female confused about how women are treated by casting directors

The following is a letter written by one of my fellow cohorts who also worked on "Boardwalk Empire". The letter depicts the unfair treatment by casting and discrimination against Women in their late thirties working in this business:


A certain casting agency hired me for the new Martin Scorsesse project "Boardwalk Empire" for 3 days. They fitted me in a period costume, wanted my hair to be all one color,I had to be shorter than 5'5, and of white/European decent. They paid me SAG wages for the fitting, and I was under the impression I would be paid SAG wages for the days I was asked to work.

They then proceeded to pay me non-union for the day of work, and this was a long day (16 hours) and was a 500 dollar difference (bt. the Union & non-union actors). I complained to SAG, and they told me casting could do whatever they wanted, and that they had made a mistake and only kids would be waivered.

I thought that was ironic since I have a 5 year old, and am a single parent and need to pay a babysitter 10 dollars per hour when I work. This particular project centers around women in the work place, and women getting a respectable salary. I do not believe this is Martin Scorsese's fault, nor do I believe this is the production company's fault. But is the second time this casting agency has hired me for a particular look (white/European, short, all one hair color, 30's), given me SAG wages for the fitting and then not paid me SAG wages for a day of work.

Some of these casting directors seem to have lawless business practices. They seem to be prejudice against white women in their 30's. Certain people in the film industry have told me that white women in their 30's don't get waivers! Only pretty, young girls in their 20's.
I am an attractive reasonably young woman and would like to know what percentage of white women in their 30's are actually working on a daily basis on film and television projects in New York City like I do.

I am a member of Aftra. I understand that SAG does not have an open door policy like AFTRA does. I do not understand how women can continue to be discriminated against.
If anyone has any insight or complaints about casting agencies; or the random way waivers are given out please respond.

Julia S.East Village, New York City

Please feel free to comment in your support.

Back to One!

A couple of Dicks in Prospect Park Day 1

I got booked on a 2-day shoot to work on this new Bruce Willis movie called "A couple of Dicks" with Tracy Morgan of SNL and 30 Rock fame!It's a comedy about two cops whose adventures include locating a stolen baseball card, rescuing a woman, and dealing with gangsters and their laundered money.

The call time was for 7am to be in Wollman Rink parking lot in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Having a 7am call time is actually normal and I left Queens at 6am which should have been plenty of time to get there.

I got to the subway by 6:10 and by this time, the rats have retired for the night and there are more people on the platform waiting. At this time there are more and more people going through the turnstile and waiting. Finally after 40 minutes, the "V" train appears out of the dark tunnel.

By the time I got to the "Q" train platform, it was already ten minutes to 7am. The only good thing about the "Q" is that it runs express through Manhattan and bypasses many stops. Goes to 14th street and then to Canal, through the tunnel and out across the Manhattan bridge with a clear view of the Brooklyn bridge, clear skies and the waking of the dawn with the sun rising.

Finally got to Prospect Park station and walked out on Lincoln Avenue where there was a homeless person outside the subway camping out with all their belongings. Kind of sad and "bummified" area :( That is until you get to the side of the park :)

The entrance is gorgeous with beautiful trees and green is everywhere. There were already joggers, bikers, and people walking their dogs on the path. I went down the path to Wollman rink area and walked to up to holding which was and outdoor tent. It was the perfect weather for this and part of the tent was shaded by the trees. I was about 15 minutes late though I didn’t feel bad as there were other people coming in behind me still.

I got my voucher and headed to the tent in the back. It was really humid in the tent area where the air conditioner tubes to cool down the tents were not working yet. By the time I got there, there was already a big lineup to get hair and makeup done and of course wardrobe.

I love the wardrobe line. You can bring the best outfit and yet they will give you what they believe you should be wearing. Or they will give you accessories to wear and you have to give your voucher in for an earring or a button.

Holding true to form and my own convictions of what a waste of time wardrobe can be, I of course totally avoid the wardrobe line. This is also for Linda. Linda would not go to the wardrobe line. Not the same when you do this type of capers alone, though in memory of Linda and how we were the “A-team of background”! I succeeded in not going into that line. I figured the dress I had on was approved on the last set I was on and by my friend Charles who has exquisite taste.

I did go into the long hair and make-up line though I figure might as well get my hair done and makeup to take pictures. I get into that hair and makeup line and I wait and wait and then wait some more. Just when I think it will finally be my turn, the fag hair guy looks into the line and totally bypasses me and goes and picks the young long-haired Russian blond instead of myself. I felt so rejected.

The worst part about it was that the hairdresser was gay! I can understand that they need to take the principal actors first, but she wasn’t a principal.
At first I was offended, and then when the other hairdresser looked to see how many people were in the line, she took me. Finally! Though the thing was that I was one of the last people in line and everyone was either finished or already on set.

After being rejected so many times in the past, you look at this as happening for a reason and sometimes delays like this work in your favor. When she finally did my hair, I got up to start to walk to set, but was told that myself and 10 other background actors were not needed for this scene.

That actually worked out to our advantage as we grabbed some chairs, sat outside under the shady trees and just relaxed. Meanwhile I was getting reports via text message that my friend was standing in her heels in the hot sun. I totally got the better deal. In fact we were not needed until after lunch. I was having such a great time that I couldn’t care less if I get used or not.

Lunch was called and because we were already by catering, we were the first in line as droves of people were coming from set. Since this was Henry’s Catering, the food was outstanding. Gourmet salads, meats, pasta dishes, flank steak, sword fish and cakes..oh yes the cakes!

After getting our fill everyone was called back to set and this was the first time that I was to see it. At first I was r is over reluctant to go and was thinking oh great the fun and know I’m going to have to work. I don’t come here to work. I come to these things to eat and socialize.

So I start slowly following the rest of the crowd as I had no idea where the set was. What a long walk. Over the grassy hills, through a tunnel, through a pathway, and then finally after all that to the building which was the “bird building”.

We get directed into the building and I thought for sure this would be some scene where I would to stand in high heels, in a black cocktail dress under the blazing sun. Well it was outside under the hot blazing sun but we were actually seated in a beautifully ornate wedding scene. The chairs were wrapped in lovely white mesh covering with pearls. Her is a picture of my Russian "Brighton Beach" friend posing on set:

The floral arrangements were magnificent and absolutely charming. The wedding altar also wrapped in lovely flowers was set in the middle right by the lake. I was seated on the bride’s side which was played by Michelle Trachtenberg. This wedding was so “Rich” looking, you felt like you were at another Donald Trump wedding. So much detail and decorating went into this gorgeous set making it feel so real.

The scene itself was simple, but it was done over and over and over again. Basically the priest is about marry this couple and then asks “who here is going to give this bride away”? Pause. The bride looks over at her Father played by Bruce Willis and he does not utter a word! That was it.

The thing that got tedious was sitting there in that hot 2pm direct sun. I had a shawl on and tried to block the sun in between takes. Still it was a lovely set and what added to the beauty was this family of swans came into the scene. Don’t know if they were trained to do this but these swans were right on cue every time the director called out “action”. The director by the way is Kevin Smith. You know this will be a great comedy movie. I tell you one thing about the swans if they were just local swans that were friendly, they should all get SAG waivers.

A few hours went by and while we were sitting there the skies were getting heavy and brooding with a thunderstorm likely to come down very soon. Sure enough, the rains came down and down and down. It was heavy rainfall. We all rushed in the building.

Bridesmaids, Weddings guest running into the building to take cover from the rain. It was about 6pm at this time and we thought for sure that they would call it a wrap. Well we were highly mistaken. What the movie people will do to do a scene. We sat there around the wedding tables inside which were also decorated gorgeously.

The PA keeps telling us to be quiet even though there is nothing going on. So we are quiet, but the one person who could not keep quiet and kept going on and on was none other than Tracy Morgan. That guy is always on. He was telling jokes and stories and being really loud. I tell you that guy is not acting. He is the real deal. I mean everyone was tired and wanted to go home and here he was like a ball of fire that could not be extinguished.

Finally the rain settled and there was a clearing in the sky. Thinking we would be walking back to holding now, I was mistaken as the grips were outside re-setting lights and bringing equipment back out to the deck. I was like “You got to be kidding”! All background was called back to set, but not in the seats we had before.

This was an entirely different scene. This was a scene after the ceremony and we were to grab the “fake drinks” and act like we were enjoying the party and talking and toasting. As we did this, they had a helicopter camera drive by us to capture this moment. The helicopter came by and took and aerial shot of all of us. This took about 5 takes and then we were wrapped. The director thanked us all and we were released.

So here I am in heels getting ready for the “Big Race” back to holding. There is a pack of us, yet I am still in the lead with a few. So we get to the path and then to the tunnel. HOLY CRAP WATER!!!!!

There was so much water from the rain that the path was obstructed by this pond in front of us. It was so deep that there was NO way you could walk through it. The only way out was to climb this bench and jump over it. It’s amazing how this can be done in heels and a black cocktail dress! Mind you I almost took a wipe out. If this big broad guy wasn’t in front of me to grab his shoulder, I would have fallen for sure and probably broke my neck and teeth for sure.

I got through that obstacle to the grass obstacle. Since it was still fresh and wet from the rain, I would run a little and then the heels of my shoes would get stuck like quicksand. A couple of times I was ready to leave the shoes behind and just got for it barefoot and all! Made it through that and got to holding on dry concrete. Since I had no clothes to return, I got into the checkout line and was one of the first ones out. You would be proud of me Linda!

I quickly changed into my regular clothes and headed back to Lincoln Avenue. Back to the Q train. Back across the Manhattan bridge. Back to Queens....

Back to one!

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.

SALT Angelina Jolie Feature Film

After two months of not getting ANY background work, finally the long awaited "Cattle Call" for background had arrived! This was for the booking on the feature film "SALT" starring Angelina Jolie! NO, Brad is not in this one, Sorry Girls!

I submitted to be cast on this movie numerous times on Casting Networks, never to get a reply. The only reason I even got this was because while we were on the "Hirosaki Theater Players", our friend Mike got the call from Central Casting, and we overheard him on the phone getting booked for this. So luckily we got in on the action and before you know it Mikes Iphone was passed along to seven of us sitting there in the theater and talked to Jamie at Central which got us all booked right there on the spot.

So of course you are thrilled to get a booking; any booking. Though when I got my "check-in #421", I knew this was a huge casting call and they were booking everyone and anyone that can breathe! Being the fact this was for a Saturday, it didn't interfere with regular work week, so I didn't think it would be that bad of a day.

The week went by and throughout I kept getting text messages and phone calls of so many people that I haven't heard from in ages that they were booked on this movie as well. I was actually looking forward to this, as it was not only a job, it was going to be more like a reunion for my friends in the background world which I have not seen for ages.

The much anticipated call times and location was to be released Friday afternoon by 3pm. Well that soon changed to 10pm at night with a 20 minute message telling us basically to wear black and be somber as it was going to be this mass funeral scene.

A month later when she finally got to the call times, you felt like replaying the entire message because you couldn't believe your ears when you heard that the call times were for 5:30am!!! Oh the Horror!

Yes this is correct..Repeat NOT an error....You waited ALL day long to get the call times and location just to be inundated by this massive description to what to wear for a funeral scene, just to be side swiped and left in shock and dismay. This meant that after you hung up the phone, and used up all your minutes just to hear this message, you had to quickly grab some black clothes, shower, shave, and try to get at least 2 hours sleep and make it on time! Unbelievable!

The holding area was over at the Marriott on Lexington between 48 and 49th streets. For myself this was a decent location to commute to, though being the fact it was a Saturday, the trains are at "turtle" speed and the "E-vil" train is swarming and reeking of the homeless parking their make-shift "bedroom in the corner of the train. The only good thing about that is there are plenty of seats to choose from if you don't mind not breathing.

I arrived to the lobby of the Marriott and immediately recognized over 20 people who I have not seen for ever! We quickly acknowledged each others presence and then were directed our designated floors. All reporters had the room on the bottom floor which seated about 200 and the rest of us Spectators/mourners went up to the second floor room which had the seating capacity of over a thousand.

The first part of the day consisted of lines. The first one of course was a huge line wrapping around the stairs to get checked in and to get our voucher. The second line up was of course to get food. The third was to get our wardrobe checked.

Now I really love this part, especially when this is for a funeral scene, exteriors, which means we will be wearing our coats. Yet, you have to go through this unnecessary line to get more "black" clothes, because your clothes were not "black" enough. This really made sense as we were to be stationed outdoors for the entire day wearing our coats where our clothes underneath would not even been seen at all.

I also love the fact that they were giving people costume jewelry to wear and had to hand in their vouchers for it. What a complete waste of time. For one thing, no one is going to see you and secondly to have to go through another line-up at the end of the day to return a pair of earrings is absurd. But you see wardrobe has to make it look like they are doing their job, so they will give these items out and call it a day meanwhile you are stuck with this piece of crap all day long and responsible for it.

...On to the scene of the day....

This was a huge production of a funeral scene. I mean this was massive. It was the type of production of a funeral that would be fit for a KING or some other royalty. Not a president, though. Presidents, especially when Bush jr. finally kicks the bucket will get an unceremonious ceremony involving a sack and some dirt for messing up this country so badly.

The entire stream of the funeral had a somber yet respectful approach to it. The funeral procession stretched from the front doors of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel,

to the doors of St. Bartholomew's. The procession itself was lavishly decorated with a band of marching bagpipe players, sailors, military, followed by police motor cycles, Police cars, and of course the hearse and the immediate family members following in limos behind the parade.

We were the spectators along the sidewalks of the streets and somberly looking on. This was to be the longest funeral procession of all time. For those of you who were around to see Princess Lady Diana's funeral know how many hours that procession lasted. I think this one beat the record. Every time the director shouted "Action", within seconds, "CUT"- "Back to one!" was yelled out. For us spectators it was easy to reset, though not so much with the marching band and the police cars, and the hearse, and limos ALL had to reverse back to their "ones".

Sounds easy, but not so much as a couple of times, the drivers nearly slammed into each other a couple of times while reversing too much. As for us "general" background, standing there for several hours became challenging in terms of the pin in our feet and the weather forecast which where we were standing, got directly into the winds which made it feel a lot colder than the actual temperature for the day.

The only good thing about where I was positioned was that we were right by the front entrance of the Waldorf, where we went inside to seek refuge every time they said "CUT"! In fact we had our little room on the side, where the concierge actually put out chairs for us ladies to sit down on. That was really nice of the guy to do.

On the other side of the street a group of people crammed into a "Capital One bank" vestibule to seek refuge from the frosty air.Still those little spurts of running into the building everytime saved us somewhat, but not when they were rolling for longer takes.

Here is a brief synopsis about the film:

Angelina Jolie takes on her role a raven-haired femme fatale Evelyn A. Salt as she films her upcoming spy flick with costar Liev Schreiber in New York City on Saturday (March 14).

Salt is a CIA officer who is fingered as a Russian sleeper spy. Liev plays Salt’s boss and friend on the Russian desk at the CIA. The film was originally developed with Tom Cruise in the lead role, centering on Edwin A. Salt.

Now you would think that with such big star names, would mean a BIG budget. Well yes it's a BIG budget an paycheck for the SAG players and the principal actors, though for NON-SAG, not so much.
The worst part of the day was standing outside for 9 hours and not getting any food or water save for a basket of Rugalach cookies and a box of Poland Spring for a thousand extras.

I grabbed a couple of waters and though, well "they are going to have some kind of lunch soon, so I can hold out until then!" Well I was right about one thing, we did get lunch. However, it was a WALK-AWAY lunch! Unbelievable. You tell me that with such a big name production, you couldn't give us at least a measly boxed lunch. You have got to be kidding! How cheap is that??

Here is a big name player, Angelina Jolie who is know for adopting and feeding starving children around the world, and yet us starving and sleep deprived extras get NOTHING!!! As Linda Rhodes, fellow background star put it ".."hey Ang- tell your African daughter there are starving people on Park Avenue!" This is actually Columbia Pictures fault for sure. It seems to me that the "bigger" the STAR power, the smaller the treatment is to the background extras.

I do realize that they don't have to give us any meal. I have been on bigger productions such as "I am Legend" starring Will Smith and the background count was 1500 people. Still we had a "army tent serving of slop as food which was horrible, though we at least got that much. In this case they should have mentioned this in the 25minute long message, than perhaps we would have come better prepared and not to deal with the chaos that later ensued.

After our "Walk-away lunch", we got back to our original "ones". OK great just another 5 hours to go!! Our wrap time was based on the fact that the sun goes down now at around 6:30pm. So it was the same thing that we were doing in the morning. This time however the vehicles moved inched closer to the church. Though every time they shouted out "CUT" they had to reverse even further back.

The difference between the morning and now was that there were so many more regular people and tourists by the Waldorf who wanted to see if they could get a glimpse of Angelina. This of course made it more difficult for the Pa's to try and stop traffic going by into the scene. On top of all the you had the paparazzi waiting to get the perfect shot.

Here is everyone trying to get as close as they can to this superstar, and who happens to be right beside her is "Crazy AL", the BEAST of BACKGROUND. This guy is such a menace. He is a loud mouth, looks like an oversized walrus, and is an absolute obnoxious miscreant. Yet he gets into the scene. Shoot me now! Who did he threaten to even get booked on this??? Moving on... Sigh ;(

I guess with all this going on, and the throngs of people getting thicker, some people get sick, just can't take anymore and shut down. In the midst of all this about 10 people away from me, and incident occurred where a young Lady had a mild seizure and physically dropped down, almost to the ground.

Luckily a friend of mine was there to catch her fall. Within seconds, the PA was called to hold people back and an ambulance came on set. Within seconds, they got her on the stretcher and rolled her into the ambulance. My friend Linda and I looked at each other and thought "Well that's one less non-union to sign out!

I thought "This is a good time to wrap!" Not so much. Within seconds, they continued the scene as if nothing had happened. About an hour after that, they yelled out our favorite words "It's a wrap!" Yippee!! All the pain and fatigue vanished as we ALL super-charged and scurried like mad dogs to get back to holding to sign out so we could go home.

What a long day it was..Back to One, next Saturday!

A.

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 ;(

On the set of "CUPID" as Homeless patron (day 2)

(from Monday, January 19th)

I got my second day out of Cupid playing a homeless person. Either I'm really good at my role, or my picture up on casting networks is really that bad! The only good thing about playing the role of a homeless is that you don't have to get up too early to "pretty " yourself up.

Only a handful of people from Friday were selected to return on Monday. Still the message on Central Casting was even longer than Friday's. It was exactly 17 minutes long explaining how they wanted colors that "popped"!

The message went on and on how "Disney Homeless" are "Classy Homeless" and as should not have any holes in their wardrobe. Also they wanted colors that "POP". I can't stress this enough as it was SO ridiculous how many times she mentioned the word "Pop" on the hot line message line. I counted how many times she said the word "POP" in the 17 minute span. The count was 34 times!

So while we were in holding we had some fun and went through a list of things that POP! We toiled with everything from "Pop tarts to getting your Cherry Popped!" This game went on for a while and as we were amusing ourselves in our little circle of friends at our able, others were also mildly amused at our game.

You need something to pass time, and when it involves a good laugh, it's even better. In fact we did have a great time in holding that we couldn't stop laughing and took many silly pictures.

The few kids that were on set took it upon themselves to entertain and these three 10 year old girls spent over and hour doing charades with TV and movies as the topic. Those kids were really talented! As usual with all this stuff going on, I barely got through one page of my book and didn't even really listen to my ipod.

When things finally settled down, I talked to one of my favorite Pa's, Ellen. She is training to become first AD. She said HI to me immediately when I arrived that day. She knows me by name which is impressive b/c Anne is not a really unique name to remember.

She asked me how many waivers I still needed? I replied that I was embarrassed that I only have one. I really was and still am embarrassed. Truly. Some people do way less and get the SAG waivers for just breathing. I have done everything possible to get one to no avail. It's really depressing at this point. I am ready to give it all up.

So the way she asked me about the waiver felt as if she may help me out and give me a waiver. I have never asked her for one and I know how she hates people asking her for one. I was humble and didn't anticipate a thing, though I really thought I would have a breakthrough.

After already being in holding for over 8 hours, finally we were called up to set. It was the same soup kitchen we were in on Friday. This time we sat at different tables. I was directed by the AD to walk into the scene behind the main actress, who by the way kept flubbing up her lines. All I was thinking to myself was "And this is who gets the BIG bucks, amazing!"

Finally after she got her lines right, we got wrapped. I went downstairs and took my time returning wardrobe to make sure I was the last non-SAG person on line to sign out. I really thought I was going to get a waiver......I watched her write down the time and the lunch period, and then she signed it off for No -Union.. I WAS SO F'kin devastated, I have to tell you.

The way she asked me earlier about how many waivers I needed, I thought for sure that was leading to something. Obviously I was wrong. Even up on set my SAG friend Andi said I may get a waiver for where they placed me close to the principals.

Apparently not! If I was 20 years old and a size 2 barbie doll, I would have got that waiver NO questions asked. It really can be a cruel business, especially when you don't get ANY rewards for your efforts. It really blows. Times like this I wonder if I will EVER get into SAG.

Sigh ;(

NO SAG WAIVER on Duplicity Movie Trailer!!!

I actually just got back from being away 2 weeks up in Canada. I am getting e-mails and a plethora of phone calls that I am indeed seen, CLEARLY, in this upcoming Julia Roberts and Clive Owen movie "Duplicity"! I didn't even know how clear it was until I saw the trailer for myself. The bummer about that is all I got was a measly 75 dollars and a walkaway lunch.

The funny part has got be that in that scene I was angry b/c Julia Roberts is SO cheap and such a snob that I was dissing her, and this is what got on film. I was pissed that we had to be on set for Saturday , 4am call time. I was the last one to get to set and screamed at by some shitty 20-something PA to get to set.

So when I got to Grand Central where set was, the PA's were placing people and I disappeared for a while to avoid getting a prop. I basically placed myself by the balcony b/c I was too tired to go down to the main floor. Without even realizing it, Julia Roberts was right beside me.

No one told me to move, just to turn around. Julia was a real snob and told the first AD to tell me to keep the talking down saying I was too loud talking to my friend who got cut out of the scene. I was glad when that day was over. Sometimes you have to make your own opportunities.

Sometimes you have to break the rules to get ahead. Too bad I got NO waiver for that. I really didn't even think of it at the time. Now that I have settled in I am going to call up SAG and see if I can get a waiver or something out of this.

What is amazing here is that I only got 75 dollars to be in a movie trailer. Julia meanwhile gets 75 GA-zillion dollars for being a cheap, snobby movie whore! Go Figure!

Here is the clip to view. You will see me in the Grand Central scene at approx 1:48 in the clip:
http://duplicitymovie.net/?__source=gglduplicity+trailerMovieTitleDuplicity_Brand&sky=gglduplicity+trailerMovieTitleDuplicity_Brand

Sigh ;)

On set of Cupid @ HellSGATE Studios, Queens

Rush calls and crappy shows that will bomb is all that seems to be coming in these days. What pisses me off the most is that you submit for all of these shows and say you are available and they don't call you.

Then in the morning in a panic attack with BOLD CAPS, they have ***RUSH CALL*** Must report immediately!!!! So you call these bitches at Central Casting and they are like "WHO told you to call!!!!" I tell her " I am calling about the Rush call..." (pause) Then she says.. "Well Jon doesn't do the Cupid Rush Call!!!!!!" (breath) "Give Shaniqua a call!" Meanwhile Shaniqua is right there in the office as I hear in the background someone calling her name.

I Interrupt and say bluntly "Do you need people or not!" Then she holds the phone to her chest and I could hear her whispering to Shaniqua! Finally I get transferred to Joanie who gives me a check in number and asks how long it will take me to get there. I tell her 15 minutes. Meanwhile I deliberately took over an hour getting ready on purpose.

So I finally get to the set and its filming here in Queens, though it's not Kaufman or Silver Cup Studios. Instead it's at "HELLGATE" studios all the way down by the east river by the Triboro bridge. The only good thing about this was that I could take the Q18 bus around the corner from here.

That bus ride was about 20 minutes. When I got on the bus, I asked the bus driver "Are you going to 2nd street???" He replied, "Oh you're going to CUPID." He said this in a way that he knew all about CUPID and the evil of it all, secretly thinking : "I know all about Cupid and you ARE going to have a Excruciatingly LONG day on set! Good Luck, thank God my shift is ending soon! ha ha Sucker!"

Turns out that Mr. Bus Driver was right! The original call time was at 6am and they went until 11pm! I'm not kidding. The only good thing about being on a RUSH call was that I got there at 10am, and that was still a long day.

The worst part about this was that this scene they were doing was actually a re-shoot of the show that they taped back in July over at Silver Cup Studios. The reason I remember this SO well was that they had a Mariachi Band on set. Well guess what?? The exact same Mariachi members were back and playing the same damn tune. IT was like an unwanted dejavu!

This is why this show IS going to bomb and be canceled within the first week of it's release. Too many re-shoots and plus it's already a re-make of the show back in the 90's starring Jeremy Piven that only lasted a week. Why even make a new version of this show?? It's called NO originality anymore. It's ALL CRAP!

On top of all this I am really getting tired about these guys bragging that they have nine waivers. So why don't they join SAG?? Probably lying. Through ALL this I am still stuck at one lousy SAG waiver. I hope they go on Strike. I will be the biggest SCAB!

A ;)

Cupid Coney Island Times Square Winter Scene

(originally from July 31, 2008)
I have not got too much work from Extra Mile this past month. In fact I haven’t heard from them since the beginning of July and then, finally I get a call from them. I was excited to hear from them and was expected to be booked on something good.

So I get ready with my pen and paper to take down my check in number and information. First I get my check in number and then I get told that I am being booked for the show Cupid, again.

Though this time it was going to be filmed at Coney Island for a New Year’s winter scene! They told us to bring winter hats, scarves, parkas, thermal etc in the 90 degrees ( 40 degrees Celsius)heat! I love it. It was SO crazy.

People came with suitcases full of big HUGE wool winter coats, scarves and hats! This one person brought winter hats and 4 heavy coats they lugged all the way from Jersey! My good Russian friend Natasha looked the best in her coat!

All I brought was a small bag with a leather jacket, the wool hat, and a small scarf. I can understand the outer layer has to look like a winter coat, though this does not mean you have to wear a thermal sweater underneath. I had to help some people out and tell them they didn't have to wear a long sleeve shirt underneath! These Newbies really need to be taught what you can get away with.

The reason they were doing the Time SQ scene there in the Key span parking lot of Coney Island was b/c they were shooting another scene simultaneously over by the Wonder wheel.

So they split half of us into groups for the scenes. I of course get the Times Square scene where they gave us New Years Eve balloons, noise makers, funky 2009 eye glasses, and other accessories to make the scene feel real.

There were also these two crazy gals who really got into character and wanted more accessories. I think they got escorted off set and joined the Coney Island Circus of Freaks!

It was actually fun as we did the countdown and when we got down to one, the ticker tape went off and all this confetti exploded in front of us covering everything up with all the rainbow of colors. I swear after doing the countdown over a hundred times, it was actually starting to get chilly and I felt I needed to put my shawl on!

It was not a bad night at all and the food was outstanding! They had these "Frenched" pork chops that were SO tender and juicy. It was mouth watering. It was So good that I jumped right in a sliced a big slab of it myself! This production was definitely not cheap and had one of the best spreads for food that I have had since Gossip Girls.

The first group that went to the Wonder wheel wrapped at 1am. The Times Square group were there until 3am. Still not bad considering we started at 7pm!

I honestly thought that at least a few people would be "passing out" wearing the winter coats. Only one person to my knowledge had to be taken off set to see the on-set medic. I tell you though for a SAG waiver I would have wore the heaviest parka and walk into a blazing fire! No one got the waivers on this set. Shame :(

The only thing that was horrible was the F train ride home which took one hour and 45 minutes at 4am! At least I can’t say it was a boring ride time went by fast watching the rats on the platform and witnessing a homeless man penetrating himself. Ewwwww.. It was SO gross. At least it was safe. This is why NYC has the "See something , Say something" campaign in effect! Though I don't think it works!

I got home and had to immediately take off my sweaty clothes and jump into the shower. Plus the dirty germs of the late night subway cars. If anything, at least on sets like these where you have to wear winter coats in July, you loose some weight!.

Amazing.
CA ;)