January 30, 1998
Every once in a while, the forces in the universe come together to create a magical event...
Most of the time, nothing seems to come together. It doesn't even seem like things know how to come together. The things are out there, somewhere, but there's just no coming together. But that one time, that shining moment when all the random events in the world seem to be clicking in your favor. That's pretty cool.
The first fortuitous occurence was not being cast in the Frasier role that I read for a month or so ago. Had I done that part, I would not have been involved with the show of two weeks ago. And yes, maybe other events would have happened, but these specific events would most likely have not.
Then add to it the role on Sabrina this last week and the successful meeting of Rick Millikan, who was very pleased with my audition and callback and thought I was doing a good job on the show.
Now throw that together with Jeff Greenberg's birthday last week and the coincidental friendship of Jeff and Rick that brought them together to celebrate the birthday. Add a mention or two of John Ducey and suddenly, a powerful one-two punch is out in the world trying to secure better representation for me.
That leads us to Joel King and Pakula/King & Assoc. They were the agreed upon choice of Jeff and Rick as a good place for me to be right now. Jeff and Rick both spoke very highly of me to Joel, planting the seed that he should want to sign me. Pakula/King also happens to be representing two of the regulars on Sabrina, both of whom I got along with well on the set, so I had further recommendations from fellow actors. It also brought Joel and Nina to the set yesterday to check out the "Battle of the Bands" and consequently a quick hello between them and me.
Take all of that and mix it in Suite 315 at 4pm today and you have the joining of forces between Pakula/King and John Ducey. The meeting itself was very casual and pleasant. I met Todd, the third "partner" in the office and after I spoke a bit on my behalf, and they spoke a bit on their behalf, the deal was made. I would sign with Pakula/King.
We looked over my proof sheets (none of which they liked) and I gave them my tape (none of which they liked). They will take care of my resumes from now on on their own letterhead. They are willing to use a couple of the shots Gary had picked out at Contemporary Artists. I need to order a handful more of those. I filled out an information sheet and I shall be back sometime next week to sign contracts. Done deal.
So, what does all this mean? Nothing really. This moment in time can only be judged in retrospect. It may turn out to be just another failure. The search has gone on so long now for an agency that has some power in Hollywood and wants to exercise that power for me. I think that finally now the first part of that search has been satisfied for the first time. Pakula/King seems to be, from all trustworthy sources, a good agency to be at. It just has to click now between this great new home and its brand-new resident. The outlook is rosy, however. When I returned home tonight, Joel called with a pilot audition for Tuesday. Good start.
Best case scenario? Best case is that this marks a move into the next phase of my time in Hollywood:
Phase One was the struggle to get a SAG card. That struggle lasted
two years from September 1991 until October 1993 when I did Against
the Grain.