A "stranger" personality

I don't know what there is about me, but for some reason strangers feel free to approach or talk to me.

Fortunately, I know how to speak enough French, German and Sign Language to keep myself out of an international incident, because it doesn't matter what country these people are from, they stop me to ask for directions in their native tongue or signals.

Personally, I consider it a miracle I actually understand what they're saying and can give them the answer.

I do know a lot of normally minor/useless information that comes in handy when someone from Europe (or where ever) asks for directions, the location of a local landmark, the nearest bathroom, my take on Einstein's theories of ether and relativity. Wha'-evah.

They also freely express their opinions for things I've not asked them.

Like today.

I drove my car into a parking spot at my nearby supermarket to do a little grocery shopping. As I pulled myself out of my car, the woman loading her groceries next to me noticed the white swirls on the back of my car.

I washed and *half* waxed the car yesterday - I intend to finish wiping off the white film of wax from the rear of my car this evening.

"Hey!" She called. "Someone didn't finish waxing your car!"

"Hey" I called back. "That someone is me!"

"Then you're fired!" She commanded.

"Fired?" I retorted. "I quit!"

......wait .......

On disappointment..

We all experience disappointment ... sometimes it's a minor thing that passes - nearly without notice, other times it's a razor-like paper cut that never seems to heal.

Because of its very nature, the business of show can create more reasons and occasions to be disappointed. Going to hundreds of auditions to land the few jobs available, for example.

A very smart beautiful woman once told me that the most difficulty she has looking as she does is that she disappoints so many people.

Why?

Because she has a certain type of beauty, people expect her to behave the way she appears. She doesn't do what people expect her to do, so *they* are disappointed she doesn't turn out to be the woman they imagined because of the way she looks.

She also doesn't date much, so needless to say she disappoints a lot of people who would love to go out with her.

Imagine yourself having a gorgeous, somewhat delicate look when the way you actually live your life is very down to earth, enjoying lots of outdoor activities, playing tag football and getting dirty.

For people who only see your appearance and imagine you therefore *must* behave a certain way, the imaginary person and the real personality do not compute. They are disappointed you are not the person they imagined you are.

It's the same with actors who appear to have a certain type of personality on screen, but are nothing like the roles they play in person. Disappointing.

OK, when we hire people for crew and cast a film, I'd love to hire *everyone.* But I know those who aren't selected for this particular project will be disappointed. It doesn't matter that I have a gig in mind for them on another project, because I can't talk about it now.

And here's an apparently well-kept secret, especially from actors: We're hoping-to-goodness you've got the goods. That you can nail the role. No matter how much or how little experience you have, no matter what sort of training you've received. When you walk into the room, we fervently hope YOU are the ONE.

That YOU will make the role your own and suprise us with your talent and skills.

The myth is that we're always looking for reasons to say no.

Wrong.

Why?

We want to button up the project. We want our cast to be in place, ready to go to work. Especially on long days after seeing so many people: we want to go home to spend time with our families. We can't do that if we haven't yet found the exceptional performers to fill the roles.

Another truth: when an actor is passed up for a role, it may feel like a "personal" rejection because acting is something a person does - with themselves, by themselves (even if they're in a scene with a hundred other actors).

But it's not.

In some cases, the best actor is not hired because the chemistry won't work with the rest of the cast.

In other, big budget films, the best - or "right" - actors may not be hired because the studio has ordered specific actors to be used, believing the miscast actors will draw a huge box office. But people don't come to see a film that turns out to look so seriously miscast. Audiences stay away in droves.

A couple things that do negatively influence casting decisions these days: stories of heavy drinking, drugging or being difficult to work with. At one time, these problems would be tolerated. Today, very few actors with this sort of reputation are hired -- *unless* they are drawing hundreds of millions of dollars to the box office, because it's expensive to work with dysfunctional actors.

But what happens in the industry - when that troubled/trouble-making actor has his or her first "lesser" box office success (let's call it what it is, a *bomb*), he or she is immediately shut out because it has become too expensive to hire that person on a number of levels.

I know in some cases people who have put up with the bs of the arrogant, abusive, addicted actor can hardly wait for them to make their first bomb, because that actor will find themselves out of work, refused jobs and have to start over again to prove themselves if they still want a career.

Hopefully those actors will see the light and get treatment or seek the help they need.

If I knew or coached an actor like that I would tell them what people are saying about their addictions, habits or behavior that will cost them jobs now and in the future. Especially if I witness that sort of behavior.

I have, in fact, told some actors who suffer from addictive behavior what will happen if they don't change their ways.

And the actor has either taken the information to heart and sought to solve his/her problems, or have left because they did not want to address self-destructive and addictive behavior at that point. Or don't believe there is a problem - at least that's what they told me.

I'm sure they were disappointed .. perhaps thinking, "What has that got to do with my acting?"

Well, for one thing any addictive behavior blocks feelings; understanding and tapping into the feelings of a character is the currency of acting. Kinda essential. This lesson has been learned the hard way by many of our top performers, who realized that the only way they could continue to grow as artists is to do it clean and sober.

It's worse than disappointing, it's heartachingly painful to see great artists deteriorate as people and as performers because they refuse to address their addictive behavior - and the problem with many 'stars' is that there are plenty of sychophants around them to feed those addictions until the money runs out.

As for my own casting process - working with as many actors as I have over the years, believe me when I say I'd love to cast everyone! Hire all the fantastic crew people I know! Provide jobs for everyone!

But of course that can't happen, and so I have to keep in mind the one boss to serve - the audience. To serve the audience, I need to make the most careful decisions about who works with us in front of and behind the screen; making sure they're right for the role and that the chemistry between everyone clicks.

Nothing hurts worse than to see a promising film that is so obviously miscast.

I often reflect on all the disappointments and victories I've experienced -- which have landed me right where I am. It's not such a bad place to be.

In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way.

At last-

George Carlin can say those seven forbidden words .. on Heaven TV.

May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008

Pact Mentality

"Hollywood films Juno and Knocked Up blamed as teenagers race to become mothers" read the sensational headline in the British newspaper The Times of London last week.

It seems 17 teen age girls, some younger than 16, the age of consent in Gloucester, Massachusetts, made a pact to become pregnant at the same time so they could "raise their children together." According to CNN reports, there was severe peer pressure among the girls at the school to become pregnant to join .. to belong to the pact.

One father said that his daughter was either scared .. or strong enough .. to refuse when she told her parents about the pressure the girls were putting on her.

The school nurse reported girls being "disappointed" when their pregnancy tests came back negative - more than 150 tests were requested at the school.

I recall a rash of teen pregnancies several years ago, where the reason given by most of the pregnant girls was that they wanted to get pregnant to have someone "love them" for the rest of their lives. Not someone *to* love. But someone to *love them.*

The article says one of the fathers is a homeless 24 year old man, other fathers in their mid-20's. Some are outraged at the men, saying they should at the very least be financially accountable as fathers and at the most put in jail for impregnating the girls under 16. That's statutory rape.

The correspondent, with the regrettable-for-this-story name of James Bone, is only one of many columnists and pundits who claim that recent films "Juno" and "Knocked Up" may have been the inspiration for such a pact.

In Juno, actress Ellen Page stars as a teenager who finds herself pregnant through carelessness and ignorance. She decides to have the baby in order to give it to someone who can care for and nurture the new life properly, with all its attending responsibilities. Her family supports and loves her through her pregnancy; classmates and friends accept her situation.

The Diablo Cody script received an Academy Award last year.

"Knocked Up" is about a slacker who impregnates an otherwise responsible, mature woman with a solid career because both were careless and irresponsible. Unlike in most similar real life situations, he learns to grow up and take responsibility for his behavior.

More, the teen pregnancy of Jamie Lynn Spears, Briteny Spears' younger sister, is said to have influenced many girls, because Spears has been the focus of special interest, and even though her mother has agreed to raise the baby, Jamie Lynn's actions were not seen to have many negative ramifications, other than interrupting her show business career as the star of the sitcom Zoey 101.

Meanwhile, back at Gloucester High School, there was a call for issuing contraceptives to the youngsters without parental consent ... that was nixed because most are Roman Catholics in the fishing village.

The Times of London article says that the school superintendent doesn't blame Hollywood. No, Christopher Farmer believes the real cause is that these young women have no sense of purpose or direction, that they lack self-esteem and affection.

Bingo.

I would have added to Christopher Farmer's list: they lack a sense of belonging.

"Pact" mentality seems to be a popular among many American youngsters today, regardless of its reason.

I see it as trying to gain a sense of belonging, in whatever way they can.

Gangs provide a "pact mentality" with a strong sense of belonging; it's the primary reason kids hook up with them. Belonging then gives kids a purpose - even if that purpose is malevolent. Even if their chances of being maimed or killed are astronomical. They can die feeling they did it for their gang family.

Family is a place where a sense of belonging is supposed to start. Too many kids aren't feeling as if they belong in their own families. Among the million reasons why the don't feel they fit in or belong is not being accepted for who they are by their parents or extended family. Feeling isolated, and in turn feeling bad about themselves, which leads to a lack of self esteem, a lack of purpose or direction as well as a lack of affection. Withholding affection is no way to "punish" a child.

How many kids have "good homes," but behind closed doors are not accepted for who they are, who are told they are supposed to be, essentially, someone else? Denying a kid a sense of self, acceptance and their true identity is a recipe for kids seeking acceptance, love and support somewhere else.

Enter Hollywood.

Sometimes adult intentions when writing for or about kids are good, but because kids don't perceive things the way adults do, the message becomes garbled or misinterpreted.

Writer-director-producer John Singleton created the film Boyz N the Hood, a breakout film that showed the mean, gritty gang culture and how his hero, the protagonist, was able to leave that horrible lifestyle behind, to be a positive influence and have a life contributing to the world.

That's how adults saw the film. Gang bangers saw it as a glamorization of their lives; they experience the hero as "weak" "meek" and wimpy -- adults would experience that young man as having more courage than any gang banger.

Because of this, sadly, after seeing the well-intended film, several fights broke out, shootings occurred and some theaters refused to show the film because of it.

In Juno, I can see girls thinking that getting pregnant is a good way to get special attention and love, and end up with a boyfriend/husband as the teenager did in the film.

Its star, Ellen Page, would do everything to refrain from getting pregnant at her age because she has a purpose - a direction, a career and is getting lots of affirmation for her talent and skills.

Those of us who see it as "just a movie" understand that.

But for vulnerable kids desperate for love, positive attention, direction and purpose, who knows how they perceive so much of what they're exposed to in this media-saturated culture. They seek out answers from media instead of the people from whom they need to get real information. A genuine reality check.

Many, if not most adults, did not understand Napoleon Dynamite. The kids did. And absolutely loved Napoleon and the film. He was a kid who didn't fit in and was seen as a slacker because he had no purpose or direction, but who came through for his friend in what could have been the most humiliating way - and was therefore a real hero to them.

I don't "blame Hollywood" .. but I do feel that media influences people -- especially kids -- in intended and unintended ways when a vulnerable, needy individual is exposed to it.

Intended .. through advertising. Commercials and ads want to affect your behavior and actions -- to buy their products. Many companies enjoy a healthy bottom line because of their advertising.

Unintended through the examples I've already cited.

In the film, The Whole Truth, for which I'm the writer-director-co-producer, I originally included a specific purebred puppy for one of the lead characters because they are *so* unbelievably cute and smart.

I have since replaced that purebred with a rescued mutt puppy from the animal shelter because I knew puppy mills would go crazy for the purebred, wrecking little pups because of their hateful breeding systems, because kids would want them and while puppies may not be babies, they take a heck of a lot of attention, socializing and training to live happily ever after.

Most dogs end up in shelters because they are brought home as puppies, not socialized or trained properly and become pests because they've not had enough attention or proper care.

I remember the nightmare of Dalmatians besieging pet shelters because kids wanted one after seeing 101 Dalmatians. They are a special breed, prone to deafness and other problems, so they need special attention.

No doubt the puppy mill runners carelessly bred them as well, creating more physical and psychological problems. When the puppies turned into work? They were literally dumped at shelters all over the world.

The moral of the story in 101 Dalmatians got lost on little minds; they just saw the cute puppies and wanted one.

Should that film not have been made?

Of course not .. but parents needed to help their kids understand that any puppy is in need of lots of time, care and attention. Especially feeding, watering and picking up their poop. That would have been a great problem-solving exercise for kids to understand whether they were ready to get a dog, because the vast majority of people who bought those puppies couldn't handle them when they grew up.

So they took them to shelters (or worse - released them alongside country roads) that had to euthanize them because there were too many to care for; rescue facilities were already overcrowded.

In short, these films make great family discussions and can lead to some very positive interactions and actions by the kids. If kids want a puppy after seeing our film, at least they've seen how much care they need.

Without these discussions, kids will see what they want to see, hear what they think they hear and take actions that may well not be in their best interests.

Something to consider. Feel free to respond!

Extras! Extras! Read all about it!

Casting is underway for our feature comedy film The Whole Truth, which we're shooting in Seattle, and wow, do we need *extras.*

Especially extras who know their way around a film set.

Or people with a special look. Young, older, any race, any size.

If you're a non-union actor or a responsible person looking for a great filming experience, please send your headshot or a recent photo, along with your contact information and a little background or a resume by June 19 to:

Matt Schmidt
Asst., Colleen Patrick
writer/director/co-producer
THE WHOLE TRUTH
11328 28th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98125

You'll be asked to do a brief audition.

The shoot should start near the end of August, and go for six weeks; extras will work from just one day up to four or five, depending on your scenes.

Bill Moyers' tears should be shed by us all

OK, it sounds like it's long. But it *feels* short.

It's a 39-minute address to the National Committee for Media Reform by the astute journalist Bill Moyers.

Moyers is brought to tears more than once as he tells his audience how the dominant US media have not only become shills for "nonsense and propaganda" while real information slips by, but how they have also actively excluded information we need.

Namely, the truth. Something we need to have a democracy work - that's the point of the first amendment (Freedom of the Press).

Moyers outlines how, when the few media voices that cried foul when the Bush administration lied and lied and lied, day after day, week after week, month after month and now year after year about Iraq - now Iran, about Katrina, and so many other issues for which thousands of innocent and courageous and patriotic Americans have paid dearly in blood and in money - how those courageous journalists and media who tried to tell the truth were spurned, fired and excluded from essential governement information services.

Honest journalists spurned not just by the dishonest, deceitful adminstration, but by their own colleagues. Many of whom to this day continue to live in denial about their complicancy in those cruel, homicidal and greedy policies.

Nothing is mentioned about the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis slain by US, Iraqi and Al Qeda forces. The hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis (and Americans) who are cannon fodder in the midst of an Iraqi civil war.

Why is it other nations know so much more than we do about our own government, military action, and policies that create near venomous dislike toward the us government?

Leading British and Canadian newspapers, upon the re-election of George Bush in 2004 filled half their front page with the headline addressed to American voters: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Unless and until we start insisting on the truth from our journalists and media, chances are we are not going to get it. Listen to Bill Moyers talk about the lies that are finally being admitted to and proved even by the recent nonpartisan National Intelligence Estimate (that the Bush administration engineered an outright propaganda campaign using dominant media to push us into war with Iraq) and the solutions here.

As a journalist who left mainstream media because of my love-hate relationship with them for all the reasons cited by Moyers - namely that its promise is farther away than ever from being realized, resulting in actual harm to our nation - I found myself crying with him.

I do not believe dominant media can find its way to Integrity Avenue from the inside because there are too many main streams leading to deNile.

I found listening to his speech well worth my time.

I believe you'll find it worth yours as well.

What in the world is going on? Check out this GPS

I finally found a television program on international matters that is astute, brilliant, clear, *understandable* and can tell you what is really going on in the world. Especially in nations seen as problematic to Western nations.

It's a CNN show called GPS - Global Public Square.

This is exactly the BS, fear and political ideology-free type of information and discussion Americans, and frankly citizens in every country would love to see if they knew about it.

Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria hosts. Unlike other news chat show hosts, Zakaria allows his guests to talk. And talk they do. Openly, freely and knowledgeably. All points of view are represented, but everyone is expected to talk facts, not expound on a political agenda or push any particular ideology.

It airs Sunday at 10 a.m. US Pacific Time where I live.

This is a program I hope becomes the template for other information programs. This is a show that does it the way it should be done. There's not the incessant "we're out of time" message, the inveterate interruptions of a guest as she or he gets more than three words out.

An invited expert actually has time to speak and interact with those who are equally as informed but have another point of view - or who may come from a different nation and in fact agree with things said by other panelists.

Zakaria doesn't get in their way as other hosts of "information" programs do; in fact, he stays out of it. It's almost as if he is there to (gasp!) learn from his esteemed guests, who are encouraged by Zakaria to speak the truth rather than push an agenda.

For example, do you know:

*Al Qeda is no longer recruiting members by using fundamentalist Muslim religious zeal? It no longer works, so they're using anti-US feelings instead, since what is seen as the US occupation of Iraq is an effective recruiting tool.
*Al Qeda is falling apart as a disorganized "organization," but remains potent in the minds of the world because 1) Bin Laden is still not captured, and 2) of its ability to recruit new members based on anti-Western emotions.
*Al Qeda male leaders must do what they really don't want to in order to maintain the organization's reputation as a terrorist threat: work with women. It's now difficult to get men to commit suicide on its behalf, so they must bring in women to do that work or it will disappear.
*Negotiating with enemies is the bedrock of national security - no matter what nation in which you live. Which is why Israel and Syria are now talking. The national security of both nations is at risk, their very survival at stake, as long as they keep increasing their need and the power of weapons to kill one another.
*The vast majority of Iranians are *pro-US.* Iran's "president" Ahmadinejad is considered just this side of a joke by the general Iranian population. Iran's true leader is a top Muslim cleric - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Remember Iran's official name is The Islamic Republic of Iran.

So when politicians in the US spew flaming talk about dealing or not dealing with the president of Iran, the international community and knowledgeable Americans know he's not the one with whom to deal, because we know the guy with the real power is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

These are only a few of the points made by one panel in one segment of GPS.

Zakaria's interview with Henry Kissinger about not only why but "how to negotiate with your enemy" is priceless. Not only on an international basis, but individually as well.

Some GPS interviews are available online - so don't take my word for any of this. I encourage you to check them out for yourself. You'll find a breath of fresh air in a world full of the typical BS, inaccurate, agenda-filled, spun like fine silk US "news," political and information chat shows.

Creative References

Now that the script for our Heart Break Productionz feature comedy The Whole Truth is locked and has scene numbers, we're flying into production action.

We're interviewing some terrific candidates for key crew positions (Director of Photography, Production Designer, local Casting Director, make-up, hair, wardrobe and so on). They've read an earlier incarnation of the script - it's better now - and come with ideas and questions for us as well.

Something that helps the technical/artistic crew members is called a "Creative Reference." I have in the past referred to it as my Film List, but now that I'm working in feature films, I discover the more accurate name is Creative Reference.

This is a list - comprehensive but not exhaustive - of films that have an element that would, IMO, serve our film well. Whether it's blocking (where/how characters move), design (scenery, background, colors, props), camera movement, symbolism or a number of other integral parts of scenes, scenery and style.

The idea is *not* to copy anyone - far from it. It is to recognize effective cinemagraphic techniques that could tell the story best.

So I watched about 40 films that I believed would have something that we (the production team) could use, update, twist or incorporate in a new or unusual way.

This is where knowing about films from the past and film history comes in handy.

From those, I selected nine for my list, writing what I saw in each that could lend effective creative elements - some minor, some major - to our film. Dramas and comedies are considered because, remember, we're looking for technical references as well as story telling techniques.

For example, one of the films I list on my Creative Reference sheet is Rob Reiner's classic, "This Is Spinal Tap."

Now, The Tap is *nothing* like The Whole Truth. Nothing.

The Whole Truth is tightly scripted, The Tap is mostly improv'ed by a cast of brilliant writer/actors. But what I see in The Tap that I believe will work for us? The sincerity of the characters; there's never one false note.

Those characters are simply who they are. None tries to be funny. They only react as their characters would honestly to the bizarre situations in which they find themselves, which are actually fairly realistic for show biz.

So, for our film, I listed: This Is Spinal Tap - the sincerity of the characters. No one tries to be funny, they are simply and honestly themselves. Billy Crystal tells the only joke (you'll have to see the film to find it) in the entire film.

The folks we're interviewing try to watch at least the top few films on my list to understand how I see an aspect of the acting or their technical make-up helping our project.

If the Creative Reference list is properly and well done - the crew folks who read it should immediately see what I see, the way I see it. It's written carefully, conscientiously.

Their job is to help me realize my vision as the director - but directing is a completely collaborative job. It takes a village of crew and cast to help bring that vision to life - what we directors do is, in the end, take credit for the work of The Whole Creative Village. ;-)

Now, by sharing my Creative Reference list, they can come up with notions that only enhance my concept and vision, bringing me ideas and creative choices to make that vision become a living, breathing reality in a way that, hopefully, you will enjoy on a number of levels.

This is a very layered film. You'll have the opportunity to enjoy it on a very simple level - from taking that roller coaster ride of "just" a funny film for a sheer escape from your day-to-day life, to an examination of the darker sub-stories, to many other levels of character analysis, story telling and subject matter.

Which is why casting is crucial. The folks cast in our film must be able to *act,* and well. We're working with some top casting folks in LA (who are amazing) and we'll be working side by side with a well-known Seattle casting director, too.

When all our crew is in place, I'll be listing them here.

Executive Producer Gary Allen Tucci and I have been so fortunate to hook up with, IMO, the best producer in the biz with the passing of Sydney Pollack, Larry Estes. His enthusiasm, vast knowledge and support for The Whole Truth are making certain we maintain our very high standards of quality and priority of doing the best job we possibly can to work on behalf of our real boss.

That's you.

Our audience.

Of dogs and wheels

Gary Allen Tucci, my business partner and executive producer of our Heart Break Productionz' film The Whole Truth and I were pondering some of the needlessly large egos in show biz.

We have what we call the Heart Break Productionz Way of working with people - not having people work "for" us. You gotta be professional and know your stuff - and once you're aboard? The CP/GAT/HBPz Way means respect, appreciation, good manners, consideration, a creative work environment, working hard, taking responsibility and a sense o' humor.

Although the ultimate buck stops with Gary and me, we do not consider ourselves "Big Wheels."

Nor would we ever want to.

Why?

As Gary puts it, "You know what dogs do to wheels, don't you?"

I'd just as soon stay out of that line of fire, thank you.

A great filmmaker, a better man

I learned more about Sydney Pollack at a directing seminar I took several years ago from him at Sundance than I did about the technical aspects of directing.

But learning about Sydney Pollack *is* learning about directing, especially directing actors. Because he had consummate respect for all his collaborators. He had compassion for and worked well with actors others considered "difficult."

His description of helping Barbra Streisand learn to cry on cue without any artificial assistance told me of a person I'd like to emulate. He used understanding, empathy, sensitivity, heart and grace.

Speaking to him socially after? He was the same.

Professional, artistic, humane, insightful, intelligent, soulful, generous, kind and so much more.

After hearing the many stories of idiosyncratic, mean, crazy and dysfunctional film directors, here's someone I could relate to, whose work I appreciate ("The Slender Thread," "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" "Tootsie," "Out of Africa," "The Way We Were," "Absence of Malice," "The Firm," and several more) and whose approach to his colleagues and actors I love.

That one session - it lasted only 90 minutes - meant so much to me. I hope I thanked him properly when I had the opportunity to shake his hand.

Mr. Pollack was an accomplished American Academy Award-winning producer and director, as well as an accomplished actor. When he died last week (July 1, 1934-May 26, 2008) of pancreatic cancer, I thought, I'm just one of millions affected by Mr. Pollack in ways he probably never realized.

Not just with his work. But by being himself.

Thank you so much for all you've shared with us and done for the industry, filmmakers, actors, audiences and humanity, Mr. Pollack.