Zac Efron On ‘The Lucky One’: “Initially I wasn’t convinced I could pull this off”

Released last weekend, the Nicholas Sparks adaption of The Lucky One has drawn crowds of swooning fans all looking to see actor Zac Efron flesh out U.S. Marine Sergeant Logan Thibault on the big screen.  Grossing an estimated $22 million, the movie centers on the survivor of three tours in Iraq, who travels to find his good luck charm named Beth (played by Taylor Schilling), a woman he has never met before.

Speaking about his role, Efron, who worked under the direction of Scott Hicks, says he was both confident and doubtful about taking on the role. “Initially I wasn’t convinced I could pull this off, but the more I thought about it, and the more I talked to Scott, I realized if there was ever going to be a chance to play a role so different from what I’ve played before, this was it.  I knew I had to put in the work to be able to play Logan, and I felt capable in Scott’s hands.” Read more

Jane Curtin talks ‘Unforgettable’, How She’s Never Marketed Herself and Playing With Beef Hearts

Actress Jane Curtin, best known for her television roles on Saturday Night Live, Kate and Allie, and 3^rd Rock from the Sun, has been enjoying a career resurgence in a new part on CBS’ drama Unforgettable. 

In an interview with Yahoo! News, Curtin spoke about her role as Medical Examiner Dr. Joanne Webster.  She said she doesn’t get queasy around the gore.  “You reach a certain age, and I come from a culture of open caskets so you sort of get over that squeamishness.  You also know you’re working on something that’s not real.  I had to take a beef heart out of a dummy cadaver in one scene, and I thought ‘I could just sort of juggle these, I suppose.’”

Starring alongside Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace) and Dylan Walsh (Nip/Tuck), the series has brought Curtin back to her old stomping grounds of New York City.  She said, “New York is a wonderful place to shoot.  The bystanders are great.  They are enthusiastic.  They respect the process, and you get the energy of the city.  Even when you’re in the studio, you still have that New York aura, as you’re dealing with New York teamsters and New York actors.  The city keeps feeding you this delicious energy.” Read more

Auditions to Offers – It’s Easier Than You Think

by Emily Grace

All of these celebrities are doing it: Pitt, Clooney and Damon. Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler. The Coen Brothers. Judd Apatow.

Why aren’t you?

What are they doing, you ask?  Working with the same people again and again.

In business it’s what is called the Know-Like-Trust Factor.  And it’s the secret sauce to going from auditions to offers.

World renowned speaker and best selling author Zig Ziglar says,

“If people like you, they will talk to you. If people trust you, they will do business with you.”

Professionals at every level of the entertainment industry, when given the choice, will hire someone they know, like and trust – from a-lister’s all the way down to a first time student filmmaker.

When it comes to your acting career – it’s time to stop chasing after random audition opportunities just for the sake of getting into the room.   Create long-term relationships to establish the know-like-trust factor, and you’re well on your way to being hired over and over. Read more

Tug Coker Talks About Playing Larry Bird in Broadway’s ‘Magic/Bird’

After their successful run of Lombardi, a play about the NFL’s most legendary coach, producers Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo decided to tackle two icons from another sport in their next play: basketball icons Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who engaged in one of sport’s most talked-about rivalries during their playing careers. 

The relationship between the two men, both on-the-court and off-the-court, is the basis of the play Magic/Bird, starring Kevin Daniels as Johnson and Tug Coker as Bird.  Coker spoke to the Associate Press about what he brings to the role beyond his size.

For Coker, who grew up a Boston Celtics fan, playing Bird on stage is pretty close to his dream come true.  He says, “I never thought people would pay to come and see me play basketball.”  Read more

Trailer: Oliver Stone’s ‘Savages’ starring Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir

WonderCon Interview: Brit Marling & Director Zal Batmanglij Talk ‘Sound of My Voice,’ Writing Together and Filming Without a Permit

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:22 — 9.2MB)

Brit Marling (Another Earth) wrote and stars in the time-travel drama, Sound of My Voice. The film is about a couple (Christopher Denham and Nicole Vicius) who go undercover in a cult in an attempt to refute the claims that its leader, Maggie (Marling), is from the future. The two quickly find out that they may be in for far much more than they bargained for.

Brit is hands down a perfect example of the mantra, create your own work. I talked to her last year for Another Earth, when she was just starting to get on everyone’s radar. After Sound of My Voice is released, she’ll be seen in Arbitrage with Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, The Company You Keep with Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf and East, another film she wrote and will star in.

I talked to Brit and co-writer/director Zal Batmanglij at WonderCon about how they came up with the idea for the film, filming without a permit and how the two work together as writers. Read more

Q&A: ‘Unforgettable’ Star Poppy Montgomery Talks Her Character, Research and How Her Own Memory Has Gotten Better

Poppy Montgomery stars as Carrie Wells on the hit CBS show, Unforgettable. Wells is a former police detective with a rare condition that makes her memory so flawless that every place, every conversation, every moment she’s ever had is embedded in her mind.

I wish I had that problem.

Originally from Australia, Poppy moved to Los Angeles when she was 18 and quickly landed roles on shows like NYPD Blue and Party of Five. After appearing on The Beat and Relativity, she got her first series regular role on Glory Days. When that was cancelled after 9 episodes, she immediately got the role of FBI agent Samantha Spade on Without a Trace, where was for seven seasons.

I talked with Poppy on a conference call where she talked about Carrie’s evolution, the research she did and if playing a character with an incredible memory has helped her with her own recognition.

Unforgettable airs on Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS Read more

Michael C. Hall Talks About His New Film, Broadway and His Research for ‘Dexter’: “I pretended to stalk people”

Although Michael C. Hall is currently on a break from playing a serial killer on Showtime’s Dexter, he has been keeping busy with new roles in films including Kill Your Darlings and The Trouble with Bliss. 

In an interview with Vulture, Hall recounted some of the ways he’s prepared for his acting gigs.

First, Hall did some research for playing Dexter.  He said, “I pretended to stalk people. I wasn’t actively stalking people, but I did follow them.  If there was somebody alone, I’d follow them around, just to see what it felt like—no syringe, though.  Maybe go down on the subway and stay a car away.  Try not to get noticed, just to see what it felt like.”  This preparation did help Hall get into the role.  He said, “The key was distance: Don’t get too close, and if you feel like you might be spotted, relocate, cross the street.  It was pretty easy, especially if it’s the busy part of the day.  I learned if you’re out and about, you’re probably being followed by someone—so don’t go down those deserted alleyways!  It was kind of creepy. I creeped myself out.” Read more

How Do I Market Myself When I have “Nothing To Say”?

by Emily Grace

One of the best steps you can take to treat your acting career like a business is to market yourself on a consistent basis.  But what happens when you’re between gigs with nothing new to report? 

Should you just drop the ball, and wait until you book something big to reach out and connect with industry professionals?  Hell no!  In fact, falling off the radar is the worst thing you can do.

So how do you continue to market yourself when you feel like you have nothing to say?

Let me share two simple, yet powerful strategies to overcome the “nothing to say obstacle” every single time.

Somewhere in your career an industry professional has said to you, “Keep in touch with me when you have something big to report.”

WTF? Read more

Benjamin Walker on Preparing for ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’

Preparing to play legendary president Abraham Lincoln would be difficult enough for an actor—but portraying him as a vampire hunter seems like it would be considerably harder. But Benjamin Walker (Flags of Our Fathers, Kinsey, Broadway’s Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) decided to take on the challenge in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which opens in June. 

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Walker said, “We did a lot of research and a lot of training.  But the most interesting part was reading up on Lincoln.  Doris Kearns has a great book, though it mostly covered his politics.  Lincoln’s Melancholy fit right into what we’re doing.  It’s about his depressive nature, his poetry, his relationship with death.” Read more

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