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Saturday, June 11, 2005
CLOSE!!! Well, Mike went out for the screen test for the upcoming television pilot, "Kyle XY", and made some waves!
On that Monday, he auditioned once again for the executive producers as well as some additional writers. It was at that
point that we found out that Mike's good friend Creagan was one of the last kids auditioning for the same role. Both the boys
did so well, they were called back for the Tuesday test.
At that point, we found out that it was between 3 kids in LA (including Mike & Creagan) and 3 from Canada. In addition,
it was down to the finalists for the other cast members. It was a room full of very nervous actors (and parents) awaiting
their final shot before it was going to be cut down to the 2 finalists for each role...
Mike was first up out of all the auditions. Yikes! And I was over in the Disney cafeteria getting Mike and myself something
to drink thinking he was going to be one of the last to go (at least according to the first schedule.) Oh well! Anyway, after
I got back, Mike was pretty much finished and ready to go. The rest of the afternoon was very anxious for both of us as we
waited for Mike's manager to call.
Later, while we were watching TV in the hotel room, the call came in... He didn't get it. But oddly enough, we were
told NO one got it. The producers and writers had decided to go for a younger person to play the role! However, when we went
back to Mike's agent's office for more voiceover auditions, his agent, Cindy Osbrink came out to see how both Mike and I were
taking the news. She was very comforting and supportive. Both she and Scott (her partner who discovered Mike) were blown away
by the fact that Mike had come so far so incredibly fast. In fact, Scott told Mike it was clear he was on the Hollywood "fast
track."
In addition, we found out that Mike had evidently been the top choice for the part when they decided to go for a younger
actor! A very disappointing day, to say the least but with all the attention and kind words, Michael was able to put it behind
him...
So we left LA, stopped in Phoenix just long enough to do some laundry and then headed out for Omaha to meet Mike's mom
and hang out with his cousins over the Memorial Day weekend. As per our family custom, the clan traveled up to Aberdeen,
SD to visit and pay respects to the family burial plots while we had what amounts to an annual family reunion on my wife's
side. Then, it was off to our former home in Rapid City, SD to close out our storage unit there and haul the rest of our
junk back to Arizona.
We just got back a few days ago. And now Mike is back doing his school work so that he can finish up his school year in
the next week or so. It really has been a stiff challenge for him this year in school as he has had to learn how to study
and do school work on the fly - even between auditions! For anyone out there who thinks the Hollywood life for young actors
is easy, think again!!! Mike has never worked so hard for so long in his entire life. And to think he has still managed to
pull straight A's! Unreal!
It is a VERY difficult schedule. And we are proud of him for sticking with it despite the constant near misses and seemingly
endless setbacks. We know it will pay off for him soon and I think he knows it.
Tonight, we saw Mike's Disney Channel promo for the first time! We all got pretty excited seeing Mike on national TV!
And the promo will run periodically throughout the day, every day for up to the next 2 years! At least that is what the Disney
folks have told us. I guess we'll see!
Anyway, Mike's agent and manager both have told us that this promo will give Mike a LOT of valuable exposure with casting
directors who watch the Disney Channel looking for new prospective talent for upcoming movies and television shows! A very
exciting prospect to say the least! Anyway, we are very proud of Mike!
And he is now officially back from his "vacation"! No rest for the wicked, they say! ;-)
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