Extras Needed for "Royal Pains"

Extras needed for Royal Pains - check out their facebook invite below, and good luck!

http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#!/event.php?eid=116881498334459&ref=mf

Movie Jobs, Acting Jobs

Job Posting Date: 04/19/10

Associate Producer:

Strong, experienced AP needed for independent documentary film (possible television) on the treatment/relationship with animals by humans. It will be a purely journalistic, non-activist and non-partisan exploration into the issues from all perspectives. Candidate must (must) have solid knowledge of the issues and current events surrounding this subject, with a reasonable understanding of the processes involved in animal agriculture, biomedical research, pets/companion animals, poaching, breeding, and animals in entertainment. Note: This job will require very, very extensive hours. Only candidates able to commit such time should apply. Other requirements include good researching skills; excellent (amazing) booking abilities; a solid foundation in journalism; working knowledge of on the ground production, general ENG; AVID/post (not FCP), archive, rights and clearances; valid drivers license; can do attitude. The job starts immediately, and is expected to last at least 6 months. Looking forward! Please send a current resume (not a bio) and a creative but not-too-long cover letter that addresses this job in particular to to Senior Producer Adam Smart.

Email to: Info@twocatstv.com

For more information www.twocatstv.com
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Another unusual casting request..looking for a female contortionist 25-40 years old any ethnicity for a pharmaceutical commercial. SAG (will waiver non union if we can't find union. If you or you know of anyone pls let me know asap. Thanks! (casting takes place in NYC. Shoot will take place in Las Vegas.)
Contact: Michelle Rouhani at cpcre8tivemedia@aol.com
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Also contact Michelle Rouhani at cpcre8tivemedia@aol.com for:
Anyone know a female harpist who owns her own harp? Looking for one (will waiver if can't find SAG) for a day of special ability BG for RUBICON. Let me know asap NYC casting director needs.
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Plandome Heights has a vacancy for the position of Clerk Treasurer.
If you know of a suitable candidate, especially in this economic environment, I’d be interested in your recommendation.
The salary for this combined spot is about $50k and there is a health plan. VPH does not participate in the retirement system.
Hours are 9 to 4 Monday through Thursday, 9 to 3 on Friday.
Candidates should send their resumes to mayor@plandomeheights-ny.gov
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My blog will be returning soon. Good luck!

Locations Needed for TV/Commercials

Hello all, (These need to be in Nassau County).
Locations needed:
1) Scouting Tuesday and Wednesday for an empty house for a Loews commercial. The gag is that everything that can go wrong with a do it yourself.. (like water spraying from a pipe). Should be a home with character - probably older and tasteful, but a money pit or fixer upper. Know of any homes or a film friendly broker/developer? Shooting next Thrusday.
2) Need a large event space, but with character for television series, "Lights Out." They will stage a boxing event there - so it should be able to hold 200 extras and about 100 crew. Not looking for empty space, but something with character.
3) For a web commercial, I believe for a John Grisham book, they looking for a huge empty area. They already have Grumman Studios in the their file, and I sent them to the Freeport Armonry. Any suggestions.
If you have any suggestions, please e-mail debfilm@aol.com.
Thank you!
Debbie

Just a Job This Time

A feature film I've been working with needs an accounting clerk to work from now till October if anyone has interest and experience - out of Silvercup East.  Please send your resume to:  andrew.saxe@gmail.com.

Losing Those We Love - The Passing of Janice

Losing Those We Love - The Passing of Janice

On February 5, 2010, Janice Smestad passed away. She was way too young. Seems that happens with more frequency these days. I met Janice twice and exchanged Facebook messages a couple of times. Yet I am touched deeply by her loss. John says that I “feel the pain of the living.” That’s always been true. I’m an empath. I’ve been known to feel the pain and emotions of people near me, even if I don’t consciously know they’re having issues. I feel the closest connection with John, and I can tell when his leg or hip hurts, or whether it’s his back or shoulder. With Sarah, I feel her emotions, though I may not know the cause.

So with Janice, I feel the impact of her loss on Doug, and her friends and family. I also imagine what it would be like to be so in love and have your partner leave you behind. Even though, intellectually, you know that it’s all part of the journey and we will all be re-united one day, it doesn’t fill that void left where the love of your life used to be.

Sitting in a room with John and many of Doug and Janice’s friends and family, I learned a little about myself. These people loved her. They knew her. They knew what she felt good wearing, what jewelry was important to her, that her favorite color was purple and how she would have liked to end the last days of her life. Whether it was Doug bringing her Haagen-Daaz ice cream pops or a few friends sitting quietly around her as she rested. Janice didn’t like large groups of people, though she loved and touched many. Friends drove in and flew up from out of state to be with her. People who never met each other before bonded instantly over their love for her. It was truly touching to be around such wonderful people that loved this wonderful woman. Doug second guesses some decisions he made about her care which is standard for anyone who loses someone they love and multiple treatments were available. I told him that everything that was done was the right thing. What I didn’t tell him is that she simply completed this leg of her journey. She was done with what she came here to accomplish. You may be able to keep people around a little longer, but when the journey is over, the spirit goes back to where it came from. She will be waiting for him and all those that loved her, and I’m sure she will be watching over all those people who cared so deeply for her.

John and I walk Trippy at Mill Pond whenever possible. It’s peaceful and gives us time to talk and contemplate. I realized that when I die, although I do have friends, no one knows me the way people knew Janice, except for John. People don’t know the jewelry I like, or what I’d like to be cremated in. I don’t see people coming in from out of state (except perhaps my parents and brother if they outlive me) to spend the last of my days or weeks with me. It’s not that I’m not a good person or that I don’t care about or try to help people, but it’s always been that way. The same with John. No one knows me the way he does with that level of connection. I’ve stayed by the side of three people that I loved as they prepared for their own transition. They died of cancers (lung, brain, leukemia). My friend Kathy only woke out of a coma when I went to visit her, and remained conscious till the end. I went every day because it seemed to give her comfort and she enjoyed having me around. Her conversations weren’t always lucid, but she was always Kathy. Loving and loved. Allison I didn’t even know that well, but she clung to me and would confide in a whisper, “I’m really scared.” And Debbie D who never had a party until the faux retirement party we gave her when it was clear she wouldn’t be with us long. She played video tapes of that party repeatedly whenever someone came to visit. Though she was bedridden and hooked up to machines, she beamed when she clicked the play button. I’ll always be thankful to GerriAnn for coming up with that idea. To see Debbie surrounded by friends and family. She ate for the first time in weeks, and ate everything in sight. She enjoyed holding court as people would come to her table and spend time with her. She was in a wheelchair at that time, but she was the queen of the ball. I’m so thankful I got to spend that time with her. Debbie Damone, like Janice Smestad, was a truly loved person. Unlike Janice, Debbie’s partner was never there for her. Debbie made up for it by loving those around her, and they, in turn, adored her. She was a simple soul who just loved. She never had children, she never married, but she was with the same man from when she was 16 years-old until her death at age 50. Her picture still hangs in the Nassau County Planning Department, and the bench with her dedication plaque still sits in Eisenhower Park. I was blessed with the privilege of writing her dedication for that plaque.

So there are people like Janice Smestad and Deborah Ann Damone who really touched people. Lots of people. Almost every one they met. Because of Debbie, I slowed down. I started to see more of the people around me than just how to succeed in my career. Whether acknowledging the mail people at work or the guy who comes to empty my garbage pail every day. I tried to be kinder, to give more of myself.

By nature, it seems, I’m as much of a loner as John. We have our friends, but we are most open to each other. I wonder if the lesson I’m to learn from this all is to be open to more people. Truly open, truly compassionate. Is that my job here? I’ve also been touched by Janice, though I hardly knew her. I do believe we are just one being split into fragments to come here and learn lessons. And if that’s the case, Janice and Debbie were the good stuff in all of us. They both died so young, left us too early. Perhaps their job was to touch the rest of us. To teach us that love really is all there is. I do know that when we are blessed with having our paths crossed by such beautiful beings, we are given a gift. One that needs to be unwrapped, nurtured and held dear to our hearts. And most importantly, one that teaches us how to better live our lives, with love.

Finishing Fund Grant Available AND Coming Home Again

(Photo - Debra Markowitz - from Way Back Week)

Finishing Fund Grants Available AND Going Home Again
LIFTF Finishing Fund Grants

If you have a short or feature-length film shot partially on Long Island, the Long Island Film-TV Foundation is offering two finishing fund grants for $500 (more if the sponsors come in!!). Check www.LongIslandFilm.com. Cut off is February 28, 2010.

Going Home Again

I was born, Debra Markowitz. No middle name, no fuss. It’s an interesting name to have when you’re not Jewish, but everyone assumes that you are. That’s fine; I accept any holiday greeting that is offered. It’s a basic, non-flowery label for who I am. When I was younger I thought about changing it, but I assumed that would be done for me when I married. And I did marry, and two times had names that I thought were way cooler. One time not. But I always used Debra Markowitz for my work and my writing.

When I divorced, I kept my uncool married name because it made it easier to travel with my minor daughter. Not that we traveled much, but even going to Florida to visit my parents was easier with the same name. When I almost got fired because there was confusion between my married name and the name everyone else knew me by, I figured that the time arrived to go back to who I am. My daughter was 18, I was unencumbered. I wasn’t looking forward to all the paperwork I’d have to do, but once I started, it was a breeze. Well, the first half anyway. My credit cards were changed with only a phone call. The Social Security office in Freeport told me I couldn’t change my name until I changed my license first. The wonderful clerk at the DMV changed two registrations, two titles, and my license in ten minutes. He scoffed when I told him what social security had said. “But you had the proof,” he remarked. I agreed. I went to Social Security in Mineola; 15 minute wait time, half the documentation and was done there. Go Mineola! My credit union changed my name easily.

The hardest things to change were items like my mutual funds, my daughter’s college account and my cable account. Come on. My name is changing – I have proof. Call my phone number; I answer. E-mail me; I’ll answer that too. Send a letter; it comes to my address. We’re getting a little ridiculous here requiring signature guarantor (apparently notaries are no longer good enough), original divorce papers, and codes for my cable box, cable box cards and modem numbers. Doesn’t cablevision have these things on file? I didn’t switch my equipment, just my name!

Changing my name on my deed scares me. Legal papers, lawyers, money. My passport is just a matter of inconvenience, but probably not a huge deal. My library card…whenever.

What does feel really good? REALLY signing my real name. Me, Debra Markowitz, can sign a check and a legal document. I don’t have to decide which name to tell people when they ask. Business or writing business: Markowitz. Everything else: Markowitz.

I know it’s just a label. All names, after all, are just identifiers we call ourselves and the person we want to converse with. Perhaps it’s the symbolism of coming full circle that’s so appealing. Our experiences shape us all. My views have changed. I’m not waiting for that prince anymore (though my guy does actually have a suit of armor). I don’t have to wonder if I’m ever going to have children; been there, done that.
As far as what I’ll be when I grow up, I know what I am/was for a great deal of that time. The future is a mystery for us all. Where I always felt that great things were in store for me, now I know that they are IF I’m willing to do the work and not give up. Things are much less random…and much more random. The universe has more in store for us than we can even imagine, so it’s best not to dwell on the particulars more than we need to.

And here I am in the house I grew up in. Bought it twice; once with my ex, and once from my ex. It looks very different from when I was younger. It reflects me and my more streamlined style, my sense of design (or lack thereof) and preference for empty space and organization. Okay, it doesn’t always look that way, but a few times a year it actually does.

And with the new social media networking opportunities, I get to connect with new friends and business acquaintances, and find and touch base with old friends. The really great thing is that they now all know me as Debra Markowitz. Because that’s who I was, and that’s who I am.

As much as I know this lifetime is one continuous linear equation, we really are the people we were before, still. We’ve just added to our arsenal of skills, knowledge and experience. Who we are now is who we were then, just more evolved (hopefully). When all is said and done in this lifetime, I don’t know what the final result will be. I’m scared. I’m excited. But whoever/whatever I am in the end, I was Debra Markowitz, and I’ve come home again.

(James Caan and Debra Markowitz from the set of "Henry's Crime." The Film also stars Keanu Reeves)


How to Become a Photographer on a Film Set AND She Was Then, I Am Now

I’d like to thank my location scout and production manager friends for this helpful information on how to become a photographer on a film set.

"I'm pretty sure you can just pay your initiation fee and get into 600 as a still photographer. Easy enough to call Chaim Cantor at local 600 and ask. The issue is, once you become a member, and pay the high fee to get in, it's very hard to get work. Even the best, struggle to work full time. Clearly, it's one of the best jobs to have on a movie." – Ged Dickerson

"From what I understand, people usually get in working some non-union jobs. Sooner or later, they'll work on a job that gets organized for one reason or another. The crew members of that job are then given the opportunity to join the appropriate IATSE union. In the case of a still photographer, that would be Local 600. It's also worth calling Local 600 directly to inquire about other ways to join. Also, to get started on non-union jobs it's probably best to call around to some low budget production offices an offer to work for free / very low pay. It's like anything else, you have to get your name out there any way you can."-Jason Farrar


She Was Then, I Am Now

Lots of interesting things come out of social networking. New people who want to know you, whether for personal or business reasons, old friends wanting to connect, and current friends who want an easier way to keep in touch. Lord knows in this busy world it’s easier to jot a comment about your well-being than it is to pick up a phone or meet for dinner. You also get to learn how multifaceted your business acquaintances are. That part I like a lot!

What I find most interesting is touching base with those old friends so that you can ask, “What the hell happened?” This has happened to me twice already. From the best friend who decided I was the anti-Christ decades ago and just never spoke to me again without explanation to the old boyfriend you finally get to ask, “so, why did you dump me anyway?” and getting the answer, “I didn’t dump you, you dumped me, but yes, I was a jerk.”

Sometimes you just want to know where people are and what’s happened to them along the way. Who ended up doing what they wanted to, who ended up where you thought they would, and who has totally re-invented themselves. It’s a way to remember the past by bringing it into the present. Of course there is some danger there if you get too caught up in it.

But I love it! Asking the things you couldn’t ask 10, 20, 30 plus years ago because you didn’t have the confidence to do so. Okay, so our skin might be slacker, the hips a bit wider, but the courage… WAY up on the scale. And don’t you just love it?

I guess it’s a trade off. You can be young and beautiful and feel like you can take over the world, or be strong and vital (oh okay, maybe still beautiful in a mature way) and know you really can do anything as long as you’re willing to do the work.

Someone recently said to me, “Oh, to be young again.” No way!! Sure, the physical stuff does has a certain allure – but I’d never want to give up what I know now, nor would I want to relive the painful experiences of the past or wait for them to happen again like a time bomb. And rest assured, if we could avert certain events, others would fall in our path that we’d have to navigate through.

I was so shy in junior high school that I had to acknowledge my agreement to date a guy and break up with him through a written note. I was the quiet one who felt like she never fit in. Heaven forbid I say the wrong thing and everyone think I was a jerk. Now you pretty much can’t shut me up. I think nothing of being interviewed by the media or speaking before groups of hundreds at a moments notice. Where did this come from? I guess you could go with the old adage, “I earned it.” I learned my stuff, learned to accept myself as I am, and surround myself with people who really like me. Reading helped. Whether self-help or just great writings; there’s so much to learn from everything that’s out there.

I am who I am, and I will make no apologies. Well, if I hurt you unintentionally I will apologize, but I make no apologies for who I am or how I got here. I am not necessarily proud of everything in my past, but I’m proud of who I am. And I am constantly evolving, because truly, with everything I know now, I still don’t know much.

So I guess I went from a shy outsider to a self-assured, cocky young person who thought I knew it all and could have everything at my fingertips to a more evolved person who knows I know hardly anything, yet have achieved much. There’s still so much more I want to do, and I will if I’m willing to do the work and take the time. It has always been me, but I’m not the same person. I know more who I am, and more who I want to be around. This “old” thing isn’t so bad if you know where you’ve been, and where you’re headed. So if you’re an “old” friend, look me up on Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace and drop me a line. That may be who I was then, but who I am now is pretty cool too.