American Dreams

I’m gonna combine three shoots into one this time. I was on American Dreams as a driver in Jason’s ’66 Corvette. Even though I knew I wouldn’t be seen walking around in frame, I still did my best to wear something that was period-correct for 1966.

Anyhow, I’ll do sort of highlights of each of the days… For the most part, the days were pretty run-of-the-mill except for these oddities.

The first day included 3 locations all around Sunset-Gower studios. And well, the Corvette’s pretty darn loud, so I don’t usually drive through frame much. I tell the PA’s and such, but they still don’t listen for some reason. I end up in the driving line to go through frame and then around the block. Usually, I only go through once before they pull me out. This time, I made it through 3 times before they told me to go park somewhere around the block.

I wait there for a few hours, watching all the other car people do their circles. But then, I realize that the cars haven’t circled in awhile and the ones that staged in front of me haven’t come around. Okay… That’s pretty strange… So I walk up and peer around the corner… Everyone was gone! They’d done a company move and forgot about me! Luckily, I recognized one guy who could tell me where to go so I hollered out to him, asking if he could help me. First he looked at me like I was insane, but then we both realized how funny the situation was.

He told me where to go for the next location and I lined up in that drive-through line, knowing full well I wouldn’t last more than one or two crosses through frame. Sure enough, after my second cross, the PA told me to go up to the parking structure and wait for the next shot.

I waited there with a bunch of other parked cars for a couple hours, wondering when either everyone else was supposed to show up or lunch break would be called. Well…lunch was called, but I’d missed it because I followed instructions. If I’d known I could’ve left the lot for lunch…well, dinner…it was about 4PM…first, I’d’ve done that. Anyhow, I had to settle for a couple bagels from craft service. But darn it all, without those, I swear I would’ve passed out.

The rest of the night went off just fine.

The next time I was on the show, I parked on the lot and they told me tonight’s scene was a rain scene. Ummm…the Corvette’s a convertible and the top doesn’t go up anymore. Thankfully, they put me in the back, away from the sprinklers that simulated the rain.

The only other oddity that night was that when I was heading out, one of the transpo guys asked what happened to my license plate. My license plate? Hmmm…I walked around the back of the car to discover that the plate was completely gone. I talked to the prop guys who’d put on a fake Pennsylvania plate and they said there was no plate on the car to begin with. I shrugged, then remembered a certain odd clanging noise when I was on the freeway, heading to the set. Yup, within the next few days I was at the DMV, buying Jason a new plate for his car. Ah well. Life’s an adventure.

The third time I was on the show was a two-day call in Pasadena.

I drove through the frame twice. On the second time, one of the Assistant Directors came running out of the building, waving her arms, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Shut that thing off!!! Shut off the Corvette!!!! NOW!!!!!!” I did as I was told and then just shook my head. It wasn’t the first time I was on the show, why the hell didn’t they remember that my car’s too loud to drive through the frame? I always asked before I started driving, too. Hell, the sound man probably wanted to throttle me by this point. Poor guy. I parked the car and hung out with a few of the other car people.

One guy in particular saw that there were antique stores near the set. Both of our cars were parked and likely wouldn’t be going anywhere for awhile, so we ran through one of the antique malls. Let me just say that it was so good, I brought Jason back there the following week. Yeah, I know I wasn’t supposed to leave the set, but darn-it-all, we knew we weren’t going to be needed for the twenty minutes we took to run through the shop.

Later on when both our cars were parked again, we headed down an alley that led behind a Maserati dealership. Both of us being car folk, naturally, we had to walk in and look. Well, the salesman was shuffling cars around and there, aimed out the back door, top down, engine running, was a metallic-midnight-blue Ferrari convertible. Let me just say that I have never been so tempted to steal a car in all my life. The back gate was wide open, too! Good-ness gracious me… What a sinful temptation.

Nothing else the rest of that day or the next was of any interest. Just more of the same sitting around, then moving my car from one side of the street to the other…all the while dreaming about jumping in that Ferrari and driving somewhere–anywhere in it!!!!!

Entourage (1)

I was on a new HBO show called ‘Entourage’. It’s literally that…a show that dramatizes what goes on in the entourage of a music recording artist. It’s got an ensemble cast, most of whom were there the day that I was. We shot at a club on the Sunset Strip called Shelter, but we parked near Sunset and Vine. Kind of a long shuttle ride, but I’ve certainly had longer.Anyhow, I’d gotten the booking late the night before and had to scramble to get everything together. Club wear. Very trendy. And Jason was also nice enough to hose off the Prowler because that car’s what actually got me on this call.

When I got to holding, about three long blocks away from Shelter, I was so glad to just drop all my bags, but then they almost immediately herded us to wardrobe where I nearly ended up in a very tight and very short purple dress, but the costumer loved my red with black, sorta alligator print pants, so all I needed was a shirt.

When the other costumer pulled out one of those metal mesh shiny shirts, I grimaced because I have one of those at home, but didn’t figure they’d let me wear it. Oh well. I surrendered my voucher and made a mental note that if I ever got on Entourage again that my sequin skin tight camouflage outfit, my metal mesh shirt, my little gold metallic dress, and my green fake alligator pants should be in my bag.

Thankfully I’d brought both a heavy jacket and a blanket. Holding was outside and since I didn’t have a back on that little shirt, I was freezing. I think the worst part about that shirt was that it only had two ties in the back holding it on. Nothing around my neck. The whole time, I truly felt like one good jiggle and the darn thing would fall down around my waist.

On set, I’d brought my blanket, which the costumers hated, fearing that I’d forget to take it off when the camera was rolling. I never forgot and they never stopped watching me, but once I’d warmed up, the blanket was really more so that I could pull up my darn shirt in a little bit of privacy before it fell off!!!!

My back might’ve made it on camera, but that’s about it. I recognized Debi Mazar, Kevin Dillon and Jeremy Piven.

During lunch, I figured I’d conduct an experiment in the bathroom… Testing my shirt. I bounced once and the darn thing really was around my waist!!!!!!! Words cannot describe how tight I tied that thing after I made that discovery. It was more like my little boobs were all that held the shirt up…yikes!!!!

Back on set, during a bit of down time, I overheard part of a conversation that sort of stuck with me. Now, I don’t know if I heard the whole thing and I also don’t know how much of it was a joke, but I do know that Jeremy Piven was talking to one of the production guys and the subject had to do with what was going on after the shoot.

I could’ve sworn I heard Jeremy Piven say that he was going to sleep at the club because the turnaround was so quick! My ears perked up and heard the production guy say something like, “You do what you have to do.” But I was being herded out of of the building and couldn’t hear any more of the conversation. Darn. That could’ve been something funny to put in a Hollywood Heat book somewhere.

Outside the club, I was sitting in the parking lot on one of those cement parking log thingies, while looking up at the giant billboard with Leonardo DiCaprio as The Aviator. When I looked below it, I happened to see Tobey Maguire walking up through the driveway of the club. I blinked. I did a double take. Yeah. What the hell was Tobey doing there? I dunno, but he walked up to a group of production people and started talking.

Weird, but okay… There was still much shooting to be done. I went back into the club shortly after Tobey went in. He hung out with Debi and the rest of the people watching the monitors for awhile. I ended up having to leave again because they supposedly wanted to use my car soon and I had to hop in a shuttle and go get it.

Once in my car, I put one of my spare shirts on over the silver mesh shirt…I was still very worried about it falling off! When I got to the set, everyone was very tired and very grumpy. Apparently all the cars booked for that night plus the hero Maserati were all silver. Doh! But my car was the silliest, so they placed me behind the Maserati out in the street and told me to wait a little bit.

I did.

Then all of the Production Assistants started running around and hollering something I couldn’t hear because I was too far away. Every PA was scattering and a bunch of extras were being herded. Then one of the PAs ran over to me hollering, “Are you Lisa?”

“Yeah…Why?” I asked curiously, somewhat terrified by the worry in the girl’s voice.

She waved her arms and talked into her radio. I had no clue what she said until she turned to me and told me to lock up my car and go get into one of the shuttles.

“Uh…Okay…” I did as I was told, still terrified, but okay with it.

The shuttle driver didn’t know what was going on either, but we somehow figured out that I was getting close to 16 hours on the set which means my rate goes through the roof for what’s called Golden Time. And that they were probably trying to hurry me over to checking out so they wouldn’t have to pay me that kind of money. I was totally okay with that and understood the whole concept.

But I still had wardrobe’s metal mesh shirt.

I was so thankful for the extra shirt I’d put on. The shuttle driver did think me a tad odd when I untied my metal shirt and dropped it out underneath. But hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. And when I turned it in to wardrobe, she looked at me strangely, wondering what I was doing turning in my shirt all by myself. I told her I had no idea either.

Next, I tried to to go to holding where the signout line was, but once again, there was a PA hollering for me!!! I got thrown into yet another shuttle, still having no clue what was going on, why they wanted me back on set without having signed out. I was worried I’d have to go back to wardrobe and get the shirt again. Still terrified to be the background celebrity what with my name being hollered at every corner and all…

But when I got to the set, perhaps the one and only PA who wasn’t looking for me was the one who found me and together, we still had no idea why I was there, who was calling for me and what for.

Finally, the PA from earlier runs up to me and I ask her, “Please tell me what’s going on. I don’t care, I just want to know what’s up. No one’s telling me anything. I can’t do what you want me to do if I don’t know what’s going on.”

Sure enough…It was because I was close to Golden Time. She signed me out and I swore that was a fun little runaround that’ll likely show up in a book somewhere. It was insane, but fun all at the same time.

I went home very tired, but strangely fulfilled.

Over There

This was only an audition. I had zero hopes of getting on this show. I never get the stuff I audition for. Not that I’m complaining…I’m only telling the truth.

There were three of us women. It was the first day of shooting. One of us was going to be a soldier’s wife.

We waited around for what felt like an eternity but was only about an hour and a half–even got to hear the ‘This Is The First Day of Shooting’ lecture that the 1st AD inevitably gives. But were we going to be part of the family? Only one of us.

The 2nd AD took our pictures and joked with us.

Then we left.

I didn’t bother waiting by the phone…

It, of course, didn’t ring.

40-Year-Old Virgin

This’ll be the quickest entry…

I was booked.

I was cancelled.

My paycheck arrived in my mailbox.

I have to admit, though, that I’d’ve loved to be on this show. I think it would’ve been a blast. Oh well.