Clerks

The movie Clerks was written and directed by Keven Smith whom before making his film worked in a convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey. He had started working in the store after dropping out of film school he was attending.
It wasn't until 1991 that he got the idea to write a script for a low budget movie that he thought he could do from a movie he saw called "Slacker".
The movie Clerks was said to have cost Keven Smith $27,575. To get the money he had needed he maxed out all of his credit cards and also borrowed some money from his parents to make it all happen.
The movie was filmed in the same store Smith had been working in as a convenience clerk. The owners allowed him to film during the night hours while the store was closed. Due to the yellowish green lighting in the store it was filmed in black and white. All of the blinds in the store where closed to not give off the fact it was filmed at night.


Kevin Smith

During the making of the film Smith did have to continue working as an actual clerk during the day at the store and film at night. Due to this he didn't get much sleep but of course as we all know it was well worth it in the end. Filming lasted a total of 21 days to shoot and with a few changes made to the movie it was picked up by Miramax.

Prefer to be an actor or director?

The movie business or entertainment business for that matter is not an easy one. Most actors work longer hours then most of us do at our regular jobs. Hours consisting of 5am sometimes even earlier and working 15-18 hour days sometimes 7 days straight. That goes for directors too sometimes even more hours then actors do since they are involved in every aspect of movie or television work.

Showbiz is a hard business to get into but even harder to work in it. There are a lot of others out there that want to do the same thing you may be wanting to do yourself. But nonetheless it is possible for anyone to get into the business with persistence. The keys to any success. One common mistake a lot of people make is paying to get into the business. I have seen it time and time again. You go to some get together for someone to tell you if you have it or not, keep you in a room for those who get to stay and tell you it will cost X amount of dollars to go see producers that will be at a specific function. Now how these people know whether you have it or not is them just picking and choosing who they think will have the money to go on to the next round. It is the biggest rip off going on and lots of people get shafted for it. Don't fall for it.

If you really want to get into show business here is some helpful advice. There are websites out there that list auditions happening all over the US that I have seen. All you really have to do instead of spending hundreds on a portfolio is take some poloroid or simple snap shot of yourself with NO MAKEUP on. The agents want to see your actual face , not a make believe one. Next you mail it to talent agents. They are listed on both your local telephone book and online.

If the talent agent thinks he/she can get you work they will pay for your portfolio not you! The agent makes a percentage of what you make. Its there business to get you work.

Also start off in city plays, if you are still in high school join the drama club. Colleges and University's also throw plays so try and join. It helps in your resume. Most of your first works may be in commercials.

If your interested in directing you may want to take some college courses on learning what you can. Another alternative is to volunteer to work on sets or for film production studios to learn the business.

Got any other questions? Perhaps I myself or someone else that comments can help you out on your quest. Networking is key so get to know people.

So what would you want to be? Director? or Actor?

Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club

We all remember the movie Breakfast Club from back in the 80's so here is a little known things about the movie.

The school used in the movies exterior shots was the same one used in Ferris Buellers Day off. The director John Hughes that also came up with the idea for the Breakfast Club thought the actors should eat lunch with the students in the school to try and stay in character. However Jud Nelson was said to get into character even off screen so much that he was almost fired. Below is a short video featuring both The Breakfast Club and Ferris Buellers Day off filming.

Here is what they all look like now

Behind the scenes of Back to the Future

Back to the Future was an idea hatched by Bob Gale whom was one day going through his fathers high school year book thinking what it would be like to meet his father in that time period. Only difference is from the movie and in real life is that the characters had been reversed. Bob Gale was more of the nerd going through high school and his father a class president and highlyrespected in school.

Some of the shots for the movie where shot in Universals backlot in California such as that of the courthouse. The houses you seen in the movie where actual houses in the neighborhoods of Passadena.

Courthouse in Universal Studios Backlot

The original character for the movie was suppose to be at the beginning Micheal J. Fox which did play in the movie, however at the begining they could not get him because he had a prior obligation to finish up Teen Wolf and Family Ties at the time. Erick Sholtz actually played the character of Marty Mc Fly for the first 4 weeks of filming until Steven Spielberg had come back from being out of the country decided that Eric Sholtz was not right for the part of Marty Mc Fly. By this time Micheal J. Fox was available and had finished filming Teen Wolf, so they got lucky enough to get him to play the part of Marty Mc Fly.

Micheal J. Fox (Marty McFly)

Of course Eric Sholtz is not seen in the movie, some parts of him being in the movie are still there and where never cut out. Such as the scene of him driving the De Lorean through the mall parking lot is of him. The producers thought since you couldn't see his face why should it be cut out.

Crispin Glover (George McFly)

In the original script for the movie Doc Browns name was Professor Brown and instead of him having a dog named Einstein he had a chimp. The script was pitched to several companies including Disney only to be turned down. Universal did pick up the script but made some changes to the script into the finished product you see on screen.

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Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown)

Lea Thompston ( Lorraine McFly)


Thomas F. Wilson (Biff)

Ghostbusters set

We all remember the memorable Ghostbusters movie, but do you know where it was filmed? Well the buildings that where used in the movie such as the apartment buildings and firehouse are actually in New York.

Firehouse used in the movie

The idea for Ghostbusters actually came from Dan Aykroyd that had a fasinaction with the paranormal and wanted to do a movie based on it. The original thought Dan Aykroyd had for the outfits where somewhat like SWAT Police wear however it was later decided those brown suits we all know of where used due to keeping cost down.

Apartment in New York used in the movie

Check out behind the scenes video below...

The Munsters TV Show House

"The Munsters in color"

The famous tv series " The Munsters" was a 1960's family made of monsters mixed with a character that acted as a normal family. The actual house that you seen on the tv series is located on Universal Studios backlot in California.

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The actual Munster house used for exterior shots

The first pilot was about 13 minutes long and was used to pitch the idea to CBS. It was filmed in actual color but was never aired on television. The house above was used for only the exterior shots and the interior was shot on an actual soundstage. The Munster house is actually just a shell.

The originally idea for the show was made up by animator Bob Clampett and was suppose to be a cartoon. In the 1940's he sent the idea to the studios only to never get a reply back from them. It wasn't until 1964 when Universal came up with a script and started airing the show with actual actors and cartoon was ruled out. The show ran until 1966 airing 70 episodes. Below are some more pictures of the house and the actors.

Al Lewis (Grandpa) The Munsters

Yvonne de Carlo (Lily Munster) The Munsters

Beverley Owen (Marilyn Munster) The Munsters

Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster) The Munsters

Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) The Munsters