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New Faces | Roy A. Tindle

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Roy A. TindleAre you sick of seeing the same faces in magazines all the time? So are we. As much as we love the people we read about in the magazines we think it is time to inject some freshness into the media landscape, it is time to give other people a chance, the hottest writers, actors, musicians, scientists, businesspeople.

We want to give people the publicity they deserve, our first one is American author Roy A. Tindle, but watch out for more fresh faces; both old and new, and let us know if you know anyone worthy of inclusion.

The first of our New Faces is American writer Roy A. Tindle. We have interviewed him and include some examples of his work below. We hope you like him as much as we do.

 

Tell us about your writing

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I began writing simple poetry and short

stories then eventually moved on to novellas. Although I had some poetry published,

I never spent much energy trying to publish any of my earlier work until about two years

ago when I finally decided to attempt writing my first full novel. That is when ‘Motive’

was born.

 

What is your inspiration?

Most of my work may seem a little dark at first glance, but in nearly every case I attempt

to highlight the brighter side of life and love. I enjoy drawing the parallels between

light and dark, good and evil and the contrast between where we are now and where

we might one day be as individuals and as a society. My goal is to cause people to pause

long enough to take a look inside themselves to discover who they really are and ask

themselves the tough questions. Ultimately, I hope to inspire and uplift people with

what I write. These things are what inspire me to write.

 

What is your writing routine?

My writing routine is anything but a routine. I try to spend time each day writing, but

that isn’t always possible. Research, editing and habitual rereading occupies much of

my time. Frankly, if I manage to finish one good page a day I’m happy. That may not

seem like a lot and it’s true that it’s a slow process, but I’m hoping to produce chapters

that offer a smooth read that is not only entertaining and suspenseful, but is also

technically accurate.

 

What are you favourite books/authors?

I enjoy reading books of nearly all genres and there are myriad authors who I could

mention here, but to narrow it down to a top three, my favorite authors of all time

would be Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton and Jules Verne and for those who are familiar

with their work will undoubtedly see their influence in my writing style. I’ve always

enjoyed Dean Koontz’s ability to convince his readers that the villain in his stories are

more than human and almost omniscient, but ultimately he demonstrates that true evil

exists all around us and the real boogey man, although he may truly be hiding under

your bed, he isn’t necessarily a supernatural force. He’s the guy next door. Michael

Crichton and Jules Verne perfected the art incorporating real world science into a

fictional format. I’m a tech and science geek and not afraid to admit it. Crichton and

Verne are master story tellers who not only tell a good story, they educate their readers

in the process. Journey to the Center of the Earth is above all my favorite book. I have a

collectible first printing of that classic hidden away someplace.

 

Tell us about Motive

‘Motive’ is a book about the human condition and perhaps offers some understanding

of who we are. Although Motive is a suspense novel and, consequentially, much of its

focus is on the darker aspects of human nature, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

This story ultimately leads the reader on a journey throughout the mind, not only from

the dark corners of our psyche and the disturbing things we may find there, but also to

the inspiring and sometimes crippling effects of love and loss and hope and faith and all

those things that define who we are.

 

What is the best thing about writing?

For me, the best thing about writing is being allowed to use my imagination freely and

act a little crazy without the risk of being committed. Lol It is an escape from reality,

really. I think we all need that once in a while. Some people go to the beach. I write…

 

And the worst?

The worst thing about writing has to be the loneliness. I consider myself a social

dragonfly, but writing is mostly a solitary craft. I enjoy the independence of being

a writer, but I often miss the daily interactions I’d have with friends by working a

traditional job.

 

What’s next?

What’s next? I’d really like to write something light and fun. I’ve enjoyed writing

Motive very much, but as I mentioned before, the story is a bit dark and highly technical.

I’m playing around with some new ideas and a particular character named Norman

“Northman” Northcutt may be making a debut with his ‘amazing abnormalities’ very soon.

 

Excerpts below

ABSOLVED OF ABSOLUTION (A Poem) – By Roy A. Tindle

 

Absolved of Absolution

Pretend it never happened. It is so easy to simply neglect the obligations of our hearts, to follow blindly

our captive minds and to imagine our lives are predetermined to lead by whatever means to a fateful and

hollow solitude. Lonesome tears fall more abundantly when absolved from absolution. You are to blame

yet your ignorance is your innocence.

 

A wound heals better when salved with the healing blessings from someone whose blessings are passed

without reproach. Become blameless by not placing blame and human in your fallacy. You’ve loved

before without knowing how it is that love should be, yet still you loved disgracefully and now, when love

is not an ignominy, you hide your face in shame.

 

I pray each night not knowing to who’s ears my prayers fall, but I pray still regardless knowing that even

though deaf ears may hear them I have at least spoken them and therefore I am absolved. I forgive

myself for all I’ve done and not with arrogance. Instead I know that the mistakes I’ve made were made

before knowing that our hearts are equally fragile, therefore I am determined to help you heal yours as

tenderly as if your heart were mine.

 

We are not much different you and I. No matter how things may seem. We hurt, we cry, we love and

we die and we can only hope we don’t have to do it alone. However in the end no matter when that time

may be, I’ll know that when I close my eyes I’ll have been absolved from absolution.

 

MOTIVE (Synopsis) – By Roy A. Tindle

 

In a small sleepy town in southern Michigan, local law enforcement struggles to identify the

cause for a sudden outbreak of horrendous crimes. As the townsfolk continue to disappear,

two desperate detectives team up with an eccentric college professor and forensic psychologist

who may have some insight into the cause. As the team is drawn further into the mystery,

they discover the true potential of man and, by doing so, they begin to understand how dark it

can become when one dives deeper into the cold abyss of the mind. Whether in love or hate,

darkness hides many secrets…. Secrets they’ll wish they had never uncovered.

 

MOTIVE (Excerpt) – By Roy A. Tindle

 

Professor Fredericks grimaced when he took the first bite of his steaming TV dinner. He

had become accustomed to the finer things in life and this of course extended to his cuisine. He

ate most meals alone at his favorite Italian restaurant, Giuseppi’s. Most days after leaving the

college he would stop in for dinner, usually spaghetti and salad with the accompaniment of a

house red wine. The staff at the restaurant knew him on a first name basis and, unless he called

ahead to notify them he would be late or absent, as he did today, his table would be reliably

reserved and the preparation of his meal would be in progress prior to his arrival.

Today however, he decided to eat at home. A decision he had come to regret. He had

no desire to be around people again today and what’s done is done. In the mind of the professor,

the best company was no company at all, unless of course you count the professor himself.

Now alone and, being that his talents do not extend to kitchen work and since he did not have the

foresight to grab some kind of carryout, he would have to make do with what he had. Having

been in the habit of not keeping much in his home for meals and, due to his reclusive nature, he

was left with choking down this tasteless meal in a box. The label on the box said it contained

spaghetti, but the quality of the meal offered debate on the side of shredded shoe leather doused

in tomato juice.

 

After a few agonizing bites of his microwaveable dinner, the professor tossed the

cardboard tray in the trash then attempted to rinse the foul taste from his mouth with an

expensive merlot. He drained his glass then refilled it to the rim. Although the food he kept in

his home lacked of any real quality, he had an extensive stock of delicate wines, one of which he

gluttonously slurped on now. He wasn’t really hungry anyway.

 

The professor gathered his wine glass, then on second thought the bottle too, and then

carried his defunct liquid meal to his study where he plopped down on to his vintage brown

leather arm chair. The walls of the study were lined with hundreds of books, reference manuals

and text books. He was an avid reader and had read every one of these books at least twice each.

Some he had written himself. Tonight however, he would not be reading.

 

He felt lazy. Laziness was not a usual aspect of the professor’s personality, but he

allowed himself this occasional indulgence. He picked up the television remote from the small,

ornate table he had positioned next to his chair and pressed the power button. The small color

television in the corner of the room came to life. The volume was too high for the program that

was currently being displayed. An alternative music station played the non-melodic and off-
tempo cadence of an unpopular punk-rock group. The professor quickly changed the channel.

After flipping mindlessly through a few more stations, the Professor began to become lost

in his thoughts. He thought back through days gone by and relished in his memories. He thought

about his youth and all the days so long ago when life was much simpler.

 

He remembered fishing with his father on the muddy banks of the Dowagiac River. His

father would expertly cast and reel, then cast again a series of three or four fishing poles with

complicated looking reels that somehow spooled the fishing line around an exposed sprocket

instead of pulling it into a closed chamber as did the much simpler red and blue Spiderman pole

he was forced to use. His father said his Spiderman pole had what was called a “closed-bail

reel”, whatever the heck that meant.

 

He laughed when he remembered how his father rarely caught a fish, not because he

wasn’t a skilled angler, he was, but while fishing with his ungainly son he spent more time

retrieving snagged hooks and lures from the branches of surrounding trees than he did actually

fishing. Regardless of his continued failures and inability to properly cast a fishing line, the

Professor never gave up. He wanted his father to be proud and, although he always felt like he

had disappointed him, his father would gracefully brush off his failures with silence, a knowing

smile or the occasional razzing.

 

“Look at you go, Justin! You caught that big ‘ole tree and I all I managed to snag was

this measly minnow,” His father would say while holding up a sizeable bass nearly as long as the

young boy’s arm.

 

He knew his father was patronizing him, but he was glad for it. He would just smile

sheepishly or sometimes play along with his father’s joke. They laughed together and smiled

often. Life was so good then.

 

The Professor cared deeply for his father. He didn’t love him out of any childish sense of

obligation, but because he knew how much his father loved him and his love was given without

reproach. Their close relationship and great love was sustained through the young Professor’s

life. From childhood to adolescence and on into adulthood, the Professor never lost any love for

his father.

 

Though the wound created by the tragic and sudden loss of his father nearly twenty

years ago had not yet been fully healed, the time had not diminished his memories either. He

embraced the good memories as well as the pain, for the Professor believed that is through pain

we truly begin to become alive. In the Professor’s opinion, it is impossible to appreciate life

until we know death. Just as it is difficult to truly appreciate water until we walk through the

desert or how we cannot fully appreciate true love until our hearts have been broken a time or

two.

 

The wounds a heart survives throughout one’s life can sometimes leave it a little callused,

but ultimately it is that same pain that brings understanding, faith and hope. With pain also

comes the loss of innocence and triumph over naivety. Some would call this maturity. The

Professor called it an awakening.

 

As a child, one doesn’t bother worrying about the day-to-day stuff that overruns the

minds of most adults. When a person is young the only thing that matters is the here and now.

Each day is an adventure, full of new surprises and the unknown. Being new to the world, life

for a child is fresh, vibrant and full of color. Most profound of all, the professor decided, is that

children possess the minds of Saints. This is not to say that children behave in the manner of

a Saint, not in the least, but their innocent minds allow them the ability to expect the best, not

only from the wonderful world in which they live, but also from the people who surround them.

Funny how quickly things can change.

 

The Professor sometimes allowed himself this selfish session of regressive thinking.

Not only did he enjoy the memories of his youth and of his father, it also helped place into

perspective the contrasted differences of adulthood and the responsibilities that come with the

knowledge gained by it. As a college professor responsible for the education of young minds

in the field of criminal psychology, one must always maintain perspective. To understand the

mind of a criminal, or any mind for that matter, it is of course important to recognize the factors

responsible for the development and ultimate product of an individual’s psyche. Professor

Fredericks knew how much influence one’s childhood could have on their adult lives. Ever

since that day many years ago when his father was murdered before his eyes, the Professor knew

first hand. This is in great part why he became a forensic psychologist, and it is also why he

maintained a personal file for each of his student’s. You never know who you can trust.

Although spying on the personal lives of his students went against every policy and

guideline set forth by the University, the Professor felt it was absolutely necessary. He kept files

for each of his students here, in his home, locked in a file cabinet in the room in which he now

sat. It would be too risky keeping the files in his office at the college. If the college somehow

discovered he kept such personal information on his students, he would at the very least be

reprimanded and, more likely, terminated.

 

Within any given file, the Professor kept records of everything he thought might be

useful in determining the mindset of the student. He kept medical records which would indicate

any potential drug habits as well as reports of possible domestic violence either perpetrated

against them or by them. He also kept other criminal records as well as any media-related items

and articles from local newspapers and school newspapers that may have been generated as a

result of a student’s mischief. A complete family history was also included along with their

academic reports dating back through their elementary school years. The majority of these

reports were obtained through a little novice hacking of the college’s computer system, the

internet or by photocopying documents hijacked from the school’s office of the registrar. Some

of the information contained within these files could not be obtained through any published or

public source. For the really good stuff he hired a private detective.

 

He wondered sometimes how his student’s would react if they ever found out that most

days, when they were not in class or studying in their dorms, that their personal lives were being

recorded, documented and filmed. The Professor had spent countless hours reading reports

created by a private detective or watching video of them living out their personal lives. The

Professor knew, with the exception of a few elusive students, who within his class drank too

much, did drugs, if they were straight or gay, who they interacted with, what kind of food they

ate, who they were sleeping with – if anyone, and what kind of car they drove and even how

they drove it. He knew what stores they shopped at and he even knew how much money they

had in their bank accounts to go shopping with. There wasn’t much the Professor did not know.

However, there was at least one thing he had not been able to uncover.

 

He had learned through these reports, along with a little deduction, that a growing group

of students had been meeting privately over the last couple months. What it is they were meeting

about remained a mystery. Mysteries don’t settle well with the Professor. He liked to know

what his students were up to. This is why he decided to spend this Friday evening on a mission

of discovery. Later he would once again follow this group himself and give the P.I. a night off.

Besides, with all of this thought about his childhood, the professor felt inclined to be like a child

again and set out on an adventure.

 

He glanced at his watch; an expensive Rolex. He had plenty of time before he had

to leave and he knew just how he would pass the time. The professor settled further into his

comfortable leather chair, once again allowing himself to revisit the memories of his youth.

There was one memory in particular he cherished especially. This beloved memory was a

mental movie that played over and over again upon the silver screen of his mind. Knowing he

would be unable to stop it from playing, even had he wanted to, he easily surrendered to his

thoughts and allowed the aged and spotted film to roll.

 

He took another sip of merlot then closed his eyes and smiled.

 

Motive will be available in the spring of this coming year.  It will be available initially on Amazon.com and a few other places.

www.facebook.com/book.motive
www.AuthorRoyATindle.Yolasite.com

Vanessa Bailey & Richard Perryman on Three Days Film | Film interview

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When I interviewed Vanessa Bailey and Richard Perryman about their new film, Three Days, we had so much fun and laughed so hard. Vanessa has co-written and is starring in the age gap romance alongside Richard who is fresh out of drama school. Vanessa is beautiful and talented but doesn’t seem to know it, as is Richard. They are both also wonderful company and building quite a following for their film which will start shooting early next year. To find out more, read on….

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Tell us about your character.

Richard Perryman: ‘I am playing James, a recent graduate, a young guy who does odd jobs. He is flyering for a jazz club and has a care-free lifestyle. He is not really looking for love but just by chance it happens. We were talking about this earlier. It just happens and he is not looking for a long term thing. It just happens to him and he can’t really get away. [laughter]

Vanessa Bailey: [laughing] He can’t really get away! These two characters are not the two people you would expect to see in a relationship. Not just with the age gap, which does sometimes happen, but also with their personalities. She is no a cougar, she is not predatory. She hasn’t been walking around looking for impressionable young leafleters to drag back to her hotel room. He’s not a lad.

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Richard: It’s not a trophy for him.

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Vanessa: It is just a sexual connection between them.

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Richard: Well, not the main one.

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Vanessa: [laughing] No, not the main one. It is about two real people. It is about finding what that connection would be and how it would work out in real life. They are not caricatures. It is not about romantic cliches. If two people really did connect, how would that work. Can it work?

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Richard: Can that relationship last or is it just a fling?

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Vanessa: And we don’t know the answer yet.

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Richard: I think they are probably both going into it thinking it is just a fling. And not expecting to find that they actually fall in love.

Age gap relationships are popular in film at the moment. Why do you think they are popular and what is your favourite?

Vanessa: I really liked the ITV one, Leaving, although I kinda thought they had stolen our thunder because we had written the script before it came out. What appealed to me about that one, and about Three Days, is most of the other films, the age gape in The Graduate isn’t that big. There is only six-years between them because they are playing up and down. So what I really liked about the ITV one was that they had Helen McCrory who is really gorgeous. They were able to make the audience believe. It was a slightly different story and it was about self-improvement. That one would be my favourite because it was anchored in real life. You can recognise it in real life. Whereas with the other ones, they are lovely stories, but they are not real.

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Richard: I have only seen The Graduate. I think with that one he has that relationship thrust upon him. It is much darker. She is more of a cougar and she reels him in. This is more of a chance. It is a more filmic story.

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Vanessa: It is more of a romance. It is not dark in any way. Which is more challenging. There is no gender game. It is more, ‘why has this happened and what should we do with it?’.

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Why do you think there is still a stigma attached to the older women/younger man thing?

Richard: There has been a rise in those type of films. I think there is a stigma attached but it is becoming less and less. There is still that taboo and it is still fine with older men and younger women.

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Vanessa: Again, we were talking about that earlier. I think with the older man and younger women, largely they are a physical manifestation of his success and being sexually attractive to women. It is more of a trophy thing. It is interesting because, as you said, the storyline is really popular. We have 1,300 people following us on Twitter. We have no media, no trailer, nothing really about the film, but I think the story has lots of appeal. We have a lot of different people following us. Younger girls, 17 or 18 years old and older men.

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We had a guy who said when I was in my 20s I had a relationship with a women who was 20 years older than me because it is common. See I am 43.

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Richard: And I am 22.

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Vanessa: Oh my god it has gotten bigger! What is that gap?

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Richard: 21 years.

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Vanessa: Yes, 21 years. That is quite a big gap.

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Richard: It’s not that big.

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Vanessa: Oh, bless you. We can make it work. But I think people are really fascinated by that. I am not going to name names but I had a lot of people say I had this relationship with this women who was 20 years older than me. It is really interesting. It does actually happen but I don’t think film shows that as much as the older guy.

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Another issue with younger men with older women is the fertility issue….

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Vanessa: Yes, I think that is true. It doesn’t work quite as well from a family point of view, biologically the other way around. Maybe some women are at the point when they don’t want to have kids.

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Richard: I think going into that relationship they won’t really think about it and then when they did the pressure would start adding on to it. Like, ‘what do we do?’

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Vanessa: I was talking to some friends about it and they were like, ‘lucky you’ and then I was thinking, no, because in reality when you are an older women it is hard. You have insecurities.

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Richard: Yeah, you were saying to me that when we go out people will be like, ‘Your son is waiting for you’ or ‘Is that your mum?’ or something. Which would be really tough.

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Vanessa: [laughing] There is always a 21-year-old girl around the corner and you are getting older, and you look older, and the point of this, of Three Days, is also when older women are portrayed in films they don’t look their age. They have had all of that plastic surgery and they don’t look their age. I do look my age [she doesn’t] so it is not like, yeah, she is a hot 43 but she looks 33. She is just 43. So there is that whole physical insecurity.

There is also this myth that is spread that men get better looking as they get older but women don’t. It places a lot of pressure on women and it also happens a lot in film. Then when you do get a part it is not a really good part. In this film it is a women in a really good role, which could actually have a lot of significance.

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Vanessa: And that is the great thing about indie film. You have raised a great point actually and that is the good thing about Three Days. There are not the parts out there that actresses my age necessarily want to play. You get typecast in commercials and then you have to wait until you are 75 to play a dowager in Downton Abbey. There is a massive gap in-between. You are just wandering around wondering what you are going to do. A few of us do have a natural look so you are not going to get the barmaid parts or the cougar parts. So I kind of wanted to come up with a part that a lot of women my age would want to play because it is interesting and it is fun. There is a massive gap for older actresses.

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How did you come on-board

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Richard: I didn’t really do anything.

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Vanessa: That is the joy of Twitter. I am going to write a book. Instead of the Joy of Sex I am going to write The Joy of Twitter, and [to Richard] you are probably too young to even know the book. It was out in the 1970s. [to me] You know the book? [Yes, I know the book] See, women know the book.

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So, Twitter, we were looking for someone. I was looking at showreels because I love watching showreels. I saw Richard’s headshot and someone tweeted a link to a short film he was in called Emmeline, which was gorgeous. So I stalked him. I asked him to be in a film with me.

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Richard: I got an email asking me if I wanted to be in the film. We met up for a coffee. Then I wanted to do it. She reeled me in. We were both on the same page in terms of character and what we wanted for the film.

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Vanessa: What clinched it was that halfway through we were talking about the dialogue and how we wanted it to be really natural, and be very real and he said it should be like ‘Before Sunrise’, which is my favourite film. At that point I was really hoping he wanted to be in the film.

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So it was the power of Twitter and short film. And the mocha that I bought him that I then drank.

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Richard: Yeah, I had a latte and she had my mocha.

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Vanessa: Start as you mean to go on.

Tell us about the process of the film so far.

Vanessa: It has been a long time actually, nearly a year. I wrote it. I wrote a really bad script originally. I sent if to Jon Rennie, our director, and basically what he did was he rewrote it from a cinematic point of view. Jon said he liked the story but this is how he thought the physical journey of the film would go. We have beautiful locations we are filming in. Then he gave it back to me to fill in the dialogue. We knew we had Huw onboard who is just phenomenally good.

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The film is quite like Notting Hill on acid. Huw Walters (Cinematographer) and Jon and myself all worked on Bubbles [an excellent short film. See it] Our composer had seen Bubbles and asked us if we had a composer. Then I looked at his credits and I was like, wow. He has worked with the BBC, with Tom Jones, with loads of people.

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Our hair designer, Jason Hall, also asked to come onboard and he had done London Fashion Week. He was also from twitter. He contacted us and asked us if we needed a hair stylist.

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The producer, Sam Smith-Higgins, was following the film since it started on Facebook and she said she would really like to collaborate and asked if we had a producer. She has an entire production company that she is bringing with her. The Executive Producer, Suzie Boudier, has been a constant source of inspiration.

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The great thing about this film is that everyone has come on-board because they really want to make this film rather than just a film. It has been a really long process. I am really excited.

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How did you approach funding.

Vanessa: We will be crowd funding in February. Consolidating everything in March and then we are shooting in April. We are looking at different crowd funding options at the moment.

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Tell us about you.

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Richard: I just graduated from E15 from a contemporary theatre course. I set up my own theatre company with a couple of friends called Antler. We took two shows up to Edinburgh.

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Vanessa: Who have got some amazing reviews. Should I quote some of them? Richard excels in dry humour. That is what it said.

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Richard: We got some lovely reviews. Since then I have done a short film with the same company. I was lucky to be a part of that. And from that I got this. Which is great and exciting.

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Vanessa: I am completely different. No training. I am a teacher. A music specialist whatever that means. I came out of it after I had my children and decided I wanted to be an actress. So I did a lot of background work just to get into the scene and I was lucky to break that rule that you never become an actor after being an extra. I managed to get there. I have managed to blag my way to some good jobs so far.

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You are so self deprecating

Vanessa: Yes I am. But I have no reason to be here. Once I got Spotlight and a DVD I sent it out and Sam [Samantha from Simon & How, out mutual agent] was the first person to give me an audition. I absolutely love it.

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Do you think the age of the actor is dead and you have to be an actorpreneur and do your own projects.

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Richard: I have only ever done my own projects. So I think, yes, you can’t really trust anyone else to do anything for you. You have to do it yourself. If you are lucky enough you will be handed lots of jobs. It is the luck of the draw. If not you have to go out and do it yourself. [to Vanessa] Like you are doing.

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Vanessa: All actors know that it is a really small pool that people fish from. Especially in television. It is hard and it is not going to talent unfortunately. You see people who work regularly who are not good and lots of people who are very talented who don’t get any work. So, yes, I do think you have to be an actorpreneur.

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Richard: I am very bad at selling myself because I am not on Twitter.

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I often lose roles to people who are more famous or someone’s girlfriend.

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Vanessa: Yes, that is frustrating. I can see the other side of that. We all work with people we know because it is better the devil you know.

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Richard: Then that creates those little cliques who work with the same people and you can’t break into it.

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That is why I left Scotland. I had to commute from Glasgow to London because there was the group of Scottish actors who always got work and I could not break into the industry.

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Vanessa: There are a couple of casting directors who fight it. A casting director said to me that he was sick of seeing the same faces in television over and over again.

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And you do. You see the same faces over and over again. We need pioneers who are bringing new faces in and trying to get people seen.

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Richard: But we are a little family. [We all have the same agent. Samantha at Simon & How]

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That’s right.

So is the process to make a short and then a feature film.

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Vanessa: I would love to. I would love to make a feature. Are you playing footsie with me Richard?

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Richard: Yes, I am getting into character.

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Vanessa: Two things with the short film. Firstly, I would like it to get into festivals. But also it is like a calling card. Hopefully people will see this. When we had one of our first meetings with Jon and Huw you could very much see the potential of the film and the ensemble cast. I would love to make a feature film.

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Richard: It has the potential to be a great British film.

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Vanessa: I am such a champion of British film so I would love to make it into a feature.

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What are you shooting on?

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Vanessa: I’m not sure. I have left that to Jon. Not film. Because it is too expensive. We want to do a few different takes on this film and we don’t want to worry about how expensive it would be. I know Jon was talking about filming on mono. So a combination I think.

;

What’s next?

;

Richard: I just graduated. I am not sure what is next. I am just putting myself out there.

;

Vanessa: You are developing….

;

Richard: Oh yeah, with my company, Antler, we are constantly developing work. Putting things together and trying out new ideas.

;

Vanessa: Everything at the moment is Three Days. Then hopefully after that it will be the festivals. [Vanessa also has a lot of acting work coming up. Including a part in Southcliffe and some short films]

;

Thanks Vanessa and Richard.

;

Director: Jon Rennie @jon_rennie
Writers: Vanessa Bailey, Jon Rennie @vbaileyactor @jon_rennie
Producer: Sam Smith-Higgins http://www.redbeetlefilms.co.uk/ @SamSmith-Higgins
Executive Producer: Suzie Boudier @Superboooo
Cinematographer: Huw Walters http://vimeo.com/user4428776 @huwcamera
Composer: William Goodchild http://www.williamgoodchild.com/ @WGoodchildMusic
PR: FireflyPR http://www.firefly-pr.com/ @FireflyPR

Hair Design: Jason Hall http://www.jasonhallhairdressing.co.uk/ @Jhhair

Miki Yamashita On Acting | Frost Interviews

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What made you go into acting?

I think I was interested in the arts and performing even before I was aware
of it. My mother says that as a child, I danced and sang around the house so
much that she put me in lessons as soon as I was old enough, because she
wanted me to learn how to do it right. My parents are both teachers, so their
solution for everything is education. It’s actually a pretty good philosophy.
As I grew conscious of my passions in life, I consistently made life
decisions that propelled me towards a life as a performing artist. Let’s just
say I never gravitated towards coal-mining.

Could you ever do anything else?

I guess the right answer is that I actually do many other things. Having
spent my life around many other actors, I have observed that I may be a
slightly different breed than most. I have a group of actor friends that I
started out with performing improv and sketch comedy with at Walt Disney
World, who are still doing only that; I have another group who I did a lot of
musical theatre with, who are still focusing only on Broadway; same with
opera people and comedy writers and commercial actors and episodic
television actors. I am really lucky in that I am actively able to book work in
all of these areas, and I consider that huge spectrum of interests to be my
pursuit as a whole, so if my universe is that huge, understandably there
really isn’t an “anything else” for me.

You famously said: ‘If this business kills me, it will be after everyone in it has my
headshot.’ That’s a go-getting attitude that can be missing in a lot of
performers. Do you agree?

My dear friend Bonnie Gillespie was kind enough to include that in her
brilliant book, “Self-Management for Actors.” When a newer edition came
out, she asked if she could include it again, and I said of course, except that
I didn’t want to imply that manically blanketing an acting market with
headshots was the technique I was espousing. I believe in being fiercely
motivated, but in a very focused and strategic manner. There’s a young actor
in LA, I haven’t seen him in a while, but this crazy kid literally plastered the
exterior of his car with his headshots. I swear! He drives around in this car
all day long hoping for, I don’t know, to get pulled over by a casting
director and get asked to do a monologue by the side of the road?? I don’t
know! But it’s pretty delusional and highly misguided. I guess what I meant
to say is that “If this business kills me, it will be after everyone in it whom I
have researched and targeted as potential buyers for my product has my headshot.”

Over the years, I have met so many actors; some have almost zero
motivation and ambition to do the basic work that is necessary to even have
a chance at success; others are rabidly foaming at the mouth and doing
everything they can desperately and inefficiently so that they can get ahead.
What I’ve learned from these actors is that there is a better way, there is a
sweet spot, where you have a calm, cool, focused energy that propels you
forward slowly, steadily, and intelligently. Wow, I think this is officially the
most Asian thing I have ever said!

I find you incredibly funny, has your sense of humour helped you survive in
showbusiness? Is it possible to do this without one?

Thank you! I think it’s literally impossible not to develop a sense of humor
as a professional actor. I was once asked to sing opera while running full
speed on a treadmill in a sequined gown. I was once told to continue
reciting my monologue while the casting director got on her cell phone and
ordered a chicken salad. I was once physically threatened by a male chorus
dancer. I mean, as actors, this is daily life, okay? And I think if you don’t
find it hilarious, you become seriously mentally damaged in a way that
prevents you from functioning in society as a normal adult. And then it
becomes this wonderful tool to help you consistently cope with the vast
array of indignities that actors face all the time.

What’s the hardest thing about being an actor?

The hardest thing about being an actor is when Chanel sends you so much
free couture from their latest collection that you run out of assistants to re-
gift them to. JUST KIDDING!!! That’s what most people think actors’
problems are. The general public is fed nothing but lies about our
profession, and they are only provided with the success narrative. It’s part
of the machine that allows the industry to maintain its operations, so you
have to accept that civilians are not ever going to get what most of us go
through. The most difficult thing is really how seldom we are actually able
to do our work, and that we must spend an inordinate amount of time doing
work that has nothing to do with performing in order to bankroll the pursuit
of our REAL work.

And the best?

The best thing about being an actor is getting to crash your car into an 18-
wheeler, blaming it all on your assistant, and showing up 4 hours late to set
where they will still tell you you’re the perfect choice to play Liz Taylor. HA
HA HAAA. Seriously, the best thing about this profession is that we are
constantly challenged to imagine what is possible. Every time I get an audition,
whatever it is, a commercial where I’m a pretty Asian mom, or an
opera where I’m a flying ghost bird-spirit, or a daytime drama where I’m the
secretary to the family patriarch, I get to make decisions about these
characters based on my imagination, my life experience, and what is on the
page. And no one else is going to make the same set of choices that I will.
Even if I don’t get the part, for a brief moment, for the duration of that
audition, my humanity was merged with that character, and I find great
fulfillment in my ability to execute that with consistency and quality.

What is your favourite thing that you have worked on?

My favorite thing that I have worked on is an original new work in which I
sang a principal role, with Los Angeles Opera. The piece was called “The
White Bird of Poston,” and it was newly commissioned specifically for the
purposes of educational and community outreach in the city of Los Angeles.
The opera is about the Japanese American Internment during World War II, a
very dark part of American history. The music and the story are so
beautifully written, I felt so honored to be a part of it, and I felt like it used
so many of my skills simultaneously—my classically trained voice, my
acting training, my dance training, and even a little bit of my abilities as a
comedienne. And on top of that, it had such profound cultural significance
to me as a Japanese American.

You have a great niche as an actress: you studied opera, has this greatly helped
your acting career or is it separate thing?

As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of people that I started out with,
training and performing professionally as serious classical or musical
theatre singers, who are still completely focused on only that sector of
performance. For me, singing eventually became something glamorous and
glorious that I could just keep hidden in my back pocket, and whip it out
suddenly and just stun people with it as needed. This evolution mostly took
place because I moved from the New York acting market which is very
heavily theatre-based, to Los Angeles, which of course focuses much more
on, well, speaking and not singing. But even without the move, I think I was
really adamant about transcending musical theatre; I felt that I had more to
accomplish in other areas, and my interests had a much wider span than just
singing in musicals until I was dead.

Advice for actors?

My advice for actors is pretty depressing, but realistic. If at all possible, get
a degree in a subject that has nothing to do with drama or music. I’ve made
a lot of hideous mistakes in life, but the one thing I did right was to earn a
college degree in English literature instead of acting or vocal performance.
Even though many would say a degree in English is almost as useless, I
would have to argue otherwise. The acting business becomes more and
more competitive every day, and what sets me apart from many others is my
relentless desire to articulate my own experience. As a writer, I have a
heightened sense of power because for the most part, words on a page
cannot be refused or rejected because the writer isn’t blond or skinny. I am
shut out of thousands of performing job opportunities a day simply because
of my physical appearance, something that cannot be transformed by
“working hard.” Trust me, I’ve tried. Exercising cannot change your race!

So my advice is to find tangible skills that will enable you to support your
pursuit of acting for a very very long time.

But ultimately, have faith that you are answering a divine calling by being an
artist. And know that you are in control of what you choose to sacrifice for
this calling.

What’s next for you?

I’m about to make big changes to my online presence; a fellow LA actress,
Sarah Sido, taught me a lot about building websites, so I’m going to use
those skills to rebrand my personal page, as well as start a blog about
acting. Wow, now I’ve said it so I better do it!

FAVORITE ACTORS/ACTRESSES – I think my favorite male actor is Jim
Carrey. A lot of my earlier sketch comedy and improvisational work I did at
Walt Disney World was heavily influenced by him, and I have deep respect
for his significant capabilities as a dramatic actor. He is so interesting to
watch doing anything! Let’s say if, starting tomorrow, he stopped making
studio feature films and decided to just host a vegan cooking show on
HGTV, I would watch that.

For female actresses, I would rather be executed than name just one. Meryl
Streep seems to literally becomes other human beings, to the point where it
actually scares me. Meryl is a frightening example of sheer mastery of the
craft. I would like to see her play some kind of deep sea creature or
something, because that lady would seriously prepare for the role by eating
paramecium and withstanding 500 bars of atmospheric pressure. And that’s
entertainment, my friends.

I love Julianne Moore’s work, because I find that no matter who she plays,
her characterization is so detailed and complete that I feel like I actually
live out the movie in real time as her role. The performance is so intimate
and honest and infused with inner life that I feel like I AM her character.
Believe me, it takes skill to convince a short Asian girl that she is a white
1950’s housewife.

Photo credit: David Muller

Frost Magazine Writers Launch Arts and Social Group – The Bloomsbury Net

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Frost editor Catherine Balavage and writer Mary Tynan are launching The Bloomsbury Net on Friday, 16 March 2012, a monthly evening for people who work in, or appreciate, entertainment and the arts – writers and readers, actors and audiences, artists and viewers, filmmakers and watchers, musicians and listeners, to name but a few. Come and meet like-minded people in the convivial atmosphere of Truckles Wine Bar in the heart of Bloomsbury; make new friends; and progress your career.

The first event is on 16 March 2012 from 6.30 onwards. As this is our first month, the structure of the evening will be fairly fluid, but if you have something to promote please feel free to bring flyers. Join us downstairs at Truckles of Pied Bull Yard, Off Bury Place, Bloomsbury, London WC1A 2JR (close to the British Museum). Admission free. Frost readers particularly welcome!

Life of a Super Sports Blogger

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—Independent bloggers drive sports industry—Fortune 500 companies engage with the citizen journalists —

It’s the ultimate dream for many a football fan. Swapping the nine to five for a career spent posting on a blog about the sport you adore. No editorial limits, no suit, no boss. For Alan Spurgeon and his blog Footy-Boots.com, that dream is reality.

What started as a series of niche articles in 2006, Alan’s blog which focuses primarily on reviews of football apparel now reaches four million people worldwide, three hundred thousand of whom read his words on average every other day. It’s the sort of platform any of the major football brands would pay serious sums to control, but Footy-Boots.com remains independent, relying upon a small team of mostly volunteer staff and freely available publishing technology to engage the fans.

In a year which has seen every major sports brand jump on the social media bandwagon, Alan’s seen a shift in attitude when it comes to dealing with the marketing departments representing the kit he reviews—

“Our job is to review everything we can get hold of and when a product comes with an already established online fan-base that can explain the benefits in our terms, an invitation to meet the people who produce the product and a willingness to engage in feedback, there’s an obvious advantage. For years we struggled away ordering products as soon as we could get hold of them, crawling through the maze of PR departments to get comment or information and then taking the stuff to the field to run it through the paces before posting our opinion online. These days it’s a little different. Whilst we’re still just a couple of lads operating from their laptop, it’s not unusual for us to be invited to meet the people who produce the kit or to go down to the pitch to chat to the premiership players who are wearing it. The biggest names in the world like Nike, adidas and Puma have got used to the fact that if you want to sell your boots to a digital generation, it’s not just the print media and broadcasters you need to engage with celebrity endorsement, it’s the little guys like us. We need data and it’s in their interests to make sure we have it.”

Whilst the manufacturers are falling over themselves to accommodate the ‘super-bloggers’, some team brands have been better than others at adjusting to the social media era. Manchester United and Arsenal rule Facebook with 20million and 7million fans respectively. Arsenal in particular have embraced the digital revolution, recently hosting web chats for up to 2.5million international fans at a time. The players themselves are thrust into this world, somewhat dazed, to play their part. In May this year Rio Ferdinand posted on Twitter “Yesterday I’m signing a few autographs + a guy pulls out his phone + says ‘can you follow me’! A follow is the new autograph!”.

So what does it feel like being taken from your backroom office to the glorious highs of sports stardom? According to Alan, whose site is successful enough to “pay the bills”, some things will never change. “We are now considered de facto I guess in our niche, particularly for the Football Boot Awards we run every year where the public come to us to vote for the product of the year. That’s great and it’s astonishing of course to get to meet your heroes through your work as we have done when premiership players are lined up to take part in things like the awards sessions, but other things remain the same. We’ve not yet been able to get to some of the international product launches, not because of the cost, but because we’re a simple set up, a couple of guys and a few computers, we just wouldn’t be able to take the time for a long flight which would mean being offline for 9 or 12 or 24 hours. We miss out on that sort of stuff. We’re still geeks attached to our umbilical tech.” When asked if they would accept a private flight sponsored by a major sports brand, their reaction is typical of the new generation of citizen journalists— “No way, the fans of the blog would slaughter us. Our greatest asset is being unbiased. You can’t buy our opinion.”

Nobody at Footy-Boots.com has made a dot com million, but the site owners need an income. The key to success might be seen in the addition of sponsors and affiliates on the boy’s website which help to bring in stable financial support whilst they focus on reviewing kit and steering conversation in the forums. “We’re not salesmen, we never have been, never could be. We’re not good at going out there to find sponsors. I’m sure there are plenty of ways the site could make more money, but it’s never been about the money for us so we’re happy to just let a couple of sports shops link through the site as long as we get positive feedback about them. It’s a happy compromise between running a basic blog and being a commercial website.”

As someone who has tested every major boot released since 2006, Alan has a few pointers for those wanting to be on the Christmas list this year and next. “The best boot in the world is only good for one man. Reading our forums (especially the “ask geeks” channel), you know every player has their own strength, speed, accuracy, strength, ability and confidence to take risks on the pitch. No one cleat is going to fit them all. Just like social media has opened up a million different varieties of opinion, the manufacturers of the product are going to have to follow too. Bespoke might be the way to go. I’m sure the technology will exist to let players pick every aspect of their kit through an app very soon.” Which raises an interesting question- what will be the value of celebrity if and when every boot is customised not to the famous foot, but to every man or women on the pitch? There will be bigwigs in PR breathing a sigh of relief in some cases— we all know Football and Twitter don’t always a happy marriage make. Alan has a list of social media disasters on his site to tell that story.

So where next for Alan and his happy team of sports bloggers? “2011 was a great year, we saw some astonishing products hit the pitch and through our relationships with the brands, we felt like we were pretty much front row. We’ll continue to offer a space where your opinion matters and we’ll be bringing that to a climax with this year’s awards which launch online December 5th and we’re expecting tens of thousands of votes again.”

The one difference between this year and last for Footy-Boots.com, a 1765% rise in the number of visits originating from mobile phones. Let’s hope that Nike and co have their iPhone apps in order when voting kicks in.