Job Offer

I just turned down a Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay show (Prince of Persia: Sands of Time). They need someone to start in 3 weeks and I'm booked until the end of August.

The acct has called me before (to do the reshoot on The Break-Up) but I was already planning on going onto Used Guys and had to turn him down then, too.

I'd be more upset if it didn't seem like it was going to be a huge show with some "difficult" people. I don't really need that kind of headache.

I do need to email Brian and thank him for the referral, though.

How Green Does That Make You?

I heard a story from the POC on this show about an actress he worked with on Charlie's Angels 2. Now, I really like this actress and don't want anybody to think otherwise but this story makes me wonder.

Anyway, she's very green and does a lot for the environment. She even made the production company rent electric golf carts instead of the regular gas golf carts. Then she goes out and buys her assistant a $70K Hummer. Ummm, since when is a Hummer a green vehicle? And does she pay for the dude's gas? It must cost hundreds to fill that thing up every week. Maybe she's just off-setting her carbon footprint with the golf cart stuff...

Now I Know

I sent a timecard out to Sara to approve because I thought she was the department head for makeup. Turns out I was wrong - Allan is the dept head. I knew he had the title, but I also know he is Sam's personal makeup guy. Experience has taught me that the star's personal crew is rarely responsible for the rest of the dept. I would rather have made the error I did than to send him something and have him get mad because I would dare to bother him with such trivial matters.

How did I find this out? He called and left a message "just so I would know in the future and avoid any mistakes." How thoughtful! But really, he was fairly nice about it on the message. I'm not worried and now I know who to hold responsible.

Tattoo News

I forgot to mention: the husband said I could get some work done on the tattoo on my hand! I want to have the colors adjusted and add some vines. I don't know when that will happen, but yippee!

Working On A Sunday

When I came in on Friday, it looked like I had a huge pile of payroll. Now that I'm actually working on it, it's not so bad. It's pretty clean and if I had the production report for Friday I'd be in really good shape. Too bad the DGA 2nd 2nd dropped the ball on that one...

I saw another coyote Saturday morning. It was down in the park at the other end of the block. I kept an eye out to make sure it wasn't coming our way, but I never saw it on the street. I know Sofie's too big for them, but it makes me nervous all the same.

We didn't go to the movie last night. It didn't start until dark and I knew I had to get up this morning and go to the grocery and to work. I have to be lights out by 10pm to make that schedule. It may have to wait until this show is in wrap. I need to check the website and see what's coming up. Plus I had a nasty headache.

Anyway, I should get back to my timecards. It's getting close to done even though it doesn't look like it - there's a big stack of construction cards but they're only 3 days and really easy.

At Work

Because I didn't get done in time yesterday and went to set late, I had to come into work today and get my SAG (Screen Actors Guild) paid. They can grieve you for paying even a day late and it's such a pain in the ass. I really don't want to be here and people have started dropping extra stuff on my desk, things to fix and such. No. Not going to happen. Just waiting for the checks and I'm gone.

Running Late

I'm supposed to be at set right now. Actually, I was supposed to be at set an hour ago...

I have some late timecards that I've been waiting for from the payroll company. Usually I tell people who turn their cards in late that they will get paid late. It's the only way to manage the paperwork. But this late group includes the hair and costume crew for Jackson and I really don't want to start off on the wrong foot with that group. You never know what they'll say to the actor that may come back to bit you in the ass.

So it's better to make everyone wait for checks and have all of them then to go out on time and not have particular people.

Ah, the politics of payroll. I hate it sometimes.

True To Life

In our script, they mention the house backs up to an arroyo and kids come through to steal and vandalize.

Well, life imitated art last night as some of our set dressing got swiped out of the back yard by kids coming through the arroyo.

Maybe now they'll put a security guard back there...

Bingo

Rock-N-Roll Bingo finally has a game scheduled for this Thursday and although I've been wanting to go, I'm not so sure about this one. The charity is AIM's Life After Porn Scholarship Program... It's an adult's only night with a couple of adult film stars.

Maybe I'll wait for the next one. I really don't think porn stars need my money - whatever happened to sugar-daddies? I do wish they would give a bit more notice. I check the website almost every day and this wasn't there yesterday.

Help-Out Gig

I just got off the phone with my friend C. She's keying a low-budget show and needs some help with the payroll. I said I would help her out on Saturday. And yes, husband, it's paid. Shouldn't be too hard since the show started out non-union and everyone got a flat deal. They had to go union but they still have their deals - very little to do other than break cards, no checking the production report and crap. That's what takes all the time.

And this Saturday is The Haunting at the cemetary. We are going, aren't we husband?

Cheesecake

One good thing about working with an office full of men is they like it when I bring in baked goods. Last week I brought brownies and today it was blueberry cheesecake. I think I'm going to take a week off before I bring in the next item, but it's nice to have someone appreciate my baking. I love to do it but the husband and I can/should only eat so much!

Fucking Agents 2

The independent lawyer called my boss and told him that Dumas agent called to complain. The lawyer said he did send the contract back to her for the missing signatures, didn't she get it? Her response was she got it, but thought it was an executed contract and filed it away. So he says, well, if you had looked at the letter that I sent with it, you'd have seen what was missing and all of this could have been resolved. So now the ball's in her court and once she gets the DP to sign it and sends it back in I can pay him.

Do you think she'll call to apologize?

Fucking Rigging Grips

Speaking of not taking any crap, I got the time cards for the rigging grips this morning and the key and the best boy both have days where they indicate they didn't take a lunch. I called EG to ask him about it.

FC: Hey EG, I got your time cards and you indicate no lunch on a couple of days...

EG: Yeah, that's from the scout and from loading the truck.

FC: OK well, I have to check with the Prod Supervisor and make sure that's approved.

EG: That's ok, you can change it, whatever the PS wants, we don't care.

FC: Well, if you didn't care then you wouldn't have put down that you didn't get a lunch... But I'll check on it anyway.

PS basically said HELL NO and called him about it. Tired of the bullshit and not taking it anymore. Thanks N for the inspiration.

Fucking Agents

I hate agents.

I just got off the phone with the agent for the DP. He's been working for a while but hasn't signed his contract. Actually, from what I've heard he did sign his contract but not completely - it was sent back for the rest of the signatures...

Anyway, the studio won't let me release any checks without having a signed contract on file - they actually have to give me the green light. So I'm sitting here with a stack of checks that I can't send anywhere.

This bitch agent calls and starts trying to rip me a new one, trying to scare me into getting the DP a check. She's talking a mile a minute and won't let me say a word. In bits and pieces I manage to tell the tale about the half-signed contract and she snaps that no one sent it to her. I reply that I wasn't involved in any of that and she starts talking over me again. Finally, I tell her that if she's not going to let me get a word in edgewise, there's no point in the conversation. She yells, "GO". So I tell her that I am the bottom of the food chain and I can't do anything until the people who hire/fire me tell me to. I suggest she contact the lawyer who is negotiating the contract and the Dumas says that's it's an independent lawyer who has nothing to do with the studio - EXCEPT FOR THE FACT HE'S NEGOTIATING THE CONTRACTS!!!

Anyway, she doesn't like what I'm saying, which is basically that I can't help her and won't be cowed by her intimidation tactics and hangs up. Good riddance. Agents are leeches who need to feel like they earn their 10% but they don't need to take it out on me. I'm not putting up with any crap any more.

Hot/Cold and Drills

Our wonderful corner office gets all of the afternoon sun. Yesterday got a little hotter than normal because Wednesday night was the first night it wasn't ridiculously cool. You wouldn't think you'd need a jacket at 9pm in June... Anyway, the guys called maintenence and had them turn the a/c up a couple notches to combat the lack of natural over-night cooling. Apparently they thought it would be a good idea to set it at 55 and leave it there all night long. It was freezing when I came in this morning. The accountant was already here and his nose was all red. He's been sick and finally got over it, but could feel it coming back - made him grumpy. He was going to send the clerk to buy a sweatshirt somewhere so I jumped in and said I'd planned to go to Sears to buy a new drill - I could get him a shirt...

So off I went to Sears with my gift card and $50 from the accountant. I had to search for the shirt, hard to find in June in SoCal, but finally found a nice green one for $7. When I went to pay, there was an old man trying to return some t-shirts. Apparently, he had bought several shirts and some were made in Guatemala and some were made in Thailand. The ones from Thailand were fine, but the ones from Guatemala didn't fit right. So he wanted to exchange the G shirts for some T shirts because the G shirts didn't fit right. And he had to make sure he got the same colors because he had already bought several shirts and didn't want to duplicate. And the shirts he bought were only $5 and were the new shirts also going to be $5. The poor cashier had a bit of an accent and she kept telling him they had the same "ting" (thing) available for $5 on the floor. He didn't understand what she meant but she finally got him to go out and have a look around and I was able to buy my shirt. He was back and complaining by the time I was done but I didn't stick around to listen.

I went off to the tool dept and a nice salesman asked me if I needed help. I told him the number of the drill I wanted and they got it out of the cabinet. It was on sale so I decided to get a laser level, too. I've been wanting one for awhile for hanging the larger pictures and curtains. I used the gift card my oldest brother gave me for Christmas and went back to work. Took all of 30 minutes and the guys in my office liked the level and thought I was smart for buying a corded drill.

Test Pic

I haven't posted as many pics as I'd like on this blog. I download my camera onto my laptop and then upload everything to Shutterfly. But when I blog, I'm usually at work (slacking) and I don't have my laptop with me. Well, I just ran this test to see if I could pull a pic off Shutterfly and get it to post. Voila! The Smoky Mountains in December of 2004. Pretty, isn't it?

Now I'll be able to post pics all the time - once I get them off the camera, into the laptop, and onto Shutterfly that is.

Thanks, David

The construction coordinator came in today to get the checks for his department and as he was signing for them, told me on his last show the payroll acct didn't have his/her act together and he was going to get spoiled by a well-functioning payroll dept. It was a very nice compliment and I appreciate him saying it. I work hard to make sure people get paid right and on time and that rarely gets noticed. The few times there's a problem are all people remember. Thank dog it really has been only a few times!

Bad Fit

I found a link to a fat acceptance blog today. I've been looking at some of the posts and the blogger takes the time to point out different instances of negative attitudes about fat people in the media.

I think I went to the site hoping to find some inspiration. I mean, I'm fat but I don't intend to put my life on hold because of it. But the blog isn't meant for me because I don't intend to stay fat. I know I will never be as thin as society says I should be but I also know I am fat because I eat too much of the wrong things. I am trying to get back to what I think is an acceptable weight (about 32 pounds from where I am now) but there will always be people who will say it's still too heavy.

It's weird to be in this gray area - unhappy with my body but living my life. It seems I'm being told I can't have it both ways; if I'm out there living, then I can't diet and if I'm dieting, I must have put my life on hold. Sorry, neither one fits.

Shit List (cont'd)

Today I heard from AD, the first asst camera guy who is also missing his check. Either KK didn't tell him jack or he was testing me to see if I would tell him the same thing I told her. Plus he had the nerve to question whether or not I had even cut checks for them! Like I enjoy dealing with assholes who think I can't do my job... Anyway, he was all for a stop-payment until I reminded him of the 72 hour rule. He decided to give it one more day. The camera department is usually filled with prima donnas (because they are so close to the actors all day) and they drive me nuts.

I need to find out who the current Postmaster General is so I can direct complaints to him/her. Hang on... John E. Potter. Look out, John. I'm sending KK and AD your way.

Poor Puppy (from Fark)

This pic makes me laugh out loud, although I feel bad for the dog. It must have been very confused when it got hit in the side of the head. It's so earnest about catching that ball.

Shit List

I've got the first person on my shit list.

The camera department didn't come by on Thursday to pick up their paychecks nor did they call to let me know what to do with them. So I mailed them on Friday - which is standard operating procedure.

KK (the B camera 2nd asst) called yesterday to ask if I had held them or mailed them and I said mailed on Friday because no one had asked me to do something different. She assumed they would get them yesterday. She called again today because they haven't received them yet. It wouldn't have been a big deal but she had the nerve to say "the checks you supposedly mailed". WTF? I couldn't let that go by - I replied "there's no supposedly about it, I put them in the mail on Friday". What a bitch. Did she really think I was just going to take that? I hate that passive-aggressive crap.

Anyway, I offered to have them stopped and recut but it takes 72 hours for the payroll company to get authorization from the bank to recut a check. She's going to call me back...

Twilight Zone Fave

One of our favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone stars Sherman Hemsley as a math professor who offers to sell his soul to the Devil for the solution to an equation. The Devil, played exquisitely by Ron Glass, decides to take him up on the offer. Sam must then come up with a way to save himself.

Ron plays the Devil as a cool cat - all jazz and smooth voice. His t-shirt message changes each time you see him and I can't remember a damn one... Anyway, he spends most of the episode telling Sam all the things he can do and see and become because to save himself, Sam must give the Devil a task he can't accomplish. It seems hopeless until Sam finally says "Get lost." Of course, the Devil is just about as all-knowing as God so that's what does him in.

The point of all this? Ron Glass has been cast in LVT! I hope I get to meet him, but I don't think I can tell him to "get lost" without an explanation. After all, it's been 22 years...

Vespa Sunday

I got up at 5:30 on Sunday and walked Sofie, then took the Vespa for a spin. I drove down Lankershim to Ventura and took it thru the pass to Mulholland Drive. I headed up Mulholland all the way to Laurel Canyon and came down to Ventura again. I had such a good time and it was so nice out I turned around and went back up and around. I even stopped for a minute at the little park with the overlook. I would have stopped at the Hollywood Bowl overlook but it was foggy on that side, couldn't see much.

It was a great ride and I did better than I thought I would. I didn't drive fast and never crossed the center line, although I came close on a couple of curves! But there wasn't any other traffic and I had already decided I would pull over if someone got behind me. It's the first time I've ridden the plum when I wasn't going somewhere. It's a totally different feeling to just cruise than to commute. I think I'm going to try and do it every week.

World Premiere

I went to the world premiere of EA last night. I thought it was going to be just a cast and crew screening, but it really was the premiere. They had a red carpet and everything, even though I was shunted off behind the press - not important enough I guess. Anyway, while waiting for C I saw James Kyson Lee (Ando from Heroes), Rachael Harris, and David Hasselhoff. There were other actors from the movie attending but the ones I would have recognized I didn't see and the ones I saw I didn't recognize. Besides, I spent a lot of time thinking someone looked familiar only to realize it was the construction foreman or something. The big names saw the movie in the Gibson Amphitheatre and the rest of us saw it at the AMC.

I thought it was fine, not great but not terrible either. I think kids may like it more than adults but I hate to be responsible for someone seeing/not seeing it because of my opinion. When I worked at BBV, I used to get out of reviewing movies by claiming I liked Mom and Dad Save the World. Now, if I truly love or hate a movie I will say so, but most don't fall into one of those extremes.

C and I went to the after-party for a few minutes. She wanted to go home and see The Sopranos and I didn't want to stay by myself (and I wanted to take Sofie to the dog park). We got caricatures, had dessert, got our goodie bags and left. The bags weren't fabulous but a nice touch - an energy-saving lightbulb, some granola, discount zoo passes, a tote bag (can you see the eco-friendly theme here?). Hasselhoff did walk right in front of us while we wandered around... boy, can you say sunscreen? He needs some spf 100 and some moisturizer stat.

I still stand by my theory: the more peripheral you were to a movie being made, the more you dress for the party/premiere. Actors are exceptions because they have to look good all the time, but you just know some of the people there had never worked on a movie set in their life. But it's fun to watch.

Lolcats

I've been checking in on "I Can Has Cheezburger" ever since I saw it mentioned on Slate. I enjoy the cat pics and the captions, but I can't manage to read the comments. Trying to decipher some of that stuff makes my head hurt.

I can't decide if I feel superior because of that or not. Would it be wrong to feel superior? Probably. Who am I to knock somebody else's fun. Most likely I'm just jealous I can't think of anything to comment.

Movies Among the Headstones

I was talking to C today and she told me the Hollywood Forever Cemetery was screening Harold and Maude on Saturday. I vaguely knew they showed movies there but it never occurred to me to go see one. I checked out the website and it looks like fun.

http://www.cinespia.org/home/

Anyway, I'm not sure H&M is the movie I want to see but how cool would it be to see The Haunting in a cemetery? What do you think husband? Maybe we should go.

Apology

The woman from CAA sent me a very nice email apologizing for the woman who called yesterday.

"That's ridicules and I will call the agents and let them know...I am in contact with production office's on a daily basis and it is not appropriate for people to treat you or anyone else like that. I deeply apologize on behalf of CAA."

It was nice of her but I cracked up because of the misspellings and grammar errors. I know I can't type worth shit and often make mistakes, but you'd think with an apology you'd be more careful...

My Morning So Far

I was on the phone when I walked into the office this morning. AR told me I had a call from CAA (the uber-agency) but I told him I couldn't take it. I wish now I had because the bitch on the other end was rude to him and told him that it was inappropriate for my office to call CAA accounting and ask for I9 info on an actor, that it wasn't the "proper route."

Well, I didn't call them. A very nice woman from the agent's office called me yesterday and asked what I needed from them and said she would forward the request and email me some check authos. When I wrote back to her this morning to thank her for the authos, I told her about the rude woman who had called, just so she knew someone was pulling the "I'm an agent's assistant" bullshit with us. I'm not putting up with that crap anymore.

Especially not after Trachtenberg's people got away with calling us bozos on KIA. Man, I loved holding her check after that - helps that she couldn't sign her contract in a timely manner...

Poor C called this morning, too. She's working on a little $1.3 mil picture and someone tipped off the unions to them. Now it looks like she'll have to switch over and deal with paying everybody as union. I hope they hire her some help for that.

Push

I didn't even know it was a rumor but it was confirmed today - we are pushing 1 week. Apparently the script isn't ready because the director has spent all of his time working on his plays instead of his movie. Whatever. We only had 3 actors anyway (maybe 4 but I haven't seen any paperwork so I don't count it).

I'm pretty sure I told the husband at least a week ago I thought we might push. He had asked if I thought we'd shut down and I said no, but pushing was a possibility.

Push - to not shoot on schedule. It's not a big deal - shows do it all the time. It can be a hassle for accounting, though. Now we have to extend rentals and purchase orders one more week. Luckily we haven't been that busy so there's not a ton of stuff to deal with.

Patio Umbrella

I bought a glider set that I just love but the umbrella doesn't fit the space I want to put it in - it either hangs over the wall into the neighbor's patio or pushes the gliders out into the walkway. I only have a few options and only 1 doesn't involve spending any money. I could buy a half-umbrella, I could buy a sun shade, or I could cut 3 ribs on the umbrella I have so it becomes a half-umbrella.

The husband says to leave it where it is now, but I don't like it because I don't want a view inside the house. I want to see nothing but the patio when I'm gliding. I also don't think it's a good idea to leave it next to the drain. I'm going to have to ponder this awhile. I was all set to cut the ribs, but it's probably not the best idea even if it is the cheapest one.

Dead Drills

I took pics of the roses but totally failed at getting them downloaded. I also took pics of Quincy and Sofie and did nothing with them, either. I have 3 or 4 cd's that I want to put into my computer that are just sitting at home somewhere and my drill died so I need to buy a new one.

That last one I think I can handle while at work. Since they're not paying for lunch yet, I can take an hour and go out. There's a Sears within walking distance and I think I'll go use the gift card my brother got me for Christmas that I forgot I had. I don't know what I'm going to get yet, but something with more power than the 6 volt I have now. I wasn't sure it had died because the first problem showed up while I was screwing in some lantern hangers out on the patio. I just thought the wood was really hard. Then the drill died while hanging some metal strips in the kitchen (for my magnet collection). I figured if it couldn't handle drywall, it was done.

Speaking of the patio, the landscaper I tried to hire never called back (it's been over 2 weeks). I guess I'm just going to have to go at it myself. I asked N for some suggestions on plants that grow up instead of out and she suggested irises. I was thinking irises, too. She's going to look in some of her gardening books and let me know.

By the way, I didn't go riding this weekend. I pruned a dead bush back to the roots instead. It needed doing and the patio already looks better, but I wish I'd gone riding. The commute isn't convienent on the scooter and I don't ride as much as I'd like. Maybe this coming weekend.

Weekend Plans

I'm going home now. I didn't mean to stay this late but there's more payroll than I thought and I didn't want to leave it all 'til Monday. I don't switch my week until next weekend...

I got a newsletter from the SoCal Scooter Club. Most of the stuff they do is over the hill and I don't think I'm a good enough rider for that. But I've been inspired by a blog (Scooter in the Sticks) to take my Vespa out for early morning rides on quiet streets. I'm thinking of getting up early Sunday and driving up Laurel Canyon to Mulholland and heading east to the 101. Seems like it might be calm and peaceful - just what I need.

Have a good weekend.

Red Velvet

One of our prospective caterers came by today with cupcakes to bribe us - love the perks! Anyway, he brought chocolate, coconut, carrot cake, and red velvet. All of them had a huge mound of icing - triangular with sprinkles at the top.

The APOC and I were looking at them, commenting on the fact there was so much icing it made the cakes twice as tall when she says "I found out what Red Velvet is."

I'm thinking "Is there something about RV I don't know? Isn't it just cake dyed red?"

She says, in a conspiratorial tone, "It's just white cake dyed red."

I think "duh" but keep my mouth shut.

Apparently this caterer puts white cocoa powder into his to give them more of a flavor...

But really, do people not know that there's nothing special about red velvet cake other than the color? It's like A from EA trying to tell us that a Bundt cake is a specific flavor of cake, as opposed to just a shape. Whatever.