[NEohioPAL] Honoring Commitments, Part 2
Christopher
kaimei at earthlink.net
Sat Apr 11 01:04:19 PDT 2009
You're (proverbially) a sweet kid... :-) The production community both
theatrical and cinematic would do well to infuse their creative
priorities with your idealism. I'm on your side.
But I've learned by trial and error what the acting community rarely
even sees or likes to admit of itself... that it's all a business, and
an actor's commodity is less their talent, and more their time.
"Putting the fear of God" into them only works when the actors see value
in the production (I'm not saying yours lacks value). I don't mean
creative or artistic merit, but pocketbook value, and when in their
mind, correct or not, the value is higher to be involved in a different
production, they will go follow it, the same way we might walk out of a
store if we remember that the store next door has the same item for half
the price, without regard to the salesperson who may have been helping
us and talking to us for the last 15 minutes.
I would like to think that I as a producer have value. I am one of the
longest standing producers in Northeast Ohio, my films are consistent
national and international film festival official selections AND award
winners. Many actors have gone directly from my films straight into
roles for Robert Zemeckis and Disney Channel and the like. In an
industry magazine, I was named one of the top 100 producers for the year
2000, and most importantly, when a production wraps, I know how to throw
a party... :-) But along will come Spider Man XI or another producer
like myself, and they will claim to have Sundance waiting for them to
wrap production (BTW actors, anybody who tells you that is delusional or
lying, no festival works that way) so they can screen it and make
everybody an indie film star. They perceive value correct or not,
compare it to what they think they know and make judgments we may not
like. Actors put themselves first, and producers who know how to dangle
the carrot, bank on it.
I've been left dangling by actors who will disappear to do someone
else's film, leaving me with hours, sometimes days worth of footage that
I have to recast, reassemble the existing cast and shoot all over
again. Sometimes I can't get that location back and have to renegotiate
a new location, one that isn't half of what I originally had, but my
hands are tied, thousands of man hours are wasted and money is spent on
nothing. It would be nice to think that if an actor wrongs you, the
value of your production would give you the credibility to blacklist
them until they come back begging you for a part. But the production
community (both theatrical and cinematic) is a community of businesses,
not a commune of artists. They are just as happy that the actor they
want, quit your production to be in theirs as the actor is to be a part
of theirs. Nobody wants to admit it because it bursts the bubble of the
whole "we're all in this together" ethos we all want to believe makes up
a creative community. It's amazing how cutthroat this business is since
none of us are making any money... that's maybe the problem.
I don't like it anymore than you do, but the truth is, the majority of
actors are not in it to "be a part of something special." They may hope
to be, they may give lipservice to it, but it makes up at best 20% of
the reason they are doing it. They're in it to advance their careers,
and the only way to keep 90% of actors in any region loyal is to
actually have something that they don't want to lose, like hard cash.
It would be nice to be able to shame them into doing what we think is
the right thing, but it gets down to the question, the right thing for
who? The answer isn't always one I want to hear, or think is right.
I say this less to discourage you from calling for solidarity from other
productions on this issue and more to allow other readers to see
themselves in this little verbal portrait. It would be nice to be able
to appeal to the artistic values they believe they have, but those
values are easily (and whether I like it or not, understandably)
corruptible by a bottom line. It's easy to not give credit to a
community as relatively small as NE Ohio's for having jaded themselves
into this kind of value system, but turning a blind eye to this reality
would be a very costly mistake.
Christopher K. Young,
Shallow Focus Entertainment
http://www.shallowfocus.com
DVangaasbe at aol.com wrote:
> I have received several e-mails from other directors who have worse
> stories than what I had happen. One director running a weekly mystery
> theatre discovered much to his shock two days before a performance
> that one of his actors had a major role in a production somewhere
> else. It seems that the young man could not figure out that the
> Opening Night conflicted with the performance at the mystery theatre.
> Ipso facto, a massive scramble to get someone in at the last minute
> occurred. The young man knew about this particular opening night for
> two months and failed to tell the mystery theatre.
>
> Another director wrote me and stated that a leading actor dropped out
> of the play only one week before Opening Night. It was soon
> discovered that he had accepted a part with another playhouse because
> he wanted to play that part.
>
> A student director had to find two actors two days before her class
> project was presented to the professor because the leading actor felt
> that the particular drama being presented did not meet his
> specifications. It seemed odd that he had no problem with the drama
> for weeks. It was soon discovered that he took a part at another
> playhouse. The other actor seemed unable to function without the
> first actor and dropped out as well. There's backbone.
>
> Frankly, I have three weeks to correct the damage. Already the cast
> and crew are pulling together to make this play work. Junior who left
> us in the lurch did not get the part he wanted and is a member of the
> ensemble with the other playhouse. I understand that he is happy as a
> lark. Frankly, he does not know how many bridges he burned behind
> him. I received notice from another playhouse who figured out who it
> was stating that he is no longer welcome there either.
>
> I do believe that we as directors and producers should take a very
> high road here. That is we should put the fear of God in these rather
> talented but rude actors and actresses who believe they can walk out
> whenever they feel like it. That means you sit Junior down and tell
> him or her that he or she will never act again in the area until he or
> she cleans up the act. That is you finish what you start. I have two
> children. They are both highly talented and are in demand. However,
> they were both told you finish what you start. Both are no nonsense
> type people. Coaches, directors and teachers loved them because they
> took the responsibility of honoring a commitment.
>
> I had a bad feeling two months ago about an actress when I was casting
> /Once Upon a Mattress/. This young talented actress came running in
> about one and one half hours after auditions started. She claimed she
> could not be at the beginning of the auditions because she was in
> rehearsal for another play. I allowed her to audition since she was
> there but I told her that the part she wanted was going to be given to
> another actress who had shown up on time and in my opinion had more
> talent. I did state that I would offer her another part but that I
> would have to talk to her director in the other play. When I asked for
> the name of the director who was in the other production so I could
> coordinate schedules, she balked. I withdrew the offer. I later
> discovered that there was no way that she could have done this play
> and that play. Frankly, my instincts clearly showed that she was not
> happy with the part in the other play. Unfortunately, she accepted
> the part. In my opinion, that means you play the part. If you are
> that talented an actor or actress, then it should be a snap to make it
> work.
>
> I did have another actress who was involved in another play when she
> auditioned. She was up front about it and gave me her schedule. I
> saw that I could use her in Once Upon a Mattress and the part I had
> for her could accommodate her schedule. She went to every rehearsal
> of the other play and when she was not scheduled for rehearsal she
> came to us. That is a good actress because she was honest and she was
> willing to work with everyone.
>
> I am asking all directors and producers to honor other playhouses
> productions. The playhouse that cast Junior has had several of their
> actors come to my playhouse for major parts. When I see that there is
> no way we can coordinate a schedule so the actor or actress can play
> both, I do not cast. That other director has invested time and energy
> in directing that actor or actress. He or she should not have the rug
> pulled out because Junior who has talent cannot figure out that
> commitment means to the end of the production.
>
> David Van Gaasbeek, Director and Producer, Canal Fulton Players
>
>
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