The courage to be different: Midnight Club

It isn't easy creating something that hasn't been done before. Saman Keshavarz doesn't seem to have that problem. Currently receiving one award after the other he worked his way up to the top before even graduating: Young director award at Cannes, student Clio for "Trigger Happy", Best music video "Luv deluxe" at SXSW, an Emmy award for his latest commercial... the list goes on and on.

The funny thing is: The guy is 24 years old and seems almost introverted not to say innocent. The only way to really experience his constant creative mind is working with him. And let me tell you- I have not met many students that have the potential of an entire creative department. The recipe? Work. Hard. Be brAvE:

I met Saman last spring during his auditions for the music video trilogy "Midnight Club" (by British artist Russ Chimes) and booked the role of Faye, the evil gang leader of the group. Portraying this manipulative lady I usually had no idea what the next scene will be about, what I'd do or how everything will play out at the end. Which I gotta say, was a very new yet intriguing way of working for me. We discovered the spark of the moment, improvised and trusted Saman. We pretty much went through the entire spectrum of  actor skills without a net- a true thrill!

The result is an intense mix of film noir, Pulp Fiction and Hitchcock's suspense that takes your breath away. The performers were mostly fellow students (impressive!) and a few actors who followed Saman's extensive, spontaneous and strong lead. See all three parts here:

Part 1: NEVER LOOK BACK

Part 2: TERTRE ROUGE

Part 3: TARGA

Be a strong artist. Be different. Be brave!

The miracle of booking a JOB

The TOSHIBA campaign



Today I'd like to talk about an actor's strong belief of booking a job- if only once in a blue moon or just before he gets thrown out of the apartment! Why belief you’re asking? Well…

...because it’s the only thing that enables us to walk the entertainment walk when the part we auditioned for was filled with a reality show star that “doesn’t really have any aspiration for acting” while we’re working our third shift in the fifth part-time job.

That being said you can imagine my surprise when I recently booked something simply by submitting myself! Let down by one too many auditions and submissions to endless mini jobs, I suddenly booked a 'Toshiba laptops'- campaign that I didn’t even have to audition for!

Huh? Granted, there might’ve been a lack of actual users of the brand (what they were looking for) and a niche for me (owning one!), but the booking actually knocked me off my feet.

It made me realize how we often run after things in an attempt to force them into our life but only truly get what we really believe in. I like belief… especially when it attracts miracles in time of my biggest despair.

Merry Christmas & Belief to all of you!!
HollywoodNista

German christmas traditions



My husband and me @Christmas



 The more I travel, the more I realize how much I value certain traditions that seem to validate and appreciate a certain season or culture. It doesn't make a difference if you're from Berlin, Havana, London, Los Angeles or a tiny village in Timbuktu- we are all human and want to belong. The fun thing is discovering how different habits, upbringings and even our means affect us.

Living in Los Angeles for a while now, I must admit I begin to miss certain cultural things I grew up with and took for granted my entire life. German traditions that is. Walking into a Berlin apartment during christmas season just reminded me of that: Beautifully decorated with soft filt stars, tasteful christmas lights and, most importantly, our typical advent wreathe, the room instantly spread a lot of warmth and started to calm me down in a magical way!

For those who have never heard or even seen such a thing as a "advent wreathe": It's a twig with four big red candles on it- lit one after the other on the four sundays before christmas eve. A cute and widely performed tradition in my country. Almost as popular as our advent calendar (a board with little numbered doors that are opened between the 1st and 24th of december to enjoy the little candy behind it)- both unheard of traditions to any other country, but filling our german hearts with warmth year after year!

Did anybody realize how funny traditions actually are? Humans that grew up with it love & maintain them, people that never experienced them don't miss anything because they wouldn't know what. Well, I guess I'm used to them! I find that our German ways add a cozy, warm and appreciative touch to things I want to remind myself of next year. Feel free to ask for more inspiration! I'll do my best to make a list.

German advent wreathe

Going for dinner and a queer cabaret in berlin now...- another thing you just have to do.

Your HollywoodNista

"The Fighter" SAG screening, LA

Can you imagine how bizarre it gets when you meet the boy (now man) who has been smiling from your teenage room wall for years? Let me tell you- it is awkward and fascinating! I was there when "Marky" Mark Wahlberg rapped himself through the nineties while showing his carefully sculptured abs in the Calvin Klein campaign. And I was there last night when he talked about his new film "The Fighter", starring himself, Christian Bale and Amy Adams. How amazing!

The film is based on a true story. It's about two brothers growing up in Massachusetts, training hard to win the boxing title. Until they come across problems regarding their mothers possessive help and Dickie’s battle with his crack addiction, but learn appreciation for the ones they love. A fascinating, well acted and funny film! Christian Bale (once again and this time probably best) transformed into a completely different person to enlighten the screen with an intensity that is one of its kind.  I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the words “And the academy award for best supporting role goes to Christian Bale” soon. He's a true acting inspiration! ---

The entire cast was passionate, loving and a pleasure throughout the Q&A. I listened carefully to soak up their professionalism and noticed the impressive accuracy they brought to the table. The event showed me once again how being in the moment, taking a thoughtful approach to what you're doing and keeping your humbleness is the path to true art!

Here's a little collage for MY Marky Mark who made me really proud this year:

Your FascinatedNista

It's all about Looks

Did any of you feel like you're in a cheesy movie from the nineties in the morning and a glamorous film noir in the evening? Well- welcome to the club! The great thing about acting is that it becomes very likely you end end up looking like it that day (without being called crazy because it's outside Halloween season). :D

When I was browsing through the extra breakdowns lately I noticed a couple of trends and decided that showing a range of different looks would probably be a good idea. So I used a couple of lazy afternoons to shoot some!!

Check out my police officer, 50's starlet, punk and hipster. If only it wasn't that much fun. :) I'm planning hippie, eighties, period piece and vampire next.

Any other trends anybody has noticed or crazy fun suggestions? Haha- we could even shoot them together!

Let me know if you have a vintage dress I can borrow too!

  

Your HollywoodNista.

The "Social Network" experience!

Has everybody seen the film yet? I feel like the entire world saw it the first week. :D Well...all I can say is: It made me really happy because this is a film that actually deserves it! It’s a hip, powerful and inspirational piece that not only portrays our generation but tells a great story in a compelling way. I loved everything about it and was completely drawn into it (coming from one of the hardest film critics I know).

Even more beautiful is that I worked in the background of "The Social Network" and you can actually see me in the final film! And I'm suuuuper excited about that of course. Now, these are extremly short moments, but anybody who knows filmmaking will agree that the chances to end up in the cut of a film are very slim. 

I gotta say I was surprised about the buzz that my shots created within my community of friends, but grateful for all the love I got! You gotta start somewhere, right? Being featured in the next David Fincher film (that now has oscar buzz) is a true honor and I think it's safe to say I finally arrived in Hollywood. Yay!

So now I'm peaking over the shoulders of my favorite filmmakers and soaking up all the great energy. I still can't get enough of seeing the real work behind the final products and am grateful anytime I have the opportunity to participate. Your dreams become reality in this town and possibilities really do open up - but you gotta wait a while. LA might be a gigantic city and full of confused people, but it's the only place with the cream of filmmakers. It's fascinating how very different the corners of our planet are!

So my recommendation of the week is go and see the film if you haven’t yet! The Social Network will go into the history books as the film that defined this generation and time.

P.S. I’m in the Harvard Club scenes in the beginning- the happy camper in the hallway (in case you want to look out for me). Here's an article about me in my hometown's paper! ;)

My roommate the Hippie (a web series)

Reminds you of Burning Man? Dressed like this just a month ago? Then you'll really enjoy the "My roommate the Hippie" episode I shot last week!

The innovative and hilarious web series, created by Lu Louis and Byrne Owens, takes the different "tribes" of our modern society and their quirks to the next level. Candy for your eyes and ears!

Thanks guys for being such amazing artists, hilarious as hell and fearless enough to produce your own show. I want to see it on the big screen!! So... everybody spread the word, add them on Youtube or create a fanclub: http://www.myroommatethe.com/

And... they're looking for funding so if you know anybody who's interested or if you can help out, contact them on their site!

[Dec. 21st] The episode is up! Enjoy:

Keep Proactive!

Booked first US commercial-- am SAG eligible!

Oh, WOW- I booked the IBM anniversary commercial, got to say a few words and even am SAG eligible now! :) How amazing is that?! It always happens when you expect it least. I guess now I'm facing the same problem as most new actors in Hollywood: Join SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) or not?

I've spoken with herds of people at this point and they pretty much all agree that joining the union only makes sense when you have a good "run". Once you join you have limitations with jobs because you can only do SAG work. So I guess I'm gonna hold off on that for now. But it's nice to have the option.

The IBM shooting was actually a lot of fun cause the director is a very fast-paced, strong willed guy who  made me so nervous they had to set up the teleprompter for me (to my defense: The sentence was really, really difficult and I just got it that day. Uhm...). Man- sooo embarassing. BUT many other actors used it too that day, so I guess it wasn't that bad.

Well, I'm not gonna lie to you- still getting used to the Hollywood quicksand that swallows you if you're not faster than the rest. I'm more of a "take my time" and "have a nice pace with this" kinda' gal and panic when things get too hectic. I guess I'm very German that way. :-) Ahhhhh, cultures. Gotta love them.

Funny thing by the way: We shot my scene ríght underneath the billboard for "The Social Network" movie (which I'm in too). Thought that was pretty funny.

An article about me, Zuckerberg and Cameron in a German paper... on Twitpic

An article about me, Zuckerberg and Cameron in a German paper... on Twitpic

Hey guys,

here's an article about me in my hometown's paper of today! I know it's in German, BUT it's never to late to learn a second language! :)

Ok... fine. I'll translate it. You can look a the pics til then. They're really pretty.

Your HollywoodNista.

****************************************************************

The first time

Ok.-- Puh. Write. I guess I start off by saying: I have no idea what I'm doing. -- Done.

But then again- I really was inspired to write about my new life in californias eccentric capital a great deal before... So let's just say: Los Angeles, the business, the artform, the people are definitely unique and worth blogging about.

Especially when you get first inside looks into the REAL industry- not the one from Craigslist. And I must admit I've been thinking to myself many times: "Did this actually just happen? I don't think anybody would ever believe me if I blogged this..." Fortunately I TOOK PICTURES!! :)

So stay tuned for my first posting. Probably gonna start with my highlights from the past (including some major celebrity awesomenesses) and work my way through my upcoming events and thoughts.

Am on Avail (industry slang for "Congrats, we liked you a lot and we are thinking of booking you so don't make plans that day. But not sure yet, so HANG ON") for a commercial right now- which will of course be my next report if it works out. 

Your
HollywoodNista


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