Month: November 2013

E!’s Drama Queen- What Marki’s Really Like

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Meet Marki Costello. She is the granddaughter of legendary comedian Lou Costello and a serious business woman. Marki has created an incredible niche in Hollywood as a well respected hosting coach and manager, founding CMEG . But most importantly, she is a character! That’s why E! is giving her her own show called Drama Queen that is airing tonight, Sunday November 17th, at 11pm.

A lot of hosts ask me- “So, what is Marki really like?”

As a student for nearly three years and a client for one, I have a lot of experience with Marki. This is the advice I give them, and am now giving you!

 

1. She’s Intimidating

Marki was most definitely a New York taxi cab driver in a former life. She tells it like it is, she likes to use four-letter words, has excellent use of her diaphragm, and sometimes she, uh, over shares. I mean, look at the promo for the show. I’ve never heard a woman declare herself a bitch in such a bad ass, and dare I say, aspirational? manner.

 

2. Fail Fast, Succeed Sooner

If you’re going into her class wanting someone to tell you how great you are and you should “definitely be hosting your own network prime time TV show by now,” then think again.

Marki’s class is a way to fail fast in order to succeed sooner. I take class so that I make my mistakes in a safe environment, and when I’m on an audition, or more importantly on set, I “don’t f*** up.” Yes, I’ve literally gotten that direction on set before. It was said in jest, but only kind of.

Marki will find something wrong with your performance no matter what. You may not agree with her, or you may not agree how she goes about critiquing you, but that’s why you’re in class: to get better.

Hint: This class works especially well for ex-East Coasters.

 

3. She’s RightFotor1105151743

Just get over it. Don’t fight it. Don’t rebel against it. She is right. Maybe not 100% of the time for every situation, but there will definitely be a point in your career where that one critique that really got under your skin got you out of a jam on a job. She is the person networks go to when their talent is not performing well. If the networks want their talent trained by her- at $500 an hour!- then LISTEN when she critiques you in class. If you booked a job and didn’t do well, you’d have to listen to her anyway.

This brings me to my next point…

 

4. Go In With The Right Mindset

As a student for nearly 3 years, I see the people who resist the most are the people who go into class with the goal of being represented by her, not learning from her.

I was one of those people. And boy did I get served a big dose of humble pie. And I hate pie. I’m more of a cake person.

It’s a hosting class, not an audition.

The funny thing is the less time you spend trying to prove yourself and the more time you spend trying to better yourself will bring you closer to that end goal of being represented by Marki- if that’s your end goal. She respects hard work and consistency over talent. So many people pass through her door, but it’s the ones who stick around that get noticed.

That’s how I was asked to be represented by her. And yes, I’m still in class… now more than ever.

 

5. Results Don’t Lie

I moved to LA in March of 2011. I took the hosting boot camp 2 weeks after I arrived. I had no job lined up, except some savings and the goal that I would dedicate one year of my life to hosting. Meaning, instead of spending 40 hours a week working as a waitress, I would take those 40 hours and invest them in myself and my career.

Within six months I was shooting a pilot for MTV and by the year mark, I was a working host, which is a huge feat in Hollywood.

And this was before I was represented by her.

Now, this is obviously not only because of Marki’s class. I worked, and still work, my butt off. But I definitely saw an improvement in my performance and confidence. I perform best when I ‘m over prepared and it’s really hard to prepare for auditions, where every one is different. But taking class definitely helped in navigating the curve balls.

 

6. How She Represents You

People think that once you are represented by any agent or manager, it’s like a flip of a switch and automatically you’ll start booking.

Yeeeaaaah… that’s not how it works.

Marki is like any manager or agent, where they can get you through the door, but you have to keep that door open for yourself after you walk out. Translation: you have to earn the job.

With that said, Marki has gotten me into doors that I never thought possible. i.e. TESTING for a huge network show without an initial audition. For those new to the field, testing is the final round of auditions, usually in front of executives. I didn’t book the show, but I made a good impression, which is sometimes 95% of the battle.

She has also fought like hell for me on jobs where I was in the top 3. I’m talking hours and hours on the phone.

REMEMBER: Your manager or agent only make 10-20% of what you earn, so don’t expect them to do 80% of the work. Continue to take classes, build your social media empire, build any empire for that matter, self-submit, network, and perfect your craft.

Yes, that’s a Marki nugget of advice, one of many.

 

Everyone- enjoy the show Drama Queen. One thing I know for sure is that it will most definitely be a show!

And for the aspiring TV hosts out there, invest in yourself and you will succeed. Hollywood is a war of attrition. The longer you stay in it, the better your chances are of success.

 

xoxo, Andrea

Thor: The Dark World for Marvel Live on Yahoo!

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Yesterday was a good day.

Yep, that’s an understatement!

I was literally the first person on the red carpet for last night’s Thor: The Dark World North American premiere covering arrivals for Marvel Live on Yahoo! along with Ben Lyons and Tamara Krinsky. They just happen to be my two new favorite people. I only give bunny ears to people I like.

The night was insane. It started with this: Fotor1105141833

I know I just objectified Jaimie Alexander, who plays Lady Sif in the upcoming Thor: The Dark World, by saying “this”, but c’mon, wow! Jaimie pulled a Gwyneth Paltrow and looked amazing. I would know, I was right next to her and totally checked her out… in a completely professional, objective journalism sort of way. 😉

Girl is in shape! Jaimie said she did a lot of martial arts training and pilates for Thor: TDW. I do pilates. Maybe I should start looking into martial arts training…

Jaimie started the evening on an excellent note not only with taking her dress to the next level, but also by arriving 15 minutes EARLY!! That’s unheard of in Hollywood! Chris Hemsworth, the Mighty Avenger himself, arrived just 15 minutes after the red carpet officially opened. And he was only “late” because he was busy filming Jimmy Kimmel. Boy has some great excuses, just ask Jane Foster.

Thor: The Dark World is an excellent movie. I was able to see it last week and it’s great to see our favorite characters in a post-Avengers world. It has a lot more nods to fans, but also has a great storyline/action for people that are just entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In The Avengers I had a moment where I was like, “Aw, hell no!” during the Battle of New York (I won’t give it away, but people can guess for themselves), and within the first 30 minutes of Thor: TDW I had that same reaction.

If you’re going to see it this Friday November 8th, make sure you stay until the very end. There are 2 bonus scenes!

In case you missed the action last night, here’s Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World on Marvel Live on Yahoo!

You can catch me at these moments:

1:13:22 remaining mark: Introduction and throw to Jane and Thor clip

55:56 — Hemsworths are in the building!

51:28 — Jeremy Renner has arrived and throw to Making of Thor: TDW Behind the Scenes Clip

32:11 — Chris Hemsworth post-interview reaction and introduction to fashion recap.

18:02 — Fan interview

6:40 — Minutes away from introduction of cast. Note: this was on the loud speaker for EVERYONE to hear, hence why I was very careful with my words.

5:30 — Introduction of the cast of Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World