Boston Movie Extra

This has been going on for a very very very long time over 20 years that I know of personally and that is actors taking acting classes at specific locations to get a job from them. That is a myth to say the least, I am not saying not to take those classes but do not spend your money going there thinking that you will get a acting job from them guarenteed. Why I find this funny is that people get "pissed" because they spent $300 + to take acting classes from a particular casting director's agency and they did not get a JOB from them. Are you kidding me?!?! Take those classes if you like, they are very good but don't think they going to offer you a role on a silver plate. They might notice you and offer you an audition or two but the rest is up to you. Some people complain about the stupidest things..the bottom line is you are taking classes to extend and expand your craft,the rest is up to you. Think of it this way you own a business, you train yourself to get the ...

I just heard this morning of a person being thrown off set for suggesting something to the director of all people. Guys and gals we know what the rules are and we all obey them, but sometimes a first timer might get overly excited and do the unthinkable. To the person that was thrown off, let it be a lesson..I know these people(directors, actors,etc) are human but on sets these people are untouchable.

First of all glad to seeing most of you on current sets lately..glad you are enjoying this blog. I apologize that I haven't been too frequent with it, but I will do my best to inform you. The subject to today's blog is simple and apparently is becoming a problem on sets lately and that is people double booking themselves. Look...there are A LOT of jobs lately in this state and we should all be grateful that we have this great opportunity, so there is plenty to go around. But when people double book you give birth to two problems.. One. Your reputation to casting directors.. If you have a night shoot on one night and the next day you have booked yourself on another project with a call time of 5am and you are still working on that overnight..you got a problem. Most likely you will be sleep deprived and won't show or you simply can't because your on another set. This causes the casting agent to be short on their numbers and also makes them look bad. So guess who's n...

Ok. So here is the story Wicked Local an online news site for New England visted the set of Furry Vengeance last week. The reporter worked as an extra for a day and wrote his thoughts about it, now a lot of people that read it really go offended. But to be honest being in this business for almost 20 years and a lot of people that have worked on these sets for a long time would probably agree to most of the article. Look I know to some of you it might have offend you because it's how you make a living but if you read this and say that the article is not at least 50% true, then you have not been in this business for too long.. Many will say that background extras are the living aspect of the scene and I COMPLETELY agree. But to some of the higher ups on these sets (not all) we are nothing but filler. I have seen some crew members in my past 20 years treat background like crap, and no one deserves that. On the other hand there have been sets that all the crew has been FANTASTIC a...

I just got this email today asking me what my thoughts were about traveling from MA to NYC for extras jobs... My answer was unless it's a speaking role..it's not worth it. If you have a bit part, going for an audtion, or have an actual paying part...by all means go. Unless you have a place to stay it's not worth it to travel 3.5 hours to work as an extra for an avg of $120 to $300 depending on how the day goes. Because lets say you went to NYC worked as an extra and only worked 8 hrs..(it happens) and then drive back to MA or NH (buying gas,eating, coffee, etc.) what did you profit in the end. Bottom line stay in MA there is plenty of work to go around either way of the spectrum (non-union / union).

Hope all is well in N.E. movieland! The subject on today's blog is about Rule 1, what is Rule 1 you may ask.. If you are Union (SAG/AFTRA) this is one of the first things that they tell you about..Rule 1 means you can not work on a non-union project. Now I know through the years people have done it..sure I get it.. But lately it has been abused to the highest level, and on top of it some Union members are makeing it known. Now for those people that is a HUGE mistake...why? Because you will tick some Union people off that are by the book and you will be reported, so watch out. For those people that are thinking about becoming union I say to them do a lot of non-union jobs to get the experience, the feel of the set, make a good demo reel,etc. before you sign on to become union. Once you do sign on ,there is no turning back. SAG within the last 12 months has been doing as massive crackdown on this abuse in LA and NY and I am sure it will hit here sooner than later. So honor th...

So here we are July 8th 2009 and it feels like September...what is going on?!? It will feel like summer soon I promise :) Well the great news is that we are all busy once again and it's great to see many familar faces on set! It's as if we were on a very long hiatus and it suddenly became 2006-2007 again! We got Furry Vegence, The Town, Grown Ups, The Fighter..plus more down the pike..does this look familiar? Remember I don't care if you are union or non union you have to show up for these calls and if you can't send in your headshot..don't be too good for background! The more we show Hollywood how united we are it's always another incentive to come here. Background people are needed and are a very important piece of the puzzle. Think about it if it wasn't for background each picture even classics would be dry as bread. So it's nice seeing you all and talking movies and plus thank you for the nice comments and emails about the blog and podcast.