new surprises so stick around.

And stay tuned for the next Spent Brain Brunch, our get together for creative folks in LA. And our annual SPENT BOWLING bash.

Check out the newest  episode of FAST TRACK on our You Tube channel if you haven't already!

Awards season is soon upon us, so Gina and Eric will be extra busy at the cinemas to share their thoughts on the Oscar season buzz.

Location Sundae: Los Angeles

The amazing thing about filming in LA is the ice cream store selection of possibilities that topped off by the best weather in the world, make for the best  LOCATION SUNDAE - ever!
There are beaches and mountains, a forest even. There are culturally identified neighborhoods like Chinatown and landmark fixtures like Farmer's Market. There are train tracks and rivers, sandy beaches and upscale clubs, grassy green cemeteries and oil rigs. There are modern buildings and a nineteen forties downtown. There are rock ridges sure to be in the old west and stretches of sunset that will have you thinking you are back in the hippie-dippy sixties.
What makes the location sundae even more tasty is that all these locations are free.
As a low budget company we often have to rely on the 'kindness of strangers' for locations and kindness is what we get. We've shot at cafes, coffee shops, vintage stores, markets, houses, apartments and even a hospital through the generosity of some and admittedly, some intestinal fortitude on our part as well.
We are not alone in our non-permit, non-pay, location shooting in sunny so-cal and we are grateful for all LALAland has to offer.
Now that the statute of limitations has run out (we are kidding, kind of) here's a true story:
In one of our earliest shoots, we did a short called "Severe in Savanagh." One half was was set back in the sixties, which we shot at a generous friend's house (thank you again Jonas), the other half was set in the present day. One of our lead actors, Ashton, told us about a house that was across the street from him in Beachwood Canyon that was being renovated. It had a spectacular view and an amazing swimming pool. He also said the owners were never there and the workers weren't there on the weekends.
Should we use it? Naw, of course not.
But we did. We spent the next 48 hours  shooting a party scene and ultimately a suicide scene at this sumptuous pool and house. Thirty actors and six crew members drank, laughed, splashed, and fired a fake gun, with ne'r a nosey neighbor calling the cops!
If filmmakers have a story to tell, a camera, actors to tell it with and passion and drive to make it happen, it will and can, particularly in the location sundae known as Los Angeles.
Footage will follow on here someday soon -

Hiatus

We've been on hiatus, well more like the fingers that type into the keyboard to post on this blog have been on hiatus. And not "hiatus" really, life interference. Spent TV never goes on life interference, juts the fingers behind the keyboard.


If you had a chance to read the Hollywood Reporter today, Today McCarthy slammed Gus Van Sant's new project, "Restless" as "The most banal and indulgent of Gus Van Sant’s periodic studies of troubled kids. This agonizingly treacly tale comes off like an indie version of Love Story except with worse music." Now that's a no-nonsense review, but one, I am sure, Gus van Sant won't lose any sleep over.


But even on life interference at SPENT TV, our romance  and connection based web series "The One" is never banal and the music is every bit as good as Michel Legrand's love story theme. Even better, cause you can dance to it.

You can check it out on you tube or next week on The Spent TV Webnetwork.


Coming this summer is our "Bowling Creatives" get together. Stay tuned.

Money Money Money

The challenge for any creative, from starving painter to frustrated screenwriter, is to make enough money to survive, preferably doing what you love. Most of us work two jobs for years - the nine-to-five bill paying job and the passion job after hours; the writing, the painting, the filmmaking. The passion job that keeps you up all night and guarantees you no sleep. So not only do we put ourselves out there to be evaluated by our nine-to-five bosses Monday through Friday, on our "time off" we're out there trying to persuade people to read us, represent us, like our projects and fund us, too.

Money, money, money. The thing is, it's always about the money. Either money to feed your belly, pay the rent, diaper the kids, stave off the bill collector, or money to attach that A-list actor to your itty-bitty project and make all your dreams come true. Money is the great provider and the great taker-away.

Money is the one wall all creatives come crashing against one time or another and it's the universal thing that can send dreamers of all shapes, colors and sizes packing up their toys and tools and going back home, giving up on their pursuits and passions forever.

So today, if you have a few pennies you can spare and you know an actor, a writer, anyone with a dream and a project that could use a little help, reach out with that change and help make that vision come true.  And let's celebrate the dreamers who don't give up, even when the only thing they have in their cupboard is salsa, chips and a couple bags of ramen noodles.

Hey and check out episode 1 of our newest and bestest web series, FAST TRACK on facebook:

Actors - The Bread and Butter of Any Film

As much as auteurs and egomaniacs like to splash their names in the center of the screen with "A Film By," so it's the first thing you see as the theater goes dark, the bread and butter of any good film is the actor. The way an actor nuances a writer's words, brings dimension to a director's vision, lights  a DP's lens, they are what makes a lively story on paper a visual piece of living and breathing magic on the screen.


Theaters and the internet are drowning in multi-media projects where more attention has been paid to the bells, whistles and color of the sky, than to the person delivering the lines and how and what they are saying. Some haughty "visionaries" clamor for the day that talent on screen are nothing more than software created characters - they wouldn't need food or bathroom breaks, just think of the savings!


Fortunately, Los Angeles is full of gifted, hardworking and generous actors that are eager and excited to work with the independent filmmakers that appreciate them for all they are.
One of those talented actors is actor, writer, comedian Philip Hersh. An east coast transplant, Hersh brings humor, professionalism, and that "T" word - talent, to every role. Phil recently joined the cast of the SPENT TV series, LLA. And on a blustery afternoon in the mid-wilshire district, Phil answered some quick questions about his acting experience.


SPENT: So many people offer aspiring actors advice - what’s the worst piece of advice or most useless piece of advice you ever got?


PHIL: I had a modeling agent tell me I should wax my body. Never have, never will. Hair is an asset.

SPENT: What are the body and mental emotions that run through you when you are on stage and hear the applause, or when you watch yourself on a screen any size and people watching with you react positively?


PHIL: I feel empowered. And goosebumps, total goosebumps!


SPENT: Do you plan to age gracefully or will botox and silicone injections be your friend after 50?

PHIL:  No "sillycone" for me. Should I go bald, I'll shave my head like Howie Mandell.
Here's Phil in a recent web commercial - he's definitely an actor that commits to a role:

Our revamped website is up this week. If you can get your fingers to do more than clean the wax out of your ears, vote for the Classic Spent program you want us to bring back!

What's A Weekend For An Indie Filmmaker?

When the clock strikes six on a Friday night, for all the office dwelling creatives in the world it's party time! A collective sigh of relief circulates through work cubbies everywhere. But for us Indie-Loos, weekends are just two more work days. It means two days packed with shooting that should really be spread out over twelve. It means another early morning and even later night of editing or writing and trying to fit in washing some dirty laundry as well.
For nine-to-five folks, Friday nights are open the beer, pop the cork, roll the joint time and for indie filmmakers, it's the same thing, only they aren't participating. They're planning the next day's shoot schedule and hoping that their beer drinking, cork popping, pot smoking cast and crew aren't getting so wasted that they'll show up late or worse, show up hungover and barf on every take.
Indie filmmakers are often too, the folks that have to work a nine-to-five gig just to live. They work forty-fity plus hours for someone else to earn enough to survive and then have to go home and work all weekend long on top of that. That translates into a 64 to 72 hour work week - no overtime pay and no real sleep.
So happy weekend to all the hard working folks who clock in and out nine-to-five, Monday-through-Friday. And for all the indie-loos, good morning, make it a double shot coffee, put some extra cream cheese on that breakfast bagel you'll need it and here's hoping that lead actress of yours didn't party too hard at The Standard last night.

And if you are up for watching any of the SPENT weekend shot productions, got to our under construction website or our You Tube channel.

Lastly, R.I.P. Sidney Lumet who passed today in Manhattan. Howard Beale and his "I'm Mad as Hell" tirade have never been more relevant!