Here’s a great opportunity for readers of my blog to give to earthquake relief without it costing them a dime. My book publisher has agreed to make a donation of up to $1US  to the Red Cross for Haiti Earthquake Relief for each person who joins this blog over the next month.  I have nearly 6,000 Twitter Followers and 1600 Facebook friends who can make this a pretty hefty donation. It costs you nothing but a moment of your time to help give a free financial donation to Haiti.

If you are on Facebook, all you need to do is click the new “Follow this Blog” button in the “Networked Blog” window right within Facebook. It’s that easy. Once you do, your name will register as a follower and that will count towards a donation.  The more people who follow, the greater the donation, so please pass this along to friends, family and others.

If you are not in Facebook (or prefer not to follow Via Facebook), all you have to do is visit the blog directly (you should be there now–if not, the address is trlocke.com)  and either click on the “Follow T.R. Locke by Email”  or the “Subscribe to the RSS Feed” link at the top of any page. Once you do, follow the simple directions to enter your email address. A verification email will be sent to your email. After you verify, a donation will be made for your signing up. If you chose to use the The “Follow This Blog” button in the Networked Blog window at the bottom of any page, it will require you to sign into Facebook to follow.

I know many already subscribe to the blog via RSS. A donation will be made for those as well so there’s no need to unsubscribe and resubscribe.

What happens when you follow the blog? You will be notified whenever a new post is made.  If you subscribe by email, an email will be sent to you. If you subscribe via Networked Blogs–a post will pop up on your home page just  like your friend feeds now. If you subscribe via RSS, your RSS reader will receive new posts whenever one is made. That’s it. I try to post at least once a week.

If enough people follow the blog, a generous donation will be made and it will cost you nothing.

Of course, many of us, including myself and family have already donated money towards the horrible tragedy in Haiti. By taking advantage of this offer, those who have already contributed will be contributing more and those who were unable to contribute previously can do so now. And just so you know, your information will not be sold, nor will this open you up to solicitation by any group. I also do not earn any money from this offer in any way.

I ask you to please spread the word–post on your wall, Retweet, Email, etc, to help others also take advantage of this offer. And whether you chose to participate in this offer or not, please remember to help with the Haiti earthquake disaster relief any way you can.

Thank you,

TRL

The thought of being in the movies might be too unrealistic a dream for many people, but it’s actually easier than you may think.

If you live in any city with a significant amount of filmed production, chances are there is a casting office dedicated to casting Extras for movies, TV and commercials.

Extras, also known as background talent, perform as part of the setting of any production. In any movie, TV show or commercial set in a public place, there are people in the backgrounds of those scenes that are being paid to be there. If they are doing their jobs well, you may not even realize they are present, but the person who passes in front of camera in such a way that you can barely make out the color of their coat is an extra. That person was told to walk in front of that camera at that time and that person was paid to do it.

The great thing about being an extra is that the main requirement is that you look like you belong in the scene—you don’t have to act, sing, dance or speak any lines. If your scene takes place in a park, all this is required is that you look like someone who might be in a park. If your scene takes place in an office building, any look common to such offices is fine. “Look” generally means clothing. That means to book parts you will need to have a variety of different wardrobes. If the movie is set in the 70s, clothing from that period is necessary, etc. The more clothing styles you have, the more jobs you will qualify to do.

Most extra’s faces never appear on camera. If your face appears on camera, you are considered a “featured extra” and will earn more money—as well as a Screen Actor’s Guild voucher for your work that day. Receiving three vouchers (or being asked to speak even a single line of dialog) grants you the right to join the Screen Actor’s Guild under Taft-Hartley. Membership in the guild doubles your pay as an extra. There are, however, more jobs for non-union extras than union extras. So being in the union, although it has perks such as health insurance and higher pay, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll work more.

In general, you bring your own clothes. You stand where they tell you to stand (called your “mark”).  You do what they tell you to do (called your “blocking”). And you keep quiet. In a few days you’ll receive a check that represents at least $8/hour. The minimum salary you can be paid for up to an eight hour day is $64. That means, even if you only work three hours, you still get $64. The base salary for extras who are members of SAG (Screen Actor’s Guild) is currently $134 for up to eight hours of work. And the base salary for AFTRA (Association of Film, Television and Radio Artists) extras is currently $99 to $134 for up to eight hours of work and varies depending on the show. In addition to your day salary, you will also be paid overtime should you work more than eight hours. An average workday for an extra is twelve hours.

If you’re over 18, but you have the ability to look 18 or younger, you can make a lot of serious money as an extra. Many movies, TV shows and commercials revolve around high school aged kids. The problem with working with people under 18 is that their parents must also be on set and special permissions must be signed. So teenagers in film are usually portrayed by adult actors. The same goes for extras. Extras who are able to portray 18 years or younger can earn over $50,000 a year.

When the camera is not on, you may enjoy the same free craft services (prepared meals and refreshments) as other known actors on the set. Besides enjoying the craft services, you may get a chance to mingle with the director, get to know the producer or other actors and maybe even get invited to a party at one of the star’s homes. But make sure you don’t initiate any of these conversations with the stars. Speak if you’re spoken to, but otherwise, keep quiet. Nothing makes an A.D. (Assistant Director—the person in charge of extras on the set) more nervous than having one of his employees offend the star. Violating the pecking order can and will get you fired. So don’t take pictures. Don’t swoon over stars. And stay out of the way.

So how do you become an extra you ask? It is actually quite easy. There are about thirty-five extra casting offices in Los Angeles. There are at least ten in New York and a few in other states. They can easily be found with a Google search. On top of the physical casting offices, there are dozens of online casting offices for people who live further away.

In most cases, you either sign up in person or submit your photo and fill out an extensive questionnaire to explain what special abilities you have and how you prefer to work. The agencies generally require a fee of between $10-25 to register. Anything more than this, such as being told to have headshots done with a particular photographer or being told to give any other money, is suspect. The questionnaire is to help identify any special talents or abilities you have. For instance, if a film requires extras to be in a swimming pool, the casting office may choose only those who indicate ability to swim and who are willing to appear shirtless or in a bikini. Special talents like juggling, doing handstands, gymnastics or dance moves might be required for extras appearing in films featuring such scenes.

The casting agency wants to know if you can drive a motorcycle, drive a car, do stunts, appear nude or partially nude, speak a foreign language, operate a crane, throw knives, or any other skill a filmmaker or screenplay may possibly call on. But it isn’t necessary that you have any of these abilities. In fact, being an extra requires only three major skills—the ability to show up on time, the ability to endure long waits and the ability to do what you’re told.

The job of the casting agency is to announce jobs that are available for actors. Generally your job is to call the agency’s line in the evening and listen through a host of positions or call the agency to let them know you’re available to work. The agency will let you know if they have work for you and, if so, your “call time” (the time you are due on the set). They will also let you know what type of clothes to bring and who to see once you arrive.

Once on the set, you will check in with the A.D. and he/she will explain what they want you to do, where to wait, and any other directions you will need.

Contrary to what you might expect from being around movie or TV stars, working on a production set has been described as the most unglamorous job there is. Long periods of downtime are best spent with a book or in quiet conversation with other waiting extras and actors. And most times, if a big star is on the set he or she is surrounded by their own people all the time so it’s not quite hobnobbing. But if you possess the ability to be on time, endure long periods of waiting, and do what you’re told, you may find work as an extra any time you need a little extra money.

Well, the first show is at Midnight here in L.A. I imagine it’s opening around the country at midnight as well. That would mean that, for anyone on east coast time, it will likely open just as I’m finishing this post. Twilight has become a phenomenon.  My daughter is on “Team Jacob”—the werewolf.

No we’re not going to the opening tonight, but she did insist I drive by the theater to see her comrades camped outside. They’ve been there all day (some probably all night). They must be the first in the seats to see it. She wanted to be with them—wearing her New Moon shirt, gushing over a guy who, only a few years ago, she didn’t even notice when he was in movies. Amazing to watch as new stars are born.

I want to write something that big so bad. I want to have teens and their parents and grown people who should know better camped outside the theater talking about which is their favorite character. As one now successful actor I interviewed in my book said, “I remember, years ago, I was in Gelson’s Market with only a couple bucks in my pocket when in walked this big movie star. I said to myself, ‘That’ll be me one day.’”

There’s something much deeper about this movie phenomenon we are experiencing.  Stephanie Meyer took the traditional characters of vampires and werewolves and turned them into the Capulets and the Montagues. She then took a pale, blood-sucking, night crawling, serial killer and turned him into a diamond-skinned, superhero with a powerful love Jones for the only girl in high school whose mind he can’t read.

High school? What’s Count Dracula doing in high school? Seriously, this guy is a couple hundred years old. So what if he’s young looking? What kind of perv is that? I mean, when I was 17 I thought I was too mature to date 16 year-olds. This is a guy whose obviously never heard the words to Steely Dan’s Hey Nineteen—“We got nothing in common. No we can’t talk at all.” And that guy was only 15 years older than the young girl he was considering.

But alas… love.

But since when do werewolves actually turn into giant Wolfwolves?  What is this? Do silver bullets even work anymore? Vampires have superhero powers? They can come out in the sun? They don’t drink human blood? They don’t turn into creepy bats? They can’t be killed with crosses, holy water and garlic? They don’t have fangs? What the hell? Are they trying to put Blade out of business?

I think I understand why my daughter is on Team Jacob. I think Jacob represents, for girls, the best of both worlds. On one hand, you’ve got this cute boyfriend with a great body that everyone thinks is hot. On the other, you’ve got this big shaggy dog to protect you. Girls and their fantasies.

The point of this blog is for writers and film makers. The Twilight Saga represents the best of all worlds for the Hollywood movie machine and at the same time manages to be fresh, new and young.  Vampires are among the most produced characters in Hollywood. From the dawn of moving pictures, vampires have creeped across the walls of theaters. From Nosferatu to Dracula to Blade, the basic makeup and character of vampires has remained unchanged.

What Meyer’s did so brilliantly—and if she is to be believed from her interview on Oprah, so accidentally and luckily—is figure out how to combine genres in a commercially viable way. Romance/Horror/Fantasy/Adventure.

BUT…  Good thing she wrote it as a book. If she’d pitched it as a movie or screenplay before it was a successful book, no one in Hollywood would have touched it. How do I know? Because Nosferatu came out in 1921 and no one touched it since—not successfully anyway. I should say not seriously. There may have been comedic takes on vampires or werewolves that did pretty good, but they didn’t change the nature of those archetypes.  This is a prime example of a movie that only got made because of the book.

Hollywood will happily film a successful book, video game, TV show, stage play, fairy tale or an endless number of sequels, prequels and remakes; but when it comes to putting millions of dollars into original stories movie studios, more often than not, pass.

What’s that say to you about your new, original story that no one’s ever seen before? If no one’s ever seen it before, don’t expect Hollywood to make it.

But sell it as a book first or turn it into a successful stage play, and if you’re sales figures back it up, Hollywood will come to you.

Please tell me what you think. Do you agree? Disagree? Did I miss something? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Thanks for reading.

Good Luck,

T.R. Locke

A short time ago, the following message was sent to me via Twitter:

“@TRLocke– Morning! I need your feedback. What are your expectations and/or objectives when attending a film festival?”

With one of the world’s top four film festival, Sundance, right around the corner (January 21-31st), I thought the answer to that question would be helpful to the readers of this blog as well.

I have to admit that my initial answer to this question was less than favorable. I’ve attended about 20 film festivals in my life—only four of them intentionally.

The first film festival I attended was as a student reporter for my high school newspaper. It was a foreign film festival in Cleveland Heights at the Cedar-Lee Arts Theater. There I saw an amazing film shot in Port-Au-Prince Haiti with English subtitles. My memory of it tells me it was similar to a French version of Slumdog Millionaire without the game show device. Despite my flattering review, I doubt seriously anyone from my high school went to see it.

The other three film festivals I attended because I had a screenplay in contention (Chicago) or because a friend had a film in contention (Hollywood), or because I’d scored free tickets to the L.A. premier of an a movie that won the prize at another bigger film festival (Los Angeles—to see Hustle and Flow with Craig Brewer, John Singleton and Stephanie Allain ).

The rest were by happenstance–usually simply the result of living or working in some artsy district like River North and Wicker Park in Chicago or The Heights in Cleveland, or Burbank (and nearby NoHo—North Hollywood) now. The scenario often plays out like this—I’m walking down the street with family or friends, only vaguely aware a film festival is running, when some young filmmaker pops out of a near-empty theater and desperately begs us to come in and watch his movie for free. We look at each other, check our watches, ask what the film’s about and how long it is and then… sometimes we go. Sometimes we don’t. Suffice it to say, not all film festivals are created equal.

Although film festivals are primarily the domain of directors and producers, there are a few objectives that can be gained by anyone looking to attend. What you can gain is related to whether you’re a film director, producer, writer or actor, etc. Either way, having a plan and reasonable expectations definitely helps.

What follows is a list of what you can expect. The information is gleaned from my own experience as well as a number of other artists and books I’ve read over the years. I’m presenting this information in no particular order.

Contacts.  Regardless of what role you play in the movie business, film festivals are a place to meet people who share your interests and professional goals. These people often show up later at different places along your career path. Networking and meeting different people may help down the line. There’s no real guarantee it will help, but I’ve never seen it hurt.  You may have the opportunity to meet and befriend someone just before their film or yours blows up. Such a person could prove invaluable to helping you in your career. It would be rare—namely because people blowing up as the result of film festivals is rare, but it could happen. Actors and writers particularly stand to gain by meeting directors and producers who may be looking to hire you. The same can be said of cameramen, cinematographers, make-up artists, etc..

Parties. If you’ve been cooped up in an editing room cutting your film for the last six months, a party could do you a lot of good. When liquor’s involved anything can happen.

Education.  There are usually a lot of great panel discussions during film festivals. You can learn new ways to finance your film, new routes to submitting your screenplays to production companies, new ways filmmakers are making money through distributing their films in various markets around the world, cheaper methods of production, new insights into the latest technologies, how the business is changing, what to expect in trying to get your film into Hollywood, etc.. Writers can learn about trends affecting the types of screenplays that are being purchased and new avenues for writing in emerging media.  According to a friend on Facebook, Nickelodeon and other studios often present discussion panels at film festivals in hopes of finding new talent for their writing programs or even to staff their shows.

See a Few Good Movies. Though you will likely see some films that make you wonder how in the world someone would put their time and energy into making it, you will probably see a few good films as well. If you’re really lucky, you might get to see the premier of a breakout film and maybe even meet the creators before they become famous and you have to go through their assistants.

Meet an Occasional Celebrity.  Most likely the ones you may meet would be of the B, C, and D-List variety. You likely don’t know their names, but you recognize them, right?  A-Listers are usually kept in a separate room/section/party—popping out to promote their pet pro-bono project (the film that will likely go on to win the top festival award) just before it premiers. But here’s a good chance to get some pics and impress some friends back home.

For those who actually get accepted into a film festival, here are some additional ways you can benefit:

Distribution. This is the grand prize of any filmmaker attending a film festival. “The winner gets a distribution deal.” That’s why most filmmakers enter. But because it’s only a prize for the winners, it’s not really something most should necessarily expect. In fact, even winners are finding the distribution channels for independent films are bottlenecking, according to the festival director at Sundance.

Get Your Movie Seen. Exhibition is another major goal for those entering film festivals. If your film is selected to be shown at a festival, you have the opportunity to be seen by industry professionals and audiences, which could end up opening doors for you. The key here, though, is that you must know that the festival itself is not going to hype and promote your movie for you. Just because your movie is showing in a festival does not mean people will see it. You have to promote it like mad. You went through all the work to make a movie and get it accepted to a festival. Don’t drop the ball now. Finish the work of packing out the house.

Prizes. You may not win the distribution deal, but if you get any kind of recognition to your film, you could use that recognition to help drive promotion later. Any type of prize at any festival looks good on the one-sheet—even if your prize was nothing more than a new Blue-Ray player.

Publicity. Local news media is sure to cover most film festivals in some form or fashion. If your film was selected for a film fest, use that opportunity to score an interview in local press or TV that might help lead to more exposure for yourself or you film.

These are all fairly reasonable goals you can have when attending or having your film in a festival. On top of these direct benefits, sometimes being in an atmosphere with other creative people can really get your juices flowing. Maybe you’ll meet someone who will become your producing or writing partner on your next film. Or maybe you’ll make a connection with someone who has equipment or an editing suite you can use on the cheap. If nothing else, perhaps you’ll meet someone who’s going through the same struggles as you and you’ll realize you’re not as alone as you may have thought.

Most importantly though, look not only for the benefit others can be to you, look for the benefit you can be to others.

Good Luck,

T. R. Locke