looking to be in movie

i am looking to be in movie i am 13 truning 14 and i have been one of the main parts in a school play and i have done drama for a year but do not do it anymore but might start again. me and my friend are looking to be in a movie i have brown hair and blue eyes. can you plzz help.

If you read further on this board, you will find that are several of us teenagers who wish to get acting jobs. But I am afraid it isnt as simple as posting on this board. You need to take action, get an agent, attend a drama school, whatever. Where are you from? The best way to get help is to give a bit more detail.

Sweetie, there is no way that any casting director who is looking for cast for a movie is going to hire you on the spot just because you said you want to be in a movie. Its like walking back and forth in front of a photographer who is taking model shots in the hopes that he'll decide to pickyou up out of thin air and pay you 1000 to stand still.

Firstly, you need training. One year of drama is OK, but get more proactive and get out there. Learn a couple of accents. Learn to act in front of the camera. learn to commit scripts to memory after one glance. Stuff like that. Drama lessons from school don't take you very far.

Secondly, get experience. A role in the school play is a good start. Look out to all the community theatres and try out for roles there, even if it in in the chorus. Help out backstage, and get yourself known. If there are any film schools around, have a look at their boards, sometimes they go looking for actors for their films. Unpaid normally, but really good experience, and you get your chance to strut yourself in front of the camera.

Thirdly, do research. Obviously, just by posting here you haven't done much thinking, hoping instead that agents and casting directors will all scramble to your door begging for you to take a lead int he next big thing. Sorry if I sound a little critical, but a lot of young teens such as yourself have the same sort of ideas and hopes, and unfortunately there are too many actors and too few roles, especially for girls your age.
So, research. Search the net, ask friends, don't just sit there and hope for the best. I did that years ago, and nothing happened. It's only unitl I got off my slack bum and asked around and did some investigating that I begun to realise how much work goes into being in a movie.

You have to think about things like headshots, representation and training. You have to go find an agent, because no-one gets picked up off the street. If you are really serious, start to get to know the casting directors in your area (althoguh I suggest waiting until you have a reasonable resume on your hands before you make your presence known). Pick up some skills that are unique. I took up fire-twirling last year, and just because I could fire-twirl, I picked up a number of jobs. Learn another language - try something Asian. The asian market do look for Westerners, and as we are the closest Western country.. you get my drift.

And finally, get your priorities straight. Are you only pursuing a career in films because you want to be famous, ala Australian Idol? Rich? Only continue if you truly love acting, and the others don't appeal to you, because truthfully, only 2% of actors are household names, very few of them have a regular job and not many can command millions to their name. Head for a job in politics if you want to be famous (or infamous as it may be), or become an accountant if you want to be rich

This is all I have to say for the moment. Oh, and please check your spelling and grammer. I know for a fact that casting directors are intolerate of these sort of things, so you are pretty much digging your own hole if you can't improve your basic grasp on the english language.

if you keep at it you will get there some day

are you a actor?

Well said Julianne.
Using lower case and SMS text type language may be fine for doing just that with friends but when posting in a public forum it makes for difficult reading and sends the message that you are either lazy and can't be bothered to spell words out fully and/or correctly, or your grasp of the language is not very good - assuming that your first or only one is English.

julianne wrote:
> Sorry if I sound a little critical...

Yes, you sound critical, but don't be sorry - I think everything you said was good realistic advice.


> Oh, and please check your spelling and grammer.

Sorry, couldn't resist this one - it's spelt "grammar"...!




Mind you, freya's post had at least 15 errors in about 60 words....!

While it seems increasingly less so, it's an established fact that success in any endeavor correlates with having a strong knowledge of the correct usage of your own language. This is true for all occupations, even those you think don't need it....our most successful sportsmen are the articulate ones, who end up with careers in the media...a cleaner who improves their knowledge of language greatly improves their opportunities for promotion....and even if you're a university graduate, improving your vocabulary will always improve your opportunities.

It must go without saying that to be an actor you need a grasp of good English to interpret and deliver the subtleties of written language in scripts...which is why this topic of conversation always elicits a response from me...


Cheers,
crgwllms th spllng nz

[%sig%]

Greetings,

Steven Spielberg is looking 4 a 13 year old actor who can't act and can't spel Inglish so good, to audition for his film.

MUST HAVE BROWN HAIR AND BLUE EYES.

Plzz reply to the above email.


Managing Director

Jack Weinberger III

Columbia Pictures Inc

Oh, leave me alone, it was 35 degrees here, and kinda hard to stop the fingers from sticking to the keyboard lol :)

I hope belittling a young girl has made you feel better.
Keep at it Freya.

And I hope that pointing that out made -you- feel better.

OK. So you want to be in a movie.

Ask yourself these three questions:

1. Do I want to do this for love?

2. Do I want to do this for money?

3. Do I want to do this for fame?

If you answered 'yes' to the first question, then you can assure yourself of having some kind of career in the arts (both cinema and theatre). You may end up being broke (which negates the second question) and you may end up not being very well known (which negates the third).

If you answered 'no' to the first question and yes to the other two, you will fail in this dream and be wasting your precious time

My personal advice is to think of another career that will best suit your talents as you are only 13. This world needs more doctors, engineers, teachers and scientists. We don't need anymore starry eyed, stagestruck wannabes, we have enough of those already and 99% of them are out of work and desperate.

Hopefully you will not be the only one to read this. Over the past several months this website has been inundated with requests from teenage girls asking for 'acting' work of some kind even though they have absolutely no experience at all. Discouragement is the appropriate remedy, especially as some idiot some time ago had the audacity to advertise for porn actresses on here.

You are very cynical Tom.
Let people have their dreams....

I was young and inexperienced once and now have a successful above board acting career on 3 continents...all through perserverance and positive focus...

Good on you! You're the 1% I'm talking about!

Did did it for love and you did the hard work - as well as bit of luck...

It perplexes me how individuals can be so blind to confuse 'the real world' with cynical perception

Well, the thing is that many of these teen girls are influenced greatly by crap shows like Australian Idol, Big Brother etc etc, where they can believe to be the next big thing - and it looks so easy. Add that to the fact that society todays plays such an emphasis on celebrities in that we look up to them and read all about them, that girls can't help but want to be appreciated and drooled all over like that. Modelling is too hard since you need to be a certain figure and face, which a lot of people can't get, and singing requires talent. Acting is commonly mistaken to not be about talent, which is why there is such a large influx of people wanting fame and fortune.

And unfortunately, those 99% that we were talking about are the ones who sit on their bums thinking it will all come to them, and yet when it doesn't, fill up internet sites like this full of requests and complaints.

Julianne, a lot of what you have stated I do agree with. However, being one of those teenage girls myself, I would like to inform you of my perspective on this issue.

Unlike you have implied of some teenage girls, I have not been influenced at all by those such shows as Australian Idol as I persue my passion of acting, nor do I believe that I can be the 'next big thing'. In fact, I assume that any person who is to simply watch Australian Idol can see for themselves how much perserverance, effort, hardwork, etc. it takes to achieve their dreams. Those contestants, such as Guy and Shannon, have not 'easily' achieved all they have, as it seems you are implying. It is easy to see that even with the added benefit of the national contest providing opportunities for publicity and music contracts arising from the show, it hasnt been presented to them on a platter - they needed the talent, passion, perserverance, etc and to put in the effort and harwork. If this had not been so public and such an opportunity had not been provided, these people would probably not be selling their music as they are today, and would be just as widely known as the guy next door. Therefore, while the show has made this look 'easier', I doubt many girls have been influenced enough to believe that it could happen so 'easily' for them.

It is true that many people (not just teenage girls) want to become popular like other celebrities. I myself can tell you that the thought has passed through my mind. Yet the ultimate, original, greatest and lasting reason that I continue to perservere is my passion and love for acting, which I want to be able to use to the best of my ability and share with others. I dont need fame or fortune. I need not be known by name. It is simply an art that I enjoy and a talent God has blessed me with.

From reading other posts, I can see that there are many teenage hopefuls throughout the country. Some, like the author of this original message of this chain, are obviously misdirected in their thinking. Obviously they cannot simply receive a role in a movie by posting as they do on this board, but they need to take action and gain experience, etc. But instead of discouraging them, why not allow this to be a learning experience and guide them as to the correct approach they should have in their to achieve their aspiration. By letting people know about them here, however, they may be able to find of a production nearby from another person.

In regard to your comments about those who sit around on their bums, expecting it all to come to them, I have a good reason as to why this may be which you need to contemplate before lashing out at them. If you do, you will realise that it isnt surprising that the board gets filled with those requests and complaints. I will explain this from the point of view of being in my situation:

I am currently 16 years old, with little credible acting experience up my sleeve. I have undertaken drama as an elective at school during my high school years of grades 7-10. I regularly take part in dramas for church each week, and I have participated in productions every year with my school. I have lived in Orange, NSW all my life where there is very limited opportunities. Every year there is a local theatre production, but these are mostly musicals requiring the cast to sing, and as this is not my forte, makes it very hard to become involved. This is the extent of opportunities.

The main barriers in my life that prevent me from gaining increased experience, and which I believe is the cause of other teenagers 'sitting on their bums, filling this site', are:
- they do not have the necessary opportunities to gain experience, only are able to participate in such things as listed above
- they do not have the support of parents. This has been a particularly limiting factor in my life. For example, a few years ago I discovered there was to be a local filming of an television advertisement, which I wished to participate in as I fitted the criteria and would give me some more experience in front of the camera. Yet when I tried to discuss it with my parents for their assent, they simply brushed away the idea.
- they can not afford to attend or do not live close to drama schools to gain more experience.
- they have the experience, but are unable to locate an agent in order to gain the opportunity for auditions, etc
- they are unsure how to pursue their dreams
- a feeling of being to old overcomes them, leading to laziness towards achieving the goal. Many people who achieve the opportunity for greater roles are those who were put in drama schools at a very early age, and got roles in commercials, etc
- held back by location. For example, those who live in major cities are more easily able to attend drama schools, have the opportunity for an acting job - commerical or otherwise, get an agent, etc.

While I may have clearly explained my view to you, I hope that you will take the time to consider why it may be that these teenagers are filling these sites, in the hope of gaining a role and persuing their acting career. It may appear lazy, but perhaps it is the greatest hope they have of achiving their dreams.

Rachel

amen to that rachel!

Good on you Rachel, perfectly summed up.

Im only 22 now and have been acting since i was about 15 (yr 10 high school). I was lucky in that i had great Drama teachers who exposed me to acting an encouraged me to get better at it and to continue on with it after my formative years. However, some do not have the same guidance that i had and even then at the end of high school i still had no idea how to proceed and were to look in terms of my acting career.

Freya i assume has not even left school yet and is atleast looking to get involved in the industry even at her young age. Also, Tom or "Colombia Pictures" your cynical reply Freya was not only low but completely out of order. The girl is only 14 and unless you know her personally, you would have no idea as to her ability and talent. Yes, the unemployment rate of our industry is huge and the opportunities slim but dont discourage people with your unwanted cynicism. The more the better, it can only make it more competitive and make the rest of us better performers.

Good luck Freya follow your dreams and read some of the more constructive feddback from the likes of Julianne to help you find your way.

Steve.

Hi folks,
This is turning out to be quite the topic. So I thought I would put my two bits worth in as well :)
I would firstly like to congratulate those young people who have taken the first step in deciding what it is they wanna do. It is a gutsy move to say "I want to be an actor!" at the age of 13 - 16. But if its all you can see doing...then do it! Secondly I would also like to say if it IS what you want to do then just remain realistic about it too...There are a lot of difficulties in this industry, and as a 20 year old actor based in Perth, I can say i personally never fathomed just how difficult it was to get your, so called "Big Break." I mean i have been in the indsutry for 3 years and still havent gotten my break...But I have been in the industry for only a short time. So its a good thing you have started young it means you have that much longer to work at it. And you will have to work at it...But if you love it, it doesnt really matter does it?! But, I believe, if you work at something hard enough...It WILL inevitably Pay Off!! So Good Luck on your journey and enjoy it...It's only just begun.

P.S: It is a tough industry and the more actors ENCOURAGE each other the better off it will be...So lets help each other out.

"P.S: It is a tough industry and the more actors ENCOURAGE each other the better off it will be...So lets help each other out."

Uh, surely if it's such a tough industry, the last thing we want to do is encourage even more competition for oursleves? (please note, the tongue is firmly in the cheek here).

Freya, go out and get yourself experience. Do whatever roles come your way, you will learn something from every single one of them. Watch those around you, both on stage and in real life. Listen to your teachers, your directors and anyone else who will talk to you about our craft. Most importantly, if this is what you really want to do, don't give up.

It's late now, so I'm going to bed.

Melissa (she of the knowledge to impart at 5.30 am) Merchant

Best advice I ever got about pursuing a career in the arts: "Don't."


Single personal attribute that has allowed me to achieve a lengthy career in the arts: a stubborn refusal to take such good advice.



Cheers,
Craig

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Steve Whiley wrote:
Also, Tom or "Colombia Pictures" your cynical reply
> Freya was not only low but completely out of order. The girl
> is only 14 and unless you know her personally, you would have
> no idea as to her ability and talent. Yes, the unemployment
> rate of our industry is huge and the opportunities slim but
> dont discourage people with your unwanted cynicism. The more
> the better, it can only make it more competitive and make the
> rest of us better performers.


Cynical? Yeah probably but for good reason. To encourage a person to pursue a dream is ignoring one fact about what a dream is. A dream is well just that, a dream. You might just as well suggest that they should go and spend all their hard earned cash on lotto arguing that one day they will win first division. Acting is a risky business with little chance
of success or fame, no matter what your the argument might be.

Some years back, I had the experience of working with a fairly average looking blonde without much acting talent, prepared to ditch her medical studies to eke out a precarious living as an actor. I almost pleaded with her not to do this - to say I had tears welling up in my eyes, might be an overstatement - but I suggested she should think very carefully. This was some years ago and I haven't seen her since.

The average actor in Australia is lucky to earn $6000 a year in their field. The rest of their income is usually earned waiting on tables. I knew a gold medallist from NIDA who admitted he was unemployed 90% of the time. Thank Christ for his Engineering degree.

To put off a few hopefuls with my cynicism, may seem a bit harsh, but by no means cruel. Freya can make her mind up, and if she is determined enough she could ignore all the comments here and do what she likes. If she wants to make some kind of a living as a
actor that's fine by me. If she feels put off with a career in the arts because of this and becomes a brilliant neurosurgeon, then my cynicism can't be a bad thing. It's better than pushing someone's hopes too high.

Yes, acting is an extremly precarious profession. However, re Tom's comments, I think you have to remember that not all of us enter acting out of ignorance of the risks - a lot of people know the risks all to well and decide to give it a shot despite them. If your friend was studying her way through med school one can only presume that she was a fairly intelligent girl. And that she was well and truly capable of calculating that the average actor's income is pretty minimal. And from that position someone is quite capable of deciding that it is still their preferred profession, or attempted profession. When I stopped working as a full-time lawyer partially so that I could concentrate on my acting, I didn't have any delusions as to the difficulty and precarious income that being an actor involves. I just decided, quite logically given my values and wants from life, that it was my preferred lifestyle. Just because someone is giving up the opportunity to earn a higher monetary income doesn't make their decision illogical - unless of course you think income is the only measuring point of a successful life. Artists throughout history have chosen their art ahead of more 'sensible' career options and society has been the richer for it - there is nothing new or hollywood-dreamish about the simple choice to pursue a financially scary but emotionally satisfying road less travelled.

Now is a 14 yr old capable of making that decision? No, she probably isn't. I don't think anyone on this board would say to her to drop her studies or to forget about planning a fall-back career. But at the same time that is no reason not to put time and effort into pursuing her dream, so that when she is older and more experienced the door is open for her to give professional acting a shot if at that age it is still what she wants to do.

On the other hand, I do think that it is worthwhile when someone says they want to be an actor, to remind them that the actual job of being an actor is not that of being a hollywood star - someone quitting their dayjob in the hope of become a 'name' actor is the equivalent of someone becoming a lawyer because they really want to be the Chief Justice of the High Court. You have to realise that the job for most actors is a long procession of bit-parts here and there, crappy ads and occassionally something better, whilst working other jobs on the side and constructing more interesting share-of-profits projects. That WILL put a lot of people off acting, once they realise that it isn't a lotto ticket and they start to question whether acting is something they really like in itself. But I am yet to meet an actor who has made a serious commitment to acting under any such delusion of grandeur - the fact is some people actually LIKE the job of minor theatre projects and occassional acting gigs whilst working other jobs to keep the rent ticking over. And more power to them.

Hello. I am hoping someone out there can help me. I want to be in a real job that earns money. I havenÂ’t done any working in a real job yet, but I am very keen and I love earning money.

I have skills in walking around on stage, getting in and out of costumes quickly, speaking in silly voices, and making up rhymes. I also do some camping, scubadiving, and play the ukulele. I used to be heard shouting about car rallies on the radio.

IÂ’m 35, I donÂ’t have a degree in anything, but I can ride a unicycle.

If anyone can help me by telling me where I can get offered a real job, I would much appreci8 it. A few years ago I went to a Centrelink job placement agency, but they gave up on me because they said they had no positions that matched my skills, I wasn’t qualified to do anything else, and I was doing much better finding work on my own without their ‘help’. But I REALLY want to earn MONEY!

Plzzz hlp

Cheers,
Craig

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I cant believe this whole discussion (as healthy as it is) started from a teenage girl wanting to be in A movie.Not THE movies.

Everyone went off on tangents about aspirations and dream following expeditions down the hard acting road to success. She just wanted to be in a movie.

Its hard as a teenager deciding to do anything at all besides surviving high school, deciding that you want to be a part of something like acting is the first step.Ask your mum Freya if she can take you down to an agent and get some representation (Dont ask your dad because if hes anything like mine hell just say "ACTING! Im not spending any bloody money on that gear!Get a real job like - TV repair man!").

Or better still keep your ear to the ground around the auditions in papers and on this website...coz its a bit of a ripper.Sometimes you have to be patient, but oppurtunities do come.

One step at a time kids.
Rock.
Jones.

I am a 12 year old and have 5-6 yrs of acting training by the best of the best like Clair sinnet ,Patrick Johnson and Aaron Marcus in NYC. I have been with Barbizon and have recently went to NYC for IMTA (International Modeling and Talent assosiation) I went through 4-5 auditons to get there and made all of them. I recently signed with Star managment.
-Christina

Jones. wrote:
>
> I cant believe this whole discussion (as healthy as it is)
> started from a teenage girl wanting to be in A movie.Not THE
> movies.
>


Sorry Jones, but I can't pay your distinction. Freya's post was titled "Looking to be in movie", and the first sentence read, "i am looking to be in movie i am 13 truning 14...."

How can we assume a distinction between "A" and "THE", if neither exists to give us a clue? Your reading between the lines is only probably - but not necessarily - correct.

Cheers,
Mr Spock

[%sig%]

okay lady perhaps u should check ur @!#$!

hi all
just read all comments on the girl wanting to be an actress and i took some of your advice it has really helped me and it has gave me more motivaiont to go make myself known my name is charlie-marie watch this space lol x x x