Screech!! HappyTurkeyDayGottaGoBye, ZOOM!!

Yeah, that's how my days have been lately. I went from The Apprentice Season 7 to an industrial for a pharmaceuticals company to an NPR doc show seen on Showtime to another indie feature starring Hugh Dancy and Frankie Faison (that's what I'm working on now). I've worked on another picture earlier this summer with Mr. Faison called Order of Redemption which stars Tom Berenger, Armand Assante and Buster Rhymes, and on the flip side of the camera I was an extra in an earlier film he did with Chris Rock, Down To Earth. In all cases, I've worked really long hours and traded sleep for experience and a chance for more work like this... umm, you should know at this point that I'd lost my mind a long time ago, so don't go there) In all this, I missed out on the wrap party for the revival of The Electric Company >:' as well as plenty of needed sleep.

On Thursday, I dip into LI for a quick respite with family and then go right back to work on Friday (bummer). I drive this huge G/E truck that you need training to drive (so they can trust you with it is all I can figure out why); I was told I was the only PA in this production to pass the test, to which I quipped, "Why, was I the only one to take it?" Having been on the job five days, I suspect this actually is the case. I love working in film, but damn, I gotta move up; on both sides of the camera I need to get better parts.

At any rate, I can't complain about not working. Might I add a little note about the simultaneous strikes occurring in the film world and on Broadway. I support the writers wholeheartedly; it's complete BS to say that there is no precedent for basing future revenue sharing with the DVD and downloads industry. Studios and producers made out like bandits when the same argument was made about home video rentals while the writers get virtually nil. They are determined not to be marginalized by people, and I learned this in grad school from industry insiders, who would pay writers and actors absolutely nothing if they could legally get away with it. Look on CraigsList sometime and see in the crew and talent sections how many shows are looking for people to work for "food, credit and a copy." The stagehand strike is a little different; though I don't know exactly what the beef is on both sides, I tend to favor the stagehands because I know what they have to do (having done it myself in an obviously smaller capacity) and the nature of Broadway productions is even more ruthless than with film. Trust me, I don't feel that bad for the producers here, either, though they do have it harder than film producers. This is more related to work conditions and obligations than for pay. Actually, it's also an issue about access to more pay that is being blocked for the sake of saving money on productions, while requiring more labor from the stagehands regardless of labor rules and common sense, from what I've gathered. In any case, I hope the writers and stagehands get what they want.

Okay, I've got to get back to life, au revoir >;)

Comments

Anonymous said…
I have to ask about the Hugh Dancy project since I'm a fan. What movie is it for, does he play a man with Aspergers?
Chyll Will said…
Good question... now that I think about what I've observed of the scenes (which really isn't much), I honestly don't know what it's about! The movie's called "Adam"; it's in production around Brooklyn and the Upper West Side... I think it's a romance of some sort; whether that involves comedy or drama I haven't determined as of yet. I wouldn't be surprised if his character has Aspergers as we shot a somewhat intense scene with a garbage can... well, I'll let you know when I get some more clues. >;)
Anonymous said…
Thanks for the tidbits! I had an interview with him about a month ago and he told me about his involvement and how he's playing a man with Aspies, etc. Feel free to share as many tidbits as you can!
Chyll Will said…
Will do, as professionally as I can of course. Producers are particularly sensitive about how much info is known about a production in progress, but I don't think we've crossed any lines so far...
Anonymous said…
Quite understandable - I don't want you getting in trouble. Thank you for even taking the time to talk to me a little bit. It's strange how there hasn't even been a Variety announcement for this film. I track Hugh's career pretty closely because I run a website, hence the interest.
Chyll Will said…
No problem; I should thank you for bothering to take the time here! I have good news for you; ithis is the movie where he's playing a man with Aspergers Syndrome. Funny, I found that out from the Crafty PA (the crew is well informed, as a passerby remarked) so if you know more about it from Hugh's point of view, feel free to share that link. I kinda think since this is low-low budget, it might have slipped through the cracks at Variety. Either that or the Office PA tasked with informing them dropped the ball >;)
Anonymous said…
UGHHH Order of redemption! KILL ME NOW! That shoot was so bad that my next blog is going to be on that!