Journey Through the Unknown by Murray Langston

Murray Langston, a.k.a. The Unknown Comic. Journey Through the Unknown...Albany, Ga.: BearManor Media, 2013.

The first celebrity Langston ever met was Mickey Rooney. Langston went up to Rooney. Rooney ignored him completely. The second celebrity Langston met was Jayne Mansfield, who was nice to all her fans Langston decided when he became known, he would treat his fans as Mansfield did.

Langston, a Canadian, joined the U.S. Navy. He wanted to work in radar. His Canadian citizenship removed him from his radar job and he was placed on latrine duty. Upset, he went AWOL then gave himself up. In explaining his situation, he was offered another non-classified position, He chose Special Services, where he became a naval radio disc jockey.to a crew of 2,000. In this job, hemet Bob Hope who told him “Actors are a dime a dozen. Comedians can always become actors but actors can rarely become comedians.”

Langston got a job in the computer division of Universal Studios. He used to sneak onto set. He was stunned when he saw John Wayne wore a toupee.

Langston saw the Discovery of the Week segment on “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In”. Unaware of standard business procedures where usually only agents contact producers, Langston called NBC and asked to speak to the show’s producer. He was put through to its producer George Schlatter. Langston told Schlatter he did an impression of a fork. Schlatter asked him to audition his act, which consisted of him standing with his hands up. His audition was before Schlatter as well as two people he would later work with, Chris Bearcle and Alan Blye. Langston heard no laughter or response during his audition, Yet they called him the next day to say they liked it and he was put on the show.

Langston auditioned for a five minute comedy sketch before George Jessel for his comedy club. He has hired. When he performed, the audience did not laugh much. He wondered why his audition went so well yet the same material bombed before an audience.

Langston got a lead in a comedy play “Dracula Sucks”.

He then was hired to be on the “Sonny and Show Show” performing skits at $1,000 weekly. The show began as a summer replacement series and then became a regular series.

Langston learned Cher had natural comedic talent. He once dressed as a werewolf and tried to see Cher with his furry hand. Cher was not scared and immediately responded “Sonny, your mother’s here.” He did successfully scare Carol Burnett with a similar werewolf costume prank while she was having her makeup applied.

Steve Martin was one of the show’s writers and performed on some sketches.
Langston continued performing in comedy clubs

Langston and an African American comic, Freeman ing, joined appearing in Sonny and Cher’s live show. King responded to a heckler, who was a casino high roller, with a standard line for hecklers “why are you bothering us trying to do our job. We don’t go to your job and take away your plunger, do we?” When they then went to shake the heckler’s hand, he refused and instead left and demanded they be fired. Sonny fired them. Langston believes Sonny should instead have defended them. Langston notes Sonny often belittled his cast, referring to them as “atmosphere”.

The cast attended Sonny’s birthday party yet the cast did not buy him a gift When Sonny observed this, one of the cast told Sonny never gave them any gifts. Sonny jokingly threatened to fire them, yet he saw the cast stuck together, They kept their jobs.

Sonny and Cher divorced. The split was vicious. “The Sonny Comedy Hour” was created that kept the same cast. Ratings dropped and it was cancelled after six shows.

Langston observed “Achieving success in Showbiz is primarily being at the right place at the right time with the right look. Talent, though a plus, is usually secondary. However, what ensures is the more talent you possess, the longer ou last in the business.”

Langston and several of the “Sonny and Cher Show” cast were hired to appear on “The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show.”

Langston opened his own comedy club. Comedy roasts were held there.

Langston was on “The Bobby Vinton Show” in Canada performing comedy sketches. He found Bobby Vinon the most aloof of actors who never socialized with any of the cast. Alan Thicke worked on the show and did not like Langston and wanted Langston fired.

Langston then appeared of “The Lola Fanala Show”.

Langston heard about an amateur talent show called “The Gong Show” that gave $500 prizes. Union members who did not win got $250. Langston decided to appear on the show wearing a bag over his head so that those who knew him would not recognize him. He called himself the Unknown Comic. He insulted the host Chuck Barris., who on air closed the curtain on Langston’s act. After the show, Barris told Langston he loved the act and asked him to return on the show show. Barris then hired Langston at $500 per week. Barris then added Langston as a writer on the show.

Langston also appeared on “The Wolfman Jack Show”. He filmed 20 episodes in a month in Vancouver. He found Wolfman Jack as one of the nicest he ever met.

Langston was hired to be on the “Everyday” afternoon talk show. The show ran si months as it did not fare well against the “Phil Donahue” show.

The Improv and the Comedy Store refused to pay comedy acts performing at these clubs, Comics, including David Letterman and Jay Leon, went on strike demanding $25 per night, The Improv agreed first, he Comedy Store, owned by Mitzi Shore, gave in after five weeks. Shore refused to let strike leaders perform at the Comedy Store

Langston believes Billy Crystal primarily associates with people who can help his career. He did not seem to associate with other comics whom Crystal may have felt were beneath him

Langston learned his agent took not only 15% of his earnings yet also got expenses, including flying first class to see Langston perform at venues where Langston flew coach, Langston was further upset to see his lawyer charged $250 to review standing contracts at talk shows that paid $300.

Langston told a joke on his “Make Me Laugh” TV show that “Frank Sinatra recently opened a halfway house for girls who won’t go all the way.” Sinatra called Langston threatening to “break your fucking head into a million tiny pieces.”

Langston starred in the Playboy Channel’s “The Unknown Comedy Hour”. It was that channel’s second highest rated show.

Langston was in the movie “The Being” with Martin Landau.

Bill Osco, a porn film producer, produced Langston in Playboy Channel’s “The Sex and Violence Hour”. It also starred Jim Carrey.

Langston appeared in the movie “Stiches”. He was not given a script and was told to ad lib his role, which he did.

Langston appeared on the Jerry Lewis’s Muscular Dystrophy Telethon He was pleased to see the audience and crew all wearing bags over their hards in honor of his character.

Langston acted in a move “Lightening the White Stallion” with Mickey Rooney. Langston was saddened to see Rooney was as difficult a man as when he first met him, noting that “it was truly embarrassing watching that pitiful, self-absorbed, self-proclaimed icon.”

Langston was the sidekick to Larry Anderson during a run of “Truth or Consequences”.

Langston borrowed $100,000 and produced his own film “Up Your Alley”. He co-starred in it with Linda Blair. It was profitable, His reputation for making money on a low budget allowed him to direct “Wishful Thinking” for an investor who risked $200,000. It make a profit on distribution.

Langston hosed 40 episodes of “Comic Strip Loive”,. He hen appearing in a movie “Bringing Up Business” with Gary Owens.

Langston appeared on and was a writer on “Candid Camera with Do DeLuise I lasted six months. He believes editing problems hurt the show as editors were not aware of what was funny while working under pressure to edit for a daily television show.

George Clooney did a movie “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” based on Chuck Barris’s autography. Langston learned the role of the Unknown Comic had been cast without anyone contacting hi. Langston’s attorney noted that the Unknown Comic was a copyrighted character that could not be used without Langston’s permission, Since the Unknown Comic scenes had already been filmed, Looney offered Langston to play himself in the movie. Langston accepted

William Gillette by Henry Zecher

Henry Zecher. William Gillette, American’s Sherlock Holmes. xlibris Corporation, 2011.

William Gillette was a famous stage actor in his day,who, according to the author, was the third best known celebrity behind Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Gillette was best known for his stage portrayals of Sherlock Holmes.

Gillette, as were Samuel Clemens and Theodore Dresser, were part of the movement for artistic realism over melodrama. In acting, melodrama, which was a leading characteristic of 19th and early 20th century actors, displayed unrealistic  behavior. Melodramatic acting would over-emphasize movements and speech that actors believed would make certain the audience recognized and heard what the actor was conveying. Instead, the realistic actor behaved on stage as a person would appear in real life.

Gillette was a strong leading actor, This led to more plays and movies focusing on a strong leading, realistic hero, The set the stage for actors such as John Wayne.

Gillette introduced “Psychological acting”. This emphasized realism in the emotions and reactions in a performance, The New York Times considered Gillette’s Psychological acting as “the first modern acting technique.”

Gillette’s life was free of scandal. He married once and never remarried after his wife’s death. He was seldom involved in politics except in 1912 when he spoke in favor of Theodore Roosevelt. He drank moderately and seldom smoked. He did enjoy cigars and incorporates cigars or pipe smoking into most of his characters,

Gillette first portrayed Sherlock Holmes in 1899 at age 46 and last portrayed Holmes in 1932 at age 78. He presented Holmes with a “quiet, confident voice” with “suave but nervous movements.” He was known for his “riveting scenes” while performing.

Gillette performed with Edwin Booth, one of the most famous 19th century actors. On stage, he helped boost the careers of Charlie Chaplin, Helen Hayes, Ethel Barrymore, and Maude Adams.

Gillette was also a playwright. In the 1880s, he, Bronson Howard, and Steve MacKaye were among the better known playwrights who wrote in the realism style. Gillette noted “realism should be inferred not actual-sm, but the artistic presentation of reality...Art must have recourse to the principal of suggestiveness.”

Realism became a major part of 1890s American theater. A number of playwrights arose who had acting and / or business experience in theater. Prior, most playwrights had academic backgrounds in writing. These new playwrights knew the theater and the degree of realism and of literature that audiences liked. These playwrights, including Gillette, were consider “theatre craftsmen.”

Gillette’s father was a U.S. Senator. His brother was a member of Congress. Thomas Kuhn labeled it a “paradigm shift” that a member of the governing class would go into theater. As the New York Herald Tribune noted, “Nobody has conceived what is a commonplace today: that a person of gentle culture could make a successful trooper and retain his integrity.”

Gillette was among the leading practitioners of natural, reserved, understated acting, speech, and movements as people actually do. On the contrary, many actors spoke their lines as if they had been spoken many times before, When realism actors such as Gillette spoke, it was as if the lines had been spoken for the first time. Realistic actors moved on stage as people do and did so as if this was the first time they had done their roles.

Gillette wrote about his acting technique in his 1915 monograph “The Illusion of the First Time Acting.”

Gillette declined interviews in a deliberate attempt to create an “air of mystery” about himself Friends found him modest so he did not appear to like to boast about himself. He gave only a few in his lifetime.

Gillette believed actors should be mysterious and rarely seen by the public. He also did not believe in promoting himself, which was against the New England aristocratic ideals. He commented in1896 about his work that “the public has ample opportunity to see it...it will speak for itself.” he gave out preprinted cards explaning he “does not feel his views can be of any value to the public at large.” When asked questions, Gillette often responded with a line in his plays, simply “Quite so!”

Gillette was not known as a “party animal”. His wife’s death was a severe emotional setback.

Gillette’s father Francis served in the U.S. Senate when Sen. Daniel Webster gave his famous speech on slavery. William Gillette, as a school boy, presented his father with a sample of his elocution. His father wanted him to change his presentation. William responded that his presentation was “right.” His father replied “Right! Of course you did it right! Do you suppose if Webster had doe it “right” anyone in the Senate would have listened to his for two minutes?” Francis explained that Webster was summoned to speak with no preparation and that his great speech was spontaneous and real. William learned that “I never forgot that a word was a fine thing that must be search for, and that the way to make a speech was no in the way that was “correct” as elocution, but the way that the man actually made it in the first place.”

Gillette was a honor roll student who participated in theater and in elocution. He knew then he wanted to be an actor.

The movement toward realism in theater resulted in fewer plays regarding “lofty patriotism and idealism” and more plays on “basic pragmatism and a desire to simply survive.” As he overdramatic style of melodrama gave way to more subtle styles of realistic theater with more subtle reactions, theaters became smaller so audience could better see the actors. This, in turn, called for new lighting techniques and more detailed scenery and props.

Gillette observed that “the purpose of the theater is to afford relief from stress and strain in actual life. And the play people love best ,because it does most for them, is the play that gives them a new angle on life, a practical presentation for happy living.”

Gillette wrote the play “Esmeralda”. It had 350 performances in New York. It was made into a movie in 1915 starring Mary Pickford and was directed by James Kirkwood..

Gillette risked opening social wounds when he wrote the play “Belle Lamar.” It was the second stage presentation of the Civil War, a subject experienced by many in the audience. His play was the first which was not a historical presentation of the war. His play showed the interactions of people during the war. It is a story of three suitors for a woman. One is a Union officer, one is a captured Confederate officer accused of being a spy, and the third a Union soldier who tries to help the Confederate escape.

Gillette was among the playwrights known for the emerging style of “more unified and tightly constructed drama.” Melodramatic plays had a hero and a villain. In the realism of Gillette’s plays and others like him, characters had both heroic and villainous characteristics.

Gillette was among those who writings presumed there is a “fourth wall”. This was a concept first noted in 1758 by Denis Diderst that the play with a fourth wall is performed as if there is no audience.

Gillette was among those who had female characters that were “independent, selfless heroines.” Numerous plays had strong, independent female characters in the 1920s yet such characteristics declined in afterwards. Female characters generally were presented according to the life events of male characters.

Gillette improved some theater sound effects. Instead of the then traditional method of replicating horses moving by slapping half coconut shells on top of marble, Gillette used clappers on different materials to simulate different types of roads and paths. Gillette unsuccessfully tried to patent his techniques.

Charles Frohman and his Frohmannational Theatricallities consisted of over 200 theaters in the U.S. and London (including six in New York City) where 700 plays were produced, managing 28 star actors, and employing around 10,000 people with an annual payroll of $35 million (or an equivalent circa 2010 of $700 million). He had no written contracts with his star actors, His word was considered valid. Gillette often worked in theaters owned by Charles Frohman.

David Belasco was among the leading theater producers. He wore black with clerical collars He would eventually be called “the Bishop of Broadway.” He was known for popularizing the concept of the  “casting couch” where actresses were hired in return for sexual favors. Belasco produced, directed, or wrote over 100 plays. Over 40 of these plays were made into movies.. Belasco helped developed an actress Gladys Louise Smith who he had her change her name to Mary Pickford. Gillette worked with Belasco on some plays.

Gillete wrote a play that had a character with one arm. Stanley McKenna sued, stating he had a play eight years earlier with a one armed character. Gillette argued that one armed characters were not legally protected “novelties” over which one could hold a “monopoly”.” Further, there had been a one armed character in a David Belasco produced play prior to McKenna’s play. The court sided with Gillette.

Gillette observed there are two kinds of director, One kind allows actors great leeway in presenting their characters The other kind dictates the details of how roles should be portrayed. Gillette believed the true system lies between the two.”

The Copyright Act became law in 1891. It required producers to pay royalties to authors and playwrights including paying for foreign works. Thus foreign authors received payments and their works could not be used  as lesser expensive alternatives to domestic writings.

Sherlock Holmes is the more prolific movie character, appearing in 211 movies, according to the Guiness World Records. The Sherlock Holmes Society of London lists 260 films with Sherlock Holmes as a character.

Gillete wrote a play regarding Sherlock Holmes based upon originating author Arthur Conan Doyle’s writings of Holmes. It took about a month to write the first script. It was destroyed in a hotel fire. Gillette wrote another script in a week. Doyle and Gillette worked on the script. Gillette’s final script differs greatly from Doyle’s original contributions. Both as listed as the script’s authors.

Doyle wrote another Holmes play. Harry Arthur Saintsbury portrayed Holmes i “The Soeckled Band” for 168 performances. Saintsbury was the “only one who rivaled Gillete” at that time in appearing as Holmes. Saintsbury was cast in a play with 14 year old Charlie Chaplin. Saintsbury coached Chaplin on performing and on comedic timing and touches.

Gillette first appeared as Sherlock Holmes in the play “Sherlock Holmes” in 1899. Max Goldberg appeared in another play about Holmes entitled “The Bank of England, An Adventure in the Life of Sherlock Holmes.” The Max Goldberg play existed because there is no copyright on titles.

Gillette’s “Sherlock Holmes” play was successful. It became well known and was parodied in music halls. One parody play was “Sheerluck Jones, or Why D’Gillete Him Off?” which played in London. Other Holmes presentations appeared in burlesque presentations.

Frederick Dorr Steele illustrated Holmes. A fellow illustrator’s brother Walter Paget was the initial model used for the illustration. Yet Gillette’s “expression and posture” were integrated into the drawings. In 1929, Gillette would be the model for Steele’s illustration. There drawings would help convince actor Basil Rathbone in 1939 to appear in movies playing the role of Holmes as Rathbone believed he looked similar to the Holmes in Steele’s illustrations.

John Barrymore was Holmes in a 1922 move “Sherlock Holmes”. Barrymore stated they used Steele’s illustrations in creating the Holmes character for the movie.

Gillette, when appearing as Holmes, introduced the deer-started cap, rococo gown, and a smoking pipe.

Gillette, in believing actors should be mysterious to the public, also believed they should not state their views publicly. He also believe political candidates should not campaign publicly. He contributed money to anti-Tammany Hall advocates in 1903. Gillette spoke publicly about politics only during the 1912 Presidential campaign which was a race which many thought might change the nation’s course. Gillette spoke in favor of the losing Progressive Party candidate, former President Theodore Roosevelt. A number of other actors also made statements on this race, something the Washington Post noted as a “surprising” development.

Gillette began construction on his Hadlyme home in 1914. He picked a site he saw from his year a year prior. Gillette designed the house. Construction was mostly finished in 1919. Gillette never called it a castle although it would come to be called Gillette’s Castle. It is now a state owned park open to the public. It cost $1,100,000 to build (or about $14 million in circa 2010 costs). Gillette named his home the Seventh Sister as it was on the end of seven hills.

Gillette was signed to film movies for the Essanay Film Manufacturing company. He appeared in “Sherlock Holmes”. His image was used in much Essanay advertising. Gillette told Lowell Thomas “there is too much mosaic in the cinema industry to suit me.” Gillette did not want to appear in another movie. Gillette, though, became one of the “actors of the transition” of theater stars who appeared in movies. Some actors found the art of pantomiming in silent films required a different skills set from their skills for stage performing.

Some claim Gillette belonged to the “impersonator” acting style where actors take on the characteristics of the role. This was different from the “interpreters” style where an actor’s own personality is brought into the role. Gillette objected to being labeled as an “impersonator” insisting his personality strongly influences the roles he played.

Gillette belonged to the “heroic school”. This was a style of a “quiet he-men” type that would later be portrayed by John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Gary Coopeer. They were heroes who stayed calm in crises.

Gillette refused to permit babies in the audience as they could become distractions If there was too much audience noise, he would have long pauses of instrumental music playing to drown out the noise,

Gillette failed to show strong emotions during love scenes. This have been resulted from his proper New England upbringing. This became part of his characters’ natures.

The first Sherlock Holmes movie was “Holmes Baffled”, filmed by Thomas Edison in 1900. The actor , which was a common trait then, is not identified and remains unknown. Many believe Gillette inspired the Holmes look in the movie. More Holmes movies appeared starring Viggis Larson in Denmark, Alvin Neus in Germany, and G.B. Samuelson in Englad, as well as England’s H.A. Saintsbury filming one Holmes movie.

Gillette’s Holmes movie was co-directed by Gillette and Arthur Brethelet. W.G. Postarie assisted directed. H.S. Stevens was the screenwriter. The movie ran for two hours. It was produced by the V-L-S-E Film Company. The movie followed the stage play yet focused more on romantic scenes than had the play. it was a “major hit.”

The film showed more details in the office than did the stage production. Kitty Kelly’s review in the Chicago Daily Tribune declared “Gillette completed dominated the visualization of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and his wonderful facial expression and pantomime acting rang true to the camera.”

Gillette believed there were no rules or regulations for playwriting. He recommended finding an interesting theme, create a series of “ingenious traps” that carry from the play or theme, have the traps spring at right manners and moments, and then create a way out from the troubles.

Gillette rode a motorcycle. Its’ brakes once gave out and he plunged off the ferry entrance into the river. Guy Hedlund, a movie producer, quipped “There goes Mr. Gillette, wastes $10,000 of movie thrills on an audience of five people.”

Gillette advised Helen Hayes to “never read your reviews. If they praise your work, they will serve to make you self-conscious. If they criticize you, which most of them usually do, they can cause you great harm. Let your director read reviews. If he thinks something should be changed, he will tell you.” Helen Hayes followed this until she did films, at which point reviews could not affect her performance.

Films were made of stories Gillee wrote, he were “The Border Wireless” released in 1918 which starred William B. Hart and “Coincidence “ released in 1921 which starred  Bradley Parker.

After spending over $1 million building his home, the Lyme Board of Relief listed it as having a taxable figure of $58.300. Gillette claimed the figure should be $22,380. An Assessor valued it at $71,000. Gillette told the Superior Court the taxable value was $21,040. The Board of Relief reduced ths to $69,999. (Editor’s Note: The property is in Lyme and East Haddam with the house in East Haddam.)

Gillette and Charles Frohman held the dramatic license for the play “Sherlock Holmes” in 1898. These rights were transferred to Essanay whe they filmed the movie version. When Essanay folded in 1921, these rights were transferred to the Goldwyn Company for $18m0000 with payments of $6,000 each going to Gillette, the Frohman Company, and Arthus Conan Doyle. In 1920, the Educational Film Exchanges Incorporated announced play to make movies of 12 short features of Doyle’s about Holmes that woudl star Eille Norwood. Gillette, Frohman, and Frank Godsol, Presiden of Goldwyn, sued. The court distinguished between Gillette’s play and the different original stories. Norwood would go on to be in the most Holmes films at 49 silent films.

Gillette portrayed Holmes in the 35 program series on NBC’s Red Network station WEAF in 1930. Others had performed Holmes on the radio before Gillette. The first Holmes on radio was Edward H. Smith in 1922 over WGT in Schnectady, N.Y.

Clive Bark appeared as Holmes in the first talking Holmes movie “The Return of Sherlock Holmes.”

Sons of Anarchy by Tara Bennett

Tara Bennett. Sons of Anarchy: The Official Collector’s Edition. New York: Time Home Entertainment, 2014

The TV series “Sons of Anarchy” arose out of show creator’s Kurt Sutter’s personal interests in motorcycle clubs (MC). While he was never in an MC, he lived on the fringes and was enamored with the MC lifestyle.

Sutter received an MFA from Northern Illinois University and worked on several TV shows. Sutter researched MCs. He wanted a realistic show, Sutter admits “Hamlet” is an inspiration for the series.

Scott Glenn was originally cast as Clay Morrow. glenn did not seem to deliver the dark human that was wanted. His role was recast and the reshot for the pilot with Ron Perlman.

The show was about an MC club started by Vietnam veterans. The club smuggled goods and drugs. A club founder John Teller saw these as acceptable yet found the club losing its moral focus when it began running guns.

Charlie Hunnan identified with his role of Jax Teller, John Teller’s son. Hunnan’s father has forsaken life in a British industrial or mine setting and opted for the criminal life Hunnan acted with an American accent. Hunnan researched the role with an MC members similar to his character,, whose father has been a founding member of his MC club.

Actor Ryan Hurst admits “I auditioned for the show because I wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle. I don’t think I read the entire script.” His character was intended to die at the end of the first season. Her popular performances kept his character alive longer.

Actor Chris Telford was a DJ who face was slashed with a knife in a mugging A friend asked him to join a theater company. He turned to acting.

Actor Kim Coates auditioned for two “Sons of Anarchy” roles. He got neither. He was offered a newly created role. Coates read the role and replied “this is not for me...I have not desire to play a one note dark guy.” Sutter convinced him the role would involved more depth. Coates signed onto the show that night. Coates admits he sometimes struggled with the role, yet realized despite the character’s many weird emotions, he was loyal.

Kurt Sutter told actor Theo Rossi “I don’t know if you’re going to be in one of hundred. I just know I want you on the show.” Rossi accepted.

William Lucking first acted in a biker movie “Hell’s Belles” in 1969. He crushed his leg when his motorcycle went off a bridge while filming “Harold and Maude” He rode a Tri Glide on the series.

Sutter hired himself in a role. It would take an hour of make-up for his character.

Kurt Sutter is friends with actor Ally Walker. The role of Agent June Stahl was written for her.

Rockmond Dunbar’s character was originally planned for one season, He became such a fan favorites his character lasted three seasons.

The production designer Anthony Medina, along with Kurt Sutter, sought authentic looks Medina researched MC clubs,

Director of Photography Paul Maibaum and Executive Producer / Principal Director Paris Barclay planned the cinematography. They sought a “modern day western” feel. People by doorways and background items were frayed. Exteriors had a “bleached, dried-out, dusty look”. Theatrical light was avoided for a realistic feel.

The Principal Director creates a cohesive direction for all Directors. This series was filmed as if it were really happening. Kurt Sutter provided the tone.

The show did not use clothing with advertising. The Sons of Anarchy members wore black. Mayas wore green and blue. Gemma would wear a $5 halter under a $1,500 jacket.

Tattoos were applications.

Exterior shots for the Northern Ireland portion were filmed in Northern Ireland. Local bikes rode in an aerial shot. North Hollywood served as most scenes depicting Northern Ireland.

The show was Bob Thiele Jr.’s first as a music supervisor. He had written before with Katey Sagal, who portrays Gemma and is married to Kurt Sutter. He led an existing band, the Forest Rangers, and used it as a house band. Thiele would send original songs to Sutter. Suter would sometimes add to the songs. Thiele and Sutter never collaborated together simultaneously.

Tammie Baird served as a stunt double for Katey Sagal during Gemma’s rape scene.

Foolproof Filmmaking by Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens. Foolproof Filmmaking: Making a Movie That Makes a Profit. Westport, Ct.: Prospecta Press, 2014.

The author, while producing and directing in 1968, “the Terror Within II”, used rubber monster suits. The sun damaged the suits so badly the t-shirts could be seen through the. The Director of Photography (DP) shot so the deterioration could not be seen. The DP also shot a fully nude dance with backlight, crosslight, and diffusion such that no body parts could b seen. The author notes this brilliant DP, Janusz Kaminski, went on to twin two Oscars for “Schiendler’s List” and for “Saving Private Ryan”.

About 65% of independent film revenues are from sales to countries countries outside the U.S. and Canada. The author helped form Sunset Films which made a profit on their first film selling global rights before it was released. The author sold his shares of Sunset Films International and started a new venture, Royal Oaks Entertainment.

The business model changed. The studios moved into independent film distribution. Also, the demand for novelty videos fell.

The author’s Royal Oaks company pre-sold and released an average of 20 films annually. They fell into three genres of action, thrillers, and family films.

Realizing the market was changing, the author and his partner formed Franchise Pictures and Phoenician Entertainment. Royal Oaks ceased. Franchise Pictures worked with Warner Brothers, which handling printing and advertising expenditures as well as loaning money. A film often cost $25 million in production and $35 million in printing and advertising. Franchise Classic Pictures made non-commercial arts films for festivals with star actors who appeared for much less pay than they normally received.

Phoenician Entertainment made direct to DVD videos. Several movies would be sod as a group in a foreign market. Most of these did not require loans to make and were profitable relatively quickly.

Franchise Pictures made about 75 pictures with budgets from $100,000 to $70 million. Almost 20 had theatrical releases, including “The Whole Nine Yards”, “The Pledge”, and City by the Sea”.

The author left Franchise Pictures and in 2033 began financing and producing over 35 films. He closed his foreign sales division in 2004 and was producing mostly for studio home entertainment divisions.

Producers find financing for movies. They get distributors for their films. Producers hire the director and oversee casting actors Producers usually decide what the final cut of a movie will look like, unless they have yielded that right to the director.

Producers often can decide, or they may choose to suggest, script changes. The producer should have good communications skills and knowledge of the entire filmmaking process of creating a film including budgeting, post production, special effects music, etc. Producer  often  must know how to handle crises.

Producers should understand about the various forms of insurance, and their various rates, required in filmmaking.

A true producer confidently leads, provides useful insights, solves creative issues, and understands the entire movie making process. This often require multitasking, making and sticking to knowledgable decisions, handing crises, knowing finances and budgeting constraints, knowing how to negotiate, knowing the crew and talent, and knowing contract requirements.

A good producer has an editorial idea through editing to the final cut what the movie should become. The producer knows the editorial techniques, music, special effects, etc. required to achieve that vision. This requires understanding current special effects and computer generated imagery (CGI) abilities.

One must be “at the Right place, at the Right tie, and Ready.”

An Employee Producer, hired by a studio, risks the studio’s money and not the money of the producer’s company’s money. The financing and creative control rests with the studio, production company, networks, etc. that hired the Employee Producer.

The Executive Producer traditionally is the person in charge of financing and / or distribution. Now it is often a title awarded to line producers, actors, and others. Co-producers are often titles with no clear distinction.

Line Producers have physical production expertise and duties.

There was once a Federal requirement that some portion of movies broadcast on TV be from independent programming That mandate no longer exists.

There are (circa 2014) five conglomerates: Viacom, CBS Corporation, Walt Disney Corporation, 21st Century Fox / News Corporation, Sony, and Time Warner. These companies are moving to control programming to the broadcast networks under their control. Independent filmmaking is endangered.

All independent straight to video distributors and retail stores have closed.

Many independent movies are sold at trade shows, a.k.a. film markets. Buyers from various territories purchase all or some rights.

There are about 170 buying and selling companies participating in film markets, which are held globally.

To sell a movie at a film market, the author recommend a good poster as a sales technique. The author recommends creating posters that resemble a studio poster.

Flyers are recommended. They should contain artwork. Buyers prefer not to have to create their own artwork. In general, comedies traditionally have white backgrounds. Buyers tend to dislike artwork hat is too dark. Having something that might appeal to foreign viewers, such as military planes or ships or wild, fierce animals can help.

Germany and Japan are territories that traditionally pay the most money for long term contracts, which are often for 15 to 25 years. United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy often have contracts of 10 to 15 years, Eastern Europe, Latin American, Southeast Asia, Turkey, and Greece often have seven year contracts. When the contract expires, the rights revert to the owner who may resell the rights.

Movie profits are affected by marketplace fluctuations.

Independent pictures in North America often get theatrical releases by paying theaters to show the movie plus providing the advertisement, Many do not earn a profit from theatrical showings.

Studio divisions often offer less for movies than what the studio offers.

To enter the film marketplace, once must know current trends, conduct analysis of the global market and create a profitable plan.

There have been certain past trends in movie international markets Japanese markets liked movies with military and technological hardware. The German market liked action films without much violence, as violence would be censored Nudity is allowed in German prime time TV not blood is not. The South Korean market liked hand to hand martial arts films.

A Sales Agent sells films to foreign distributors. The Sales Agent receives a commission of 25% to 30% The author recommends giving a Sales Agent a 15% sales agency fee plus $25,000 for market expenses.

The author recommends selecting a Sales Agent by speaking with others who have hired them.

A sales agency contract should consider accounting requirements. Some sales agents have gone out of business before accounting for their expenses.  The contract should include a collection account where funds go to the account rather than to the sales agent.

Allocation sales, where a sales agent sells a movie as part of a group of movies, should be avoided,  the author suggest, as sales agent could allocate a film a lesser portion of that deal. Also, packaging a film with another could create problems which could lower a price.

Term deals of 10 to 25 years should be avoided for foreign distribution deals, the author advises. The author advises three to seven year contracts or ten years paid in advance. The contract should have a “key man” clause designating a sales person. The contract should have designated how residual payments are paid, often to a collection account. The author recommends insisting a film remain without a cross collaboration as packaged with other movies and that film royalties are sacrosanct. The buyer should be responsible for subtitles and / or foreign language dubbing.

Piracy, especially in Southeast Asia, is widespread. Some distributors have refused to buy films if they have been pirated in their region.

An alternative to hiring a sales agent is selling the film directly. The author notes sales agents usually have contacts and that selling directly can be costly.

Another alternative to a sales agent is to hire a producer’s representative. They often receive a double commission.

When attending the American Film Market, the author advisors researching and targeting 30 to 50 companies.

The Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, Berlin, and Venice Film Festivals are film markets. Most other film festivals are vanity screenings.

The author advises “Don’t be naive enough to think your film is going to be the one movie that proves everyone wrong and makes the entire world think differently. This is not going to happen.”

The author advises agreeing to pre-sells. This usually generates ore money overall.

Agents’s assistants have a strong network. Knowing them can be useful.

The author recommends “The system is full of B.S. Find any way you can to navigate through it. Think outside the box and beat the system at its own game, as long as it is legal.”

When hiring a screenwriter, read some of the writer’s past works. Note that soe writers are appropriate for specific genres.

Writers can be hired. Writers can have a step deal. A non-union writer can be removed from a project at any specified step.

A speaking actor (circa 2014) receives union scale. In addition, there is a 18.77 percent payroll tax and 16.8% pension, health, and welfare cost paid o the Screen Actors Guild.

The author often uses one title, such as “Inheritance of Valor” to attract actors to a movie that will have a cheesy title for foreign market sales.

An Equity Investor invests money into a project. The equity investor is paid from revenues first before others.

A Limited Partnership has multiple partners. It has liability only for debts created by the registered investment.

There are numerous foreign and U.S. sate film subsidies. The rules for qualifying for subsidies and the degree of subsidization varies. There may be requirements of headquartering, local hires, unionization, etc.

Financing can be obtained from bank loans (which require collateral), pre-sales (foreign and / or domestic)m a combination of sources, and crowd-funding (where numerous people contribute in return for incentives).

Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman began shooting. Oliver asked Hoffman “What on earth are you doing?” Hoffman responded “I’m doing a sense memory, Larry, preparing for the scene.: Olivier watched this for awhile and then asked “Why don’t you just try acting, my boy?”

Lee Marvin advised “The two most important moments for an actor in any picture are your entrance and your exit, When you enter, make it count...and when you leave, make it count even more.”

Attorneys should be paid hourly rates instead of fees, often 5%, advises the author.

Business managers pay bills. Many actors can take care of their own financial matters, the author believes.

A manager cannot gain employment for an actor client, yet can negotiate and arrange auditions and have an attorney to negotiate deals.

Film budgets have above the line (ATL) costs, which are the create and administration costs. They also have below the line (BTL) costs which are crews, goods, services, production, and financial costs.

A completion bond fee is often 3%, charged if using bank financing.

The SAG Modified Low Budget Agreement (circa 2014) is for films with budgets under $625,000 and for under $937,000 if casting ethnicity requirements are met.

A payroll company will be needed to maintain time sheets plus deduct and pay taxes and deductions.

A risk manager maintains worker’s compensation files.

A film will require production insurance, cast insurance a.k.a. producer’s indemnity insurance, errors and omissions insurance, and essential element insurance.

Production insurance covers general liability, commercial vehicles, back-up workers‘ compensation, and delay ad reshooting costs due to weather, location damage, and equipment failure.

Cast insurance covers costs due to a death, injury, or illness of a key cast members thus being unable to finish filming.

Essential element insurance covers a key element such as a director or star actor. The element must pass a rigorous physical examination,

Negative insurance covers physical damages or loss of film, hard drives, memory cards, videotapes, or anything that could cause a reshoot. Additional insurance would cover lab damages plus costs from faulty equipment and materials that damages film.

Errors and Omissions Insurance protects against trademark or copyright errors, libel, slander, privacy issues, name use errors, incorrect crediting, plagurism, unfair competition, piracy and copyright infringement.

Some Teamster locals will negotiate with independent film producers with budgets under $1 million. They will likely insist on an 8 hour day minimum and refuse a 12 hour day minimum.

Films save money by reducing the number of speaking roles, filming fewer exterior scenes, reducing location moves, minimize equipment rental periods, lower the number of shooting days, reconsider expensive scenes, educe vehicle and transportation costs. reduce software expenses, etc.
 
Paid overtime occurs at 8 hours for SAG actors, 10 hours for weekly contract players, and 12 hours for over-scale actors.

Pre-production planning is important. A producer should establish a production entity to protect against personal liability The producer should hire multi-taskers who are motivated. A payroll company should be hired. A production office should be opened.  The Studio Zone should be known, as this affects mileage calculations. Local rules and overtime laws should be known. It should be determined what props can be rented or borrowed. Hair and make-up artists who understand continuity should be hired. Good grip and electrical equipments should be found. Many films have generators. Loss and damage insurance is needed.

Many low budget films use one track for both grip and electrical equipment.

Costs for fuel, security, and meals should be kept in mind.

Correct meal information must be given to a caterer. Some cast and crew may prefer that food use a local restaurant’s food over a caterer. A craft service person is sometimes hired to prepared and serve food.

An editor assembles the day’s footage into linear fashion. This film needs to be fine tuned. The Director need not be part of this unless the Director has creative rights or belongs to the Directors Guild of America signatory.

                                                                                     
The author has had to recut movies so make them what studios and distributors want. He has had to overturn what directors wanted.

SAG requires that low budget movies have the first 30 extras each day be from SAG membership These extras require time and a half overtime after eight hours. If more than 30 extras are needed, non-union people may be hired.

When using two cameras when filming, a camera may shoot from one side directly across he other camera but not across that line. This is known as the “line”, “axis of action”, “continuity line” or “`180 degree line”.

Sometimes, with two cameras, one camera is for a master show and the second for a close-up shot.

There is a SAG penalty if actors are paid more than one week after principle filming is done.

SAG’s Global Rule requires a SAG member living in the U.S. must work under a SAG contract anywhere on Earth. This has reduced the number of American authors hired in foreign films.

Independent producers must calculate residuals on a SAG formula. A theatrical movie would assign 3.6% for pay television, 4.5% for the first million of gross receipts and 5.4% above that first million, and 3.6% for free and basic cable TV. This formula does not consider actual distribution data.

It is hard for many independent film companies to process residuals. Thus, most actors are paid scale only.

The author prepays over-scale actors. This reduces the total for SAG salaries and reduced the financial assurance bond. It often takes six months after a film is completed to get the bond funds returned.

SAG is notorious for losing things and claiming they never received them.

SAG may require a residual bond to guarantee prepayments. The author notes SAG requires this bond in a capricious manner.

A Financial Core member, of Fi-Core, may claim only limited or Guild rights. They have union rights, may work non-union and union jobs, and they may not vote for or hold union office. A decision to become Fi-Core can not be reversed.

The Buyer’s or Distributor’s Assumption Agreement makes the signer responsible for paying residuals to the Guilds. A person with a film that does not pay residuals will be stigmatized in future dealing with SAG.

Many movies use 35 mm, super 35 mm, and Steadicam cameras. These films run 24 frames per second, known as Cinespeed.

Super 35 mm cameras can create digital prints. These can be viewed and fixed before making film prints.

16 mm cameras use two and half less film. This can reduce film processing costs. Using one requires selecting lenses.

16 mm cameras are less expensive than 35 mm cameras.

35 mm cameras use a circular parabola lens called a “flat”. Images are filmed without disstortion. It can also use an elliptical lens called an “anamorphic” This is used for wide angle filming. The result looks disproportioned. The proportions can be electronically corrected by repositioning and stretching 2.35 times wider than tall. A projector lens can achieve this.

A prime lens can range from 6 mm to 400 mm. Most low budet films use 16 mm, 18 mm wide angle, 25 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, and sometimes a 75 mm, 85 mm, or 100 mm lenses. A 10:1 zoom provides ore options.

The First Assistant Camera Person, or 1st AC, is responsible for the film being in focus. The correct lens at different lens is important. It is important actors hit their marks when this has been calculated.

A Second Camera Assistance, or 2nd AC, carries and puts the camera as directed by the 1st AC.

A Film Loader keeps track of how much film has been bought and how much has been exposed. This person also leads the film into magazines in a dark room. This person fills out reports for film labs..

Motion pictures use a 1:85 aspect ratio Pre-wide screen TVs use a 1:33 aspect ratio. TV broadcasts use 4:3 format. Many new TV sets, using the standard HD aspect ratio, are 1:78 which is also known as 16:9.

Digital camera are often poor at capturing sounds. They capture much ambient noise.

An off-line editing format is required, such as Avid or Final Cut Pro. An edit decision list, or EDL, is used to create the film.

A broadcast scope provides information on luminance and chroma so it is known what film is acceptable and which is distorted and which is fine for broadcast technical standards.

A color grading quality monitor checks for color consistency.

A one light video work print telecine-transfers processed film.

The negative cutter uses key numbers from cut points in the EDL. The negative then undergoes the answer print process. Color adjustments are made while viewing prints on a Hazeltine. The film is screened. More color changes are often decided upon.

Color changes involves removing a primary color or red, green, or blue.

Beach bypass or silver retention processes make a film appear grainy or more desaturated.

The audio is checked as being in sync with the optics.

The first print is a check print. It is produced from an internegative. Changes or tweaks are made on a “light tape”. An internegative is created with the changes.

Note that making too many prints from a camera negative may cause it to break in the printer and thus damage and lose that film section.

The answer print is the lost print from the original negative. Inter-positives and internegatives are made into polyester film Up to 2,000 prints can be made from a polyester film.

After an inter-positive is made, it can be telecrine mastered to HD for a colorist, usually supervised by a cinematographer and / or the director, color corrects the film. A Direct Removal System, or DRSm corrects for dirt on the film. When this is done, the resulting lay back silent video is then synced to sound. There are at least four channels of sound with channels 1 and 3 for Stereo Left and channels 2 and 4 for Stereo Right.

Feature films often use Quicktime Pro Res for creating a mezzanine master digital file.

Music is often added using Quick-times. Source music, which is pre-existing music, is sometimes used, Sometimes music is scored for the movie.

Dialogue tracks from original dailies undergo “cleaning up” or “smoothing out” or building ramps” and fixed.

Foley sounds, which are background noises, are often added. Foley sounds make a film appear more realistic.

Automatic dialogue replacement, or ADR, adds or changes dialogue.

Sound effects are often added.

Sound design uses synthesizers, samplex, and audio plug-ins to enhance or distort sounds to achieve “sonic alchemy”.

A pre-dub, consisting of ADR, Foley, and sound effects, are edited using sound mixers. Pre-dubs are often 70% balanced acceptable.

Dolby reduces over-modulation.

Music and effects tracks (M and E) are added to a print master. Sound effects are provided on sound drives for non-theatrical print masters

Studios campaign for viewers to see their movies. Posters and key art are created for advertising. Confusing artwork can dissuade people from seeing a movie.

Production still photographs can be used for advertising and for guiding key art.

A catchy log line can attract an audience.

Trailers show film highlights to attract an audience. They often target specific demographics.

The Motion Picture Association of America ratings system often allows big studios more latitude in the degree of violence or graphic content than is allowed to independent films.

A title search checks there are no competing films with the same title.

An Electronics Press Kit, or EIPC, shows behinds the scenes information such as interviews. It is often added to a DVD.

Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris. Choose Your Own Autobiography: You Are the Star in N.P.H.’s Life Story. New York: Crown Archetype, 2014.

Harris recalls when young meeting Keith Carradine backstage Harris notes “time image will stick with you forever. For two hours he was a conjurer summoning up the spirit of a beloved icon; now, once again, he’s just one of the crowd. Heralded, then anonymous. That’s preforming.”

Harris had an agent who got an audition for Harris with Steven Bocho. After a callback he was cast as Doogie Howser on “Doogie Howser M.D.” The role had challenges, including learning to say a line in fluent Japanese.

Newborn babies, by California law, are limited ot working 20 minutes at a time. Twins or tripes are often used. Harris once asked a mother why she chose this work and she replied “I don’t know, they  just seem to enjoy it.”

California law limits children to nine and half hours per day of work which includes three hours for required school and one for lunch.

Harris learned he could not socialize with his costar Max Casella, when he calls “the secret ingredient behind the show’s success” because people would swarm them.

“Doogie Howser M.D.” ran for four seasons from 1989 to 1993, Typecast as Doogie Howser, Harris had trouble landing another TV series, Yet he did several movies and 13 made for television movie from 1988 and 2001. He appeared on episodes of several TV shows. He also did theater work.

Harris was asked to appear in the TV series “How I Met Your Mother”. He found the pilot script funny and “unusually for a pilot it did not feel derivative of other shows.” The show lasted nine seasons. He credits CBS for not moving it around so it built an audience that could find it. It was always on Monday nights at either 8 pm or 8:30 pm.

“How I Met Your Mother” was filmed with multiple cameras. It did not use a live studio audience. This gave the show more flexibility to reshoot and edit.

During the strike in 2007, Josh Weldon asked Harris, for no pay, to be in an online musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.” Harris trusted Weldon so much that he accepted without seeing a script. Viewer reaction was overwhelmingly positive. 

Watch Me by Angelica Huston

Angelica Huston. Watch Me: A Memoir. New York: Schrber, 2014.

Huston was a noted “high fashion” “exotic” model in New York. She did not find as much success in southern California as she was not the “tanned blonde” that seemed more desirable there. Her father, director John Huston, gave her a role in his movie “A Walk with Love and Death”. Critics were not kind to her.

Huston dated actor Jack Nicholson. She would later marry Robert Graha. She told Nicholson she liked acting. Nicholson stated he “hated actresses” yet thought they could work together in their next movie “The Fortune”. Nicholson asked director Mike Nichols to consider Huston for the female lead. Huston, fearful for her past bad reviews, did not want to risk it.

Sam Spiegel, MGM’s Chief, and director Elia Kazan wanted Jack Nicholson for their movie “The Last Tycoon”. They gave Huston an audition, perhaps in hopes of luring Nicholson. Nicholson agreed to a lessor supporting role. She was cast. While filming, she learned to consider “the other character’s state of mind.”

Huston writes that director Roman Polanski was “restless, opinionated, urban, brilliant, impatient, and mercurial....You had to work to keep up with him. He was staying at Jack Nicholson’s residence while Nicholson was away. The police raided the house and arrested Polanski and Huston for drug possession. Polanski was also arrested for sexually assaulting a 13 year old. Huston writes she did not witness that.

Huston’s father had emphysema. Due to that, his least films he directed were low budget films.

Nicholson found director Stanley Kubrick a “taskmaster” and “all genius.”

Lee Grant asked Huston to be in the movie “Playing With Fire” which Grant director. Grant could not get the project fuded

Sue Menger, a noted agent, turned down Huston’s father’s request that Menger represent her. Menger stated she represented Ali McGraw who Menger thought look similar to Huston. Menger and Huston, though, became “good friends.”

Huston auditioned for a role in the movie “This Is Spinal Tap”. She received a smaller role than for what she auditioned.

John Foreman asked Huston to be in the movie “Prizzi’s Honor.” Foreman then asked if her father would direct it and if Jack Nicholson would act in it.

Huston won an Academy Award for her role in “Prizzi’s Honor”. She was the only person from the film to win an Academy Award for that film.

The Huston family challenged Ted Turner from colorizing movies filmed in black and white. French law prohibited doing this if the original creator objects. In the U.S., the National Film Preservation Act prohibited substantially altering, including colorizing, a film it had labeled without the creators participating int the altering.

Huston played the Supreme Leader in the Disneyland 3D short “Captain EO.”

Huston agreed to be in a Woody Allen movie knowing only about the character she would play. She had never met Woody Allen and offered to meet him for a drink. Allen said he was sick. She suggested another day. Allen asked what if he would be sick then, too. The drink meet never occurred. Yet she did appear in his movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Huston researches her character before filming. She wants to know her character
s health, choices, hopes, dreams, disappointments, and secrets.

Huson most enjoyed her acting in the movie “The Grifters”. She was nominated for Best Actress.

Huston played Mortica in the film “The Addams Family”. Her corset made her look well yet it was painful to wear. She had troubled turning her head, it gave her big headaches, her neck blistered, and she could not sit.

Woody Allen asked Huston back to appear in his movie “Manhattan Murder Mystery”. She agreed. She found the dialogue required a lot of fast talking. She worried about missing cues.

Huston filmed an Addams Family sequel “Addams Family Values”.

Huston filmed the movie “The Perez Family”. She found she and Mina Nair had conflicting styles. Huston “was sensing her impatient and feeling a certain discomfort in performing actions without having found my original impulse.”

While filming “Buffalo Girls”, Huston was diagnosed with a basal cell carcinoma which was on her nose. It had to be removed surgically after radiation did not work. Two years later, her nose was reconstructed using cartilage from her ear.

Huston agreed to direct the film “Bastard OUt of Carolina” for the Turner Network Television. SHe was upset she did not know as much about the technicalities of filmmaking yet she “survived on instinct and by surrounding myself with great people from whom I could learn.” The film took 28 days to film. Ted Turner and Jane Fonda screened the film and were upset over the rape and masturbation scenes. Turner declined to air it. It was shown at the Canes Festival. Showtime aired it. Huston was nominated for an Emmy and  Directors Guild awards.

Huston filmed “Ever After”. She first found costar Drew Barrymore giggling during the filming which upset Huston. Huston yelled at Barrymore “All right, missy, I’ve had it.” Barrymore, the next day, sent Huston a card reading “Thank you for making me a better actor.”

Huston filmed “The Golden Bowl”. She found Jim Ivory was “calm” while Ismail Merchant was “loquacious and outgoing”.

Huston filmed “The LIfe Aquatic”. he stated it “was deceptive in that it looked simple, but a great deal of effort went into the set, the costumes, the location.”

Huston filmed “The Darjeeling Limited” in India.. There were no wardrobe or make up artists. Each actor created his or her own look.

Michael Mayer asked Huston to be in the NBC TV series “Smash”. She agreed. The pilot took three weeks to shoot.

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham. Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned.” New York: Random House, 2014.

Dunham made a web series called “Delusional Downtown Divas”. THere were ten episodes filmed. THey used many of their parents’ friends in small role “who still viewed us as children doing an adorable class project.” In retrospect, she notes the camera was shaky and the images blurry. It was “amateurish, a little vulgar.” It was shown at a SoHo gallery.

In 2009, the Delusional Downtown Divas hosted the Guggenheims First Annual Art Awards.

Dunham observes that filming a sex scene is “weird”. While many actors call it part of their job she sometimes found the experience “humiliating”. She does not think of the audience while filming nude. She notes “getting naked feels better some days”. She is not afraid to do them. She appreciates that showing her body imperfections allows others to more easily accept their body imperfections.

Dunham is Executive Producer, writer, director, and acts on the HBO TV series “Girls”. She has won two Best Actress Golden Glove awards. She has been nominated for eight Emmy Awards. She also wrote and directed tow movies.

Dunham’s grandmother Carol Marguerite Reynolds was her best friend until age 12. She felt her loss deeply when she died. Carol’s sister Doris “Doad” Reynolds Jetwett died on December 10, 2003 at age 100.