You're only as good as the last envelope....THE MANUSCRIPT IS COMPLETE!
Or checkout the ‘Hollywood Heist’ backlot.
My cruddy zoomed in pic.
Two weeks back Nikki and I headed down to the Patchogue Theater for a rare night out to catch the live show of ‘Conversations with Sopranos’ -- with Steve Schirripa (Bobby Bacala), Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti), and Vinny Pastore (‘Big Pussy’ Bonpensiero).
I didn’t ask a question during Q&A this time but one audience member, when he had his turn at the mic asked: “What advice would you have for somebody trying to make it as an actor?”
I couldn’t tell if the kid was 19, 27, or 16. It used to be that if someone was younger than me then they were definitely in undergrad. Now there are two decades between me and college so I pretty much have no idea with these whipper snappers. Anyways…
“Move to New York City or LA,” Mr. Imperioli said. “Sorry. And when you get there, join as high end of a theater class as you can.”
I liked that answer. It was tactical. Like if someone asked how to be a doctor you would say, go to college and study all this hard stuff for a bunch of years. There's a roadmap.
We don't give a lot of specific advice for kids who want to. make it in the arts. The advice they get? 'Do something practical.’ What a terrible message!
In 2017 I saw a composer (I think Hans Zimmer) tell a crowd that the real genius of The Beatles was sitting their ass in the chair every day. This was a talk just before the Upstream Music Fest in Seattle. This is a good message too. How do you become a doctor? Go to school for 10 years.
I don't think we have to go for broke on these pursuits. If we dedicate just a little time each day to the things that light us up, we win. We are the sum of how we spend our days.
I hope that kid moves to LA.
Image: HBO
Happy Friday pals,
Charlie
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Updates on the Book: (checkout the backlot here)
I’ve finally sent the full manuscript off to my editor :) She’s had it for a little over a week. I honestly don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve started running again, watching movies, sleeping…conversing with my wife. Remind me why I wrote this thing!
I've lined up a professional cover artist, can’t leave anything up to chance
I've been working with another artist on a project for the interior--a fantasy style heist map...
Title Change. "Hollywood Heist' was a fine working name, but it's not going to be the real title of this book...more to come on this
My plan and timeline is to get the line edits back this month, incorporate the feedback and get this thing up for pre-order before the summer! We're really doing this thing people.
Behind the scenes: charleskunken.com/hollywoodheistbacklot
Have some thoughts? Feel free to drop a comment or hit me up: charlie@charleskunken.com
Other Posts In The Hollywood Heist Series
Please judge.