My day was long. I was not able to get my call time until 11:15 last night... and was not pleased to learn the call time was 6:15am. Hmmm... so I am living on very little sleep right now. My mom dropped me off this morning. It was dark. Signed in, got my voucher, then we were taken to the holding area. After about 40 minutes they called groups of us to go get set up. At first I was positioned near two other women, and we were told what to do and how to act. But then a little while later I was summoned to sit in the passenger seat of one of the cars that was being used in the shoot. I had to wave a flag/pennant out the window every time we did a take. There were many takes. The good news is that I was one of the few people who got to sit down almost the entire day. The bad news is that there was a lot of car exhaust fumes everywhere. Every time they'd yell "cut" we had to reverse and get back into position... lots of engines were idle for a lonnng time.
The driver of the car I got put in was very nice, and after we did some talking, I discovered she, too, had done the Sony shoot last September. We talked a lot to pass the time. She had brought binoculars and let me borrow them. Once, when we were outside the car (because we weren't needed at that time) I looked through them just to see what was going on and saw Greg Kinnear and went holy whoa. Really, we were only about 40-50 feet away from the action, but with the binoculars the people were life-size. Greg had a stunt double/stand-in who, naturally, was wearing the exact same outfit, and sometimes I'd see one of them and have to do a double take. The stunt double thus became known, to me, as Fake Greg Kinnear.
For lunch they'd ordered Greek food, we all got 1 paper bag that had a sandwich made with that focaccia bread -- you could choose what kind, I got veggie -- plus a salad, cookie, and then beverages. I don't think I've ever had Greek food before... knowingly... but it was pretty good!
Most of the day was a pile of bore. To an extent, I enjoyed watching them film (I often had a great view), and it's pretty cool seeing "in person" all the things I've seen while watching featurettes on DVDs over the years. But the tediousness of it all wore on me after a while, and it's tough when you have to, well, go to the bathroom, and basically to do that you have to ask permission to leave the set and all that. Sigh.
They finally stopped filming just after 7, when the sun began to set. Then we all had to go back to holding and wait forever & a half to be told who would be returning tomorrow and to fill out our paperwork. They only needed about 1/4th of us to come back -- it was all pretty random, but I got asked. Luckily tomorrow's call time is in the afternoon, so I should get a good night's sleep tonight I hope!!
Oh, forgot to mention, I had to take the bus home... took 3 buses and an hour & a half. Lovely.
August 17, 2006
After getting about 10 hours of sleep last night, I woke up feeling very refreshed, felt almost like yesterday had just been a dream. While yesterday I was thinking I have to go back tomorrow?, this morning I was like "Yes, I get to go back!" Weird how much difference REST makes!
Today went significantly better... it probably helped that the day was only half as long.
First we did a bunch of walking shots, where the camera was pretty close, though judging by the angle of the camera, I think if it got anything, it probably just got our feet... and we were likely out of focus anyway. Then we did more walking, where the camera was like 200 feet away... so we probably looked like little dots. A lot of the shots yesterday and today have involved actor Toby Hemingway and actress Alexa Davalos. Greg Kinnear was back again and at one point we were all walking back to the holding area on this paved pathway, and there was a golf cart parked on the side of it, and as I walked past I happened to look at who was sitting in it, and it was him! Like 2 feet away. Sucks that we're not allowed to talk to the actors (unless they talk to you first). That's the rule, and if you're caught breaking it you pretty much can be kicked out of the agency for all time. Er, and then of course there's the fact that I'm way too shy to ever strike up a convo. Whatever!
Back in the holding area, I had just sat down, when one of the P.A.'s came in and randomly pointed to 15 people (me included) and asked us to go back to the field. So we marched back out there and spent the next 2 hours walking through shots... as background to the action. I was paired with another girl and we walked together. Over and over and over. I guess we were about 30 feet away from the action...? I'm bad with estimates. I don't know, but yeah, so if you ever see this movie, just look for the girl carrying the green PSU flag and green and white pompom. If they use this footage I will definitely be visible, though I can't promise I'll be anything more than a blue and green dot. It can be like Where's Waldo! Or... not.
Didn't get to see Selma Blair... apparently she was on set on Tuesday (when I wasn't there). A few people worked all three days, and said they got to see both Selma and Morgan Freeman at Tuesday's shot. Aw rats. I used to be such a big fan of Selma... still have her on my wall.
I checked out (literally... I got my paperwork, etc.) around 6:45.
I am losing my voice.
September 25, 2006
Worked 7am-6pm. It was a continuation of the scene they shot at Reed College in August, only this time they were shooting it in the Pearl district, the North Park Blocks to be precise. Bigass traffic jam scene. Kinnear car had to get from point A to point B amidst cars galore. Back and forth about a hundred times. They put me in a coat from Wardrobe, and it was not exactly a cold day, so that was a bit unpleasant. Also there were honey wagons this time instead of bathrooms, and after 12 hours of that, well, you can imagine. Greek food for lunch AGAIN. Good thing I like it, but wish they'd mix it up a bit. They were much better about passing out water and snacks this time (peanuts, pretzels, and candy). First I was put on the park sidewalk and I was a walker, then they moved me across the street, and then one of the PAs asked me to sit in a car... oddly the same PA who instructed me to sit in a car during the August 16th shoot... coincidence, I suppose, but still odd. So there is one point where I'm a passenger in a car that nearly rams into Kinnear car as it comes by. MY car, which they did ask me to bring to the shoot, was parked so far back that I doubt you'll ever see it -- and no, I didn't have to drive it at all on set, but they still bumped me $10 for just having it there. Maybe it'll be a dot in the overhead crane shot. In conclusion, I've decided "checking the gate" are three of the nicest words in the world. Altogether exhausting, but you do meet some interesting people.
For example: I met this guy today. He asked what I did for a living and I told him, and out of politeness I asked what he did. "I loaf," he said. "Basically, I do nothing and I loaf off others." He said he does this because he wants to be connected to the universe and its goings-on. He then went into a hippie trance and told me that what was important was that I needed to figure out what life is all about. "Do you know what it's about?" he said. "It's about love. You must understand that you are loved. That's what it's all about. Love is you and you are love and THAT is the truth and THAT is all you need to know." A short while later, he started laughing out loud. No one was within ten feet of him. It started as a "hehehe" kind of laugh but soon became an evil-sounding, maniacal, mad-scientist-who-has-just-discovered-a-new-secret-formula laugh.
Iiiii didn't catch his name.
ETA: Also, I was reading a book and he asked what I was reading and I told him Little Women and he goes "What's that about?" and I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not but it turns out he wasn't. He had never heard of it. So I tried to explain but all the while I felt like I was talking to a tree.
