Actorpreneur Tips

American Actors that use a car for their “Acting” business may be able to legitimately have a tax-deductible business expense for gas, etc. And as of the 1st of the New Year, the IRS has increased the mileage allowance to 50.5¢ a mile from the ‘07 allowance of 48.5¢ a mile.

It is imperative that you log all your miles to auditions, meetings with agents, casting directors, managers, etc.

Read the details of the IRS press release.

Last month in London I mentioned to a group of a hundred or so UK actors about the adaptation of Law & Order” for the French marketplace. And stated, it wont be to long till they re-create the show for the UK marketplace.

According to today’s Daily Variety….

“Law & Order: London” is a strong possibility as Dick Wolf (creator/producer) and NBC Universal are in talks with ITV and U.K. production house Kudos Film to launch a new version of “Law & Order,” but for audiences in the United Kingdom.

“Law & Order: London” (working title) would be given a 13-episode order by ITV …Most scripted dramas are given six-episode greenlights there; insiders couldn’t remember a past 13-seg drama except for sudsers like “Coronation Street” or “EastEnders.”

…NBC launched the 18th season of “Law & Order” on Wednesday night, which means 18 years of scripts available to rework for the “London” version.

The Deal is similar to earlier format sales Wolf engineered in France and Russia.

…Local editions of “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” are produced in both countries; a version of “Law & Order: SVU” runs in Russia as well. The pact with ITV and Kudos would rep the first foreign arrangement for the original “Law & Order” format.

Like the editions in France and Russia, “Law & Order: London” will rely on scripts originally written for the U.S. show but reworked to meet local customs.

Will this be the year you stop reading “Backstage” for Auditions, because your agent has you busy with legitimate auditions?

In my “Actorpreneur” workshop yesterday in Avery Hall at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln I used the analogy of steps on a ladder is parallel to an actors career.

A recent
article in the May 7th Daily Variety, “Soap operas: Actors’ training ground” by Paula Hendrickson articulates the subject.

Paula write, “soap operas double as boot camp for actors. Any notion of
a stigma is a thing of the past, and savvy talent scouts already scour soaps
for future stars.”
She continues, “Already bridging daytime and primetime are Caitlin Van Zandt,
doing double duty as Ashlee on “Guiding Light” and Allegra Sacramoni, Johnny
Sack’s daughter, on “The Sopranos” (though she is no relation to “Sopranos” actors
Steve or Maureen Van Zandt) and “Dancing With the Stars” co-champ Kelly Monaco
of “General
Hospital,” who nabbed a role on the U.S. adaptation of Brit series “Footballers
Wives.”

Read the entire article here.

The Screen Actors Guild will launch iActor, a free online casting directory for members, this spring

SAG members who are dues-current will be able to upload headshots, resumes, video clips and audio clips to create individual profiles searchable by casting professionals.

A SAG rep said no specific date has been set for the launch, but members are being asked to go online and upload their resumes, headshots and reels to help get the site ready for casting directors.

Robert David Hall (”CSI”), chairman of the iActor Task Force told Variety, “As Screen Actors Guild members and actors, we need every advantage we can get.” The directory “will become as strong as we make it, so member participation is crucial.”

Take a look at the press
release on the Screen Actors Guild web site for more info.

Actors are always asking when is the best time to seek new representation.

I certainly would not attempt to seek theatrical representation January through April (pilot season), UNLESS you had some sought of spike in your career, such as Grand Jury award for best performance at Sundance, though in that sought of situation agents will be seeking you out.

When is the best time then to seek representation? Any month excluding January through April and Thanksgiving to the end of the year.

For Commercial representation? anytime but stay away from Thanksgiving to the end of the year and 4 day weekends such as a July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day. There is a good chance that is when an agent may take off and your mailing will get stuck in the congestion.

Actor Jonathan Nail of the blog “The Trained Actor” has a recent post, which hits the “Nail” on the head! “Straight to Producers”, a phrase that actors love to hear. The term is straightforward, you bypass the casting directors and go right to the decision maker, the producers.

I recently have been interviewing Creative Directors/Graphic Artists for a position at TVI in Los Angeles. While speaking with this very experienced and talented Graphic Artists with a few decades of Nationally recognized artwork, he mentioned that he is going back to “Acting”. He was in the middle of doing as much background and bit parts for build his reel.

I used the analogy of his portfolio and an actors reel. While he probably had enough artwork to fill 30 portfolios, he chose 10 pieces of his work to “showcase” his best work. The same is true with an actors reel, less is more. Better to have 20 seconds of great work, then 5 minutes showcasing bit parts and extra work.

Less is more.

Notable author Seth Godin has a poignant post about “Levels of Effort”. The section, “Too Much Effort” reminded me of the desperate actor that goes far beyond the professional manners. Actorpreneurs should always practice less is more, and more important, recognize the Supply vs. Demand theories.