i narrate a new york times #1 best-selling author!

I've been doing voice overs for years, but this is my first audiobook! I couldn't be happier with the opportunity to be the voice of Magnus Chase in Rick Riordan's new series, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. Rick is the author of the highly successful Percy Jackson series, and his books have been translated into 37 languages and sold more than 30 million copies!

Here is the synopsis of book one, The Sword of Summer:

"Magnus Chase has seen his share of trouble. Ever since that terrible night two years ago when his mother told him to run, he has lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, staying one step ahead of the police and truant officers.

One day, Magnus learns that someone else is trying to track him down—his uncle Randolph, a man his mother had always warned him about. When Magnus tries to outmaneuver his uncle, he falls right into his clutches. Randolph starts rambling about Norse history and Magnus’s birthright: a weapon that has been lost for thousands years.

The more Randolph talks, the more puzzle pieces fall into place. Stories about the gods of Asgard, wolves, and Doomsday bubble up from Magnus’s memory. But he doesn’t have time to consider it all before a fire giant attacks the city, forcing him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents. . . .

Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die."

Rick's books are so popular they even made a trailer for this one: Magnus Chase trailer Wha?!? (That's obviously not me narrating the trailer...)

The hard cover book and audiobook will be released on Tuesday 06 October 2015! Check out a sample here: Penguin Random House

three world premieres in one month!

I'm proud to announce that three films I star in will be having their world premieres within thirty days of each other, beginning 05 September in Los Angeles! It's like the film hose has been kinked for awhile, and all of a sudden it's been let loose all at once.

First, a short film I shot in LA entitled 'The Ass' will premiere at the LA Shorts Fest downtown on Saturday 05 September. It was a collaboration with Paul Santana, a commercial director whom I previously worked with on another short film with the now-famous magician Collins Key.

More info and tickets for the fest can be found here: LA Shorts Fest. To watch the film, go here: The Ass.

The next premiere will occur in Louisville, KY on Thursday 01 October at the Louisville International Film Festival (LIFF). 'Life's Highlights' was a short that was commissioned for a Brazilian writer to fly and produce in Los Angeles, mentioned in a previous blog entry. I was lucky enough to be cast in the film, and LIFF was the only festival it was submitted to. You can watch the film here: Life's Highlights.

And finally, the feature film 'Split' will be having its world premiere in its hometown on Sunday 04 October! This one's been a long time coming, and we're so happy to be able to share it with the world! I play the romantic lead who may or may not get the girl in the end. More info about the film and festival can be found here: IF Film Fest.

You can watch the trailer below.

i'm in a new comedy!

The Ass from paul santana on Vimeo.

I was honored to be asked by the award-winning director Paul Santana (below) to be in his latest project, a short film starring his wife Amanda. Paul is mostly a commercial director who travels throughout North America creating and shooting incredible spots for Supply & Demand, and sometimes he'll make his own content.

I met him a few years ago when I booked the lead in a short film for Epson that he wrote and directed, and our relationship grew from there. I'm proud he hasn't forgotten me, and always happy to work with him. Working with his wife was a treat, as she is a hilarious Canadian. Eh?

I hope you take the time to watch this little ditty.

Also starring Amanda Parsons, Jessica Noboa, and Kevin McCorkle.

The Ass

oh, hello 2015.

It seems every new post that I make has the obligatory beginning of "It's been so long since I've posted!" And it's true; I don't write often, and I've never had any complaints about it. In this modern Facebook/Instagram look-at-me-and-all-the-cool-things-I'm-doing era combined with my general lack of sharing news, I feel that the people who need to know already know. "But what about your fans, Guetig, and the people that 'don't know'?"

Let's just say I'm having a difficult time balancing my private vs public persona, and whilst I lean toward the private, the industry I'm in yearns for more. As an actor, I'm often required to be active, social, and networking at all times for the benefit of being seen, being heard, and being valid. "Outta sight, outta mind", as the saying goes. And since I'm nowhere near famous, I can still control what levels of news leaks out into the ether, regardless of what my publicist says she needs to push.

With that in mind, I have some news to share. It's been nine months since my last confession, and while it's definitely not baby related ('cause everyone seems to be havin' babies around me), I suppose it does involve some rebirths. For the sake of ease and time, I'll simply list them below:

- I spent the summer in Europe again as the Director of Operations for the Global Young Leaders Conference, an international relations forum for 300 high school students from 42 countries. This was my fifth time with the program, and this time I was pretty much in charge. At times it was amazing to call the shots, and sometimes it was extremely stressful and overwhelming to be in charge of moving 300 minors through three countries. Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Munich, and Salzburg were on the docket this year, all quite familiar to me except for Berlin. What an interesting, wonderful, cosmopolitan city that is, eh?

- The romantic comedy, Split, that I filmed two years(!) ago is getting finished! My costars and I had ADR sessions in LA, NYC, and Louisville to help fill out the audio. (ADR stands for automated dialogue replacement, by the way; it's a standard post-production procedure for improving audio quality or changing dialogue.) I'll be sharing more news when it's officially out, I promise.

- I booked a commercial for the Kansas Lottery! It was shot in LA and aired regionally in Kansas. Did you see it? Do you live in Kansas? Was it funny?

- I starred in five episodes of the award-winning web series Jon and Jen Are Married, created by my super-talented friend Greg Fitzsimmons.

- A short film I shot years ago finally came out! The Brazilian writer won a grant to fly to LA to shoot it, and I was lucky enough to be in it. As soon as I get an electronic link, I'll share it.

- I was cast in an award-winning director's short film, playing the husband of his real-life wife. Stay tuned.

- I was the voice of a New Zealand shoe company for a commercial produced by a Brazilian agency in Brazil. Weird, I know. Watch/listen to the spot here!

- I've been getting a lot of voice over auditions for animated pilots, radio/TV commercials, and video games. Been slowing down on the TV/film front for awhile because...

- I now work at Disney|ABC! I am the assistant to the VP of Creative Services and Events, which basically means I support my team as we handle any events for the Disney and ABC channels, both internal and external. That's everything from executive meetings to screenings to press tours to the Oscars. I haven't had a 9a-6p job in awhile, but this one is different all the time and comes with lots of perks. I mean, it is Disney|ABC. Have I met any famous people? Yes, yes I have.

- What else did you miss? I worked the US Sumo Open, went sledding in the Alps, hung out with Jeff Bridges and Johnny Depp, watched Purple Rain in a cemetery, watched Germany play in the World Cup IN BERLIN, went to my first NBA game, went to my first Rose Bowl, cooked my first turkey, and saw some of my favorite people get married and have babies.

Am I bragging? YOU BET I AM.

a blog about nothing.

It's been so long since I've written! I almost forgot I had a blog! You probably didn't even know I had one 'til now, so this is the best worst place to start!

People always ask me what I do. "Oh, me?" as if they weren't looking directly at me, awaiting an answer. "Oh, well, I do nothing." There's usually some awkward laughter at the stupidity of my answer on their behalf, and the topic often changes to how adorable sprinkles make doughnuts look.

If they press on, I assure them I am not privy to a trust fund, nor have I won the lottery. Nothing about my life would suggest that I have a lot of money, because I don't. "But you seem to have a lot of free time..." they muse. "Ah, yes, mostly because I do nothing." "But how do you pay your bills?"

That's when the conversation gets really fun or really boring; I must tell them the truth. And the truth of doing nothing is really the truth of doing everything. When it feels like you do everything but have very little to show for it, the result resembles doing nothing. Hence, an easier answer to a simple question.

Being an actor in LA is very difficult. I still wow myself that not only have I survived Hollywood for six years, but I'm also still positive and making strides forward. Baby strides, strides I can't really see, but strides nonetheless. I've seen so many people come and go when this business was not what they expected, or they didn't reach their dreams fast enough. I get frustrated and upset all the time; rejection is never easy, and this town is full of it.

I've also seen a lot of people's hard work pay off, people who kept trudging along and fought through the obstacles to achieve success. But what is success? How is that measured? I am extremely hard on myself and have come to realize that I will always yearn for more, perhaps always keeping my "success" out of reach.

Life is all about perspective and attitude, no matter what field. I am grateful for everything I have, especially the unseen. In a tangible Hollywood, my success is also unseen. Facebook photos and blog posts are a mere facade to what really goes on, but that's the smoke and mirrors of the business, eh?

One of my favorite recent quotes that I truly believe in: "If you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen." - Conan O'Brien Here's to hoping my years of "doing nothing" will pay off.

If I ever create an LLC for my acting/writing/producing career, it will be called Nothing, LLC. I will be the President of Nothing. And I will love every minute of it.

Follow me on Twitter! Smoke and mirrors and random things! @kckasem

'one big holiday' is available on itunes!

Three years ago I made a film with some talented people about some talented people. What transpired in that week was a beautiful experience, and I like to think that its beauty translates to the screen within One Big Holiday.

The short documentary was first released in May 2011 with My Morning Jacket's album Circuital in the deluxe box set. It was an awesome honor that the band chose to include the film and share with its devoted fans. And now, I am proud to say that it is available to everyone on iTunes! Get it here.

Fans of My Morning Jacket and the city of Louisville will dig the film, and those who are unfamiliar with neither may fall in love with both. Or not. But how will you know if you don't watch it?

I am indebted to everyone who made the film possible: the fellas in the band and their manager Mike Martinovich for allowing us in for a week, the fine folks we interviewed, the gracious people who donated money and food, and my hardworking and trusting crew. And finally, without the big-picture idea from Director Michael Feld, none of this would have been possible.

I hope you enjoy the film.

*Show poster above, credit to Brandon Jones (http://www.branjofarms.com)

we made it to the semifinals!

Watch Sarah and I race around Las Vegas as we compete in the Rider Challenge, hoping to make it to the finals in Los Angeles to win a car!

The Vegas episodes can be found here: http://www.riderchallengeseries.com/episodes/play/full/0

And if you missed any of the other episodes, you can find them here: http://www.riderchallengeseries.com/episodes/play/full/9

Go Team Sensation!

i'm on a reality gameshow! wha?!?

Although I've sworn to myself and others that I would never be on a reality show, this one kinda creeped up and seemed like fun. Sarah and I put together an audition tape just for fun, and thought we'd send it in and see what happens. Hollywood Rule #7: when you care about a job or a role, you don't get it; when you could give a flyin' hootenanny, you book the dern thing.

So, after hundreds (thousands?) of submissions, our tape was good enough to be sent to the producers of the show, who also liked us. Only six teams would make it to the final show for the competition, but we're already humbled to have made it this far simply on our audition tape. Now we're in the top 20. Now we're in the top 16. Now we're in the top 12. Now we're in the top 8, and we're guaranteed two episodes. Wait a minute, now we're in the top 6 and we're guaranteed 4 episodes!

I'm not allowed to say too much, but it's a music-themed scavenger hunt for items on a band's rider. (A rider is the list of all the things a band requests when touring, including water, brown M&Ms, pigmy marmosets, etc.) The winning team gets a Ford Fiesta and a Livenation Ultimate Pass for a year.

Here is a sneak preview of the show: http://www.riderchallengeseries.com The show begins in early October, so check back to see how we did!

jon and jen are married!

JON AND JEN ARE MARRIED. (Episode 2) from Gregory Fitzsimmons on Vimeo.

This is a web series my friend Greg created with Jackie Geary and Jamison Haase. Both of them have been on lots of TV shows and movies, and Jackie was most recently in White House Down opposite Channing Tatum as the Vice President's assistant. She's pretty kick-ass.

I have a small role in episode two above as Rocco. I will probably never get the chance to play a character named Rocco again, so please enjoy. I've been working out.

Here's the link if the above is too easy for ye.
https://vimeo.com/channels/542151/68621429

Also, this is what Greg looks like when he naps on grass.

mother of pearl what have i been doing?!?

It feels like I haven't updated this blog in half a year! Half a year! That's six months! Surely I have gobs of titillating career and life info to share with you, all in this one post! Right?!? Write?!?

Have you ever had a blog, and then you kinda forgot that you actually had a blog? And not because one of your fans wrote you a nice email inquiring into the current status of your whereabouts and doabouts. Or not because you never call your mother, and a blog is the best way for her to find out about all the legal and publishable stuff you're doing with your unused bachelor's degree, and she writes you a nice text asking when your blog will be updated. (That was a terrible sentence grammatically, I apologize. But the sentiment remains.)

None of those are true! I've just been sooo busy this year (2013?) and I had to let my intern go. And let's be honest, she was only good at updating this blog. WHICH SHE APPARENTLY HASN'T DONE FOR SIX WHOLE MONTHS.

So here we go. You wanna know what I've been up to? Let's do this. Ok. You ready? I hope you have at least eleven minutes to read this entire post, 'cause I'm gonna fill it with some amazing and detailed career exploits. From the past six months.

Argh, this is tough.

Here's a photo of my cat!

i booked a feature film!

After submitting a taped audition several months ago, it is my great pleasure to announce I was cast as the male lead in an indie romantic comedy about bowling! And after three laborious and exciting weeks on set in Louisville, Kentucky, we wrapped filming this past Monday night!

The story goes like this: As her 30th birthday looms, an over-achieving woman with a thing for bowlers decides she must meet and marry the man of her dreams in just under a month. Two viable options present themselves, one a gorgeous hand model (not played by me) and a dude who works at the local movie store (you guessed it). The love story coincides with a huge Lebowski Fest-style bowling tournament that culminates in the woman having to choose between the 7 or the 10. Yep, the most difficult split in the bowling world.

I met some amazing people working on this film, both cast and crew. We had a wonderfully fun time bringing the characters to life, and I can't wait to see how all the footage is put together into the feature.

Check out the Facebook page for more information and photos: https://www.facebook.com/SplitTheMovie

one big holiday european festivals!

It is with great excitement I can announce my documentary One Big Holiday has been invited into two European film festivals in Germany and Wales! The first, In-Edit Musikdokumentarfilmfestival, takes place in Berlin and will show the film on 31 October and 03 November (http://www.in-edit.de/85808/801458/kurzfilme/one-big-holiday). It will be paired with Don't Follow Me (I'm Lost), a documentary about Bobby Bare, Jr. that we premiered with in Los Angeles.

The second festival takes place 14-18 November in Cardiff, Wales, called Soundtrack International Film and Music Festival (http://soundtrackfilmfestival.com/blog/the-soundtrack-mini-music-doc-award-screenings/). We are lucky enough to have been shortlisted as one of five top films to receive the Mini Music Doc Award based on votes from a panel of judges and audiences from three screenings! Regardless of the outcome, we are honored to share our film with new Welsh fans!

Stay tuned!

my shuttle space!

The space shuttle Endeavour made its final flight of its career (and marked the end of the shuttle program as we know it) a couple weeks ago over LA. After being readied in a hangar at LAX, it took a 12-mile journey through city streets to the California Science Center, where it will be displayed forever.

The two-day haul at 2mph was quite a sight, with the wings coming within inches of several traffic lights and trees. To make the event even more unique was the fact that the shuttle was pulled over a bridge by a Toyota truck. The publicity stunt was filmed for a commercial, and I helped produce a large viewing reception for Toyota executives at Randy's Donuts, an iconic LA donut shop seen in many Hollywood films.

Seeing the shuttle fly overhead was amazing, but witnessing it so up close and moving through the city was breathtaking. The bonus of the evening was running into Luke Wilson, who was shooting a short film as the shuttle passed.

fresh new website!

It's been awhile coming, but as I've learned with everything in this business, patience and baby steps are extremely important to continued success. So, without further ado, I present to you a newly revamped website!

www.guetig.com

Amongst the changes are a sleeker look, more user-friendly pages, and some career updates. I will soon be adding a media page for easy access to many of your favorite commercials, short films, and TV clips. Of me. I mean, obviously, your favorite videos probably involve that little girl from Modern Family or anything from Breaking Bad, but I'll just post my stuff. Hopefully you can pick a favorite of mine from there. And, um, if not, I guess 30 Rock is back on...

one big holiday festival photos!

Here are a few more photos from Flyover Film Festival in Louisville several months ago.
During the opening night screening


Christopher Guetig, Jim James, Michael Feld


Q&A with Stu Pollard


Festival Director Ryan Daly, Board Member-Producer Stu Pollard, Board Member-Actor William Mapother, filmmakers Evan Sennett and Matthew Rivera, Producer Gill Holland, Christopher Guetig, Jim James, Michael Feld

festival press for 'one big holiday'!

What a grand week it was! A homegrown boy who made a hometown film about a homegrown band returning to his hometown to show his homegrown film. Ah, yes, it was exciting for me to return to the place I love so much, and even more fun to have the opportunity to talk about One Big Holiday on a morning show, radio, newspapers, and even a podcast. Below you will find a smattering of infotainment about the film and my connection to Louisville.

Voice-Tribune
http://www.voice-tribune.com/news/profile/a-louisville-love-story/


NPR, WFPL 89.3
http://wfpl.org/post/back-band-drummer-turned-filmmaker-produces-my-morning-jacket-documentary#.T85me_CB3rp.email


WHAS Great Day Live
http://www.whas11.com/great-day-live/video/Its-time-for-the-Flyover-Film-Festival-157818585.html