Welcome to the Petco!

Blogging, Day Two.
Today’s font of choice- Tahoma.

Let’s do this…

I’d like to share a recent web encounter that totally depressed and delighted me. It’s the kind of thing that I thought I would encounter more of moving out here to Los Angeles, but apparently I am not hanging out in the right parts of town, or near the right superstores.

So this is a message I received from a gentleman we will call “BILL” for the purpose of this story, and just in case he stumbles on this blog and then seeks me out and kills me Manson style here in the hills of… the area of town in which I live. Oh shit.

Hey Brian

Thanks
“Bill”
and then he leaves a 323 number. A pay phone I assumed.

Sohe figures, why not take a shot. Right? I might just read his messageand think “Hey, this guy seems pretty talented. Not only did he find myheadshot on the ground, but he tracked me down on the web! Ican only assume that he is a money making super talent that I shouldtell my agents about right away!” Makes total sense right? NO! No! It doesn’t! (That sounded harsh, Bill. Please don’tkill me and my family.)

But really, “how about a referal”? Well, fella! How about because I don’t KNOW YOU. How about this strikes me as how a terrible chains of events start. When one desperate stranger makes contact with another person in the hopes that they are like minded. And then they form a “bond”, but the depth of their bond doesn’t really go beyond referring to each other as “my buddy here-“. And the next thing you know there is a dead teenage girl and a shit ton of cocaine still to do. No thanks, Bill.

So naturally I should have just ignored it and left it alone, but my perverse desire to make it funny forced my hand and I replied with this.

I will check in with my people at Endeavor.
In the meantime hold onto my headshot.

That last sentence I guess was to make him feel like there would be a moment when we would meet and I would get my ONE headshot back from him.

Oh, before we continue, here is Bill’s about me section:
About me:
Director,Editor,Cinematographer,Actor (in a pass life) Drummer- 20/20 ,The Know, Joan Jett + I have a small production company self contained, complete with a post production facility. We shoot and edit in 24pHD, the facilities editing suite is also set up to do live tracking with a ISO room to record drums, vocals, acoustic guitars, besides voiceover, folly, and Sound-FX . I am still involved in Music and shooting music videos. I am very interested in shooting a high quality short film small cast character driven and will ,once the content (story) can be sorted out. Actor’s , writers, production assistances ,are welcome to send a message to express there interest in this area.

Why doesn’t Joan Jett hook him up? What, did he find her mix tape and give her a call? BOOM! (Bill, again, this is all in good fun.)

Bill replied with this:
Hey B
Thanks for getting back to me.
I was just takin a shot!.
I ‘m at the point were BS agent’s from the Valley are sending me appointments Michael Zunack -Sylvia Ferguson & Associates.
Besides being in the valley most likely there scams acting school- photographer of there choice. Thats been going on for years I would have thought the internet would have ended that.I was in the music business for years out here.
I was neighbors /friends with Lawrence Tierney (the actor) until he passed away in 2002 he got me to take acting seriously.
I was thinking of trying his agent Don Gerler on Cahunga but I didn’t hear much about him.
Lawrence was doing films sense the 40’s so i think Don maybe just booked him when people called for Larry.
I’m finishing editing a REEL that should help.
I’ll hold on to YOUR head&res it’s the one with black boarders you wearing a light colored shirt.

Thanks man

BTW Lawrence Tierney, the actor, was the Joe Cabot in Reservoir Dogs guys…

So, this made me sad. Clearly the guy is sincere, but the just the victim of this town… and possibly making terrible choices, like contacting me. But it can be said that insane people are the most sincere people on Earth, because they believe their actions to make sense and be true. Not to say “Bill” is insane, but… Oh god, please, please just don’t hurt my family.

So I decided to just end it and wrote::
My agency passed. Sorry man. Just to let you know they said that it might not be the strongest choice to seek a referal from a stranger. Agents, right?

Giving gentle, but still condescending advice, and then putting it all on “the suits”. I am a pussy.

And “Bill” relied with:
Here’s something you could look at.
It’s not my REEL but it something you can see now. you would have to fast forward to 2:28 before you see or hear me.

Take care

Aw man… It kind of breaks my heart. I mean I am very, very lucky. And I’m not even successful by industry standards. But it is a very tough business and there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to navigate it. Bill reaching out to me, however clumsy or awkward it might be, really made me think, and take stock.

I watched Bill’s YouTube clip for the first time tonight. It is from a student film scene reenactment, from the movie “Munich”. “Bill” is not bad… But this just goes to show how unfair this town is. EVERYONE else in that scene reenactment has just been signed by Endeavor. Everyone… including the scene’s director Bryce Lemon.

Sorry Bill. Please don’t gut my dog and hang him from our tree…