Good/ Bad/ GREAT

Hey folks

It's been a busy week or so since the last post. Some good stuff has happened, some bad stuff has happened, some GREAT stuff has happened, and is about to happen!

Here's the low-down:

Bad: I got some bad news late last week... as most of you know, I've been shooting an independent "Industrial" for a company called DealerPeak. The industrial was going to be a highly irreverent video wherein a supervisor at a car dealership (Me) uses a shock collar to break a new employee of the bad sales habits he'd learned at other dealerships. It was a pretty funny concept, and we've shot about 80% of the video.

I had one day left to go, and was just getting ready to leave the house for the final shoot when the director called me up. Seems he'd had a meeting with the owner of the company (essentially the Executive Producer of the piece), and the plug had been pulled. The owner apparently wanted a more traditional training video shot inside dealerships looking with real employees.

So, no irreverent car video... a pity. It was going to be a very funny piece.

Good: I've had three commercial auditions this week (well, ok, technically the third one is tomorrow). I haven't landed any of the gigs, but three auditions in one week makes one feel like something is going right.

Also, we're closer yet to selling our duplex... we had a new water heater installed yesterday. That's the only things the buyers have asked us to do; now it's just a matter of signing the papers.

GREAT: Two plays I was in this past season won Drammy awards (that's Portland's version of the Tony awards)! Granted, I had nothing to do with the Drammy for Sound Design that Rodolfo Ortega won for Swiss Family Robinson... but I'd like to think I had a little to do with Jingle Spree winning a Drammy for Original Work. Well, ok... that all goes to Deanna Wells, Eric Reid, Bill Barry, Barb Klansic and Adrienne Flagg... and ESPECIALLY to our director Antonio Sonera. But I helped a little too, right guys? Right? Ah, probably not... I'll be quiet and go back in the box now...

Also GREAT: You may remember that Trish recently shot a commercial for Regence Blue Cross/ Blue Shield. She walked off the set not feeling like she'd given the director and producers what they'd wanted... but they must have liked something she did, because our agent called her yesterday to say that Regence wants Trish to voice some radio commercials. They didn't as her to audition; she was just called for the spots. She's laying down her voice track later today.

Yet-To-Be-GREAT: And finally, at least three (and maybe four) short films I'm in are having their world premiers tomorrow night at Portland's Hollywood Theater. If you've got tomorrow night free (that's Thursday, June 14th for those of you not keeping track) at 7:00 pm, come on down to the Hollywood and see The Yard (sorry Organized Labor), God Has No Religion (sorry Scientologists), and Holy Rollers (sorry fundamentalist Christians). It's all part of the Art Institute of Portland's senior thesis showing.

If director Colby Smith has it done in time, you might even see Phobe Home (sorry mental illness sufferers), the short I shot weekend-before-last. It'll be amazing if it happens... but Colby's a pretty driven guy.

Then, after the showing, you can see me get ambushed by all the groups I've offended in those films... what fun that'll be!

Time to get ready for the next audition... hope you're all doing well!

-Harold