finally back to me

Posted on By Wil

Remember the audition I had last week at Nickelodeon?

I had a crush on this project as soon as I read the breakdown. After I
met the director and grokked what sort of story she wants to tell, I
was hopelessly in love with the project. I really, really hope I get
this job.

I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about jobs after an audition. In fact, I have a ritual where I take my sides, and dump them into the first trash can or recycling bin I find, so I can let go of the whole thing, and put it into the hands of The Universe — or a higher power, like the producers. But this one was different. I felt such a connection with the character, and had so much fun looking at his character model and creating the voice and character it inspired, I thought about the show every day, and called my manager about it several times.

I probably shouldn’t disclose too many details about the story that
I auditioned for, but it is a wonderful, funny, charming animated short
about a geek and a goth who are starcrossed lovers.

I’m sure you’re all surprised to hear that I read for the geek. I used my sense memories to recall the Kyra crush
and did my best to be the kind of guy who "you want to take his glasses
off, and mess up his hair, because he’s so cute and he doesn’t know
it," according to the director, who I really, really liked.

Just now, as I was about to make my daily call to see if we’d heard anything, the phone rang (true story). It was my manager.

"Remember [name of project]?" He said.

"You mean the one I call you about every single day?" I said.

"Yes, that one." He laughed. "You got it."

I lept out of my chair and hollered. "What?! Are you serious?!" Which is a stupid thing to holler, because he wouldn’t call me if he wasn’t. "Really? I really got the job?" Which is also a stupid thing to say, but I’m passing this one off on the surge of adrenaline and seratonin my brains released upon receiving the news.

"Yep. I called to see if they had made a decision yet, and [casting executive] told me that she was just about to call me with the news!" He went on to tell me that the director could have picked anyone in the whole world to do this part, and she chose me.

I’m going to say that again: she could have picked anyone she wanted, and she chose me. Man, that feels so good. I mean, it feels tasp good.

I hung up the phone and ran around the house like a hummingbird being chased by a dog that shoots bees from its mouth.

After all the times I’ve written about the audition that went great, but didn’t work out, or the audition that was a lot of fun, but it turns out I’m not edgy enough, it’s so insanely awesome to write about one where I not only had a great time, but actually get to do more than just the audition sides. When this show is animated and released, for the rest of time, I will be the actor who helped bring that guy to life — and I really love this character. I am so excited! Squee!

Anyway, I had a blast reading for this project, and I was so excited
when I left, I totally forgot to steal a camphone snap of the hawesome
four foot tall SpongeBob made out of LEGO in the lobby. If I get the
job, or the next time I’m at Nick, I’ll grab a picture of it on my way
in, because I’m usually skipping with nerdy excitment whenever I’m on
my way out.

I’ll be sure to snag a picture of the giant LEGO SpongeBob on my way in when I record my dialogue next Wednesday or Thursday, and I’m taking a gift to Don, the most awesome security guy ever, who works at Nick and is always so awesome to me when I go there for an audition.

busy busy busy

Posted on By Wil

I‘ve been busy today. I wrote next week’s Games of our Lives, did some top secret Team PokerStars stuff that I can’t wait to announce, wrote two articles for CardSquad (Yet Another Interview with Wil and Why Didn’t Mike Nail Petra? The Writers of "Rounders" Finally Reveal the Answer) and read the script for Legion of Super Heroes which I’m recording on Friday.

It’s really cool, and I totally can’t say anything about it until I get a thumbs up from Warner Brothers, but I believe the phrase that the damn kids today use to describe my feeling upon reading the script is "ZOMG!"  When the script says, "ENERGY CORUSCATES around him until the power is too strong . . ." you know you’re working on something hawesome.

another example of the power of the blog-o-sphere

Posted on By Wil

Howwouldapatriotactcover
Over the last few months,Glenn Greenwald has rapidly become one of my favorite political bloggers, joining Digby, Joe Gandelman and John Cole. Just like those guys, he is intelligent, well-researched, intellectually honest and consistent, and whenever I read one of his posts, I feel enlightened, if outraged. In fact, it’s because of guys like those (and Avarosis, and C&L, and Peter Daou) that I rarely write political posts these days; if I can’t say it as well as they can, I don’t see the point.

Glenn is about to release a book, researched by bloggers and inspired by his own blog called How Would A Patriot Act? Defending American Values from a President Run Amok. His book is published by Working Assets, which is a very small press (they’re primarily a long distance provider which was coincidentally started by a friend of a friend.)

The reason I mention this is not because I think it’s a book that everyone should read (it is) but because it’s a book, like Just A Geek and Dancing Barefoot, that was born on a blog, nurtured by bloggers and blog readers, and did something neither of my books was able to do: rocket up to number one on Amazon almost immediately after it was announced. Just A Geek peaked in the teens, if I recall correctly, thanks entirely to the efforts of bloggers and WWdN readers.

In a very short time, Glenn has made substantial contributions to the blog-o-sphere, and it’s wonderful to see him getting some recognition from the same. Congratulations, Glenn!

Oklahoma Politicians Decide Some Videogames are “Harmful to Minors”

Posted on By Wil

Oklahoma’s State Senate unanimously passed a bill that would equate videogames like HALO and Grand Theft Auto 3 with hardcore pornography, making it a crime to sell those games to anyone under the age of eighteen:

HB3004 seeks to amend an existing Oklahoma statute, and redefine what
is considered "harmful to minors." Authored by State Rep. Fred Morgan
(R), the bill would add "inappropriate violence" to the statute. In the
actual wording of the bill, "harmful to minors" means: "the material or
performance lacks serious literary, scientific, medical, artistic, or
political value for minors."

[. . .]

Virtually everyone can agree that there are games which are clearly
inappropriate for children, but that’s what ratings and parents are
for. Why is it that Republican lawmakers are gung-ho for personal
responsibility and government abstinence when it comes to healthcare,
welfare, and minimum-wage laws, but they can’t vote "aye" fast enough
when it comes to intrusively legislating morality?

If this bill becomes law, it will be a crime to sell a "harmful" game
to a anyone under 18. There are countless reasons that this is
incredibly stupid, among them the fact that a 17 year-old can buy
himself a ticket to a graphically violent film like Saw or Hostel, or a sexually-charged film like Showgirls.
But that same 17 year-old couldn’t legally purchase DOOM 3, and the
person who sold it to him would be criminally liable. How does this
make sense? The answer is, it doesn’t. Bills like this have nothing to
do with protecting the children or seriously addressing issues which
need governmental attention. Bills like this are entirely about
election-year pandering to the ultra-conservative minority who
unfortunately make up the modern Republican Base.

You can read the rest at the SGGeekwire.

on poker and acting

Posted on By Wil

Last week, Otis asked me if I’d write a few words for the PokerStars newsletter about how acting and poker mix together, and if I’d discuss how acting has helped my poker game.

I tried to answer intelligently and keep it brief, but since it takes
me 200 words to say hello to someone, it shouldn’t be a big surprise
that I ended up sending Otis a little over 2800 words about acting,
poker, and Almost Famous. I was so long-winded, in fact, that Otis ended up using the power of the fully-operational PokerStars blog to handle the Alderaan-destroying mountain of words I sent.

If you’re interested in the poker stuff, or want to know how I’ve been able to combine my acting experience with my poker game, you can read the whole thing at the PokerStars blog.

For the rest of you, here’s a little bit about acting that you don’t have to be a poker geek to follow:

As an actor:
1) I have to be completely connected to the other
actors in the scene, so my character understands what the other
characters are doing, why they are doing it, and I (as the actor) can
allow my character to react naturally and realistically. rather than
"acting."
2) I have to completely commit to everything that my
character does, and allow my character’s memories, beliefs, and prior
experiences (that I have made up) to truly _live_ in me, like they are
real, so that all the unconscious physical signals that come with
different emotions happen naturally, rather than as a result of
"acting."

For an actor, getting caught "acting" is worse than a
poker player getting caught bluffing; it’s more like getting caught
cheating. So we actors work very hard to make sure it never happens.

[. . .]

One of my favorite examples of this is from Almost Famous. Kate
Hudson, as Penny Lane, asks Patrick Fugit, as William Miller, if he’ll
go with her to Morocco.

When she asks him, they’ve been running
around a park together, and it’s clear to the audience that they’re
falling in love. It’s really charming to watch, and unless you’re
deeply cynical, it’s tough to not smile with them, recalling the first
time you fell in love.

"I’ve made a decision, I’m gonna live in Morocco for one year. I need a new crowd. Do you wanna come?" She says.

"Yes!" He says.

"Are you sure?" She says.

He looks at her, like he was completely lost in her, and says, "Ask me again."

She flushes, and she says, more intently, "Do you want to come?"

"Yes! Yes!" He says, as some seventies power ballad starts to play.

According
to director Cameron Crowe, Patrick asked Kate to ask him again, because
he’d been staring at her, and just got lost in that moment, so he
missed his line. But he was still in the scene, so he asked her exactly
the way he would have if it had been real. Kate stayed focused on him,
stayed in the scene, and asked him again, so we have this incredibly
wonderful moment of two people falling in love that probably has many
of you running to Netflix to queue it up right now. If either one of
them hadn’t been completely focused on each other, that moment (which
would have been impossible to script) never would have happened. If
we’d caught them "acting," it would have ruined that moment, and the
whole movie would have suffered as a result.

Did I pique your interest? Heh. So go on, read the whole thing. You know you want to.