One More Day Until The Bombs Drop!

Hey folks!

Tomorrow is the big day! After eight days of shooting this past summer and many months in post-production, the first episode of Lady Wasteland goes live tomorrow - Friday November 30th.

Frequent readers of the blog have heard me talk about Lady Wasteland ad infinitum... but just in case you're new here or have missed me spouting off about this big project, here's the lowdown: Lady Wasteland is an innovative new web series with a sprawling cast of characters, set in a post-apocolyptic landscape. The seven pilot episodes that will be released weekly at http://www.ladywasteland.com (and dozens of other sites across the internet) follow separate stories that intersect and parallel one another. The survivors in this post-apoclyptic world aren't the dune-buggy driving, spandex wearing characters you might expect from 1980's sci-fi; they're living in a gritty, savage world where life is cheap and it's all food in the end.

(Sorry, Scott, no giant scorpions... this might help you feel better, though)

Assuming there's enough interest from viewers (and financing from interested parties), more episodes will be shot in the series featuring numerous sub-plots, involving new characters and situations which will effect the lead characters. Everything in the Wasteland is connected... everything has meaning.

I'm very excited to see this series launch... creators Mark Roush and Greg Demchak have a broad vision for where they'd like things to go... and I've been lucky enough to signon for the ride. Plus, I've gotten to know my character pretty well over the past year... I'd love to spend a little more time with him exploring the wasteland and finding out just how dark a person can get in his quest to survive.

So join me tomorrow and each week after that for the first look at this new, dark future. Come into the Wasteland with me... and, as Mark likes to say, "enjoy the decay."

Hope you're all doing well...

-Harold

My January And February Are Officially Scheduled

Giggity Giggity Giggity!

When I talked to my parents yesterday, they reminded me that I hadn't updated you all on the "possibly-cast-in-two-shows" quandry I wrote about a couple of posts back.

First off, the commercial call-back and audition went well... I felt like I made a good showing at both of them. It'll probably come down to "look" on both; whether the director and/or producer and/or client wants someone who looks like me, or someone else. I won't hear about either until next week.

On the theater side, I got a call from Sarah Jane at Northwest Children's Theater on Wednesday (well, from the production manager, the lovely and always-on-top-of-things Wendy Reznicsek) saying that I wasn't going to be cast as a principal in their upcoming production of The Devil and Daniel Webster, so I called up Pavement Productions and accepted a role in Dead of Winter.

Dead of Winter is going to be a really cool show. As I mentioned before, it'll be an evening of three short plays by Steve Patterson presented at Performance Works Northwest from February 1st through the 23rd.

The play I'll be in, Whitechapel focuses on an American editor living in London. The flat she's living in may or may not be haunted... by a very famous ghost (you can probably figure out who it is - or isn't - from the title). I play the editor's boss (and lover).

We'll have a read-through or two in December, then rehearsals start in ernest.

And that's what's going on... hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

-Harold

Want To Get New Episodes Of Your Favorite Shows Back Into Production?

Here's something you can do to help stop the re-runs

Remember, that's http://www.pencils2mediamoguls.com/. I sent my first box today!

Who Tells You The News?

Chances are, it's one of about six corporations... and that number's about to get even smaller.

... And Sometimes It Pours!

This is a wacky business I'm in... you can have nothing on your plate and an empty schedule one day, and in the blink of an eye things really start hopping.

Yesterday was shaping up to be a full-on "Show Biz" kinda day... I had an ADR session in the morning at at Blue Dog Recording (an amazing facility, by the way... if you ever need high-quality audio recording done here in Portland, Bruce can take really good care of you) for my upcoming web series Lady Wasteland. ADR is usually a grueling process, with the sound engineer playing and re-playing bits of audio from footage into the actors headphones, while the actor tries to match the timing of what he said on-the-day while fixing problems with enunciation, pitch, etc. We managed to knock out two episodes in two hours, though, which is pretty damned good as ADR sessions go.

While I was there, I got to see some of the rough-cut footage for Episodes 1 and 3 in the monitor... and I have to say, it looks pretty damned cool. You're all going to want to visit www.ladywasteland.com and sign up for updates (it's the link in the lower-right-hand corner of the screen). From what I can see so far, the launch on November 30th is gonna ROCK!!!

Anyway, after the session at Blue Dog I called my agent Kaili to check in on a commercial audition I went out on last week (note to young actors - ALWAYS bring your schedule to an audition and write down the date of the callback, then check in before the callback date to see if you're on the list. Sometimes the list goes out late, or people forget to call you... it's best to check in yourself just to be sure, and prevents nasty scheduling surprises if the word comes out at the last minute when you've got other things scheduled - as I often do. If you have an agent, it's also a good idea to get in touch with him/her on a weekly basis just to check in... it keeps you in the agent's mind as s/he's thinking of actors to submit to upcoming projects).

Turns out I did get called back for the commercial, so it's a good thing I called! I noted the audition time down on my Treo and grabbed some lunch... when the phone rang again. This time it was the director for Dead of Winter, an evening of short plays by Steve Patterson that's set to go up in February. I auditioned for one of the plays on Sunday, and the director (the fabulous Lisa Abbott) was calling to offer me a role.

This put me in something of a tight spot. I'd also auditioned for Northwest Children's Theater's The Devil & Daniel Webster last week, before I'd auditioned for Dead of Winter. I'd called director Sarah Jane Hardy to check in with her on her casting process earlier in the morning (see the note above), but hadn't heard back from her. While I'd love to do Dead of Winter, I kind of felt like I owed it to NWCT to be sure they weren't thinking of casting me in Devil; I had auditioned for them first, after all...

I told Lisa I'd have to get back to her while I talked to Sarah Jane (never a good feeling; the minute you hang up the phone in that situation you're just sure that the director is going to get miffed and call someone else). I contacted Northwest Children's Theater and talked to Sarah Jane... and she told me that she was seriously considering me for either the titular parts of The Devil or Daniel Webster, and asked me if I could give her a day to put things in place.

So... it's a great problem to have, two directors who want to use you... but also a little unnerving. What if both of them decide you're not worth the trouble? Pins and needles time...

After lunch, I headed to my friend Ellen West's current abode (she has a very nice condo in Southwest Portland, but she's having some work done on it so she's staying in an apartment up the street) to do "living room reading" of her new play, A Funny Thing Happened. The purpose of a "living room reading" is to give the playwright a chance to hear her play in other people's voices; she gathers actors and friends together and has them read through a play she's been working on. She can hear things that need work in a different way than she can see them on the page... and she can also get feedback from the folks she's asked to read the play. It's a fun little farce, and definitely has potential. I won't be surprised to see some theatre somewhere producing this little show of hers once she polishes it up a bit.

After that, it was off to the Art Institute for their Senior Project general auditions. Each year students in the senior class at the Art Institute produce short films as part of their final thesis. I've appeared in a few over the past few years, and it's a great chance to work with up-and-coming filmmakers and get some on-camera experience. You don't get paid, generally... but you do get a copy of your work that can be incorporated into an actor's reel or posted online (I'm still waiting for clean copies of the films I did last year... then I'll post some clips in the video section of www.haroldphillips.net). Trish and I both read a couple of scenes from feature films (she read a scene from Agnes of God, and I read a scene from Shampoo).

When we got home after the audition, I found another email from my agent waiting for me in my inbox... another commercial audition scheduled for Tuesday. Luckily my callback is set for the morning, and this one is in the late afternoon.

So, yeah... it's a wacky business. Things have been pretty slow of late. A couple of auditions, a murder mystery here and there... but overall, not much has been going on. Then, in one day, things start coming down like cats and dogs. Today's gonna be a very full day.

Hope you're all doing well... if I don't post before then (and you know me... I probably won't) have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

-Harold

Changes in Management (Sorta)

This one's more of a business notice than anything else...

The talent agency landscape in Portland is going through a major shift. As most of you know, I've been with Murphy Talent Group for the past three years. They've treated me really well, and they've done a lot to raise the profile of local talent to the area's producers (and to out-of-town producers as well). Recently my agent, Kaili Canfield, announced she and her partner Moreen Littrell are spinning off a new talent agency Arthouse Talent and Literary. MTG is going to focus exclusively on print and modeling, and will represent their film and television actors in that capacity.

Here's the official release introducing Arthouse Talent and Literary:

PORTLAND TALENT TO GET HOLLYWOOD TREATMENT

Kaili Canfield and Moreen Littrell announce the formation of Arthouse Talent & Literary to exclusively represent actors, writers, directors and producers

PORTLAND, OR— November 15, 2007— Entertainment industry veterans, Kaili Canfield and Moreen Littrell announce the formation of Arthouse Talent & Literary, a boutique talent agency based in Portland, to exclusively represent actors, writers,
directors and producers.

"We're very excited about working with Arthouse knowing the professionalism, talent and discernment of its founders," says top local casting director, Lana Veenker of Lana Veenker Casting. "Kaili and Moreen bring a breadth of experience to the table, and their caliber of service is sure to take the industry by storm."

Small is thinking big.

"We came to realize that a niche focus was necessary to fuel the careers of our talent roster," says Canfield, who along with Littrell, exits Murphy Talent Group where Canfield grew the actors division from zero to over 200 in four years, and Littrell launched
the film and literary division last Spring. Canfield and Littrell each have 15 years of industry experience; Canfield in the Portland market, and Littrell in Los Angeles and New York. Under the new formation, Murphy Talent Group will represent models exclusively.

"While Portland is a juggernaut of creative talent, routinely named one of the top ten indie filmmaking cities in the nation and host to every conceivable film festival and writing group, its respective talent hasn't enjoyed the level of advocacy and career orchestration their peers receive in Hollywood," says Littrell, an native Oregonian who previously worked at William Morris Agency in Beverly Hills on behalf of A-list clients including Darren Star ("Sex and the City"), J.J. Abrams ("Lost"), Kiefer Sutherland, Bob Weide ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"), and Heyday Films ("Harry Potter").

"We hope to fill that void, and help orchestrate it so that our talent, local and otherwise,
enjoy more career-elevating opportunities and visibility," says Canfield.

Eminent local talent and union leadership welcome Arthouse.

David Poulshock, principal of one of Portland's premier production companies, Red Door Films, says, "Arthouse is raising the bar for talent representation in this market at a perfect time in the evolution of theregion's creative culture. Their stable of talent is
phenomenal, and Red Door fully intends to tap that pool of talent for its upcoming projects. We look forward to working with Moreen and Kaili on many levels."

Award-winning filmmaker Nick Lyon ("Punk Love" and "Species: The Awakening") launched his career in the Northwest (and Germany) before heading to Los Angeles, and is one of Arthouse's newest clients. "I have always been saying that Portland needs an agent to help local filmmakers, writers and commercial directors to organize and to compete in the Northwest market," says Lyon. "I believe Arthouse will help both clients and freelance directors become more effective, and will open up the notion that freelance directors can be hired with or without an entire company attached. I look forward to continuing to work in Portland, and believe Moreen is a very personable and professional agent with whom I am lookingforward to working."

Award-winning actor Robert Blanche who works in both the Portland and Los Angeles markets, is also SAG Branch President and AFTRA Board Representative for Portland. As such, he has a keen insight ofthe market's potential and is especially optimistic about Arthouse's ability to leverage it. "It's very exciting for Portland to be getting quality representation that will focus solely on actors, writers, and directors who have professional synergies that haven't been properly exploited," says Blanche. "I
believeArthouse will help stimulate this market, give it greater credibility and facilitate a wealth of new possibilities for all of the players involved."

Arthouse's stable includes many local talents

In addition to Blanche (who was recently named "Best Actor" at the Drake International Film Festival in Italy for his performance in "Punk Love"), Canfield's talent roster of actors includes Laura Birn (who just completed a 15-year run as a co-star of "Young
& The Restless"), Lauren McKinney (the 15-year-old costar in Gus Van Sant's Cannes award-winning "Paranoid Park"), and October Moore (co-star of the forthcoming feature film "Selfless"). It also includes significant leadership from among the local SAG and AFTRA boards, including Chrisse Roccaro (AFTRA local board President, SAG Branch VP, and AFTRA national board member), and AFTRA board representatives Victor Morris and Michele Mariana.

In addition to Lyon, Littrell's client list of writers, directors and producers includes (but
is not exclusive to) several local talents. Among them are award-winning screenwriter/novelist/director Jan Baross (Jose Builds a Woman), writer/director/producer Michael J. Prosser ("The Dividing Hour" and the forthcoming "Recovery"), and Patrick Wensink who pitched his novel, Broken Piano For President to her at the most recent Willamette Writers Conference.

"I'm delighted to be part of the Arthouse talent pool," says Moore. "It's not every day you get to watch your agent create an agency built on a foundation that truly has the talents' best interests in mind. I have already observed some of the changes Kaili and Moreen have made in operating Arthouse and there is a passion and style that not only the talent but the local industry will benefit from."

Founders Canfield and Littrell have both been "talent" themselves

Canfield previously headed the actors' divisions at Ryan Artists and her own agency,
Actors Only, and was an assistant to Casting Director Pam Gilles. As an actor, she had roles in Mr. Holland's Opus and numerous regional commercials. She was also one of the original directors for Krayon Kids Musical Theatre Co. and was a professional figure skater for eight years.

Littrell previously managed Rob Schneider's film production office, worked at ICM on behalf of A-list actors (including Samuel Jackson, Christina Ricci, and James Spader), and at Oxygen Media for the first two years of its launch. Her own writing has been in
development and optioned for TV and Film, and appeared on network TV. Her acting
credits include Bram Stoker's Dracula, a Guinness Beer commercial directed by Ridley Scott, and off-off-Broadway sketch comedy of which she also directed.

# # #

ABOUT ARTHOUSE

Arthouse Talent & Literary is a(n) SAG and AFTRA franchise-pending, full-service talent agency based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in Winter 2007 by Kaili Canfield and Moreen Littrell, veterans of the entertainment industry, Arthouse represents actors, writers, directors and producers.

ARTHOUSE Talent & Literary
107 SE Washington St #156
Portland, OR
97214
503.546.8862
kaili@arthousetalentandliterary.com

Please Don't Skip The Commercials

Hey folks...

I wonder if I could ask a favor of you. A few months ago Trish did a commercial for Regence Blue Cross (you can see it by clicking here - choose the commercial entitled "My Sister's Battling Breast Cancer"). All of the actors in the commercial are talking about cancer-related things, and there's a guy playing bocci ball (Trish herself is walking a dog through the park the commercial takes place in).

Here's where the favor comes in. There's been some difficulty regarding pay for this commercial, and there's been a claim that it's no longer running. Now, we saw it ourselves last week, and several folks have told us they've seen it very recently (There's another Regence commercial about high blood pressure, folks are on a bus I think, and some of the actors from that spot are having the same difficulty, so you could keep an eye out for that one too if you like, I'll pass it along to the SAG staffer who is looking into it.).

The problem is, to get an inquiry/claim process going, I need to know when (date or day/time) and on what channel(s) those commercials are running. So, the favor is, if you should see either of these commercials while watching TV, would you please jot down that info (the time, date and channel) and email Trish? We'd be tremendously appreciative... Just let her know "cancer" or "blood pressure", the date (or day of the week if you don't know the date :) and what channel/network.

It's ironic that this should come up now, while the Writer's Guild is striking. Situations like this are exactly the reason the entertainment industry unions exist; one actor/ writer/ director can't do much against corporate producers when they aren't paid for their work, or when their contracts aren't honored. Sure, they can launch an independent law suit against the producers... but I think we all know how much most artists make on a daily basis. Court costs against a giant, corporate-backed producer would be prohibitively expensive.

Organized labor, however, can provide such funds (if necessary), and has the capacity to enforce contract terms when they need to be. In the most extreme events, they can even keep the members of their union from working for a production company that doesn't honor its contract (or, in the case of the WGA strike, won't negotiate a contract to the majority of the members satisfaction).

Simply put, situations like the one Trish is currently in are why unions exist.

You can email Trish at trish@trishegan.com. We'll owe you, big-time. Thanks to anyone who'll take the time to help out if you see it. We'll try and steer some positive karma your way.

Waterboarding - Not A Day At The Beach

There's been a lot of talk in the news lately about "Water boarding," an interrogation technique that's been used in Iraq. Many people consider it torture; others (particularly those supporting the Bush Administration) say it's merely an interrogation technique.

Not many people know exactly what water barding is, though. When it's talked about on the news, the standard line is that it's a "technique that simulates drowning." That discription, though, can encompass a variety of methods. I've always visualized someone being strapped to a board and having their head dunked into a tank of water.

A Current TV correspondant recently paid two professional interrogators to water board him so that he could show people exactly what the procedure entails. His report is embedded below. Now, I have to warn you, this is pretty disturbing footage. No one dies, no one is injured... but prepare yourself before you watch through... it is pretty graphic



Take a look, and the next time you hear about the confirmation problems Michael Mukasey is having with the Senate, you may have some context.

Back In The Swing Of Things...

Well, Trish and my first month back in-country is behind us, and it occurred to me this morning that it's been a while since I posted an update here on the ol' blog... so I figured I'd take a few moments and let you all know what's been going on in our lives.

Overall, it's been a busy month. I've been playing catch-up with my computer clients, and Trish has been head-deep in her job as TB Surveillance coordinator for the National College of Naturopathic Medicine. But that's just, ya know, the boring day-job stuff. No one cares about THAT.


It hasn't been too busy, though. I just posted a major update to http://www.haroldphillips.net/, including my Grover Plumbing and Electric spot that's currently running on ESPN and (finally) photos and audio from Swiss Family Robinson (remember that show, way back in May?) Pop on by and check it out.


Because of the timing of our European trip, Trish and I didn't audition for anything playing or shooting in the fall. That means for the moment we don't have any theatrical endeavours happening. How to Breathe, a short film I'm featured in, will be playing at the Northwest Film and Video Festival on November 10th and 16th - check http://www.haroldphillips.net/ for details.


Also, Trish's Regence Blue Cross/ Blue Shield ad (Choose "My Sister's Battling Breast Cancer" from the link) went national and is still running on the internet and (we think) nation-wide. We've been bowled over by peoples reaction to this ad - several folks have stopped Trish and said, "I'm so sorry to hear about your cancer!" She has to patiently explain that she doesn't really have cancer, that she's an actor, that it's just a commercial job she did... I guess it's a compliment to the producers of the spot (and to Trish) that the audience assumes that the characters in the ad are real. We can't help but looking at each other, though, and asking, "Do people really just assume what they see on TV is real?" I think it says something about us as a culture... and it's more than a little scary.


You may remember that in my last post I mentioned a couple of film premiers Trish and I were going to. We were very happy with the way From Kilimanjaro With Love turned out - you never know what the final product is going to be like when you work on a film. The folks over at Roads End Films did a fine job, though, of putting the film together. The camerawork looks great, the editing is very well done (something I was especially interested in as the fight choreographer - editing makes or breaks a fight scene), and the story was told in a way that the capacity-crowd-audience really appreciated (there were a couple of reporters there as well - one from the Newberg Graphic interviewed me as part of his story. Click here to read the article).


Now it's time for the waiting game - the film's been submitted to Sundance and a couple other high-profile festivals. I think it's got a better-than-even chance of being accepted and finding distribution. We'll keep you posted!


The other film Trish was involved with that premiered that weekend was a documentary about the Japanese Balloon Bombs of World War II called On Paper Wings. This was a truly moving documentary about war, loss, and redemption. Trish's voiceover was icing on the finely crafted cake that filmmaker Ilana Sol has put together about this episode in history - I can almost guarantee you that you'll be able to see this film in the near future through some outlet. Again, we'll keep you posted of its progress.


Lady Wasteland is still in post-production. I know that I'm going to need to go in for some ADR before the webisodes start "airing -" the director is still working out schedules for those sessions. In the mean time, if you haven't already, visit the site and sign up for updates; you'll be notified via email when the first episode is ready to be seen.


That's pretty much it for the performance aspect of our lives... I've had a few auditions that haven't panned out, and a standardized patient gig (yes, it's like that episode of Seinfeld... sigh...) for the OHSU School of Nursing earlier this week (I had conjunctivitis. FUN!!!). I'm going to be doing a Murder Mystery performance at The Mill Casino near Depoe Bay next weekend, and I've got a couple of auditions scheduled (including a very exciting chance to read for Northwest Children's Theater's upcoming production of The Devil and Daniel Webster - I'd be tickled RED to play The Devil in that show!).


Now it's time to head out to Trish's brother Pete's new place and help him un-pack. He found a lovely little place out in the woods near Scio, Oregon (about 20 minutes south of Salem) - plenty of room for him and his music equipment, with a fishing stream nearby and lots of peace and quiet. We helped him move out there on Monday (quite the task, to be sure), and now we're going to go out and help him set the place up.


That's pretty much it... hope you're all doing well!


-Harold