Jeez Jon

Pins And Needles... And Pixels

It's raining right now here in L.A. -- a rare but welcome occurrence.  Later on this afternoon/early evening, Tom and I are headed down to Disneyland to celebrate our 14 year anniversary/celebrate Christmas.  We're both waiting to hear about landing some new jobs, so taking a bit of a break will be good for us -- if anything, it'll help me relax a bit.  I've been rather wound up lately, thinking about work.  I mean, I know it'll all work out for the best, and I'll get something sooner than later.

Slightly complicating matters is a small but still-annoying sinus bug I picked up earlier this week.  Whee.  But, with the combination of DayQuil, rest, water, and lots of Vitamin C, I seem to have a handle on it. 

By the way, Thanksgiving was great.  Tom and I spent it with our neighbors here in our building, plus Katie.  Lots of food and fun... and Pixar films.  We watched The Incredibles Thursday night and Monsters Inc. Friday night.  I am still amazed at how good Pixar films are.  They have yet to make a bad movie, as far as I'm concerned.  (I haven't seen Cars yet -- though I did catch the last 10 minutes on a flight this year, but that doesn't count). Hopefully, we'll catch a movie this weekend.   

A Holiday Gift Idea

As we have passed Black Friday and gone head-long into the holiday shopping season, it's difficult to really find the right gift for that special someone.  Especially if you're looking for something that says "Jeez Jon!"  Well, let me help you out.  We're having a holiday sale for the DVDs of Fellowship of the Dice.  Both the regular edition and the special edition DVDs are on sale for the holidays.  So, buy one for your geeky loved one today!  And, for those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's the trailer:

Thanks a bunch!

Strike While The Iron Is Hot

As you may or may not know, the entertainment industry as been at war with itself for the past couple of weeks due to the WGA strike.  What they are asking for is pretty simple:  a raise in residuals from DVD sales (from a whopping 4 cents per unit sold to 8 cents) and a percentage in sales made in new media (the internet, iTunes, cell phones, etc.).  The WGA is merely asking for what they deserve:  writers bust their collective asses so they can make a show entertaining and in turn, they want to get a bit of cash for their hard-earned success. The demands are very reasonable and expected, considering that's where TV is headed at this point.  And the studios? They said no, hence the strike.  And on a PR level, the studios are losing. 

There are some fantastic sites that are on top of the ever-changing landscape of the strike.  LA Weekly writer Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily is by far the best.  Not only is she pro-union, she is giving out the most consistent and freshest information on all things related to the business, the strike being the big story.  Another site is United Hollywood, the unofficial blog for the WGA strikers.  It is consistently funny, moving, and informative.  Some other personal blogs that are great are Pamie and her husband stee, both writers and WGA members. 

Now, this being said, the WGA is not perfect.  In my opinion, they completely mishandled and dropped the ball on the Top Model strike in 2006.  My neighbor Dan Blau, one of the Top Model story editors, revisits the Top Model strike this week in the LA Times.   It seems like the WGA learned some lessons from the Top Model strike -- they are being far more aggressive this time around, and using some wit as well.  Taking a cue from the peanuts  gambit that brought Jericho back for another season, they are asking people to mail pencils to the studios. 

As a member of two sister unions to the WGA, I hope that the writers get absolutely everything that they ask for.  Why?  They deserve it.  They create product that is making their bosses completely wealthy, and frankly, they are owed a cut of that.  If it weren't for the writers coming up with this great stuff, the studios wouldn't be making their money in the first place. Period. 

The Torch Burns Out At Some Point

Back in college before I met Tom, I had one huge crush.  Sure, I had a couple other minor crushes, but Blake was the main one for me.  The tall, brawny build.  The black hair, dark eyes, and square jaw.  The devilish smile.  The healthy ego.  He was a talented actor and capable director, and talent is always a turn-on for me.  However, I knew it was never going to work out.  I was gay, he was straight... but gave out tons of mixed signals to a lot of people.  He could be very arrogant, very vain, and haughty.  But, we had a good deal in common.  We both had rather geek tastes -- Star Wars, Trek, D&D, etc. -- and we both loved movies.  After I worked props for a production of Bus Stop he was in, he asked me to stage manage his upcoming student directing project of Agnes of God, and I thought, why not?  The crush started long before the show and ended several months later.

After my crush on Blake subsided (especially after I actually cried about him in one night I am so not proud of), we had a good friendship for a while.  In the summer of 1993, I hung out with him and 3 other friends almost exclusively.  We'd go out for coffee or dinner, we'd all go out bar hopping... we just hung out together.

I met Tom in late November 1993 when I was doing the play Rhinoceros, and we started seeing each other in early December.  Being head over heels for Tom as I was (and still am), whatever torch I was carrying for Blake had been reduced to a match.   I introduced Tom to Blake at a big theater department party, where Blake was acting a bit odd.  Blake looked Tom up and down, and then leaned over to me and said "He's good lookin'.  I like him." 

School continued in earnest and we continued to hang out, though not as much as we used to.  I was spending time with Tom, and then add school, work and everything else on top of it.  Blake and I started drifting.  After we had both graduated, he worked with a theater company that Tom was involved with, and I worked.  Blake was fortunate to not having have to work:  he lived off a small trust fund.  He could pay his bills with it, he could live off of it, but not hugely.  He wasn't jetting off to Barbados and renting schooners, but at the same time, he didn't have to worry about how he was going to eat that month, like the rest of us starving post-college actor types. 

After graduation, I threw myself into the non-Equity acting scene in Chicago.  I did a lot of theater, auditions, etc.  I eventually got an agent, and starting landing small non-union commercials.  In the opposite way, Blake retreated.  He kept to his theater company, doing plays with them, reading sci-fi books at home, and... well, he started acting like a dick.  To be diplomatic, Blake always had a strong ego, and it just kept getting... well, stronger, I guess.  It got to a point where he and I really didn't have much to talk about, and Tom was getting fed up with how his theater company was going.  So, he quit.  Blake did the same soon after.  He fell in love with a girl, and moved up to Wisconsin, where he opened a community theater.  He stayed up there... until he passed away a few weeks ago.

I joined Facebook about 6 weeks ago, and through there, a college friend sent me the article about Blake.  After fighting an apparently-long battle with cancer, Blake passed on Oct. 26th.  He was married, no kids.  While we drifted apart at the end, I never wished him ill.  Sure, I thought he was squandering his opportunities by not being more aggressive, but at the end, he got what he wanted.  He always spoke of having his own theater where he could direct and act in plays, and that's what he got up in Osh Kosh. Which is great. 

I'm still in shock.  I go back and forth from wanting to cry some to just feeling empathy towards his friends and family.  Thinking back at the times we had together, I really enjoyed hanging out with him.  Like a lot of arrogant folks, he was fine one-on-one.  When he didn't feel the need to put on a big show, he was great to be around.  Funny, witty, and at times a good listener.  But then, I think about how he had changed in the time I knew him, and I realize that we weren't meant to be friends in the long run.  And that's fine. 

I still feel sad, though.  RIP, Blake.  I hope in the next life, you can direct that production of Hamlet you've always wanted to do. 

Natasha Vs. Her Gift

To kick off an increasingly early holiday season, Tom put together the following video starring one of our cats and her Christmas present. 

Missed It By That Much

I was on hold, on avail for a Big National Commercial for Big Fast Food Chain... and it ended up going to someone else. Grrrrrr. I'm trying to look at the glass as half full ("Hey, got very close, shows my agency that yes, I'm still almost bookable) but I'm rather disappointed, as you can possibly imagine. The callback was on Friday, and went very well. Using several Viewpoints, I nailed my use of Repetition and Architecture, and that got me right into the scene. Sigh.

So, while Big Fast Food Chain has let me down, I have an audition for a commercial for one of their rivals tomorrow. Ahh, revenge...

Halloween Party

Tom and I... and a whole mess of our neighbors put together a huge Halloween party in our building.  Tom and I had the karaoke, Marcella and John had the food, Ken and Susan had the drinks, and Mitch had the scary movies.  It was a blast, to say the least.  Photos from the bash are here.  Yes, that's me as Britney Spears, and no, I'm not planning on running for office any time soon.  Thank God. 

The Legendary Tale Of Evil Swine, Part 2

When we last left off, my professional relationship with my manager Evil Swine ended in a horribly unprofessional manner, leaving me both agog and aghast.  He claimed he has wanted to talk to me about it once he came back from his trip.  He never called.

My attitude towards Evil Swine continued, and so did my life.  I was busy with commercial auditions, while continuing my job logging footage for Project Greenlight. One day, I had three, which, as you can imagine, was awesome.  And one of them, I landed... a Beer Commercial.  Tah-dah!  I was to shoot it in a couple days, and in the meantime, I decided to swing by my commercial agency to drop off some thank-you gifts to my agents there.  The gifts?  Why, six-packs of the beer, of course.  So, I made my hops-infused rounds at the agency, and ended them with one of the partners there, who happened to be the ex of Evil Swine.  Let's call her Adda.  While they had stopped dating, they were still on very friendly terms.   

Adda: Oh, thank you, Jon! That's awesome. 

Me: Well, thank you for all of your hard work on my behalf. I really appreciate it.

Adda: Likewise. Hey, are you looking for another manager right now?

Me:  No. I'm done with managers for a while.

Adda [intrigued]:  Really?

Me:  No, Adda.  You know how long [Evil Swine] and I have known each other, right?

Adda: Yeah.

Me: Well, he dropped me through e-mail.  So, the last thing I'd--

Adda: He dropped you through E-MAIL?!?!

Me:  Yeah.

Adda:  That motherfucker.  What is  fucking wrong with him?

Me [shrugging]:  Well...

Adda: I'm going to fucking yell at him at spin class tomorrow.  Jon, I am so sorry he did that to you.

Me:  Thanks.

The next morning, I pull up to the Beer Commercial shoot, anxious and excited.  I'm thrilled about doing another commercial, and nervous about me screwing up.  As I'm waiting for the security guard to open the gate to the parking lot, my cell phone rings.  It's Evil Swine, saying he's been so busy and just had the time to get back to talk to me.  Right.   I told him that I'd be willing to talk to him in a couple days, I was shooting the commercial.  He congratulated me. I said a very terse "Thank you", and said I'd call him later on that day to schedule something. 

The shoot for Beer Commercial went very well, and I was particularly proud of doing my closeup in only 3 takes.  As I was driving home, I called Evil Swine and told him when I'd be willing to meet with him.  ES asked if it could be pushed a day, as it was better for his schedule.  I said fine.  A couple days passed, and then he e-mailed, saying something had come up and we'd have to push it.  I called him back, not hiding my annoyance of having to rearrange my schedule for him.

Evil Swine: Look, Jon, I know you want to do this on your schedule, but I'm dealing with a lot right now. 

Okay, a side note.  I really, really, really hate the "I'm so busy" line, from pretty much everybody. You know who's also busy?  Me.  You know who has stuff going on?  Me. You know who organizes his time to make sure to get stuff done?  Me.  So, don't pull the "other people are busy, so you can't be" excuse.  He did that with me a lot when we were used to be working together, and it annoyed the crap out of me, especially considering I worked way harder than most of his clients. 

Back to the phone call.  So, I begrudgingly accepted his request to push our tete-a-tete back another couple days.  In the meantime, I did want most people would do:  rehearsing what I would say to him. As I was driving to and from work, I went over my little monologue of telling him how much of an asshole he was, how horribly unprofessional he behaved, etc. 

Then, the day arrived.  We were to meet after I finished work at a coffee shop down the street from the Greenlight office. I got there a couple minutes early, and I decided to sit outside, just in case he pulled something.  See, I'd heard he had been acting rather irrationally lately, like pushing a friend of mine down a flight of stairs.  So, I figured having plenty of witnesses around would be a wise choice.  I'd also heard he was starting therapy, which I (naively) had hoped would make him more open and receptive.

Evil Swine then showed up.  He looked rather worn out, and was profusely smoking. I said hello to him rather coldly, and sat down.  He sat down across from me and crossed his legs, and at that moment, I realized this was a bad idea.  In my life, I've had plenty of friends and acquaintances go into therapy.  They usually fall into two categories: one is "I'm open and listening and I'm examining my life" and the other is  "I'm going to talk in a wall of psychobabble to justify my completely self-absorbed behavior to try to shelter myself from the fact that I'm an asshole."  He was squarely in the latter.  Realizing that I wasn't really going to get the closure I'd wanted, I decided to go more business-like with our conversation.  I told him that he seriously disrespected me with his mishandling of our working relationship. 

Evil Swine:  Jon... of course I respect you.  I have nothing but respect for you.  I'm sorry that you feel this way, but that was the choice I made at the time.  I was scared of how you would react, and I went into a defensive posture to protect my well-being.

Inside, I completely rolled my eyes.  He then went on to say that he was running a business out of his house and that was completely stressing him out. I told him that my parents have done that since I was in the 2nd grade, so I was the only one of his clients who could actually appreciate what he was going through.  He agreed with me, and then went right back into the psychobabble.  At that point, I gave up.  I decided to just let him talk and talk and talk.  See, he wasn't there to really listen to me.  He was there to alleviate his guilt for what he did, period.  This was something he could tell his therapist he did in order to check off on some list as he continued on his path... or whatever. 

After a while, he said he sorry he had to leave.  We walked to our cars.  As we were about to part ways, he stopped me.

Evil Swine: I know you didn't say all you wanted to say to me tonight, and I want you to know that I want to continue this later.  Call me and we can talk more, okay?

Me: Sure. 

He then moved in to hug me and I backed off.  I put out my hand

Me: Good night, [Evil Swine].

Evil Swine:  Oh, what?  We don't hug anymore?

Me: No.

Evil Swine: You know, Jon?  Sometimes you can be a little bitch.

Me:  You know what, [Evil Swine].  I try. 

...Okay, not the best comeback, I know.  I can't be all witty and All About Eve 24/7. 

We parted company, and I never saw him again.  I mean, I knew this whole confab was bullshit, anyway.  The only reason he called me was because his ex-girlfriend embarrassed him and yelled at him.  If I hadn't, Evil Swine wouldn't have bothered. 

In the 6 years since, I've bumped into some of his former clients since, and they all told me the same story.  Evil Swine started to deteriorate, losing clients and friends slowly but surely.  His erratic behavior grew worse due to one big reason:  drugs.  Well, two: he's an asshole as well.   

Two years ago, I was at my 5th audition for a Quirky Drama, and the casting director was a friend of Evil Swine.  We were waiting for the  showrunner to show up for the casting, so we  were all sitting around the casting director's office, waiting.  The Casting Director asked me how I was, and we chatted for a bit.  She asked me if I'd heard from Evil Swine in a while, and I told her the story.  Her jaw dropped. 

Casting Director: Oh, well, I think I can top that.  I got a call a year ago from a sanitarium in Missouri, asking about [Evil Swine]. 

Me: What?

Casting Director: It was from their Human Resource Department.  He put me down as a reference... for a janitor job. 

Me: Oh. Wow.

Every now and then, I'll think of Evil Swine.  I've definitely grown a lot since then.  I've made an award-winning movie, done more TV roles, and more commercials.  While I'm not where I want to be, I'm a lot closer than I used to be.  A couple months after the blow up and the last meeting with Evil Swine, I recounted the story to my friend Cindi.  Afterwards, she smiled. 

Cindi: Well, Jon, you're going to need something for your E! True Hollywood Story. 

So true, Cindi.  So true.

Fanboy Squeal!

Joss Whedon will be doing another TV show. As a rabid Buffy/Angel/Firefly fan, I'm psyched. I'm also happy that it's only 7 episodes thus far, so if Fox decides to pull the plug, they may do it after all the episodes have aired. In the meantime, EEEEEEE!