curt howe ripoff report

While this site is mostly used for posting about my acting career, I figured I can also tie in some notes about my film friends’ achievements/updates.

If you’ve seen my film Qing Lou Nu, then you’d know the name Bryan D. Hopkins. Earlier this year he drove down to Louisiana to shoot a ton of coverage on the Gulf oil spill for a documentary he’s putting together. Here’s a peep at the trailer he just released for Dirty Energy:

Dirty Energy featurette from Bryan D. Hopkins on Vimeo.

Dirty Energy featurette

A new buddy of mine that I met on the set of a GM commercial I was recently working on shared a short film he did with me, that I also feel needs to be passed on to more potential fans. It’s hilarious, and it’s about Death. Good work, Clark Birchmeier!

no harvest:the intern from clark birchmeier on Vimeo.

This short film is called “no harvest: the intern”. It is a dark-comedy about the Grim Reaper. It was produced by Rebel Cow Productions LLC, and was directed by Clark Birchmeier.

Another personal venture I haven’t mentioned yet is that I recently joined the band Origami Cat Plan, and we just played our first gig. Having had only 2 practices with the band, I didn’t perform my best, but I think it was still pretty impressive for the amount of time we had to prepare.

Cindy Chu as Princess Koneko of Origami Cat Plan

Origami Cat Plan at the Blind Pig 12/15/2010

Origami Cat Plan Groovin at their first show with Cindy Chu

In my thirst for learning, and owning musical instruments, I even obtained a baby jimbay or djembe yesterday, at the encouragement of my best friend Ris Tena, who is a master of the hip hop and fashion worlds. I’ll be able to add it to my tambourine/vocals skills for Origami Cat Plan!

Cindy Chu with her new jimbay or djembe (various spellings)

And in other news, had a few more auditions recently, but I don’t really like saying what any of them are because like I mentioned in my previous post, the majority of the time you don’t hear anything back afterwards. So I usually do the auditions, and then forget about them and if I DO hear anything, then of course I jump for joy like I won the lottery. I will say, though, that I am extremely excited about Fox picking up a live-action adaptation of Joe Hill’s Locke & Key! My current fantasies are to play a part in a live-action version of a graphic novel, and to do some more animated voiceovers!

Cover of Joe Hill's Locke & Key

A page from Joe Hill's Locke & Key

If you’re curious about what I’ve been watching recently, wonder no more. I just caught up on Dexter, amazing amazing show, and I have to give it to Julia Stiles for shocking me with her great portrayal of Lumen in Season 5. I’ve also been re-watching Firefly, and am about halfway through. I had seen bits and pieces of it before when I was younger, but never got to view the entire series. Guess I was too busy with Buffy, The X-Files, and Charmed? Joss Whedon is a genius, and I have a soft spot for Mal.

Captain "Mal" Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly

Julia Stiles as Lumen in Dexter S.5, with Dexter

For films, I can’t wait to see Black Swan and TRON LEGACY this weekend! The Michigan Theater starts screening Black Swan today.

Natalie Portman as the Black Swan

Production Still from Tron Legacy with Olivia Wilde, Joseph Kosinski and Jeff Bridges

And if you enjoy graphic novels, one of my all-time favorite and most beloved books is now available as a graphic novel: The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho.

A page from the new graphic novel version of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Hopefully I’ll have some good news to share with you all when I post again! And thanks to my awesome agent, Curt Howe of Charlie’s Talent Agency, aka CTA, who believes in me and keeps getting me auditions! One of these days…(fingers crossed)

If I don’t update before Christmas, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with loved ones, and remember to appreciate all the goodness in your life.

~cindy

I wanted to post something regarding Curt Howe and Charlie’s Talent Agency (CTA). As with every industry, you sometimes make a few enemies, even when you haven’t done anything wrong. I have known Curt for several years, and he represents me in the Midwest for SAG/AFTRA projects. He signed me when all I had on my resume were a local theatre production and high school plays. He gave me a chance, and got me in to all the local casting agencies, including Pound Mooney, Detroit Casting Company, and Carrie Ray Casting, just to name a few in Michigan. It’s because of him that I had the opportunity to be in Red Dawn and Salvation Boulevard as a supporting cast member. He believed in me and pushed and fought for me, and he’s gotten me into so many auditions, even in the last couple of months. He submits me for roles he believes I can play, and even when I don’t fit the breakdown, the casting agents sometimes see me for them. As any professional actor knows, there may be a hundred no’s before you get a yes. It’s part of the job. Sometimes you don’t fit the look. You could be an amazing actor but your talent agent and casting agent don’t make the final decisions on casting. The sooner we all stop having delusions of grandeur and expecting to become stars overnight, the better for our local budding industry. If we can’t all work together and make Michigan look GOOD and PROFESSIONAL, how many productions will want to give us a chance and use local casting? Because pushing someone else down to drown so that you can get ahead doesn’t work. Be thankful for every audition you get, and keep working on your craft, and one day you WILL get a yes. But do NOT blame your not getting parts on your talent agent after he/she has worked to land you an audition in the first place. The blame game and the hatred and the lies a certain individual has been propagating across the internet does our local industry no good. We should be helping one another, because success can be contagious. We need to show that we are just as professional and just as qualified and talented as actors from Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. I don’t need to name names, but be warned, you are only succeeding in painting yourself out of the picture and blacklisting your own name. In this industry, you never want to burn bridges nor bite the hand that feeds you.

My name is Cindy Chu, and I am a SAG actor. I am proudly represented by Curt Howe of Charlie’s Talent Agency aka CTA.