Last week I got in a small stack of scripts to read in which the producer had suggested I try out
for a part. All of them action (no surprise), but one is an action/comedy that's a lot like "Airplane,"
only with more martial arts. A lot more, actually, considering that "Airplane" didn't
have any martial arts in it, as best I recall. As much as I'd like to do comedy--parodies especially--that
one could be a toughie, because I didn't see any characters who looked like they'd be a great fit.
I'll have to ask the producer what he had in mind. Personally, I think the most *interesting* character
to play is the evil Elvis impersonator, but if that's a possibility, I'm going to have to start working on
it soon, because I'm quite sure that it would require a whole different fighting style than I'm accustomed to.
Another one had a German mercenary that I could play with no trouble at all. If they wanted to shoot
that later this evening, I'd be ready. Hey, give me twenty minutes to get psyched and a wardrobe that
actually fits, and we'd be good to go.
Not sure what the shooting schedule is, however; the comedy project is dealing with some issues with
making the insurance company willing to provide a completion bond (which the investors require), and
the straightforward action flick is supposed to be shot after that, because there are several of the
same people on the production team.
In the meantime, I spent a couple of hours yesterday throwing things. Not that this is unusual either
in movies or in practice--though, most often, what the director wants me to throw is another person--but
this time it was small sharp objects. I've got a role coming up where I'm supposed to be able to use any
item as a weapon...which isn't difficult in itself, but the important thing is to make it look cool while
doing it. Sometimes that's very difficult. Sure, anyone can go into hand-to-hand combat armed with a
rubber chicken, but how many people can really make it look cool to do so?
Fortunately, to the best of my knowlege, no rubber-chicken fighting techniques are on the agenda,
at least so far. But if that's what the director wants, I'd be up for it. I'd even do it while pretending
to be Elvis.