Agents aren't magicians!



Creating our own hype @Playboy mansion,
April Malina/ Jessica Franz



The other day in Hollywood: Mr. X "Who is your agent? Oh, you don't have one... That's too bad. Well, I'm with [name drop]." Me "Nice! So do they get you a lot of work?!" Mr. X "They don't really get me anything..."

This actually gives a pretty accurate picture of the situation in this town- especially lately. So please: Don't be embarrassed not to be signed yet- it doesn't mean anything!! You either don't have an agent, or you have one who doesn't do anything for you. Both isn't good, but realistic right now. The truth is: There probably even isn't enough to even get you in on. There's still no money spend or to be made at the moment.

Looking at it from an actor's perspective there's of course reason to complain about the standstill of our careers. Yet the poor agents are definitely not the ones to blame. Since I'm also working on "the other side" of the industry, I feel like setting the record straight what the people on our side can and will do. Agents are our friends. Agents might have a couple of contacts they can pull for you, but they are just as much depended on our genius, boldness and ability to create a hype around us! They aren't magicians.

With billions of people in this world (and half of them wanting to become actors these days) it is only understandable that not everyone can represent our craft and work as a performer. But if you are: There's still a lot more to do than being fabulous, loving the human condition and possessing the willingness to make a fool of ourselves in front of a camera.

It takes a mission. I want to know what you have to say, what your insights are, how inspiring you can be. And most of all: How authentic you are in the midst of lost souls. So SHOW IT!! It is called SHOW-business, not Hide-business. This includes showing it in short films (only the ones that have a minimum of professionalism please- otherwise you waste your time on something that won't be worth your time), theatre or independent films if nothing else.

What most people seem to forget: Everyone had to start somewhere and you wouldn't be the first one committing to a small film that suddenly becomes a festival hit. THEN you get discovered while WORKing- not depressing in your room, selling yourself on parties or hoping to win the award for "best dressed no name nobody has ever seen acting on a red carpet event". I heard the other day that even Angelina Jolie, though being daughter of influential people, did dozen of student films before landing Gina (an independent film!) and getting noticed for the first time.

As soon as you are ready, radiate esprit and success, the agent will be able to get you on that train and manage your ride. Anything before that is like believing in the Easter bunny: A cute story but unfortunately an unrealistic myth.

Your RealisTA

Learning to be effective!

Lu & Byrne's successfull series

Today's blog is about the hope within the community of artists that 'deciding to be one' is enough. I wish it was true- because it would be amazing if we could be creative all the time without worrying about the rest. But life isn't like that, nor is art. So let's look at the work we're realistically putting in to become a true actor.

First the good news: The amount of talented, free spirited artists in Hollywood is as big as entire countries. Meeting people that not only think alike, but understand the concept of freeing their minds from conformity makes me truly happy. Now the bad news: The amount of wrong turns that are being made and ineffective priorities focussed on is just as big (a fact that not only leads to dead ends but also wastes a lot of time).


I'm well aware of the fact that this town can be overwhelming and the frustrating cycle of "aspiration - attempt - failure - compensating" is very hard to break. My personal tip is: Find something that grants you independence from this flaky business! Otherwise you enslave yourself to booking the next job, be validated, making the next meeting the one that counts, etc. It only leads to despair and, if unsuccessful, feeds your insecurities you're trying to get rid of. The success is within you- not the result of your actions. The world around you is fragile and will likely go through transitions, but that doesn’t affect you if you're wholesome.



Kristin- commercial queen!

Much more important is to realize when things don't work out and make us search for the reason why. How many times do we keep on trying the exact same thing, hoping it will result in a different outcome next time, when we should really listen to our intuition that tries to tell us: How you're going about it doesn't work so try something new!



Some things will work for others, but don't necessarily work for us -especially because we are all different. Being an actor we have to cover: Projects, acting classes, marketing, headshots, representation and networking. It's unfortunate, all of those elements are equally important and will cause a halt if one of them is neglected- but that's the reality of it. Your acting, work ethic, personality and marketing combined are your package. It’s a very complex but necessary one. What it comes down to is being professional within your profession. Unfortunately the competition is fierce and pressure (with the flood of aspiring performers and deficit in jobs) higher than ever before. 


J Kristopher on set

What's important is to focus on what you're best in first, and then get help from others to improve the rest. The optimum is to be good at most things yourself, because you're your own boss and should be in charge of your life. I can't even count how many times an honest, interesting conversation with an actor has turned into a clumsy attempt to sell himself to me. No agent, saving him, in sight! I wish he hadn’t tried at all or waited until he actually knows anything about pitching, but actors usually try to sell themselves without having a clue how to...! Not everyone is an excellent marketer, but there’re tricks for everything so do your homework.

Marketing techniques and business tricks are extremely helpful in any job. But having experiences with those from jobs I had I realize how much they'd do for actors too. The industry mostly is business- besides the little time an actor spends in front of the camera. So a book on it or a short lesson from your marketing friend is highly recommended! We're actors - so we learn fast and it shouldn't be a problem to play the part that gets us where we want to be. Don't forget it's all a game.

If you're interesting and got talent - people will notice! Trust me. Don't worry about that. What every teacher in this town will train you in is: Be authentic, know your strength, admit problems - don't cover it up. Trying is always better than not. If you're a true performer we want to see your list of projects or at least workshops you're taking. Never make yourself sound more than you are because that's just another form of lying. Be honest, get sympathy by making a joke or focus on strong facts. Show determination if you don't have much to back your career choice up with yet!



Tommy the old schooler



Some good examples of my effective actor friends are: My friends Byrne and Lu who created an entire season of their own web series "My roommate the", experimenting with interesting characters they wanted to try out! Or my actress friend Kristin who just booked five commercials (!) within one month by making the bold move to fire her entire representation, getting a new one and gathering all her strength to succeed in the plenty of chances she suddenly got. Then there's J who already brings so much to his characters in small projects, he already gets invited to major auditions because of the quality in his work. Tommy is an excellent networker and knows so many filmmakers he practically has three new projects lined up already- because he’s talented and a nice guy people like!

Every great movie shows you how to make something out of an early or unfortunate state of your career (especially the ones with Matt Damon), so steal Gresham’s moves! Be active, honest and work hard. If you're lost or have trouble seeing the wrong turns: Call me! We’ll make an appointment. I'm cheap and highly motivated to expand the “true artist’s community” by helping you make effective choices. :P

Your MotivatNista.

Motion on the horizon

Good news: I'm finally spotting movement within the economy, film industry and stars! It looks like the cloud of frustration within my acting community, sparked by the lack of interesting projects or jobs, has finally passed and shines light on plenty of blossoms.

First I got a call from a producer that showed interest in adding me to her new film we'd shoot this summer. The documentary will be about six german women living in California and will be aired on german TV. Reacting in sheer panic at first regarding the intrusion into my privacy, it didn't take much to change my mind and I agreed to be part of it. After all, my adventures here (even during the tricky stages of the journey) are a big part of what I believe in: Being brave, willing to suffer, and staying humble while following our dreams. Even if that’ll mean the makers might only catch the blunt part of artist’s life- but that’s part of it.

A few days later I got the opportunity to audition for an independent feature film and got to flex my auditioning muscle again. Boy, was I glad I kept auditing my acting class (since I can't afford it right now) over the last few months. That way it was much easier to get back into it. All I had to do was relaxing while bringing my self to it.

I gotta say: Any break from acting truly makes me appreciate the process again and helps me staying calm, so I was extremely happy to meet up with my active actor friend Tommy for even more inspiration today. He told me about a new film he'll be in and intents to suggest me for a part too. Motivated and ready to go, we even decided to take our excitement, write a scene and shoot it ourselves (for our reels). Something I usually never do...

The thing with Tommy and me is though: We are both in a phase of our career when we're ready to WORK but suffer from the common disease called "the newcomer syndrome". Meaning: You can be great, but nobody will give you a shot until you’ve reached a certain level in your career yourself. Sharing that, it was only logical we instantly had a strong idea for a scene and both knew what kind of material we'd love to add to our reel.

So: We're ready to take it to the next level!! I took an inspirational picture after our brainstorming for you. Watch out for our scene soon.

An idea has been born!