A Canadian studio expansion to meet increased Hollywood location shooting has seen a new production equipment supply complex opened in west Toronto.

The Hollywood Reporter has a new article on the mega-production structure that is the new William F. White Centre in the city of Toronto. There is no doubt that Los Angeles has been shooting itself in the foot with taxes for film shoots, but this type of news just serves us as a definite reminder that production is heading elsewhere. Toronto and Dubai, alongside France and Barcelona seem to be the closest at replacing Hollywood. We will have to wait and see.To read the THR article...click here.

Sometimes effects are just done right. Check out the metamorphosis Chris Evans goes through in this new trailer for CAPTAIN AMERICA.

Heres the main issue: Everyone needs to eat. And pay bills, and classes, rent, gas…etc. But as an actor you have to be careful with what "Day Job" you get. Not only because you run the risk of it taking up valuable time from your objective, but also because in BREAKALEGG we think ANY job that doesnt give you some sort of knowledge or advantage over other actors is a complete waste of time. Here are 10 great options of jobs that allow you to be flexible with hours or more importantly, can give you great insight into the industry. At the end of the day, it is where you are planning to be anyways…right?

1. Try to get work in a casting director or an agent’s office. Sometimes in the industry trade papers agents and casting directors advertise for assistants and people to work a few hours a week opening mail and doing office chores. It’s a great way to learn what goes on in their offices. You get to see the kinds of mail other actors send in, overhear telephone conversations, and just basically see what it’s like first hand.
2. In addition, there are other acting schools around the city that look for assistants.
3. Theater companies looking for stage personel and production assistants often with no experience necessary. Prerequisite is to be responsible and a fast learner.
4. There are also a host of casting websites and organizations, such as Actors Access, Breakdown Services, NYCastings as well. If you do a Google search, you will find a slew of others. Why not see if they need help or could use your services?
5. There are also showcases and industry events that are organized to help actors promote their careers. It's a great way to meet casting directors and agents. The organization of those events is a big to do and they need hosts and hostesses to help the event go smoothly. You can find information about such events by simply keeping abreast of what’s going on in the industry. Read the trade papers regularly and check the top acting/casting websites.
6. Why not see if the local union offices of SAG, AFTRA and EQUITY could use some help? Find out where their offices are. See if you can find out what they might be looking for. Find out who the person is you need to contact and if your approach is to send a cover letter, then address the person by his name as opposed to “To whom it may concern.”
7. Do you have skills that one of the trade papers could be interested in, maybe to work in one of their offices? Could be an idea to contact Backstage, Ross Reports, probably the most read of the industry papers. Have a look on the internet or in the Drama Book Shop in New York to see some of the other possibilities that exist.
8. There are many production companies who are looking for good people with skills.
9. Do you have the skills to form a production company? I know someone, a fellow actor, who has done just that. It’s a great way to make industry contacts with people who could also help you further your career as an actor.
10. Do you have the skills to start and run your own small business, form your own company? What do you love to do? Could you turn your hobby into a business? If so, do you know other responsible and reliable people who share your same passion and who have good business skills? If so, maybe you could form your own company together with those people. Why not? As time goes on, you could gradually distance yourself from the daily business of running your small company and dedicate more and more time to acting and promote your acting career. The whole point of this article is to help you think. If you don't have a steady stream of residual income that will permit you to focus 100% of your time on your acting career and you have to work in the traditional sense to make ends meet, then at least do something that will keep you connected to the industry and at the same time help you grow in some way as an actor.

Article by Anthony Lee Smith.

Our suggestion is think about your long term goal, the one that may seem far away and improbable on tough days, but never stop there. Now make short term goals that can serve as your "guide" in that direction. Are you an aspiring writer who wishes to revolutionize Sundance with a dramatic feature? tart with taking a screenwriting class, or maybe writing a short that can serve as a callling card, or perhaps you want to jump right in to pitching your idea to producers or writing it on spec? Whatever the path you chose, the important thing here is that you create A PATH to follow.

Are you an actor with dreams of giving a great acceptance speech after winning an Academy Award? Thats a beautiful dream, but it wont be any more of a reality until you start making headway in that direction. Start auditioning for roles that bring out the best of you, or take a new class, or maybe you want to write your own role, or network with talented individuals/directors/producers that can one day help you get that role. Whatever your strategy is...HAVE ONE. Small steps each day towards the greatness you want.

When a body looks limp, un-energetic and like the person has an eating disorder (whether they do or don’t is another issue) its just not attractive to men or women. And sex sells remember? Being healthy is the main objective of an actor who really values his profession. His or her body should be in prime condition physically first, so he can later adjust it easily to the role. For example: if Spielberg wanted to do an action movie with you in it, and you had to give the appearance of someone who is strong and very active, if you have a healthy tip top shape body, its easy to gain a bit of muscle and definition. OR, If you are asked to play a rather ill person with cancer, lose a few pounds easily. OR if you are offered a “Bridget Jones” type thing. You can only adjust your body so easily (and healthily!)  if you generally keep it in prime condition. Overweight people have really hard time losing the weight, and under weight gaining muscle or weight. Let alone later getting back to how they were!!! So if you are in good shape and healthy and a studio asks you to lose some weight, do it, but do it healthily. And when you are done with the project work as hard as you can to regain your previous more healthy figure. Think that your body is a working tool and you need to keep it working for as long as possible, and that ONLY happens when its healthy and fit. So tell me, what do you think of this trend of skinny celebrities? Has it gone too far?

Megan Fox, Gwyneth Paltrow, Charlize Theron…all no-doubt beautiful successful women. Propositions fall at their feet day in and day out, but what happens wen those propositions come from someone above them, with power to make-or-break a career? Fox News adresses these questions and lets us know what really matters is educating the young generations into evading, but most of all avoiding these situations. Stay tuned for a BREAKALEGG post on the 10 ways to avoid or confront such moments. To read the full article…CLICK HERE. 

We all know its part of our jobs to stay up to date on what the box office has to offer. Whether it be good or bad we need to be able to comment and intelligently critique the latest products of our industry. Nevertheless, unfortunately not everyone has access to screeners and private pre-released copies of the movies...or the spare cash to go to the movies 3 times a week (ejem..unemployed actors anybody?) So here is a great alternative from our friends at WiseBread. To read more: CLICK HERE.

Sometimes we stop asking because we fear our persistence will be seen as an annoyance. We think that if we keep insisting they will get tired maybe even to the point of “dropping” us, so we get frustrated thinking they arent taking us seriously. But here is the truth; you are just as responsible as they are for this vicious cycle. If when you dont get a reply you merely let it go, thinking well, I will find out eventually. Then you are giving the message, through your actions, that its OK for them NOT to answer you.

If on the other hand you insist (without ever becoming offensive or insulting) they will get the message, again through your actions, that you are someone who has to be answered. Someone who demands a response. The easiest way to do this? To simply hit the RESEND button. Your agent hasnt gotten back to you in over 2 hours responding to your question? Simply take the last email you sent with the question and click resend. Its been 4 hours? Simply Simply hit RESEND again.

Not only will you get a response if you keep doing this, but you will prevent future uncertainty (which is a cause for major stress and frustration in most actors). From now on the thoughts in their mind will be more along the lines of: “We better answer this because he will not just forget”.

And heres the funny part. All those worries about whether or not they would be annoyed by your persistence will vanish as soon as you get an answer and see the results of your assertiveness. Keep in mind that every successful filmmaker or actor WAS annoying until he could afford to pay someone to be annoying for him. And no one will think of your persistence as annoying when you are making them money, or when you are winning awards on a stage. All they will know is that moment.

Normally one shouldn’t have to wonder if the person beside them, carrying out the same job, is getting paid the same. But curiosity killed the cat as they say, and we have all been there before. You look at another actor with similar amount of text as you and question if he’s getting the same amount of money. Or another writer on the same show as you, or a director…whatever the case. The answer is most likely: NO. Lets take the first as an example: Salaries for actors have a set minimum if the project is unionized, and you will never be taken advantage of being paid less than established, but once the minimum is set, there is no bar or law that establishes equality among cast. So he or she may be earning more than you.   It mainly depends on two things: Experience and representation. Experience is more about your popularity among the industry or, in special cases, the lack of other capable of carrying out the job. If you have been in very popular shows, and your face or name is one the audience knows, then the more likely they will want you as opposed to an "Unknown". Representation all depends on how well your agent can negotiate your contract. Generally it is something we cant or don’t play a part in, but simply must trust our agent does his or her best on. After all, the more money they get us, the more money they get themselves. If they can sell you well, and know when to take a risk asking for more pay, then  the more likely you will get a higher paycheck.  The one mistake we can make is to ask others on the job how much they get paid. It is more likely to cause problems (for you, your agent, theirs, the producers or anyone else) than it is to satisfy our curiosity. If you want to know about the average paycheck, and you feel it is not (Pay attention this is crucial), I repeat NOT inappropriate because the relationship is not strictly proffesional, then you may ask how.. much they get paid for IN OTHER PROJECTS that have nothing to do with you or are in strict competiction with you. Sometimes an innocent question can lead to a lot of problems and even lawsuits that you might not want to get involved in.   For example you shouldnt ever ask another Action Movie director how much they get if you are also an Action Movie director! Find out on IMDb or ask your agent. But never ask someone about their salary directly, or even worse, ask and then go to the producers complaining because they earn more. A simple rule needs to be followed: Dont Ask, Dont Tell.

Let alone being honest and listening to a Casting Director or the reader. The worst part about this particular problem comes when the role strictly requires a certain dialect. Obviously NOTHING, not even a casting director you says they want a Standard British Accent should make you compromise the level of work and talent you put into the actual performance, so if push comes to shove, ditch the accent and make sure the performance is so good they are willing to oversee that detail. If they really love you they might work with you once you have the part.

But what is certainly very clear, is that investing in a good vocal coach and feeling comfortable with a few "type" appropriate dialects is well worth the investment either way. Some of the most common include: RP, Standard British, Russian, French, Italian, Mexican and Spanish, Southern or African.

For example, here we have a woman who feels confident enough in 21 different ones;