THE STARTER WIFE

Wow, it's been awhile since I've worked background. Getting up at 4 am wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. I guess when something feels novel to you, it's not so difficult being motivated. One of my brothers recently half-jokingly referred to me as unmotivated and I half-laughingly obliged. He knows me better than most and I think he's pretty right-on. What I've realized is that motivation can come from anywhere. It's really up to you to figure out whether something is worth it enough to go for it. It can be anything because at the end of the day, whether something gets accomplished and for whatever reason it got accomplished really doesn't matter. The act itself is done. Of course, that doesn't mean that the end justifies the means. It just means that whatever needed to be done is actually done.

I was one of the first people at the Culver Studios parking lot which sits right across the street from the studio and happens to be the same parking lot that Trader Joe's uses. I noticed a female get out of her car and head towards the studio, so I knew it was probably about the time to leave myself. The parking lot was pretty empty though, and when I worked on Las Vegas, it was much fuller. I thought the shoot must therefore be a lot smaller.

Many backgrounders showed up a little later inside the studio grounds and we began talking about various subjects. One of my favorites is how people get their first SAG voucher. It never gets old for me. I just need to figure out a way to record these stories because I've discovered that getting someone in background to write you an email is nearly impossible. Perhaps I can just get their names and do what Entertainment Weekly does and sign it "as told to Background Tales" (that's my somewhat feeble attempt at another blog by the way.)

We finally got checked-in and wardrobe made sure everyone looked pretty fancy. The Starter Wife stars Debra Messing as the ex-wife of a studio mogul so she runs around the filthy rich parts of town. The funny thing is that most backgrounders (otherwise known as extras) aren't even close to rich albeit filthy rich. But that's the beauty of Hollywood. It creates these mirages and fairy tales that seem so real, some people begin to forget what reality is. I remember that when my nieces were younger, they would always ask me if the movie they were watching was "real". "Well, they're real in the sense that these things are really happening, but they're not real in the sense that people are dying and getting hurt," I would try to explain. Then I would begin to think, hell, what is "real" to them? What is "reality"? How do you explain it? Then I would become uncle philosophy and begin to question reality and of course, they would slink away and begin playing Uno or go on Myspace.

After shooting one scene in which the principal actors are dining at an outdoor patio at a restaurant, the scene moved onto a toy store. Since they didn't need any additional pedestrians, I was able to take a nap. When I woke up after an hour or two, our PA told us that we would be wrapping very soon.

So today's shoot was a short one for me. A six-hour day and I got to go home and hang out in Brea with Jansen. We brought my Powerbook to the Apple store (which was packed with customers waiting for their iPhone) and dropped it off so they could take a look at it. It no longer starts-up and I suspect that the hard drive is toast.

Then we went to look for my skateboard helmet. We tried Active first, but theirs was too expensive so we went to Big 5 instead. I scored one for $20. Then we went to the park to chill and then it was back to his place to watch our friend's 20 minute horror movie. I liked it and hope he'll continue his craft. It's obvious there was work put into the movie, but the cinematography and some of the acting could use some help. But hey, you gotta start somewhere.