Saint Crispin's day of the Entertainment World

“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother.”

Shakespeare's Henry V came alive this past week and rocked my world as well as businesses around the country. All I could think of were the words written by Shakespeare for Henry V to raise morale. I cannot say that morale is high this holiday season but I will say that being in the belly of the beast within the entertainment world was truly unreal. Think of a battlefield where the ammunition is not bullets, but termination notices shot at you by "friendly fire" and the business/entertainment tabloids and blogs shooting everyone down with "enemy" fire. I saw notices on Perez Hilton's blog and sites like Gawker and Jossip about the massive layoffs and a company e-mail that went out early Thursday morning before it had even reached my own work mailbox. Bombs were going off left and right as various phones rang with that terrifying message: “You need to meet with HR.” My friends and co-workers, we fellow soldiers, were called one by one in front of firing squads and then left wounded and bloody on the battlefield. Lower-level positions as well as high-level executives were feeling the cut and we, as a department and even the company as a whole, truly did feel the pain for everyone involved.

As some of you may have read, MTV Networks laid off 7% of their work force this past Thursday but it is only a fraction of the jobs lost in the past two months. The odd thing about production companies is that there is only a small fraction of actual employees that work for any given studio or television network. A lot of shows and films have 2nd and 3rd party companies and production crews brought in to shoot a series or special that leave as soon as the shoot is completed. It is misleading when readers see that 850 jobs were cut at Viacom/MTV, and bloggers go on and on about how it is a show like The Hills or actors from those shows that should be fired first. The true story from the inside is that the jobs that were cut yesterday spanned across all of the Viacom companies and it was networks like MTV, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Comedy Central, Spike, Vh1, BET, and CMT that were also heavily impacted by the cuts. It was our sister company Paramount Studios that was also effected. All the way across the board each and every network within the Viacom Company was hit.

I have never experienced anything like the happenings that are currently effecting the economy and the job status of so many hard working Americans, and although I still do not know what my own personal outcome will be after this week there are a few things I have learned from those in the television industry that I would like to share. This past Thursday was blogged as a sort of D-Day for the Viacom networks and I am sad to say that I know too many people who have been cut from their current positions due to the massive layoffs. It felt like we were on a battlefield and with each phone call the number of people still standing decreased. I look around at a place where a good friend was sitting all of 10 minutes ago and now I only see an empty desk. I waited, hoping not to get a call myself. I stood next to fallen friends and amazed co-workers of one specific department that was heavily effected. We stood banded together and gave support as the events of the day progressed.

I am no soldier, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. I have never marched off to battle, I have no idea what war is like from personal experience, but I have experienced war on the front lines that takes place in the entertainment world. In the past six months I have worked six huge shows and some that truly felt like battlefields with technical difficulties and other mishaps. I have worked with crews to quickly correct mistakes before going live-to-air, assisted technical management teams to re-wire cable lines for camera feeds with only seconds to spare, and I have worked with casting crews to wrangle 1000 plus audience members from one area to another in minutes for segment tapings that have been scheduled in areas no where near each other. The teams I have worked with feels like a troop, a platoon of entertainment soldiers ready to run off to correct and assist with any needs of our production management teams to make a show a success. That is our battlefield. Shooting locations, in a studio and on-location, are our war zones and if we did not act like a comrade of soldiers reacting and responding quickly the things you sit at home or in a theater and watch would not appear the way they do. But on December 4, 2008 I witnessed a completely different battle zone in an office environment that shook us all to the core. Through the darkness of the cuts one VP who was just laid off stood and spoke a few words that could rival the speech Shakespeare wrote for Henry V, and these are the words and the lesson that I would like to share.

The former VP of MTV News Production Management stood tall in the middle of the news team with a beer in hand to salute the team that has been through it all and then began her speech something like this:

We are all shocked by this, but I am sorry I was not able
to give those of you fair warning. Too many of you were
cut before your time. But this is the way television works,
but this is not the end of us. We are a family, and we
will get through this. It has happened for a reason and there
will be something better that we will find. Do not give up
because we will all bounce back. Just don’t forget to stay in
touch because we might be able to help each other out down
the road. And if you’re not on facebook you better get on it!

Times will get better and we should never forget those who have helped us in the past. Stay in touch with co-workers because you never know who might be able to lend a helping hand down the line, or be able to return the favor to you if you are the one able to help out this time. And since times are changing, we as a country must remember to stand strong together and help those that have been less fortunate. Just be sure to keep your head up because things always turn around and sometimes it is at unexpected moments when the most amazing surprises come.

Butterfly Effect

In 2004 Butterfly Effect hit theaters with Ashton Kutcher, and the saying ‘a butterfly flaps its wings and the weather changes in China’ once again became a popular phrase among movie-goers. Over the last decade Hollywood has produced several running series, as well as a few film franchises that have had their own butterfly effect on US culture. Living in New York City I have noticed that there is one series that has had such a huge impact on women that it has completely changed popular culture, the way we act, dress and approach work and life in the Big Apple. Sex and the City was an international success and HBO flourished during its 6 season run.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a new apartment and have found it amusing that about half of the 3 to 4 bedroom apartments I have looked at the ladies occupying the rooms when I was there were watching old episodes of Sex and the City, or catching up on the recent episodes of The Hills. During the apartment viewings, every conversation I had has included the question; “If you were a character from Sex and the City who would you be?” I find that many young women living in the NYC area are now basing their lives off the series. They are looking to live with people that make up a close niche of 4 people, people like Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha. You will even find women writing personals in search of friends on Craigslist with headlines like “Looking for a Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda to complete my group of Sex and the City” or “Want a close group like SatC”. The ladies of Sex and the City have made an impact on males and females alike and their influence spans a wide range of ages. Everyone wants to relate to them but I wonder how far people are willing to take their obsessions.

Two weeks ago I was wandering the city with my brother who was visiting from San Francisco, and as we walked we began to notice more and more "Carrie" look a-likes. Not because they looked like Sarah Jessica Parker, but because they were dressed to the nines in designer clothes, with matching accessories, and some were even walking down the street in groups of four. I fear Sex and the City has slowly taken over NYC in real life, appearance, behavior, and personal searches. No one looks for "Mr. Right" anymore. Today every woman wants to find her "Mr. Big!” I find it interesting just how far the franchise stretches, and even more so how much it continues to influence our lives. The 20 to 30 year old women of today who religiously watched all 6 seasons are now adding that much more pressure to themselves as they continue the search of a dream life that only lives in television. For better or worse, Sex and the City is today’s fairy tale for young girls.

Before Sex and the City, the 9 season run of Seinfeld was what many people compared their lives to. We can all quote lines from Seinfeld like Soup Nazi’s "No soup for you!", or Elaine and her search for men that were "Sponge Worthy", or Jerry and George's brilliant pitch idea to the executives of NBC for "a show about nothing". And who can forget Jerry arguing with the woman at the car rental who needed to "hold the reservation". Some may have even compared their friends to characters like Phoebe, Monica, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, and Ross. Friends was also a way of life that we followed religiously. Even the wild adventures of Will and Grace and the outrageous one-liners from Jack and Karen we love. We want to be able to say we had a “Karen moment” or to tell someone, “that is so Just-Jack”. The every day life of the average American is crazy, hectic, and unpredictable. We have good days and bad days, but no matter what happens on any given day we always look for an escape to relax with an activity, hobby, show, or video game that allows us to step out of our own personal lives for a few minutes. Whether it is an escape through music, or through one of the classic shows that dramatize or add a comedic flair to conversations and our personal interactions, we are all looking for something.

Classic shows live on forever in the hearts and minds of fans and those special shows like Seinfeld, Friends, Will & Grace, and Sex and the City will influence generations long after the shows are no longer running. We just need to remind ourselves to pull back from the dream world of television and step back into the real world where we live our lives and create our own fairy tales.

A Show About Nothing...

There was a time not so very long ago when Hollywood was producing hit after hit and the television networks were producing tons of Emmy acclaimed series that were truly worth watching. But a lot has changed over the last decade in both mediums. Of course I am one to talk, since I am fascinated and amazed by big explosions and the newest CGI (computer generated images) used for visual and special effects. But, I would love to see great writing make a compe back. I feel that unless the younger generations of film and television writers are not careful we will never see classics again. I have read scripts and watched films by talented filmmakers submitted for film festivals, some of the better writers are even still in college, but the styles of their writing and the things they write about are not original concepts. From personal experience I remember struggling with my serior video project, working in a crew of eight, trying to come up with an original comcept that was realistic and "do-able" for a college project on a college students budget. But our project ended up just being another version of a story that has already been told, and even retold again recently. I believe, and even regret that almost everything currently coming out of Hollywood has already been previously made at some point in the history of film.

Repeat offenders and modern adaptations to classics have infiltrated the media market in a way that has warped the minds of younger generations. Ask almost anyone under the age of 25 "who starred in the original Manchurian Candidate or The Day the Earth Stood Still" and they will give you a blank stare. Ask them which film Steven Spielberg's Disturbia was adaprted from and most won't be able to tell you it was the classic Hitchcock film Rear Window with Jimmy Stewart. Even ask waht film is similar to the recently released Eagle Eye, and I bet most will not think of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The newer filmmakers do not neem to have the creativity that the older generations had and it is beginning to show by the excessive number of remakes about to be released. Fewer and fewer stories are original ideas, and most are just modern remakes with larger explosions, more elaborately choreographed chase sequences, scarier looking villians, and enough blood to make any horror/gorror fan cringe.

But that is just the film market. Look at what is happening to the television market. About 75% of the offerings airing on cable networks are either reality television or competitive game venues. Each year we are seeing fewer and fewer written shows. We have very few sitcoms that could truly rival Mash, Seinfeld, Friends, American Dreams, or any other series that has run longer than 2 seasons. I wish we had more creatively written stories made for television that make watching TV more enjoyable.

The next time you’re at Blockbuster, ask to rent Seinfeld season 4, disk 1, and watch episode 43 (The Pitch) where George and Jerry make plans to go into NBC and pitch the idea of a new show that would be about nothing. This episode simply says it all. Good writing with an original idea, even if it is about nothing, could become one of the greatest series ever created. Today, unfortunately, we have shows that have no substance, shows that truly have no point and yet we are drawn into their creator’s “reality” and yet reality television is not realistic. There are shows about nothing, that go nowhere, that truly have no point, yet they are still written series. Every episode has a writer credited for each and every episode. Game shows, competitive reality series such as The Mole, Survivor, America’s Next Top Model, Wipe Out, Hole in the Wall, and The Bachelor are all produced reality shows. “Reality” television like The Hills, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Bridezilla, Real World, Big Brother, and any upcoming reality show is a very special genre called produced television. It has the full appearance of being from the real world, which we all live in and we all watch because we find it fascinating, but it is not true to real life. The characters in the show are not always video taped 24 hours a day, so when the camera crews do arrive they are given topics to discuss so that the producers and directors have the conversations needed to edit segments in order to complete episodes. The main characters are given a list of topics to be covered and told to bring them up so that the camera can capture the footage. Late things are gone through and edited together piece by piece to fine tune everything until the product is finished, which we watch on any given network on any given night.

Produced television is the new craze that is about nothing and it is very easy to become involved with it and connected to it. We all watch it and get wrapped up in the drama, some of it true, some exaggerated truths behind disagreements between friends or couples, and yet we love it because it allows us an escape from our own lives and daily troubles. We look forward to the struggles that the characters go through each week being thankful that we do not have to go through the type of drama that is being portrayed as reality. One must just keep in mind that it is staged reality that you are watching that is being marketed and promoted as “true reality”. So take a back seat in life for an hour a night and catch up on the latest fight between Lauren and Audrina or on the adventure of Survivor and Amazing Race. Enjoy the short stay in their world, but just remember to make the return trip to the real reality that we live in. Come back to smell the fresh flowers which are used to remind us that life is real and not a façade like those Hollywood uses each and every day as they pitch their shows about nothing to the viewers, for every show is truly “a show about nothing.”

House of Illusions

I have always thought of Hollywood as one big circus, not because of the craziness that goes on, but more as a Fun House amusement feature. More specifically I look at it as the Hall of Mirrors. I say this not because it is always changing or because the same street looks completely different from day to night, but because Hollywood is a city of illusions. If we did not have Penn and Teller, Chris Angel, Houdini and other amazing illusionists and magicians I would say that the city of Hollywood is one of the oldest and greatest magicians ever.

Hollywood has always been known for its ability to create anything it wants through the magic of smoke and mirrors. The director finds the most talented magicians in the arts and skills required to accomplish the desired look and effects needed to achieve their vision. For example, when the latest TRL (MTV Total Request Live) set was built the set designer was asked to create colorful light panels on the smallest budget possible. After doing some research they found that they could create the desired effect by painting metal pasta strainers bright colors, drill a whole through the bottom of the base large enough to fit a light bulb through to screw into a power source that would be attached to set structures. If you were to attend a taping of TRL or catch one of the final episodes before the show ends in November, you will see the bright lights lining the entrances to the main studio and they look as though they are amazingly bright color fixtures, not the smoke and mirrors that truly make up the visual appearance you are seeing.

These are common practices throughout the industry. Former sets are restructured and painted so that they do not appear to be the same house, street, car, or room show after show. The Munsters’ house has been seen in multiple films and television shows throughout the years, yet you would never know it was the same house unless you were made aware of the tricks used by the set designers. Even more impressive is the fact that the most elaborate sets could in fact be nothing more than large amounts of Styrofoam sculpted into whatever furniture, technological equipment, or fictitious shape needed to create the world of film and television. Nip/Tuck is one such set.

Walking around the Paramount Studios lot, you will pass several sound stages that are currently used for multiple scenes including the operating rooms used for some of the shows more graphic scenes. The unusual thing about the set is that each piece of equipment is nothing more than huge pieces of styrofoam that have been sculpted by the art team, which are full sized replications of an x-ray machine, CAT scan machine, and other large medical equipment they did not have budget for renting or a location with the equipment in the room, so they did the next best thing and created it in a cheap and effective way.

Dirty Sexy Money is another set that using magic tricks to create the elaborate sets that are seen in each and every episode. The limousine that the Darling’s are seen riding in is actually only half of a limousine. If you were to see it in person, it would look like a vehicle that had been ripped open by the jaws of life but the effect this trick has is that it allows for a camera operator and audio technician to be in the vehicle with the cast while shooting the scene. The trick is used to make the appearance that they are seen riding in the vehicle without limiting camera movement and acting limitations due to minimal space. Even their Manhattan penthouse is a façade with a window that opens to a cement wall. During an actual shoot when the window is in the frame, a canvas is placed in front of the wall that is a scaled painting of the New York skyline. Matte paintings and canvas are used all the time to complete a set when the actual location is not available or non-existent in the real world. Scaled models and matte paintings complete the façade that is sometimes needed with all of the fantasy worlds that Hollywood creates for us to escape in, yet little hints of the real world like a vase of flowers or fresh fruit in a kitchen make all the smoke and mirrors feel a little more realistic for the actors, as well as the audience.

Sets design is not the only use of magicians that Hollywood has been using since the first moving picture was released. Make-up, visual effects, scaled models of all sizes and animatronics are all tricks of the trade. Hollywood can turn the most beautiful actor into one of the most hideous monsters, which we hope not to encounter in our dreams. It can animate a metal skeletal structure covered with dark fur into a creature we know as King Kong. It can transform a Ford Mustang into a an outer space being we know as the autobot Bumblebee in a seamless visual effect that makes Transformer fans mouths’ water. It can also create worlds we only dream of from some of the greatest pieces of fantasy and science fiction literature, such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Interview with the Vampire, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the upcoming release Twilight, and many others. But Hollywood is learning to adapt in many other ways.

Hollywood has adapted with the always-improving technology advances. Action films have bigger bigger explosions, more impressive fight sequences and amazing visual effects. Horror films have scarier villains, more graphic gore and the storylines are more twisted than ever. Drama films have more elaborate sets and wardrobes to fit the elegance of the period in which the stories are set in. Romantic–comedies are a little more physical in the humor and the dialogue and courting methods are changing with what it is like to date today in the real world like in Kate Hudson’s latest film, My Best Friend’s Girl. The language was harsher, the physical action more obviously sexual and frequent. All this would have embarrassed my Grandmother’s sensibilities and her era of the romantic comedy, such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Top Hat or Jack Lemon and Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment, but all this said, the essence of the Hollywood Romantic Comedy is delightfully the same. All of these adaptations are needed for Hollywood to stay up-to-date with its story telling so that audiences continue to enjoy and love what the magicians come up with.

Down the Rabbit Hole and Into Hollywood

September 1 - I walked off the plane and into a world I know little about. My last trip to Hollywood was for a 3-day shoot, which left very little time to see any sights. I arrived on a Saturday and spent Sunday night driving around at 3am because I wasn’t sure when I would be able to make a trip back to Hollywood. I remember feeling like a criminal driving up and down Hollywood Blvd, passing police vehicles patrolling the streets for prostitutes and illicit drug deals. I made sure to keep my windows up as I repeatedly drove back and forth in hopes of finding the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater, which is now used for the Oscar ceremonies, and a glimpse of that historic sign that watches over the city of Hollywood. . . But this trip was completely different.

I flew in on Labor Day, picked up my car and drove straight to the Paramount Studio lot to begin working in preparation for the VMAs, which were to take place the following Sunday. But when I called my supervisor I was told to take the day off and enjoy the city before showing up on site for a 5:45am call time the following morning. I was ecstatic with the news and jumped on the 405 freeway heading straight for the Hollywood hills. I made a full day of sight seeing in only a few hours, including a trip to Universal Studios.

During the studio tour that Universal gives at their theme park, I was able to see some of the back lots, sound stages, props and vehicles that have been and still are being used in various Universal films and ABC television shows. I was able to take a drive down Wisteria Lane since the ladies of Desperate Housewives had the day off. I was blown away by the history that filled the streets at Universal studios and all that it has to offer visitors. For example, I found it very interesting that the house Betty Applewhite lived in is the same house that the Munsters used back in the mid-60s. The Youngs’ lived in the Leave It To Beaver house used from the late 50s and early 60s. Even Jimmy Stewart’s house from Harvey is now used as Gabie and Carlos Solis’ residence. The only thing I was disappointed with was not being able to see the famous Courthouse Square from Back to the Future and the King Kong set that was lost during the horrible Los Angeles fire back in June.

Other than Universal I was able to get a very intimate tour of Paramount Studios. This was something I never dreamed of experiencing, and it made me feel like Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. I was able to enjoy a tea party with many Mad Hatters which I know as the MTV crew, for we were all a little crazy for taking on such a huge endeavor and putting on a show from the back lots of Paramount Studios. Our production offices were set up in the Crosby Building and I was able to work every day just upstairs from the orchestra room where Bing Crosby recorded famous songs like those sung in White Christmas. The experience was straight out of a fairy tale and every day I walked by something new.

I was able to see the sets of Everybody Hates Chris where the locker room scenes are shot, and where shows like Dirty Sexy Money and Nip/Tuck are shot in various sound stages around the property. With over 30 sound stages and the ability to shoot anything on the back lot due to the magic of film I was able to walk down a street in New York City, turn the corner and end up in the middle of Chicago, and then walk down a side street and bump into a military platoon in full traditional gear who appeared to be in the middle of shooting a new film. I even got to walk down the old streets that were known as Desi Productions, where Ricky and Lucy shot ‘I Love Lucy’ in the 50s, which included their bungalows on the left and little Ricky’s park which is now used as the studio lot's daycare center on the right. The history is still standing, but it has been expanded though the original structures and landmarks still remain. In addition to all of these sights, I am such a film geek that I had my picture taken with Bumblebee from Transformers before he was driven down the lot to continue filming Transformers 2; and all this during the day.

At night Hollywood comes alive with the famous characters wondering the streets for visiting tourists who want to have a moment with their favorites, but with the VMAs in town it wasn't just characters but the actual actors known for such characters that were wondering the streets. The VMAs was a day that will be my poison. I am fully addicted to the stress and strain, with the physical and mental exhaustion that comes from working such an intense show. Being able to work the red carpet as crew and assist casting with the shuttling of audience participants for the closing performance that was truly a show to remember. It is something that I dragged myself out of bed for with a smile and I know that there will never be anything like it ever again. Even future VMA shows will differ and I can say that I was part of the walking dead that survived the 2008 show. I have survived and I cannot wait for more. Although I was only a very small piece in a very large production, I am very happy to say that I have contributed a piece that allowed MTV viewers a behind the scenes glimpse of the red carpet build.

If you log onto the MTV website and look up behind the scenes coverage of the VMAs you will find a time lapse video of the red carpet being build, the pre-show rehearsal, the pre-show and even the beginning of the carpet tear down, which spans 5 days into a total of 90 seconds. That video was part of my many projects and the experience of coordinating the project was something that took over 2 weeks to put together. But if you had logged on during the first week of September you would have seen the video streaming live, in real time, and would have been able to see us working in Los Angeles and the Paramount lot crew building the pre-show set. All that remains now is a small imprint of my work, a 90 second clip of the entire week’s activity.
In Hollywood everyone wants to leave a mark. Julia Roberts left hers on the famous motel that was used in Pretty Woman and can be seen driving down Las Palmas. Studio lots have famous stars marks all over them. Lucy and Ricky left Desi Productions to Paramount and yet their mark still remains visible for everyone who is interested to stop by the studio entrance on Grower Street. Hollywood Blvd has their hand and foot prints right out in front for us to see. The VMA’s clip is the beginning of making my mark and I am looking for my next mark when it hits theaters on September 19 during the prom scene in My Best Friend's Girl. But as I drink my medicine and return to the world of reality from Wonderland I can only wait for and dream of what my next adventure will be, and if I will be able to follow the white rabbit back to Hollywood.

So find your nitch and leave your marks, and if you have to take a fall down the rabbit hole do it. Free fall down that long hole and then run after the rabbit. But if you get time stop by the Mad Hatter's tea party, come and say hi.

Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

The last week has been one unexpected event after another, with one consecutive theme… a playlist. By now, many of you have probably seen trailers for the new teen flick Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and after I saw it the concept hit me; New York City has a soundtrack all of its own. You have the angry taxi drivers honking, bike bells ringing, tourists yelling for each other, and all the sounds that create the music. I have been trying to block out the city’s soundtrack, and now that I look back at everything I have done it and it feels as though I have created my own personal movie soundtrack. I have a song that starts my day, a song to drown out the subway noises, mellow music to keep me calm at work, and soothing music at the end of the day. It was only something I vaguely considered before, but with the craziness that I have experienced in preparation for the Video Music Awards (VMAs) I have felt the concept being reinforced even more, and this week the work soundtrack was the Bumblebee theme as we hurried to prepare for the big event. Now, not only do I have a play list, but I am also racking up footage for special features with an ever growing and interesting blooper reel.

When I first moved into my apartment I had the immediate image of a classic Hollywood film shot in Harlem. I pictured the fire hydrants opened and water filling the streets and the neighborhood kids playing in the water to stay cool; and when I turned the corner walking down my street I couldn’t help but laugh. What I pictured from my movie references was exactly what I had just walked into. Films are not always that off from real life and it brought a new energy and feel to the life I had been living before NYC. I even found myself walking down 49^th street, and crossing paths with the filming of a mini-series making me feel my life had become like a feature film. Unfortunately, life throws mysterious curve balls from time to time that can complicate any given situation, or even add a sense of screw-ball comedy to an otherwise ordinary life.

I watch films for their bonus features to see what happens behind-the-scenes and to see what types of mistakes make the blooper reel cut. My personal blooper reel consists of experiences and incidents that are beyond my control. It includes a mishap that occurred on the set of a feature film. On this set we were working a shoot at the Burlington Mall during regular operating hours with equipment, cast and crew on the first level, and the second floor open to anyone who was in the mall for the day. As 250 extras were shoveled into a tent in the parking lot and shuttled in large groups indoors for shoots you can only imagine the type of chaos that the production assistants experience while handling such a large number of people. When we finally started shooting we were told to run from point A to point B and left with no other instructions or information regarding what the scene was. When the director called “action” we set off in the direction of our mark. 100 extras ran through the center of the mall next to Santa’s Village. What we didn’t know was that the actors involved in the scene were hidden among the set. Suddenly we had 5 actors with weapons running towards us. I was taken by surprise as one attacked from the left with a skateboard as though he was going to hit me over the head, and another came in from the right carrying a gun. I threw my hands over my face and in the process quickened my pace. I knew that there was an older lady next to me who abruptly disappeared. What I did not know was that in the “organized chaos” that the director was looking for, I had accidentally knocked her to the ground-- Production was paused to make sure she was OK and to inform ‘us’ that ‘we’ were not to actually push people out of the way to escape the criminals we were running from. Had they mentioned that before hand, the incident may not have happened. But, film in all its glory is always “Organized Chaos”, and we are but pawns in the Director’s Vision; oblivious to what is happening around us until after the story is told.

More recently you witnessed a mishap that neither myself, nor the ‘Town Common’ newspaper had any control of . . . We all know that technology has a mind of its own, like the Hal computer in Stanley Kubrick’s, 2001: A Space Oddysey. Even though there are times when we can prevent things from happening, there are other times when technology tells us “you have no control”. Unfortunately my last article, ‘The Wizard’s Curtain’ fell victim to the Sirens of such technology. Even embarrassing bloopers have made appearances. I recently had a conversation with actor Kal Penn (House and Harold and Kumar), I mentioned that I had a hula boy on my dashboard that I named after his comedic character Kumar. I don’t know what possessed me to share this information, but he was such a nice guy and the conversation was so casual . . . and then the story slipped out. Granted, the memory was of a very fun time with a girlfriend I had not seen in many years and seeing Kal Penn made me think of her, but I probably should have kept the story to myself. I will only say that his reaction made me feel much better about sharing. He laughed and enjoyed the story. But I will probably be remembered as “that girl with a hula doll named Kumar”. Not my fondest moment.

Unexpected events happen all the time; embarrassing, stressful and sometimes life altering. But, it is how we deal with the outcome of these events that separates an amateur from a professional. Smile and laugh it off if it is something embarrassing. I feel horrible that I knocked over a fellow extra, and that I divulged information about my hula boy, but shit happens. I laugh about it now and share the stories with friends and family, and I hope it won’t happen again. But I’m sure it will. Even those mistakes involving technology whether it is a misprint or a message sent to the wrong person via text or an email to a friend that you accidentally send to your boss.

Things happen. Life happens . . .

Take every experience and make the most of it. If the outcome is not quite what you hoped for work to improve it the next time around, or in my case I hope to improve my moments of utter klutziness through physical movement and verbal expression. Like Forrest Gump says… “Life is like a box of chocolates. Never know what you’re gonna get.” So pick a chocolate and take a bite.

Wizard's Courtain

In November 2005, a year before Boston became the next "it" shooting location, Providence, Rhode Island was the hottest place to shoot feature films and television series. Granted, a lot of series using Providence as their main location were actually shot in Los Angeles on sound stages, using Providence only for those exterior shots that could not be recreated in the studio. TV shows like Providence, Showtime’s Brotherhood, and Waterfront were just a few of the shoots that locals were seeing around town, but, November brought heavy hitting actors like Wesley Snipes and Sybil Sheppard into the New England area for an independent film directed by Mario Van Peebles.

In the fall of 2005, I was a first semester sophomore at Fitchburg State. I asked a few professors on campus what they would suggest I do to try and get some work experience, and they suggested a website that had a classified section for all things in the New England area. One night, during a research session, I stumbled upon a listing for office interns for the production office for the movie Hard Luck, which is now out on DVD. I applied for the position and was asked to come in the following Wednesday night for an interview. A week later, around 5 pm, I drove down to Providence as soon as I was out of class and two hours later I walked into the film office. I was completely taken off guard because I was not prepared for what I saw. Everything having anything to do with this movie was contained on two floors in a rented office building in down town Providence. Every department imaginable: casting, accounting, executive producers, location scouts, set design teams, wardrobe and make-up teams, as well as the production management teams consisting of those individuals who acted as liaisons between movie set(s) and business offices. I was so unfamiliar and so not ready for the world that I had just entered. I felt like I had stepped through my television into a world that was now black and white. Luckily, due to my film classes, I at least had some (though very little) knowledge and understanding of how productions are to work and what each team is responsible for, but seeing it right before my very eyes was like stepping into an alternate universe. This was a real culture shock!
I was so overwhelmed by everything that was taking place I offered to work the night just to test my own performance in this kind of environment, but also, I hoped to get familiar with the confusion and super warp speed of production work. By 2am my tasks for the evening were completed and I was asked to return. I was so excited that I quickly agreed to work a 5 day week-- but mainly to cover the weekend shoots Friday into Sunday evening.

Two nights later I returned for my first weekend. I was assigned the position of office assistant to the production manager and her assisting team. I was in charge of filing all of the daily paper work, photo copying redrafted scripts and prepping these scripts for distribution to those who needed them. I was also in charge of prepping the sides (specific scenes pulled from the script that were on the schedule to shoot the following day) and creating the next day shoot packets for distribution. It was a lot of general busy work, but it allowed me the opportunity to see the type of preparation that goes into the planning and prepping of daily shoots on a professional set.
One night, while prepping the sides, the assisting manager asked me if I would deliver the packets I had prepared to those needing them for the next day. Delivery was to be to the individuals’ specific rooms at a hotel that was on my route home. I agreed that there would be no problem and I’d be happy to do it. She handed me the distribution list of names and the address for those on the list. I did not think much about the list at first, but as I began going through the names and copying them onto their respective packets, I came across a name that caused me to immediately freeze. (I felt like Toby Maguire in Pleasantville when he was standing on the street and a tree suddenly burst into colorful flames.) The first sign of what "real" life looks like in this black and white world was the sudden realization that I was no longer in Kansas. I had finally crossed the yellow brick road into the World of Oz. The people on my list of deliveries are not people from my world, but from the world that only Hollywood can create. They are the people we only dream about meeting, and I would be walking right up to their doors and delivering packages of shooting information directly into their hands! (How intimidating is THAT?) That night was the moment I knew my life would never be the same. I was Dorothy in Oz, granted, not following the same yellow brick road that all of the stars follow, but the more heavily traveled path that the production teams walk everyday, leaving black scuff marks in their wake from the equipment they have to drag behind them along the way, hoping to have an audience with the wizard who will recognize their hard work and their talents and hopefully allow them to work behind the curtain with him.

I was such a nervous wreck as I walked down the 11th floor hallway to room 734. The man behind the door is someone I have always admired for his talents as an actor, but I never thought that this early in my schooling, let alone my career, that I would be able to meet him, even though I was only a runner and not much higher on the industry’s food chain than the person who runs for coffee all day long . . . I knocked on the door of his room and waited-- When the door opened, I was greeted by a frustrated agent, but I could hear the voice of Wesley Snipes just behind the door. At the time, I did not understand why the agent looked so angry and I did not want to listen to the loud ranting that was taking place, so I nodded to the man, handed him the packet, and left as quickly as I could.

I know that this is not the most glamorous story, but truth be told, most of my encounters with stars have been anything but glamorous. They are the glam, but not the way the press and media hype them up. In my few encounters, the one thing I have learned is that the stars appreciate more than anything to be treated like an everyday person. Just like the wizard, the stars are just regular people working behind a curtain. Of course, their curtains are more like shower curtains and we are able to see their every more, but if you ever see a star on the street, I guarantee they will be friendlier if you acknowledge them as you would anyone you know.
We are all walking along a yellow brick road in search of the Emerald City. Some of us lack a heart, some a brain and some courage. But once we arrive, we discover we are all regular people, even those who have been chosen to work behind the wizard’s curtain. Pull it back, and you will see our fears, weaknesses and desires. Right now my path is leading me to the emerald city of Hollywood. I know I am lucky enough to be given the opportunity to act as a production assistant for “VMA Weekend” and will be working on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles, and witness the magical work of the wizard that I now know as MTV. So follow your heart, bring your brain and collect your courage as you start off down your yellow brick road as you create your own realization to your dreams.

Living In Oblivion

To be involved in the world of movies, an unknowing person may believe it to be a dream come true. From the first time you set foot on set you feel it is like something straight out of a fairy tale. The scale of everything is larger than life. Even as the lowest person on a set (an extra), you feel as if you are royalty and there is no comparison to real life. From the pampered treatment you receive from the make-up and hair artists between takes, to the sometimes extravagant sets and wardrobes, and the unbelievable meals provided, but can occasionally be strictly an "eat at your own risk" adventure. Each of these experiences in and of itself can be like a dream come true, but, it is the audition process that is a treacherous path that not everyone journeys safely through.

I have been auditioning for dancing and acting parts since the age of 5, however, physical challenges have prevented me from obtaining these opportunities. Being shy of 5' tall with an athletic build and brown hair, the dance world has turned me away from professional productions. This rejection has not prevented me from having auditioned for season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance? (turned away in the first cut) and a dancer for the Celtics (turned away during the 3rd cut). I have also auditioned for performing positions with 6 Flags, Busch Gardens, Disneyworld, as well as minor roles in various plays and films, but have never received a call back. With each rejection I have grown as a performer and have became a stronger person. I accept the challenge to enter a world that is structured around appearance, with females that are 5'6" and taller, skinny, and blonde. As a dancer, these are 3 things I lack. But I never given up! Today I continue to struggle with auditions, but I look forward to and welcome the next opportunity that will come my way and believe that one day my drive will overshadow my physical shortcomings of that “dream girl” look.

This past weekend Boston Casting held an open call for roles in an upcoming Mel Gibson and Robert DeNiro film scheduled to begin shooting in mid-August in the Boston area. I hope to receive a call back, but if I do not there is always tomorrow to try again. I live in oblivion, never knowing what to expect in life or on set. But when you do land a spot on set, that is when the madness truly begins.

In 1995 an independent film (Living in Oblivion)was released staring Steve Buschemi. This film gives viewers a comedic glimpse of what it is really like to be a filmmaker. It shows the chaotic life of an independent filmmaker and some of the circumstances that can cause a production to fall apart. This film has made a huge impact in my life and is one of the reasons why I wanted to become a part of the film industry. Some of my friend may describe me as crazy, but truth be told, you have to be a little nuts to want to work in this world. The occasional pre-Madonnas that you have to handle, the potential for extreme amounts of stress, sleepless nights, the chaos of Mother Nature, and human error are just a few things that one may have to deal with on a daily basis. Many of us have learned ways to coup with the stress, but others are driven mad by it. Anything can cause a production to halt mid-way through, and then there are things that can cause a production to fall apart before it even begins.

While in college, I produced five student projects and all of them had their moments of utter destruction. There were occasions where we were locked out of locations, lost a lead actor the day before production was scheduled to begin due to a call into active duty, lost crew mid-way through productions due to personal tragedies, and have had an entire day’s worth of footage lost due to faulty equipment or improper development of film. But, these production problems are nothing in comparison to the craziness that takes place while working on set. When producing, you can work around the situation and you have some control, or at least you feel you have some control. However, when on set, you have no control over the situation, and you can become the problem.

I have witnessed, as well as accidentally caused a few problems that can occur when on set. In the last year I have attended about a dozen auditions and was cast as a background performer in two. One, a Kate Hudson film due out in September, is such a film that experienced several delays during production. During one such shoot, they used a church for a holding area, and due to the content of the scene the church decided to kick the production out and they had to stop production until they could quickly find a new location for holding extras and equipment. Another set back they experienced was during the prom scene.

I was cast as an extra along with 150 other people in their early 20s for the prom scene. We worked three 16-hour days in a Boston high school gymnasium with no AC, cameras and lights running at all times, and only 2 fans turned up between takes so that the noise would not interfere with audio recording. During the second day, we were performing a dance scene for about 2 hours when heat and dehydration hit hard. Production was put on hold for several hours as cast and crew dealt with the toll it was taking on all of us. Lucky nothing serious had happened and we were quickly brought back on set to resume shooting once everyone had been rehydrated and given a meal. Productions experience various types of set backs in all different shapes and sizes, and you’ll never know when or what may happen.

I live in a constant state of oblivion in life and in work. I never know what is going to happen from minute to minute, but I love every second of it. Life is too short to not live out your dreams, no matter how wild or crazy they may be. No matter how many people get in your way by turning you down, or saying that you cannot do it, do not let that stop you. Work that much harder for the next opportunity that comes your way. Welcome chaos and the unpredictable nature of people and of life itself. Join me as I live in oblivion and enjoy life.

New Beginnings - From Small Town to the Big Apple

Standing in Time Square and looking around you will see promotional shoots, commercial shoots and photo shoots taking place on Military Island, you’ll see the crew of MTV’s TRL recording its weekly episodes, and of course the various feature film shoots taking place on 42^nd Street and other various New York areas. New York City is one of the hubs for the film and television industry. It is the city that never sleeps, or I should say it is the city that is sleep deprived. This is my world and I have been newly inducted.

For the last 2 months I have been working for MTV Networks in New York City, and before that I was a college student completing my last requirement before graduation. The last 6 months have been a whirlwind of events of which I can only recall bits and pieces. In the entertainment world the biggest thing you have to remember is that it is all about who you know and being in the right place at the right time. I feel that if I’m not careful my luck will run out because the last 6 months have been nothing but luck. Let me take you back a few months just to give you an idea of what I mean.

April 24 was the last day of my internship. My final evaluation was to be the following day and then I was to spend the weekend packing up my dorm room and moving back home to begin my search for “real work”. At 5:30pm I was asked to give a tour to a visiting VP and his family. No one else in the studio wanted to do it so I was happy to volunteer. The tour went relatively smoothly, minus getting scolded half way through the tour, but as the tour ended I was asked what I wanted to do when I grew up and if I was familiar with editing software. I answered to the best of my ability since I was slightly intimidated from being scolded earlier, and as this VP walked his family out the door he told me to send him my resume. That night, I didn’t think anything of the day’s event and did not send him my resume, but at 10:30 am the following morning, with my school internship supervisor standing beside me, my studio boss walked towards me with a huge grin. After introducing himself to my school internship supervisor, he informed me that I had an interview for a job with the VP from the previous day.

Today, I have just completed my first month working as the personal production assistant to this VP and beginning preparations for this summer’s VMAs (MTV’s Video Music Awards).

Six months ago, I would never have dreamed that I would have the position that I am enjoying, right out of college, nor would I have imaged that I would have an official production credit to my name resulting from my work on a special MTV program that aired June 7^th. So, a little tip to anyone reading this, never doubt yourself or the unexpected because you never know who you’ll meet some random afternoon and what impact that meeting could have on your life. Anything can happen if you go that little extra mile, put yourself out there and show honest and sincere passion in whatever area or field of work you have an interest in.

I hope in this column I can give you an inside view of what it is like to live and work inside the film and television industry. I would like to share some of my stories, some of grandeur and some of horror. But before I begin, let me officially introduce myself.

My name is Hannah and I am a member of the class of 2004 from a small Massachusetts town high school who recently graduated from college in 2008. I have always loved watching movies and sharing them with my brother, but my awareness that I had a deeper interest to make movies a part of my life began my sophomore year while sitting in an American Cinema class. We had just finished watching Bonnie and Clyde and I couldn’t get the images from the final scene out of my head. That night there was a special on Entertainment Tonight with a guy whose job it was to watch films and catch all of the mistakes and technical errors before the films are released for theatrical distribution. I thought, how amazing it is that there is a job like this in the film industry. I decided that night that I would one day be a part of the movie business production process. I give thanks to my cinema and drama teachers for giving me the support I needed during my high school days to push myself in the direction of my dreams. Looking back on my school years, I believe if it had not been for my cinema and drama classes, I most likely would not be sitting at my desk working feverishly assisting with schedules and research for upcoming MTV programs and projects. My play in the industry is something that I only dreamed of and have now come true, but getting here was not at all easy or a bed of roses, but was a long roller coaster ride, with more treacherous track to go. I look forward to sharing the wild and crazy ups and downs beginning my career from my own personal school projects, to working in the production office of a Wesley Snipes film, to being an extra in a few recent feature films, to future adventures wherever they may take me. I want to share my stories with anyone interested, and to maybe help someone find their own path into this crazy world or another, and let you know not to give up or think it can’t be done.