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Hollywood How-To Archives Index
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Today's missive has a little something for everyone. First there's a new contest that has the potential to get your talent some national exposure. Then there's a second opportunity to get some free information on what you can do to get your financial life in order. I've also included a 'fire and brimstone' sermon that is designed for actors who have 'issues' with getting started and getting successful. ... and a few surprises. So, please enjoy this edition of Show Biz How-To. =================================================== CONTEST! This sounds like a fun contest for actors, writers and directors. So, grab a few friends, your video camera and join the fun. Make Your Own Dockers? Commercial Create your own Dockers commercial for the chance to see it air on national TV during The Tonight Show! All submissions must be received no later than May 29th. For details, go here => http://www.nbc.com/dockers No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Must be legal US resident 18 years & older. =================================================== FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR ACTORS & ARTISTS A few months ago I told you about Miata Edoga, an actor here in LA who teaches actors and artists how to achieve financial abundance. Several of our subscribers signed up for her series of tele-classes and the feed-back I've been getting is phenomenal. I've also gotten a few emails from a bunch of you who missed the last session. She has another series coming up - and you can check out her class for free by visiting the website of her company ... Abundance Bound. Just go to "Events And Classes" and look for the free introductory tele-seminar - "The Power Of Prosperity" It's Thursday May 22 - from 4:00 to 5:15 (Pacific) If you have issues with financial things, Abundance Bound is pretty much the only place online where you can get everything an actor or artist needs to really get a handle on their finances. Be sure to look around on the site when you get there. You can grab a free audio download, "The Prosperous Artist" - and another free special report, "51 Ways To Achieve Prosperity" Here's the address: http://tinyurl.com/5e2qwy And, when you sign up for the free tele-seminar, be sure to use the drop down menu that asks about where you heard about Miata's class - you'll see my name there. =================================================== SERMON All right. I'm going to get in the pulpit this time and 'preach.' For longtime readers there will be some old themes in this diatribe - so bear with me. For those of you who are newer subscribers - please pay close attention... I get hundreds of letters a week and most of them are lovely. Many people write to say thanks and those letters are great to get. However, I also get letters from actors who think that I'm the answer to their problems. They know I can help them. If only I would. Here's a typical letter: (I've changed the name and obscured the location.) "Dear Bob, "Unfortunately, I cannot buy your courses right now. Maybe later. I have lots of expenses. Can you tell me what I need to do to become an actor. Do I need to go to acting school? And if I do, where are the good ones? How much do they cost, etc? "I live in 'xxxxx' and I don't think there are any good acting schools, or even any, in 'xxxxx.' If you could just tell me how to become an actor and help me find a good school to learn acting - when I win the Oscar I'll be sure to thank you, ha ha." "Signed, Jill" Two interesting things about this letter. First, although she can't buy my courses which contain the information she is seeking - she expects me to take time out of my schedule to do her "legwork" for her. Secondly, she thinks this request will result in her winning an Oscar - somehow.) Here's my answer: Dear Jill, There are many fine acting schools in 'xxxxx.' Since you are sending me an email, I assume you have a working knowledge of the internet. A quick trip to Google and a search for theatre training, acting training, acting school, plus 'xxxxx' will get you a lot of results. You have brought up two important things in your letter that I feel I must address. First that later is an actual time - a real place. Second that I can help you to achieve your dream by doing your homework for you. Jill, it has been my observation (over a 50 year career) that 'later' rarely happens when it comes to our dreams. Dreams come true, goals are accomplished, careers are built - by taking action now. That's WHY the title of my first course is ... You Must Act! If I added a word to the title, it would be ... 'NOW.' Getting right to the crux of your "help" idea: No one else is going to make your dream a reality FOR you. No one else is truly going to help you accomplish YOUR goals. No other person on this earth can DO this for you. The bottom line is (and always will be) this: Jill, if you don't do it - it won't get done. So, no, I won't look up acting schools for you ... you do it. If you sincerely want to know what it actually takes to accomplish your dream of acting professionally ... do what it takes to find out. If you continue to believe that someone else is going to come along and take the steps needed to get you to the top - well, that used to be an E-ticket ride in Fantasyland. I know how hard it is to raise kids - my wife and I raised three. But if you believe you can't be a great mom AND an actor -- you've put aside the best tool you have (your brain), because you aren't THINKING it through. The reason I tell people to THINK things through is because of this truth: There is always a way. You know that's the truth. Since the beginning of human history the one thing we have always known is; there is always a way. It's up to you to figure out what that 'way' is. Whatever you do, don't wait for someone else to take the steps ... or 'later.' Much Success Bob Fraser The main reason I am passing along this letter and my answer is because I get a lot of mail with this sort of request for 'help.' "Can you look at my headshots and pick out the best one?" "Can you send me the names of some agents who will help me start my acting career?" "Will you read my screenplay idea and give me your thoughts on how I can sell it to Warner Brothers?" "Can you get my pictures to J. Lo? I want to work with her." "Should I move to New York or Hollywood?" "I have an idea for a show I can star in. If you can get it to the right people, we can split the profits." "Do I need a manager? If so, could you tell me who the good ones are? I don't want to get cheated." ... and so on. Okay ... One of the first (most important) things I talk about in my courses, my articles, my columns and my blogs is the absolute necessity of doing the legwork and homework yourself. As long as you live in a world where someone else is going to do the work it takes to get you into the acting business - well, you are not going to move forward - and you will probably get hurt ... financially or otherwise. In fact, it is precisely this mindset that scammers are looking for. When a scammer meets an actor who believes it is possible for someone else to make it happen FOR them - he knows he's landed a sucker. This belief in a one-step process (or a short-cut, or a secret doorway, or an easy way 'in') is what gets most actors in trouble. When you think all you have to do is 'convince' an agent to represent you and you'll be on your way - you're just asking for trouble. The kind of agent that can be 'convinced' is generally a scam artist. Real agents make their own decisions based on their assessment of how much money you'll make as an actor. If you aren't making any money now, don't expect a legitimate agent to be very interested in you. When you focus all your energy on getting into the union - you are going to be unpleasantly surprised at the result. 93.6% of members of the acting unions earn less than 243 dollars a year. (This is one of my fake statistics - but I'll bet it's close.) Can you live on $243 a year? NO. That will barely cover your dues. Will it be different for you when you get into the union? Not if you think getting into the union is a step you must take to be successful. It isn't. If you concentrate on making money as an actor, you will get into the unions and land an agent ... as a matter of course. If you up and move to Hollywood or New York (London, Mumbai, Sydney, Vancouver, etc.) without a solid plan of action - in the hopes that you will meet someone who will help you achieve your dream ... you ARE going to end up an unhappy camper. Again, scammers are looking for uninformed pigeons all the time. They will spot you, trap you and take your money. They're good at it. They've been doing it for years. The absolute truth is that there are MANY steps (and a lot of them are difficult) that you MUST TAKE ON YOUR OWN - if you ever expect to make your goal of becoming a professional actor a reality. Here are just a few: You must learn how to get a good picture. This is not a matter of finding a good photographer - it's a matter of learning what you must do to make a great picture happen ... no matter who takes the pictures. You must learn the 'culture' of show business and work within that reality. Most actors think this will "just come naturally" and find themselves, five years later, still working at a crummy job and trying to 'make it' in their spare time. You must take care of yourself - yourself. 90% of actors don't have a sugar daddy or a family who will take care of them as they pursue their dreams. Somehow, successful actors make it a point to 'take care of business' by themselves. If you need a 'keeper' to get the basics taken care of ... then your prospects are dim. You must make a lot of decisions. You will have to decide on a budget for your acting business. You will have to decide whether your new 'friends' are for real or out for your money. You will have to learn the 'map of the territory.' You must decide what niche will work best for you. ... and I'm just skimming the surface. This idea, that you have to find other people to help you, is a major mistake. MAJOR MISTAKE. This mindset is the reason I put together my four acting career courses, You Must Act!, Nail It! Headshot Secrets Revealed, and Action! Not to plug the courses too outrageously, but if you want to know what ALL THE REAL STEPS you must take to have a professional acting career, get my courses. (The nice thing about my stuff is that if they don't work for you, you can get your money back - be sure to read my One Year Guarantee for details.) Also, read the biographies of successful actors. Almost every biography has the elements (steps) that lead to a career in the business. And you should read David Mamet's books - and K. Callen's books -- and Stanislavski - and Michael Shurtleff, Allan Miller, Lee Strasberg - well, it's a very long reading list. (Not to mention Michael Caine's video acting classes.) In other words, there is lot of homework for you to do. A dream without work to make it happen, remains a dream. You can't spend a dime of the money you make in dreams. Is it easy to do it all this work on your own? NO. Is there a shortcut? NO. Is there another way? NO. You have to do it. Agents, managers, connections, etc - are people who come along AFTER you have started to succeed ... on your own. There are three elements you must have in order to be successful on your own: You must be willing to learn ... INFORMATION You must do what it takes ... HARD WORK You must not give up ... TENACITY You don't need an agent, a manager, a teacher, a photographer, a friend, a lover, a consultant, a coach, or sugar daddy to take the steps necessary to get you to your destination. In fact, if you wait for somebody else to do things for you, you will be waiting a long time ... ... like forever. If you want to be a professional actor, you must get the information, do the hard work and be willing to keep at it for a while. In other words ... ... YOU must act. =================================================== SOME COOL QUOTES "It's hard, because you're not selling a widget but yourself. You've got to learn to view each failure as a learning experience, develop an appetite for failure, and realize that you've got to risk being very bad in order to be very good." ~ Tom Selleck "Here's the thing - you can't be careful about what you pick because what looks like on paper is going to be a great script has often turned out to be a disaster, so there's no way to know what's going to work or to pick the right thing." ~ Halle Berry "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else." ~ Judy Garland "I don't believe in pessimism. If something doesn't come up the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it's going to rain, it will." ~ Clint Eastwood =================================================== PUT DOWNS FOR LITERATE PEOPLE The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist. Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public. =================================================== Have a splendid week and, as always ... Much Success, Bob P.S. Don't miss my new blog, cleverly called "The Show Biz Blog" - which you can find at the following URL: GO HERE => http://www.theshowbizblog.com P.P.S. I've gotten a few emails from subscribers about the subscriber discounts and I wanted to remind everyone that you can still get a great deal on all my courses if you take advantage of my "bundle" deal. You can save about 40% on all the courses if you take advantage of this offer. Here's the address where you can read all about it: GO HERE=> http://www.showbizhowto.com/bundle.html By the way, this deal is for subscribers only, so please don't share this URL with others. Thanks. You Must Act! The #1 Virtual Acting CAREER Course http://www.youmustact.com Headshot Secrets Revealed Marketing Your Acting Career In Pictures http://www.headshotsecrets.com Nail It! Delivering The Hypnotic Audition Taking Your Audition Skills to The Next Level http://www.hypnoticaudition.com Action! The Professional Actor's Workbook & Planner Get your business together and follow through. http://www.showbizhowto.com/action.html Bob Fraser Productions 3727 W. Magnolia Blvd. #180 Burbank, CA 91505, USA To unsubscribe or change subscriber options visit: http://www.aweber.com/z/r/?TIwc7CzMtMzsrBwMbGzstEa0zMws7GyMzA== |
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| << April30, 2008 - Subscriber - Are You A Co-Star, Guest Star, or Day Player? |
May10, 2008 - Subscriber - DVD Progress Report and "Bundle" Sale Reminder >> |
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