I'm Very Versatile

Me. Fabulous me.

I am sitting in my car on the set of a movie as I write this blog entry. I have been working on the Warner Brothers production Run All Night for the past few days. It is a lot of fun being back on a movie set-- I haven't been on a big budget movie set since for more than one day since I filmed Not Another Teen Movie in 2001. After that, I did TV shows and low budget flicks.

Everyone has been asking me how I booked this job. To be completely honest with you, I am really focused on getting the talent registered with Cain Casting work. In order to do that, I need to register with a variety of websites so that I can access breakdowns and submit people for consideration. Before I fully register my talent, I see if the site is legit and effective by creating a profile for myself and submitting myself for a variety of projects.

One of these websites is Casting Networks, which is owned by Central Casting. I used to do extra work with them in LA, which gave me my start in TV. I did not register with Central Casting before registering on Casting Networks. This website has principal roles as well as background work listed, and everything in between. There are print jobs, commercials, film, etc for pay and no pay. It depends on what you are submitted for.

So, I created a Casting Networks account. I saw a lot of featured extra work, so I submitted myself for a few things. Shockingly, I was snatched up immediately by Kee Casting for a movie called Life Itself for a featured role. Well, I got there and, just like Staten Island Summer, the part was cut. I ended up playing one of the pedestrians walking by Morgan Freeman & Diane Keaton on the street. I don't do anything special-- just walk by. That was last Friday.

I went into NYC for a big audition for an industrial video that shoots for 3 days in San Francisco. I had time, so I went over to Central Casting and registered. (Personally, I think extra work is fun. I like to meet people. Plus, I'm pretty good at networking.) Make no mistake-- I do not want to do a lot of extra work. However, I will certainly do it if the opportunity arises, especially since I found out that any money I earn from extra work counts toward my pension with the Screen Actors Guild AND for health insurance. (I currently have my health insurance through my husband's job, but Obamacare is going to force us into the government system in a few years.) So, yeah, it would be stupid of me to turn my nose up again ANY work if if means security for me and my family in the future.

But, I digress.

Me and my kids.

When I got home, I received a text message asking me if I got the email to work night. I didn't. The text message told me to report to set and bring my blue Mazda to be a picture car. I said okay. Later on, an email arrived in my inbox, telling me where to go and to bring winter clothes. I confirmed everything and headed to the location. Incidentally, this is also the day that my daughter lost her first tooth, so it was a happy day.

I parked my car and went to holding, where I saw Anthony, the adorable PA from Staten Island Summer! We chatted for a few hours, and then I was sent home. They never got to the scene, as it sometimes happens. I was instructed to come back the next night with the Mazda.

I arrived the next night with the Mazda, which is parked next to the main character's house. It has been established on camera, so it MUST be in every shot outside the house. EVERY. SCENE.

Without me, by the way.

I was used briefly in a shot with the second unit, but I personally was not really established on camera. But my

car is. I was wrapped at 6:30am, got home in time to kiss my kids and send them off to school, and went to bed at . I woke up at, took a shower, saw my kids for a little, and headed back to set for a 6:00pm call time.

I got to set, grabbed some dinner, and put my car in its place. I've been sitting in my car for the past 3 hours. They are shooting behind me and can't see me in the car. That's fine-- it is freaking freezing outside.

Me in a cop uniform. Why? Stay tuned.

My hope is that they see what a great sport I've been and keep bringing me back. They are shooting some interiors tonight, so I am pretty sure they won't use me for that. Fortunately, I was given a call sheet for today and can cross off what they have finished. I truly have no idea as to how long I will be here, but I am so okay with that.

I really want to lead by example for the talent I manage. There was a guy on set last night that just complained and moaned... It sucked. I mean, be thankful for the work. Have a good attitude on set-- these crew guys (especially the PAs) have enough stress and don't need to listen to an extra --excuse me, background artist-- gripe. There are 17,000 other people ghost would give their left arm to be in your position. Be grateful. Do what you're told. Have a positive attitude.

That's all you need to get ahead. Oh, and some talent, of course.

Some Old and then Some New Tricks

Back in 1983

When I got involved in the entertainment industry, I was just a kid. I'd be lying to you if I told you that I remembered everything about it-- I really don't. My earliest memory is watching my father playing Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, then jumping up and yelling, "Don't you hurt my daddy!" when someone held a sword to his throat. I was really upset, because the lights went out - the intermission, unbeknownst to a five year old - and then my dad and all of the other people on stage were gone when the lights came back on. 

A man dressed in black with a headset on came up to me, my mom and my sister and said that he would take me to see my dad. We went backstage, and my dad was talking to the guy that had just held a sword to his throat. To this day, I remember everything about that man's face-- Brown hair, brown beard, brown eyes, wearing a blue tunic, thin, tall... You get the idea. He was a scary dude-- At least, he was to five year old me. Anyway, my dad told me how they were really friends and how they were pretending to fight on stage so that they could tell a story.

I was fascinated.

Photo by Molly Garcia

I really think that is the moment in time when I was bitten by the acting bug. I wanted to pretend, too. I believe the way that I believed. I wanted to tell people stories. I wanted people to make people clap, laugh, cry and, most of all, believe that I was the character that I was portraying.

Soon after that, I watched the original Freaky Friday with Jodie Foster. I would only use the name Annabel, and I couldn't understand why people didn't want to play make believe with me. My dad explained to me what actors are.

To be totally honest with you, I never really wanted to be a professional actor. Sure, it looked like fun, but it wasn't my dream. I wanted to have more control than that. I decided that I wanted to be the person that wrote the stories that people were acting out. I wrote my very first play - A Journey to Chocolateland - when I was in third grade. I majored in Dramatic Literature in college, at The George Washington University. Several of my plays were performed, and I even started a production company that was in action until 20011. (Technically, it's still around-- I just haven't done any productions recently.) 

Click the link to purchase my play

Right before I got married in 2005, I was published by Baker's Plays in Boston. I actually received the galleys (author's copies) the day before I got married, which was really cool since I dedicated the play to my soon-to-be husband. Last year, Samuel French bought the rights to my plays, which is wicked cool. All in all, I have four different plays published with Samuel French: The Lovesick Cat, The Woodsmen & The Fairy, The Lion & The Mouse and The Tortoise & The Hare. They are performed all around the world, and I get a nice check once a year. It's really cool.

But I've been blocked lately, and haven't written any plays. I need to get back on it, because I do have some good ideas. I'd really love to write a musical, but I don't know the first thing about writing music.

Anyway, I digress.

When I lived in Los Angeles (Jan 2001 - Jan 2004), I had an agent. My agent was awful. She kept telling me that I needed to lose weight-- Like 30lbs. Thirty pounds is a helluva lot of weight to lose! Why would you sign someone that might not lose that weight? If only I knew now what I knew then... 

Today was a good day.

This agent did NOTHING for me. I think I got one audition from her in 3 years. Well, as a talent manager, I see a lot of breakdowns-- And there are TONS of roles for people my size!!! It's nuts. Tomorrow, I'm shooting a movie called Life Itself in Manhattan. On Monday, I've got an audition for an industrial that films in San Francisco and pays over $2000 plus travel.  And this morning, I was signed by MSF Talent - Print Division to be one of their plus size models. 

So, yeah, today was a good day in the life of Candice.

I've gotta say, I was a little nervous about signing an exclusive agreement with MSF. I've been submitting myself and landing gigs. But, they only wanted me for print work, which I really don't do all that much of. (Yes, working with Steve and Desiree was a print job, which is what I started this entire blog on... But I get more acting parts for myself than not.) So, I signed the agreement and sent it in. I will give it 6 months. If I feel that I can do a better job than they can, I will end my agreement. But, I have never had an agent in NY-- Let alone one that wanted me exclusively. They take 20% of my gross, which is 10% more than what I get from the people I manage. So, we shall see where this takes us over the next 6 months... 

Let Me Do A Few Tricks

People drive me crazy. 

No, let me rephrase that...

Stupid people drive me crazy. I'm talking about people that don't use common sense. People that you have to repeat things to OVER AND OVER to get them to understand. People that don't listen. People that tell you one thing, then do another. Most of all, people that waste my time drive me absolutely BONKERS.

Unfortunately, a lot of those people are the types that you encounter in the entertainment industry. Since I was pretty much born into the entertainment world, I get it. I have a skin as thick as leather. I know that you have to hear "no" 99 times before you get to that "yes."

However, sometimes I get spoiled. Sometimes, jobs start rolling in one after the other, and I just expect that I'm going to be cast in everything that I submit for. Yes, I become a stupid person.

And then something happens to slap me back into reality. 

Attitude?? Moi????

Let's take for instance a new reality show that seemingly fell into my lap. When I'm not an actress, I'm an event and travel planner. A reality show, Wedding Lane with Candy Cain, was in development about me, my family and my business. It never came to fruition, which is what happens with so many projects out there, and I moved on. This week, another reality show came knocking on my door-- Looking for an "event guru with an attitude."

Ahem.

Needless to say, I submitted for it. I got an email back right away, telling me how fabulous I am, and how I fit in with their team, yada yada yada. You know, a bunch of ego-stroking. They asked me for pics, and I sent them. I was told I was amazing-- More ego-stroking. They asked for me to take a video RIGHT NOW, so I did. They thanked me, told me I'm wonderful, etc. In short, they made me feel like I was going to be a part of this production.

CANDYWOOD RULE #1: Never trust anyone until you sign a contract.

While eating dinner with my family last night, I got a one line email:

We decided to go in a different direction.

Hair & Makeup for the show that never came to be

Yep. Shunned. Used and abused. Led on and turned away. Strung along, then the string was cut. You get the idea.

I'm more annoyed at myself for getting so comfortable, than at the production company for making me believe that I had it. That happens all the time. I also run a small casting and talent management company, and that happens to the people that I manage all the time. This time, it was just me that it happened to. I've been carrying that feeling of rejection since yesterday, and it doesn't feel good. I'm in need of a Stuart Smalley moment.

Let Me Make You Smile

My headshot from 2001, my LA days.

Have I mentioned that I love the entertainment industry? I really do. Even all of the crap that comes with the people that think they're the hottest poop out of God's rear end-- I just love it. (And, yes, I wrote poop. I have 5 year old twins, remember?) Granted, I make fun of those self-important celebrity wannabes... I still love it. Those types of people give me plenty of writing material.

My maiden name is Cook. When I did my stint in Los Angeles back in 2001 - 2004, I went by my maiden name. Now I'm Candice Cain-- Yes, Candy Cain. It's my married name. I didn't choose it. My husband chose me, and I am old-fashioned so I took his last name. (Hey, it could have been worse. In college, I was friends with a guy named Cody Landis. If that led somewhere, I could have been Candice Landis.) So, when people try to do research on Candy Cain, they usually find all sorts of drag queens and porn stars-- So they think I'm full of crap. They treat me like garbage. Essentially, they have no idea who they are dealing with.

Then, when I tell them that I worked as an actress and used the name Candice Cook, and they do that research... Well, their tune changes. It's kind of comical really. I love watching people treat me like crap, knowing full well that they are going to eat crow once it dawns on them that they are looking up the wrong name. Sometimes I hand them the ketchup.

I'm nice to people that I like. I really am. I bend over backwards to help people. People I don't like? Well... That is an entirely different story. I might look sweet and people might tell you that I'm really nice, but I'm not. I'm sweet and nice to the people that I like. Otherwise, I'm incredibly condescending and sarcastic. I'm working on it, though. I really am.

In short, I've got an over-the-top personality. Everyone that knows me knows this. Other people, however, are somehow shocked. I don't know why. I'm larger-than-life to begin with. I'm 5'9" tall (plus half an inch-- but who is counting?) and I'm a plus-sized woman. (I'm working on that, too, though.) However, in the entertainment industry, this works to my advantage.

Big Hair? Check. Big Hips? Check.

A couple of weeks ago, I was going through the breakdowns for my talent roster. I saw a casting call for a woman with "big hair, big hips and a big personality." Honey, you can't get much bigger than me. That is exactly the way I started out my letter to the casting director, none other than the fabulous Desiree Kennedy. I was called that afternoon to come in for an audition the next day. I wore an orange shirt, black capris and my sandals-- And I did my hair rather big. (Take a look at the photo to the right.) I headed on into NYC and met Desiree. She's a doll-- We hit it off right away, talking about our names. (I went through a time when I was younger where I wouldn't answer to any name but Desiree, which was my great-grandma's name.)  

My go-see consisted of me pretending to bowl in front of a cool photographer. I didn't get his name, and was in and out pretty quickly. I was the biggest, baddest broad there-- All of the other women were skinny minnies. I felt like a fish out of water, and figured I wasn't going to get the part. Heck, I didn't even know what it was for-- Only that it was a paying gig for a nutritional company that could turn into a national print campaign. It was easy. It was fun. And, yes, I'd totally do it again.

You can imagine my surprise when my phone rang late the next day, and it was Desiree calling me to tell me that they wanted me for the shoot. I was going to be a "avid bowler" for a... get this... Metamucil print ad!!! 

Metamucil??? ME??? I'm 36!

Yeah, that was my thought process. However, I am certainly aware that fiber is for everyone. The majority of Americans do not have enough fiber in their diet. As a matter of fact, I actually do drink a fiber drink each day. It's good for your heart, circulatory system, digestive tract, etc.

But, I digress. 

I landed the gig and headed into NYC for the shoot on Monday. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! The photographer that took the test shots of me was the photographer-- a hysterical guy named Steve Lesnick. Not only is he a really cool dude, he's a fantastic photographer. I got into my outfit, hair and makeup, picked up my bowling ball and had an absolute blast shooting with him. I've never, ever, ever worked with such a fantastic photographer before.

As a matter of fact, the whole crew was fantastic: Marissa, Lana, Cecily, Steve and, of course Desiree. The time just flew by. We had a lot of laughs, and now need to wait and see if the pics are used by Metamucil for their national print campaign.

Me in First Magazine - March 2012

This was my first big step back in front of the camera. I mean, I did a makeover shoot in the beginning of 2012 for First For Women Magazine, but that was just using average people and unpaid. Anyone could have submitted for that and gotten chosen.  

This job was different. I was chosen from other talent that had submitted to be a part of the shoot. I worked with a casting director, producer, photographer and crew. I was paid for what I did. It was a professional job.

And I loved every minute of it.

Landing this gig gave me confidence. It reminded me of what I used to do before I had kids, and even before I got married. I'm really good in front of the camera. I also happen to be good behind the scenes. Now I'm working where I'm actually able to do both. Life is good.

Let Me Entertain You...

Hi there! I'm Candice. Thanks for reading my blog.

A little about me... My name is Candice Cain and I'm a professional actress. At least, I was until I stopped acting to start a family. (It's a lonnnng story for another time about why I couldn't perform while pregnant.) I had twins, Charles and Catherine, 7 weeks early and always said that I would get back into the entertainment industry once they turned five.

Well, they're 5 now, and here I am again.

I own a travel company, called Candy Cain Travel. I also work from home with a marketing company. But when I was watching an episode of Malcolm in the Middle that I was in, my son said to me, "Mommy, I want to be on TV, too."  So, I submitted him for a commercial... And he got the part. Then I submitted him for a photoshoot... And he got that part, too. 

A friend of mine asked me if I could get her daughter started, so I gave it a try... And I got her cast, too. I seemed to be pretty good at it, so I started Cain Casting, a casting service and talent management company. As I was submitting talent for roles, I started seeing parts that fit me... And so I started submitting myself.

And I started getting cast.

This is my blog that will follow my return to the entertainment industry. Have fun reading it!