Well, as some of you know, I had a big event I was hosting on Facebook, under my legal name. This is the same name I use for acting. And this was supposed to be a big event for me.
This was my first movie, and I had filmed part of the first scene. An assistant director singled me out with a couple others out of hundreds. We were selected to be in key, non-speaking sections of the scene we were shooting, plus now other key spots in other scenes.
I’m not naive. I know that scenes are cut. I have even heard of some major players in a film are completely deleted from the film. Of course, I felt—and hoped—that of all the spots my face would be at in this film, I have to show up somewhere on the silver screen.
Nope.
I talked about this film for over a year and a half, including the half of year it was pushed back while in post-production. About fourteen months after filming my scenes, and inviting many friends and family to join me, we saw the film on a rare opening weekend (for my wife and I) instead of waiting until the local library had it, and was disappointed.
I can’t blame the production team. It’s not like they singled me out for deletion. Hundreds of people went to see that film and did not see themselves, at least in one major scene. This sort of thing just happens. At least we all got paid, was a thought that ran through my head. But then again, these hundreds told their friends to see the film, so at opening weekend ticket prices, I’m sure the producers made their money back.
This, on top of the other acting I’ve been doing the past two years, you’d think I would have enough footage to drop at a friend’s house to put together a demo reel. Nope. One commercial I pulled from Youtube and two half-second spots in a TV episode on WGN is all I have to put together for a what is supposed to be a thirty-second work of variety of what I have done in acting.
Of course, I’ve done other work.
I’ve got another commercial that I did, but cannot locate it anywhere. I also did a local, small budget film for free, but still awaiting for the requested footage awhile they again are using free work on a newer feature. After a screening, the previous work that we all did for free remains yet to be seen (on Netflix, Amazon or Youtube Red) outside of the inner circle. I’ve also helped a local student project, and learned that the project needs to be re-shot, but I probably won’t do the work (again) for free.
I’ve also produced. I’ve given financial assistance to help two films be made—one feature and one short. It’s been a couple of years now, and only the short is completed and supposedly sent to me via Instagram, but I haven’t seen the notification. There is another film I had donated to being made, but it was such a small amount I’m not listed on the credits, though I am on the IMDb page.
I do have one project that is going well for me, a major character role in a future Amazon Prime series. Three episodes (at the time of this writing) are completed, and I hope it makes up for lost work. I’m trying so hard here to do something new and exciting. I just want to have something to show for it.
Steve Dustcircle 