Chicago confidential

I'm accustomed to signing confidentiality agreements and other such legal-like documents when I do a job. It's rare anyone knows what they really require and I probably regularly violate their terms by Facebooking and YouTubing and Bloggering and web uploading, etc.

(Though it is, I'm pretty certain, generally accepted that an actor can use the results of his filmed work for promotion purposes, such as on his website or reel.)

In recent weeks, though, I've had to sign confidentiality agreements at the audition stage. Which seems really crazy. I wonder if they're finding people are spilling competitive details on the Internet prior to release?

That is something I try to be really careful about. If I talk about an audition on Facebook or on my blog I'm usually pretty cryptic about it. I never name the company or product and leave out any other key details that, should the posting find itself in the wrong hands, would lead anyone to conclude that Company X is creating a new campaign airing in X media markets with the following creative approach, etc.

So I think I generally adhere to the spirit of the law, if not the exact letter. Then, of course, there's pillow-talk, which is a hard thing to regulate.

Still, it makes ya think about being extra, extra careful.