JERICHO
Jericho was actually canceled its first season, but due to fan demand, CBS ordered seven more episodes for its second season.
I regretted signing-up for this gig because it was in Simi Valley. I forgot just how far Simi Valley is, but I didn't feel so bad when one of the other extras told me he drove from Fullerton.
We shot in Big Sky Ranch, site of where Bonanza was shot, so as I drove through the dirt road and saw the rolling hills, all I could think in my head was, "dum da da dum da da dum da da dum da da dom domm . . ."
As I got out of my car, the heat enveloped me and it was just 8:30 am. I had a feeling it would be a long day. I got in the van that drove us to base camp. I could see all the stars' trailers from the top of the hill and one big white tent that I knew I would be spending the next few hours inside.
Wardrobe didn't like what I was wearing so she had me put on some brown jeans and a long sleeve gray top. I had to admit, it looked a lot better than what I was wearing.
Afterwards, I went into the holding area which was also the feeding tent. Thankfully, they had generators running that blew air conditioning into the tent. If they didn't have that going, it would have been very, very hot.
Most of us in the holding area started to get sleepy, but I found it too dusty inside the tent to be able to relax and fall asleep. I really have to get one of those folding chairs that I noticed a lot of other extras carry to the set. Some of them have leg extensions and even a head rest. I figured if I'm gonna buy one, I want one that's top of the line.
We were finally called to set after a couple of hours. We were given rifles and placed behind some trees. We were to come out of the trees and start blasting after a little warning. I got a bolt action Czech rifle that was a little awkward. The prop man asked us if we had ever used firearms before, and all of us nodded hesitantly. He just wanted to be sure that we didn't point them at anyone and to be sure the tip of the gun wasn't buried into the sand.
After a little cold rehearsal, the rifles were loaded with blanks. We also put some ear protection on. Skeet Ulrich, Ashley Scott, Bob Stephenson, Lennie James and Richard Speight were all in the shot. Out of all of them, Ashley and Richard were definitely the nicest ones (or at least they were the only ones that actually talked to me).
The first take was pretty mind blowing. I didn't realize blanks were so loud so a little panic set in when we started firing. Of course, my rifle jammed because I didn't pull the bolt hard enough. So I only got one shot off. However, on subsequent takes, I was able to empty the rifle.
In another scene, we had to walk through the brush after we had killed some of the enemy. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the pseudo-combat action, or maybe it was my general lack of physical fitness, but walking through that brush had me panting like Pavlov's dogs. It was tough!
We shot another scene afterwards and after each take, I noticed how serious Skeet Ulrich was as an actor. He really seemed to care about the craft and that's when I decided I shouldn't judge an actor's ability by the movies or tv shows he or she is in. Instead, I'll just pay attention to what they bring to the screen.
Jericho was actually canceled its first season, but due to fan demand, CBS ordered seven more episodes for its second season.
I regretted signing-up for this gig because it was in Simi Valley. I forgot just how far Simi Valley is, but I didn't feel so bad when one of the other extras told me he drove from Fullerton.
We shot in Big Sky Ranch, site of where Bonanza was shot, so as I drove through the dirt road and saw the rolling hills, all I could think in my head was, "dum da da dum da da dum da da dum da da dom domm . . ."
As I got out of my car, the heat enveloped me and it was just 8:30 am. I had a feeling it would be a long day. I got in the van that drove us to base camp. I could see all the stars' trailers from the top of the hill and one big white tent that I knew I would be spending the next few hours inside.
Wardrobe didn't like what I was wearing so she had me put on some brown jeans and a long sleeve gray top. I had to admit, it looked a lot better than what I was wearing.
Afterwards, I went into the holding area which was also the feeding tent. Thankfully, they had generators running that blew air conditioning into the tent. If they didn't have that going, it would have been very, very hot.
Most of us in the holding area started to get sleepy, but I found it too dusty inside the tent to be able to relax and fall asleep. I really have to get one of those folding chairs that I noticed a lot of other extras carry to the set. Some of them have leg extensions and even a head rest. I figured if I'm gonna buy one, I want one that's top of the line.
We were finally called to set after a couple of hours. We were given rifles and placed behind some trees. We were to come out of the trees and start blasting after a little warning. I got a bolt action Czech rifle that was a little awkward. The prop man asked us if we had ever used firearms before, and all of us nodded hesitantly. He just wanted to be sure that we didn't point them at anyone and to be sure the tip of the gun wasn't buried into the sand.
After a little cold rehearsal, the rifles were loaded with blanks. We also put some ear protection on. Skeet Ulrich, Ashley Scott, Bob Stephenson, Lennie James and Richard Speight were all in the shot. Out of all of them, Ashley and Richard were definitely the nicest ones (or at least they were the only ones that actually talked to me).
The first take was pretty mind blowing. I didn't realize blanks were so loud so a little panic set in when we started firing. Of course, my rifle jammed because I didn't pull the bolt hard enough. So I only got one shot off. However, on subsequent takes, I was able to empty the rifle.
In another scene, we had to walk through the brush after we had killed some of the enemy. Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the pseudo-combat action, or maybe it was my general lack of physical fitness, but walking through that brush had me panting like Pavlov's dogs. It was tough!
We shot another scene afterwards and after each take, I noticed how serious Skeet Ulrich was as an actor. He really seemed to care about the craft and that's when I decided I shouldn't judge an actor's ability by the movies or tv shows he or she is in. Instead, I'll just pay attention to what they bring to the screen.
posted by Tito Eddy at 11:55 PM
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