2011 Archive - WilliamMapother.com

Archive for 2011

Portraits in Dramatic Time

Posted on: September 16th, 2011 by wmapother 4 Comments

I thought I’d posted about this back in July, but now I can’t find it. WordPress monster hungry. Feed me.

So here’s another try. Though the NYC showing is past, I hoping the series goes on tour, both in the US and internationally. Next stop might be London..

• PORTRAITS IN DRAMATIC TIME – a series of hyper-slow-motion, silent short films by David Michalek.

The shooting of each film lasted only about ten seconds, but because they’re shot at 1,000 frames/sec (regular speed is 24 frames/sec), they play back verrrryyyy slowly, at anywhere from five to ten minutes. They were broadcast on a mammoth, 85-ft x 45-ft outdoor screen at part of NYC’s Lincoln Center Festival in July, and it’s expected that they’ll go on tour soon. William is in three of them. Other actors included Patti LuPone, Alan Rickman, Holly Hunter, Liev Shreiber, and performers from around the world. The Wall St. Journal piece includes a Mapother quote or two, and a HuffPo piece includes the photo at right and a video interview with David. Finally, as a sample, the Rickman film is here, and videos from Slow Dancing, David’s earlier installation, are here.

Posted in Acting Projects, NYC, Photos of Wm, Press, Video (Online & Home)

SAG Election Video Interview (warning: nearly as dry as this title)

Posted on: September 2nd, 2011 by wmapother No Comments

Okay, so for those of you who are still, unbelievably, unable to sleep after having slogged through my 14-page questionnaire on the pressing issuesfacing SAG and what I’d do about them and how Star Wars might play a part in that, a) you’ve got the insomnia real bad, huh? and b) here’s a little nugget that, if it won’t put you to sleep, might at least give you a sadistic little chuckle, which might be just the thing to quiet the ol’ brain.

Fellow SAG Board member and contracts yoda David Jolliffe and I were interviewed by BackStage, the mag/paper for actors, about our thoughts on the pressing issues facing SAG and what blah blah blah. Note, please, that I am not in any way mocking the issues, only the painful experience of reading, hearing and watching actors hold forth on political issues as they stump for votes. Oh, Mama, can this really be the end?

So, all 4:00 of the painful glory of David and me is here. (Being spared the full 15:00: Priceless. You have BackStage’s editor to thank for that.)

Posted in Acting Tips & Info, Interviews and Q&A's, Music, Press, Video (Online & Home)

If you’re sleepless..

Posted on: August 31st, 2011 by wmapother No Comments

As mentioned in a previous post, I’m running once again for the National Board of the Screen Actors Guild, a position I’ve held since 2007. Yes, the Board can be dysfunctional, contentious, and a huge time suck. Unfortunately, I guess, I need the eggs.

So, for the benefit of voting SAG members, but especially those poor souls unable to drift off at night, I answered fourteen (14, XIV, thirteen and a half more than you care about) pages worth of questions from the Hollywood Reporter about myself, SAG, and our likely merger of AFTRA.

Uh, hello? Hellooo? Out already? Okay, well, you’re welcome. When you come to, if you’re interested, wipe off your nap drool and head over here.

Posted in Acting Tips & Info, News & Events

SAG Ballots en route

Posted on: August 23rd, 2011 by wmapother 4 Comments

Tomorrow the ballots are mailed for the Screen Actors Guild election. This year I’m running to retain my Board seat, which I’ve held since 2007. If you’re a member, please take the time to vote.

Although the Board elections are always important, this year that is particularly true. Early in 2012 the Board will almost surely decide on the specifics of a merger with the other major actors union, AFTRA. This merger will effect, at a very minimum, the contracts with our many employers, our membership requirements, and our Pension and Health Plans.

If you were ever going to take the time to vote, this is the year.

I’m #3 on the ballot. The Hollywood Reporter has all the candidates listed here.

Candidates’ statements for the ballot were restricted to 100 words. In a shocker, I used fewer words than I could have. My statement is at the bottom.

“Pro-AFTRA merger. A combined union provides us maximum leverage. My other priorities: membership requirements; strong Pension & Health; Global Rule One; protections for background actors; and a powerful New Media presence. I bring a working actor’s perspective and have been a Board member since 2007. Current committees: New Technology, Disciplinary Review.”

Posted in Acting Tips & Info, News & Events

Launch Broken…But Not Too Broken

Posted on: August 17th, 2011 by wmapother 2 Comments

I love that advice. In other words, just get the darn thing out the door. And this site is just that darn thing.

Welcome to the new WilliamMapother.com.

It isn’t perfect or complete, and some may call it barely serviceable, but at least it’s out the door. I intend to take a page from the playbooks of the best tech companies and iterate frequently, instead of tweaking endlessly toward some vague notion of perfection.

So — plenty of more content will be uploaded in the coming days, weeks and months, and if there’s anything you’d like to see, please let me know (on the About page).

In the meantime, I’m glad to have you here.

*credit and thanks for this phrase to Nelson Cheng, a Slated advisor and ex- of Google and Amazon.

Posted in News & Events, Slated, Website & Social Media