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.

Asleep at The Wheel

We know. You've been waiting with baited breath to know what SPENT's been up to. Planning. Filming. Directing. Strategizing and our first creative brunch. Brain food. It was a great first get together of creative souls at a local feed your stomach place on the east side in L.A. Good pancakes and good food for thought!

Here's a picture:

We also shot another installment of It's Just a Moobie: 

So contrary to popular belief, we haven't been asleep at the wheel, we've been working our asses off. Check back Monday for more on our new episodes and weekend audition updates.

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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 -

Casting - Please Remember to Look Like Your Headshot

I can't believe anyone even has to verbalizer this, but you do. As we get ready to cast a pair of upcoming web episodes we are reminded of the headshots that looked nothing like the actors attached to them. The balding, pushing-sixty actor with the twenty-year-old headshot that he submitted for the role of a man in his late thirties.  Or the tatted-up woman with the shaved head who submitted a long-haired headshot for a bubbly, frilly, conservative, girly-girl. I get that they are actors, but how can either one act their way into having hair, reversing their age, or removing an arm full of tattoos?
The truth is we love casting. It's always more a fun day than a fucked day. There is nothing more exciting than hearing talented men and women bring life to words and adding their own perspective on the characters drawn in your head. We give actors water, cookies and scenes to play with. They give us nuance, smiles and imaginary people brought to life.
There is no hard and fast rule to casting for us, but we do have lessons learned from miss-castings in the past. We don't cast real life significant others - that's a natural disaster waiting to happen and has. If an actor has white powder under their nose and talks a lot or smells like a vat of Jack Daniels, we usually pass. If an actor has more attitude than the combined attitude of the rest of the people in the room, that's a no-go. If an actor farts while entering the room loud enough to hear and just ignores it, we usually pass on that one too.
We look for chemistry, talent. flexibility and family. Our sets are playful, creative places that are like the  slightly dysfunctional family you grew up with and love, particularly at Christmas.
So we're off to post for the casting roles now. Wish us no balding trying-to-pass-as-thirty year-olds and some girlie-girls in skirts. You'll be able to watch who we went with soon at www.spentv.com.