PARKS AND RECREATION

I was originally booked for a possible two-day call for some show.  Then I get a text saying they aren't going to be able to use me.  Bummer!  But the saving grace was that Adam (the casting guy from Central) said that he would try to get me on another show.  I was surprised that he would do that or that he would even make an attempt.  Was he just being nice or did he feel bad about taking me off the show?  I don't know, but I thought it was really good of him to do that.

So I finally get on Parks and Recreation for the very first time.  Even my old friend Bill B. worked this show, but I suppose it was because he was non-union.  The scene was quite simple.  It's a town hall meeting and Amy Poehler is allowing someone to run the show instead of her.  She has to bite her tongue when things go a little screwy during the meeting, but in the end, it all works out.

Another nice short 6-hour day.  Everyone always wonders if you get paid for an entire day when you work less than eight.  The answer is yes you do.  I don't know how they were able to negotiate that into the contract, but I guess it is only fair when everyone else is making a ridiculous amount of money considering what they do.

(written 1/24/14)

CRIMINAL MINDS #5

Booked as an ME Assistant.  The medical examiner wasn't really anywhere to be found.  Instead, the director just pointed to some of us and told us to take an action.  After the principals look at the body, I was to walk from the van to the body and zip it up.  On the last take, the director told the cop and I to pick the body bag up as if we were going to put it in the van.  It was heavy as fuck and I didn't want to hurt the guy inside it.

It was pretty hot for a December day but we had to look like we were in freezing cold weather.  We were all sweating pretty good and trying to get as much shade as possible downtown.  It didn't help that we had those latex gloves that have no place for your sweat to go.

The 2nd 2nd on this show has a really raspy voice as if he has cancer in his throat.  You wonder if he smokes.  He also has an impatient attitude and seems as if he doesn't really care about the background.

We did our takes and it was pretty darn easy.  A nice short 5-hour day.

(written 1/24/14)

THE MENTALIST #8

We were sent out to the cuts today.  It was the Veluzat ranch out in the boonies where you had to drive on a dirt road for about ten minutes.  It was crazy.  But once we got to base camp, it looked like any other outdoor set.

Some people still have the impression that someone sued a company for giving him or her donated food.  I've never found this and always challenge people when they say this.  People aren't aware of Clinton's good Samaritan law that prevents people from suing others who donate food for a good cause.  Still, donating perfectly good food is still quite difficult and a lot of catering companies either do not want to do it because of lawsuits or they just aren't aware that they can.  I need to do something about this.

Anyway, I was booked as an FBI investigator who would walk around the fake oil digging area with a bunch of construction guys mixed in.  Someone died so we are the ones that have to do some investigating.  I met a non-union guy who was probably racist, but more just trying to tell it like it is and didn't realize he sounded like one.  He was fun and kept things lively telling jokes or some other facet of his life.

However, the FBI guys were wrapped and I didn't get a chance to get his FB profile but I doubt he even had one.  It was nice meeting the guy though.

(written 1/22/13)

GROWING UP FISHER

I love it when I'm booked with my car.  They needed a beater since they wanted to put the car in the shop and I was booked as a mechanic.  I met a dude also booked as a mechanic and he was a kung fu, conservative, hippy in a way.  We talked some politics and science and topics you're not supposed to discuss but he seemed open to the conversation and I made sure I wasn't too annoying.

We shot outside with the principals discussing something in front of a fake hotel or store of some kind.  All we did was pretend to work on the cars.  We did some back and forths, one auto to another, but ultimately, that's pretty much all we did.

Then we were broken for lunch and when we returned, we were wrapped.  After wrapping, I got a chance to hang out with J.D. since he was working in Glendale.  We bought some tortas and were allowed to bring them into an Irish pub where we had some drinks.  It was fun just hanging out, but all good things have to end, especially since J.D. has a baby.

(written 1/22/13)

HEART OF DIXIE #3

I don't like working on this show much because I know it's going to be a big call and I'm going to be walking around back and forth on the street.  Today, it was freezing cold and luckily, I was told to get in the car and drive it around.  I didn't mind that at all.

Then we were told to drive out to a part of Warner Bros I'd never been to before - the jungle.  I had no idea they even had this on the lot.  It really looks like a wilderness area and we were held inside some kind of lodge.

I got a chance to hang out with an Asian dude named Harry Yi.  We had worked on this show before, with our car too, but this time we actually talked  He has two dogs he loves and he even said he would give up meat because he loves them so much.  He's had a few bit parts in the past and he showed me his reel.  It's so cool to see people with reels.  It's something I need to work on.

The reason we were in the jungle is because we shot a Renaissance faire there.  I got a chance to talk to this black girl who was really into the Game of Thrones, but the only thing I really noticed about her were her huge cans.  I remember seeing her running around earlier in the day with her cans just bouncing around as she ran to her first position.

All the drivers were wrapped before the rest of the folk were so we were out of there.  Harry invited me to his pad to watch some football but I told him I was going to watch The Butler.  It was ok and it was cool to see the stars, but I didn't really care for it.  In fact, I thought it was disappointing and unrealistic.

Since I was in the Northern Hollywood area and it was Thursday night, I went to two different bars to get some drinks but they were dead as fuck.

(written 1/8/14)

CASTLE #4

I like working on Castle because it stars Nathan Fillion, fellow geek and star of Firefly, one of my favorite series.  He worked on the show today, but he was in and out.

I was booked with my computer today and the scene was very simple.  We were inside a fake library doing our thing in the library while the principals were doing some kind of research or discovery at the library.  We were held inside a room with a ton of non-union folk.  English Mike was standing in for the bad guy so I got a chance to talk to him for a minute.

It was uncomfortable inside the holding area because I didn't get a chance to bring my chair.  I had to sit on a plastic chair and you'd think after all these years you'd get used to it, but no, your ass will never get used to sitting comfortably on a plastic chair.

I met an old hippy who looked like she could easily be an actress.  She told me she'd lived in Venice and watched it evolve over time.  She said she has a great place, but the place was inherited, not purchased.  I told her she could probably rent it for a good some, but she wondered where she would live if she did that.

The day went on and night came along and finally, we were wrapped.

(written 1/8/14)

BROOKLYN NINE-NINE #3

Ran into that guy who I worked on this show with the first time.  It was nice seeing him and we were cast as a catering company.  He was the chef and I was a server along with many others.

He got to work in a scene, but the rest of us chilled out most of the day because there just wasn't that much room inside the kitchen they were using.  It was a real house and the owner actually spent some time with us telling us about recently buying the home and how the contemporary colonial style doesn't get used much in shoots.

It was a beautiful house in a south central neighborhood that made me wonder if the $1 million he spent was worth it.  It was a big home with three stories and a basement as well as a very nice yard both in the front and back.  Not big, but present.  Plus, there was a separate garage and in law unit while the alley where these units go out to had a protective gate.  Still, I'm not sure if it was a great investment especially if you have kids.  They would probably need to go to private school.

Anyway, I got to work a scene without actually walking into the scene, so it was another easy day for me.  I just wish I could get some screen time just so I feel like I'm doing something with my time.

(written 12/30/13)