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.

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

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

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

Week 415: What's Wrong with Fanny Packs!?

Weekly Written Review 

I don't have much to offer my blog this week in terms of accomplishments. I did grind out a bunch of emails for management representation which was a total waste of time. Hey, when you have a spark, you try to make fire. When I finally get management representation for my screenplay, it will be a much more magical situation. Anyway, I do have one funny situation to share. Believe it or not, I'm not a woman magnet in Hollywood. Saying women hate me isn't far from the truth but it doesn't stop me from engaging in conversation. You know what! Let me clarify. Women in Hollywood that classify as a model have no interest in me no what so ever. Plus size women on the other hand, show me love...at times.

Moreover, I did background work on a show called Bosch this week. A sexy young model type lady caught my attention. We later got placed together for the scene. Causal flirting and a few laughs, nothing serious. She mostly told me "We can be friends." It's all entertaining to me. I don't have a motive. We later got wrapped. Now we're all separated, getting our stuff to get on the bus to take us back to base camp. Now she's in front of me with her girlfriend and they're surrounded by a lot of guys and they're talking about dating. Specifically, they're talking about "LA Guys". The girlfriend starts talking about a guy she met that looks good but he had a Fanny Pack and it ruined everything. They both cheerfully agreed how terrible Fanny Packs are. I'm next to them with all my stuff and after about 30 seconds I had enough. I abruptly interrupt their conversation with a yell. I'm like, "Hold up! What's wrong with Fanny Packs!?" Everyone looks towards my waist. The dudes are like, "oooohh." The girl I liked pretty much stepped into the shadows. Her girlfriend at least tried to explain herself. She thought my Fanny Pack wasn't fashionable, basically trying to say it was okay.

The bus took us to the spot, I signed out and I made to sure to address the girl before I left. I told her it was nice meeting her and it's too bad it won't work out between us because you discriminate against guys with Fanny Packs. She basically said, she just thinks it's "suspect" for a guy that wear a Fanny Pack. I personally find her and stuff like this amusing. I could write similar stories like these for days. One thing I do know is that everything comes around full circle. A time will come when she'll (they will) see me in a different position and revaluation their thoughts. Maybe even eat their words and embrace regret. Meanwhile, I enjoy this type of female rejection. Keep them coming. It's fun.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

* Audition video sent

* Got a light bulb to send out some literary manager query letters

* At Kevin's, picked up Pizza


Monday, August 27, 2018

* Sent out a multiple of query letters to managers, no response.

* Could've played tennis today but once I found out Erick wasn't going (meaning he wasn't picking me up) I got lazy and stayed home. My spirits were also slightly low.

* When for a bike ride and enjoyed some french fries and rice


Tuesday, August 28, 2018

* Sent a Disney VO audition. Last night I decided not to do it and this morning I was like what the hell. Let's just get it over with

* Basketball...

* Picked up some cat food for my landlady (Smart & Final)


Wednesday, August 29. 2018

* Chiropractor visit

* Bosch shoot...Fannypack dis

* Turned down background work for tomorrow and I'm glad I did.


Thursday, August 30, 2018

* Basketball...good balling

* Last day of Arielle's Actors Support Group


Friday, August 31, 2018

* Chiropractor visit...I was told it was my last day

* Mango pick up

* Blogging...


Saturday, September 1, 2018

* BBQ and videos games at Kevin's


As the quest continues...

The future of Late Night

Motown Maurice

Week 414: October 23, 2018

Weekly Written Review 

They say you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket, which makes a lot of sense. I've learned that lesson the hard way several times over in the earlier parts of my journey. Even though I now know better, I'm ready to put all my eggs in one basket again. As far as I'm concerned I might as well, there are no other baskets working in my favor. What basket am I referring to you ask? I'm referring to the basket that releases on October 23rd.

I've been off and on in low spirits for the past couple weeks but when I got a text message on Thursday, that indicated the official release date for Snake Outta Compton my moral changed. Snake Outta Compton is an independent film starring me and a host of talented actors and it's very special. Very special in a ridiculous kind of way. It's been a long time coming. The film was shot two years ago from September. In 2016 I had hopes of being far more established by the time it came out. Not much as changed. Two years later, Snake Outta Compton has a national distribution with Lionsgate and it releases nationwide on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. It's strategically placed right before Halloween. It will be available on DVD, Redbox, on-demand, Amazon Prime and other streaming services. So yes, this is big and even though I know better I'm putting 9.75 of my eggs out of 10, in this Snake basket. I'm getting no results from auditioning so deep down inside I'm hoping (I might even start praying) that Snake Outta Compton opens up some doors for me. If it's successful, just imagine all the magical stuff that could happen. All the people that would see it and discover me. I might not even have to audition for some roles. Should I put a limit on its potential? No! There are no limits with Snake!

Last week, I was telling a fellow actor on the bus about it and he said, "This could be the next Sharkando," after confirming that franchise is on the way out. He's absolutely right. They just finished completing the sixth and last Sharkando movie. I tried to watch the first one over Christmas break and I didn't finish. Snake has great potential. Snake could ever well be my golden ticket. I never wanted to put that much hope into it but this upcoming September 19th will make the 8 year anniversary of my arrival in LA. Something has to break, so let it be Snake.

We're supposed to have a red carpet movie premiere the weekend before it's national release. I recently got the idea to make a list of important people I want to invite and leverage. Meanwhile, I'll try to come up with creatives ways to promote Snake starting with you. Take a moment to check out the tralier and the recent press release.


Recent Press Release: http://thegeekiary.com/snake-outta-compton-dvd-release/55428


Sunday, August 19, 2018

* Switch weekend continues...Got all the memories in BOTW. Also beat Guns, Gore & Canoli.

* Trader Joe's USC...Food 4 Less and Mango's at the Asian supermarket


Monday, August 20, 2018

* Library...overdue Aaron's House photo uploads

* More Switch

* Tennis...


Tuesday, August 21, 2018

* Low spirited day

* Photo shoot with Ivy...

* Playing Splatoon


Wednesday, August 22, 2018

* Woke up to an audition request and sent it off (Tosh.o)

* Basketball...

* Chiropractor visit...while at there I got a vision for my upcoming new blog photo.

* (2) more audition videos sent


Thursday, August 23, 2018

* Basketball...my 3 point shooting is back!

* Slight low spirited today

* Helping my landlady's friend Terry and the ambulance...

* One text message from Hank with the date October 23rd gave my spirits the lift it needed


Friday, August 24, 2018

* Haircut

* Blogging

* Chiropractor visit

* Talking with Kandace


Saturday, August 25, 2018

* Laugh Mobb Shoot


As the quest continues...

The future of Late Night

Motown Maurice