Weekly Written Review
On Tuesday, April 10, 2018 (Week 395), I booked my first background gig with Central Casting. The name of the show is The April Blair Pilot. I'm 99% confident a code name for The CW show, All American. This week on Thursday, December 20, 2018 I booked Background work for All American. It was a long 12 hour day. It will be a nice check enriched with overtime. It wasn't a horrible experience but I was ready to go towards the end of the night. Endlessly walking back and forth is back is bad for the creative part of your brain. I did manage to position myself in a scene where I might be seen dancing during the house party but aside from that it wasn't fun. I didn't have any meaningful conversations because most of the people where bland. Before the end of the night, I decided to end my background farewell tour. I announced my tour during the summer (Week 403) and its time to end it. It was a great run. My 2018 would've been miserable without all my background work but all good and cool things must come to an end. I'm strictly assigning myself for the foreground in 2019.
I'm completely done with television background work. With that being said, I'm leaving the door open for commercial background work. That type of work pays nice and occasionally I'll consider featured work. I've been blessed with all kinds of favor avoiding conflict between background work and auditions this year and in the past but it's not worth taking the risk in 2019. I'm a leading man which means I have to make leading man decisions.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
* Helping Susan move stuff...
* I dropped an important hard drive today. It was a scary moment but thank God it wasn't on when it fell and it's still working.
* Tennis...
* Ordered some cool stuff through a friend on Amazon Prime and it came in today. I got a portable charger for my Switch.
Monday, December 17, 2018
* Family Reunion background work 6:30am to 6:30pm
* After background work, I went home relaxed for a moment and left for Downtown LA to reshoot scenes from the prom date video last week (9pm - 12:15pm). It was a long day.
* Audition notice...
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
* Morning audition assisted by my housemate Joyce
* On the way to background work, I noticed a very intriguing email from ISA. It's time.
* Finishline background work (2pm to 12am)
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
* Finishline background work. (6pm to 1am-ish)
Thursday, December 20, 2018
* After working with a very specific actor on the Finishline shoot the past two days, I woke up this morning with a brilliant casting idea for my screenplay.
* Pop up audition at 12:30pm. I thought I did great. I made my co-actors laugh out loud and I was fully in my element. There's a good chance for a callback which will provide some conflict while in Florida but I'll deal with it if or when that hurdle comes around.
* All American background work 2pm-2am. I declared today my last day of background work. My last day of television background work at least. I'm more open towards commercial background work moving forward.
Friday, December 21, 2018
* Errands...Walgreens, Dollar Store...
* Basketball...
* SAG AFTRA Film Society Screening of Ralph Breaks the Internet accompanied by Mari
Saturday, December 22, 2018
* Recycling...
* SAG AFTRA Film Society Screening of Mary Poppins accompanied by Angel
* Haitian Cali holiday party. It was a long journey to Torrance but I finally got there. A train, 3 buses a Lyft. Thank God I got a ride home.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
After much success and disappointment from hosting live talk shows in his hometown Tampa, FL, this seeker relocated to Los Angeles, CA on September 19, 2010 to begin an epic journey that does not consist of a plan B. Virtually unknown in the entertainment industry, this brave man is in pursuit of one goal & purpose; to become a nationally syndicated late night talk show host. This is the quest of Motown Maurice. Remember his name, for he is The Future of Late Night Television.
Friday, December 28, 2018
Week 430: Double Dipped Blessing
Weekly Written Review
I'm about two weeks removed from this week, I'm on Christmas break and I've been dealing with family stuff. As a result, my thoughts might be a little jaded but I'll more or less still hit all the points.
I don't think I've ever been so busy around this time of year before. I worked four different gigs this week and I had a two day basketball winning streak. On Tuesday, my team won seven straight games and in four of those games, I hit the winning shot. On Thursday my team won another 4 or 5 straight games. My biggest highlight of the week came from a gig I booked from a referral. I met my referral two years ago, I haven't seen them since and they reached out to me for a great role in a web video. That same day, I was booked for a scene on the Netflix show Dear White People and magically I got out in time. At first, it wasn't looking good but I found out the web shoot with Dhar Mann was actually behind schedule. They were reevaluating the outline of the script. They suggested through text to come later but I got wrapped from Dear White People and I arrived at the original call-time. Wednesday was a super full day but it worked out perfectly. That's what you call a double dipped blessing.
On Saturday, I booked some background work for a feature film and reconnected with a young lady who now provides professional script consultant services. We chatted briefly about my screenplay and she asked me an interesting question. She asked what's my films audience and answering that question out loud was empowering. Little did I know, the very next week spawned a series of screenplay related developments. This may be a sign. A sign to...
I also got excited about a blemish that I've been working on removing from my forehead since October. I thought it was almost gone. It's better but it's still going to take a while before I'm completely blemished free.
Sunday, December 9, 2018
* Helping Susan at her house
* Tennis...
Monday, December 10, 2018
* This morning I was woken up by multiple phone calls, text messages, and Facebook messages. Turns out it was a guy I met two years ago at a shoot. His name is Virgil and he was reaching out about an acting opportunity. A couple hours later I was on a Skype interviewing and I sealed the deal.
* EBT phone interview. Their yearly reevaluation conversation.
* Laundry day...
* Food pickup. Trader Joe's Numero Uno.
* Blogging...
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
* Basketball...4 game winners and 7 straight team wins.
* Passed up background work today. Glad I did.
* Haircut
* Interview application...??? I wrote this down in my notes but I'm not sure why.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
* Dear White People background work, I was kind of featured. Let's see if I make the cut.
* Prom Date video shoot with Dhar Mann's crew
Thursday, December 13, 2018
* Basketball...5 straight wins and a terrible final game/loss. I don't know why my team agreed to play again and no one wanted to play any defense. Tired is not an excuse. Don't play if you're too tired.
* Found out my EBT got lowered. I'm just blessed to know I still have some.
Friday, December 14, 2018
* Cat food run
* Purchased a TV for my father online...
* 6pm Grown-ish background work
Saturday, December 15, 2018
* Background work on LA Rush and an interesting conversation about my screenplay...
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
I'm about two weeks removed from this week, I'm on Christmas break and I've been dealing with family stuff. As a result, my thoughts might be a little jaded but I'll more or less still hit all the points.
I don't think I've ever been so busy around this time of year before. I worked four different gigs this week and I had a two day basketball winning streak. On Tuesday, my team won seven straight games and in four of those games, I hit the winning shot. On Thursday my team won another 4 or 5 straight games. My biggest highlight of the week came from a gig I booked from a referral. I met my referral two years ago, I haven't seen them since and they reached out to me for a great role in a web video. That same day, I was booked for a scene on the Netflix show Dear White People and magically I got out in time. At first, it wasn't looking good but I found out the web shoot with Dhar Mann was actually behind schedule. They were reevaluating the outline of the script. They suggested through text to come later but I got wrapped from Dear White People and I arrived at the original call-time. Wednesday was a super full day but it worked out perfectly. That's what you call a double dipped blessing.
On Saturday, I booked some background work for a feature film and reconnected with a young lady who now provides professional script consultant services. We chatted briefly about my screenplay and she asked me an interesting question. She asked what's my films audience and answering that question out loud was empowering. Little did I know, the very next week spawned a series of screenplay related developments. This may be a sign. A sign to...
I also got excited about a blemish that I've been working on removing from my forehead since October. I thought it was almost gone. It's better but it's still going to take a while before I'm completely blemished free.
Sunday, December 9, 2018
* Helping Susan at her house
* Tennis...
Monday, December 10, 2018
* This morning I was woken up by multiple phone calls, text messages, and Facebook messages. Turns out it was a guy I met two years ago at a shoot. His name is Virgil and he was reaching out about an acting opportunity. A couple hours later I was on a Skype interviewing and I sealed the deal.
* EBT phone interview. Their yearly reevaluation conversation.
* Laundry day...
* Blogging...
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
* Basketball...4 game winners and 7 straight team wins.
* Passed up background work today. Glad I did.
* Haircut
* Interview application...??? I wrote this down in my notes but I'm not sure why.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
* Dear White People background work, I was kind of featured. Let's see if I make the cut.
* Prom Date video shoot with Dhar Mann's crew
Thursday, December 13, 2018
* Basketball...5 straight wins and a terrible final game/loss. I don't know why my team agreed to play again and no one wanted to play any defense. Tired is not an excuse. Don't play if you're too tired.
* Found out my EBT got lowered. I'm just blessed to know I still have some.
Friday, December 14, 2018
* Cat food run
* Purchased a TV for my father online...
* 6pm Grown-ish background work
Saturday, December 15, 2018
* Background work on LA Rush and an interesting conversation about my screenplay...
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Monday, December 10, 2018
Week 429: I've got Joy
Weekly Written Review
The end of the year is to suppose to slow down and ease up. That's not what's happening in my schedule. My schedule is loaded with gems. I'm now realizing how to properly access preparation wealth during November and December for new year. As side from that, my favorite moment for this week came from my housemate. I made a Judgement last Saturday (Week 428) to go another direction with a reader set to help me with my audition video. That left me scuffling to find another reader. I texted about 3 people. One person agreed but I realized she was too far out and I didn't want to inconvenience her. In the midst trying to find someone, I got a text from my housemate who I've known and lived among since around 2013. She texted me informing me about some bananas available in the house and a computer question. Then it dawned on me, to ask her to be my reader. We live in the same spot and we have a great rapport. I asked and she said she would be honored. She was sincerely excited to be invited to the creative process. I'm sure it crossed my mind before to ask her but my I was in the don't want to bother people state. I'm out of that mental state and now Joyce is added to the team. I got me a strong team of 4 to 5 readers on-call available to assist my journey. I'm ready, let's go!
Sunday, December 2, 2018
* Audition video sent. I used my housemate Joyce
* Panda Express pick up for my reader
Monday, December 3, 2018
* Grown-ish Background work
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
* Change Your Career in a Day (SAG Aftra Workshop)
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
* Commerical Acting in LA: A Session Director's Guide with Shaan Sharma
* Spiderman - Into the Spidervise screening
Thursday, December 6, 2018
* I was booked for background work for Euphoria. It was causing a serious conflict with my Fox audition. Thankfully the rain screwed up their schedule. They asked me to come in early and I told them the rain is causing me to arrive late. I was able to use the rain as an excuse to get out.
* Fox audition for Happy Accident
Friday, December 7, 2018
* Post Office/Bank
* Super Smash Bros Ultimate pick up
* Developing Your Type and Creating Your Niche (SAG Aftra Workshop)
* Tennis...
Saturday, December 8, 2018
* Basketball...3 straight wins.
* Kandace birthday get together
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
The end of the year is to suppose to slow down and ease up. That's not what's happening in my schedule. My schedule is loaded with gems. I'm now realizing how to properly access preparation wealth during November and December for new year. As side from that, my favorite moment for this week came from my housemate. I made a Judgement last Saturday (Week 428) to go another direction with a reader set to help me with my audition video. That left me scuffling to find another reader. I texted about 3 people. One person agreed but I realized she was too far out and I didn't want to inconvenience her. In the midst trying to find someone, I got a text from my housemate who I've known and lived among since around 2013. She texted me informing me about some bananas available in the house and a computer question. Then it dawned on me, to ask her to be my reader. We live in the same spot and we have a great rapport. I asked and she said she would be honored. She was sincerely excited to be invited to the creative process. I'm sure it crossed my mind before to ask her but my I was in the don't want to bother people state. I'm out of that mental state and now Joyce is added to the team. I got me a strong team of 4 to 5 readers on-call available to assist my journey. I'm ready, let's go!
Sunday, December 2, 2018
* Audition video sent. I used my housemate Joyce
* Panda Express pick up for my reader
Monday, December 3, 2018
* Grown-ish Background work
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
* Change Your Career in a Day (SAG Aftra Workshop)
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
* Commerical Acting in LA: A Session Director's Guide with Shaan Sharma
* Spiderman - Into the Spidervise screening
Thursday, December 6, 2018
* I was booked for background work for Euphoria. It was causing a serious conflict with my Fox audition. Thankfully the rain screwed up their schedule. They asked me to come in early and I told them the rain is causing me to arrive late. I was able to use the rain as an excuse to get out.
* Fox audition for Happy Accident
Friday, December 7, 2018
* Post Office/Bank
* Super Smash Bros Ultimate pick up
* Developing Your Type and Creating Your Niche (SAG Aftra Workshop)
* Tennis...
Saturday, December 8, 2018
* Basketball...3 straight wins.
* Kandace birthday get together
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Week 428: Ta Hell With Luck, Give Me Skill
Weekly Written Review
I'm probably a hypocrite for saying this but I'm actually really excited for my upcoming auditions. The reason for that is because it's all starting to make sense. It's as if something suddenly just clicked. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not fond of the audition process and it needs to be revolutionized but something recently clicked. It's as if a light switch got turned on and I'm no longer in darkness. I had an NCAA audition on Tuesday and I didn't give my best performance. There were some cool moments but something was missing. I didn't beat myself up about it, instead, I allowed myself to realize what I'm doing wrong. For starts, I'm not warming up. I'm just showing up to the audition cold. There was no script, so I just showed up with ideas in my head. I've been doing that for years and it's the wrong way to approach an audition. My lungs need vocal exercise.
In sports and music, the artist has warm-up exercises, stretches and loosens up before their performance. This type of approach has been absent from my process simply because I don't have a proper system in place. Realizing this became another turning point in my quest. In all my 8 plus years of auditioning, I've never really had a strong system in place to prep. I might have tried a few things here and there, but I never had a concrete system. An audition is like applying for a job. Most jobs provide an application for you to fill out. There's no application in the acting world, as a result, we got to create our own application. Well, there's no better time than now to create one. Hours after my audition on Tuesday, I planted my butt on the computer and began creating unique audition prep sheets. My sheets include a couple of songs that are known for hyping me up. There's nothing like that good old fashion Soul Food. Sweet Sweet Fantasy Baby. I also started typing out the notes from the brilliant SAG workshops I've been attending. I even dug up old notes I've saved from previous workshops and added them to my sheets. Those notes are over 5 years old and they all make much more sense now.
The interesting thing about walking into the light is the mental flash I've been getting. All week long my mind would randomly flash recounts of my past auditions that missed out on. It's easy to call these moments as errors or mistakes but let's just say I'm a lot wiser now. With this epiphany of wisdom, I've never been more excited for my next audition. One step at a time I'm breaking the Hollywood code and I'm gaining the skills I need to advance my quest to the next level.
Pre-See The Light Motown, I would blog and rant about my disgust for the audition process. Then I would summon the need to be lucky to succeed. I'm not going to deny luck it if wants to contribute but meanwhile, I'm acquiring skills. I finally figured out how to systematically develop a specialized format unique to me, that will lead to big bookings. In the past, I also ranted about breaking through the industry as a stereotyped horror comedy B-list actor. As fun as becoming a success B-list may be, my newly widened eyes are currently on the prize. I'm a leading man with A-list possibilities.
All I have to do now is prove it. In due time my friends, in due time. For now, I'll leave you with a quote that Joseph Pearlman stated in his acting class I audited, "It's hard before it gets so easy."
Sunday, November 25, 2018
* Background work: On My Block. It was a surprisingly short day. 8:00am to 12:30pm. That's super short compared to the first time I worked this show. I'm glad I accepted it.
* Blogging...
* Catching up on How To Get Away with Murder
Monday, November 26, 2018
* Background work: On My Block. I was one out of the only 3 students chosen for this scene. Cool!
* Picking the top photos from my recent photo shoot
* Late night audition notice
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
* NCAA Basketball audition
* Audition prep sheet creation
* Blogging
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
* Improv for the Actor and Stand Up Comedy (SAG-AFTRA workshop) 1pm - 3:30pm
* The art of Specificity: How to Make Your Audition Standout (SAG-AFTRA workshop) 6pm -8pm
Thursday, November 29, 2018
* Basketball...
* Joseph's Master Class Audit (7pm-10:30pm)
* It's raining...
Friday, November 30, 2018
* Games Girls Play interview. We played basketball to appear on the pilot episode. I never heard back from them.
* Audition notice
Saturday, December 1, 2018
* Basketball/YMCA with She
* Just Dance workout session for my guest
* Was supposed to do an audition video today but due to a late information reveal I decided to do it tomorrow with another reader.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
I'm probably a hypocrite for saying this but I'm actually really excited for my upcoming auditions. The reason for that is because it's all starting to make sense. It's as if something suddenly just clicked. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not fond of the audition process and it needs to be revolutionized but something recently clicked. It's as if a light switch got turned on and I'm no longer in darkness. I had an NCAA audition on Tuesday and I didn't give my best performance. There were some cool moments but something was missing. I didn't beat myself up about it, instead, I allowed myself to realize what I'm doing wrong. For starts, I'm not warming up. I'm just showing up to the audition cold. There was no script, so I just showed up with ideas in my head. I've been doing that for years and it's the wrong way to approach an audition. My lungs need vocal exercise.
In sports and music, the artist has warm-up exercises, stretches and loosens up before their performance. This type of approach has been absent from my process simply because I don't have a proper system in place. Realizing this became another turning point in my quest. In all my 8 plus years of auditioning, I've never really had a strong system in place to prep. I might have tried a few things here and there, but I never had a concrete system. An audition is like applying for a job. Most jobs provide an application for you to fill out. There's no application in the acting world, as a result, we got to create our own application. Well, there's no better time than now to create one. Hours after my audition on Tuesday, I planted my butt on the computer and began creating unique audition prep sheets. My sheets include a couple of songs that are known for hyping me up. There's nothing like that good old fashion Soul Food. Sweet Sweet Fantasy Baby. I also started typing out the notes from the brilliant SAG workshops I've been attending. I even dug up old notes I've saved from previous workshops and added them to my sheets. Those notes are over 5 years old and they all make much more sense now.
The interesting thing about walking into the light is the mental flash I've been getting. All week long my mind would randomly flash recounts of my past auditions that missed out on. It's easy to call these moments as errors or mistakes but let's just say I'm a lot wiser now. With this epiphany of wisdom, I've never been more excited for my next audition. One step at a time I'm breaking the Hollywood code and I'm gaining the skills I need to advance my quest to the next level.
Pre-See The Light Motown, I would blog and rant about my disgust for the audition process. Then I would summon the need to be lucky to succeed. I'm not going to deny luck it if wants to contribute but meanwhile, I'm acquiring skills. I finally figured out how to systematically develop a specialized format unique to me, that will lead to big bookings. In the past, I also ranted about breaking through the industry as a stereotyped horror comedy B-list actor. As fun as becoming a success B-list may be, my newly widened eyes are currently on the prize. I'm a leading man with A-list possibilities.
All I have to do now is prove it. In due time my friends, in due time. For now, I'll leave you with a quote that Joseph Pearlman stated in his acting class I audited, "It's hard before it gets so easy."
Sunday, November 25, 2018
* Background work: On My Block. It was a surprisingly short day. 8:00am to 12:30pm. That's super short compared to the first time I worked this show. I'm glad I accepted it.
* Blogging...
* Catching up on How To Get Away with Murder
Monday, November 26, 2018
* Background work: On My Block. I was one out of the only 3 students chosen for this scene. Cool!
* Picking the top photos from my recent photo shoot
* Late night audition notice
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
* NCAA Basketball audition
* Audition prep sheet creation
* Blogging
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
* Improv for the Actor and Stand Up Comedy (SAG-AFTRA workshop) 1pm - 3:30pm
* The art of Specificity: How to Make Your Audition Standout (SAG-AFTRA workshop) 6pm -8pm
Thursday, November 29, 2018
* Basketball...
* Joseph's Master Class Audit (7pm-10:30pm)
* It's raining...
Friday, November 30, 2018
* Games Girls Play interview. We played basketball to appear on the pilot episode. I never heard back from them.
* Audition notice
Saturday, December 1, 2018
* Basketball/YMCA with She
* Just Dance workout session for my guest
* Was supposed to do an audition video today but due to a late information reveal I decided to do it tomorrow with another reader.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Week 427: Bread Please
Weekly Written Review
When it comes to my personal hairstyle it hasn't changed in a long time. I started growing my hightop fade in 2006. I never genuinely thought about changing it. Aside from a few bad barber experiences in LA, my hair cut has generally been the same. Facial hair, on the other hand, I've always been more open to change. There was a period of time throughout the 2000s when I would've never been caught without a goatee. I disliked my face without one. After moving to Los Angeles, the goatee stopped working for me. I had a lot of shaving issues when I relocated and I ended up letting my goatee go. Cutting my goatee was a good call. Having a clean face has opened up a lot of high school and college roles. Fast forward to Week 425 and my new headshots preparation. My agent recommended I take some photos with my beard. I was inherently reluctant about taking beard photos. Leading into the shoot I started growing a beard but I was ready to cut it if I booked worked through Central Casting that required a clean face. That's a small way of thinking but that's the decision I made.
To my blessed advantage, the week before I booked background work on a show called Black Monday that required me to look grundy. I didn't have to cut my beard. Not until two days after my photo shoot, I got booked for background work that required me to be cleanly shaven. I call that high favor because I'm very happy that I kept my beard. I took photos wearing 3 different looks with my beard and they are awesome. Forward again to this week, my photo proofs arrived. I look great with a beard. I look so great that I've decided to maintain a bearded look moving forward. I'll cut it when it's requested but I'll start growing my beard immediately afterward. Having a consistent beard is a huge change of pace. For several years now I've averaged shaving at least once a day. There were a few periods when auditions got slow and I would let my beard grow. When auditions started picking up I would cut it again. As of now, man bush is a priority. It's a small change that will make a big difference among many other adjustments I've been making.
At an additional consolation, last Saturday I received a fortune cookie from Panda Express that states: Don't Be Afraid to Experiment with a New Look. I thought it was alluding to my hairstyle at first but I'm taking it as a message about my facial hair. For the record, I'm not against cutting my hightop completely. When I book a leading role in the near future, I'll probably have to sign a contract agreeing to any changes the studio decides. That may or may not include changing up my hairstyle. I personally would be more open to cutting my hair once my auto-biographical film is made but we don't always get things in life in the order that we desire.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
* Returning clothes at Ross. Picked up some new tennis shoes
* Video recording slates
* Tennis...
Monday, November 19, 2018
* Blogging...
* Cleaning...
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
* Basketball/3 game-winning streak
* Picked up parking coupons at the SAG-AFTRA building
* Blogging...
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
* Creed II screening with the SAG-Foundation accompanied by Mari. The movie is well done. Go see it.
* Basketball (6 game winning streak. Lost 1)
* It rained for the first time in a long while
Thursday, November 22, 2018
* Blue LA rental. Dropped off Landlady at her friend's house. Followed by a big food run. Dog food, water...(Ralphs and Smart & Final)
* Thanksgiving at Natalie's from the YMCA. Two years in a row.
* Best Buy pick up of Just Dance 2019. That long was long but it went fast.
* Game Stop pick up of Super Bomber Man R. Hmmmm
Friday, November 23, 2018
* Walking...ATM, phone calls...
* SAG-AFTRA Film Society screening of Widows accompanied by She. Not crazy about the movie.
Saturday, November 24, 2018
* SAG-AFTRA Film Society screening of If Beale Street Could Talk accompanied by Tehana. Great movie. Go see it.
* Filing out the end of the year EBT reapplication.
* Picking out the best photos from my photoshoot
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
When it comes to my personal hairstyle it hasn't changed in a long time. I started growing my hightop fade in 2006. I never genuinely thought about changing it. Aside from a few bad barber experiences in LA, my hair cut has generally been the same. Facial hair, on the other hand, I've always been more open to change. There was a period of time throughout the 2000s when I would've never been caught without a goatee. I disliked my face without one. After moving to Los Angeles, the goatee stopped working for me. I had a lot of shaving issues when I relocated and I ended up letting my goatee go. Cutting my goatee was a good call. Having a clean face has opened up a lot of high school and college roles. Fast forward to Week 425 and my new headshots preparation. My agent recommended I take some photos with my beard. I was inherently reluctant about taking beard photos. Leading into the shoot I started growing a beard but I was ready to cut it if I booked worked through Central Casting that required a clean face. That's a small way of thinking but that's the decision I made.
To my blessed advantage, the week before I booked background work on a show called Black Monday that required me to look grundy. I didn't have to cut my beard. Not until two days after my photo shoot, I got booked for background work that required me to be cleanly shaven. I call that high favor because I'm very happy that I kept my beard. I took photos wearing 3 different looks with my beard and they are awesome. Forward again to this week, my photo proofs arrived. I look great with a beard. I look so great that I've decided to maintain a bearded look moving forward. I'll cut it when it's requested but I'll start growing my beard immediately afterward. Having a consistent beard is a huge change of pace. For several years now I've averaged shaving at least once a day. There were a few periods when auditions got slow and I would let my beard grow. When auditions started picking up I would cut it again. As of now, man bush is a priority. It's a small change that will make a big difference among many other adjustments I've been making.
At an additional consolation, last Saturday I received a fortune cookie from Panda Express that states: Don't Be Afraid to Experiment with a New Look. I thought it was alluding to my hairstyle at first but I'm taking it as a message about my facial hair. For the record, I'm not against cutting my hightop completely. When I book a leading role in the near future, I'll probably have to sign a contract agreeing to any changes the studio decides. That may or may not include changing up my hairstyle. I personally would be more open to cutting my hair once my auto-biographical film is made but we don't always get things in life in the order that we desire.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
* Returning clothes at Ross. Picked up some new tennis shoes
* Video recording slates
* Tennis...
Monday, November 19, 2018
* Blogging...
* Cleaning...
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
* Basketball/3 game-winning streak
* Picked up parking coupons at the SAG-AFTRA building
* Blogging...
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
* Creed II screening with the SAG-Foundation accompanied by Mari. The movie is well done. Go see it.
* Basketball (6 game winning streak. Lost 1)
* It rained for the first time in a long while
Thursday, November 22, 2018
* Blue LA rental. Dropped off Landlady at her friend's house. Followed by a big food run. Dog food, water...(Ralphs and Smart & Final)
* Thanksgiving at Natalie's from the YMCA. Two years in a row.
* Best Buy pick up of Just Dance 2019. That long was long but it went fast.
* Game Stop pick up of Super Bomber Man R. Hmmmm
Friday, November 23, 2018
* Walking...ATM, phone calls...
* SAG-AFTRA Film Society screening of Widows accompanied by She. Not crazy about the movie.
Saturday, November 24, 2018
* SAG-AFTRA Film Society screening of If Beale Street Could Talk accompanied by Tehana. Great movie. Go see it.
* Filing out the end of the year EBT reapplication.
* Picking out the best photos from my photoshoot
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Week 426: A Storm is Coming
Weekly Written Review
In less than two months 2018 will be over and I've already begun planning for the new year. My newest headshot photo shoot is out of the way and I'm ahead of the game. All I got to do is a few things here and there and I can coast through the remainder of the year. Smooth cruising right? Ha! That's what I thought. On Monday I got an audition notice that stunned me. My mind is so far ahead in 2019 I wasn't expecting any more auditions this year. I had to rewind and regroup. I immediately realized there's something odd about this audition. I was requested to read for a dramatic character on an upcoming show on OWN (David Makes Man). Most of my roles/auditions are comedic! I began asking myself, "why do they want me for a dramatic role!?" I never quite figured out why but I did realize 2018 is far from over and there's a storm coming. Yes, The Storm of Greatness!
When the audition came in, I was doing background work on the Netflix show Family Reunion again. I was scheduled for a two-day shoot. At first, I was concerned with a conflict. When I realized I was clear, I started focusing on the game plan. It's a self-tape audition. I've cheated in the vast majority of my self-tapes. Meaning I took shortcuts. Self-tapes generally require two people. The actor and the reader. I've been doing both. My process included recording my own voice of the other character and me responding to the playback of my voice in front of the camera while reacting to it. I did this mainly because I'm not a fan of inconveniencing people. I completed several auditions like this for a long time but let's face it, that's not a quality audition. I can't determine whether or not this is the reason I didn't book previous roles but it's certainly doesn't allow me to give me best. Giving my best requires a connection with a real person. This epiphany sounds like an action I would typically start at the beginning of the year but the sign of this storm is strong. I don't know what the future holds but the future obviously requires me to change up my strategy now.
In what seems near to an instant, I abolished the creation of tacky audition tapes from my presentation. A vision confirmed that it's time to upgrade my process with a team. Over the past few months, I've met a handful of good people (via a relatively popular app...) and with them in mind, I got an idea. I made some phone calls and told them about the storm. They agreed and behold I formed a new team. For the first time in my quest, I have a team of readers I call upon to assist me with my self-tapes auditions. I've built a lot of teams over the years but I've never acquired a team like this before. This is an absolute gem. It's a potential game changer. Readers combined with new headshots! 2019 better watch out.
I completed my self-tape audition on Wednesday with my reader and it a refreshing change of pace. She arrived before 9am and we finished around 2pm. It was a tough audition. I had a lot to memorize plus it was an intense dramatic role. There's a lot of excitement around this role because of the people involved (Michael B. Jordan and Phylicia Rashad) and the show is shot in Orlando, FL. That's less than an hour away from my hometown. Not to mention its a recurring role. Generally, I'm pleasured with the upgrades I've made to my audition. I even added an additional light for brighter illumination. As far as my performance, it probably didn't get the cake. I'm not being negative, I'm being honest. I got better with each take but I completed it knowing there was something missing. Heavy contemplation and a free SAG-AFTRA workshop on Friday helped me realized why I probably won't book the part. I didn't have fun with the role. I submitted too much of what was on the script with not enough of my personality. If they chose me to submit for this role it's probably because the character might have a sense of humor. I don't know why they chose me but I do know I focused too much on the drama. I didn't have any fun with the process. Nonetheless, building my team and making these changes adjusted my mindset and approach for the next audition. This auditioned opened my eyes in an imperatively necessary way.
Considering all the hate I've written about the audition process on this blog over the years what I'm about to write is a bit blasphemous. For the first time in my odyssey, I'm actually excited about my next audition. Yes, that sounds crazy but I can see clearer now. It's starting to make sense. I'm figuring out ways to inject the trueness of personality into my auditions. I'm ready to have fun with the next ticket. I'm going to break it down the next character and build it up with my certified seal. Most importantly, I got a mighty arsenal of new tools. I have a great team of readers, new headshots in the oven and I'm starting to signup for every SAG-AFTRA workshop my schedule allows me to. I'm stretching myself to my full potential. Let The Storm of Greatness Rain on me!
Sunday, November 11, 2018
* Tennis...with She...
Monday, November 12, 2018
* Family Reunion background work
* Audition notice. It's a big one...I was surprised
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
* Familly Reunion background work
* Script rehearsing
* Another audition notice, wow!
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
* Self-audition for David Made Man. With my reader She... Started after 8am and finished around 2pm.
* After the self-tape- I had to run to a 2:45pm audition for an FX show
* Langston's Black Partners and Corporate Counsel Reception. Set up, registration and breakdown.
* Hulu Cancellation
Thursday, November 15, 2018
* Basketball...
* Langston's Skidrow Marathon Movie screening...Helped out with set up and photography.
Friday, November 16, 2018
* How to Win a Series Lead Before It Goes to Casting. SAG series workshop.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
* Wiki rejection...
* Basketball...makeup day
* Declined an audition/wasn't interested in their perpetuity clause.
* SAG Film Society screening of The Front Runner Accompanied by Jeff. Followed by a Q&A with Hugh Jackman.
* Food 4 Less run/Panda Express
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
In less than two months 2018 will be over and I've already begun planning for the new year. My newest headshot photo shoot is out of the way and I'm ahead of the game. All I got to do is a few things here and there and I can coast through the remainder of the year. Smooth cruising right? Ha! That's what I thought. On Monday I got an audition notice that stunned me. My mind is so far ahead in 2019 I wasn't expecting any more auditions this year. I had to rewind and regroup. I immediately realized there's something odd about this audition. I was requested to read for a dramatic character on an upcoming show on OWN (David Makes Man). Most of my roles/auditions are comedic! I began asking myself, "why do they want me for a dramatic role!?" I never quite figured out why but I did realize 2018 is far from over and there's a storm coming. Yes, The Storm of Greatness!
When the audition came in, I was doing background work on the Netflix show Family Reunion again. I was scheduled for a two-day shoot. At first, I was concerned with a conflict. When I realized I was clear, I started focusing on the game plan. It's a self-tape audition. I've cheated in the vast majority of my self-tapes. Meaning I took shortcuts. Self-tapes generally require two people. The actor and the reader. I've been doing both. My process included recording my own voice of the other character and me responding to the playback of my voice in front of the camera while reacting to it. I did this mainly because I'm not a fan of inconveniencing people. I completed several auditions like this for a long time but let's face it, that's not a quality audition. I can't determine whether or not this is the reason I didn't book previous roles but it's certainly doesn't allow me to give me best. Giving my best requires a connection with a real person. This epiphany sounds like an action I would typically start at the beginning of the year but the sign of this storm is strong. I don't know what the future holds but the future obviously requires me to change up my strategy now.
In what seems near to an instant, I abolished the creation of tacky audition tapes from my presentation. A vision confirmed that it's time to upgrade my process with a team. Over the past few months, I've met a handful of good people (via a relatively popular app...) and with them in mind, I got an idea. I made some phone calls and told them about the storm. They agreed and behold I formed a new team. For the first time in my quest, I have a team of readers I call upon to assist me with my self-tapes auditions. I've built a lot of teams over the years but I've never acquired a team like this before. This is an absolute gem. It's a potential game changer. Readers combined with new headshots! 2019 better watch out.
I completed my self-tape audition on Wednesday with my reader and it a refreshing change of pace. She arrived before 9am and we finished around 2pm. It was a tough audition. I had a lot to memorize plus it was an intense dramatic role. There's a lot of excitement around this role because of the people involved (Michael B. Jordan and Phylicia Rashad) and the show is shot in Orlando, FL. That's less than an hour away from my hometown. Not to mention its a recurring role. Generally, I'm pleasured with the upgrades I've made to my audition. I even added an additional light for brighter illumination. As far as my performance, it probably didn't get the cake. I'm not being negative, I'm being honest. I got better with each take but I completed it knowing there was something missing. Heavy contemplation and a free SAG-AFTRA workshop on Friday helped me realized why I probably won't book the part. I didn't have fun with the role. I submitted too much of what was on the script with not enough of my personality. If they chose me to submit for this role it's probably because the character might have a sense of humor. I don't know why they chose me but I do know I focused too much on the drama. I didn't have any fun with the process. Nonetheless, building my team and making these changes adjusted my mindset and approach for the next audition. This auditioned opened my eyes in an imperatively necessary way.
Considering all the hate I've written about the audition process on this blog over the years what I'm about to write is a bit blasphemous. For the first time in my odyssey, I'm actually excited about my next audition. Yes, that sounds crazy but I can see clearer now. It's starting to make sense. I'm figuring out ways to inject the trueness of personality into my auditions. I'm ready to have fun with the next ticket. I'm going to break it down the next character and build it up with my certified seal. Most importantly, I got a mighty arsenal of new tools. I have a great team of readers, new headshots in the oven and I'm starting to signup for every SAG-AFTRA workshop my schedule allows me to. I'm stretching myself to my full potential. Let The Storm of Greatness Rain on me!
Sunday, November 11, 2018
* Tennis...with She...
Monday, November 12, 2018
* Family Reunion background work
* Audition notice. It's a big one...I was surprised
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
* Familly Reunion background work
* Script rehearsing
* Another audition notice, wow!
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
* Self-audition for David Made Man. With my reader She... Started after 8am and finished around 2pm.
* After the self-tape- I had to run to a 2:45pm audition for an FX show
* Langston's Black Partners and Corporate Counsel Reception. Set up, registration and breakdown.
* Hulu Cancellation
Thursday, November 15, 2018
* Basketball...
* Langston's Skidrow Marathon Movie screening...Helped out with set up and photography.
Friday, November 16, 2018
* How to Win a Series Lead Before It Goes to Casting. SAG series workshop.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
* Wiki rejection...
* Basketball...makeup day
* Declined an audition/wasn't interested in their perpetuity clause.
* SAG Film Society screening of The Front Runner Accompanied by Jeff. Followed by a Q&A with Hugh Jackman.
* Food 4 Less run/Panda Express
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Week 425: Prepped Best Shoot
Weekly Written Review
Also, consider reading my a singular post that was inspired during this week. 20 Billionaire Hacks & Habits I've Already Been Living
This week started off dragging. The focus of this week was mainly about prepping for new headshots. My agent made the request and I got to do what I can to make them happy. Prepping for a photo shoot isn't fun. It can be quite daunting. The process is actually more detailed then what the average person might think. I've learned how to better prepare over the years. It's not all about buying clothes and showing up with them. The best way to approach a photo shoot is with a series of test photos. I went through about 5 drafts and dozens of prototypes. After the photographer is acquired you got to research the type of photos you want the go to the store and get them. Clothes shopping is not my specialty. I'll spare the painstaking details and admit process got better over time. This preselection process was the best I've ever had. I had a couple people providing their valuable opinions, plus my agent and photographer gave some feedback. The actual shoot was also well executed. I had someone assisting me throughout the day she was my behind the scenes photographer.
The photo shoot was painless and fun. The photographer showed me a sneak peek at a few photos and I was impressed. I have no current headshots that look like them. They will be a game changer for my career. I will without a doubt have an increase in auditions in 2019. The photographer also complimented my photoshoot prep process several times. The shoot was completed on schedule within the hour range and I left with an abundance of hope for the future. This is the first time I've planned a photo shoot at the end of the year. It's 100 times better than taking photos at the beginning of the year. I'm more prepared for the new year then I've ever been with my best photoshoot ever. Thank you Bella Saville Photography.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
* Tennis...
* Blue LA/ Cat/dog food run...big bags of food
Monday, November 5, 2018
* Cancelled tennis to work on preparations. I decided today I'm taking my Monday's back. For almost two years I played tennis consistently on Monday's not anymore. Now I'm playing tennis on Sunday's now and I'm taking back Monday's for myself.
* Headshot prep, Ross clothes pick up, photo prototype temple,
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
* Basketball...
* Just Dance with She/3 months unlimited...
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
* Just Dance...
* Headshot prep...with She support
* Treated myself to TaikoNo Tatsujin: Drum 'N' Fun. This might be my favorite game. It's awesome fun.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
* Basketball...
* CVS run blemish remover.../Food 4 Less/Cat food
Friday, November 9, 2018
* Haircut...
* Photoshoot prep...Target...
* SAG Film Society screening of Bird Box accompanied by Kandace. Followed by a Q&A with Sandra Bullock. It was a fantastic movie.
Saturday, November 10, 2018
* New headshots by Bella Saville Photography accompanied by Mari...
* Pizza Hut...
* Tea with Tiffany...
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Also, consider reading my a singular post that was inspired during this week. 20 Billionaire Hacks & Habits I've Already Been Living
This week started off dragging. The focus of this week was mainly about prepping for new headshots. My agent made the request and I got to do what I can to make them happy. Prepping for a photo shoot isn't fun. It can be quite daunting. The process is actually more detailed then what the average person might think. I've learned how to better prepare over the years. It's not all about buying clothes and showing up with them. The best way to approach a photo shoot is with a series of test photos. I went through about 5 drafts and dozens of prototypes. After the photographer is acquired you got to research the type of photos you want the go to the store and get them. Clothes shopping is not my specialty. I'll spare the painstaking details and admit process got better over time. This preselection process was the best I've ever had. I had a couple people providing their valuable opinions, plus my agent and photographer gave some feedback. The actual shoot was also well executed. I had someone assisting me throughout the day she was my behind the scenes photographer.
The photo shoot was painless and fun. The photographer showed me a sneak peek at a few photos and I was impressed. I have no current headshots that look like them. They will be a game changer for my career. I will without a doubt have an increase in auditions in 2019. The photographer also complimented my photoshoot prep process several times. The shoot was completed on schedule within the hour range and I left with an abundance of hope for the future. This is the first time I've planned a photo shoot at the end of the year. It's 100 times better than taking photos at the beginning of the year. I'm more prepared for the new year then I've ever been with my best photoshoot ever. Thank you Bella Saville Photography.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
* Tennis...
* Blue LA/ Cat/dog food run...big bags of food
Monday, November 5, 2018
* Cancelled tennis to work on preparations. I decided today I'm taking my Monday's back. For almost two years I played tennis consistently on Monday's not anymore. Now I'm playing tennis on Sunday's now and I'm taking back Monday's for myself.
* Headshot prep, Ross clothes pick up, photo prototype temple,
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
* Basketball...
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
* Just Dance...
* Headshot prep...with She support
* Treated myself to TaikoNo Tatsujin: Drum 'N' Fun. This might be my favorite game. It's awesome fun.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
* Basketball...
* CVS run blemish remover.../Food 4 Less/Cat food
Friday, November 9, 2018
* Haircut...
* Photoshoot prep...Target...
* SAG Film Society screening of Bird Box accompanied by Kandace. Followed by a Q&A with Sandra Bullock. It was a fantastic movie.
Saturday, November 10, 2018
* New headshots by Bella Saville Photography accompanied by Mari...
* Pizza Hut...
* Tea with Tiffany...
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
20 Billionaire Hacks & Habits I've Already Been Living
Originally, I intended on expressing my thoughts on this subject within Week 426's post. Then I realized I haven't written a subject-specific post in a while so why not. I do believe the subject here has enough depth for it. So let's talk about 20 Billionaire Hacks & Habits I've Already Been Living. The title stems from a YouTube video entitled 20 Simple Life Hacks & Habits You Can Copy From Billionaires. Since Nintendo unveiled The Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2016, I've kind of become a Youtube junky. Researching games are just as fun as playing them for me. Sports updates are also cool. Every now and then I'm recommended interesting videos that catch my attention. Youtube has become known for recommending random videos as of late. My eyes lit up with interest upon receiving the referral of, Why A Students Work for C Students. That video was grand spanking on point with my personality type. There's enough detail in that topic suited for a separate video. After that video ended, Youtube automatically played 20 Simple Life Hacks & Habits You Can Copy From Billionaires. The parallels are riveting. I was aware of a handful of similarities previously but this video opened up my eyes to even more.
I've never made it an objective to study rich people with the intentions of becoming rich but awareness levels are always open. I read and I stay woke. I've established a bunch of habits throughout my journey and I don't enjoy spending money. Those are my two major principles. This video made me realize how much I have in common with Billionaires with the main exception being my bank account is lacking a little in this department. Nonetheless, I would like to review all 20 items in this post with a little personal perspective. Nothing too deep. Hopefully, I'll find a way to make this post enlightening not only for myself but for others.
20. Scheduling and Productivity Hacks
This point speaks of prioritizing, deadlines, preparing for upcoming weeks and honing on those things a person might procrastinate about. Simply getting things done. I've always loved a checklist and the satisfaction of scratching things off is unlike no other.
19. Investing Time
Billionaires understand the value of time. Apparently, a lot of rich people don't spend time watching TV. I personally spent very long periods of time without watching any TV. However, I've learned and I continue to embrace more TV over time due to my involvement in the entertainment industry. As a professional in the industry is part of my job description which and my duty.
18. Avoid Alcohol and Smoking
I don't smoke and I look forward to maintaining this merit throughout my duration on this planet. As for drinking, I love me an open bar. If it's free, why not. I don't purchase. If I'm hanging with a young lady and she wants some wine why not but other than that I don't. I've never purchased a drink at a bar for myself and I never will.
17. Eat Healthy
I basically eat what my EBT card can afford per month and since I don't enjoy cooking, my options are a tune, sardines, raw nuts, a can of soup, saltine crackers and plenty of fruits. I'm not a committed vegan or pescetarian but I often eat like one.
16. Take Public Transport
This one shocked me the most. I gave up driving when I moved to LA in 2010 and I love it. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made and through this video I've learned that some Billionaires also use public transportation. Or they use self-powered transport like walking or cycling. I also do both activities on a weekly basis. Billionaires who do this reduces their carbon footprint by being considerate of the world around them and it's very inexpensive.
15. Adopt a Glass Half Full Mentality
It's shoot for the moon way of thinking. Using simple methods of thinking positively can help someone achieve greatness. I concur.
14. Meditate
I've tried various methods of traditional meditation over time but recently I've come to realize that I'm not a traditional meditation kind of guy. Not long ago I learned that walking is a form of meditation. I do a whole lot of walking and I believe day-dreaming is also another form. I often lay in my bed, relaxed. Every blue moon I might play some meditation music but that's not common. I believe meditation is an act that relaxes the mind, body, and soul. Any form of stillness that reduces stress is meditation. I have plenty of experience doing that.
13. Be Brave and Fail
The word failure is used quite loosely among people. Over time, I've embraced this term less and less. Within the same understanding, I instead use the word, "disappointment" to describe what most people call failures. All of my endeavors eventually amount to something which is why I don't use the term failures. Now that we have this clarity, trust me, I have several disappointments under my belt. Don't underestimate the need for this. It's the need to try and try until you succeed.
12. Play Hard
I love this one the most. There was a point of time in my quest when I didn't make time for playing, now it's mandatory. Since the start of 2017, I've been playing basketball and tennis multiple times a week. Let's not forget my refound love for video games with my Nintendo Switch. My style of fun is incorporated with friendly athletic competition. I even play a lot of physically active video games. I'm sure over time I'll add more and new activities. Perhaps I'll learn golf. Who knows.
11. Exercise
When I play I exercise. When I exercise I play. Its the benefits of both worlds all the time.
10. Act Now for Long-Term Goals
I read a quote the states, "A mind that's always thinking about the future is a cursed mind. Through experience, I understand the quote more and more all the time. I've gotten better at living in the moment but my mind stays thinking about the future. I am the future of Late Night Television and acting now is my genetic description.
9. Pay Attention to Relationships
This is something a C student does well. The ability to foster good relationships is the basic logic of my achievements. A billionaire knows the importance of every single person and so do I. Every person has value and it pays to be charming to everyone. Jerks are allowed. It doesn't mean a woman hasn't called me a jerk before but what man hasn't been called a jerk by a woman? :-)
8. Be Thrifty
Did you know that I don't like spending money? I don't need a plan or strategy for this one. I avoid spending at all cost. Friends in high school called me cheap. I call it being wise. The most interesting this is I've grown to love the simple life. My current situation and my overall journey have molded me into somewhat of a minimalist. At least approaching that type of lifestyle.
7. Be Self-Sufficient
You know I've never ordered delivery before. If it involves an extra expense why do it? That's my way of thinking. I ever started cutting my own hair a couple years ago. That's a task I wish I started a long time ago.
6. Wear The Same Clothes Every day
I believe in dressing up for the special occasion. I honestly couldn't care less what I wear during the week. I wear my clothes until it smells like it's time to wear something else.
5. Following Your Passion Obsessively
Need I say more. I'm obsessed with my destiny.
4. Read Widely Everyday
I wish I was more of a casual book reader but I do make great effort to read the news, articles about the entertainment industry and video game stuff of course.
3. Find a Mentor
This is easier said than done but I've blessed to be around a lot of wise people through my quest. This allowed me to not make the same mistakes they've made with their businesses and endeavors.
2. Develop Multiple Streams of Income
I've made money in front of the camera and behind the camera. Sometimes I even sell my nude body to an art class. I'm not making money outside of the entertainment business right now but this will come in time.
1. Get Up Early
This one is the only one I'm not in sync with. I'm not a morning person and I probably never will be. I'll adapt when necessary but morning and I don't get along. This is a fair exception because I'm a night owl. I get things done at night while most people are sleeping.
That's all 20. It has been inspiring for me to learn how much I have in common with billionaires. Without the money, I'm living a billionaire life and the money eventually arrives I'm sure my life won't be too different. A change will come but the billionaire lifestyle that everyone wants, I already have.
Check out the video for yourself. Perhaps you'll be inspired and maybe it will randomly lead you to another interesting video.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
I've never made it an objective to study rich people with the intentions of becoming rich but awareness levels are always open. I read and I stay woke. I've established a bunch of habits throughout my journey and I don't enjoy spending money. Those are my two major principles. This video made me realize how much I have in common with Billionaires with the main exception being my bank account is lacking a little in this department. Nonetheless, I would like to review all 20 items in this post with a little personal perspective. Nothing too deep. Hopefully, I'll find a way to make this post enlightening not only for myself but for others.
20. Scheduling and Productivity Hacks
This point speaks of prioritizing, deadlines, preparing for upcoming weeks and honing on those things a person might procrastinate about. Simply getting things done. I've always loved a checklist and the satisfaction of scratching things off is unlike no other.
19. Investing Time
Billionaires understand the value of time. Apparently, a lot of rich people don't spend time watching TV. I personally spent very long periods of time without watching any TV. However, I've learned and I continue to embrace more TV over time due to my involvement in the entertainment industry. As a professional in the industry is part of my job description which and my duty.
18. Avoid Alcohol and Smoking
I don't smoke and I look forward to maintaining this merit throughout my duration on this planet. As for drinking, I love me an open bar. If it's free, why not. I don't purchase. If I'm hanging with a young lady and she wants some wine why not but other than that I don't. I've never purchased a drink at a bar for myself and I never will.
17. Eat Healthy
I basically eat what my EBT card can afford per month and since I don't enjoy cooking, my options are a tune, sardines, raw nuts, a can of soup, saltine crackers and plenty of fruits. I'm not a committed vegan or pescetarian but I often eat like one.
16. Take Public Transport
This one shocked me the most. I gave up driving when I moved to LA in 2010 and I love it. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made and through this video I've learned that some Billionaires also use public transportation. Or they use self-powered transport like walking or cycling. I also do both activities on a weekly basis. Billionaires who do this reduces their carbon footprint by being considerate of the world around them and it's very inexpensive.
15. Adopt a Glass Half Full Mentality
It's shoot for the moon way of thinking. Using simple methods of thinking positively can help someone achieve greatness. I concur.
14. Meditate
I've tried various methods of traditional meditation over time but recently I've come to realize that I'm not a traditional meditation kind of guy. Not long ago I learned that walking is a form of meditation. I do a whole lot of walking and I believe day-dreaming is also another form. I often lay in my bed, relaxed. Every blue moon I might play some meditation music but that's not common. I believe meditation is an act that relaxes the mind, body, and soul. Any form of stillness that reduces stress is meditation. I have plenty of experience doing that.
13. Be Brave and Fail
The word failure is used quite loosely among people. Over time, I've embraced this term less and less. Within the same understanding, I instead use the word, "disappointment" to describe what most people call failures. All of my endeavors eventually amount to something which is why I don't use the term failures. Now that we have this clarity, trust me, I have several disappointments under my belt. Don't underestimate the need for this. It's the need to try and try until you succeed.
12. Play Hard
I love this one the most. There was a point of time in my quest when I didn't make time for playing, now it's mandatory. Since the start of 2017, I've been playing basketball and tennis multiple times a week. Let's not forget my refound love for video games with my Nintendo Switch. My style of fun is incorporated with friendly athletic competition. I even play a lot of physically active video games. I'm sure over time I'll add more and new activities. Perhaps I'll learn golf. Who knows.
11. Exercise
When I play I exercise. When I exercise I play. Its the benefits of both worlds all the time.
10. Act Now for Long-Term Goals
I read a quote the states, "A mind that's always thinking about the future is a cursed mind. Through experience, I understand the quote more and more all the time. I've gotten better at living in the moment but my mind stays thinking about the future. I am the future of Late Night Television and acting now is my genetic description.
9. Pay Attention to Relationships
This is something a C student does well. The ability to foster good relationships is the basic logic of my achievements. A billionaire knows the importance of every single person and so do I. Every person has value and it pays to be charming to everyone. Jerks are allowed. It doesn't mean a woman hasn't called me a jerk before but what man hasn't been called a jerk by a woman? :-)
8. Be Thrifty
Did you know that I don't like spending money? I don't need a plan or strategy for this one. I avoid spending at all cost. Friends in high school called me cheap. I call it being wise. The most interesting this is I've grown to love the simple life. My current situation and my overall journey have molded me into somewhat of a minimalist. At least approaching that type of lifestyle.
7. Be Self-Sufficient
You know I've never ordered delivery before. If it involves an extra expense why do it? That's my way of thinking. I ever started cutting my own hair a couple years ago. That's a task I wish I started a long time ago.
6. Wear The Same Clothes Every day
I believe in dressing up for the special occasion. I honestly couldn't care less what I wear during the week. I wear my clothes until it smells like it's time to wear something else.
5. Following Your Passion Obsessively
Need I say more. I'm obsessed with my destiny.
4. Read Widely Everyday
I wish I was more of a casual book reader but I do make great effort to read the news, articles about the entertainment industry and video game stuff of course.
3. Find a Mentor
This is easier said than done but I've blessed to be around a lot of wise people through my quest. This allowed me to not make the same mistakes they've made with their businesses and endeavors.
2. Develop Multiple Streams of Income
I've made money in front of the camera and behind the camera. Sometimes I even sell my nude body to an art class. I'm not making money outside of the entertainment business right now but this will come in time.
1. Get Up Early
This one is the only one I'm not in sync with. I'm not a morning person and I probably never will be. I'll adapt when necessary but morning and I don't get along. This is a fair exception because I'm a night owl. I get things done at night while most people are sleeping.
That's all 20. It has been inspiring for me to learn how much I have in common with billionaires. Without the money, I'm living a billionaire life and the money eventually arrives I'm sure my life won't be too different. A change will come but the billionaire lifestyle that everyone wants, I already have.
Check out the video for yourself. Perhaps you'll be inspired and maybe it will randomly lead you to another interesting video.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Week 424: Reset Button
Weekly Written Review
Last Week (423), was potentially the biggest week of my quest thus far. I'm confident greater weeks are to come but in current standings last week takes the cake. Since then, I've made the most logical decision I could think of. That decision is to press the reset button. People say great things will come from my role in Snake Outta Compton but since the premiere, I've become relatively detached from that film. Aside from editing photos and post-interview videos, Snake Outta Compton is in the history books. Only time will tell if it becomes a cult classic or not. There are two other projects I had reserved hope for but it looks like they may never see the light of day. It happens. That's Hollywood. I got my SAG card because of one of those projects and you can never go wrong with meeting new people. Pressing the reset button and moving forward is best. I have zero pending projects and the year is practically over. My mind is pointed towards 2019. Next year is where my mind is parked. I have a new headshot photo shoot scheduled for next week and I'm dreading the thought of planning for it. Once or twice a year I have to wash, rinse and repeat the photo taking process. It gets old, but I have to do what I have to do. All serious actors have to do it. I did end up finding excitement in the process. I generally always find the excitement once I get past the tedious phases. I'm actually hyped about getting them done at the end of the year instead of at the beginning of the year. That's a gamer changer. It gives me an advantage for pilot season and for bigger auditions in general when the year starts. As far as I'm concerned, I accomplished nothing during my 8 plus years in LA. As of January 1, 2019, I'm starting over. If I'm lucky my past will positively influence my future. On second thought, my past is in the past. Reformation is my state of mind. Cheers to pressing the reset button and for incredible, unbelievable, and unthinkable possibilities in 2019.
In other news, this was an interesting week for friendship. Those that know me, know that I don't use that word loosely. There are two particular people that made this topic interesting. In the past few years, there are only a couple people that I comfortably called, friend. One ignited a petty personal, emotional fuss. Nothing too serious. The other revealed some resentment towards me about money owed. Moreover, a series of recent outbursts from this person punctured my tolerance threshold this week. It led me to initiate a timeout with this person on Sunday via text. We spoke on the phone moments before and it was a terribly negative conversation. This person was ranting about the hate for their job and requested that I that I stop what I was doing to get to their house and help. I said I couldn't and this person asked what I was doing. I said I was writing. Then this person said, "Are you writing about yourself again?" Then this person repeatedly asked, "what are you writing?" I was working on my blog but I sarcastically told this person I was working on the 5th version of my life story. This person in return said I should stop writing about myself and write a movie like "Starwars." His actions in this conversation put our relationship at a toxic level. I've also noticed him becoming toxic with others around him recently. The fact that owed money was brought up in recent days was absolutely improper. The first time was brought up loudly around two others in a car. You don't do that. Not to mention, episodes of this person yelling and cursing at me over insignificant things. This person essentially tried to pick a fight with me for no reason a couple weeks ago. His person knows I'm calm and collect and was trying to get me to break. It didn't work. I probably didn't blink. There are other occurrences of this person yelling at our associates unnecessarily. Thankfully an apology was issued soon after.
This person has helped me so much over the years and I love this person but sometimes a break is necessary. This person needs to take better care of them-self. I know alcohol abuse has a 50% or more influence on their behavior but there are no excuses. This person's true resentment is within. I suggested intervention and I hope this person gets it. Meanwhile, I'm working towards reimbursing the person as soon as the end this month or early next month. A particular phone call on Friday clears the way for that. I'm sure our relationship will be mended in the future but for now, there's a transition taking place.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
* Blue LA Rental
* Dropped off my landlady at Sizzler
* Food 4 Less/cat food run, Trader Joe's, Dollar Store,...
* Cleaning up/blogging
Monday, October 29, 2018
* Editing/library uploads
* Someone tried to stress in about misinterpreted personal stuff...
* Tennis...
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
* Organizing...
* Vote! by mail.
* Phone calls
* Low spirited...
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
* Basketball
* Playing Switch with She
Thursday, November 1, 2018
* Attempted to get a new tub of She Butter in Hollywood Blvd but they were randomly closed. They had a note on their door. What a waste of time. That led me to seek out Amazon. Using someone else's account I ordered what I needed.
* Picked up white rice at Chipotle. I think I'm done with their white rice. I've noticed over time it doesn't agree with my stomach.
* Food 4 Less run with Mari
* Switch/JD
Friday, November 2, 2018
* Received a phone call about a contract renewal. Whoop whoop! Totally wasn't expecting it.
* Back groundwork on a show called Black Monday with Don Cheadle. 4pm to 5:45am
Saturday, November 3, 2018
* Walking, phone calls, bank run...
* My attempt to get Shea Butter on Thursday lead me to seek it out on Amazon. Wow! That was a great decision. For 3 dollars more than what I normally paid, I'm getting over 4 times the amount. I'll probably have Shea Butter for another year or two. Depending or not if I give away some or not.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Last Week (423), was potentially the biggest week of my quest thus far. I'm confident greater weeks are to come but in current standings last week takes the cake. Since then, I've made the most logical decision I could think of. That decision is to press the reset button. People say great things will come from my role in Snake Outta Compton but since the premiere, I've become relatively detached from that film. Aside from editing photos and post-interview videos, Snake Outta Compton is in the history books. Only time will tell if it becomes a cult classic or not. There are two other projects I had reserved hope for but it looks like they may never see the light of day. It happens. That's Hollywood. I got my SAG card because of one of those projects and you can never go wrong with meeting new people. Pressing the reset button and moving forward is best. I have zero pending projects and the year is practically over. My mind is pointed towards 2019. Next year is where my mind is parked. I have a new headshot photo shoot scheduled for next week and I'm dreading the thought of planning for it. Once or twice a year I have to wash, rinse and repeat the photo taking process. It gets old, but I have to do what I have to do. All serious actors have to do it. I did end up finding excitement in the process. I generally always find the excitement once I get past the tedious phases. I'm actually hyped about getting them done at the end of the year instead of at the beginning of the year. That's a gamer changer. It gives me an advantage for pilot season and for bigger auditions in general when the year starts. As far as I'm concerned, I accomplished nothing during my 8 plus years in LA. As of January 1, 2019, I'm starting over. If I'm lucky my past will positively influence my future. On second thought, my past is in the past. Reformation is my state of mind. Cheers to pressing the reset button and for incredible, unbelievable, and unthinkable possibilities in 2019.
In other news, this was an interesting week for friendship. Those that know me, know that I don't use that word loosely. There are two particular people that made this topic interesting. In the past few years, there are only a couple people that I comfortably called, friend. One ignited a petty personal, emotional fuss. Nothing too serious. The other revealed some resentment towards me about money owed. Moreover, a series of recent outbursts from this person punctured my tolerance threshold this week. It led me to initiate a timeout with this person on Sunday via text. We spoke on the phone moments before and it was a terribly negative conversation. This person was ranting about the hate for their job and requested that I that I stop what I was doing to get to their house and help. I said I couldn't and this person asked what I was doing. I said I was writing. Then this person said, "Are you writing about yourself again?" Then this person repeatedly asked, "what are you writing?" I was working on my blog but I sarcastically told this person I was working on the 5th version of my life story. This person in return said I should stop writing about myself and write a movie like "Starwars." His actions in this conversation put our relationship at a toxic level. I've also noticed him becoming toxic with others around him recently. The fact that owed money was brought up in recent days was absolutely improper. The first time was brought up loudly around two others in a car. You don't do that. Not to mention, episodes of this person yelling and cursing at me over insignificant things. This person essentially tried to pick a fight with me for no reason a couple weeks ago. His person knows I'm calm and collect and was trying to get me to break. It didn't work. I probably didn't blink. There are other occurrences of this person yelling at our associates unnecessarily. Thankfully an apology was issued soon after.
This person has helped me so much over the years and I love this person but sometimes a break is necessary. This person needs to take better care of them-self. I know alcohol abuse has a 50% or more influence on their behavior but there are no excuses. This person's true resentment is within. I suggested intervention and I hope this person gets it. Meanwhile, I'm working towards reimbursing the person as soon as the end this month or early next month. A particular phone call on Friday clears the way for that. I'm sure our relationship will be mended in the future but for now, there's a transition taking place.
Sunday, October 28, 2018
* Blue LA Rental
* Dropped off my landlady at Sizzler
* Food 4 Less/cat food run, Trader Joe's, Dollar Store,...
* Cleaning up/blogging
Monday, October 29, 2018
* Editing/library uploads
* Someone tried to stress in about misinterpreted personal stuff...
* Tennis...
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
* Organizing...
* Vote! by mail.
* Phone calls
* Low spirited...
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
* Basketball
* Playing Switch with She
Thursday, November 1, 2018
* Attempted to get a new tub of She Butter in Hollywood Blvd but they were randomly closed. They had a note on their door. What a waste of time. That led me to seek out Amazon. Using someone else's account I ordered what I needed.
* Picked up white rice at Chipotle. I think I'm done with their white rice. I've noticed over time it doesn't agree with my stomach.
* Food 4 Less run with Mari
* Switch/JD
Friday, November 2, 2018
* Received a phone call about a contract renewal. Whoop whoop! Totally wasn't expecting it.
* Back groundwork on a show called Black Monday with Don Cheadle. 4pm to 5:45am
Saturday, November 3, 2018
* Walking, phone calls, bank run...
* My attempt to get Shea Butter on Thursday lead me to seek it out on Amazon. Wow! That was a great decision. For 3 dollars more than what I normally paid, I'm getting over 4 times the amount. I'll probably have Shea Butter for another year or two. Depending or not if I give away some or not.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Week 423: This Leading Moment
Weekly Written Review
For most of the last few weeks, I've had nothing groundbreaking to write about. I rushed through most of my blogs anticipating this leading moment. This leading week. When it's all said and done, Week 423 may be the most or one of the most significant weeks of my odyssey. Three things took place this week that could represent a turning point.
The most significant of the three began two years ago. I booked a big role in a film entitled Snake Outta Compton. Booking the role means nothing. Completing the shoot also meant nothing. There's always a chance the film will never get seen. Two years later it got picked up by Lionsgate for nationwide distribution. It's been out in the UK since summer and that still means nothing. Moving forward to Sunday, October 21, Snake Outta Compton had a sold-out premiere at The Downtown Independent. Now, this film is starting to have meaning. This premiere was a first-time experience for me. My name is second in the credits and all I had to do was show up, pose for photos and chit-chat. Doing such a simple task is not in my genetic makeup, especially when I can do more. During the event, someone on the Snake team complimented for handling the media but that wasn't my intentions. I think since the organizers of the event didn't make much media plans, I took on the appearance of handling it. I simply had the vision to expand the social exposure of Snake Outta Compton with some pre and post interviews. I assigned my friend Kevin of Kevin Boot Photography to take photos and I also had an assignment for his video equipment. With my direction, I had a cameraman (Jeff Meacham) and an interviewer (Nicole Rose Julian) conduct interviews with guest, cast, and crew. For various reasons, I'm not sure if I will do this again moving forward but I'm glad I did it for my first premiere.
Overall the event was great. There was one hiccup with someone on my media team yelling at a person but it was quickly rectified with an apology. Most of the people I invited showed up and they were all sincerely happy for me. It was a good moment to shine and that's what you're supposed to do at a premiere. It's equivalent of a wedding day for the actor. It's a rare moment some actors work extremely hard for and some will never enjoy this type of experience. I played the part...somewhat. I did what I was supposed to do for the moment but left foot was already 10 steps into the future. Two days after the premiere (Tuesday, October, 21) Snake Outta Compton was available nationwide. Anyone can now purchase the DVD on at Wal-Mart, Target and Best. You can also order it Amazon or stream it on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Video, Xbox Video, Redbox Digital, and several more outlets.
Some people received their ordered DVD's early and started posting photos of it on Facebook. Others went to the store and took pictures of the DVD on the shelves among other popular movies. I haven't had a chance to see it in the store yet but I look forward to seeing it for myself. So that does this all mean? I'd say I'm in an incredible space right now. I started producing and selling DVD's since college and my distribution strategy was based on or far I was willing to drive. Years later, I booked a prominent role in a silly movie and it's now available nationwide. Again, what does this all mean? It still means nothing. Ideally, it would be great to get exposure from the film leading to more bookings. The best case scenario is Snake Outta Compton becomes mega successful and a sequel is made. Perhaps it could lead to a trilogy. Why not six films? If they can make six Sharknado's why not make seven Snake Outta Compton's.
A few weeks ago, I recall blogging about putting all my eggs in one basket. I might have referenced it as in putting my eggs in a Snake Basket. That basket has come and gone. At this very moment, I have no eggs. I don't mean to sound doubtful but now that the premiere is done and gone, I no longer see my role in Snake Outta Compton as a potential turning point. I was at least previously hoping for a turning point. To a slight degree, I can probably use some leverage from my role, but I'm essentially starting over at this very moment. I truly doubt any casting directors are going to be seeking me out because of my riveting role as "Pinball." Thus, I got to take any amount of momentum leftover and move forward fast. I can't look back. A worldwide distributed film doesn't guarantee anything. That's the reality of the entertainment business. There's a bigger chance that it only makes my journey harder. I could be forming into an unbookable typecast. Speculating about the positive or negative affects of this film is pointless. As a result, I just got to keep it moving.
I'm honestly a bit empty right now. I'm mostly empty from all the editing after the premiere. Editing those interviews was a bit intensive. I thought was in the best interest of the film to get the videos out during the opening weekend. Watching people steal videos/photos for its source also isn't very encouraging. Isn't social media designed for sharing? Nonetheless, I went from living in the movement in a great space into empty place. What's next? That just means my spirits are a little low but that's nothing new.
The very next day after the premiere, I was scheduled to do background work. After a long wonderful night from being one of the main attractions, I had to wake up the next morning to do background work. The transition is kind of deflating but oh well. Thankfully, I don't have bighead syndrome. I humbly showed up for background work at Paramount Studios. It's for a new show called Family Reunion that's going to eventually launch on Netflix. Last week, I responded to Central Casting for a featured Role named Marty. I didn't hear back about the featured role. I later got an inquiry about playing a student on the same show. That essentially means I'll be walking in the background. I arrived on set and in a short period of time, they put us to work. They had positioned by the lockers within a good view of the cameras. I was content about my position early on. After my first scene was completed, I made my way back to the holding area. I wondered a little and before I could grab a seat, they grabbed me for the next scene. They switched out the preselected Marty feature role and replaced him with me. To my understanding, I was told the director wanted a "Black" Marty. I jumped right into the role. Things were moving really fast. While still in the rehearsal stages, I got pulled out of the scene. I thought they were going to replace me with someone else. They actually needed to change my pants into shorts. I will more than likely be very visible in the entire episode. With long pants and short pants.
Another cool thing about the shoot was the company I was in. This show Family Reunion is starring Mark Curry, Loretta Devine, and Tia Mowry. Plus, they were all very pleasant. Each of them interacted with me a refreshing kind of way. Whether it was Tia greeting me when crossing paths or it might have been Loretta making jokes about what I was wearing. I had to wear a dress during the last scene of the day but it's not as bad as it sounds. I wasn't the only guy wearing a dress. Don't judge. You'll understand when you watch the episode. I hope you'll understand. Moreover, they all gave off positive energy. That's the kind of energy that I appreciate on a film set. I even got eye contact and a subtle greeting from Mark Curry on the second day. He gave me a lot of eye contact during the dress scene. The reason why any of this is news is that some actors won't even acknowledge the existence of background actors. I won't say any names but a lot of the leads on the show Grown-ish are notorious of that. I asked around and I'm not the only background actor that experienced this with the Grown-ish cast. Sure, the Grown-ish cast is a lot younger but that's still no excuse. Aside from the comparisons, I would consider my two days doing background work on Family Reunion as magical. It was the first time I had my role bumped up and I would love to believe it's a sign.
During the summer, I declared this period as my background farewell tour. That's the title of one of my blog posts. With Snake Outta Compton was on the horizon, I anticipated the birth of a turning point soon afterward. I'm still not against background work and there's probably a lot more lined up in my future. Without or without the foreseeable future of background work, the thought of my feature bump being some type of sign was welcoming. It was also nice to get compliments from someone seeing me in action for the first time. The first person I noticed when I arrived was a lady named Susan. She's friends with my landlady and it took her a moment to recognize me. It took me half a moment but it's understandable. It was the first time was saw each other outside of my home environment. We spoke a few times throughout the day and she had a lot of great things to say about my performance.
The third item of significance is a SAG Toyota commercial audition I had on Friday. The notice came to me at a surprise on Thursday. I've been in this business for over eight years and I've never ever booked a SAG commercial audition. Not once, not even as background. I generally don't even write about commercials in detail but how serendipitous it would be to book my first SAG commercial audition during Week 423. That would truly represent a turning point in my quest, ushering in the breakthrough I've been longing for. I left the room with a positive outlook on my performance but of course, that doesn't mean anything. I left the audition room confident hundreds of times before and it always resulted in not booking the gig. Yet, hope is still alive and well. Upon writing this I don't know what's going to happen. I didn't hear anything during the weekend but I'm assuming they'll make contact with actors on Monday of Week 424. Only time will tell. If I get it I'll be totally wowed. If not, oh well. That's the business as usual.
As significant as I desire Week 423 to be, I still have to wait a while to see if it will add up to any real significance. The truth is, I won't realize the impact of Week 423 anytime soon...The business of entertainment is to hurry up and wait. That's probably the only part of the business I believe I've perfected.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
* Lake McArthur Pack
* Snake Outta Compton premiere. See photos HERE
* Edit (11-26-18), I forgot to write about one disappointing flaw during the premiere. I had a dang blemish on my forehead. Pimples on my forehead before something important never fails. Over a month later I'm still trying to get rid of the blemish.
Monday, October 22, 2018
* Guest departure
* Background work on a new Netflix show Family Reunion day 1. I got a feature bump.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
* Snake Outta Compton nationwide release
* Background work on a new Netflix show Family Reunion day 2.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
* Basketball...
* Editing and uploading Snake Outta Compton photos at Kevin's. Rode my bike there and back.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
* Basketball...
* Intense video getting for the Snake Outta Compton interivews
* Audition notice
Friday, October 26, 2018
* Toyota Rav 4 audition
* Trip to the library/Posting videos
* Emails sent out...
Saturday, October 27, 2018
* Tagging Snake premiere interviews
* SAG Film Society screening of GreenBook accompanied by my housemate Joyce.
* Prayer Potluck and photos shoot at Kevin's
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
For most of the last few weeks, I've had nothing groundbreaking to write about. I rushed through most of my blogs anticipating this leading moment. This leading week. When it's all said and done, Week 423 may be the most or one of the most significant weeks of my odyssey. Three things took place this week that could represent a turning point.
The most significant of the three began two years ago. I booked a big role in a film entitled Snake Outta Compton. Booking the role means nothing. Completing the shoot also meant nothing. There's always a chance the film will never get seen. Two years later it got picked up by Lionsgate for nationwide distribution. It's been out in the UK since summer and that still means nothing. Moving forward to Sunday, October 21, Snake Outta Compton had a sold-out premiere at The Downtown Independent. Now, this film is starting to have meaning. This premiere was a first-time experience for me. My name is second in the credits and all I had to do was show up, pose for photos and chit-chat. Doing such a simple task is not in my genetic makeup, especially when I can do more. During the event, someone on the Snake team complimented for handling the media but that wasn't my intentions. I think since the organizers of the event didn't make much media plans, I took on the appearance of handling it. I simply had the vision to expand the social exposure of Snake Outta Compton with some pre and post interviews. I assigned my friend Kevin of Kevin Boot Photography to take photos and I also had an assignment for his video equipment. With my direction, I had a cameraman (Jeff Meacham) and an interviewer (Nicole Rose Julian) conduct interviews with guest, cast, and crew. For various reasons, I'm not sure if I will do this again moving forward but I'm glad I did it for my first premiere.
Overall the event was great. There was one hiccup with someone on my media team yelling at a person but it was quickly rectified with an apology. Most of the people I invited showed up and they were all sincerely happy for me. It was a good moment to shine and that's what you're supposed to do at a premiere. It's equivalent of a wedding day for the actor. It's a rare moment some actors work extremely hard for and some will never enjoy this type of experience. I played the part...somewhat. I did what I was supposed to do for the moment but left foot was already 10 steps into the future. Two days after the premiere (Tuesday, October, 21) Snake Outta Compton was available nationwide. Anyone can now purchase the DVD on at Wal-Mart, Target and Best. You can also order it Amazon or stream it on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Video, Xbox Video, Redbox Digital, and several more outlets.
Some people received their ordered DVD's early and started posting photos of it on Facebook. Others went to the store and took pictures of the DVD on the shelves among other popular movies. I haven't had a chance to see it in the store yet but I look forward to seeing it for myself. So that does this all mean? I'd say I'm in an incredible space right now. I started producing and selling DVD's since college and my distribution strategy was based on or far I was willing to drive. Years later, I booked a prominent role in a silly movie and it's now available nationwide. Again, what does this all mean? It still means nothing. Ideally, it would be great to get exposure from the film leading to more bookings. The best case scenario is Snake Outta Compton becomes mega successful and a sequel is made. Perhaps it could lead to a trilogy. Why not six films? If they can make six Sharknado's why not make seven Snake Outta Compton's.
 |
| Snake Outta Compton, starring Motown Maurice and Ricky Flowers Jr. It this the new Shaknado series? |
I'm honestly a bit empty right now. I'm mostly empty from all the editing after the premiere. Editing those interviews was a bit intensive. I thought was in the best interest of the film to get the videos out during the opening weekend. Watching people steal videos/photos for its source also isn't very encouraging. Isn't social media designed for sharing? Nonetheless, I went from living in the movement in a great space into empty place. What's next? That just means my spirits are a little low but that's nothing new.
The very next day after the premiere, I was scheduled to do background work. After a long wonderful night from being one of the main attractions, I had to wake up the next morning to do background work. The transition is kind of deflating but oh well. Thankfully, I don't have bighead syndrome. I humbly showed up for background work at Paramount Studios. It's for a new show called Family Reunion that's going to eventually launch on Netflix. Last week, I responded to Central Casting for a featured Role named Marty. I didn't hear back about the featured role. I later got an inquiry about playing a student on the same show. That essentially means I'll be walking in the background. I arrived on set and in a short period of time, they put us to work. They had positioned by the lockers within a good view of the cameras. I was content about my position early on. After my first scene was completed, I made my way back to the holding area. I wondered a little and before I could grab a seat, they grabbed me for the next scene. They switched out the preselected Marty feature role and replaced him with me. To my understanding, I was told the director wanted a "Black" Marty. I jumped right into the role. Things were moving really fast. While still in the rehearsal stages, I got pulled out of the scene. I thought they were going to replace me with someone else. They actually needed to change my pants into shorts. I will more than likely be very visible in the entire episode. With long pants and short pants.
Another cool thing about the shoot was the company I was in. This show Family Reunion is starring Mark Curry, Loretta Devine, and Tia Mowry. Plus, they were all very pleasant. Each of them interacted with me a refreshing kind of way. Whether it was Tia greeting me when crossing paths or it might have been Loretta making jokes about what I was wearing. I had to wear a dress during the last scene of the day but it's not as bad as it sounds. I wasn't the only guy wearing a dress. Don't judge. You'll understand when you watch the episode. I hope you'll understand. Moreover, they all gave off positive energy. That's the kind of energy that I appreciate on a film set. I even got eye contact and a subtle greeting from Mark Curry on the second day. He gave me a lot of eye contact during the dress scene. The reason why any of this is news is that some actors won't even acknowledge the existence of background actors. I won't say any names but a lot of the leads on the show Grown-ish are notorious of that. I asked around and I'm not the only background actor that experienced this with the Grown-ish cast. Sure, the Grown-ish cast is a lot younger but that's still no excuse. Aside from the comparisons, I would consider my two days doing background work on Family Reunion as magical. It was the first time I had my role bumped up and I would love to believe it's a sign.
During the summer, I declared this period as my background farewell tour. That's the title of one of my blog posts. With Snake Outta Compton was on the horizon, I anticipated the birth of a turning point soon afterward. I'm still not against background work and there's probably a lot more lined up in my future. Without or without the foreseeable future of background work, the thought of my feature bump being some type of sign was welcoming. It was also nice to get compliments from someone seeing me in action for the first time. The first person I noticed when I arrived was a lady named Susan. She's friends with my landlady and it took her a moment to recognize me. It took me half a moment but it's understandable. It was the first time was saw each other outside of my home environment. We spoke a few times throughout the day and she had a lot of great things to say about my performance.
The third item of significance is a SAG Toyota commercial audition I had on Friday. The notice came to me at a surprise on Thursday. I've been in this business for over eight years and I've never ever booked a SAG commercial audition. Not once, not even as background. I generally don't even write about commercials in detail but how serendipitous it would be to book my first SAG commercial audition during Week 423. That would truly represent a turning point in my quest, ushering in the breakthrough I've been longing for. I left the room with a positive outlook on my performance but of course, that doesn't mean anything. I left the audition room confident hundreds of times before and it always resulted in not booking the gig. Yet, hope is still alive and well. Upon writing this I don't know what's going to happen. I didn't hear anything during the weekend but I'm assuming they'll make contact with actors on Monday of Week 424. Only time will tell. If I get it I'll be totally wowed. If not, oh well. That's the business as usual.
As significant as I desire Week 423 to be, I still have to wait a while to see if it will add up to any real significance. The truth is, I won't realize the impact of Week 423 anytime soon...The business of entertainment is to hurry up and wait. That's probably the only part of the business I believe I've perfected.
Sunday, October 21, 2018
* Lake McArthur Pack
* Snake Outta Compton premiere. See photos HERE
* Edit (11-26-18), I forgot to write about one disappointing flaw during the premiere. I had a dang blemish on my forehead. Pimples on my forehead before something important never fails. Over a month later I'm still trying to get rid of the blemish.
Monday, October 22, 2018
* Guest departure
* Background work on a new Netflix show Family Reunion day 1. I got a feature bump.
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
* Snake Outta Compton nationwide release
* Background work on a new Netflix show Family Reunion day 2.
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
* Basketball...
* Editing and uploading Snake Outta Compton photos at Kevin's. Rode my bike there and back.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
* Basketball...
* Intense video getting for the Snake Outta Compton interivews
* Audition notice
Friday, October 26, 2018
* Toyota Rav 4 audition
* Trip to the library/Posting videos
* Emails sent out...
Saturday, October 27, 2018
* Tagging Snake premiere interviews
* SAG Film Society screening of GreenBook accompanied by my housemate Joyce.
* Prayer Potluck and photos shoot at Kevin's
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Week 422: Tour Guide Express
Weekly Written Review
From the start of this week, there are only seven days remaining before I confront what is essentially the significant day of my journey. Sunday, October 21, represents an event that could be the turning point of my quest. There's potentially a lot on the line for Week 423 and I took on the role of a tour guide a few days before :-) I spent most of this week preparing and planning ahead because of my anticipated guest. I didn't complete everything but I think the most important stuff was completed. I wanted to give myself a hair but I couldn't find the time. Oh well...The last time I had a guest visit me was during the first quarter of 2012. That was an interesting experience. There were a lot of fun moments but it didn't end very well. Hence, that's not the reason I haven't had a guest since. No one has seriously acquired about visiting me until recently. Prior conversations have been mostly small talk until I mentioned the premiere of Snake Outta Compton. The screening was the deciding factor. It allowed my guest to book a ticket worth purchasing. Early Friday afternoon, I rented a car with Blue LA, picked up my guest from LAX and officially became a tour guide for the remainder of the weekend. Using the description as "tour guide" might come off as negative but that's not necessarily true. There were a lot of pros to the situation. There were also some cons but I won't mention any of them in detail. Guiding someone around the city of LA had its cool points. It was nice to visit places I haven't been in a while. Plus seeing the joy and excitement in the persons face during their first time LA experiences is rewarding. It's my pleasure to please, serve, tour and guide. The cons, on the other hand, are too personality specific for me to blog about. I don't use this platform to rant about individual people. I prefer to rant about my overall journey and unwelcoming annoyances in the entertainment industry.
My guest actually did absolutely nothing wrong. Yet, sometimes in life what a person doesn't do trigger flags or causes me to fade away. In my current day interactions with people, more specifically women, I'm able to make acute observations about a person within a short period of time. Often times those observations will affect the energy I put into that person moving forward. My energy is one of my superpowers and I refuse to share it with certain types of people. Thus, energy is just a small part of it. I'll easily fade away from people if there's no effort or if the person plain out doesn't have it. Unfortunately, my interactions with my guest reminded me of a handful of people from my past. Some of those people didn't have it nor did they reciprocate any energy or effort. To be frank, some of those people from my past were way too into themselves to sustain a relationship with me. In simple terms, this weekend came to a conclusion without a positive impression. Upon recognizing certain personality traits in people, I immediately know what time it is and I begin to clock out.
I would like to be more descriptive but that might cause me to be specific and I rather not. Under these circumstances, I'll write about a different but somewhat similar situation that caused me to fade away from a person. January of 2017, I was still in Tampa for Christmas break. A good portion of 2016 I was in contact with a college friend. She went through a lost and I did my best to be a shoulder for her. Aside from the lost, we touched base from time to time. We talked about me visiting her during the break and I made it happen. I took an Amtrac to the location and she had me waiting over an hour and a half after my arrival. The train ride was already 4 hours. I kept her informed and she knew I was coming. None of that mattered because she was still late. When she arrived I took a deep breath and I did my best to put her tardiness behind me. I didn't complain. I might have been a bit silent because of the energy she already depleted but I didn't complain. On the way to her house, she spent most of the ride complaining about her job. This is the same job we were both celebrating about her getting a few months ago. We also had to stop at the supermarket to get food because her refrigerator had none in it. Even after shopping, there wasn't much food available to eat. She planned nothing ahead of time and I had a miserable few days. The thing about me is, if I'm in a situation where I'm not pleasured, I won't express it. I get through it and make sure I never put myself in that situation again. I've been cordial with her the few times we've communicated since the trip but she certainly isn't worthy of my full energy.
Silence is my overall approach with humans, a species I've yet to fully comprehend. So will I ever be a Tour Guide again? Maybe but it's certainly not something I'm looking forward to doing anytime soon. This weekend was also a reminder of how much I enjoy being to myself. I'm a loner. I have the powers to adapt to any situation but I'm built and conditioned for an isolated lifestyle.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
* Laundry day...
* Facebooking posting about the video game party yesterday
Monday, October 15, 2018
* Slow day...
* Urgent audition request for PA Nation. That gave me a good reason not to play tennis. I didn't want to play today anyway. I more so didn't want to travel to the courts. Audition sent the same day.
* Food 4 Less/Cat Food pick up
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
* On My Block - Background work (8:30am - 7:20pm) I didn't enjoy the shoot that much because you probably won't see me in the episode. Aside from the sucky shoot, I connected with one a young man at the shoot and we ended up playing basketball at the Olympic Place apartments the same night. I had fun but the rims were not 10 feet. It was shorter. Not cool.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
* Basketball...
* Writing Snake interview script/questions
Thursday, October 18, 2018
* Basketball...good games. My team won all 3 and I had the game-winning put back in the end.
* Room clean up...hair trim
* Happy Birthday Kevin Boot
* Cat food pick up/Food 4 Less
Friday, October 19, 2018
* Blue LA rental, guest LAX arrival and pick up
* USC Trader Joes, Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA)
Saturday, October 20, 2018
* Hollywood Blvd, Runyon Canyon, and celebrating Kevin's Birthday at The Electric Pussy Cat.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
From the start of this week, there are only seven days remaining before I confront what is essentially the significant day of my journey. Sunday, October 21, represents an event that could be the turning point of my quest. There's potentially a lot on the line for Week 423 and I took on the role of a tour guide a few days before :-) I spent most of this week preparing and planning ahead because of my anticipated guest. I didn't complete everything but I think the most important stuff was completed. I wanted to give myself a hair but I couldn't find the time. Oh well...The last time I had a guest visit me was during the first quarter of 2012. That was an interesting experience. There were a lot of fun moments but it didn't end very well. Hence, that's not the reason I haven't had a guest since. No one has seriously acquired about visiting me until recently. Prior conversations have been mostly small talk until I mentioned the premiere of Snake Outta Compton. The screening was the deciding factor. It allowed my guest to book a ticket worth purchasing. Early Friday afternoon, I rented a car with Blue LA, picked up my guest from LAX and officially became a tour guide for the remainder of the weekend. Using the description as "tour guide" might come off as negative but that's not necessarily true. There were a lot of pros to the situation. There were also some cons but I won't mention any of them in detail. Guiding someone around the city of LA had its cool points. It was nice to visit places I haven't been in a while. Plus seeing the joy and excitement in the persons face during their first time LA experiences is rewarding. It's my pleasure to please, serve, tour and guide. The cons, on the other hand, are too personality specific for me to blog about. I don't use this platform to rant about individual people. I prefer to rant about my overall journey and unwelcoming annoyances in the entertainment industry.
My guest actually did absolutely nothing wrong. Yet, sometimes in life what a person doesn't do trigger flags or causes me to fade away. In my current day interactions with people, more specifically women, I'm able to make acute observations about a person within a short period of time. Often times those observations will affect the energy I put into that person moving forward. My energy is one of my superpowers and I refuse to share it with certain types of people. Thus, energy is just a small part of it. I'll easily fade away from people if there's no effort or if the person plain out doesn't have it. Unfortunately, my interactions with my guest reminded me of a handful of people from my past. Some of those people didn't have it nor did they reciprocate any energy or effort. To be frank, some of those people from my past were way too into themselves to sustain a relationship with me. In simple terms, this weekend came to a conclusion without a positive impression. Upon recognizing certain personality traits in people, I immediately know what time it is and I begin to clock out.
I would like to be more descriptive but that might cause me to be specific and I rather not. Under these circumstances, I'll write about a different but somewhat similar situation that caused me to fade away from a person. January of 2017, I was still in Tampa for Christmas break. A good portion of 2016 I was in contact with a college friend. She went through a lost and I did my best to be a shoulder for her. Aside from the lost, we touched base from time to time. We talked about me visiting her during the break and I made it happen. I took an Amtrac to the location and she had me waiting over an hour and a half after my arrival. The train ride was already 4 hours. I kept her informed and she knew I was coming. None of that mattered because she was still late. When she arrived I took a deep breath and I did my best to put her tardiness behind me. I didn't complain. I might have been a bit silent because of the energy she already depleted but I didn't complain. On the way to her house, she spent most of the ride complaining about her job. This is the same job we were both celebrating about her getting a few months ago. We also had to stop at the supermarket to get food because her refrigerator had none in it. Even after shopping, there wasn't much food available to eat. She planned nothing ahead of time and I had a miserable few days. The thing about me is, if I'm in a situation where I'm not pleasured, I won't express it. I get through it and make sure I never put myself in that situation again. I've been cordial with her the few times we've communicated since the trip but she certainly isn't worthy of my full energy.
Silence is my overall approach with humans, a species I've yet to fully comprehend. So will I ever be a Tour Guide again? Maybe but it's certainly not something I'm looking forward to doing anytime soon. This weekend was also a reminder of how much I enjoy being to myself. I'm a loner. I have the powers to adapt to any situation but I'm built and conditioned for an isolated lifestyle.
Sunday, October 14, 2018
* Laundry day...
* Facebooking posting about the video game party yesterday
Monday, October 15, 2018
* Slow day...
* Urgent audition request for PA Nation. That gave me a good reason not to play tennis. I didn't want to play today anyway. I more so didn't want to travel to the courts. Audition sent the same day.
* Food 4 Less/Cat Food pick up
Tuesday, October 16, 2018
* On My Block - Background work (8:30am - 7:20pm) I didn't enjoy the shoot that much because you probably won't see me in the episode. Aside from the sucky shoot, I connected with one a young man at the shoot and we ended up playing basketball at the Olympic Place apartments the same night. I had fun but the rims were not 10 feet. It was shorter. Not cool.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
* Basketball...
* Writing Snake interview script/questions
Thursday, October 18, 2018
* Basketball...good games. My team won all 3 and I had the game-winning put back in the end.
* Room clean up...hair trim
* Happy Birthday Kevin Boot
* Cat food pick up/Food 4 Less
Friday, October 19, 2018
* Blue LA rental, guest LAX arrival and pick up
* USC Trader Joes, Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA)
Saturday, October 20, 2018
* Hollywood Blvd, Runyon Canyon, and celebrating Kevin's Birthday at The Electric Pussy Cat.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Week 421: Counting Down
Weekly Written Review
This was a good week. I got a lot done and I got close with an audition. I probably wasn't close at all but I got a callback. It was a full scheduled week. I played my weekly fix of sports and did some work in front of the camera. I loaded up on food and I dominated in tennis singles. The highlights are below but there's nothing with significance to report. We have to wait until Week 423 for that. On that note, I'm out.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
* Phone call day...
* Snake planning/emails...
Monday, October 8, 2018
* Blogging...
* Tennis...
* Got an audition notice around 9:30pm while playing tennis
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
* Langston's Membership Dinner and reception. Took some photos for the president.
* Basketball...
* Oculus audition. Used the Bird scooter for the first time in Santa Monica. It was cool.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
* Basketball...
* Smart & Final attempt to get water but they were out. Got a one or two other things instead.
* Got a callback notice for Oculus around 9:30pm again. That put me in a tight situation for tomorrow with background work.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
* Oculus call back
* My audition call-time was 11:30am. I had to do background for Grown-ish at 11am. I took a chance and got to the audition at 10am. To my surprise, they already started. After that I took a Lyft to Burbank and got to Disney studios at 11:04am. Then I found out the call time got pushed to 11:30am so I was extra early. It was a good day.
* Grown-ish background work
Friday, October 12, 2018
* Tennis...I started out rough ( actually always start off rough when playing tennis) I lost the first set 5 to 7. Then in the next set, I was losing 5 to Love. It wasn't looking good. All Erick needed was one more when. Somehow, someway I hit the switch. I came back and own the next 7 games and but him 7 to 5. I was really impressed with that win. I won the next set 6 to 1. We were playing a best of 3 matches.
* USC Trader Joe's and Food 4 Less pick up with...
* Wiki interview/submission
* SAG Movie Film: Can You Ever Forgive me. Accompanied by Maribel.
Saturday, October 13, 2018
* Dollar store water pickup and Ralphs thanks to my ride.
* Video Game Party part 4 at Kevin's. It was fun.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
This was a good week. I got a lot done and I got close with an audition. I probably wasn't close at all but I got a callback. It was a full scheduled week. I played my weekly fix of sports and did some work in front of the camera. I loaded up on food and I dominated in tennis singles. The highlights are below but there's nothing with significance to report. We have to wait until Week 423 for that. On that note, I'm out.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
* Phone call day...
* Snake planning/emails...
Monday, October 8, 2018
* Blogging...
* Tennis...
* Got an audition notice around 9:30pm while playing tennis
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
* Langston's Membership Dinner and reception. Took some photos for the president.
* Basketball...
* Oculus audition. Used the Bird scooter for the first time in Santa Monica. It was cool.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
* Basketball...
* Smart & Final attempt to get water but they were out. Got a one or two other things instead.
* Got a callback notice for Oculus around 9:30pm again. That put me in a tight situation for tomorrow with background work.
Thursday, October 11, 2018
* Oculus call back
* My audition call-time was 11:30am. I had to do background for Grown-ish at 11am. I took a chance and got to the audition at 10am. To my surprise, they already started. After that I took a Lyft to Burbank and got to Disney studios at 11:04am. Then I found out the call time got pushed to 11:30am so I was extra early. It was a good day.
* Grown-ish background work
Friday, October 12, 2018
* Tennis...I started out rough ( actually always start off rough when playing tennis) I lost the first set 5 to 7. Then in the next set, I was losing 5 to Love. It wasn't looking good. All Erick needed was one more when. Somehow, someway I hit the switch. I came back and own the next 7 games and but him 7 to 5. I was really impressed with that win. I won the next set 6 to 1. We were playing a best of 3 matches.
* USC Trader Joe's and Food 4 Less pick up with...
* Wiki interview/submission
* SAG Movie Film: Can You Ever Forgive me. Accompanied by Maribel.
Saturday, October 13, 2018
* Dollar store water pickup and Ralphs thanks to my ride.
* Video Game Party part 4 at Kevin's. It was fun.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Monday, October 8, 2018
Week 420: It's Movie Season
Weekly Written Review
Wow, it's the fourth quarter of 2018. How time flies! The year is basically over and I'm ending it while watching a lot of movies. I recently joined the SAG-Aftra Film Society and I can see box office movies with a guest on Friday's and Saturday's. It started this week and it was cool. It gives me a reason to go to the movies to do homework and a better reason to treat a good person in my life.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
* Wiki interview...
* Got invited to the Magic Castle. It was different. It's a cool new experience.
Monday, October 1, 2018
* Grown-ish shoot. Long day... Only had two hours of sleep because of the Magic Castle last night. Left my house at 4:30am. Arrived at 6:00am. Wrapped at 7:42pm and got home around 9pm. Either way, I was energized throughout the day. It should also be a nice overtime check.
* Snake Outta Compton premiere inviting/emailing...
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
* Basketball...
* Wiki work...
* Snake media inviting...
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
* EBT meeting and a new card request
* Wells Fargo/Dollar Store/Cat food
* Wiki interview...
* Snake emailing...
Thursday, October 4, 2018
* Man with a Plan background work. Short day...7:30am to 10:45am
* Trader Joes run...
* Wiki interview...sending photos
Friday, October 5, 2018
* Basketball...I was on fire. Today I got the most compliments ever playing at YMCA. My team got 3 straight wins. Four straight wins if you count the last game. One guy kept calling bogus calls and my team had enough. Two split up and so did the rest of us. It was game point for both teams when we left.
* Audition...
* Super Mario Party pick up
* First day of SAG Aftra Film Society, A Star is Born. Accompanied by Shebana.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
* Wiki interview...I was told it's 95% ready. Mostly needs another proofreader.
* SAG Film Society, First Man. Accompanied by Kevin Boot.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Wow, it's the fourth quarter of 2018. How time flies! The year is basically over and I'm ending it while watching a lot of movies. I recently joined the SAG-Aftra Film Society and I can see box office movies with a guest on Friday's and Saturday's. It started this week and it was cool. It gives me a reason to go to the movies to do homework and a better reason to treat a good person in my life.
Sunday, September 30, 2018
* Wiki interview...
* Got invited to the Magic Castle. It was different. It's a cool new experience.
Monday, October 1, 2018
* Grown-ish shoot. Long day... Only had two hours of sleep because of the Magic Castle last night. Left my house at 4:30am. Arrived at 6:00am. Wrapped at 7:42pm and got home around 9pm. Either way, I was energized throughout the day. It should also be a nice overtime check.
* Snake Outta Compton premiere inviting/emailing...
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
* Basketball...
* Wiki work...
* Snake media inviting...
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
* EBT meeting and a new card request
* Wells Fargo/Dollar Store/Cat food
* Wiki interview...
* Snake emailing...
Thursday, October 4, 2018
* Man with a Plan background work. Short day...7:30am to 10:45am
* Trader Joes run...
* Wiki interview...sending photos
Friday, October 5, 2018
* Basketball...I was on fire. Today I got the most compliments ever playing at YMCA. My team got 3 straight wins. Four straight wins if you count the last game. One guy kept calling bogus calls and my team had enough. Two split up and so did the rest of us. It was game point for both teams when we left.
* Audition...
* Super Mario Party pick up
* First day of SAG Aftra Film Society, A Star is Born. Accompanied by Shebana.
Saturday, October 6, 2018
* Wiki interview...I was told it's 95% ready. Mostly needs another proofreader.
* SAG Film Society, First Man. Accompanied by Kevin Boot.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Week 419: The Fall of Motown Maurice
Weekly Written Review
In February, I had the realization that it will be The Summer of Motown. That didn't end up happening. All the projects I expected to release during the summer got pushed back. Now it's set to be The Fall of Motown Maurice. That's right. Sunday, September 23rd represented the first full day of fall and in exactly one month from that date Snake Outta Compton will release nationwide. I thought another project I'm starring in was going to release in the fall but I heard it's plagued with animation problems. Oishi Demon Hunter might not release until next year. That's if they ever work it out. Reguardless, I'm setting the Snake Outta Compton release to be the turning point of my career and I'm finding inspiration everywhere.
After a special person sent me a link to an Erykah Badu song, Window Seat. Her music really caught my attention. Espeically after I noticed her get naked in that video! I realized I've been slipping on her tunes. I love nu-soul with D'Angela being my favorite artist but I've never really played much attention to her. Other than, Erykah Badu being the sound track of most poerty nights, I never proactively tried to listen to her. Now that she's got my attention I started to research her I learned a lot of cool things about her, mostly from her Wikipeda page. I listened to her music on repeat for most of this week and beyond. I Want You, is the jam. When I wasn't thinking about her, I was thinking about the upcoming release of Snake Outta Compton and the defination of the word leverage. I'm thinking percisely about how I can leverage what I have or set up what I need to be fully equipped and aligned for the Snake Outta Compton release. As a result, Wikipeida came to mind. My recent research my have helped with that. Can you believe I don't have a Wikipedia page!? At one time around 2010-ish I might of had a sentence or two up but it eventually came down. I don't know who put it up and it wasn't good anyway. Well it just so happens, that of this week "someone" has been interviewing me and establishing my page 😉. We found out early on that Wikipedia is strick, which is good. The "person" put up a single paragraph and it was declined. After after the "person" decided to go all in. With the release of Snake Outta Compton looming, I believe this is a great look. People may love the cast and crew then start looking them up. At the end of the day, it's just another avenue to share my incredible story. A story that the whole world will soon know.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
* 1st day of full day of Fall
* Recycling...
* Cat food pick up/food 4 less
Monday, September 24, 2018
* Grownish day 3...short day 7:48am -11:30am
* Took a nap and woke up to a very memorable dream. In the dream, this lady kept telling me the number 26 over and over and over again. Well, in my family when you remember your dream with numbers you play them. I took my moms advice and waited until Wednesday the 26th to play different combinations of 26. I didn't win anything but it was a cool change of pace. I truly can't recall the last time I played the lottery. This was probably my second third time overall while in LA.
* Tennis...
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
* Wikipedia spark, initiation and research...
* KFC treat
* Played the lottery
* Tea with Maribel
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
* Lottery results. No bueno. I don't really want to win anyway but I had to respect my dream.
* Basketball...
* Wikipedia work...
Thursday, September 27, 2018
* Basketball...
* Wikipedia work...
Friday, September 28, 2018
* Modeling fitting for the movie Torrence. I was being considered for a role on this film last week. I never heard back. Somehow I'm the right body type to try on the attire for the actors but not good enough for the film. Oh well...
* Cat food/fruit pick up/Food 4 Less
Saturday, September 29, 2018
* Wikipedia work...
* Thai dinner with Maribel
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
In February, I had the realization that it will be The Summer of Motown. That didn't end up happening. All the projects I expected to release during the summer got pushed back. Now it's set to be The Fall of Motown Maurice. That's right. Sunday, September 23rd represented the first full day of fall and in exactly one month from that date Snake Outta Compton will release nationwide. I thought another project I'm starring in was going to release in the fall but I heard it's plagued with animation problems. Oishi Demon Hunter might not release until next year. That's if they ever work it out. Reguardless, I'm setting the Snake Outta Compton release to be the turning point of my career and I'm finding inspiration everywhere.
After a special person sent me a link to an Erykah Badu song, Window Seat. Her music really caught my attention. Espeically after I noticed her get naked in that video! I realized I've been slipping on her tunes. I love nu-soul with D'Angela being my favorite artist but I've never really played much attention to her. Other than, Erykah Badu being the sound track of most poerty nights, I never proactively tried to listen to her. Now that she's got my attention I started to research her I learned a lot of cool things about her, mostly from her Wikipeda page. I listened to her music on repeat for most of this week and beyond. I Want You, is the jam. When I wasn't thinking about her, I was thinking about the upcoming release of Snake Outta Compton and the defination of the word leverage. I'm thinking percisely about how I can leverage what I have or set up what I need to be fully equipped and aligned for the Snake Outta Compton release. As a result, Wikipeida came to mind. My recent research my have helped with that. Can you believe I don't have a Wikipedia page!? At one time around 2010-ish I might of had a sentence or two up but it eventually came down. I don't know who put it up and it wasn't good anyway. Well it just so happens, that of this week "someone" has been interviewing me and establishing my page 😉. We found out early on that Wikipedia is strick, which is good. The "person" put up a single paragraph and it was declined. After after the "person" decided to go all in. With the release of Snake Outta Compton looming, I believe this is a great look. People may love the cast and crew then start looking them up. At the end of the day, it's just another avenue to share my incredible story. A story that the whole world will soon know.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
* 1st day of full day of Fall
* Recycling...
* Cat food pick up/food 4 less
Monday, September 24, 2018
* Grownish day 3...short day 7:48am -11:30am
* Took a nap and woke up to a very memorable dream. In the dream, this lady kept telling me the number 26 over and over and over again. Well, in my family when you remember your dream with numbers you play them. I took my moms advice and waited until Wednesday the 26th to play different combinations of 26. I didn't win anything but it was a cool change of pace. I truly can't recall the last time I played the lottery. This was probably my second third time overall while in LA.
* Tennis...
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
* Wikipedia spark, initiation and research...
* KFC treat
* Played the lottery
* Tea with Maribel
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
* Lottery results. No bueno. I don't really want to win anyway but I had to respect my dream.
* Basketball...
* Wikipedia work...
Thursday, September 27, 2018
* Basketball...
* Wikipedia work...
Friday, September 28, 2018
* Modeling fitting for the movie Torrence. I was being considered for a role on this film last week. I never heard back. Somehow I'm the right body type to try on the attire for the actors but not good enough for the film. Oh well...
* Cat food/fruit pick up/Food 4 Less
Saturday, September 29, 2018
* Wikipedia work...
* Thai dinner with Maribel
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Week 418: German Conspiracy
Weekly Written Review
Today we're going to investigate what's really going on in Germany. Are they conspiring against me? Or is it an overlooked technicality? I have two cases to examine. Of course, we'll start with Snake Outta Compton. The film has been out in Germany for a while, which is great. Someone at a networking mixer that I attended on Thursday told me Germany is the strictest place to distribute a film. If a film gets approved in Germany it's a shoe-in everyone else. That's good to know. From time to time, I google Snake Outta Compton and a while ago I noticed the DVD on sale via Blu-ray.com for Germany. Moreover, I investigated the listing and guess what I noticed? They don't have my name listed for the cast. Say what? As a matter of fact, they only listed Caucasians as the starring cast. Snake Outta Compton has a mostly African-American starring cast. They completely didn't list any of the real starring cast. What's up with that?! You want me to be diplomatic about this? Okay fine! Maybe they omitted me and all of the other African American's because this is our first major film credit. I asked the director about it he said he didn't know anything. Don't believe me check for yourself https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Snake-Outta-Compton-Blu-ray/197699/#Castandcrew
Shameless plug: While looking for the German link, I noticed you can pre-order the USA version of Snake Outta Compton at Wal-Mart now. Click HERE
Furthermore, I honestly didn't make a federal case about this specific German observation. I let the issue go until this week. There just happens to be another film I'm in that's circulating the world. It's a short film entitled Frenchies and it was shot a couple months after shooting Snake Outta Compton around December 2016. To my surprise, the film has been getting accepted into several film festivals. From 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and 21st Dances with Films. The director Punkwho "FT" Lin keeps announcing the film's acceptance into more festivals. Just this week FT announced that Frenchies got accepted into two festivals in Europe. Guess where one festival is located? You guessed right, Germany. Now guess who they excluded from the credit listing? Yup, Motown Maurice. According to the listing, I have no connection to this film. I'm the second lead actor in Frenchies and I'm also the only African American in the film. I'm also the second lead in Snake Outta Compton and you know what happened there. Check out the German listing of Frenchies for yourself. Click HERE.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
* Staples...had to go back a second time because I left my flash drive. Thankfully I got it.
* New blog photo cover photo shoot
* Used some money as props and returned it to my ATM
Monday, September 17, 2018
* Grown-ish background work day 1. Shortly after arriving myself and the other background actors found out that we're having a walk away lunch. That means they're not feeding us. I told another actor who missed the announcement and he looked me in shock and said, "Whatt! I thought this was Disney." This is the second time I've been on a big show's set and didn't get lunch. The first time was on Grey's Anatomy.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
* Grown-ish background work day 2
* Signed up Nintendo Online
* Cat food pickup for my landlady (Food 4 Less)
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
* Quest anniversary! I upgraded my new blog photo. To read my thoughts about my anniversary and my new blog photo click HERE
* Basketball...played longer than usual about 11:45-3:30. I had a nice fadeaway game-winner in my second to last game. My body was totally beat.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
* Slightly low spirited day...
* Bike Boys...I'm might be reconsidering...
* We Audition networking event. Slow start but I'm glad I attended. I'm still noticed by at least a few people everywhere I go.
Friday, September 21, 2018
* Basketball...
* Blogging...
* Someone emailed me from Thursday's networking event and shortly afterward I got an idea to email her manager. She gave me her blessing and sent off the email. Hey, you never know.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
* Self-hair cut. Any haircut from late January 2017 and beyond is a haircut I gave myself.
* Brand Ambassador event. Nocking Point Night Ender Event with Aisha Tyler. It also included Nocking Point's co-founder (and star of CW's Arrow) Stephen Amell. It was the easiest possible way to make money. Didn't do anything too serious for 5 hours and I had fun.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Today we're going to investigate what's really going on in Germany. Are they conspiring against me? Or is it an overlooked technicality? I have two cases to examine. Of course, we'll start with Snake Outta Compton. The film has been out in Germany for a while, which is great. Someone at a networking mixer that I attended on Thursday told me Germany is the strictest place to distribute a film. If a film gets approved in Germany it's a shoe-in everyone else. That's good to know. From time to time, I google Snake Outta Compton and a while ago I noticed the DVD on sale via Blu-ray.com for Germany. Moreover, I investigated the listing and guess what I noticed? They don't have my name listed for the cast. Say what? As a matter of fact, they only listed Caucasians as the starring cast. Snake Outta Compton has a mostly African-American starring cast. They completely didn't list any of the real starring cast. What's up with that?! You want me to be diplomatic about this? Okay fine! Maybe they omitted me and all of the other African American's because this is our first major film credit. I asked the director about it he said he didn't know anything. Don't believe me check for yourself https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Snake-Outta-Compton-Blu-ray/197699/#Castandcrew
Shameless plug: While looking for the German link, I noticed you can pre-order the USA version of Snake Outta Compton at Wal-Mart now. Click HERE
Furthermore, I honestly didn't make a federal case about this specific German observation. I let the issue go until this week. There just happens to be another film I'm in that's circulating the world. It's a short film entitled Frenchies and it was shot a couple months after shooting Snake Outta Compton around December 2016. To my surprise, the film has been getting accepted into several film festivals. From 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and 21st Dances with Films. The director Punkwho "FT" Lin keeps announcing the film's acceptance into more festivals. Just this week FT announced that Frenchies got accepted into two festivals in Europe. Guess where one festival is located? You guessed right, Germany. Now guess who they excluded from the credit listing? Yup, Motown Maurice. According to the listing, I have no connection to this film. I'm the second lead actor in Frenchies and I'm also the only African American in the film. I'm also the second lead in Snake Outta Compton and you know what happened there. Check out the German listing of Frenchies for yourself. Click HERE.
This is blasphemy! I'm trying not to accuse Germany of racism but damn it, what else do you call this. I find this pattern to be sickening. I don't get it and I refuse to exert my energy in trying to figure why. Especially when the proof is in the pudding. It does make me think. They're a common conception in the entertainment industry that films with a majority African American cast don't sell overseas. It possibly that Germans like practice this negligence. Whatever the case is, I'm moving forward. I'm sure this won't be the only country or entity that will somehow exclude me. For the record, the purpose of this post isn't to bash Germans. Instead, I'm calling out Germany questioning why the country is excluding African Americans. What do they have against people of African descent? What was done in the dark will come out to light!
On the bright side, I think the Russians like me. Someone from Russian contacted me on Facebook this week. They enjoyed me in Snake Outta Compton and they want my autograph :-)
Sunday, September 16, 2018
* Staples...had to go back a second time because I left my flash drive. Thankfully I got it.
* New blog photo cover photo shoot
* Used some money as props and returned it to my ATM
Monday, September 17, 2018
* Grown-ish background work day 1. Shortly after arriving myself and the other background actors found out that we're having a walk away lunch. That means they're not feeding us. I told another actor who missed the announcement and he looked me in shock and said, "Whatt! I thought this was Disney." This is the second time I've been on a big show's set and didn't get lunch. The first time was on Grey's Anatomy.
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
* Grown-ish background work day 2
* Signed up Nintendo Online
* Cat food pickup for my landlady (Food 4 Less)
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
* Quest anniversary! I upgraded my new blog photo. To read my thoughts about my anniversary and my new blog photo click HERE
* Basketball...played longer than usual about 11:45-3:30. I had a nice fadeaway game-winner in my second to last game. My body was totally beat.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
* Slightly low spirited day...
* Bike Boys...I'm might be reconsidering...
* We Audition networking event. Slow start but I'm glad I attended. I'm still noticed by at least a few people everywhere I go.
Friday, September 21, 2018
* Basketball...
* Blogging...
* Someone emailed me from Thursday's networking event and shortly afterward I got an idea to email her manager. She gave me her blessing and sent off the email. Hey, you never know.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
* Self-hair cut. Any haircut from late January 2017 and beyond is a haircut I gave myself.
* Brand Ambassador event. Nocking Point Night Ender Event with Aisha Tyler. It also included Nocking Point's co-founder (and star of CW's Arrow) Stephen Amell. It was the easiest possible way to make money. Didn't do anything too serious for 5 hours and I had fun.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Friday, September 21, 2018
Week 417: Invisible Progress!
Weekly Written Review
Next week (418) marks 8 years in LA and I'm obviously making invisible progress. That's me being positive because I'm about to be 8 years deep in this business and most it still makes no sense at all. On Wednesday, I had a Nike Jordan brand audition. I personally liked how my audition went. They made us do basketball drills and I didn't mess up. I never lost control of the ball and I made both of my layups. I was a little wowed. I think my YMCA membership has been paying off. At the end of the audition, the person behind the camera embraced me, called out my name and said I had a great audition. I actually left with a good vibe. Sure there were plenty of other basketball players there much more skilled than me but it's not about the skills. It's about the look and I came with my look. I met a guy that wasn't highly skilled but he booked previous Nike commercials because of his "look." He showed me a video on his Instagram. Granted Hollywood always has a role for light skinned brothers but it's further confirmation that I always have a running chance compared to near semi-pro ballers.
On Thursday, I had Lexus audition. That was odd because luxury companies never request me to audition. Yet, I thought I had hope because they were looking for a young musician. In the audition, I told them I played the harmonica and that I dibbled and dabbled with the guitar and piano. I did as instructed and I left the room with a pep in my step. A callback had to be in my future. If not both, at least one. The results were none and zero. That thought of possibly booking my first Nike commercial was a waste. Two sudden auditions within the range of Snake Outta Compton's USA release was delusional of me to think the universe is fortifying my favor.
I've actually come to hate these auditions. Yes, hate is a strong word that I rarely use but I do think it's appropriate. The moment I (or most actors) receives a SAG commercial notice, imaginations run wild. For me, my head fills up with thoughts of buying my parents a new house, paying off credit card debt and blessings a few good folks. I've learned not to expect anything from these auditions but my imagination is often out of my control. I'm not complaining but 8 years of the same results make no sense. I'm sure I've written about this frustration hundreds of times here's one hundred and one.
Less than two weeks ago my old agent reached out to me to say hi. In response, I shared a few things. Here's a snippet of what I wrote, "Not much has changed. I'm certainly auditioning a good amount and I'm booking a steady handful for small stuff here and there. Background work pays fairly decent now that I'm SAG, lol. The big payouts well, that evades me as usual. At times close, but that's as far as I'll get. I truly believe that I could audition as I've been doing (8 years next month) for the rest of my life and the results will stay the same. I'm just not the Hollywood type. This means I have to create a new type that doesn't currently exist. That will only happen when an unordinary/extraordinary occurrence takes place."
I stand by those words. I truly believe I could audition for the rest of my life in this industry with the same results unless something extraordinary happens. After that snippet, I went on to tell her about the upcoming release of Snake Outta Compton. I got so many eggs forced into that basket it's ridiculous. What's even more ridiculous is all this invisible progress I've been making. I've got a whole lot of invisible progress in just 8 years, it's just unfortunate you can't see it. :-/
Sunday, September 9, 2018
* Basketball audition sent
* Water/cat food pick up...(Smart & Final)
* Bike Boys trip...USC/Trader Joes/Food 4 Less.
* My landlady gave me a few nectarines last week and I realized I've been cheating myself. I love nectarines and peaches but since living in LA I normally skip them because I don't want to bother with washing them. Also because every now and then they're tasteless. Moreover, I picked up a whole bunch of them at Food 4 Less today and they were quickly devoured.
Monday, September 10, 2018
* Post Office...sent off a little gift to Arielle
* Started invited people to the Snake premiere
* Blogging...
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
* Basketball...
* Bike Boys Yoshinoya/Smart & Final
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
* Nike Jordan Brand audition
Thursday, September 13, 2018
* Basketball...
* Lexus audition
* Laff Mobb Tracks watch party at the Parlor
Friday, September 14, 2018
* Audition videos sent
* Slow day...
* Tennis...continued a previous match and lost it by losing the first 3 games. He shouldn't have done that. I won the next two sets. I believe I won one set 6 to 1 or 6 to 2.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
* Savoir Faire LA Brunch experience. Good food, music and a long night.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Next week (418) marks 8 years in LA and I'm obviously making invisible progress. That's me being positive because I'm about to be 8 years deep in this business and most it still makes no sense at all. On Wednesday, I had a Nike Jordan brand audition. I personally liked how my audition went. They made us do basketball drills and I didn't mess up. I never lost control of the ball and I made both of my layups. I was a little wowed. I think my YMCA membership has been paying off. At the end of the audition, the person behind the camera embraced me, called out my name and said I had a great audition. I actually left with a good vibe. Sure there were plenty of other basketball players there much more skilled than me but it's not about the skills. It's about the look and I came with my look. I met a guy that wasn't highly skilled but he booked previous Nike commercials because of his "look." He showed me a video on his Instagram. Granted Hollywood always has a role for light skinned brothers but it's further confirmation that I always have a running chance compared to near semi-pro ballers.
On Thursday, I had Lexus audition. That was odd because luxury companies never request me to audition. Yet, I thought I had hope because they were looking for a young musician. In the audition, I told them I played the harmonica and that I dibbled and dabbled with the guitar and piano. I did as instructed and I left the room with a pep in my step. A callback had to be in my future. If not both, at least one. The results were none and zero. That thought of possibly booking my first Nike commercial was a waste. Two sudden auditions within the range of Snake Outta Compton's USA release was delusional of me to think the universe is fortifying my favor.
I've actually come to hate these auditions. Yes, hate is a strong word that I rarely use but I do think it's appropriate. The moment I (or most actors) receives a SAG commercial notice, imaginations run wild. For me, my head fills up with thoughts of buying my parents a new house, paying off credit card debt and blessings a few good folks. I've learned not to expect anything from these auditions but my imagination is often out of my control. I'm not complaining but 8 years of the same results make no sense. I'm sure I've written about this frustration hundreds of times here's one hundred and one.
Less than two weeks ago my old agent reached out to me to say hi. In response, I shared a few things. Here's a snippet of what I wrote, "Not much has changed. I'm certainly auditioning a good amount and I'm booking a steady handful for small stuff here and there. Background work pays fairly decent now that I'm SAG, lol. The big payouts well, that evades me as usual. At times close, but that's as far as I'll get. I truly believe that I could audition as I've been doing (8 years next month) for the rest of my life and the results will stay the same. I'm just not the Hollywood type. This means I have to create a new type that doesn't currently exist. That will only happen when an unordinary/extraordinary occurrence takes place."
I stand by those words. I truly believe I could audition for the rest of my life in this industry with the same results unless something extraordinary happens. After that snippet, I went on to tell her about the upcoming release of Snake Outta Compton. I got so many eggs forced into that basket it's ridiculous. What's even more ridiculous is all this invisible progress I've been making. I've got a whole lot of invisible progress in just 8 years, it's just unfortunate you can't see it. :-/
Sunday, September 9, 2018
* Basketball audition sent
* Water/cat food pick up...(Smart & Final)
* Bike Boys trip...USC/Trader Joes/Food 4 Less.
* My landlady gave me a few nectarines last week and I realized I've been cheating myself. I love nectarines and peaches but since living in LA I normally skip them because I don't want to bother with washing them. Also because every now and then they're tasteless. Moreover, I picked up a whole bunch of them at Food 4 Less today and they were quickly devoured.
Monday, September 10, 2018
* Post Office...sent off a little gift to Arielle
* Started invited people to the Snake premiere
* Blogging...
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
* Basketball...
* Bike Boys Yoshinoya/Smart & Final
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
* Nike Jordan Brand audition
Thursday, September 13, 2018
* Basketball...
* Lexus audition
* Laff Mobb Tracks watch party at the Parlor
Friday, September 14, 2018
* Audition videos sent
* Slow day...
* Tennis...continued a previous match and lost it by losing the first 3 games. He shouldn't have done that. I won the next two sets. I believe I won one set 6 to 1 or 6 to 2.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
* Savoir Faire LA Brunch experience. Good food, music and a long night.
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Monday, September 10, 2018
Week 416: Friends. How many of us want them?
Weekly Written Review
The word "friend" is a very interesting word. This week I had an interesting back and forth email session about this topic. Here's an excerpt for that email.
In regards to my response below, take no offense towards my perspectives. I'm a very technical and/or literal about some things most people are not. So, I believe the word "friend" is thrown around very loosely on this planet. I try not to use that word as loose as others. I honestly see you more as a creative partner than a friend (which is absolutely what I prefer). Most of my relationships in LA are industry based. Of course, there's a byproduct of friendship when I'm around you or others I've worked with, but at the core of those relationships (our relationship), is creative business first. In all due respect, I am far more connected with you than a lot of people in LA. However, our relationship is still centered around creative stuff.
I've genuinely called two people in LA friend and that's because they actually put in effort/work to hang out with me with the exclusion of industry stuff. KB is one of them. Over the past couple of years, I've hung out with KB a lot without any camera involvement. Moreover, as I said previously, I don't consider myself a good friend and I actually prefer more creative/business partners in my journey like you. Maybe the structure of our relationship will evolve but for now, you being my creative partner is mostly how I see you and that's fantastic with me. Friendship is hard work and I'm not a big fan of too many friends anyway. Most people wouldn't want to be my friend because I'm a pretty boring person.
Without going into detail about the person's response, I'll stay it left the person sad and offended. That totally wasn't my intention, which left me egar to clarify the situation. Here's my following response.
I'm saddened that my words have made you sad. That was not my intent. I care very much about you and I deeply want you to be successful & happy. My words were meant to be a compliment. I think the difference here is our perspective and value of friendship. I have very few friends and I like it like that. Friends often want to hang out, party, spend money, drink, chill, travel and engage in a lot of casual conversation. I'm not interested in any of those things. I'm a certified loner and I'm comfortable being one. Friendship is a lot of responsibility as I mentioned before. Which is why I've embraced having fewer friends. Among all the types of humans, I've noticed that friends can be the most disappointing when the going gets tough. Most of our interactions are very productive, insightful and often times strategic. I appreciate that and value that the most. Here's the truth about most friends. Friends love you for you are, not who you're going to become. In general, I would prefer to have a whole lot of mentors than friends. If I had to chance to connect with Oprah or Tyler Perry, I wouldn't want to be their friend, I would rather be their business partner or them be my mentor. Although things are much slower for me right now, my mindset hasn't changed. I'm still very much obsessed with my journey and completing the task at hand. So once again, from a technical standpoint, I do view you as a creative partner first with friendship being a byproduct of that. Thus, please know this is me being sincere. I mean that with no disrespect. I'm truly blessed and thankful for your presence in my life. My mind views things very technically. Maybe it's technically unnecessary but I believe it's a good perspective to at least be aware of. ---------------------- This conversation is only mean to share a perspective with you. It's not to push you away, make you sad or uncomfortable. The other day, I shared with you a perspective on having "Good Problems." This is no different. You don't have to agree but because I care about you, I'll share a perspective from time to time. I think I'm older than you (I'm not sure, I have no clue of your age). As a result, I often make extra effort to share some of my wisdom with people younger than me. I want the same from people older than me. Take it or leave it. It's not personal. If you think I'm wrong, I'll respect your opinion I know you have a lot of other priorities in your life but as far as our career is concerned, the more industry mentors, advisors and creative partners we have, the better. Regardless of the title, I love you -----------. Hopefully, this response clears things up. Looking forward to connecting with you again in the near future. One love, Motown
Thankfully, I believe my last message cleared things up. Their reply stated that they understood. I'm grateful for that. I don't plan to further the topic of "friendship" with this person but at the days went by my mind pondered on a few things. One is how much power people give to the word, "Friend." Two, I actually believe because I thrive to be an outstanding person I have much more to often than "friendship." Whether you agree with my perspective/definition of "friendship" I should be judged by my actions. If you're in my life, I want to make your life better. Point blank period. It's very possible that some people might consider me as a friend because of my genuine actions but as you read, I evaluate things differently. Another thing I noticed is that I'll tell someone that I love them and it doesn't evoke a response. In many cases, its as if I didn't say anything at all. Most humans use the word "friend" very loosely but they're extremely tight using the word "love." I'm the opposite. Probably because I'm not human but that's a completely different conversation. Word to the wise, you can love someone unconditionally and not be their friend. No more talk.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
* Film audition. The notice came in yesterday at 6:30pm. It was a waste of time. There was a long wait and I didn't embrace the sides the way I should've. I messed up. Oh well.
* I found out Snowfall is on Youtube TV and that got me back into TV watching mode. I finished season 1 by the end of the week.
Monday, September 3, 2018
* Tennis
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
* Tennis/lunch with Kandace
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
* Sheball background work
Thursday, September 6, 2018
* PSA audition
* Rode my bike to play basketball at the YMCA but the gym was reserved for a safety meeting. I did my situps and pull-ups instead.
Friday, September 7, 2018
* Basketball
* Audition video sent
Saturday, September 8, 2018
* Basketball...I try to play basketball twice a week and Saturday my make up day.
* Tennis (1 Whopper)
* Double-dipped with two sports today
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
The word "friend" is a very interesting word. This week I had an interesting back and forth email session about this topic. Here's an excerpt for that email.
In regards to my response below, take no offense towards my perspectives. I'm a very technical and/or literal about some things most people are not. So, I believe the word "friend" is thrown around very loosely on this planet. I try not to use that word as loose as others. I honestly see you more as a creative partner than a friend (which is absolutely what I prefer). Most of my relationships in LA are industry based. Of course, there's a byproduct of friendship when I'm around you or others I've worked with, but at the core of those relationships (our relationship), is creative business first. In all due respect, I am far more connected with you than a lot of people in LA. However, our relationship is still centered around creative stuff.
I've genuinely called two people in LA friend and that's because they actually put in effort/work to hang out with me with the exclusion of industry stuff. KB is one of them. Over the past couple of years, I've hung out with KB a lot without any camera involvement. Moreover, as I said previously, I don't consider myself a good friend and I actually prefer more creative/business partners in my journey like you. Maybe the structure of our relationship will evolve but for now, you being my creative partner is mostly how I see you and that's fantastic with me. Friendship is hard work and I'm not a big fan of too many friends anyway. Most people wouldn't want to be my friend because I'm a pretty boring person.
Without going into detail about the person's response, I'll stay it left the person sad and offended. That totally wasn't my intention, which left me egar to clarify the situation. Here's my following response.
I'm saddened that my words have made you sad. That was not my intent. I care very much about you and I deeply want you to be successful & happy. My words were meant to be a compliment. I think the difference here is our perspective and value of friendship. I have very few friends and I like it like that. Friends often want to hang out, party, spend money, drink, chill, travel and engage in a lot of casual conversation. I'm not interested in any of those things. I'm a certified loner and I'm comfortable being one. Friendship is a lot of responsibility as I mentioned before. Which is why I've embraced having fewer friends. Among all the types of humans, I've noticed that friends can be the most disappointing when the going gets tough. Most of our interactions are very productive, insightful and often times strategic. I appreciate that and value that the most. Here's the truth about most friends. Friends love you for you are, not who you're going to become. In general, I would prefer to have a whole lot of mentors than friends. If I had to chance to connect with Oprah or Tyler Perry, I wouldn't want to be their friend, I would rather be their business partner or them be my mentor. Although things are much slower for me right now, my mindset hasn't changed. I'm still very much obsessed with my journey and completing the task at hand. So once again, from a technical standpoint, I do view you as a creative partner first with friendship being a byproduct of that. Thus, please know this is me being sincere. I mean that with no disrespect. I'm truly blessed and thankful for your presence in my life. My mind views things very technically. Maybe it's technically unnecessary but I believe it's a good perspective to at least be aware of. ---------------------- This conversation is only mean to share a perspective with you. It's not to push you away, make you sad or uncomfortable. The other day, I shared with you a perspective on having "Good Problems." This is no different. You don't have to agree but because I care about you, I'll share a perspective from time to time. I think I'm older than you (I'm not sure, I have no clue of your age). As a result, I often make extra effort to share some of my wisdom with people younger than me. I want the same from people older than me. Take it or leave it. It's not personal. If you think I'm wrong, I'll respect your opinion I know you have a lot of other priorities in your life but as far as our career is concerned, the more industry mentors, advisors and creative partners we have, the better. Regardless of the title, I love you -----------. Hopefully, this response clears things up. Looking forward to connecting with you again in the near future. One love, Motown
Thankfully, I believe my last message cleared things up. Their reply stated that they understood. I'm grateful for that. I don't plan to further the topic of "friendship" with this person but at the days went by my mind pondered on a few things. One is how much power people give to the word, "Friend." Two, I actually believe because I thrive to be an outstanding person I have much more to often than "friendship." Whether you agree with my perspective/definition of "friendship" I should be judged by my actions. If you're in my life, I want to make your life better. Point blank period. It's very possible that some people might consider me as a friend because of my genuine actions but as you read, I evaluate things differently. Another thing I noticed is that I'll tell someone that I love them and it doesn't evoke a response. In many cases, its as if I didn't say anything at all. Most humans use the word "friend" very loosely but they're extremely tight using the word "love." I'm the opposite. Probably because I'm not human but that's a completely different conversation. Word to the wise, you can love someone unconditionally and not be their friend. No more talk.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
* Film audition. The notice came in yesterday at 6:30pm. It was a waste of time. There was a long wait and I didn't embrace the sides the way I should've. I messed up. Oh well.
* I found out Snowfall is on Youtube TV and that got me back into TV watching mode. I finished season 1 by the end of the week.
Monday, September 3, 2018
* Tennis
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
* Tennis/lunch with Kandace
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
* Sheball background work
Thursday, September 6, 2018
* PSA audition
* Rode my bike to play basketball at the YMCA but the gym was reserved for a safety meeting. I did my situps and pull-ups instead.
Friday, September 7, 2018
* Basketball
* Audition video sent
Saturday, September 8, 2018
* Basketball...I try to play basketball twice a week and Saturday my make up day.
* Tennis (1 Whopper)
* Double-dipped with two sports today
As the quest continues...
The future of Late Night
Motown Maurice
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)