I’ve just learned that Episode 2 of the web series The Disengaged Dozen (in which I appear as the plucky Benny the Boss) should be on YouTube and elsewhere starting Tuesday, July 6th. Stay tuned for the saga of Nervous Neddie…! The remaining four episodes are now scheduled to be posted every two weeks, on Tuesdays.
The Smurfs Movie: It’s a Wrap!
Last Wednesday, I returned from the gym to find a small FedEx envelope. Inside was a small manilla envelope with an address label proclaiming The Smurfs Movie. I opened the envelope to find a lovely invitation announcing “Smurfs – From Belgium to the Bowery – It’s a Wrap!” So on Saturday night, after seeing The Screwtape Letters, Tim and I headed down to the elegantly retro Bowery Hotel and stopped into the wrap party. There was a veritable sea of people there, lots of good food, and lively music. I chatted briefly with Raja Gosnell, the director, and thanked him again. He said he’s very pleased with our Russian Tea Room scene, so I have my fingers crossed that it will make the final cut. I asked him if he was gearing up for a few months of editing now, and after a moment of thought, he said with an anticipatory smile, “A year!” Whew! I told him I hope he has a lot of fun with the process of adding in the animated Smurfs. I also ran into Vincent Schicchi and his lovely wife. Vinnie was key makeup artist for the film. He kept me looking good for the whole 12 1/2 hour shoot day. I was sorry to miss seeing Hank Azaria, Sofia Vergara, and Tim Gunn again, not to mention 1st AD Benita Allen and 2nd AD Peter Thorell; I had a great time working with them all and would love to have had a chance to tell them. I would particularly have liked to touch base with Tim Gunn again about chandelier fashion, as he is a delightful conversationalist, but perhaps another time!
The Screwtape Letters
Saturday night, Tim and I went to see my buddy Steve Hauck take on the title role in The Screwtape Letters at the Westside Arts Theatre, Off Broadway. Steve is standby for star/adaptor Max McLean, and happily knew in advance that both he and his fellow standby, Elise Girardin, would be going on for both shows Saturday. As expected Steve made a wonderful Screwtape, and Ms. Girardin also aquitted herself elegantly as the wordless but expressive Toadpipe. Tim and I were both familiar with the original C.S. Lewis work, so it was interesting seeing it adapted for the stage–always tricky for a work in epistolary format. It was a handsome production, and Steve was delightful. Well done! Steve played Estragon to my Vladimir in Vermont Stage Company’s production of Waiting for Godot, and we had a fantastic time. Here’s hoping we get to play together onstage again sometime soon. In the meantime, keep an eye out for Steve!
The Disengaged Dozen Episode 1 is on YouTube!
The first of the six zany web commercials I shot recently for the very creative folks at Bernard Hodes Group has just been posted on YouTube. Think 50’s sitcom on helium. They were a lot of fun to film, and everyone involved was incredibly nice as well as talented. I’ve seen the final version of all six spots, and they’re a hoot. Congrats to writer/director/editor Dewey Moss for a great job. The remaining five ads will be posted one every two weeks; I’ll add links as they appear. Each spot features me as Benny the Boss encountering a different archetypal “problem” employee and figuring out how to engage him or her on the job, to everyone’s benefit. Click the image on the right to see the video. If you enjoy it, please click “Like” on YouTube and share the link with your friends. Thanks! 🙂
Smurfs Movie Scene Completed!
On Tuesday, June 1st, I was at the Russian Tea Room in Manhattan filming my “day principal” scene as a waiter who runs into the rude villain Gargamel in the upcoming Smurfs 3D movie, due out in August of 2011. Director Raja Gosnell gave me a warm welcome while I was in the makeup trailer. He couldn’t have been nicer, and his easygoing but clear guidance set the tone for the whole set. He knew what he wanted, but was very open to spontaneous creativity as well. My scene was with Hank Azaria, Sofia Vergara, and Tim Gunn, all of whom were very nice, and all of whom are very funny in the movie. First AD Benita Allen was on top of every little detail, and kept things running like clockwork. Watching her work with the crew on the specs, and with all the extras on believability and logic for every little background action, was really impressive. Second AD Peter Thorell was very helpful prior to the shoot, reaching out with info about the shoot and making sure I didn’t have any questions. My thanks also to Mike and Mary, who shuttled us back and forth to our trailers all day with unflagging good will, to Cheryl, Denise, Ben, and all the other costume folks, to Vinnie for makeup, and Angel for hair, my stand-in, John, and all the other members of the team and crew (including craft services), who worked cheerfully and tirelessly to keep us all percolating. I also enjoyed chatting with Laurent Mullen and a number of the other actors playing the other waiters and customers. What a lovely bunch of people. I can’t say enough good things about the shoot because everyone, cast and crew, had such a great attitude. A few of the takes reminded me of the old rule about working with children and animals. The cats alternating in the role of Azrael were definitely frisky during the shoot! Hank Azaria was hilarous improvising around their “cattitude.” We had a lot of laughs, and despite the complexity of the scene, it was suprising how quickly the hours flew by. A great day. Thanks again to Casting Director Richard Hicks, and my agent, Reneé Glicker of About Artists, for making this possible. And my extra-special thanks to my partner Tim, who insisted on getting up well before the crack of dawn with me, even though it was a work day for him, too. Not only did he drive me to the train station, he waited with me on the platform to see me off for my first major studio shoot. I felt like a kid going to his first day of school. And he was there to pick me up when I got off the train, exhausted, at the end of it all. I’m a lucky guy all around. Thanks, everybody.
Everyday Rapture
We went to see Everyday Rapture recently, as we had loved Sherie Rene Scott in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. She did not disappoint! What a lovely, gracious onstage presence. And then that fabulous voice! It was no surprise that she can turn on the wattage whenever she wants, but what was especially lovely about this self-created piece was a lot of the quiet moments, of which there seem to be very few in today’s “big” musicals. I imagine it must be very satisfying for Ms. Scott to be receiving such recognition for a piece she co-wrote, where she had the option of deciding just what aspects of her talent she wanted to share, as we performers so rarely have that level of control. Ms. Scott is surrounded by a talented supporting cast and band. The night we saw it, her backup singers were Lindsay Mendez and Natalie Weiss, both of whom rocked, and Eamon Foley scored big-time in an extended second act sequence about an internet teen outreach attempt gone hilariously (and all too believably) wrong. It was also great to see an artist not afraid to touch on some challenging topics in a mainstream entertainment. I can’t wait to see what she does next!
The Temperamentals
Tim and I went to catch The Temperamentals before its closing. The five member cast did a beautiful job of telling the remarkable story. I really knew nothing about Harry Hay, or his Mattachine Society, the first gay rights organization in America. It’s a remarkable tale, and a humbling one. And the fact that he was brave enough to advocate for gay rights in the 1950’s, in the era of McCarthyism, makes his story all the more remarkable. Who knows; perhaps fine organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and the Empire State Pride Agenda, among many others, might not even exist yet if Hay and his four compatriots hadn’t taken the first step back then. I salute them, and playwright Jon Marans for telling their story.
The Disengaged Dozen Web Ads Filmed
We were scheduled to shoot the six web ads for Bernard Hodes Group from 8:30am-4pm on Friday, 5/7. The shoot went so smoothly that despite starting late due to some technical issues, we wrapped at 3:25! It was a great day; everyone involved in front of and behind the camera was talented, nice, and fun. I appeared in all six ads; six other actors appeared in one ad each, and I had a blast with each of them: Mallory Moye, Matthew Wages, David Perlman, Fleur Phillips, Guy Olivieri, and Kevin Resnick. These were seriously funny people, and we had a blast filming each two-person ad. Dewey Moss of Bernard Hodes directed his clever retro scripts. My thanks again to Dewey, Bobbi, and everyone else at Bernard Hodes who made us feel so welcome, the wonderful crew, and my fab and funny fellow actors. The series of ad spots is called The Disengaged Dozen. Click the image to see more!
6 Webisode Ads
Around 4:30pm this afternoon, I auditioned for a role in a series of six very funny little “webisode” ads. The tone is delightfully tongue in cheek, and it turns out the clever scripts were written by Dewey Moss, the Creative Director doing the casting for the Bernard Hodes Group. About a half an hour later, my agent’s office called to tell me I landed the gig! I wish all auditions could work like that. I don’t know if these clips will be publicly viewable or not, but I’ll post any updates and links here after they’re done. We’re shooting all six on Friday, May 7th–it should be a blast!
Smurfs 3-D!!
I’ve just been cast in my first major motion picture! It’s the Smurfs 3D movie, due out in August of 2011. I have one scene as a waiter in an upscale restaurant who has to cope with bad behavior from Hank Azaria and Sofia Vergara. I have no lines, just silent reactions to their villainous antics. My one day of shooting will be this June, and I can’t wait! Many thanks to Casting Director Richard Hicks, who was both gracious and fun at the audition, and also to my agent Renée and her team for landing me the audition.