The Anonymous Production Assistant

Applying to be a Writer’s PA

J asks: I called up some shows a couple weeks back and asked if they were hiring, and of course they were all staffed up, but said I could fax a resume that they’d “keep on file”. Now I know you’ve written that if you want to be an Office PA you should contact the […]

Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be

This post is really for all my non-PA readers. And by “non-PAs,” I mean “old people.” As an office PA, people often ask to use my computer to look something up, check their email, whatever. And, I admit, I’m probably not doing anything important, or even work related. With a sample size verging on the […]

Bart Gets to Sit Up Front, Because He’s a Good Guy at Sports

Hey, remember when the Simpsons was good? Anyway.  That’s what I thought of when I got an email from another Anonymous PA: Almost nobody I work with is a “real” fan of movies or TV. I read THR and Variety every morning, and a few other industry new sources so I can chat about things […]

Stop! Overtime!

A lot of people like overtime, because it means more money than they’d planned on.  Not me.  I budget.  (Well, Mrs. TAPA budgets; I mostly ask her when it’s okay to spend money.) I don’t just budget money, but also time.  Twelve hour days are plenty, thank you very much.  I greatly value the free […]

Making an Ass Out of You and Umption

Yesterday, I told you to stop asking so many damn questions.  Today, I’m going to tell you to ask questions.  I like to mix it up like that. You see, sometimes the boss just isn’t clear.  Take, for example, my boss. Yesterday, he asked me to gather all the information I could find about possums. […]

Callsheets

Callsheets are weird, aren’t they? They’re legal-size sheets of paper, covered from top to bottom, on both sides, with ten-point font. It’s just packed with information. For most people the crew call on the front, and their department’s call on the back, is all they’ll ever look at. Hair and make-up need to know when […]

Workin’ on the Night Shift

One of the worst things you can read in next week’s script is, “EXT. [WHEREVER] – NIGHT.” Say goodbye to your weekend.  Say goodbye to your wife and kids.  Say goodbye to good, old fashioned sunlight. You see, we can fake a lot of things in television, but when you’ve gotta shoot outside, day is […]

More About Honorifics

Yesterday’s post generated a surprising number of comments, considering I didn’t once mock the PA Bootcamp. Readers proposed several theories regarding the Sir/Mr. dichotomy, but here’s one I didn’t think about until late last night– it’s all Walt Disney’s fault. Back in film school, our stage manager (and my old boss), Herb, was a retired […]

Fun with Walkie Talkies

My wife says I’ve been too negative, lately, so I thought I’d tell you about some stupid fun a friend of mine got me into. Walkie talkies are omnipresent on film sets.  Anything bigger than a student film uses them.  Because of this ubiquity, the lingo we use (a bizarre mash-up of police codes and […]

Thank You for Smoking

I make fun of and complain about actors a lot on this blog, but they’re not the only ones who are egotistical and disconnected from reality. A friend of mine recently got a job on a big, huge show.  It’s one you’ve heard of, trust me. He was telling me all about their sets and […]