The Curse of the Origin Story
Not everyone starts their career the same way.
Is There a Lawyer in the House?
Reader Matt writes: I, like you, am a PA/aspiring writer. I met a producer recently and pitched a script. To my surprise, he said he wanted to make the movie! He’s drawing up a contract, and now my writing partner and I find ourselves in need of an entertainment lawyer. I’ve asked the writers on […]
Overheard in the Production Office
I was filling out my mileage form yesterday, and I wondered how much it was going to be worth. The current rate is 50.5 cents, and that extra half cent threw me off. “Goddamn it, why can’t they just use whole numbers? Decimals just screw me up.” Without looking up, the coordinator said, “Use improper […]
Insults
A friend of mine wrote in response to yesterday’s post: What’s the difference between a grip and a PA? A PA can spell “grip.” Now, I like grips, but I had to laugh at that. It’s strange how making fun of each other is a way of bonding on set. People are constantly busting each […]
Useless
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again– nothing we do in Hollywood matters. We’re not doctors or soldiers or police or fire fighters. No one’s going to die if we make a bad TV show. There are a few individual exceptions. People can get hurt if a grip or an electric or a […]
Friendly Reminder
The other PAs and I got an annoying boss-emails today. You know, the kind that starts with, “Just a reminder…”, and then goes on to re-explain all the basic PA duties that you already do. This kind of note always fills me with a combination of fear and annoyance. Why is he reminding me to […]
Picky Picky
Whether you’re on set or in the office, lunch is always provided (unless you work on a cheap-ass reality show; then all bets are off). Of course, if you’re somewhere else, as I am right now,{{*}} you might miss out on the food. If you’re lucky, someone will remember to set aside a plate for […]
You Outta Be in Pictures
There’s a great big photo hanging in our office of the entire crew, save for two people. The set photographer (obviously), and me. They gathered everybody on stage, but of course, the producer couldn’t leave the office completely unattended. What if somebody called to, you know, ask when episode ten starts shooting? (Agents do this […]
Pet Peeve
Scripts change in TV. They change a lot. The first draft distributed to department heads is usually just a rough guide. You know, so location managers can start scouting, construction crews can start building, casting directors can start casting. That draft will be rewritten at least a half dozen times before filming begins. Sometimes these […]
Brave New World
A friend of mine is working on a game show, and he related to me the following story: We have a lot of contestants on our show. Like, a LOT. Casting has more PA’s than production just to keep track of them all. When the contestants check in, we give them all name tags. Along […]
Time Lords
When you work in Hollywood, whether in features or TV, your time is not your own. For starters, a normal day is twelve hours. And that’s twelve hours of filming. Several departments (production, make up, locations, transpo) have to come in before call or stay well after wrap. So, half the day gone just working. […]
DGA Trainee Program
If you want to be an AD, the DGA Trainee Program is a pretty good deal.