I’ve got tech recruiters from agencies all over Los Angeles calling me everyday - almost twice a day pitching me jobs and my number is not even listed anywhere. Tech recruiters have always used somewhat “grey” techniques in trying to find candidates such as asking people to refer their friends or colleagues to receive a referral fee, or cold calling companies asking for random people until they find a tech person who they can pitch a candidate, or pitch a new job. Now these agencies are trolling LinkedIn cold-calling companies and lying that they are connected to you through LinkedIn. What really annoys me is their fake way of trying to establish a friendship with you asking “what are your plans this weekend?” I’M NOT YOU’RE FRIEND! Why the hell should I tell you? And do all tech recruiters use the same script? I’ve been asked the “what are your plans this weekend” question multiple times by multiple recruiters at multiple agencies. AND NOW the new technique they are using is “I’m not calling to pitch you a job, but to ask you for a reference”. TWO recruiters from TWO different agencies almost used those exact words. Is there some shady tech recruiter conference that these people all go to?
I should open up my own tech staffing agency - but run it like the Hollywood studio system back in the old days. Hollywood studios used to sign actors with whom they saw potential and would groom them to be movie stars. I would sign top programmers who could not only code but were attractive and had really good presentation skills and then represent them through their entire career through the myriad of jobs that tech people go through - or help them start their own company. Top Hollywood agents and managers do this now and just collect a 10%-15% agency/management fee or establish a back-end deal with the actor.
On another note - why do tech people need to use recruiters anyway? In this day and age of LinkedIn and other social networks it should be easy enough for anyone to find a job through their friends and end up with a higher salary since they aren’t going through a recruitment agency. The true hustlers will never need to use an agency. They will find business opportunities for themselves or even better, create their own opportunities.
Don’t get it twisted. In many ways I’m not mad at this situation. There’s obviously no recession in the internet/tech sector.
Published on Wednesday June 4, 2008 · Filed under: Entertainment .
Youtube videos can now contain links to other Youtube videos and can also contain annotations (think VH1’s pop-up video). This news is MAJOR! Think about all the possibilities!!!!!
You gotta check it out RIGHT NOW!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw6YPh-fAko
This movie poster for “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” caught my eye over at Quicktime.com. I saw Jet Li’s name attached to it and I instantly knew that the movie probably had something to do with the Qin Dynasty and the Terra Cotta Warriors. What a coincidence since Heather and I just visited the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at the Bowers Museum last weekend. The trailer looks pretty cool but of course the movie takes liberties with the historical account of the Qin emperor. If it wasn’t for the Qin storyline and Jet Li I’d probably wait to see it on video, but now I might actually see it in the theater.
I might have to go watch “Hero” again since it’s another Jet Li movie that deals with the Qin Dynasty.
Heather and I went to the Pantages tonight to see Wicked the musical and I was completely blown away by the stunning production and performances. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve seen such talented actors give so much of themselves on-stage. It was completely inspirational. The two female leads clearly owned their characters and were so relaxed and comfortable that it was a complete joy to watch. You could even see them really trying to affect one another on stage with their performance and they did. You could tell they were having a complete blast on-stage with their characters. Nothing seemed stale to them even though they were both the original leads in both the Broadway performances and on tour. It was just amazing to watch and I was completely jealous of them sitting there in my seat. It made me want to be a part of the show, to help create the magic they had on stage. All I could think is “THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO!” I want to have that kind of connection with an audience, to let go and throw down on stage and give an amazing performance.
Did I mention how amazing the two lead actresses were and how impressed I was of their acting and their singing abilities?
I’ve never seen such an amazing production in my entire life.
I was just reading this article over at Variety saying that MGM is blaming bootleggers for the poor performance of “Soul Plane” at the boxoffice. It’s funny because I was just talking to Chemin Martinez the other day at the acting studio and he said the same thing. He said that there were a lot of people who had told him they saw the bootleg movie months before it opened “nationwide” (in like 3 theaters in LA) and liked it. He did admit the movie wasn’t really that good, but hey, he did get exposure on the big screen.
I might checkout “Soul Plane” this weekend ’cause a friend of mine from the acting studio is in it. He plays a bartender in the movie and also happens to be in the trailers. Big props to Chemin who is always hustlin’! You might also recognize Chemin from the tabloids after the J. Lo/Ben Affleck wedding that never happened. A bunch of tabloids featured pictures of Chemin with J. Lo in miami suggesting that they were together. He thought the whole thing was pretty funny.
This past weekend I watched two very different kind of movies - “in america” and “You Got Served“. “in america” is a beautiful movie about tragedy, hope and renewal that was beautifully acted by talented actors. This is the kind of movie I feel my acting studio has been training us for. Then I watched “You Got Served”. After watching 30mins of horrible acting I started fast-forwarding to the dance scenes. Luckily, the dance scenes were some of the most incredible dance sequences I have ever seen!
(background info: I love anything related to movement - dance, martial arts, stepping, etc. Part of me wishes I would have studied dance and become a choreographer.)
The dance moves were amazing and made you want to jump out of your seat and scream “OH!” The dancers and choreography were completely bad-ass. Now I want to get back into a dance class and capoeira class.
What is Capoeira?
One of the most amazing martial arts styles you will ever see. It’s a brazilian style of martial arts which is very acrobatic and practiced in the form of a dance. It’s something that has to be seen.
Go rent or buy “Only the Strong“.
Then checkout greek step.
I was surfing the web today and decided to check out what new movie trailers are playing over at Quicktime.com. When I went to the site I noticed this movie trailer with the wierd title “Harold and Kumar go to White Castle“. Out of curiosity I clicked the the link and…
BAM!!!
There was John Cho staring right at me!
I actually know John Cho from East West Players Network (now ACTS) and used to bump into him occasionally at EWPN/ACTS functions and past auditions over the years. Now here he is getting top billing in a mainstream movie! Good for him!
(Congrats John!)
Now I would be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. So I’ll just put it out there. I’m jealous! It is kinda ridiculous for me to be jealous really, because John and I are very different and would RARELY be considered for the same role (unless the role just stated “Asian male” - plus now he has major credits). But a part of me is envious. When I arrived in LA in 1997 that’s when John started getting his break in the industry. John always had this great personality which worked well in acting - and he was/is a good actor with great comedic timing. As for me, well in hindsight my acting skills back then were poor. I had plenty of good opportunities come my way (Touched by an Angel, Fast and the Furious, Crossing Jordan, Biker Boyz, a couple of TV pilots, All My Children, A Day Without a Mexican, etc, etc, etc) but honestly I wasn’t ready. So a big congrats to John Cho. It is exciting to see Asian men starting to get a break in Hollywood. It’s about time. I hope this movie does well at the box office ’cause if it does it will open up even more opportunities for other Asian actors as well!
As for me, well I will continue to “hone my craft” as my acting coach would say, so that when the next opportunity comes knocking at the door I will be ready!
(after reading this entry again I fear I’m being a little too honest. oh well. i’m keepin it real. so keep in mind that i’m an artist and i’m sensitive about my $hit)
Following the recent E3 Expo in Los Angeles, CNN is running a story about the continuing convergence of videogames and Hollywood. The good part is that this means more jobs for actors and entertainment professionals in this brave new world.
…for a “Made for TV” movie. Only problem is that Heather and I spent $22 tonight to see it in a theater. The dialogue was very soap-opera melodramatic and a lot of the scenes seemed contrived. At times I felt Troy was a Gladiator/Braveheart wannabe. I spent most of the movie almost laughing at the dialogue and not really caring about any of the characters. Live or die, I didn’t care. Although, there were a couple of action sequences - including the extended fight scene with Brad Pitt - that were pretty good. Brad Pitt is definitely charismatic and interesting to watch but I regret that I spent $22 to see this epic. This is definitely a rental.
BTW, I’m not the only one who feels this way about the movie. There were plenty of other people who laughed at some of the dialogue and made negative comments about the movie after the credits started rolling.
