THE MYTH OF OVERNIGHT SUCCESS
In the glitz & glam of Hollywood, success stories often seem like they’re ripped straight from the script of a fairytale. The guy gets the girl. That one dude wins the Oscar… again. And nobodies become somebodies overnight. Post-Award Season depression doesn’t help.
SUSTAINING MOMENTUM WHEN THE INDUSTRY SHUTS DOWN
I bet you thought we’d never hear that word again: unprecedented.
How To Make The Connections You Need To Get What You Want
I see it all the time. Talented, hard-working people struggle to navigate the entertainment industry because they don’t understand how to generate opportunities for themselves and build the relationships they need to get the things they want.
THE PURSUIT OF MOMENTS
When we have those big conversations or reflections on life, we often talk about milestones. We throw parties for graduations, engagements, bookings, and other accomplishments, and these often become powerful memories.
We Say We Want Authenticity, But…
No one is for everyone. I’m what you might call a “loud” personality. I own this. I’m probably not for everyone.
THE LAST MOVIE STARS — INSPIRING A NEW GENERATION
I’m a content junkie. I consume absolutely everything that I find remotely interesting — articles, books, YouTube videos, podcasts, shows, documentaries, whatever — because I feel it’s important to keep learning all the time. Discovering and embedding yourself in new perspectives is a great way to do that. Plus I love to share!
Why You Should See Rejection as Opportunity
Rejection is one of those things we’re supposed to learn how to cope with as children. Some of us learn to do it better than others. Some of us never learn how to do it. There’s a notorious line that’s on just about every entertainment job posting: “Must have thick skin.” Well, that goes double for actors.
Sometimes you Have a Hunch and you Write About It #Preacher
Dominic Cooper asked me a simple question prior to the show being shot: Should he pursue The Preacher?
How to Build Industry Relationships
It’s not what you know. It’s who you know. This is an age-old adage that means more in Hollywood than most industries on the planet.
Dancing in the Pool
I wanted to title this blog “Something Good Always Comes From Something Bad” but with the sheer amount of bad over the past year, it felt trite.
Success Is Measured By What You Do For Others
The end of the year comes with certain rituals. Recounting the ups and downs of the previous year, thinking about how to improve in the next one. For me, it also includes looking over my blogs for the past year. While I scanned through the year’s blogs, I had something else on my mind: An exchange I’ve been having with an up-and-coming actor named Zachary Poole.
Did you see these?
2020 has been a strange year, but one thing that’s remained consistent year over year is the gratitude I’ve felt for all the likes, shares, support, and interest you’ve given my blog. This project has been quite cathartic for me and knowing that it’s been at least a little helpful to many of you makes it all the more meaningful.
You're the Gun and I'm the Bullets
People who most inspire me. All of them aren’t afraid of hard work. They weren’t born on third base; they hustled their asses off to get there on a blooper down the right field line. They know what it means to do The Work.
The Long Haul
As he notes in his first line, I’ve been trying to get my partner Erwin More to contribute to this blog forever. He’s one of the most important characters in my life and has one of the most unique perspectives on the entertainment business and life of anyone I’ve ever known.
How to Focus Your Attention
Focus is a skill and it’s a more complicated one than you might think. I have a wandering mind that never quits, so learning how to focus has been crucial for me. As such, I wanted to share some of the strategies I’ve used to optimize my focus, in case they might help you, too.
Lessons on Creating a Fulfilling Career from Sarah Wayne Callies
Please refrain from rolling your eyes when you read this because I know what you’re thinking.
The Habit That Shapes My Life
Whenever I meet a new potential client, I ask, “What’s your story?” Everyone’s life is impacted or guided by the stories they love; be it characters in movies, lyrics in songs, passages in books or poetry.
Black Lives Matter
Your grandchildren will ask what you remember of these times. America is hurting, caught in a crucible that will inspire countless documentaries and books. We’re living history; another period in a shamefully long and brutal road to justice.
CASTING DIRECTOR LISA ZAMBETTI’S ADVICE FOR ACTORS
When it comes to casting, Lisa Zambetti is a busy casting director on the rise. She’s cast a ton of projects from indie films to the long-running CBS hit series “Criminal Minds”.
How a Great Collaboration Comes Together
I talk a lot about the compounding nature of things. About transforming individual moments into a cascading momentum that turns into more good things. Of course, the path to getting there is still a long and winding road, so when it succeeds, it’s truly a beautiful thing.