While Google eyes Ormat, Microsoft becomes more Israeli
By Karin Kloosterman and Nicky Blackburn May 25, 2008
The kind of energy that spouts out of Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park, could be powering the world's most famous Internet search engine, Google, and homes across America.
Israel's geothermal company Ormat Technologies, the biggest of its kind in the world to harness the heat energy from the earth, may get financial backing from Google to bring alternative energy to the mainstream in America.
"We have not made any announcement related to Google," wrote Dita Bronicki, the CEO of Ormat, by email to ISRAEL21c last Thursday, but media reports suggest the deal is well on the way.
Ormat, which has been in the cleantech business for more than four decades - even before cleantech became part of our lexicon - harnesses "clean" energy from heat emitted by the earth.
Working in other areas including biodiesel, Ormat could help America achieve energy independence from oil and coal.
In Israel for President Shimon Peres' presidential conference "Facing Tomorrow," Google co-founder Sergey Brin told TheMarker that the company plans on investing in Israeli alternative energy companies and Ormat, the world leader in geothermal energy, is expected to be one of them.
The publicly traded NASDAQ company founded by the Bronicki family, is just one of the companies Google is looking at Brin said.
Calling Ormat an incredible company, he also said there were a lot of Israeli companies working in interesting areas of renewable and alternative energy, and electric cars.
According to news reports, senior Google execs have met with Ormat executives at two conferences; and Larry Page, who is the other co-founder of Google, has visited an Ormat plant in Nevada.
Page said: "Our goal is to produce one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal.
We are optimistic this can be done in years, not decades.
" Google's long-range objectives, of which Israeli companies could play a part, are to help develop electricity from non-polluting renewable energy sources.
Its focus now is on solar thermal power, wind power technologies, geothermal systems and other clean technologies.
Any new investments would be handled through the company's philanthropic activities, Google.org.
And as proof of its faith in alternative energy, Google's headquarters use solar panels to generate 1.6 megawatts of energy.
Ormat and Google, it is reported, are already working together to push ahead the legislation to secure geothermal development budgets from the US government.
Ormat today operates a number of geothermal energy collection sites in the US.
This past February the company said it was testing an "Enhanced Geothermal Systems" technology in cooperation with America's Department of Energy.
Google has other business interests in Israel.
In 2006, the company set up an R&D center in Haifa, the first of its kind in the Middle East.
So far dozens of new Google applications have been built in Israel, including Google Trends and Google Suggest.
It's not the only American super-power expressing faith and interest in Israeli capabilities.
On a visit to Israel this week, Microsoft's chief executive Steve Ballmer said that the American software giant is as much Israeli as it is American.
His comments came at the inauguration ceremony of Microsoft's new research and development center in Herzliya in a ceremony attended by President Shimon Peres and Israeli high-tech leaders.
"Microsoft is as much an Israeli company as an American company," Ballmer told assembled guests.
He added that the proportion of Microsoft employees per capita in Israel was similar to that in the United States.
Microsoft has been active in Israel for many years and has two R&D centers in Haifa, which employ 600 people.
In the last two years, Microsoft purchased five companies in Israel.
The new R&D campus in Herzliya has two buildings that stretch over 13,000 square meters.
In the coming year, Microsoft plans to bring on a further 150 employees.
At the ceremony, Ballmer noted that the IT sector in Israel is very advanced, and described Tel Aviv as similar to Silicon Valley.
"I know very few places around the world that offer such a variety of start-up opportunities, and we intend to continue to invest in Israel," he said.
Honored guests and businesspeople to Israel say time and time again, how important Israel innovation is for helping fulfill corporate and government goals, in areas such as cleantech, and high-tech.
This month with a dizzying number of prominent guests such as Google and Microsoft executives, and political leaders like Tony Blair, George W. Bush, and Al Gore, it would seem that Israel's "tomorrow" is just as important to the future of Europe and America, as it is to Israel.
Monday, May 26, 2008
UKELELES FOR PEACE
Strumming a different tune [VIDEO]By Daniel Ben-Tal May 20, 2008
It may sound like a joke, but Ukuleles for Peace is succeeding where the politicians fail.
"Words seem only to divide," says Paul Moore, the one-man band behind the project, "but music unites us all in harmony."
And what better way to bring Jews and Arabs together, than seeing their children play this small, easy-to-learn four-string Hawaiian guitar?
English-born Moore holds weekly Ukulele classes in schools in neighboring Jewish and Arab towns, bringing the children together for regular rehearsals and performances as a combined orchestra of ukuleles, kazoos and other fun instruments, singing in Hebrew, Arabic and English in old people's homes, music festivals and peace events.
He launched the initiative four years ago, with weekly classes in the Hod Hasharon Democratic Elementary School and the El Najach elementary school in nearby Tira, a Sunni Muslim town of 22,000.
"It's slowly building as I bring the younger kids up to performance level, to join the older ones who have been performing since the beginning," 58-year-old Moore tells ISRAEL21c.
The Ukuleles for Peace project will feature in a new full-length documentary by Canadian filmmaker Tony Coleman called The Mighty Uke, about the instrument's worldwide resurgence.
For three decades, Moore has been an eclectic professional musician, performing and recording as a traditional one-man skiffle band unique to Israel.
He also has his own jazz band.
Originally from Romford, Essex, he never intended to live here.
Having ditched a lucrative career in the London Stock Exchange, the classic sixties dropout became a "wandering busker of no fixed abode," arriving in Israel in 1978 as a kibbutz volunteer.
He fell in love with the country, married an Israeli woman, had children and became an Israeli citizen.
On September 11th 2001, Moore was visiting New York having just attended an international ukulele convention in New Jersey.
"I was sitting in a Manhattan bar," he recalls, "and people were coming in from downtown, covered in dust, telling their horror stories.
It made me aware how international terror has become.
For me, it was a sign that the time had come to do something.
" Back in Israel, the second intifada was raging.
"People were being blown up every day.
It reached the stage where I'd had enough of living here.
All the dreams of peace were disappearing," explains Moore.
"I realized that I might as well leave, or do something about the situation - it was no use pulling my hair out.
The day it hit me was when my nine-year-old son Alon cursed the Arabs.
He was picking up on the emotional frustration surrounding him.
" The solution, he thought, lay in the humble 'uke.'
"As a musician, most of my work is with kids.
Through music and children, we can create an atmosphere of peace," says Moore.
This year, Moore is coaching over 70 students aged six to 14 from the two schools at three levels: beginners, intermediate and the 20-strong orchestra.
"They are mainly girls - the boys get embarrassed being with all the girls, and drift away.
Alon, who has since left the group, befriended Fahdi from Tira - he just stayed with Fahdi this weekend.
They no longer play the ukulele together, but the aim of this project goes far beyond that," says Moore, noting personal satisfaction at his son's volte-face.
Parents of other Tira children, he points out, have been offended when their offers of hospitality were rebuffed.
"It's not all lovey-dovey.
Relationships take time to build.
The parents are getting to know each other.
It's a long, hard process.
Now I have friends in Tira.
At the beginning, when I'd go for dinner at [Arab] parents' house, we would avoid politics.
Now we can sit down and discuss the situation - we might not agree, but we talk," says Moore.
Two mothers from each community organize regular joint events, with trips including a day at the opera.
The orchestra has held several picnics at which families have begun to interact and get to know one another.
The children and some parents meet regularly to rehearse and travel to performances.
"The children, in particular, have formed friendships that led to birthday party invitations and other social outings," says Moore.
Before the Ukuleles for Peace program was introduced, there were virtually no communal ties between Tira and Hod Hasharon, a rapidly growing Jewish suburb numbering 45,000 a 20-minute drive away.
Yet it remains a small-scale project run on a shoestring budget.
"People in the ukulele community around the world send me occasional donations," he notes, adding that on a good month, donations reach $250.
"Funding is necessary if we want it to grow and expand into other communities," he explains.
The initiative has become a full-time voluntary labor of love for Moore and his partner Daphna, who spends hours coordinating rehearsals and performances.
This summer Moore plans a fundraising trip to the US and Canada and a benefit CD featuring contributions from leading international ukulele players and tracks by the orchestra will soon be released.
"My dream is to create orchestras in several communities and towns, enlarging the circle of real co-existence.
If the situation with the Palestinian Authority is safer, I'd like to form a group there, too," says Moore.
"It's very rewarding.
I know it's only a small drop in the bucket, but local grassroots activities are just as important as peace agreements.
A suspension bridge needs lots of wires to hold it up."
It may sound like a joke, but Ukuleles for Peace is succeeding where the politicians fail.
"Words seem only to divide," says Paul Moore, the one-man band behind the project, "but music unites us all in harmony."
And what better way to bring Jews and Arabs together, than seeing their children play this small, easy-to-learn four-string Hawaiian guitar?
English-born Moore holds weekly Ukulele classes in schools in neighboring Jewish and Arab towns, bringing the children together for regular rehearsals and performances as a combined orchestra of ukuleles, kazoos and other fun instruments, singing in Hebrew, Arabic and English in old people's homes, music festivals and peace events.
He launched the initiative four years ago, with weekly classes in the Hod Hasharon Democratic Elementary School and the El Najach elementary school in nearby Tira, a Sunni Muslim town of 22,000.
"It's slowly building as I bring the younger kids up to performance level, to join the older ones who have been performing since the beginning," 58-year-old Moore tells ISRAEL21c.
The Ukuleles for Peace project will feature in a new full-length documentary by Canadian filmmaker Tony Coleman called The Mighty Uke, about the instrument's worldwide resurgence.
For three decades, Moore has been an eclectic professional musician, performing and recording as a traditional one-man skiffle band unique to Israel.
He also has his own jazz band.
Originally from Romford, Essex, he never intended to live here.
Having ditched a lucrative career in the London Stock Exchange, the classic sixties dropout became a "wandering busker of no fixed abode," arriving in Israel in 1978 as a kibbutz volunteer.
He fell in love with the country, married an Israeli woman, had children and became an Israeli citizen.
On September 11th 2001, Moore was visiting New York having just attended an international ukulele convention in New Jersey.
"I was sitting in a Manhattan bar," he recalls, "and people were coming in from downtown, covered in dust, telling their horror stories.
It made me aware how international terror has become.
For me, it was a sign that the time had come to do something.
" Back in Israel, the second intifada was raging.
"People were being blown up every day.
It reached the stage where I'd had enough of living here.
All the dreams of peace were disappearing," explains Moore.
"I realized that I might as well leave, or do something about the situation - it was no use pulling my hair out.
The day it hit me was when my nine-year-old son Alon cursed the Arabs.
He was picking up on the emotional frustration surrounding him.
" The solution, he thought, lay in the humble 'uke.'
"As a musician, most of my work is with kids.
Through music and children, we can create an atmosphere of peace," says Moore.
This year, Moore is coaching over 70 students aged six to 14 from the two schools at three levels: beginners, intermediate and the 20-strong orchestra.
"They are mainly girls - the boys get embarrassed being with all the girls, and drift away.
Alon, who has since left the group, befriended Fahdi from Tira - he just stayed with Fahdi this weekend.
They no longer play the ukulele together, but the aim of this project goes far beyond that," says Moore, noting personal satisfaction at his son's volte-face.
Parents of other Tira children, he points out, have been offended when their offers of hospitality were rebuffed.
"It's not all lovey-dovey.
Relationships take time to build.
The parents are getting to know each other.
It's a long, hard process.
Now I have friends in Tira.
At the beginning, when I'd go for dinner at [Arab] parents' house, we would avoid politics.
Now we can sit down and discuss the situation - we might not agree, but we talk," says Moore.
Two mothers from each community organize regular joint events, with trips including a day at the opera.
The orchestra has held several picnics at which families have begun to interact and get to know one another.
The children and some parents meet regularly to rehearse and travel to performances.
"The children, in particular, have formed friendships that led to birthday party invitations and other social outings," says Moore.
Before the Ukuleles for Peace program was introduced, there were virtually no communal ties between Tira and Hod Hasharon, a rapidly growing Jewish suburb numbering 45,000 a 20-minute drive away.
Yet it remains a small-scale project run on a shoestring budget.
"People in the ukulele community around the world send me occasional donations," he notes, adding that on a good month, donations reach $250.
"Funding is necessary if we want it to grow and expand into other communities," he explains.
The initiative has become a full-time voluntary labor of love for Moore and his partner Daphna, who spends hours coordinating rehearsals and performances.
This summer Moore plans a fundraising trip to the US and Canada and a benefit CD featuring contributions from leading international ukulele players and tracks by the orchestra will soon be released.
"My dream is to create orchestras in several communities and towns, enlarging the circle of real co-existence.
If the situation with the Palestinian Authority is safer, I'd like to form a group there, too," says Moore.
"It's very rewarding.
I know it's only a small drop in the bucket, but local grassroots activities are just as important as peace agreements.
A suspension bridge needs lots of wires to hold it up."
ISRAELI ANIMATED FILM IN CANNES
Israeli filmmakers head to Cannes with animated documentary [VIDEO]By Jerrin Zumberg May 20, 2008
A sullen looking animated soldier is Israel's best chance for the central prize, the Palme d'Or, at this year's Cannes International Film Festival.
Waltz with Bashir will compete against 19 other films made by some of the world's most accomplished directors, including Hollywood heavyweights Clint Eastwood and Steven Soderbergh.
The Israeli entry is the only animated nominee, and the first-ever animated documentary to be selected for competition in the 62-year-old festival - one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world.
Applying animation to a documentary format is unheard of in film circles, according to Richard Lormand, the film's publicist and a veteran of the international film circuit.
"It's basically the first animated documentary ever," wrote Lormand in an email to ISRAEL21c.
Set primarily in Beirut, the film weaves in flashbacks of the director and writer, Ari Folman, as a 19-year-old IDF soldier in Lebanon and Israel in the early 1980s.
The documentary focuses on Folman's recent quest to recover lost memories from that time, many of which were erased after the trauma Folman experienced serving during the slaughter of thousands of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by the Phalange Christian militia.
The film's title refers to Bashir Gemayel, commander of the Phalange militia that carried out the massacres 26 years ago.
Israel's controversial alliances with Gemayel still strike a sensitive chord among Israelis today.
The movie is sure to draw interest as its release comes less than two years after Israel fought another war in Lebanon, this time against Hezbollah guerrillas.
According to Folman, Israelis he spoke to were initially less than enthusiastic about his film's subject.
"When I told people I was going to make an animated film on this subject, what did they tell me?
Are you crazy, how many years will it take you to do that, 20?
But look, it only took me four, not so bad," Folman told Israel's Channel 10 News.
But with the help of a multinational team of producers and distributors, the $2 million production has been welcomed internationally, marking the second full length animated Israeli film to enter the industry worldwide.
The first, Joseph the Dreamer came out in 1962.
Waltz with Bashir uses a unique animation style invented by Yoni Goodman at the Bridgit Folman Film Gang studio in Israel.
The technique takes real video, and maps it out so it can be converted into hand drawings and then into traditional animation.
The film was first shot in a sound studio as a 90-minute video and then transferred to a storyboard.
From there 2,300 original illustrations were drawn based on the storyboard, which together formed the actual film scenes using Flash animation, classic animation, and 3D technologies.
Folman saw no other option for telling his personal war story from the 1982 Israeli mission into Lebanon.
"I made an animated film because I couldn't find any other way to tell this story besides through illustrations," Folman told Channel 10.
The film will be accompanied by a forthcoming graphic novel telling the same story, also written by Folman and illustrated by David Polansky, the creative director of the movie.
Waltz with Bashir's official selection at Cannes is just the latest in a series of prestigious festival successes for the Israeli film industry in the past half decade.
These include last year's first prize award by the film Sweet Mud at the Sundance International Film Festival and a best foreign film Oscar nomination for another Lebanon-themed movie, Beaufort.
Last year four feature films and three short films were official selections at Cannes where the directors and writers of the filmJellyfish took home a Camera d'Or award for best first-time filmmakers - the second Camera d'Or for an Israeli filmmaker in the last four years.
A sullen looking animated soldier is Israel's best chance for the central prize, the Palme d'Or, at this year's Cannes International Film Festival.
Waltz with Bashir will compete against 19 other films made by some of the world's most accomplished directors, including Hollywood heavyweights Clint Eastwood and Steven Soderbergh.
The Israeli entry is the only animated nominee, and the first-ever animated documentary to be selected for competition in the 62-year-old festival - one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world.
Applying animation to a documentary format is unheard of in film circles, according to Richard Lormand, the film's publicist and a veteran of the international film circuit.
"It's basically the first animated documentary ever," wrote Lormand in an email to ISRAEL21c.
Set primarily in Beirut, the film weaves in flashbacks of the director and writer, Ari Folman, as a 19-year-old IDF soldier in Lebanon and Israel in the early 1980s.
The documentary focuses on Folman's recent quest to recover lost memories from that time, many of which were erased after the trauma Folman experienced serving during the slaughter of thousands of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by the Phalange Christian militia.
The film's title refers to Bashir Gemayel, commander of the Phalange militia that carried out the massacres 26 years ago.
Israel's controversial alliances with Gemayel still strike a sensitive chord among Israelis today.
The movie is sure to draw interest as its release comes less than two years after Israel fought another war in Lebanon, this time against Hezbollah guerrillas.
According to Folman, Israelis he spoke to were initially less than enthusiastic about his film's subject.
"When I told people I was going to make an animated film on this subject, what did they tell me?
Are you crazy, how many years will it take you to do that, 20?
But look, it only took me four, not so bad," Folman told Israel's Channel 10 News.
But with the help of a multinational team of producers and distributors, the $2 million production has been welcomed internationally, marking the second full length animated Israeli film to enter the industry worldwide.
The first, Joseph the Dreamer came out in 1962.
Waltz with Bashir uses a unique animation style invented by Yoni Goodman at the Bridgit Folman Film Gang studio in Israel.
The technique takes real video, and maps it out so it can be converted into hand drawings and then into traditional animation.
The film was first shot in a sound studio as a 90-minute video and then transferred to a storyboard.
From there 2,300 original illustrations were drawn based on the storyboard, which together formed the actual film scenes using Flash animation, classic animation, and 3D technologies.
Folman saw no other option for telling his personal war story from the 1982 Israeli mission into Lebanon.
"I made an animated film because I couldn't find any other way to tell this story besides through illustrations," Folman told Channel 10.
The film will be accompanied by a forthcoming graphic novel telling the same story, also written by Folman and illustrated by David Polansky, the creative director of the movie.
Waltz with Bashir's official selection at Cannes is just the latest in a series of prestigious festival successes for the Israeli film industry in the past half decade.
These include last year's first prize award by the film Sweet Mud at the Sundance International Film Festival and a best foreign film Oscar nomination for another Lebanon-themed movie, Beaufort.
Last year four feature films and three short films were official selections at Cannes where the directors and writers of the filmJellyfish took home a Camera d'Or award for best first-time filmmakers - the second Camera d'Or for an Israeli filmmaker in the last four years.
Difference between Agents & Managers
I recently got an email (one of dozens I’ve gotten on this subject) asking me if I could -
“explain the difference between an agent and a manager and tell me which would be better for me to sign with – which will be better at getting my career going?”
Here’s my answer:
Dear Friend Talent,
Neither an agent, nor a manager, can help you “get your career going.”
The concept that a powerful man or woman can step in and help you skip all the hard work involved in building an acting career - is a “fairy tale.”
There is no shortcut to the top of show business (or even to the middle, for that matter).
There’s also no Great Pumpkin or Tooth Fairy.
If it could be done this way, then agents and managers would simply pick out any talent from of the thousands of headshots they get every week – and turn them into stars.
Hey, presto!
But, it cannot be done this way.
This is the main reason agents and managers are generally so unresponsive to unsolicited submissions.
The good ones are pros and they’re not going to waste their valuable time trying to accomplish what they know cannot be done.
As to the difference between agents and managers: Their businesses are similar - but not the same.
One sells a product.
The agent is a sales person for the product known as YOU. Sales people (agents) judge how well their business is going – by how much money they make.
A really good sales professional likes to make lots of money.
If your product is not saleable (one that people aren’t ready to buy yet) then a sales person won’t make a lot of money selling it (you).
Not surprisingly, agents are coldly business-like about this part.
Until you’ve managed to start your career yourself (making money as an actor) don’t expect any really good sales people to be particularly interested in representing your ‘line.’
Managers are just what the word implies.
The manage things.
Mailings, bookings, transportation, job offers, promotion - the day-to-day business of YOU. (But keep in mind that in most markets, they are precluded, by law, from seeking work for you.)
The top managers are usually the top managers because they manage very successful careers.
In the past two decades the professional manager class has had its own difficulties with an influx of “bottom feeders.”
The worst of these are outright crooks, whose only goal is to separate you from you money or your credit card with no intention of helping you in any way.
Almost as bad are the ineffectual show biz hangers-on who rent offices and go about the business of “signing” practically anyone who walks through their door - then what they do is they send out your pictures to every little thing listed in the Breakdowns.
All they are risking is postage.
Since these folks are generally clueless themselves, they will submit you for stuff you aren’t right for.
This is a good way to get labeled as a clueless actor by the casting people.
Many young actors are fooled into thinking that they must have a manager, any manager - that it’s “good business”.
It usually isn’t.
In reality you are signing an agreement to give someone 15% (or more) of your income after YOU successfully ESTABLISH YOURSELF as an talent who makes money.
Bottom feeders spend a great deal of their business day writing threatening letters to collect money from talents who have realized their mistake and don’t want to pay 15% of their income for someone to do ineffective mailings.
Since the agreement you sign with a manager is often an employment contract – you are the employer and they are the employee – they almost always win in court.
The big boys (and girls) in the management game, are just like agents when it comes to money.
They want to manage a “going concern” and they spend all their time looking for the next “big thing.”
Think about that.
Since professional managers make a boatload of money when they manage to sign on with a Vin Diesel or J-Lo - isn’t it reasonable to assume that they are LOOKING ALL THE TIME.
In fact, they hire people to look - they’ve got part-time, secret lookers on their payroll.
Believe me, If you have what they want - if you are a going concern with a name that you’ve made for yourself - they know their managing skills will take you to a whole new level (making LOTS of money) and they get a big chunk of a LOT - then, believe me, they will seek you out.
Most important point:
As long as you continue to believe that your main job is looking for someone else to help you ‘get your career going’ – you won’t be spending enough time doing the crucial things you need to do yourself, to build your own career.
This is a very bad tactic – which almost always results in frustration, wasted years and, ultimately, failure to achieve what you want.
If you don’t concentrate on doing your part it’s unlikely that you will ever build your business into something big enough to be noticed by a good agent or a good manager.
In other words, by all means keep looking for a sales staff, and a management team - but don’t neglect your business while you’re doing it.
Hope that helps.
“explain the difference between an agent and a manager and tell me which would be better for me to sign with – which will be better at getting my career going?”
Here’s my answer:
Dear Friend Talent,
Neither an agent, nor a manager, can help you “get your career going.”
The concept that a powerful man or woman can step in and help you skip all the hard work involved in building an acting career - is a “fairy tale.”
There is no shortcut to the top of show business (or even to the middle, for that matter).
There’s also no Great Pumpkin or Tooth Fairy.
If it could be done this way, then agents and managers would simply pick out any talent from of the thousands of headshots they get every week – and turn them into stars.
Hey, presto!
But, it cannot be done this way.
This is the main reason agents and managers are generally so unresponsive to unsolicited submissions.
The good ones are pros and they’re not going to waste their valuable time trying to accomplish what they know cannot be done.
As to the difference between agents and managers: Their businesses are similar - but not the same.
One sells a product.
The agent is a sales person for the product known as YOU. Sales people (agents) judge how well their business is going – by how much money they make.
A really good sales professional likes to make lots of money.
If your product is not saleable (one that people aren’t ready to buy yet) then a sales person won’t make a lot of money selling it (you).
Not surprisingly, agents are coldly business-like about this part.
Until you’ve managed to start your career yourself (making money as an actor) don’t expect any really good sales people to be particularly interested in representing your ‘line.’
Managers are just what the word implies.
The manage things.
Mailings, bookings, transportation, job offers, promotion - the day-to-day business of YOU. (But keep in mind that in most markets, they are precluded, by law, from seeking work for you.)
The top managers are usually the top managers because they manage very successful careers.
In the past two decades the professional manager class has had its own difficulties with an influx of “bottom feeders.”
The worst of these are outright crooks, whose only goal is to separate you from you money or your credit card with no intention of helping you in any way.
Almost as bad are the ineffectual show biz hangers-on who rent offices and go about the business of “signing” practically anyone who walks through their door - then what they do is they send out your pictures to every little thing listed in the Breakdowns.
All they are risking is postage.
Since these folks are generally clueless themselves, they will submit you for stuff you aren’t right for.
This is a good way to get labeled as a clueless actor by the casting people.
Many young actors are fooled into thinking that they must have a manager, any manager - that it’s “good business”.
It usually isn’t.
In reality you are signing an agreement to give someone 15% (or more) of your income after YOU successfully ESTABLISH YOURSELF as an talent who makes money.
Bottom feeders spend a great deal of their business day writing threatening letters to collect money from talents who have realized their mistake and don’t want to pay 15% of their income for someone to do ineffective mailings.
Since the agreement you sign with a manager is often an employment contract – you are the employer and they are the employee – they almost always win in court.
The big boys (and girls) in the management game, are just like agents when it comes to money.
They want to manage a “going concern” and they spend all their time looking for the next “big thing.”
Think about that.
Since professional managers make a boatload of money when they manage to sign on with a Vin Diesel or J-Lo - isn’t it reasonable to assume that they are LOOKING ALL THE TIME.
In fact, they hire people to look - they’ve got part-time, secret lookers on their payroll.
Believe me, If you have what they want - if you are a going concern with a name that you’ve made for yourself - they know their managing skills will take you to a whole new level (making LOTS of money) and they get a big chunk of a LOT - then, believe me, they will seek you out.
Most important point:
As long as you continue to believe that your main job is looking for someone else to help you ‘get your career going’ – you won’t be spending enough time doing the crucial things you need to do yourself, to build your own career.
This is a very bad tactic – which almost always results in frustration, wasted years and, ultimately, failure to achieve what you want.
If you don’t concentrate on doing your part it’s unlikely that you will ever build your business into something big enough to be noticed by a good agent or a good manager.
In other words, by all means keep looking for a sales staff, and a management team - but don’t neglect your business while you’re doing it.
Hope that helps.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Latest- from LBN e lert ( LEVINE BREAKING NEWS- by Michael Levine, one of Hollywoods most influential Publicists
BE SMARTER - GET THE NEWS FAST! FAST! FAST!:
Every week this LBN E-Lert has stories BEFORE......The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Fox News, NBC News, The Washington Post, etc.
WHO READS THE LBN E-LERT?
***Veteran Hollywood personal manager Joan Hyler.
***Four (4) members of the NFL Commissioner's Office.
***Political commentator and best-selling author Dick Morris.
***Two (2) Nobel Prize winners.
***The mayors of Miami, Denver, Seattle, Buffalo and Chicago - along with approximately 280,000 other "influencers."
LBN-COMMENTARY BY VINCENT BUGLIOSI:
To discuss anything less than the death penalty for someone responsible for over 100,000 deaths would on its face seem ludicrous.
But we are dealing with the president of the United States here.
LBN-POLITICAL BRIEFING BY ARIANNA HUFFINGTON:
I have regularly criticized Clinton over the course of her campaign, but there is no question that she has forever altered the way women running for president will be viewed.
LBN-NOTICED:
***Kent Desormeaux, the jockey trying to win the Triple Crown riding Big Brown, dining carefully at Orient Chinese Restaurant in Bethpage, LI.
***John Leguizamo grabbing the mic from Niche Media's Jason Binn at the Hamptons Summer Kick-Off Party, only to mispronounce the name of co-sponsor Cabana Cachaça (ka-sha-sa).
***Alica Keys lingering over a three-hour lunch of sushi, sashimi and oysters at Geisha in NYC.
***Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon taking in a night of theater with Teddy Roosevelt in "The Bully Pulpit" at the Beckett in NYC.
***Vince Neil of Motley Crue fame at Opia in NYC lunching with pals.
ELECTED JUSTICE:
While most of the rest of the world tries to insulate judges from the popular will, many judges in the United States are elected.
LBN-HOLLYWOOD INSIDER:
***Dick Martin, the zany half of the comedy team whose "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" took television by storm in the 1960s, making stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and creating such national catch-phrases as "Sock it to me!" has died.
He was 86.
***Paramount's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" has dug up an estimated $126 million since its opening at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
That includes an estimated $101 million in Friday-Sunday coin, which followed a first-day Thursday gross of $25 million.
Par also projected a $25 million haul for Monday, which would give the first Indy sequel in 19 years a five-day cume of $151 million.
LBN-BOOK NEWS: ***With an ambitious new novel, Salman Rushdie is hoping to turn the spotlight back to his literary career.
LBN-FACESPACE:
***NAME: Kate Craig
***WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE? Everything!
***IF YOU COULD SLEEP WITH ONE CELEBRITY, WHO WOULD IT BE? Pete Wentz
***IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ONE DEAD PERSON, WHO?
The obvious, Marilyn Monroe
***IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD FOR A YEAR, WHERE AND WHY? The West End of London while performing "Cabaret" or "Chicago!"
***OCCUPATION: Artist Music Manager
***WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR JOB?
Getting to constantly listen to music and be around extremely creative and talented people
***PENALTY YOU'D INFLICT ON ELIOT SPITZER?
Chopping his balls off :)
***DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO'S HAD SEX FOR MONEY?
I'm sure they just haven't admitted it --hahaha
EMAIL AND WEBSITE: Katelyn@newwestrecords.com.
LBN Reader Comment
"You were born an original, don't die a copy." - Kat Blyant, Cleveland, OH.
The Show Biz Blog is written by an industry veteran and contains lots of great advice and information.
Latest- from LBN e lert ( LEVINE BREAKING NEWS- by Michael Levine, one of Hollywoods most influential Publicists
CABLE PRICES KEEP RISING, AND CUSTOMERS KEEP PAYING:
Americans discouraged by higher gas prices and airline fares may decide to spend more vacation time at home, perhaps watching television.
But that, too, will cost them more than ever.
Cable prices have risen 77 percent since 1996, roughly double the rate of inflation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this month.
Cable customers, who typically pay at least $60 a month, watch only a fraction of what they pay for -- on average, a mere 13 percent of the 118 channels available to them.
And the number of subscribers keeps growing.
LBN-COMMENTARY BY PEGGY NOONAN:
She was born in Russia, fled the pogroms with her family, was raised in Milwaukee, and worked the counter at her father's general store when she was 8.
In early adulthood she made aliyah to Palestine, where she worked on a kibbutz, picking almonds and chasing chickens.
She rose in politics, was the first woman in the first Israeli cabinet, soldiered on through war and rumors of war, became the first and so far only woman to be prime minister of Israel.
And she knew what it is to be a woman in the world. "At work, you think of the children you've left at home. At home you think of the work you've left unfinished....Your heart is rent."
This of course was Golda Meir.
WHO READS THE LBN E-LERT?
Over 100 winners of the Academy Award along with approximately 280,000 other "influencers."
LBN-POLITICAL BRIEFING BY ALEC BALDWIN:
Icahn let it be known that Barack Obama would be a "terrible" president.
Let's look at this, for just ten seconds, in an attempt to fully appreciate the inanity of his remarks.
LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER:
***Motorola's reversal of fortunes has been striking, with a global market share of the cellular phone market below 10 percent, a plunge from 22 percent in 2006.
LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW......Amy Winehouse.....
DID YOU KNOW?
***Kite flying is a professional sport in Thailand.
***Lacrosse originated among Native American tribes of northeastern North America.
***Early hockey games allowed as many as 30 players a side on the ice.
***The Los Angeles Lakers used to be the Minneapolis Lakers.
***Basketball was invented by Canadian James Naismith in 1891.
LBN-QUOTE:
"I don't doubt for a moment that you are good, hard-working people who have done what you did to help your families.
Unfortunately for you, you committed a violation of federal law." --MARK W. BENNETT, a federal judge, to illegal immigrants sentenced to prison terms in Iowa.
LBN-HISTORY:
On May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge, linking Brooklyn and Manhattan, was opened to traffic.
LBN-FACESPACE:
***NAME: Bruce Edwin ***WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE?
I think when I am gone, it will be my poetry and movies.
***IF YOU COULD SLEEP WITH ONE CELEBRITY, WHO WOULD IT BE?
E.T. Just kidding, perhaps Madonna as long as we're just sleeping. There is my girlfriend and Guy after all.
***IF YOU COULD HAVE DINNER WITH ONE DEAD PERSON, WHO?
My guess is that would be kind of stinky, but if they were a good, clean zombie, then I suppose it would be Marilyn Monroe.
***IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD FOR A YEAR, WHERE AND WHY?
Right here in Los Angeles, California where I am.
Because I think L.A. is the best, most exciting place on Earth with the most opportunity for greatness, and with more creative, exciting, and beautiful people here than anywhere else on the planet.
***OCCUPATION: Producer, Publisher, Talent Manager
***WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR JOB?
The incredibly beautiful and amazing people that I get to meet.
My life often times amazes me and I consider myself very blessed.
***WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO BE IN ANOTHER LIFE?
Jesus.
No, seriously, no one.
I like my mind.
But if I had to be someone else, then maybe Andy Warhol, minus his sex life and minus the shooting.
Warhol always partied with the coolest people ever and made celebrity itself an art form.
I like that.
***DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO'S HAD SEX FOR MONEY?
I knew a woman at my former school, Columbia College of Chicago who was also a film student.
Because she had seen me in the halls, she sat by me one day on the subway.
Every man near and far as we walked together was practically falling all over her as we passed by as she was so hot.
When I asked her what she did for work, she proudly said, "I'm a prostitute!"
After the shock wore off, I asked her why, and she told me she loved money and she loved sex.
She offered to take me out to dinner one time, but then she disappeared.
I hope she's O.K. She was a great filmmaker, but I don't believe in paying for that.
***E-MAIL AND WEBSITE: starpowermanagementllc@gmail.com
http://webpages.charter.net/starrynight999/index.html
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Latest- from LBN e lert ( LEVINE BREAKING NEWS- by Michael Levine, one of Hollywoods most influential Publicists
FRIDAY • MAY 23, 2008
LEVINE JOINS LIEBERMAN IN STINGING CRITICISM OF YOUTUBE TERROR VIDEO POLICY;
"THIS COULD GET UGLY AND IS ALREADY SERIOUS," SAYS LEVINE:
Publicly scolding YouTube by stating, "[i]t's insulting to commonsense for YouTube to pretend racial Islamist groups don't use the service to share recruiting and training videos," media expert and author Michael Levine joined U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman (Ind-Conn) in asking YouTube to remove all videos produced by terrorist groups.
"This has the potential to be a nuclear P.R. disaster for YouTube and in turn, Google" he said.
"Senator Lieberman and I are both passionate about defending the lst amendment but equally passionate about not aiding and abetting terrorists who seem to get great joy out of slashing the throats of innocents, including women and children.
" Click here for more on the story. Levine also pointed to 2 videos which were still up and running for all the world to see: 1 and 2.
***LBN READER POLL: Do you support YouTube's decision? -- E-mail:
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CLINTON CAMPAIGN IN TALKS WITH OBAMA ABOUT VP SLOT, CNN SAYS:
U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign is in formal talks with Senator Barack Obama's campaign about becoming his vice presidential running mate, CNN reported, without citing anyone specific.
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LBN-MEDIA INSIDER:
***Ingrid Sischy hasn't let grass grow under her feet since resigning from Interview magazine last January when her partner, Sandy Brant, sold her 50 percent of Interview to her ex, Peter Brant.
Sischy and Brant have been in Mexico soaking up the sun and are now in Nice at their friend Elton John's villa.
The two are enjoying their new jobs as international editors of European editions of Vanity Fair and rubbing shoulders with movie stars in Cannes, where Sischy pitched in at the emotional press conference Ziyi Zhang held to remember the plight of Chinese earthquake survivors.
***CBS chairman Sumner Redstone says that the company never will be reunited with sibling Viacom, which he also controls.
A renewed combination will "absolutely not happen" despite a recent report suggesting that Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman is pushing for it sometime in the future.
***The New York Times is opening its archives online with its new TimesMachine, a collection of full-page image scans of the newspaper from 1851 to 1922.
Currently, all users can see a TimesMachine sampler of pages, but only home delivery subscribers will have unlimited access.
***U.S. mobile Web surfers spend more time on Craigslist than on any other Web site, says a study by researcher M:Metrics.
Users spend about 1 hour, 39 minutes per month on the classified-ad site. Factors in Craigslist's favor:
It's text-based for easy loading and it emphasizes local info.
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LBN-NOTICED:
***"Z Rock" star Alison Becker with Jimmy Carter in Covington, La., building houses for Habitat for Humanity
***Kevin Spacey in first class on a Continental night flight from Houston to Newark.
***Florida Gov. Charlie Crist devouring a sirloin at Gallagher's in NYC.
***Over 1,000 of Hollywood's elite - current and former - crowed into the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for a special tribute to legendary producer Robert Evans last night.
The evening, which included a large media cocktail party featuring celebrities also featured a panel discussion of Evans illustrious career, featuring Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, Variety chief editor Peter Bart, director Bret Ratner and rock guitar legend Slash.
The evening concluded with a 40th anniversary screening of Rosemary's Baby.
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LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER:
***Google billionaire co-founder Larry Page criticized a potential Microsoft takeover of Yahoo, saying it would concentrate too much power in the online communications market, stifling innovation and curbing competition.
But he discounted the idea that an advertising deal between Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.--one the two companies are now exploring--would present any potential antitrust problems.
a similar title from Simon & Schuster. Doubleday's "Face Off," by "Bringing Down the House" author Ben Mezrich, will battle with Simon & Schuster's "The Facebook Effect," by Fortune magazine writer David Kirkpatrick.
LBN-MISSION: To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
LBN-HEALTH WATCH:
***Repeated instances in which popular medicines proved deadly have prompted further monitoring of drugs already on the market.
LBN-COMMENTARY By STEPHEN HOLDEN:
David Cook's lopsided victory over David Archuleta on Wednesday was an unexpected triumph of poise and maturity over ingenuousness and promise.
LBN-COMMENTARY By ELIZABETH ROYTE:
An entire generation of Americans has grown up thinking public faucets equal filth. It's time to change that perception with public fountains.
LBN-COMMENTARY By L.P. MAZON:
***Rock may not be dead but it sure looks old. Did you see the Eagles on the cover of the latest Rolling Stone?
Listen to indie groups like SPOON, not the recent winner of American Idol to help revitalize rock.
****5 unknown artists/groups who deserve to be famous: Bill Mallonee, Kings X, Richard Thompson (also one of the greatest guitarists ever) Mark Heard, and Peter Case.
***For sheer sonic impact, the greatest album of all time may be the Who's "Who's Next."
It'll be interesting to hear how super-producer T-Bone Burnett captures the Who on their next record.
***Most over-rated bands/artists of all time: Nirvana (one great album does not put you on Mt. Olympus), The Doors, Elton John.
***3 most important singer-songwriters in rock history: Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison...although his latest CD sucks.
***Sorry but: The Rolling Stones haven't released a masterpiece record since "Some Girls" in 1978.
***Killer CD you probably missed: "Let's Stay Friends" by Les Savy Fav.
***To reply directly with L.P. Mazon, e-mail: LBNElert@TimeWire.net.
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WHO READS THE LBN E-LERT?
New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg along with approximately 280,000 other "influencers" in all 50 of the United States and 23 foreign countries.
LBN-HOLLYWOOD INSIDER:
***"Model: The Ugly Business of Beautiful Women" may finally be turned into a movie.
The book by Michael Gross has been in print for 13 years and sold almost a half million copies
But past attempts to adapt it for the screen - first by Dawn Steel, then Joel Schumacher - involved fictionalizing the story.
Producers J.T. Allen and Jon Katzman of KDX Productions in LA, who just optioned "Model," plan a 10-part documentary.
***With a strong finishing kick from "American Idol," Fox captured the distinction of America's most popular television network for the first time since it began operation in 1987.
Fox took that title from CBS. It was the only major broadcast network with more prime-time viewers than the previous season, a distinction helped by its telecast of the Super Bowl.
Fox didn't show television's biggest event during the 2006-7 season.
***Josh Brolin has a vice president. Richard Dreyfuss could soon make the trip to Oliver Stone's White House, entering final negotiations to play Dick Cheney in the provcateur director's upcoming "W."
***Cult director Quentin Tarantino delivered an expletive-laden Cinema Masterclass at Cannes Thursday in which he mixed tips on movie-making with reflections on his own greatness.
"At the end of the day if there's one thing I'm doing it's forging a new type of comedy," he said, noting that his violence-filled oeuvre gave people a "thrill" because it made them "laugh at things that aren't usually funny."
***Bret Ratner is getting into the branded entertainment biz, launching Bret Ratner Brands as a consultancy to infuse some pop culture into clients' marketing campaigns, reports Variety.
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Get your business noticed now! LEM Media Productions is the turn-key solution for ongoing media web content, local and national commercials and media buys.
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After nineteen years, Harrison Ford and Karen Allen return to iconic rolesBy Robin Rowe
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 5/21/08 –
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 5/21/08 –
“I love being in business again with Steven and George,” says ‘Indiana Jones’ star Harrison Ford, “and I’ve had a great time on this one.”
Director Steven Spielberg says, “This series would not have been as successful as it was if it were not for Harrison Ford playing that role.”
“Harrison was tenacious,” says Spielberg.
“He called me and said, ‘Why don’t we make another one of these pictures?
He called George [Lucas], and George got to thinking about it, and then George called me and said, ‘Well, Steve, what do you want to do?
It could be fun to make another movie.’
I have to give the credit to Harrison for starting the ball rolling and then to George for working to get me to consider the possibility of at least one more story.”
‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ is looking at a $172 million weekend and bringing it to $200 million with Memorial Day.
‘Spider-Man 3’ opened in 4,252 theaters and did a record $151 million weekend.
‘Pirates 3’ opened in 4,362 theaters and did a $140 million weekend plus $25 million last Memorial Day.
So what’s up against ‘Indiana Jones’?
Buena Vista’s ‘Prince Caspian’ opened with a respectable but unspectacular $55 million last weekend, a disappointment when you consider the sequel did less than ‘Narnia’ that opened at $66 million in 2005.
‘Prince Caspian’ charmed little girls, but what little boy wants to imagine his name is Prince Caspian?
Paramount’s ‘Iron Man’ is a hit that will run for a long time, but after last weekend’s $30 million is entering the long tail of diminishing revenues.
Sony Pictures Classics is making a limited opening of ‘The Children of Huang Shi’.
Paramount has created a perfect storm where there’s practically nothing on American screens to compete with ‘Indiana Jones’.
‘Spider-Man 3’, with no competition it’s opening weekend, set the record.
‘Pirates 3’ did less as it had to contend with ‘Shrek 3’ and ‘Spider-Man 3’ still in wide release.
The big theater count isn’t the whole story with Indy because it’s dominating multiple screens.
With a showing every 15 minutes at many theaters, Indy can fill as many seats as it can sell.
‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’Running Time: 2 hrs. 3 min.Release Date:
May 22nd, 2008 (USA)Rating: PG-13 for adventure violence and scary imagesDistributor: Paramount Pictures
