He does this blog entry with his tongue, ya what he’s got left of it, planted firmly in his cheek.
Ok I might not be the most internet savvy guy around, but the other day I thought I’d innocently order a bunch of “Kinder Surprise” over the internet, for the family kids when they come to visit. The very next day I came home and low and behold there was Chis Hansen from NBC sitting at my kitchen table asking me to ..”Take a seat over there”....lol
If this happens to you I’ve come up with some excuses that you can say and do that will never make onto tv. If you ever come face to face with Chris Hansen in your kitchen...
1. Dance into the room naked, show him your resume and credits and say...”I’m an out of work Actor, and this is the only way I can get National coverage.” Then break into song.
2. Tell him you knew a TV show was going to burst in, but you thought you were helping with the show “To Catch a Teenage Whore”.
3. Come out with your own film crew and tell him that he’s on the new show, “To Catch a Newsman, who’s given up on REAL Journalism”
4. Come out with your underfed pet Bengal Tiger and say...Chris looks like you’ve got a choice...Play a nice game of “Sigfield and Roy” or if you really want to catch a predator...go head”
I may joke about a very serious problem but I really think we should leave it up to our fine men and women in blue and not have it plastered all over prime time television. We should do everything in our power to help the police do their jobs in catching these predators. Let Chris Hansen get out of gutter reality television and go back to giving us the facts on some serious news stories. He could come up with a new show like “To Catch an AIG Executive” or something. Chris Hansen...”Get off My Lawn”. Don't miss the Greatest Chris Hansen Lines ... The Hansen Soundboard
Thanks for reading this comedy bit
Bryan Cox- Voice Actor and Stand-Up
bigbry@sasktel.net
Being a voice actor may be looked upon as kind of a weird way to make a living. Out of all the media jobs I’ve had, voice actor is really different. The folks I’ve run into in this business have been giving and very kind. Let me tell you that when someone asks what you do for a living and you answer,”I’m a Voice Actor”, 90% of the time you hear, “a what”? In Voice acting, sure there’s a bit of the old “stab you in the back” but you’ll find that in any entertainment job. Being a voice actor is allot like being an on camera actor...you have to audition like crazy and know how to handle rejection. When you make it ...most voice actors are not afraid to give back and help the up and comers. Have a peek at this video to see what voice acting is about...kind of cool.
With a massive downturn in the radio and television industries, there’s going to be a deluge of voices looking for work. A lot of these folks will turn to Voice Acting. If you think that you’re “Radio Sound” will get you work, you might as well try opening a GM dealership in Pakistan. Things have changed while you’ve been busy saying “Here’s a thousand in a row”. Now there’re a million of guys, armed with a “Barbie” microphone, calling themselves “Voice Actors”. You might find you’ll need alittle help.
OK there's probably one so called VO (Voice Over) expert with a course, CD or book to sell for every one that makes a true living from Voice Acting. I place these "teachers" in a group that I'd call Communication Gurus. With that said, they are in a very specialised area of the communication field but IMO still should be considered in the field of "communication". You can see here that NOT ONE is listed on Communication Gurus. What are they waiting for?
If you're looking for a "guru" please be careful. Do your research, talk to people in the business, ask questions. More times than not ...these “gurus” all have the same information that's just change around abit and repackaged...but it's still the same old message. Sometimes you'll even find that some of these so called VO Gurus don't even have their own vo demo. Aim to be yourself. That way you can offer VO agents and possible clients something that’s unique. Put together a demo but watch out there are the sharks that charge an arm and a leg to put together demos for you. If you’d like some FREE help please contact me and I’ll try to answer your questions.
I’m a Voice Actor, Common Sense Advertising Consultant and Stand-Up Comic. Thanks for the read
Bryan Cox
email bigbry@sasktel.net
PS...The 2 things Voice industry really like these days..
1. Female Voices
2. The young “guy next door” non-announcer type of read.
I have to say I’m very proud of our troops fighting over in Afghanistan. Over 100 have died for a US cause. We are helping the US and then Fox News come out with a blatant onslaught on our troops. It’s not enough that they have to worry about getting killed by the enemy...now they're being attack by the media in the US. As a a guy who’s got alot of Stand-up comedy experience behind him, I know better than anyone there are certain things you should not say or do in the name of comedy. Like look at a woman heckler and call her the “C” word. That show, The Red Eye has crossed all lines of comedy and good taste by slamming our efforts in the Middle East. I’m sorry Fox News, but you guys really are a bunch of.... “C” words.
Please remember that we, Canada, are the only country in the course of your history that ever KICKED YOUR ASS in a war...REMEMBER, WE WON!!
CBC Radio get off the pot and sell some advertising. This would ensure income for you and your employees.
Spokes people for the CBC have said that they wouldn’t consider selling ads on CBC Radio. They would consider selling off assets, programming cuts and the biggest, they didn’t deny, laying people off.
Lets look at this, selling off assets, a good idea. Programming cuts would lead to... layoffs. Granted the CBC is the biggest employer of “Dead Weight” in the country...not to mention the CRTC. So some lay off should be deemed necessary. Now if you sold advertising that would increase your bottom line and you would’nt have to keep running to the Canadian tax payer for funds or maybe less funds. With an increased bottom line you could keep most of your people employed. Keep that programming, yes the same programming with the lowest ratings in Canada. That should keep the “Friends of Canadian Broadcasting” happy.
So as it stands right now the CBC and The “Friends of Canadian Broadcasting” would rather see people laid off and lives of hard working broadcasters ruined, have programming cut, hand the Canadian Tax Payer a bigger bill from the CBC, than sell a bit of advertising time. WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING!!
I voice a ton of commercials written by others and it just kills me to see clients being ripped off. For those of you who write the odd commercial, you’ve got to be rubbing your head these days. Your hearing the same thing from clients, “I’m going to cut back on my advertising”, “It’s not working for me”. I would hazard to guess that you’re writing the wrong type of ads. Ads that worked for your client 1 year ago won’t work in these times. Folks today are buying with their head and not their heart. You can’t scream Sale, Sale, anymore. Trying to install a sense of “feeling” and talking to the right “intuitive” side of the brain won’t work. In these times buyers have switched to the “Thinking” side of the brain. So you have to give them clarity and direct information. Yes back to common sense and nothing but basic information will work in this economy, “touchy feely” is out. If you’re a client, look for more bang for the buck. If an agency tells you that it’s going to take them a week to write a spot...you are being ripped off. Give them a deadline. Of course if you keep running back to them with changes, it will take that long. Remember, it’s tempting to put everything you do in one commercial...resist this NOW. Put one idea or thing in one commercial. This will not confuse the listener. In Radio at least and to some extent in Television, if you think you must advertise everything you do, get more than 1 ad done up and run them on a rotating basis. We offer 3 ad’s for the price of 2 and this way your potential customer won’t get bored with hearing or watching the same ad all the time. If you have any questions about this I’d be glad to talk to you further about your next successful ad campaign. Bryan Cox bigbry@sasktel.net
Allot say that Gangs are ruling the country, weather it be the US or Canada. Asian, Mexican, Mafia, Black, Motorcycle, what ever. With my tongue planted firmly in my cheek, I’m going to look at gangs for a sec here because here in Canada we have new anti-gang laws going into place. This might fit any where in the World though. Look up the definition of word “Gang” and you come up with (1) are generally perceived as a distinct aggregation by others in their neighborhood...translation...a bunch of guys that always hang out together. (2) recognise themselves as a denotable group (almost invariably with a group name);...translation....a bunch of guys that have a name for their group. (3) have been involved in a sufficient number of incidents to call forth a consistent negative response from neighbourhood residents and/or law enforcement agencies.....translation...if the people around you and the cops don’t like what your doing...you’re in a gang. Another definition is...A gang is a group of people who through the organisation, formation, and establishment of an assemblage share a common identity.... There is a massive comparison screaming to be made here. The definition of a gang compared to Political parties or politicians. -Gangs...have a name tattooed on their body or embroidered on the back of there jacket. Political Parties have a name too usually with some sort of symbol. -Gangs have to vote you in through some sort of initiation. You can join a political Party but to become a politician...you have to go through an election as kind of a initiation. -Gangs break the law...some politicians and parties break the law too. (Taxes, Bribes etc.) -Gangs sell bad drugs, Politicians run the health care system and buy and sell good drugs. -Gangs unfairly extort money from good people, politicians unfairly tax good people. -Gangs do things and act in a way that most people don’t like, Political Parties and Politicians do things and act in a way that more people don’t like. -Gangs hold conventions, Political Parties hold conventions -Gangs gather at a club house, Politicians gather at the Hill. Well this list could go on forever, but you get the idea. I’m not in favour of gangs, except for the ones that use to beat me up in the school yard...hey you guys are still cool...nudgen nudge, wink, wink!! But as we grow past those gangs we learn to take the punches from a whole new legal gang. Now more than ever we are all relying on the gang we elected to help us and show us a light on the other side of the school yard. I can only hope that you and your family stay and work together through these terrible times. The Gang we elected can’t give us all the answers, some of those have to come from deep down inside you.
PS ... I hope some lawyer doesn't use this in some kind of twisted defence. Please feel free to add any more comparisons that you might think of. Thanks for the read and comments are always welcome. Bryan Cox
Well it’s over with now and it’s been on the air. My little cameo on the hit tv show “Corner Gas”. Yes, it is the Number 1 sitcom in Canada. it was a blast to do and the whole crew was incredible. Although I have a 18 inch neck and the shirt I was wearing was 15...lol. Here’s a clip of what it looked like. Keep your eye’s open for the Passport Official...he’s a real Jack ass...lol Hope you enjoy this as much as I did doing it. Bryan Cox
As a voice over actor you will ask yourself 2 questions at some point in your career. “Should I join the Union”? and “Why do they always hire the A-List actors for parts that I could do”? Here’s a great article from the NY Times.... Don’t Forget the Middle People By BROOKS BARNES Published: June 30, 2008
LOS ANGELES — From his break in 1992 playing Bank Nerd No. 2 in the sitcom “Married With Children,” to his supporting role on the HBO hit “Six Feet Under,” to a part in last year’s “Spider-Man 3,” Tim Maculan has navigated Hollywood more successfully than most actors. Members and supporters of the Screen Actors Guild are calling for better terms than another actors’ union is seeking. It is pressing studios for more lucrative terms. Lately, though, Mr. Maculan, 45, says the actor’s place in the entertainment industry’s economic food chain has changed. And for middle-income working actors like him, it’s not for the better. “It’s not about networks being cheap or evil,” Mr. Maculan said. “It’s just that the industry is dramatically different than it was even five years ago.”
Mr. Maculan, a sarcastic character actor with a wicked grin, rattles off a list of industry shifts that have made it harder for middle-income actors to earn a living. Reality shows have crowded out scripted programs, comedies in particular. The studios are making fewer movies, and the ones they are making are less actor-driven. Networks like NBC have virtually stopped filming pilot episodes, meaning they are hiring fewer actors. Voice-over work, once a staple for less-known actors, is outsourced to other countries or given to A-list stars.
The Screen Actors Guild, now embroiled in negotiations with film and television producers over a new contract, has made the plight of the middle-income actor the centerpiece of its campaign for more lucrative terms. The guild is seeking increases for everything from reimbursement rates for car mileage to continuing payments called residuals. Guild leaders say the economic situation is so severe that they have no choice but to take a militant stance at the negotiating table.
The guild’s contract, which covers about 122,000 actor members, expires at midnight Monday. Because the two sides remain far apart on most issues, Hollywood has been on edge about a strike, taking care, for instance, to wrap production on films so costly location shoots are not drawn out.
But no strike can take place until about Aug. 1 at the earliest. Guild leaders have yet to call for a strike authorization vote, which must be put before the entire membership and approved by 75 percent of voters. Carrie White, a spokeswoman for the Screen Actors Guild, said on Friday that the process would take up to three weeks.
The guild has strongly indicated that it will not consider calling for a strike vote until July 8, when a second actors’ union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, releases the results of a ratification vote on its new contract. That union reached an accord with studios and networks in May and shares about 44,000 members with the Screen Actors Guild.
“Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction,” Alan Rosenberg, the president of the guild, said in a statement Sunday. He added that guild negotiators have been “coming to the bargaining table every day in good faith.”
The two unions have been sparring in recent weeks, with each side lining up marquee stars to push its own agenda.
Aftra, the smaller of the two, wants members to ratify its deal and move on; SAG thinks the rival union negotiated a bad deal, particularly on issues of digital media, and wants to keep fighting for a better one. It worries that its leverage at the bargaining table will evaporate if Aftra members approve their contract by a solid margin.
Like most Hollywood labor organizations, SAG bears little resemblance to unions as most Americans know them.
Most unions represent workers with wallets of similar size, but SAG is a hodgepodge of wildly varying careers. On one extreme, SAG represents stars like Will Smith, who will take home well over $20 million from his coming film “Hancock” once all the receipts are counted. The bulk of its members, about two-thirds, according to some estimates, make less than $1,000 a year from acting, either because they can find no work or because they have moved on to other careers but kept up their dues.
SAG said the average annual income for its membership was $52,000 a year. The guild said it could provide no other economic statistics about its membership, however.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the organization that negotiates on behalf of studios, said its analysis of SAG membership showed that fewer than 4,000 of its members could be considered middle-income actors, that is, people making $25,000 to $100,000 from acting in a given year. Only 5 percent of SAG’s membership earns more than $75,000 a year, according to the alliance.
The alliance rejects the notion that a richer contract is necessary to offset changes in the industry that make life harder for actors. Cast costs rose at more than twice the rate of overall production costs between the 2000-1 television season and the 2007-8 season, according to alliance statistics. Total cast costs for television rose 78.4 percent during that period, compared with a 33.6 percent increase in overall production costs.
“Making a living as an actor is ultimately a function of how often someone works, and that can’t be guaranteed by the minimum terms that are set by the SAG contract,” said Jesse Hiestand, an alliance spokesman. “Our offer to SAG contains a number of increases that will benefit actors that do work, especially guest stars.”
He added, “SAG’s negotiators should be working with us to keep scripted TV and the film business healthy so that it generates more work for their members.” Full Article Here.
Thanks for the read and comments are welcome. Bryan Cox
Bryan has worked
through
the ranks
of Voice
Over
Artists in
Canada
and the US. With over 25 years
in the business of Voice, it’s no
wonder that when people hear
what he is saying, they believe it.
His voice and sell, can be rock
hard, to as soft as a summer
breeze.
His clientele is as varied as
the styles he can portray.
From the Bay/Spielberg
Transformers movie,
Pink Floyd, Universal
Studios Florida, Sony,
The Humane Society,
Whirlpool,
Countrywide and more.
Bryan’s command of voice also
enters into impersonations
when needed. Bryan’s voice has
also carried him to be the
opening act for greats, such as
Tom Jones and Engelbert
Humperdinck.
The Comedian.
From Conventions, Clubs and
Fundraisers across North
America, Laughter is KING.
Bryan never disappoints, with
his own unique style of
Prairie humor. After suffering
a broken neck, heart attack
and Cancer all with in 3
years, Bryan knows how
important laughter is and can
be. Laughter is the Best
Medicine.
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