CRASH

Good Morning All,

Having a pretty surreal morning so far. In about 20 minutes, I'm taking off to head to a casting place. We're having auditions today for SUHANI, this little piece I wrote and handed in a few months back to some great producers and a great director. This is the first project I've written and handed over to someone else to interpret. So that in itself is exciting. However...things sort of jumped off and here's why.

The casting place this morning? This was the very first place I showed up early on in my career when I had no idea where to go. I'd started out on a TV show in Baltimore and that kept me pretty busy for that first year or so. Eventually I needed to get to some other cities and get involved in those film scenes. So this was the very first place I showed up in Philadelphia. It wasn't even an appointment, I didnt even know I needed one. I just showed up. In any city in any other casting place they'd tell you to go away. That's the thing in this business, things happen quickly, and things are always so tense and busy, that randomly drifting into some casting place, that's a big no no. Oddly enough, Ann Gillette, who at first a casting associate, and these days a producer, DID take that time. I never forgot that. You never forget the nice people. Ignore the "nice guys finish last" talk, just not true. Ann Gillette was wonderful to me then, and always has been over the years... and I ran into her again on a project last summer, and she was still wonderful.

So after that Ann meeting, I kept going back, whether I was scheduled for a screen test...or not. What am I saying? I'd crash auditions. Anything you can do to get a leg up in this business, you've got to do.

If they were casting a gangster film where they were casting 70 year old Italian men? They'd get a roomful of gifted, talented 70 year old Italian actors...and me. If they were casting a video where they needed professional club dancers for a huge artist who's name rhymes with Smill With? They'd get these amazing club kid dancers, with moves that would flow like a fine wine or a great rapper. And me. And my breakdancing moves...which not only got me into the casting room....but failed miserably. I just told a director that story the other day and he said he's GOT to see this tape. See? People always have these sex tapes they're terrified could come out, what I'm terrified of? That breakdancing audition tape coming out. I had no business being there.

One time, in Philadelphia, they were casting this huge project for something Oprah was producing. The casting was for 50 year old African American actresses. And they got them, these beautiful, wonderful actresses....and me. Even cooler, they let me into the room! That's the thing, you never know anything until you try, just remember it takes 1 second to hear "NO" it takes 2 seconds to hear "GO AWAY" and anybody who gives you more nonsense like that for showing up for an audition you weren't exactly "right" for? Pay them no mind.

I'd do this all over the place, somethimes, not only would I get in the room, I'd get the gig too. So just give it your all. I used to think this "guerilla" approach was unique, but really it wasn't, Terrence Howard was in town a few years back screening an early cut of "HUSTLE AND FLOW" and said he'd do the very same thing. He'd do even one better, he'd had a job working on a train, so he'd take the train for free to New York, Philadelphia, DC anywhere and just crash every screen test that he could, and he's an Academy Award nominee!

So, back to this casting place,  after crashing and auditioning non stop, they asked me, since I was showing up anyway, if I'd like to "intern" there. Sure, why not. So that got even steadier...I'd answer phones, deliver casting envelopes across town to producers and directors (and if that envelope wasnt sealed shut, my picture was going in there too, no matter what they were looking for), empty wastebaskets, set up the room for auditions, make sure everyone had water, clean up the casting room afterwards, pretty much everything. Oddly enough I just remembered that was the very same room where I'd booked my first major film KILLER INSTINCT! (and if the 6 people who saw that are reading this, WHAT UP and THANKS)

So today, I'm heading back. It'd been a while, it's been a long strange trip in this business. But today, I'm heading back in, because the very same place I'd crashed, the very same place I'd emptied wastebaskets and ran errands...this is the same place where the director and producers are casting this tiny little quirky story I wrote. For the first time, I'll be on the OTHER side of that table. It was my idea to bring it back here...to this casting place, because I never forgot Ann Gillette being nice and I never forgot how wonderful everyone was here to me. So it's an honor for me to bring this project to them.

 The morale of the story? I don't know, just do your thing, put our your brand of work, and don't let things like rules and "casting" ideas slow you down. Show up and give your all, if you go down, go down swinging. If there's one piece of advice I could give to anyone in this business, is that when you go into a screen test, you have more power than you think, the director, the producers WANT you to be the right choice. Go in there, be confident and show them exactly what you are...show them that you're talented, able and willing to take your craft to the next level.

Also, be nice to the intern with good intentions emptying the wastebaskets. They may be on the other side of a screentest someday.

Take care and be good,

TIM