Group101Spots and Red Car invites you to
Join us for `Specs and the City'
Screening and Wrap Party
celebrating the newest collection
of spec commercials and six months
of filmmaking from GROUP101SPOTS


WEDNESDAY, JULY 14 6:30pm
screening 7:30 sharp
Red Car Los Angeles
2415 Michigan Ave, Bldg.H, Suite 200
Santa Monica, CA 90404
At Bergamot Station


RSVP required: send email to rsvp @ group101spots.com
Include name, company, number of guests

check out http://www.group101spots.com for more info
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Weekly Career Tip for Monday, June 28, 2004 - 'Standing Out From The
Pack'
-by Scott Powers, President - Scott Powers Studios, Inc.


Here's a quick - and fun - career tip before everyone goes away for the
holiday.

First of all, keep in mind we're in an image business. Appearances
count. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. AND we
deal with a lot of human nature issues and plain old common sense. You
will never be hired because you had a 3.78 grade point average in
college. (Which is a relief for most people and a cause for concern for a
few others!)

It is the plight of every actor to do those mass mailings to agents,
casting directors, and everyone else who can represent and/or hire them.
Did you know that some agents and casting directors can receive
anywhere from hundreds to thousands of headshots a week?

How do you break from the pack? What are you going to do to get
noticed? And hopefully called in and hopefully get the job? There are many
ways to do that, but here's one you may have overlooked..

Let's start right at the beginning of "the process:" the mail carrier
delivers the morning mail - all those yellow manila envelopes with hopes
and dreams in them. You might want to do better than that! What if
there was a bright red envelope in the bunch (or blue or green). For the
agent, casting director, manager, etc. going through the mail, wouldn't
their eyes gravitate to that one first? Looks more like a gift. More
interesting. Like the actor did a little extra to catch their
attention. That person would probably open that one with a little more
anticipation than the humdrum-looking others. It's just human nature, isn't
it? And remember, we're not saying anything about acting ability,
headshot quality, credits or anything else. It's just that who gets the
attention first? And then, of course, you'll have to back it up, but that
a topic for future tips.

Now that we've made the case for an attention-getting envelope, two
good sources to get them are Staples and Jams Paper & Envelope @ 611 6th
Avenue @ 18th Street that has more colors than the rainbow. Get the 9"
x 12" size. If the envelope you choose comes with a metal clasp, don't
use it. They get caught on everything. Get a signature color so that
after a while every time somebody sees that envelope come in, they'll
know it's from you.

By the way, steer clear of the see-through windowed envelopes. While
initially they may seem a good choice to the actor, I recently overheard
an agent remark that she liked them because she doesn't have to open up
the envelope before she throws it away. We'll protect the guilty, but
you get the drift.

And while you're at it, get a presentable label. When we see a yellow
manila envelope with an address scrawled across it (and sometimes in
pencil or crayon, no less), it just does not speak well of that person.
If we see a smart eye-catching envelope with a neat address label it
seems much more professional - and our mind goes into the mode of what
might we do together. We have found that what's good on the outside is
invariably good on the inside. And vice versa. A good,
reasonably-priced source for labels with your name printed on them is NEBS (New
England Business Supply) @ 1-800-225-6380. When you get your labels, type
your addresses, print them if you have good handwriting or put them
through the computer, the best bet.

Now you're starting off "the process" by getting their interest and
looking like six million bucks!

But, you ask, what about what's inside? Your headshots, you may ask?
That's next week's Career Tip.

Have a great 4th of July, everybody!

Sincerely,
James Murray
Casting Director
Scott Powers Studios, Inc.
--------------------------------------
P. 212-242-4700
F. 212-242-4768
http://www.scottpowers.com

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STAYING IN CHARACTER

This is taken from theForce.net a Star Wars fan site with "George Lucas in Love"
(a must-see short) director. This one answer in the interview was really
informative regarding staying in character. Check out the interviews via the
links below.
-Anup


SH: When you're watching the film, does anything strike you which a viewer
wouldn't consider?

JN: I don't know if anyone cares about this, but I really liked it. When Darth
Vader first burst into the door, the shot we go to is a reaction that George and
his roommate both, immediately their heads whip to the door. And there was one
take where the roommate dropped the bong off of his little side-table there, and
it clattered to the ground. And in character, (which Jason kind of cut it in
places totally groovy) he glances back at it and looks really worried. And then
looks right back at the door. It was so great! It added just an extra little
jolt to the moment, like he was really sort of shocked and taken aback by
Vader's entrance. So that's the take we used. It's a good thing because this is
a lesson to actors. If Jason had dropped the bong and turned to the camera and
said "Aw s*** I need another one. Sorry. Cut. I dropped the bong." we wouldn't
have had that take. But he just like jerked his head down, looked at it, looked
a little frightened, and then looked back up. And it made actually the perfect,
prefect entrance. Always stay in character, no matter what happens.

http://www.theforce.net/jedicouncil/interview/glil.shtml

http://www.theforce.net/jedicouncil/interview/joenussbaum.shtml
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Lion's Gate Films Financial Status

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1944&ncid=1990&e=4&u=/variety/20\
040629/va_ne_al/indie_gets_fired_up


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The New "MP3.com" for indie musicians:

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