"Do I need to lie to you? Yesterday at noon, he suddenly came to our restaurant for lunch, and there was a girl. I found out later that she was Gia Coppola. She and Ye Wei should be having an affair. There is also me I don¡¯t know who the gay guy is, a strong bear.¡±
"Strong bear?"
¡°¡A type of male homosexuality.¡±
"Can you tell me what viy said to you?"
"Alas, he said that I am not suitable to participate in his talent show. What a rare opportunity! In general, major roles in projects have special auditions, but Ye Wei's project actually holds such an open audition! Can you imagine, who among us Guys who are neither, to have the opportunity to sit there and audition with Emma Watson is crazy and awesome, but I¡¯ve been eliminated"
"I'm sorry. Do you know where there is a cheap family hotel near here? The kind that costs 10-15 US dollars a night."
"What? I think, let's do this, Moody, I share a single room in an apartment with a girl named Safi. I think your situation is not going to get any better. Give me the 15 yuan and I will let you stay in our apartment. Spend the night and sleep on the sofa in the living room?¡±
"Is there anyone else in the living room?"
"No, we agreed not to take men back. I don't want to listen to other people moaning all night."
"Ohcan it be cheaper, 12 dollars a night? I don't have much money left."
"Okay, okay, $12 a night, you better not be sleepwalking, I can't stand other people sleepwalking."
¡¡
As night falls, the moonlight illuminates Santa Monica.
This is not an elegant and gorgeous apartment building, nor is it particularly bad. It is square and square like a motel, and it feels like returning to Logan City.
Moody was sitting on the old beige sofa in the living room, looking around. The most valuable thing was probably the old TV in front of her. The rest of the decorations were ordinary and old. There were quite a few girls' belongings, but there was nothing to show that she lived here. Something for an actor.
This familiar feeling of poverty did not dissuade her vigilance. After coming in for a while, the Swiss Army Knife was placed in her coat pocket, ready to reach out at any time.
She did not tell Stella about her first two days in Los Angeles. She just said that she was from Utah and had little money. She came to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and was preparing to participate in the viy talent show.
¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Stella was an actor and had played some small roles. She also said that she entertained Ye Wei at the restaurant where she worked yesterday. This was all what she said. Modi was half-convinced, without any emotional fluctuations, as if he had heard a myth.
The single room is very small, with the living room and kitchen connected, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small balcony. What Mo Di is confused about is that Stella has already played a few small roles, so does she still want to share this place with others? Is she an actress?
"Your coffee." Stella came from the kitchen with two cups of coffee, sat down on the sofa, and sighed tiredly.
"Thank you." Modi took the coffee and was about to take a sip when he suddenly stopped and didn't dare to drink
Stella noticed her hesitation and said in surprise: "What's wrong? Are you afraid that I will poison you?" She smiled and drank her cup of coffee, "Little sister, I took you in because I saw you were going to live on the street. , do you think I care about earning your 12 dollars? Yesterday, viy gave me a tip of 800 yuan! He was so generous!"
Speaking of this, she sighed with emotion. She didn¡¯t pay attention to the money on the table at first. When Ye Wei and the others left, she counted and found out that Guang Ye Wei had given her 800 yuan. Rich people carry more cash.
"I don't know how many celebrities can be so generous. Anyway, this is the biggest tip I've ever received in my waitressing career." Stella took out her wallet and took out a hundred-dollar bill she kept with her, and showed it to Mody with a bit of pride. Look, just to the right of Franklin's head it says: for-dream
She said: "That's why I thought, do something good for viy, because I can tell you are a country girl just by looking at you. If I let you roam around alone outside, within a month, you will definitely be killed if you don't die on the street." Cheating money and sex to the fullest.¡±
"I" Modi frowned, still not drinking the cup of coffee, and asked sincerely: "Can you prove that you are an actor? Sorry, my brother told me to be careful in everything."
Stella stood up without saying a word and walked to her bedroom. Moody became alert. After a while, Stella came back with a document and handed it to her, "This is my actor resume. If you don't believe it, there is nothing I can do." She still held a business card in her hands. He kissed me and smiled and said: "This is the business card of the viy casting team. Although it is useless, it has commemorative significance."
Moody looked at the business card and the resume in his hand:
Eye color: light brown____________________ Postal code: ca-90404
Hair color: Gold____________________ Company phone number: 42484462
¡¾Performance experience¡¿
Movie: "The Haunted Mansion", The Ghost Tourist, 2005
??¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡
"Do you have an agent?" Mody couldn't help but exclaimed, becoming even more confused. This doesn't look like the residence of an actor with an agent, does it?
"Everyone has an agent. I almost have more agents than actors." Stella rolled her eyes and recalled, "Every time I look at my resume, I remember that I have an agent. It's been almost half a year, and I I met her twice. The first time was in her office, where we signed a contract; the second time was in the supermarket, where we met by chance while she was buying diapers for her children.¡±
Moody flipped through her resume and saw a black-and-white close-up photo, centered on the face and hair, with part of the shoulders. Stella, wearing light makeup, pursed her lips and smiled, looking directly at the camera, without any accessories, and her long hair was natural. It hangs down and looks very friendly and pretty.
"Rookie, just watch. I took a lot of detours in this damn profile photo." Stella shook her head unbearably, "There was a time when I really couldn't find a job, so I took a very provocative photo. The photo was sent out as a profile picture, and a few days later, a crew from an adult film contacted me. I didn¡¯t take the photo. "
¡°Can I see that business card?¡± Moody asked. Stella handed it to her carefully: "Be careful, don't get it wrinkled." Mody looked at the business card. The information and format were completely different from the one she got, and asked: "Is there no specific casting director? "
Stella is not angry with Safi, but she likes Moody. Maybe she sees her former self in her.
"I'll put the money in your pocket. This is the business card of Ye Wei's casting team. He has a team of people. Those casting directors who work exclusively for one project only have small roles, and the famous casting directors are all free Professionals, they work on many projects at the same time. Do you know who works for viy?¡±
In fact, she didn¡¯t know it before submitting her resume for inquiry last night, so she showed off to Moody: ¡°Ivey Kaufman! She was the best casting director last year.¡±
Modi nodded silently, not knowing what she was thinking, and asked softly: "Is it possible to be discovered by Ye Wei's casting director while walking on the street, and then invited to audition?"
"It's possible." Stella scratched her face, "But others are busy looking through the resumes that have been submitted formally. Think about it, Ivey Kaufman sent the casting information to those agents, and then went to The industry newspapers like The Hollywood Reporter announced that there was going to be an open audition, and the rest of us rushed over to attend.
Isn¡¯t this how the draft will be? Therefore, it is impossible for the casting director to specifically look for people on the street, which would be a waste of time, and they would only find you by chance. "
Moody had goosebumps all over her body, "Is it possible that I need to pay for costumes to participate in the audition?"
"It's impossible. If you want to wear special clothes, they will provide them. And if you wear your own clothes to perform, you can get paid for it, and the crew will have to subsidize a dry cleaning fee" Stella said He stopped and suddenly understood something, "You were cheated, you were cheated, right?"
Modi was in a daze for a while before nodding.
"Welcome to the City of Angels." Stella didn't ask about the specific situation, and smiled a little complicatedly, "After paying the tuition, I see you still have money left. I was deceived even worse. Anyway, remember, All 'opportunities' that require paying a sum of money to be discovered by the big shots are certainly not going to get you actually discovered.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Do viy gave me a tip of 800 yuan! Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Where's your acting resume? Is there any? "
"I haven't yet." Modi pursed her lips. Stella took a sip of coffee and looked her up and down, "Then you haven't even taken a profile photo yet? Trouble, you definitely don't have enough money left to take good photos." When it came to money, Moody became wary, " Wouldn¡¯t it be enough if you could take a clear look at yourself?¡±
"You think that because you haven't learned enough lessons! The difference between a good photographer and a bad photographer is too big." Stella picked up her resume on the coffee table, "You don't even know that I wasted all these things. How much effort and stupidity have you made to prepare your resume?¡±
Moody looked at the resume, of course he wanted to learn some experience. If Stella is really an actress, "Can you tell me about it?"
Stella clicked on the "Height" piece of information, "Did you see that?"Yes, I didn¡¯t write down my age. I¡¯m 20 years old this year. If I had written it down, I would only be able to get roles for people who are around 20 years old. It's the celebrities who fill in their ages, not us. I didn't understand it at first, but since I deleted the age column, I got a character who could be 30 years old. "
"Are you 20 years old?" Modi was a little surprised, thinking that the other person was 24 or 25 years old.
"You know why Ye Wei eliminated me, I'm really unwilling." Stella sighed, Modi apologized repeatedly, "I'm sorry," she shook her head, and kindly advised: "Don't take my wrong path, take good care of yourself. With your pretty face, I feel like you can succeed.¡±
"Thank you" Mody finally dared to touch the cup of coffee and sipped it slightly, her mouth full of bitterness, "Stella, can you tell me how to join the Screen Actors Guild?"
"You? Why did you join sag?" Stella was speechless after hearing this. Moody was stunned: "I want to be an actor and find a job as an actor" Stella laughed happily: "If you don't join SAG, you won't be an actor? You won't be able to find a job? You can't find it if you join. Work. Maudie, you really still have to learn.¡±
"I don't understand." Modi looked at her sincerely.
Stella said: "There are many benefits to joining a union, such as helping us safeguard our rights and interests, and the union also provides many services and benefits." She thought about it and counted: "It seems like attending seminars and training classes. I have been there. Once, it was of no use. Like housing, I found it through the union¡¯s information. You can also go to the union¡¯s bulletin board to find people to rent together and find jobs There are many benefits.¡±
"Then?" Mody wondered, then why shouldn't I join?
"You are a newcomer. You are nobody. There are only disadvantages to joining the union." Stella spread her hands, "I am ready to quit the union first. Do you know how many opportunities you will lose by joining the union? Once you join the union, you will not be able to perform in non-union approved projects. , those crews can¡¯t and won¡¯t hire you for fear of getting into trouble, but you can still act in union-approved projects.¡±
Moody listened intently, "Is that okay?"
"Of course." Stella nodded, thinking about this question that had once puzzled her, "What's the name of that bill? It's called"
She got up and walked to the bedroom again. When she came back, she held a notebook, flipped through it and said, "This is my secret. I'm really reluctant to share it with you."
"I thank you." Modi didn't know what to say.
"Found it, it's called the Taft-Hartley Act!" Stella sat back on the sofa, looked at the handwritten notes on the secret book, and started talking.
The most common way to get actors into the SAG is through law, which allows non-union actors to star in union-sanctioned projects for up to 30 days. Usually union projects only hire member actors, but this hinders the development of new actors, so the th law provides new actors with the opportunity to join the union.
¡°Is it difficult to join a trade union?¡± Moody had another question.
¡°It¡¯s not difficult, just prove that you are really an actor.¡± Stella continued.
In addition to the th method, there are three main ways to join sag:
1. Show that you are willing to play a role in a film approved by the union. 2. Show that you have played roles in union-sanctioned films. 3. Show that you have joined an organization within the 4a Federation and have paid membership fees for at least one year, and have played a major role in a project recognized by the organization.
The so-called 4a federation refers to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the Screen Actors Guild of America (AEA/Equity), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and the American Association of Musical Artists (AGMA).
You can join aftra at any time by paying money. Once you have performance work experience recognized by aftra, you can apply to join sag.
Because if it is recognized by aftra, it is usually recognized by other 3a. So in fact, if you are an aftra member and meet the conditions for accessing SAG, you are already eligible to join SAG. However, the advantage of this interoperability channel is that you do not need to pay the full SAG membership fee.
"What about the first one? Can you enter just by expressing your intention?" Modi asked.
"You have to prove that you are an actor and that you will continue to act in the future. The union has many benefits. Are you not an actor and are you allowed to fish in troubled waters?"
Stella shrugged, "But it's not much of an advantage. The full SAG membership fee is very high for us, more than a thousand dollars! After joining, you have to pay regular membership fees, once every six months, depending on your performance income. In terms of grades, I paid 100 yuan last time. Mody, you can¡¯t get rich just by joining the membership. Most SAG members are like me. They still make less than 10,000 yuan a year. They are poorer than the poor and have to spend a lot. The money is on image.¡±
Seeing Mody¡¯s expression change, Stella laughed: ¡°Are you scared? But if you use the Taft-Hartley Method, you only need to get a person with ¡®?If you say "??'" and have a speaking role, you will automatically be qualified to join the membership, and the membership fee will be different. "
She said with emotion: "An agent told me that when an actor has a primary goal, it's called 'getting a SAG membership card.' There is one condition that is the most important: Has your time come? Spend a thousand dollars Block, cut off all non-4a union projects, but these projects are the easiest way for you to start, and then you have to fight for the role of the union with us old people.
?Then what did you do in there? You must enter sag, but you must enter when your time comes. This is the most difficult joining condition. "
"Oh, I understand" Modi couldn't help but nod. It turns out that's the case, it's indeed the case
"Let me tell you another secret." Stella showed off a little, "Have you ever seen the contestants on those TV game shows, like guessing the answer to a question, and getting a prize, and they get so excited that they yell? Ordinary people? No, most of them are actors.
???????????????????????? I have signed up to participate in local TV programs twice, and the money I win is used as income. Even if I can¡¯t win the money, I can still appear on TV, and maybe I will suddenly become famous. However, if you are a SAG member, you can only participate in three TV game shows. If not, you can participate in as many games as you like. "
"That's it!" Moody couldn't help but be surprised. She had never thought of this before watching "Wheel of Fortune" and other shows.
"Anyway, no matter which 4a program you enter, you will no longer be able to star in projects that are not allowed by them. Those many restrictions are not what newcomers want, unless you are a second-generation star."
Stella sighed as she spoke, dejected that she had no hope of participating in Ye Wei's talent show, and sighed: "Modi, come out and make a living, don't believe that you are lucky. Luck has nothing to do with people like us. If we are lucky, we will come out of the countryside. ? Will you live here? Are you worried about whether to put your age on your resume or join a union?
"Those of us, in the past two years, I have experienced time and again that once I think I am lucky, I will be unlucky. "
"I'm sorry." Mody rarely comforted others. After a while, she said calmly: "May God bless you."
¡°God doesn¡¯t care about me.¡± Stella shook her head and drank coffee.
"Stella, I don't have much money anymore. I need to find a job as soon as possible. Can you tell me what job opportunities are available? It would be best to be related to acting, whether it's an extra"
Before Mody finished speaking, Stella interrupted loudly: "Don't be an extra. If you become an extra, it's no different than acting in adult films."
"Why?" Modi was stunned.
"Extras, adult film actors, regular actors, three different worlds!" Stella organized her words and talked about what she knew: "As long as you live, you can become an extra, sitting around on the set every day. I stayed in the corner for more than ten hours and took away 50-100 yuan, sometimes more, and a free lunch, and I could see the big shots up close.
Why don¡¯t I become an extra? Want to work part-time as a waiter at a restaurant? As long as you work hard and work full-time as an extra, your total income in a year is higher than that of most SAG members. Why doesn't everyone become one? "
Moody shook his head: "I don't know."
Stella recalled what a well-intentioned director once told her, almost repeating it: "Because these are the rules of the game. The norms of an industry are because everyone tries to abide by these game rules that are not easy to establish. Who doesn't?" Anyone who obeys will be in trouble.
There are two types of people when they are extras. One is short-term, you work for a day or two to get familiar with the set; the other is long-term, you work for three days and it is long-term. Then you are an extra, you are not an actor, you are Extras. No matter how good you are, once you are recognized, no one will let you play a formal role.
No extras can play official roles, just like no adult film stars can appear on the screen. "
"I don't quite understand" Modi frowned and thought, "Why? Aren't extra actors like apprentices?"
"I didn't understand it at first, but later I realized it must be like this." Stella raised a few fingers, "Just do the math, those full-time extras can earn three to four thousand a month, thirty or forty thousand a year. Just sit there, knitting, writing scripts As long as you don't make a sound, don't disturb others, and be available, you can do whatever you want.
Where are we young actors? I am busy working every day, auditioning here, participating in performances there, and working part-time to support myself. It is difficult to earn 1,000 yuan a month, and less than 10,000 yuan a year. If extras can be promoted and promoted, this game will be unplayable! They earn their 30,000 to 40,000 yuan steadily, and we work hard to rise. This is the rule of the game.
An extra is an extra, and an actor is an actor. Once you become an extra, you are no longer an actor. The longer you stay, the less likely you are to come back.
Moody, also an extraIf you have a contract, an agent, or a labor union, it will be clear to others if you want to check how long you have been a group performer. Those producers and directors dare not disobey, because we actors are dissatisfied with whoever hires extras to play formal roles. The good news of the 4a Federation comes out at this time. If you break the rules, who will act for you? So no one does it.
When I was an extra, I tried to hook up with important people. They wouldn¡¯t even look at you. The extras weren¡¯t even people, they were penguins. That's what they call extras. Would you find a penguin to play a human? "
"Oh" Mody understood completely. He really didn't know this and still wanted to start his acting career as a group performer. "Then? Two days?"
"Don't be an extra." Stella said angrily, "Although no one knows us, we are actors! Actors have to live like actors."
Moody nodded silently, feeling that he was lucky now. Although he was cheated, he met a senior actor. Stella must be an actor. Her eyes were a little brighter, "Can you tell me more? How to take a profile photo?"
Stella looked at the one hundred dollar bill with "for-dream" written on it, waved her hand and said: "Okay, I will take you to take a profile photo tomorrow, otherwise you will have to be cheated again."
"Thank you." Mody smiled shyly, "I still have to find a job Is your restaurant still hiring?"
"I don't know. I don't own the restaurant. I'll take you to ask tomorrow."