Acting May Not Be For Me!

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I'm having a hard time moving on from the Sara-Joanna stuff and related crap with Autism Initiatives because, while I know I need to move forward, forget about these traitors and push on in life, moving ahead ain't even happening. It has almost made me realize why people like us never attempt to 'get a life' in the first place. Every neurotypical person out there is just so picky and we cannot be bothered being knocked back. And I'm not sure when my new support service will be ready. My social worker wants a cheap deal, it seems. I'd already asked him to contact The Action Group, but he hasn't bothered.

I don't want to be glued to a monitor all my life. Being online all day long or all night long is not healthy, nor is it productive. At the end of the way, Facebook should be used to arrange a method of meeting up with real friends, not to rate, like and debate crap with folk you have never actually met, or if it's somebody you hardly ever see, it could be just as pointless.

Before I comment any further, I just want to add that I am NOT into acting for the money, or the fame, or whatever else actors may be accused of being in that sector for. Acting is something I enjoy and I don't think you need a degree in Performing Arts to be an extra or supporting artiste in a movie or TV show, if your screen presence is going to be rather minimal anyway. Sure, any training and experience will be a big help, but I would not say it is 100% vital either.

So lately, things have not been going smoothly, no matter how positive and proud I initially felt when I thought this would be a great idea. The trouble is that Scotland has not got a real movie industry. You may have seen my other thread about the guy asking me to help him "produce" a low budget movie and I quoted parts of his advertisement on Gumtree, which as a few members pointed out, seemed odd. I'm not emailing this person any longer.

Other than that, there is seldom any work on websites like Gumtree, StarNow and others. Hell, I dare not try to find an agent because we know I am not even at that stage and never will be. I've got a 6 month subscription for StarNow, but as I said, work is nowhere to be found. I'm not able to go further afield due to anxiety issues. There are similar websites to StarNow with even fewer jobs which don't have very good browsing facilities. I'm not objecting to paying fees to be an upgraded member, but if there is never or rarely any work to apply for and a new subscription has to be completed within a short period of time, eventually the frustration will build up. My money would have been wasted, along with my time and energy.

Last month, on 12 January, I applied to play a soldier in a short film being funded for students. The ad included no way to get in touch with the crew, just to apply. But some Google searches revealed there was a Twitter and Facebook page for the movie, as well as some test shooting footage on YouTube. Well, I used Indiegogo to contribute a £20 donation as it appears they need funding, and then Rebecca the director told me on Facebook that I was not successful. The applications actually don't close until 20 February, though.

I'm not sure why they keep on giving a date for filming if they aren't ready. My sister thinks it is a potential scam. They think people will donate, then they will say they are unsuccessful and hope another person will be a desperate idiot, do the same thing and feel like a reject once they receive the bad news. I'd even gone through the bother of getting 1940's type glasses as I wanted to 'look the part' too. I'm sure after they saw my videos and considered me to be ret*d, they opposed against me being cast, but they are just too polite to give me the truth. Of course, you cannot take everything for granted either.

After reading the responses here, do you think I've got any chance of getting anywhere?

http://intjforum.com/showthread.php?t=163869

With any kind of art you have to be in the top one percent to make any decent money.

To get cast in a movie you have to be really good as you go up against hundreds of other actors for the role.

Can you go into another field to make money?

You're right. There are lots of picky ass people holding us "autistic" people back, that think they're hot stuff because they're blessed with a "neurotypical" brain and they have connections that we don't. It's not rocket science playing a bar patron or a damn 'soldier' in a crappy, disorganized student funded film, is it? When I say disorganized, I'll back-up what I mean by that.

Check out this StarNow ad.

http://www.starnow.co.uk/listing/733238 ... hers-arms/

It clearly states no experience is needed to be in it. Or yes, 'minimal' experience is fine. Then I donated £20 to Indiegogo for Brothers In Arms and I also went through the bother of buying 40's style glasses, which shows how keen I was to get a part as a soldier / extra. No doubt because I told this person I need support due to anxiety, that put her off. She said I was unsuccessful.

After all the horse poop with my support workers, this is the last thing I needed.

This piece of shite laptop I'm using won't let me copy and paste her response from Facebook, but she basically said there was a volume of applicants with people that had more experience, so I lost out and "that's the nature of the beast" or something. Really? My sister thinks that ad is so misleading.

Whatever.

The film is supposedly being shot just around this time. No, it's not, because...I see they want funding, hereby, they are not ready at all. They are not close to being ready. Their info therefore is rather misleading.

Check out this.

https://www.facebook.com/Brothers-In-Ar ... 3/?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/_biafilm

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/brot ... rt-film--3

They aren't ready. Can you see that?

Also, this other dude got back to me. He's the one who emailed me about the "psychological thriller" (see also: horse poop) and because I spoke about it on forums and questioned whether it were genuine business or not, he got passive aggressive in an email. Well, no wonder people think his ad is totally fake. Check it out.

https://www.gumtree.com/p/general-jobs/ ... 1146622764

His latest email.

Someone sent me a link to you slating me in a forum. I'll keep it pleasant.

You do not know me at all. I'm not 'creepy' or a 'time waster'.

I've got a script and I have 70% or so of my cast secured and contracted.

Of course there is NO nudity involving children. That's a horrible accusation.

Clearly I can't offer you a part but once the movie is complete I promise I'll send you a copy so you no this wasn't a scam. Funding starts on kick starter next week also, to answer that allegation.

Right you are, Jimmy or um, Jonathan, or whoever you really are...

This is the ad on Gumtree, but it has gone down the pile a bit. Note down all the weird bits of information, including where this person says 'people of all ages' which is misleading as well.

So, we have a script nearly completed and all previous drafts have been praised by industry experts and we are currently selecting locations and sourcing equipment. We now need a full cast for our feature film.

To begin with it would be classed as voluntary work as our budget only strectches so far. However, when the film is released we would look to pay the actors. You will also receive a credit on IMDB and copies of the movies for you to apply for other film and tv roles.

The film is a psychological crime drama and focuses on three main characters and how their lives evolve and the dramatic conclusion.

We do wish to warn all applicants that the film has some very strong language, full frontal nudity and very violent and upsetting scenes so you would need to be 100% committed to all of the above before applying.

We welcome actors and actresses of all body shapes and sizes and ages. You cannot be too old or young as there is various parts to audition for. Based on your photo and audition we can have a chat about which part you want and what we think you might be most suited to.

So, if you have dreamt of starring in a film please get in touch. No experience necessary, we will only be judging you on your acting and not your experience. Please send a cover letter telling us a little about yourself and a photo. First scenes will be filming in the new year so we need to get auditions in as soon as possible.

My conclusion: I am wasting my time (and money) on complete biased a***holes.

Yeah I wouldn't bother,
Even experienced actors can't find work
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brendan-m ... 83841.html

I think you hit the nail on the head when you say, (a) Scotland has no movie industry to speak of, and (b) you can't go abroad due to anxiety. If both of these are true, then I'd say you have no hope of doing much work in movies. If you can improve (b), your chances might be improved.

Any job where you feel you have to make a donation to be considered is a poor bet if not an outright scam.

Unless I was shown ample proof that an upcoming film has its own IMDb page or whatever to convince us the project is truly happening, saying this, that and the next thing in a Gumtree ad of all things isn't going to come across as all that believable. Sure, it's also not nice to accuse anyone of being a liar. Therefore, if someone proves me wrong, I'd offer an apology.

I'm also fed up of directors not giving newcomers a chance. Everyone has to start somewhere. Saying they only take on experienced actors is nonsense when all you want to be is an extra. If you cannot get any acting gigs secured, how can anybody move up the damn ladder? This is highly frustrating.

The websites you plaster your profiles on are not free, and you have to do a lot of updating and if you cannot get work, no matter how small, there is nothing to showcase.

Everyone in their teens and 20s wants to be either an actor, photographer, artist, musician, or something of that sort. Everyone. Yet, so very few people find any sort of success in the field. It's very common to be taken advantage of in this field. Directors will make you pay money for a shot at a role with no intentions of ever giving it to you. They'll cast women just so they have a chance of having sex with them, regardless of their actual level of talent. That's the industry. Even neurotypical, attractive, smooth talkers have a very slim chance of making it there. It's not even necessarily autism oppression.. some people actually want eccentric characters.

I would encourage anyone to follow their dreams and do what they love, but you have to be realistic about it at the same time, even if that means having a plan B.

Well, there is no point in getting bent out of shape because some students did not cast me in a film they are still trying to pledge money for, but it is still disheartening. Considering all I've been put through over the past 15 or so years, I really cannot be bothered with all this grief and rejection. Once I turned 30 in January, I realized it was finally time to man up or face the fact I would be fading further into obscurity. So I would rather man up and do something with my life instead of being a loser all my days.

To gain experience, somebody has to be willing to give you a chance. Not getting a good chance equals bugger all experience. It's as simple as that. Sadly, a person with the responsibility of casting somebody in any acting role can afford to be picky when they are selecting their cast members from a ton of applications. Why employ little old autistic me?

I just want to add as well that I am high functioning, so I am not non verbal, "handicapped" or need my hand held. I'm just a loner suffering from anxiety who wants to be in there trying like everyone else.

Yes. You would be surprised that my legal issues are still ongoing. I'm actually due in court tomorrow. My supervisor won't allow me to use the Internet at all, so I'm not even supposed to be on these forums. However, I have made several of my online profiles private. I'm also not sure when my next support service will be ready.

My social worker (not my court appointed supervisor) is aware that funding is an issue, so he has to contact several agencies to find the cheapest place to offer me outreach support. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys, and they probably will just employ people with no real passion for the job. But unfortunately, that's the way things have ended up for me. As it stands, I'm still not sure if caregivers can be trusted, and they will probably come across as acting like henchmen for the supervisor for those last several months since they have me by the balls.

Anyway, I've pretty much gave up thinking I'll get a girlfriend. I'm not just saying that to be hard on myself. I'm just being honest. However, I'm also sick of escorts, especially Romanian ones. They just hurry you up and act horrible. Some of them pretend they don't know English so they can be as monotone and heartless as they like. Really, don't waste your time. Get an inflatable doll you can blow up instead. That is surely more "fun" than what they offer.

After all the BS I've had trying to get any acting gigs, I'm even more convinced there is no work to be found at all.

Here is another ad on StarNow that has no budget, yet they are recruiting their cast. Why bother? Why cast people if they're not ready? They want members of the public to pledge money to fund their film and that is okay, but for the love of God, don't put up casting advertisements unless you are prepared and have EVERYTHING ready. Sigh.

I don't know. Something smells a bit funny here.

http://www.starnow.co.uk/listing/742199 ... edinburgh/

Also, one guy deleted me on Facebook after making subtle hints that I can't act, yet he didn't mind whoring junk in threads about how he makes horror films 'on my doorstep' just after he saw me posting something about me wanting to be in horror movies, in Scotland.

Face it, too. There is likely no psychological thriller. There is no Kickstarter. There is no Jonathan. There is only...BS!

More crap follows. I'm honestly starting to think he or she was pulling my chain.

I read your latest post on the forum you sent me. I can't believe it. I offered you a role to help with production. Yes, you said star now which was good advise but you understand it's harder getting actors to agree to the parts involving nudity. We have got a few folk interested.

If I can give you some advise back. Stop slating every production you apply to. You applied to the student production and after not being cast you said its possibly a scam. You said my advert was a scam and questioned my name. You can have my Facebook etc and you'll see I'm just a regular guy called Jonathan trying to pull all the pieces of a puzzle together despite having a full time job and a family to support. Please, please stop abusing me on these forums. Unlike the student role I never asked for money, I never asked for anything apart from patience. I'm not a bad guy and like I say in a year or so you'll know this wasn't a scam.

I'll believe it WHEN and if I see it.

Ok. No rush. I just wanted you to know it wasn't a scam buddy.

Yes. After bragging about how he has a Kickstarter page coming and a Facebook account, he never responded. That in itself is bizarre.

Just admit it. They're lying. There is no chance of me getting any acting work in Edinburgh, or elsewhere. Once they check out my videos and think I'm disabled, they'll just pass me on, or try to take advantage of me.