On copyright: Updated the Actor Reel (with controversy!)

So, copyright. It's a tricky, wibbly-wobbly thing.

I updated my 'Actor Reel' recently - for those of you not in the Biz, an Actor's 'Reel' is basically a highlight film of their best  / favorite film & television appearances. And while most of my favorite stuff is from The Happy Hour Guys, I have done a few other things as well - so I finally took some time and edited up a batch featuring stuff from Chappelle's Show, Lipstick Jungle, THHG (of course), and a fun little comedy film I did with Caroline Rhea and Jay Potter (see Caroline below?) And so I uploaded my little showcase to my YouTube account.

Well, YouTube was not impressed. They were trying to the folks who created this stuff, the copyright holders of the clips I was uploading to their service. Almost immediately they sniffed them out and froze the reel, sending me a notice. I understood completely. I want this stuff to be protected. I hate it when people upload entire movies and shows to YouTube and everyone gets it for free and no one who actually busted their ass making it gets paid - that's way, way unfair.

Howeva, I want to get paid too. And this is one of the tools I use to get work. So then what?

Well, there is such a thing as Fair Use. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders. I'm not trying to directly profit from this reel (other than letting people know I'm out there and open for business) - I haven't monetized it with advertising, and I don't care how many hits it gets. So I wrote YT back claiming that it was legal for me to use this material for reasons of Fair Use. This is my work, and it's how I get more work - people need to see it. 

Now I've traipsed around on both sides of this arguement - as a content creator with my film company, I believe in copyright and that the rights of creators MUST be upheld. But in our digital age, copyright is getting way fuzzy. The whole model needs some serious spiffing. 

Thoughts?

Seriously: Who could be afraid of The Jeffrey?

Just posted to The Happy Hour Guys:

Been on Manhattan's Upper East Side lately? It recently became a much more Craft-y place, thanks to some folk who have a great deal of experience creating terrific places to meet, eat, and drink. The Jeffrey is the new Neighborhood Joint that starts pouring Craft Coffee at 6am, and then goes, and goes, and goes. Join Mark, Jimmy, and Squigs on a trip to this new gem!

On being naked (onstage).

Costume fitting. This one doesn't stay on that long.

You know, it's funny.

You get the audition, you get the job, you know the details, and you're just excited to do the work. But then you're in rehearsals dancing in your underwear in front of a mirror all day with 5 other guys, and then maybe they're trying a G-string on you during a costume fitting... and it hits you.

I'm doing The Full Monty. 

I wouldn't really call myself an exhibitionist. No, seriously; I've always been very outgoing, as many Actors are, but I wouldn't consider myself a candidate for a nudist colony. Not that I think that's a bad thing; once many years ago I spent a week camping at a private 'clothing optional' resort in Colorado, and once I got over the initial shock I had a terrific time. I would go hiking in a hat, PLENTY of sunscreen, and good shoes. That's it. Interestingly, as I was leaving and putting on clothes for the first time in a week, I found them to be terribly constricting. But on to the larger question (pun intended):

Is nudity onstage (and in film) always gratuitous? Or is it ever actually necessary? 

Um. What?

G-string / Thong / Buttfloss / call it what you will.

People have widely differing opinions. In my experience, Americans are far less comfortable with being or even watching 'in the altogether' than other cultures. One wonders if, to this day, we're still somewhat hamstrung by our puritanical ancestry. I would bet that most Americans find nudity gratuitous 98.9% of the time. Yet, if that is so, why is porn so popular in this country? 

Enough with generalities. On to particulars.

I find that in my present show, The Full Monty, nudity is absolutely necessary. The play is about 6 men who are out of work in Buffalo, who decide to become strippers to make some quick cash - but that's only the surface of the story. What we find over the course of the evening is that in a deeper sense the story is about facing one's truth / true self... as each of these characters in this play do, layer by layer. And it's the process of getting naked, of shedding layer after layer of preconceptions, prejudices and the like, that saves these characters. Getting down to their own truths, to what is really important, can only happen... if they get naked. 

So maybe we, as a culture, should drop trou more often.  What do you think?