decisions-decisions!

With just 2 1/2 weeks to go before the NETWORKS announce NEW SCHEDULES for 2012-2013 Primetime at the New York UPFRONTS, industry insiders are waging their bets.  This year it’s all about Soaps, Fish-out-of-Water-Starting-Over Themes, Workplace Comedies, Dysfunctional Families, Medical Settings, Cults, Westerns, Whatever… Now’s the time when Actors, Agents, Managers and Producers tune into the latest Gossip and Google News.

Wishing, Hoping and Watching –

Everyone has his/her own agenda, obvi – so you can’t really know if what you read and hear is accurate. Plus some pilots are just wrapping up now, so the jury’s still out. But, if history serves us right, some of the frontrunners will likely be on the new schedule. And sources like Nellie Andreeva at Deadline Hollywood do have a pretty good sense of what’s happening at this point, so I tend to pay attention to PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: Early Buzz and PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: Early Buzz Update.

BUZZ-WORTHY DRAMAS –

Drama contenders that keep showing up on all of the lists:  NBC’s  COUNTY (I’d love any project that includes Jason Katims and Jason Ritter); FOX’S KEVIN WILLIAMSON project with Kevin Bacon,; CBS’s ELEMENTARY; ABC’s THE GILDED LILYS; CW’s CULT, CARRIE DIARIES and ARROW.

FRONTRUNNERS IN COMEDY –

HA-HA Half-Hours: NBC’s ANIMAL KINGDOM, 1600 PENN, FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER; FOX’S REBOUNDING (Steve Levitan/Jason Winer – a winning combo), MINDY KALING medical office comedy, EL JEFE (Mercedes Ruehl /Ryan Hanson); CBS’s PARTNERS (3 X’s the charm for Mutchnick /Kohan); ABC’S HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS (Sarah Chalke), AMERICAN JUDY (I always love Judy Greer!)

Some shows are probably getting the message (wink-wink) that they can start staffing. Others have already gotten Early Season’s Orders like NBC’s Matthew Perry GO ON and ABC’s MISTRESSES.

Sooo many factors play into the decisions of the Network Execs –

• Star Power
• Producer Power
• Director Power
• Writer Power
• Diversity
• Studio Connection
• Audience Testing

Formal Announcements happen next month in New York. We’ll find out then which shows will be cancelled, which ones will get another chance and which new ones will be included in the lucky few.

2012 Broadcast Network Upfront Meetings

I’ll be secretly rooting for a Pilot I’ve got a guest role on, but I don’t want to jinx it, so I’m not going to say. We’ll all find out soon enough. Fingers crossed!

(For more on the contenders, check out “dev watch” on FUTON CRITIC!)

What kind of shows are you rooting for?

Friday 4-27-12 JUST IN….

Pilot Panic: 2nd Hot List Update  (my predictions are still tracking)

Thursday 5-3-12 As of today ….

Pilot Panic 3rd Hot List Update (many of my predictions are still looking good)

Monday 5-7-12 This week speculation will turn into actual news…

 PRIMETIME PILOT PANIC: Pre-Upfront Week Update

Liked that? Check out:

• Actors Keep Track: Pilot Season 2012
• Resolutions Revisited
• Programming My LIfe

if you mean it, say it!

Feeling Appreciated –

• motivates us
• moves us
• connects us

When we FEEL APPRECIATED, we want to go the EXTRA STEP; feel that good feeling again. It’s such a HUGE element in just about every relationship and it can make the difference between THINGS WORKING OR NOT.  When we stop feeling appreciated, we feel like giving up—or finding something or someone  else .  Feeling “Taken For Granted” is the BEGINNING OF THE END.

I mean, listen to your friends complaints about almost any relationship… (does this sound familiar?) –

• He doesn’t get me
• She doesn’t appreciate all that I do
• My boss doesn’t know how hard I work
• I never hear what’s right, only what’s wrong.

Relationships (connect or disconnect)

I’m beginning t think that the biggest reason people break up is because we stop feeling like our other half “gets us”. Tyrell, the ER Radiologist can look at an X-ray and see exactly what’s wrong, but when he looks at his wife, he doesn’t get that she’s exhausted and unappreciated. He just sees her as a nag, — when all she wants him to do is appreciate that she’s killing herself to raise two little boys, hold down a part-time job,  take care of their house, stay in shape and be a GOOD WIFE. I keep telling him, she needs to feel like she did when they met – when he couldn’t get enough of her,; say enough cute things to her or smile whenever she walked into the room. Smiling is one of the simplest signals of appreciation, ‘cuz it shows that you’re happy and that maybe someone else in your world has had something to do with that.

Work (motivate or discourage)

The point of Volunteering in the ER is not necessarily so that someone will appreciate me, but I must say, it goes a long way in keeping me there and motivated. When a stressed-out Nurse gives me a hard time, I can’t help but wonder, “what’s the point?” Yesterday I had the opportunity to go up and help a patient I took upstairs to Labor and Delivery and I couldn’t believe the difference in the way the Nurses treated me as a Volunteer. They kept saying how nice it was that I was there and that I was really a big help in calming the anxious Mommy-to-be and I must say I wished that I could volunteer in Labor and Delivery instead of the ER (my patient has a girl, btw.)

Auditioning (nurture or destroy)

Weirdly enough, when I’m in Auditions, the best motivator for me is when the CD’s and producers LAUGH (I mean if it’s comedy, obvi) — but that’s how I know I’m being appreciated and doing my job. I don’t even have to be cast for the role, if I know I did well in the room.  Naturally applause and a call-back are the ultimate motivators (oh, and a paycheck) — but just feeling like someone’s glad I’m there helps… it really does.

Doing well in the room – whether it’s acting, working, loving –

is what makes us want to do more. So if you want to motivate someone, show a little sincere appreciation. Focus on what they’re doing right not wrong. It’ll go a very long way, trust me!

P.S. – I really appreciate you for reading this! Thanks!

Liked that? Check out:

• Finding our Way (with a little help from our friends)
• Programming My LIfe
• GOSSIPS: Fanning the Fire

Check out Ken Levine's Assessment: http://bit.ly/xV5Xfx

ACTORS! We’re insecure and yet we gravitate to the most insecure industry of all. Crazy!  And there’s so much to stress about  –

Aging | Looks | Relationships | Who’s Hot when you’re NOT | Keeping our Cool | Staying in the Mix | Timing.

PILOT SEASON: The ULTIMATE Test!

Well, here we are again at the beginning of Pilot Season. And this one is getting off to a slightly late start because Networks are still picking up Pilots… every day (and it’s almost February!) Nine Pilots were announced Friday! Half-hour Comedies are especially late — and I predict we’ll hear about a lot more pick-ups in the next couple of weeks, now that Comedies are back in a BIG-RATINGS-WAY.

I like to stay on top of what’s happening because it gives me something to discuss with my Agent before it’s too late.

PILOT PICK UPS – STAYING IN THE KNOW:

TV Tracker
It’s awesome! Expensive, but AWESOME, I subscribe to the daily alerts so I know when a Pilot has been picked up. I get an email alert with the logline, network, writer, producers and director for each project.

Deadline | Hollywood
They send out the emails for FREE, but they don’t contain all of the info in a concise way. Still, FREE is a big PLUS!

Futon Critic
You can go to the site to get the news releases.  But, I miss the old Futon Critic where they’d have Development Season Info by Network. I guess that’s a thing of the past.

To Know or Not To Know –

I love knowing that Great Minds I really respect (and would give anything to work with) like Jason Katims, Dick Wolf, David Kelley, Ryan Murphy, Greg Malins, Greg Berlanti, Kari Lizer and others are creating new shows that haven’t been cast yet — and that all of the Networks and Cable stations are looking for TALENT.

Look my way — please — I’m over here!

Some Actors stress about knowing. I can horriblize with the best of ‘em — TRUST ME —  but I actually like to know — especially at the beginning of Pilot Season because Opportunities give me hope – and I’m really big on HOPE!

I’m hoping to FIND THE FUNNY in front of a live Audience that laughs hysterically for 22 episodes… and then the HIT Series will be picked up again next year and the year after and the year after that… (and then I won’t have to go through Pilot Season again! ahahaha!)

F I N G E R S      C R O S S E D !

Liked that? Check out:

• HOT IN CLEVELAND: funny find!
• Resolutions Revisited
• INFOLIST: Oh, the possibilities…

stay open to possibility

Yesterday I got a DM from a Twitter Follower asking why I didn’t do a “Happy New Year Resolution Post” again this year. Oops! What did I write last year? Feeling brave I took a look at my lofty 2011 goals to DO, BE and GIVE more!

So much easier said than done –

I won’t start with excuses. I really did try. Some things went better than others. You’ll see. Um, maybe we should go in reverse order:

GIVE MORE –

I’d say I’ve earned a B or B+ in Giving, because this is where I’ve made the biggest strides. I clocked sooo many extra hours in the ER as a Volunteer and I really showed up with my best attitude (seriously!) Okay-okay, so for those of you who can see right through me, yes, there’s an advantage to showing up more in the ER when a certain Dr. Crush is around. But still – I’ve really really committed to helping the people I’m supposed to help whether he’s there or not. Swear!

BE MORE –

This one’s rough, because I actually was a Working Actress (today I got The Descendants screener — so there!) but I haven’t worked in over a year (truthfully longer) so I feel like I’ve totally failed in this area. Sadly, in Acting, if you’re not working you feel like a Wannabe, and that’s kind’a where I’ve been residing for awhile… very unfortunately.  So in this department, I’d say I deserve a C-  and not an F because several very supportive Casting Directors are still calling me in. For some unknown reason, they still think I’ve got it (even though I’m afraid I’ve lost it.) I hope they’re better at convincing the Producers than I am. Sigh…

DO MORE –

I’m trying to be all about the DOORS: keeping them open – and walking through Doorways I’ve never walked through before. So I promised a Commercial Director (in my Sunday Yoga Class) that I’ll be in the edgy short he’s writing|directing|producing. Normally I’d be a little leery, because once it’s been shot, you wanna make sure it won’t shoot a hole in your career (what career?!) But I’m gonna keep the faith as I walk through that Doorway. And then there’s this Music Supervisor (a friend of a friend) who’s gonna teach me what he knows, since I’ve always loved music. Maybe I’ll intern for him if Pilot Season doesn’t work out the way I’m hoping.

But speaking of Pilot Season – I’m going to try really hard this year to NOT second-guess my Audition opportunities. If my representation thinks I can be a separated Siamese-Twin-who-becomes-the first-one-armed-Astronaut, I’ll totally commit. If they call me in to play an 18 year-old Coed, I’ll enthusiastically cheer. Or if they want me to be a mother-of-three, I’ll find that instinct. Whatever opportunities come my way, I’m going for them and NOT LOOKING BACK!

Because next year I want to be able to look my Resolutions squarely in the face and go –

Hoo-ah!

 (What resolutions did you follow through on? C’mon be honest now…)

Liked that? Check out:

• Programming My LIfe
• LAUGHTER = Instant Gratification
• Actors Keep Track: Pilot Season 2012

it'll take more than reading a book

My brain has been stuck on COMPUTERS this week. It started with the news reports about the high-tech-intelligence-gathering-Drone that ended up in Iranian hands, freaking everyone out!

JAMES BOND would know what to do –

What I don’t get is why in this day and age there isn’t a button the CIA can press that makes the Drone self-destruct. I’m certainly not a techie (obv!) but it seems very 007-101 to me.  And even if our team doesn’t want the Drone to explode in someone’s face, can’t they make it melt or something?

I mean — EVERYTHING seems do-able in computers these days… EVERYTHING! Our entire WORLD is computerized — everything except for MY LIFE – which gets me thinking…

What If…

… I could program MY LIFE like a MAC ?

I would -

• FORMAT my career, starting with me starring in a feature, directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody!
• ZOOM IN on the best night of my life (before the “until…”)
• ZOOM OUT on the worst (after the “until”).
• INSERT myself into the cast of MODERN FAMILY (hint-hint, Steve Levitan).
• EDIT myself before I say a less-than-witty-thing in an Audition (like the one last month where the Casting Director actually turned RED after I spoke).
• PARENTAL CONTROLS I’d censor myself from some of my impulsive choices —  like doing-the-wrong-thing-in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time.
• UNDO my mistakes: like the career faux pas that sucked me into hospital hell!
• REBOOT – and get everything back to the way it was…

BUT… if I could control everything, some of the GOOD THINGS that come out of the bad would no longer be possible – like meeting Dr. Crush in a place I’d never go if I’d ever had a choice in the matter.

Maybe what MATTERS is what we make of the moments that don’t go RIGHT.  Sigh…

Oh well, I guess it’s a blessing I can’t channel STEVE JOBS,  ahaha!

(How would you computerize your life if you could?)

Liked that? Check out:

• Resolutions Revisited
• Finding our Way (with a little help from our friends)
• APPRECIATION Goes A Long Way

Am I in or out?

As an Actor my sense of self-worth is unfortunately tied to the attitude of the last Casting Director I’ve seen. Right now I’m not exactly in the find-the-funny-frame-of-mind, because in November and December when Auditions are so few-and-far-between, a low self-esteem period can seem endless and hopeless

VIBES FROM CASTING DIRECTORS

A lot of Casting Directors tend to put out negative vibes. I get the sense that if they could’ve been actors, well…they would’ve.  I don’t get a hugely creative vibe from the majority — which is kind of crazy, considering the job they’re setting out to do. Of course there are EXCEPTIONS, and once you do a good job for one, it’s likely that his/her attitude will shift from unnerving to something more encouraging.

WAITING FOR A SIGN

I always look to the CD after I’ve finished my read to see if I get silent feedback like a nod or a wink or a thumbs up, which does actually happen. They’re not really allowed to speak once the producers are in the room. It’s almost as if they’re also on trial at that point. So I find that I’m not the only one trying to impress the people in the room. And I feel this responsibility to the CD to show him/her off, in return for bringing me into the room in the first place.

At a recent Audition for a rather large role in a big studio comedy, I walked in, smiling enthusiastically –

I would love to play this part!

Then, from the Head of Casting  –

“Well, here’s your chance, with this tone in her voice that implied, It will NEVER happen!

That was fun.

Afterwards I mentioned to my Agent, that it was a really weird room and the next day we found out that the miserable woman had been fired.

So I’ve learned that it’s really not so much about me.  Of course when I get a good response from a CD, I’m elated all day. The next day however, when I haven’t heard any word about getting the job, well… that’s a different story.  Sigh…

(Now remind me again —  why did I think that becoming an Actor was a good idea?)

Liked that? Check out:

• Actors Keep Track: Pilot Season 2012
• Resolutions Revisited
• Programming My LIfe

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzI1hKz9i9E

Please don’t squash our egos. It makes us feel pretty rotten.

Ahaha!

Liked that? Check out:

• HOT IN CLEVELAND: funny find!
• Hollywood Flip: Staying Focused
• Actors Keep Track: Pilot Season 2012

do-over days

There’s something about Mondays that feels like a FRESH START – kinda like January 1^st when the New Year is in front of us. We leave last week’s pity party behind and FIND THE FUNNY in last week’s disaster.

Mondays inspire us, encourage us and motivate us to –

• do better
• look better
• be better

Weekly Resolutions

Mondays are “get organized” days. We make that dental appointment we’ve been putting off (we make it weeks or months from now, but at least we make it!) Or we arrange to take the car in for service because the orange light that’s been on for weeks just turned RED and the car sounds like ET just swallowed a vibrator!

Diets start on Mondays. Weekly work-out schedules are planned on Mondays.  Lists are made on Mondays. When a week starts out fresh, we do too. Life’s a little like school — if we screwed up last week’s test, on Monday we decide we’re gonna ace the next one.

Best part about Mondays?  Even if we totally f-up this week, we’ll have another chance in 7 more days to try again. Ahaha!

I used to hate Mondays, but now I’m kinda grateful for them.

Liked that? Check out:

• Actors Keep Track: Pilot Season 2012
• Resolutions Revisited
• Carving A Pumpkin is a lot like acting!

acting sucks

I go from rising to falling star before anyone knows or gives a “F”. Am I talented or just kidding myself? It’s getting harder and harder to tell. Confidence is disappearing. How do I get the magic back? I don’t wannabe a wannabe. I wannabe where I was… before I knew it…  before I blew it… Where’s the funny? I can’t find it. Where’s my “lost and found”?

Sure it’s shallow to wallow, but still I feel it…deeply…darkly. Sorry to drag you through this. I know I sound pathetic.

Big shock — they decided to go another way –

The world has bigger problems.

Liked that? Check out:

• CASTING DIRECTORS: Connecting or Not?
• Facebook Fan Page = Bad Timing?
• Help Me Get My Act Together

yess!

Two hours and fifteen minutes from now I’ve got a callback. It’s for a small, potentially pivotal part in good film. I love this script. I need this to happen. I’m prepared. Trying to psych myself up. Trying really hard to NOT think about how I’ll feel if I don’t get this. No. It’s time for some GOOD LUCK. I’ve done the work. I’ve gotten positive feedback. My agent says the CD is rooting for me.  I’m prepared. I’ve coached, rehearsed, centered myself and I’ve been a good person in the ER – that should count for something. Right?

For the last half hour I’ve candle-wished and distracted myself by researching “Good Luck Quotes” –

THINKING POSITIVELY –

•  “The day You decide to do it is your lucky day.”~ Japanese Proverb
• “Luck is believing you’re lucky.”~ Tennessee Williams
• “When it comes to luck, you make your own.”~ Bruce Springsteen
•  “Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.”~ L. Coleman
• “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
• “Luck is believing you’re lucky.”~ Tennessee Williams

Yay. It took me thirteen minutes to write this. Now it’s in two hours and two minutes. Think I’ll run through it again before I get dressed.

Fingers Crossed! Wish me luck!

Sigh…

Liked that? Check out:

• Resolutions Revisited
• Programming My LIfe
• Finding our Way (with a little help from our friends)