I had the honor of appearing in the SMOSH episode I’m Possessed! with founders Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla. I played a demon with a resemblance to Darth Maul. My appearance is for a split second but it was so much fun. Got to be made up by a very talented makeup artist. She used an airbrush to do most of the makeup coverage and then added the fine details. It took about 2 hours and probably took that long to get cleaned up afterwards. Totally worth it. Here’s the episode:

In case you blinked and missed it, here’s a still shot of me in the makeup room sans demon teeth:

Now casting for Guest Roles for Episode 2 of my webseries.  Go here and check it out: http://www.jasonfong.com/now-casting-webseries-episode-2/

More Details
The pilot episode is in post and is near completion. It’s really coming together and is probably 99% there. We have a great team that works really well together and we make sure that it’s not only safe, fun, and professional, but also that we take care of business. That means gittin’ ‘er done! The filming of the pilot went nice and smooth and we hope to continue this trend as we progress. If you fit the specs, are a team player, and want to have some serious fun, check it out and submit! http://www.jasonfong.com/now-casting-webseries-episode-2/

Thanks!

Flexing my Photoshop skills again. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Black Friday! If you’re camping out for Black Friday, be careful. You know what happens to campers.

Back in October I entered a contest to win a walk-on role in the upcoming Resident Evil sequel, Resident Evil: Retribution. The contest was put on by Face of the Fan and I heard about it on Facebook (of course). I had to send in a 1-minute or less video of me talking about being a fan, which movie I liked most, and I had to act out a line from my favorite film in the franchise. I had heard about the contest late so I threw something simple together in my office to meet the deadline. Turns out that simple with a touch of personality goes a long way. Even though I didn’t win, they did call me directly to ask whether I had a passport (of course I do) which means 1) they watched the video and 2) they were interested enough to consider me in the unofficial “finals.” I know they called others but they didn’t call everyone. So, I walk away with an A for effort. Now without further ado, here’s my audition video.

BTW, that gun in the video will be making another appearance in the near future. My character in my webseries pilot uses it as his standard issue sidearm. You get brownie points for guessing 1) what model gun it is and 2) what very well-known mainstream movie character carries this particular firearm. Oh, brownie points = the same thing as an A for effort so don’t expect anything in the mail.

Last weekend, we completed the filming of my webseries pilot. Thanks to a marvelous and talented cast and crew, everything went smooth. We had some obstacles such as airplanes flying overhead every five minutes; a morning gardener complete with lawn mower and leaf blower; someone who ruined a take by driving by, slowing down, and asking “Someone lose a dog?”; and some very active hornets. But it’s all part of the process. And really, without these things, we’d be without some really fun stories to tell. This was one of the smoothest shoots I’ve ever been a part of. It had a lot to do with every single person’s contributions and coming together as a very cohesive team. We all had a great energy on set. We had a common goal and everyone worked to make it a success. We worked hard and we played hard. Which is to say, we got down to business when necessary, and when appropriate, we let out the jokes. One of the best ingredients of a film shoot is fun. Be sure to sprinkle plenty of it over the top of every set you’re on. Because if you’re not having fun, why bother?

I have a small part in the first few minutes of this short film called RELUCTANT by friends Nathan Reedy and Dennis Glasco. This 10-minute version just hit the web and was shown at The Crest Theater as one of the official selections of A Place Called Sacramento Film Festival 2011. I play a creepy dude who likes torturing women. The actress in the hotseat is Sally Smart. She was a good sport for putting up with my idea for the face lick. Glad the filmmakers were able to keep the face lick in the final cut. An extended cut of the film is forthcoming. Stay tuned.

Just want to say thank you to all the very talented actors who came out to audition for my webseries pilot.  The pilot is now entirely cast.  Anyone who wasn’t cast will remain in my files for possible future episodes.  I’m very impressed by the talent and professionalism of Sactown’s acting community.  Keep breaking legs!

I’m happy to report that the main characters for my webseries pilot have been cast. I’m really excited to work with this talented group of actors. I’m familiar with one of them but for the most part, they’re new to my circle. They came into auditions prepared, made great adjustments, had the look and feel of the characters, and are very professional.

I am still looking for a male zombie and male victim of the zombie.  So I’m putting the word out on that.  If anybody local to Sactown is interested, please contact me.  We’re looking to shoot during the 2nd and 3rd weekends in October.  Here are the breakdowns:

I’ve smelled it on myself before.

Desperation.

One day, you’re on fire. You’re auditioning, getting callbacks, booking left and right, upside down, round and round. If you’re not auditioning, you’re booking.  If you’re not booking, you’re already on set. Feels so good. Checks are in the mail.

Then one day, the bottom drops out. A harsh winter hits. Famine.

Why aren’t they calling? How come I’m not being sent out?

FUD sets in. Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt.

Don’t let it. It will mess you up at your next audition. The decision makers will smell it on you. See it on you. The camera picks up everything. They rarely book the desperate ones.

But you want to work. You need to work.

Deep breath.

Stop asking for permission to work. Stop asking for a handout of an audition. Stop being needy. Stop depending on their validation.

Get to acting class. Form a group of like-minded actors. Start writing your own scripts. Get a team together and film your own projects. Look around, the walls are crumbling down. Cameras are cheaper. YouTube and Vimeo are free. Non-actors with absolutely no training are making large sums of money with ad partnerships by putting their silly but addictive videos online for their millions of channel subscribers and followers.  Just imagine what you, a trained actor (you’re trained aren’t you?) can do.

When the work slows down, don’t you slow down. Keep moving forward. Traditional paths to Hollywood are more blurry than ever. In fact, you don’t need to go to Hollywood. Make it come to you. Build it and they will come. And if they don’t, who cares?

At least you’ll get that stench off you.

You can always tell the serious actors apart from the others.

They show up for the audition which is 80% of success right there.

Back is straight, shoulders back, chin up.

There’s eye contact.

A smile.

A confident energy, not cockiness.

They can hold a conversation.

Smell that? What…don’t smell anything? Good, I don’t smell desperation either.

They dress to suggest the part.

They have a professional headshot with a resume attached to the back of it.

They made a choice about the character long before they walked into the room.

They take every adjustment you throw at them even if all they change is how they say one word.

They let go and have fun without giving a shit whether they book the job.

They know a good first impression will continue to open doors for them beyond this one job.

Why so serious?

Because this is a business. No budget, low budget, big budget, a serious actor acts like a professional. It’s OK if you don’t want to audition, simply don’t submit in the first place. But if you submit, show up. And if you show up, shine. You’re not there to suck. Sucking is for vacuum cleaners. You’re there to light that script on fire with everything you’ve got. Bad days happen. I get that. Been there. But 90% or more of the time, rock that shit. You owe it to yourself.