Tonight is a very exciting night for everyone involved in making the very funny and wonderfully-executed short film, Gay Baby. Tonight it will world premiere at FilmOut Film Festival in San Diego!
Produced by Wonder Entertainment and directed by Kevin Kelly, Gay Baby is the story of two expectant parents who get some most unexpected news at the doctor's about their unborn, fabulous son. Starring Larry Sullivan, Tye Olson, myself, and Richard Riehle, Gay Baby explores how one father comes to terms with the news, with a little help along the way!
And... the festival programmer was kind enough to pay for my hotel accommodations tonight. Delightful!
Gay Baby was also recently accepted into NewFest 2010 in New York City, Frameline 34 in San Francisco, and the 12th Annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Woo-hoo!
At a friend's small birthday dinner last week, I met the quiet, rather unassuming Randall Park. Well, I had met once before, at around 4 AM, when we worked together on Working Bug's very funny short film Donation. But he was dressed as a homeless man and I was still waking up. This night, I immediately recognized him from several film and TV roles and a very funny K-Y Intense commercial, currently running. It was the night before his chemistry read for the Fox comedy pilot, "Tax Man" which he indeed, booked. I left thinking he was such a nice, intelligent guy. Then I looked him up on youtube and found out he is one of the funniest people on the planet. He does something really well, that far few funny people are ever any good at: stand up! I am such a critic of what's funny and I was seriously laughing out loud in my office. Randall has libraries of short films and web-series online and I recommend watching, well all of them! If you don't find him funny, your brain may not be working correctly.
I love seeing good people succeed and it's so inspiring when the person is as hard-working and prolific as Randall is. GO RANDALL!!!
Lots of people can be good at lots of different things. Renaissance men, (or women) if you will, are certainly out there, but I think for the most part people should stick to what they do best and really hone in on, to be the best they can be at that. Which is exactly why Jessica Simpson should stay away from the sets of lame romantic comedies and say "NO" to any future reality TV show ideas. And I'm no fan of the hair extensions, shoes or other threads and accessories she slings (but perhaps I'm alone on that). And I like her. She's a very pretty, GOOD singer! Isn't that enough to work on? Why does she need to torture herself with embarrassing acting perfomances and sad reality TV ratings? Her newest bomb The Price of Beauty on VH1 (speaking of stick to music, ahem!) raked in a sad one million viewers for its premiere Monday night. Yikes!
I love acting but I know what I'm best at - comedy. I don't chase down crime drama casting directors or spend hours learning how to street fight on camera. Could I tackle other types of roles in films and TV? Yes, but why? I love being the wacky, funny, ditzy, sometimes violent and destructive characters I play. And being the best I can at that is enough for me. Getting paid for it would be good too...
Everyone needs a good laugh, it just feels good! And if you read my post, "Attractive" you might know that Abraham-Hick says it IS good to feel good. So, to achieve that right now, check out this very funny short film I'm in, Donation. It's written and produced by the amazing Leyna Juliet Weber and Annie Lukowski of Working Bug Productions and if you're a fan of Kym Whitley , well if you're not, you will be after this!
I play a flower lady, raising money for important rodent causes. Great cast, great writing, great execution. And it's no surprise. You might have heard of Working Bug Productions last year when they launched the hit web-series, "Road to the Altar," starring Jaleel White (you probably remember him as Urkel from "Family Matters") and the always fabulous Leyna Juliet Weber. It's a hilarious mockumentary-style look at wedding planning and all that happens leading up to the big "I do!" I appear in episode one as Mary the wedding planner http://www.workingbug.com/road1.htm Check out all ten episodes, so well done! It's no wonder "Road to the Altar" got attention and praise from EXTRA!, Entertainment Tonight, TV Guide, Huffington Post, and Access Hollywood, to name a few. I see GREAT things from Working Bug in the future, which is probably why I'm partnering with them on a web-series currently in development called "A Series of Unfortunate People." Stay tuned!
I've been a comedy short film maker for four years now. I have REALLY enjoyed it! Not in My Family was the first, followed by the Korean drama acted by white people, Love Royale then there was the tumultuous production of what was supposed to be a pilot presentation, Represent, Part 1 and Represent, Part 2 which due to a long painful list of problems, turned into a 2-part web-series. Still pretty funny though! And most, recently a gem of a daytime soap opera parody, The Bold and The Fuel Efficient, currently still in post-production. My production company Hall of Shea Productions has operated under what you might generously label, a micro-budget. Leigh Hall and I have managed to bring our funny to film, even winning the Audience Award for Love Royale at the Faux Film Festival in 2009, with the help of great friends, actors, Henry Saine, and very little cash. So it's been lots of fun, some good exposure, great demo reel material, but... is there more? Could there be money?? A friend and filmmaker recently shared with me that his short films are in fact raking in more cash than compliments these days. How? Some video host websites pay royalties per view. The catch? The viewer has to watch a commercial before the short film. But that doesn't seem to be stopping the viewers at www.atom.com from clicking away. Atom.com has paid out million of dollars in royalties through their revenue sharing program by contributing Atom content everywhere — on the Web, mobile phones, iPods, Xboxes, etc. Does it really pay? Stay tuned!
