Boardwalk Empire Blues..An Open Letter to The production people at Boardwalk

Dear Boardwalk Empire Production,

I have worked many years doing background work. I have experienced the bad,the good, and the ugly side of working on film and TV productions. Lately I have seen the more of the "ugly" in this business as of late in terms of being used for minimum wage.

It has been my understanding that if you work hard enough, that you will at least get a chance to get into one of the most sought after unions, SAG (Screen Actors Guild). Getting into a union like this one not only gives you credibility, but makes you feel like you have accomplished something. It's a dream that people like you and me aim to achieve.

I am not saying that I am aiming to be the next Julia Roberts or Nicole Kidman. What I am saying is I would like a little respect and some reward for my hard efforts in this business. Is that too much to ask?? Apparently it is and this was demonstrated on the set of "Boardwalk Empire". An HBO production with the pilot directed by the one and only, Martin Scorsese.

It was such an honor and privilege to work with Hollywood's finest directors, Martin Scorsese.The most ironic thing about this entire experience is perhaps the fact that the scene that I was in reflected upon the 1920's prohibition where Women were just given the privileges for the right to vote.

I was also involved in the Boardwalk scene itself. I have to admit that the scene itself was very impressive! It was a replica of the 1920's Atlantic city boardwalk. What was not that impressive was the catering and the fact that we worked on this set for 20 hours!

I understand that you need to get the shot completed as time is money. Though in this case I think that there should have been some kind of a raffle or a bump in pay for dealing with all those long hours. Just to show some appreciation for us background giving every little last bit of energy we have left.

Without background, you do not have a movie.


Sincerely,

Back to one.

Fitting for Martin Scorcesse's new HBO production

I was on the set of the Samsung Commercial when I got the call to get booked for this. The Samsung shoot was one of those miserable sets where it's pouring rain, it's an exterior and yet they want you to run around in business suits, drop your umbrella, do crosses and pretend that it's not raining.


Out of the blue I get a call from Grant Wilfley Casting, one of the biggest casting houses in New York. The message said to call up and see if I could come for a fitting for the new "Martin Scorsese" HBO production, "Boardwalk Empire". She asked me if I could make it to Brooklyn the following day and what time slot I would like to go.

I told the girl at "Grant" that I would like to take the afternoon call time for the fitting. My time was for 3pm to get to York St, which is the first stop into Brooklyn on the "F" train.

I get there to the subway stop with ten minutes to spare. I got outside and spotted another background person..you can always tell who is background. It's that certain background look of being puzzled, dragging a suitcase, and looking around aimlessly for a van.

So I approached this young lady, who obviously was going the same way I was. I introduce myself and within a couple of minutes, the van pulls around the corner. The driver pops his head out of the window and aks "Boardwalk?" We were like "Yes!" Quickly we hopped into the van.

The driver of the van clearly had a long, exhausting day of transporting people back and forth from the subway to the warehouse location. As we got on, this Woman that I know was talking his ear off and you could tell the driver wanted to throw her off the van a few miles back.

After a few twists and turns around the Brooklyn Navy Yards area, we get to this shipping and receiving dock. There was NO way I would have been able to find this location. We get up to the loading area, up to the freight elevator to the 8th floor. This elevator was one of these old ones where you had to grab this belt and pull down the doors yourself, then press and hold a button down. So glad I wasn't in that elevator alone.

The door opens up to this warehouse and racks and racks of wardrobe for this movies. I get to the front desk to sign and get my voucher. Next step this gay guy approaches me and tells me to take off my bulky sweater so he could take measurements. So I stand there with my arms stretched out and he gets out his measuring tape.

He measures my waist, hips, girth, bust and everything in between. There were over 4o measurements taken! Then it was off to the dressing room to get fitted. The part I really dread. I get to the dressing room and the guy tells me to disrobe and get down to my pantyhose and bra only.

Moments later, a Woman comes in and starts examining me and my measurement chart, then dashes out to get a costume. She comes back with a camisole and a corset!!! She tells me to take my sports bra off. I did this with much hesitation and figure well she is a Woman and this guy here is gay. So off came the bra and on with the camisole. That was actually easy in comparison to the next step. Getting that corset on!

First they had a medium for me and they pulled, stretched, it out and barely got the clasps on. I was dying. I couldn't breathe. I told them this wasn't going to work, so they brought another one in a large size. This one too barely fit around me. The gay guy had his knee up against my back to pull this thing and secure it on me. I was like "Wow, it must have really sucked to be a Woman in the 1920's!" Also I didn't know they didn't wear bras and just let the boobs flop around like that!

Once they got that on me, the rest of the costume piece together nicely, save for this skirt. This skirt was really awkward as it did not have a zipper on the side or in the back. The zipper was this strange 3/4 on the side past the hip. It took wardrobe a while to figure this one out. After I got the skirt on, they gave me a shirt, a sweater, boots, and a long heavy itchy fur coat!

It was something else. I felt like I was transported to the 1920's. It was a treat to be in such a museum piece, but even standing there for the time I was there, I already couldn't breathe and the coat was irritating me. I don't know how any of us will handle the day of the shoot wearing this for 17 hours. It will be an interesting day for sure.

So I got undressed, back into "2009 clothes" , got signed out and headed back to the elevator and heading back to Queens.

Back to One!

Addendum :At the time when I got the call I felt privileged and lucky that I got this call. Finally I get cast for being pale and Irish lookin. Though after going through this fitting, I'm not sure this set will be that much fun.

Grant Wilfley Cattle Call for two feature films

I swore to myself that I would not waste my time going to one of these cattle calls. Last time I went to one of these, I had to stand outside for hours in a huge line of people just to fill out some forms and get a quick digital snap-shot taken. So it was no surprise to head out into the city and see hundreds of people with headshots and resumes in their hands, shivering in the cold waiting to get inside to the doors of the church where they were holding the "auditions".

This cattle call was at least at a decent location over by W.59th St and 9th avenue at the church of Saint Peter the Apostle. it's definitely a huge area to hold a throng of people, though there were just TOO many people to bring in at once.


I recall being in this church before when I was on that movie "Don't Mess with the Zohan" starring Adam Sandler and ended up being a horrible experience. I knew that the location of the church sounded all too familiar and when I got to W 59th and started walking across Columbus Circle,the flashbacks of the horror became all too clear. I will never forget the 3 days/nights on that shoot with NO food and No respect at all. Oh did I mention NO waivers for being out in the cold miserable rains...The list goes on, though I will stop here on that "Zohan Mess"!



I really know how things work too well and how to work the system. Why in the world I still don't have my SAG Waivers...Ask the "GOD of SAG Waivers" I wish I knew why I am still a non-union loser after all this time.



Moving on...So I got there and luckily I saw my friend "D" in line as soon as I crossed the street. Talk about luck b/c this means I avoided having to wait in the line wrapping around the end of the block. Eventually after standing outside for about a half of an hour, which wasn't too bad, we got inside to the church where there were rows of chairs for our next step to sit down and fill out a form which consisted of everything from your name to your bra size. Oh yeah don't forget color and make of your car, if you have one. Very Important information...



The two movies that they were "auditioning" for was an untitled "Nancy Meyers Project" and oh yeah...the movie that I auditioned for on a callback which I didn't get and would have meant a feature role and instant SAG..Named "The Sorcerers Apprentice" . Yes, I auditioned for the role of a Russian Woman and was really close to getting it, though it didn't happen.

Here is the original blog of my devastating failure and how I blew an opportunity of a life time:

http://annietalentsearch.blogspot.com/2009/01/call-backs-for-sorcerers-apprentice.html

So you can imagine how I felt even going to this cattle call. It's humiliating and embarrassing at this point. There I was offered a "Golden Opportunity" and it was stripped from me in an instant.

I'm sure the entire New York Actors Roster will be called for the one thousand people scene that they plan to shoot in April of this year. I'm sure I'll get a waiver for being in a crowd scene. Lord knows I was right beside Julia Roberts in "Duplicity" which is showing on Movie Trailers right now and I got NOTHING out of that.

Life is a long lesson in humility by --- J.M. Barrie --- I think I have humiliated myself enough and need to move on..

Sigh ;(

Kings Brooklyn Navy Yards

(from October 20, 2008)


I was on that NBC show KINGS which was an absolute horrible experience. The call time was for 4:30 am bus pickup in Manhattan to go to the Brooklyn Navy Yards. Our holding area was this defunct falling apart warehouse which probably had asbestos and the best part was there was NO HEAT!

It was actually a few degrees warmer outside even though we were technically outside. They did get us on set immediately after wardrobe check to a scene which involved us, the extras,portraying dockworkers who are angry and rallying to the mayor of this fictional town for taxes and losing our homes.

You would think this TV show was a feature film with the "I am Legend" demonstrations of angry people shoving , pushing and screaming in this rally. To make the effect of this rally even more real, they (production) threw not one but two or three smoke bombs into the crowd, which was us, and continued on this rant pushing against these fake police lines and choking on this thick billowing black smoke.

After finding out that the non-union are getting ZERO bump in pay or a waiver, I all of a sudden came down with asthma and me and several other ladies went to go sit away from this smoke. As if this wasn't enough aggravation, they were planning on a "Wet scene" to hose down people to bring on the effect of a rally like they had back in the 60's with the demonstrations.

We wrapped at 6pm and were told to call for 9pm for call times for Day 2 of this travesty. So I call up the GW hot line and they decided to randomly pick numbers off the list and those of us who were promised two days of work were now out of a days pay.

To make matters even worse, my friend Jeff told me that those idiots at GW were calling people desperately at 6:30am b/c a multitude of people that they did keep on the list DID NOT show up for the call time at the bus pickup. My Friend Jeff said if they waiver him he will go. They replied "NO"! Okay than Goodbye and good luck!

In a way I think I lucked out b/c in the message they told people to bring towels as the "wet" scene was to occur that day. Wonder why people didn't show up. Lets see $75.00 to get hosed down with water and another $750.00 for the hospital bill that I would have got for acquiring pneumonia! Amazing. Meanwhile SAG is getting $500.00/hr. They told non-SAG to "be a good sport"! Ya right.I am SO tired of being abused like this. It's sickening how they abuse people like this.

Despite all this, I have to say that I hope this show makes it just b/c of the BIG budget and undertaking of background on such a large scale for a NBC show. Otherwise this will be like many of the garbage shows being produced now and get cancelled within a week of it's release.

Also We really do need some decent programming to STOP the growth of this disease that is widespread named "REALITY SHOWS!"

A.

On the set of Lipstick Jungle

(originally from August 1, 2008)

I got a call from out of the blue from Grant Wilfley Casting to work on NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle” starring Brooke Shields. Wow she came a long way. The last time I heard of her was when she was on the Oprah show discussing her post-partem depression and how Tom Cruise is just a "Scientologist jerk" for jumping on Oprahs couches !

This show was in hiatus since last year from the writers’ strike. Here is the blurb on Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipstick_Jungle_(TV_series) In my opinion this is just another “Sex in the City”!

The scene that I was hired to do was for a formal for a "faux" fundraiser event for Autism. Since this was to be a high society “who’s who “type of gala, we had to dress for the part. Upon being booked I was informed that I would need to bring a gown. I told casting that I had a dress, even though they only requested pastel color, no black and white gown which is the one I have.

So I went to the local Thrift store here in Queens. Since I gained some weight I was afraid that I would not find a dress that would fit me well. By sheer luck and chance I found a dress that was not only the right color, though it was the right size!!! I was SO happy; I rushed home and got myself ready for the long night ahead.

On the call in to get the information it says to get there “hair and make-up ready!” I was like” I don’t think so!!!!!!!” Are you kidding, they want you to get to set, which is located 4 blocks from Crack-infested/ghetto East Harlem and wear a gown. Not only that, but the day was really humid and just to roam around the city in rush hour with a formal dress on is unbelievable!

I found out later that the SAG got a message to come in street clothes and change when they got to holding. It really IS upsetting how you get treated like garbage being non-union. What happened next really made me angry and proved how being in the union gives you rights. Non-union you have NO rights at all!

I barely got to set and was about 10 minutes late. The reason was b/c there was a stalled train at 59th Street Lexington avenue lines. The only way to get to E.103rd stop is via the 6 train. A few other people came after me, making them about 20 minutes late. I got to the check in line and was safe.

A few people, actually 20 people who also took the same route as I did, ended up with the same delay and ended up coming a few minutes later. They got to the check in line and were ALL dismissed! The P.A. said that they (Grant Wilfley) overbooked. What a crock of shit!!!!

So you can imagine how pissed off these people were. I knew about 4 of the people being sent home. If that happened to me I would raise bloody hell! For one thing, they were only 20 minutes late, not an hour! Of course all the people sent home were non-Sag. How convenient was that to make the SAG’s call in time for 5:30pm, an hour before it really gets crazy on the trains, and have non-SAG sign in, hair and makeup ready! I really can’t wait to become SAG to stop being treated like this.

I had to get myself ready and put on the dress that I just bought hours ago. I actually got a lot of compliments about the dress which made me feel good. After getting dressed, we all had to go through this endless line for hair and makeup. It took long, though once you got into the chair; it made you feel special having your makeup and hair done by a professional.

My makeup person was outstanding and the hair person was magnificent! My hair person was this gay black man from Nashville and he didn’t just style my hair, he sculpted it. In fact he was a sculptor and he managed to make my drab hair look like a million bucks!

Finally got to set and they had this gorgeous set for this high society fundraiser scene. Everyone was divinely dressed and everything was perfect. There were beautiful arrangements of flowers and shrubbery in an outdoor park setting. They even had an elaborate water fountain in the middle to tie in as the centerpiece of this elegant party. To add to the atmosphere there were Clowns, Musicians and stilt walkers. It truly was an event and this is what a party out in the Hamptons must be like.

The night ended up being really long and after wearing those dresses and shoes for hours standing up, your feet really start to hurt. It was so bad that when we finally got a break, we took our shoes off and ran out of central park through the dirty streets, around the corner back to holding in bare feet! You get to a point you really don’t care anymore.

It gets really difficult to stay in character just to stand around for hours doing nothing. When they did finally come around to tape you, they did the same scene over and over again. “Cut, back to one!” Re-set! I got to the point as did a few other ladies where we didn’t want to volunteer to be in the scene and sat down on the bench. One elderly Woman was not as lucky as she was standing by a little cocktail table and ended up fainting, not once but twice!

The only thing that saved her from falling and hitting her head on the concrete was this man who was her partner in the scene and managed to catch her in time. Within seconds, the on-set medic came up to her to assist. Shortly after the Police were on set and the EMS came and took her away on a stretcher. All while this is going on, the director is oblivious to this and continues shooting a scene.

We found out later that the Woman was okay and was just tired and dehydrated. One they gave her some food and water she revived. After the Sag rep came on set, things changed rapidly and they began giving out water out by the case to everyone to avoid another person fainting or getting sick.

It’s amazing how they wait until something happens before they will take the initiative to prevent something like this happening in the first place. It’s amazing how hungry they are to get the shot done that they will “Starve” everyone just to get it to perfection!

This show may make it, as it premieres this fall. However, in my experience over kill always ends up in disaster. They want perfection and the most elaborate sets and scenes and will end killing someone one day.

Amazing!

CA ;)