Casting Called Out
I asked an AD to look over my resume, and make some suggestions. He pointed to two listings for “Casting PA,” both on game shows. “Get rid of these” “Why?” “No one respects the casting department. They don’t do any work. It makes you look lazy.” Wow. The thing is, I knew he kinda had […]
Mail Bag
I haven’t kept up with the ol’ mail bag like I should’ve. Time to play catch up. Rob writes: You had mentioned that you walked into an interview and impressed them despite wearing a t-shirt and jeans and being unshaven. You got the job. Do you have any tips on how to ace an interview? […]
What’s in a Title? – II
It’s already a demeaning job; do we have to call them “extra,” too?
Responses
I mentioned Desiree in my blog yesterday. Turns out, she has her own blog, where she posted a response. Even though I disagree with her view, it’s a well-written blog, definitely worth reading, and I recommend you all check it out. Along with her own post, she commented on mine: I’ve never justified him yelling. […]
No Jerks
Yesterday, Desiree said: His outburst was cocky and out of the map. But when you say “astonishingly, this outburst did not get the operator fired” I get a little scared. Everybody must also be allowed to have an own opinion, a freedom of speech and by all means a bad day. Maybe I didn’t properly […]
The Most Important Person on Set
I’ve complained about the camera department before, but just last week, an operator managed to reach below my already low expectations of civil behavior. My set counterpart was passing out prelim call sheets to department heads. Since we were rolling at the time, the PA went around to the “soft crew” first– hair, make-up, costume. […]
Do Me a Favor
Hollywood is built on favors, but some people don’t seem to realize that. I’m making a short film. Just about the only way to make a decent short, without going broke, is to borrow equipment and get your friends to work for free. In exchange, you offer them free food, their name in the credits, […]
Intimacy
I was working on a short film this weekend, and we shot an “intimate scene.” Basically, the actress was nude. As is common practice, we kicked out everyone who didn’t absolutely have to be in the room. This was all well and good, but it reminded me of a terrible AD on one of my […]
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 […]
Titles
There’s a curious inconsistency I’ve noticed in the way film industry address each other. No one is ever called “Mr. Spielberg,” or “Ms. Ephron.” It’s “Steve” and “Nora.” Even if you’ve just met the person, you’re instantly on a first-name basis. This is particularly hard to get used to for a polite boy from the […]
Feed Me!
There is always food on set. Always. It took some getting used to, for me. My first day on set ever, the AD told me I should go grab some breakfast before things got hectic. I approached the catering truck sheepishly. I only had five bucks in my pocket, but I wanted to fit in […]
Side Notes
I forgot to mention one more peculiarity of sides in yesterday’s post. Opinions vary on whether the sides should be copied in script order, or shooting order. Script order is easy. You just copy the pages like I said yesterday. If the scenes are shot out of order, it’s fairly simple to find the one […]