A Wild And Wooly Week

Howdy folks

It's been a bit since I posted an update... the week's gotten away from me. And what a week it's been!

The Big News of the Week: Monday I got a call from Kit Garrett, my new print agent at Option Model Management. I hadn't really worked with Kit at that point; she recently separated from Ryan Artists and opened her own agency. Because she has a relationship with my on-camera agent Kaili Canfield , she opened the doors of her new agency to Kaili's talent seeking print representation.

Now, I've never considered myself a model... I've got a funny face with a big nose, and while I try to stay in shape I hardly look like Mario Lopez. Still, I figured "what the heck," and sent my vital stats to Kit.


Improbably... unbelievably... Kit was calling on Monday to check my availability for a booking. Newsweek magazine will often run photos on its editorial pages that help to illustrate the point being made by the writer. I was called to appear in a photo that will be run as part of an editorial about FDA approval of new drugs. The shoot was that day, and I was available... so it all worked out. That "Night Court" effect again.

The shoot took a little under an hour-and-a-half. I drove down to Mark Hooper Studios with a bunch of clothes (I wasn't sure what kind of look they were going for), and was told when I got there that I'd be in a hospital gown. Best laid plans, huh? As an extra added bonus, I got to hang with the marvelous Katie O'Grady (who will also appear in the spread).

The photos should appear in the Newsweek that goes on sale July 28th... I'll try to get some digital proofs from Mark to post on http://www.haroldphillips.net/, but keep an eye out for the old fashioned paper magazine, just in case.

Code Crackin': That title makes me sound like some 1940's cryptologist out to stop the Nazi's from invading Brittany, or something.

Actually, I'm off to shoot my scenes in Crackin' The Code this morning. It should be a fairly light shoot; I'm in three scenes, none of which are all that long or complex. Should be a pretty easy one.

This week has largely been taken up with prep for my one-day shoot, though... on Tuesday my scene partners (the marvelous Jonathan Hall and Shawn Cates) meet up with me at the Slingshot Lounge on Foster Rd. (a bar that figures prominently in the film) and we went over our scenes... then, Wednesday, we rehearsed all three scenes at the location (the Vancouver home of the lovely Marcella Laash).

I'm looking forward to today's shoot; my character, Nick, is a pretty big stretch for me. I think I can honestly say that the audience will see me do some things in CTC that they've never seen me do before.

My Parents visited over the weekend... my dad rode the Seattle To Portland Bicycle Classic Saturday and Sunday, so they were in town for a few days. Dad made surprisingly good time; he rode the hundred miles from Seattle to Chehalis and from Chehalis to Portland in around eight hours each. He's a tougher man than I (though I might just train up and attempt the ride myself next year... schedule permitting).

While they were down, we got Dad some new head shots at Colleen Cahill's studio; it was a great, relaxed, mellow session and the proofs I've seen are fabulous. If you're looking for new headshots in the Portland area, give Colleen a look - she's got a great eye, and she's wonderful to work with!

Other Assorted Odds-and-ends:

• Guess what? We FINALLY got some content up on http://www.trishegan.com! It's just a beginning... no photos or video has been posted yet. But it's more than the place-holder site we've had for the past year. Pop on by and take a look, won't you?

• I've been playing a fun new online video game lately... it's called Ancestry.com. Seriously, I'm having a lot of fun with the site... I've always been interested in genealogy, but have never really wanted to commit the time to track down relatives and research. Ancestry.com makes the whole process of building your family tree (free) and finding historical records (with subscription; a mere $19.95 per month) easy! Mom, Dad and I did a fair amount of tree-building over the weekend... and they brought down a ton of photos for me to scan and post. I'm not sure if it's open for anyone to look at... does this link work?

• Geek Watch: Yeah, I know, The Dark Knight is the big news this week... but have you seen the new trailer for the upcoming Watchmen movie? It looks pretty freakin' amazing! If you've read the ground-breaking graphic novel (perhaps the greatest graphic novel of all time), you'll see some amazing images in the trailer that fairly leap from the page. If you haven't read the graphic novel... shame on you! Visit Powells.com right away and order it. You won't be sorry. Time Magazine listed as one of the "100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present," ya know...

• My next project, the western fantasy Animus Cross (which I'm still not allowed to talk about much) will require me to grow a mustache. I've been researching post-civil-war mustaches, and came across this handy site: http://mustachesofthenineteenthcentury.blogspot.com/. A very handy resource for the 1800's mustache aficionado.

Ok, that's it... enough. Time to hit the road to Vancouver for my shoot. Hope you're all doing well!

-Harold