Dormant Projects Continued: The Walk-On
Sep. 29th, 2006 12:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frustratedpilotAn idea for a movie that's a couple years old.
It starts with a poor, out-of-work actor in L.A., who's looking over his Actors' Guild dues notice and trying to decide whether to pay.
After a bunch of soul-searching...and some scheming for cash...he pays his dues. But he continues to get passed over at auditions and remains desperate.
He's hanging out with buddies at a bar when a studio go-fer appears, asking for an actor with a specific shirt size and current Guild paperwork. So he goes along with the go-fer.
It's a walk-on gig at a fill-out-the-schedule action TV series. The actor has to take over for another actor who was scheduled, but fallen prey to a snafu. (He's a foreigner and his visa ran out and he's stuck outside the country.) The role is that of a behind-the-scenes villain. While he's putting on the costume and make-up, the actor hears a rumor that the studio might low-ball his wages for the gig. This gets him angry.
And he does the gig. He's learned his lines perfectly and it's all done in one take.
He says to himself (changing back into his street clothes) "If that's how everybody treats me I'm never going to work in this town again!"
The episode he's in airs--and the cult following of the show take a liking to him. "He was the best thing in that show!" The studio decides to write the character into future episodes. The original actor, who has an actual contract, is furious. He attempts to make a threatening phone call to the protagonist, but the protagonist offers to make it right with him.
Both the actors show up at a meeting with the creative staff of the show. The protagonist give them an idea: "You see, I'm an imposter. I stole this other guy's identity and I'm using it to take over all his action. So the real man" (the foreigner actor) "found out about it and wants my butt. Gang war breaks out. Season ender has the final showdown, me on one side, him on the other, and the heroes trapped in the crossfire."
How does it work out? they ask.
"That's our cliffhanger!" he replies.
Sure enough, the series goes that direction and the actor has a busy time keeping up with the production schedule. He and the other actor get to be good friends. But the pay isn't all that great and he knows that the likelihood of it lasting is virtually nil.
They film the cliffhanger, which is a fun experience for the actor.
But then they hear the series has been cancelled. Yes, the episodes they shot will be on the DVD set, but other than that...
The actor gets shafted from some of his pay.
The foreign actor calls him. "Hey, I hear there's an opening in the cast of a movie I'll be working on in my home country. I could put in a good word if you want it..."
FP
It starts with a poor, out-of-work actor in L.A., who's looking over his Actors' Guild dues notice and trying to decide whether to pay.
After a bunch of soul-searching...and some scheming for cash...he pays his dues. But he continues to get passed over at auditions and remains desperate.
He's hanging out with buddies at a bar when a studio go-fer appears, asking for an actor with a specific shirt size and current Guild paperwork. So he goes along with the go-fer.
It's a walk-on gig at a fill-out-the-schedule action TV series. The actor has to take over for another actor who was scheduled, but fallen prey to a snafu. (He's a foreigner and his visa ran out and he's stuck outside the country.) The role is that of a behind-the-scenes villain. While he's putting on the costume and make-up, the actor hears a rumor that the studio might low-ball his wages for the gig. This gets him angry.
And he does the gig. He's learned his lines perfectly and it's all done in one take.
He says to himself (changing back into his street clothes) "If that's how everybody treats me I'm never going to work in this town again!"
The episode he's in airs--and the cult following of the show take a liking to him. "He was the best thing in that show!" The studio decides to write the character into future episodes. The original actor, who has an actual contract, is furious. He attempts to make a threatening phone call to the protagonist, but the protagonist offers to make it right with him.
Both the actors show up at a meeting with the creative staff of the show. The protagonist give them an idea: "You see, I'm an imposter. I stole this other guy's identity and I'm using it to take over all his action. So the real man" (the foreigner actor) "found out about it and wants my butt. Gang war breaks out. Season ender has the final showdown, me on one side, him on the other, and the heroes trapped in the crossfire."
How does it work out? they ask.
"That's our cliffhanger!" he replies.
Sure enough, the series goes that direction and the actor has a busy time keeping up with the production schedule. He and the other actor get to be good friends. But the pay isn't all that great and he knows that the likelihood of it lasting is virtually nil.
They film the cliffhanger, which is a fun experience for the actor.
But then they hear the series has been cancelled. Yes, the episodes they shot will be on the DVD set, but other than that...
The actor gets shafted from some of his pay.
The foreign actor calls him. "Hey, I hear there's an opening in the cast of a movie I'll be working on in my home country. I could put in a good word if you want it..."
FP
