» Words to Know

Publicists: What They Do?

prsavage — Wed, 26 May 2010 22:52:14 +0000

by prsavage

You may often hear people within the entertainment industry throw around the term “publicist” quite often. However, you may not have a clear understanding of what a publicist does for actors and other industry professionals.

Publicists serve as the “voices” of the clients they represent. They are responsible for communicating with the public, especially the media, on your behalf. Publicists are basically spokespeople who help build your popularity, and they often accomplish this through obtaining press coverage to create a favorable image for you.

Publicists can be of high value to actors, whether they are newly discovered faces or seasoned veterans. Not only will publicists promote you as an actor by distributing press releases and articles to relevant media contacts; they will also arrange interviews, guest appearances, TV and radio promotions, and special events to get your name out to the public. The best publicists blend traditional PR methods with social media so that you reach audiences both offline and online. This type of publicity can equate to more offers for acting roles and higher pay for jobs.

So next time someone mentions his or her “publicist,” you will know exactly what this person does. And once you feel you are ready to take your career to the next level, I recommend hiring a publicist of your own.

prsavage

What is Bollywood?

actorguru — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:42:53 +0000

Bollywood is a popular term used for the Hindi language film industry based in Mumbai, India. It must be noted that the term “Bollywood” does not reflect the whole of Indian cinema. It is only a part of the Indian movie industry. Indian cinema is not just limited to Bollywood. With that being said, Bollywood is indeed the largest film producer in India and is one of the largest film production centers in the world. The name is derived from two words (a portmanteau): Bombay, the former name for Mumbai, and Hollywood, the center of the American film industry.

Bollywood is also referred to as Hindi cinema although there’s been a growing presence of Indian English in the dialogues of its films.

The term Bollywood also has origins in the 1970′s, when Indian cinema actually surpassed Hollywood as the world’s largest film producer.

Music
In the 2000s, Bollywood began influencing musical films in the Western world, and played a particularly instrumental role in the revival of the American musical film genre. Baz Luhrmann stated that his musical film Moulin Rouge! (2001) was directly inspired by Bollywood musicals. The film incorporated an Indian-themed play based on the ancient Sanskrit drama The Little Clay Cart and a Bollywood-style dance sequence with a song from the film China Gate. The critical and financial success of Moulin Rouge! renewed interest in the then-moribund Western musical genre, and subsequently films such as Chicago, The Producers, Rent, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Sweeney Todd, Across the Universe, The Phantom of the Opera, Enchanted and Mamma Mia! were produced, fueling a renaissance of the genre.

The influence of Bollywood film music can also be seen in popular music elsewhere in the world. For example, Devo’s 1988 hit song “Disco Dancer” was inspired by the song “I am a Disco Dancer” from the Bollywood film Disco Dancer (1982). The 2002 song “Addictive”, sung by Truth Hurts and produced by DJ Quik and Dr. Dre, was lifted from Lata Mangeshkar’s “Thoda Resham Lagta Hai” from Jyoti (1981). The Black Eyed Peas’ Grammy Award winning 2005 song “Don’t Phunk with My Heart” was inspired by two 1970s Bollywood songs: “Ye Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana” from Don (1978) and “Ae Nujawan Hai Sub” from Apradh (1972). Both songs were originally composed by Kalyanji Anandji, sung by Asha Bhosle, and featured the dancer Helen. Also in 2005, the Kronos Quartet re-recorded several R. D. Burman compositions, with Asha Bhosle as the singer, into an album You’ve stolen my heart – Songs From R D Burman’s Bollywood, which was nominated for “Best Contemporary World Music Album” at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Filmi music composed by A. R. Rahman (who would later win two Academy Awards for the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack) has frequently been sampled by musicians elsewhere in the world, including the Singaporean artist Kelly Poon, the Uzbek artist Iroda Dilroz, the French rap group La Caution, the American artist Ciara, and the German band Löwenherz, among others. Many artists among the overseas Indian diaspora have also been inspired by Bollywood music.

Genre
Bollywood films are mostly musicals, and are expected to contain catchy music in the form of song-and-dance numbers woven into the script. A film’s success often depends on the quality of such musical numbers. Indeed, a film’s music is often released before the movie itself and helps increase the audience.

Indian audiences expect full value for their money, with a good entertainer generally referred to as paisa vasool, (literally, “money’s worth”). Songs and dances, love triangles, comedy and dare-devil thrills are all mixed up in a three-hour-long extravaganza with an intermission. Such movies are called masala films, after the Hindi word for a spice mixture. Like masalas, these movies are a mixture of many things such as action, comedy, romance etc. Most films have heroes who are able to fight off villains all by themselves.
Melodrama and romance are common ingredients to Bollywood films. Pictured Achhut Kanya (1936)

Bollywood plots have tended to be melodramatic. They frequently employ formulaic ingredients such as star-crossed lovers and angry parents, love triangles, family ties, sacrifice, corrupt politicians, kidnappers, conniving villains, courtesans with hearts of gold, long-lost relatives and siblings separated by fate, dramatic reversals of fortune, and convenient coincidences.

There have always been Indian films with more artistic aims and more sophisticated stories, both inside and outside the Bollywood tradition (see Parallel Cinema). They often lost out at the box office to movies with more mass appeal. Bollywood conventions are changing, however. A large Indian diaspora in English speaking countries, and increased Western influence at home, have nudged Bollywood films closer to Hollywood models.

Finances
Bollywood films are multi-million dollar productions, with the most expensive productions costing up to 100 crores Rupees (roughly USD 20 million). Sets, costumes, special effects, and cinematography were less than world-class up until the mid-to-late 1990s, although with some notable exceptions. As Western films and television gain wider distribution in India itself, there is an increasing pressure for Bollywood films to attain the same production levels, particularly in areas such as action and special effects. Recent Bollywood films have employed international technicians to improve in these areas, such as Krrish (2006) which has action choreographed by Hong Kong based Tony Ching. The increasing accessibility to professional action and special effects, coupled with rising film budgets, has seen an explosion in the action and sci-fi genres.

What are Actor Breakdowns?

actorguru — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:28:04 +0000

The “breakdowns” are basically constant minute-by-minute daily casting calls that are sent electronically (usually via email or a secured website) from the studios or film and/or television production companies to talent agents and managers through a company called Breakdown Services, Ltd. Though there are many casting call services and websites out there, Breakdown Services, Ltd. is definitely the most reputable. They’ve provided the service since 1971 (even before electronic transmissions) and are considered the “industry standard”.

Actors are not allowed to get the breakdowns but some are provided through Breakdown Services website called Actor’s Access.

So how does it work? A studio or film/telvision production company has a script. They need actors for the roles, right?

The studio or production company hires a casting director to find the best actors for the role. The casting director sends out a character “breakdown” to all the talent agents and managers (who have access to the breakdown service) with a description of the character(s) in the project. The talent agents and managers submit their clients (who they feel best fits the role) to the casting director.

Finally, if the casting director sees a fit (usually based on resume’ experience and looks) they’ll contact the talent agent or manager to schedule their client to come in for an interview–actually an audition. So do you have a general idea of how breakdowns are important to the whole casting process? Leave a comment and share your thoughts. Let us know if you have additional questions.

Also, Breakdown Services, Ltd. provides many other services for actors so check out their website here.

Hollywood: What is It?

actorguru — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 01:56:52 +0000

Want to know more about Hollywoodland? Well, Hollywood is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California, situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identityas the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word “Hollywood” is often used as a metonym of cinema of the United States. The nickname Tinseltown refers to the glittering, superficial nature of Hollywood and the movie industry. Today, much of the movie industry has dispersed into surrounding cities such as Burbank and the Los Angeles Westside but significant auxiliary industries, such as editing, effects, props, post-production and lighting companies, remain in Hollywood.

Many historic Hollywood theaters are used as venues and concert stages to premiere major theatrical releases and host the Academy Awards. It is a popular destination for nightlife and tourism and home to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Although it is not the typical practice of the city of Los Angeles to establish specific boundaries for districts or neighborhoods, Hollywood is a recent exception.

On February 16, 2005, Assembly Members Goldberg and Koretz introduced a bill to require California to keep specific records on Hollywood as though it were independent. For this to be done, the boundaries were defined. This bill was unanimously supported by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the LA City Council. Assembly Bill 588 was approved by the Governor on August 28, 2006 and now the district of Hollywood has official borders. The border can be loosely described as the area east of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, south of Mulholland Drive, Laurel Canyon, Cahuenga Boulevard, and Barham Boulevard, and the cities of Burbank and Glendale, north of Melrose Avenue and west of the Golden State Freewayand Hyperion Avenue. This includes all of Griffith Park and Los Feliz—two areas that were hitherto generally considered separate from Hollywood by most Angelenos.

The population of the district, including Los Feliz, as of the 2000 census was 167,664 and the median household income was $33,409 in 1999. As a portion of the city of Los Angeles, Hollywood does not have its own municipal government, but does have an official, appointed by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who serves as “Honorary Mayor of Hollywood” for ceremonial purposes only. Johnny Grant held this position for decades, until his death on January 9, 2008.