10:42 am - Weds 4.09.2008
On The Horns Of A Dilemma

Tues 4/8/08 (9:45 p.m.)

Had my callback for Orbitz on Monday (I think I called it �Orbit� in a previous entry, but �Orbit� is the gum; �Orbitz� is the online travel service.Anyway...).

My original callback time was 2:45, but around 10:30, JS called; they wanted me to read for the �Husband� instead, at 12:45.

I wasn�t happy about either change - I�d been enthused about the �Chief Therapist� part, and had hoped to catch a nap beforehand (which I now wasn't going to get) - but what can you do? And the main point is to book the job, so I took comfort in the fact that they were clearly interested in me for something, for whatever reason, even if it wasn�t for the role I�d initially went in for.

So I read for the �Husband�, with an African-Amercan woman playing my �Wife�, and an Asian guy playing the �Therapist� (A different spot altogether from the �Chief Therapist� one, but part of the same campaign, with the idea of people needing �therapy� to deal with their travel-planning �issues�).

Then they asked me to stay and read another spot, where I being studied and asked questions by a team of therapists behind glass.

I don�t think I�ve mentioned this - kind of �burying the lead� here - but the director was Martin Granger, from Moxie Productions.

My �Bahamavention� director.

(Moxie also produced the AT&T Yellow Pages spot I just did, but with a different director.)

I left feeling like I had a really good shot - Clearly, MG likes me (And he�s already had the experience of working with me). And the performance he was directing me towards in the second spot had a very �Monte�-ish feel to it (Apparently when MG looks at me, he sees a guy who's basically dead inside)- but there�s been no �You got the gig!� call from JS, so at this point, I�m thinking it�s a �close-but-no-cigar� situation (It's not just the director's decision on these things; the ad agency has to approve you as well. And they�ve got at least three separate spots to cast, so I guess it�s still possible I could get a call tomorrow...but I�m not going to hold my breath waiting by the phone).

Besides, I got a call today from JS�I�m back at Melissa Martin Casting tomorrow, for a Visa audition - so life goes on

(Yes, life goes on. But that said, I really do want to book something soon, so I can maintain my high-flyin� lifestyle.)

While I wasn�t a particularly big fan of late-era conservative, NRA-fronting, �you�ll pry this gun from my cold, dead hands� Heston, he was my very first �favorite actor�, I think simply because he was the first actor, as a kid, that I recognized from more than one movie.

In time, I moved on to much better �favorite actors�, like Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall.

But you never forget your first.
(END)

(Watching L.A. Confidential, one of the two movies - the other being Boogie Nights - I would rather have seen win the Academy Award for "Best Picture" the year Titanic won instead.)

Just got my email of this week's ArcLight schedule.

The people who haven't submitted their new availability yet - like Yours Truly - aren't on this week's schedule, except for a two hour "education class", where I guess a manager or two will be putting the screws to us to submit a new availability "or else".

(Two managers basically said this would be happening in separate rush meetings; I was at one of those rushes, and heard bout the other one. And when I told a third manager about it, angry over how coercive it sounded, that manager - Justin - shook his head, telling me that was not what was going to happen. Another nice, typical ArcLight touch...)

I know I've said I wanted to let this go - after I had "the dream" and all that - but I'm still having a hard time with it.

I just don't see any way this doesn't make my life more stressful and difficult - whether it means having more conflicts between the job and acting, having to find another job (which I don't want to do), not finding another job (And trying to get by just on my acting, which I don't think I'm in the best shape to do at this point), etc - and it's hard for me to take you making my life more difficult sitting down.

Maybe this is the Universe's none-too-subtle way of telling me it's time for the next big change in my life.

But speaking of "change", it's time for me to head to Melissa Martin, for the Visa audition, and hopefully change the state of my finances by booking it.

Wish me luck...

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