Stumble it!2005 Reflections/2006 Expectations
Like most folks I also reflect on the past year and think about the possibilities of the coming year after the ball drops. Now, after a few days of pondering and imagining I have come up with these thoughts.
In 2005 I hit many milestones and discovered some important facts about my self. I was paid for acting for the first time, I got listed on IMDB, my Bacon Number was decreased to 2 and I joined the acting union called AFTRA. I have made enough money with acting this year to cover the cost of travel and expenses with just a little extra in my pocket. In previous years I was acting at a loss; gas and expenses where spent and no money was earned.
In 2005 I was finally starting to get confidence in my self, and started to let my self believe that I am an appreciated actor and people really enjoy my performances. This new found courage and believe has had a great impact on my acting ability. I no longer wonder if I am doing the right thing or if I am crazy to pursue this. This new confidence is probably the most important thing I have discovered in 2005 and I am very grateful.
The milestones I am looking to reach in 2006 are as follows:
1) Get my SAG card. I am very close to this goal. If you work as a background extra on a SAG project for SAG wages three times you can join SAG. Because I did background work twice for the ShowTime Original series called Brotherhood which was being filmed in Rhode Island I am only one day away from getting my SAG card. I plan to try and work another day on a big SAG production in the next few months. Rhode Island and Massachusetts are both starting to draw in some big shows do to some nice film incentive legislation. [Goal met June 2006]
2) Principal role in a $100k+ budget movie. The biggest budget movie I have ever had a principal role in was probably around $35k. If all things go well with the funding efforts for “A means to an End” I will reach this goal in the next 3 or 4 months. [Goal met March 2006]
3) Principal role in a movie that gets screened at Sundance or Cannes. I don’t have much control over this. The only thing I can do is try to make smart choices about which projects I audition for. The competition is really tough for these two festivals. Thousands of films are submitted but only 20 or 30 movies get screened.
4) Get a review. Currently I have some great testimonials but my work has never been reviewed in a magazine, webzine or paper. Again I don’t have a lot of control over this, but I do plan on letting the press know about my next screening.
I am looking forward very much to the interesting things that are coming down the pike. I hope for good health and cheer, and I hope that you too have a safe, entertaining, productive year. I want to thank you so much for your readership.
Now for some fun and to look a little further ahead I would like to list what directors I would love to act for in the future. Peter Jackson, Terry Gilliam, and Dean Parisot are the first 3 that come off the top of my head. These gentlemen do such an excellent, imaginative job at creating living breathing worlds.
Sounds like you had a great year during 2005. I hope that your 2006 will be even more successful
Comment by christa — January 5, 2006 @ 9:15 am
Hey Pal, great job! Wait till Producer Moe meets Director John!
Can’t wait to work with you next month. Keep up the good work!
Comment by William DeCoff — March 30, 2006 @ 10:18 am
[…] Elevator Chasers (May 2006) – Full Length comedy about the wry, charismatic career criminal, Johnny Castalanno, who decides to go legit by rolling with a crew of self-titled “elevator chasers” and sue the city for millions by headlining the most flawless elevator scheme in lawsuit history. I have a small role in this film but it is the first speaking role I have had in a film with a budget over $100k which completes one of my 2006 milestones. I am a happy boy. […]
Pingback by Donald Foley - An actor’s Journey » Gig Updates April 2006! — April 4, 2006 @ 6:51 pm
[…] Back in the beginning of this year I had posted some milestones that I hoped to achieve during the coming year. I am happy to report that another of these milestones, the second so far, has now been met. The milestone I am referring to was my desire to be offered a SAG card from the Screen Actors Guild during this year. You are not allowed to just join the guild out right, you must be asked first. In order to be asked you must meet the requirements. The requirements vary; I worked 3 days as a background extra on SAG shoots for SAG wages. That is the tricky part, because non-union background extras are rarely paid union wages. However, if you are in a sister union of SAG like AFTRA, of which I am a member, you do get paid the same union wage. So many people join AFTRA first because it has no requirements and it is kind an easy back door into SAG. It does however cost $1400 dollars to join AFTRA, so some people don’t take this route. Also it cost another $1400 to join SAG once you are invited. I just sent in all my info yesterday and should get my plastic SAG card in the mail soon. Being a member of SAG looks damn good on actors resume and lets people know that you are serious about your craft because it ain’t cheap to join. […]
Pingback by Donald Foley - An actor’s Journey » Another 2006 Milestone reached! — June 15, 2006 @ 1:46 pm
[…] I had set 4 goals for 2006 here and managed to hit all four, but some did not work out as I imagined they would and I have decided that my goals for 2007 will have to be worded more clearly so that my intentions are better understood by my subconscious and the universe. Yes I am one of “those” people who refer to god as the universe and believe that all energy in the universe maybe a living intelligence. I say maybe because I am not entirely sure what I believe as sometimes I am very spiritual and others I am very atheist. Today I am on the more spiritual side of the ledger. But I digress! As I was saying some of the goals I achieved this year did not turn out exactly how I planned. The first goal which was to get my SAG card did pretty much happen just as I planned it. The second goal to be cast in a principal role (meaning speaking) in a movie with a budget over 100K also happened, but the movie was never made. I was picked and cast for the role, but the director and the people with money could not see eye to eye and the project collapsed. So I was cast, but I did not actually work in the film. The third goal was to be cast in a principal role in a movie that gets screened at Sundance or Cannes film festival. Well I did have one movie that will playing at Cannes, but what I did not know was that there are two festivals at Cannes. One that is the very prestigious festival I was thinking about that has a very stringent selection process and another where you just need to pay the fee and you can show your movie. I was thinking of the fist of these when I set the goal, but I did get a movie in at the other easy to get into Cannes festival. I need to be more specific see! The fourth goal was to get a written review of one of my movies and for myself to be mentioned and a fellow blogger named Ricardo did write a review of one of my movies and mentioned me in his review. I was very excited and honored about that and glad he came to see my movie, but I was kind of thinking of an online magazine or a printed newspaper or magazine when I was setting the goal. Don’t get me wrong though I am super pleased he came to see my movie and that he took the time to write a nice review. So as you can see when I set my goals and milestones for 2007 I need to be very clear this time. […]
Pingback by Donald Foley - An actor’s Journey » 2006 Reflections/2007 Expectations (Part One) — January 11, 2007 @ 12:41 am