| Peechee Neric - Diary of a STAR .... to be |
|
| Hello everyone! Yes... finally I'm updating my site. I'm sorry I had to shut down for a while but due to really personal reasons, I was unable to update my site on a daily or even monthly basis. Things are somewhat on track now but I can give you a quick recap of what has been happening acting wise for the past few months. As usual, I went to auditions. I landed 2 commercials back in September but I haven't heard from either one of them as to when filming will begin. 1 commercial is for a Bankruptcy Law firm where I will be the spokesperson for the firm and get this... I get to speak in my own native language - Tagalog. I thought that was really cool. The other is for a retirement savings company, where again, I am the spokesperson targeting people in their 30's to start saving for retirement. Funny thing is that I left the East Coast to do non-conservative styles of acting, but it seems to be what my look is good for because that is what I usually land. I signed up for background work. It cost me $20 to get in and there were TONS of people - and this is one day. They are usually open for new registrations for 2 hours only every Mon, Wed, and Fri. Each day is packed with people. That's how many people are out here trying their shot. Way too many!!! Anyway, background work is definitely nothing like back east. Once you get registered, they will give you a phone number that you have to call starting at 1 pm. You pretty much have to call every hour because the system continually is updated. You listen to the recordings that each tv show's casting director is looking for. If you feel you fit the part they seek, you jot their number down and call them up. They punch in your code in their system, look at the picture that shows up and tells you if they can use you or not. If not, then you go back and call the backgrounds hotline and listen again. What is nuts is that, as soon as you hear something that fits you, you better hurry up and call to see if they want you. There are so many people that call in that if you wait to hear the end of the messages, others may have filled your spot and your out of a job for the next day. But don't fret as you can keep calling every hour to listen for any updates. Hey! You can even call as early as 6 or 7 am to listen for last minute calls. But darn, if you get picked you better be quick. When you do make those calls, you should already be hair and make-up ready and any clothes that you'll need should be already pressed and ready to go in case they say yes. If they say yes, you'll only have enough time to grab the clothes you'll need because your call time could be 9 or 10 or earlier. And let me tell you.... if you only live 20 minutes away from the studio, it will STILL take you about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to get there. YES!!! That is how bad traffic is here in LA. It is no joke. I really hate the traffic here. There is way too many people living here and the traffic never lets up except late at night. Traffic starts at about 5 am and continues until 9 pm. No joke! I have no idea why because you'd think that most people here would be at work between 9 am to 4 pm. But I have a theory... I think all the traffic are from all the actor's trying to get to auditions, since auditions occur at any given time during the day. OK. Back to background work... You have to be really persistent in calling because a lot of the time it's busy. Remember, there are thousands, not hundreds, but thousands of people calling this same number trying to get work just like you. It's crazy. They actually have calling management companies out here that you pay to make the calls for you and get the information. Once they have it, they call you if something fits you and then YOU have to call that director to get in. They just do the repeated calling and long listening on the phone. Crazy huh? Maybe I should get into that business while searching for my stuff too. You can pretty much start any type of business here so long as it has to do with some acting service. This is LA and people here are too laid back... to the point of lazy. They'd rather have others do simple mundane tasks for them. Quickly on background work.... average pay for non-union is $54 for 8 hours for tv and film. Music videos can sometimes pull you in at $75. Definitely not enough to live on if you live in the LA area. Oh! I have good news about me... I can now be found on IMDB.com. I sort of got credit for being a featured extra on a film - "Neo Ned". Here in LA, if you can be found on IMDB.com then you are a legitimate actress, director, producer, etc. Supposedly, anybody who is anybody in the entertainment business SHOULD be found on IMDB.com. If not, then you are not good enough or not legit. That is how it works out here in LA. Funny thing is I didn't even know I was on IMDB.com until the commercial for the retirement service asked me about Neo Ned. I hadn't put Neo Ned on my resume yet, and they knew about it. When I questioned them they said they did their research and found me on IMDB.com. I thought that was really cool. I've landed two other independent film spots, one which would have been a lead role, but when I was sent the entire information on the movie, I found out later that they required nudity. Well, since I don't do nudity, I had to turn them down. That's one thing that I learned a lot about doing non-union films out here, a majority of them usually wants the blonde, in their 20's, extremely fit, big, big chested, who is willing to show them on film. Everyone else gets extra roles for no pay. It's a little sickening actually. I'm starting to feel that being Union in LA is really the way to go. BUT... don't go Union if you aren't ready to go up against the big guys. I know I am and I am eligible, but I wanted to see first what it's like to do non-union things out here in LA. Now I know... Well.... now I am in San Diego. I'm staying with relatives because I basically ran out of money. It is so expensive in LA. Plus my priorities have changed a little bit. I had my children living in San Diego while I was in LA. I would basically trek down to San Diego every weekend to be with them. Well, it got to the point that the kids were really needing me more often than weekends. And with the money running out and the acting a little on the slow side, I decided the move to San Diego is the best. Of course I would move to San Diego the day before the fires broke out over here. My aunt says I brought it with me. Ha, ha. Well, while here I've been doing my research and found that San Diego has an entertainment industry that is exactly like LA except on a smaller scale. I found that Stu Segall's production studios is down here. Pretty much most of the shows on Sci-Fi channel are produced here in San Diego. Cool for me as I LOVE sci-fi and have always dreamed of being on a set. They also make lots of movies of the week programs down here. So it's really not so bad. And hey! I'm only 2 hours out of LA (without traffic). I time things right, I can always make it on time to any auditions that I might get called on in LA. What's cool is that I have a cell phone that is an 818 number - LA area (so the LA directors will call me). And I have a 619 home number - San Diego area (so the San Diego people will call me here). Now I'm hitting both areas. Cool, huh? I also found out that even if I have an agent in LA, I can still get one here in San Diego. The agent in LA is exclusive to LA. The agent in San Diego is exclusive to San Diego. I'm about to hit up Orange County also, as they are exclusive to Orange County. Now I will have an agent in 3 counties. That's a good thing. So I haven't given up yet. Still fighting. But right now I have to concentrate on making some $. I'm thinking of working as a money changer in a casino here. They get really, really good tips - specially from the winners. Casinos are open 24 hours and I want the graveyard shift so I can have my days open for any audtions of jobs. There are no casinos in LA. OK. I now know the mistakes I have made while in LA and I'm passing onto you guys some tips and advice which I REALLY believe can help you out if you are planning to take the LA plunge. I wish I knew some of these things before I came out. I would have been more prepared. Click the link to take you to my tips page on California .... Click the link to go to the rest of the November update... NOVEMBER |
| NOVEMBER UPDATE (from July to now) |