I went on Saturday. I saw Jacob reading three short pieces- one was about wolves and silver spirits, another was about those big easter Island heads appearing in Los Angeles, and there was another one. They were entertaining! After the reading I accompanied Jacob and a friend of his and I watched them eat in the bar.

The celebrity room was cool- I got to talk to two celebrities. First I talked to Ken Foree, who was in The Devil’s Rejects! Then I talked to Tony Todd, who’s been in a lot of things but is best known for portraying The Candyman. George Romero, (Night of the Living Dead) was there, but you had to wait in line and I didn’t. There were also a lot of people who had portrayed zombies in the various Romero films there, and of course the ubiquitous Count Gore De Vol. I actually grew up not far from Channel 20 when Count Gore De Vol was on, so I remember when he was on the air.

Finally I got to talk to John Lawson, the mad genius behind Raw Dog Screaming Press. Raw Dog Screaming publishes recognizable names in horror- Michael Arnzen, D. Harlan Wilson, Matthew Warner, and books by both of the husband and wife team of Ego Likeness - Donna Lynch and Steven Archer. John Lawson is always friendly and interesting to talk to. I met Donna Lynch at Balticon a few years back, and she wrote up a list of Goth/Industrial bands for me that I still have! I now have two advance reader copies to review eventuially- Blankety Blank: A Memoir of Vulgaria by D. Harlan Wilson and Isabel Burning by Donna Lynch.

One thing I did notice is that there are English spellings in Isabel Burning. “Colour” for “color”, “humour” for “humor”, and that sort of thing. It’s best to avoid English spellings for a book printed in the United States, written by an American author. One Britishism thrown in frequently was the adjective “bloody”. However, there’s much more to the difference between the way Americans and Brits speak than just using the word “bloody” and the British spellings. I’m surprised the editorial staff at Raw Dog Screaming didn’t pick up on this. It would have been better had the book simply been set in the US. As it is, it comes off as a tad pretentious.

1408 was real fright fest. For a movie about a guy stuck in a room, it was pretty scary. I like the line when the Samuel Jackson character says “It’s an Evil Fucking Room!”. I’ve had one of the most frightening experiences of my life in a New York City hotel room* not unlike the one portrayed in the movie, so I can relate. There is something fucking evil about some hotel rooms, especially the ones in New York City. You have to keep watching to find out if the guy makes it, but I won’t give it away and tell you if he does or not. However the ending is appropriate.

The beginning sort of pokes fun at the “horror industry” in an interesting way, too. Speaking about the horror industry, the big local horror convention Horrorfind Weekend is this weekend. They moved it from Baltimore to DC, though. If anyone wants to share gas, shoot me an e-mail at romarkin AT gmail DOT com. I’m going on Saturday. One day is enough for me, I don’t need a whole fucking weekend, thanks.

*And I’ve never talked about it with anyone. It’s my secret.

The Heinz commercial that I’m in has hit the web. I play Chef Pierre, the guy wearing the chef hat at the end of the commercial.

It’s not how many speaking lines you get, but how believably you play the role! One reviewer has commented on the subtle “eyebrow lift” that gives the part that special something.

My acting career skyrocketed to new heights today! I appear as a chef in a Heinz ketchup commercial. The shoot was in Pikesville and it was a lot of fun meeting everyone else involved. Arnon Shorr, the director, was very professional and competent. He was a firm hand on the helm of the commercial. He’s the founder of OxRock Productions- “The Next Generation of Cinema”.

It was a short commercial, only 30 seconds. Of that thirty seconds, I only appear for about a second or two at the end. I’m the chef wearing the chef hat. There were two chefs- the other chef was Chazz. Also appearing was the lovely Jessica as the girl in the date. The guy dating her was played by the utterly amusing Bobby. Appearing as the waiter was a guy with the amazing name of… wait for it… Josh. In order to cut confusion, I was referred to as Joshua.Most of these people have Myspace pages. I’ve re-activated my Myspace page in order to put them all as friends. For some unknown reason I deactivated my Myspace page at some point but now I’m back on there. I’m on Facebook too. I also have a head shot and acting resume online at www.joshuaberlow.com/actor.htm. If you need a leading man for your next feature film, don’t hesitate to get in touch! Also, if you’re an agent, I’m available.

I have an audition for a part in a film tomorrow. I don’t like to jinx these things by saying too much about the film ahead of time- that’s why there was no mention of the ketchup commercial until it was in the bag. If I get the part in the film, I say more about it here.