Well, I Got It.

Me and 1 of the stars of UNSPOKEN, Lilianna

HECK YES.

Believe me, I would like to write something a bit more explicit, but I know that younger eyes do read this blog, so I will do my best to keep it G-Rated. But, HECK YES.

HECK YES.

Why the heck-i-ness? Well, my dear reader, my short film, Unspoken, won a Special Selection Award at the 2015 Olive Tree International Film Festival. We were all pretty shocked when they called "Unspoken by Candice Cain." I was so shocked that I didn't even get out of my seat until Amie, who was sitting in front of me, turned around, grabbed my leg and growled "GET UP!" My husband jumped up first, then I did. I quickly kissed him, walked down the stairs, grabbed the award from the presenter's hand, mumbled "Thank you" and returned to my seat. No kidding-- I didn't even give a thank you speech or anything!! Everyone from my crew looked at me incredulously. I honestly hadn't prepared anything, and I wasn't even in the mindset to improv anything. It was pure, unadulterated shock. That being said, I think I set a precedent for the rest of the winners since I was the first one called-- Absolutely NO ONE else gave a speech. They finished half an hour earlier than they anticipated!!! HAH! (Oops... My bad.)

Catherine, Charles & Allison in the cab.

Honestly, we had an unbelievable time that day. We all went in to NYC from various points on Long Island, watched our film on the big screen, and almost everyone came to my house for dinner catered by a local Italian restaurant. Oh, and I serenaded the people that I worked with on Unspoken with a parody I wrote with my mom and Nicole on the train home from NYC. My heart is still singing over it, and I can't wait until next year's Cain Awards to do a recap of everything. 

Honestly, I can't wait until we are accepted into the next film festival! I use FilmFreeway.com to find out what film festivals are available to us. We are currently waiting for a response from 46 of them to see where we stand. We have already had two screenings of Unspoken, so I'm positively thrilled. Considering that our budget was just $68, I think the fact that we have been screened at TWO film festivals speaks volumes of what an amazing cast and crew we had. Perhaps if our budget was higher, we would have been accepted to more festivals. Perhaps if we had better equipment, we would have won even more awards. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Anthology Film Archives theatre

Frankly, it doesn't matter to me how we fare at film festivals. This was our first project right out of the gate. We did it on $68 and 43 people were involved in creating it. The guy sitting next to me spent over $22,000 on his short film, Top of the Rock. Believe me, it was very well done. They had a budget for a green screen, which was cool. And it was a period piece. They took home the award for Best Narrative at Olive Tree. It was easily my favorite film of the night.

If I had $22,000, I would make a kick-butt short film, too. (G-rated, remember...) These guys used IndieGogo to raise their budget. Unspoken was entered into the 2015 Disability Film Challenge at the last minute, so we didn't use IndieGogo to raise any funds. If I had $110,000, I would make an AMAZING feature film. As a matter of fact, I already have the script for it: What Happened Last Night. I even have several actors already interested in being a part of it. I've got locations. I've got a crew. I've got the potential to make my kick-butt movie.

My excited face.

Now, I don't ask for a lot of things. I rarely, RARELY ask for favors. (This weekend, I did as my "little brother" to rescue me from the Jersey Turnpike after my brake line broke...) I do a LOT of things for a LOT of people. I've raised money for all sorts of causes and individuals. I've written recommendation letters for at least 100 people in my lifetime. I've spoken to groups, classes, meetings and such without charging a dime. Heck, I donate clothes every single time Big Brothers & Big Sisters calls me. I volunteer a lot-- As much as my busy schedule permits.

Yes, I sell a lot of stuff. I own a travel agency AND I work from home with another company. (Not as much as I used to, though...) I own Cain Talent, and I post a lot about it on FaceBook. Heck, I post a lot about travel and working from home, too. Oh, and let's not forget about eBay. I love selling stuff on eBay, and even do it for my daughter's twirling organization, The Sparklers. I'm sure I annoy the heck out of people. That's fine-- people can just unfollow me or hide what they don't want to see. I do it to those posts I don't want to see!

Anyway, I'm asking for help now. I want to make my film, What Happened Last Night, and I need help in two ways: Spreading the word and contributions. Now, a LOT of people have shared. I have 1,150 views on the IndieGogo Campaign from the USA alone. Canada is next with 18. France and Germany each have 9 views. There are 26 other countries with between 1 - 4 views as well.  If all of those people viewing the IndieGogo Campaign contributed even $1, we would have raised well over $1,000. Who knows how much we would have accumulated if each person shared it? Of all of those people, we have 13 people that have contributed for a total of $466. I need $109,534 more to meet the budget.

The Unspoken cast & crew after winning at Olive Tree

Obviously, I need help from anywhere I can get it. I need help in any amount. As I said, we are currently at $466 on the IndieGogo campaign. Once we hit $500 on that campaign, I will release the name of one of the actors playing a minor character. That's only $34, folks!! And check out the awesome perks that you can get when you click to contribute to our IndieGogo Campaign. There's something for everyone-- Even something for people that don't want a perk. (Nothing, actually. You get nothing for $1. You want to contribute, but want us to leave you alone.)

I'm not going to overwhelm you with all of the other ways that you can help with making What Happened Last Night a reality. I've applied for grants. I've contacted business owners. I've made videos. I've posted on FaceBook. I've done a ton. This movie will get made. I've got an awesome crew and cast so far. Several name actors are reading the script.

I cannot express to you how great it feels to be a part of something so... amazing. It's the only word that I can use to describe how it felt to create a film from a flicker of an idea and have it culminate with watching it on the big screen and winning an award for it. It was exhilarating-- And the movie was only a little over four minutes long. The thought of having my film - a feature length romantic comedy - on the screen for an hour and a half gives me goosebumps.

We have 30 days exactly left on this IndieGogo Campaign. Please share. Please contribute-- Even if you have $1. If 1000 people contributes $1, we'd have $1,000.

We WILL make this film. Be a part of it.

Please.

Ya Like It?

Photo by Katie Bogdanski

Since my last blog entry about The Secret, things have been absolutely AMAZING in my life. It has been a little over a month since writing that, and things are just AWESOME. I feel very, very blessed and fortunate. I always believed that I would be a success in the entertainment industry, although I never knew how. I've been an actress, writer, director, producer, casting director, stage manager and more... Never did I ever think that I would be able to wear all of these hats and be successful. I'm 

Make no mistake - I know that I'm successful because of the people that support me, those that give me opportunities, and, of course, thanks to God. I may seem like a one-woman-show, but I'm certainly not. My staff alone (Shannon, Joe, Kristin, Alena, Heeral and Kevin) are why Cain Talent has done so well. I thank them as often as I possibly can, and I know that they know that I truly, truly appreciate them.

The first super-exciting thing that happened was that my short film, Unspoken, was accepted into the 2015 Olive Tree International Story-Teller Film Festival, which will be held on August 29 in NYC. We are up for Best Film, which carried a $500 prize! Second place is $250 and third place is $100. I really hope that we place in the top three. A lot of people are heading into NYC to attend the festival. Two of the teens on my talent roster, Mikal and Makayla, will be speaking to the audience and actually opening the festival. Unspoken is the very first film that will be screened at the festival. I can't wait!

A couple of weeks after that, I received an email stating that Unspoken will be screened in the 3rd Annual Enumclaw Film & Arts Festival on August 22. This isn't a competition, and I really, really, really wish that I could attend, but it just isn't feasible. Heck, I wish I had someone in Washington State that could attend for me, but no such luck. It is going to be screened at the Chalet Theatre. It would be so stinkin' cool to see Unspoken on the west coast! I mean, it's going to be amazing in NYC, but the entire cast and crew is from here. The fact that it was chosen to appear across the country just amazes me.

Then I was asked to be interviewed for Adam Symkowicz's blog for being a published playwright with Samuel French. That interview will be posted this Saturday. Needless to say, I feel like I am on top of the world right now-- So much so that I decided to produce my first feature film, a romantic comedy entitled What Happened Last Night.

I wrote What Happened Last Night when I was in college as a stage production. I wrote, directed and starred in the play. It was the highest grossing show ever in the history of the theatre where we did the show-- Which was pretty freaking amazing for a college sophomore!! I adapted it into a screenplay in 1999 and did an EXTREMELY amateur version of it. I have no clue where it went, but I do know that I have the only copy-- somewhere.

I have since re-written the film, and am currently working on the third draft. We are going to film this movie in the late Fall on Long Island, and I truly couldn't be more excited. It has been a really long time since there has been a good college romantic comedy. What Happened Last Night fills that void.

YOU, my dear reader, can be a part of What Happened Last Night by participating in the IndieGogo Campaign that we've got going on. At the time of this blog entry, we have raised $226 and still have 48 days left. You can select the perk you would like, or even just contribute $1 right here:

That's pretty much for people that are interested in just supporting the movie and that want to find a way to be involved to participate. We were also awarded a grant from AIM Hatch Fund to film this movie. However, in order to collect our grant, we have to get contributors to this 501c3 charity. It's really terrific, because we are able to support other artists while setting up our grant. Furthermore, EVERY donation to our Hatch Fund page is tax-deductible! As a matter of fact, you will get a receipt for your files IMMEDIATELY! Considering that we are entering the fourth fiscal quarter, this is a really great opportunity for those that need a tax write-off.


I can't wait for the film festival on the 29th. I can't wait to start shooting What Happened Last Night. I am so, so, so blessed to be in the position I am in. Thank you for being so supportive, even if it is just reading my blog.

Light the Lights

Me.

Life amazes me. Ten years ago, I had changed the date of my wedding from September 10 to April 9. I was still acting-- I had just landed the role of the Mother Superior in the musical "Nunsense" at Clare Rose Playhouse in Patchogue, NY. My husband-to-be was working the midnight shift as a police officer. We had just purchased a townhouse in Middle Island a few months earlier. There were two things that I knew would not change: my love for my husband and my love for acting.

Well, I was wrong about both of those things. 

Not to sound cheesy, but my love for my husband has only grown and gotten stronger. It certainly did change, especially last summer when I almost lost him. Having our twins strengthened our love for one another-- It forced us to work as a team more. I know way more about him now than I did ten years ago. Yes, there are things that are annoying about him, but I love him no matter what.  I can't picture my life without him.

I thought that was howI would feel about acting for the rest of my life.  I never thought that anything would ever take the place of it. Ever. Yes, I stopped acting in 2007 so that I could get pregnant via IVF. Once we had the twins, I said I would go back to it when they were five. I did some voiceover jobs here and there, but I never got back into it. 

Dat face. (Charles, my son)

I never expected my son to tell me that he wanted to be an actor when he was five. As you may already know, he is the reason why I got into talent management. Never did I expect that in a mere 17 months I would have nearly 300 people on my talent roster. Never did I expect to have a staff of four other people and three interns. Never did I expect requests for me to expand to Chicago, New England, Texas, Atlanta and even Los Angeles.

Never did I expect to find something that would replace my love of acting.

One of the biggest things that I love about my company is the face that I help people-- especially kids-- go after their dreams. A mom told me that she and some other mothers in my company have dubbed me "The Dream Maker." You have no idea how that makes me feel. My company is called Cain Talent, and we somehow came to calling the people on my roster "Cainiacs." We even have an official sweatshirt. Heck, Stephen Spielberg has referred my company to producers. That's saying something about Cain Talent. That's saying something about the people of Cain Talent, especially those on my roster.

Don't get me wrong-- I'm not bragging. I'm just so pleased with the way that everything has turned out. I know that I have a reputation for being really strict and having a hot temper... I don't mind. I don't need any more friends. I don't need people to LIKE me; I just need them to like my WORK. I have extremely high standards for the people on my roster, and they all know it. I have a reputation for being tough. I know that people talk behind my back. I am very much "what you see is what you get" when it comes to my personality. I'm honest to a fault-- And that's why Casting Directors, Casting Companies and Production Companies choose to work with my company over so many others out there. They know that they can count on whomever I refer to them. My talent is able to use my reputation to further their careers. And, again, I don't mind it one bit. That's part of talent management-- Building reputations of my talent so that they go further in the entertainment industry.

Gabe saying thanks to contributors.

Speaking of helping my talent go further in the entertainment industry, three of the kids on my roster (ages 10 and 11) received their Must-Join letters from SAG-AFTRA. In order to help their families get the $3200 for their children to join this prestigious union (of which, by the way, I have been a member for the past 13 years), I set up GoFundMe.com fundraisers. That way, people can contribute whatever they would like so that the financial burden is lifted off of these parents. I've been criticized for this, but I really don't care... I constantly see people running GoFundMe campaigns for trips for their kids, money for items they lost, etc. Who is to say that I can't do this for my talent? It's not fair. Frankly, if you don't want to contribute, then don't contribute.  No one is forcing you to. However, don't criticize openly, because then you will deter others that want to contribute from contributing. I have over 3500 followers. This blog has over 5000 unique views. It would be so nice if people could support one another rather than criticize. Yes, these kids might not have terminal illnesses or anything to that effect, but they DESERVE support. They are hard working children. CHILDREN. I mean, these kids weren't even born when I first became interested in show business. Their careers are moving so rapidly, and people have the change to help them.

Isabella, our first SAG-AFTRA kid

The first child that became a Must-Join with SAG-AFTRA was Isabella. Her GoFundMe.com campaign to raise $3200 was successful and completed in SIXTEEN days! She is the first Cainiac to actually join SAG-AFTRA, funded by our efforts. I (and the rest of my company) am so proud to have been able to make a difference in this kid's life. People pulled together and contributed what they could... It was absolutely amazing to see how fast  it happened for her. The money was deposited into the company bank account, we wrote a check and signed an agreement with Bella's mom, then she went into NYC and had her join the union. It was absolutely uplifting and amazing. This is something that Bella and her family are going to remember for the rest of their lives. Who knows where Bella's career might go? We will support her as much as we can, guide her, help her and encourage her to follow her dreams. We will be there to catch her when she falls, lift her up when she gets knocked down, applaud her at her successes... The same way we will for ALL of our talent.

People usually don't see this "soft" side of me, so I might as well let it all out now. I am extremely fortunate to be in my position. I watch these kids (and even some adults) grow into successes. I light the way for them. I set the path for them to follow. I give them what they need in order to become a success. Can they do it without me? Probably. I'm not patting myself on the back by any means. I'm just saying how cool it is for me to have a hand in what all of these people are doing. It makes me feel very special.

If you'd like to support Gabriel's GoFundMe campaign, you can CLICK HERE. If you'd like to support Gunnar's GoFundMe campaign, you can CLICK HERE.  If you don't want to make a choice and just want to contribute to the SAG-AFTRA fee for one of our kids that makes it, you can CLICK HERE.

You can also learn more about our Cainiacs and how you can become one by watching our latest YouTube video. And, if you'd like to buy the 2015 Cainiac sweatshirt, just visit our sales page by February 28.

Curtain Up...

Stephen Spielberg with some Cainiacs

Oh boy.

 

Since I last posted a blog entry, my company has COMPLETELY exploded... And I mean that in a good way. It has been absolutely insane. Once we finished shooting "St. James Place" with Tom Hanks, directed by Stephen Spielberg, things just got bigger and bigger and BIGGER... Since August, my talent has appeared in 49 television shows and 23 feature films. Plus, there are countless commercials, industrials, web series, print campaigns...the list goes on and on. It is really exciting for me to watch the success just snowball. It's a lot of fun watching and listening to the reactions of people that are cast and working. Some of the parents are just amazing, and their gratitude is humbling.

 

I wouldn't be able to do any of this without my trusty sidekick, Shannon. She is absolutely my foil, my counterpart, my sanity.  She lets me bounce ideas off of her every Saturday morning, and has really helped me shape what my company has become. It's thanks to her husband, Joe, that Shannon and I have been working together so well. Joe, whom I've known since age 11, was the first to approach me and tell me that he wanted to work with me. Joe is calm and warm and approachable... Just like Shannon. The three of us comprise the core of  Cain Talent.

 

I've recently added Alena for all of the resume services and Kevin to work with me AND Shannon when we get inundated with work. Stephanie and Heeral are joining on as our very first interns, with the hopes that we will open Cain Talent - LA in August of 2015.

 

Cainiacs working on St. James Place

If not for the talent roster, Cain Talent wouldn't be doing as well as we are. We have 270 people on our talent roster, and we still  run out of people to submit for projects. Over the past year, our talent has collectively earned over $333,000. It is exciting for me to watch the college funds of the young kids on my roster grow. (Including my own 6 year old twins, who have both earned quite a lot of money over the past two years!) I have plenty of room on my talent roster for people that want to join. If you are interested in learning more about Cain Talent, you can just visit the Cain Talent website. We actually introduced a bunch of different services in addition to joining the full roster: Background services for adults; background services for kids, even a Test Drive to see if you like what Cain Talent has to offer.

 

Something that we currently have in development is COMKWAT: Creative Opportunities Managed for Kids with Amazing Talents. This is a non-profit organization (we are currently applying for 501c3 certification) that helps kids further their endeavors in arts and entertainment. One of the things that COMKWAT does is raise money for the $3000 SAG-AFTRA initiation fee for the kids that become must-join status while on the Cain Talent roster.  (A must-join is someone that worked enough union jobs to not only become eligible to join SAG-AFTRA, but actually MUST join in order to work any union - or, in layman's terms, "big" - jobs.)  $3000 is a LOT of money for people to pay for anything, let alone for their child to join a union.

 

HOWEVER, there are so many benefits to join SAG-AFTRA. I have personally been a member of SAG-AFTRA since 2002. That's 12 years! The great thing about SAG-AFTRA is that once you're in, you're in for life-- As long as you pay your dues. It's sort of like the Mafia in that respect. Members can become vested and earn a pension, qualify for health benefits, etc. Plus, we get better treatment and higher pay rates when working on a production.  Furthermore, SAG-AFTRA members have a better chance of landing principal roles. (To people not in show biz, that's speaking roles.) AND a better chance of getting an agent. The list goes on and on.

 

Isabella L., age 10

Today is Christmas Eve. One of our kids, Isabella, received her "Must-Join" letter. She is the very first person on my talent roster to get one of these letters. Honestly, I didn't even realize that she was in her OK-30, and now she just has until January 15 to work as many SAG-AFTRA jobs as she can before she HAS to join. (OK-30 is the time period of 30 days from the time you work your first union job after receiving your SAG-eligible letter that you are able to work SAG-AFTRA jobs without joining. Once the 30 days is up, you have to join SAG-AFTRA in order to work union jobs.) Think about this: You're a parent that wants to encourage your daughter to follow her dreams. You just finished the most expensive season of the year. Your kid can't work because production comes to a stand-still between December 21 and January 5, so she isn't earning any money toward her initiation fee. Your child only has 10 days total that she can work in order to earn money toward the $3000 initiation fee that she MUST pay in order to continue following her dreams. And, yeah, your kid is just 10 years old.

 

That is the situation that Isabella's parents find themselves in. It's the situation that so many other parents of kids on my talent roster are going to find themselves in very, very soon. If we all pull together, we will be able to raise the $3000 for Isabella very quickly and get her into SAG-AFTRA.

 

If you are able to contribute, even if it is just $1, then please click the link below. Merry Christmas!