The Baster - New Jennifer Aniston comedy!

(from April 10,2009)

Thinking that I would have no work this past week as it was Passover and Easter, I really didn't expect to get any work. Lo and behold, things always happen when you don't expect it. Sure enough this was true this past week as I was booked on the new Jennifer Aniston move "The Baster" co-starring Jason Bateman.


The movie “The Baster" is a comedy with co-star Jason Bateman. Which is about you guessed it...one thousand ways to use a turkey baster! You can either baste a turkey or "baste" yourself!Thus a new movie synopsis is born!

It’s basically about an unmarried 40-year-old woman turns to a turkey baster in order to become pregnant. Seven years later, she reunites with her best friend, who has been living with a secret: he (Jason Bateman) replaced her preferred sperm sample with his own!

Shocking! As if this concept has never been done before on a Soap Opera. Still I have to admit, it's a cute premise with comedy potential. On to the night....

The night consisted of mostly line, lines, and more lines. The night started in a line to get checked in and to get the pay voucher. Then you have to get into another line to get checked by wardrobe. Then you wait…and you wait and wait some more in a holding are until a some PA comes in the room with a bullhorn and tells you have 5 minutes to get ready for lunch!

Mind you before we got summoned to Lunch, we totally rationed and hunted out for any drivel of crumbs, food, and chips we could find. I was not going to let myself starve on this movie as we did on the Angelina Movie, "SALT", with a walk-a-way lunch!

So instantly when we saw the food table stationed down the block of the Roosevelt hotel, we started "pilfering" as much food as we could. With the past experience and knowledge of working on a big budget film and getting NO food, any sight of food meant.. "Take NOW! ...Pilfer. PILFer.. PILFER!" Oy Vey. All of a sudden I am feeling mighty Jewish! LOL.

Being the fact the it was Easter /Passover week, I think we made the Lord proud of the food we did manage to take and distribute amongst our brethren background brothers.

Of course we started stuffing our faced with rolls, meats, cheeses, Oreo cookie packs and then we find out that JEN..OH Glorious Jen was to feed us non-union folk as good if not as well as the Sag-folk. Just to get fed was a huge "Hallelujah" and rejoice across the non-sag tables. If felt like the part in the "The Commandments' where Moses takes his staff and parts the sea apart so all the (non-union) slaves can get through to where there will be food and new dwellings.


The best line of all! That is of course if there is a good buffet lunch provided for both the Sag and non-Sag players. Luckily on this movie, we did have a decent catering service provide for all 300 extras! The food was really good and some of us were just SO happy in glee and thanked JEN, our "Moses" for the night! Thank-you Jen!

The worst line has got to be the “Sign-out” at the end of the night line. This line can be brutal as people get demanding and bitchy and an entire state of panic and anger ensues. What’s amazing about this line is that after being on a set for over 14 hours and it ‘s 6am in the morning and the director still wants all the extras to act fresh and active, people are ready to drop.

Though as soon “It’s a wrap” is called, a big mad mass of people regain their energy and will race, run, scream, push, trip and fight to get into that line to get checked out! It’s a swarm of insanity and tired reckless people with the same objective “GET IN THE LINE; SIGN OUT TO GET HOME AND CRASH!”

This is what happened on a set of this nature where you have at least 300 background extras. Why I am still doing this is simply because I need the money. Though I have to admit that the madness of it intrigues me. It’s like once you get through the lines, you have accomplished something great! Strange, but true.

Just like on the Jennifer Aniston movie, we were trapped in Grand Central subway shuttle train where they shot the scene. Clearly I was not in the scene. And not visible, though when I asked if I could leave the set to use the bathroom, it was a big NO!

So it was being trapped there all night ling until they wrapped. It was 14 hours of this craziness. Walking in and out of the subway train doors, over and over again, a thousand times.

Will I do it again. Of course. My favorite part is how people complain how horrible it is, yet they ALL come back…."Back to one!"



CA ;)