Big Brother

Little digression to start with, but I'll get to the story. Eventually.

I comment on other sites occasionally, and one of the things that I hate the most is when someone posts as "anonymous". Now, I don't mind the fact that they are protecting their identity - a lot of people, including myself, conceal information about their lives for various reasons. What I hate is the fact that they run in, make some snide comment, and then take off, leaving you little chance to respond.

I just had a little back-and-forth with one such poster on Desperate Husband's website - click on the link to see the conversation. One of the points he brought up was why I choose to hide my true identity.

As long time readers of the site know, one of the reasons that I hide so much information is because the entertainment industry is very small, and talking smack about the wrong person can land you squarely on a blacklist. And, since my big paydays are most likely ahead of me, I'm probably better off holding my tongue. So that's why I have the cute names for the places I work in, and the clever handle, and why I sometimes will give a little misdirection on the things I am doing. For instance, I ended up on a new TV show (which probably will never see the light of day) this summer, and I had a couple of big auditions for some high-profile stuff. But talking about those shows and/or projects in detail could potentially get me (or other people) in trouble. Hence the cloak-and-dagger stuff.

ANYWAY...this is all a big preamble to the introduction of my latest obnoxious cast member. 'Cause one of the other reasons I remain nameless is so that I can talk smack about people like this...

We'll call this guy Big Brother. Why? Well, he's black like me, for one, and he's taken it on his shoulders to try and "show me the ropes" in Cowtown, both professionally and personally. Never mind the fact that I've been here before, and have some friends here, or that I've done more professional gigs this year than he's done in his whole life. No...he still has to tell me where I should get my hair cut, etc.

I want to smack him.

He's a terrible actor. Suri, who is also in the show with me, has indicated that they basically cast him because they had no other options.

He also has the most annoying habit of jumping on a joke when everyone else is finished. And then, to make matters worse, he'll carry the joke too far. Take yesterday, for instance. Our director was remarking on some fabulous new shoes she was wearing (and I could really care less about shoes, but they were pretty cute), and then everybody else says the usual; "Oh, how nice!". And then Big Brother jumped in.

BIG BROTHER: Yeah, Director, those are some very nice shoes.

DIRECTOR: Yes, I think so. I like them.

BIG BROTHER: Yeah, Director, you...you...you lookin' pretty trendy with those shoes on. The kids gonna say you a trendsetter!

DIRECTOR: Well...thank you, Big Brother.

BIG BROTHER: Yeah, Director, pretty soon...you...you gonna have those sixteen year old boys all up on ya! Yeah!

DIRECTOR: Huh. Well, that's why I have Suri.


It's gotten to the point where I can barely look at him, and it's gotten really difficult for me to carry on a conversation with him. I'm sure I'll have more ammunition soon, as we have two ten-hour days upcoming...