What's the time? Now.

Another week gone, another chapter closed. It's been a funny week, trying to find a balance between my work goals and my own personal goals. As Chris rock would say, this is my Career not my job lol But this is what has been taxing my mind this week, like the quote I have probably mentioned heaps on this blog already says, the hunter who chases 2 rabbits catches neither one, I worry that by trying to meet and exceed my targets for my job I am losing steam in my train for my filmmaker dream. But hey, I have a job and I plan on keeping it for the time being, however I get lost in my imagination a bit...

Like for real, I always think about that and other times about how awesome it would be to actually be filming instead of behind the counter asking people what they have planned for a weekend I'll never see lol

 Melody comes back tomorrow from her overseas trip which is great, I look forward to seeing her smiling face again and already this week I have finally finished version 10.1 of Chase so feeling pretty good! 97 pages, no doubt I still have rewrites ahead but at least now I have something solid to show people, I have sent it away to a couple of parties to vex their minds and get some feedback on fleshing out their characters, In the meantime I'm hoping to start some promotional photos and early filming next week for my webseries. I've put the casting net out so let's see what curious fish we can catch :)

 Trying to eat healthy is a challenge for me, but they say the best things to do are usually the hardest, and laziness is one of my vices when it comes to preparing meals, I'd much rather order takeaway for the same cost of preparing a meal/the time it takes and have a meal straight away. But still, I made a couple efforts this week, as below, the main is served :)

Was supposed to be saving money this week, some of it 'accidentally'  slipped out of my pocket and bought the second season of nikita with it :) Guilty pleasure, reward for the hard week :) Such an awesome series! I get the same feeling watching this as I did from Alias, Prison break, burn notice, sopranos, chuck etc, Thats down to great casting, awesome writing and genuine empathy for the characters, plus the fighting scenes are good, even if they are cut way more than they needed to be but thats a hollywood thing these days :)

I finished reading one of my books I borrowd, Way of the peaceful warrior by Dan millman, really enjoyed it and definitely recommend it to you, it gave me the same feeling as 'the alchemist' and 'the last lecture' and spirtually uplifting books like that, a couple passages in the book I had heard before on my travels so I could relate alot. One of the key concepts I had been trying to grasp prior to reading this was being aware. The key to really living is to be engaged with everything, color, sight, smell, feeling, listening, everything. 

 He summed this perfectly when the protagonist of the story poses him the question, 

,"what time is it? He answers ""Um its 2.35."

"Wrong! The time always was, is, and always will be now! Now is the time; the time is now. Is it clear?" There are no ordinary moments. When I read this passage it reminded me of something I read a long time ago when I was into figuring out zen, lol thats a riddle for another day, anyways I learnt that having enlightenment meant that for studied monks when the bell tolls they hear it for the first time, for example, when you live near a church like I used to, at 12 each day they would ring the bell, after the first intial toll, its loudness ringing in all directions, its tone rumbling through your ears, you would fully realize the sensation but eventually by the 3rd of 4th shake it becomes nothing more than a casual sound, whereas a monk heres each and every single toll as if it were the first time. And its that awareness that I'm seeking myself, I tend to glaze over things abit. I'm quite happy I wear glasses, cos wearing contacts means I have no choice but to experience the clearness and color of life around me everytime I put them on. The trick is carrying on that awareness :)  anyways, Another passage I quite liked is quoted below 

,"Happiness = Satisfaction divided by Desires."

"You are rich if you have enough money to satisfy all your desires. So there are two ways to be rich: you earn, inherit, borrow, beg, or steal enough money to meet all your desires; or, you cultivate a simple lifestyle of few desires; that way you always have enough money."

So back from the spirit to my material goal of being an actor/filmaker :) Remember how I said I was working on that action themed ad made by a japanese company? After a quick turnaround I finally have some footage to share with you :) Check it out below, You wont see any of us in it, we were there to make it look impressive and vast in size, but its pretty cool to see how it all turned out, arrows, horses, smoke, cannons, swords, rifles and all :)

 Please click here to watch Cup Noodle - Survive Ad

Anyway, Until my next update which will probably be an Ivy Investigation casting update, take care and live life, don't just sit there for the ride, take the wheel! Til then see you....

Last week. This week.

Last week I did 3 days on Shortland Street and 1 day on Power rangers which was fun, I met some great people, had a good time and enjoyed my time there. Happy to get filmwork since it had been a small while since I was job hunting a bit.

If you read my blog regularly you might have noticed I deleted a post that I made about that week's work which I removed because I accidentally might have spoiled things I didn't mean to spoil which was a huge misjudgement on my part. So I just wanted to apologise to all those involved and who it may have affected and to also say that I didn't intend any wrongdoing or deliberate spoiling of any story for the shows intended viewers. I was just sharing what I've been up to but its only now I realise that people actually do come across this blog so in that regard, I will be much more careful when writing about extrawork that isn't my own productions as I don't want to be 'that' guy who people won't hire cos he talks too much. I really need any filmwork I can get if I want to make a career out of this and as New Zealand is a small industry where everyone eventually knows everyone I'd hate to get a bad reputation. (especially since I planned to pitch something to some of these companies late next year) So yeah, if you did happen to read any of my blog about this before I deleted it if you could be really nice and keep the information to yourself until either of the episode airs, I'd appreciate it greatly :) Again, a Massive sorry to anyone I've upset or caused headaches for. I'd kick myself if I could reach, I feel so stupid. 

In other news I started my first day at a Temp job as a cratewasher in a production environment. Safe to say It was the last day too. I'm soo tired after 8 hours of scraping, stacking, unstacking crates. I thought it was easy, I underestimated my physicality as it suits bigger guys who have more reach and more batteries lol Then again, skipping breakfast wasn't the smartest idea was it. (it's been a day of bad decisions it appears).  But was worth it, met another contact I can use in my film as a fighting extra so the day was another day closer to my goal after all. Will be hunting for more office based work in the mean time.

Also got Arnold Schwarzeneggar's new book. Bodybuilder. Actionstar. Governer. Legend! was so excited to buy it! Now I'm excited read it! This guy's a huge idol, I always love hearing about people who do what they say as those sort of people inspire me. Bruce Lee, Jose Mourinho, Arnold schwarzeneggar, Donnie Yen, the list goes on :) So yeah, once upon a time in a small farm village in Austria....

Also been on the internet for an hour now, I should really work on my script, so in the words of one of the greats ...

End of September Status

So, here we are at the end of September, and I am still standing on the shore, waiting for the boat that will take me across the ocean to the promised land. So much has been going wrong, money problems, car problems, creative blocks, fitness problems, relationship challenges...It just seems like when it rains it pours, but I am a positive guy, and I try to implement Dale Carnegies dealing with worrying method (pretty much imaging the worst outcome and working backwards) which generally works for me, but it doesn't keep the banks/partners/and self disappointment at bay....but God helps those who helps themselves so I have the calls out ;)

There has been some filmwork offered from the agency to its members but I haven't been tall/big/available enough for any roles I've submitted for. I've also looked at student stuff and industry opportunities but sadly in Auckland alot of the work is unpaid or requires heaps of experience which doesn't suit me as I need money to fund the vehicle to get to these places and the film course I did is practically worthless as a qualification, the thing I got from SAE is some time to plan and practice films. 

Anyway, Job hunting for a real wage job has been fun (sic) I was about to do an interview last week at the airport when of all the days it could have happened, that was the day my car broke down. It's blown the head gasket and needs several changes and replacements. Overheating, it looks like how I feel. Crippled again by my lack of cheap reliable transport I figure now is a good time to make the most of the free time, But the 6th rewrite of Chase keeps stalling and I can't train as I don't have a car to get the gym in town (half a city away) without my club it's a little hard to self motivate, I try to go to the gym here but just end up punching the heavy bag, and doing some basic weights, skipping rope and chin ups which doesn't really help my sanda chances. Fighting empty shadows, its like dry land swimming as Bruce lee said..I need real training partners, The car is supposed to be fixed this week, so I'm on the mark, waiting for the gunfire. Plus sifu has mats now so I'm super excited to practice wrestling!

It's amazing that throughout the day you can come up with a million ideas but when faced with a blank page and a deadline, the ballpark is empty. The reason I have rewrote Chase again and again is because I need stakes. Like every good movie ,believe it or not, the success of your enjoying the film comes down to the character, his/her journey, the obstacles, the resolution and the whole execution of it all (casting, shot types, coherency etc). 

My character Chase, is a middle aged guy who moved to Auckland several years ago to become an action star, he holds down a part time security guard job to pay the bills and isn't sure where he stands with his ex-girlfriend. When a rival actor takes a role that was supposed to be his, Chase decides it's now or never and takes drastic measures to get the role. So, basically I have te first act completed. I have the ending climax location and 20 minute group fight scene in mind, it's just filling in the blanks and making sure all characters grow good or bad throughout the film, and that you, as an audience, care about Chase.  Anyway, in brighter news I saw myself on TV again, remember that day I said we shot in the Italian restaurant for Shortland St? Well It finally aired. Basically Unseenable but at least it wasn't cut :) I'm in the blue shirt eating imaginary food (actually I had a cake and lettuce on my plate which made no sense but so far away from camera it wasn't important lol)

Oh well, thats it from me for this post, I don't want to come across as depressed cos I'm not, but if my life were a movie I'm counting on the next couple weeks being the time where all things start to go right for the hero :) Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon :) And for inspiration check out Arnold below saying what the goal for any of us should be :) And what I came to Auckland to do....I came to Conquer!!!

A month and a half at imaginary sea

Well here I am again, in the same position I was in a month ago. Unemployed, cameraless and foreverwaiting for a big break to push me forward into my proposed career.

After 5 weeks selling energy door to door I walked out. There was plenty of sales training and work but no time for Matt. that's no time for JKD training, acting, or spending much time with the wife apart from the weekends or half of it, and to top it off the money I was earning was going back into it for petrol and food and any cancellations. I also lost quite a bit of the muscle I had gained before joining this job (no time to eat properly plus tons of walking/running) (pic below taken 1st Jul 2012)

so frantically trying to work out again and build it back. All in all, I felt as though I was swimming in a whirlpool, the momentum I was making was in fact sending me in circles. I had to ask myself did I really want to be doing this, So, even though I enjoyed the team work, targets and the job, I quit knowing I wasn't doing my life the way I set out to do when I first moved here. So now, in my search for employment while I prep and film my debut, I won't be taking commission jobs or jobs that leave me finishing at 10 pm at night. On the plus side, I will be able to watch the fencing and Taekwondo at the olympics now we have figured out all we needed was an antannae plug and not the whole Freeview TV setup box. Awesome :)

On the day of the wife and I seeing spiderman, the NZ cops were outside the cinema doing their thing as people protested national asset sales. I took this photo cos I like cop cars (just not following me lol)

Nothing else to really report, I checked out the Amazing Spiderman and Dark Knight Rises both on IMAX. Very awesome movies, The action in both was very top notch. And was extremely excited to see both on the giant screen, now for Expendables 2!! I also caught up on alot of the films I missed out on while doing my job. Here's some of my fav pics from the films...

The fight scene in the subway of Amazing Spidermans was my fav, It's like Jackie chan meets Spiderman. Andrew Garfield's acting was very cool in this. So much Parkour, the action in this film is shot very awesome, makes Peter parker very believable :)

And Bane was the only villain in the dark knight series where you really want Batman to fight and kick the shit out of the bad guy, it was very cool and their witty skirmishes were very cool too. I wasn't impressed with the ending between the two and I hope they can meet again, alot of Hollywood punches (big swings, not very technical) and not as physical as I have seem them both perform in previous movies, though in suits I can imagine the discomfort lol. Very cool movie. Batman's partnership fight with Catwoman on the roof/tunnels was pretty cool in my opinion too :)

Watching these classics onscreen was a nice inspiring reminder for myself for why I wanted to get into the film industry. Plus, I did a full 7 hour day on Shortland st in an italian restaurant in the CBD in my first week back, won't spoil the scene, but I'm happy to be doing filmwork again (even if just as an extra), so I'm back in the swing of things now. On the downside I got a 200 dollar ticket for my rego or the sticker being affixed improperly, beats me, I paid the parking meter, but Auckland council seems to be quite profit hungry IMO. As you can see below, it's a very nice restaurant.

Below is the Atheltes foot commercial. Don't bother looking for me, It's hard to even recognise some of the people I met there. We really were just background lol and only involved in like 15 secs, but still a very nice ad so well done to the team.

Got the blackbelt mag I saw on Blackbelt's FB page, so happy to see it instores here. Love Bruce Lee, He's the man!! :)

Anyway, will leave you here for now as I regroup. I have applied for everything from government jobs to more sales jobs. I'm quietly confident I will gain some income. But in the meantime I share this comic below which sums up my feeling over the last couple weeks. Do you ever look up at the stars at night? I found myself looking alot, I miss my family in Christchurch and I hope to visit them soon, it's almost been a year since I've seen them. Also I'm 26 this year, where has the last 8 years gone since I finished high school? I really need a fulltime job and to get this movie finished. I can't live a life full of promises, I have to live a life of full of life...

New Job, Safe, Opportunity?

Hi all,

Just got back from watching SAFE at the cinema tonight with the wife. I had been looking forward to this for a long time (since announced actually) so It was awesome to see the final product didn't disappoint. It had everything I wanted from an action film, an entertaining story with stakes, brutal action, one liners and a great pace. It was cut well and Jason Statham is a complete badass in this, imagine frank martin without the rules, He messes guys up left right and centre in this, watch it if you haven't....Just sharing cos these are the sort of films I intend to make and watching a movie as cool as this just inspires me to follow my dream even harder :)

So finished my first full week as an ICA for a sales and marketing company, It sucked it had to rain all week but I try and enjoy all the moments. They say you fool me once then shame on you, you fool me twice than shame on me.....try 5 times, 5 times I thought since the sun was out and it wouldn't rain, sure enough EACH day without fail it rained/pissed down, halfway through. It's nice to laugh it now but standing on someones door step looking like a horror film fisherman from a stephen king novel doesn't help with my first impressions. My team leader is pretty cool, I've learned to be alot more enthusiastic and know my shit after watching him work the streets. It's quite eye opening and it feels like being in a pressure cooker being apart of such a successful sales team, I was told by the guy who hired me that I beat out 130 other applicants for the role. I couldn't belive how naive I was when I walked in expecting they hire just anyone with good availibility and a desire to learn, so trying to meet and exceed their expectations. So yeah, in short, made a start to the sales career hitting my target for the first week, so hoping next week I double it so I can make it to the next level and start earning what I want to be earning....then camera, computer and editing equipment will be mine!!! (never forget the goal, this job is just a step up the ladder for me)

Had JKD training today, I can only train once a week right now since I finish work so late, But there is something calming about training for me, 3 hours a week that I can forget the world of bills, demands and plans and just focus on mastering a few certain moves of the body. I also talked to sifu about helping him grow the club, ultilising my skills, I'm excited about it and hope to show him the plan next week. More students equal more potential people to learn with/from in my eyes. Plus hammering a tyre 300 times is much more fun when you do it next to someone. The alternating thumps actually remind me of lemmings lol

Also got a call this week from someone I did a student film with who says that the director wants to put me in his feature film that he is working for, a drama he thinks, so I'm looking forward to a callback so I can check out the script. More experience leads to more opportunities. Anyway, That's really all I can share this week so with that note I'll leave you the following calvin and hobbes comic which though always funny, also makes you think! haha :)

Life after SAE and Emperor.

I'm surviving. Its been great so far with finishing my course (grades mailed tomorrow :) yay) and Some film work (student films, Emperor, Shortland st and a Japanese TV commercial) But it's back to real life. Rolling in the mud, trying to grow the bacon :P

I have spent the last week looking for jobs and houses, and time is ticking. (at least the house is tidy :) haha) I have a week to find a house before our lease runs out. Calm and collected, but maybe the panic hasn't set in yet? I saw a house in Onehunga on Tuesday which was nice and reminded me of our old place in Avonhead back in the day, I applied there but I think getting the bond money to them a couple days late might have been a sticking point. (We can't get it till we move out of here as the bond moneys is tied up with unilodge) Back to the drawing board...

I did a job interview yesterday for a CSO in a parking building but I got a call today saying It wasn't to be. I had that feeling yesterday when I saw another 20 CV's before mine upside down on his desk. As well as the 3 belonging to the 3 who were already working there before the takeover reapplying for their jobs...Also a wooden elevator, creaking on its slow rise to the 3rd floor? *chills* I had bad signs from the get go but the interview went well in my opinion and he did ask me if he could keep my file for some casual work in the coming weeks. But my hearts still set on something officey that I can get time off for in the evenings for my training/film endeavors. Because,

"The ultimate cost of something is the amount of life you will exchange for it".

Just finished watching Chuck season 4. Love that show, looking forward to the last and final season coming out on DVD this year sometime I pray.... And I am also using this 'inbetween' time to work on my Chase script. I did a 5 page outline that i shared with Nazim, we're still deciding on duties and even if we will pick this film to do first. I know I can sell the shit out of it but maybe we want something more generic first up? I'm racking my brain for ideas right now.

Trained on Sunday. Just nunchaku. Looking forward to sparring again though, hungry. No more Mr Nice Guy ;)

Then later on Sunday Night I went to the wrap party for Emperor, one of only 5 extras who got to go!! special thanks to those higher up who fought for our invitation, I appreciate it and was great to work with you :) The free Heineken's and food was great and catching up with the other extras and crew while I was there was pitch perfect :) Will be one of my cherished memories as I haven't been shouting over club bass in a long time and so many jokes and reminiscences were shared, cheers to the future, I'm counting on a bright one :)

Blog next week from hopefully a new place. My Internet's cancelled in 2 days. Byebye facebook ;) which is a good thing, spent far too long on it this week, and looking up funny pictures :) Even if I'm a little down on the dollar right now, "The worst bankruptcy is the person who has lost all enthusiasm". Don't be slippin now ;)

Remember? -new short film

Here is a short film I done with a friend last weekend, Just another little test film to keep my brain working until I get to shoot my definitive film at the end of this year.

In other news the Wife's here in Auckland now with me (she helped me film 'remember') and she's happy which is great for me so I have less to worry about, just bills and I've sorted those things out too so now things are okay financially and no more need to panic about anything so I am focusing on my course and the end game; film career. (hence why back to filming in the weekends :) yay)

Spoke with Lee during a fun sparring session on Wednesday and we agreed we would let a friend of his direct the Street Fighter project instead so I could just focus on bulking up and my choreography instead of overseeing the whole thing since I have a lot on my plate. Laos heard some good news in his debut feature film but I won't spoil it here, just want to go on record I wish him the best success and that I'm proud of him...

Above I have a pic from some of the things we play around in class, (arrays in c4d) Also finished half of my new logo animation, But I won't share the mock up, you will see the finished version at the start of my finished definitive next year :) (also have sorted out an actress for that too, more as we work together a little) Anyway until next post enjoy the coming Summer (if you are from NZ otherwise winter right?) and soak up that sunshine ;)

(ps Great news, I have saved 300 bucks up now, Nunchuk city here I come :P)

I'm looking down the barrel but things are looking up

(the pic above is from aBe Yoshitoshi, my hero when it comes to art- from Despera)

I'm waiting for my fortunes to turn round but i keep up with the Bad Decisions. It's the Second time this year i've disobeyed my instinct and paid for it. (the first was 48hrs 2011-so much i felt like doing but didnt) Its only hit home now how broke i am, i was supposed to fly to christchurch last week and the ticket price was $116 all up (jet star incl 99 flight plus insurance and seat and credit card charge) This was my entire budget for the week but thought thats ok, when i get to christchurch i can get my footage, catch up with family and finally sell my assets (couch, fridge etc since cheaper to sell then move here to Auckland) Then the Ashcloud turned up, again. Jetstar said when i bought the ticket if the flight is cancelled they will txt and email me and offer a ticket exchange or refund. I turn up at 5 am at the airport and its no go.

What happened to the Air NZ transfer i read about? Its been 4 days since my friday am flight was cancelled and i have neither the txt,email nor the refund. So i've had to live on like 12 bucks from which i bought crumbed fish pieces and lambchops. I sooo can't wait til Thursday so i have some money again lol. I hate missing any JKD class and being stuck inside all weekend really brings out the vampire in me.

On Marriage. Don't marry young, thats my advice, the last 3 months have been drama drama and more drama. Its my fault, me and my dream but i dont need drama, I need action, things happening, solutions to problems not troublemakers....I really want to finish this course but i might have to drop out and get a full time job so the wife can move here cos Christchurch is turning her to the dark side lol, and then i'll just hope to start it again in a different semester. (In all likelihood i would probably quit and move on so i am doing everything i can not to)

On Film Projects. Had to rewrite my Everyones a Loser SAE short film since i can't find a door. Funny considering how This city is home to a million of them. So now shooting in front of the mueseum, Looks nicer anyway. Nervous about the fight scene as first time I'll be fighting with anyone outside of who I've worked with before, but the guy is cool so it should be fun.

After Location scouting yesterday for our class project we shot some scenes today, One where i chas the protagonist into a railyard and another where we meet in an alley. It's fun but pretty nervewracking...I'm not good with imaginary trains lol You'll see when the film is finished, hopefully we use one of the good takes :)

Anyway to finish up with, I'll write again next weekend. I'm Finishing alot of scripts at the moment so expect some cool videos in the coming months and that no matter how bad you feel sometimes, you know someone else in the world has it worse lol as in the cartoon below.