Rasslin (Wrestling), Movies, and Acting: The Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday:

I got off work, took a little nap, and I met my friend Mario Lindsey downtown. Mario works for Autozone and got me a ticket for their suite to see the Legends of Wrestling show at the Fed Ex Forum. Some of the wrestlers were older and slower, but I saw a lot of guys that I liked in my childhood in person for the first time, such as Abdullah the Butcher, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, and Brutus Beefcake. The main event was also awesome. Hulk Hogan fough Paul Wight, the wrestler formerly known as Big Show in WWE. Hogan is older and slower, but when it comes to Hulk Hogan, I drink the Kool-Aid, Jim Jones style. I have been a Hulkamaniac since the age of nine, back when he had a cartoon called Hulk Hogan's Rock'N Wrestling. I love his whole routine of getting beat up, put into a submission hold, holding up his finger, "Hulking up" (getting energy from the fans and shaking off punches), and the point where he's fully pumped, points at his opponent, and yells "YOU!!!!" The whole arena yelled it, it was beautiful. Also, I love the post-match flexing and posing. I felt like I was 10 again. Shout out to Mario for making one of my childhood dreams come true. I had not seen Hogan live in 10 years, and I don't think he wrestled the last time I saw him. Back then, he was a villain named "Hollywood" Hogan. I also bought a DVD of a lot of the older guys wrestling. It was awesome!!

Saturday:

I got off work, picked up my good buddy Bryan Newcomb (Mail Call, Just the Two of Us), and we saw The Comdemned. Former WWE wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was the star. The plot revolves around convicted murderers being released and forced into a fight to the death. The winner goes free. The whole thing was broadcast over the internet. It reminded me a little of Running Man. The dialogue was a little cheesy, but the fight scenes and special effects were cool. The movie theater, however, was not. Bryan convicned me to end my personal boycott of The Palace on Old Summer Road and see the movie for $3.00. Once again, the people were loud and obnoxious, there were projector issues, and these bad-assed kids kept running in and out of the movie. At one point, this adult woman and some kids ran into the theater, apparently theater hopping. Way to set an example for the kids, lady. Do you also time them when they pick pockets at the mall? I am done with the Palace, hopefully forever.

After that, I went to Jordan's for karaoke. I chatted with Forrest Pruett and the Mayor of Frayser (www.mayoroffrayser.com). The Mayor may be inviting me to the Frayser Mansion for a get-together next week. I have to go because Frayser, after all, is God's Country (inside joke). Forrest also gave me a little bit of advice about my acting career. He said "Be the freezer, don't be the ice tray". I believe this means take risks. I appreciated the advice. I probably sang too much because my voice was trashed. I had to call it a night.

Sunday:

I had to be in LaGrange, Tennessee in the morning. LaGrange is deep in the country, past Moscow. I worked on Rommel's Crossroad. The movie is about a German soldier who falls in love with an African-American woman in Tupelo in 1939. Of course, their love was considered taboo. It took me a while to get there. I passed the site a few times but I finally figured it out. My shoots were relatively easy, I just had to wait on people to arrive. It was mentally taxing because my character was discriminated against and was called "boy". I was angered, but it was how African-Americans were treated back then. I had a little trouble watching some scenes because of one character's "hateful" language. Again, I had to remind myself that this is a gritty subject matter, and this is what went on during that time. Shout out to the people that helped us organze and the people who loaned us their house. Also, a shout out to the cast member that paid for the food. As soon as I arrived on the site, I got a little bad news. My brother called and told me that our Uncle Gus had a heart attack. He survived, but he is in the hospital. I was a little messed up, but I didn't know what hospital he was in, and I was already on set. I had to suck it up and do my role. Please pray and send positive energy towards my uncle Gus.
After that, I made it back to Memphis and watched a WWE pay-per-view over my buddy Shomari's house.

I had a lot of fun this weekend, maybe too much. I am looking forward to the future. I may be done with Rommel's Crossroad, it depends on whether or not he can pull this last scene together. I am also hoping that someone will find a use for me in a short for next month's Lil' Film Fest. Remember, it pays to be "Down with the King". King Indie, that is. Be easy, readers!!!