It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Things have been slow in the industry and although I’ve been auditioning consistently, not much has happened. Last month, I did book a commercial for the NHL Winter Classic, but am waiting to post about it after it airs on January 2nd.
What I’ve Been Up To
I’ve been working in the service industry the last year and a half and specifically with Delbar Buckhead the last year. In the last year, I’ve been promoted 4 times and now am the beverage manager. It takes up a lot of my time, but since I only work afternoons and nights, it allows me to audition before work and gives me the flexibility to take time off for projects. The GM, Directors and Owner know I am an actor and have assured me that they will continue to give me the flexibility if I took the promotion. So far, they have lived up to their word. Being salary affords me a decent life and I don’t have to worry about swings in the service industry, while stressing about making ends meet. The other benefit is that being in Buckhead and one of the best restaurants in Atlanta, we get a ton of guests who have been invaluable as contacts. A couple months ago, I met an NBC exec that told me there are projects coming to Atlanta in the near future, including a huge show. He couldn’t tell me the names of any projects, but I was happy to hear the news. Some of my coworkers are actors and I found out something interesting yesterday regarding residuals that I didn’t know.
SAG Projects
I have done two SAG projects in the last two years. One was a Tyler Perry series called Miss Governor. It was a one line role in the first episode and runs on Netflix. The second was a movie called Trouble Man with Michael Jai White. After a short limited run in theaters, it went to streaming on Apple+, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play and YouTube. With the new SAG contract, I will receive residuals for both.
What I Learned
What I found out yesterday from a fellow actor is that I can log into my SAG account and check to see what checks have been mailed, what checks that are coming and the amount the check will be. I did that today and thank god I did. They had my old address and the first check was mailed there December 5th. I filled out the stop payment form on their site and changed my address, so now my first check is being recut and is coming to my current address. I also saw that there is another check coming behind it at some point.
Some answers to potential questions
I am not a SAG member, but since I am SAG eligible, I still created an account a couple years ago.
The first check is 2100 and the one behind it is 1300. I think I’ll get one a month. They are both for the Tyler Perry series. Trouble Man hasn’t starting paying yet.
I’ll be sending my agent and my manager their percentages when I get my checks.
Simon Shih 