Hi Reader,

I just got back from the Waco Independent Film Festival, where I watched Donnie Darko on a big screen and then got to ask questions of the man who shot it.

If you don't know Steven Poster's name, you know his work. He was the cinematographer on Donnie Darko, the second unit director of photography on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and along the way he's had a hand behind the camera on Blade Runner, Rocky V, and Madonna's "Like a Prayer" video, which feels like important information.

The man has seen some things.

After the screening he stayed for a Q&A, and I raised my hand. Not because I had the perfect question, but because I was in the room — raising your hand is free, and this industry is about connections. So: 🙋🏼‍♀️

I asked what advice he'd give fledgling filmmakers. He said:

"Don't let them know you're afraid."

He didn't mean "don't be scared." We're ALL going to be scared at some point. The self-tape you're terrified to hit send on, the VO audition sitting in your inbox, the email to that agent you've drafted four times. Fear shows up to all of it.

He meant fear doesn't get to make the decisions. You can be terrified and in motion at the same time. Those aren't opposites. That's most days for me, actually.

Then I asked him about the hardest day he ever had on set. He told a story from Close Encounters — production decided to shoot one of the most complicated sequences of the film before the team was ready for it. There was no version where they got more time. So they figured it out anyway, and it worked.

Terrified and in motion.

But the Q&A wasn't even the best part. Afterward, Steven came over and asked me and my friends what we were doing at the festival. Michael — the writer whose screenplay brought me to Waco — mentioned his staged reading the next day.

The next afternoon, Steven showed up to the reading.

Also: it turns out he lives near me, so we've made plans to get chili at Chili John's in Burbank. And I'm not saying I'm going to ask him to shoot our short film. I'm just saying I haven't ruled it out.

None of that was networking. There was no strategy. I raised my hand and asked a question. He wanted to know more about us. Somebody mentioned a reading. Careers move like this — not through the perfect reel or the perfect moment, but because you showed up and opened your mouth while still sweating even though it was scary and intimidating.

Speaking of raising your hand...

Last week I opened up my new free Casting DNA™ PreCheck — I personally review your headshots, résumé, demo reel, and casting profile, and tell you what story they're telling the industry (and where your biggest opportunities are hiding).

So far, exactly one brave soul has taken me up on it. (You know who you are. I salute you.🫡)

I've been blaming Mercury retrograde and the news cycle. (Though I checked, and as I write this, Mercury goes direct in about two hours. So that excuse is expiring as we speak. 🪐 🫠)

But here's my real theory: the PreCheck asks you questions that require actual thought. It's not a click-through quiz. It's you getting clear on the story you want the industry to see — so I can help you, not some generic actor-shaped blur. And that kind of thinking is easy to postpone.

Before you postpone it again, though, you should know: the PreCheck is about to be part of Anne Alexander Sieder's Birthday Bash, and once that crowd arrives, I may have to cap how many I can personally do. Right now, there's no line.

Be the second hand in the air! 🙋🏼‍♀️

Cheering you on,

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