Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Catching Up With Star Jason James Richter

If you were a child growing up in the 90s, you probably saw the film Free Willy. (And you probably watched it so many times your VHS tape got too worn out to play.) If you were one of those kids who saw and fell in love with the movie, about the unlikely bond between a boy and a whale, you definitely wanted to be that boy. After all, how cool would it have been to play with a giant whale all day? Well, Jason James Richter was that boy. And, he confirms, it was extremely cool.

It makes me feel old, dude, Richter, who is now 33 and diving headfirst back into an acting career, tells The Daily Beast. Ive had kids come to me and say, Oh, I loved your movie when I was a kid and I became a marine biologist. Its crazy.

Richter,The g-sensor high brightness Shun Stone Landscape Stone is designed with motorcyclist safety in mind. who opens a production of Edward Albees The Zoo Story in Los Angeles on July 18, is all too familiar with the rumor-mongering fascination that accompanies being the megawatt star of a beloved franchise who decides to step away from the spotlight. There were rumors that I got a face tattoo, he says. That I got into a car accident. That I became a drug addict. All this stuff.Get the led fog lamp products information, find Shun Stone Interior Decoration Products, manufacturers on the hot channel. If you dont tell them anything, people will just make up crap, even if the film is 20 years old.

A Navy brat who was born in Oregon and lived in Hawaii and San Diego, Richter beat out 4,000 other young actors for the role of Jesse in Free Willya petulant 12-year-old orphan who comes out of his shell after befriending a three-ton orca whale while cleaning up graffiti at a theme park, eventually launching a crusade to free him from captivity.

It was a kick to the shins, no doubt about it, he says. But the beauty of the experience for me was the autonomy. No one gave a crap that I was the kid from Free Willy. Youre not in some wispy fantasyland where everyones telling you yes all the time, which happens a lot to actors. I was just one of the guys. It was all about whether your music was good.

But after years touring the country, Richter caught the acting bug again. Since 2009, hes guest-starred on Bones and Criminal Minds, and wrote, directed, and starred in a short film called The Quiet Loudbased on a screenplay hes writingthat can be streamed on Vimeo. He has two film projects in development: a horror film called 3 Solitude, which is set to begin shooting in the spring, and a thriller called Vicious, which is starting production in August.

His production of The Zoo Story will run for two weekends at the Ruby Theatre in Los AngelesJuly 18C21 and July 25C28during the break of which Richter will shoot a spec pilot about a struggling musician who moves to Los Angeles from Colorado, which he plans to shop around to networks. But in the meantime, hes more than happy to reminisce about the film that changed his life two decades ago.

At least the parts he remembersits been 20 years, after all. But even the passage of time cant erase the rush he got the first time he jumped into that water tank in Mexico City and met Keiko, his 3,000-pound costar.

I remember it being one of those moments of pure and utter fascination as a child, he says. You dont see the danger. At 11 years old, youre just like,Are you still hesitating about where to buy Shun Stone Tools Products? Oh my God, a whale! Thats amazing! This will be awesome! Had I been 17, I might have been like, Hey, this thing is going to bite my hand off, but when youre 11 youre just like, Oh, wow. Cool. Let me touch it.

The whole experience of filming the series was a whirlwind. Learning, at age 11, how to train a whale. Swimming with Keiko on a daily basis. Filming in Mexico City, where his tutor would supplement world-history lessons with trips to nearby Aztec ruins. Traveling the world on promotional tours and having tothrough a translatorcalm European crowds of 7,000 kids who showed up for an autograph signing, in order to prevent riots. Being recognized still, at age 33, while on vacation with his girlfriend as the star of Free Willy. And then, after leaving the whole industry behind 15 years ago, finding himself now itching to get back into the biz again.

Like a lot of folks our age, my wife and I have been talking about downsizing. Sooner or later we all have to face this task. What makes it difficult is, after living in one home for 40 years, you accumulate a lot of stuff.

I first realized this when my mother passed away. All of a sudden we had a house full of stuff we didn't know what to do with. We saved some mementos and keepsakes, but most of the stuff we gave to family and friends. Finally we had an estate sale to sell the rest.As my wife and I discussed this, we wonder what we should do. Buy a small home in town, or rent an apartment. With the gas and oil boom it's expensive to rent, but do we want the responsibility of owning another home?

So, we listed all the savings we would have by renting. I was amazed how much money it takes to keep up a house. Then we listed the advantages of a smaller home. Less to heat, lower taxes, smaller yard to mow; it's all quite mind boggling.The other night over a burger at the lake, we recalled a story of an elderly lady who wanted to sell her home and move into an apartment. Her home was in a prime location, so selling wasn't a problem. The problem was the high cost of rent. Add in your utility bills and services and the project appeared to be too expensive for her.

But this lady was one sharp cookie. She called the local Holiday Inn and asked the manager what kind of deal he would give her if she rented a suite for a year. After some thought, he came up with a figure about the same as the rent would be for an apartment. The lady quickly accepted the offer.

Now she has an apartment with a lot of amenities in a first class establishment. She has free heat, electric, TV, Wi-Fi, cleaning services and no water/ sewer bill. If the neighbors next door are noisy, chances are they will be gone in a few days. On top of this, she gets a free breakfast every morning, and has access to a heated pool and exercise room. She no longer has to pay taxes, buy insurance, worry about things breaking down, or getting the lawn mowed. The best part is, if she gets tired or bored of the place, it's pretty simple to pack up and move -- to another Holiday Inn.
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