Shadows cast from the band "Sunny Day Sets Fire" at the American Teen
premiere at the Ford Amphitheater last night.

I have been in a really good mood all day. I saw the LA premiere of American Teen last night. My friend Jordan produced it and another friend Greg was the field producer and I just loved it. It's been getting a lot of play and I think it's going to be a big hit when it opens nationwide. I couldn't be more excited for them. If you haven't already checked the trailer, do so, asap. Super fun. Makes me really happy I am not a teenager in this day and age!

It was a great night, a band called Sunny Day Sets Fire played before the movie (they are pretty fun, check the link) and then the teens that appeared in the film said hello and then we watched the movie under the stars, with the cheering crowds from the nearby Tom Petty concert leaking into our heads every once in awhile. There were several hundred people in the audience and we all just went bonkers throughout the film, groaning, cheering and laughing throughout. Then we went to the after party at a terrific bar called Delancey and hung out with the producers and the cast until 2...really fun night. I am quite tired but whatever, it was an absolutely epic night.

The audition, by the way, went extremely well. It was a pretty intense audition, in a way, because in just a day's time, I had become very...close to the character. I don't really know how to else to explain it. I had dug in deep on an emotional level and I really wanted this character to exist, you know? It reminded me of how I feel when I am writing the screenplay I am slogging through: I like those characters, I want them to succeed. My character's last line is a plea, a totally silly plea (from the audience's point of view, it's a laugh line), but it's extremely heartfelt, it's all the character wants, it's totally and utterly what he needs. In my head and heart, I added some coloring to the effect that his/my plea was to exist, to let me be the one to bring him to life. Crazy, I know, but that's how it works, that's all I can do, is to use everything that I have to bring to the role to bring the character to life. After the first reading, the casting director told me a I had a great grasp of the character and the gave me two little adjustments (increasing the emotionality of two lines) and we did it again. But I had done the work--she recognized that I understood the character, that I had made him my own. And that's all you can ask for in an audition, that's all you can do, is bring the character to life in the way only you can do it.

I have not heard anything, I have no idea what will happen, but I know I hit all the notes that I worked on with my coach, that I had delivered what I intended. I had done my best, and, in the end, that's all you can do. Your best is all you have to give.

Old New York headshot. Black and white, natch.

Had interesting morning. I am going for a pre-read, which is basically an audition for an audition. It's what happens when you don't have a lot of theatrical credits but you have enough going on and solid enough representation for a casting director to spend some time with you. This is pre-read is for a series regular role on a fairly high profile (in LA, at least) pilot that has a few notable names and the part is one of those parts that an actor like me is well suited for. Not huge, but fun, and, if done consistently well, the kind that you can (slowly) build a career with. I am sure there are lots of people going for it, but again, it's about commitment and hope, not about expectations and anyway, I'm not writing about the part, I'm writing about the coach that I saw this morning.

I have been having a good time and keeping my chops up with my weekly acting class, which has been terrifically effective in getting me to relax and get out of the way so I can do the actual work. It has provided me with a vast array of experiences so I when I get to certain kinds of auditions and meetings, I won't be all nervous and freaky. It's a great tool for a working actor, and, as such, is inherently different than the more "classical" acting classes, where character and motivations and intentions and actions are discussed, analyzed and sculpted, all from the actor's own experience and history. The coach I had early this morning (before work!) was very much the kind of teacher that I was used to seeing long ago, before I came to New York, so I admit, it was really an adjustment. I was even at times finding myself resistant to some of the questions we were going over, like when trying to figure out what I wanted from this line or what my action was going to be for that line. But I had done it before, right? This was my entire acting experience for years before I came to LA, so I found myself settling and really working on the various beats.

It was really exhilarating. Acting is trippy because you are asked to feel and say things in ways that are so specific that you do these mental and emotional backflips trying to incorporate the intentions. I know, this sounds all touchy feely, but, that's exactly it, right? Touching parts of your experience, feeling what's going on, and then letting that work inhabit the moment you are portraying. It was hard, to the point there would be times when I would get a little direction, and my brain would just go into overdrive while I stared into space. It's like my Mac when the fans start coming on. It doesn't move, but it gets really hot and then the fans come on, whiirrrrrr, and you know something is happening.

The end result of my session is an audition that will be much more interesting to watch, much more grounded in life, and should add an angle, a series of colors, to someone that could be just regarded as "strange co-worker of main character." It was intense, but it felt so damn good to work in this way again. I had forgotten about how analyzing a script really is like being an emotional conductor, trying to bring all these elements into harmony, to make sure they build, peak, and fade just at the right time to make the scene really hum.

We'll see how it goes. What's good is that I am ready for this audition in a way that goes beyond technique, beyond comfort, beyond commodity. Now I just have to trust the training and let all this just come to focus this evening for my audience of one.

Tags: acting

Another long wait between posts. I apologize but I have good reasons, really. Good raisins, too.

I was at WWDC all last week (see photos here), which ran the gamut of emotional and physical responses: excitement, frustration, confusion and exhaustion. It was a good conference as far as I could tell (I attended quite a few sessions but much of my day was spent in meetings), but the best times were outside of the conference, spent with all of the many great friends I have back in my hometown.

I will be posting an article about WWDC over in the Norton blogsite and you probably either already know what happened there or just don't care. Suffice to say that the iPhone is rapidly becoming a legitimate technology platform and I think it's appropriate to say that the transition that this iPhone is a part of (if not helping define) is a big one. It will be very interesting to see what features we assume from technology in the next five years.

- I am a guest host on this week's iFanboy podcast. It was a lot of fun, and one of those items I was very happy to check off in my "life's to do list". I had started listening to the podcast several years ago and always thought it would be fun to be on the show, and now I can say, it was an absolute blast to do it. It was a real pleasure and the feedback has been very positive so far. It's a lot of prep work, getting ready for the show, I had to get a headset to use with Skype (for sound quality) and set up my desk so I could easily access the books we were discussing, my notes, water, coffee, chat windows...it was like doing a radio show, which, of course, makes sense. The thing about the show is that it's usually pretty entertaining even if you don't know anything about comics, since there are aspects to the conversation that everyone can relate to (characters, stories, art, etc). This was another "live" event that I really couldn't truly prep for (not unlike the stuff I had to do in Vegas), so I am relieved it went well.

It also underscores my belief that you truly achieve any goal you have if you make a consistent effort to achieve said goal. Now, sure, I didn't write out "Be on iFanboy" one day, but I did want to get more involved, to the point that getting on the show would definitely become an option. And, now, it's happened. Of course, now I am writing a weekly article for them, which I did not plan at all--but it got me a chance to be on the show. And, again, while I could control some aspects toward this goal (enthusiastic participation, making sure to keep in touch, etc, etc), the TIMING was not in my control at all. If I had any expectation of "being on the podcast by xx years," none of this would have happened. I know, I sound like a broken record, but life is all about living the moment and not trying to fulfill expectations (yours or others).

- Speaking of real time activities, I gotta admit that writing regularly is quite a challenge. I had a crazy time last week when I had both an article for iFanboy, a new story summary, the first 10 pages of my screenplay and my inciting incident due on Tuesday. Now, of course, I am to fault completely--I procrastinated like crazy, but that's how I am used to dealing with writing deadlines: I get the topics/scenes/sections figured out in my head, and then I sit down and write it out. That's how I got through college--all of my papers were first drafts, technically--and it worked out fine. And life is not all that different now, come to think of it. When I was in college I had homework and papers due all the time, but was in rehearsals until 11 almost every night of the week, so doing it my head was my only recourse, really.

Maybe it is more difficult because I don't have that crazy structure that made me so nuts back then. Whatever--I did all the work that I needed to do, and so far, so good. What is...stressful? interesting? just...different? about writing NOW is that there is nothing for me to refer to--everything I am writing is from my own head. I am being asked to take a topic, aim my brain at it, and then transform that chaos into text and pictures. Which is a challenge, let me tell you! It's a great challenge, but I can see why "real" writers make a schedule--if I had any kind of discipline, I would be getting up at 6am each morning and just get it done before I went to work. I might have to do just that, actually--the screenplay is going to be at least 100 more pages, right? It took me over an hour to get the first 10 done...that's at least 10 more hours...yikes...scary.

But it's all new--all of this is new, and I haven't been challenged like this in awhile. I am definitely growing creatively, which feels really good.

- I made quite a few Father's Day calls yesterday. It was nice. It's really quite an experience to watch my oldest friends become parents. Trips me out like crazy.

- We won't talk about acting right now. Nothing to talk about.

- Saw some great old cars at The Grove a few weeks ago. Check the photos here.

Have a good week!

Tags: wwdc, san francisco, comics, ifanboy

Hey there!

Just wanted to let you know that my first article for iFanboy.com is up. I gotta say, I was really nervous about the whole thing. I mean, I was really, really flattered to be asked but honestly, I had no idea what I was going to talk about, week after week. (I still don't, really.) But it's a great opportunity and I'll just continue to write as long as they'll have me.

Of course, now I just have to get my Norton blog updated...I think I will probably do a series of entries during WWDC up in San Francisco, which should be a fun time. I will be twittering any fun stuff during the Keynote, so swing by a few times next week to see if I have any cool news from the show.

Other than that, things are fine. I had a really good on camera class on Monday; it was nice to get a chance to rehearse a few times and do a few takes for the scene, rather than just the one take that we tend to do in my "normal" class (though that is tremendously useful, arguably more useful to be better at that single take, when it comes to getting an actual job). I had to book out for next week which is always a bit frustrating, but honestly, there is just not a lot of work out there right now, at least for me, I guess.

On the political side, I am super stoked on Obama's speech last night. I was listening to his speech last night on the way home and it was truly inspiring to hear the crowd go absolutely bonkers. I haven't heard applause and cheering like that for a politician like that in a very long time...if ever, to be honest. It's gonna be fun to watch.

All right--I gotta run.

(ps - I’m using Rapidweaver 4.0 for the site now, and it’s a really great improvement. There’s a lot of delay when I type, which is annoying but that’ll get fixed.)

Tags: ifanboy, comics

Bay Arcade in Balboa’s “Fun Zone”. I grew up going here in the summer.

Yikes, Monday already. Monday in June. 2008.

Everyone I know is kind of freaking out about the whole “June” thing. I can’t believe it at all, to be honest. But whatever, it’s here and we might as well get used to it.

Had a good weekend and now I am tired out. I went down to San Diego to speak at a conference--sounds cooler than it was, but it was cool--so Whit and I had a good time driving down and hanging out in downtown San Diego.

This is Whit doing a very good impression of her sister. Check out the new sweatshirt. It’s lined and is mighty nice.

It was nice to get out of the city, even if only for a night. We stayed at this very odd resort/convention center named Town and Country and got a good taste of what life must have been like in the 50s. The place was just...old, you know? Just stuck in time. It was interesting to be rushing all around irritated that the year was approaching half over rather quickly then ending up here, which seemed like a movie set..it was just crazy, check out the link for some pics.

Then I had to go to work a table at the gift lobby for the MTV 2008 Movie awards. This was a really strange experience and really, I mean, really, it was a glimpse into the part of the entertainment industry that made me feel just...odd, I guess. Basically, we were one of many tables set up on the roof of this very swank hotel in the middle of West Hollywood. We would hang out to talk about our products (I was inbetween a very cool headset and a neat smart pen) to anyone that would come by. Kinda like a trade show, but if the person coming up to you was wearing a certain necklace, then they were apparently a celebrity and could just take whatever they wanted--as long as we got a picture of the celebrity holding the product. Once the picture was taken, it could be use to market said product.

It's one thing to know about this kind of thing, it's another thing to actually see it in action. Now, let's be clear--I had a fine time, and the people that I did meet were actually very cool about it. I mean, of course they were, right? They were getting all this free stuff for nothing! But still, you could tell the cooler celebs knew just how silly this was, which is why I think they were so nice. Our table was probably the most interesting at the event--we had cool gadgets and stuff that was way more useful than yet another energy drink--so we had some fun conversations and everything, but still...

It's business, right? This is how companies get their products out on the market. They get photos of people using the products in magazines, then the masses will go and get said product. It's just seeing it done so overtly that gave me pause.

Still, it was a good experience--I learned quite a bit just by watching people. The wheels of commerce spinning, right?

The other night, while Whit was with her girlfriends for a Sex and the City party (I love that they had party for a movie and then not go to said movie), I finally got around to watching The Graduate. No, I had never seen it before. Yes, I have been reading all about it in Pictures at a Revolution. And yes, I was totally, completely blown away by it. If you haven't seen it recently, add it to your queue and check it out. From the sound design to the cinematography to Anne Bancroft's insanely great performance (her laughter during their initial flirtation just blew me away, I must have watched that scene five times)...it's just awesome.

I am going to an on camera class tonight, which should be fun. It's good to keep going to different teachers, to work with different people. It's still really slow and I fear that things won't even begin to recover until late this summer. I hope.

My article for ifanboy.com goes up on Wednesday. I'm just writing about comics and life..we'll see how people respond...

talk to you soon.

Tags: san diego, balboa island