7 Minute Stories by Aaron Calafato
Episode 55 - Me, Cameron Crowe and the Myth of Elizabethtown
CORI INTRO
You're listening to seven minute stories with Aaron Calafato , this episode: Me, Cameron Crowe and the Myth of Elizabethtown
AARON CALAFATO - STORY
You're listening to seven minute stories with Aaron Calafato. This episode me Cameron Crowe and the myth of ElizabethTown.
When it comes to. My career. Or..as an artist in this profession, you always need something to guide your choices. And I've always looked for moments. And so when I graduated college in 2005 , I already started looking for those moments. And right after graduation going into the summer I knew I wanted to go to New York and become an actor. But I had a whole summer in front of me and I got this phone call from a buddy of mine that I went to school with. And we were in the same, the same dorm right across the hall from each other.
And he gives me a call and he says "Hey Cameron Crowe is doing a new movie it's called ElizabethTown and they're holding auditions for it in Louisville Kentucky". And my buddy lived in Cincinnati. So for him was just a couple hours away, I was in Cleveland. But he was like "you should go. This could be a big opportunity for you!" And when we hung up the phone I thought there it is. There's my moment. And so I took it. I got in my little Honda Civic that was barely functioning, but it didn't matter, because I had something to push towards.
Nothing was going to stop me. I was so determined. See, when I decide I want to do something, you ask anybody that knows me, when I decide I it's just something clicks in and I just do it. Didn't matter the condition of the car. I got in that car and I drove. And just like any Odyssey, there's always obstacles before you get to your destination. And right away as I'm driving from Cleveland getting outside of Cleveland getting into the country heading towards Columbus..south. All the sudden the worst storm in the world shows up.
I mean clouds like you've never seen before. Rain.. the raindrops as thick as baseballs you couldn't see the windshield wipers going back and forth and back and forth. Cars spinning off in the road. And all I was doing was following a truck with its the rear lights sort of as like a little red guide that took me through these treacherous roads. And what's crazy, is I never thought of stopping. Never thought of pulling over. Never thought that maybe I should turn around. Maybe I should just wait. That's craziness. But it didn't even occur to me.
I just pushed through that storm. As hard as I could. And I finally made it through Columbus into Cincinnati and all the way into Kentucky. And right when I got into Louisville I started actually getting a little worried because I realize I only have three fourths of a tank of gas. I had no more money except for 13 dollars to my name. And at this point, I was like, I didn't even know how I was going to get home. But in my mind, it didn't really matter because I had arrived. I was in Louisville and I was about to audition for a Cameron Crowe movie.
Here's this guy Cameron Crowe. Right? Jerry Maguire. Almost Famous. I mean his version of Vanilla Sky blew my mind. And this could be me. I could be acting in one of his movies if I was able to audition and do an amazing monologue. So I show up to Louisville and right away I started seeing how hard this was going to be, because I forgot that I had to park outside of where the audition was. The audition was in a hotel. And so I had to do hotel parking, which was exactly thirteen dollars, which took me to nothing, which meant I had to get home maybe on fumes.. But see in my head I saw that as a sign!
It was exactly thirteen dollars not thirteen fifty, not thirteen twenty five, it was thirteen. So I gladly handed over my last thirteen dollars and parked my car, ran across the street, went to the hotel, met my friend, shook his hand, gave him a hug, we were like "here we are, we're gonna do it!". I had my headshot, I had my resumé and I was looking forward to going in and auditioning... But before I could do that I had to stand in lin. Now, when I described to you that I had to stand in line when you get into the lobby of the hotel. I saw right away there was this long line heading towards the stairwell. And that line wasn't heading towards where the auditions were that was heading just towards the first floor. And as I started scoping out the situation and talking with my friend and we started overhearing people talk.
It was like telephone. Messages were coming down from this great unknown all the way back to us and we heard that the line went up maybe five to six floors and that people were waiting there already for hours, but nothing was going to stop me. Nothing. Even when I got to the second floor and it had been three and a half hours, nothing would turn me around. Even when the electricity went off because of the heat and the storm that had moved from Ohio where I was driving and met me in Louisville, I wouldn't leave. Even when we saw reports, and heard that there was tornado activity right outside of Louisville, and people started streaming out of the hotel in fear, nothing would stop me. I stayed there. Even when the air conditioning went off, and I was sweating through my T-shirt, people were having a hard time breathing, people with asthma problems couldn't breathe, they're leaving, nothing would stop me. And even when I made it to the sixth floor after being there for nearly six and a half hours I realized...this is how you make it in this industry. And as I stood in that sixth floor, I thought about all I had gone through to get here. And then I thought about all everyone else had gone through to get to the same situation. And what made me different? And I thought. "Well, I'm unique. I know how to take advantage of a moment when it presents itself". And there it was right in front of me, 4 people, then 3, then two, then one, then I was standing at the table and there was a lady behind the table with a Cameron Crowe t-shirt. And she said "thank you so much for coming". And I said, "Hey My name is Aaron Calafato and I'm an actor. Here's my headshot and resume." And just as I was about to rev up for a monologue she said "thank you so much. Have a good evening!". And I said "but wait a second, what about my audition." She said "that was it...." (Aaron) "So what are you talking about?" She goes "Yeah this is a cattle call for extras for the Cameron Crowe film ElizabethTown. All the main actors have already been cast months ago. This is just to draw from locals from Kentucky in Ohio to fill in background. We appreciate you being here. But can you get out of line. You're holding up the line.."
And as I turned around I didn't want to show her how red my face was. How naive and stupid I felt. Tail tucked between my legs, and said goodbye to my friend, and I was angry. Walk down the stairwell the hotel I was angry. Went out to the parking garage, I was angry that I gave away my last thirteen dollars didn't even know how I was gonna get home, but I got in my car and I drove and I hoped and I thought was that my moment did I miss it?
And I realized "no that was a moment". It was a revealing moment that, that was one little step in a very very difficult journey. If I chose to take it. And I really believed at that time, as I do now, that if you push forward with every one of those moments..that it can lead to a journey and that journey could lead to an odyssey in the odyssey might lead to a myth. And that's what I've been trying to do for the last 13 years, to this very day, to this very sentence that I'm speaking right now. Maybe one day the story could be mythical.
At least that's the story that I'm trying to tell.....
CORI OUTRO
I hope you enjoyed the episode. A lot of people have been coming up to Aaron and I at parties sending emails and calling to tell us how much they loved the podcast and ask when the next episodes coming out. A great way to stay connected is to visit the Website 7minutestoriespod.com - You can also subscribe on Apple podcasts. And while you're there. Let more people know what you think about Aaron and his storytelling by rating and leaving a review.
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