On avoiding a trivial life.

By happy chance, I was saved from a trivial life, not by success, but by failure. I should clarify that - not so much failure, as not abundant success.

I shall explain. You see, there is nothing more trivial than the modern actor, as conceived in the filmic world. It doesn't have to be this way - but it is. Modern film actors are almost always substanceless beings, devoid of real meaning and real artistic worth. Many of them cannot truly act, but are there for their natural gifts of appearance and charm. Those who can act, are often not allowed to, by film vehicles that require them to be little more than living props to special effects. The result is that few modern actors get the chance to be truly something worth being: a creator of "real" people.

I have been an actor. It is something I used to enjoy very much. I acted on stage, tv and the odd film - but, luckily, and I say this with great personal gratitude, it didn't take off in a big way. I did not become a star of film or tv. I am glad that this is so, because, I realize now, it is too easy to be tempted into a shallow life, if one is successful in such an arena. The opportunities on offer are not really creative opportunities and so it would be easy to waste one's life being uncreative in a supposedly creative way. By this I mean that the demands upon the modern actor do not usually admit the possibility of much creativity and even if they did, that creativity is secondary to the script and to the work of the director. The result is that actors do not, generally, have the chance to be what I term primary creators: builders of something truly new and unique.

The actor's life is a seductive but ultimately empty one, if that is all that you are doing. There is the fame, the money and the adulation that go with a successful actor's career - but these are all, in the end, shallow things if they are not accompanied by true creative accomplishment, which, in most cases, they are not.

I have had a lucky break, therefore. I was lucky enough to have the chance to act in diverse roles, but not so lucky as to be ensnared by the seductive life that could have developed, indeed, would have, had it taken off in a big way. Thus, I have managed to enjoy what acting has to offer, as an art, but without having to suffer the emptiness that follows upon making that one's sole lifelong pursuit.

There are other more worthy means of creation than acting. Writing is one which I enjoy. Scientific research is another - which I also enjoy. Then there is art, music, philosophy and so on. There are so many other ways to express one's humanity which afford more opportunity for creativity than does acting. I am lucky in that I presently pursue two of these other areas: science and writing. They give my life more meaning and substance than acting alone would have done.

That being said, there is merit in combining the life of an actor, with the life of another type of creator. That would be a more balanced, though rarely chosen course of action. Most actors, though, don't make such a choice largely because it is not possible for them: they don't have any other means of communication and creation, they are stuck within their own narrow facet of life and its observation.

For me, an ideal life has at least one form of true creativity as a significant part of it...preferably more than one form. A life without creativity is not, as far as I see it, a complete one. So, too, an actor's life, without another form of expression, is also incomplete and unsatisfying. Most actors, though, would disagree with me. They find wholeness in their partial creative lives. That is their choice and their understanding, but it is not mine.

I wonder, now, would I be pursuing research and writing had acting taken off in a big way for me? (I lacked the contact base to make it so, but in a way that seems fortunate now). I cannot know. I hope I would have had the wisdom to seek greater completeness of expression, but I cannot know, from this vantage. I only know, now, that this way has merits the other does not. So, in the end, life has brought me to a productive place that is worth being in. It is just that, at the outset, I could not see that I would get to this particular place at all.

I must say that the life of an actor is not the only shallow choice. A pop star, for instance, is another choice that seems glamorous but which is ultimately hollow. So, let it not be thought, that it is to acting alone that I direct the observation of shallowness: there are many areas to which it could apply.

It is funny to think it, but I am happy to lack great success in one area of my interest. That is a thought, I would once never have thought it possible to think - yet I do. How about you, too? Are there are any areas of your life that you now, in retrospect, find yourself happy not to have succeeded more fully at? You might be surprised at what some honest reflection reveals. Write your reflections below, please.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to:
http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/
Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/
Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Wendy Ho, Artiste Entertainment, Singapore.

Wendy Ho is the owner of Artiste Entertainment, Singapore, a talent agency. Quite a few years ago, I did a few jobs for her. The thing is, I am still waiting to be paid for one of them.



Now, perhaps I should have learnt my lesson from my first experience with her - but I gave her the chance to prove herself, which was not, perhaps, that wise.

My first encounter with Wendy Ho was for the casting of the War Diary. She cast me in the role of Stanley Warren, a real-life historical figure, who, as a POW, painted the murals in Changi Chapel. It was interesting to get to play a real person, rather than a work of fiction - and, I suppose, a responsibility, too.

Now, when she offered me the role, I thought the pay was rather low, so I negotiated, ON THE PHONE, for a higher rate. She agreed to that rate.

So, I went ahead and did the shoot. Yet, afterwards, things got interesting. When I received my cheque, I noted that it was for the wrong amount - it had been made out for the original, unadjusted rate of pay, not our agreed higher rate. I duly called her up and explained that the cheque was not for the amount we had agreed.

I was then most surprised at her reaction. She scoffed at me, on the phone and said: "Did you get it in writing?", in what sounded like a rather mocking tone. She seemed to be saying: "I have won...and you thought you were being clever at renegotiating your deal!"

She quickly ended the call and that was that, as far as my pay was concerned.

Some years later, I had another encounter with her. This time over what they called a TV commercial. Again, the rate of pay was PHONED to me, not emailed. I am beginning to think this is their modus operandi, since it leaves no trace. A good rate of pay was suggested, for the day's work on the commercial - several times more than TV pays. I thought that was that. However, a few days later, when the same assistant called again, the pay had magically dropped in half. I couldn't get an explanation for the change. However, the pay was still good, so I decided to go ahead.

I did the shoot. All went well and I duly expected to get paid. Yet, half a dozen years later, I am still waiting.

My mistake, this time, was in being patient, in waiting for my cheque to be sent. You see, with Wendy Ho, it seems that there is no guarantee that a cheque will ever be sent. In my case, it wasn't.

Anyway, for entirely random reasons, I thought again, recently, of that TV commercial for which I had never been paid - and decided to email a query about it. I wrote to the main contact addresses of Artiste Entertainment. However, after several weeks, I had received no reply. I duly wrote again to the same addresses. Again, weeks passed without a reply. I then wrote to the addresses of individuals at Artiste Entertainment, including one I had had contact with before. She wrote back to me and said she would look into it. She also asked if I had "emails" regarding it. I thought this an interesting thing to ask, since, in my experience Wendy Ho liked to call or get people to call. Traces like emails were not what they generally left. I waited several weeks and heard nothing more. I then wrote to her again asking her to remind Wendy Ho - and she said she would do so. A couple of further months have passed and I have heard nothing more.

The thing about this is not just that I wasn't paid, but that it is doubly unfair considering the industry in question. The performing arts are precarious ways to earn a living, at best, and its seems really unfair, even evil, not to pay the actors what they are due, when it so difficult for them to find enough jobs in the first place.

Wendy Ho of Artiste Entertainment lives in what, by Singaporean standards, is an expensive house (a landed property). I wonder how many of her performers, on her books, can afford similar houses? How many of them also have problems getting paid what was agreed, or even paid at all?

Certainly, I have had two experiences of difficulty over pay with Wendy Ho and Artiste Entertainment. Now, I cannot know who else might have had such difficulties, but the fact that the same person could experience such problems twice, from the same source - out of relatively few jobs from that source - seems to point to a definite underlying problem.

So, here is my advice if you are a performer or other actor and you receive an offer of work from Wendy Ho of Artiste Entertainment. Firstly, do NOT accept the job over the phone. Do NOT negotiate over the phone. Do everything via email. Insist on a written record of the transaction. Better still, it might be good to insist on getting paid, in cash, upfront. Do not assume that any agreed sum, that is not in writing, will be paid.

The other thing to consider is this: do you like acting enough to do it for free? If not, perhaps you shouldn't be doing the job at all - because, in Singapore at least, you might never get paid.

Lest my post give the impression that Wendy Ho of Artiste Entertainment is the only agent not to pay her actors what was agreed, or at all - I really don't think this is so. I have heard rumours of quite a few performers in Singapore getting cheated of what they were due. So, if you are performing in Singapore, I would advise caution. Protect yourself as best as you can...and don't rely on it as a source of income, because here, that "income" may never come at all.

I decided to write this post, because I am unable to get Wendy Ho to reply to my queries. Perhaps, she might see this post. If she does and she settles the outstanding amount for the TV work done, then I will add a note to the end of this post that she has finally paid up. Until then, this post will remain as a cautionary tale for those who work in Singapore's entertainment industry.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

IMDb: Internet Movie Database.

IMDb is the Internet Movie Database. It is the world's greatest cache of film and tv information. If the information you seek is related to film or tv, it is likely to be on IMDb.

Two or three months ago, I accidentally stumbled on the fact that someone had started an IMDb page, for my son, Ainan Celeste Cawley. This was because of an appearance of his, on tv, in the UK. It was probably the production company that started a page for him. Now, every actor who has ever worked in television or film, in a serious way, has an IMDb listing. IMDb has become the way that the public and the industry alike find out more about an actor, a writer, a director, a producer, a lighting man etc. Although, the industry tends to subscribe for extra information, by getting IMDbPro.

Perhaps I should have expected Ainan Celeste Cawley to have an IMDb listing...but I didn't. It never occurred to me. It wasn't long before I had one too...and my wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley.

Now, some of you may know that I have been an actor, in my time. I have worked in theatre, tv and film. So, looking at my IMDb listing, all shiny, new and with few credits, I thought to fill it up with the many eligible credits (at least 15) that would fit the rules of inclusion. These rules are simple: if many people have seen it or could see it, if they wanted to, then it is possible it might be included. This means, basically, that the film or tv show has been broadcast nationally in at least one country, or it has been subject to widespread cinema release. Minimally, it is possible to get a short film listed if it has been shown at various prestigious film festivals, though it is probably harder to do so, than for the other categories. What these rules mean, however, is that quite a lot of an actor's work cannot ever be included. No theatre is accepted, for instance - and many films that actors do, end up never getting wide enough distribution to be counted as eligible. So, discounting the categories that cannot be included, I have about 15 more credits that should be listed. There, however, the problem begins.

IMDb is very, very choosy. It doesn't take long to realize that getting a listing on IMDb is a BIG thing. I thought, rather naively, to try to upload a couple of my tv credits over two months ago. This process involves providing very detailed information about the film. They ask for full cast and crew details. They ask for technical issues like what camera was used (I hadn't a clue), or how long is it, what "aspect ratio" it was and so on. They enquire after the production dates (when it shot or would shoot) and who owns it. They query one on producers and production companies and the distribution arrangements. I think you get the picture: the questions are endless for each and every show you would like to list. So, here's what happens at IMDb: you input all the information you have to hand (which can take ages, given the menu system they use), then you wait. Almost invariably, a week or so later, they email me with a standard form letter that says: "We have been busy and haven't looked at your submission yet...but please provide more information to allow it to be considered." So, then, you scrabble around for some more information (in my case this involved writing to the production company a polite letter) and upload it. A week later, you get the same reply: "We have been busy and haven't looked at your submission yet...but please provide more information to allow it to be considered." There then ensues ANOTHER letter to the production company asking for even more information (with a slight begging tone, this time). The information is uploaded and the wait begins again. Guess what? A week later, they send an email saying: "We have been busy..."

For BOTH of the tv credits I tried to upload, this went on for two months. Finally, a few days ago, one of them was accepted. My role as Stanley Warren, in A War Diary (a tv series made in Singapore by Dreamforest Productions) was finally listed: yippee! For those who don't know much about Singaporean history, Stanley Warren was an artist interned in a prison camp, (Changi Prison) during World War II. He is famous because, despite the terrible conditions inside the camp, he managed to paint five murals on a religious theme, in St. Luke's Chapel, Changi Prison during his imprisonment. So, I was playing a real historical character, who really lived in Singapore, at one time (he died in 1992): it was an interesting role and a great responsibility. I even had to paint, on camera, one of the murals he made (a recreated version).

So, I have had one success in uploading IMDb credits. The other credit I have been trying is a tv show executive produced by a well known producer, in Singapore...but still I am having trouble getting a listing...they keep making that same request for more information. I kept on writing letters to the production company. Finally, the production company told me that they had given me ALL the information they had on the show. I told IMDb this and, guess what? They asked for more information. I have answered them, and am presently waiting for their decision.

Now, that I have tried to upload credits to IMDb, I have come to realize just how difficult it is to do so. I have come, therefore, to appreciate what it means when an actor actually HAS credits on IMDb. It means that their work has been screened, checked and verified (as IMDb does to all entries). It means that their work has received wide distribution and is of public interest. It means, basically, that the work is a solid achievement and, to my eyes, given the difficulty of securing a listing, worthy of respect.

I have fifteen credits waiting to be uploaded. It won't be easy. For each one, I will have to contact the production companies and secure the answers to scores of questions. If the companies don't help, I will never be able to upload the information. Even if they do, I will face months of "back and forth" and waiting for each one. Even then, there is no guarantee that I will ever be able to satisfy IMDb on a listing. It may all be fruitless.

Why do it, then? Well, the film and tv industry have come to value IMDb highly. It is where they go to find out about artists. If an artist's work is NOT listed on IMDb, it may as well not have been done - for it will not benefit the artist in any way, in terms of securing future work. Thus, an IMDb listing is, in fact, essential to the long-term future of any creative in any aspect of tv or film. That is why I think I should try to list my work, even though it is going to take a lot of work to do so.

My IMDb listing is just beginning. I write this post in celebration that I have managed to achieve my first acting credit on it. I have another fifteen credits to upload. Though there are two other credits on it, in other areas, already.

If you would like to look at my IMDb listing (which may get longer at any time after this post is written, since I will be trying to upload my work, over time) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look.

My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Thank you. I have found IMDb a very useful and fun resource...I hope you do, too. Happy reading.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)