"the mirror crack'd"

originally posted @ http://scottmartinbrooks.blogspot.com/

...a quickie.
...i just remembered this.

...so, i was at this audition. it was for dr. scholl's...you know, those "are you gellin'?" commercials. anyway, we were auditioning in groups of 5. it was me, 3 other guys, and a girl. they have some lines of dialogue on a cue card. after we slate (ie; say our names to the camera) the casting agent (is it casting "agent" or casting "director", i'm STILL confused about that one) tells us which lines he wants us to read, and to do it in the very relaxed style of the other gellin' commercials. we do our first take. he stops us, and wants us to do it again, but he gives us some notes on how we should do it this time.
here's what he says;

"ok, have you guys seen those budweiser commercials? the ones with those really cool black guys, and they're all saying 'whassup' to each other?"
...the other actors all nod their heads...
"well, try to do it like them...really cool and laid-back...ok?"

...well, i'm just standing there, my eyes darting back & forth, looking at the other actors, and i'm sure i must've had a stupid look on my face. i distinctly remember feeling A) very amused (because here he is literally referencing my commercials, right to my face) and B) kinda confounded (because no one, not even the casting agent, realized it was me in the room with them). so, on the next take, i did my best impersonation of myself. long story short: i got the commercial.



...and no, i never said anything to anyone that day. i just chuckled to myself...and still do whenever i remember that.

...the shoot was a couple days before christmas. we shot on location at the stock exchange building right across the street from ground zero...from our dressing room window you could look right into the big hole. that was humbling, and awe-inspiring.
...the shoot lasted from 7am til midnight, which is a LONG day...and yet, those fuckers did'nt even give us free dr. scholl's to wear!!! i mean c'mon...at least throw the principal actors a free pair, for chrissake! you know, so we could get into character, or something! (but, on the bright side; overtime pay!!! *cha-ching*)
...my fellow actor (the guy next to me in the pic, i won't name names), well, he was a bit of a grumpy pants that day. he did'nt wanna say the lines the way the director & client wanted him to. so, after a few takes doing it "his way", the director gave me one of his lines. yeah...awkward. but he knew it was coming. he said to me at one point; "i think they're gettin' pissed at me." to which i just nodded. when we broke for dinner, a cute young lady in a business suit pulled me to the side. she introduced herself as one of the execs from dr. scholl's. she told me she was a fan, and she thanked me for doing such a great job...then she griped a little about the other guy's work & attitude, and how the other execs & producers were all kinda baffled about why he was being so difficult. i did'nt wanna bash a fellow actor, so just politely smiled & nodded. but, i gotta tell ya', i'll never understand the actors who take commercial gigs, then wanna get bitchy & moody about their "artistic integrity"...dude, it's a tv commercial for rubber insoles, not a goddamn soderbergh film.
...the girl in the commercial is andrea rosen, of whom i am a big fan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SLLOwx0ZDU


(epilogue: the commercial ran for a year, which is a really long time for most tv commercials, then i got the release letter from my agency stating dr. scholl's would'nt be using it anymore -- except -- a few months later, people started telling me; "hey, i just saw your commercial today!" -- and then -- i started seeing it myself...so, of course i called my agency and told them to find out why dr. scholl's was using the commercial again without renewing the contract, or paying any residuals...well, after a couple of weeks of getting the runaround, dr. scholl's finally admitted "a mistake was made", and cut a check...it was only an "estimate" based on how many times i could "prove" it aired, but it was something...my agent told me it happens a lot, and trying to sue them for the whole amount i was due would be more costly than it's worth, so take the money and just chalk it up to experience...and i'm sure that's why it happens so often, because companies count on the fact that agents/actors won't want to spend all of the time/effort/resources necessary to recover the money owed, and they can get away with getting it cheap, or even free if they never get caught...dr. scholl's pulled the spots soon after that and never aired them again...i told my agent to contact the other actors in the spot to let them know they were owed some money, too...and this was my first experience with major corporations trying to shaft actors for money, and get away with using your work for free...guess i blew my chances at getting any future dr. scholl's work, huh?)