Archive for February, 2008

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Villa Muse Proposed Film Studio Complex Austin, TX

February 27th, 2008

Villa Muse Studio MapVilla Muse is an incredibly ambitious film studio and housing community that is proposed to be built on an 1100 acre site near Austin, Texas. In order to make this development work, the Villa Muse developers are asking for some serious cooperation from the city of Austin. The building site lies on the outskirts of the Austin ETJ. The developers make the case that they need to be released from city of Austin development restrictions that would likely delay construction and increase costs. Since the development site is not currently in the city limits and is in an area that will likely not be otherwise developed for some significant period of time (so goes the argument) then it is in the best interests of the Austin area (future tax payments will be substantial if the development goes as planned and the studio infrastructure would help win back tens of millions of $$$ of film production lost to Louisiana and New Mexico due to aggressive film incentives from those states) to cut Villa Muse some slack and encourage this development. Tonight the citizens of Austin get a chance to hear the Villa Muse developers make their case. Should be interesting to see how this issue plays out.

Here is the Villa Muse release:

Villa Muse Studios Town Hall Meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 27th

Greetings,

We are sending you this message to raise awareness and support of VILLA MUSE
STUDIOS as we approach the March 6th City Council meeting – where a decision
will be made regarding VILLA MUSE’s future in Austin. As you know, VILLA
MUSE is working with the City of Austin and others to clear the path to
break ground later this year.

This Wednesday, 6:00pm at the Scottish Rite Auditorium (18th and Lavaca), we
will be hosting a public meeting to share our vision of VILLA MUSE STUDIOS.
VILLA MUSE STUDIOS will be an innovative multimedia and entertainment
production and post-production facility for music, film, television,
videogames, animation, advertising and magnetic media restoration.

We will share with you a short presentation about VILLA MUSE. Afterward, we
will host a Q&A. All the info you need about the meeting is in the attached
image. Also, if you’d like to hear a few words from Cactus Pryor about
VILLA MUSE, please click this link:

http://villamuse.com/blog/townhall/

Please forward this email to as many people as you can. Thank you for your
continued support and we look forward to seeing you Wednesday.

The VILLA MUSE Team

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Posted in Actors, Austin Film, Filmmakers, Producers, Texas Filmmakers, Texas film

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still ACTING after all these years has a new home

February 25th, 2008

I’ve spent part of this past weekend moving my blog over from a Google blogspot account to here at my own place on the web. There are some issues I’m still getting lined out but most everything has gone rather smoothly. The ‘trouble’ I’m having now is related to the ‘upload’ directory. I moved my upload directory from my desktop onto my web host server and all the files seem to be there. But they don’t show up in Wordpress unless I upload them again. I can do that but I’m sure there is some explanation as to why it’s not working without manually uploading all the files again. The other thing I’m trying to get sorted out is that my video on one post won’t play. The file is on the server, the player appears in the post, but the video isn’t playing. These are relatively minor issues and when I have time, I’m sure I’ll get it all tracked down and worked out.

In the mean time I have added a VOICE OVER DEMO page and have successfully uploaded some commercial and industrial narration voice over samples.

If anyone has any suggestions about getting the video to work, please don’t be shy. I’m using the Anarchy plugin and it was working perfectly on my desktop localhost installation of Wordpress.

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Posted in Acting, Actor, Actors, Austin Film, Tommy G. Kendrick, VOICE OVER, Wordpress

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Welcome Back

February 24th, 2008

Man, It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog. Life just kept getting in the way. [The BEST NEWS is that my wife, Jane remains cancer free and is doing just fine. Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes alond the way. Keep 'em coming.] But all is moving along rather smoothly…at the moment…and I feel like it’s time to ‘get back in the game’.

Tommy G. Kendrick New Headshot

I’ve been investigating moving this blog and some other projects onto a Wordpress platform. The more I look at WP, the more I like it and, in all my spare time, I’m trying to learn enough to utilize this very powerful platform in useful ways. One site that I’ve found to be particularly helpful is at WPDesigner.com run by a very smart and friendly fellow who goes by the moniker Small Potato. Be sure to check out the WPDesigner $5 Theme Club when you visit his site. The information on this site is worth more than a $5 donation so getting the WP Themes is really just a fre*ebie.

For novices like me, his site is a treasure trove of useful information and links. I’ve been working through his outstanding tutorial series on creating a Wordpress theme. Incredibly, his turtorials, all FR*EE, have me getting somewhat up to speed on understanding not only WP but also CSS.

I’ll close this out with a nod to another blogging tool that I’ve found to be fun, functional and foward thinking! (How’s that for alliteration?). That tool is SmartLinks from a company called AdaptiveBlue. I’m still an infant at using the AdaptiveBlue tools but even so, I think it’s a great tool with a lot of upside potential.

Shortly I hope to share new headshots, such as the one in this post, updated audition information and general news of what’s going on in the Austin and Texas film community.

For better or worse…I’m back.

Tommy

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Posted in Acting, Actor, Austin Film, Texas film, Tommy G. Kendrick

Agent Adds Voice Over Capability

February 21st, 2008

Great news from my Austin agent, Heather Collier at Collier Talent. She is starting to use Voice Bank for VO auditions for us client actors. I’m really happy about this. Though I haven’t done much VO work in recent years, that’s actually how I cut my teeth in this business. Back in the day… I did many, many VO jobs in Dallas and had some success in L.A. as well. When I moved to Austin, my first agent was DB Talent, the biggest VO agency in this market. I subsequently left DB in hopes of getting more chances at film / TV work and in the process sacrificed the VO work. So, this is good news. I’ve loved working with Heather and Collier Talent and this move definitely puts a smile on my face.

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Posted in Agent, VO, VOICE OVER

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Benefits of SAG

February 18th, 2008

Tommy G. Kendrick HeadshotWorking SAG in a right to work state is not an easy task. SAG actors compete with not only all the other SAG members but also the substantial pool of experienced, non-SAG actors. Many calling themsleves “SAG Eligible”.

Why even stay in SAG, then unless you’re planning on leaving the regional market for a market where SAG membership would be required ? I think it’s the right thing to do. Simple as that. If I take advantage of the contract benefits won on the backs of dues paying members, should I really get to enjoy those benefits and not pay any of the freight? Some can do that. I can’t.

I got a reminder of SAG benefits recently when I was contacted by a SAG rep out of L.A. telling me that she was winding up a claim for reuse of some footage of mine from an old film. The producers had sold the piece of film for use in a television program and that triggered an additional payment due the talent. I didn’t even know about the additional use. Fortunately for me SAG was on the case and I’ll get a little residual payment out of the deal. Over the years I have benefited from the contract terms SAG has won for me in our collective bargaining agreements. Now as we start to recoup and regroup from the recent writer’s strike, my hope is that the producers and SAG will sit down and get a deal hammered out before our contract expires. The writers have paved the way and the issues at stake are strike worthy. But now that the writers have forged an agreement, I think and hope that the producers and SAG will make short work of a new contract.

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Posted in Residuals, SAG, Tommy G. Kendrick

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Husband, Father, Actor, Writer, Producer Rupert Reyes

February 14th, 2008

Photo of Rupert Reyes by Ricardo Gandara
Congratulations to Austin’s Rupert Reyes on the opening of this latest play, VECINOS, a production of his Teatro Vivo theater group. The Austin American Statesman has a very nice article today about Rupert and his important contributions to the Austin arts scene. Rupert is compiling an impressive body of work as he demonstrates that one CAN successfully multi-task as mate-parent-provider-artist…it just takes talent and dedication. Get ticket information for VECINOS.

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Posted in Actor, Playwright

Seattle’s Finest…Acting Coach

February 13th, 2008

Colleen Patrick voice actor, acting coach, writing coach, director, screenwriter, Seattle, WA

It’s often been said that those who can’t do, teach. Sometimes that is true. But sometimes a person comes along who puts it all together as both ‘player’ and coach. I’m happy to say I know such a person in Colleen Patrick. Actor/Acting Coach, Author and Screenwriter/Writing Coach, Film Director…you get the picture. Do yourself a favor and take a look at Colleen’s website and see what some of her students say. She’s helped scores of actors move from “potential” to pro.

If you’re lucky enough to live in the Seattle area, do yourself a real favor and hook up with a real pro who can be that acting or writing coach you need to advance your career. Be sure to check out some of Colleen’s articles in the excellent movieScope magazine.

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Posted in Acting, Acting Coaches, Actors, Filmmakers

Casting Notices

February 12th, 2008

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any casting information. Although it’s been very slow around Austin, particularly for SAG actors, I do have a couple of additions that haven’t appeared here before. I had the pleasure of working on KINGS OF THE EVENING, an indie film with a predominantly African American cast that shot in and around Austin a few months back. This looks like an interesting project and for an indie film, they took a lot of time shooting to make sure they got it right. A little more recently, I had the pleasure of shooting an episode of PRISON BREAK. I was in an episode called INTERFERENCE, playing a dive shop owner who sells Linc some scuba gear. If you’re a fan of the show, you know how that’s playing out. This job was one of those incidents where ‘less is more’. What was really just a day player role turned out to be a three day trip to shoot in Florida.

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Posted in Casting Notices, Indie Film, Prison Break, Tommy G. Kendrick

Interviewing Hollywood

February 11th, 2008

Here’s a link to INTERVIEWING HOLLYWOOD, a terrific site I literally stumbled upon. The title really does describe the purpose of the web site…interviews with scores of actors, writers, directors, producers and other filmmakers. I suggest you bookmark this site and visit it often. To start you off, since this is an acting site, is a link to an interview with L.Q. Jones. If you don’t know who L.Q. Jones is…well, you should. He’s been a working actor since the 1950s and I’m sure most of you have seen him in many, many films and television shows. I’ve known of L.Q. Jones for many years, first because he and I share a hometown, Beaumont, Texas. I should also note that L.Q. Jones appears in BATTLE CRY with my very dear friend Gregory Walcott. But, back to L.Q. Jones. This particular link is an answer to this question posed to Mr. Jones: “How did you get your first job in Hollywood?” Do yourself a favor, fellow actors and film fans, and check out this interview and lots more at the Interviewing Hollywood site.

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Posted in Actors, Beaumont Texas, Directors, Hollywood, Producers, Writers

Writers Strike Over?

February 10th, 2008


Feb 10  Could the Writers Strike Be Coming to an End? – NPR
Could the Writers Strike Be Coming to an End? NPR - 21 minutes ago by Andrea Seabrook and Kim Masters All Things Considered, February 10, 2008 ยท Movie and television writers may get back to work this week. …
Feb 10  Agreement Approved, Writers Strike to End – eFluxMedia
eFluxMedia Agreement Approved, Writers Strike to End eFluxMedia - 35 minutes ago Since the strike began, the WGA stated several times that they would only sign an agreement that gives TV and film writers a percentage of the residuals … WGA sa..
Feb 10  Writers strike left big winners, losers in its wake – MSNBC
Writers strike left big winners, losers in its wake MSNBC - 47 minutes ago Rene Macura / AP The Writers Guild of America strike , which lasted three months, irrevocably changed the TV landscape. There were victims, of course, … Strike Could S..
Feb 10  Writers' Strike Nearing A Resolution, Just In Time For Oscars – MT..
Ottawa Citizen Writers ' Strike Nearing A Resolution, Just In Time For Oscars MTV.com - 1 hour ago By Shawn Adler, with additional reporting by Jeff Cornell After nearly three months and approximately $1.9 billion in losses, the writers &#3..
Feb 10  Vote to end strike set for Tuesday – Hollywood Reporter
Vote to end strike set for Tuesday Hollywood Reporter, United States - 2 hours ago By Georg Szalai and Nellie Andreeva The writers strike could come to an end Tuesday when guild members are scheduled to vote on lifting the existing … WGA..
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Posted in Oscars, Strike, WGA, Writers