Donald Foley - An actor's Journey

The Golden Boys/Chatham

Don — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:44:44 +0000

I have heard some more news on that film I acted in last year. It is called “The Golden Boys” now, it was called “Chatham”. We have been waiting for a long time to see what will happen with it. I blogged earlier about this flick here, here , here & here. The best way to tell you what is up is to have the director do it. I found this interview on youtube with director, it is very recent 11/3/08 I think. Check it out!.

‘Tis all for now!

Mismatch!

Don — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:31:05 +0000

Wow, no update in a long time I know. The issue is that this blog is focused very narrowly on my acting journey, and because of the current negotiation stall between SAG and the AMPTP there has been very little work for me. Even though there is no strike at present, it feels like a strike because the movie companies have been putting green-lighted projects on hold till the negotiations are final. They are scared to start a movie and then lose there actors to a strike. This stall has been stopping most work since June 30, 2008. However, despite this tough situation the last few weekends have been good for me. My good friend William DeCoff wrote an excellent screen-play called “Mismatch”. It is a 30 minute horror short that is full of suspense and surprise. He asked me to play the role of Uncle Chet, and I said yes! This movie is a SAG movie. It is very easy to make short movies under a SAG contract. Anyhow we filmed most of it two weeks ago and I had a blast on the set.

The movie was produced and directed by my good friends at Scorpio Film Releasing. I have talked about my good friend Director Richard Griffin many times, and he was once again amazing to work with. That man is truly a genius I think. Some of the things that he comes up with, and the shots he finds with his eye are just awe inspiring. I think this short is going to be spectacular. I feel bad that I can not work more often with Richard because most of his movies are non-union films. Once in a while though he works on a union film like this and we get a chance to work together. I cherish those times.

The other really cool thing about this flick was that the strongest woman in the world was cast in the movie!!! I shit you not! She plays my niece Maggy. She can bench 600lbs, and she looks like she can bench 600lbs! She has a huge presence, both mentally and physically and she did a brilliant job in her first acting debut. Her name is Becca Swanson, and I think you are going to see more of her in the future. She was such a nice person on the set. We quickly became fast friends. I really look forward to working with her again someday in the near future. She will be appearing in Scopio’s next feature “Nun of That“.

Her are some pics from the set. These are not stills from the movie but just pictures of us fooling around on the set. I want to thank Rob Buco for the permission to post these pics.

Me Growling like a mad dog!

My hefty bulk being lifted by the strongest woman in the world!

Top Row: Becca Swanson, Alexandra Cipolla, Richard Griffin, Brittney Laramee, Sarah Nicklin
Next Row: Me, William DeCoff, Michael Reed, and Ted Marr laying down

William DeCoff and I

‘Tis all for now!

Moe Roth Trailer

Don — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:11:18 +0000

Well, not to much to report. With the SAG negotiations in limbo, there is very little work to be had. I am just waiting it out, and hoping that something will be resolved soon so work will pick up. In the mean time, here is a trailer for a movie I acted several years ago. Back in 2003 I think. Unfortunately it was never finished and after 5 years of waiting I am not holding my breath. It looked very promising though, so all the cast, including my self, are very disappointed. Check it out.

‘Tis all for Now!

Dysfunctional Bookclub World Premiere!

Don — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:05:20 +0000

I just got an email from Jennifer Scharf who was the writer, star and producer of “Dysfunctional Bookclub”. The world premiere is happening in a few weeks at some fancy Long Island film festival. Here are the particulars:

LONG ISLAND WINE COUNTRY FILM FESTIVAL
presents
“DYSFUNCTIONAL BOOK CLUB”

WHEN: SATURDAY, AUGUST 2ND 8:30PM
WHERE: MARTHA CLARA VINEYARDS
6025 SOUND AVENUE
RIVERHEAD, NY 11901

Tickets are available at Martha Clara Vineyards
RSVP Limited Seating 631.298.0075 Ext 14 Tim Walser or timw@marthaclaravineyards.com

www.marthaclaravineyards.com
www.cinderellatravel.com/lifilmfestival/films.html
www.myspace.com/bookclubthemovie

spread the word and don’t forget to have a dysfunctional day!

I plan on going if I can swing it for time. I have a few gigs in August. I am hoping they will have a showing up this way also.

‘Tis all for Now!

Dysfunctional Bookclub Poster

Don — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:58:53 +0000

Hey,

Here is the poster for that movie I was in last summer in Long Island. It was a total blast to film it. You can read about my good time on the set here.

You can find a trailer here.

‘Tis all for now!

Almost Famous!

Don — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:57:18 +0000

Wow, the other day I got this email from some stranger on the internet. A voice out of the ether. The person found my blog and was inspired by one of my pictures to draw a portrait of me, and she sent it along. I felt honored and almost famous. I imagine Tom Hanks gets hundreds of these. Check it out. I posted the email and the portrait.

Dear Mr. Foley,

I just saw your blog today and really like it. After seeing the pictures you posted of you in costume for Ricky Gervais’s movie, I was inspired to do a portrait of your “serious” headshot, which still makes me laugh even though it is supposed to be serious. In fact, it makes me laugh more than the smiling headshot. I guess you are just a naturally funny character.

Attached is the portrait I drew. I am an aspiring actor as well, but maybe I should be an artist instead, I clearly have huge amounts of drawing skill.

Drew

‘Tis all for Now!

Long time, No Post.

Don — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:34:39 +0000

Wow, it has been over a month since my last post. The reason is mainly that not much is going on in the acting world right now. All the big projects that were green-lighted and ready to come in to town are on hold. The reason being that my union, the Screen Actors Guild, could possibly strike at the end of the month. The production companies do not want to start a movie going, only to have the actors strike in the first few weeks of production. Once the negotiations are settled, and a new contract is made things will start hopping again. But basically there have been no auditions for big industry projects since May. I figure there will be no auditions till late July.

On the small budget front I do have 2 projects lined up for the summer. And I had an audition for another last Monday. I feel I did really well and am hopeful I got a role. So this will be nice to at least have some work for the summer.

‘Tis all for Now!

Nice Plug!

Don — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:44:20 +0000

Hey! I noticed the other day that I am on Bob Fraser’s “Headshot Secrets Revealed” order page. I wrote him a nice email giving him a testimonial, and he put it on his page. The link is here. You have to scroll down a ways to see me. Bob’s stuff is really good, and I highly suggest any actor pick up his ebooks. He has a free monthly e-zine that has lots of great insight into the acting industry. It is called “Show Biz How-to”. Check it out here.

‘Tis all for now!

The latest news on the Mass movie studios!

Don — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:06:35 +0000

Great news for New England actors and film production people. There was a vote in Plymouth, MA about building a studio there. It passed %80 to %20! Here is the Boston Globe article on it. This will be very exciting if it makes it all the way. The website for the studio is here. There is another possibility for a movie studio coming to mass. There is an idea to have one at the old Weymouth, MA airbase. They now have a website also, it is here.

The only down side in the Mass movie industry is that a possible looming SAG strike has put a hold to all new production. That means no auditions for the next few months. I am hoping that producers and the SAG negotiators come to a quick resolution. Our current contract ends June 30. After that if no resolution is met than a strike will most likely ensue.

‘Tis all for now!

Another Call Sheet

Don — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:15:11 +0000

So I like to save and collect the call sheets from the big productions I work on. There is something exciting about seeing my name on the same list as big time actors. I have posted an image here of my latest call sheet. The other sheets I have saved are here and here.

‘Tis all for now!