I am what I imagine myself to be.
The other day I decided I needed a new haircut so I told my stylist to hook me up with a funky new style. Since my stylist is from Japan he gave me a Japanese style cut. So now I have short funky hair. Maybe that will help my auditions. Well I’ll find out tomorrow at my SBC audition!
0 CommentsToday my agent called me to say that I had booked a stock photography job. She also said that she would send over some example photos of what he wanted. When I got the photos tonight, they were all pretty sexy and intimate photos of couples in various situations and in various stages of undress. There was no nudity, but a lot of intimacy. I knew right away that this would bother my wife so I told her to look at the photos as well. After a brief discussion I decided that I wouldn’t be comfortable doing the photo shoot.
0 CommentsThis morning while at my desk I started taking my daily multi-vitamins. It’s a pack of 7 pills 4 of them which are huge. Since I’ve been taken them for a while I’ve been comfortable swalling 2-3 at a time. Well this morning when I tried to swallow three pills at once, one went down sideways in my throat and got stuck. I started to choke and told myself to calm down and just drink some water. That didn’t help. I started to choke a little more and now I started to freak out. My breathing became shallow because of the obstruction in my throat and the next thought that came to mind was “Heimlich Manuever”. I realized that at this point I needed someone to perform the heimlich manuever on me fast. So I turned around to my cube mate, tapped him on the shoulder and through a very raspy voice said, “do you know the heimlich mavuever? Unfortunately my cube mate isn’t the most fluent in English and he kinda just looked at me. So I got up from my chair and started to look around the room for someone whom I thought might know what I was talking about. I chose James, a new guy who recently joined the company. I remember him telling me that he had participated in 2 triathalons and so I figured he probably could help. I walked over to him, trying to control my choking and barely got out the words “do you know the heimlich mavuever?” He responded ” yes” and jumped to his feet to help. After a few jerks to my upper abs the pill became free and I swallowed it.
Lesson: Vitamins CAN be dangerous!
0 CommentsAs an actor, YOU are the product that you are selling. So it doesn’t hurt to look like you’re worth a million bucks. Here’s my current plan to muscle-up and lose the body fat.
Current stats: 180lbs, 20% body fat
Ideal stats: 180lbs, 10% body fat
Diet - carb cycling diet. The idea is to cycle carbs every three days. One day is no carbs, the second - moderate carbs, the third - high carbs. But the carbs have to be quality complex carbs which means no white bread, no sugar, no white potatoes, no rice, etc, etc.
Exercise - HIIT and high-rep training. HIIT is now a popular way for bodybuilders to lose bodyfat without spending hours on a treadmill. It stands for High Intensity Interval Training. For instance, you will jog for 30sec, then sprint full speed for 30sec, then repeat for a total of 15min. The high-rep training means moderate weight and high repititions of around 12-15. I will do all the standard weight training exercises my trainer has shown me.
Supplementation - fat loss and muscle retention. The very knowledgable people over at n101 helped me out a lot. n101 happens to be this small discount sports nutrition warehouse in a non-descript building in Hollywood where serious trainers and bodybuilders get their (legal) performance enhancing supplements. Fitness freaks is the only way to describe the people who work there. They know their stuff. Here’s my supplement profile:
Animal Pak - essential multi-vitamins
Fruit Blast Groovy Orange - an excellent tasting whey isolate
Pro Complex Chocolate - a highly rated protein blend
CEX - an advanced form of creatine
Liquid L-Carnitine - supports fat burning by turning fat into energy
CLA - supports fat burning
MCT - supports fat burning by providing energy
I could actually write pages of information on the research and use of these products, but suffice it to say that these supplements are 100% safe with no side-effects.
So hopefully by summer I’ll look like a cover model :).
0 CommentsI made a realization recently: Acting training is like kung fu training. There are many styles and techniques of acting (like kung fu), and there are also many teachers of acting (like kung fu). To become a masterful actor takes years of patience, dedication and practice under the eye of a master who has studied from other masters.
The unfortunate part is that sometimes it’s hard to know who is teaching the best kung fu.
0 CommentsIt wasn’t in a fit of rage. It was totally accidental - though it could be said that it was my competitive subconscious trying to eliminate the competition. At this audition today I had to play a little one-on-one basketball with another actor. At first I just defended the imaginary basket. But then when we were told to switch I got the ball and threw it at him to “check” and *BAM* - the ball hit him right in the face and his head jerked back from the hit (luckily it was a gentle throw). The other actor , with a dazed and surprised look on his face says, “I didn’t know we were checking”. I tried not to laugh while I profusely apologized and he shook it off with the words, “come on. let’s play”.
0 CommentsI’ve spent the last two weeks trying to regroup things in my head. I came to LA at the end of 1996 to seriously pursue acting. Although I’ve had some small success, it is now 2005 and I still don’t even officially have my SAG card. I’ve been eligible to join the union for 3 years now but have never paid my dues in the hopes that I would land my next “big” role and be forced to join the union. Now I’m no longer 23 (as my commercial agent has reminded me) and I’m getting older. I start to wonder how much longer will it take for me to get my acting career started. I start to wonder what moves I can make to get things going. I have representation (I’ve been with my theatrical and commercial agencies for many years now). But should I look into getting a good manager? A manager with the right connections could definitely get me auditions I normally wouldn’t get. I also recently finished a two-year intensive acting program. I finally have real acting skills. But do I need to take more classes? (if time and money weren’t an issue, I would). Maybe I need to change my hair. Maybe I need better headshots.
The other thing is that I’m just kinda tired of the whole “pick me! pick me!” Hollywood rat race. I’m tired of doing a million submissions to projects in the hopes of getting some one-dimensional Asian character to play on TV or in a movie.
I’m a smart guy. I’m multi-talented. I should be able to make this happen.
Maybe I need to take a chance and quit my day job?
But the responsible part of me says, “No!” So I look into other possibilities. Like becoming a independent filmmaker so I can write my own stories, my own characters and play whatever role I want.
I’m tired of being rejected for roles that aren’t even that great.
I want to break out and show that I have so much more to offer.
So here I go. This year I’m going to be more focused. More motivated. I’m going to mold myself into a leading man. That’s what my acting studio saw me as and I can do it if I just focus in and trust in my own talent and abilities. I’m willing to get up and fall flat on my face just to prove that I can and will get up and try again. I’m ready to bust through the obstacles in my path. I’m tired of waiting for people to give me an opportunity. It’s time for me to create my own.
Goals:
- Get ripped
- Write, produce, direct, shoot, act and edit a short movie
- Get back on stage and do stand-up
rinse, and repeat.
1 CommentValentine’s Day 2005.
I was a little smarter this year and made reservations at the Inn of the Seventh Ray a week in advance. Even so, I couldn’t get a reservation earlier than 9.45. I also decided to buy flowers two days earlier so I didn’t have to deal with inflated prices and last minute shoppers. I bought H a nice arrangement at Rita Flora. Anyone can sell roses, but not everyone can put together a unique flower arrangement that makes you say “Wow”!
Our romantic dinner plans started off as a small adventure when we started double-guessing the directions and couldn’t figure out if we were suppose to take the 101 Ventura freeway North (which is also labeled as West depending on where you get on) or 101 S (which is sometimes East). We’ve actually been to the Inn a couple times in the past but have always taken the scenic route up the coastline. Little did we know that the canyon road is actually closed from the south after 9pm. So that’s why we had to take the complicated LA freeway route - 10W to 405N to 101N (sometimes West), then exit Topanga Canyon.
Even with us backtracking on the freeway twice, we were only 10min late. We pulled up on Old Topanga Canyon Road to be greeted by limos, BMWs and Mercedes at the makeshift valet booth both arriving and departing. A whole line of couples stood in the cold waiting for their carriages. We pulled up in our ‘93 Ford Taurus, exited the car and proceeded to the hostess stand. That’s when we realized how cold it was. It was pretty chilly and neither H and I wore coats. The restaraunt was packed. There were people standing all over the place waiting for their name to be called. We checked in and proceeded into the warm bookstore. The small new-age bookstore was crowded as well with couples trying to keep warm. H and I browsed through some of the books and sniffed a bunch of candles, incense and oils waiting to be called. Luckily we didn’t wait long and we were summoned for dinner. We gently pushed our way through the bookstore to be greeted by another hostess who would show us to our table.
The Inn of the Seventh Ray has always felt like a sort of mystical place. As you stand at the top of the stairs before descending into the seating area you get a glimpse of what looks like a glowing magical forest with lighted tables amongst the trees. The hostess led us down the stairs and we made our way through the maze of candle lit tables with people in a romantic haze. We walked down another set of stairs and was led to our candle-lit table which was at the edge of the creek. It was a very beautiful spot secluded from most of the other tables. To our left was a babling creek and a forest. The stars shined bright above, and past the stone booth on our right were tall shrubs. It was all very romantic - except the fact that it was COLD. The restaraunt had setup portable propane heaters at the tables that were at the edge of the creek, but it wasn’t enough. For a half-hour H and I tried to ignore the fact that it was cold and just enjoy our wine, bread and “Love Apples”, but it was just too cold. Luckily, the couple in the booth next to us eventually left and we jumped up and stole their booth. The booth had heat lamps above, and we moved the propane heater to warm our feet as well. Finally we were comfortable and we very much enjoyed our romantic seven course meal under the stars, near the creek, in the canyon forest.
Happy Valentines Day.
To my infinitly beautiful wife.
Principle photography for “Mah Jong” was finished this weekend in Camarillo. Jason and Geoffrey Eng were great to work with and always surprised me with their professionalism and creativity when it came to writing, directing, lighting and camera rigs. I personally learned a lot about indy film making through the whole process. The cast was great and everyone was fun to work with. I can’t wait to see the final product!
In my continuing self-education of indie film-making I rented the El Mariachi/Desperado DVD to see the “10 minute film school” featurette. Very, very inspiring. His motto is “Don’t spend money”. He had very creative ways to do things cheap and was able to make his 16mm film with $7000. A must see.
Kung Fu Hustle. Just saw it the other day. Absolutely LOVED IT! It is the best comedy kung-fu movie I’ve ever seen! Very high production quality with Hollywood special effects, creative writing, and FUNNY! This movie was written and directed by Stephen Chow who also was the lead actor!
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Notorious MSG (Chinese New Year party music!):
“Straight Out of Canton” (3.38MB mp3)
“FOB for Life” (3.26MB mp3)
“Wok the Party” (2.04MB mp3)
