Hello good people of Beantown. This is Craig Amabello your truly twisted & demented reporter signing in again.

  For an X-Hollywood reject like myself, I sure am receiving a fair share of good responses & emails from some very Cool people out there that are enjoying my blogs.

  I thank you all for the compliments & I am glad that I have opened up a SERIOUS, (yet, demented & silly) discussion on Hollywood verses Boston.

  Entertainment has always been my game, & as long as I can see that some people out there are being entertained (& hopefully Informed), by my writing style, than I will keep on blogging.

  Many Boston people out there keep trying to Insinuate that "what I have done" & "where I have done it" means NOTHING! But that is a bunch of CRAP!

I know in life, it is MOSTLY "WHO YOU KNOW", but damn it..... You just can not discount the fact that I spent 12 long hard years in Hollywood bustin my ass & I have very little to show for it in Tangible goods. But I most certainly have LOTS of Knowledge on Hollywood California that many people out here could truly benefit from.

  Most people out here dream of going to Hollywood & already have what they think is "necessary attitudes" to prepare them to go to the Big city of Lost Angels.

  But their attitudes SUCK. All big words.... Saying things like: "Get me a C-64" as opposed to just asking for a damn clothes pin! People out here are TRYING SO DAMN HARD to emulate what "they think" is standard procedure in Hollywood.... & boy let me tell you.... They have it all wrong!

  People are people everywhere.... But Condescending attitudes, smarmy looks, big 50 cent words, DO NOT MAKE YOU HOLLYWOOD READY! You have to be able to Actually, Physically DO THINGS... ACCOMPLISH WORK. As opposed to just being able to BOSS people around, saying film maker terms, Pointing your finger & putting on your Director & Producer hat & just staring at a monitor all day.

  Many days I had to shoot an entire short story, Documentary, Industrial, Music video, with limited scripts & NO pre-production in just 24 hours. There are NO BOOKS FOR THAT. You have to be able to wing it, & communicate with people to get the job done. Every time I worked on a production in LA with a producer or director that did nothing but bark orders, the day would not only be miserable, but VERY NON-PRODUCTIVE.

  All these college edumacated Directors & Producers out here, with big 10 cent words, but NO REAL LIFE, PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE, make me laugh. Experience that I have, after actually working in the trenches of LA. Experience that has taught me that no matter how nice I try to be to people out here, they think, or assume.... "I BROUGHT MY HOLLYWOOD ATTITUDE BACK WITH ME!". I don't have an attitude, that's what confuses people. I just want to work.

  Do you want to know how I learned my craft of digital film production? By Doing it! Not dreaming about it... Not learning fancy terms... NOT talking about it.... Not getting others to do my work for me.... Not getting on a high horse & acting all full of myself. I just did it because I had to to make a living & survive. To learn to Light, Direct, Shoot & Edit, can truly only be done by DOING IT YOURSELF! No one taught me, no one was there to catch me if I fell. I had to PRODUCE WORK, or I was FIRED.

  In the 12 years of working in Hollywood "I NEVER CALLED MYSELF A DIRECTOR". But that's what I was. I must have directed at least 100 projects. I almost never had MY NAME on credits... I just wanted to get paid. A title meant nothing to me. Out here, many people seem to be more in Love with their damn titles than anything else! You would be amazed at the amount of Directors & producers, here in Boston, that I have emailed, spoken to & written to that haven't even done any real PAYING GIGS! Yikes.... Is it me? Am I stupid? Do I have it all backwards? Have I truly gone insane? Or am I just old fashioned? My philosophy is simple: Work well with others. Do the best work you can. Treat people with respect & just GET THE JOB DONE. Save the big words & titles for MORONS that think thats what's important.

  This is what gauls me with these Producers & Directors out here, acting like big shots, & treating me like shit, with no respect, like I'm just some loser that fell off the turnip truck. I don't have BIG TIME credentials, or a perfect resume with big projects & big names. But at least a million people have seen my work, from cable, to tv, to DVD's, training tapes ect. But for the most part, when I am trying to get gigs out here, I am treated like some rank amateur. A bum. A lier. A loser. And boy let me tell you, IT GETS FRUSTRATING.

  So if it sounds like I am constantly blowing my own horn..... Its because I am punch drunk from having to explain myself to others out here. All I want is PAYING GIGS... I don't care what it is... As long as it is LEGAL, I'll do it. Just treat me with some common courtesy & respect & pay me when the day ends.

  I have bent over backwards to give people information about myself when applying for gigs. I have been polite, courteous, kind, complied with all their requests & for the most part.... I NEVER HEAR BACK FROM THESE PEOPLE.

  So Bizarre. So Weird. People advertising out here that they need a Pro Editor... Pro Director... Pro camera operator..... & when I send them my resume, they just Blow me off!

  The people that run this site STILL REFUSE TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE MY BLOGS & won't even put them up under the new postings section....... WHY?????..... I am getting good responses from my blogs. I believe I am driving some traffic to this site & helping this site by writing my point of view on Hollywood. Getting people involved. Opening up real discussions about the business. Hopefully entertaining people. Hopefully Giving them some insight into Hollywood verses Boston.........

But I STILL DO NOT GET RECOGNIZED AS POSTING NEW BLOGS UNDER THE "NEW BLOGS SECTION!

After my very first blog... Lindsay said "that I was surely Blacklisted now!" I thought she was kidding. Obviously my opinions piss people off. People that are shallow... Jealous & just plain don't get it.

  I am honestly trying to contribute to this site & yet I am being FREEZED OUT by the people in CONTROL........... IT MAKES NO DAMN SENSE.

  To me it just shows the small minded nature of so many people out here in Boston, ( & yes, the rest of this country is no better).

  I am done rambling... Sorry to bore you with my tirades... But I am hoping that some of you people out here get what it is I am saying.

LEAVE THE ATTITUDES AT HOME. Show up for work, be creative... HAVE FUN.... make money.

  SHOW BUSINESS is a job, just like any other job.... I just wish more people understood that & would stop watching so much damn TV that makes them think Hollywood wants people that are ALL ATTITUDE & COOL.

All Hollywood wants is:  people that can make em money & not be a pain in the ass to deal with.

LEARN TO BE REAL PEOPLE.... HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELVES... WITHOUT ABUSING OTHERS.

We are all just people, trying to get thru life & have some fun....

WHY MUST THAT BE SO DAMN DIFFICULT!

Not everyone in Hollywood is as demented and Useless as Paris Hilton!

I wish all the cool people out there.... A long life... Happiness... Health... Fun... Sex & Success!

Rock On.

From your truly demented reporter of life,
Craig Amabello

[READ MORE]

Hello fine folks of Boston. This is your X-Hollywood Reject and truly Demented Reporter, Craig Amabello checkin in from the trenches.

After having finally given up trying to beg Boston people to work for them for peanuts, I have finally decided to get off my ass & have some confidence in myself & go out & ONLY ATTEMPT TO WORK FOR MYSELF!

And guess what? Its actually working!

Even though I am poorer than a third world refugee with out any means of support, home, car, or income.... The last thing any SANE person would do, would be to IGNORE these brutal facts of reality: (LIKE NEEDING MONEY TO SURVIVE) & knowing this, any Normal person should STILL be out there, plugging away, begging people for work...... But then again, I have NEVER BEEN NORMAL.

But by going against the laws of Physics, reality, common sense & just plain reason.... I have finally begun to turn my life around here on the East coast.

After struggling for 3 long years & Spectacularly Failing to get back into the Production game, by: asking, begging, professionally applying, joking, emailing, calling, Setting up meetings, I have finally discovered the SECRET TO SUCCESS!

Do any of you want to know what that Secret is? I'll give it to you all for FREE.

THE SECRET IS:

Screw working for other people that don't appreciate your Talents, Skills, Knowledge, & understanding of the Craft of this mighty business of Show.

GO OUT & WORK FOR YOURSELVES!

Don't wait for others to recognize you.

Don't kid yourself by working for people for FREE.

Don't hope that an Internship will Actually GET YOU A JOB.

Don't beg people with Horrible attitudes, Ego's & Delusional thoughts of Grandeur.

JUST GO OUT THERE & MANUFACTURE YOUR OWN DREAMS!

I know its tough... But the simply amazing thing of it is.... That the moment I Stopped looking for others to Employ me & I started working on my OWN Projects.... EVERYTHING HAS SUDDENLY TURNED AROUND FOR ME!

I am getting calls from REX Trailer (My childhood kiddie show Hero) to shoot for his production company.

Actual, real live HOLLYWOOD Producers are now calling ME about my show ideas, after watching some of my craigsrealtv Vlogs I have posted on youtube.

Over a dozen Models are now booked in September to do Photo Shoots & Video shoots for MY Production company (Proffit Productions). One of my many Spec projects that I am currently working on is 3 music videos: .... A Marilyn Manson Video... A NIN video ... & the latest Ozzy video " I don't wanna stop". I am cutting my own version of it with new footage to give it my own personalized touch.

A doctor has hired me to shoot a documentary for him on the burn out ratio of young doctors & how it affects patient care.

And several local Photographers have hired me to shoot behind the scenes footage of their Fashion, Glamour & lingerie shoots for DVD placement.

I know it's not much.... But it's a start.

All this work because I have given up on the Boston Scene & trying to work for Insane Wannabe's for practically nothing.... Or for FREE! And I have just solely concentrated on WORKING FOR MYSELF, ON MY OWN PROJECTS...DREAMS... & IDEAS.

So kids.... Let this be a lesson to you.....

BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES....

DON'T SELL YOURSELF CHEAP....

DON'T LET OTHERS USE & ABUSE YOU.

Hollywood is a scummy place..... But so isn't anywhere... where you allow others to steal your dreams... Soul... Body & Mind for cheap labor.

Beanywood CAN be a great place... I know there are great people out here in Boston... Good, strong, hard working men & women that have talent, vision, hearts & souls.... ( I just haven't run into any in my 3 years of begging for work out here).

Good folks of Boston.... Don't let all the Hollywood Wannabe's out here ruin it for everyone.... Bad attitudes we don't need out here... Shallow, Childish, Petty Tyrants do no one any good. There are enough of these people in Hollywood already. Boston could certainly live without their kind also.

Be kind to people... Respectful of others dreams.... Don't Rape & Pillage until the Fat lady sings...

All you Hollywood Wannabe's.... Get off your Damn High Horses & come back down to reality where the Oxygen is breathable..... Stop abusing people with your Selfishness... Arrogance... Coldness... Lies... Attitudes.... & delusions.

BE REAL!

GOOD PEOPLE OF BOSTON & OF PLANET EARTH....... DON'T LET THE BLOOD SUCKING VAMPIRES DRAIN YOU DRY.....

Make it own your own terms.... & then do business with Hollywood On your own terms.

It can be done.... I will prove it...

For I am...... Craig Amabello an X-Hollywood Reject and Truly Demented Reporter of LIfe!

I don't create Reality..... I just report the Facts as I see them.

And Congratulations to my "ONLY TRUE HOLLYWOOD FRIEND" ...... Bruce Campbell.... Good luck dude on your new series "Burn Notice" on USA, You certainly deserve it.

When life gets Crazy........ The Crazy Turn Pro.

[READ MORE]

Hollywood California.... The land of Dreams to so many... The world of Nightmares & despair to most that go there & have their hopes snuffed out by the hot Santa Ana Winds.

LA is a tough place to make it... But if you wanna be in the Rough & Tumble Business of Show, Hollywood is STILL the place to be. (I, obviously, was not tough enough to make it). So I ran back to my hometown in the east in shame, humiliation & abject failure after 12 long years of struggling. So many years spent trying to climb that elusive ladder of success, & each & every time I grabbed a new rung on that ladder, the damn thing broke & shattered, sending me right back to the bottom again!

But every time I mention to people that I spent over a decade living & working in Hollywood, they act like it's nothing... & then instantly launch into some preachy type speech about HOW GREAT THEY ARE & How little I must know.

These very same people go on to explain just how special & talented THEY TRULY ARE, & all the wonderful projects that they have worked on & all that other babbling crap & yet.......

These very same people have NEVER, EVER, SUSTAINED THEMSELVES, (IE: actually made a living), in the entertainment industry for any length of time, let alone over a decade!

Many people out here.... (I am NOT SAYING ALL PEOPLE, but there seems to be an awful lot) Just seem to be jealous, petty & angry that somebody who has actually lived & worked in LA & has come back, has something to say about it. (Remember, its just my stupid opinion & I'm a NOBODY! I never claimed to be anything other than another Broken dreamer that was crushed & blinded by the big city lights of Hollywood).

But the very comments, (like the latest one), from some people on my "I WANNA GO BACK TO HOLLYWOOD BLOG", Just seem down right childish, angry, rude, condescending, Jealous & BITTER! (Just read a couple... Several people were very good, but a few others, like the first woman's post... I Still can't tell if she was joking or not. Her comments confused me. And now the last post, seemed down right Snooty).

What gives people? Why the ATTITUDES? Is Boston truly filled with petty, jealous vindictive SHOW-BIZ WANNABE'S that make Hollywood sharks seem like tame lil puppies?

All this Boston attitude reminds me of a shoot I was on once in Malibu. I was filming a behind the scenes documentary for an Adult film known as "Babe-Watch" A Buck Adams feature for cable.

Buck Adams, (The Director), hired some young girl from Boston to be the production manager on this shoot & when she showed up on set, she actually brought members of her family! (Who brings family members to watch them flip hamburgers, Dig a ditch, or operate on a patient... So Why would you do it working on a Hollywood film?)

This is a professional endeavor with tens of thousands of dollars on the line & yet so many people bring this fantasy of PLAYTIME to Hollywood with them when they come here... THIS is a JOB people. This is a CAREER for some... This is OUR LIVES... (the ones that live & work out here at-least) Not some lil game! What is wrong with people?

As I was saying, this girl was brand new at all this & was quite overwhelmed by the whole process. Making a film & being in Hollywood at the same time confused & excited her, (understandably so, nothing wrong with that).

But... instead of just being real, & asking for help..... She just turned into a Hollywood Scum-bag overnight! She became, Pushy, Bossy, Rude, Aggressive, Arrogant, Demeaning, Condescending, & down right Hostile to the members of the cast & crew that she felt she could bully! ( I, of course being one of them... because I am a very easy going guy & unfortunately, in my past, have allowed many people to push me around).

Everyday you could see this deranged production managers horns growing & her ego getting bigger. She continued to bring friends & various family members to the set everyday like it was a freakin Disney Tour!

We, the cast & crew, were all old school Pro's by this time, she had only been in town for 2 weeks & had already grown into this She Demon MONSTER from Hell.

One day, coming back from Catalina Island on a boat, this production manager told ME that I had shot enough footage for the day & to stop rolling camera. I could not believe my ears. This half-assed Hollywood NEWCOMER was already brazen enough to start telling me what to do!

It took all of 2 weeks for her ego to blow up so big that she started acting like an OLD SCHOOL, RUDE SCUM-BAG. Telling me, a damn veteran of the biz at this point in my life, what the hell I should be shooting!

I remember thinking to myself that she was joking with me, until I realized that she was dead serious & became quite adamant that I should stop rolling tape & I just laughed at her! (Since when do production managers become Freakin Directors?).

My long winded, convoluted point is this: I learned a long time ago by dealing with TRUE Hollywood Stars & TRUE Hollywood personalities, that 90% of the BIGGEST people in the business are very cool, human, down to earth & approachable. (I have had the nicest conversations with big time directors like Sam Raimi & Penelope Spheeris & I was only a lowly Extra at the time!).

Those big time personalities treated me & other people with human dignity, kindness & respect.

BUT every time I deal with a HOLLYWOOD WANNABE, A NOBODY, OUT HERE.... I get all kinds of attitude & disrespect. I have finally learned that the reason for this is that they are so scared, so paralyzed by their own fears & self doubts of not coming off as somebody important, (or at-least, MORE important than myself), that they feel the need to disrespect myself & Hollywood.

They can't wait to ignore, condemn or judge my meager accomplishments out in Los Angeles out of what I perceive as nothing other than: SHEER JEALOUSY.

These small minded people, with such BIG attitudes only prove themselves to be one thing: VERY SMALL, NARROW MINDED BEINGS.

They are making Boston seem like a very rude, delusional place. A bad place, where good people wouldn't want to come to work & make creative entertainment.

It is so sad that many people on the East coast act this way. And no matter what I seem to do, or where I go around here, I keep stumbling into these frustrated, rude, arrogant idiots.

WHY????????? I know there are good people out here. Talented people out here. Creative people out here. Hard working people out here? WHY CAN'T I FIND THEM??????????

Please Good, creative people of Boston... Don't let these Snooty, highfalutin, Hollywood Wannabe, snot nosed brats Brats keep giving Boston a bad name.

COME OUT INTO THE LIGHT... Show us that there is more to this town than: Sad, disturbed, demented lil people of small, frustrated minds & huge egos that want to topple & devour all that come into their paths.

Which are you: A happy, Cool, Creative Camper..... Or a demented lil Nobody, who enjoys being rude & hurting other humans?

These are only my opinions... Take them as you may....

For I am: Craig Amabello an X-Hollywood Reject.

[READ MORE]

Hooray for some of the great people that have posted comments to my blogs on Hollywood verses Boston!

That was what I was after.... Open, Honest, Sincere, Informative Opinions & Dialogue Expressed by others.

For some reason or another there seems to be a slight sense of CENSORSHIP going on here. The powers that be... REFUSE to acknowledge any of my blogs by putting them on the right side of the main page that says: New Blogs.

Why is that?

What does that say about them?

Have they no tolerance of other humans dissenting opinions?

This all goes right to the very Heart of my Blogs about Hollywood being better than Boston.

If ya gonna be kicked in the head & spit on.... It might as well be by a pretty, young, rich, girl....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Than some mangy old gang of broken down cops.

When stuff like this occurs It always baffles me. Sure the owners of this site have every human right in the world to ban me from posting & can yank all of my past blogs. But we all know that would be utterly childish.

The powers that be have made a conscious decision to not ban me....... BUT: They are DELIBERATELY not allowing others to see that my New blogs have been posted.... 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this some Weird form of Censoring?

Am I just a Retard, with a confused sense of humor & a love of freedom of expression?

All I have been attempting to do is be Entertaining & Informative.

My honest goal here was to get a True & Real Discussion going about PEOPLE'S Personal opinions & experiences of Boston verses Hollywood. To make the site a better place for ALL who come to it.

I like to make people laugh. I like to be Silly & Stupid. But I also know I need to Inform people of certain realities. I am a Pro &...... A complete & utter failure at the same time.

I lived thru Riots... Floods... Fires... Earthquakes & under Martial law in America. I have something to say. Some wisdom to impart. If I sound like I am bragging at times, I am. Wouldn't you?

After 12 years, Hollywood finally Kicked my ass though. I never made it. I was sent home packing. My dreams shattered. My hope destroyed. Buried in Debt, despair & bad health, I ran back home like a lil kid. But my humor remains Intact!

I have a virtual treasure Trove of very Valuable Information & experiences from the big City of Lost Angels. Information that I am willing to impart to others to hopefully save them, or inform them of some of the pitfalls that can overcome you in L.A.

I am a Rebel. I have never run with the pack. I do not do it deliberately. It is just how my brain is wired. Do not fault me for being true to my heart, soul & mind.

Hollywood may have beaten me for now... But I still have the Skills, Craft & knowledge that I learned there...  But more importantly.... I still have a great sense of the Absurd..... If anything, thats what Hollywood taught me.

 

 

 

 

Hold on to your humor, DON"T take everything so Damn serious! Know when to stand back & laugh at the Ludicrousness of reality.

When one spends practically everyday, As a Professional,  living in a make believe dream world creating stuff to sell to the masses, it makes you realize: We are all just little kids.

 

 

 

Confused Children struggling to get thru another day. Its just that some kids are Meaner than others.

We all have fears, phobias, hopes & heart ache. But I will Fight forever for the Right & ability, to laugh & Mock silly Humans attempting Stupid Human Tricks!

We desperately need a better understanding of each other: as humans, & as potential creative beings.

If one can make another human LAUGH & THINK in this sometimes most horrible of worlds, a world seemingly full of endless Hate, tragedy, death & despair.... than Laughter & Knowledge is a good thing.

My humor may be bizarre & edgy & completely tactless.... But there is a method to my madness.

America has so much Un-Explored opportunities... So many Un-Opened doors, because those in control, chose to slam them shut & lock out the rest.

Let us not forget we have the POTENTIAL to truly make this country the Greatest civilization Known to Human kind. Are we gonna blow it with PETTY Morality?

With Childish & Dangerous Censorship?

When someone disagrees, Are we to take our toys away & go play in another Sandbox?

Are we to blow it & end up like Rome? Buried in Blood & Madness?

I hope not...... That's why I MUST Create my Own Demented version of art.

Thats why I will NEVER GIVE UP. And I can only hope that all those others out there that feel the same as I do, carry on also.

I thank all those that understand. I appreciate your comments, thoughts & feelings, & I hope others do also.

For I am Craig Amabello....... A demented Reporter of Life!

I do not Create others Reality.... I just comment on it.

Be Cool... Create Cool Art & know that Keith Richard's & Johnny Depp are two Pirates that live under No-mans flag. Hooray for them. They are people to be admired & Respected for the art that they have created here on planet earth.

Which are you?....... A Pirate or a Pawn?

[READ MORE]

For our new Podcast New England Art Scene we had the pleasure to talk with local Screenwriter Lawrence Doc Pruyne about his latest screenplay “Battle Road”. Since Doc is in the trenches shopping his screenplay, we thought this was a perfect opportunity to pick his brain on breaking in.

Q. Doc, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. You just completed your screenplay “Battle Road”. What is it about?

A. It's about two black men who changed the course of history at the first battle of the American Revolution. One was 75 years old and the other was a slave.

It's quintessential New England, a big plus, because there's a billion screenwriters in L.A. writing L.A. scripts. The key for screenwriters --New England and otherwise -- is to separate your script from the masses and make it unique and producible.

Q. You are a New England artist pitching your spec script to LA and beyond. How is that going?

A. Right now it's a waiting game. I entered four or five contests and used a script query service, and now it's a matter of seeing what results. "Battle Road" is into the semi-finals of the PAGE competition, so that's a good sign.

Q. Did you consider getting an agent before shopping your screenplay? When is the best time for a new screenwriter to reach out to an agent?

A. I used ScriptBlaster, which faxed query letters to 930 agents, production companies and managers. I received 13 requests for a copy or treatment, which is quite high, and a couple are still active, including at Escape Artists, Steve Tisch's prodco ("The Pursuit of Happyness" among others). A query service like that gets the project out there effectively because all you have time for is the logline, which I can recite from memory, and a few details.

Q. Any advice from the trenches on how to create heat for a screenplay while living in New England?

A. Contests can help. Win a contest and the script starts sweating.

Q. What is the best advice you can give to the first time writer with a great idea for a screenplay?

A. Spend 10 percent of your time on structuring your characters and plot, 20 percent writing the first draft, 70 percent editing and polishing. Get feedback from screenwriting groups and paid consultants (don't ask Uncle Oscar) and polish and polish and polish. No first draft is salable.

Q. Any closing thoughts on making it as an artist in New England?

A. It's tough being a screenwriter anywhere. You need to realize that filmmaking is highly specialized, a highly developed discipline. What's nice is that opportunity is opening up now, more than I've ever seen before, even as the competition gets stiffer. No matter how much digital technology makes shooting a film more affordable, though, it's still about the story. Story and character are still king.

[READ MORE]