2010 Archive - WilliamMapother.com

Archive for 2010

The Biggest Show

Posted on: December 2nd, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

There are some disadvantages to being an actor. Waiting by the phone like a fifteen-year-old girl is one. However, it does have its advantages. Like participating in the Big Shows of the Young Storytellers Foundation, which are an absolute blast.

The YSF is a 501c3 charity which brings writers and actors into LA’s arts-poor public schools for mentoring in storytelling. In one-on-one sessions writers help students create a short play over several weeks. Then, at a Big Show in front of the students’ families, actors (lots whom you’d recognize) are brought in to perform the plays.

They’re moving, nonsensical, and hysterical, often all at once. And the actors are encouraged to cut loose. We’re often told not to worry about having an honest moment. (Talk about freedom..)

Tonight is their Biggest Show 2010. I’ll be performing along some terrific actors: Andrea Anders, Ben McKenzie, Radha Mitchell, Stuart Pankin, Jason Ritter, Scott Weintraub, and Debra Wilson.

So if you’re looking for a good cause to support this Holiday Season.. (cough cough)

Posted in Charitable Causes, In Person (or, like, Live), Louisville & KY, Stage

What are the Odds?

Posted on: December 1st, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

Life, the universe and everything is crazily random, as we know, and the movie business doesn’t straighten it out any.

Last autumn I shot Another Earth, a tiny indie drama. We shot nearly all my scenes in mid-New York state, at an old, unheated country house owned by the director’s friend, and the entire crew could almost fit around a table at McDonald’s.

Cut to a bit over a year later. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival just announced its line-up (here) for January…and Another Earth was accepted into the Dramatic Competition Category, in which only 16 films were selected from among 1,102 films submitted.

The NY Times reports on the trends in this year’s selections here, including this photo of Brit Marling and me, and USA Today has a piece on the line-up here.

The director, my fellow cast, the producers, the crew and the casting director are all here, and there isn’t earth enough and time to thank them. But thank you.

Posted in Acting Projects, Press

First Festival Genius Audience Award

Posted on: December 1st, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

Last night’s IFP’s Gotham Awards saw the presentation of the first-ever Festival Genius Audience Award. The five nominees for the award were determined by over 12,000 votes from audiences around the country.

[The award was created by Slated, the company I started last year with a few friends, and it’s named after our Festival Genius technology, which operates the online program guides for film festivals. We also recently released a free companion iPhone app you can get here. I previously posted about Slated, first here and then here.]

I’m happy to report that the winner of last night’s Festival Genius award is Waiting for Superman, Davis Guggenheim’s highly acclaimed documentary on American’s public-education system. It’s a terrific film and a fantastic start for a new award.

It seems only appropriate to to close with Mr. Wilder: “An audience is never wrong. An individual member of it may be an imbecile, but a thousand imbeciles together in the dark — that is critical genius.”

Posted in Film, Film Festival, Slated, Tech

More photos, you say?

Posted on: December 1st, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

Well, you can’t say you weren’t warned.

Blogger is not particularly photo-formatting-friendly, so I’m-a just fittin’ in the captions the best I know how. I expect to move this blog to a more genial host in the next few weeks..

This is the stage at the stunning Red Rocks amphitheatre, where apparently everyone, except me, has either seen a show or performed.

On Denver’s 16th Street Mall, which was deserted and un-mall-like on Sunday, anyone can sit and knock out a tune on the piano. Unless, of course, you can’t play a lick. Like me.

I have no idea what constructive comment I could possibly make about this photo, also from the Mall. Except that if this poor, blue, mortified bull came to life, I hope he’d get in a couple good shots at the sadist who painted him.

Finally, from the good folks at the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave comes a pleasant tale about Bill & Teddy’s excellent adventure, shoved right in one’s face, as it were, lest museum visitors become bored while standing at the latrine.

Bonus point: The Museum is in Golden, Colorado.

Posted in Other Photos, Random

Tardy Thanks

Posted on: November 30th, 2010 by wmapother 4 Comments

Okay, so I’m a few days late on Thanksgiving. But I have a good reason: I was in Denver with my family, and all over Colorado the internets were down… Okay, moving on.

One of the many great things about gratitude is that it never goes out of style. Who ever heard of gratitude being unwelcome, right? So here, a few days late, are just a few photos of why I was feeling so grateful last Thursday. (I took a lot of photos, and I’ll probably fill the next couple posts with them. Be patient, gentle reader.)

These two (untouched) were taken on a cameraphone from the north side of the plane’s aisle. Fortunately, I had the window seat, or someone’s holidays would’ve started somewhat unpleasantly..

Suggested accompaniment (with apologies): Rhapsody in Blue.