The Unpaid Acting Work Dilemma by Professionally Resting.

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Casting call: ““Unfortunately we’re not able to offer a fee on this occasion.”

Sadly this type of casting call is one that I’m all too used to seeing. At least 75% of castings will
contain the above sentence or a wonderfully inventive version of it (such as the incredible ‘This is
a no-pay experience!’) It’s unfortunately become a fact of acting life and I’ve become as skilled as
sifting through castings as I have at rifling through sandwiches for rogue tomatoes. Directors will try
and soften the blow by telling you that you’ll get a credit to put on your CV (gee, thanks) and that
they’ll be providing you with food on set. On-set catering can be a thing of beauty (pizza) but it can
also be an utter horror made of stale sandwiches. Apparently actors can live on credits and bread
alone. If only landlords, phone companies and councils could be fobbed off in the same way.

Unpaid work has become a rather aggressive disease in the acting world. What was once the domain
of film students and wannabe filmmakers; it has now entered the world of television. And this is
a worrying development. I understand that however much they’d like to, students and smaller
production companies can’t always afford to pay people. The ethics bother me because I believe
that if you can’t afford to pay everyone then you probably shouldn’t be making the piece in the first
place but that’s an argument for another day. Unpaid work happens and sadly, just like the damp in
our flat, I have to deal with it for now and watch it ever so slowly ruin me. I should also admit that
I’ve taken on my fair share of unpaid work in the past. Unfortunately there are times when you have
very little choice and so you can either do nothing or take on some unpaid work in the hope that
it might just get you spotted. It won’t, but you never know when that top agent is going to turn up
at a secondary school in Northampton to watch you prance about telling kids about the dangers of
heroin. But now the bigger companies have jumped on the bandwagon and suddenly everything is
starting to topple over.

There have been a string of very high-profile companies that have recently started advertising
unpaid or expenses only work. And when I say ‘high-profile’ I mean the type of companies
that produce widely watched primetime programmes that air on terrestrial channels. These
are companies that clearly have plenty of money, or at least enough cash to make sure that all
performers are fairly paid. When they start offering unpaid work, what kind of message does that
send out to all the other companies? Apparently it’s now perfectly acceptable for these businesses
(one of whom made a profit of £471m last year) to get performers to work for free. But these
companies forget that actors often have a lot of time on their hands so it doesn’t take too long
before they’re ousted via the beauties of social networking. But what happens when they get found
with their devious trousers around their tight-fisted ankles? Well, what has happened recently
is that they make like George Osborne and u-turn. However, they don’t then promise to do the
honourable thing and actually pay actors. Oh no. Their reaction is to say that they will instead be
casting friends, family or employees. That’s what this profession has been downgraded to. Actors
are now regarded so poorly that we can be instantly replaced with the make-up artist’s cousin and
the focus puller’s university mates the second we start to complain. We find ourselves so low on the
career ladder that we’ve now been downgraded to the lackey that just holds the ladder and watches
everyone else climb up it.

So what this means is that actors will yet again be forced into unpaid work as they desperately try
to keep hold of a career that’s more slippery than a greased-up seal. We continually find ourselves
being held to ransom where we can either ‘shut up and put up’ or keep fighting and risk the chance
of never working again. Just like the next actor, I’d love the exposure that a primetime programme
would offer but never at my own expense and certainly not just so an exec can save a few precious
pennies and ensure that their bonus is intact for another year. Why should they get to go on exotic
holidays when I’m left wondering how to survive for the next week on a tin of chopped tomatoes
and a rapidly ageing nectarine? It’s at its lowest, meanest level and until all actors make a stand against these companies, all we’re doing is encouraging them to turn our already fragile
industry into a laughing stock.

Miki Yamashita On Acting | Frost Interviews

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What made you go into acting?

I think I was interested in the arts and performing even before I was aware
of it. My mother says that as a child, I danced and sang around the house so
much that she put me in lessons as soon as I was old enough, because she
wanted me to learn how to do it right. My parents are both teachers, so their
solution for everything is education. It’s actually a pretty good philosophy.
As I grew conscious of my passions in life, I consistently made life
decisions that propelled me towards a life as a performing artist. Let’s just
say I never gravitated towards coal-mining.

Could you ever do anything else?

I guess the right answer is that I actually do many other things. Having
spent my life around many other actors, I have observed that I may be a
slightly different breed than most. I have a group of actor friends that I
started out with performing improv and sketch comedy with at Walt Disney
World, who are still doing only that; I have another group who I did a lot of
musical theatre with, who are still focusing only on Broadway; same with
opera people and comedy writers and commercial actors and episodic
television actors. I am really lucky in that I am actively able to book work in
all of these areas, and I consider that huge spectrum of interests to be my
pursuit as a whole, so if my universe is that huge, understandably there
really isn’t an “anything else” for me.

You famously said: ‘If this business kills me, it will be after everyone in it has my
headshot.’ That’s a go-getting attitude that can be missing in a lot of
performers. Do you agree?

My dear friend Bonnie Gillespie was kind enough to include that in her
brilliant book, “Self-Management for Actors.” When a newer edition came
out, she asked if she could include it again, and I said of course, except that
I didn’t want to imply that manically blanketing an acting market with
headshots was the technique I was espousing. I believe in being fiercely
motivated, but in a very focused and strategic manner. There’s a young actor
in LA, I haven’t seen him in a while, but this crazy kid literally plastered the
exterior of his car with his headshots. I swear! He drives around in this car
all day long hoping for, I don’t know, to get pulled over by a casting
director and get asked to do a monologue by the side of the road?? I don’t
know! But it’s pretty delusional and highly misguided. I guess what I meant
to say is that “If this business kills me, it will be after everyone in it whom I
have researched and targeted as potential buyers for my product has my headshot.”

Over the years, I have met so many actors; some have almost zero
motivation and ambition to do the basic work that is necessary to even have
a chance at success; others are rabidly foaming at the mouth and doing
everything they can desperately and inefficiently so that they can get ahead.
What I’ve learned from these actors is that there is a better way, there is a
sweet spot, where you have a calm, cool, focused energy that propels you
forward slowly, steadily, and intelligently. Wow, I think this is officially the
most Asian thing I have ever said!

I find you incredibly funny, has your sense of humour helped you survive in
showbusiness? Is it possible to do this without one?

Thank you! I think it’s literally impossible not to develop a sense of humor
as a professional actor. I was once asked to sing opera while running full
speed on a treadmill in a sequined gown. I was once told to continue
reciting my monologue while the casting director got on her cell phone and
ordered a chicken salad. I was once physically threatened by a male chorus
dancer. I mean, as actors, this is daily life, okay? And I think if you don’t
find it hilarious, you become seriously mentally damaged in a way that
prevents you from functioning in society as a normal adult. And then it
becomes this wonderful tool to help you consistently cope with the vast
array of indignities that actors face all the time.

What’s the hardest thing about being an actor?

The hardest thing about being an actor is when Chanel sends you so much
free couture from their latest collection that you run out of assistants to re-
gift them to. JUST KIDDING!!! That’s what most people think actors’
problems are. The general public is fed nothing but lies about our
profession, and they are only provided with the success narrative. It’s part
of the machine that allows the industry to maintain its operations, so you
have to accept that civilians are not ever going to get what most of us go
through. The most difficult thing is really how seldom we are actually able
to do our work, and that we must spend an inordinate amount of time doing
work that has nothing to do with performing in order to bankroll the pursuit
of our REAL work.

And the best?

The best thing about being an actor is getting to crash your car into an 18-
wheeler, blaming it all on your assistant, and showing up 4 hours late to set
where they will still tell you you’re the perfect choice to play Liz Taylor. HA
HA HAAA. Seriously, the best thing about this profession is that we are
constantly challenged to imagine what is possible. Every time I get an audition,
whatever it is, a commercial where I’m a pretty Asian mom, or an
opera where I’m a flying ghost bird-spirit, or a daytime drama where I’m the
secretary to the family patriarch, I get to make decisions about these
characters based on my imagination, my life experience, and what is on the
page. And no one else is going to make the same set of choices that I will.
Even if I don’t get the part, for a brief moment, for the duration of that
audition, my humanity was merged with that character, and I find great
fulfillment in my ability to execute that with consistency and quality.

What is your favourite thing that you have worked on?

My favorite thing that I have worked on is an original new work in which I
sang a principal role, with Los Angeles Opera. The piece was called “The
White Bird of Poston,” and it was newly commissioned specifically for the
purposes of educational and community outreach in the city of Los Angeles.
The opera is about the Japanese American Internment during World War II, a
very dark part of American history. The music and the story are so
beautifully written, I felt so honored to be a part of it, and I felt like it used
so many of my skills simultaneously—my classically trained voice, my
acting training, my dance training, and even a little bit of my abilities as a
comedienne. And on top of that, it had such profound cultural significance
to me as a Japanese American.

You have a great niche as an actress: you studied opera, has this greatly helped
your acting career or is it separate thing?

As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of people that I started out with,
training and performing professionally as serious classical or musical
theatre singers, who are still completely focused on only that sector of
performance. For me, singing eventually became something glamorous and
glorious that I could just keep hidden in my back pocket, and whip it out
suddenly and just stun people with it as needed. This evolution mostly took
place because I moved from the New York acting market which is very
heavily theatre-based, to Los Angeles, which of course focuses much more
on, well, speaking and not singing. But even without the move, I think I was
really adamant about transcending musical theatre; I felt that I had more to
accomplish in other areas, and my interests had a much wider span than just
singing in musicals until I was dead.

Advice for actors?

My advice for actors is pretty depressing, but realistic. If at all possible, get
a degree in a subject that has nothing to do with drama or music. I’ve made
a lot of hideous mistakes in life, but the one thing I did right was to earn a
college degree in English literature instead of acting or vocal performance.
Even though many would say a degree in English is almost as useless, I
would have to argue otherwise. The acting business becomes more and
more competitive every day, and what sets me apart from many others is my
relentless desire to articulate my own experience. As a writer, I have a
heightened sense of power because for the most part, words on a page
cannot be refused or rejected because the writer isn’t blond or skinny. I am
shut out of thousands of performing job opportunities a day simply because
of my physical appearance, something that cannot be transformed by
“working hard.” Trust me, I’ve tried. Exercising cannot change your race!

So my advice is to find tangible skills that will enable you to support your
pursuit of acting for a very very long time.

But ultimately, have faith that you are answering a divine calling by being an
artist. And know that you are in control of what you choose to sacrifice for
this calling.

What’s next for you?

I’m about to make big changes to my online presence; a fellow LA actress,
Sarah Sido, taught me a lot about building websites, so I’m going to use
those skills to rebrand my personal page, as well as start a blog about
acting. Wow, now I’ve said it so I better do it!

FAVORITE ACTORS/ACTRESSES – I think my favorite male actor is Jim
Carrey. A lot of my earlier sketch comedy and improvisational work I did at
Walt Disney World was heavily influenced by him, and I have deep respect
for his significant capabilities as a dramatic actor. He is so interesting to
watch doing anything! Let’s say if, starting tomorrow, he stopped making
studio feature films and decided to just host a vegan cooking show on
HGTV, I would watch that.

For female actresses, I would rather be executed than name just one. Meryl
Streep seems to literally becomes other human beings, to the point where it
actually scares me. Meryl is a frightening example of sheer mastery of the
craft. I would like to see her play some kind of deep sea creature or
something, because that lady would seriously prepare for the role by eating
paramecium and withstanding 500 bars of atmospheric pressure. And that’s
entertainment, my friends.

I love Julianne Moore’s work, because I find that no matter who she plays,
her characterization is so detailed and complete that I feel like I actually
live out the movie in real time as her role. The performance is so intimate
and honest and infused with inner life that I feel like I AM her character.
Believe me, it takes skill to convince a short Asian girl that she is a white
1950’s housewife.

Photo credit: David Muller

Win a 3 month subscription to LivSmarter

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With summer here, it’s time for us men to peel off layers of clothing and reveal our bodies for the warmer months ahead. But while millions of the opposite sex have been dieting and heading to the gym, we are now rivaling them when it comes to getting in shape for beach season.

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LivSmarter’s team of experts put together no-nonsense and discreet programmes that can help men get the results they want for the summer months.

Enter our competition to help you get the shape you want with a three month subscription to LivSmarter.

Q. Which of these are you most likely to find in a gym?

A. Cross Trainer

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C. A Horse

Comment below or Tweet your answer to @Frostmag

Nora Ephron Dies Aged 71.

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Nora Ephron has died at the age of 71 after a battle with leukemia. The screenwriter, journalist and director rose to fame after writing hugely successful films, specialising in rom-coms including When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle.

Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson released a statement saying: “Nora Ephron was a journalist/artist who knew what was important to know; how things really worked, what was worthwhile, who was fascinating and why. At a dinner table and on a film set she lifted us all with wisdom and wit, mixed with love for us and love for life. Rita and I are so very sad to lose our friend who brought so much joy to all who were lucky enough to know her.”

When Harry Met Sally star Billy Crystal said: “When Harry Met Sally …” in his remembrance of the multi-hyphenate talent. “I am very sad to learn of Nora’s passing. She was a brilliant writer and humorist. Being her Harry to Meg’s Sally will always have a special place in my heart. I was very lucky to get to say her words.”

Nicole Kidman said” “She was so smart, warm and funny. I am so grateful that she was my friend and we had the opportunity to work together. My thoughts and love are with her family at this time. I will never forget the dinners, games and laughter we all shared,”

Ephron married three times. One of her ex-husbands is Carl Bernstein. Her last husband was the basis of her motto at the end of her life: “Secret to life, marry an Italian.” Nicholas Pileggi wrote the screenplays to Goodfellas and Casino. They were married for 20 years.

She is survived by the two sons she had with Carl Bernstein.

National campaign to suit-up the homeless unemployed receives over 1000 donations

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National campaign to suit-up the homeless unemployed receives over 1000 donations

With nearly 80% of homeless people wanting to get a job and support themselves, this spring tailoring company A Suit That Fits teamed up with three homelessness charities to help their members get back into work.

In a climate with 2.63 million people unemployed in the UK, the pressure is on to impress at interview and studies have shown that first impressions, like what you wear, affect your fundamental judgement of a person.

For seven weeks, suits were donated to the Suit for Success campaign and donators were rewarded with a £50 tailoring voucher. Donated suits were gifted to homelessness charities Amber, Broadway and Emmaus, who all work with their members to help them support themselves.

Each charity offers work and learning outreach programs to their members to equip them with the skills and confidence they need to get a job and be able to fully support themselves. But they regularly find their members have nothing to wear to their interview, which affects their confidence and impacts that all-important ‘first impression’. By providing them with a smart suit we are making the process just a little bit easier.

F1 analyst and Amber supporter Eddie Jordan and television presenter Rick Edwards backed the campaign.

Paul Wilson is a trustee at Broadway – he is 57 and came to Broadway in 2008; Paul benefited from Eddie Jordan’s suit and is currently looking for work

In 2003, Paul was married with two children, and living in London, where he owned his own construction business with a childhood friend. When he caught his wife having an affair with his business partner, not only did his marriage breakdown, but it also signaled the end of his business. When he approached the council for help, he was informed that he was not a priority for housing, and he ended up sleeping on the streets. Due to the trauma of this, Paul started drinking heavily as a coping mechanism. After a long process of rehab, social services put Paul in touch with Broadway. Paul is now an incredibly active member of not just Broadway, but homelessness services throughout London. He is now living completely independently, and looking for a job.

A Suit That Fits’s co-founder, Warren Bennett says of the Suit for Success campaign, ‘wearing a suit has a massive effect on confidence – especially when looking for work. If we can help individuals to feel more confident when going to interviews, and therefore increase their chances of getting a job – then the campaign will have been a resounding success.’

Cosmopolis | Film Review

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Canadian director David Cronenberg is still perhaps best known for his extreme horror cinema of the 1980’s such as Scanners, Videodrome and The Fly where the line between graphic body horror and examinations of his characters psychology. In recent years the psychological aspects of his work have come more to the fore and some may say it appears more conventional, most notably his recent works with Viggo Mortensen. Now he unites with young superstar Robert Pattinson for an adaptation of Don Delillo’s 2003 novel Cosmopolis. Expectations are high not just for the auteur’s new work but also but many are keen to see if Pattinson has the acting chops to pull of such an awaited film in the critical community. Cosmopolis certainly cannot be described as conventional but there may not be a lot of overly positive things to say about it…

Pattinson plays Eric Packer, a 28 year old financier working for ‘The Complex’ with millions at his disposal and divorced from society, who decides on a whim to travel across New York City, in his hi-tech, sound proof stretch limousine for a haircut. His security officer warns him that the arrival of the President, resultant crowds of protesters and a possible threat against his life make such a journey a potential hazard. Packer is resolute on his decision and what sounds like a simple journey spirals into a surreal odyssey as he cruises through an urban landscape populated by angst ridden colleagues, his distant wife, financial doomsayers, revolutionary protesters and a cream pie wielding anarchist. No, really.

Cronenberg’s direction is astonishingly precise to the point of extreme alienation. Taking place almost entirely within Packer’s science fiction like limo, his camera rarely has room to manoeuvre and instead we slowly glide across the cold, metallic surfaces that constitute this character’s life. CGI backstreet projection in these scenes creates a heightened sense of artificiality that mirrors Packer’s attitude to life. There are echoes of American Psycho in the fetishist style the camera roves over his material wealth. When we venture outside the limo hired from tampa charter buses, there is still an achingly claustrophobic feel to the urban environment. It’s a director at the height of their technical skills and yet it is in the cold, distant approach that Cronenberg observes the drama is that Cosmopolis makes its major stumble; the lack of emotional and visceral connection.

It is the dialogue that drives Cosmopolis, adapted by Cronenberg himself. Practically every scene is dialogue driven with characters spieling into lengthy, philosophical monologues about the world of finance, yuppie culture and in some circumstances whatever seems to come into their heads (‘Why do they call them airports?’). These lines are delivered with a very precise rhythm and arcane structure that very quickly becomes impenetrable despite occasional flashes of brilliance. There is little fault in the performance. Robert Pattinson could be blamed of making a very deliberate attempt to distance himself from the Twilight crowd, but his performance itself is fine. The camera is clearly drawn to his handsome features, he has cold and detached down to a tee and even performs gamely in a wince inducing medical examination scene, which closely recalls the director’s back catalogue of body horror. However Packer is such an empty ‘vessel’ that it’s impossible to drum up any sympathy at all for him. Where is he going? What does he want? What does he think? Questions are constantly answered but rarely answered. At one point he is directly quoted St Augustine; ‘I have become an enigma to myself, and therein lies my sickness.’ The problem is that the enigma never reveals itself and the sickness is never understood. It all becomes lost as he ventures from one bizarre set piece to another. I truly don’t think the problem is with Pattinson’s performance but rather through Cronenberg’s writing and direction of him.

The supporting cast are left to fare little better. Juliette Binoche and Samantha Morton pop up briefly into the limo to discuss Packer’s situation yet are not afforded rounded characters to flesh out. Sarah Gadon is alluring as Packer’s distant wife yet again there is such a sense of distance between them that it seems like their relationship is taking place on either side of a massive piece of perplex. You could argue that it’s the point yet no empathy still results in no emotional connection. Thankfully Mathieu Amalric is bursting at the seams with dangerous glee as a seemingly demented celebrity anarchist whilst the great Paul Giamatti very nearly steals the whole show as a disgruntled former employee of ‘The Complex’ who harbours an obsessive grudge against Packer. His ranting speech towards the end of the film makes him the closest thing to a recognisable human being we can see with the final shot and lines of dialogue hinting at how Cosmopolis could have been a devastating account of our contemporary attitude to material wealth and the Wall Street elite. Unfortunately it’s too little too late.

Cosmopolis is not terrible by any standard, but given the subject matter and the calibre of talent it can’t help but rank as a major disappointment and one of Cronenberg’s least satisfying films. Pattinson may have proved he has the chops but he’s going to need to find something more resolute to prove to everyone he is the real deal after all.

Elton John AIDS Foundation Joins up With Grey Goose.

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Grey Goose is the official vodka partner of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) and is committed, through a series of fundraising events and on-going project support, to building on the pioneering work that the Foundation undertakes.  Having raised more than £2.3M for the Foundation to date, the Grey Goose and EJAF’s relationship continues to go from strength to strength.

In support of EJAF this Summer, Grey Goose will be hosting a series of unique consumer events taking place across the country- ‘Taste By Appointment’ .

The campaign introduces two tools designed to educate cocktail lovers about how to ensure the best possible drinking experience: Taste by Appointment consumer events and GreyGooseTaste.com, a website dedicated to helping users find their perfect cocktail.

The campaign is aimed at helping cocktail lovers discover how to select a cocktail that is perfectly suited to their own personal taste and will be a bit like what happened in the world of coffee where consumers moved on from black or white coffee to a full understanding of their personal preferences and choice of coffee options, from latte to skinny cappuccino with a twist etc.
Upcoming events are:
  • Hakkasan, Fitzrovia – 1 July
  • Rhodes Twenty Four – 2 July
  • Wyld Bar – 3 July  (100% of ticket price for this event goes to EJAF in support of upcoming Gay Pride week)
  • Nobu –6 July
  • Quo Vadis –10 July
Tickets are priced at £75 and are available to buy at the ‘Grey Goose Taste’ website (greygoosetaste.com) 25% of each ticket sold will go directly to EJAF so it really is drinking for a good cause!

 

 (Nobu is £150 but has a five course meal included with cocktails created to perfectly compliment each dish served)