Default Name for Embarrassed Actors

[Sophus]

I'm hoping we have some actors here. The name that actors use in credits for projects they're embarrassed of or don't want to be associated with: What is it? I want to say George S[omething]. There's another one for directors which I can't recall at all.
Any help?

[Recusant]

I love this kind of stuff.  The generic actor name is George, Georgette/Georgina Spelvin.  The (apparently officially recognized) generic director name is Alan Smithee. (Wiki entry on the Smithee name.)

[The Black Jester]

Damn, you beat me to it...

I'm an actor...well, I'm a recovering actor.  Trying to recover from too many Spelvin productions...

[Tank]

I never knew such a thing existed!

[The Black Jester]

I never knew such a thing existed!

Oh, yes.  If you go to a play (at least in this country) and there is more than one cast-member with that name - bad sign.

[Sophus]

Ah - yes! That's it! Thanks Recusant.

I'm an actor...well, I'm a recovering actor. Trying to recover from too many Spelvin productions...

Really? How is the Broadway biz in NY right now? I was just there.

[The Black Jester]

Ah - yes! That's it! Thanks Recusant.

I'm an actor...well, I'm a recovering actor. Trying to recover from too many Spelvin productions...

Really? How is the Broadway biz in NY right now? I was just there.

Tough, as always.  Since I'm more specifically a dramatic and classical actor, my market is primarily the regional theater circuit and off-broadway.  Don't do musicals, to which most of broadway is dedicated.  But I'm slowly fading out of that profession.  "The thrill is gone..."

[Sophus]

Ah - yes! That's it! Thanks Recusant.

I'm an actor...well, I'm a recovering actor. Trying to recover from too many Spelvin productions...

Really? How is the Broadway biz in NY right now? I was just there.

Tough, as always.  Since I'm more specifically a dramatic and classical actor, my market is primarily the regional theater circuit and off-broadway.  Don't do musicals, to which most of broadway is dedicated.  But I'm slowly fading out of that profession.  "The thrill is gone..."

That's too bad. How difficult would a transition from stage to screen be?

[The Black Jester]

That's too bad. How difficult would a transition from stage to screen be?

It depends almost entirely on luck and type.  I do not currently have representation, so it would be almost impossible for me.  I'd have to quit my day job to seek worthwhile representation, through which I have health insurance (which I need at this stage of life), and that isn't presently doable.

[Caecilian]

A related question:

I've seen my fair share of bad films and bad theatre.

At what point do the actors realize that they're in a dud production?

For example, do they know from the beginning? 'Its a crap script and the director is a moron, but I need the work'.

From sometime in the middle? 'Oh shit. I thought this might work out, but the way its going, its gonna be a spelvin'.

Or at the end? 'Maybe the reviewers are right'.

Clearly, there will be cases of all 3. But what is the most common?

[The Black Jester]

In my experience, it's somewhere in the middle.  You wouldn't get involved (generally) with a production you knew was crap right off the bat.  Particularly if you're not getting paid upfront.  

Usually, it's a creeping dawning of a realization...slowly it just hits you as the pieces come together, as you see the poor choices the director makes, the results of the "no-budget," and the performances of the other actors.  And sometimes a script seems really cool at 3 a.m. the night before your audition, but on subsequent readings becomes more and more banal.  Sometimes, it's when the Director walks in one day and suddenly announces he's had an inspiration.  That's usually a bad sign.  I've got stories, but I'll save them for another forum.  

[joeactor]

I agree with Jester.

The productions I've done that turned out, uh... less than optimal - all seemed good ideas at the start.

They went awry with bad casting, directing or acting.  Some just ran out of funds or went in an odd direction.

... and when you're in one, and you've committed to stay till the bitter end, lemme tell ya, it's not much fun.

Acting up and Acting out,
JoeActor

[karadan]

To the actors who've posted here - in your experiences, do bad directors generally know they are bad and just don't care? Or do most of them have their blinkers on, like Ewe Boll, for instance?

How that dude thinks his films have any artistic merit is beyond me. He's a good boxer, though  

[The Black Jester]

To the actors who've posted here - in your experiences, do bad directors generally know they are bad and just don't care? Or do most of them have their blinkers on, like Ewe Boll, for instance?

How that dude thinks his films have any artistic merit is beyond me. He's a good boxer, though  

In my experience, the bad ones often just don't care.

The WORST ones, however, think their geniuses.

[Davin]

In my experience, the bad ones often just don't care.

The WORST ones, however, think their geniuses.

Hmm, like Tommy Wiseau?