Labels: comic books

Labels: acting, acting process, training

"Mr. Kirby did a lot more than just draw. As the critic Gary Groth so ably put it in The Comics Journal Library, “He barreled like a freight train through the first 50 years of comic books like he owned the place.” He mastered and transformed all the genres, including romance, Westerns, science fiction and supernatural comics, before he landed at Marvel.

"He created a new grammar of storytelling and a cinematic style of motion. Once-wooden characters cascaded from one frame to another — or even from page to page — threatening to fall right out of the book into the reader’s lap. The force of punches thrown was visibly and explosively evident. Even at rest, a Kirby character pulsed with tension and energy in a way that makes movie versions of the same characters
seem static by comparison."

Labels: comic books, ramblings

Labels: acting, acting process

Labels: acting, acting process

All headshots are by my photographer, Rhea Willis (http://www.rheawillis.com/).

Labels: biz, business, headshots, tools

Labels: business, site updates

Labels: acting, acting process, auditions, training

1. There's a separation between the actor as person (and their convictions), and the actor in a role (and what is true / authentic / organic for that character).


2. I don't have this figured out, and struggle with it all of the time.

Let's start with the first issue, that of separation between the actor as person actor in a role as character.

There's one school of thought that says my movie role as a megalomaniac world conqueror is not likely to bridge into the "real" world.

There's another school of thought that says anything I do in a role is OK, because it's not "me" doing it -- it's the character.

One of my favorite tools for figuring things out reductio ad absurdum -- "reduction to the point of absurdity". As an apagogical argument, this is a great way for me to find the ludicrous in a debate, discard it, and find out what holds up. Put more simply, it's "finding the stupid". (An analogy in marketing or sales is "getting to a 'no', so we can start discussing the 'yes'.")

In practicality, I use reductio ad absurdum to assume something (for the purpose of discussion), get an an absurd or ridiculous outcome, and figure out the hole(s) in the original assumption (because the result is wonky).

That's your logic lesson for the day.

And I would say applying it this disussion, to posit "anything I do in a role is OK" is bullsh***.

(See I deftly mix high-brow intellectualism with low-brow boorishness?)

In all seriousness, I'm irritated with the arrogance of Biz folks who espouse this philosophy, because we know it's false. If I'm in the role of serial killer, I don't literally get to get away with murder. If I'm portraying a rapist, I can't actually violate my co-actor victim (just like hopefully no one argues it's OK for him / her to be violated by me, because "they're just playing a part").

These same folks might say this differently: "You need to get rid of your inhibitions."

Really? Because then I probably would kill (think road rage), violate (horniness without inhibitions is a frightening thought), and probably sleep with any person, animal, vegetable, or fruit (kumquats come to mind, for no obvious reason).

In short, I'd be an animal.

I watched an Inside the Actors Studio with James Gandolfini, where he said the same thing after recounting tearing apart a stage during a Meisner class, and the importance of being -- and controlling that being -- is what makes him an actor, and not an animal. So, we should learn from James.

(As an aside, it was this Gandolfini interview that motivated me to take my acting to the next level, and seek out a Meisner coach, and connect with my current coach and training).

How does this play out in practicality?

There was a monologue I gave where I'd been unjustly imprisoned, was out, and was going to attack a girl. I delivered my monologue directly to a girl, and I was so ramped up and angry and screaming I wanted to lunge across the tape line that was my mark and grab this girl. And I didn't cross the tape line. And in that moment, there was no intellectual ("non-being") interruptive acknowledgement that it even was a tape line.

Now, make no mistake, the cost is high. Like Gandolfini, scenes with violence toward women (verbal violence included) messes me up. I hate it. Because it's still me physically acting out this scene.

Which brings us back (in a roundabout way) to the struggle between me as individual and me as actor -- it's still me doing the stuff. If, as a person, I believe there is an all-powerful being called "God", and I believe one of his "big rules" is "thou shalt not take my name in vain", and I have a conviction to obey that, then I have to wrestle with whether I say it in an audition or scene.

Of course, it's all more complicated than that, as there are other factors like "is there something redemptive that happens to my character?"; "Is there something that happens to this character that serves as a warning to the audience?"; "Does art have a 'higher' purpose?"; "Is there something cathartic for me in doing this role?"; and on and on.

So we've had a nice, brief little dialectical jaunt around this topic -- So what was the advice given for the originating scenario?

It ranged (obviously). One person I know and respect deeply basically said, "Do what you're going to do and don't ask about it ahead of time."

Another industry vet (who I don't know personally, but admire his work and career in around 150 memorable supporting roles, so I won't mention his name), in essence gave the following advice:

"If you're unwilling to say lines as written, you shouldn't even audition.... It should be okay to speak privately to the director afterward and discuss it, but the audition room is not the place to do that."

I actually practice the former advice. To be honest, I think if I totally sell an audition -- it's believable -- they're not going to care if I leave out a word.

I disagree with the second bit of advice (admitting I'm responding to it in a vacuum). The way I see it, if I don't audition, I already don't have the part, so why not audition, leave out the contentious words, see if I get the part, then have the discussion?

More importantly, I feel like if I'm violating my convictions to nail an audition, I'm in essence prostituting my beliefs to get a gig. But that's just me.

And I've had bigger gigs -- like one 15-page scene where I told the director I couldn't do it as written, and asked permission to re-write it to where I could. To his credit, he let do whatever I wanted "to make it mine". But I was ready to be done with the project if push came to shove.

Circling back to that second working principle with which I started the discussion ("I don't have this figured out"), don't misinterpret this as inconsistency or waffling on my part. I consider my struggle with this the nature of the importance of the conflict, the strength of my convictions, and my being a thinking person who challenges, tests, and reassesses personal conviction (which is to say I feel "blind faith" isn't faith; or something).

And there are lots of folks thinking about this, and most of them are more studied and articulate than me. People like Barbara Nicolosi, who I don't know, but know of. They probably have more informative discussions.

Labels: acting process, ramblings

• Heinz commercial

Labels: acting, Filmed in Austin, gigs, other actors, voice acting

Labels: ramblings, toys

• Countdown to Comic-Con 2007!
• Just landed in San Diego
• Comic-Con sum-up ...
• Comic-Con: Wednesday
• Comic-Con: Thursday
• Comic-Con: Friday
• Comic-Con: Saturday

This was a short day, and we spent it basically just trying to make the most of the Exhibit floor. I talked to some more companies and individuals, looked for last minute schwag, and tried to help my buddy find some gift for his girls (I was useless).

Toys:

I took a few quick picts of the new DC toys from Mattel, sculpted by the Four Horseman , and looked longingly at the Hasbro Legends series 3 and 4 stuff one last time.

Other Cool Stuff:

• Coming down to the real world ... 01:31 PM July 30, 2007 from web
• Posting Comic-Con video game links: http://tinyurl.com/2vnwth 01:18 PM July 30, 2007 from web
• Posting the first of my Comic-Con summaries: http://tinyurl.com/2ykqc9 12:56 PM July 30, 2007 from web
• Back in Austin. Dowloading Xbox Live Comic-Con content I missed while away. 12:38 AM July 30, 2007 from web
• "Amazingness" holds (so far). Delayed SJ to Austin flight, but at least it's not cancelled! 07:46 PM July 29, 2007 from web
• :- 05:09 PM July 29, 2007 from web
• Dallas flight cancelled. I am _amazing_ and have secured an alternate flight. 05:08 PM July 29, 2007 from web
• Looking at 4 generations of Nintendo Gameboy in use as people wait for the flight. I see one PSP. 04:16 PM July 29, 2007 from web
• Best marketing move at Comic-Con? Dark Horse free bags for swag. Bright yellow, & all over the city & airport. 04:10 PM July 29, 2007 from web
• Looking at a audition details for Tuesday morning. 03:07 PM July 29, 2007 from web
• Heading home from Comic-Con. Bittersweet. 01:35 PM July 29, 2007 from web
• Talking to Steve Lieber about "Whiteout". 01:02 PM July 29, 2007 from web
• Being followed by @Celebrity Watchdog. 11:41 AM July 29, 2007 from web
  @luge Congrats! 11:39 AM July 29, 2007 from web in reply to luge
• Getting ready to make the most of my last day on the Comic-Con show floor. 11:38 AM July 29, 2007 from web

Labels: acting, biz, business, comic books, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, festivals, inspiration, toys, video games, voice acting

• Countdown to Comic-Con 2007!
• Just landed in San Diego
• Comic-Con sum-up ...
• Comic-Con: Wednesday
• Comic-Con: Thursday
• Comic-Con: Friday

(Sorry for the delay; been wicked ill; as you were.)

Comic-Con on Saturday (July 28) was (oddly) less crazy than Friday. Maybe we just got used to the crazy.

And Saturday was fun. My buddy and I split up first thing, and he went to the Avatar panel while I hit the Exhibit floor to introduce myself to companies and individuals, meet up with folks I'd only previously known via Email and phone (like Mark Irwin, co-creator behind multi-format property Jack Secret; pitched as "Harry Potter meets Johnny Quest"), talk to a bunch of folks on Artists Row, pick up that Leinil Francis Yu signed Captain America "The Return" poster I'd eyed the day before, and so on.

Panels were great this day, too. The Marvel Spider-Man and Smallville panels, in particular, were what I expect panels to be. Poppy, unexpected, with panelists jumping in and out of conversations, having fun, and knowing their stuff.

Toys:

I picked up the "Ramathorr" figure from the Four Horseman's Seventh Kingdom, to complement the "Gauntlet of Vaskkh" figure with which I'd been gifted the day before. They guys offered to sign it, and were surprised when I told them I was actually going to take it out of the box for display.

Hasbro also added a bunch of their Marvel Legends series 4 figures to their show floor display case, so I snapped some picts of those, as well as their upcoming Japanese-derivative, 6-inch figures, which nonetheless look cool.

Panels:

The Marvel Spider-Man panel was a blast. It included writers, editors, and artist Dan Slott, Zeb Wells, Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, and Phil Jimenez, with Joe Quesada moderating. The panel was snappy, fun, well-moderated, and the guys are obviously having a blast (and taking seriously) the Spider-Man "One More Day" arc, then 3-times-monthly change-up. Writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Phil Jimenez are now exclusive to Marvel, and I felt bad that Jimenez let slip who makes out alive between Mary Jane and Aunt May.

And Dan Slott? Perhaps one of the funniest panel members I've seen. He was hilarious, punny, and having a lot of fun with the panel, and the absolute thrill ride that writing Amazing Spider-Man affords.

I also attended the GameTap "Re/Visioned" panel, consisting of Jim Lee, Warren Ellis, Peter Chung, Gail Simone, and Brian Pulido, and moderated by GameTap's Ric(k)ardo Sanchez. I'm really liking Simone's down-to-earth take on female empowerment, and it was fun to watch part 1 of Ellis's 3-part arc, at the same time he got to see it.

I also got to chat with Peter Chung and tell him "thank you" for the animated Æon Flux, and give him my voice demo. Very quiet, pleasant person. I was also able to meet the producer behind the Re/Visioned series, and let him know I was impressed with it.

The there was the Warner Bros. Smallville panel. Again, how I think a panel should be -- a lot of back and forth, people jumping in and out, playful, sexy people (Seriously -- Hartley? Vandervoort? Morris? Durance? Gough? Millar? Wow -- wicked sexy, all). The funniest exchange happened during the Q&A when a fan asked Hartley and Durance how they prepare for their steamy scenes -- and both of their spouses (and Hartley's daughter) were in the front row. Good feedback on the professional side of the preparation, though.

This panel was also a great example of how you video summarize an entire series, and tease the next season. Serious kudos to whoever pulled that off.

Other Cool Stuff:

Labels: acting, biz, business, comic books, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, festivals, inspiration, picts, toys, video games, voice acting

• Countdown to Comic-Con 2007!
• Just landed in San Diego
• Comic-Con sum-up ...
• Comic-Con: Wednesday
• Comic-Con: Thursday

Panels:

Mattel / DC Comics:

We attended the Mattel / DC Comics panel, which was fun, and way more upbeat and jovial than Thursday's Hasbro panel. They showed a lot of stuff from the Justice League animated series, and copped to the poor design that makes them top-heavy and tough to display. They also announced new six-inch figures (with build-a-figure components) from none other than Four Horseman Studios. Orion and Etrigan, in particular, look pretty cool.

I can't help but wonder if the fan support for Mattel is due to where they are with the license. They're comparatively in the initial stages, and haven't hit the over-under arc where the trade-off for collector and mass-market hits the fan, which is what I think was the tension under the Marvel / Hasbro panel.

Joel Silver: Return to House on Haunted Hill and Moonlight:

I only caught the last half of the "Joel Silver: Return to House on Haunted Hill and Moonlight" (the Moonlight part), which was a bummer. I'm not a gore fan, but I wanted to see the innovative "Navigational Cinema" stuff they're allegedly putting on the Blu-ray and HD DVD versions of the film. I'd like to see someone do something with the new technology.

Moonlight looks and sounds compelling, but it's going to need to work to stay out of Angel's shadow, and Blade's (the TV series) curse. This was my first time hearing Joel Silver speak, and he's pretty interesting.

Halo Universe:

I was semi looking forward to this panel, and semi expecting it to be a disappointment. Brian Michale Bendis doesn't disappoint, and he was talking about the new comic book series (I took picts, but I'm not going to post stuff before the series goes to retail), so that was good.

WizKids Brand Manager Mark Tuttle did a great emcee job, which was good, given his company had done the big Halo reveal the day before. The Topps trading card discussion was pretty mheh, and Eric Nylund, while a great author, was (like everyone) hamstrung by what he couldn't say. Since there were no Bungie or Microsoft folks on the panel, not much Halo 3 stuff was going to be revealed. (I did see them in the audience, about six rows in; with sniper rifles, I'm sure, should any of the panelists revealed too much.)

Warner Bros. Animation: The Batman / Legion of Super-Heroes:

This was a great panel, if for no other reason than Phil Morris, voice and on-camera actor, and comic fan; and Andrea Romano, single handedly responsible for casting some of my favorite voices in Batman: The Animated Series; Animaniacs; Pinky and the Brain; Superman; and Justice League. The next seasons of both The Batman and Legion of Super-Heroes looks to up the ante, get a little darker, and build on the intensity and team dynamics. I'm looking forward to it.

I even got to run alongside Ms. Romano as she headed to the Warner Bros. booth for a signing, so I could say "thank you" for her work on things like Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, and for the extras stuff she shares on her craft on many of the DVD extra features.

Ray Harryhausen and 20 Million Miles to Earth: 50th Anniversary Edition:

Ray Harryhausen is a hero of mine. I've seen his films. I read his coffee-table crushing book. I was inspired to do my own stop-motion as a device for getting my voice out there. And 20 Million Miles to Earth was a film he'd wanted to do in color, but didn't have the budget to do so. 50 years later, we were able to watch the newly colorized version of the film -- for the same first time as Mr. Harryhausen -- and have him give live commentary on the film, his processes, and his views on fiction and criticism. He will probably not do this again.

From a Biz perspective, I arguably "should" have been at the Doctor Strange premiere, trying to connect with Craig Kyle, Marvel's senior VP of creative development animation.

But this film, with Ray Harryhausen, was historical. It was being there for a guy that informed a part of my creativity.

Other Cool Stuff:

I spoke with Leinil Francis Yu, mainly to say thanks for his work on New Avengers in general, and issue #22 in particular. Really pleasant, talented guy. I also noticed he had forward-thinking, hopeful "Captain America: The Return" print that I thought I wanted, but needed to think about.

The Four Horseman "Gauntlet of Vaskkh" gift from my buddy absolutely rocks, and hit me in a soft spot.

And the 20 Million Miles to Earth screening was a piece of history, and getting to attend it with a friend who gets it as much or more than me? Awesome.

What Sucked:

Those %&*^$#! Red-Shirts. And not having hair gel.

Pictures:

Twitterings:

(Reverse chronology.)

Labels: acting, animation, biz, business, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, festivals, inspiration, toys, video games, voice acting

• Countdown to Comic-Con 2007!
• Just landed in San Diego
• Comic-Con sum-up ...
• Comic-Con: Wednesday

And the WizKids folks? Top-notch, every one of them. Brand Manager Mark is a machine, and Rae and Jenny (both of whom I'd known earlier only via Email) are phenomenal, and super-community and super-business minded. I made sure to introduce myself to all of the WizKids folks, who were all kind and helpful.

And (without me asking) they hooked me up with a Target exclusive two-pack of the Master Chief and Arbiter. Normally you only get this by pre-ordering Halo 3 from Target. Look for that to show up on my toy blog soon.

And a guy in full Spartan armor was there throughout the day. Just for effect.

Panels:

Just two panels for the day -- the "Hasbro Marvel" panel and the "DC Group Therapy" panel.

Hasbro:

The Hasbro panel was a bit ugly. We missed the first few minutes of it, but there were some angry folks inside for some reason. It might be due to some folks being upset about the Hasbro take on Marvel Legends (kinda understandable), but there were some (2) vehement folks in the room. It felt more like they were mad because they're completests(ists?), and things like chase variant figures make it hard to be a completest. My thought is (a) don't be a completest, and / or (b) realize that if we didn't have at least the figures as chase, we wouldn't have them at all.

I think collectors need to realize that Toy Biz version of legends catered to the collector, but Hasbro is all about the mass market. There are trade-offs there. More on that when I talk about Friday's Mattel / DC panel.

Hasbro did reveal some really cool stuff, like the Marvel Legends Wave 4, which seem to even more improve on the line, and includes first-appearance Daredevil (and red-suited variant), Black Bolt (and blue-suited variant, but I wish he was yelling), Punisher (with Crossbones variant). Wal-Mart will be getting two-pack exclusives of Cannonball & Domino and Cable & Marvel Girl, and on the Icons side we'll be seeing red suited Daredevil (with a first-appearance variant), Phoenix (with Dark Phoenix variant), Colossus, and Nightcrawler. In the case I also saw what looked like an Astonishing X-Men Cyclops Marvel Icon.

There are also going to Marvel Legends of Tigra, Nova, and Astonishing X-Men Beast, probably before December.

I also met writer / columnist Troy from Newsarama.com, who was knowledgeable and very pleasant.

DC Group Therapy:

This was a fun panel, and while I'm not a huge DC fan, per se, I really like Dan Didio, and all of the panelists -- Geoff Johns, Sean McKeever, Gail Simone, Tony Bedard, Eddie Berganza, Mike Marts, Mike Siglain, and (especially) Dwayne McDuffie.

Other Cool Stuff:

I missed the Marvel / MAXUM Games "Demons of Mercy" panel, which I really wanted to attend to check out the comic book / video game interaction. But I was in the room a couple of panels after that, and found that someone had left their Comic-Con Demons of Mercy comic. So, score!

And I got to meet a ton of cool people, and connect with folks I hadn't seen for a while. The Cartoon Network MMO folks in particular, are a great group of folks, and were very helpful in letting me try out the "alpha" version of the game answer questions, hook me up with a prelude comic, and just generally have fun. I also talked to several game and animation companies on the voice acting front, and they were much more helpful and responsive than I've experienced (sadly) in Austin.

What Sucked:

We had big plans to see the Superman Doomsday premiere that night, and the panel following that would include Bruce Timm, Gregory Noveck, Brandon Vietti, Lauren Mongomery, and Duane Capizzi.

But remember the lines I complained about? This night, we were victims. After waiting in line for an hour, we were the first people not allowed into the ballroom. We're talking they literally stopped us at the door, we could see in, and they wouldn't let the two of us inside. And then things got ugly. People who allegedly had been inside couldn't get back inside. People who had friends inside that were saving seats couldn't get inside. Then the fire marshal was doing a sweep, said there were too many people, and they were going to eject more. After about a half an hour of this ugliness, we left, bummed to have missed the premiere and the panel with one of our mutual idols.

The silver lining? The fine folks at Microsoft made the panel available for download over Xbox Live. Score again!

Pictures:

(Reverse chronology.)

Labels: acting, biz, business, comic books, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, toys, voice acting

I said to her, "Did you know, they have shown that people with a positive attitude heal faster and do much better recovering from things, because it is good for you to be positive?" And being negative is really nothing more than a bad habit.

I don't mean that one shouldn't honestly acknowledge the frustrations and grieve them, because they are real and their impact is also very tangible. But somewhere in the midst of it all, you have to DECIDE if your glass is half empty or half full. That distinction will make all the difference in how you experience life.

Labels: inspiration

• Countdown to Comic-Con 2007!
• Just landed in San Diego
• Comic-Con sum-up ...

Life-size Golden Compass polar bear mount:

Prototypes for upcoming Hasbro GI Joe 25th Anniversary figures:

Twitterings:

(Including related July 24 posts.)

• Enjoying the Comic-Con show floor ... 10:59 PM July 25, 2007 from web
• Just landed in San Diego for Comic-Con! 07:20 PM July 25, 2007 from web
• Packing last minute for the flight to San Diego ... 10:11 AM July 25, 2007 from web
• Setting up my replacement Xbox 360 ... 09:21 PM July 24, 2007 from web
• Looks like Xbox is doing a "Bringing it Home" for Comic-Con. Cool, and weirdly under the radar. Missed opportunity? 08:43 PM July 24, 2007 from web
• @luge I caught a screening of "Sunshine" last night. Amazing film -- Really enjoyed it, and been thinking about it all day... 07:43 PM July 24, 2007 from web in reply to luge
• Freaking out about Comic-Con prep. Not in a good way ... 04:25 PM July 24, 2007 from web
• Putting freaking TAPE on my CD printer so that it will work ... 03:45 PM July 24, 2007 from web
• Loving Brubaker's Captain America ... 01:08 PM July 24, 2007 from web
• Not liking Omega Flight. Again ... 12:32 PM July 24, 2007 from web
• Burning voice demos for Comic-Con ... 11:04 AM July 24, 2007 from web

Labels: biz, comic books, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, video games

Labels: acting, auditions