THS: The Production Assistant

And the sequel would be named...

2007-03-05T18:35:00.000-05:00

...Hoboken to Manhattan: PATH of Destruction.

It's over folks. The film tied for the top spot on my "worst production to work on" list was over this past Saturday. We worked about a 17 hour day and I got home at 630am to find the town I live in strewn with garbage and seagulls (they celebrate a certain Irish holiday here two weeks early. Believe me, I wasn't happy about missing the festivities). It was a tough job no question, but it's over, I wasn't unemployed for 6 weeks, and I was offered another, hopefully better, job from the people I just worked for.

It's funny to look back to where I was a year ago at this same time. I had just jumped off a job that I thought was beyond horrible and I was going into another one where I had no experience doing what they needed me to do. It was exciting and it was my first big budget film. Looking back though, last January/February were times when I was still scared to turn projects down for fear of not getting another one. In the freelance production assistant world, it's hard to pass up on a job for fear of A) not getting another one and B) pissing off the people that you said no to. Now, with so many productions going on, and my experience level a year older, I have the option to pick and choose the projects that come my way. I mean, it's not like I am being called constantly, but when I have the option between two jobs, it's nice to know I'm not feeling forced to take one or the other.

Overall, this past film was an experience just like any other. I wish the actors luck, even the ones I didn't really appreciate too much, but I hope the best for them. I hope they grow up and appreciate what they have. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be the ones hiring them and telling them to shut the F* up. :)

Worst...Movie...Ever

2007-02-19T12:33:00.000-05:00

So we just finished week 4 out of 6 on Saturday and the days could not be going by any slower. This project has been one of the hardest I have worked on since I started my production career. It's been cold every day, the people have been beyond needy to deal with, and I really, REALLY want it to be over with.

One of the hardest things to deal with have been the conditions. A lot of night shoots, terrible locations that have made almost everyone get sick, and long days. Since most of the film takes place underground in tunnels, the locations have had to be dirty and miserable. Dust, dirt, and cold are not a good combination for making a film. What also hasn't helped the crews' spirits is the fatc that story is horrible and the acting is even worse. The villain is a tool and has an accent that he says he fashioned after Marlon Brando and Al Pacino from Scarface (in reality it sounds like a high-pitched James Cagny impersonation. It's beyond awful. I feel bad for the guy when he sees it on the big screen).

Overall, the film has made me pretty unhappy and snappy with people. I find myself being irritable before I even get to the locations because I know the actors are going to be over-the-top needy. They are mostly people who have never been the central characters in a film, but they act like they "think" they should act because they are at the top of the call sheet. It's hard for us all to take them seriously or respect them if they have no respect for everyone else. They aren't bad people, they just feel like they are owed much more than they are getting.

Two more weeks left. 10 shooting days and then I'll be done. In March, there will be a record number of television pilots being shot in NYC. 21 pilots will be shot over the next two months and I have already gotten calls about work on two of them. I think at least one will work out while the other might not work just because of the timing of the production.

When this is over, I will give a final status report. Hopefully I won't be fired before then because I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

PATH you have finally failed me

2007-01-08T14:15:00.000-05:00

So I live in New Jersey now. Many of you know this of course. Before I moved here, or anywhere off the Island, my only reservation was being outside of the Island with a body of water between me and most of the jobs I was going to have in the future. People told me it wasn't a big deal, the PATH runs smoothly (except for late night hours when it only comes every 30 min.) and plus you will have much more room in your apartment. I would agree with all of those things up until today.

Today I had my interview for the new film I will be starting next week (yes, I got the job). The interview was at 11am. I checked how to get to the production office and I figured it would take around 45 minutes to get out to Brooklyn. Not convenient, but not terrible. The F train thankfully hooks up with the PATH at 14th st., and from there it was a straight shot to the stop I needed. So I leave my apartment at 10:05, easily enough time right? Wrong. The PATH line going towards 33rd st, the one I need and the only one I have ever used, has a GAS leak and the entire line is shut down. Immediate thought, great! First impression from the people hopefully giving me a job is that I am going to be late...maybe. The only other option from here is to take the World Trade Center line (which I have never taken before and I had no clue where it left me). I was not excited by this, but I was not dismayed. I figured I left with enough time to cover unforeseen circumstances like this.

Well, I was wrong. An hour and a half later, and one extra train that I wouldn't have needed, I am walking through the rain totally late. Now also, for those of you who know me well, I hate to be late. I LOATHE it. I have clocks everywhere in my apartment. I set six alarms when I have to get up early in the morning. It makes me irritable to be late. I will get places early and then do a few laps of walking around the block to waste time.

Thankfully though, my new bosses were very cool and they already knew about the PATH gas leak. I got the job. They told me about the film briefly. No names are attached yet because all the offers are still out (see: worried faces). But I do have the script and I have read about thirty pages so far. And...ummm...it's pretty awful. I think I got less intelligent after reading it. It's a teenage thriller. You know, those movies that teenagers love and they make a lot of money, but no one else likes them? Yeah, that's this film. When you see the trailers for those films you say to the person sitting next to you "Wow, that looks awful." Well, imagine reading the script for one. I can't even explain it.

A paycheck is a paycheck though. At least I'll get to run around in the subway tunnels.

SST

2007-01-07T11:44:00.000-05:00

I have a new job. Well, I am on the precipice of getting a new job. By tomorrow morning at 11:08am I should have my new job to work on. It will be six weeks long which is nice because a lot of pilots and other films will be starting in early March. But the bad part is I have no idea who is in it or what it is really about. The only thing listed on IMDB is the director, a few producers, and that is classified as a "thriller."

Other pieces of the puzzle that I can surmise from the limited information I have gotten is that I need to go for two days of Subway Safety Training. That's right, I need to go through two days of safety training because we will be shooting in the subway tunnels! I can't decide, is this cool or is this going to kind of suck? Supposedly a bunch of kids are being chased and part of it takes place in the tunnels. Am I just going to be taught what and what not to walk on? Like, that thing is about move if you touch, so don't touch it. It's also a little troubling that no cast is listed. It starts shooting two weeks from tomorrow so either A) the people in charge of this kind of thing are slacking or B) (which is a little scarier) they don't have most of the parts cast. I can't believe that B could be the answer. No way you get this far and not have the main parts cast. I think they are just slacking.

I'm sure I'll get more info tomorrow morning. Hopefully.

Merry 2008!

2007-01-03T20:22:00.000-05:00

It's 2008 and I don't know what to do with myself. Do I change something about my daily routine? Was I supposed to give something up? Well, if I was supposed to, then I didn't. So THERE!

Ok, ok, so we are really back to where we were last year around this time. Currently I am unemployed for the year 2008. Any possible employers out there send me an email or call me! I'm available!!

But seriously, I really have nothing to do and I'm trying not to spend money in these first few dry weeks of the production season. Usually nothing really happens in terms of production until mid-January or even February but so much is coming into the city soon that things will pick up. Gotta love those tax incentives.

I finished the year on a high note with a smaller independent film with a few celebrities. It was an easy job especially after four months on that craptastic failure of a tv show for a network that will remain nameless (they still only know what they are doing on one night of the week, the other 6 days they are left wanting). Being on an indie can sometimes be tedious because the resources are lacking, but this one was fun and I enjoyed everyone surrounding me. For the most part, the people were cool and nice, and the days went by rather fast.

Now we move onto 2008. I'm sure it will be a good year. I'm confident 2008 will be a GREAT year. But before the year really gets started, I decided to start a new blog. I'll probably update that one more than this one, but I'll try to keep it equal. You can find it on the right sidebar or right here: Pictures Not Porn.

Like I said, my cell phone is on...all the time. Please call.

The Unpaid Holiday

2006-11-23T20:30:00.000-05:00

I love having the day off. I love being able to sleep for more than a few hours. I love being able to wake up and see the sun and not have it still be dark out. This is what I get on my days off. Like today, a lovely holiday filled with lots of food and good ol' family fun. I slept in today after getting into my hometown pretty late. It was nice. Tomorrow will be just as nice regardless of the fact that I will have to throw up some crappy Christmas lights at some point. The drawback to sleeping in and getting days "off?" Not getting paid.

When you work in the film/tv biz, and you aren't in a union, holidays and other days associated with holidays (like Black Friday) are unpaid days. So this week, I have a three day work week, but also only three days that I get paid which puts quite a crimp on the monthly financial outlook of my personal budgetary needs. It's not like I'm going to go hungry or I won't be able to get my two slices of pizza after work for $4.07 (I hate that .07 cents of tax by the way, it's total BS), but I do have to watch where I go and what I buy for longer. But hey, in the world of freelance, at least I'm working and I'm not hunting around for another project. I had a total of five days in between my last job ending and my new one starting. That's rare, and I know I am lucky.

Also, the new film I am on is the polar opposite from the tv show I was on for four months. It's been so chill for the first 6 days. All the people are nice, the actors are very cool, and it has been stress free for the first 1/4 of filming. Hopefully the last 3/4's of the film will be just as nice.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The end of an Era (?)

2006-11-14T10:13:00.000-05:00

Not really. The end of an era sounds more like I have been working on one job for years or even decades. No, it's been more like four months and now I am moving on to another project. Ironically, at the time this blog started last year, I was entering into a new project with a lot of the same pedigree as my current one. Low budget. Indie. Star power. Let's hope everyone realizes we don't have a lot of money and acts like it.

Oh and by the way, the show I was working on, was officially pulled altogether and can now only be watched in its entirety online at the networks website. How lame is that? The network puts the show in the worst timeslot (weekend night), it doesn't do well (no sh*t), and they pull it completely from the schedule. Ah well, at least the wrap party was fun last week. Watching "celebrities" doing karaoke never gets old. Especially when you have pictures of every single one of them.

The new film is smaller and story driven. The writer is making his directorial debut (always a scary thing) but has written a few very well recieved films in recent years. The three main people have appeared as Ripley, a surfer (where she hasn't looked good since due to lack of weight), and a young girl who cut her curly locks in 1999 and supposedly got her show cancelled because no one liked the new look. I have heard mixed reviews about the first one, nothing about the second, and great things about how sweet the third one is.

That's about it for now. Hopefully the first day tomorrow goes smoothly. I promise to try and write more in the next 30 days.

New Show...New Time Slot...Adios

2006-10-17T14:56:00.000-04:00

Two months later…and I’m writing again. What has happened over the past two months and is anyone even paying attention to this blog anymore? Hmmm, well if you are, then this is a summary.

The show I’ve been working on was pulled from the network schedule and will finish only 13 episodes before it finishes. The ‘back 9” were not picked up due to poor ratings after two episodes (!!!!) so now the writers are wrapping up the entire storyline in the remaining two episodes we have left to shoot. Frankly, I’m not entirely surprised the show didn’t do well. The concept was not exactly the most original of the new fall lineup, but the acting was fairly good and the production value was high. In television terms that is basically just hoping that the viewing public will take a liking to it.

A lot of people have a lot of theories about why we were pulled so fast. Was it our terrible lead-in (the show that precedes ours was completely the wrong demographic as our show and is opposite another networks top show of the week so it didn’t seem like our network was trying too hard), not enough advertising (the network decided to movie theater trailers, netflix rentals, and ads in higher end magazines and newspapers), or a lack of willingness to try and different timeslot during the week. I think the lead-in doomed us from the start because it told us all that we were surrendering the night to a rival network’s one big show, which then affected the rest of the night’s viewership.

The ratings system is something we could all discuss until our throats are dry and we couldn’t talk anymore. No one likes the Nielsen rating system and it hasn’t been updated in a long, long time. Nonetheless, studios make ridiculously knee-jerk reactions based on the numbers generated by 1000 Nielsen families (homes within the Nielsen participation realm either have boxes attached to their televisions that monitor what they watch or some use a journal system which asks each member of the family keep a journal of what they watch individually every day for that month).

Overall, I’m not a big fan of the network right now. After seeing a lot of its new shows for this season, I think they deserve to be in the position they are in, and I don’t think they are crawling out of their slump anytime soon.

I’ll be posting more once I move onto my next project I’m sure.

Now I know what the Heat Index means

2006-08-02T22:51:00.000-04:00

Over the past two days, NYC has been hit by a heat wave that has pushed temperatures into the 100's and the "heat index" to between 115 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Wikipedia, as always, provides a nice explanation of what the heat index is here :The Definition of the Heat Index. Great stuff right? Not so much when you are working out in the heat all day. All I do is sweat when I step out of the campers to start work. It's not very flattering and there is no way to make any of it stop unless I hide somewhere out of the way. Empty dressing rooms are always good. Turn on the radio, take a few cold waters inside, and just relax. That is, relax until someone knocks on the door because you are in THEIR hiding place and they want in.

The more you work in film/TV production, the more you pay attention to every minute detail of what the weather is going to be like day-by-day. On my last job, we had a weather service subscription that one girl probably called about 15 times a day or night, depending on the incoming weather situation. Clouds, rain, sun, lighting, snow, winds...They are all factors when you shoot outside. It's crazy. And this is where I go every morning before work: NYC Weather. So now that it is hot, and I am dying from the over the top humidity, I know in 6 months I'll be crying about how cold I am and how I won't be able to feel my toes for an hour after I get home.

Such is the life of anyone who works outside year round.

Stay cool everyone.

Que es un Heat Index?

2006-08-01T05:32:00.000-04:00

So they keep saying the Heat Index will be around 110 degress today in NYC. I hear the term "heat index" all the time but I never really wanted to ask what it meant exactly. Actually, the more I think about hearing that term, the more I assume how terribly crappy it's going to be as I sit outside the campers today while everyone else is filming on the 6th floor. I'll let you all know how the "heat index" treats me.

My very first Premiere

2006-07-24T23:42:00.000-04:00

I’ve been thinking lately about my job and whether it really is what I want to do. Do I want to spend the next two and a half years getting paid what amounts to just above minimum wage so that I can be an assistant director and union benefits? For the past year, I thought, yes, this is what I want to do. The pay sucks, and the hours are long, but that’s just something you accept. Acceptance is what makes you forget that you tend to have little social life outside of production. What I have noticed lately, however, is that I haven’t met an AD who loves their job. Not one. I hear about people who love it, but I haven’t met them. When people ask what I want to do, I still I want to be an AD in the future, but I say it with less and less conviction.

When I’m working I notice two things about the AD’s: 1) they usually are not happy and continuously stressed and 2) there bodies seem to breaking down day-by-day. One of my bosses is constantly hunched over, has bad knees and a bad back. He just looks like he is in bad shape. Others aren’t quite so bad and only occasionally do they complain about their ailments. I didn’t think it was an industry-wide thing until I went to the doctor last week. My right knee has been causing me quite of bit of pain lately so I decided to get it checked out. The result: I have some tendonitis. Not so fun. Now that I know that, I think, “Do I really want this to get worse from working on my feet for 14 hours a day?” I don’t know what really caused the pain, but I’m guessing it had something to do with work. Since then I have been fishing around at work to see what else is out there. Maybe work as a producer’s assistant and move my way up with a network or studio. Who knows? At least I have options.

Now we can move on to my flash with celebrities last week. On Monday we were shooting 6 blocks from my apartment all day. This meant that I could wake up about a half hour before work and walk to the campers in less than 5 minutes. It was awesome. Anyway, halfway through the day, while I was walking one of the main actresses to set, we started talking about what she had planned for that night. She said she didn’t know if she wanted to go out. I asked why. She said she was invited to a premiere for a film directed by the guy who is from Philadelphia and uses the city and its surrounding areas for almost all of his films, and that she didn’t have anyone to go with. I proceeded to take the opportunity to tell her that she shouldn’t be shy about asking me to go with her. I would be more than happy to take her to the premiere and all she had to do was ask. She laughed. I thought it was funny.

End Act 1.

The second act began with little over an hour left in our day (we were flying through the day and were, for once, ahead of schedule to get out while the sun was still out). While I was walking said actress back to her camper, I asked again if she was still thinking about going and she said she still wasn’t sure. I shrugged and smiled and didn’t even say anything. From that she said:

A- But you would have to get changed and showered.
Me- (without missing a beat) Not a problem, I live 4 blocks from here.
A- Really?
Me- Yep.
A- Hmmm, all right then.
End of Act 2.

The third act was after we wrapped and I was trying to cool down in the almost 100 degree heat that engulfed NYC. Everyone was just waiting to get home and enjoy a regular night. I needed to sign all of the actors out so I walked over to her camper to make sure everything was ok before she left. She opened the door dressed for the premiere and immediately was like “So do you want to go?” I think it took about 3 seconds to register what she was saying. Another second to formulate a response and then about 10 seconds of me fumbling with my words before I accepted. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME! I was about to go to a Hollywood-style premiere. I was about to go to a Hollywood-style premiere. Stay calm. Stay calm.

End Act 3.

The rest of the night was pretty damn cool. I ended up getting changed and meeting back up with her to take a taxi to the premiere. It was being held at one of the museums in town and I was completely nervous for the first half hour I was around all of the other celebs. I was just waiting to be introduced and then have to say what I did for a living to these people. That never happened but I did meet some cool actors (and shake hands with my favorite director of all time). I contained my excitement. It was a great night. The movie sucked. And I went to a premiere with a famous actress.

(P.S.- Four days after this all happened, the same actress came to work and told me we should have just skipped the movie halfway through and gone to dinner with her friends. I said that I still had a great time. To which she responded with, “But you could have met my friend Maria Bello.” !!!!!!!)

I need to ask about Ray Bones

2006-07-23T12:44:00.000-04:00

Aaaaaaaaaand I’m back! Another three week hiatus from the blog and I’m trying to get myself back into the routine of telling everyone what is going on. For those 6 people that are constantly refreshing their browsers to see if I have written anything new, I apologize. I have been away almost every weekend since my last post and the weekends are when I like to summarize the past week of events. Anyway, it’s good to be back and I have some good stuff to report.

New TV show, New People: For the past month I have been working on a new TV show for one of the big 3 networks. Very interesting stuff, long hours (as usual), and a faster tempo than film. As opposed to having three or four months to shoot a film, television crams an hour-long episode of work into 8 days. If you figure that films usually run from about 90 minutes to over two hours, 8 days creates a lot of pressure and high stakes to make something people want to watch. After having been out of the country for the first week of filming, I had to step in after the crew already got to know each other. For my first week, I was slightly nervous about the situation only because the guy who filled in for me was A) Very good at our job (he worked three years on ABC’s Hope & Faith) and B) he had already built up a great relationship with the actors.

Things have changed since my first week though. The guy who replaced me (we are good friends now) took a job with another show in town because they offered him health benefits. So now, I am the truly the one everyone goes to if they need something with the actors. (I should have mentioned earlier that once I came to work, the other guy became the 1st team helper but my bosses still went to him for about 40% of their information so that was a bit hard.)

As for the actors involved, they are mostly pretty nice. Compared to the last film I worked on where people were a little more demanding and less self-reliant, this show has been cake. #1 on the call sheet is someone you may have seen on HBO over the last few years on a series concentrating on death. He played the slightly off brother of a female main character who had dreams about him in a not-so-clean kind of way. Numero dos on the call sheet is a man who has been seen trying to catch a group of people stealing 50 cars in 24 hours as well as making sure he still has a stake in the script for “Mr. Lovejoy.” (Two separate films obviously.) 3 & 4 are slightly older actors who have had longer careers but haven’t been seen in much as of late. The male won an Oscar the year I was born but this is one of this first TV shows ever. Unfortunately, he has been the diva of the group, but there is always time for him to warm up to everyone. The female lead is on the opposite end of the spectrum in that she is mainly known for her work in television. She has won two Emmy’s for her work on a show that ran from the late 80’s to early 90’s and has also starred in a pretty crappy movie with Rosie O’Donnell on a Caribbean island.

Next up: a story about how I went to a major summer movie premiere…with one of the actors I work with.

Cheers.

I know, I know, I'm a bad blogger

2006-06-21T12:37:00.000-04:00

So I haven't written anything here for, ummm, a few weeks. Sorry about that. By the end of filming I didn't have much to write and I was just waiting for the night shoots to be done with. Yes, I am finished with the film. We ended on a Saturday morning around 7am and we had our wrap party later that night. All in all a good time. Definitely more money went into the wrap party than any other one I had gone too (plus they had girls dancing on little stages throughout the night. I turned to one of the actors I had become friends with and we both nodded behind our dates that "things just went up a notch".). Nothing crazy happened though, which is usually is what everyone is waiting for at these kinds of things. 4 months of pent-up frustration directed to the 5 hour open bar. A friend of mine was proposed to twice (by parking guys on the film that didn't speak much english) but other than that it was pretty tame.

Right now, I'm in Germany for the World Cup (!!!!) to see two USA matches. The first one, against Italy was last weekend and it was probably one of the best live sporting events I have been to...ever. The atmosphere was awesome, the US played their asses off and I think I might have had at least two heart attacks in the final few minutes. Tomorrow we go to see USA Vs. Ghana which has shaped up to be a prety big game. If we win, and Italy wins, then Italy and the USA go on to the second round. So please, if you care at all, cheer for the Italians. (By the way, after sitting in the Italian section during the game on Saturday, I will never ever root for that group of whinney cheaters. This week we will be rooting for them passively, but we hope they get pummeled in the second round.)

Back to the work front. Once I get back to the states I start a new TV show the following Monday. If I stay with the show, I will be working until Thanksgiving. We'll see how that goes. Episodic TV is rough to work on but it is consistant work. Ill be doing the same job as before, dealing with the actors, so we'll see how the first day goes when I have to meet and get along with 10 actors, the hair/makeup dept. and the wardrobe people. Fun Fun.

So that's the update. I'll talk more about everything once I get back. But for now, GO AMERICA! GO USA!!

I shook his hand

2006-05-18T12:43:00.000-04:00

This will probably the one time that I actually name names and tell you about someone I ran into while on set.

Last night, while working at an alarmingly inefficient pace, one of the actors told me to watch out for a friend of hers/his who would be stopping by. I'm like, sure, no problem. Once he tells me the name of the friend, I basically glue myself to the corner where the actor's camper is so I don't miss the "friend." No one else was around when the actor said this, so I had to contain my excitement. That containment lasted for about two seconds as I called a friend to a different radio channel and told them who was about to arive. (Needless to say, my "friend" came over immediately at the prospect of meeting the actors' "friend.")

In about five minutes, this tiny tiny man walks across the street with a big smile on his face. I extend my hand, say hello, introduce myself, and show him to the camper.

Seriously, Danny DeVito is a SMALL guy. Wow. Super nice and funny. But wow.

And oh yeah, Brett Ratner (Director of Rush Hour, X-Men 2) was there with some ridiculously beautiful girl. I wasn't as excited about that.

Waiting in the Night

2006-05-08T00:51:00.000-04:00

Night. I am usually a big fan. Neon signs light up the city streets. People are walking around, going out to dinner, socializing, shopping, visiting, and…working. Working at night is not a first choice option for most of us. Some, I am sure, lean towards the nocturnal and prefer living on opposite schedules from the rest of the city, but I do not and there isn’t a thing I can do about it.

The past two weeks, and for that matter the majority of what we have left, will be night shoots. I am not excited about this. I thought I would be ok with it when I saw they were approaching on our schedule, but they are definitely putting a drain on me more than I thought they would. First, being on a different timetable than anyone I know can be a little much because I have no time to socialize with anyone that isn’t working with me. I find out days and sometimes even a week after something happens in the news or with a person I know. What makes this all worse is the fact that when we shoot, no one seems to have a sense of urgency. The director takes his/her time, almost painstakingly, and we end up never making our days. We film, the script is rewritten, we rehearse, the script is rewritten, we film…and then the sun comes up and we have to stop. Everyone wants to work. No one wants to sit around, wait, and do nothing for 6 hours before we film anything. Unfortunately, that is what is happening now, and will continue to happen for the next few weeks until we have spent all of our good will with the studio.

I think I would be more content with the situation if we were getting everything done. But we aren’t, and our schedule just keeps getting longer and longer. On the other hand, this is my job. I chose to do this. I love what I do. Sometimes it is easy and sometimes it is hard and I accept that.

But still, I’m not psyched for the upcoming nights.

2 Conversations about talking "celebrity"

2006-04-30T19:47:00.000-04:00

Here are two conversations that I had with two of our main actors on separate days this past week.

This first one occurred while I was in an elevator with said actor after having been outside on a day when it was about 77 degrees. Since it was cold the previous few days, we were all in heavier clothes, which obviously caused us all to be a little warm.

Me: (Stepping into the elevator) Wow, I am not looking forward to working on whatever job I’m working on when it’s July and it is 90 degrees out. That is not going to be too fun.

Actor #1: Oh yeah? You know what’s not going to be fun? It’s not going to be fun when I have to wear a ski parka in the heat.

Me: Are you working on another project after this that has skiing in it?

Actor #1: No, I mean when we film the chase scene in May, it is supposed to be winter in the film, so I’ll be wearing a ski parka and several layers. THAT is not going to be too fun (said with a smirk).

Me: Yeah, you have a real hard life. (I exit the elevator)

The second conversation occurred while we were on set at one of the studios in town with another one of our main actors. We were standing inside a fake living room as they were trying to rehearse Actor #1’s arrival through the door.

Actor #2: So is someone going to close this door? (Actor #2 is standing right next to the door)

(The outer door was closed, but the inner door was still open)

Me: Umm, I could close it. (I’m halfway across the room)

Actor #2: Well, whose department is it to close the door? I mean, we have a full crew here and they don’t look like they are doing much.

Me: (Shrug)

Actor #2: It’s just kind of ridiculous ya know?

Me: I could close the door.

Actor #2: Naah, I’ll just do it. (With a nice pouty demeanor, Actor #2 closes the door)

On another random note, my favorite actor (#3) of the production, and after what happened probably of all time personally, had his/her last day this past week. As a present Actor #3 gave myself and three other people that worked closely with him/her, 60 GB video iPod’s in appreciation. Needless to say I was blown away. I was speechless. I thanked him/her, gave him/her a hug and walked away with a smile.

Now, I would DEFINITELY close the door for Actor #3.

How to be...

2006-04-16T14:25:00.000-04:00

Here is a list of things you need to know if you ever want to be come a GREAT Production Assistant:

1. Never question a request and/or command (you will never be right…ever).
2. Always hustle even if no one is looking.
3. Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down (these truths are only known if you can escape the eyes of everyone on the crew).
4. If asked by a pedestrian what you are working on you can: A) say what it is truthfully, B) Lie and start naming names of people on the crew and act like they are up and coming stars, C) Tell them it is a new mayonnaise commercial, or D) Be extremely rude and act like you can’t hear what they are saying.
5. Keeping a “lock up” is one of the worst jobs a PA can have. Accept it. Be as nice as possible to people walking by, and never, EVER, lay a hand on a pedestrian no matter how much they are going to ruin the shot.
6. Crew members typically don’t listen when asked to be quiet while filming. If they want to talk, they will talk. Another thing to “accept.”
7. You will be talked down to. You will be yelled at for what you think there is no apparent reason.
8. Humility is the key to everything you do.
9. Write everything down even if you think you have the best memory in the world (I have a TERRIBLE memory and I still don’t write everything down. Bad for me).
10. Love your job. You will know within a few hours whether you want to be in this business. If you don’t love it, then move on, because it will make you miserable just like any other job.

The Surreal Day

2006-04-15T12:54:00.000-04:00

Over the last few days I have been trying to think of something cohesive and interesting to write about. Usually during my workday I think of something that would be funny about working in the film industry, but then I usually forget about it later (write things down, write things down!). Anyway, the past week has been pretty easy since the “firing.” We shot a lot that incorporated minor characters or “day players” as they are known in the industry (because they are only in the film for only a few days of shooting). Thursday was a full day because we had to have a “company move” which is always a little daunting with such a big production. A “company move” occurs when you are shooting in two different locations on the same day, and all of the trucks and campers need to be moved. Our company move occurred at 5pm in lower Manhattan so it of course took awhile. Overall, things went smoothly and our day before the holiday weekend ended at around 1230am. (We all were thinking we would go until at least 2am but that was mainly because the crew has become quite pessimistic about getting out early before the weekends).

Other than that, I can only tell you bits and pieces of other things that might be of interest. Thursday night I bought a cup of decaf from the neighborhood Starbucks, and the actor I bought it for said it was awful. The actor is one of the few that I really like being around and he thought it would be fun to go back to the Starbucks and complain in a good-natured way. So we go in, no one else is there besides two kids behind the counter, and the actor starts chatting away about how bad the coffee was. The kid behind the counter makes him a free decaf espresso (I was sure these guys didn’t know who the actor was but I was wrong when I heard one of them say the name near the end of out visit) and while making the espresso, Bob Marley comes on over the speakers. This leads the actor to start dancing and singing to Bob Marley as well as talking to the kid behind the counter about going to the Bermuda in the 70’s and hearing the same great music. You could tell that the kids were having a great time, as was I, but the fun had to end since everyone was waiting for us on set.

Like I said, it’s a quick story, but it makes my job a little more surreal every time something like that happens. I mean, this actor has won an Oscar, he is pretty famous, and I’m standing there next to him as he dances around a Starbucks to the beat of Bob Marley on a random Thursday night.

On a completely off topic note, I wanted to wish a happy birthday to Thatkidinthecorner. Although it is tax day across the country, I still say the Thatkid’s birthday is much more significant. The American public might disagree, but what do I care what they think?

Next post: Terms of the industry and things that can drive a production assistant crazy.

Adios Senor/Senorita

2006-04-04T22:36:00.000-04:00

So someone got fired today. This doesn’t usually happen. This is the thing that tabloids usually create to sell more tabloids (but are usually never true). From the beginning of the day, the situation was tense. For the past week and a half the actor/actress has NOT been getting along well with the director. Actually, he/she has not been getting along with almost everyone. I do concede that the person did become much, much better after a few days, it was all a disaster waiting to happen.

Last week, I personally had a hellish time accommodating the actor’s very specific dietary requirements. We are not shooting in Manhattan, which means my usual array of restaurants, markets, and corner deli’s on every block are not at my disposal. Eventually I settled on having a driver go into the city and pick up and order that would easily take an hour to get back to us.

Ok, ok back to the story. This morning, while the actor is in hair/make-up, the director approaches me and asks when he/she will be available. I say about an hour, he says that he wants to see the actor in his trailer. After an hour, the actor runs to his trailer but he doesn’t answer. He doesn’t answer because he is asleep. Here is where the fun starts. Now, I have to call his assistant on the walkie-talkie so that she can then call him so that he can then call her back so that she can then tell me on the walkie-talkie that the actor can now come to his trailer. Make sense? Completely retarculous? Yes, yes it is. The director finally wakes up and then makes the actor wait. (This is all an ego game, as is most of what I deal with. Who can make who wait longer, who can be the last one to set, blah, blah, blah). And now we have it, the meeting. The actor goes in, and this is the fun part.

Shouting. Aaaaaand some more shouting. Doors slamming. Screaming in my general direction about getting the executive producer downstairs immediately. This is the point where I calmly get on the walkie (at least that’s how I’m telling it. Others on the crew say I sounded a wee bit tense) and ask for some help from the producer. The following three hours ensue with more shouting, cursing, the smoking of many cigarettes by said executive producer and the director, and the actor’s boyfriend/girlfriend arriving to take them home.

Finally, before the actor leaves, the director asks me a few more questions. One of which is how are they doing. Another asks what is going on in their trailer. And last but not least, after I say that things are obviously not the best, he tells ME to tell the actor to go home. He told ME to say that. Go tell them yourself! Who the heck am I?? Certainly not the person who is going to tell anyone that they are fired from the set and to get the hell out.

Next up: Who gets cast now? How much time did we lose from the scenes we already shot with the fired actor? (I say we add at least 5 more days. At least.)

I also know I have not been posting much and for this I am sorry. I need to try harder. I’m not that busy.

The Oakland A's one was the coolest

2006-03-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

Did you ever collect things when you were younger? Model trains, transformers, sports trading cards? I remember wanting to go to The Ground Round (of all places) just so I could get an ice cream dessert that was served in a mini baseball helmet. Such a kid thing to do. I think I even had a cousin who worked there so he got me a few without me having to drag my parents there for another tasty meal. I think I accumulated about 15 of them and most have gone the way of the trash in recent years but I do have some left. I still think they are cool for some reason because they remind me of the excitement I had when I was collecting them.

Why I am I saying any of this? I am saying this because that’s how I feel about meeting new celebrities during my new film. When I was younger, and even right up until the point where I started working in this business, I was very excited to meet all the people that I had watched on the big screen. I know it’s lame, but so many people feel the same way. It’s the feeling that gets people to buy tabloids and wait outside all day just to get a glimpse of their favorite celebs. So I’ve met some people, worked with some people, and the attraction is still there, but will it always be like that?

For example, last week I was able to meet this kid (nickname “Spanish” from his role in an “old” frat house comedy from a few years ago) as well as meeting “Kelly” from the original Bad News Bears. The more I’m meeting these random celebrities, the more I think that there are endless amounts of “collectible” sightings. With collecting those mini helmets, I knew I could eventually acquire them all and then show them off to whoever would care to see them (which probably didn’t encompass too many people past the age of 8). With working the film business I know that every day, every week, and every month, I will be meeting someone new. I will be meeting someone that I saw in a movie 10 years ago, in a meaningless role, and I will think that it’s still cool.

I only hope that in a few years I don’t become immune to the “collectible” celebrity introduction factor. At the very least, I will still think it is exciting, but it won’t be like it was during the first few months.

By the way, the filming is going well. I’m getting a better feel for my role. Each day I have less and less screw-ups. Soon I hope to go one-day error free, if that’s even possible in the film world.

With a Sugar-Free Red Bull by my side

2006-03-05T14:49:00.000-05:00

After all my complaining and worrying about this week to start, it is now over. Week 1 of...umm..many went fairly well. Unfortunately we were shooting nights outside and it was really, REALLY cold. I thankfully purchased new ski/snow pants (that happen to be pretty puffy on me) that made it so I didn't even feel the wind, but my face and my hands were cold no matter how many layers I had covering them.

Working with a lot of actors this week was quite a baptism by fire. All four nights at the field we had at least 15 principal actors to deal with. Most of the time I had someone assisting me, but it was still pretty daunting. The hardest part is keeping track of all the actors, plus we had five kids who are in the movie and were there for three nights. Everyone loves to leave their trailer and wander, and with the trailers spread out by a couple blocks, it was very hard to see who was coming and going without losing people. Overall it went smoothly and this coming week we will be shooting all daytime stuff. No more leaving for work at 3pm and getting home by 8am the next day. My head was definitely messed with when I get home from work and people are reading the new newspaper on the train and when I go back to work, they are reading the same paper. The day for me has changed but it is still the same for everyone else. So damn odd.

So the actors have been cool for the most part. The main actor, of all the main actors, has been a tough read. He is a little standoff-ish and egotistical (and a bit of a pain so far) but not terrible. The Irish guy is very cool and approachable and I don't see any problems with him arising. The rest are nice as well and so the only thing that affects the flow of the day is how many of them I have on set.

Oh and if any of you know about the site called “friendster,” one of the actresses has a page. Email me if you want to know which one. I think it is hilarious. She is so into herself and she isn’t much of a star at all. I doubt she knows its there anymore. Very funny indeed.

More than just being nervous

2006-02-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow we start filming the big blockbuster. After getting delayed a week, and numerous script revisions, we are set to begin a film that will stretch out for the next 3 months. It will be the biggest thing I have worked on so far in my rather short career and I have to admit, I am beyond nervous.

Besides the fact that there are huge stars in the film, I am nervous because I have never occupied the position I have on this film. Being the 1st Team Production Assistant brings with it a lot of responsibility, forethought, and anticipation on my part. I know I can do it. I know that it will only be a matter of time before I find my groove and I can anticipate what several actors will want or need. I know all of these things. However, what I am most scared of, is the first week and possibly not living up to the reputation that people have given me.

I have been told on a few occasions this past week, which I have this job purely on the recommendation of one AD that I worked for last year. I didn’t interview because there was not much time, and the team I will be working with took her advice and hired me. I appreciate that faith, but I also know that I was not the first, second, third, or even fifth alternate. That shouldn’t bother me as much as it does because there is so much work going on in the city that good people are hard to find. Especially good people that would be available until the end May. I fit those criteria obviously.

My stomach is in knots right now. I’m trying to think about the first, second, and third things that I should be doing tomorrow morning as I get to set. I can not forget anything. I have to prove to myself, to the person that recommended me, and to the people that hired me, that I can work on a big budget film and I can excel.

Moving up in the world

2006-02-20T17:16:00.000-05:00

Saturday night was my last day on the film from hell. This is not to say that it was the last day of filming, but I fortunately offered a bigger, better job and was able to get out of the final week of shooting. Last week was only slightly better than the first, but it could never convince me to stay on with this new offer. On Thursday night, a guy a worked for on my last major film called and told me he recommended me for an upcoming shoot that would last until the first week of June. If I got the job, I would be doing something new. I would be the 1st team Production Assistant, which means I would be in charge of getting all the principal actors to set on time with their Hair/Make-up/Wardrobe all done in an efficient manner.

Being the 1st team PA is a tricky proposition and one that I am looking forward to the challenges it will present. First, you are going to definitely get an earful from the 1st and 2nd Assistant Directors because they have everything scheduled for the day, and for the film to be made on time, that schedule needs to be kept. On the other hand, you have to keep your cool with the actors. You can never let them know that there is pressure to get them on set. Basically, it’s all about channeling your emotions and separating the anxieties that both sides will bring.

The great thing about this new project, besides the job security until June, is that I will be responsible for three very big actors. One of which I met a month ago when he opened the door for me while I was working one day on another film (There was a post about it so if you are a faithful reader of ths: the pa then you know who I am talking about). Besides both of those guys, I will be responsible for a guy that has one of the worst mugshots on the smokinggun.com. The last main actor is definitely a ladies man with an irish accent. He has been linked to a number of leading females and his most recent film had him paired with a 13 yr old actress, with the movie set about 400 years ago.

It will be an exciting four months. This week we have rehearsals and the production company wants me to be around the actors to get to know them better. I’m sure I’ll know what kind of lattes or odd foods that they all like pretty fast.

I just hope the experience is better than this last one.

Enjoying the Craft

2006-02-12T21:48:00.000-05:00

The last few days have been better, but things still have to change. Tomorrow we are going to be in the same location for the 7th straight day and the end can’t come any sooner. The director is getting more comfortable with his actors as well as streamlining his thought process, but once we are out of this “comfort zone” we will be moving to exterior locations or even interiors that are less hospitable to a big crew and I just don’t know how well he is going to deal with that.

As for myself, things have been high stress most of the week. Not that high stress is a bad thing, because I can deal with things in high stress situations pretty well, but it does take a toll on your body. Standing most of the day, constantly having to be vigilant about people making noise or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, is a difficult mentality to maintain.

For example, two nights ago I had a nightmare that woke me up every half hour (for the 5 hours that I got to sleep). From what I can piece together, the nightmare mainly involved me outside with a large group of people all going towards a large mist. For some reason I knew things were not going to be good so I kept trying to get people to stop walking and no one would listen. It was very eerie. I rushed back inside for what I thought was safety, and the people just kept leaving and going outside. No one would listen. I think I heard screaming. I think I heard the sound of people going outside and then rushing back towards where I was. It’s all kind of blurry, but obviously a result of my work and what it is doing to me.

One of the positives to take from the last week of shooting is the level of acting. The lead male is a pleasure to watch because he delivers each line with a high level of emotion. Before now I had only worked on comedies that did not allow the actors to display their full range of skill. Now, with a serious drama, all three actors work as if that day’s performance is going to land them an Oscar.

12 Days Left.

Making the Day

2006-02-08T22:48:00.000-05:00

As many of you already know, I finished grad school last May. Before finishing in May, I made my thesis film with a fellow classmate. Things were chaotic, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing half the time, and somehow the film got finished (well almost, but that’s besides the point). Two days ago, I felt like I was in film school again.

Things, ummm, aren’t going so well on set after three days. When you start a day of filming you get a call sheet that has a set number of scenes to shoot by the end of the day. We call this “making your day.” If you don’t “make your day” it’s a pretty big deal. Well, the last three days, yeah, we kind of, sort of, didn’t come close to “making” our days. Basically the problem lies with the director. He is in way over his head and has never really handled working with a big crew before now. (He wrote and directed a film before this that did well in film festivals but it was definitely made by friends and family.)

The first day of shooting, things were very slow. The second day we got ONE shot off before lunch. BEFORE LUNCH! That’s 6 hours and only one shot. This was not, however, for a lack of trying. One of our lead actors needed to have some discussions with the Producers about the direction of the film (and I actually don’t blame him). Now, after a third day of getting only half of our workload done, I don’t know what they are going to do. They might cut entire scenes for filming. The Producers might tell the director that he needs to get himself together and be much more efficient. If not, then who knows what this film is going to be like in a few weeks.

So, the stars of this film are…

I know, I know, this is the fun part. Alright we have three different eras involved in our little film. The old, the spunky, and the new. The senior member of the cast was immediately known in my mind for doing a movie involving a president and a double for the president (due to the original president’s heart attack during…umm…discreet actions). In the movie, the guy who plays the conniving senator is our leading male. The spunky one with a great attitude has been in an HBO series as well as a popular Nick Hornby book turned film about relationships. The third, and youngest of the actors, is female and was on the same HBO series as the spunky girl. She is mostly known for her rebellious character as well as the morbid theme of the series.

Day 4 is up tomorrow. We won’t make our day, but maybe we’ll get 3/4 of it done this time.

Noticing the little things

2006-02-05T14:02:00.000-05:00

Everything about what you see on film or television is contrived. EVERYTHING. If you think you see a huge group of people walking around in the background, and all you can see is blurry shapes, don’t believe they are there randomly. The meticulous nature of creating a film or television show leaves nothing to chance. As a person who has been responsible for placing those blurry shapes in the background, I am starting to pay much more attention to what is happening behind and around the principal actors.

When I’m watching television I look for these “little things.” If people are moving in the background, I try and see if I see the same people over and over. During production, we are given a certain number of extras that can be used. They could be joggers, people in cars, people with dogs or just regular pedestrians who look like they are on their way to work. If you don’t have enough of these people, then you have to “recycle” them as much as possible. Basically, this means you give people starting points and end points in the frame. When they reach one side of the frame, they turn around and alter their gait until the director calls cut. More often than not, you won’t see that same person recycling because of editing. Cutting back and forth between two people in a conversation allows for so much variety that it would just be an odd coincidence to see the same person, in the same outfit, moving in the background.

Another “little” thing that occurs when working so much with extras is the different forms of payment and people you need. For instance, while watching a recent episode of “ER” the final shots were of a main character skating in an ice rink. Skating around her were around 40 or 50 people enjoying themselves as families, couples or little kids. In my mind, I immediately think, “Wow. They had to find a lot of people that were Union actors and who could skate.” (Typically, a SAG actor who can skate is given “Special Ability” pay that is $132.00 and that is $10 above the base pay rate.) Last week, I had to deal with an ice skating scene where we had two teams of youth hockey players and about 10 people who were free skating on an adjacent rink. Before I did any of this work, I may have thought that the rink could be filled with random people from the rink and somehow they were paid a reasonable amount. But no, every part of the scene is constructed and planned. Every person seen on camera is there for a reason, no matter if you see 5 people or 5,000 in one scene, someone in the production had to choose those people specifically for their look and “special ability” talents.

This post is getting pretty long and it is Super Bowl Sunday, so I think I should get to the end. I’ve finished the museum film and I’ll be starting a new one in less than 12 hours. Early call time is never fun (5am) but I hope things will run smoothly. I’m excited about meeting the cast and I’ll give clues to their identities after I meet them and see how they are.

Until then, enjoy the big game or 8 straight hours of “Yes, Dear” on TBS.

Sweep...The...LEG!

2006-02-02T19:11:00.000-05:00

Probably one of the coolest celebrity/actor sightings I have had happened the last two days on set. Supposedly this guy has been trying to get a part in the movie so he is hanging around set. I don't know if it is working, but it was VERY cool to see him. From the subject line of the post, I'm sure many of you can guess who I am talking about. Yep, the bad guy from that Kid movie from the 80's. All I wanted to do was shout out lines from the movie to him. He looks exactly the same by the way.

The last few days of work have been going ok. We are shooting all exteriors so we have a lot of extras each day. Basically a lot of people to walk back and forth and around the museum while we (mostly) have no principal actors walking in the shot. They are adding digital animals and other cool efx later. I did get to see the whole front of the museum covered in fake snow the other night. I do have to say that was very cool to watch. The whole process involved special efx guys feeding huge blocks of ice into what looked like a tree limb shredder and out came the snow. That's one thing that I like about what I do, every day we have something new to see and/or deal with. Not a lot of other jobs can give you that. Well, they can, but who wants to get excited about seeing new excel spreadsheets?

Next up: New movie on Monday. 18 days. 3 weeks of 6 days of work each. It's a marathon folks.

New Movies, New Reviews, New Everything!

2006-01-27T12:16:00.000-05:00

With the new look up and running I thought I should post something completely new. Yesterday I started a new film that will take me into next week and then right into another smaller independent film for the month of February. The timing worked out perfectly while also allowing me to not be completely bored for another week and a half.

The first day wasn't terribly interesting. We only had to film one scene which was done by lunch and the extras weren't too much of a pain. We did, however, have a lot of cars in the mix which can be tricky. The most cars I had ever dealt with before yesterday was probably 4 and I think we had 15 for only a few shots. Like I said, it wasn't a difficult day, but before the day even started, I realized that a trend has started for me before a job starts.

With an early call time like 5am, and a string of days where you are sleeping in, the probability of getting to sleep at a reasonable hour the night before is not a good one. For example, the night before yesterday I was in bed by midnight and I doubt I fell asleep before 2. Then, because of nerves, I woke up every half hour in fear of oversleeping. Usually most people are nervous about their first day at work and I think that because working in freelance has you getting involved in so many projects, the nervous sensation tends to go higher than normal. Every time I start a new job I have to think about who are the important players. What if I get lost getting to the location? What if I screw up and my opportunities with this particular crew are ruined? Obviously, these aren't the worst things in the world to worry about, but in the realm of freelance, word of mouth and reputation are everything. If you screw those up, you may not work for a few weeks.

Ok, so onto the "blind items"(as some faithful readers like to say). The movie consists of a pretty big star who is usually involved (so it seems) in every comedy on the market. One of my favorite films in the past five years has this actor wearing one color and one brand of sporting goods. In the film he has two kids, with the names of semi-automatic weapons, and they wear the same color and brand as their papa.

The name of this new film has something to do with the location shown. If you are familiar with New York then you probably have seen this place somewhere on the UWS.

I'd also like to thank The Dilettante and "Jaime" for their diligent work. They scoured the internets better than I could and found a varied array of reviews for one of my past films.

Here are a few:
Hopes Rest on Puccini
Variety's Opinion

Let's do this again

2006-01-25T19:38:00.000-05:00

I decided to switch my hosting service to Blogger because the folks at MSN.spaces basically aren't very good at having the same "tools" for MAC users as they do for the PC. I have been a MAC user for quite awhile now so I'm somewhat peeved at the people from Microsoft for not making their blog areas equally supported on both platforms. SO this is my new home. Enjoy. Tell me what you think. I know the previous posts don't have any of the comments or anything special but all my new posts will look much cooler.

Just one Review from around the World

2006-01-25T13:07:00.000-05:00

So I am currently scouring the internets for a review of the first film I worked on. It recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and I can't find one word about it.

At least this wasn't mine.

2006-01-22T13:07:00.000-05:00

Even when you know, you never know

Friday was an easy day. I received a call late Thursday to work an additional day on a film that had been done shooting for over two months. Basically all the production company needed were some "plate shots" (shots of cars driving behind what we are led to believe as the car where the stars are in). Like I said, very easy day. Drove around with a cop as he blocked traffic for us as well as letting us do pretty much anything else with the cameras.

The semi-exciting part of the day didn't come until the end of the night. So I get back to the production office and I realize, since this is the same building that the offices of the last film I worked on where in, that I don't have a security card. When I get out of the elevator, instead of calling someone to come let me in, I just knocked on the door. Two guys had their backs to me and one turned around once he saw I couldn't get in. As soon as he turned around, I'm like "You have go to be kidding me. Be cool. Be cool. Be cool." He opens the door, I say thanks, and I walk by to a cubicle about fifteen feet away where I can sit and do my paperwork (also to stay close and just randomly listen to what these guys were saying). In retrospect they didn't say much of anything, just random chit-chat.

Ok, Ok, so who were the guys? Hmmm, well, let's see. The guy who did not open the door was in a film with a very popular male actor a few years ago. The film was about a life that was bought, then watched by the world. The name of the film had a president's name in the title and it was the second word of the title. If you are still following me, then keep going. If you have the film, the actor was best friends with the main actor. Well, I guess he "played" the guy's best friend in the film.

And now onto the guy who opened the door for me. Like I said earlier, I was just trying to "be cool" for the split second that I was going to walk by the guy, which I did, but it was still nerve wracking. This actor I actually know and I think he has done some really great films. One of which had the name of the country we live in and a roman numeral. Oddly enough, before going out last night, the film was on one of the cable movie channels and I couldn't help but watch for a little bit.

So Friday was an overall boring day with a pretty cool ending. I realize that the "cool ending" wasn't all that significant, but it was unexpected and still pretty damn...well...

...Cool.

2006-01-16T13:06:00.000-05:00

The Gods Must Be Crazy

Did anyone read my previous post? Did you see what I rambled about for almost the whole entry? Yeah, well forget it. Ok, so forget most of it. The last few days have effectively showed the up and down world of the freelance Production Assistant.

On Friday, within 45 minutes, I received two calls for upcoming work. The first was in reference to a pilot for a major network (they used to make a show about a place "where everyone knows your name). The show is basically like "24" but with a premise that is much more like that of the movie "Ransom" with Mel Gibson. That job was for Saturday, it was good pay, possibility of overtime, and not too much work, so I of course took it. The second job opportunity came from someone I worked with in the summer. This one would be actually for free (!!), but I would be the 1st Assistant Director for a music video this Friday (and I can't even play the name-that-band game with this one because the guy who called mumbled their name and only said that they currently have a video on MTV that plays a lot. Which is to say, it plays on MTV After Hours since MTV never plays full videos during daylight hours anymore).

The Network pilot actually worked out better than I could have expected. The first good thing that happened was, when halfway through the day, I was asked to talk to the 2nd AD. She proceeded to tell me that the PA in charge of all the extras had to leave midway through the day and since I had experience with extras (another PA I just got done working with on the film suggested my name on set to the AD department) could I take over for her. I, of course, said yes. Besides giving me something meaningful to do during a day of freezing rain and eventually snow, it was good to have something to do that I could prove my worth to this new crop of AD's in my world. By the end of the day, the 2nd 2nd AD pulled me aside and asked, if the pilot was picked up by the network, would I want to run background (the extras). The girl who had to leave early already took a better job so the position is open, and this is of course all contingent on the show being picked up. Sooooo that was a positive day in my world.

Today I was called three times. One was for an interview with the AD Department regarding the film I have verbally committed to at the end of the month, the second was to be an additional on the network pilot again tomorrow (nice), and the third was for another film that is being produced at the same time as the first film (with the prospect, after an interview with the AD's, that I could possibly be a Key PA or a 2nd 2nd AD since it is non-union).

I have a lot on my plate, and within a matter of days I was converted from complete boredom to juggling phone calls.

Alright, I'll stop patting myself on the back. But, yes, this is the life that I have chosen to follow.

It's crazy. It's interesting. It's always changing.

2006-01-12T13:04:00.000-05:00

This is the life

I know I know, it has been FOREVER since I have posted. Well, with the holidays obviously not being jam-packed with production related duties I haven't exactly had a plethora of stories to tell ya'll. Even as I write this now, I don't really have that much going on.

Basically what I'm going through now is what every freelancer goes through (some obviously more than others) and can happen without warning. What I'm talking about is 'not working.' Getting into this line of work, you have to expect that you won't be working every day of the year and that at many points, the space between one job and the next can be several weeks. For myself, this is the first time I haven't been working since Labor Day. I've been lucky compared to a lot of people in my position. I know a lot of PA's who aren't working and aren't getting many calls either, even for smaller things. Like, last week, I worked for several days on a project for SpikeTV. It was a random call from a guy I worked with on the last film and I was glad to take the work. It was definitely something different because I was working in the Art Department and was able to see a different angle in the industry. For instance, I learned what crews were in this part of production, what was important to know, who was important to know, etc.. The job didn't last long but if you get a chance to watch SpikeTV at some point, and you see a show that looks like it is ENTIRELY about a new Axe Bodywash, then that's what I worked on. The whole thing is a half hour long show called "The Order of the Serpentine" and it promotes a bodywash that washes away bad dates and girlfriends who dump you. Yeah, I know, sounds pretty ridiculous. But I do have to say I am intrigued to see what it looks like when it comes out.

As for future work, I am lined up to work on a film that starts shooting on the 31st of January and goes for the entire month of February. This, is a good thing. Unfortunately, as you can see, that's about three weeks away. So what does one do when they have three weeks "off?" Well, I can tell you, not a whole lot.

I've mostly spent my time trying to finish up little projects, watch way too much television, go to the end of the internet and back, as well as talking about nonsense on instant messenger with old friends from high school. I can say that it isn't the most appealing circumstances to be in, and the lack of incoming money can be scary, but I know there is a definite end to it. I could be like a lot of other people in this business and have 0 options.

Thankfully I do have options, too bad they are three weeks away.

2005-12-22T13:04:00.000-05:00

I forgot to add

There was a girl at the wrap party, one of the principal actors who had a small part, that a friend of mine pointed out to me. He was like, "Have you seen that Diet Coke commercial with the people on the beach in roller skates?" I was like, "Yeah, of course." (They play "Starry Eyed Surprise" by Paul Oakenfold in the background) The main blonde girl from the commercial had been in the film and I had no idea. My celebrity senses hadn't gone off and I completely missed it!! Needless to say I was beating myself up about it all night.

2005-12-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

Down 2, many more to come

It has been awhile since I've posted but that's mostly because I have been relaxing and sleeping in late since we've finished filming on Thursday. So I'm done working on my second film. For the most part, having more money in the budget helped my job run more smoothly, but having to deal with those third grade-esque background actors definitely tested my limits.

Not much really happened of interest in the past few days of shooting. We were stuck at one location with the two male actors for three straight days which can get pretty boring. Nothing much to do since we could leave equipment at the apartment as well as our trucks. One thing that did happen though, actualy occurred after we wrapped shooting and people were standing around having champagne that one of the actors bought (the one who originally asked me to have a drink with him and his girlfriend way back when). So I'm walking in, trying to find extra walkie-talkies (I had to collect them) and the guy starts calling out my name as he is standing amongst all the producers and the director. I turn around and ask what's going on.

The actor motions me over and is like "(Me), (Me), this guy right here. Whatever movie I do with you guys next...this guy needs to be one of the Producers. I want it in my contract."

Of course, he was kidding, but the look on everyone's face in the room was pretty memorable. Since this guy had been kind of difficult with the hierarchy throughout filming, I think they were all very surprised that he was saying such a nice thing to me, a production assistant.

Whew, ok, so we're done with that. 25 days of shooting, one night in bed with a beautiful actress, and a ringing endorsement that I was a cool guy by a prominent actor. Now I'm looking towards my next job which will hopefully start soon and have the guy from My So Called Life paired with a Mean Girl. Until then...have a Happy Holidays and a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

P.S. The MTA strike in NYC sucks. Get back to work MTA. I've had it with your demands.

2005-12-09T13:02:00.000-05:00

Hardening

After the last few days, I'm pretty tired. Our two night shoots on Tuesday and Wednesday went as well as they could go with the temperatures dropping into the 20's. People were tired, they were cold, and by 4am, they all wanted to go home.

As I said in earlier posts, these days had me dealing with my biggest groups of extras yet. The sheer size of them influences how I act towards them and vice versa. Mostly, the background "artists" are quiet, don't cause trouble, and stay out of the way. They do as they are told. They don't complain, and they shuffle in and out of the scene whenever you ask them too. You know why they do this? They do this because it's their J-O-B. Unfortunately, we always encounter multiple people who like to cause trouble. They don't want to be on set. They don't want to be working. They don't want to be told what to do. They just want to be lazy, sit around, and have me sign their waiver at the end of the night with no questions asked. Throughout the night, these people are hard to miss. I constantly have to tell them to be where they are supposed to be...almost prodding them like 2nd graders so they stay in place long enough to get more than one shot off. Because I have to constantly fight with them and round them up, I have to be as stern as possible without losing my temper. Hmmm, "without losing my temper." That's interesting.

So I've definitely gotten into arguments with background "artists" due to adjustments on their vouchers (add-ons that give them an extra $3 here or $7 there. they all write in as many as they can to see hwo many I'll notice and or not notice so they get away with them), as well as arguments about hiding from set, and lack of effort at their J-O-B. From what I hear from the Assistant Directing crew, this is normal and I shouldn't be worried that it's my fault for getting into arguments. These people try and pick fights all the time because they know they have a certain amount of rights protected by the Screen Actors Guild. Unfortunately, they really think that if they act nasty to me or anyone else on the crew, that they WON'T be put on a list of people not to be called too often by casting. I'm not saying there is such a list (wink wink), but if you want to test us, then go right ahead. Be a jerk. I'm just starting out now, but as I'm around more and more, I'll have the option on who I want on set and who I don't.

The thing that does worrry me slightly is that because I have a bit of a temper (I know I know, I like to argue, juuuust a bit), that I'll be immediately bitter when I have a lot of background to deal with in a certain day. And if you start the day out already bitter, then you won't be too nice to most people if they start to piss you off. I call this my "Hardening" and I"m trying to avoid it. Oh I'm sorry, wait, you're telling me you need to go home because you had eye implants and the lights hurt your eyes?? Ok sure.

You live in New Jersey and the last train is leaving in a half hour. Didn't the casting agency tell you we would be shooting till at least 5am? Oh, they didn't. Hmmm, sure you can leave too. (these are the kinds of things I get from people so they can leave work. These people end up on the imagined "lists")

So, yes, I am getting a little tainted by these people and I need to calm down. I know I will advance much farther than 95% of all of them in terms of job security and prosperity. They are going to be background "artists" probably for life.

Hopefully I won't build up such a "Hardening" that I can't enjoy what I do in a couple of years.

I doubt it. I love my job :).

2005-12-06T13:01:00.000-05:00

First and Goal at the 10

We have 8 days left. Christmas is almost here. Today and Tomorrow are going to be hell.

The head count is 8 principal actors/actresses which usually isn't too bad but when you combine them with 120 extras, things get a little dicey. Then, when you throw in the temperature high today of 36 degrees and the fact that the "holding space" (where we keep the background when they get in and leave their stuff during the day) is 4 blocks from set (which is all exterior today).

All of these factors running together create a whirlwind of btiching and moaning that I am not particularly excited to hear today. On top of those factors is dealing with the Screen Actors Guild Representative. THe SAG Rep usually comes to set when you have big background days to make sure they get the allotted break times (At least 5 minutes an hour to get food and go to the bathroom) as well as whether they have enough space for holding and many other little things. The SAG Rep is basically there to bitch at people like me if they kids are being treated unfairly. More often than not, everything is fine, but on a day like today, when the cold is going to be their first target of bitching, I anticipate a lengthy talk with the Rep.

At which point I say "I don't know why we are so far, but maybe you should go ask Stacey the 2nd AD (Assistant Director." (This is what I've been instructed to do. Passing the buck, refusing to accept blame for your mistakes, or rather, deflecting responsibility.)

2005-12-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

Limb by Limb

It's been awhile since I've posted so I'm going to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hopefully we all had a enough eats & drinks to fill us up till the New Year.

Meanwhile, back in the film world, I have some news. First, the film I worked on in September was accepted into Sundance and will compete this coming January. Since I have a percentage of the back end, I'm pulling for a good showing. (Unfortunately, none of us know the name yet, which can be a problem for securing distribution.) When it does get distribution, I'll let you all know.

On the current film, I've somehow managed to get different body parts into two different scenes. In the first scene, you will be able to see the tips of a pair of black shoes along with some of my ankles. (Granted, the ankles are under black pants and you'll have to ask me to pick out which pants are mine in the shot, but nonetheless, i have my feet in the movie)

Second body part occurred the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Actually, it happened ON Thanksgiving at 130am, but who's really paying attention.

...So the story is that the lead actress is sitting on her bed watching a TV that has another actor professing his love for her. In the scene, the actor playing her ex-boyfriend is supposed to be in bed with her trying to pull her back in as she watches. Unfortunately for the production, someone let the actor who is playing her ex-boyfriend go home for the night. Hence, they needed someone to fill in...and that person happened to be me. Well, sort of. When the movie premieres, and you see her model-esque ex-boyfriend in bed with her, and they cut to "his" arm pulling her back into bed while she is slapping it away, you'll know whose "should to hand" it really is.

Besides my bit by bit cameos in the film, the production has been plodding along with different problems. Mostly they center around money (as usual) and the shrinking budget that is being caused by slow days and too much overtime having to be paid out to crew and actors. Unfortunately, after Wednesday (which is a huge day for extras and crew. We have about 100 extras coming in on Tuesday and Wednesday) the production is letting people go for the final six days to save money. Once again, I am escaping the gauntlet of firings and am acquiring more tasks to do for the final days of shooting. Basically I’ll have to be responsible for all the walkie-talkie’s which isn’t terrible but it will be somewhat annoying since the kid leaving isn’t doing a very good job of making sure they aren’t being lost and or stolen.

Hmm what else…not much really. Lots of little things with work that I need to consolidate into a few more postings. I’ll try and compile them in the coming days.

2005-11-23T12:59:00.000-05:00

Elvis is not dead

Quick note for today, besides it being very miserable out, was my short elevator ride with two pretty cool people. One of which is the lead actor in the film (everyone should know this guy by now) and the other was Elvis but the one with a last name that goes with Abbot & _____.

They talked about Fig Newtons and the parallel snack food found in England.

The new Elvis, by the way, was very cool.

I should probably get some sleep now.

2005-11-21T12:58:00.000-05:00

What's the matter?? Rookie f*&^wad can't take a joke!?

As this is becoming a contant theme in the first 9 days, another person chose not to come to work today. I say "chose" because at least this one quit. Right now the fired/quit toll is at 4:

2 Director's Assistants (both fired)

1 Sound operator (fired)

Production Assistant in charge of paperwork (quit).

As you might expect, I was a little worried to hear about the latest quitter when I arrived to set 45 minutes late after my truck had it's battery drained over the weekend by the light thatw as left on in thge back (by yours truly).

Thankfully I need not worry since they were going to give me all of her responsibilities until they hired a new PA that will start next Monday. I think my job is safe for now.

Next time, when someone asks you if you are a God, you say YES!

2005-11-20T12:57:00.000-05:00

Welcome to "The Suck"

I’m guessing this is going to be a regular thing for the next few weeks. A “regular thing” meaning waiting until the weekend to write new blog entries since I’m a little too out of it during the week.

This past week started out fairly well but went a little haywire on Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday we were on sound stages filming a fake reality show and it was the first days for the new actress I mentioned in my previous post. To sum up her on both days in a few words: SHE S-U-C-K-S. Seriously, she is a terrible person and a major diva for someone whose career never really took off. Basically, everyone thinks that she should just do some straight-to-DVD movies form now on and get over herself.

Ok, ok, so moving on to Wednesday. Wednesday turned out to be one hell of a day. First, the woman who was supposed to unlock the location for us overslept. With this making everything late and consequently pushing our day behind by two hours, it really sucked. Luckily, when you have Grips (the guys on set who build things) and Gaffers (The people who make all the lights work), they can make things like…say…take the door of the location off its hinges so we can access the inside. Took_the_door_off_its_hinges. Yeah, I didn’t know that until later in the day. And the woman didn’t even care. That alone would make the production staff pissed off but then we had more problems with the actors. A second headache was controlling 40 extras for the fake fundraiser/cocktail party we were shooting. This being my department, I was a little overwhelmed having to deal with that many people. (The most I dealt with before was about 15). Overall they weren’t too bitchy but some of them basically had to have a stern talking to by myself before they tried to take over the place. The production also had to deal with a fender bender around the corner from set, which set back the Production Supervisors’ day by about two hours.

Thursday the production was in Queens which was my second time in the borough. The house we were at was nice, but nothing special. The biggest thing that happened was a small revolt by the Grips, Gaffers, and the Prop departments. Basically, the “deal” that was told to these departments regarding pay, meal penalties, and union stuff was not the “deal” that is written in stone right now. Money is at the heart of it, and the departments involved were getting and maybe still are getting…screwed. From what I could ascertain through pieces of several conversations is that the VP of the their union may decide to have them all walk off the job in protest. I don’t know where they are with that now, but I’ll keep you updated. One of the people from the film who had to deal with all of this at 1am Thursday night was not looking too happy after it happened.

Friday. Friday we were filming in Brooklyn right around the Manhattan bridge. It was a pretty standard day until one of the actors decided to tell the director that he didn’t want to do something. Basically, it went like that: (D)“Ok, now we are going to do a close up on ______.” (A)“I don’t think we should do a close up on me.” (D) “Listen, I make the decisions on what we shoot and what we don’t shoot, not you.” This all happened in a room full of about 40 people. Not good, not good at all. The actor then proceeds to walk off set, around the corner, until one of the producers chases after him. Kind of a spectacle.

Amid all this tension our second official week ends. 8 days down, 17 more to go. Tomorrow we are filming a music video with the lead female actress. Should be pretty fun and low key hopefully. The song is REALLY catchy, so I’m sure I won’t be able to get it out of my head tomorrow night.

In normal news, I had a great weekend, at an awesome wedding, and at a not so cool football game in great seats.

Cheers to the married couple. I wish you all the happiness in the world.

2005-11-12T12:56:00.000-05:00

Observations from Week 1

Yes, I know, I’m sorry I haven’t written anything in awhile. This week we started filming and the days preceding the first day on Wednesday were very hectic. The office was buzzing with many things to do and little time to get them done, and I was thankfully going to be out of there soon enough.

Tuesday was my last day in the office and it couldn’t have come a day sooner. The girl who replaced me is very nice and cool, but I already feel bad for her since she now has to deal with the constant phone calls and micromanaging of the office. Such is life, what can you do.

Wednesday was our first day and the city suddenly had a chill in the air. We were shooting on the upper east side near the 60’s which wasn’t too bad, and the side street we were on wasn’t too busy. Luckily we had traffic control police to close the street for any extended period of shooting. The day went mostly well as far as first days can go with a new crew. People are still getting accustomed to each other and some are in charge of things that they have never gotten to do before (like me) and so it has been quite an adaptive process.

Here are some of the highlights of the past two days.

Thursday

We shot all day in Chinatown which can be a tiresome prospect unto itself. Getting people, mostly people who can speak about the words of English, to understand you when you tell them to hold on the corner for a shot, is nearly impossible. Providing what we call a “lock up” is hard enough with any city dweller mainly because no one wants to be told what to do. Everyone is late for something. Everyone wants to walk around ten orange cones stacked neatly across from each other blocking the way. This is the life of a Production Assistant. Sit, wait for the cameras to roll, and try and hold people from walking directly into the frame. People hate us when we do it, no matter how nice we are, and unfortunately, things happen that are out of a PA’s control.

Take, for instance, one piece of Thursday night. A woman was approaching a corner of the street which I had my back to. The PA standing there asked the woman if she could please wait for thirty seconds and then she could cross. We needed the street to look empty like it was in the middle of the night. This meant no one could pass through any part of the 6-point intersection (it sucked to deal with). This woman was on her cell phone. This woman did not want to stop. This woman decided to cross the street in the middle of the road.

At this exact point, a man driving a black Acura was driving down the main cross street, probably rubber necking to see the film being made (and how you could you miss us with a huge spotlight on a crane suspended 50 feet in the air), going about 30 mph. He looked at us, and then he looked at her hitting his car…She never knew what hit her. All I heard was a loud thump and screaming…enough screaming to make your body shake. The woman was hit dead on at full speed and the man didn’t skid. He hit her and she flipped onto the hood of his car and then fell back on the ground. It was an ugly scene and I’m glad I didn’t actually see her get hit. Other PA’s did though, and they said they were afraid of nightmares from the images.

Friday

Nothing terrible happened with pedestrians. Overall nothing bad happened at all really. It was a mostly chilly day with a lot of wind during the afternoon but it died down a bit late at night. We were in the meatpacking district for the day and night which was cool. Friday night in the meatpacking district wasn’t exactly quiet, but it worked out well. I did get to pick up a new actress to our film so she could come to set and meet everyone. Most guys would know her from the film where she starred as the girlfriend to the girl who was in “Let it Ride.” If you can follow those pieces, than you can figure out who she is. She was nice enough, but from a few choice things she said in the car, I can tell she is going to be a handful, and possibly might be a prima donna. We’ll see soon enough. She starts her scenes on Monday.

One other fun thing that happened last night was that we went to one of the main actor’s girlfriends bar that she works at. If you have been following my stories, he was the one who invited me to hang out at his place a few weeks ago. Pretty fun to drink with a cool actor. He didn’t drink though. He says he doesn’t have any drinks while he is working. So I guess we won’t see him drunk for a month or so.

Whew! That was a lot to write. Sorry it was so long, but when I don’t post, things accumulate. Week 1 is done. Now, we move along…

2005-11-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

Two things I could be doing in 7 days

In the past 24 hours, I was told about two things I COULD be doing in the next 7 days. Here they are in order of arrival:

1. Offered work on an Adam Sandler movie for Friday and Saturday. This was turned down by the Production Coordinator because she couldn't "lose" me for Friday.

2. Offered work at a CBS runway show for Victoria Secret next Wednesday. As this is the first day of shooting for the film, I had to turn it down.

Just some of the fun stuff going around right now. I'm sure I'll work with Adam one day.

Oh, and I happened to be at the NYC Screen Actors Guild office today. The girl at the front desk was seated behind 3 inch thick plexi-glass. So...umm...are they that concerned with disgruntled actors coming after the receptionist? W-o-w.

2005-11-01T12:55:00.000-05:00

Debunking the Myth

Every week it seems, a few films enter the Cineplex with big stars and big budgets and they look AWFUL. You know that feeling when you see the trailer and you just know, deep down inside, that it is going to be incredibly bad, but you don’t know why a studio would drop 50 million dollars on a sci-fi comedy love drama with Will Ferrell and Christina Ricci. The whole process boggles the mind especially when so many films are being made and you one going into thousands of theaters that obviously has no chance of making the money back.

When seeing these films, I begin to wonder: A) Did the stars in this film think it was going to be great and something happened along the way to make it bad (marketing, editing, the director was crazy), or B) They did it just for the paycheck.

Now, I have only quizzed one actress on this so far, and I’ll be sure to try and probe others with it, but the one answer I got back was pretty funny. On the last film I worked on, one unnamed actress told me about one film that she did where this exact conundrum applies. On one of the rides home that I was giving her, I asked the very same question. Do actors know the film is going to suck BEFORE it comes out, or do they just do it for the money?

In answering, she said that some do it for the money, some others have to do the bad films because they have contracts with the big studios (you can’t make the oscar-worthy film without making some crap ones), and some, like her, had a feeling the film would be terrible but they weren’t completely sure. When she started to discuss the film that went in the wrong direction (I asked the name and she didn’t really hold back), I initially was like “oh, I’ve never heard of that film before.” But, the more she discussed the premise, when it came out, and who starred in it, it all started to sound familiar. I decided to ask again what the name was, and in fact, I misunderstood what she originally said. I had heard of the film she was talking about, and I even SAW IT IN THE THEATER.

After she laughed about that for a good five minutes she says “well I think you were one of the ten people that did see it.”

Hopefully in the future, I’ll have more statistics to add to this list, but right now I only have one. Thankfully, that one was one I’d actually heard of and seen.

2005-10-25T12:38:00.000-04:00

Moving at a steady pace

When I initially took the job that I am working on now, I was offered work on two other films. The first one was for a film that was going to be shooting for ten days in the city with a crew that had already been working for a month or two in Israel shooting the rest of the film. While I was excited to get the opportunity to work on another film so soon after my first one was finished, I was soon offered work on another, bigger, cooler film in the same day.

The bigger, cooler film would have been 19 days of work outside of Philadelphia. It would have meant working in a summer blockbuster if only for a few weeks. It would have been, well, pretty cool. But, in the end, I decided to take the assured work of almost three months and gain several other valuable pieces to my career.

First, after having worked for four weeks on my previous film, I only needed another 4 more working in the city to be eligible for the freelancer’s union and health benefits. Second, after working in the office for a month, I would then be working on set for 25 days while we would be shooting. The days are the important thing to note here. In order to gain access to the union responsible for assistant directors, you need 600 days of on-set work as an ordinary production assistant. There are ways around the 600 days like working in the locations department on commercials or other random departments that somehow cut down on the amount you need (I think working with locations cuts the number down by a lot, but I haven’t got a concrete number yet). And third, working on set, on a bigger budget film, with a crew that is more established, would give me more contacts and avenues to pursue once this film had ended.

Why am I even mentioning this? Well, these are all the positives that I thought would keep me on the fast track to gaining a lot of valuable assets in only a few short months. After Friday afternoon however, I learned that a few of these assumptions aren’t exactly in the pipeline right now…

As of right now, I will still have no problem gaining the necessary days to get health insurance, so that’s check #1. As for the second and third positives, they are both up in the air. On Friday night, the assistant director pulled me aside and told me that the Production Supervisor (the guy who gave me work on this job after having worked with him on the last film) spoke to him and told him I wanted to be on set. The problem is, most of the positions for on-set production assistants are already filled up. I’ve been in talks with the AD and 2nd AD about where I might be able to fit, but it’s not a sure thing that I would be able to move out of the office (ugh).

The good thing about this situation is that I have heard from several people that the Production Supervisor is persistently asking and pushing for me to get on set because he knows what I want to do.

It’s always good to have someone with power on your side. Updates to follow.

2005-10-19T12:38:00.000-04:00

Almost went in...

...but I decided against it. So last night I had to drop off a script to one of the principle actors. After knocking on his door for a few minutes (I've been told that that might not work too well) I decided to shove the script through the not-so-large-enough mail slot(Iwas also told to do this as a last resort). As soon as I was kneeling down the door starts to unlock and I jump up. After a few pleasantries I hand him the script and he immediately asks if I want to come in for a drink. Ummm...what the hell do I say?

Should I go in?

Should I politely decline because who knows how long I'd end up staying or what I might end up drinking?

Decisions, decisions.

In the split second that this occurred, I fumbled with the words "No thanks, I still have to drop off another script," and I was on my way. It was pretty cool to get the offer, so hopefully it's still there another time down the road.

I guess it isn't a bad thing to drive the actors around. They start offering short pit stops!

2005-10-17T12:36:00.000-04:00

It’s all about what You see and Hear
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of driving while working. If something needs to get done, I usually pack some cd’s and make my way out into the wonderful New York City traffic. Thankfully this week looks to be a little less wet so going on runs aren’t as difficult and taxing.

This morning I was able to go to a few different sound stages and take pictures for the film. We are in need of space that will double as a Music Awards show area, as well as some dressing rooms so I got to take my camera out and be all by my lonesome for about three hours.

Most of the places I sent were pretty empty, as they were either gearing up for a new production or they were cleaning out one. (I think one just finished a White Stripes video the day before, but I’m not completely sure).

The first one, however, was easily the coolest. Current shows that film their range from feature films to bigger HBO series like The Sopranos as well as Sex in the City (when it was on). Silvercup Studios is the name and in my mind, is probably more recognizable because of its role in one of the better 80’s sci-fi movies around. “Highlander” used the rooftop and interior stages for the final scenes of the film and since I’ve seen the film WAY too many times, I thought it was pretty damn cool to be walking around where thousands of pieces of glass shattered 20 years before. And yes, I know how lame that sounds, but it’s the little things that can get you through the day.

I’ve been trying to catch up on my movie rentals with my new Netflix subscription so I pounded out two more over the weekend: “Million Dollar Baby” and Y Tu Mama Tambien.” I haven’t seen both even though I have heard so much about either of them. I must say I’m usually not a fan of Clint Eastwood and his directing style, which is why it has taken me so long to see his latest. I don’t know, I just don’t believe the hype when people call him such a great director. Usually when I think of a great director I think more stylistically along with the story as opposed to a purely great story and minimal input from the director (which is what I feel Eastwood does a lot: great stores…kind of boring direction). I do have to say that I thought “Million Dollar Baby” had more style and creativity that most of his previous works. It was a good film, and I’m glad I saw it finally. Kind of a downer though. “Y Tu Mama Tambien” I watched for…ummm…about 35 minutes before I turned to my roommate and asked if she actually cared what happened. We both agreed that we didn’t. it takes a lot for me to not finish a film and I sent this one packing without getting halfway through. The combination of the subtitles and lack of conflict (or anything happening of interest for that matter) didn’t make me want to watch it further. I didn’t think it was horrible but people talked it up so much so I expected much more. I mean, people thought “The English Patient” was good too.

Yeah, not really.

2005-10-13T12:35:00.000-04:00

Another late Wednesday note
Besides the nervous meeting with our film’s star, I also got to see a friend of mine from the previous film I worked on. She was actually auditioning for a role in this film and it was completely random to actually be in the office when she was around. On the previous film she was the lead actress and on most mornings I was the one picking her up and taking her to set so we got to know each other very well.

I do have to say that it brightened up my day to see her. We had spent almost an entire month talking about random things and getting to know each other that I guess I didn’t realize how cool it was to hang out. She is a tremendously sweet girl and she is in two huge movies coming out in the next two months so I’m really pulling for her. I plan on seeing both as soon as they come out if only to support her, while also boosting the box office (not that I wouldn’t want to see her do well on her own, but I’m sure our film from last month would do better if she hit it big J).

I also saw two movies in the last two days that I feel are of note.

The first of which was “The Squid and the Whale,” which tells the tale of a couple and their two boys living in Brooklyn circa 1986. The couple decides to get separated, and the ensuing hour and a half are really quite funny. The entire film has a Wes Anderson milieu to it, but in a younger sense. It has traces of “Rushmore” more so than it does “The Life Aquatic,” if that makes any sense. Anyway, it’s definitely worth the ticket price even in NYC.

The second film I watched was “Tadpole.” I do have to say, after a lot of mixed reviews from friend and family, that I actually liked it. It had a nice rhythm to it and a sweetness that wasn’t too too over the top. It had moments where it definitely jumped into the cheesy realm, but for the most part I enjoyed it.

2005-10-12T12:34:00.000-04:00

Realizations
Today in NYC was, to sum it up shortly, VERY WET. Wow. There was a lot of rain everywhere today and from what it looks like that is how its going to be for the next couple of days. Flash flood warnings, subways not working because of floods, two hour waits to get through the Holland Tunnel, and watching people fight with the subway conductors after trains stop running…all in a day’s work in Manhattan.

Besides today being a very wet day, it was also a day that was somewhat exciting. Granted I did A LOT of driving around the island today (three times back and forth into Brooklyn as well) but a few things happened that definitely set it apart. At around 1030am I was asked to go pick up one of the lead actors from his apartment. I had seen him in a few bigger movies and was excited to see how he was in person. One thing that was mentioned about him is that he tends to leave stuff behind (bags, cell phones, etc.) so you kind of need to politely remind him just in case he has left something. For the record, I had to bring him his backpack later at night. No one listens I guess. After meeting him, I can see that he’s a really nice guy, down to earth, and overall pretty cool.

By 1130am we are back at the office and I am soon sent out on another errand. The rain is coming down sideways now and it doesn’t really matter if you have an umbrella that covers your whole body, because the rain will find a way to soak you.

Soon after I return in the early afternoon, and about to go right back out to do another errand, I am asked to take the actor I drove in earlier, but also the lead actor. Now, this is where things get a little different. As I’ve said before, I’m a total dork when it comes to seeing celebrities and being somewhat in awe. Every time I have seen one or worked with one, I can pretty much play the whole thing off and act like they are completely normal people (which they are), but today was a new ballgame.

As I’ve probably told most people reading this, the lead actor has been in many movies that we have all seen. He’s usually pretty funny but can also play dramatic roles and seems to pop up when you least expect him. Well, when he got into the car today, I was immediately nervous. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if I should talk him up or just be quiet. I didn’t know if he was nice or a loner. I guess I’ve always thought he was really funny and cool and driving him to his house was just a little surreal at the moment.

I usually never get nervous when I meet actors or actresses. Usually they are just like everyone else (some are nice and some are jerks), and then you move on to regular conversations. But today, it was different. I’ve always respected this guy, and even though he hasn’t really been a huge leading actor, he has been around for a long time and has done some great stuff.

The whole experience was interesting especially since I’m sure I’ll be driving them and then female lead, sometime in the future, again.

Making movie magic. Pretty cool.

2005-10-10T12:33:00.000-04:00

It gives you Wings
Random note on this fine Columbus Day morning....

I just realized that all the guys going to the fourth floor look like they could have stepped right out of my fraternity house. Whether it be faded jeans and crew cut, or the faded Yankees or Red Sox cap, these guys all look like they just woke up from a two-day bender.

And what do you know, the Red Bull offices are on the fourth floor.

Seriously, these guys all look like they had to have two red bulls in the morning to get themselves into work. Must be a fun place to sell stuff.

Also, everything was practically empty this morning on public transportation. It was sooooo nice to have an uncrowded train. Downside is, all those people are sleeping right now and I'm at work.

2005-10-07T12:32:00.000-04:00

Rounding out the Cast
On Monday I started working on a new film that will keep me busy until the holiday season. New offices, new people (mostly), and a bigger budget. All of which are cool things to have on a new project. The budget of this film is significantly larger than the previous one I worked one. (Think 30x the budget, but that just seems like A LOT because of the previous film’s odd way of financing and getting big name talent to sign up).

Yesterday started up as a pretty awful day. For the second straight morning I had a persistent headache that I could not get rid of. Glass after glass of water and some ibuprofen did NOT help and thus I was in a pretty irritable mood. These factors definitely contributed to a morning filled with people being overly irritating and caustic (in my mind anyway). The one saving grace about yesterday occurred after I had just gotten my lunch. A member of the casting agency asked if I could help escort actors and actresses from the kitchen to the front door after they were done. Supposedly the people working on another film (based on the book that inspired “Sex in the City”) get a little perturbed when people accidentally come even close to their workspace. So, I served as an official escort.

Before I even begin to talk about this, I must let you know I am a huge nerd when it comes to recognizing celebrities and actors and then telling friends of mine. Most friends seem to shrug it off and believe it is a part of living in a city like New York, but every time I see someone, I think it’s cool and exciting. I’m still a little kid in that respect.

But back to the escort duty. The resulting three hours were less than boring mostly because I got to meet so many character actors that I had seen in movies throughout my life. One completely over-the-top New York actor was pretty funny (I recognized him as one of the teenage friends in “A Bronx Tale”) and so he was cool to talk to. Another older gentlemen talked to me for about 20 minutes about how what it was like to be an actor in the 1950’s and 60’s and even now. He showed me his resume, and to my surprise because I didn’t recognize him, he had been in such films as all three “Godfathers” as well man other known films like “Once Upon a Time in America.” We discussed Elia Kazan (directed “On the Waterfront” and “A Streetcar Named Desire”) as well as the influx of people wanted to be on screen that can’t act to save their lives. Talking to him was an insight into an older school of acting and I’m glad I got to sit with him for awhile.

These were only a few that I encountered that really stood out. Another guy I met is easily identifiable as either an army lieutenant or a frat house player, while two or three others fit the mold of “stereotypical New York character actor that you’ve seen many times, but can’t place the film.”

Overall, it ended being a pretty cool day. This was definitely a day that I would look forward to if they ever let me sit there again for three hours chatting up actors and actresses old and new (the production coordinator vetoed that proposal since she couldn’t use me for anything that whole time).

I guess the magic of the big screen still captivates me. I mean, why would I want to do anything else?

2005-10-06T12:30:00.000-04:00

True Hollywood Story: The Production Assistant
The Beginning...

So I’ve tried the blog thing before and I’ve gotten very bored with it VERY quickly. Mostly, I get bored with whatever I write because I don’t feel like it is A) very insightful, or B) interesting to anyone but myself (and I even debate that one once in awhile).

That being said, I have gotten myself into the career I’ve always wanted, and Jonathan has prodded me into believing that two people might read this if I keep it up to date. So I’ll give it a try, and if it gets too boring then just let me know (both of you) and I’ll disable the boring blog.

“The Untitled Project”

At the beginning of September I began work on my first feature film. As I’m sure most people reading this will know, I worked solely on commercials before, so this would be a different experience than what I was used to. First, we have the money factor. Commercial production companies are given so much money to produce :30 and :60 second spots it is ridiculous. Ergo the pay is better, and more people are on the job. Second, the level of productivity is high. Due to the short nature of most commercial shoots, and the large bags of money (with big dollar signs on them) being thrown around, things need to get done quickly, efficiently, and without complaint. For the most part, I have worked with exceptional production assistants who do their job, they don’t complain, and most important, they are smart people. They do what needs to be done.

With my limited experience to the film world encompassing a smaller budget film, the things I experienced previously are not quite the same. With much less money than most of the commercials I worked on, we didn’t have the same amount of staff as well as the same kind of quality coming out of the PA department. Granted, everyone worked hard at some point or another. Some worked harder than others and some just bitched all the time. Like I said before, if something needs to be done in the commercial world, it gets done, no questions asked. For the film I just finished, a request was usually met by phrases like “That’s not my job,” “I can’t leave THIS spot,” or this one (which I love the best) “I should be entitled to the full hour for lunch.” Basically, lots of excuses, lots of complaining. The amount of bitching that continuously came out of the PA’s was AMAZING. Seriously, these people need to find another job route because I know I would never recommend them to another film or commercial.

Alright, that was enough informative bitching to start off my new blog career.

Next up…I’ll have some stories about the new film and other little good pieces of gossip.

Cheers