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Today is March 2, which means that the new psychic thriller from Rodrigo Cortés, Red Lights, starring Cillian Murphy, Robert De Niro, and Sigourney Weaver opens today. Oh, there’s one other noteworthy actor in this film: me! It’s a very powerful cast.

My character’s name: Man in bathroom #2. Awesome.

It was about one year ago that Bobby, Siggy, and Cilly(?) came to town. The film was shot here in Barcelona. I rummaged through my Facebook account and found some notes I had taken on the day (my one day of shooting). Enjoy:

March 25, 2011
11:21am – All right, Mr. De Niro, I’m ready for my close-up.

3:35pm – Excited! And a little bit nervous. I have one line!! And I already have it memorized!!

4:05pm – I just got picked up by my private car. I’m now getting dressed in my trailer.

4:10pm – My friend Richard is also in the film. Hell, he’s also in the trailer with me. He’s Man in bathroom #1. But who’s counting?

4:24pm – Now I’m off to hair and makeup. I haven’t been allowed to cut my hair this month. I can’t wait to shave it all off tomorrow.

6:12pm – Surprise, surprise. The whole scene takes place in a bathroom. And Cillian Murphy is here. I just spoke with him for a few minutes. Nice guy! We’re the same age and he has two kids, about the same age as Emily and Sebastian. It’s uncanny how similar we are. I’m handsomer.

7:22pm – Just shot the general. All smooth sailing so far. Stopped off at the catering table on my way back to my trailer. The director is very cool.

7:24pm – They just brought white chocolate Maltesers to the catering table. Score!

9:52pm – And I’m done! Much earlier than expected, but they’ve got 4 more scenes to shoot without me before 3am. I got fairly close shot, too, so you shouldn’t have any problem spotting me on the big screen (albeit for 5 full seconds). Now off to eat dinner with the cast and crew before I head home.

A very positive experience. But how is the actual film? Well, after debuting at Sundance last month, Red Lights staged its world premiere just last week here in Barcelona. Cast, crew, and VIPs only. So I brought my lady.

Red Lights Premiere Invitation

And it was pretty good! It was a lot more suspenseful than I had expected. Jan actually jumped out of her seat on multiple occasions. There were a couple of dodgy monologues, a few minor plot holes, and the ending didn’t quite deliver all that it could have IMHO, but I would still recommend it and would happily give it 7/10 stars. Go see it and tell me what you think! And see if you can spot me in the bathroom.

Ben, Richard, and me: The Stars of Red Lights

Arriving home from the supermarket with the kids, greeting Jan:

Me: We’re home! And wait till you see what we bought. We bought everything!

Emily: No we didn’t! We didn’t buy poo! We didn’t buy ice cream or chocolate or sweeties. We didn’t buy clothes. Or stickers. We didn’t buy hair or ears or teeth. Or furniture. Or people. So…?

Me: She’s right. We didn’t buy everything.

It’s confirmed. My 5-year-old daughter has inherited the wise-ass gene.

The nice thing about being a freelancer is that, if a job comes your way that you’re not particularly excited about, you can just quote them a ridiculously high price. That way, if they say ‘no’, you’re happy because you really didn’t want to do the job in the first place and you didn’t have to tell them ‘no’ (which I hate to do). And if they say ‘yes’, you’re suddenly rich and nothing else matters. This happened to me last week.

A company from Belgium was asking around HP if they knew of any actors who would be available to make presentations at an upcoming four-day trade fair in Barcelona. A colleague of mine recommended me and I got the call. The four days in question looked a little complicated because Jan had a bunch of children theatre shows and I would be needed to look after the kids. So I almost said ‘no’. But instead – and with Jan’s blessing – I sent them a ridiculously high quote for my services as an actor. They immediately came back with a ‘yes’. Schwing!!! Jan and I were both very happy. Until today.

I just found out that the company that wanted to hire me is a direct competitor to HP. I thought it would look pretty bad if I was at the same trade fair as HP, right across the aisle from them, trying to make the competition look good. Especially considering how many HP marketing videos I have starred in recently. I asked my manager’s manager what they thought (not that I really had to) and I got the answer I was expecting. So I had to turn the job down. But I did get to recommend a friend to take my place. So that’s OK.

I just got home from the first day of auditions for our new show. It’s a musical. Producing a musical is like producing three straight plays. I’m tired already just thinking about it.

But auditions went really well! Julian (my Musical Director) and I auditioned 31 people today. That’s a lot. And there are more to see tomorrow. It’s amazing how so many talented people can exist in Barcelona without ever knowing that we produce shows in English here. How could they not have heard of us before? It’s like they’re in a parallel dimension. Thank goodness our planes collide every once in a while and I get to meet all sorts of amazing new people.

It was a very long day filled with a capella singing, cold readings, color-coded spreadsheets, yummy cookies, broken toilets, parking tickets, and bag snatchings, and I left the casting as white as a sheet, suffering terribly from low blood sugar, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and information overload. We’re in for a very good show. Watch this space for more details…

It’s that time of year again. Time for me to stress out about the meticulous order of a completely meaningless list of what I deem to be the year’s best albums for no apparent reason other than to maintain the arbitrary tradition I started five years ago. Oh yeah, and because I enjoy it.

That’s right, this is the sixth year I’ve made this list. Here are the previous ones:

2010  |  2009  |  2008  |  2007  |  2006

It’s neat to go back and see how many of my previous “favorite” albums are still in my listening rotation. Quite a few, actually. So here’s 2011!

Warning: You won’t find any Rihanna, Katy Perry, or Black Eyed Peas on this list. If that’s your idea of the best that 2011 had to offer, this list is not for you. How the heck did you find this page anyway? Do I even know you? OK, enough stalling. Here we go. No excuses. No explanations. Just my favorite albums from the past 12 months:
 

10. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

In its execution, the record is near flawless, an essential distillation of the sounds of Gonzalez’s youth, nostalgia and melancholy and happiness all mixed up into a sparkling pop stew. [Sputnikmusic]

[audio:M83 – Midnight City.mp3]

9. Ry Cooder – Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down

This is about as good and sustained a riposte to the grubby, grabbing times we live in as any artist has mustered, which makes it essential listening. [BBC Music]

[audio:Ry Cooder – No Banker Left Behind.mp3]

8. The Black Keys – El Camino

More than any other Black Keys album, El Camino is an outright party, playing like a collection of 11 lost 45 singles, each one having a bigger beat or dirtier hook than the previous side. [All Music Guide]

[audio:The Black Keys – Lonely Boy.mp3]

7. Elbow – Build a Rocket Boys!

This fifth studio album is a humbly gorgeous collection, propelling an already dynamic band into even more dramatic, heart-wrenching territory. [The Boston Phoenix]

[audio:Elbow – Lippy Kids.mp3]

6. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Fleet Foxes have become a band who will not stop pushing, who will challenge themselves to avoid stagnancy, who will work with both their instruments and their minds. Because of that, the audience is able to reap the fruit and feast on it together. [One Thirty BPM]

[audio:Fleet Foxes – Bedouin Dress.mp3]

5. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

Virtuosity and accessibility have never been easy bedfellows, but Strange Mercy is one of those rare albums that makes you think and makes you fall in love. [New Musical Express]

[audio:St. Vincent – Cruel.mp3]

4. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2

With a push from Nas and a whoosh from Santigold and new life from their chorusing kids, the beats spritz and submarine in signature Beasties style as the rhymes claim contexts high-living and low-life. [Expert Witness]

[audio:Beastie Boys – Make Some Noise.mp3]

3. tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L

Catchy yet abrasive, noisy yet intimate, kind of funny yet also kind of scary, this is post-pop at its most vertiginously original. [The Independent on Sunday (UK)]

[audio:tUnE-yArDs – Gangsta.mp3]

2. Adele – 21

If Adele’s debut ’19’ marked her out as a young chanteuse with a booming voice, her follow-up ’21’ has shown a maturity in her songwriting that makes her the de facto authority when it comes to soundtracks to broken hearts. [Dot Music]

[audio:Adele – Rumour Has It.mp3]

1. Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi

Capturing the intensity and raw emotion of her captivating live shows, Anna Calvi is an ambitious and always intriguing debut which heralds the arrival of a unique and inventive addition to the plethora of U.K. female singer/songwriters. [All Music Guide]

[audio:Anna Calvi – Desire.mp3]

Honorable mention:
Wilco – The Whole Love
TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
Radiohead – The King of Limbs
Panda Bear – Tomboy
Artic Monkeys – Suck It And See
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

Do you have any favorites from this year that I may have missed? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Emily and Sebastian both slept through the night last night without waking up for the first time in weeks! Our jet lag is now officially over!! So that means it’s time for us to change time zones again.

Yes, we’re flying back to Barcelona today. After almost a full month of travel, we’re finally going home. That is such a good feeling. It’s only a one-hour time change, but it’ll be enough to keep us on our toes. Then New Year’s Eve. Then Kings Day. And then back to school/work! No rest for the weary.

So goodbye, England. Goodbye, Grandma and Granddad. Goodbye, Christmas cake, bitter weather, end-of-the-year comedy quizzes, live-in babysitters, central heating, and our Alfa Romeo. Have I mentioned that I’ve been driving an Alfa Romeo for the past week? I will surely miss all of the aforementioned things, but there will always be a special place in my heart for that Alfa Romeo.

To the airport!

Hey, wanna see the lovely photos I took in Florida this month?

Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Now a steadfast tradition, we headed to sunny Florida for the first half of our December. The warm weather was such a welcome change from the winter cold that had just started to hit Spain. Extended family made the much-appreciated effort of flying in to join us and it was sooo good to see them all. We enjoyed family, food, swimming pools, parasites, Chanukah presents, road trips, illness, strip malls, natural disasters, wild animals, and shenanigans. If you’d like to relive our adventure, including photos of lots of people you probably don’t know, just click on the following link and be whisked away:

Driving in the car today:

Emily: Daddy, can you please drive fast, like you did before?

Me: Sorry, I can’t right now.

Emily: Why not?

Me: Because the car in front of us is going slowly. You know what will happen if I go fast now, right?

Emily: Yes. (Thinks for a moment) Daddy, you should slow down.

Me: Slow down? I thought you wanted me to go faster!

Emily: But if you slow down, the car in front of us will get further and further away. Then, when there’s lots of space between us and him, you can go fast!

My 5-year-old daughter has mastered the art of buffering.

For your holiday enjoyment, Emily and Sebastian explain the significance of the night before Christmas and tell us what they expect to find inside all of those presents that should be under the tree when they wake up:

Merry Christmas, everyone!