Matheson Productions

“Apples Never Fall”

This was so good, I could watch it again right away. it is a good story start to finish. The characters were multi-dimensional with flaws and charm. The relationships were multi dimensional and each and every relationship was developed fully. Every relationship had purpose and meaning. You understood these people and their messed up choices and you can’t help but care about them.

This series is about Joy and Stan Delaney. Recent retirees after selling their tennis club. A business they built and nourished. Their once exciting life is now borning and mundane. Until a young woman happens on their door step. In need of assistance. There 4 children are involved in their lives but their is a lot of hidden anger, resentment, secrets with this seemingly close family, which all comes to light when Joy unexpected disappears.

This family is messed up. They are messed up because of dreams, choices, consequences. Every life has an impact on those around them. Every choice impacts everyone in a family. We are never just individuals living within a family unite. We are inter connected and everything we do, affects everyone within the family. The whys and how they affect each individual is true and understandable. Behind all the crazy bad choices, is love. It holds, even with misunderstandings and hurt.

The acting was wonderful. Everyone was perfectly cast. Annette Benning was the weakest actor but perfect for this role. She has charm, she plays the mother who is lost as her children turn away and as a woman in retirement without purpose. You see it all in her face, what is under the surface. Sam Neil was a complex character who is driven and has inner rage. He demanded the best and failed himself. So much you don’t know about what is going on inside his head. Jake Lacy, gets better with ever role he takes. He was great as the successful, bitter son, making his own bad choices. Alison Brie was wonderfully unstable but filled with love and empathy. Caring for her family without question. Essie Randles, Connie Merrigan Turner, round out the family with perfection. Both interesting, like able characters. Georgia Flood was perfectly intriguing, slightly sinister as the girl who moves into Joy and Stan’s life to disrupt their boring retirement life. Is she good. Is d sad he bad?
The series keeps you guessing until the end. Though, you possibly can figure some things out. The ending was just right.

The series captures you from moment one and holds you until the end. Highly recommend.

ACTOR’S:

Acting is not acting. There should not be sing/song rhythm in your sentence structure. Everything should ring true. if it doesn’t, the story loses reality and looks like play acting.

There are acting studios out there that can help you learn the difference beteeen acting and being. Some of you have been doing this a long time. You should want to know, feel, see the difference.

Directors: Work with actors ahead of time to assure they are being the character and not just reciting lines with false emotion. You are paying, you should want truth not performance even if you are the actor.

You are all putting money and time into these projects. You should want better at this point.

I’ll be happy to coach anyone who wants to learn the difference between acting and being. There are some of you who book regularly that do not. You show up, you know the lines but that’s not enough.

If you think I’m too blunt, I’m sorry but I watch your work and after ten years, there should be progress.

*said with love❤️*

ACTOR’S: should you take your clothes off for an audition?

Auditions are for the casting director to see your acting skills and determine if you are right fior the role.

You are not required, to strip, kiss or do anything outside you comfort zone. If you get follow up auditions or the part then obviously you must discuss with casting what is expected so there are no surprises. Never take a role that will compromise your values or that you will regret later. No one will care in the long run but you.

If you know you’re auditioning for a n**e scene, you will be informed of the nudity in advance. Have someone with you so you can ask them if what is being asked of you is acceptable. If you are n**e, this does not mean casting or anyone can touch you. Keep a bathing suit in the car just in case they say they need to see your body.

This all apples to acting classes as well. Doing s*x scenes or being forced to do kissing scenes is not teaching acting. That is teaching you to be preyed upon.

If it seems, not quite right, it probably isn’t.

Today, while working with an actor, I was reminded how casting will often put traps in tte script to see if you are paying attention. In this case they sent tte scenes in reverse order. If you paid attention the first scene was different than the second. Although it was the same lines, the first was meant to be more polished than the second.

DO you look for clues in the sides to give you direction?

“DESCEND”

Written, produced, directed by Mark A. France, staring Heather Fairbanks, Troy Randall-Kilpatrick and Walker Fairbanks, is a drama, thriller, about the struggles of a mother/wife suffering from mental illness.

This is not a story that tells it self. It is not a paint by numbers as my son would say. It’s original and you don’t know where it’s going or how it’s going to end. There is no,”I saw that coming.” You don’t see anything coming. In fact, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not real. Your mind asks, “what’s actually happening here.” It’s a fun ride made that much better by the incredible acting skills of Heather who makes you feel her trauma down to the bone. Watching her wash her hands is an emotional journey and Troy who’s acting skills are so natural and real showcases the emotional pain of a husband watching his wife suffer. They are a dynamic duo on screen. Walker too shows true talent. I hope to see more of him in the coming years. The supporting cast was excellent as well, including Terri Partyka, John Tynan Jr. and Debra LeVassuer with well developed and compelling characters.

Mark is a gifted director who understands the nuances of story telling. There is quiet undertones in his visuals that tell the story when nothing is being said. The actors are not over directed or under directed and that is a gift to the viewer. The scenery and set design was simple and beautiful, showing the magnificent beauty of Michigan in many scenes.

This is a wonderful film about the emotional journey of trauma and how a family copes, survives. It’s about the human psyche and love and how or if we one can overcome.

You can catch this at the “I see You Awards” in August 18th .

Being an actor in independent film is extremely difficult. Your asked to:

Commit your free time
Commit your should be working your day job to pay the bills
Take acting classes to be skilled enough for SAG
Commit to learn lines
Commit to creating a character
Commit to knowing SAG rules though you never do SAG projects
Be professional though you’ve never worked on a professional set.

AND

Expect directors and producers to treat you badly because they honored you with the opportunity to…

Work for no or low pay and extremely long hours. (Slave labor)

We are in an industry that needs each other. Respect goes a long way.

Indie films are not synonymous with student films. They should not be treated the same.

If you are making a film with your buddies and everyone is chipping in their time great but asking professionals to work for free is not appropriate on 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th films.

Actors put in time for the prep work. Memorizing, developing characters. Time that could be spent else where, earning a living, tss as king classes, enjoying life.

Crew prepares by understanding the needs of the director, producer, supplying equipment they purchased.

In the end if a film makes money it’s the producer who makes money.

It’s very rare for Actor’s to get noticed by big studios from indie work. Festivals only matter when it’s the big three or four. It’s rare to get reel footage as filmmakers don’t take or make the time to put that together because it’s a huge undertaking .

Any filmmaker who is succeeding was a beginner at one time. Someone who was green on set. Someone who didn’t know the rules. Others made it possible for them to succeed by donating their time, skill, equipment.

Please respect cast and crew. We all need each other to make this business work.

When I lived in LA I took a lot of acting classes and workshops.

Many of the coaches talked about themselves a lot which was frustrating as you came to learn not to hear about the coaches success and failures. Some of these classes were very expensive. Often I was shocked by how rude they were to actors. Basically treating them like unprofessional idiots, self absorbed fools all while charging large sums of money.

Maybe they were trying to w**d out the soft and insecure but that’s just rude. Seriously, they act as though the casting agents and producers are God and shame on any actor for having a personality or a flaw. Actor’s are there to learn - teach them, don’t shame and humiliate them.

Producers need actors and actors deserve respect. The idea that actors be treated like idiots because they don’t know something is shameful. Everyone is learning something. Even if that’s how to be kind.

Now I get it when you have millions of collars on the line that you are under pressure but no one learns or grows properly with shame.

With indie film the actors give 1000% more than they will ever get in return. They are the reason any producer gets to make a second, third or fourth film.

Actors deserve respect because you need them more thsn they need you.

The fan film CROW is a visually beautiful film. The production team did a fabulous job putting together a film that proves that independent film makers can play with the big studios. The story was compelling and creative with developed and interesting characters, made that much better by the talented actors that brought them to life, including , Robert Laenen, Joshua Lutey, Callie Bussell, Dan Kieri and Dan Pestra who was my personal favorite. The original story by Justin Mane was adapted into a feature from a short written by Melinda Doan Bryce who is masterful in story telling..

Peter Poulos’s brings his talents to the screen with beautiful shots snd angles that created visual drama. The locations lended themselves to his creativity and were artful backdrops to this intense film. Matt Szakal proves himself as a director to watch for in this creepy, yet beautiful film.

The story follows a man on Halloween night after a. Interaction with other club members leave him for dead. In a surreal sequence of flashbacks, and mind bending hallucinations the man seeks revenge on his assailants in a calm but brutal way. I will leave this here as I don’t want to give to much away. You’ll have to watch to find out more.

I of course have nit picks but they are exactly that, nit picks, and I will leave them out.

I highly recommend this film which will stream via YouTube starting Monday day.

“It Don’t Matter What Nobody Else Is Doin, Just Do What You Gotta Do” Bernie Mac

Even in the afterlife Bernie is offering inspiration. This incredible motivational book based on Betnie quotes has given me daily inspiration when I need focus and a luck me up.

Heath Ledger will forever be missed. He was truly one of the best.

Being an actor and filmmaker can be fun but don’t forget that living a happy life means sometimes you need to step back and take care of you.

WOLF HOUND:

A World War Two film with fight/flight sequences coming out the same time as Top Gun:Maverick could be a good or bad thing. I think it is a good thing.

Personally I enjoyed this film more than Maverick. Perhaps, because I had lower expectations or maybe because it was less formulaic.

Inspired by real events, in German occupied France. German special operations unit KG200 shot down allied aircraft, repaired them and then used them as Trojan horses. In this version, a Jewish American fighter pilot, Captain David Holden played by James Maslow is ambushed in enemy territory. He is hunted by German pilot Major Eric Roth played by Trevor Donovan. It’s cat and mouse until the end

This is Michael B Chait’s first film. If this is his first then he has a great career ahead of him. This was an excellent first film. There was action, there was a story, there were well developed characters, there were relationships and the scenery was pretty nice too. Michigan was the backdrop and Michigan is beautiful of course. The set design was simple but set the stage perfectly.

Though his acting isn’t perfect, Maslow was well cast. He has charisma and you took an interest in him from the start. Trevor Donovan did a pretty good German accent and his character has charm but he was definitely quirky. The two played well against each other.

This Michigan crew was fantastic. Though no one had a huge role they all showed acting chops and made good creative choices for their characters. This time me is a big deal. It’s the difference between an average character and a fun character. Notably Mason Heidger with a British accent and Kara Joy Reed as a French woman both did a great job. Aaron Noble brought skill snd personality for the brief time he was on screen. Brian Heintz always shines on screen and he didn’t disappoint as Lt. Armstrong. Daniel Jeffries and Callie Bussell as always brought their talent to the screen. (I might be missing someone.). I might add this was a very good looking group.

This was an entertaining film and kept me
engaged from start to finish. Watching the Michigan crew take on the enemy in the final scene really was fantastic. I’m going to have to watch again just for that.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it”. Yogi Berra

Whichever road you choose, you are guaranteed an adventure. There will be ups, there will be downs but whatever happens, your soul is getting exactly what it needs to grow.

If you are meant to be on the other road, your journey will lead you back. The adventures are endless. Be open to the possibilities. Most of all. Enjoy the ride.

ACTORS;

If you are supposed to ugly cry, be ugly. If you are meant to be evil, be evil. If you are meant to be a nerd, nerd it up.

Don’t be afraid to “un-become” yourself in order to “become” the character.

The character is not you and you are not the character.

ACTORS:

What are you doing this week to improve your skills?

So you are consistently booking. Is this because you fit the role or were you the actor with the best skills? Fitting the role is often why one actor books over another and not necessarily because their skills were better. Sometimes they aren’t as good as another. I know, I’ve booked the lesser skilled actor because they physically fit the role. The problem with this is, it diminishes the project. You can’t fix that in post.

Don’t be fooled by “BOOKED”. Keep learning and growing. Stop performing and BE.

- Take classes with different coaches. They all offer different things and you can learn from all of them.

- Memorize a monologue and practice it while driving.

- Record your monologue and play it back. Does it sound natural? Is that how it would sound if it were talking to a friend?

- Record a video of yourself. Do you look natural? Sound natural?

- Learn breathing techniques. When you are relaxed you speak more easily.

ACTORS:

AUDITIONING:

View the audition as the job. Put as much into the audition as you would into the role.

Develop a character with a back story. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box. If you show skill and dedication to a character this will show and they will ask you to do it differently to see your range and ability to adjust.

Acting is being someone else, so be someone else in the audition, even if it’s a very minor role.

Giving your all in an audition is never a waste of time. It shows dedication to casting who will remember this in the future and it’s your time to shine, learn, develop and grow your skills. Always prepare in advance.

This is a huge opportunity to work on your skills. If you land the job, well, that’s the bonus.

ACTORS:

Being an actor is only part of the job. How you show up, behave on set, your professionalism, your work ethic, all impact your work and everyone around you.

It doesn’t matter if you are a lead, supporting cast or extra, how you show up matters. If you agree to no or low pay, you agreed to this. It doesn’t mean you give a subpar performance. If you are above this pay grade, then don’t take the job. Showing up complaining or phoning in your role makes the entire production look bad and chances are when these productions start paying they won’t be hiring the people who were hardly working, showing up late, not showing up at all or complaining.

Production is expensive. The low budget film may seem low budget but it’s very expensive to that producer. Your professionalism may be the difference between a successful film which you will be able to use as a calling card or your demise in the film industry.

This is true for crew as well.

Best wishes to all!

ACTORS:

Playing “Average Joe” doesn’t mean without a personality or a story.

Average Joe is a real person. He has feelings that he brings with him to every encounter.

Playing a doctor with a bit part, is not as simple as memorizing lines. He has a story that colors his view of his patient and how he delivers bad news. He must feel something in order for the patient to be affected or moved to fear, anguish, sadness.

The waitress, has a story, is she snarky because her life sucks or because she hates people?

Find a story for your bit part. It’s the difference between portraying a doctor and seeming like a real doctor and creating the illusion of truth.

Good luck!

“The Thing About Pam”

Omg!!! What an intense and insane story. I’m scared of Pam just watching this.

(This post has spoilers but I don’t think that would detract from enjoying the story.)

This story follows Pam Hupp, the seemingly sweet friend of a murder victim for which the victims husband was sentenced, found guilty and served 3 years.

The story continues to follow Pam and her manipulating behavior which ultimately is her undoing. It’s hard to witness as a viewer the trauma she inflicted on the people in her life. It is also mesmerizing as a character study.

Renee Zellweger is phenomenal as the narcissistic, manipulative, murderous Pam. So much so, you feel every little insidious look, tone, word deep inside and wish you could jump in and protect the innocent from her evil.

The entire cast was fantastic. Josh Duhmel was fabulous as the defense attorney for the husband of the first victim and the man who worked to draw light to Pam as the true assailant.

Judy Greer is always fabulous. She played the Fistruct Attorney who enable Pam’s insidious behavior for her own political gain.

Throughout the six episodes we had to keep pausing to talk about the things she was doing and how insane they were. It’s truly astounding.

The direction on this was impeccable. It is meant as a farce on Dateline stories but that does not make it any less painful to witness even when you know she finally gets caught. For me, knowing she got caught made this bearable to watch.

I highly recommend this for all it’s production glory. The story, the acting, the editing, the cinematography, the story, the story, the story, Renee Zellweger!

“Hacks”

This is a fun, light show, with warmth. People aren’t all bad. Everyone has history and stories that get us to where we are but gentle reminders can bring us back to ourselves.

This is the story of an aging comedienne trying to stay relevant with the help of an awkward Gen Z writer.

Jean Smart is my girl crush and she proved the why to me yet again. She manages to be witty and charming and a diva with beauty and warmth.

Hannah Einbinder is darling and confusing. Her character seems a bit all over the map. She’s a nerdy bitch, selfishly stupid and self centered, then a self empowered woman, then she’s a weeping mess. There’s too many of her to know truly who she is but she’s still likable.

The entire cast is good. It’s fun to see Christopher McDonald still has his boyish charm. Carl Clemons Hopkins is under used. Hopefully they will change that in season 2.

All-in-all it’s a fun show.

ACTORS:

Val Kilmer said “Iceman wasn’t a character on paper, He barely had lines.” So he created a character. One with a back story.

Iceman made “Top Gun.” He was dynamic and you couldn’t ignore him.

What character are you creating for that role that barely has lines?

“Val”

Val, is a documentary by and about Val Kilmer. What a fabulous documentary. It’s sad but also endearing. He is clearly a wonderful father and a man with great insights about life and his craft.

This once beautiful actor is not afraid to show what life has done to him and the devastation cancer treatment has had on his body, most notably, his voice.

He is a creative being, and while he may no longer be able to bring his rich talents to the acting world, his mind is finding new ways to create.

He was a perfectionist with his acting which is a gift to the viewer. It is because he was/is that his every performance made every film he was in better than at times it should have been.

I’m off to marathon his films, starting with “The Ghost and the Darkness.” One of my all time favorite films and when I truly fell in love with Val Kilmer.

“Death On The Nile”

As a huge Agatha Christie fan, I found this very enjoyable. It was playful and fun as a Christie murder mystery should be. It was colorful and the set design and landscapes were breathtaking as you would expect them to be. I wanted to climb inside the screen and join the party.

The characters were as Agatha would have created them, caricatures of actors, doctors, handsome but simple men, beautiful jilted lovers. The acting did not bring as much color as I would have liked to have seen but that’s my vision of Christie’s characters. Gal Gadot very much looked the part of a regal star, but her line delivery was not so much regal as it was at times childish this caused confusion for me as a viewer and a distraction. This character in the book is American but she played it with her natural accent which was fine. Christie always had characters from across the globe so no one needs to be defined so specifically by nationality, however she is meant to be a diva of old time hollywood and I felt Gadot missed the mark on this. Armie Hammer also perfectly looked the part of the handsome though superficial love interest but he too underplayed his character. In the book he is much more flamboyant. I don’t mind Kenneth Branagh as Poirot though he was way too understated and at times pathetic. Poroit is a romantic. He speaks in poetry and speaks of the little gray cells which is his intellect. He is annoying because he is far too observant for his own good. He fades into the background but when he speaks he is effusive. He is so much! Branagh was not so much. Poirot should have been the lead. He is the lead. Ah I see now that is the flaw. There should have been more Poirot.

A story change - the novelist became a blues singer and a women of color which added race and diversity to the story. I appreciated this element of the story and the music was wonderful. The singer and her niece were the most well developed of characters and the best acting in the film, played by Sophie Okonedo and Letitia Wright. Emma Mackey was also wonderful as the jilted lover.

The acting in general was understated but that is Branagh’s style of directing. I love that he is making Christie films so I’m not going to be mad at him for any of his choices.

I didn’t love that Branagh or David Greene (screenplay writer) created a backstory for Poirot but I get why he/they did it. Poirot is a mystery himself. He isn’t meant to have a backstory. He is preposterous and magnificent and he doesn’t need history to be told for you too love him in all his annoying bravado. They also eliminated a lot of characters. While it was much tidier, I did miss the opportunity to second guess who the killer was with all the extra storylines that were missing due to the elimination of these characters. Like with “murder on the orient express” it’s too easy to figure out who the killer is. In Christie’s books there are many side stories which keep you guessing. That’s the fun of it all.

I love the star studded cast and it was fun seeing Annette Benning and Russell Brand. No one is winning any acting awards but everyone did their part in creating the adventure of a Christie character. Every film doesn’t need to be an award winner to be a masterpiece.

I will watch this again as it is light and fun and beautiful; and Agatha Christi and Poirot are family to me. They always win my heart.

Enjoy!

How do you celebrate the Oscar’s?

Filmmaker’s, director’s, producer’s, casting director’s:

Put “n**e scene, s*x scene required” in the role description. Do not pull a bait and switch on your Actor’s. Actors are real people.

Actor’s if you are on set and tte rules change, leave!!! Do not have regrets later. This is way too common and legally wrong. Especially for no or low pay.

Actors If people are tuning in for the s*x scenes they don’t care if you can act and these scenes will not help but can definitely hurt your career.

Viewers who like s*x scenes, how would you feel if it was a requirement to come to work naked or to have s*x in front of other people all for “some” peoples viewing pleasure. Actor’s feel humiliated but forced into these roles because “how can you want to be an actor and not be expected to do s*x scenes?).

It’s a form of human trafficking, manipulation and sleaziness for monetary gain.

If you are a good filmmaker you can create the emotions without showing anything.

If you like doing n**e and s*x scenes, more power to you, but my impression is that most people don’t and feel pressured into it.

Actors, s*x scenes do not give you credibility if you can’t act. Acting is where your focus should be.

(This is from countless conversations with actors not just my personal opinion)

I’m not trying to offend anyone but people are at stake here. People matter. Actors are people. Films are not worth regret.

I’ve never heard anyone say “thank God I did that s*x scene, now I have an amazing career.)

“Squid Game” It’s in the eyes of the actors. The voice overs are really bad but the eyes are so compelling in the actor’s that you feel beyond the voices.

Revisiting “Fleabag.” Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a charming mess. It’s rare that I love a self-centered obnoxious character. She, shows a raw vulnerability that I can relate to. The idea of being smart enough to know better but messed up enough to sabotage her life with her anger, self hatred and her ability to see the truth in others.

I love this actress/writer. I find her so compelling. I can’t take my eyes off of her.

The writing is incredible. Showing emotions in a delicate and subtle way and yet having so much power

And…Olivia Coleman, need I say more. Perfection!
Sian Clifford as the sister to this mess of a woman is excellent in her love and frustration.

I love all the nuances in the acting, writing, set design.

Looking forward to season two.

Friends and family across the country- there is a very real possibility that Hollywood unions, the IATSE, will go on strike. This would halt almost all film and television production across the entire United States. This is a historic move, and frankly a necessary one.
Many of you are probably annoyed that you’ve cut the cable cord, only to now be paying basically the same amount for a multitude of streaming services.
We however are more than annoyed that these streaming services, which nearly everyone has, and which are owned by some of the richest corporations on the planet, are pretending that it’s still an unknown business model that they don’t know if they can make money from.
They want to pay us less to work on streaming shows than for shows that air on TV. They want to work us longer hours, and shorter weekends. They want to contribute less to our pension and health plans for streaming movies than they do for films that have a traditional theatrical release. They don’t even want to let us break for lunch during a 12+ hour work day…
On top of all that, AppleTV+ is asking for a discount on our rates because they have less subscribers than the others, even though Ted Lasso just won all the Emmys Sunday night.
This situation has reached a breaking point. The studios have decided to no longer negotiate, and therefore, IATSE leadership has decided to call for a strike authorization vote. It’s possible that this vote could lead to the producers offering us a fair contract to avoid a strike. Or it’s possible that we will have to strike for what we need.
I hope that you’ll stand with us in this fight.
In Solidarity…