Acting

THE PROBLEM Starting in 2002, for the past 20 years to the present, during the evenings and weekends, I have been feverishly writing, adapting, and pitching a number of feature picture screenplays with no success in getting the projects greenlit or optioned neither by buyers, agents nor producers. Meanwhile, all this time my day job has been in relatively non-creative realm of high-tech. Does this story sound familiar? Every writer/filmmaker I've run into experiences a closed and ineffic...

If you’ve been pursuing your Hollywood dreams longer than 60 seconds, then you probably know all about rejection. It’s part of the path. It’s something completely unavoidable as long as you’re taking risks and putting yourself out there. Some rejections aren’t so bad. Others totally suck. When a rejection hits deep, it’s common to retreat and hold yourself back from trying again. Whether you get dropped by an agent, your script is rejected from every festival, or you haven’t booked a job i...

In an industry where gatekeepers run the show, finding creative ways to get your work out there is not only a necessity, but a glorious way to take control of your career. No matter what hat(s) you were in the entertainment industry, launching your own YouTube channel is a fantastic way to flex your creative muscles - without needing permission from anyone. Sick of waiting to get cast in your dream role? Launch your own YouTube channel where you perform monologues weekly. Tired of not g...

We flock to the entertainment industry for feelings. Whether we're creating it or consuming it, emotions drive us there. We are full of creativity and expression - and I love it. Feelings are our fuel. Call it passion, a need to inspire others, a desire to uplift, a yearning to connect, or even to receive validation. We are following or looking for a feeling when we act, write, direct, or go to the movies. And we rely heavily on our gut. It can dictate how to react in a scene, which word to w...

Since my appointment as delegate of the Mexican National Chamber of the Film Industry (CANACINE) for the State of Quintana Roo, also known as the Mexican Caribbean, I have become familiar with the phenomenon screen tourism. In fact, screen tourism is becoming one of the key elements in policy making for the audiovisual industry in Quintana Roo, which includes what nowadays can be considered Mexico’s most important beach tourist areas. In this article I will explain what screen tourism is, h...

As actors there are certain things that are completely out of our control period. We've been told, time and time again, that our successes and fate in film or TV are a heavy dose of talent, timing, effort, connections and further luck. Some of those ingredients in our success pie are out of our control; however, some are in our control and we can do on a daily basis to ensure our careers moving forward. These are five tips that I do daily to ensure my success as an actress and as a human;...

My name is David Banks and I’ve booked over 100 national commercials. I was a featured guest at Film Con LA and was asked how it’s seemed so easy for me to book spot after spot and what’s my magic touch. How it’s easy? That’s quite funny. Although it may appear like I have some kind of “magic touch,” my current method never fell into my lap. It was derived from MANY years of hearing no after no after no and having no clue how to remedy the situation. Rather, it came from studying the situati...

Sometimes, someone comes along who suddenly propels you into an inspirational state that you never felt before. I worked with someone called, Shibu Thomas, who wrote a screenplay and asked me if I would become script consultant and editor. I read the script and edited it for him, but the story was so intriguing and so clever, I was happy to continue to help him work on it. He then made pitches to producers and received great feedback, he had very good written critiques from professionals in...

Want Success? Stop Listening to the Hollywood Narrative! Is it just me, or does it feel like Hollywood is set up to make you fail? Obstacle, after obstacle… Rejection, after rejection… It’s *almost* not even worth trying. and I can say ‘almost’ because those of us who still believe in the magic of our dreams, have a passion so strong that we are going to go for it, despite all of the hardships we hear about. If you are one of those people, like me, I want you to really listen to what...

Trying to monitor multiple things at once is challenging in your acting career: Casting directors, agents, casting calls, release dates, project greenlights, series renewals & cancellations, the list goes on and on. Even if you are an avid reader of the industry trades- Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, etc- you can miss some things that might be of interest. There have been many times when I saw a submission notice, or an opportunity, only to have missed a deadline, or know that hundreds of o...