Heading back to Los Angeles after 10 days at TVI Actors Studio in New York. The wonderful new product on United Airlines is the GoGo Internet service so I can work while traveling.

Technorati Tags:
TVI, TVI Acting School, TVI Actors Studio, Gogo internet

On 19th, November, in Amsterdam, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam will screen 13 Australian documentaries.

In the Competition section of the festival, a record of seven Australian films have been to selected to compete;

“Contact”
“The Miscreants of Taliwood”
“The Snowman”
“The Matilda Candidate”

Screening in the Short Documentary Competition section are:
“My Uncle Bluey”
“Salt”

This is the first time that seven Australian films have been selected to screen in Competition since IDFA began in 1988.

Technorati Tags:
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, Australian Films

After 10 days of TVI Actors Studio in Australia, 2 time “Emmy” award winner, Los Angeles Casting Director of “24″, Debi Manwiller and I are heading back to Los Angeles. Debi is in the midst of casting the 8th season of “24″. On behalf of TVI, words can not express our gratitude to the inspiration and education to the Australian actors that attended the events in Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast.

Additionally, the events could not been as successful without the guidance of Lee Donehue from Quiet on Set, and one of Australia’s most resected actors and founder of TAFTA, John Orcsik.

Technorati Tags:
Acting class, Acting Schools, Australian Actor, Australian films, TVI Actors Studio, debi manwiller, quiet on set, tafta

Character building and what makes a truly great actor? RADA acting tutor and renown acting coach Dee Cannon interviewed recently by the Guardian News.

Dee is one of the most sought-after acting/ dialogue coaches in the world.

She works in Los Angeles, New York, London and throughout the world, in film, TV, theatre and pop videos.

Her work as an acting coach includes auditions, readings, monologues, script breakdown, on set coaching and character development.

Technorati Tags:
acting school, acting schools, Acting Schools, Acting Training, London RADA

It is not my birthday, but arriving at gateway 75B at LAX I was requested if I would mind moving to First class from Business class! Not a bad day as I head to TVI Actors Studio in New York for the quick flight across America.

Technorati Tags:
Acting class, Acting Schools, United Airlines

The globalization of actors. Have you noticed all the Australian and UK actors starring on American TV series. Even US TV series such as Law and Order has localized versions of their episodes.

Spent the day in meetings in what some consider Hollywood North, Vancouver, Canada. Spent the morning with Vancouver Casting Director Laura Brooke Toplass who casts between Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Laura Brooke Toplass has been the casting director at Insight Films for numerous years in Vancouver Canada. Ms Toplass is considered one of Vancouver’s most successful Casting Directors. The following are just some of the projects Laura Cast; Battle In Seattle (2007), Painkiller Jane TV Series (2007), Numb (2007), When A Man Falls In The Forest (2007), Valentine Carol (2006), Under The Mistletoe (2006), Holiday Wishes (2006), Sisters (2006), All She Wants For Christmas (2006), Not My Life (2006), To Have And To Hold (2006), The Secrets Of Comfort House (2006), Her Fatal Flaw (2006), Family In Hiding (2006), 12 Hours To Live (2006) Veiled Truth (2006), Max Havoc: Ring Of Fire (2006), Dark Storm (2006), Ties That Bind (2006), Lesser Evil (2006) Double Cross (2006)…

If you are an an American Actor going to auditions in your personal car, the IRS has announced that beginning January 1st, 2009, the standard mileage rate for the cost of operating your car for business use is 55 cents per mile

For details of the “Standard Mileage Rate” see the IRS web site.

While on the road between Europe, Australia, South Africa, Asia,New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the TVI Actors Studio staff have essentials which every actor should have easily available so they do not miss that film screen test.

On my list:

Always have on hand Euros, British pounds, US dollars, Australian dollars, South African Rand, etc

An un-locked mobile phone so you can swap the sim cards with local pay as you go cards. In order for you to do this if you are American, you must go with AT&T or T-Mobile as they have the same GSM technology as the rest of the world. Verizon and Sprint use a technology called CSMA that will not work internationally.

I also suggest a Blackberry device with international data plan. Although I have the AT&T International service, T-Mobile international service is actually much less expensive at $20 a month.

Of course a current passport with available pages. (South Africa requires 4 pages free)

And if you have an American iphone please see the details on the AT&T web site. They clearly note, “International roaming and data usage is not covered under your existing data plan.” Be Careful and put your iphone on airplane mode when leaving the US!

From today’s India Post, Bollywood enters Britain’s filmdom market by opening the first acting school to prepare young Shah Rukh Khans and Aishwarya Rais from the Asian community has made a queue for obtaining the application forms.

The school’s first ever overseas branch has already started functioning in Ealing and is being run in collaboration with the Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College.
Around 30 selected students will join the three-month course beginning September. They will be trained in Hindi film dance, martial arts and diction, and candidates can choose to study in English or Hindi.

They will also learn yoga to help them better control their bodies and minds.