10:31 am - Sun 11/4/07
The Spirit Is Willing

Sun 11/4/07 (8:49 a.m.)

I guess the big news in my world is that the Writers strike is a �go� (The strike commences tomorrow).

Pretty much knew it was coming, but how long it will last and what the repercussions will be...well, who knows?

For now, there won�t be any noticeable effect on Yours Truly. It�s not like I�ve been getting a lot of theatrical auditions anyway, and in any case, the rest of the year is going to play out like it would have (I�m still hoping for another co-star thing before the year�s out, but it�s looking like I may have to be content with the success I�ve already had this year).

Where things might get tough is at the beginning of next year, when all the scripts that were �in the can� have been produced, and there�s nothing left to film.

But at least I�ll get to continue to do commercials, it looks like. Though I�m wondering if the strike will effect commercials as well, in a roundabout way (Will advertisers want to spend money on commercials if nobody�s watching tv?).

But there�s really nothing to do, except to hope it works out quickly - and in the writers favor - and hope that SAG doesn�t end up going on strike in June (Hopefully, if the Writers get what they want in their negotiation, it�ll be easier for SAG, since the big issue - payment formulas for dvd sales and �new media�- is the same).

I don�t know why it starts, I don�t know why it stops, and I don�t know what the hell is going on.

I just know I don�t like it.

So �Yay!� me!

(Only 58 more lbs to go...)

I don�t know if I say this enough, but there are things I like about ArcLight: I like having a set schedule, I like that the hours are conducive to auditioning, I like a lot of my coworkers, I like usher greeting, I like the free movies, etc.

One of the biggest things I don�t like is the Scientology/corporate rhetorical bullshit.

I don�t want to get into the whole thing, because it could be an entry in itself - albeit an extremely dull entry - but basically, ArcLight as a company (ArcLight is actually part of a larger concern called Decurion Corporation, that owns Pacific Theaters, ArcLight, Robertson Properties, a nonprofit called The Wonder of Reading...and I think one other thing I can�t think of right now) is really big on �corporate philosophy�...and very short on practicality.

When they go on about the �ArcLight Community�, tell us how we can demonstrate our �Business Competence� and �Personal Excellence�, refer to the employees as �business partners�, and go on about the �Hedgehog Concept� and �Quadrants� and God knows what-all...well, they want to make working in a movie theater so much more complex and �epic� than it is, when the truth is, they don�t believe we�re �business partners�, any more than we do.

I just find it extremely annoying. Downright insulting, at times. I don�t need all the �philosophy�, and I will never, ever become a Scientologist. I just want to work in a fucking movie theater, with no muss and no fuss, until the time comes when I�m able to not work in a movie theater.

Don�t give me corporate philosophy. I could give a fuck about all that (If I wanted to be a part of the corporate world, I wouldn�t be an usher at a fucking movie theater).

Just give me ticket scanners that work. Give me computers that don�t freeze up. Give me a website that doesn�t crash any time we have a hit movie. Make it easy for me to do the job you�ve asked me to do, and save the corporate B.S. for someone who cares.

(This rant has been brought to you, in part, by ArcLight Sherman Oaks, opening later this month. The second link in what�s to be an ArcLight chain. But more on that in a later entry.)

When JS called me about this audition - for ESPN News - he told me the sides were online, and that one line was in Chinese (For the record, I don�t speak Chinese).

When I checked out the sides, the line in question, addressed to a group of store owners in Chinatown, was not written out in Chinese, phonetically or otherwise.

Ditto for when I actually went to the audition; instead, they had a tape of someone saying the line in Chinese on a continuous loop in the lobby. We were supposed to just listen to it and get it from that (When we got the group explanation, the guy said we could do it �If we felt comfortable with it�, but I was pretty sure that if you didn�t try it, you wouldn�t be getting a callback).

Then - Surprise! - another line of the script was in Spanish (That also wasn�t the case when I downloaded the sides online). But in this case, at least they did have the line written out in the lobby (though, again, a phonetic pronunciation would have been nice).

Sometimes, I swear, instead of the casting people seeming like they want to help you, they make if as difficult as possible to do what you need to do (And don�t get me started on direction - before you even get into the room - that stifles any genuinely creative impulse you might have had towards the material).

That said, I think I did okay with the spot when my time came. I�m sure the Chinese line didn�t come out in Chinese - more like gibberish with a Chinese accent - but I did it confidently. And when they gave me direction, I thought I took it well.

So we�ll see. Frankly, I�m expecting to get a callback, and it would be a fun spot to get (I�d be a door-to-door sausage machine salesman, who�s never at a loss for small talk because I watch ESPN news). But who knows?

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