February 13-16

During this week of class we learned more about our interview and how it helped us write our profile. We had to tell the class about our process and steps we took to complete the interview. The last class of the week we had to write our cover letter to discuss our writing process of the profile in great detail. We also learned what our next writing assignment will be. I chose to do the next project on the citizens of Wroclaw Poland and how their great city has changed so much over the past 50 years.
- Jonnie

Lights, Camera, Action, Rejection?

Lights, Camera, Action, Rejection?

A look into the career of waiting tables and being poor for the rest of your life, basically throwing your life away. A life of no steady income and jumping around from job to job to barely scrape by to survive. These are a few common assumptions about the life of struggling actors without even thinking about the group of people they are judging. Many actors are people who are simply following their dream, and isn't that what were taught to do our entire lives?

Struggling actors always seem to get a bad rep from people who don't even understand what there actually doing. Many actors work 60 plus hours a week for the fact they are working two to three jobs at a time. Sure there may be a couple struggling actors that don't really try and just sit around complaining about being broke but theres going to be lazy people in any career you look into.   

I know a few people that are currently following their dreams to get there name out and make something of themselves, but no one stands out more then my friend James. Throughout our high school career he did everything he could to get experience in the acting field even though it was looked down on by many. James never gave up and soon after graduation moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to start the long journey of an acting career. While living in new orleans he worked a part-time job while also going to as many different auditions as possible; working many nights and getting very little to no sleep. After a short time in New Orleans he realized he needed to make the move to the city of angels where he would gain more working opportunities. The most rewarding part about what he does is when he gets recognized on set by a important person he says it makes him feel as though he's doing something right and moving up in the business. 

Many roles that James currently gets may just be stand in roles where he's basically just filling space where needed,but he is still working next to some big name stars. When he first started getting stand in roles in New Orleans I would always receive  random phone calls that would almost always begin with “you will never believe who” and then would proceed to tell me about some big name star he worked with that day. The first role he got that he actually had a few lines was in a movie with Miley Cyrus and had to have a conversation with her; I thought he would never stop talking about it. Working hand in hand with Big name stars is one of the best perks of becoming an actor. “Its crazy to see someone in real life that you’ve looked up to and have admired for years; at times it feels as if your dreaming”. The actor that James looks up to the most is Ryan Reynolds and he has actually had the opportunity to work with him in the movie “Safe House”. During the production of “Safe House” James was just a stand in but was able to see his biggest role model working in real life; not many people get to do that. Experiences like that give any actor the strength to continue their fight to becoming a well known and maybe slightly famous star in the entertainment industry. 

Working as an actor even when your not famous is a full time job as you have to go to many auditions sometimes 2-3 times a day; In Los Angeles that could mean sitting in traffic for hours to get across town for your next audition. When auditioning you need to keep a professional attitude and basically sell yourself (in a professional way) to the producers to make them want to hire you. Getting a role  with a few lines in a major production should be considered an honor as your chances of getting that role are extremely low; so not only do actors work extremely hard they deal with rejections on a daily basis. With every rejection means a role you didn't get, a role that could have potentially led you to stardom; Also with every rejection many could feel as though they failed. Imagine yourself applying to jobs and getting turned down by about 20-30 different business in a month that you really wanted to work for; could you keep a good attitude about finding work? Actors have to stay positive and look ahead 24/7 and just keep preparing for the next audition; keeping a good attitude is essential in making it in the industry. 

Actors or actors just starting out get a bad reputation for just simply following there dreams. People cant make an assumption on an entire group by just a portion of the group. Its the same as us americans get a bad rep for being lazy but I can guarantee you that most of the people I know are the complete opposite of the american stereotype; this just shows you stereotypes are usually inaccurate. The next time you hear a person making fun of a actor thats struggling you should just simply ask the person what they are doing with their own life? 

Inside information on the entertainment industry

This week in class were working on Interviews and writing profiles on people we find interesting. What could be more interesting then the entertainment industry; everyone loves celebrities right? The person I chose to interview was my best friend James Miller who is currently trying to "make it big"in the entertainment industry. He has inside information on how movies are made and knows how hard it is to make it in the industry. Many people have perceived  thoughts on what it must be like to be a struggling actor, and though some may be true many actors are people who are simply following their dream. With my interview and my profile of my friend I want to open peoples eyes to what it really is and how hard working most struggeling actors actually are.