Sorry
for the delay, but after not seeing Jess for 5 weeks,
the last thing I was gonna do was update the
site. It is however a pretty kickass
entry.
The
Michele Greene pilot. Or as I'm calling it:
"Don't Curb Your Enthusiasm". The director tried to
explain the differences, but I have yet to
understand how it differs. A reality based sitcom that
has fictional things interjected for comic relief, but
is set in a somewhat real world of the lead character.
The only difference I see is that in "Curb Your
Enthusiasm" all the characters are played by actors
except the lead and the various celebrity cameos. In
Michele's, there are actors too - but it's about 50/50
who is actually part of her life or just acting. Kinda
like K-Street meets Curb Your Enthusiasm. (Hollywood
Lingo Strikes Again)
Anyway
- so I play Michele's blind date for the show.
She has her doubts, but when she sees me, and we get
to talking she's pleasantly surprised. I'm actually
decent...until she realizes I'm a die-hard republican
at which point the date ends. Heh. She sets up earlier
in the show a "flashing lights signal" for her
neighbor that means he needs to run over and save her
from the disaster.
So
we meet at Michele's house, she pours two glasses of
wine, and we're just talking. When the subject of
party affiliation comes up she freaks...goes and
starts jigglin' the lights. Guy comes over and says
her cat is on fire (obviously just frantic for any
reason he can think of) and Michele runs out. He then
hits on me for a second before the scene ends.
So
how did it go? Strangely. We start shooting at 3 PM,
and the director starts to worry about running out of
light, so we start rushing through everything. Her
first scene with the neighbor had a good hour, maybe 6
or 7 retakes - got a good rhythm going. We however
went through it twice (rehearsals we thought) and then
it's over - has to move on. I guess he liked what he
saw, but it was all fumbling lines, and trying to hit
the points that he wanted. They'll be able to edit
around it, but it just seemed a tad unnecessary when
all we had to do was start a little earlier. When
outside light is a concern, you don't start at 3 PM.
It gets dark at 5 now. Oh well.
It
was definitely fun though. The neighbor guy who hits
on me is cool as hell. Came to my show Wednesday and
has been raving about it. Really wants to help me get
the word out about it. A sincere and genuine guy for
sure. And of course it was quite fun to act with
Michele although everytime we're supposed to be
laughing or smiling on-camera, I know we're both
laughing at the absurdity of the situation. It's too
bad we rushed through everything so quickly because
I'm sure we could've gotten a bit of a rhythm going
had we gotten it fleshed out. C'est La
Vie.
But
as I said before, to be asked is the humbling part in
all this. If somehow it gets picked up on Bravo, well
holy shit...but an actual friend in this city is rare.
So again Michele, though you never go online,
thanks.
In
other news, the publicist letter is finally complete,
the package will go out tomorrow! Wahoo! I hope
to have my "30 minute evaluation conversation" by
early next month with an answer by the end of the
year. Here's the letter for those who are
curious:
Mr. Garis,
In your hands are two
DVDs that together make-up a one-man show
I've been performing in Los Angeles since
2001. I perform onstage with four
televisions, each with a different member
of my band "The Trinitrons" within. I
perform and record each band member ahead
of time (over a period of about four
weeks, as I cut my hair and so on), then
sync it all together adding in my live
persona onstage. It is a one-man show in
every definition as I direct it, produce
it, shoot it, edit it, and finally perform
it completely by myself.
Now I'm truly not that
narcissistic. The idea came from wanting a
way to perform my a capella music live,
and soon turned into "the idea I couldn't
let go". It's just so well received and
shows off so much that my heart won't let
it die.In recent years the comedy angle
has taken over, and I've been lucky enough
to perform all over this city (Los
Angeles) from The Comedy Store to Improv
Olympic. But it's time to do this right,
which is why I'm contacting
you.
After reading your AOL
interview it became extremely clear to me
that this show has the one "hook" that
will allow it to work with the media: it's
newsworthy. The concept alone draws
interest, and with the right publicist the
exposure can be massive. And of course,
the payoff is legitimate. It's not a
gimmick. The talent is obvious, apparent
and sellable. Where exactly it will take
me is in the air at this point, but with
the appropriate media push, it will
happen.
As well, I now have
financial backers who very much want to
see this "happen" and won't let money be a
barrier. They believe as much as I do that
all that remains is the appropriate press
to see what's been created…the rest
will follow.
What I'm assuming,
should you accept me, would be a
concentrated campaign in the early spring.
I would book 10-12 shows in an 8-10 week
span at which point you would take over to
get a growing buzz from show 1 on. Once I
saw a fellow one-woman show here in LA on
"Access Hollywood", for no other reason
than their poster looking similar to NBC's
"Coupling", I knew the sky was the limit
for my show. I believe just about every
media outlet in this city, and some
nationally, will be interested in what
this is all about.
Obviously we will talk
more during our conversation, but I just
wanted to give you a quick overview of the
project. The show is exponentially better
live, but I've done everything I can on
those two DVDs to make it as strong an
experience as possible while sitting in an
office or at home.
I look forward to
speaking with you soon.
Adam
Kontras
I
believe that says everything I need it to. The
phone conversation will be the best part though.
I come across well in-person and on the phone so
I'm pretty certain I'll make the necessary impression
for them to take me on as a client. To say I'm anxious
however is to say the least. This is very much
like the "wait" back in 2001 for Aspen. How ironic
that that video would have Super Smash Bros. in the
background, and Mario Kart comes out TODAY. Maybe I'll
tape this conversation as well.
Man,
I know it's kinda weak to use an old
video for a new entry - but y'all
have to see this
again. It's such an amazing moment in my
life. It's the crossroad of all
crossroads...and it's on tape. I cannot
believe it's been 2 years.
