Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Shooting "I'm Alive"
This post has been removed at the request of the producer due to privacy considerations.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Why Hollywood Marriages Fail
It is a cliché that everyone in Hollywood is has been married and divorced multiple times. This stereotype is a cliché because it is, of course, partially true. Rue McClanahan, a stage and TV star best known for the TV series “The Golden Girls,” who died this week, was married six times. Yet there are many long-lasting and loving marriages in Hollywood; Kyra Sedgwick, known for her starring role in the hit series “The Closer,” has been married to Kevin Bacon for over 20 years. My Bacon number, by the way, is two, and if you’ve ever played Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, you will know what that means.
But still, it is true that many, many Hollywood marriages end in high profile divorces, often due to very high profile affairs (Brangelina, anyone?). I’ve been on a lot of TV and movie sets, and a lot of the time we extras spend waiting we also spend gossiping about the leads and who is sleeping with whom (I know some stuff, but I’m not telling!). And I think the basic reasons that stars divorce come down to these:
1) Long separations due to location shoots
I’ll bet if Jennifer Aniston had it to do over again, she wouldn’t have sent her gorgeous husband Brad Pitt off to work on location with equally gorgeous Angelina Jolie, who already had a reputation for getting involved with her co-stars, on the set of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” I suspect this is why Brad and Angie now alternate who works, taking turns on films and accompanying each other to sets with all six kids in tow. I’m sure it makes the love scenes a lot less sexy when the whole family is watching.
2) Long work hours
Shooting a weekly series is a demanding job. I have worked on the “House” set and was told by the regular background actors that 16-hour days are the norm for the cast and crew. And the star’s family lives in England! I’m not sure if that marriage will last. I’ve heard Rob Lowe say this is the reason he left “The West Wing” and “Brothers and Sisters,” so he could spend more time with his family, who lives in Santa Barbara, which is 90 miles up the coast from LA. I can relate!
3) On-set emotional affairs
As I have mentioned, even after a ten-day shoot background actors can feel very close to each other. What about actors in a four-month theatre run? Or in a regular series? Even if you are not playing a couple, you can get very close to your co-stars. Noah Wyle even married his makeup artist! (They are divorced now, but still). My point is, you have a lot of downtime on set, plenty of time to have your emotional needs met by someone who is not your spouse.
4) on-set physical affairs
I have only done a few kissing scenes, and I can tell you that your body does not realize that it is “just acting!” There is usually some chemistry between the actors for love scenes to be believable, and if they are sexy enough, the scenes often continue into real life. The examples are too numerous to mention, but the most famous is probably Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who met while filming “Cleopatra” in the early 1960s when both were married to others. They ended up leaving their spouses and were married for 12 years, divorced, then remarried, divorced again, and were planning to remarry when he died suddenly in his early 50s. A very passionate couple whose relationship began with those sexy scenes on set.
5) One star’s career takes off and the other’s doesn’t
Everything is relative in terms of careers “taking off;” this can mean that one is just making more money than the other. This year much was made of the “Oscar curse” when Sandra Bullock’s marriage collapsed right after she won Best Actress, but that was for cheating; a better example is that of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe. When they married, Ryan was the bigger star, but over the course of their marriage, her star has eclipsed his, and many in Hollywood speculated that he could not handle her larger success and that the Oscar win was the last straw. Others speculated that his suspected affair with Abbie Cornish was really what killed their marriage. Either way, they are divorced now.
6) Substance abuse
Too many examples to count here! Suddenly successful actors usually have access to a lot of money, and they may be isolated from former friends and support systems due to their sudden fame. Too many of them then turn to different forms of substance abuse for comfort: alcohol, cocaine, and/or heroin to name a few, as well as prescription drugs. Carly Simon divorced James Taylor after he missed the birth of their son because of his heroin addiction (he’s now clean). Melissa Williams left Heath Ledger due to his drug habit; he later tragically overdosed accidentally, robbing us of a great talent that had just begun to flower.
7) Physical abuse
Much of the abuse that goes on marriages is hidden, but there are a few notable examples. Tina Turner is a dramatic example of a woman who left her husband Ike after years of abuse with nothing but the clothes on her back, and spectacularly turned her life around. Charlie Sheen’s current wife is apparently planning to divorce him after turning him in for his abuse of her over this last Christmas holiday. And of course, O.J. Simpson’s second wife, Nicole, left him due to his abuse, but later paid with her life when he killed her and her friend Ron Goldman with a knife. Sadly, many abused spouses do end up murdered by their abusers.
8) Emotional or verbal abuse
This type of problem usually gets hidden under the heading of “irreconcilable differences,” but you read about it in the bitter divorce battle that was underway between Dennis Hopper and his most recent wife (fourth? Fifth?), that ended with his death last week, in the acrimony between Alec Baldwin and his ex-wife Kim Basinger in the leaked e-mails about their daughter (“you are a rude, thoughtless little pig”), and of course, Charlie Sheen again, and his ex-wife Denise Richards (I can’t even quote that leaked voice mail, as it is X-rated!).
9) Financial problems, usually overspending
This latest, greatest example of this type of stupid behavior is that of Heidi and Spencer Pratt, of “The Hills,” married less than one year, millions in debt, and already separated. Heidi is the only who had 10 plastic surgeries IN ONE DAY. This is a case of too much fame, too much money, too fast, wasted on two idiots. There are others, but these two are my favorites.
10) Non-support by the non-acting spouse: financial, emotional, or otherwise
Finally, we get to the spouse that just really does not want the other person to be an actor. This usually happens in the case of a career change, when the other is used to a quiet life, or doesn’t want to move to LA. It happened to Jim Carey, it just happened to Crystal Bowersox, and sadly, it is now happening to me.
Keith and I have decided to separate formally as of around May 12. I have moved into a larger apartment, still in the Los Felix area of Hollywood, and will be bringing my furniture and my pug, Pasha, down to live with me here in late June. Keith had always been clear to me about not wanting to move to LA, and not wanting me to be an actor (“acting is the world’s most selfish profession” he’d say). He’s right, actors DO require a lot of attention, and are narcissists to some degree, but I think I am more of a studier of the human condition, and I like to portray that on stage and film. I’m not surprised that we ultimately were not able to stay together, but since we have been a couple for nearly 16 years, I am devastated and heartbroken by this decision. Our lives since I became ill have just taken completely different paths, and I feel much better physically in LA than I do in the Bay Area, while the best place for his work in computer science remains in San Jose. I love him and wish him all the best.
Namaste,
Jennie
But still, it is true that many, many Hollywood marriages end in high profile divorces, often due to very high profile affairs (Brangelina, anyone?). I’ve been on a lot of TV and movie sets, and a lot of the time we extras spend waiting we also spend gossiping about the leads and who is sleeping with whom (I know some stuff, but I’m not telling!). And I think the basic reasons that stars divorce come down to these:
1) Long separations due to location shoots
I’ll bet if Jennifer Aniston had it to do over again, she wouldn’t have sent her gorgeous husband Brad Pitt off to work on location with equally gorgeous Angelina Jolie, who already had a reputation for getting involved with her co-stars, on the set of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” I suspect this is why Brad and Angie now alternate who works, taking turns on films and accompanying each other to sets with all six kids in tow. I’m sure it makes the love scenes a lot less sexy when the whole family is watching.
2) Long work hours
Shooting a weekly series is a demanding job. I have worked on the “House” set and was told by the regular background actors that 16-hour days are the norm for the cast and crew. And the star’s family lives in England! I’m not sure if that marriage will last. I’ve heard Rob Lowe say this is the reason he left “The West Wing” and “Brothers and Sisters,” so he could spend more time with his family, who lives in Santa Barbara, which is 90 miles up the coast from LA. I can relate!
3) On-set emotional affairs
As I have mentioned, even after a ten-day shoot background actors can feel very close to each other. What about actors in a four-month theatre run? Or in a regular series? Even if you are not playing a couple, you can get very close to your co-stars. Noah Wyle even married his makeup artist! (They are divorced now, but still). My point is, you have a lot of downtime on set, plenty of time to have your emotional needs met by someone who is not your spouse.
4) on-set physical affairs
I have only done a few kissing scenes, and I can tell you that your body does not realize that it is “just acting!” There is usually some chemistry between the actors for love scenes to be believable, and if they are sexy enough, the scenes often continue into real life. The examples are too numerous to mention, but the most famous is probably Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who met while filming “Cleopatra” in the early 1960s when both were married to others. They ended up leaving their spouses and were married for 12 years, divorced, then remarried, divorced again, and were planning to remarry when he died suddenly in his early 50s. A very passionate couple whose relationship began with those sexy scenes on set.
5) One star’s career takes off and the other’s doesn’t
Everything is relative in terms of careers “taking off;” this can mean that one is just making more money than the other. This year much was made of the “Oscar curse” when Sandra Bullock’s marriage collapsed right after she won Best Actress, but that was for cheating; a better example is that of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe. When they married, Ryan was the bigger star, but over the course of their marriage, her star has eclipsed his, and many in Hollywood speculated that he could not handle her larger success and that the Oscar win was the last straw. Others speculated that his suspected affair with Abbie Cornish was really what killed their marriage. Either way, they are divorced now.
6) Substance abuse
Too many examples to count here! Suddenly successful actors usually have access to a lot of money, and they may be isolated from former friends and support systems due to their sudden fame. Too many of them then turn to different forms of substance abuse for comfort: alcohol, cocaine, and/or heroin to name a few, as well as prescription drugs. Carly Simon divorced James Taylor after he missed the birth of their son because of his heroin addiction (he’s now clean). Melissa Williams left Heath Ledger due to his drug habit; he later tragically overdosed accidentally, robbing us of a great talent that had just begun to flower.
7) Physical abuse
Much of the abuse that goes on marriages is hidden, but there are a few notable examples. Tina Turner is a dramatic example of a woman who left her husband Ike after years of abuse with nothing but the clothes on her back, and spectacularly turned her life around. Charlie Sheen’s current wife is apparently planning to divorce him after turning him in for his abuse of her over this last Christmas holiday. And of course, O.J. Simpson’s second wife, Nicole, left him due to his abuse, but later paid with her life when he killed her and her friend Ron Goldman with a knife. Sadly, many abused spouses do end up murdered by their abusers.
8) Emotional or verbal abuse
This type of problem usually gets hidden under the heading of “irreconcilable differences,” but you read about it in the bitter divorce battle that was underway between Dennis Hopper and his most recent wife (fourth? Fifth?), that ended with his death last week, in the acrimony between Alec Baldwin and his ex-wife Kim Basinger in the leaked e-mails about their daughter (“you are a rude, thoughtless little pig”), and of course, Charlie Sheen again, and his ex-wife Denise Richards (I can’t even quote that leaked voice mail, as it is X-rated!).
9) Financial problems, usually overspending
This latest, greatest example of this type of stupid behavior is that of Heidi and Spencer Pratt, of “The Hills,” married less than one year, millions in debt, and already separated. Heidi is the only who had 10 plastic surgeries IN ONE DAY. This is a case of too much fame, too much money, too fast, wasted on two idiots. There are others, but these two are my favorites.
10) Non-support by the non-acting spouse: financial, emotional, or otherwise
Finally, we get to the spouse that just really does not want the other person to be an actor. This usually happens in the case of a career change, when the other is used to a quiet life, or doesn’t want to move to LA. It happened to Jim Carey, it just happened to Crystal Bowersox, and sadly, it is now happening to me.
Keith and I have decided to separate formally as of around May 12. I have moved into a larger apartment, still in the Los Felix area of Hollywood, and will be bringing my furniture and my pug, Pasha, down to live with me here in late June. Keith had always been clear to me about not wanting to move to LA, and not wanting me to be an actor (“acting is the world’s most selfish profession” he’d say). He’s right, actors DO require a lot of attention, and are narcissists to some degree, but I think I am more of a studier of the human condition, and I like to portray that on stage and film. I’m not surprised that we ultimately were not able to stay together, but since we have been a couple for nearly 16 years, I am devastated and heartbroken by this decision. Our lives since I became ill have just taken completely different paths, and I feel much better physically in LA than I do in the Bay Area, while the best place for his work in computer science remains in San Jose. I love him and wish him all the best.
Namaste,
Jennie
Friday, June 4, 2010
"Old Mo" has Shifted
It's been over three weeks since I have posted, and the reason is simple: I started getting work again. As I wrote about in my last post on May 9th, April was a really bad month for me, and I only worked one paid day. But I was confident that the momentum, "Old Mo," would shift - it always does. And I was right. It shifted mid-May, in a big way.
I had continued to be offered small jobs, mostly unpaid background work, through April and early May, and I decided to take a few of them even though they didn't pay, just to remind the universe that I was a working actress. One of them, a promo for something called "Young Nails," just involved me coming in, sitting in front of a green screen (so they can change the background; they use it a lot in animation and CGI) in three different outfits, and smiling. I even got my hair and makeup done, and they gave me a tee shirt and free body lotion. So it's not all bad, even if you don't get money (and they fed us). Another was for a Christian-theme film called "Belle of the Bus" where I got to play my favorite-ever character title, "Vixen with a Walker." I've got to figure out how to write a You Tube spoof using that. But this was unpaid too, and I still need to pay the bills, so I prayed very specifically to get a PAYING JOB. And that afternoon, no kidding, a student director that I had made a film with in 2005, called out of the blue (she told me later she had felt the Lord leading her to call me) with a major offer.
This student, now no longer studying at USC, is named Lily Shi and she is an amazing woman. She grew up in China, got a degree in economics, and has written a book about how to revitalize the American economy called "Build an American Ark" that the Obama administration wants to work on with her. She has a very interesting salvation story, and she has set that to music in a concert called "Song of Salvation." The film we did in 2005 was called "Father I Hear Your Voice," and I played piano and sang in it. She said she loved working with me, and asked me if I would not only sing in the concert but also manage the project of a small concert first, then later with a larger choir, and finally a documentary movie and a CD, all paid above scale! I couldn't believe my good fortune, and I truly believe it was an answered prayer. Of course I said yes, and have been working with the delightful Lily since May 11. Our concert will be June 19th at 2:00 p.m. in San Gabriel, and I will be sending an invitation to all my friends who live in the Los Angeles area. So far we sound really good! :-)
After this happened, the flood gates seemed to open. I got cast as an angry Vietnamese (no kidding, accent and all) mother in a screenplay for the 18th annual UC-Irvine Screenwriting Festival (it ended up winning!). I got cast in a major supporting role in the summer cast of the long-running play, "Vampire Masquerade," at The Next Stage" in downtown Hollywood, where I will be performing Friday nights in June and July. I got cast as one of the leads for a benefit play called "The Realities" about people who have been on reality shows (thanks to my experience on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" back in 2003), which will be held on June 26th at the Santa Monica Playhouse. I did a paying job on the new Spike TV reality show, "1000 Ways to Die," as a neighborhood lady who is mad at her mailman for reading her mail and tries to knock him down in the local carnival dunking booth, then is horrified as he is accidentally electrocuted when he falls in the water which was electrified by people missing the target and hitting the circuit box. It's very funny - watch for it in September! I got cast with no audition as "sister of patient" in a National Board of Medial Examiners training video, and though I haven't shot it yet they have already said they want to use me more. And I shot the role of a "flamboyent drama teacher," also a paying role, in a music video that will run on Disney. All this happened prior to Memorial Day!
There's more, but you get the idea. I think it's called "trust." Yes, there aren't as many projects going on right now, and the competition is fierce. But as long as I believe I am meant to be here, the work will come. It hasn't stopped in the nine years I have been working as an actress. When it does, then I'll do something else - like go back to school and study how to me a costume designer. That "flamboyent" thing comes really easily to me!
Blessings,
Jennie
I had continued to be offered small jobs, mostly unpaid background work, through April and early May, and I decided to take a few of them even though they didn't pay, just to remind the universe that I was a working actress. One of them, a promo for something called "Young Nails," just involved me coming in, sitting in front of a green screen (so they can change the background; they use it a lot in animation and CGI) in three different outfits, and smiling. I even got my hair and makeup done, and they gave me a tee shirt and free body lotion. So it's not all bad, even if you don't get money (and they fed us). Another was for a Christian-theme film called "Belle of the Bus" where I got to play my favorite-ever character title, "Vixen with a Walker." I've got to figure out how to write a You Tube spoof using that. But this was unpaid too, and I still need to pay the bills, so I prayed very specifically to get a PAYING JOB. And that afternoon, no kidding, a student director that I had made a film with in 2005, called out of the blue (she told me later she had felt the Lord leading her to call me) with a major offer.
This student, now no longer studying at USC, is named Lily Shi and she is an amazing woman. She grew up in China, got a degree in economics, and has written a book about how to revitalize the American economy called "Build an American Ark" that the Obama administration wants to work on with her. She has a very interesting salvation story, and she has set that to music in a concert called "Song of Salvation." The film we did in 2005 was called "Father I Hear Your Voice," and I played piano and sang in it. She said she loved working with me, and asked me if I would not only sing in the concert but also manage the project of a small concert first, then later with a larger choir, and finally a documentary movie and a CD, all paid above scale! I couldn't believe my good fortune, and I truly believe it was an answered prayer. Of course I said yes, and have been working with the delightful Lily since May 11. Our concert will be June 19th at 2:00 p.m. in San Gabriel, and I will be sending an invitation to all my friends who live in the Los Angeles area. So far we sound really good! :-)
After this happened, the flood gates seemed to open. I got cast as an angry Vietnamese (no kidding, accent and all) mother in a screenplay for the 18th annual UC-Irvine Screenwriting Festival (it ended up winning!). I got cast in a major supporting role in the summer cast of the long-running play, "Vampire Masquerade," at The Next Stage" in downtown Hollywood, where I will be performing Friday nights in June and July. I got cast as one of the leads for a benefit play called "The Realities" about people who have been on reality shows (thanks to my experience on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" back in 2003), which will be held on June 26th at the Santa Monica Playhouse. I did a paying job on the new Spike TV reality show, "1000 Ways to Die," as a neighborhood lady who is mad at her mailman for reading her mail and tries to knock him down in the local carnival dunking booth, then is horrified as he is accidentally electrocuted when he falls in the water which was electrified by people missing the target and hitting the circuit box. It's very funny - watch for it in September! I got cast with no audition as "sister of patient" in a National Board of Medial Examiners training video, and though I haven't shot it yet they have already said they want to use me more. And I shot the role of a "flamboyent drama teacher," also a paying role, in a music video that will run on Disney. All this happened prior to Memorial Day!
There's more, but you get the idea. I think it's called "trust." Yes, there aren't as many projects going on right now, and the competition is fierce. But as long as I believe I am meant to be here, the work will come. It hasn't stopped in the nine years I have been working as an actress. When it does, then I'll do something else - like go back to school and study how to me a costume designer. That "flamboyent" thing comes really easily to me!
Blessings,
Jennie
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