First thing’s first: No callback. That’s okay. “Move on dot org,” as my mom would say. I also had to turn down an audition Friday, as it films during job training. Unfortunate, but the reason I have the job is to get to LA, not to be successful in small commercials in a small market. I will do as much as I can here, and make it work as much as I can–and I’m not poo-pooing anything in the Denver market, not at all. But…oh, you know what I mean!

On to Laci!!!

So if you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know I’ve started a webseries loosely based on a modern Ricky and Lucy. We have a disclaimer from CBS and had originally planned to keep the same first names, but we decided it would be better to change them entirely.  It’s called  i <3 lac;)   (I Heart Laci, in text-ese.)

Last week I attended the monthly CASA Mass Focus meeting, where I was able to fill people in a bit on what we’ve been doing…and for the first time after an industry meeting, people were waiting to talk to me. Normally, I’m always waiting in line to talk to other people…this is all very exciting for me! It’s the little things, you know.

Anyway, after speaking to a few people, we now have a PR/Marketing guru, so I don’t have to stress about that anymore! *whew* I had ideas to get us out there, and things we should do, but it’s so much easier having someone who does this for a living…knows what will work and what won’t. And one less thing for me to worry about. Now I can focus on other things!

We also have a script guru! We were writing them ourselves…maybe one of us would write a rough draft, and the rest would make suggestions. But we’re all busy and trying to get even just the second script written was difficult. So Kevin was a gift from heaven! (Oh, that rhymed!)

Our first meeting with the both of them was today, and we’ve squared a few things away, worked more on our characters and what we’re hoping for the series…Kevin’s going to pitch 10 or so ideas for a couple of episodes, and we’ll choose one (hopefully two) to film next Saturday.  And just keep on goin’!

There’s also a lady on a local PBS program who would like to get us on…which would be fantastic! Hey! I’ll be on PBS! That’s *close* to BBC, right?

So…things have been going slowly for a while. We’ve hit a couple bumps–had to re-cast our Ricky (now Richie)–schedules are tough–etc. But we are on a roll now!

We’ve generated so much interest so far, and we don’t even have anything up yet! We’ve got high hopes for our little series. Originally, it was going to be for fun, and something to get us SAG eligible. But it’s turned into something bigger than that and I can’t wiat to see where this goes! I won’t tell you what I’m hoping…once we get our website started, we’ll keep everyone updated on what’s going on. So you’ll just have to stay tuned, I guess!

We’re going to be scheduling a photo shoot soon, which I’m excited about. A proper photo shoot!!!! For something that I created! This was a little idea in my brain, and now I have a cast, and a crew…and not just any cast and crew, either. Everyone is so dedicated and helpful–the cast is all experienced and professional (you have no idea how much easier that makes everything!). The crew knows exactly where to go and what to do.

And something else awesome about our cast? Multi-ethnic. Very proud of that.

Now I need to think about a short little jingle to be the theme song. Anyone wanna write something for me to sing?

Share on Facebook

(Do you like the new page? Less boring, huh? And I got the RSS subscription button to work–so now you can subscribe for reals!)

In case you missed it the first thousand times I said it 12 months ago, I proclaimed near and far that 2009 was going to be MY YEAR.

Near and Far! Grover is Near and Far (<–Something my brother and sister and I laugh at all the time.)

And it was my year. Until 2010, that is! But we’ll get to 2010 in a bit…first, let’s talk 2009!

It started off promising, with more auditions than I’d usually gotten. Call-backs and workshops and more training! I accepted a couple roles in some short films, for no pay, as usual. Toward the middle of the year, I decided I wouldn’t work for free anymore, unless I really liked the project. I’m done padding my resume and am ready for juicy, meaty roles that satisfy my soul as well as the bill collectors!

One such project that I really liked was THE HERE BETWEEN, a short based on a short story by Ambrose Bierce (“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”). I’d loved the story as a teenager, and Ilian Iliev adapted it for a short, putting it in the early 1920s and adding a few characters. It was filmed in Bailey, CO over a weekend in August. I hesitate to say I had a blast with it, because it was a serious subject matter…but, as with every project, I did have fun. It’s a powerful piece, and I look forward to seeing the finished product. I know they’re still in post-production now, but plan on making the rounds of the festival circuit in 2010. I have a feeling it will do very well, so I look forward to keeping you guys updated!

Here is a small album of some of my gigs this year. I haven’t gone crazy and put hundreds up there, like other albums, so don’t worry!

THE HIGHWAYMAN finally started production this year, as well. As you know, my part is very small…I play The Highwayman’s grandmother in flashbacks–I’ll be surprised if my total screen time when completed is 5 minutes! Darlene Cypser (writer/producer) has added a backstory to  Alfred Noyes’s famous poem of the same name (I am SO in my element with literary adaptations! Loving it!), and that’s where my character (Lady Catherine Stiles) comes in. Her adaptation is fantastic, and she’s put together a wonderful cast! We’re still filming–also still seeking locations!–but hoping for a 2010 release date.

The biggest news of the year, though, was getting the lead female role in CHHEVAN DARIYA (THE SIXTH RIVER), filmed in Punjab, India!!! If you’ve been a faithful reader of my blog–ahem!–you’ll know all about it. It was definitely the highlight of 2009–as well as my career to date.

I am so blessed to have been a part of this.

What can I say, really? I spent two months in India doing two of the things I love most in this world–acting and traveling! I played an American researcher writing a book on the various states of India. When she gets to Punjab (Land of Five Rivers), she realized there is also a sixth river–to her, it’s the people and the culture…but in reality it’s the drugs and alcohol poisoning the land. There action, intrigue, romance…and yes, there’s also a dance number!

I have my own forum now on Punjabi Portal–how crazy! I love it!!! But it’s so weird, too…about as weird as seeing my picture blown up on a huge poster for the movie.

They’re still in post, but last I heard they’re planning on releasing it in India in February/March-ish. Ish Amitoj Kaur (the director/writer/producer) and I also hope to submit it to a lot of major western film fests. If that’s the case, I don’t know when it would be released in the western world. It may be another year before you’re able to see it…that’s just how this business works.

So now what am I up to?

Well, I no longer have a “survival job,” much to my husband’s chagrin. I’m considering it a blessing in disguise. No, I’m not making money at the moment, but I finally have time to get other projects started. And here are my plans for 2010:

1) I’m starting a new webseries loosely based on a modern-day Ricky and Lucy. We film our first webisode in three days! I’ll post them here when each webisode is finished…as well as You Tube, Facebook, etc! I may start co-producing at some point, if I ever start a production company!

2) You may remember me talking about WILD GEESE, the short film I was wanting to write. I still hope to do that! India sort of interrupted that project–a good interruption, mind you! But I have to make my brain go back to that place…find out what research I’d done and get back into the groove of 1691 western Ireland. And yes, I still plan on writing it in Irish…and YES, I still hope to get Cillian Murphy attached!  Somehow.  Someday.  Some way. Can’t you just picture it?

(Only, looking more Irish and less Dutch.)

3) I started a novel in the summer of 2008, putting it down that December because life got so hectic with work and travel, etc. I never picked it up again, unfortunately. I recently did, though, getting re-acquainted with all my old friends. I had such Good Things in store for them–I’d hate for them not to experience everything! So I must trudge forward and get it finished this year! (I even knew what was going to happen in the sequel…!) I kind of left Plum and Henry, et al, stranded in the middle of a story. That wasn’t very nice of me.

4) I hope to complete an album this year, too. Such lofty goals and ambitions! But why not?! Why can’t I dream big? It’s my world, after all…I can do whatever I want. I’ve never written songs…always said I couldn’t do it. But I never tried, either. I think it would be best to start co-writing some…and I have so many talented friends and family that I’m hoping can help. I’ve created a new playlist  called The Muse–with artists I love and hope will inspire some good songs out of me! (Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Feist, Amy Winehouse, Muse, Jason Mraz, Simon and Garfunkel, etc. I also included Dead Can Dance’s \”Summoning of the Muse.\” Seemed rather apropos.)

5) Get cast as Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s THE GREAT GATSBY.

And so there you have it. Of course, there are lots of little things I hope to accomplish through the year, but these are the biggun’s.

Please click on the piece of toast on the right to suscribe to the RSS feed! That way you’ll be able to stay “in the know” with all my goings-on. Hopefully my posts will get more and more exciting as time goes by!

Until then…it’s well past lunchtime and I have a dog who wants to go play in the snow.

Here’s to a fabulous 2010 for all of us!

Tell me where…
Where is it written
what is it I’m meant to be?
That I can’t dare…
It all began the day I found
that from my window I could only see
apiece of sky.
I stepped outside and looked around.
I never dreamed it was so wide
or even half as high.
The time had come
(–Papa, can you hear me?–)
to try my wings
(–Papa, are you near me?–)
And even thought it seemed at any moment I could fall,
I felt the most
(–Papa, can you see me?–)
amazing things!
(–Can you understand me?–)
The things you can’t imagine
if you’ve never flown at all.
Though it’s safer to stay on the ground,
sometimes where danger lies
there the sweetest of pleasures are found.
No matter where I go,
there’ll be memories that tug at my sleeve.
But there will also be
more to question, yet more to believe..
Oh, tell me where?
Where is the someone who will turn to look at me
and want to share
my ev’ry sweet-imagined possibility?
The more I live, the more I learn.
The more I learn, the more I realize
the less I know.
Each step I take -
(–Papa, I’ve a voice now!–) Each page I turn -
(–Papa, I’ve a choice now!–)Each mile I travel only means
The more I have to go.
What’s wrong with wanting more?
If you can fly – then soar!
With all there is – why settle for
just a piece of sky?
Papa, I can hear you…
Papa, I can see you…
Papa, I can feel you…
Papa, watch me fly!

~ “A Piece of Sky,” from Yentl.

A Piece of Sky- amazing.   (Click here!)

Share on Facebook

I’ve been trying to keep people updated via my Facebook statuses…unfortunately, certain people only catch certain updates, and some not at all. I wanted to hold off on writing a new blog, but…ah, who cares? I’m excited!

(Lots of links in here, for your learning pleasure!   )

This is what’s going on:

I have accepted a role in Tangra Productions’ short film The Here Between, based on Ambrose Bierce’s  “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” The film will be set in the 1930s, though my particular costume (as the town…err…girl-for-hire) is more flapper-esque.   It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’re rehearsing Saturday and Sunday, though I may not make Saturday’s, and we film the last weekend of August.

The weekend after that, I shoot my scenes for The Highwayman, based on the poem by Alfred Noyes. (These literature interpretations are right up my alley!) I’m not positive when filming will wrap, as they’re still trying to get enough funding. This is how non-Hollywood movies are done, folks. Not a lot of money…so it takes a while to get them completed!

I’m about 99% sure I didn’t get the nurse role (mentioned in my previous blogs), but a friend of mine did get the football player: watch out for Tre Mosby, folks! When you see ads for a movie called The Frankenstein Brothers, remember Tre!

Now, onto the really exciting stuff!

As you know, I’m up for the lead in a Punjabi film entitled The Sixth River, being filmed on location in the Punjab region of India. This is an incredible opportunity for me–I just can’t tell you enough how excited I am! I’ve been in touch with Ish amitoj Kaur from Noor Nissan Films.

She called today to let me know that she’s sending the contract for me to peruse tonight, and we’ll be going over that later on. They’ll be flying me to LA this Friday (or possibly San Fran on Wednesday) to meet with everyone. As the filming begins 5 October, they’d like to make a decision as soon as possible. All this does not mean I have the role. It does mean, however, that I’m one step closer. And this is probably the biggest turning point in my career.

I know it’s hard for “civilians” to understand this world. But even if I don’t get this role, this is still HUGE for me. It would be for anybody in my position. An unknown actor, constantly trying to put themself out there, struggling to prove that they’ve got the goods. Finally someone’s willing to take a chance! And if they don’t, I’ll at least know that by golly, people like me! It’s a big deal, and I’m not going to let people tell me it’s not.

This isn’t Bollywood, though there will be some songs and a couple dances. Take a look at Rang De Basanti (or here) to get a better idea. Our story is about an American girl who goes to India, working on her book and visiting an old college chum. And then some other stuff happens. What? You want me to give it away?! Heck, no–go buy a ticket when it comes out! 

And as if all this wasn’t exciting enough, I just got news yesterday that a British production company with access to IFC funding options is interested in producing my short Irish film. To that, all I can say is:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funding? Wouldn’t that be nice?! Funding means it’ll be that much easier to get Cillian Murphy attached, which in turn means I might get even more funding! Which means…I can film in Ireland, rather than finding someplace in Colorado that sort of looks like Galway. It means I don’t have to stress too much about costumes from 1691, and what’s in the cottage, and whose cameras and lighting I need to borrow. With Cilly, it would also mean the biggest stressor disappears: the casting of Boy. There’s no one else for this role. Sorry, but there isn’t. (Plus, when I actually meet him, I can then officially start calling us Chrillian.)

Tee-hee.  Hey, you don’t really expect me to change with success, do you? Once a dork, always a dork!

And I just thought of something!  I might be able to help my friend Patrick Monaghan with his film, The Scattering. You may remember I dedicated a whole blog to it a few months back…? Maybe not. Anyway, if I’m in touch with the IFC in some way, shape, or form…maybe that’ll help Patrick.

I always believe in helping others out. Not necessarily giving them things, you know? But giving them the opportunity. When I’m big and famous, I’ll be helping friends or family out, sure.  But only by helping them get their foot in the door. After that, they have to prove themselves.

That’s all I want for me. Getting through the door is the hardest part. Showing people I’ve got what it takes? No problem–but you have to find a way to show them! Ugh.

I still haven’t written my short! It’s been a little hectic around here. That doesn’t look like it’ll be changing anytime soon. But…it kind of looks–and I hesitate to say this for fear of jinxing it!–like I might be able to quit the survival job within the next 6 months.

Knock on wood, good juju, good energy, light a candle, say a prayer, whatever it is you do: do it!

I’m hoping this next blog will have even better news. Until then–

Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally…golly, what a day.

Share on Facebook

Have a callback tomorrow for a SAG feature film. Casting is being done in LA, but they’re filming here in Denver, which is nice. I think it’s a “Dude, Where’s My Car” kind of a movie. Not exactly my type, but whatever! Hopefully you’ll see me as the nurse! One line–woo-hoo!

I’m also super-crazy-excited about a film shooting in India. I don’t know how many people they’re looking at for the lead, but I’m one of them.  I wish I could put sound clips on my blog–you’d be forced to hear my excitement!!!

It’s from an Indian-American production company (NN Films)…I’d be filming for about a month…they pay all expenses, plus a very small salary. A month in India? Doing what I love? Yes, please!

Plus, I can shop for saris and linens and all the gorgeous woodwork and stuff! Yay!

Oh–there’s a small chance I might be going to Sundance this year with some friends. Our friend’s sister (both Indian-American, coincidentally) will hopefully have her film accepted–we’re almost positive it will! And then we can support her film…schmooze on the slopes…grab some SWAG…sip cocoa…and pass out my business cards to EVERYONE!!! Please visit her site when you get a chance: Mridu Chandra

At this moment, I am happy. Except for this pounding headache that keeps reappearing, but I’ll just sing it away! Tra-la!!! Tra-la!

Share on Facebook

I did get callbacks for Serpent Rising. They had me read for Maria a few times, and then Rose once or twice. I love callbacks, because you get a partner if your scene requires one, and you can actually act it out a bit more.

When I walked in, there were about 7-8 people there. Larry, the writer/director announced me and they all started to cheer. Jason, the guy reading for Paul–I think he actually *is* Paul–turned to me and said, “Don’t you wish every audition began like this?” YES. What a reception! So we had fun the moment I walked in.

I found out a bit more about the movie…it’s an action-thriller a la The Bourne Trilogy…and they’re trying to get John Savage as one of the cops! This would be the biggest project I’ve worked on to date. For sure!

I told my agent I wanted to do my own stunts, and he said, “No, you don’t. If you get hurt, that’s forever. ‘Body double!!!’ ” He’s right, but…man, I’d like to do some rolling around with a gun! LOL…

Anyway, that was Thursday. I did very well, I’m quite pleased with the audition. And now we play the Waiting Game. It’s hard not to be impatient. And I like to go around thinking–and talking–like I already have the part. I’m putting all that good juju into the universe…and thanks to all of you who are doing the same.

I know I’m on a short list, I just don’t know how short. I also know that they were going to cast a gal from LA, but then I auditioned. I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to hear that! That made my month, man!

I’ve been saying for months now that 2009 is my year. It SO is.

Thanks for reading, guys. Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS to stay up-to-date on all my goings-on. This promises to be a busy year…

Cannon, out.

*kablooey!*

I’m such a dork. :p

Share on Facebook