Shoot, Agent meeting

So, last Wednesday (one week ago) I had the House of Cards shoot. My call was 1:00 and there were 19 other extras in my "category." We were all colleagues of Kate Mara's character, Zoe. We were there for about 8 hours (short for a day on set!) and one guy was lucky and got a line! (It was "hi!" haha). But, we were told that we are supposed to be recurring characters. So I'm just hoping to get a call soon asking me to come back in! :) haha.
Today I had a meeting/interview with an agent. I left so that I would get there half an hour in advance, but the traffic was AWFUL because they were doing construction, which I did not know ahead of time because I never go that way. I arrived only a couple minutes after 1:00, but luckily the agent I was supposed to meet with was also stuck in traffic. Haha. So I waited for her to arrive for a little while but then the owner took me back and did the interview himself, though, interestingly, he didn't really ask that many questions about me. He told me about their company and some of their clients, and then filmed me doing two monologues. Then he got on the phone with the woman I was supposed to meet, and they talked about submitting my monologues to a movie that they are doing the casting for. But I had to start my monologue twice, cause after I started it the first time he stopped me cause the phone rang and he then proceeded to yell at his daughter/receptionist to not answer the phone again and to turn the ringer off. After he came back into the room and I was about to start, the phone rang and guess what? His daughter answered it and he went back out to fuss at her. He unplugged the phone and then I was able to start my monologue - but I was kinda off my game at that point so I don't think I did it as well as I have in the past.
I talked to my manager tonight about it, and he was thoroughly upset that Connie didn't show up and thought they behaved rather unprofessionally. Also, this company is an agency, casting company, and has an actors studio where they have workshops and classes. The owner told me that though they do not charge any up-front fees, they get a 15% commission (rather high for an agent) unless it's a large role, for which they get 20%. Also, their clients are not required to study at their studio, but most apparently do. Basically implied that they would want me to. AND, he said it would cost me $55 to get my headshot and information on their website. To which my manager said is total bull****. It's disappointing that the agency turned out to be a bit of a scam and not very professional. But, it was good experience. I have at least now talked to an agent and have a bit of an idea of what to expect when I get to California.
I don't have any more meetings or auditions or anything lined up at this time, unfortunately. But I'm constantly searching.
The commercial I shot in June was posted to Facebook today, and I'm just trying to figure out a way to get it onto my blog. I may have to wait for my acting coach to get me a copy of it on a cd but once I have it, I will put it up here.
Also, my IMDB rank went up, yay! I'm currently ranked at 38,993. This is so exciting! :) Especially considering I don't have any credits on my page. I can't wait until I finally do get some credits listed and then hopefully it will just continue to go up and up and up til I get the lead in Fifty Shades of Grey or some other blockbuster. :) heehee.

Date	Rank
2012 Jul 22	38,993
2012 Jul 15	73,373
2012 Jul 8	64,709
2012 Jul 1	99,953
2012 Jun 24	1,000,209

Well, that's all for now.
Thanks!
~Laura

House of Cards Shoot

So, today I was supposed to be an extra in the new Netflix series "House of Cards" starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, and Kate Mara.

Kevin Spacey

Robin Wright

Kate Mara

But yesterday, when I went onto the casting company's website to check the call times and find my name and check-in number (as instructed) my name was not listed. In a panic, I emailed the casting company just double checking that I was still working the next day and had all the correct information. I received an email back in minutes from the woman I had spoken to on the phone that morning. She said she had left me a voicemail and wanted to know if I could work Wednesday instead of Friday. So I hurriedly leaned closer to window to pick up a signal to check my messages on my cell phone (no daggum service out here in the boonies lol). The message said "The production loved your look and they thought you were beautiful however, they think you're a little bit too pretty to do the scenes on Friday and so they would like you to do a scene with Kate Mara on Wednesday instead." WOOHOO! haha. I never thought I'd ever be "too pretty" for anything. Kinda thought it'd be the other way around. lol. I've never had super high self confidence - I mean I know I was blessed with some good looks and nice eyes but... jeez. lol. Anyways, so I was told to call back on Friday (today) to get more information. 
So I called this morning and was told that "the producer and director liked me but thought I would take away from Robin Wright if I was in the scene on Friday." WHAT? ha. Alrighty then. I don't think there's any way anyone could detract from the Princess Bride, but I'll take it. lol. I was told I would be working as a reporter with Kate Mara (her character is also a reporter). I would KILL to have some lines or even better, a recurring role! Anyway, I was instructed to call back on Tuesday to get the final info... that just seems so far off.... ugh. lol. 

On a different note, at my audition for Ping Pong Summer the other day, I caught myself judging the other actors. "Wow, her shorts are so short! You can see her bum!!" and "I can't believe she wore that to an audition!" Not all of it was bad though, I did compliment some of them in my mind: "Her dress is so cute, she's adorable." and "He looks like Kurt Hummel in Glee." But, I realized that, although I am competitive, judging another actor based on their appearance isn't going to help me get the part. It isn't going to stop them from possibly being amazing actors and just leaving the competition in the dust. And so, I'm going to do my utmost to stop judging and criticizing others - especially based on appearances. I have been so bad about it in the past. I mean, I know that I wouldn't judge or criticize another actor if it was Rachel McAdams or Robert Downey Jr or someone whom everybody knows. Because I'd be in awe. lol. But, I should do the same thing to other young actors. I should respect them and give them the benefit of the doubt - they may not dress professionally, but they still could be just as good as me if not better. 

So, at my upcoming audition on Saturday and then the shoot on Wednesday, I vow to do my best to not judge others and to be just as nice and kind inside my head as I am to people out loud. :P Well, I mean I vow to do that every day in every instance, but especially at auditions and shoots - being judgmental isn't going to help me or do me any favors. And I urge you all to do the same thing on an every day basis!!

That's all for now!
Thanks. 
~Laura