Mirko Grillini News Spot

ReDiscovering

2012-01-02T03:07:00.000-08:00

Well, Happy New Year, I sincerely hope that all of you out there will take a moment to reflect on what 2012 could bring to you personally and what good you can contribute to others. Mostly, I wish for you to find the strength of committing to your dreams.

Years back, I took the end of the year and used it as an excuse for hoping to better days, nowadays, everyday, I think of what I will want to look back in my old days and do something to move closer to it.

There was a project that Amanda and I begun in 2004. Soon after we kind of let people change our vision of what made us starting the project, although we never stopped believing it was a good idea, we allowed our minds take over and abandon it for a few years.

Until now......

ReDiscovering will be re-born with a totally different spin.

Check out the facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rediscovering/270167946374259?notif_t=page_new_likes

Los Angeles

2011-12-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

I have been dreaming of this moment since I decided I wanted to be an actor, I have heard about this place from so many different people, sow it in movies and on the internet so many times to the point that I didn't know what to listen and believe. Now, I'm writing this page sitting in a little restaurant on Sunset Boulevard, 4pm, the sun is lowering and it feels like spring although is December 3rd, 19 years and 1 month from my first step into Australia, when "acting" was not even in my dreams as I barely spoke English.

I must say, my flight in from Vancouver was a bit bumpy and I did not think much of the trip as I had been drilled by the American border security and had a long wait at the airport due to a delay. I slept all the way through, occasionally waking up with the harder bumps.
When the chief hostess announced the approach to LAX, I opened my eyes and glued them outside the window, trying to soak in the moment. It was overwhelming, I just could not believe that I was actually about to land there.
Things in Australia had been going very well from a growth point of view but they were horrible financially. my roles didn't pay much and work in general had slowed down for everyone. I had enough points with my Qantas Frequent Flyers to purchase a ticket so Amanda and I sat down and made the decision. I had to leave by myself and it was hard to take it as we begun this journey together and I wanted to step into LA for the first time together. We couldn't though and her supportive nature allowed her to look at this from a wider angle. She has done so much this year in the industry, both her production design and acting moved up the ladder so Brisbane has now become too tight for both of us.

I landed here on Wednesday 30th november, I had no idea about anything so I went with the flow. Caught a cab with a wonderful Armenian driver who shared with me many stories from LAX to downtown. I had found accommodation near western and wilshire, through a site on facebook called "Australians in LA". $300 for the 10 days I was gonna spend in LA. Didn't know the people, didn't know the area, I just had to be positive about it. The flat mate and the guy who contacted me (Adam Horner) were all wonderful.... how comforting.

So I settled down, did the shopping, unpacked my suitcase, got my weekly bus ticket and got ready for my first appointment on Friday 1st. It's now the 3rd, I had another meeting this morning, a few more next week, then back home, where Amand aand I will be sitting down and deciding about the future.

I have traveled many miles in LA, some by foot and some by bus and taxi. so far it's all good. Santa Monica west, near the Ocean was great, although, after having traveled so many places in the world, it didn't hit me as much as the Gold Coast did the first time I sow it 19 years ago.

Today is Hollywood & West Hollywood. I even had a coffee with Wilfred.

I'll be back on my blog next week... by then I should have much more to say.

Much Love.

M

Vancouver

2011-11-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

After a very enjoyable Qantas flight to LA and another short trip to Vancouver with Alaska Air (of which I don't remember much as I fell asleep before take off and woke up just before landing), I made it to this amazing town. The weather was uncertain but not raining and my trip to the hotel was considerably easy. I pushed myself to stay awake, did the shopping, bought a very cheap phone and a very expensive adapter that looks like a prop from "Transformers" and eventually crash at 8 pm so to adjust to the new timeline.
It was Wednesday 23rd, I woke up at 10 am on Thursday.. fully rested.
Outside, it was pouring rain, the comfort of the room was hard to leave but really, I couldn't be in Vancouver and stay indoor, therefore, I fought the cold and caught a bus to the city. Then, went into a coffee shop and sat there for 4 hours because outside it was unlivable.

Today though is different, the sun is shining and I have appointments, therefore I can walk and absorb the Canadian atmosphere, which by the way is spectacular. I'm just outside the city, having a vegan breakfast and freshly brewed coffee. From here, I can see the city which looks almost painted on a canvass of snowy mountains of what I believe to be the Grouse Mountain range.
Walking fast my face hurts, but that's ok because within 5 minutes I cannot feel it anymore, it reminds me of winter in my old country (Italy), the dry and sharp cold of the wind racing through snow just a few Kilometers back.
Ok, off to my meeting now.
I wish you all a wonderful day.

2 Good News

2011-10-11T04:37:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say that this past week has been very exciting....

First, I woke up on wednesday the 8th with the announcement that "No Man's Land", the one minute film that made it as one of the top 25 internationally, was awarded with a 5 star rating worldwide. Not only that, it never happened before in the history of the minute film comp.... WOW!

A few days later... precisely "today" the project that begin 18 months ago, my new business venture, has been launched. Yes! 18 months and now it's here. It's called:

pilotsandshorts.com

Here is how it came about. Back in April 2010, I had a very interesting though of facilitating the communication between people in the film, entertainment and music industries, lets call everyone entertainers and crew... without offending anyone as both sides are equally important in a production.

I started fantasising about how there could be a "facebooklike" system to do so. I thought perhaps, there could be a way that each actor, singer, crew member, etc... could possibly display pics from past productions, show reels, CVs, and somehow network amongst people in the industry.

So I gathered a few A4 sheets, and created a troglodyte web system on my wall.... that's my lounge area's wall. I basically had it layered out like a desktop... each page was a screen, each click (represented by my hand pressing on the A4 sheet sticky taped to the wall) was opening another A4 sheet (window) with tabs in it. Anyway, very confusing but I ended up with about 30 sheets. on the wall.

The amazing part it was that once I stepped back and looked at the whole picture, it made sense.

On top of that, it opened to another opportunity that I had not thought of... To have not only professional entertainers and crew but also the "General Audience", the same audience that watches TV and goes to the movies.

I though: would people care about actor's reels, crews, pictures from sets? OF COURSE they would, I would trust at least 70% of people watching movies to be interested in the behind the scenes or actor's work.

So, I took my 30 something sheets to a friend, ALEX FAVALI, with whom I had already published a book in the past and who's also the mind behind my website.

i stuck all the A4 sheets on his wall and fly screens... he looked, then looked, then went silent then he said: "Yes, we can do that!"

So for about 1 year we worked on the possibilities and Alex came up with an initial template to follow. About 6 months ago, we decided to incorporate in the project 3 friends, all with different skills. It was a great move and because of all the above, we were very proud of launching today.

Obviously, it's at the beginning, but the content will keep growing everyday, with more and more short films, pilots, documentaries, show reels and Exclusive Videos produced and designed for pilots and shorts.

So, if you are curious now: www.pilotsandshorts.com

Ciao

No Man's Land -

2011-09-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I was approached by a young director, Dominic Jackson Chambers. He had graduated at Bond University and he had an idea, he wanted to make an impacting 1 minute film to begin his career. He had previously seen my work on my show reel and another short film I starred in last year called "Rain Dance". I was, as he said, his first choice. In my years I have been supporting the effort of young film makers with many unpaid short film projects (about 29 to date), so to give them the chance of working with professional actors and give myself the chance of playing with new characters therefore I asked Dom to email me the script.

As expected it was 1 page long. As I finished, I emailed him back with a Yes, lets do it. There was so much to it that I actually asked him to have a meeting and discuss the character. I love when I have to play 2 or 3 different layers in one Character.

2 weeks later we were on the Gold Coast (Australia) precisely in Robina. A small crew, the same DOP who shot Rain Dance and Dom in his Directing disguise. Location was a park which made the shooting complicated as people were walking by occasionally, the noises were frequent and the time of the day only allowed for about 1 hour on set before the sun would have disappeared.

The result though was outstanding. It was exactly what Dom wanted and I was dying to see it.

When I finally had the chance I understood why he was excited. His vision, his passion, his commitment all fell into the end result.

Dom had a very good sense of direction but he let me play with the character. He drove my performance into different places, exploring different subtexts. I knew exactly what I wanted to portray and he made it happening.

2 days ago, I received the wonderful news that the film, titled "No Man's Land", has been selected as one of the 25 best 1 minute films from an international range of over 2,000.

I don't want to say much about the plot, but I invite you to invest 1 minute and follow the link below to the site of the magnificent 1 minute short film competition site and witness what Dom and other 24 film makers have achieved.

http://www.filminute.com/2011/screeningroom/index.php?id=159

Congratulation Dom and all the other 24 writers/directors. You are all keeping this exciting industry alive.

A special thank you also to all the organizers of the competition as it takes a lot of work to make it happening.

Taking a few minutes

2011-07-19T00:57:00.000-07:00

6pm, again in Kings Cross, same hotel of a couple of weeks ago, I survived a week of travel and work, from the Gold Coast to Perth, then Sydney for a few days. I'm quietly sitting on an old fashion leather armchair in this funky Bar/Cafe' named "Coco Cubano". Sydney has been hit by a cold front, raining and miserable outside, I've been clinging to my large mug of hot milk and coffee preparing for yet another audition.

Just last thursday I was catching my flight to Perth, ready for another big weekend of presenting at the Good Food and Wine Show over there, 5 hours and almost 4,000 km away from home. Friday was hell, a good hell, 9am start at the convention centre, 13 shows back to back until 9:30pm. 2 days to go, only 8 hours each day, my voice intact, I must say, I have learnt very well how to use it.

Sunday came quick, finished the last show at 5, had dinner with a good friend, Vince Gareffa and his wife Ann at their place. Luca Ciano, an Italian celebrity Chef with whom I've been working on the shows joined us. Wonderful man he is and awesome Chef. Went to the airport, caught my flight back to Brisbane at 11:10pm. Arrived in Brisbane at 5am, caught another flight for Sydney at 7. Got to Sydney at 8:30. My call on set of Crownies was at 10. I made it comfortably but I was very tired. 10 hours sleep did its good though.

While here, I drifted away for 5 minutes. I thought how much my life has changed since I found my path. I remember when my grandfather was asking me to help him doing some odd jobs in the yard, like, pulling nails out of a piece of wood that he needed for something or collecting sticks for the fire. I was so proud and happy about it. It was such a boring job for him but for me, well, it was bringing me a smile every time. That's how I feel about my job. No matter how hard this industry is, no matter how much rejection, I always find the smile and energy for it.

There are no days I wake up unhappy for what I do and all the sacrifices I made and still make, are just walls along the path that will get smaller and smaller. 8 years ago I lost everything I had in my life, I had to drive taxies for about $100 income a day. Now I have rebuilt good foundations to this new life. I'm wondering where I will be in the next 8.

I wish for any of you to find the path, no matter what age you are, no matter how much you have or you have lost. In most cases, we need to hit the rock bottom in order to raise again. I've hit it a few times... they were all lessons. I trust this time I can slowly build it until the end of my days.

Embracing the moment

2011-07-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

There are many beautiful moments in anyone's life, short parenthesis of existence that isolate you from the everyday life. I had one of these yesterday:

I flew to Sydney for another audition, an expensive exercise but necessary in my career. Testing at home and emailing a video is not the same of being in a room with casting director and, in some cases, the director itself. Anyway, while I was here i got called in for another audition, very short notice and I cannot talk about it at this stage. I received the script at 5pm, downloaded it on my desktop and sat on the bed of my hotel room with the full intention to read it. I yet had to know what the audition piece was but I didn't care, I was only 16 hours away from the audition time at Fox, and I had to squeeze in a sleep as well... the audition piece would have eventually come.

I was a bit hungry so I decided to go to the supermarket and get a few nibbles. Upon my return, I read a sign about a rooftop open area with view on the harbour. Yes, it was only 9 degrees outside and slightly windy, but the thought of reading a script overlooking the bay was quite enticing.

I entered my room, grabbed the laptop, a glass for my sparkling wine, a knife and headed upstairs. i sat in comfortable lounge chairs, the evening darkness was settling in and the lights on the harbour revealed their splendid display. I prepared a few rice crackers with cottage cheese and smoked salmon, I poured a glass of wine, zipped up my leather jacket and secured the scarf around my neck. Put my beany on as well.

So there I was, set up for this winter experience, feeling like a star... hahaha, I only had an audition to go to, but I was loving the moment.

As I open the file, the cover of the script comes out, I scrolled to page one and the heading was "Sydney harbour - evening". The fact that I was on a rooftop in Kings Cross looking at the harbour felt very coincidental, then, the heading of scene 2 read: Kings Cross. It may be nothing to most people, but I was reading a script and I could have been anywhere in the world but I was there, in the same location I described, at the same hour, looking at the same view.

Many times in my life I rush through moments like this one, this time, I was totally aware of it, I took my time and started reading until one hour later I had to give in to the coldness and seek warmth in the room.

My audition piece arrived, spent the rest of the evening preparing and making choices until my eyelids imposed me to rest. I will never forget this day.

June news

2011-06-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Is it bad I'm only writing on this blog once every few weeks? I'm either lazy or very busy, I'm not gonna try to justify it, it's just the way it is. Plenty of other things that take my time away, from meetings to character development and travel. Currently I'm in Sydney for another Good Food and Wine Show. I have completed Rush, had another 3 auditions this week and so far been confirmed for one role (still to be kept confidential).

Next month the shoot of "Phoenix Rising" will begin, another independent feature film in which I will be playing the support lead (male lead) character, Thomas, a cop with a fairly dark past who is helping the lead actress (Belle Fitzgerald) achieving a very unlawful goal.

2 weeks ago I finished on set of "In the waking stillness" a Griffith Film School graduation film all shot on 35mm. Starring with me, Amanda Grillini, who again has performed incredibly well in very demanding conditions (see pic above).

I'm due to a meeting very shortly so this page of the blog will be quite short. Check out the online magazine I've been writing for in the past few months:

http://www.fmvtvinsideentertainment.com.au/

I'll get beck to this soon,

Ciao

Melbourne

2011-05-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here I am again, in cold Melbourne, sitting at Brunetti in Johnson street, on my day off set, sipping coffee and working on other projects while the weather outside tries to show off some weak sunlight amongst the wind, rain and 10 degrees temperature.

10 months ago I was down here for 3 weeks on Underbelly infiltration, this week I have a little guest role in another very successful TV series. My dear friend Ray Tiernan, also actor, has kindly offered me accommodation at his abode. After checking with his flat mate Brenda, they both agreed that I would not be a painful guest to have... They are just wonderful people.

I will be back here in 2 weeks time at the Good Food and Wine Festival, again presenting the cooking shows that Luca Ciano of barilla will be running in this magnificent food event.

Many productions seem to be moving despite the financial situation. QLD has just picked up Terranova again, the next anticipated series that Stephen Spielberg is co-producing and shooting seems to have now a date set for May 25th. Melbourne and Sydney though seem to be pumping as usual. Meanwhile, I have been offered another role in a short film shooting in June and a feature shooting possibly in October.

The Bachelors Guide pilot seems now to be a sure thing, our baby (as we call it) is very close to be born and I can't wait.

I keep pushing it in every direction I can, meetings, ideas, concepts, training, I spend everyday of my life planting one more seed and looking after the ones planted already. I so much love what I do, I never thought I could be living the business life I'm living, even though at times I feel like I'm going unnoticed. I feel ready now for the big scale project, for the solid role that will turn the wheel onto the next level. I know someone out there will put full trust in what I can do for their film, I just have to be patient and keep moving forward. If it was easy everyone would do it.

My sidney agent is the most wonderful agent I could have met. For the first time in my acting life I feel I have someone who believes in me and understands who I am. I know we will keep growing.

Lastly, but not least, my beautiful wife Amanda, has finally broken the barriers of being "unknown" amongst the art department professionals and is now joining professional teams on serious productions. She worked so hard at it and although she will not stop working hard, at least now she has opened the door of the world she wanted to live in. I'm so proud of her.

Of to the gym now, had too much coffee and I will probably bend the weights now.... hahahaha... no, they are likely to bend me actually.

have a wonderful day you all and keep chasing the dream.

Shanghai

2011-04-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

A while ago I was told that China has an incredible number of film productions going on every year, most of which are only for the Chinese audiences. About 20 every year though are foreign productions for international the market so when about a month ago I had the opportunity of flying to Shanghai, I jumped at it and tried to organize meetings. It was not easy but I was able of talking to couple of people who may be opening a couple of doors. I didn't know what to expect from such big city, one of the world financial capitals with a population of about 20 million people. My only previous experience of China was Hong Kong, which due to the strong english influence until the end of the millennium, has quite a unique and international feel about it.

Perhaps Expo 2010 transformed Shanghai into a different place but I was very impressed about how clean and safe it was. Because of my love for photography, I adventured in back streets, Chinese markets, I ate in places where I could not understand nor be understood and experienced some magnificent tastes I have never enjoyed before, stopped in parks where old locals played cards sitting on crates using an old box as table. It all brought back so many memories of Italy, the Italy of the 70s in which I grew up.

I only had a few days as I was due to return to Sydney for a shoot but I could have easily spent a month there.

I guess there will be another opportunity and i will savour it much more.

Taste of Sydney

2011-03-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

I have a very special connection to food, I grew up amongst it and will never loose the joy of cooking for family and friends. I guess one of my last links to food from a working environment point of view, remain the cooking classes that I occasionally run and the Hosting in food events.

In the past few years I seem to have fallen gently into a special business association with Barilla, my favourite pasta brand. No, I don't cook for them, they have the wonderful Luca Ciano (lower photo on my direct left), the executive chef for Barilla Australasia. Rather, I will be joining him and some of the Barilla team (see one of them,Angelo on Luca's left), on the other side of the kitchen and support their efforts with comedy and entertainment, competitions and interviews, during the next Good Food and Wine shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth Adelaide and Brisbane.

Taste of Sydney was the event that made us (Barilla & Myself) thinking about the blending of different skills for a successful 3 or 4 days food event.

We had long days in the sun at centennial park near Bondi Junction, thousands of people walking in front of the Barilla large stand (12 by 3) with a kitchen operating 9 hours a day with the aim of letting people know... every show was a success and we had a lot of fun.

On saturday I had the pleasure of hosting some of the stars of Channel 7 - My Kitchen Rules:

Sammy and Bella vs. Bill & Alex (see pic above), fiercely competing to produce the best "barilla Pasta" dish.

I hope to see some of you at the events as they are spectacular even for non food lovers. Come up and say hi if you will be there.

Buon Appetito.

Flash Mob

2011-03-22T19:52:00.001-07:00

This had to be one of the funniest gig I ever scored. Franklins is a supermarket chain spreading over NSW and they were looking to bring something very new to brand awareness.

They decided that a "Flash Mob" should do it, therefore, under the guidance and expertise of John Evans (Euphorium), 6 actors were casted to surprise local shoppers with a full musical 3 minutes performance right in the middle of the 72 store's aisles.

This is something that a screen actor don't often come across. A very challenging job, with a lot of improvised elements. I was disguised as the "Store Manager", while on stand by to begin, I was pretending I was counting the stock on the shelves and people were approaching me to find out where things like "tuna" were located. I had someone starting a full conversation with me as I was 10 seconds from delivering my first few singing lines. You can imagine the surprise when I looked at her and instead of answering I started singing "My pleasure is to help you...."

hahahaha... it still brings a smile when I think about it.

Anyway, 72 stores, 180 performances in 4 weeks.... we were all "cooked" but had a magnificent experience.

Back again

2011-03-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

I did promise that I would have been writing a bit more efficiently but the beginning of 2011 was quite dramatic then suddenly busy and I again forgot to log in and do it.

The Brisbane floods really affected many people. Our apartment was fine, the water reached till about 50 meters from our place, nevertheless we had to remove all items from the garage and park the cars uphill as the fast surging water didn't leave much time to save things. It was a sad start, one of those things that makes us feel so small and powerless, mother nature really has the total control of our lives. Watching so many people loosing their possessions was hard. We went and helped for a few days, but the recovery will take such a long time. The South East and Central Queensland were devastated.

Cyclone Yasi then completed the destruction when a few weeks later hit the north part of Queensland, destroying some of the towns between Townsville and Cairns and bringing ore floods.

We picked up a gig in Sydney for a month. Upon our return things felt very different. Businesses suffering and moral down. Christchurch earthquake and Japan's Tsunami have now marked one of the worse environmental quarters in history, in this side of the world.

In our personal world things were ok but I felt so powerless knowing that all around us there were people who needed help and there was not much we could do for them.

My admiration goes to all the rescue teams and volunteers who stepped forward to do what we were able to do for only a few days. 13 years ago I did an exam to become a firefighter, after working for many years in the ambulance in Italy I had developed a strong sense of wanting to assist and rescue. I was strongly built for it, I had the agility and the care needed.

I took a test in Noosa Heads. I spelt "commitment" wrong and they failed me. I knew it was because of other reasons as the man who handed me the test sheet was somehow making fun of my accent , I got so pissed off that I never tried again. I guess it was meant to be, perhaps I will be able to do something much more impactful once my name will be big enough to be recognised, I really hope so.

As I was presenting the Tropfest event in Brisbane this year I was able of announcing a charity event who made a big difference in the number of audience participating. much money was raised for the flood relief. That made me happy, I was somehow able to make a difference.

Having been part of an emergency rescue team I would have certainly been there, amongst those who needed it most, here and in NZ, maybe even Japan, like I did for so many years in Italy.

Apologies for letting go of some emotional issues but I have a very strong sense for human care and helping those who really need help will always be on top of my list.

My first "Best Actor" Award

2010-12-24T04:22:00.000-08:00

It's the dream of any actor, anyone who is professionally or amateur-ally involved in the industry, standing on a stage, accepting your award, a recognition of what you always strive to do well, to act in such a way that your character comes alive within you so strongly that other people believe it's not you the actor anymore.

It was december 9th 2010, we were invited to the Cerrum Theatre at Bond University Gold Coast Campus. The Movie was RAIN DANCE, The Director JACQUES JOUBERT

The magic happened...... I had the script prior to the audition and on the first read I immediately found some powerful meanings. I thought "this is my second Bond production and the first one had a lot of heart, this one is certainly following suit".

The character initially was Australian, the story was focused around a struggling farming family but had no scripted confinement, therefore it would have worked with a foreign farmer.

I got the role and played the Character of "Marco"; He's biggest transition within his persona was to be convinced to perform a rain dance as last option to win the draught and here is where I got stuck. I had so many questions that I had to answer:

What is a rain dance, what does it mean for a native north American Indian?

How do you perform it?

How would Marco perform it?

What would make it powerful for the audience?

What would make it believable?

It was a few nights later I had dinner with some new friends. One of the (Justin) was sitting next to me and somehow brought up the subject of Native American Indians. Please note that I did not disclose my upcoming role.

Justin begun talking about this guy who was teaching the philosophy behind the rain dance, what it meant and how it was performed.

I knew then that I had to make this film, it was another sign, like some of the ones I had in the past and ignorantly disregarded.

After Justin's words, I knew exactly what I was going to aim for, how and where to look for the fine line between the mystical and the reality that a farmer would live.

The following night, as confirmation to my choices, I was flicking channels in TV and came across an episode of "How I met your mother". In the episode they were explaining how to do a Rain Dance.

I called the director (Jacques) and told him that this film was meant to be made.

Although the shoot was not like a walk in the park, when I sat in the Cerrum Theatre on the awards night, I knew the film was going to be worth watching. I was not expecting the Best Actor award but when my name was announced and the audience exploded in a big YES and applauses, I felt like it was the Oscar.... what an amazing moment. I will treasure it for the rest of my life. I only wish my family in Italy, especially my son Jacy, would have been there with me to witness it.

RAIN DANCE also won:

Best Cinematography

Best Overall Film

You can check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/raindancefilm

East West 101

2010-11-01T20:32:00.001-07:00

It's ok, I can talk about it now, about my role on east West 101 (series 3). Although, I cannot tell you anything about who I play or what I do on it, I want to let you know how good it feels to work with people who I admired performing in previous series.

This multi award winner SBS series is now well into production of series 3 that will air in 2011.

For those of you who have not previously followed this show, you can do so now as the repeat of season 2 will air from December 12th, just over a month away.

here is the link, just in case you are curious about it:

http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/eastwest101/about/page/i/1/show/eastwest101

Above me and some of the actors from main cast and one with another Guest for the episode.

We have only shot one of the few scenes I will be involved in on that particular episode, but the synergy was in place. As a guest on any series, there is not much time to interact with the rest of the cast and often you meet some actors for just a few minutes prior to the scene.

The magic kind of happens though when actors share a professional environment. Perhaps is the ability of blending in or the fact that we tend to meet a lot of different people during most of our career. On EW101 things just happened with an extremely easy feel to it.

We met on location, we shook hands and had a chat about stuff. That easy. The job of DOP was assigned again to the wonderful Joseph H Pickering who has also shared with me the Underbelly experience back in July. I kind of had a different look on UB and when I said to Joseph "nice to see you again Joe", he looks at me puzzled for a second, probably trying to remember where did he meet this guy that looks like a trucky after a 16 hours drive... but then he clicked.

And how could there be a series 3 without Peter Andrikidis, the wonderful director who led the series to 3 awards of Excellence in Australia and a few other in the US.

Again, meeting Peter was simple. he know what he wants but is more than open to discuss options if needed, challenging his vision to explore possibilities.

One more day and I will be wrapped and by the time it will televise I will be on another project and this one will be just a memory. A little bit like the Narnia Experience which by the way is about to appear on the Silver Screen.... December 10, 2010... in 3D.

Prosciutto

2010-10-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Just had some amazing prosciutto and I remembered when we shot this video of how to make them....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPffC5RpYSs

Rain Dance

2010-10-04T03:27:00.000-07:00

In 2008 I took a gamble and accepted a role in a film called "Broken Road" (if you scroll the pages in my blog you will find it). The short film was a production of Brodie Rocca from BOND UNIVERSITY at the Gold Coast and it had international success.

In 2010, producer Samantha Hanson and Director Jacques Joubert, casted me in as Mark in their Bond Uni graduation film "Rain Dance".

This time I didn't have to travel 2 days to reach the location, it was only 2 and a half hours, to a very small area called "Tummaville" about 60 km from Toowoomba.

I will not disclose much about the story, I want to leave the surprise to you and the marketing strategies to Samantha so, you can have a look at the Facebook page and get an idea before the movie is released.

A part for the challenge of building a believable character, there was also the challenge of accommodating 23 (cast and crew) people into a 3 bedroom country house. Yes, it was not the ideal solution, especially when you are trying to be fully rested in order to be on set all day.

Understanding the restrictions of student films and still wanting to help them achieving the goals set, all the actors decided to give up comfort and squeeze inside a room. i was on the floor, on a very small and old mattress.

As we all know, challenges never present alone, so having rained for what seemed like forever, mosquitos were reproducing like rabbits and were very thirsty.

Small sleeps and a lot of insect repellent but the production begun. Despite the difficulties though I was working with an incredible bunch of potential new film makers and I must say they did their best to confront the issues with a very high level of maturity.

I have been amongst smaller groups in easier situations who could not get along if you paid them. These guys never had a fight, were up early, lined up forever to go to the bathroom and if it was very urgent disappeared in the bush, dealt with 11 degrees temperature and supported each other. I must say, I was very impressed.

The movie is about a terrible drought and the weather didn't agree, meaning we probably picked a bad week to shoot. It rained for 5 consecutively days and we got there at the tail end of it. We begun wisely with interior shots.

As the days progressed we became more and more in tune with each other, so, a part for the bad sleeping at night, the days were pleasantly efficient and we were able of filming everything we needed (and a little more).

Each night we built a bon fire and sat around it talking about life, laughing and contemplating.

One night I had a trip back to Brisbane as I had to attend an audition the following morning, although the long drive, my body said "thank you for a long sleep in a normal bed". Then we had a drop in temperature, and the thought of shooting at night was less and less inviting.

i'd love to tell more, but I don't want to spoil the film, so I will let you know after the screening.

Ciao

Another 4 national series

2010-09-04T03:37:00.000-07:00

I have been a little slack in working on this blog but many things have happened this year and I wasn't sure how much I could have disclosed. 2010 started well with 5 episodes on the popular Home & Away on channel 7. It was quite a surprise and a wonderful experience. The 5 eps screened in May. It was good to get back into Tv after the many films and shorts of the last 3 years, after Sea Patrol.

Back in June though I was tested for a role on 1 of the new Underbelly movie files, a new creation under the banner "Underbelly". 3 features for television, 3 completely different journeys.

It took about 10 days but the good news came back, I had the role and because of very confidential matters, i cannot disclose much about this project. I can tell you that is called "Infiltration" and is the dramatisation of a book published earlier this year.

It was quite amazing, I was part of my first true story, performing a role of someone who is still alive and will be watching me on TV. I must say, I was honoured of taking on such a role and I hope that my effort in accomplishing a truthful resemblance of the character traits, will appear on the screen as natural and convincing.

As I finished the 3 weeks in Melbourne I returned to Brisbane and continued moving forward with "The Bachelors Guide".

Wasn't long though before another audition came about. This time for a multi award winner television series who captured the attention of a large audience not only in Australia but also in the USA. Within a week though I was confirmed for another series, again of international release.

This makes it a total of 4 guest roles on national Australian Drama series in 2010 (so far). You have no idea how it makes me feel. Thank you for supporting me and a big thank you to my Agent "Natalie Hall".

On other news, one of the short films I was casted in last year called "Pushbike", has won the Paris Sexy International Film Festival back in June.

The pictures above are from the Home & Away and Underbelly "Infiltration".

Stay tuned for more imminent news.

Ciao

I will let you know shortly titles and roles.

2010

2010-07-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me today why I decided to get into acting so late in life (I was 32 when I made the decision) and my answer was: It just felt right.

Deciding to abandon everything to pursue a new, seemingly impossible career, was a difficult choice. You are taught to work hard and learn as much as you can in a field that you choose many years earlier, at an age that was not really ready for big decisions. I did love what I did before, for many years, but then... my interests shifted and I felt it was time to give a go to what i felt in my guts.

Soooo many people did make fun of it. "What? do you wanna be Robert De Niro?".... they made me laugh and angry at the same time. I didn't want to be him nor anybody else, I wanted to be Mirko Grillini enjoying his life and career.

2009/10 have been very good to me, I was blessed with a few very good roles and now, in Melbourne on one of my most important roles so far, I was pondering on the choices I made.

The truth is: I love what I do, I love the time on set, the preparation to a role, the sacrifices, the maintaining of skills between gigs, the eating well to be energetic and ready for an audition that may pop up next week. I couldn't imagine enjoying anything else this much.

So thank you to all of you who who believed in me for the strength and support, those who didn't for making me realize how much I wanted it and the Universe for listening.

25 years have gone from the shot above..... I wonder what the next 25 will surprise me with.

The Divas

2010-04-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

WOW and WOW again. Last night I was fortunate enough to be amongst the audience of "DIVAS" the latest Harvest Rain Theatre Company Production that captured the audience senses for 2 hours at the Concert Hall - QPAC - in Brisbane.

This will go down as one of the best shows I have seen so far.

Angela Hardings, Belinda Heit, Julie Cotterell, Leisa Barry-Smith & Naomi Price. These 5 outstanding actors/singers made us laugh and cry with a rainbow of songs from the 70's, 80's & 90's plus an unbelievable performance of 2 Amy Winehouse songs that you have to witness to believe it.

These 5 women have brought to all of us the magic of real performance. Their voices, their energy, their commitment ... my god, I was in heaven. I wish for all 5 of you the most amazing performing future, you deserve it!!!

Maltlohn Drew led the outstanding band of local musicians and the result became a perfect symbiosis of music keys and vocal ability that will have you asking for more. 2 hours show but I could have sat another 2 without getting bored.

I briefly met the Director Tim O'Connor, during the interval and I could see his satisfaction and pride in bringing this all together through 6 weeks of rehearsals for a 1 night only performance.

I commend you all for the effort, commitment and for showing how good theatre can make you night so special.

Just before the Interval, The Divas dedicated a song to the She Rescue Home in Cambodia (http://www.sherescuehome.org/) while a large screen above the stage aired footage taken over there. Many tears were shared in 3 minutes of humanity that reminded us how difficult life is for so many people around the world.

The Divas will appear on the 8th of May 2010 at Citipointe in Mansfield. It will be a special mother's day show. All profits will go to the She Rescue Home.

So, if you want to make this mother's day special email: she@citipointe.com.au

If you cannot, please visit their website: www.thedivas.com.au

The Bachelor's Guide

2010-03-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, It's been a while but I finally made it back to the blog.

After a Break over Christmas and 3 weeks in Sydney on set of Home & Away, we (Me & My Business partner Nick Cooper) had time of catching up with Stephen M. Irvin who helped us in the finalising of our Pilot Episode who is now guaranteed to hit 5 different channels.

The EPK (Electronic Press Kit) is now online, on both Facebook & www.thebachelorsguide.tv

The Bachelor's Guide is now, more than ever, bound to make an impact. The development has been long, but we finally have a solid structure.

The cast of Narnia - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is now all updated on www.narniafans.com

A special thank you

2010-01-02T00:44:00.000-08:00

Hi Guys, this has nothing to do with acting (although in many ways it does for me) but I just want to share it with all of you.

The growth of an actor in these days is most times a very hard journey and in most cases is helped by small and big efforts that other people do for you. A have had a few in my life and to all of those people i will be forever thankful, but within the business side of my life, I have a friend that has always laid faith on me.

Alex Favali is the owner director of PuntoItalia (logo above), the multi services web designing, Graphic Designing & Consultancy company.

We have known each other for a very long time now and his expertise on promoting my business had helped so much in moving forward.

I guess what I'm trying to say it's a very big thank you and any of you looking for some words of wisdom in his field, well, don't be afraid of talking to him.

Have a wonderful Happy & Healthy 2010 you all. I will shortly let you know about some other news....

Arthur Angel - Van Diemen's Land

2009-11-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

(Picture of Arthur Angel in a scene of Van Diemen's Land)

Breaking into the acting business is very hard, most people who are acting know this, even if they have made it already. For us, passionate but unknown screen & stage performers, life is always on the edge of what may happen next or will we make enough money to live a normal life.

I know many who would not be able to handle it, even for us is hard at times... the uncertainties of scoring another gig....

I must say though that when you get a good run, it feels very good. I want to tell you about Arthur Angel and the incredible film he was on before Narnia, because it fascinated me hearing about it and watching it on the silver screen, but before I do that, I must tell you why I feel I should write about it.

Years ago I took a wild journey into the wilderness of Tasmania with a good friend (Roberto). 8 days walk on the south track, going from Malaleuca to Cookle Creek. It was one of the most arduous and challenging walks I have ever done in my life, even worst of my climbs on the Dolomites in Italy. Our poor equipments and the weather change was hard to deal with and the freezing water made it extremely hard to wade the rivers. It took 8 days, 8 days of 10 hours walk an many falls but we did it.

When I met Arthur on set of Narnia (he plays the character of Rhince), he mentioned about this low budget film he shot last year in Tasmania and that was due to be released in Australia late August. The movie is called Van Diemen's Land.

To view the trailer: (http://www.vandiemensland-themovie.com/)

Jonathan Auf Der Heide (Director) & Ellery Ryan Director of Photography) took an incredible gamble and set off, with a small group of actors, to Tasmania to shoot the true story of a group of convicts who escaped from a colony of prisoners and fought the wilderness in search of their liberty, about 180 years ago. The strenuous conditions and the lack of food, transformed these men in Cannibals.

The cast and crew didn't have the luxury of trailers and heat, coffee was instant and not very good, food was scarce, weather unpredictable, in one scene it was snowing, in another they had to wade the river naked and the hours were very long.

Arthur has so many tales about this amazing time spent with these heroes of the cinema industry, yes, I call them heroes because they believed so much in what this film was narrating, a story that was not to be told, a dark Tasmanian secret that was kept away from general knowledge for fear of shocking the world.

Both me and Amanda watched in silence, as the drama engulfed us completely and the performances made us believe, truly believe what we were witnessing. All in Gaelic and English, this movie is bound to shock & capture you.

I will buy the DVD, not only for the support to these men, but for the magnificent performances Arthur and his fellow companions gave us.

A lot of people tend to be afraid of our history, the world history, but I truly believe that anyone watching it will never forget. The Photography is spectacular, true to the conditions and with no, I mean no special effects. The director new what he wanted.

I will not say much more, I want you to pick up the DVD at the store and be brave enough to honour these actors and the crew, for the effort and inspiration given.

Again, log in, watch the trailer and enjoy true performances.

Thank you all and well done!!!!

The production design team

2009-11-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

As you can imagine, in a movie like Narnia, the Production and Set Design play another major role. Amanda (my wife) is also a Set Designer and I live constantly the behind the scene of productions she is involved with. Its a hard job, made of attention to details, creativity, vision, long hours and quick adjustments.

While part of the team works on the logistics, budgets and and expenditures, the rest is hands on, constantly on set to make sure things are the way they should be. On the Dawn Treader there are constantly things to look for and every take, many things need to be re-adjusted, re-lit, re-structured and so on.

The man in the picture is Moxy, the Key stand by Prop, the man who is leading the team on set and never stops. Because of the way this movie has been filmed, the attention to details needs to be outstanding (you will know what I mean once you will be sitting in front of the silver screen). There is very little time for fun on this department while the film is shooting. You can look at all of them and the eyes are fixed on the particulars of the set, taking pics to make sure they can re arrange exactly to what it was and checking that things in frame are set as they should.

Production Department has one of the earlier starts in the life of a film as many props need to be built, purchased, shaped or fitted, therefore as the shoot lasted about 4 months, they would have had an additional 2 to 3 months in pre production.

Armoury is also another side of this department..... but I will let you discover all the incredible medieval style weapons during the many action scenes in the film.

Wardrobe rush on Narnia

2009-11-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Do you ever find it hard to decide what to wear and when? Too many clothes in your wardrobe?

Whatever you may need to complain about in this department don't do it with the wardrobe personnel. My God, I don't know how they manage to smile with all the stuff they do. Shirt for this, armour for that, boots too tight, pants to wash, costume for that scene, too clean or too dirty, whole in this, stitching on that, stains, make up shirts for all actors then..... oh no, change of scene, we are shooting a different one so all the wet actors need to be clean and dry.... what!!!! Aaaaahhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!

Ok, its not like that everyday but it happens. I managed to rip my pants twice and loose a couple of buttons, a part for that I think I'm fairly low maintenance. In the picture above Sammy and Andrea, 2 of the hard working team looking after this huge department. I worked with Andrea before, on Sea Patrol and guess what.... I ripped my pants as well... same spot. So now she has 3 pairs for me.

This essential department is never stopping. A part for dressing every actor and extra, they need to be on set between every take to adjust your costume and make sure it looks the way its supposed to before the next take. The end of the day for us is certainly not for them... re racking all the costumes and wash them everyday so they can be ready for the following day.

Sometime I feel sorry about asking for something, the other day I was given 2 right boots by mistake..... mmhhhh decisions, decisions.... yeah, well I had to let them know. It was busy but they had a good laugh about it and apologised. Honestly, there was no need to apologise. That was the only tiny mistake they made with my wardrobe in 3 months....

The truth is that I had 2,000 litres of water dumped on me and Ben for one of the scenes and it took 3 days to dry my old boots.

In conclusion, I want to give a little praise to the wardrobe team for the incredible effort in making this film looking so spectacular.

Stunt's World

2009-11-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

How could I possibly not include a chapter on the incredible world of stunts and stunt men that this film has needed?

Action is the word underlying The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. 1 month before the filming began Allan Poppleton began the rehearsals with his stunt team. You may not know of Allan, but if you check out his name on the web or IMDB, you will realise how much of his fight and stunt choreography you have witnessed on the big screen. A part for the 3 Narnia films, his signature is also in other hollywood features. Here is a short list:

Avatar, Underworld, The last samurai, Lord of the Rings, Eragon, Alexander and so on...

To achieve the results needed in this film, Allan casted a team of Australia and New Zealand stunt performers. In the picture above you can see some of them (from left to right) Brett Sheerrin, John Reynolds, Shaughan Campbell and John Walton (I'm a casualty in the picture... not a stunty)

These guys are the creators of the action and they are a strong team, I mean strong not only from a physical point of view, but from a team effort and endurance. Constant training and learning of new skills are needed to be able to perform their tasks.

What you see on screen is the result of many hours of work off and on set. I would define them as warriors as they look after each other and make sure they can perform their best. I don't know if you have ever had the feeling of knowing you can do anything just because a good friend is there to make sure you are safe but that is what it feels like amongst these guys. They own the stunts and we should give them a big "Thank you" for making the film looking so dynamic and dangerous.

Allan has obviously chosen the best team for the job. I didn't know any of these guys before beginning at Cleveland, but I'm sure I will be working with some of them in the future.

We have good laughs on set and outside, I can say they have all become good friends and I respect very much what they do.

Do me a favour, when you go and see the movie, think of these guys every time you see something dangerous, they all deserve a few seconds of your time.

The party

2009-11-22T18:03:00.000-08:00

As we have come to an end, the last opportunity of being all together was on Saturday night. My first hollywood wrap party.... wow. I can certainly do another one. There was so many people that I didn't even get the chance of say hi to at least 75% of them.

It was great to see cast, crew and extras all together as one team, plus partners. Everybody was talking to everybody (or trying to) people dancing, the food was constantly coming around on large trays, and everybody seem to be happy.

We had finished the shoot late afternoon, just enough time to go back to the hotel, shower and get changed. Amanda had organised some food and a couple of drinks as pre party teaser. She was ready to go and looked amazing (as always).

A quick ride on a cab through the high rises of the Gold Coast and we were lining up at the venue. Some photographers were outside going spastic with the cameras, but were not allowed inside.

There were speeches from Mark Johnson, Michael Apted and the main cast, Ben wrapped it up with his amazing energy. I tell you what, he knows how to get the crowd going. He's natural charm and portrayal are magnetic. Ben is not only a wonderful actor, he is a prince in real life, not because he's from a royal family, but because he has an incredible good and friendly nature.

After the speeches, a very funny footage of bloopers was played on the screens and it caught everybody's attention. I felt rude for not being able of talking to all the people I wanted to.... but that was just everybody's problem.

The distinct look of people concentrating on their tasks on set was gone. I talked to people that I worked with on set for over 3 months and didn't know much about them.

Some recognised me from my other feature (Girl Clock) that screened last week at the Gold Coast Film Fantastic and they made me feel very good about it... someone recognised me from a cinema screen and stepped out to say Hi... It felt very good.

I paused for a couple of minutes and took the whole thing in. The party, the people, the vibe. I thought to myself "How is that a man from a blue collar Italian family that 17 years ago did not speak 1 word of English, ends up here?"

Georgie walked by and I finally had the opportunity of sharing some words with her... she is always so busy between the set and the school (yes, Skandar, Georgie, Will and even Arabella had to take private tuitions every day between takes as part of their education progression).

I had to let her know how impressed I was about her performance and personality, a very gifted young woman who I am convinced we will be seeing in many more productions in the future. Already in the previous Narnia Chronicles she was so expressive and convincing, now, after seeing her performing all the demanding tasks she was scripted to do, I'm sure of it.

It was 1 am when we decided to make a move and we were invited to join a small group of people on a stretch limousine... they were travelling to Broadbeach and so were we.... what a perfect ending to this magnificent night.

Inside the Narnia creatures

2009-11-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

As you will see in this incredible "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", creatures are a very large part of the magic. The Minotaur (Tavros) is the most powerful looking one. A 7 foot tall bull armed with a powerful medieval axe and a threatening look. Definitely not someone you would want to meet face to face after stepping on his foot (or hoof).

But the giant has a real heart, the heart of a wonderful man who encases himself for hours with howard's (and his team) minotaur suit. His name is Shane Rangi and you have witnessed his abilities in many famous Hollywood productions such as Lord of the Rings, X Men, I Robot and the previous 2 Narnia (although he is always made up with prosthetics and costumes so it would be hard to see what he really looks like)

So, what is life inside "Tavros": Very hot I would have thought but it depends from the exterior weather conditions. I was surprised to know that in exterior scenes and windy conditions the excess sweating can cool the body to an uncomfortable temperature. You would never guess it by looking at the red face and the sweat pouring down his head every time they remove the head between takes and feed him energy drinks and water.

The weight of the suit is considerably heavy, even for a strongly built man like Shane (and Tamate the other stunt wearing the second minotaur suit). Their vision is partly impaired as they can only see the outside world through a little screen built inside the head and fed through a camera placed on the horns. The mouth is controlled by a remote system, almost like the ones you utilize to drive a little racing car model. O top of that, the Shane and Tamate are not walking using their feet on the ground. The foot is resting at a 45 degrees angle on the hoof, like if they were wearing high heels all the time.

A very demanding task that Shane and Tamate carry out to perfection. Let me also add that Shane is an outstandingly kind and giving man in his everyday being. I have many memories of times spent outside the set with him and others but the most memorable was one morning before jumping on set. I was walking back to my trailer from make up and I heard the guitar playing. As I turned the corner there was Shane sitting on the steps of his trailer playing. Tony (Rynelf) was standing next to him and they were singing (Knocking on Heaven's Door). I joined in and we had 3 minutes of magic. It reminded me of a night in London, I was coming back after work at almost 1 am and the tube was completely empty, only a few people and a couple of rats running around. Suddenly this hippie couple walked in. He pulled out the guitar and started playing the same tune... she started singing and they filled the greyness of that spot with colourful notes transforming the tube station in this mesmerising place of peace.

Will... aka Eustace

2009-11-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

You know, the only experience that I have ever had on set with young actors was on set of Broken Road last year. The short film did very well and won the QNFA as best overall film this year. The 2 girls were very young and they were wonderful on set, so I joined the Narnia cast with a positive attitude (as I normally do).

I met Will half way through my shoot in Cleveland, he arrived in the morning at unit base and politely said hi to everybody. There was something very special about him, his attitude to people and his kindness were so intense that I thought he was using it as disguise.... I was wrong, that is the person that he is, a wonderful young man with an amazing ability of switching off his persona and jump into a completely different mode.

I saw his performance on "The son of Rambow" in which he was playing Lee Carter and again I was captured by his abilities, about the mannerism adapted to the character.

I think this young man will have a very bright future in front of the cameras. Wait to see his performance in this production to realise the talent of this young man.

All the very best for your future Will, you certainly deserve it.

Coordinating the extras on set

2009-11-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

While Michael Apted and the first assistant director Jeff Okabayashi organize the logistics with cast and camera department, some of the ADs work hard to maintain continuity and promptness amongst the extras. In such production the extras involved are a very large number and because a movie is never shot in sequential order, there are many logistical aspects that need to be constantly evaluated.

Yes, there is a continuity person, but she cannot do everything by herself.

There are a few Ads in place, some with first unit and some with second unit. On first unit lindsay is normally off set and while 2 gentlemen, yes, the ones in the picture with me, are constantly on set communicating via radio with everybody.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you Josh & Stuart, the 2 warriors of Narnia set. I get tired looking at them working... I mean, they don't stop. And the funny thing is that if you get the chance to talk to them, at one point you are almost guaranteed to witness the blank look in their eyes of staring into space then walk away. At first you think :" gee I must have been very boring for him to walk away like that" but then you realize (or hope) that someone talked to them through the earpiece and they had to go to deal something.

So, any conversation we have I try to keep under 34 seconds.

They are though very good at their job. For how much responsibility they carry, They have never treated anybody with disrespect or anger and from an actor point of view I have always been very well looked after.

Definitely another 2 people I could work with again.

On set together again

2009-11-18T20:12:00.000-08:00

Mr Paul Siepel, a very passionate and skilled cameramen and camera assistant who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time on set of "Affair".

No surprise when I heard that he was on set of Narnia to assist Damian Wyvill on B camera.

Paul is also part of the team who will be shooting "The Bachelors Guide" comedy series, as you may know already, created by Nicholas Cooper and Myself and now in development.

Honestly, Paul is one of those trustworthy people that you rarely come across on set. He was born to be behind the camera and his technical knowledge combined to the passion and drive shown every day on set, will take him very far in the industry.

I'm looking forward of working with him in the near future, on The bachelors Guide or any other project.

Apologies for the halo around Paul's head... bending over to pick up gear can be challenging and... uncomfortable to the eyes.

Thanking Note

2009-11-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

This is a page that I am dedicating to all of you that have been following my complicated Journey to this point in my life. Some of you are aware of the hardship and many others will never know but that is the past and I have learnt a lot from it. The future I cannot predict, so I will concentrate on this page for next 5 minutes to let you know that I have really appreciated the support and the trust you and the Universe have placed on me.

In the last few years I have began taking a few minutes every now and then to appreciate what and who I am surrounded with.

I have a few more days to go on set of Narnia so its time to get ready for 2010 and the opportunities that the new year may bring. I have to thank David Newman and Christine King for trusting me enough to put me forward for this role and a very big thank you to Michael Apted for trusting me in carrying the role throughout the movie. Its overwhelming to be trusted by such people.

To all the producers and the kind words shared, the crew, their professionalism and hard work,

my fellow actors who I will not be seeing for a long time, all the extras and the magnificent catering service, absolutely everybody who has travelled this journey with me, including Ernie and his passion for the Epicurean world. I made some friends here.

To all of my audience, from the cooking shows to my films and television shows but most of all to my wife Amanda for her support and believe in my dreams.

My promise is my commitment to improve my skills and keep you entertained. I love what I do and I will continue to pursue it.

May you all find the guidance to pursue what you dream of and the strength to stand again every time you fall.

The Voyage continue......

The magic world of Prosthetics

2009-11-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

There are a few Oscar winners in this production and Howard Berger is one of them. In fact his filmography is scary, working in pretty much all the Quentin Tarantino movies, Transformer, Spider Man 3, even the latest documentary of the late Michael Jackson "This is It".

I don't have enough MBs on this blog to list all the film, so jump on IMDB.com and have a look at it. I'm not going to post any pics of the character that Howard and his team have created, but I can tell you that they do look AMAZING.

He was explaining to us that for one single costume they had to hand saw every hair on it! Can you imagine covering the body of a 7 ft. tall creature in hair??? But it's not only the costumes, its the prosthetic work on the different characters that takes a lot of time and patience.

Some of the actors have call times of about 3 hours prior to everybody else in order to fit noses, ears, hair, body hair and so on. Now that is not only 1 day every now and then, it's everyday for about 4 months.

Given the load of work and responsibility that this man has, you would expect him to be stressed and cranky everyday, but he's exactly the opposite. Unless he fakes it very well, his attitude is very calm. He looks like he's having a great time on set and you know what...? I believe he does.

Such a pleasure for me to meet him. I hope one day I get the chance of being prosthetically arranged by him and his team, missing limbs, Head exploding... whatever, I'd love my mum to watch my head fall off on a screen of an Italian cinema....

Make Up &Hair Design Star

2009-11-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder about the facial changes, scars, beauty enhancements, hair losses or increases, of actors on films? Well, whatever you may think its not enough, unless you are a make up artist or a beautician, it could be very difficult to understand the extent of skills and artistry, attention and commitment the Hair and Make Up team has to have.

We step into their trailer looking like us at 7 am and exit like someone else, either younger or older, with changes that are not very detectable to the naked eye.

The man behind this successful team on Narnia is Rick Findlater one of the best in the industry and Head Make up artist Martina Byrne. Obviously, my character was not large enough to be directly looked after by them (although their eyes are very attentive to all the cast), I had 3 wonderful artists (Bronwyn, Eva & Kerryn) which took turns in trying to make me as Belligerent as possible. Kerryn was also looking after Arthur (Rhince) while Mia was in charge of Tony (Rynelf) and Gary (Drinian) and Emily was helping anybody and looking after some of the stunt guys and lead cast doubles.

Rick was obviously with another team, in another trailer making sure that the lead cast had the attention needed... and what a magnificent work they did.

You may not know that Rick's portfolio is amazingly impressive; I mean, we were having a conversation about a few of the films and stars he worked with and I was speechless. I've always had some interest in Richard Gere after seen his movie "American Gigolo" when I was very young and Rick was his personal Hair Stylist on set of "Amelia".

But the best of all coincidences is this: MYSELF, RICK, TONY NIXON AND RICHARD GERE all share the same birthday... 29th august (different years). How about that !!!!

Here is a little list of some films in which Rick has been in charge of designing hair and make up:

Avatar, Shutter, Lord of The Rings , The last Samurai, King Kong, Flight of the Phoenix.... and the list goes on and on....

I'm surrounded by amazing people who have made of artistry their life.... I feel very inspired and so at home.

Dante Spinotti

2009-11-17T22:11:00.000-08:00

The important role of the DOP (Director of Photography) is generally underestimated by the majority of people in the audience as they concentrate more on the actors and the storyline.

When a film is Directed by such an amazing director as Michael Apted, who has in his portfolio films titles such as "007 The world is not enough", "Gorillas in theMist", "Blink", "Thunderheart", "Class Action" and many more, you need to associate talent, knowledge and experience at equal level.

So, Dante Spinotti entered the Narnia world and what a pleasure to have met him. His filmography is enough to scare people away, I mean, this Italian amazing man has spent the majority of his life on movie sets, filming blockbusters such as "LA Confidential", "X Men the last stand", "The Insider", "Heat".... I mean, could this movie be in better hands from a cinematographic aspect?

I had the pleasure of sharing an evening with him and his lovely wife Marcella, an Italian banquet made of Tortellini, Duck stew with Polenta and Marinated Berries with Mascarpone, the only time in which we could just relax, speak a little Italian and see who we are outside the set. The dinner took place at Danny and Tracey McMaster, friends made thanks to the Comedy show/musical I've been involved in since last year. At the dinner we had people from the crew, including the very talented Phil Bray, the official photographer who speaks English, Italian & Spanish so he communicates in original language with the different ethnic individuals on set.

I don't know if there will be an opportunity of working with Dante or anyone else of this crew in the future but I know that at least once in my life I have been blessed by such opportunity.

You will all be able of witnessing the amazing work of these people in december 2010 in most cinemas in the world.

And the Voyage continues.....

On set with Gary Sweet

2009-11-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

In my fairly new acting life, I have been blessed with sharing the set with some amazing Australian actors, some not so well known and others whose names are clearly associated to fame. On Narnia set there are no exceptions. A part for the lead cast from the UK, I shared the voyage with Gary Sweet, playing the role of captain Drinian who leads the Dawn Treader and its crew to the adventure of a lifetime, escorting King Caspian, King Edmund and Queen Lucy plus a surprise/unespected guests through the Narnian Seas.

It would be hard to think someone else playing the role of Drinian after witnessing the energy and intensity that Gary has given to the character. In other productions the lead Sailors/Pirates have always has quite a rough look, long hair, beard, mean attitude. Not on the 3rd Narnia though.

With a clean shaven look and bald head, I could personally describe Drinian as the King of the Seas, fierce, courageous, dominant and fearless.

I must say I keep learning from these very well established actors and with Gary has not been any different. Who would have ever though 17 years ago when I arrived in Australia with no English in my vocabulary, that I would end up here.

Base Unit Dynamic Duo

2009-11-17T20:47:00.000-08:00

On screen we see the final product, but to get to that point we have an incredible number of people, including the ADs who look after the cast and much more.

While some ADs are constantly on set, others are at base, dealing with schedules, clerical matters and actors.

So.... This page is dedicated to Deb & Erin, to the incredible amount of work they are dealing with and the patience shown.

Both very experienced in the field, have made my life on set very comfortable and I've been able of relying on their professionalism.

Now that we are coming to an end, I'm hoping we will have the opportunity of working together once more in the near future.

Well done and thank you to both of them.

3 fellow actors

2009-11-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to dedicate 1 page to a few friends with whom I have shared the incredible Narnia experience : Arthur Angel, Tony Nixon & Steve Rooke.

Arthur (red shirt) plays Rhince in the film.

Prior to this Hollywood blockbuster, Arthur has appeared on the large screen with Nicholas Cage in the movie "Ghost Rider" and starred in "Van Diemen's Land", the true story of a bunch of convicts who escaped prison and fought the cold wilderness of Tasmania about 200 years ago (I had written 100 years and someone very kindly corrected my ignorance in Tasmanian history...so thank you for that).

The film was released in August and won many awards worldwide. Arthur's performance was breathtaking, viewing is highly recommended for all of you who enjoy true life stories and intense drama.

Tony has appeared in television series and short films but concentrated so far in live theatre. He performs all over Australia with "The singing Chef" and has travelled every year to England touring a faulty tower show.

Narnia has now reopened the door to his screen performance abilities with his role of Rynelf, the right hand of Captain Drinian (played by Gary Sweet). He is effectively my boss on the boat.

Remember these 2 names as they are passionate Australian actors and you will be seeing them again in many other productions.

In the other picture we have Steven Rooke, a wonderful young actor who has to wear everyday a lot of prosthetics to jump into character. Steven has a strong background in theatre acting which allows him a magnificent development of the character he's taken on. I cannot disclose much about his role, but rest assured that he will capture your attention on the big screen.

Tabata... My cousin

2009-11-17T15:47:00.001-08:00

It was only a few years ago that I received an email from someone in Italy stating that there may have been a chance she would have been related to me. Well, guess what... she was!

Having studied acting in Bologna, Tabata was researching acting school around the world and when she typed in Australia, my name somehow appeared linked to the Actor's conservatory in Brisbane.

Now, 3 years later, she is studying at the SAE in Byron Bay to become a Film Director, while her Boyfriend Leo (Dj for now almost 20 years) is graduating in the same school as Audio Engeneer.

The other day she was able of travelling to the studios and meet me on set. She shook hand with Dante Spinotti (DOP) and met with some of the key crew people. As she said it was an incredible experience, something that motivated her even more to pursue her dreams.

For obvious reasons pictures of the set were not allowed but we were able of taking a family shot with a couple of the characters.

Halloween

2009-11-16T23:26:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, this year, at 41 years of age I have celebrated my first Halloween. Yes, I know, I cannot believe that someone like me so inclined to participate to parties, did not dress up EVER on this special night.

The event was at the Gold Coast and organised by Howard, the magician behind the prosthetics of Narnia.

What a night.... I didn't recognise many people actually... how could I, the costumes were unbelievable and the atmosphere very much the party one.

Great South East

2009-11-16T23:14:00.000-08:00

With Jacy here, I tried to involve him as much as I could in my schedule so he and Amanda ended up in a segment of the Great South East (channel 7).

This time we filmed in a Brazilian restaurant and Jacy hated it.... NOT!!!!

Never really danced in his life but guess what..... The Brazilian dancers were quite convincing... and underdressed.

Qpix films

2009-11-16T22:54:00.000-08:00

This year Qpix distributed a certain amount of funds over ten short films and 3 features. I ended up playing a little, very little appearance in one of the shorts (Pushbike produced by Desi Achilleos and directed by Mairi Cameron) which led the DOP Aaron Leong to the winning of 2 awards. My role did not effect the film at all but its good to be part of a winning team.

This piece is effectively not about that film, but about the feature I happened to fall in.

The project was called "Living and Dying at hotel Broadway, a dark story of an unlikely future to come (we hope) in which artists are segregated inside a hotel because they are classified as FREAKS.

The Thing that really made me happy about this film, was the fact of sharing the set with my good friend and business partner Nicholas Cooper, with whom I engaged in a very long and hard fight, but what made me ecstatic was to share the stage with my son Jacy.

He actually did much better then me... he landed 2 small speaking roles in 2 features; this one and the one in which Amanda, with much courage, took on as production designer "Dartworth" directed by Andre' Seager and shot in just over 2 weeks. I have to say also that Amanda had just finished another short film for Qpix "Ubermensch" starring Nicholas Cooper who also appeared in 30 seconds love (who was the Qpix whore this year?)

Lots of stories to tell between the 3 films. Guess how proud I am of my son and my wife.......

QNFA Awards

2009-11-16T22:45:00.000-08:00

I must say: august was a pretty proud moment for the Grillini. Not only me and Amanda had the pleasure of sharing 2 and half months with Jacy, but we both were recognized for our film work at the Queensland New Filmmakers Award.

Amanda received a commendation for her production design work on "The Last Man" and I was the lead man on the film that won Best Overall Film... Broken Road

It was amazing to have Jacy there with us, we both did not expect anything from the night if not meeting people that we have not seen in a while and check out the new talents...

Anyway, the pics are attached.

On set of Narnia

2009-11-12T18:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post and honestly I don't have any excuses plausible enough for not logging in and do it, therefore I shall get onto this new one.

I'm almost at the end of this incredible shoot, the first taste of Hollywood I was blessed with back in July. I have soaked in every moment, I have pinched myself many times, talked about it with friends and family, yet, I am mesmerised by life on this set.

Many years have gone since my first decision of making of acting my life path. So many free productions and gambles in order to build enough material for my show reel and experience on set.

I was due to leave for Italy on the 16th of June. On the 10th I got a call from my agent who let me know about a potential audition the following week. She asked me to try to move my flights but it was not possible due to meetings in London and commitments already taken in Rome, so I explained that the only day available was the 15th. Yet I didn't know the audition was for Narnia...

On the friday I was confirmed the time for monday 15th, I also was disclosed about the film and sent the audition piece which I tried to nail in many different ways until I had nothing else to explore. Monday came, my 5 minutes of screen test felt like 2. I walked away satisfied about my performance but let go the thought of the film almost immediately... I had to finish packing my suitcase.

2 weeks later, in my mother's home, I was checking emails and I received confirmation of my role, "The Belligerent Telmarine". I thought "oh... I got the role". It didn't really hit me though until I told Amanda.... I almost cried.

My first day began in Cleveland where the Dawn Treader (the boat) was parked, yes, parked, as that magnificent piece of architectural engineering, stud on a very complicated hydraulic system that allowed a range of movements resembling the motion of the ocean. I walked on set like I have done many other times on smaller productions and met with the lovely Erin, 2nd AD.

She said: " nice to meet you Mirko. Breakfast will be served soon, you can wait here if you wish or you can drop your bag and relax in your trailer". Suddenly I was gob smacked, did I hear right? Did she really say "your trailer"?

I snapped out of my dumb look of wonder and said: "Lets put my bag in MY trailer then!"

Now we are 2 weeks away from the end of filming, then a long post production stage to have it ready for december 2010 when it will open worldwide.

As anything else in this life, we are coming to the end of another amazing experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life. My first taste of Hollywood has come and gone very quickly. I made some friends, I learnt a lot, I put on 2 Kg thanks to the incredible catering, but most of all, I realized that this is the only industry in which I feel at home, I feel so connected with the environment, I get a buzz every time I have to soak in a character and spring it to life. I'm looking forward to the next challenge and to Amanda and Jacy to watch the Belligerent Telmarine on a big screen. I promised them a long time ago that it would have happened and I'm always striving to keep my promises.

2009-05-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

Dream Cradle wraps today with a magnificent effort from art department to create a dream sequence in a location near Ipswich.

This very arty short film written and directed by Nadira Ilana is the story of a mentally hill man (played by me... see pic) and his mysterious past.

Richard Wang is the man behind the camera. He's first debut as DOP shooting Reds in 5 different locations.

Pasquale & Sasha Heredia have taken on the busy task of producers & camera assistants.

Very good young team of filmmakers. My biggest challenge was achieving the subtextual structure of a schizophrenic man without making it look physically disable. A big man very fragile living by himself in a filthy home with no interest in living life and no courage to end it.

Haunted by his past and a family that does not want to relate to him anymore.

The film should be completed sometime in June.... definitely looking forward to see the end result.

A special Thank you

2009-04-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

I would like to personally thank and acknowledge Guests furniture hire for the help given to enhance production design in many short films, films & Pilots shot in the past 2 years.

It is magnificent to know that some Australian companies are supporting & helping the Australian film industry.

So, if you are about to shoot or in pre production, do not hesitate to contact them on:

07-32770744

Find out how to hire furniture, accessories with the advice of a design consultant (with experience in production design) to facilitate your search.

I finally would like to let everybody know that this is a genuine thank you and exposure I offer to Guests furniture hire and by no means a paid advertising page.

Italian Comedy Wedding

2009-04-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well well well, it's on again, the best wedding of the year....

Due to the success of last year, Joey & Maria's wedding show is back on the Gold Coast at the Arts Centre on July 11th. The plot ? A Man (Joey), a woman (Maria) their families (who cannot stand each other) the Horny Priest who drinks too much (Me) Joey's hot ex girlfriend who jumps the priest for revenge and 300 people in the audience that will enjoy a 3 courses dinner and will become the guests of the wedding.... perfect recipe for a "calculated disaster".

The MC of the night will be Danny Mcmaster who now owns, with his wife Tracey, the franchise for Australia & New Zealand.

Danny is a very well known Comedian & Impressionist and will take Joey & Maria to the Las Vegas standards all through the country.

I'm very much looking forward to the shows as I had a ball last year & the audience loved it, feeding back to the cast that magnificent energy that a good night of entertainment generates. Tickets are available through the Gold Coast Arts Center.

Women behind the scene of bachelors guide

2009-03-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

They say success in a couple is reached when you can support each other, so I would like to dedicate this page to the 2 women that have helped me and Nicholas achieving this very big step.

Amanda Grillini & Laura Cooper, not only looked after their own commitments, they had to deal with our full schedule and participate to the making of BG from Production design and Choreography aspects.

Amanda is the creator of the soft, lusty look of the first scene, the bachelor apartment and the touch up in the gym (the 3 sets chosen for this very first teaser episode).

Laura was the choreographer & co performer of the hot and steamy dance scene that captured everybody attention.

An incredible effort that did not get unnoticed so... thank you immensely from Both of us.

Bachelors Guide- The series

2009-03-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

In this modern era of communication meeting the right person to either have a full relationship or just a night stand seem to be very hard. This is the problem that Gordo & John are facing. They live together and they seem to have a good understanding (their own version) of what women want.

Then... there is the attractive next door neighbor, MJ, she is hot and a good friend of both,a good fantasy for Gordo but that's about it. Ok, John likes her too... although... well, he may like anything that moves (being male of female).

A long time acquaintance.... Jose' the south american stud, loud and overdressed, rich and full of himself... he's got a good heart but he can't find it. The boys think he's "the man" and with him around there would be no chances of getting any chick.

Lucky though the heavens provide a solution to any difficult situation. In the bachelor case the solution is "Enzo" the prophetic Guide that appears in the most unthinkable places (and clothing). Is he an Angel evicted from the heavens for being to horny or is he the freak living in the neighbor ? Whoever he may be its a good thing for Gordon & John... or it would be if they understood what he means....

To find out more.... well for the time being.... stay tuned as we are working on it....

Bachelors Guide Main Cast

2009-03-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here is our Bachelors Guide cast (in Character)

The Bachelors:Gordo & John

Nicholas Cooper & Luke McKenzie

The Guide: Enzo

Mirko Grillini

The Neighbor: MJ

Marea Barker

The Acquaintance : Jose'

Matias Stevens

Bachelors Guide teaser

2009-03-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

The Bachelors Guide, the series written and produced by Myself & My good friend, brother from another mother, Nicholas Cooper, has reached the completion of stage 1.

This means that the 12 minutes teaser pilot has been successfully presented. General feedbacks have been extremely positive & we are now planning the future steps.

Lav Bodnaruk & Mike Mier have co directed the project and showed off, once again, their incredible talent.

Above, a working logo created by Kim Schusdarra which supported our pitch and business presentation in Melbourne last week. Graphics are still in the creative pot and soon we will be able of launching the final one.

Both Nicholas & I would like to thank all the people who somehow were involved in this first step including the few (very few) negative but constructive comments. We do really appreciate criticism as it helps us in widening our views and prospectives for the series.

Overall though, 90% of people thoroughly enjoyed the pilot and this is AN INCREDIBLE FEELING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will keep you all updated in the further steps and developments.

Ciao

January 09

2009-01-13T23:37:00.000-08:00

As it normally happens, january in my industry is a little slow from a performing point of view but full of hours sitting and being clerical. Amongst the tiding of the office, the files on the Mac, the marketing to make 2009 a good year, Post production have begun for the shoot of a teaser of a comedy series that I have written with my dear friend Nicholas Cooper www.vhe.com.au (see photo on set of "The Flats" 5 years ago). This teaser was a request of the purchasing department of a popular channel, so although it will be another gamble, how can we say no ?

This latest project will be directed by Lav Bodnaruk & Myke Mier, fully shot in Brisbane in a couple of weeks time.

It's always exciting to create a story on paper and even more exciting to execute it on camera, but pre production and castings are never easy and they require a lot of attention to details and time management.

The lead characters are locked in, 2 will be flying up from Sydney and 1 is Gold Coast based.

Lets hope the teaser will tease enough to intrigue for more....

2008-12-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

FDI, the new documerntary and lifestyle series that will be released internationally in 2009

Cooking Shows "Live"

2008-12-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

Growing up in the hospitality allowed me to travel a lot, so I never regretted my mother decisions of enrolling me at Hospitality college but someone like me cannot be stuck inside a kitchen for long, therefore I made a switch and explored life on the restaurant floors.

Once I graduated in performing arts though, my life made a sharp turn. I was already running traditional Italian cuisine workshops so I tried to combine the cultural aspects of my classes to the theatrical delivery of me as show man. The result has been incredible, I was able to introduce comedy and have audience singing along with me while imparting my knowledge and having them laughing.

Brands like Barilla, Villeroy & Boch, Furi Knives, etc.. have engaged me many times to showcase their products while entertaining.

From simple Traditional Italian food and Lifestyle, I slowly fell in love with learning about the origins of food and cultures in general, so nowadays the shows are much more "multicultural" and broad.

In 2009 I will be launching a few surprises to keep my audience smiling and learning at the same time.

Broken Road

2008-12-23T02:55:00.000-08:00

"Broken Road" classifies as the most adventurous shoot I have experienced at that time.3 overloaded cars and 10 people left the Gold Coast and traveled to the location about 1,800 Km north west of Surfers Paradise, more precisely 80 km south west of Winton (QLD).

The Carisbrooke Station owned by Charles and Anne Phillott was our final destination that we reached after about 23 hours of travel.

A 4 bedroom queenslander was what we called home for 5 days. Director and writer Brodie Rocca had scoped the arid 50,000 acres property 1 month before and knew exactly what he wanted.

I played the character of David, a bitter father abandoned by his wife and looking for an escape in a camping trip with the 2 daughters. A lot of subtext and not much dialogue, a performance that had to grow from inside and be expressed through eyes, mannerism and pauses. I loved every minute of it. The result was outstanding to the point that was nominated as best film overall in the 2008 Bond University award for graduation films.

Long days of filming, one incredible night of storms and mud, many hours of editing and decisions, a little ADR session, a magnificent music composer but we finally wrapped on schedule.

A Bearded Mirko

2008-12-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

The Look to create the character of Robert in "The Audition".

This 24 minutes Thriller was written by Temucin Mustafa' a few years ago. Temucin had a clear idea of what Robert should be. When we met, he took me through the refined criminal mind of Robert and the games this character likes to play.
Researches began with material supplied by temucin himself, chapters from books about criminal minds and psychopathic killers. The complicated character had to be charming enough to be attractive but have a sinister vibe all around.

I had to find out more about Tiffany (co-star), I had to understand why was she Robert's selected victim, what was that attracted him to her. It took a while to find him as I did not to appear to much like Hannibal although I had to use certain traits that Hopkins created in "The silence of the lambs". Great experience and learning for me in this film. I love that aspect of the acting world, the researches needed to create a beleivable character and the mind openness you need to aquire in order of thinking outside your own square. with Robert I found a better understanding of details and stillness.