Lords of Dogtown (2)

I wish I had a bigger story about this one, but anyhow, I was on Lords Of Dogtown again. Last time, I was on Venice Beach with Heath Ledger. This time, the scene had the skater crowd and the whole day was spent sitting on a porch, watching the skaters crash.

Yep, it was a heavy stunt day and I do not at all envy those poor kids! The scene had a group of about 8 kids skate downhill in a wide alley, zig left, then down another wide alley. But one kid has to hit the curb, then two more kids sort of smash into each other and some garbage cans before continuing on. It was a thirteen hour day and I think the garbage can kid hit them things 200 times! And they’re the metal kind!

I was supposed to be driving, but as they set up the scene, they decided that they only wanted one car actually on the road. And boy oh boy was I envious! He was a stunt driver and he got to come to locked-up screeching halt as the kids poured out of the alley.

Someday, I’m gonna be that guy… Someday… I’m saving up to go to stunt driving school and after that, nothing’s gonna stop me as far as I’m concerned!

Another average day in the life of a movie extra. My favorite!

The Ring II

The following is an excerpt from an email I’d written shortly after the gig:

Last week, I was on The Ring II. Technically, I was on set twice, but the first day, I didn’t get used. I just sat in holding and read a book.

I think the highlight of that day was when they were about to use the extras and paraded us through to the director and along the way, there were four cute little baby skunks playing or eating (we didn’t want to get close enough to find out) near one of the buildings. Yeah, very VERY boring day. But at least I got some writing as well as reading done during all the down time.

Once we were paraded in front of the director, he chose the people he wanted for the scene and then the rest of us got sent home.

It wasn’t common for the director to hand pick people right there, but I was totally fine with it. Some people were a little grumpy after being in holding all day only to find out they weren’t going to be used. We get paid either way, so I don’t know why people complain.

Anyhow, the First Assistant Director pointed toward a group of us women and asked the director if we’d be good for the women’s shelter scene.

Usually, that wouldn’t mean a thing except that they did actually take our names down. I figured I’d believe it when I got the call. There have been several times when we think we’re going to have multiple days on a shoot and it turns out to be only the one day.

But they really meant it. I ended up working on Friday in the womens shelter scene.

Naomi Watts is not strikingly gorgeous in my opinion, but definitely girl-next-door pretty. I had no idea what to expect, but at least I wasn’t disappointed.

Anyhow, I might actually be in this movie when it comes out. They moved me around a couple times, but I ended up in a chair that they sort of turned to one side after the director walked through looking at camera angles.

His name is Hideo Nakata and according to one of the Production Assistants, he’s on the Forbes list of the 100 most influential people. The Ring came from Japan and he’s the guy who directed it there.

Anyhow, after being seated for awhile, I looked up and saw the director with his hands out, framing the shot…and I think I was in the middle of it in the foreground.

About a half hour later, I look up from my book again, and I see him doing the same thing as he’s showing the steady-cam operator what he wants.

Of course, I had a deer in headlights expression on my face because I wasn’t expecting any of this. And then to make matters in my little head worse, the director comes over and kneels down between me and a lady in another chair nearby and proceeds to tell us that the scene takes place in Seattle, it’s late afternoon, we’ve been there a very long time, we’re very depressed and down feeling.

He gets up and walks away and the other lady and I look at each other in shock. Directors don’t usually talk to extras…especially for that amount of time. It was very strange.

When they were finally shooting the scene from Naomi’s point of view, the camera was on all of us women and after the first take, the director went over to a group of women and told them some of the same stuff he’d told me and the other lady, except with a few extra directions. I guess they weren’t giving him quite what he was looking for.

As he walked past me, I looked at him as if to say, ‘was I okay?’, but didn’t actually say anything. He then told me he wanted me not to look down, but to look about three feet upward from where I’d looked in the last take. I was absolutely stunned. He could see me clear enough that he knew which way I’d been looking.

Something tells me that I really really really do have a chance at being on screen in this movie. Yaaaaay! It’s just really really rare to have this kind of thing happen. And who knows if I’ll be in the finished product, but at least I have a chance for once!!!

You betcha, I looked exactly where he told me to look during the next five takes! I really hope I don’t end up on the cutting room floor, but if I do, oh well…it certainly wouldn’t be the first time!!!!!

I will certainly be updating this Tale once the movie comes out. I’m looking forward to seeing if I actually made it into the finished product.

Well, I made it…kinda. Here’s what was in the finished product:

Ah well. I still had fun. Better luck next time, huh?

In Good Company

When I worked on this movie, it was called ‘Synergy’.

The following is an excerpt from an email sent shortly after the shoot:

I was on the set of Synergy with Dennis Quaid and Topher Grace. I was a ‘sushi restaurant patron’ and for the entire day, I had my back to the action while pretending to eat sushi and twiddling with my PDA.

Anyhow, the one time I did turn around between shots just to see what was going on, my eyes accidentally met Dennis Quaid’s eyes. WOW! Super-ultra-blue and absolutely incredible. Unfortunately, I had to turn back around so I couldn’t just stare at him…I’d’ve likely drooled as well. That wouldn’t’ve gone too nicely with the plate of half-munched warm sushi that was in front of me the entire day.

There was a real sushi chef who threw together a plate of shrimp for me which I ate during the course of about six takes…there were six pieces!

The other part of my Tale involves the guy who was sitting next to me. He started the scene seated, then got up, walked over to Dennis and Topher, said two lines, then walked off-camera.

Well, the guy played in the 1984 Super Bowl as a Defensive Back for the San Francisco 49ers. His name is Dwight Hicks and he was kind enough to show us his ring between takes. But the poor guy kept screwing up the first of his two lines [“Hey Dan-O”].

I actually hadn’t noticed because I was too busy writing nonsense on my PDA making it look like I was some kind of businesswoman preparing for a meeting after lunch.

Anyhow, after his second or third blown line, he came back to his seat and jokingly said, “Hey write ‘Dan-O’ on that would ya?” Well, I thought he was serious and seeing as how he had a line and most actors who have lines don’t talk to the extras, I pulled out my stylus and wrote in big huge letters “Dan O!”

The scene had already started by the time I was writing, but then when I’d finished scribbling, I nonchalantly tapped his shoulder and pushed my PDA toward him. He sorta snorted at first, but then it was time to go deliver his line and–wouldn’t-ya-knowit–he got it right!!!! WooHoo!

Sometimes it happens to the best of us when all we have is one line. Sometimes it’s just better to have a monologue or something longer. Dwight was really great. He joked with me and the girl that was sitting on the other side of him during lunch and the rest of the day. And I still have “Dan O!” on my PDA plus some of the other stuff I was writing… I’ll type out a few gems below:

Looking busy on the set of Synergy.

Just trying to look like I am trying to do something.

Still trying. The scent of warm sushi is getting to me. Oh boy.

I can’t believe I’m being paid to eat sushi.

Still being paid to eat, but very slowly.

The scene just keeps going and I just keep on writing.

Still going. I think I’m still having fun. I’ve lost track.

I mean, I’m still eating alone.

Oh what a beautiful day.

And on that note, I bid you farewell…

Lords of Dogtown (1)

It’s a predominantly hippie movie set in the early 70s in California. We were on Venice Beach, luckily it wasn’t too hot. I did bring a ton of sun block, though. Lots of people got burned, but I’ve already learned that lesson!

While working in the first scene, where a scruffy blond hippy guy drives a Cadillac around a corner, I kept trying to figure out if I knew any of the actors who were working. I was hoping I’d recognize someone. That always makes the day more fun. Well, it took four hours, but then I finally heard the scruffy guy say something… The only word I heard was “can’t” and it was said more like “con’t” because of the fellow’s Australian accent.

Yes, Heath Ledger was there! People were walking past him left and right without knowing who he was. Hell, if he hadn’t said anything I might never have figured him out! Well, at least not until a little while later. You see, Heath now joins the very few celebrities who have actually spoken to me. It was such a crazy moment, too. I mean, there I was sitting on the curb, minding my own business and this scruffy hippie guy comes running at me. He hopped up on the curb as he looked at me and said, “Excuse me. Pardon me.”

Yeah, and that was the one and only panty-melting moment of my day on set. His voice is like velvet in person. I watched the rest of that close-up scene and as far as I can tell, he is a kind of naughty partyboy, but never once was he rude to anyone. He was actually very nice and very down-to-earth, even pausing for a moment to chat with one of the street vendors about a painting. But I’ll bet underneath it all, he really knows how to let his hair down, so to speak. 🙂 The energy around him was alive with mystery and mischief as well as determination.

Be Cool (2)

The following is from an email sent the day after the shoot:

I was on Be Cool again last night… Remember how last time I saw The Rock, he was rather flamboyant? Well, this time, he was sooooooo the other end of the spectrum and literally beating the stuffing out of a dummy with Vince Vaughn.

I didn’t actually get to see them destroying the dummy, I only heard all the grunting, short lines and echoing punches and kicks.

Then, when I was finally allowed around the corner, there was this poor mutilated dummy laying in a huge pile of its stuffing. I mean, with The Rock beating it up plus Vince, yikes! Vince is actually about an inch or so taller than The Rock, too. Big men…I felt real sorry for the dummy!

I also hope Vince doesn’t think I’m stalking him. I’ve worked on his last three movies: Starsky & Hutch, Anchorman, and now Be Cool…

Remembering back to that night shoot, this email left out a bunch of stuff.

The scene was a swing dance bit inside a club in downtown LA. I don’t know if I got any camera time, and sincerely doubt it, but nonetheless it was fun to see all the swing dancers doing their thing and at least acting like they were having a good time.

I was booked with my Mustang fastback which they’d parked in the background of the scene with the dummy. By the way, in the finished product, it’ll look like Vince and The Rock are killing a guy and putting him in the trunk of their car…rather than a dummy.

Anyhow, that was the night that spoiled me for trusting production people with my car. I was instructed to spend the night in holding after the swing dance part while they used the cars in the parking lot. Fine with me, but I got a little bored so I went out to watch the scene and saw the bit with the dummy.

It was cold that night, so I didn’t stay. Next time I went out there, my car had been moved. No big deal…except that they’d put it hanging out of the driveway, front wheels on the sidewalk, window down, keys in the ignition.

Now this car may just be a car to most people, but to me, she’s my baby. I’d been lovingly pouring time, money and lots of blood sweat and tears into this car since 1993…my dream car essentially…and they’d left her hanging out like that for anyone to easily steal if they’d been so inclined. And I would have been downright inconsolable if that had happened. To me, the car is not at all replaceable.

At that point, I locked my door and took the key. Thankfully, the AD was on my side. He totally understood my frustration and truthfully I wasn’t being a bitch, even though I was perfectly justified. Never once did I raise my voice or say anything mean. I wrote out my cell phone number and told them to call me from holding if they needed to move my car because I was certainly not going to leave my keys with them again.

The next time the car was to be moved was when I signed out. And honestly, I am grateful for the experience because I have had to explain to other productions why I am not willing to leave my keys with anyone. And because of that, they’re usually okay as long as I don’t stray too far from my car.

Had it not been for the car incident, the shoot would’ve been great. I mean, maybe four hours walking through a swing dance club and then ten hours bored, noodling around on my pda in holding is not a bad shoot at all.

Plus, seeing Vince and The Rock again…yum yum yum…

Kicking and Screaming

I just got home from a fifteen hour shoot on the set of ‘Kicking and Screaming’…starring Will Farrell. He as well as Vince Vaughn probably think I’m stalking him because I’ve worked on their last couple shows….It’s just rare to have such a long day be such a good day and actually get some decent camera time in the process.

Jen always asks how close I got to whichever star… Well, I was about three inches from Will this time.

And my piece of business…writing. I was writing in my notebook while sitting in a coffee house and Will is standing in a line right next to me.

The man is downright hilarious… a real comedic genius.

It was another one of those scenes where as extras, we’re not allowed to laugh, but as soon as the director hollered “Cut!” we all just busted up to get it out of our system. He’s very professional, very ‘in the moment’ and very funny. Before long, I think I’m gonna end up a Will Farrell fan!

The following is the actual words I wrote in my notebook during the filming of the scene. Boy, did I say what exactly was on my mind…not much!

Making it look like I’m busy… On the set of Kicking and Screaming… Will Farrell’s in this movie. It’s the second of his in a row. So strange. I’m listening to him make a big deal in a coffee shop. He’s playing a caffeine addict. He’s going on and on… It’s actually pretty funny. I’m writing through the break just so I can get onto the next page. Okay. Here we go again. I’m in the shot. I just don’t want to be too obvious. The guy is yelling. This is great. Here he goes again. Not a bad day. Loud. Very loud. But really fun. He’s ranting like crazy. It’s really a blast. But I also really gotta take a whiz…onto my next page. Still going. It’s downright hilarious. I hope they keep this stuff. It’s really a hoot. He’s still going. I’m even required to react to what all’s going on the scene. This is great. Keep going. Wow. Page after page. I’m diggin’ it. I–

After about five to seven takes, they must have gotten what they were looking for because what I wrote in my notebook cut off right there!

And here’s a deleted scene bonus… My 2000 Plymouth Prowler:

Be Cool (1)

Today, I was on the set of ‘Be Cool’. It’s the sequel to ‘Get Shorty’. John Travolta wasn’t there. I’d’ve loved to see him again. He’s a real sweetie. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen him.In fact, of the three actors that were there, I only recognized one name…and recognized him, the man, as well despite the white satin shirt, light blue pants and red cowboy boots…and, my oh my… I really didn’t think I’d be quite so…ummm… impressed.

Yeah, luckily the weather was a little chilly so I didn’t have to blatantly fan myself because holy-moly The Rock is one super-fine man in person! Wow!

I didn’t see him actually acting in the scene because I was hard at work walking around in the background, but my goodness, I nearly ran into the guy on my way to grab a donut and I swear the man stepped right out of a torrid romance novel…well… from what I could tell with his clothes on at least! Tall and handsome and sexy and seemed rather nice–he was signing autographs for passers-by between shots while the make-up and hair crews touched him up.

It was actually kind of a strange day. There’s nothing like being booked with a particular car, going to start it up at 5:15AM and having the battery cable so corroded that there was no way in the world that car was gonna leave my driveway.

I had to call the casting director and apologize profusely. As luck would have it, my service had told me the wrong car to bring in the first place! I was off the hook and on the road. I made it just in time to hurry up and wait. Seeing The Rock and having to consciously remind myself not to drool was like karma making up for the car not starting.

And as I recall, when I’d spoken with the casting director, I told her that I only had one other new car because the rest were classics.

I guess she remembered that because I got booked again on Be Cool the following week with one of my Mustangs.

Seeing Johnny Depp

The following is an excerpt from an email sent shortly afterward:

Because I’m in SAG [Screen Actors Guild], and I live near LA, if I so choose, I can go to see free screenings where they also have a little interview with one of the actors. This was my first one, just to check it out and I didn’t even stay to watch the movie because I was alllllllll the way back in the theatre–which made the screen appear about the same size as a TV screen anyway.

Okay… All 1100 of us got in free and then they gave us free popcorn and a soda. Well, because I helped a fellow with a broken arm carry an extra drink for his friend, most of the decent seats got taken and I ended up in the third row from the back, third seat in. No big deal. I just wanted to be there.

When the interview was ready to start, a few photographers crowded the aisle on my side. Holy shit! The man was going to come down the aisle about 8 feet away from me! I turned to see the entourage. The actor started looking at people. I had a smile on my face, of course. When his chocolate brown eyes met mine, he smiled. Not only did I make eye contact with Johnny Depp, I unintentionally encouraged him to smile. WooHoo!!!!! I couldn’t believe it. Was no one else smiling around me or something?

That split second was totally worth the entire fiasco I’d gone through just to get there. He stayed for about an hour and answered all sorts of questions. I didn’t stay to watch Pirates because I was so far back, it wouldn’t’ve been a real theater-movie experience. I was absolutely beside myself the rest of the night. I mean, all I’d set out to do was be in the same room with him and actually hear him speak, but boy oh boy, did I get more than that without even trying! And I will never forget looking into his eyes and finding they were looking right back at me! WooHoo!

Without A Trace

The following is from an email sent shortly after the shoot:

Fifteen hours of pure boredom. I only worked for about two, maybe three hours.

They really only wanted our cars parked in the background anyway. I have no idea what the episode was about or anything. All I saw was a guy getting arrested by the FBI.

The rest of the scene took place in a house and all I could hear was a skirmish followed by the words, “Sit down! Sit! Sit!” Sorry, no good plot teasers or anything for anyone who watches the show. They did blow up a door and a window, though. That was pretty nifty.

The real tale this time is for those of you who happen to like Vin Diesel…

As I was sitting in holding, naturally a fellow struck up a conversation with me. We were in one of the older parts of town where there are Victorian homes…kinda run down and forgotten. Anyway, the fellow said that the house they used in the first party scene in Fast & The Furious was about five doors down from where we were working.

He then proceeded to tell me that he’d been Vin’s stand-in for F&F, A Man Apart, Triple X and that sequel they’re doing for Pitch Black. So, I ask the inevitable question… “What’s Vin Diesel like?” And we end up talking about the man for a good half hour.

Apparently, he’s very cool. He does do his best to stay out of the limelight just because he doesn’t like all the hype. The number one thing, though, is that Vin is very loyal. He actually requests this guy whenever he needs a stand-in. They flew the guy to Prague for Triple X… And to Paris for some other thing Vin was working on and for that, Vin called him personally to ask him to come with him… And he went first class, just him and Vin.

WaHoo! It’s always good to know when someone you like really is likable in more ways than just eye candy. Now if the man would just film something in LA that I can actually get on…

Angel

This was a great television series. Too bad it’s no longer on. But thankfully, it’s out on DVD. That’s how I got these screen caps. I’m still wishing that Joss Whedon had been on the set.

Back before I became an extra, I’d shown up on the first day of filming of Season One, Episode One as part of my job. I stuck around to watch a set-up and a bunch of takes while Joss was directing. The man is absolutely intense.

The following is from an email written shortly after this later shoot:

So, today, I was on the TV show Angel. I have no idea when the episode will air, though.

I was playing a dead nun… Yes, I [of all people] was dressed in a full nun’s habit and I got to lay motionless on the floor for what felt like eternity.

Yes, I got to see David Boreanaz… I was laying at his feet. Today’s record for getting closest to a principle actor is about an inch and a half. He’s pretty cool. Both a dweeb and a very sexy/cool man all at the same time. Not to mention, he’s also eye candy!

And to top it all off, I got to have fake blood dribbled and smeared on me. They did a bunch of close-ups on the dead nuns so, I’m thinking we’ll have a pretty good featured part. They had us lay down in a weird sort of formation just so we could look spookier because supposedly the guy who killed us used our deaths to go to a different dimension. I dunno. All I know is that I got to be dead with my eyes open and that was pretty nifty in itself.

The show aired on February 4th, 2004. It was Angel’s 100th episode.

Looking back on that day, I remember wishing that James Marsters was there, but he was the only principle cast member who wasn’t. I really wanted to see him again because Jen and I had met him previously. There’s a pic in our author section about that meeting. I’m still bummed the show was canceled. Hopefully, Joss will do another show real soon.

One of my favorite memories of David Boreanaz was when he asked the director if it was okay for him to be so near a big six foot tall cross. Then, later on between takes, seeing the vampire himself leaning on the cross while he waited for the crew to finish fixing up us nuns. Afterward, he even gave up his seat on a couch so that us nuns could sit down…What a sweetie.

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