Hello, and welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. I was a casting director for film and TV and commercials for over thirty years. I transitioned to a celebrity acting coach after I cast a film New Jersey Drive with executive producers Spike Lee and director Nick Domez. I auditioned every rapper from Biggie Smalls to Tupac, and I realized that rappers and musical artists they needed help
transitioning to acting. My clients consist of musical artists from Buster Rhymes to Eve, Missy Elliott, Angela Yee from The Breakfast Club, and Vanessa Simmons to name a few. I also coach sports stars and host as well. I feel I have the best of both worlds. As a casting director, I know exactly what they're looking for, and as an acting coach, I can coach you to be remembered in that room. Now I know, I know actors want to get the job. I get that, but being remembered by
casting director that is powerful. And now it's time for meditation of the day. To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance. Oscar Wilde, who I have to say amen to that one, because we need to love ourselves more. One of the questions that I ask in my private sessions is how do you celebrate yourself? And I can tell you that fifty percent of the people that I ask that they don't. Actually it's probably seventy percent. I'm being nice, but people don't celebrate themselves every day.
I have a challenge for you. It's not TikTok, it's not you know, Instagram. It's just a Tracy challenge. And I want to challenge all of you to celebrate yourself every single day. And it doesn't have to be with money. One of my favorite things is just to walk to the park and put my feet in the grass or hug a tree. So I want to encourage all of you to be good to yourself, to love yourself, and to be nice to yourself, because no one is going.
To do it better than you.
No one is going to love you as much as you love yourself, and the love that you give to yourself pours out into others. So today, spend time celebrating and loving you. Before we get started, i'd like to remind everyone to look out for my new show Inside the Black Box. I'll be co hosting with the great Joe Morton. We'll be on Crackle Network real soon. I'll keep you posted. Welcome to the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. You guys are not ready. You are
not ready. I already know this, but you're gonna be ready. By the end of this interview, you will be ready. Let me tell you. One of the blessings that I have in my life is relationships. And when I look back at how long I have known this gentleman, it is amazing to me that we are still in touch, we are still in each other's worlds, and we still have a diberic friendship. It's just it's a blessing.
It's a blessing. Okay.
I need you guys to understand that you are standing on this man's shoulders actors, and I want you to also understand that our guest and myself we have fought from day one for people of color, and we continue to fight for people of color. I need you guys to understand that because we're in two thousand, twenty three and I have known him at least nineteen ninety.
Three, ninety four.
I want to say because I started new York Undercover in ninety four, Ladies and Gentlemen, a phenomenal human being, A caring, loving, supportive human being for y'all, actors, you need to know, because you need to know the people that stand by you, fight for you. I want you to put your hands together and stand up, stand.
Up in your living room.
I want you to put your hands together for casting director extraordinaire, producer extraordinay director extraordinary. Ladies and Gentlemen, Please, my dear friend, my spiritual brother, U Liftisterrrero.
Wow. Oh the truth, Oh my lord, what an introduction.
You know.
What's brilliant, Juie. The fact that you have an acting background.
I don't. I mean, I kind of do in San Francisco, But I'm just saying you.
When I met you, you were actively pursuing a career as an actor, so you have that understanding. And then as a professional, this is what you do. And the other day you guys. I saw him on live, I heard him, I supported him, and I was like, I want him on the podcast to talk to you directly, because a lot of things have changed since COVID and I have so many similar experiences with Julie. I have people I don't know why actors. I don't know why you guys think that you can just go out and
come into this profession with no experience. Why would you even want to do that and put yourself out there? So I, Julie, I'm giving you the platform. Man, please talk to these people. I will interject, but I would this is your live again on imart Radio.
Please, I mean, where do we start? What do we talk about? I mean, like I said, you know lately for me, like you said, is because of Zoom now everyone things they can be an actor now, so you get a lot of people that harass you to give them an opportunity. When you do, it's like they're terrible and it's just like the first question to ask them is like you know, what kind of training do you have? Like training, I'm a natural? I'm like natural? What disaster?
Because it's like it's just like I can't no more. And then it's like, you know, then there's this new thing where it's like this thing called influencers now, right, so if you bought a million followers, now you think I want to put you in a movie. You know, but it's like you have to be a good actor and ninety nine out of one hundred. Influencers that come into the casting are really bad because telling jokes on Instagram, we're showing your butt or whatever people are doing to
get numbers. That's one thing. But acting, it's a craft, it's an art form, it's a you know, it's a career that you have to manifest. You have to you have to train, you have to study like it's a full time gig, you know, to get the rewards that everybody wants. People want to be like on a serious regular on a TV show on a big network, but you have to be brilliant to get that opportunity, and it takes years. There's no naturals on a TV series. You know, anybody in the TV series was a natural.
I was a natural that got a little independent film, woke up, smelled the coffee. Then they trained, and then they eventually twenty years later, got that opportunity. So you know, like I said, you know, we've both been blessed to have a lot of you know, uh, celebrity friends because we knew them before they were celebrities and now right now they're big, and you know, we might've had our hands in that a little bit so they give the love and pop up to our classes and stuff, and
you know, like Louis school Smann. You know, I know if you guys know who that is. Yes, he's on you know, he's the father on Wednesdays he was you know, Colito's wave Wan Pachanga. But but you know, east comes to many of my classes and you know he said, uh. He was a social worker in the projects, no Eastside project. And the friend of his, you know, kept telling me should be a movie. She be a movie. She read
movies and give him an opportunity. And he did a little movie and he was so great for everybody loved him. So they gave him another opportunity and another opportunity. Then he got Miami Vice, a big role, and that's when he realized he couldn't act and was like, oh shit, this thing is hard. And then he went to the actor's studio, you know, when he was in Miami Advice, he went to the actors studio because that's when he realized, Okay,
these one line is just cool. Being myself is cool, but to get the real money, you have to do these pages that somebody else wrote, these characters that somebody else created, that's nothing like you, and you got to figure out how to become the person on the page. And that's when he realized he had to study. You know, I want.
I wanted to ask you because like I stress to all actors that they have to read aloud every single day, three hundred and sixty five days a year, like when Michael Jordan was practicing every night the free.
Throws and stuff.
Because in my experience and just wanting to get your input, people can't read Ulie. They cannot read. And when I say that to them, I'm saying breathing life into the words. Because you know this too, because you know a lot of directors and we.
Got to give a shout out to Jesse. Got to give a shout out because that's why that's what I do too. Love be so Jesse, But directors.
I had a conversation with Benny Boom, and Benny was saying, like maybe two takes Tracy, maybe two, so there's no longer coming on set warm up. You know, you got to come on Volcanic cop That's what I tell them, right, and have at least ten I say, ten to fifteen choices every scene you're doing, so you can have your
archives to pull out right. But the reading is challenging for me, Yulie, because I had a reading for a project that I had cast two years ago, and it was so difficult getting through that reading because a lot of the actors don't know how to read and blow life. They're just reading, And I say to them, we don't hire readers, We hire characters. Characters have characteristics and.
They do things.
So in terms of like, you know, I want you to speak on reading, but what other things do you highly recommend and stress to these young actors out here.
Who just think all I need to do is just memorize some lines.
Yeah, I mean, like I said, that's what I encourage not to do. You know, what I encourage is to understand the character. You know, like, like, who is this character? You know, what's the relationship with the person you're talking to, what's the purpose of the conversation, what's your goal? You know? Where are you outside? Is it cold? Is it how are you sitting down? You know? How you dressed? How
do you feel? You know? You know, you know, understanding and sometimes this is given in the script, but sometimes it's not. And if it's not, you know, you have to with the With the majority the information you got, you got to make a call or judgment and go, you know what, this guy's from here, you know she's from there. You know this is the and create the backstory because without a backstory, you're only going to be
the lines. But once you know the objective of the scene and the characters and the relationship, now the words can come out like the director would like them for them to come out. For example, if the line is like, hey, how you doing right, and you just the lines, you go, hey, how you doing right? But if you know the backstory, and the backstory is like, this is the guy who was screwing around with your wife for two years? Who's your best friend who just found that has been screwing
your wife? You know, how are you going to say that? Now? Now you're be like you no, hey, how you doing? You know, like the tune's going to be different, you know. And that's what a lot of people, most new actors or want to be actors or or or you know, first time actors do. They just worry about memorizing these lines, and that's how they're coming. Hey, how you doing? How's everything okay? Cool? You know what I'm going to kill you tomorrow, and it's like, wait a minute, yeah, it
just happened here. But when you know the backstories, like hey, how you doing. You know you're dying tomorrow, right, you know, you're like, oh wow, this versus an actor. They did the work. But like I said, this is not this is stuff that you know they learned in your class, you know what I mean. These are things you just said some things right now. I was like, well, that's a good idea. I don't think I've ever done that before. So I just learned the jewel talking to you right now, you know so.
So, but it's vice versa, and like I want the audience to know that. Like when I first started casting, there were like five casting directors, including Yulie, that I trusted and that I you know, if they needed anything, I would refer saying, you know, we we we help each other out like that. So it's never I never felt competition. I never felt like, oh, you know, I don't want to take a job from.
You Ley or whatever.
I felt we were all blessed back then, and we were always working, all of us.
We were always working.
So I think that that's a great thing for you guys to know is that there's no competition between us.
We share.
The other thing is is that I encourage people who take my class to take your class after, because well, I think I think what's really important is that actors get a variety of teachers because not everybody is the same and not everybody teaches the same. But like, what I've started to enforce basically based on you is creating sort of this agreement with actors. You know in the beginning that talking to Elsa about but you know, homework assignments have to be turned in. I'm not giving you
homework assignments just because I'm playing teacher. I'm giving you homework assignments because the business part of it is what you need to focus on the business, and the spiritual side is knowing and understanding the manifestation process and the usage of your words. If you keep telling me you're a struggling actor, you're going to be a struggling actor.
So you need to make adjustments in your words.
Right.
But when people don't.
Turn in their homework or they turn it in the day of when it's supposed to do, what I'm trying to teach you, guys is discipline and routine because if you're not a morning person, you got to change your life if you plan on being an actor, because we shoot our shooting schedule, right, you know, if you're late all the time, you got to change your life because we need you to be on time. We hire business people. So I just want to make that clear because that's one of.
The aspects that I love about Julie.
When some Sinclair, Juli knows our usual suspects who we can tap into Yolanda Hunt that are always to assist us.
Right.
But I have a question in terms of you made a really good point in terms of the characters in your audition, and now with zooms are you finding because you know, I always want to give the benefit of the doubt, but if you were to put on a percentage, what is the percentage of actors in your opinion that are not.
Training?
Is one thing, but in the zoom being equipped with the proper background sound shooting, what is the percentage of actors that are really prepared out there?
Well, it's unfortunate that I'm gonna have to break this down good an a racist or a racial a breakdown, But if it's a if it's a Corecasian character. We're looking for. Maybe nine out of ten are perfect on point type we needed. If it's African American, you know, I would say nowadays, in twenty twenty three, I would say like seven, seven out of ten, you know, sure for sure. And if it's Latino or other they two percent two out of ten. You know, it's really it's
really bad. Like I said, The thing is is like you know, you know, you know, we come we come from from the big beginning of time where there was not much color on TV. So we were part of that movement. And you know, so I was part of the fight. You know, I did the Black Lives Matter did.
I was part of all that stuff. But now there is opportunity, you know for African American actors, there is now so now that there's opportunities, you know, African Americans, I stepped up to the plate and taking in the opportunities. There's still no opportunities for Latinos or you know, why spend money to study if there's no future? Why why learn what you have to do if there's no auditions. Now, if you're Mexican and you live in LA there's there's opportunities.
You know to a certain degree, you know, but like Puerto Rican or Dominican or another type of Latino, like if you don't have the standard accident that they actually for on TV. Right now, there's two movies right now that came out. One is The The Friedo's I think it is with Jesse Garcia. Even then there's another one that's on Disney with uh uh. It's called The Lorus.
The Law is something I just saw it today briefly, so I don't know the name of it, but you know, just a strong actress, the horror of dolorous, something like that. But anyway, you know, if you watch, if you see the trailers, you know, those are all my friends. I know.
Everybody knows movies. Wow, And they don't talk like this, you know, they had the thought like this, like everyone talks like this, like I don't even know if I'm doing it right, but it's like it's like if there's a Latin role on the I tell you, I tell your story. So I was casting this movie for this big studio. We were looking for this specific type of actress, right. I don't want to, I don't want to in trouble with the studios. I won't see the description. But we
never found her, so the movie never happened. Big studio, nice budget starring role for someone of my ethnicity, with my complexion, you know, certain specific things to the title and young, young actor, and we couldn't find anybody. So the movie never happened.
You know, wow, and they have the financing and everything.
Yeah, ten million dollars, big movie and then potentially a sitcom afterwards, and we couldn't find it. We found three girls that were amazing, but they were just too old supposed to be high school. They were like a year two old. We had three amazing options, but they were a year two old. And then we found one that was young, but she didn't want She didn't agree with you know, the sources attached to the character. She didn't
want to play that kind of role. But anyway, but the long story shortness, so the character had a mother, right, a Latin mother, right. Every single Latin woman that came into the audition out of la was like, let's say, the girls that was ironic because like, well you're not here, why you're not whole? Like they all spoke like that, and I was just like vision, but I knew all of them. So I was calling, like, what's this terrible?
Actually you're doing? You said Latina I know, yeah, but not like like where is where does that actually come from? It was Mexican. Yeah. I'm like like they're like, yo, like that's how it is over here. When they say Latin in the scripts over there, that's what that means. You have to ask. We all learned it. Wow, learned that if you watch all the movies like Ozart, right, yeah, you know, the new thing is now we're the new
black now. So now when you do a movie, there's a lead black actor, lead female you know, LGTVQ, all these characters, and we're the drug dealers now, like we're the drug dealers. We're the ones that get killed in the first five minutes, which been to African American actors twenty years ago. But the good thing is that we have the blueprint now. So as Latinas were like, okay, this is the blueprint. This is what they did is you know, so now as Latinas, we just got to follow.
The only difference is that you know, like Tyler Perry, God bless him so much, like you know, he had support, especially from the church, so he did all those plays, so we throw that into films. Every single person that's seen those plays ran to the movie theaters to support this young filmmaker African American and they all ran to the movie to this let's support this great guy. And
he became successful because he had the fan base. If you ever go see a Tyler Perry movie in the theater, it feels like church, right right, family, the kids, the grandparents, there's hallelujah like. It feels like because he had the support from the from the church and everybody follow him. The black is well, we do it like we can follow the blueprint all we want, But if we do the Latin Hollywood shuffle, right, are Latinos gonna go see it?
You know? Probably not? You know, I don't know. Like like I said, there was a Baker in The Beauty, which is a bunch of great actors, a great show on CBS. Nobody, ABC, nobody saw it. But at the same time, too, they didn't market it.
Either, right because they don't know how.
Yeah, they'll put a they'll put it on Moondo is a Spanish speaking audience English show. The show that'll make no sense. Then there was then there was in the Heights, you know, which is an attempt of a Broadway show turned to film with you know, I.
Worked with Leslie Grace on that.
Okay, you were a called me for her awesome, I love her.
But but but nobody saw that show, right, you know, and the average Dominican didn't see that show. Oh no, because it didn't see didn't You're a fucking hater, right, sorry? Right, curse on the show. Sorry. Then then then there was a Galita Chronicles, which I'm the one that cast the girl, the lead girl, which is a cute family. Nobody saw that. Then there was a uh, you know, West Side Story, which had a few latinos in there with but but nobody saw it might have been Spielberg's worst movie ever
and probably the most latinos in it. So it's like, so, if you're Hollywood, why would you want to do stuff with latinos in it? Right?
If you see that, there's no profit nobody, why is that?
Why is it that we don't have that support?
Because because there's so many of us, I said Freddie Rodriguez, you know, he did add he did a great movie, Nothing but the Holidays. It was a a Christmas story, Christmas story with Latinos in it. Every Latino was in that, you know, a bunch of Latino actors in that, and nobody saw it, you know. And it was a great movie. It was about a land family Christmas in Chicago, and nobody saw it. You know. So my whole thing is like the different the thing is that there's so many
different Latinos. Right, if the stars of Puerto Rican, then everybody else is hating on it, and even the Puerto Ricans are hated on it. The if the if the movie is Dominicans, no one's seen that. You know. We're like, well, African Americans went through in America. That's what we go through in the Spanish community. Like we're the blacks of the Latin space. Like if you doing hey I'm dating a Dominican, It's like, oh, like why are you doing that for? You know? Wow?
So within the culture like us dealing with light skin versus dar skiffs.
But it's worse, it's worse for us in the Latin space than in America that we have more racism amongst Latinos than we do in America.
Wow.
You know. So, like I said, I just directed this thing for Amazon. It's called hip hop or Sam, but it's spelled hip hop ex shamp it means hip hop forever. And this year with the fifty anniversary of hip hop, right, yes, and they did a bunch of shows and specials and this and that, and nobody mentioned one latinus.
Nobody, And I mean truth be told the fever in.
The Bronx because my ex husband managed UTFO and full for so I was always.
Up in the fever.
Sala. Yes.
Now, yes, he was best friends with my ex husband. So come on, now, we got to give credit where credit is due.
No, no, But the thing, the thing is that the thing is that in the documentary, right. So the first hip hop movie ever done was Wild Style. Right. They're doing the forty anniversary this week actually New York City, and they're aducting some of the guys into the Hall of Fame. Right, But the first rap group ever they had, they had uh what's his name? Uh? You know the Spanish guys that damn, I can't and forget it, but
I'm a post. I posted it like three days ago. Okay, As the first is a rap scene, I send it to him. There's a rap scene, and as an African America, he starts the rapper. Then the second guy that raps is Charlie Chase, which he was the DJ of the Crush group of Go Crush, right, he was a DJ, but he's the second guy the raps. And then the third guy that raps is the rapper from the first group ever in hip hop evera like the fifth seed was Spanish. Was like just just in this battle scene
two three first rappers, that rapper Spanish. Yeah, It's like how how how how were we not mention you know what I mean?
I know I got here, Yep, Sugar Hill Gang. I got here, and that's what I said to run DMC. When I first landed here. My girlfriend was being managed by Russell Simmons and so I she was my roommate. I was at Green Street Studio, and I lived at the Feet, I lived at the garage, funhouse, rock scene, because these were all the places that UTFO performed. He
also managed Lisa Lisa and called Jam. So I was, you know, around with them, and so to me when you know, because I'm coming from San Francisco, I don't know anything about Bronx, Brooklyn nothing, So I was always going straight to the Bronx. So I thought that that's where rap originated, it is. And then the other thing that was really huge here was breakdancing and graffiti. And the majority of guys that I saw were Latina.
Yes, so they were.
I don't understand like the influence because at one time, right before my daughter's dad passed, he was in talks with sal about doing the movie The Fever. Okay, yes, which you would have seen everybody come through there. Madonna was there one time. I was there and nobody knew her. She was just walking around with Dolly's on. That's what I said, with the lace and stuff and fluttering around.
I'm like, who's this chick?
You know what I'm saying, Like I did, but Yulie, this is what I did. I was at the Roxy because she used to always flirt with my ex husband and Russell Simmons, right, and so one day I went up to her. I said, listen, chick, I don't know who you are, but I'm gonna need you to stay away from my man.
This woman needs you to do Madonna whoever.
Right then, when my husband, when we got divorced, he was like, I'm trying.
To manage Donna. If it wasn't for you, I didn't know. I didn't know.
It was a great when I tell you, it was a great time.
And then you had like Jive was a Jive I'm not Jive one of the Yeah, maybe it was.
It was one of the smaller record companies that was really giving out those deals to rappers at that time. Yeah, because Russell was there with Jam, but there was an Anne Carly worked with Arnelle Records, Yep, Barry Okay, So it was very wise at Jive Records. They were handing out those deals at that time. And I just remember when Lisa hit that. You know, I was tapped in even more because what I didn't know was within the Latino community, there was Dominicans, there was Cubid like. I
didn't know the specific groups. And then I learned that when I came here.
Because one of.
The things you said, I come from California, Mexicans is all that I grew up with. So I was saying to you, the thing that bothers me is the stereotypical images that Hollywood continues to perpetuate today because I don't know if you guys knew listeners, but they want to do the Fidel Castro movie. Hollywood and they want to cast James Franco as Fidel Castro instead of John Legammos.
Who would that would be his Oscar right there? M like, where is the.
Logic in this type of casting with Hollywood?
And I'm telling you that the logic is that when they do put the Latino in there, nobody goes to see it and the numbers don't make sense. That's the problem. That's why I say everybody can complain. Like I told, I told people on my side, if you're into the Transformer chain, go check it out because the leader is Latino.
You know, Anthony Rainmolds is the star Transformers. So if you know, if you want to make a change, you want to make a difference, go check out the Transformers this weekend, because like I said, if the numbers coming high, they would be like, oh shit, maybe we should do this last thing. But if the numbers coming low, they're gonna be like you.
See, you see technically sorry.
It's okay, but it'd be like you see, that's that's why we don't do it, you know. But But like I said, just to just to wrap up on the on the documentary we did, the whole purpose of that was to start a conversation that you know, we were here, we were always here. We grew up in there. We came like in the in the nineteen nineteen ninety, nineteen twenties, that's when like the Puerto Ricans started coming to the United States and stuff, you know, way before hip hop started.
So yeah, lived in the neighborhoods. We went to the scene. We were there, we were at the park. And then what happened was graffiti started first because people were writing on the walls to like, you know, just make a statement like you know, right leave or I was here or you know, I'm important, that makes sense. Then the DJ started second, where they started like taking loops I
mean like yeah, like samples and scratching them. And then the breakdancers started happening, and then the DJs were like yes, yes, y'a, you don't staff throw your hands in the air like you just don't care. And then and then people were like and then started throwing stuff on that, and then raps started happening. So hip hop is is has those four pillars of breakdancing, graffiti, uh mcen, and DJ and but Msteen was the last one to flourish, you know,
and I guess the most importance. But that's what this documentary was, just to show that, but also show how we were there, We were there, were still there and now you know we we're the highest thing in music right now. You know, you knows get the most views, and music now is based on views you got. You know, if you look at the top ten most watched videos and YouTube history, nine or Latino or eight or Latino,
So you know, I mean billions of views. And I'm blessed to say, you know, I've directed or my brothers directed half of them, you know, so so you know, But like I said, look, the bottom line is, we have to support one another. That's why you called me. Uh, Tracy called me. She never calls me, so you call me is for a good reason. She said, hey, are you available tomorrow too? I mean at twelve, I was like done, that's it. I don't know what I was coming from.
We also have other plans for you too in season three. Well we're not.
I can't talk to you officially about it until we're supposed to know. They told us ten days on Friday, we'll get the official word. So I think we're at day seven now. But once we get the official word. I have plans because what you don't know is that when that article first came out about Fidel Castro, I sent it to Crackle and said, this is why inside the Black Box is here. It's a platform to bring awareness to these things because we need to focus on solutions because we you know the problem.
What are the solutions to this?
Because that's what I want to So once we get that official word, you'll get another call from me then And now I'm thinking, Ulie, we have to do something like I'm thinking maybe you and I partner up and maybe do.
A workshop or something like.
I feel like within both communities there needs to be more support.
There needs to be the self love.
It starts with self love, because if you love yourself, it's a natural extension to help other people. And so this whole competitive jealousy thing, there's enough out there for all of us. We're in streaming world right now. You can make a film on your phone, so there's no more excuses. It really is about us coming together as communities, and you know, culturally, I mean, because what this world
is going to look different in ten years. I keep telling my granddaughter who's ten Hunger Games and I keep telling Radiance and Miles hunger games, like, so we're going to have to learn how to help each other and work together.
Otherwise I don't know. I don't know.
We've got three minutes and I want to give them all to you. Whatever you want to give to the act in terms of tips, what they need to do, here's your platform, just real quick.
The problem is, like you said, we have to support one of the John Levuzamo was the first Latino ever to go against Hollywood and say I have a problem with this shit, Like how how do we finally have an amazing leading role opportunity for Latino male and you don't give it to us? You know, how can we get oscars? How can we make We can't sell Latin stories because we don't have a face to put in the poster, you know, And now there's an opportunity for a face for a poster, you give it to the
white guy. Like come on, guys, and you know who supported him?
Who?
Nobody?
Wow?
One latino now, one Latino? Now, one latino said Hey, I got you John. This is some bs you know. You know why because all the Latinos that are famous enough they got the they're the number fifth person on the TV show, you know, the sixth character on that movie living a great life. They don't want to damage that, don't want They finally got in thirty years later. Finally, you know, and then I got to Rock the boat. And nine out of ten Latina women in Hollywood are
married to a a Caucasian menal you know what I'm saying. So, so they're not at the Latin party. They're not they're not after the Latin uh protests. You know what I'm saying. They're not there. So it's like, you know, so that's the problem. No one's no one could take a chance to say, hey, what's up Hollywood? Because they got their spot, you know what I'm saying. That's why they ain't. No Latin Lives Matter protests, you know.
Listen, well you know they finally stimulate something. But we we need you to talk about this because it doesn't like I just how you know, we're America is a pulpourri of cultures. How do you just focus on one culture and just exclude other cultures or give them brand?
Break comes here and there?
Like what's going to happen, which I feel is that culturally we're going to start empowering ourselves. At least we should start empowering ourselves, like you know, blessed we have a Tyler Perry or a Shanda Rhymes or Ava, you know, but we need to start empowering ourselves in our communities and not feeling like lack or I'm missing out. That's not you know, you help someone in that it's going to tenfold with everything else, and you can't have the fear.
People said, are you afraid to do the show? No, I'm not afraid to do the show because this is the truth. This is what's really going on and people need to know that.
So prayerfully you and I will be a part of continue to be a part of the change.
But I'm going to brainstorm and put some energy out there. We got to do something.
We got to do something together, like in addition to what other other plans I have for you. So we're not at the end of the show, you guys. We're just at the end of the interview, and we're going to invite Elsa and our actors, our two actors to come on and ask your question.
Our three actors.
Well, we have Rain is gonna be a part of class and session. So Elsa, do you have.
The actors you can introduce?
Yes, today, I think you can come on Kim and.
Hey, you guys say your name for Ulie. He is a casting director.
First question will be from Epic Virus.
Hi am epic. First question, Well, first, what's one I know that you guys delved into the black thereof of the Latin roles and whatnot. What's one role that you've seen just tastefully done that you say you're proud of. Because I am a Latino woman, I'm African American and Latina, so it's important that the conversation.
You guys were having really important. But has there been a role where you're like, not, that's the way to do it.
But when you think of it, it's portrayed eloquently, tastefully when it comes to the heritage of Latin America, you know what I mean. That's a good question, Like, I know we made zero in on the negative and what we may lack, But what is one where you're like, you know what, this was done? Well though, we can keep up this caliber.
I'm trying to think of. I mean, I'm a big fan of John and I'm just.
Sure me too.
I'm just trying to think of all the films I watched to see which one was my favorite is.
But I mean, I will have to say this, Really he did a film on HBO with Rayleiota, Got Rest his Soul, where he was investigating an arsenist, and it turned out that Rayleiota was the arsonist and that was his boss. It was a real trilogy twist, and that was some really great work of John really great, you know, going head to head with Rayleota. I thought that was some great work. But Wow, for us to even be thinking like this is yeah, because.
There is no I mean, like I said, anything that comes to mind for me is like all Latin Latin film. Like I saw this movie called Rudy and Cursey, which you know, I was on a road trip in Miami and a road trip in Mexico and my brother and we stopped in ten different cities and every theater was sold out for the day. And it's like, that's what I understood why Hollywood wants Mexican actors, because you have the theaters in Mexico, so if it does well there,
you get all your money back there. So we couldn't see it anywhere, and then finally our last stop was Cabo and Gobo's More where all the tourists come. So so we saw it there. It wasn't sold out there, but we saw it there. It was two of you know, Mexico's greatest actors of all time, and they were going neck connect with each other, and it was just it was just brilliant. It was just brilliant. These actors like like Diego Diego Luna and Guillello.
From Scandal.
I'm not sure. I guess I don't watch.
Yeah, yeah he was. He was one of the least I.
Don't watch TV stuff, but but yeah, so but but so that that went definitely, you know, it made me understand why it was sold out in every city, and it was just like, you know, it was just great acting. You know, just create act Those those guys are like they're different, you know, they're different, you know, because I think the problem now with a lot of Latinos I see is that they don't want to go after they
want the residuals that actors get. Like like like like say, I started teaching and I started doing seminars and talking to the kids because I feel like when when when hip hop took off. You know, I was one of
the top casting directors in the music video space. So they did a thing called Access Granted on BT and MTV Nigga Video, and I was on that thing almost almost every week because they used to do everybody's videos, so I was on there almost every week, so you would see me there where like the biggest stars in
the world. And I feel like kids were like, I want to do casting, I want to direct, because they wanted to be on Access Granted with the celebrities and the hot models, but they didn't really want to direct. They didn't really want to do Cassie, they didn't really want to be an actor. They just wanted what they saw. And that's why my Instagram you never see unless I repost,
which is out of respect and love. I don't put nothing up showing the glamor of this lifestyle because I don't want to continue to, you know, mis mislead people to what this is because it's seven days a week. Twenty four was a day you don't have no friends. You're home alone most of the time, like it's a lonely place. You know, your friends think you're crazy. You know, it's like you know, it's just it's now what people
think it is. Now. Once a month, i might get invited to the Oscars and I'm chilling with superstars and it looks like I'm living the glamorous life. But for the next thirty days, I'm here. I'm here all the time. This is where I'm at most of the time in my life. But yeah, like I said, that's a problem. Like say me trying to think of a role of a long person. I was thinking in English and I couldn't figure it out because I mean, how many how many starring rolls are there? Not many? Or it was
so long ago I don't remember, you know. But Spanish, I gotta tell you a couple in Spanish, because that's what they give us. They give us Spanish speaking budgets, budgets for Spanish speaking material, because there's numbers on the board of successful Spanish movies, but there's numbers on the board for English movies with Spanish people in it. You know, Like I said, right now, we just sold the Fat Joe series. You know, we sold that was going to
change the game. But the network we sold it to, which is a big network, I'm not sure if they publicly folded yet or not. You guys have that same network, but they folded, but it's under the bigger umbrella. So now we're in limbo waiting to see, you know, do they put it on the other channels they have or do they give it back? But everybody wants to show, but it's not out yet. We haven't started yet. But
it's going to change the game. The first time. You're going to see a bunch of Latinos that look like us, that speak like us, no accents, maybe New York accent, with a big studio, big budget behind, and a big you know ken you Baris, you know, Kenya Baris is like the god you know, he's like godfathers. He's the leader of this whole thing. So it's like he got he just dropped to two hits the what is it? The you people?
Was it? Yeah, he's yeah, he has two out. I don't know if the other show.
Yeah, white and then white Man can't Jump. But I'm just saying he's like, you know, he's the he's hitting home runs right now, and he's the one that that picked this project up and sold it and made it happen. So so so this potentially could change the game. And then Joe has the marketing love from everybody, so the minute of this drops every celebrity of repost and this and that, so people to watch. Is a great story.
And then now for the first time ever, there will be something on the board like wait a minute, this project with latinos got numbers. Yeah, to try another one, but right now we don't have that. There's no show with Spanish people that speak English that grew up in America on TV that's a hit. None.
We're gonna get to Teddy your question and we could just edit it just a little. We have to jump into class and session. So what's your question?
How are you doing your listen?
My question is with the writer's strike that's at now, what advice would you give to not only just actors, but people who are looking.
To become producers and scripts.
Advisor anything else as far as actors just getting into the industry with the writer strike going on, it will be your plan of attackle of your vision on how to navigate with that happening now.
I mean me personally. We just shot a movie that we just wrapped last week, so we took advantage of that and we got Tier one crew to work for after rate because they weren't working. So we took advantage of that, and we're actually getting ready to shoot something in a couple of weeks because of it. So we're taking advantage of it. It's like, you know, well, Marlon Wayne's told me many years ago, He's like, you know, uh,
you just got to do it yourself. If you're waiting for them, it's never gonna come, especially you who looks like you're on TV. Nobody. So who's in the cast you nobody? So you got to do it yourself. So you know, efor strike or like who cares? You know what I'm saying, Are you depending on them? You know, take advantage of That's why acting class is so dope because you meet other peers, other people. One guy's a writer,
one guys a director. Guys you put the piece. Like all my students, they're all shooting shit now you know, every single one of them they connected. This was a writer, was a director. Shout out to Derek, you know, he's a director. One of my classes. They're putting stuff together. It's like you got to take matters into your own hands.
You can't wait for anybody if you're waiting for somebody like people that tell me, you know, they hate me because I ruined their acting career because I never hired them. I'm like me, how about the other two nine hundred ninety nine casting directors, Like won't you blame them but to me for you know, like you can't wait for nobody, got it? You gotta And then now, like Tracy said earlier, you can shoot something with your phone. It's like it's
like there's no excuses more for us. Back in our day, you got to buy the film rolls of film, you have to get the cameras. Impossible, You need at fifteen thousand dollars to do a five minute idea. Now you can do for zero dollars and zero cents. So that's why I'm so hardcore. Tracy's like I'm always speak to truth or so or core whatever because like there's no excuses in me. No, you know what I'm saying, There's no excuses. Get up off your butts and let's go. That's it.
That's it. So thank you you guys, Thank you Elsa.
If we could just switch gears and go into class in session, we are going to go right in a class in session where Elsa's going to bring.
Our actors back up.
We have one actress that is joining us and and so else. If you could do the introduction to the scene, and let's jump in the class and session for you, and.
Then to do the intro to class and session and then I'll pull.
Okay, what is go into I'm just I'll say, you know, I'm Andy kin edited. So we're just gonna go right into class and session right now.
I was just going to use that as the intro.
Okay, So today on class in session we have miss Epic Vargas and mister Sidius Kane and we will have a narration by Reina.
Sedania like how Raina says it.
Okay, so we're gonna take our cameras on on our We're gonna put on mute and you guys on action.
We can begin the same Raina that's on you. Oh I didn't hear it. I didn't hear I'm at you, Okay.
In Syria, Grandla's country Club evening, the ballroom is vibrant with purple neon strobe lights shining and beaming off the huge glass chandelier over the dance floor, which is packed. Everyone is turned up it's that kind of wedding, jagged edged, let's get married just dropped. Mary heads over to the dance floor to join the party when Hr and Ben lock eyes again.
Excuse me, I had to come over and say something.
Hi and Ben, I know where you are, sleeve. Congratulations, this is beautiful.
You're beautiful.
Mary's taking a back surprise. She also realizes they're still holding hands since they greeted hello. She quickly drops her hand.
Thank you.
Who are you here with.
Angie?
I'm Angie's sister, so I'm her date tonight, the neighbor.
That'll be the one. Exactly.
Wow.
The attention is in their locked eyes towards each other is undeniable. Mary notices his wife looking for him as the song is appropriate.
I'm actually gonna go get a drink. Yeah, I think your wife is looking for you.
Yeah yeah, wait look look look, excuse me, wait, excuse me.
Look.
I know this is this is very inappropriate, but in all honesty, I've been locked on you since I saw you in the church.
And.
I just really wanted to know and I need to know that I see you again.
Ironically, Mary feels it as wrong as it is. She hesitates what.
Me too.
Mary notices that his wife has found him and it's on her way over.
She snaps out of it.
Congratulations again, yeah, Mary smiles and heads off.
He watches until he's interrupted by his new wife.
From behind.
She hugs on him as the DJ gets on the mic. Can we get a bend? And his beautiful wife Shauna to the dance door.
Let's go.
See see thank you? All right, Okay, it's on you, Yulie. Whatever you want to throw at them, you can.
Ah, I'm gonna say sorry first before I speak. You know, sometimes my my direction might feel hardcore, so so don't don't take hard feelings. So what I say, So number one is what's the girl's name that's reading rain Raina? So number one like, I don't know why you're reading, you know, but if you're reading because you want to be a reader, or you want to be considered to be an actor, or because you're part of the team or something, you know, like this is how it started.
You were like this, yeah, and then you were just like, oh, I gotta go. I even hear I gotta go now. So let me just naurish. So it already put me like that that that interrupted my energy now. So now, so now the actors are in trouble now because I was already like I didn't I didn't come into this with good energy because you were just like you don't want to be here.
You were just like to be Oh that's okay. I don't know.
I'm just saying like, that's how it felt like. You got punished. You got punished. And Tracy said, come read like damn it, and he was just like, so, I'm just saying, so if you're an actor, right, if you're an actors, people that read for me, they're actors, so they read, they could be in my eye lines, so the producers can see them, so they can have some kind of energy so we can consider them for other roles or whatever. But your energy, you know, wasn't good.
It is what I'm saying. So if you're if the camera sees everything, right, so this is everything, so you should always be here, like I can't wait, I can't wait till you know, like I can, so.
Can actual questions. So as a narrator, I can be.
Just as projective as the actors that are acting for their roles.
Of course, yeah, of course, right right? Why right? Why do it then? Okay, Like, nobody's a reader. All my readers are actors, you know what I'm saying. And they try to they try to overkill it, like and then they come into the house it startled, you know, and they try to make it entertaining. So we could like you. We could like you and be like are you an actor?
You know what? She can't be good for the Vanessa role, Like that's why you read to be in the room with us, to be hanging out with us, to start to get the relationship is everything, you know. So once you in the building, in the building with with Tracy Moore is like, wow, that's big. Now you're in the building with me, so it's like you should be like ready to have both of us fall in love with you,
you know what I'm saying. And this part head, this thing right here was like okay, and then she spoke actually you were like huh.
So I was telling I didn't you know, I didn't you.
I didn't your action market.
I don't even you to explain. I'm just telling you how it felt to me, how it felt to me. So the point of that is like, once you're here, it's action. Yeah, right now, this is called with the studio. The director of narrators is big, and we always have to show up looking great once you're on the camera. You know, all the time you've been a little figs. This is it. I can't wait. Okay, sure, let's go right.
Okay, And I just want to say this the most important thing for a reader. I have stressed this, Yuli since Urban World. You have to you you set the tone for the scene. You set the tone. And I've set this a thousand times a narrator. That's why you know, we have to find narrators, you know what I'm saying, because not everybody can be And this is a good teachable moment for you, Raina, because it is about energy and a narrator, like Julie said, a narrator is just down a narrator.
We're looking at you as an actor.
So it's the energy that you present yourself with is going to set the tone for the actors.
That's all I had to say.
And like I said, you know, and sometimes for me to express myself, it might come out hard, short, it might see me. Yeah, it's just for you to never do that ever again.
So next day. No, that's what I'm here for.
Yes, okay, okay, now you two up there right. I think you guys were equally the same as far as your performance. You guys both seemed like trained actors, like you've studied for a long time, and you guys are You guys are actors. That's what That's what I got out of it. But I felt like you guys followed every lesson taught to you guys. You know, I felt like there was a lot of thinking in the head, like let me pause here, let me do this expression,
like it was overthought. Like I don't think you guys were there at all. I think you guys were overthinking, you know. I feel like every expression, everything you did, you guys thought about it, Like when she says that I'm gonna do this, and when he says that I'm gonna, you know, be confused like this, and and and That's how I felt with the performance. But I felt you guys are good actors, so I would give you directions. Okay, guys,
let's stop the bullshit. Let's do it again. Smack him in the face like like kiss him, like whatever the energy was, I'm like, let's let's do that. Like, let's let's do it again. And I would like to do it again if we have time. I don't we have time to do it again? Do it?
We don't? They get one time to make a first impression.
Okay, so but I'm saying, but you guys came off like strong actors to me, for sure, right, but I felt like every night, let me ask you a question. What was your name? Uh?
Epic?
So let me ask you this epic question to you? Were you there one thousand percent? Were you in the or were you thinking? Let's be honest, I was there.
I feel like, what made me what kind of doo me off?
Was?
I forgot to call my window and I started to hear noise outside and I kept wanting to close the window.
So I was, yes, you were doing it, was closing windows and the people outside. Okay, how about you? What were you thinking?
I was, like you said, you know, honestly, I was really trying to grab the moments, and I was more focused in the moments because the words, Yeah, no, I was really trying to because this is not what I'm used to, so like me getting used to this.
And yeah, that's exactly one hundred percent. So thank you guys for being honest. But like I said, I saw the skills, I saw the you know, you guys are trained actors, correct, yes, sir, yeah, I saw that a mile away. But I just saw the overthinking that that interfered with with the real energy and the real expressions and the real movements. All that was like I felt with thought, you know. So so that was so that that's my that's my critique.
But that's just why I love him, Ladys and gentlemen all day.
But that performance works for TV all day, like you know, because I think half the shows on TV is that you know, hey, I'm finding you.
Yeah, yeah, I don't watch you see you later bye, because that's network. That's the fular network. You know so.
Well, Ladies and gentlemen, I want you guys to stand up for real. I want you to put your hands together for real, for the amazing, phenomenal dynamic. Mister you listen Terrero casting directors, there, director, producer story and I'll share. But I'm telling you I'm so so happy and so grateful you came on because I just need people to hear and I need actors to hear what you have
to say. And I'm so glad that this is going to come on next Tuesday and everybody is going and the drop with to be playing at just twenty four hour rotation so that people can come on the show next Tuesday and see you. But I just want to thank you again for being there and taking my call.
No, you're crazy. Thanks, So I'm honored to be here. So thank you for letting me your space and your and your Spirited Actors world and appreciate you.
You're always in my world.
Yulie.
I talk about you so much it should be burdened. I was talking about you the other day to Ian Gelfan. Hell yeah, yeah, because he directed fifty show on BT and we were talking. I was like, he comes to his class like you know, like Julie, Julie OUI is the man. So but I just again, you guys have been very, very blessed. I pray that you took all this information in and that you listen to his last comment.
Yes, yes, so be great and be humble. That's my advice. Be great and you humble. Now you can't lose, absolutely can.
Those are great words you guys to meditate and to embrace.
When we come.
Back to the Spirit Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore, I am going to be giving you love.
That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna give you some love, and now it's time to give love.
It takes discipline to live your life. And I'm talking about you. I'm not talking about everybody else. I'm not talking about your job. I'm not talking about your children. I'm talking about you. It takes discipline to eat right and to eat healthy. It takes discipline to work out and move your body. It takes discipline to have these evening routines of the you know, washing your face and putting sarah Va on and toner and all of that.
It takes discipline to live your life every day, make an effort to be disciplined, to practice something every single day and be consistent with it.
If I thought that inside the Black Box.
Was not going to happen, I would have stopped believing eighteen years ago. But I had the discipline and the focus and the passion and the commitment to see it through. Practice, practice, every single day, disciplining yourself. Maybe cutting out instead of having three cups of Starbucks, maybe you have one. Instead of going to bed at twelve, Maybe you try going to bed at nine every single day.
Make an effort to practice discipline.
Don't forget to look out for us on our new show, Inside the black Box. My co host will be Joe the Legend Morton. It's going to be this Spirited Actor Podcast on steroids.
We'll be streaming on the Crackle network. I'll keep you posted.
Thank you for joining us on the Spirited Actor Podcast with me Tracy Moore. I look forward to our next Spirited podcast.
Thank you.