Manly Men
I’m not the most macho of men. I don’t know anything about cars or sports (although I do have an avowed fondness for boobs and explosions). Still, there is a kind of silent male communication I can participate in. I was passing out callsheets, and I happened to be walking about ten paces behind one […]
Learning the Hard Way
Well, maybe not the hardest way, but still, I learned. I got myself a fancy new phone last week, and the first thing I did was figure out how to turn my phone on vibrate. This is a very important feature on any phone, when you work on a film set. In fact, if you’re […]
Pick Ups
This funny little story was related to me recently: The office PA was sent out for a few items that were needed on set ASAP. (Everything’s always needed ASAP; I’m not sure why anyone even bothers to say “ASAP” anymore.) The art department needed some rubber gloves; make-up and wardrobe were low on Polaroid film, […]
Colorful Response
Just over a week ago, I related an anecdote about the producer’s assistant indirectly checking that the intern was doing her job correctly. A lot of people took exception to the assistant’s methods. Final Girl’s comment was typical: What a passive agressive moron. I hate people. I have to admit, this surprised me. At the […]
Miles and Miles
Sorry for the late post today, but I was sent on a run the moment I walked in the door. Runs are one of the main differences between set and office production assistants. Set PAs stay on set all day, everyday (or longer; they’re the first to arrive and last to leave, other than teamsters). […]
Colorize
This morning, the showrunner’s assistant came in the office and asked our intern, “Which pot has the decaf coffee in it? The orange or the brown?” The intern replied, “I think orange is always decaf.” “It is. That was just my polite way of making sure you knew.” Makes me wonder how many questions he […]
Identity
You may have noticed that I rarely mention anyone’s name on this blog. That’s partly to protect my anonymity, and partly because that’s how I actually think of them. It’s funny, after a few years on the job, you start to be able to identify most positions on sight. The camera guys are generally clean […]
Overheard in the Catering Line II
Or is it III, since I double posted the last one? Anyway. I was standing behind a couple of PAs from another department. Post, maybe? In any case, I overheard the following conversation, as they were perusing the food options– “What should we get for him?” (Their department head, I assume.) “I dunno. He said […]
Been a While
Before you ask, yes, I know it’s been a long time since I wrote a post. When one of these dry stretches occur, you can rest assured that I am either A) unemployed, and thus have nothing to write about, or B) so very employed that I am too busy to write any posts. I […]
Words, Words, Words
I don’t like music very much. This is a strange thing to say, but it’s true. I don’t get the notion of just listening. Which is unfortunate, because there’s not much else to do when you’re driving. I listen to NPR a lot, but it starts to remind me how pathetic my life is when […]
There’s Always Someone Below You
I went on a run today, to pick up something for the Big Awesome Show I work for. I went to the will-call window, and the guy’s eyes lit up. “You’re a PA on Big Awesome Show? How did you land that job?” I couldn’t really say. It was just a combination of experience, networking, […]
Game Show Casting
A few people responded to last week’s post about casting. One reader called himself “Max Powers.” Max writes: There is a large difference between game show casting and actual show casting. For a real show you have to find actors who fit into parts, coordinate their look if casting a family, make sure they fit […]