Hate Actors

So... I feel so nieve right now. At least I can take this as a learning experience....

So this 5 min film project we were given at uni, we had almost no limitations and could do what we wanted. Most people tend to do abstract art type things. I'm not interested in that I like narrative films. I decided to make a short which was 1 scene. The film is basicly a conversation between 2 people at an apartment front door. I planned to use this project to practice writing and filming dialog and creating characters in a short span of type. I wrote it up everything was ok, I worked out how I was gonna film it in my house to make it look like an apartment. Everything good to go. It was october my deadline was january 12th.

I dont know so many people in this city and my hometown where my friends are is too far away so I sent out an email to all the performance arts students at my uni. I needed a guy early 20s and a woman the same age who was pretty. I got no replies at all from guys so I figured I could do that myself since the camera is fixed on a tripod anyway (we have to do the filming ourselves). Several from women only 2 of them really looked right. I talked with them over several emails and they both liked my project idea and both wanted to do it. I tried to set up a meeting with one of them to talk about the project and show her script, thats when she stopped replying to all emails. The other was busy all the time but gave me her number, we spoke on the phone a lot about the project. I asked her if she will be free to do the project before christmas she said sure. By December 15th she tells me she cant and can only do it in january. I remind her my deadline jan 12th and we agreed we would do it in the first week of jan. I call her on Jan 2nd no answer... I text her on Jan 5th no reply... so now its the 8th and I have given up on meeting my deadline and am thinking what to say to my lecturers. They are pretty much gonna think I am some douche slacker who doesn't care about the course at all when I have ideas about film making, stories and scene ideas buzzing around my head constantly everyday. I just want to make a film but people keep letting me down... ugh.....................

Next year my final year I have to make a much longer film, 30-50 mins I think. I have tons of ideas for it but I find myself dreading it now worrying about flaky actors.

People just make me sick. Its like a couple hours max, just a rehersal then the filming. Then they get a short film of themselves acting that can be used in their portfolio, I said I would give them a copy on dvd aswell.....omg :-/

People who mess others around like this just need to die. I cant believe people can be so selfish.


I'm done ranting.
 
Last edited:
I realize that this is an old thread, but I LUV!!!!! ACTORS!!!!!!!!.......A few flakes now and then? Yeap! But girl-o-boy, I've had some incredibly talented no-names who have gone through hell and back during two features and a short that were made from my scripts in the last year.

My only contribution is the writing(okay, and boom, and continuity, and props, and etc.), and to see these talented flakes bring my stories and characters to life in ways that I'd never imagined....F&ck, I LUV!!!! actors!

They're like junkies who need a fix, and we're the dealers....You can get 'em to do anything...And if you run into a prima donna, then be done with 'em and move on.

Pay 'em what you can!

Feed 'em the best you're able!

DON'T!!! expect them to help set up equipment, etc.. That's not their job!!....I was a pathetically unsuccessful newb of a playwright in Chicago in the early '80's.....Got involved helping out, just a little, at the Steppenwolf Theater....Do the names Malkovich, Senise, Mahoney, Laurie Metcalf ring any bells? I saw Dennis Farina's debut performance on stage(he sucked, BTW, but he's gotten better)...The intensity that they brought to their roles was unnerving.

But there is one piece of advice I can offer to indiefolks regarding actors' potential flakiness...

ALWAYS!!! write in a part for a guy named "Jerry"....Jerry will serve no real purpose other than to be in a few scenes with the other actors early on in the film...Maybe Jerry is at a bar and meets "Jack" the lead actor's character, and is then in another scene with Jack and a coupla friends....

Half way into the shoot, when the actor playing Jack does a disappearing act, by golly if good ol' Jerry doesn't show up and explain that Jack just got run over by a bus, but if he were here, he'd say "......"

Midnite
 
Meh...as an actor.. I'll have to say you get what you pay for. I've done more free work than you can imagine...and thats what we have to do to get our reels and resumes up to par. However, at times and can be risky and damn near dangerous. Sometimes it turns out to be for a non experienced director with little to no crew on a decent camera with no know how behind it, but he/she actually gives a damn and we all learn a lot. I'm lucky i'm at the point in my career where I'm not doing that kind of stuff anymore but... you get what you pay for. Sometimes you get lucky and find people willing to work for copy that really do love acting and are fearless...

The problem is...acting is something everyone "wants" to do until they realize how much work is actually involved. I would say that rings true for most of the entertainment industry.

I know myself and most all of my actor friends really respect everyone involved in the production side of things from the crew to the hair and makeup folks. Don't hate on actors because without them you won't have a job... hate on flaky actors...because they aren't real actors anyways.

And Midnight... Your "Jerry" character is freaking hilarious!
 
Back
Top