Fake Bad Skipping & Real Bad Bosses: Our Latest Audition Disasters | Ep 53

MAX: 00:12
Welcome back to two unemployed actors. I'm Max. I'm Sam. Great show today. I'll tell you what, just today, Sammy, I have had a huge day. Like I woke up this morning. It's good to wake up in the morning.

SAM: 00:24
That's a massive achievement job. During COVID times, that is an achievement in itself, right? Yeah.

MAX: 00:29
Straight into a few voiceover auditions. Very nice. Quick breakfast. And uh I actually actually finished a voiceover job. No tricky words in the voiceover job. I had uh what you peaks. Boring.

unknown: 00:39
Oh.

MAX: 00:40
Classic voice. Four Wheat Picks, um, orange juice and a cappuccino. Not necessarily in the whole. Or in the bowl? No. Or in stomach eventually, but hey. Oh god. And uh yeah, so a couple of voiceover auditions. I finished a voiceover project without tricky words this time. And uh feeling good. And then I had to go and race out to look at a property because I'm moving the studio. So for those of you in Sydney to Newtown, uh Google Maps is global. You can look it up. Look up Newtown, that's where I'm moving to. And um look out Newtown. Look out Newtown. So I saw a property and then I came home and then I got had a had a meeting with a a corporate, this is a corporate job for presenting, uh, actually co-presenting with someone else. It's for a company that'll bring, you know, all these small wineries, the Solidor wineries, obviously not getting a lot of foot traffic now, probably don't get that much anyway, um, but can bring their wine to you and there'll be like a two-minute presentation on that wine.

SAM: 01:38
Yeah, okay.

MAX: 01:39
So it'll be like a whole day a month filming um for various bits for various wineries of that month and that wine, which is great. I like wine. So I like presenting. Win win. Win win, win win. Um not getting paid in wine though, which is good. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Money talks. So uh so that's great. So cemented that. I just gotta meet the guys, I'll meet the guys next week, I think, and then uh we'll do like a half day sort of test, you know, together, film the intro or whatever, the outro, which will be standard.

SAM: 02:06
Yeah, cool.

MAX: 02:07
And then uh yeah, uh day a month presenting, co-presenting. So sealed that deal, then actually got the rental place, so did all that boring admin stuff that you've got to do. Um and then the agent sent through an email saying uh producer wants you to send a self-tape for a feature film which will be a feature film which will be uh shot in New South Wales. Very cool. Uh playing a farmer, Australian farmer.

SAM: 02:32
The sides they gave me are give us a tasty of Bogan accent, your Bogan farmer accent.

MAX: 02:37
Um okay.

SAM: 02:39
Not saying all farmers are bogan, any of our farmer listeners.

MAX: 02:42
Not to come up on my normal Bogan accent, but uh for those in America going, what's a Bogan?

SAM: 02:46
It's like a redneck, it's like a redneck for our 75% American listeners.

MAX: 02:51
Um what was okay, let me think. Uh I'm trying to remember one of the lines. She's only just finished. Um so uh are you from America, eh? That's that that's cool. I don't know, that sounds like me really. You're just uh perfect for the role. So you're from So you're you're you're from America, eh? That's pr that's pretty cool. Uh yeah, these are these are souvenirs that we mate locally, and they we send them in we sell them heaps of them in the city. Yeah, bruh. So heaps heaps of them in the city. Like uh lots, they they you know, they go great guns in the city. Um basically it was a scene where I'm talking as a farmer to a young American girl who's staying at the farm and is like, I'm so bored of life and all that sort of stuff. Like you take this this whole town has one main street and one of the lines is like, Well, I'm what do you like to do? And you know, typical teenager, nothing, you know, not much. Uh great, because this is kind of everything we've got here in this one street. Okay. So anyway, so it gave you a bit of room to play with the scene a bit, which is good. So put that down, edited that, sent that away, and we shall see. And then I'm still waiting to hear back from it. I had another audition last week, another corporate gig, and another presenting gig. Oh my goodness. This is for hospitality gig as a presenter. Yes. Um, hospitality being like for the for the pubs and bars, the organization, the association to sort of say, you know, look after your bar stuff, your local pub's great, your local bar's great. Because when COVID started and there were limits on certain items at the supermarkets here in Australia, yeah, people were abusing the checkout people, people on the checkouts. Like it's like it's not what's not on. It's not. And they had to they had to actually invest in in advertisements, advertisements to say these people are people too, like for all these idiots that don't understand. Yeah. Um, you know, calm the truck down, buddy. Customers are always right.

SAM: 04:51
Correct.

MAX: 04:52
So it's kind of along those lines, but for pubs and clubs and bars. Very cool. So that's up in the haven't heard back, which who knows, uh, as usual. And uh yeah, what can I say? It's like it's been it's been busy, everything's been lining up and going well. Like voiceovers have been solid and consistent. And then um, yeah, all of a sudden today's just all come together. There we go. Um, sending out invoices and stuff. Same thing.

SAM: 05:16
Life for me feels good at the moment. Great, yeah. Jumping, jump like I've spoken about before, jumping into gym, which dive club pushed me to towards.

MAX: 05:26
Dive club made you take a good hard look at it's just the audition.

SAM: 05:29
Just the audition.

MAX: 05:29
Like the fact that I have an opportunity to take my shirt off on camera means in the era of high definition 4K.

SAM: 05:37
Yeah, exactly. Um, and yeah, so uh they've still got a couple months, I think, until they decide. So waiting to hear back, who knows? Yeah. Um so that's cool, and yeah, and working still. And so I did uh I spoke about last podcast. Uh the producer who was on that short film that the director was really. And wanted me to do a commercial. But I did that, so that was spanned over two days. Okay. And it was for it's for an app called Gemba.

MAX: 06:09
Right.

SAM: 06:10
It's like something to do with New South Wales health. So either mental health and stuff like that. So it was really cool. I was like, um, I I had to kind of like look at the app and it told me like to get get fitter, get get training.

MAX: 06:23
Well, I just more influence to you going to the gym more often.

SAM: 06:28
So I had to like, in the on one of the days I had to um like it's day one. Um and I start skipping and I'm really bad, and I had to fake bad skipping really hard. If you're good at skipping. I don't have to fake bad skipping, by the way. But I reminded myself of the actor from Footloose who had to fake dancing. Kevin Baker. No, no, no, the friend who had to fake being bad at dancing. Oh, I see what you're saying. I reminded myself so I'm I'm reasonably good skipper, like okay, skipper. Talk it up now. Yeah, exactly. Anyway.

MAX: 06:59
At that skipping moment to your show reel, yeah.

SAM: 07:01
Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, um, and so I so day one, my character he's like starting out and I had to trip over and then change shirts. So it's like day two, I'm better, it's more consistent, but I'm still failing. Day three, I like full on could like I did that and I crisscrossed and like had to do it.

MAX: 07:16
So the sound of Eye of the Tiger and in my head, yeah.

SAM: 07:19
And the camera was like had to rotate around for a good 30 seconds.

MAX: 07:22
It was just a very cool shoot, and I think also you had to like skip for non-stop for 30 seconds. Yeah, yeah, well, I didn't know. There's my first problem.

SAM: 07:29
Yeah, so that was really cool. And and she was like, um the Kate was like uh the producer, yeah, uh director of this one. So was like, lucky, like you could skip, I forgot to ask you.

MAX: 07:40
Yeah, yeah, right. I know, because it's uh 30 seconds or a minute non-stop. What the hell? Several takes. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

SAM: 07:47
So that was cool, and then I was asked by a friend to do a short film. I think I maybe said it on the podcast, um where I'm a driver.

MAX: 07:54
Give us an update. Oh, that's right, and you get to burn out on your way out. Well, that was your dream anyway.

SAM: 07:58
Well, so I we couldn't actually move see the car moving in frame because of insurance purposes. So that's another permit or another something or whatever. Yes. So we did have to get the sound effects um later. Hence, I was driver/slash stunt driver. I actually had to drive the car, so that was pretty cool. Okay. Um and that was a lot of fun. It was late. Uh it was It's great fun driving someone else's car. Well, actually, it ended up being my my dad's car, actually.

MAX: 08:25
Uh oh. Somewhat somewhat your responsibility.

SAM: 08:28
Yeah, no, no, because it looked good. And and it was What sort of car was it? It's an Alpha Romanic. Nice. Yeah, it was quite good. And it has a shitty door. It had a shitty door. Because I I I didn't do it. I didn't do it.

MAX: 08:39
I was gonna say was that before or after you drove over? That was before.

SAM: 08:43
So it worked for the scene because my line is you can beat with that as like stupid slut. Okay. Yep. So I'm I'm in like an arsehole, like a corporate arsehole or whatever, sitting in the car, and I look at I see the the lead character. Yeah. I see the lead character and I yell it and then I drive off. And then everyone was always saying everyone kept saying, like, oh my god, you're so good at this. And I'm like, It's good therapy. It's good therapy.

MAX: 09:05
Yeah, yeah, it's so it looks so natural. You're such an arsehole. How did you do that so well?

SAM: 09:09
And I'm like, I do it as a job. I do it for a living. It's like not the not the professional arsehole. Not the yelling at young women walking down in the dark, but acting part. That's no, that's yeah. Um so that was that was really fun. Yell at young women for a living. No, and I knew a lot of people on the set, like I knew the lead episode. That's good as well. I knew her from before, or I met her.

MAX: 09:30
Um small worlds.

SAM: 09:31
Yeah, yeah, and it it was a lot of fun. And they were really professional, so they were UTS. Stop trying to kiss Sam. Stop at Freddie.

MAX: 09:39
He wants to put his tongue down your throat. It's natural, dash out thing.

SAM: 09:42
Yeah. So UTS, the UTS film, like graduating students. Yep. And extremely professional set, like amazing, everyone had their roles. It was great. And and I've done a like most of the student short films that I've done have been at afters, and of course they're gonna be professional at the end. But UTS, like they were great. They knew all their shit.

MAX: 09:60
I've had some mixed experiences at UTS, and it's it's sometimes you find that the students are more put together than you know some commercial groups, but uh no, it's it's a good experience. So that's great. That's good that you sort of know them and you work well with them and it went well. Yeah, and it was and you can crash the your car, your dad's car. Exactly. That's very important.

SAM: 10:19
I had to do multiple takes because it was like the real scene where I drive up and say something, yeah. And then and it so the short film's called Super Slut. Okay. Whatever she turns into a superhero, whatever it is. But anyway, she's thinking back later in the film, like thinking back to when that my scene happened, right?

MAX: 10:36
Right, right. And you know how in films that's kind of a pivotal moment that makes her realise I've got to do something about my life.

SAM: 10:41
Yeah, so and then so she you know how in films where people like have a flashback in their memory and it's like in slow motion, right down the barrel, and she's like picturing it as slow motion, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. That was me, I had to be melodramatic in the face, and the camera was here. Okay. So I had to do that, and then also another scene. So it was quite it was quite cool. It was more than I expected, so I arrived home later than I thought, but it was very pretty. It's a good spot.

MAX: 11:03
It's good when you put the work in and it does go late and whatever, but like you just know you're gonna get some good footage from it.

SAM: 11:08
But everyone was lovely, like there was an actual makeup artist and there was uh um you know, catering and I mean maybe it's the fact that it does, I don't know.

MAX: 11:16
Uh but maybe it's because it's graduate that there's different different different sort of level I can do. Yeah, maybe you didn't do it. Because I'm just sort of you know showing away from them. But uh anyway, but no, it's yes, mmm. I guess it's gonna say so much, but there's so much I shouldn't so I'm just gonna be quiet.

SAM: 11:30
But that's been that's been about that's been me pretty much. Okay. That's great.

MAX: 11:35
Are you still going to grant and doing your uh still going grant rehearsals and training and keeping yourself up again?

SAM: 11:40
Always going grant and uh going grant, and then um I don't know. He's great value. Last time we we uh last week we uh for me we did a comedy scene because I think we need to do more of mine. And he's work he's working on my showreel, but he's like, I have to do it.

MAX: 11:54
That's great, cool, thank you. That's great, that's good, isn't it? Yeah, it helps when you get because it's like you're on your own with show reels most of the time. And it's like to get someone to go, actually, this will look better this way, or don't do this, or do more of this, you know. It's good to get that advice from somebody you trust anyway.

SAM: 12:07
Yeah, yeah. So everything's exciting. Exciting news from not today, don't know if I can say anything about it, but something to do with the stuff.

MAX: 12:13
Something is happening soon. Oh, really? Entries. Wow, that's good because we've been waiting forever for this. You have to get a link to watch. I put the link um I'll put the link in our Facebook page for those of you that haven't seen it yet. Um we can actually donate.

SAM: 12:28
You can donate. Is that still available? Yeah, I think you have to donate minimum fifteen dollars to get a link to watch the actual film when it comes to because you're watching it online COVID reasons, but also pre-financial reasons as well. I'll get Freddie to donate. Freddie, are you gonna donate?

MAX: 12:43
I'll steal his uh viewing opportunity.

SAM: 12:46
Steal his m his money that he hides. I'll gotta pay drop.

MAX: 12:48
He doesn't bring much of income in at all, actually. Just choose everything.

SAM: 12:52
Yeah, look, you don't have to pay anything.

MAX: 12:56
He lives on attention. Fueled by attention. Anyway, it's not about you, Fred. So what was interesting was this presenting audition that I did last week because it was with Sky Racing. Okay. I mean, whether I get it or not, you know, it was great, it was a great chat with him. Uh and the guy was there with, he's been there since 1986 when they started. But uh Murdoch, of course, bought Sky Racing Australia so he so he can use the sky for Sky News and Sky everything with the sky in it. And uh so they've got this state-of-the-art studio set up because really they're when it with Sky Racing, okay, horse racing, like you you've got that they've got something like almost 20 channels live at 24-7. So they've got a studio where they broadcast to Singapore, they've got a studio where they broadcast to Japan, Hong Kong, like it's and it's non-stop, all these different streams going out there because there's big money in racing, obviously. And what I didn't realise, because the part I was doing is obviously for hotels and bars, they've got dedicated channels where it just goes straight to Sky News. So they actually go straight to consumers on a Saturday afternoon, say in Australia, at bars and pubs and that where people are out and they're now placing bets or whatever, the the and the and the screens are up, they get two million eyeballs.

SAM: 14:16
Wow.

MAX: 14:17
Straight away, straight to to them. Whereas, you know, pay TV in Australia, probably a couple hundred thousand on a Saturday afternoon.

Speaker 1: 14:23
Yeah.

MAX: 14:23
I didn't realise. I'm like, yeah, that actually, yeah, that's quite a powerful. I mean, obviously you don't want to have a whole lot of ads because it's live racing and one race to the other. There's lots of races going on, there's money to be made in each one. But um, it's really interesting. So it was quite when you think of the amount of channels they've got running live 24-7. Yeah, I I wasn't surprised to see them busy and to see all these great professional studio setups and everything, it was quite good. So I actually walked into green screen, desk, stand up, present, sit down, present, and just you know, without having to walk into a casting agency, you know what I mean? There's like a chair in the middle of the room. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's a bit more studio-like. Very cool. Um, which was great. So look, it was just good to get out there, make another contact. He said I did well, so half half my luck. Uh break a leg and all that stuff.

SAM: 15:05
Yes.

MAX: 15:06
So really now it's just about making sure I've got everything up to date online. Because the agent gave me another kick the other day saying make sure you've got your because there's a whole lot coming up to put me forward through, make sure I've actually got all my casting networks, all that stuff up to date. So all the boring back office admin, non-cool acting stuff that has to be done. Yeah, of course. So I'm I I've been putting it off quite successfully. I'd need to actually do it this week.

SAM: 15:31
Yeah. While you move, yeah.

MAX: 15:33
Yes, while I'm planning to move. The studio will it will look different for the first few episodes.

SAM: 15:39
Yeah. We need the neon light. I reckon that will look sick, you know, like cursive to the colour. It's gonna look like a brothel.

MAX: 15:46
There'll be like this neon light shining at the back and people will be queuing up at the back door.

SAM: 15:49
Watch every like online podcast. They have like things everywhere.

MAX: 15:53
I'll do well. We've got little little things. I forgot the uh sign to unemployed anyway. Are you gonna use one of the rooms for the street? Yeah. Well, it'll be like an office one. It's pretty much the same, but a bit smaller. Yeah, no built-in storage with a window, hardwood floors, so I've got to put the rug in because it needs all furnishing, right? Do like a Persian rug. And well, how about the $20 one and the and then uh I'm not investing a lot in furniture in the first month, but the second month I'm getting more stuff. Yeah, but then I'm thinking kind of it'll look kind of similar. Same saying, maybe it'll just be the buffet and the thing and this and you could completely redesign it now. You have this opportunity. Gum tree's good.

SAM: 16:35
When you make your living room the studio.

MAX: 16:37
Oh, it's not gonna be good for sound.

SAM: 16:39
No, let's do it.

MAX: 16:41
It'd be too easy to sit in the house, sit chill back and just. Yeah, we'll just be telling stories. I mean, shit, we're already relaxed enough as it is. We don't want to like you know introduce alcohol to it, next thing you know.

SAM: 16:51
Uh you've been listening. Oh, yeah. I'm gonna say uh I'm Max.

MAX: 16:56
What? You've been listening to that first. Do you want me to do it? I'll do it. I'm Max. I'm Sam. You've been listening to two unemployed actors. You'll hear us next week. Bye.