Many have a new mantra

My fellow dreamers have a new battle cry:  "Dream big. And dream fierce."

So thrilled for Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, the cast of The Help and all of the other "and the actor goes to" recipients last night.

Please nominate!

I better be careful. I might get sunburnt.

I'm clearly enjoying the balmy January weather here in LA...beats the heck out of a NY winter!  I've set up shop on my patio and am about to get some writing done.  But before I get started, I have a favor to ask. If you enjoyed GIRL PARTS, please nominate us for the Indie Intertube Audience Choice Award.  It takes less than 30 seconds to do and if we win it would mean a lot...because we love our fans!  Just visit THIS LINK and fill out the form.  Thanks guys!!

And the nominees are...

The Oscars feel closer than ever this year:

• The Artist received 10 nominations.  The casting director of The Artist?  Heidi Levitt - who cast me in my Hyundai spot toward the end of last year.

• Time Freak was nominated in the Live Action Short Film category. My short film, True Love, screened alongside Time Freak at the HollyShorts Festival in August.  We knew when we saw it, it was something special.  Seeing them nominated is just further affirmation...dreams come true, y'all.

• African Chelsea, a short film my friends did, qualified for the Oscars but did not get nominated in the end.  The lead of that film is my co-star in Girl Parts and good friend Corinne Becker.  Brent Roske, the director/writer of African Chelsea and also a friend, made a solid push for a nomination and that has led to him to begin shooting a feature this March starring Sally Kirkland, who also starred in African Chelsea.

• Octavia Spencer was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Help.  I like to call her my "twitter buddy" - from the few tweets we've exchanged regarding BookPALS, she seems like an incredibly grounded and relatable human being.  Which clearly is reflected in her work.  Not to mention, she just premiered Smashed, the movie my friend co-produced...which I talked about yesterday.  No doubt the cast and crew of that film are also thrilled for their co-star.  The fact that Melissa McCarthy was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Bridesmaids has got to be the icing for Octavia.  These two have been good friends for years and are both now being recognized for their work after an extended time in the business.  To be having the same level of success at the same time as a friend that you came up in the ranks with...I can only imagine!  What a surreal and awesome feeling it must be.  As I near my first decade mark of pursuing this dream, I know that the payoff is possible...and it is that much sweeter because of the dedication it took to get there.

• Thrilled that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was recognized for Best Picture.  You all know how much I loved this movie.  It was late to the awards race so it didn't get much recognition in the earlier ceremonies but you can't get any bigger than the Oscars.  Would have loved to see Thomas Horn recognized for his work in the film but in a year that saw both Leonardo DiCaprio and Ryan Gosling snubbed in the Best Actor category, the competition was clearly steep.

As I sit here, in my chair, sipping some tea and about to work some more on my screenplay, I am humbled by these accomplishments of the people I know, the people I know of and the people that inspire me.  This is never an easy road and to see their work come to fruition at the highest level of this industry helps to motivate me to keep going.  As Bonnie Gillespie eloquently wrote in her column yesterday:

Bad audition? Stuck on a plot point in a script you're writing? Released from avail after being sure the gig was yours? Dropped by your agent when things were starting to pick up? Edited out of the final cut of the film you told everyone you'd shot? Told you're too old or too skinny or too ethnic or too anything else for whatever particular role you really wanted to play? Snubbed in the casting room? Hating your reel after having spent a ton on it? Missing your family back home? 

Yep. It's all hard. The only thing harder is not pursuing your dreams.

Today is a reminder that it all can be worth it.

Monday Inspiration

Sundance is happening right now and last night a movie called "Smashed" premiered.  I've been following along even as this movie was filming because a friend of mine co-produced it.  Not only does the film have a to-die-for cast (Aaron Paul, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Octavia Spencer, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman) but judging from the reactions to the screening last night....it is really good.  As in, people are buzzing about it and hopefully it will get distribution.  I'm really looking forward to seeing it and am so excited for my friend.  She and I were in class together and to see this level of success just further encourages and inspires.  Here is an interview from Sundance yesterday with one of my favorite actors, Aaron Paul, and the director of the film, James Ponsoldt.  Cheers to the success of this film, cheers to my friend and cheers to dreams coming true.

New-newness

Quick post before I run out to an improv practice group and then a commercial audition....

I updated my website!  New photos, new contact info, new-newness.  Hope you'll check it out!

The day ahead

Today I have my last Improv class.  I also have a commercial audition...at the same time that my class starts.  In Santa Monica.  Which is a good 20 - 30 minutes from my class location.  There will be some juggling this afternoon!  Sometimes that happens but it's part of the fun.  These are all good "problems" to have as an actor!

A Friday Treat

I finally got my hands on a copy of one of the commercials I shot last year! Since it is running regionally, I haven't gotten a chance to see it...and I know a lot of you haven't either.  So here it is!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

You guys....

I signed with a manager!

I'm really excited to finally be able to tell you about this!  I was keeping it under my hat until everything was finalized.  And now it is!  This past Friday Emily Henneke and I met to discuss representation, go over paperwork and get all our tools ready to go.  I love the passion and drive that she has for her clients and I can't wait to see where this new partnership takes us.

2012 is off to a good start!

I saw this butterfly on my New Year's Eve hike.
Felt like a nice omen for the upcoming year.

Not much has changed....

....in the past 20 years.

As my sister, who found this and then sent it to me, says, "The last line is key."

Briefly...

I'm at the good ol' Starbucks, about to dig into the tinkering process of my screenplay.  Now that I have the first draft complete there is a lot of work to do be done....but this will be the fun part!  I know which areas I want to work on and there is something really gratifying about tweaking a line or discarding one to make things flow and the story stronger.  

As I was walking here, I saw one of the teachers from my BookPAL classes.  I met her husband and we caught up briefly.  It's been a long holiday and I'm excited to get back to reading next week!

But now I must fly...

xo, 

Tinkerbell

Good Morning, 2012!

Ok, so it isn't technically the first day of the year, but it's being treated as such by the working folk so I'm following suit.  


I had such a lovely time over the holidays.  We were in Florida with my family for Christmas and we got back in last week with time to spare for catching up.  I did glamorous things like clean out my dresser and closet, clean my bathroom, ran everyday and caught up on reading my Hollywood Reporters that have piled up.  Sometimes you need a week to just clear out and get focused.  And I'm thinking this is the calm before the storm.


New Year's resolutions?  I don't have that many.  I am going to be more disciplined in my workout schedule but I started that habit before the new year dawned.  Other than that, I just feel ready to rock. In fact, a friend of mine said this:

I am NOT waiting to see what the year 2012 has for me or will bring me. The year 2012 better watch what I have in store for it!

And now I've adopted that as my mantra.

I'm bringin' it, New Year.  And you better watch out.