Lots of changes this past month!

First, we’ve changed the Lucy web series name to:    i <3 lac;)  (I Heart Laci.)    We changed the names of the major characters, just in case. We do have a disclosure ABC gave us to include in each webisode, but we don’t want anything else to come back to bite us. So: Laci, Richie, Frank, Eve and two new characters: Jimmy and JoJo are eager to make your acquaintance!

We’re almost finished with all the SAG paperwork. I’m pretty excited about it–but wow! That’s a lot of paperwork! I can’t imagine having to do this for a feature film! It’ll all be worth it, though. We’ll have a SAG production on our hands, and the possibility of being able to Taft-Hartley ourselves into SAG. Well, I don’t plan on joining quite yet–but just having “SAG-Eligible” on my resume will be fantastic. I won’t join while living in Denver…there’s not enough SAG productions out this way to keep me employed!

We’ve finished our first “official” webisode, and would like to shoot a couple more before putting them online. Getting everyone’s schedules to mesh is the hardest part. All of us are pretty busy and it seems like we’re only able to film about once a month at this point. Nevertheless, we’re going to get started on marketing and fan pages pretty soon. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to debut the first episode! You’ll finally be able to figure out why we have pie all over our faces!

I’ve started a new workout routine. I’ll be the first to admit I can be lazy in the fitness aspect of things. I’m not overly fond of working out, and that’s putting it mildly. But I have to. Not only do I feel better about myself when I’m toned and fit and healthy, I also look better on camera! It’s kind of necessary to my “type” to stay toned and slender. I’m doing Jillian MIchaels’ 30-Day Shred video and find that it really kicks my arse!!! No kidding! It’s about 25 minutes everyday, but in that time, you’re really working hard. Please note–I am neither endorsing this video nor asking you to buy. The link is so you can see what it is and read other reviews!   I’m really liking it, though. I can’t use time as an excuse anymore, as it’s less than thirty minutes. I get strength, cardio, and abs 5-6 days a week and hopefully in a few weeks, I’ll start noticing small changes in my body!

My last blog had mention of EYE OF NOOR, a vampire vs. paladin movie I had accepted a role in. Due to several reasons, I had to bow out. I won’t go into any details, but I hope all the best for the production!

If you’ll notice in my Blogroll, The Actor’s Voice is among the links I’ve included. Bonnie Gillespie is an LA-based casting director. Though I can’t claim to actually know her, I have been able to talk a bit with her through email and Facebook, and I follow her weekly column (AND advice!). These past couple of weeks, she’s been asking us actors for resumes, headshots, websites, etc. to critique. I’m sure she gets asked all the time to critique materials, but she decided to dedicate a couple of her columns to the critiques, in order to help us all out. I submitted my website, because I feel it’s just a bit boring. There’s a few things I know I need to fix professionally, and I will do that…but I feel it needs a bit more of my personality to it, without going overboard. Anyway–imagine my surprise to open her column these past couple Mondays to find myself !!!! She has critiqued both my headshot and resume so far. And *whew* So far, so good. I’ve fixed my resume–except that darn formatting issue which always screws up!

I’m just excited knowing that an LA casting director has looked at my stuff! Does it mean she’ll call me tomorrow when a breakdown fits me? Sadly, no. But when I do get to LA, there’s at least one casting director who knows my name and a bit of my work.

Which brings me to an issue I’m having. Not a huuuuge deal, but frustrating, nonetheless. I’m ready to create my reel–a short video of some of the films I’ve been in–but am having trouble getting footage (whether raw, edited, whatever) from my gigs. Having a reel on my website and on Actors Access will help so much, but I can’t do it right now. About once a month, I ask various directors for anything to use. I don’t want to annoy them, but it is my career. Reels help showcase an actor’s work, and do more than a photo and resume would to get in the door. So I’ll just keep asking, I guess!

Something exciting may happen: Andy and I might move! We don’t know when or where, though! It could be overseas…or it could be LA. As much as I would love moving back to England, right now I need to be in LA. If I’m going to be successful at all, it needs to be LA. That’s just the way it is.

We won’t move for a little while, and it’s really all dependent on Andy’s job at the moment. But within a year, we could be in LaLa Land!!!

And I’m back to having a Survival Job. I had a few months after India of blessed freedom, but bills don’t really disappear. I wanted another part-time job, but I found a full-time job (evenings) that I can do from home. Saves moolah on gas!!! I may not be able to audition as much, anymore, but we’ll see what happens! This will help so much in getting to LA–and it’s really there I need to be auditioning, not smaller markets. But I’ll be out there, Denver and New Mexico, as often as I can!!!

Oh–before I forget! Please visit my IMDb page as often as you can. Just once a day helps a lot.

www.imdb.me/christacannon

It may sound silly, but the more visits I get, the higher my “star rating” is. And don’t forget–this business pays attention to who’s popular. A bigger way of driving up my star rating is to talk about me on the message boards! As much as I’d love to log in under assumed identities, I have to leave this in your hands.

What are STARmeter & MOVIEmeter?

STARmeter^TM and MOVIEmeter^TM are rankings of every person and title in IMDb. Available only on IMDbPro, our website designed for people who work in the entertainment industry, STARmeter^TM and MOVIEmeter^TM provide industry professionals with insights into the popularity of film and television productions as well as the people who make them. To learn more about our rankings, sign-up for an IMDbPro two week free trial. To start your free trial, click here.

What do the rankings mean?

Plain and simple, they represent what people are interested in, based not on small statistical samplings, but on the actual behavior of millions of IMDb users. Unlike the AFI 100^TM or Academy Awards^TM, high rankings on STARmeter^TM and MOVIEmeter^TM do not necessarily mean that something is “good.” They do mean that there is a high level of public awareness and/or interest in the title or person.

How are these ratings calculated?

IMDbPro uses proprietary algorithms that take into account several measures of popularity for people and titles. The primary measure is who and what people are looking at on the public IMDb.com website.

The rankings are updated on a weekly basis.

So keep clicking away!!! You have no clue what a help it is.  This week I went up to #43,049 from a dismal #87,355. Is Sam Mendes or Baz Luhrmann taking note? Again–and sadly–no. But they will!!!

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(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!)

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“For an actress to be a success, she must have the face of Venus, the brains of Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of Macaulay, the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros.”

~Ethel Barrymore

1879-1959

Ms. Barrymore said this sometime in the 1950s.

Nothing has changed.

But let’s break this down a bit…

VENUS: The goddess of love and beauty. The most important thing for an actress to be, or so it seems, is beautiful. Nobody wants to go and see normal-looking women, do they? Thank God this is changing, ever-so-slightly. There are very few actresses who are drop-dead gorgeous, who look fabulous no matter what. Most of us look just like everyone else. Every photo you see has been photoshopped and airbrushed. We’re made to look skinnier and toned with flawless skin. No one looks like that! And trust me, everyone gets airbrushed. EVERYONE.

But as women, we let that happen. We keep buying the magazines with impossible beauty on the covers. We keep looking at those pictures and think, “I’ll never look like that.” Well–that’s true–we won’t ever look like that. But it should make us feel at least a little better knowing that they’ll never look like that, either!   The things that they have and we don’t are: good lighting, good make-up and hair stylists, a good photographer who knows all their best angles, and a guy to photoshop the finished product.

Yet we still have to strive daily to look our best, at all times…at any cost. Magic creams and potions and injections and going to the gym, all to keep us looking glamourous and beautiful. This is fine for those who have been able to make a successful career out of acting, but for those of us still struggling, it’s not easy. I can’t afford most of this–and I don’t have a personal trainer egging me on to work out. I hate working out. So how can I keep up with those screen goddesses?

I can’t. I just have to be Me.  And I’ll keep hoping that casting directors see something different in me and will take a chance on that.

MINERVA: The goddess of wisdom, medicine, the arts, dyeing, science, trade, war, and the inventor of music. Good golly! That’s a lot for one person to handle, don’cha think?! Yet actresses have to do this daily. The stereotype used to be that actresses weren’t exactly the smartest of creatures…but it’s next to impossible to be a “dumb blonde” in this biz. You have to have common sense, good judgement, and (I would say) a higher-than-average intelligence to make this work. Not only do we need to be creative–after all, our very job is to “pretend” we’re someone else–but we also need to have a business-minded brain. That’s not easy for some of us–me included. We have to be able to read a script and decide if this would be good for us as artists, and as businesspeople. It ain’t called “show business” for nothin’. You are a brand. You must be marketable. People must be able to make money off of you, which means you need to be making plenty for yourself. (This part also falls into the VENUS category–being marketable!) And when/if you are making money, you need to make sure it’s yours and that it’s not going anywhere–which is a whole other side to the business that I’m not going to get into. I’ll hire someone for that!

TERPSICHORE: The Muse of dance and lyric poetry. An actress must have grace. She is under pressure and strain, as well as the microscope much of the time. She must exude an ease of grace or face the harsh critics in the press. She must be graceful not only in body and face, but in language as well. She must speak kindly about all, she must not be ribald, she must be this and that. Honestly, I can understand how some of these young actresses throw their hands up and go crazy. I understand, but I won’t condone it. Ish Kaur, the director of THE SIXTH RIVER, told me I was graceful in everything I did. I laughed at that and told her I’m such a klutz! But that didn’t matter. Tripping over everything (and sometimes nothing) doesn’t mean I can’t be graceful. It just means I have to be extra-charming to make up for my sense of gravity.

MACAULAY: Lord Macaulay was a poet, historian, MP, and Secretary at War. He was known to say that, “if by some miracle of vandalism all copies of Pilgrim’s Progress and Paradise Lost were destroyed off the face of the earth,” he would undertake to reproduce them both from recollection. How he fits into an actress’s life should be obvious. We read, we commit to memory, we perform what we have learned. But it goes a bit deeper than that. We shouldn’t forget anything in our lives–personal, professional, whatever. The pain we’ve endured, the happiness we’ve felt, every emotion from any time in our lives can be brought forward to use in our craft.  Though we’d like to forget high school days or embarrassing moments, they help a lot in connecting to and with  the character we’re playing. Those old emotions help us become the character, not just act like her.

JUNO: Queen of the gods and protector of Rome. She is often identified with the Greek goddess Hera, who was mostly worshipped as a goddess of marriage and birth. Which brings me to one of the more interesting aspects of being an actress: marriage and children. Oh, lordy, this could be a long one! First, marriage: When an actress gets married, she takes herself off the market. Producers may not like that because people might stop fantasizing about her, and stop buying tickets to see her. (This is all bull hockey, but whatever.) Producers may not like the partner she chose…he or she could be bad for her career. And then there’s the whole “my wife simulates sex with other people for a living” thing. I’ve often joked with Andy that the only reason I’m an actress is so I can kiss other people and get away with it. The truth is, it’s really not a joking matter. It can’t be easy for someone to watch their partner making out with another guy or gal. Insecurities are bound to pop up–real or imagined. And telling them that it’s the least sexy and romantic thing to do doesn’t help. You’re there in front of dozens of people, all eyes on the two of you…it’s not exactly a picnic. But that doesn’t help–your partner will be thinking things like, “Does she touch him the way she touches me? Does she enjoy it? I’m gonna go punch that guy’s lights out!” No matter how normal and sane and level-headed they are–and believe me, I’ve got one of the most even-keeled guys out there–this is not an easy thing to go through. So this in itself takes a little bit of Minerva and Terpsichore–wisdom and grace–to tread lightly on the subject, to be gentle and reassuring and maybe a little blasé about the whole thing. If the actor happens to be a good kisser…you know, my husband doesn’t need to know that.

This can be very dangerous territory for those of us who have partners. As an actress, I will myself to develop a bit of a crush on my co-star. It helps with the chemistry and makes things more believable. But actors in general can take those feelings too far. (And I mean “actors” as in guys and gals.) It’s the easiest thing in the world to think yourself in love with that other person, to really believe it. We see it all the time in the tabloids–people leaving their spouses for their recent co-star. But most of the time, it’s just the intensity of emotions on set, it’s not anything real–it’s not anything to build a relationship on. If you have a strong marriage, it’s just a bump in the road and you can stop yourself from tripping. If you’ve been having trouble in your marriage, this can be a huge boulder  you run smack-dab into, face first. It’s up to you. It’s always up to you.

Onto kids: Yay, kids! Everyone asks, “When are you guys gonna have kids? You’ve been married a while now! Come on!” We’re under constant pressure to reproduce! Most of our friends have already finished, and we haven’t even begun. Going through our friends, 97% of those who do not have kids are actresses. Coincidence? Hardly. We have the usual worries about starting a family: time, money, career, etc. But then we’ve got the added worries about changing bodies and not getting a role while we’re pregnant…and trying to get back to our pre-pregnancy bodies, not an easy feat. And for those often playing romantic leads, there’s the worry that now we’ll only get cast in the mom roles, that we won’t be seen as cute and sexy anymore. For an actress to be out of commission for an entire year is a tough thing. People forget you in this business, unless you’re always out there. You have to continuously fight to be heard and seen, to get the roles you want. (Remember Minerva’s also the goddess of war?) Once you start a family, you’ll be fighting for the above, plus to spend time with your family. This can be a cruel career–odd, long hours…often filming on location no where near your home. Can you bring the kids? Sure. With someone else there to watch them. You can see them in your trailer between takes–but I don’t know many kids patient enough to hang around the studio for any length of time. It’s hard enough for the kids who are in the film to be patient! (And that’s true of some adults, too!    )

For many years of an actress’s life, her career has to come first. Otherwise, there will be no career. Some might argue that there may be no children then, either. So each actress has to decide for herself what she can and cannot live with. If knowing you sacrificed a family for your career is going to make you distraught, then don’t focus so much on the career. For me–I’m at that awkward age, where both are pretty important. Career outweighs children, but not by much. I have a few more years before I really need to start worrying…so I won’t think about that now. I’ll think about that tomorrow, with Scarlett.

I’m in a business where my height and weight are on my resume. A change in weight becomes a change in characters that I can play. So…yes, that’s always the first thing on my mind when I think about starting to have children.

RHINO: As if all the above wasn’t bad enough, we also have to be strong and tough? Geez Louise, you’re asking a lot. In this profession, you hear a lot of “NOs.” You’re not right for the part. Come back after you’ve done this. Lose 5 pounds. Too tall, too short, too this and that. No, no, no, no, NO. The physical attributes that you’re super insecure about are the things the Powers That Be will bring up. I’ve heard two very good pieces of advice for those wanting to be an actor. 1) If you can’t take criticism, forget it. You’ll never make it. 2) If there’s something you’re just as passionate about, do that instead.

Even if you’ve made it, you’re still under critique. And everyone’s a critic. Everyone’s scrutinizing you and taking pictures of you…and you can’t scratch your nose in public anymore, because US Weekly will have it blown up and claim you were picking your nose! Gain a few pounds, and they’ll circle the supposed “baby bump” that is your tummy! Kiss an old friend on the cheek and suddenly you’re in a passionate affair. Cover your face from the cameras and you’re rude. On and on and on. For someone like me, who wants everyone to like her, that can be difficult. First of all, I have to understand that not everyone’s going to like me. Second, who bloody cares?! Just let it go. Serenity NOW!

So there you have it. The Life of an Actress. I hope that brings a little more understanding into what we go through, and why we make the decisions we do…and why so many of us are older mums!

Ethel knew exactly what she was talking about…and in 50+ years, it’s still the same.

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