You can also check out the original here.
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A shot-for-shot remake of the business card scene from “American Psycho.” With one thick, throbbing difference.
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American Psycho: Dick Version (non-cap)
May 14, 2008
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DO NOT CLICK HERE, films, internet, life, non - cap content | Tagged: american psycho | 
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Great Films: #8 - American Psycho
May 3, 2008
Forget Ironman, Spiderman or Superman. Bateman is the real super hero to a lot of guys.
Ladies, I’ll let you in on a little secret about us type A guys: We all have a little Patrick Bateman in us. Some more than others.
I don’t mean we all want to go out there and commit mass homicide (although…) but we all have the primal desire to be envied, to win, to kill all who don’t follow, to prove that we are the alpha male. We all participate in the rat race but really we’re just biding our time. The perfect time.
But then time passes. We get sidetracked. We get settled in our routines (of which we become slaves to). We meet a nice female. Perhaps THE right woman. We get tired of going out and spending mountains of cash to try to top this woman. So we settle down. We earn a few more bucks along the way. We have children. The white picket fence. And before you know it, we’re old. Unable to remember that calculating, go getting alpha dog with the killer instinct.
And then this movie comes out and reminds us who we once were. If at least only internally. If we’re younger and just starting out in the real world, we watch this movie and see our true potential realized. Metaphorically speaking of course.
“I can’t believe that Bryce prefers Van Patten’s card to mine.”
But when you dig deeper into this film, you realize these guys are all fighting over some higher being’s scraps. And you’re fully aware of this. But it still fascinates you and you can’t stop yourself from fighting on. Because deep down inside, you’re different. You’re like Bateman, but greater. Hubris? Not quite. But close.
If some or all of this makes little to no sense, that’s what goes on in a lot of our minds. It may not all make sense but somehow we make sense of it. The organized chaotic mind of man.
I don’t know any hetero guy who doesn’t love this movie. They may not always admit it in front of their ladies, but when there are no ladies around, trust me, they admit they love it. Other films have played into this type of theme before: Fight Club, In The Company of Men, even Glengarry Glen Ross was about the wear and tear of the male ego as he traverses through a very indifferent world. Those aforementioned films are all good films. No doubt about it. But American Psycho is the best.
What makes American Psycho so unique is that it truly takes not only an honest examination of the male ego (though extremely exaggerated in the way it manifests itself) but it’s also completely and wholly unapologetic in it. The film doesn’t really pass any judgment on Bateman. It casually delivers the permission to it’s audience to celebrate it. Watch closely.
And the fact that it was directed by a woman. (BTW, she has an incredible sense of aesthetics in this film on how to make violence look so ironic, comical and beautiful.)
“I think their undisputed masterpiece is Hip To Be Square!”
It’s not easy being a man. There are a lot of pressures placed on us by every force imaginable, especially ourselves. Some cope. Some answer the challenge. Patrick Bateman just so happens to kill. And he enjoys it. Just check out his myspace page. Or does he? Check out the movie and share your interpretations of what the ending means. I’m dying to know.
“I’m into murders and executions mostly.”
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films, great films, life, potentially useful info, top ten - great films | Tagged: american psycho, great films, mary harron, Movies, patrick bateman | 
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Voice Over Tip: The three most important tips when auditioning for an animation voice over role
April 4, 2008The following tip is something I learned from one of the most successful voice over actors to ever speak into a Neumann mic.
Personally speaking, he was actually quite a prick as well as a complete and utter douchebag with serious anger issues. However that doesn’t change the fact that he is very good at his profession proven by the decades of success that continues to this very day. A few years ago when he spent a few hours transferring a lifetime’s worth of knowledge to our directors, agents, casting folks and other actors, it was one of the most important and rewarding blocks of time ever spent.
I pass along this knowledge to you now.
1) Energy
And by “energy“, I don’t mean for anyone to yell, scream, shout or even raise your voice necessarily. I mean: be present. Don’t be lethargic. Don’t try to be cool and “not care”. In on-camera acting this may work because you have your body, face and eyes to contribute conveying your message. But in voice over this comes off very uninteresting and dull. And if you don’t care, why should anyone else? And why should anyone hire you?
At this stage you’re painting the whole picture with just your voice.
Next time you watch your favorite animated show, film or webisode close your eyes and really concentrate on how the actors sound and perform. Even when the scene calls for a lazy character or situation, chances are the actor won’t play them half asleep and dull.
Once you listen with your eyes closed, try the same lines yourself. Better yet, record yourself doing the same lines. Then play back your take and compare it to the actual character’s take (thank TIVO!). This isn’t about copying their voice or character (for that you should check this out) so don’t worry about anything else but on the energy of the performance.
Always be present and always have energy.
2) Clarity
Diction and enunciation are important. But I don’t mean you have to sound like a Rhodes Scholar or even Patrick Bateman:
What a great flick! Christian Bale’s Bateman is such a crazy pimp!
So you don’t have to sound like an ivy league educated yuppie turd either. But we do need to understand what you are saying. Even when the scene is supposed to be very “natural” and “conversational” between two drunk Scots, the words have to be delivered in a manner where the real drunk Scottish dude watching at home doesn’t need the closed captioning switch turned on to comprehend what your character is tyring to communicate.
Even at his most Scottish best, you can still make out what he’s saying.
Don’t mumble.
Even when the scene has a parenthetical that denotes (mumbles), try to get a word or two in there that means something. Have you ever tried mumbling an entire sentence in real life? It actually sounds very unnatural (even for an already unnatural sound). Even at my most drunken state when I used to makes those dreaded drunk dials to ex-girlfriends, friends with benefits or even the occasional bottom bitch (Iceberg Slim was right: Pimping is not a job, it’s a life.) they could still make out quite a few words in my stuporfied speeches.
3) Variety
Now this is something that’s geared more towards your audition for an animated character. Afterall, if you book the job, one hopes that the director will fine tune your performance to what they need for the show, film, etc.
Too often I’ve heard actors receive sides that include a full scene and basically play the whole scene in one note.
“But the character is angry here so I played her angry.”
There’s more than one type of anger. If you’ve ever been angry at anyone or anything in your life you know that that shit builds up, goes off in unexpected directions, takes a turn for the worse (or better) and culminates into something that could be too intense to handle. There is no such thing as a straight, all-purpose “angry” road.
O.G. Hulk! Grrr!! Bitches!
Then there are various variables with volume and tone that can combine to create an anger that’s very unique to you as well as the situation. Exploring a lot of those options in your audition creates a full fledged character. It helps your interpretation come to life. It gets animated. It gets you the bookings.
Provide some variety in your reads / auditions. Even if you have to add a little improv to bridge certain beats and emotions within your performance. Just, no matter what you do, don’t be that douchebag novice actor who “plays it angry because the character is angry”.
Energy. Clarity. Variety.
You work on those three aspects of your audition and your chances of booking that job goes up exponentially. I see it happen every single day.
I’m tired of talking about VO now. I’m going back to discussing more of me next time.
Seriously, how bloody awesome is American Psycho?
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potentially useful info, voice over, work | Tagged: acting, american psycho, animation, audition, hulk, voice over, voice over tip | 
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