TILL DEATH

I love working shows that are taped in front of a live audience.  They're usually short days and the crew generally has a very good attitude (since they're almost always comedies).  Today we shot at the Sony Studios lot and I feel like I'd been here before, but I just couldn't remember when or for what show.

I felt like I'd seen the director before on How I Met My Mother.  The crew were all dressed like each other and it was hilarious how close they got to the real thing.  A few of them dressed like the director so it was fun seeing the director's face when he walked in.

I was seated in a margarita bar and the scene was the first one of the day.  The nice thing was that we were wrapped right after the scene was shot.  We worked just three hours from start to finish.  Mary and I decided to walk around the lot to their store because she wanted to buy the 007 DVD, but unfortunately, the store was closed for the day.  I guess it had something to do with Halloweenie.

OPERATION FABULOUS

Another show from the creators of Project Runway starring Ms. Jay and Mr. Jay.  I was a paid audience member watching contestants who made themselves over based on the Jays' advice.  We saw them do some runway and viewed some model shots that were taken of them.

Working audience generally sucks because there really isn't any kind of acting involved except your enthusiasm.  Then again, one might be able to say the same thing about background in general.  However, audience work also means no food, catering or craft services.  Only water is usually provided.

The cool thing about working the show today was that I saw some of my fellow backgrounders.  It's always nice to see them and catch up.  I was also lucky enough to be in the rear of the audience so I was able to sign-out pretty quickly.  The other cool thing was that it was held in Descanso Gardens, a place I would never have known about had I not worked this show.  I'll have to visit it again someday.

BROTHERS & SISTERS #2

I was a little worried about the late call-time, but when I got to base camp in Pasadena, I found out they had started the day pretty early in the morning.  That meant I would have a short day, but when it gets dark and you're sitting around the set waiting to work, it gets boring and you start to feel sleepy.

Since many of us didn't have lunch, we all started getting hungry and it was nice to hear that the craft services truck had El Pollo Loco ready for us to eat.  I was a little worried about eating because early this morning, I woke up as my body heated up in a cold sweat.  I felt like barfing and pooping at the same time and worried it was something I ate.  But what?  Was it the salt & pepper chips I pigged out on before going to sleep?  Or was it something else?  I never figured it out.  One suspicion was whatever my brother fed me yesterday, but no one else complained of any symptoms, so it must have been whatever I ate.  Heck, it could even be the Juice It Up drink I had.

I played a Narcotics Anonymous member so I received an herbal cigarette for a prop.  They are hard to light and hard to smoke, but they smell like crap and leave a similar stink to your hands as cigarettes.  When I was checking out, the PA didn't believe I was a smoker and claimed I wasn't smoking.  I said I was and wrote smoke on my voucher.  I hate it when PAs always think you're trying to rip them off.  I also didn't like how he simply ignored me when I asked him if he could tell me where the bathroom was in between takes.  I just think it's really unprofessional.  I guess I know why some extras feel like they are treated like shit.

THE AMAZING MRS. NOVAK

I knew exactly what this show was about when I called the information line.  I had seen the British mini-series (The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard) and got really bored with it after one episode.  It's interesting that so many tv series are based on other shows that have done well in other parts of the world.  It makes me wonder if any shows are really original.

This was an AFTRA show and for some reason, AFTRA shows make me think of a little lower quality.  But in fact, it really isn't.  Everyone was professional and I even saw some 2nd 2nds from other shows.  I guess it's all a revolving door.

I was able to take a nap in the morning because they didn't end up using any of us for the news crew scene.  Instead, they just used us for a crowd scene where we watched Mrs. Novak make a speech.  The main actress looked familiar, but I couldn't place her.  Turns out she was Amy Pietz, the mom on one of my favorite shows "Aliens in America" (now cancelled).  Her skin looked horrible for some reason, and she looked really skinny.  Apparently, the series will air on Lifetime.

DIRTY SEXY MONEY #3

We shot on location inside LA City Hall, the same exact location the very first time I worked this show.  I got to base camp early since the line said something about breakfast being provided if we arrived early.  So I walked down a few blocks to where catering was set-up and had breakfast with Diane, a musician who just got started in the acting business.

We walked back, checked-in and hung out in the holding area until they were ready for us.  The hallway shot was a simple cross and then after a few other takes where I was placed deep inside another hallway, we waited until the courtroom scene was ready for us.

When it was ready, I was seated somewhere near the middle of the courtroom.  The scene had a young girl testifying and saying how she didn't want the state to take her dad away.  We did a simple reaction, and before we knew it, we were wrapped.

The same PA guy that annoyed me was there, but he wasn't so annoying this time around, probably because it wasn't so hot today.  He even complimented me on my tie as he signed me out.

DAVID ALLEN GRIER DOES MAYA ANGELOU

I hope this video is still on the site down the line. It is hilarious. I've always thought Grier was talented, but now I'm certain of it.

Click on Maya Angelou's Benediction when you get to the site.

SAMANTHA WHO #10

A nice, short day today after being booked as a newspaper reporter. Sonya, the 2nd AD, actually complimented me for providing a different look than when I was a coffee shop patron earlier in the week.

The scene was simple. It takes place after a basketball game and the reporters converge in the locker room to interview the star player. He is dating Samantha's friend and she sneaks in pretending to be part of the press so she can ask him why he's ignoring her calls.

We were supposed to react to Samantha's odd questions and then I realized how difficult it actually was to create a believable expression. Acting is definitely a craft and you need to work on your craft to get better at it.

The star player was actually a pretty cool guy and kept encouraging all the extras after each take. He and one of the extras actually played college ball and some pro-ball in other countries. They got older and had to find another way to generate income so they got into acting. Again I was reminded how everyone in the industry has a story, all of them rich and complex.

CSI NY #7

I'm surprised how many times I've worked this show. It's slowly become the 2nd most worked on program in my short background career. Oddly, I still don't know the PA's name or the 2nd AD. This show uses so many extras, I highly doubt they would remember my name.

I was booked as a driver and got to location early. It was in downtown LA near Pershing Square which is where this show seems to shoot quite often. I guess the streets look a little like New York.

The scene is an armored car heist and I'm simply one of the cars that is on the street. However, they never used my car either because the hood of my car looks like shit, or because by pure chance, I ended up driving to the back of the car line.

I was bored since I just sat in the car most of the time waiting for instruction. The only interesting point came when the 2nd AD yelled at me for backing up to park rather than going around the block.

I had good conversation with one of my fellow drivers who moved here from Memphis after a failed marriage. You never really know how or why people end up working background, but people do it and they have their reasons. Some people are really trying to be actors and I have to say that I'm always impressed by their desire.

Luckily, I was wrapped just early enough to not face the height of rush hour. I got home and actually worked out. I felt so weak and knew that I'm out of shape.

TIME WARNER ALL THE BEST (& WORST)

Today, the transition to Time Warner's All The Best package (in which you receive cable, internet and phone for one "low" price) was finally completed. It took an entire month from the time they first came to install the package to when everything finally started to work right.

There were so many issues, I can't say I would ever recommend switching over. I knew I had to expect something unexpected would happen when the crew first arrived. The tech realized the wires were not properly grounded to the electric panel. So he ordered a construction crew to properly ground the cable wire.

When the crew came a week and a half later, they had to dig up a little tunnel all the way to the electric panel. But in order for the cable to continue working, he had to rig-up a temporary cable line that hung on top of the roof.

When the next tech came in to re-wire, I told him that I wanted the wires only to run within the walls. He said he couldn't do it because he didn't know how and that they were not allowed to. So I rescheduled another appointment to wait for a standard rewiring to take place.

I waited and waited and discovered that no one showed up. I didn't even receive a phone call! So it turns out they had rescheduled the appointment without ever telling me. However, I did discover a phone message later that day and realized that they did in fact call. Nevertheless, I was issued a credit for the tech not showing up (it's an on-time guarantee). This guarantee haunted me later since I received four additional credit because of techs not showing up on time.

So the next crew that came out wasn't the original tech I requested. It was a contractor who ended up wiring some lines around the house. They had to go through the attic and down the side of the house. I'd rather not have that, but until we get a contractor to make the house cable ready with wires within the walls of the home, there wasn't anything I could do.

The next issue was the phone service. They could only get one phone to work because there was something wrong with the other phone lines within the house. So another guy who specializes in phone systems had to go into the attic and rewire some things. Unfortunately, he couldn't get the phone system to work with our Brinks alarm system.

It was one issue after another. So I had to call Brinks in to have them re-wire the system so that it would be compatible with Time Warner's VoIP phone service. That was a charge that I hated to pay, but what can you do? So I asked Time Warner if they could give me a credit so it would off-set the charge that Brinks was charging.

Throughout this entire ordeal, our cable service went in and out. Several channels just didn't get a signal or were scrambled and tiled. After changing out some cables and replacing the splitter for the second time (one that provided one split with a higher signal than the other one), it finally all came together.

Was it worth it? If I did a purely cost analysis, it will probably save money after a year. But in terms of inconvenience and frustration, I can't say it was worth it. Only time will tell.

SAMANTHA WHO #9

It's official! I have now worked on Samantha Who as much as Jericho. The biggest difference is that I was getting paid union on Jericho and non-union on Samantha Who. What will happen when I join the union? I haven't seen a lot of the folks I saw from Jessica's AList on Samantha Who, so does that mean they're not booking people from Jessica or that only non-union people get on Samantha?

Anyway, it was surprising how many people showed up today that had never worked on the show. Since it takes place in Chicago, a lot of the scenes are shot outside (made to look like some yuppie street). So there are a lot of extras doing crosses while the cast is inside a sound stage made to look like a cafe. What I'm trying to say is that the busy street gives lots of people work, but is nearly invisible to anyone watching the show. Couldn't they use the money saved from cutting down on the extras to providing lunch to the extras? Sam Who is one of the few shows that I've worked on that doesn't provide a catered lunch. Maybe they will if they get to season 3.

In the cafe scene, the 2nd AD had me cross during a specific line that Christina Applegate says. I listened and listened and never heard her say the line. So when the scene cut, I knew I blew it. Good thing it was just a rehearsal. On the first real take, I never heard the line again but decided to just make my way out there and just wing it. I didn't hear a complaint, so I figured maybe I went at the right time.

In the 2nd take, I listened again and never heard the line. I thought I might have gone too early on the first take and that's why I never heard the line. But I decided to just go and knew I didn't cross at the same time as the first take. So when I returned, the 2nd AD pleaded with me to go at the correct time.

I didn't want to argue with her, but I knew I was having trouble hearing Christina say her line. Well, it turns out she never says the damn line and that's why I was waiting for nothing. So in conclusion, if you ever work background, it really doesn't matter what the line is. Just cross around the same time you first crossed and all should be well.

When I drove home, I caught the Dodger game at the top of the 8th inning. They are currently in a playoff series against the Phillies. They just need to win this and they're in the World Series (but more importantly for me, I win $350 fake money from my Oddsmaker.com account). They were up by two runs and as I drove, the Phillies rallied and were up by two runs all of a sudden. When I got home, the Dodgers had a chance to come back but never did. I guess I'm bad luck.

ELEVENTH HOUR #2

I'm not sure if I'm liking working on this show too much. The first time, I was stuck in a car (albeit playing hooky) and this time I worked in a bathing suit. I guess I can say, oh my first time working in board shorts, but I wasn't that excited.

Don't get me wrong. It's nice working around lots of bikinis and wet t-shirts (it was a spring break hotel scene), but it gets old when you're doing take after take. Thankfully, I had a lot of action during the first scene when I was pulled aside by a PA to be part of a specific group of people. The main actor in this particular scene must have been a stunt man because he falls after taking a lethal dose of some kind of drink.

He was good because he made his fall look so real, one of the extras kind of yelped after the scene started and kept asking why no one was doing anything. I thought she was doing a pretty good job of acting, but then realized that she was dead serious. We tried not to laugh, but basically whispered to her that he was just acting. Then she smiled and probably felt foolish, but I warned her that the cameras were rolling and that she shouldn't be smiling.

Strangely, no one got a "wet" bump. You're supposed to get a bump in pay when you get wet, but perhaps the idea is that the wet isn't really additional (since it's a pool). Nevertheless, I think there's some ripping off going on here.

SAMANTHA WHO #8

I think Samantha Who may now be the show I've worked on the most. Actually, Jericho still reigns supreme, but I only have to work the show one more time and I'll be tied with Jericho at nine times. Either I look like someone from Chicago, have a young, hip look and/or the casting agent's Filipino background is helping me. Whatever the case may be, I'm diggin' it.

Today was a short day (8 hours) but it felt shorter for some reason. Maybe it was because I ate in the commissary again or maybe it was because I worked on the set much of the time. It sure beats working outside and doing crosses. Sitting inside a set with the actors is so much more fun. I guess it's something about the camera being present and actually hearing the principals working their lines.

I didn't get much sleep last night so when I got back home, I took a really long nap.

$700,000,000,000 BAILOUT

I visited my friend Tyler this afternoon since I was in Orange County getting a credit on work the mechanic did to my car.

We discussed the 700 billion dollar bailout and cracked a few jokes about it.  First, how does this bailout affect the average guy?  What happens if Congress doesn't do anything and the bill doesn't pass?  Would anyone really be affected?

With so much on the line, why hasn't Congress spent more time educating the American people about what exactly this bailout will do?  All we're getting is a guarantee that there are no guarantees and that maybe, just maybe, all this money will get paid back once the economy gets better.  But what if it gets worse?

What if Congress just divided all the money up and gave each citizen a million dollars?  Wouldn't that be a better economic incentive?  Wouldn't that help everyone out rather than just Wall Street?  As I tried to figure out how much each citizen would receive if the 700 billion were divided by the population of the United States, I realized I couldn't even enter 700 billion into my calculator.