‘Blair Witch’ Actress Heather Donahue Recounts Hazy Days in New Marijuana Memoir

Back in 1999, Blair Witch Project star Heather Donahue disappeared from the limelight just as quickly as she had arrived. As she details in her new memoir, GrowGirl: How My Life After The Blair Witch Project Went to Pot, Donahue had greener pastures on her mind when she steered away from what could have been a successful Hollywood career.

“I took all my stuff into the desert related to my acting career and burned it all,” the 27-year-old actress recently told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The acting projects I was lucky enough to work on weren’t always things that I felt good about putting out into the world. I wanted to change my life, see what else was out there for me, what else I might become.”

Then, she moved in with her boyfriend and started growing marijuana with him for a living – they were two peas in a pot. Donahue later lived in Nuggettown, California for a year, spending almost the entire time building grow rooms and caring for her crops with other like-minded northern Californians. She eventually gave up the trade when a fellow grower got busted by the feds.  Read more

Daniel Craig Talks Auditioning, ‘Dragon Tattoo’ and Bond, James Bond

British actor Daniel Craig covers all the bases in a recent interview with Time Out London.  The long time performer, who has a series of highly anticipated movies enter the box office this year, discussed everything from his upcoming role in David Fincher‘s adaption of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well his attachment to the James Bond franchise, landing work before his studies ended at the conservatory Guildhall, and looking good for the camera.

In one of the most talked about film projects of this year, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Craig stars as a Swedish Journalist, Mikael Blomkvist, who pairs up with a very unique computer hacker by the name of Lisbeth Salander. 

Talking about the cast, the forty-three year old English native discussed his accent in the Fincher helmed production, or the lack thereof.  “Some people in the film have accents and some don’t. I don’t. I had a long conversation with David about it and said that a lot of Scandinavians speak English perfectly. I’m one of those guys. We’ve got Danish people, Swedish people, English people, American people. The only thing that matters, as far as I’m concerned, is that no one sounds American. We sound as European as possible. We’re all speaking one common language and that happens to be English. I didn’t want an accent to get in the way, and for me it would. Salander has no formal education and she has a street accent, it’s quite specific.”  Read more

Kal Penn on Why He Changed His Name: “Half of it was curiosity to see if it would make a difference”

In a recent interview with New York Magazine, Harold & Kumar star Kal Penn explained the origin of his stage name and how it’s gotten him more auditions than his given name ever did.

The actor was born Kalpen Suresh Modi and changed his stage moniker after moving to California from New Jersey for college.

“Half of it was curiosity to see if it would make a difference, and the other half was as a joke to friends of mine. We read something that said that 40 percent of actors have screen names, and we were sitting at this place called Jose Bernsteins… and they were just berating me with things like, ‘What about ‘Kal Pucino?’” he recalled. “I was rejecting all of their awful suggestions, and thought, everyone calls me Kal anyway. My first name is Kalpen, so it’s sort of how Joseph becomes Joe… And it did increase auditions.”

“To this day, I’ve never been completely sure whether it was [because it was] less ethnic sounding or just [because it was] monosyllabic and that was easier.”  Read more

Emma Watson: “L.A. scares the crap out of me”

California is on Emma Watson‘s mind, but not in a good way. The young brit explained to Harpar’s Bazarr U.K. why it is that she won’t be making the move to Los Angeles any time soon.

She admitted, “L.A. scares the crap out of me. I feel if I have to work out four hours a day, and count the calories of everything I put in my mouth, and have Botox at 22, and obsess about how I look the whole time, I will go mad. I will absolutely lose it.” That’s not to say the the entire United States was off-limits. Emma was excited to leave the U.K. for Brown University in 2009.

Watson, who is now one of the highest paid actresses in the world, maintains that she is very much a ‘good girl,’ so much so that it’s been a detriment to her acting career. She’s found it difficult to land bad girl parts, explaining, “My acting tutor said the hardest thing for me was to get angry. I almost broke down in tears when they tried to get me to be angry. I said, ‘I can’t do it. I just can’t do it. I keep all of that really bottled up somewhere and I feel unleashing it would be the scariest thing — and to let myself be powerful, sexy, all those things, it’s scary for me.”

Why Actors Need Websites – 6 Money Saving Tips

Imagine this: You are in your car (or walking to the subway) and you suddenly get a call from a casting director. They are interested in submitting you for an upcoming project, but need to forward your headshot & resume to the director within the next 30 minutes. You’re not at your computer, so you cannot email your materials to them. And you’re nowhere near their office, so you cannot just drop by with a physical copy of your headshot/resume. What can you do?

Or, imagine this: You are networking at an event (like the Tribeca Film Festival) and you have met so many people that you have handed out your last copy of your reel. You run into an agent who has seen you on stage, but comments that he would like to see your film work. He asks if you have a reel to give him. Sadly, you don’t, and it will be at least a week until you can get more duplicates made. What now?

If you are a business-minded actor, you would have a website and neither case would have been a problem! You could simply tell the casting director, “Drop by my website, where you can download a copy of my headshot and resume, both formatted for printing.” And for the agent, you would be able to say, “Here’s my website. Not only do I have my reel posted, but I also have clips from a few of the other projects I have done, including some singing and a few commercials.”

Having a website is one of the most important promotional tools an actor can have, second only to a good headshot. A website allows you to provide interested parties with a more full look at your body of work, your personality, and the way you run your business. And it allows them to do it in their own time, at their pace and leisure, which is vitally important in the larger, more competitive markets. The easier you can make it for a CD/agent to get to know you, the better chance you have of making an impact with them.

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Top 11 Reputable Casting Websites

One of the things that can get me incensed as a career coach is when casting websites pop up promising to give actors access to stardom. Some sites make it sounds like an actor’s big break is just around the corner, and all they need to do is pay a fee and they’re in! But most actors know that success comes with good training, strong relationship building, and the ability & wherewithal to seize an opportunity when it presents itself (also known as tenacity.) The trouble is, even the smartest actor has heard at least one rags-to-riches story, and the allure of a quick win sometimes overshadows common sense.

So, to combat the many unscrupulous characters baiting actors with empty promises, below you’ll find are 11 of my favorite reputable websites where casting notices can be found.

Actors Access
Backstage
Actors Equity Casting Call
Playbill
SAG Indie
Now Casting
Casting Networks/LACasting.com
Casting Networks/NYCasting.com
NYCastings.com
Mandy.com
Craigslist

Any of the others not listed here typically have the same notices that are on the above sites. If you are in LA or NY, I would caution you if paying to use any website other than these listed- it probably wouldn’t be worth the money. Of course, there are exceptions and I am sure a new website will come along and blow away the competition. But as of now, the above sites are the most reputable for those in the major markets.

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Four Tips to Master the Telephone

Four Tips to Master the Telephone

by Dallas Travers, CEC

The telephone is one of the most powerful marketing resources you have at your disposal.  Think about Jeremy Piven’s character, Ari Gold on HBO’s Entrourage.  As Hollywood’s most powerful agent, Gold lives and breathes by the telephone.  He understands that the phone is the quickest way to really make things happen for his clients.

Regardless of what stage you are in your acting career, you must embrace the power of the telephone in your own marketing.  You don’t have to be an acerbic bulldog like Ari Gold, but you can step out of your comfort zone and reach out on the phone.

Whether you’re calling producers, casting directors, agents, or even friends, the phone can sometimes be an intimidating monster.  Let’s admit it, scary phone calls are never easy, but they are necessary if you want to elevate your career.  So, now I’d like to offer up four quick tips for conquering the telephone.

Be Clear

It’s essential that you know precisely WHY you are calling before you pick up the phone.  You must convey your request in a clear way.  Doing so allows whomever you’re calling to more easily help you because now they’ll actually know what the heck you really want.

Be sure to ask the real question.  The real question cuts right to the chase.  It may feel a little bold, but it’ll more than likely get you the answers you’re seeking.  The real question may be: “Can we set up a meeting?”  “Would you like to represent me?” or “How can I cultivate a relationship with you?”

If you’re calling to set up a meeting with a producer, ask for it.  You might say something like this:

Hi, I’m Joe smith.  I’m an actor committed to expanding my feature film career.  I’m calling to set up a 10 minute meeting with (insert producer’s name) to find out what you’re currently working on and how we might collaborate.

If you’re calling a casting office, simply request an audition.  You may say something like this:

Hi, this is Jane Johnson.  I think I’m perfect for the role of (insert role here).  What can I do to get an audition?

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A Motivating Kick in the Pants

Just a few words of wisdom (stolen from a well known marketing campaign) … Just Do It. Put away the excuses. Put away the what-ifs. Put away the “when the weather is nicer and I have more energy.” The time is now. There will never be the perfect time, or the easy time, or the time when all of the pieces will line up exactly the way we want them to. So…

Just Do It.

So, I thought I would help address some of the common excuses we actors tell ourselves so I can help break that cycle:

Actors: Don’t Re-Invent The Wheel

I meet many, many people through my journeys as an actor and a coach, and a lot of those conversations revolve around business, marketing and motivation (I guess I’m a magnet for that kind of talk!) I have seen people at all levels of success and achievement, and everyone’s story varies – where they grew up, how much support they had from their families, whether or not they went to theater school, what city they chose to ply their wares, etc, etc… Along with all of these differences, there’s one element that was evident in nearly every successful person I’ve met:

The willingness to ask for help.

When I was growing up, my parents didn’t have money to spend on dance classes or drama camp- the training I received was through the public school arts programs. After choir concerts or school plays, people often asked me where I had gotten my training, and they seemed shocked and enthralled when my parents said, “Nowhere- this is just her natural talent.” I began feeling like my natural talent made me something special, in a way that training since the age of 5 could not. “After all,” I thought to myself, “ANYONE can train, but not everyone can have natural talent.”

But once I got to college, things got turned around a bit. All of the sudden, I was surrounded by people who had the same talent as me, and even (gasp!) MORE. Raw talent was no longer something that was unique- it was a given. People were now giving reverence to those who had solid training and industry references. So I, like every other good little college student, trained and studied and worked and walked away from school with a degree AND raw talent. And armed with my shiny diploma, I stopped asking for help. After all, I Had Made It.

Why do we stop asking for help once our formal training is done? Is there a rule that says we must figure everything else out by ourselves?

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Submitting For An Audition? Some Basic Do’s and Absolute Don’ts

Erin Cronican is the founder of The Actors’ Enterprise (TAE), a fun and inspiring one-on-one coaching service that provides incredibly affordable business training to actors who want to feel more fulfilled and in control of their careers. With an approach that is hands-on and customized for each person, we help actors set goals, organize their business, and create a plan of action with easy tools that can take them to the next level, no matter where they are starting from. Our focus includes coaching on marketing/career development, business skills, and audition techniques that help actors work SMARTER, not HARDER. Erin is a professional actor (SAG/AFTRA/AEA) and continues to work steadily in film, TV and theater. Coaching packages start at only $40 per hour (wow!)- Learn more at www.theactorsenterprise.org or www.erincronican.com.

Market Your Acting Career: Some basic casting advice

I have done a fair bit of casting in my day, and actors always seem surprised when I mention how frustrating it can be when an actor doesn’t follow instructions when doing their submissions. I am surprised at my frustration too- I mean, I am also an actor and I pride myself on creatively marketing myself. But there is a point where trying to be cute or trying to get an edge just comes across as… well, disrespectful.

The reason I am sharing this with you today is that I just read another blog where an actor was in a casting position, and she experienced the same frustration! And because of this, I felt it was worth mentioning to all of you in an effort to help you make effective marketing decisions for your acting business.

I was casting a leading male role in an indie short film- the actor had to be blond, Caucasian, in his 20s, and non-union (they had already spent their budget on several other union actors.) To promote the role, I used Breakdown Services (which gives me the option of posting to agent breakdowns only, or also to Actors Access), Now Casting, Casting NY, Craigslist and a few other small casting websites. Between all of these sites, I probably saw over 300 submissions, which was quite a number to go through for one role.

Each casting site has its own way for casting directors (CDs) to organize the information that comes in. Some of them allow you to delete the messages from those who are not right for the role, but often times the website keeps all submissions in your inbox. This means that, right or not for the role, the CD is going to have to scan over that submission every time they are on that website. Now, imagine if you were a CD casting one role for a 20-something Caucasian, non-union male (which was explicitly stated in the breakdown) and you started to receive submissions from the following types: Children. Women. Non-Caucasian Men. Grandfathers. Dozens upon dozens of them. In the case above, more than half of the actors who submitted did not fit the description of the character in the breakdown.

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