Actor Beware

Okay, my 2 cents on this whole SAG / AFTRA merger thing.
Let me start by saying that I have been disenfranchised with SAG since 2002 when we went on strike for a better commercial contract. What did we get for following, then President, Melissa Gilbert? Nothing... Actually we got less than nothing we got a weaker contract than the original and we got beat so badly that SAG lost a ton of respect.

No one has asked why didn't SAG strike for the new Theatrical contract after the Writer's strike. Oh, the SAG leaders will tell you that the Writer's strike put too many people out of work for too long and SAG couldn't do that to all those people... blah, blah, blah...
The real reason is that, A. The actors would have never supported a strike and B. The producers made it very clear, publicly, that there was "no way in hell" they would make the same kind of concessions for SAG as they did for the writers.

So much for the power of SAG.
I hate to be a negative, really. I always try to see the positive in everything... but let me quantify the level of dedication I have to my disgust of SAG. I haven't paid any dues to SAG since the 2002 disaster when subsequently, our dues went up... Needless to say I was more than a little suspicious of union management. I am hurt, deeply by the current state of what was once such an empowered and necessary union. Hell I was upset when they started the 3 voucher rule for extras. Of course that came from the absorption, (sorry, MERGER) of SEG... I could go on and on about the many disappointments I have concerning SAG but I wont. What I will do instead is post this email I received from a very dear friend of mine who is also a SAG member and is worried, as I am, for the future of our union. Personally, I think the days of needing a union to protect us as performers are long gone with the advent of State and Federal laws that protect work environments and as far as pay, any contract can be negotiated.

If you are a SAG and/or AFTRA member, PLEASE read this before casting your vote for a merger.

SAG / AFTRA MERGER

Here is some information I received you might consider helpful before voting on the new SAG/AFTRA Merger. No matter what side you fall on regarding this merger with AFTRA, you should know the honest facts before you vote. Below is the Minority Report that you will be getting in the mail with your ballot from SAG. This statement was vetted and approved by the SAG attorneys after several hours of hammering by David Casselman the plaintiff's (81 actors) attorney when he pressured the SAG leaders and attorneys to finally provide the truth about their merger plans. David B. Casselman Senior Partner Wasserman, Comden, Casselman & Esensten, L.L.P. 5567 Reseda Blvd., Suite 330 Tarzana, CA 91356 Email: dcasselman@wccelaw.com Main: (818) 705-6800

SAG ACTORS...HAVE YOU STUDIED THE IMPACT OF THIS MERGER? IF NOT, HERE ARE CRITICAL FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW: PENSION & HEALTH SAG relies upon a “Feasibility Review.” While it concluded that a merger would be legal, no one ever doubted Mergers are legal. What about our benefits? SAG did not request any actuarial study regarding whether a merger would be financially safe. Why? They know, like the AFTRA Trustees, that “the merger of pension and health funds as large and divergent as the AFTRA and SAG plans raises complex and unique financial, legal and benefit issues which can only be addressed through a comprehensive analysis performed by the funds.” Despite the express statements in Appendix I to the SAG Constitution, and Board Resolutions, no study was conducted to assess the financial impact of a merger of Pension or Health Plans. Are your benefits safe? The SAG and AFTRA P&H&R Plans are extremely different. Consider merging these factors: • SAG pension accrual rate: 2% of earnings: AFTRA: less than 1% of earnings. • SAG early retirement penalty: 3% per year. AFTRA: DOUBLE: 6% per year. • SAG Plan 2 annual premium (family of four): $1,620: AFTRA Individual Plan annual premium (family of 4): $17,260 The merger plan does not even attempt to reconcile these and other differences. Experts addressing the financial impact issues are convinced SAG members will likely suffer diminished future benefits. Highly respected pension and health experts Brucker & Morra have concluded: “Until a full and formal ERISA Impact Report of how to address and quantify these problems is completed, no one, not even pension experts, can intelligently evaluate or quantify the probable negative impact on the members’ pension and health benefits. The union merger is so inextricably interconnected with the plan merger that members cannot be asked to evaluate and vote on the Union Merger until issues relating to the Plan Merger have been resolved and concrete proposals formulated so the members can make informed choices.” The issue has always been the impact on SAG member benefits, when merged with lower AFTRA benefits. If the merger of unions is approved, SAG members will never have any right to vote to protect their benefits by preventing merger of the Pension or Health Plans. If you vote to merge the unions, you are removing a major hurdle to later merger of those plans. Once the unions are merged, individual members will have no vote and no recourse regarding a merger of Pension and Health Plans. SPLIT EARNINGS The merger Plan does not even address, much less solve our split earnings issues. Rather, it will codify the problem. If merger is approved, the stated plan is to CONTINUE to split your earnings, just like during the last 12 months. If the proposed merger is approved, without signatures from 15% of the approximately 158,000 members, you will have no further right to vote on this issue either. NEW DUES STRUCTURE - If merger is approved, over 70,000 SAG-only members' base dues will increase from $116 to $198. BROADCASTERS - Preferential Treatment Broadcasters in the merged union can still work NON-UNION on basic cable networks (ESPN, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, FOX NEWS, etc.), with drastically discounted dues compared to actors. Broadcaster work dues from $0 to $100,000 will be the same as actors at 1.575%. Broadcaster work dues from $100,000 to $250,000 can be drastically discounted to .274% (and capped at $250,000) with maximum dues of $2,184. Actors, however, will pay 1.575% on ALL earnings up to $500,000, with maximum dues almost 400% higher: $8,073. BACKGROUND ACTORS - THREE VOUCHER SYSTEM The much maligned and poorly regulated Three Voucher entry requirement for SAG will continue. Merging unions does not guarantee more Background jobs. It can only result in more competition for the same covered jobs. BLOATED BUREAUCRACY There is no plan to streamline or eliminate duplicated services post merger. The new union will keep all 635 SAG and AFTRA employees. Nor is there a plan to equalize the existing SAG staff (3.5%) and SAG member (2%) pension accrual rates. CONVENTION Convention will be the highest governing body in the merged union - higher than the Board of Directors. Convention will have the authority to MERGE with more unions, set policy, control the Constitution, without giving the membership any direct vote on such matters. 8 out of 10 National officers will be CHOSEN at Convention; not by direct member vote. The ELECTED President will be able to delegate authority to the Executive VP, also chosen by the Convention, not directly by members. ELECTED LEADERS MAY RECEIVE PAY The SAG Constitution prohibits paying elected officers and board members. The new union Constitution opens the door for payments, currently not permitted. MAJORITY NO LONGER RULES Hollywood represents the majority of SAG members, and the majority of revenue. If merged, when Hollywood has a majority, it must secure an additional 5% from other Locals, regardless of its majority vote. Traditionally, seats on negotiating committees were based on Division/Local earnings. That would no longer be true. The President can simply choose members with National Board approval. Those earning the majority of revenue on specific contracts will no longer be guaranteed majority say on those negotiating committees. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION The unions have not exchanged actor contract details. We have no idea how-what-when-why AFTRA gives away residuals in made-for-basic cable shows or other concessions to management. AGENTS If merged, the Board, without a member vote, can alone decide whether agents can own or be owned by production entities. The SAG membership rejected the last agent agreement because of this potential conflict of interest. NEGOTIATING STRENGTH SAG and AFTRA have been negotiating jointly since 1981. How has that benefited SAG members? AFTRA has routinely undercut SAG interests. A merger of actors is all that is necessary. This merger merely handcuffs SAG. CONCLUSION The current merger plan solves almost nothing and adds too many inherent problems. Vote NO and demand that our union leaders conduct the necessary due diligence to create an agreement which will not harm actors. In Solidarity: Scott Bakula Joe d’Angerio Elliott Gould Valerie Harper Ed Harris Anne-Marie Johnson David Jolliffe Martin Sheen P.S. You may consider forwarding to everyone on your list and ask them to forward, tweet and facebook it as well. SAG has over 100,000 emails and addresses to reach our members. We just have the network...but we can go viral and get the truth out to many members if you forward.

Here's a little video clip with some of my recent work. I put it up here so, if you get a hankering to see something... well, Here's something.

Enjoy and feel free to post a comment.

Much Love and Success!!!

Peace in the Desert

So I am out in the desert this past weekend, doing a test shoot for my next film, Hard Sun and I was blindsided...

It's a good thing. Let me explain. You see, living in LA LA land can harden you. There are many more "cons" to living in this town then there are "pros" and without giving you a knock down list of both, rather, I would just like to say that in order to do well here, one has to get away every once in a while.
I have been fortunate enough to be able to do so quite often and every time I do go and come back I am struck with how wonderful the world can be.

What I mean is that LA isn't a rat race, it's a rat cage, and overpopulation here is epidemic. When that happens people tend to lose sight of simple things like  curtesy, good manners and a myriad of other human traits most people in other areas of the world take for granted. Top that with LA's very unique demographic (mainly thousands upon thousands of people who have dreams of being a star) , and you get the kind of place where people will say... "It's a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there".
There is a certain level of self absorption that occurs when one aspires to become an actor, model or musician. It's necessary. If you are the product you are trying to sell, you better know what it is you are selling... Psychologists have a word for it... Narcissism.

But that's not all...

LA is a prospector's town. Think about the gold rush of the late 1840's. You may have heard this expression before but it bears repeating here to make my point. "The people who made all the money during the gold rush were not the prospectors but those who sold prospecting goods to the miners." So basically, If you wanted to make money, a boatload of it, you would sell pickaxes and pans. The same environment exists here in LA, only the prospectors are the actors, models, etc... and the guys making all the money are those people selling services to the actors... Don't believe me? I challenge you to go out around LA for 1 hour and NOT find some sort of service that markets actors.

To wrap up, LA is a narcissistic miner's town where the gold is scarce, scruples are even scarcer and sanity lives just beyond the city limits. It's a necessity that us artistic folk here are forced to deal with.
I recommend getting out at least once a month for a weekend. More if you can afford to do so. Interaction with "real" people will do wonders for your psyche, your sense of humanity and keep you grounded. 

So what blindsided me you ask?

I was simply reminded how peaceful and lovely our world really is when things are quiet. Being still is an essential trait to anyone who works as an actor. Internal stillness is even more important. The desert is a very still place and if you can be still in a still place, the universe will speak to you. I'm not gonna tell you what the universe told me... that's private... but I can tell you that it gave me peace and made me smile.





Much Love and Success to you and thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts with you :)

The Boston Sci-Fi Film Fest.

So... if you just so happen to be in Boston between February 10-18th, there's a little film I worked on called The Historian Paradox last summer and it is an Official Selection in the 37th Boston Sci-Fi Film Fest!

The premier of the film won the audience favorite award at The Big Island Film Festival. This film is only being presented for public viewing in film festivals at this times so if you wanna see it you will have to go to one that it is programmed in. The Boston Sci-Fi is one of the oldest film fests in the country so they will know how to throw a party :) I recommend you go to this one if you can. http://www.bostonsci-fi.com/

Unfortunately I won't be there in person due to other time constraints but if you are going or do go... or even wanna go... let me know ;P
I have yet to visit the fair city of Boston... I hear it is really nice there and I want to go. Awww well, maybe next time... yeah?

An Acting Lesson...

Let me be the first to say that I am not a fan of acting blogs... or classes.

Let me tell you why. It's because what works for one person may or may not (usually, may not) work for another. The thing about acting is that it is such a personal thing. Sorta like a singer's instrument is his/her voice, which is also very personal. A guitar doesn't have feelings about what it's playing... good or bad.
An actor's voice and choice(s), is always very personal and because it is so public, always open to scrutiny. So how can one person tell another person how to act?
I don't want to be that guy saying that acting classes are bad but I do believe, as in life, a person hones his or her chosen career not in the classroom but in his or her particular arena of choice. Actor's get their training "on the boards" just like a doctor get's his/her training as a resident, on live patients! Much scarier being a resident than an actor any day of the week...

I also still study but only when I haven't worked my instrument in a while and I need to build up my trust. Trust in myself mostly.
When I do go back I use one guy, who is an established actor and who's technique speaks to me like no other has.

My Acting Coach/Teacher/ Guru
Steve Eastin

http://eastinstudio.com/


I have read all of Stanislavski's books, even "My Life" and have studied Meisner, Adler and even Guskin. Over the years I have taken all sorts of classes from scene study to "on camera auditioning techniques" and here is the one thing I have learned from all of those classes...

Trust yourself.

That's it. That's the only acting advice I give anymore.

Why the hell am I even talking about this?  Mainly because at least once a week, many times more, I get an email or FB message that looks something like this...


"Hi J Michael, Let me just say first that you are a great actor. I am also interested in pursuing an acting career. Can you please tell me how to get started? What classes do you recommend and about how long it will take for me to get my first big role?..." ETC... ETC...

This is an example of one of the more thought out messages that I have received.
I no longer answer these emails or messages because 100% of the time the recipient doesn't like the answer. Many have sent back angry and insulting replies... Ce la vie.

So you are prolly asking right now, "Well what the hell do you tell these poor souls that make them so angry?"  Let me be the first to say, I am not an acting teacher, nor will I ever be... at least while I am still "doing".
What I say, is simply the truth. It is the most difficult career choice one can aspire to. There is no set timeline, no class, no formula that will get you where you want to be, or where you think you want to be. The simple truth can be summed up with two words... Ready?

Love and Trust 

That is all there is to having a successful acting career. I know... you don't believe it.
Let me quickly explain then end this discussion.

Love: what you do more than any other thing. (notice I didn't say anything else People belong in another kind of love).

Trust: yourself in every choice you make and never judge, only accept and embrace.

That is all I have to say about it. Think about it... you will figure it out, I know you will.
Pretty simple huh? :)

As always,
Much Love, Success and for God's sake, let go of the reins once in a while!

Supporting Dreams

I am posting this blog to promote one of my best friends, Canyon Prince's indy gogo page.

There are two reasons for this. First, he's my friend... Second one of the films he is campaigning for, Hard Sun is one that I helped create and develop and it's sorta self promotion as well but it's my blog site so no apologies...

So, here's the deal, we need help raising money to make two independent films while at the same time fostering the childhood dreams of two very talented filmmakers. Donations start at a measly 10 bucks...

I know... we are in a recession, unemployment is at an all time high and people are still losing their homes. The thing is with all that depressing stuff happening out there, the need to be entertained with brilliant content is even more important now than ever!!! I am sorry to say that the same ole' formulaic crap keeps spilling out of the studio system and there is no hint that anything inspiring is coming... Except for maybe, The Artist but it started out as an independent.

So help support the arts, help support independent film where story is still the main driving force behind production and help two guys, who really deserve it, achieve their life long dreams of making relevant content. (okay I am putting away the soapbox now)

Just give a little and if you can't, I get it... but at least share the page with people, you know, help get the word out... create a little buzz for the little guy in this biz for a change...

Here's the link: (go there!)
http://www.indiegogo.com/2guys2films

Adjustments...

Okay, so I have just started using a chiropractor for the first time in my whole 40-something (ahem) years of living. The reason for this sudden and wild change was a result of a woman's inability to text and drive at the same time... either that or she was off of her meds. Short version, she took a left turn at an intersection with oncoming traffic. Of which, I happened to be a passenger in said oncoming traffic... So after x-rays and strong advice from my attorney, off to the back-o-practor I went.

Let me just say, I was very pleasantly surprised with the staff, the professionalism of the doctor and mostly how much better I felt after my first visit. Wait...
Let me digress for a moment. Some of you may already know this but I have a nursing degree and occasionally (5-10 times per month, depending on how busy my schedule is...) I will work at one of the local LA or Ventura County Emergency Rooms as a registry nurse. A registry is like an employment agency only they are specifically for medical personnel staffing. Okay so as someone with a nursing education, I have developed a... distrust? for chiropractors. Mainly because most MD's will tell you not to see them. Anyway, back to my story...

So I was pleasantly surprised because I had this idea of chiropractors that was based on misinformation. My first adjustment was a little scary I have to admit but afterwards... I could literally feel my face relax. I have this bad habit of squinting. Mostly because I am supposed to be wearing glasses but I have been stubbornly fighting the whole "four eyes" thing since the second grade and I'll be damned if I am going to let go of such a life-long proclivity now even though I know my deeply defined crows feet are a direct result...

Basically I guess I am trying to say that back-crackers are good for wrinkles and MD's cause crows feet... well, sorta...

To Blog or not... To Blah... you know

Yep... That's me, just there to the left.
So this is the first time trying out this blogging thing. I figure I'll just jabber on about different things that happen to me while in hot pursuit of my career goals. Ehhhh... If you like it, great. If not... well this is just as much for me as it is for anyone else who takes the time to read it so...

Anyway, some of you might know a little about me and that's kewl... Hey, how are ya? Thanks for stopping by. For those of you who don't have a flippin' clue, here's a link that should clear everything up for ya :)
This one takes you to my IMDB page where you can see lots of picks, a filmography and a scruffy Bio...

So let's get on with it.
I had an audition today for the lead in an independent feature film. The thing is... The director of the film is one of my best friends, with whom I have been friends for twelve years now... Wait, it gets better... The film I auditioned for is the same film my buddy and I created together about nine or so years ago!
So you would think in a town like L.A. where lots of people like to throw around words like "incestuous" and "nepotism" to explain why they aren't working, that this... myth... might apply in my particular situation. Well I am living proof that even after 20 years of doing what it is that I do. I still have to, as Drama from Entourage so poignantly put, "... sing for my supper." (Thanks Drama) I am not complaining. No, No... far from it. I actually enjoy the auditioning process... really :) I knew what I got myself into when I decided that acting was the career for me and I still love everything about it.

It was a little weird though having a casting director explain to me about a character that I co-created and also that somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that my best bud would be watching tape at some point to decide that I am right for the part, even though I have worked with him on projects before and with whom I am real friends with. I know what you are thinking, it's just business, right? At the end of the day of course, you are right. I understand where he is coming from, he wants to honor the script and I appreciate that because it's a really good one and I'm not just saying that, it really is. It's not like one of those parents of a not-so-cute baby saying, "Isn't she beautiful?"
What's my point? Well, this buddy of mine has been there for me through a very nasty and painful divorce, moved out here to L.A. just a few months before I did, I went through a couple of his breakups too and we even had a fight in Vegas once... That should count for something shouldn't it? Okay maybe not but now I feel all better ;P
But seriously, today was a reminder of what it means to be an actor. No matter what you do in your career or who you are working with there is never a get out of jail free card. I get it and I am not sore at all. I am really just messing with my buddy by blogging about this and I know he will get a good laugh from it  :D

Thanks for reading and Much Success!!!