To: advise@karateangels.com 

Subject: Michele

 Nice to write to you Michele,

i'm a 23 guy from italy, and i'm searching the way to improve me in the "martial art cinema"...but with no lucky...i train myself since i was 5, and now i'm a master and a fighter, too, so i think i'm able to start a job like this, but i've to know where start, and hope to find someone that could drive me and teach me in this world...

trust in you,...and sorry for my horrible english!!

Danilo.

 Dear Danilo, 

I hope you are near Roma. Cinne Citta Studios is in Rome and Dino De Laurentice also has a studio in Rome. The closer you are to Rome the better your chances are. Some of the greatest films made were shot in Italy from the classic Ben Hur to the more recent Gladiator and Gangs of New York.

 You may have trained yourself but you will need to add more training. You must learn the styles of fighting they use on movies sets. If you do your own style it may not work out in every case. Do some research on stunt coordinators and see if you can contact them. You may also intern (work for free to train their way). Interning is a great way to get your name known, learn new fighting styles and make the best contacts for getting work later. You should have some living money put away to do this.

 It will not hurt to make some pictures of your self with a letter telling about your background and desire to be in martial arts and action movies. Then send it out to the stunt coordinators who are in Italy. Don’t try to contact them by phone, use mail. If you hear nothing from them…wait six months and try again by mail. Even if they do not answer…they are beginning to know your name and that you don’t give up…and you are not bothering them all the time either. Over time they will notice but you will have to keep trying. It will not be easy. It takes time. You are young enough that you have plenty of time. Some of the best action actors are well over 30 and 40 years old!

 Best wishes 

Michele

From: Mr notra damus 

Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 

To: advise@karateangels.com 

Subject: Michele

im a martial artist /actor i been doing martial art for 12 years how do i go about being any martial art project ar action movie or show?? i been trying but i never see any projects that requires that???

 Dear Mr notra damus

 You don’t see any projects that require stunts? Where are you looking? There are films made with stunts every day in the states but you will need to check the right publications and learn names. You see, they often list the name of the key people like directors and stunt coordinators. They do not list ‘seeking stunt people’ so you must learn who hires stunt people by name. If you see names like Terry Leonard or Pat Johnson on stunt or as second unit director…the film is using stunt people. If you see the last name Epper anywhere…most likely there will be stunt work. See the name Ernie Orsati…stunts will be shot. You need to check film trade listings in publications like the Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Backstage. If you are looking online…don’t hold your breath. Few castings for films are done on the web. As a matter of fact…I am willing to bet that you cannot find one major name in the film industry that got their first bookings online. They need to see you in person so the legit films do not look online. Online casting is normally for reality TV or casting calls for extras…not for actors or stunt people. If you cannot afford a subscription…go to a library every week to check the new listings. Hollywood reported does have a web site but they do not list everything on it. You will have to read through the actual publication.

 Break a leg and let us know if we can help you further!

 Michele

 Michele  From: Lucas, Jonathan W ABF2 VAQRON ONE TWO NINE

Sent: Friday, February 27, 2004 

To: advise@karateangels.com 

Subject: Michele

 Just have a couple of questions for you.  What is the youngest age that would be considered for getting into the martial art movies and how far could a person live from LA to actually get a part.

 My daughter just got her black belt in Tae Kwon Do and she is on their Demo team.  My sons are also involved.  We have been to a Talent and Model Agency and they said since they have "the look" that would be no problem for them to get some work in ads or commercials.  We have headshots that they took but I was just curious on those couple of questions.

 Thank you for your time

Dear Jonathan,

 Age is a number. Cop out? Yes and no. They do use kids on rare occasion but it is not as standard as using a grown up who looks like a child in size from a distance. There are so many labor laws involved when using child actors, add to that insurance rates for stunt work. The seldom let young actors do their own stunt work. Rarely if ever do they hire a stunt player under 18. There are rare cases like Ernie Reas Jr. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II). In that case his father is a stunt man and Ernie grew up doing martial arts and learning movie techniques from birth. You would be surprised to know how many short adult stunt people work doing child actors stunts. Heck, a short adult stunt person with a smaller frame should make major bank. If you are not in L.A. it is always harder.

 Some agents outside of California do have the connections and sometimes they do get people seen. The odds are just not as good if you are not right in L.A. or a major market like NYC. If you are near one of the larger cities, your odds increase. But good promotion goes a long way too. You can do much of the promotion yourself and if you get a few books you might be able to manage your kids instead of handing them over to a stranger. I normally say go with an agent, and it may still be the best start for you, but with 3 kids doing this…you would be able to look after their interests much better. Read Hollywood 101 by Levy, What Lies I Told by Goldman, and look for Frederick Levy’s newest book (cant think of the title off hand) and Shelly Winters second autobiography. I am suggesting a little diverse reading for a strong over view in case you do decide to manage them some day.

 I do not know any of your children’s ages so I am a little lost on giving specifics. Fill us in and I can help more. In the mean time…don’t sign with that Agency unless they do not charge you a dime. Most of those agencies are about making money off of dreams and not actually making them happen. The agency you mentioned did not sound like they were making promises and they seem to mention work most agents in any market can get…could be a good sign. Watch your back and read the fine print. If you have not done so…read the main page of advice here on the site and it will cover some other basics. You may even find some answers within the board replies to others. If you give me a general location I might be able to give a bit more guidance on getting their feet in the door in your area to start things right.

 Let us know what else we can do to help…

 Michele

From: Geedee 

Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 

To: advise@karateangels.com 

Subject: Michele

Angel,

what the best way to audition for power rangers? I have a strong background in martial arts & stage performance from the US Open/ XMA  w/ Mike & other performances I've done here in Florida. How can I audition for power rangers or something?

 Dear Geedee,

 Purchase the Ross Report through the drama bookstore in NYC and look for the name of casting for that specific show. You may also check the credit roll at the end of the show to find the name of the casting company. Even if you manage to find them, you might not get an audition without an agent to submit you. You are in Florida which has SAG agencies that follow guidelines meant to protect the actor. Go to their web site (sag.com) and get listings for legit agents in your area. Plus…stage trained actors don’t always get film work. Take some classes on film acting. The technique is NOT the same for stage and film.

 Best wishes

 Michele

 Sent: Sunday, May 23, 2004

To: advise@karateangels.com

Subject: Michele

 Hi, my name is Anneken De Neve. 

I am the agent (in Belgium) for Olivier Bisback, a Belgian fight actor and model.

 At the age of 12 years old Olivier Bisback started studying martial arts. He dreamed to become a champion and to starr in movies. In both he succeeded by working hard and believing in himself. I have been working several years as his agent.  He is a hard-working and enthusiastic young man, full of enthusiasm and energy who has built up an amazing carreer in Belgium as an actor, fight coordinator and fight choreograper. He already worked in Hollywood, London, Paris and Brussels. Actors he worked with are Bill Paxton, Billy Blanks, Miche Qissi (from ‘Kickboxer), Silvio Simac, … I am completely sure that he can have a great carreer overseas.

 I have no connections in the USA. Are there agents in the USA who are specialized in martial arts movies? I would like to help Olivier Bisback to thank him for all the years we have been working together.

Olivier Bisback speaks Dutch, French, English and German.

 About his martial arts skills. He is a master in taekwondo (black belt 4th dan), hapkido (black belt, first dan) and instructor in cinema combat training. Martial arts he also have practised during the years are : kick boxing, nunchaku, ju jitsu, judo, karate, budokaido, kobudo (sticks, tonfa, sword, ...).

Enclosed you can find some pictures of Olivier Bisback. I also have a showrail and demotape. If you want, I can send a VHS or DVD to you.

 Dear Anneken De Neve,

 It sounds like you are a very good agent. Ever think of coming here with your client? Together you might be one strong force to deal with. There is only one small agency I know of working with action/actors only. I have not heard of anyone getting a real strong job out of it yet so I am still not giving out their name. If you can contact the Drama Book Store in NYC (online or by mail), order a copy of the Ross Report. It is a monthly publication that lists all the major agents. Since agents often jump from one company to another they have to change the listing in the report every month. Send the agents mail every few months if you hear nothing. Make sure you include your email with your phone numbers so they do not have to pay for phone calls over seas…they will adore you for making it easier. That DVD copy of his demo will come in handy to save shipping charges but check carefully on the Ross report listing. Many will say exactly which format they will view, video or DVD. With your client’s background and resume I think it will be easier for you to find a strong agent for him. He may need to plan a vacation here with you setting up meetings in advance. The money conversion rate is great for you all right now making it a good time to think about taking advantage of low rates.

 For yourself…remember this term “Mother Agent”. If you get him signed to an agent in the states, you can make arrangements to still make some of the money from this client. The new agency will give you a share of their proceeds for a specified amount of time. It is a way of thanking you for getting them the talent but also making sure you do not get screwed over after you worked so hard to get him known. If your client cares, he will encourage you to do this. It will not take more from him.

 Let us know if we can guide you further…

 Michele

 From: Joseph R McManus

Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2004 

To: advise@karateangels.com

Subject: a few questions

 Hey My name is Joe-

I am a fourteen year old boy living in Denver Colorado. I love it out here! I was wondering if I would need to move to L.A. or NYC to get any jobs in front of the camera (no modeling though!).  The Denver Center Theater Company is really good thought and really close to my house. I really don't mind whether or not I start my career on stage or on screen, I just would like to start it! I was also wondering what the story was with going to "acting schools" because I hear a lot about actresses and actors my age who don't have much, if any experience. (Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I hear the announcer for the program telling the audience how some of the Harry

Potter stars and the girl from Whale Rider had no experience!?)

 Finally, what would you say the success rate is for "aspiring actors" like myself?

 Thanks a bunch, Joe M

 Joe, 

Since I don’t know what training you have or what you look like or what your strengths are, I cannot tell you what the odds will be for you. I can tell you that less than 1% of actors are rich. Another 14% make enough to pay their bills. The other 85% make less than $5,000 a year. No typo there…$5,000 or less. So anyone’s odds of making it are very small indeed. Yes once in a blue moon you hear about a child star with no background. Funny part is…half those kids do have a background if only in trying out and auditioning for films, commercials and stage. Plus you have to remember something called ‘spin’. The marketing people for films put what they call a ‘spin’ on the story to make people want to see the project even more.

 Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) is listed on the IMDB (internet movie data www.base/imdb.com ) for 2 major projects prior to the Harry Potter films, including Tailor of Panama in 2001 and David Copperfield in 1999. They do not give lead parts to any kid who has not proven they can handle being on a set all day. Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (Hermione Granger) did the lead role in several plays, including 'Arthur: The Young Years' and 'The Happy Prince'. Emma also participated in other school productions, including the Daisy Pratt Poetry Competition, in which she won first place for her year at age seven. So you can see…even if they were new to this, they were not without SOME experiences. Check the facts when you see stories like that, because that spin can give false hope. Rupert (Ron Weasley) had the least experience. But notice the lead went to the young man who HAD proven himself on film sets already.

 In the case of Whale Rider they had to take a chance. They needed a child actor who looked a very specific way. They went to the islands to find a child who looked right for the part and could also play it. They auditioned hundreds of kids at her school and she won out. She happened, by a stroke of luck to be a dead on natural talent that made even us jaded grown ups cry like babies. This would not have happened if they had said the child could look like anyone. They would have tried to find a star with a background already. There are not always films where they look for one particular type of child like that. Decreasing odds this will happen to most actors.

 Most films look for the actors who have ‘bankability”…meaning they have a proven track record of movies they are in that make money. The producers actually keep track of which actor’s films made how much money just so they can use the actor who is making the most right now! Loans for making movies are often based on what stars they get under contract. Distribution deals are also made based in large part on what known stars are in the film. That is a hard cold fact of the industry, money talks and loudly.

 I am not saying it can never happen, just that the odds are against being ‘discovered’. The vast majority of actors who make names for themselves did take film training classes, or went to Schools of the Arts or colleges and universities with strong theatre departments and many started doing stage in their local communities or schools. That is how I started, doing local theatre and school plays and working my way up. I had to add the film training because I found out very early that stage techniques do not work well on film!

 You have such a great theatre right in your own backyard to take advantage of. Don’t expect leads right away. If it does happen consider yourself lucky and don’t get so sure of yourself you don’t learn new things. You are young enough to make good use of your time. Build a resume and you will learn more as you go along. As you age and your resume grows…your odds will always increase!

 Let us know if we can help more….

 Michele