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 >;)
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 >;)
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