Sometimes you just have to let off steam. This is the place.

Hollywood!!!!!!
What you do and don't know!! By DBG
March 21, 2006

We have all seen the movies and documentaries about Hollywood and how movies and TV shows are made. I think I have watched every single one and I thought I knew enough to get by IF my big break ever came along.

My friends…. WE HAD NO IDEA!! Now that I have been a very small part of this wonderful place for all of 2 months, I want to let all of my friends in on some secrets that I have learned.

First, let me say it's been the most wonderful 2 months in my life other than the things that can't be beat like my wife, family and kids. I have done a TV show "What I Like About You" that will be aired on THE WB soon. I have been on a movie set and will be in the movie "STIFFS" that will be in theaters early next year. I have been on MANY top talk shows, too many to name. My huge break came when I was cast as the STARRING role of the movie Horrorween that we are casting now.

I have met some fantastic people and have made some wonderful new friends, including all of YOU GUYS!!!! I have met some TV and movies stars that I will treasure the rest of my life also.

But then again, I learned that it's not all glamour and riches like we all dream about. Let me run down some things to ya'll that maybe you didn't know.

• 1. The big money doesn't come until you are VERY FAMOUS. Even then, you have to KEEP it up so people will have to pay the big money to get you to work. Fame and fortune do NOT go hand in hand. All magazine articles and talk shows pay absolutely nothing. YES! They are a great way to be noticed and recognized around the world, but then it gets tricky.
  
  
• 2. You NEED AN AGENT. Do you know at this writing, I still do not have an agent? Our site has been featured on every major news shows, newspapers around the world and magazines from China to Uruguay and I do not have an agent yet. All of them say "Well, it's tricky because you are a brand and a trademark" I keep telling them "I'm funny, people know me" "I would love to do personal appearances just to meet people. Still, no one wants on board.
  
  
• 3. There are UNION RULES to doing shows and movies on studio sets. When we were in Hollywood filming the trailer for Horrorween, of course I was a wide eyed guy as star struck and I could be.
  Get this "YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO STARE AT STARS",
  "YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE THEIR PHOTO",
  "YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ASK FOR AN AUTOGRAPH" while you are on a set or in a studio.
  It all has to do with union rules and they can charge you their "day rate" if you do any of the above.
  
  
• 4. If you are an extra on a TV show or movie, you are NOT allowed backstage with the stars. You MUST let the stars eat first when lunch is served. You cannot talk to them unless they speak first. I got lucky on this one because I was a "Guest Star" and got to hang out with the stars. I must say now that Jeannie Garth, Amanda Bynes, Leslie Grossman and Allison Munn were SO VERY NICE TO ME. I thank them for that.
  
  
• 5. Hollywood is almost all PUBLICITY. Without someone talking about you, you just fade into memory. Once you get noticed, you need a PR person. I didn't know that either, but a regular actor without a PR person is working at Taco Bell. Now the good thing about that is Agents and PR people work on a percentage. If you don't make anything, they don't either. Horrorween is one of the most talked about movies in Hollywood right now and we have not shot the first scene. We have had tremendous publicity though and that's what makes or breaks a movie. The movie will be fantastic, but when you start with all of this hype, you really have to work hard to deliver what you promise.

I'm sure all of this is no surprise to some of you, but it sure was to me. I don't know how long all of this will last for me. I know that I have made some fantastic new buddies and I have met people from around the world. I have been in the spotlight and I have gotten to see some things that few "regular guys" like me get to see, like the Oscars and backstage happenings that make TV and movies.

I have met and hugged a Billionaire, movie stars, top news casters and reporters and too many others to name.

All from being "Just Chuck" the funny guy that just wanted to be himself and make people laugh and live a dream.

Well, if I wake up soon and it's gone, I have had the time of my life.

If it continues, I SWEAR I'll do things no other person has and that's to MAKE IT ALL FUN AGAIN. I LOVE people coming up to me and saying "HI'. If you want a photo and I'm eating, come over any way. You want an autograph? NO PROBLEMO. I love it!!!!

The final thing is "IT'S TOO STIFF OUT THERE" They better start remembering that it is US THAT PAYS FOR ALL OF IT!!!!!!!

We buy the products, We watch the shows, We buy the DAMN TICKETS to the movies. The day the stars and Hollywood thinks they are above us FANS, then they are in for a very rude awakening. We are fans, but we are not stupid at all.

DBG