Last Thursday I had stayed up all night working on my resume, no sleep. At 10am, an hour after I sent my resume to Deluxe Film Labs (desk jockey job), I got a call back for an interview the following Monday. Then, desperately needing sleep and sick from several all nighters, I got a call for an interview for a job I'd all but written off...in an hour. So, with no sleep in hand, I borrowed Martha's car and drove to Studio City.
This was one of the coolest moments of living here so far. Driving down the 101, bumper to bumper, listening to Howard Stern on Sirius Satellite (which Martha has, not Bart, Martha). Very L.A. (I guess) So I get to the interview, but not before having coffee at a sidewalk cafe amidst four open Mac laptops, very L.A. (and very everywhere, like cell-phones, and bottled water). I interviewed and have no idea how well it went, but it was an online job and the guy had a lot of compliments for Schadenfreude.net, loved the site, layout, content, all the stuff we work hard on, but are never sure if anyone cares.
Then I drive home, have another in a series of wonderful home-cooked meals made by Bart and Martha.
More on my gracious hosts later, bottom line, I gave grace, that's right, me, got a little God up in me, Then I watched The Office reference a character called Ed Truck, uh, okay, am I supposed to think that's a coincidence or is there a fan of Schadenfreude infiltrating that production?...which is shot in my new town by the way.
I get up early the next morning to go learn as much as I can about Avid from Matt Lenhart who was finishing up his gig with The Naked Trucker & T-Bones Show.
So Friday, 9am I'm walking arond the Hollywood Central Lot, feeling cool, watching people gather for a Nissan Commercial, seing the backside of the sets for MADtv's upcoming shoot and watching all the raw dailies of Naked Trucker. Very cool. One thing about Naked Trucker, David Koechner earns every dollar he makes, he's just hilarious, and I got to meet Dave Allen, better known as Jeff Rosso on Freaks and Geeks, but I know him best as the Hippie in the episode of Mr. Show where they eat hippie pie at the end. Great guy, doesn't own a car, which we have in common. Matt Lenhart told Dave about Loco Pantalones, which I then had to describe to Dave, Dave found it very funny.
So I'm wandering around the Hollywood Central Studio lot admiring the plaque informing me that the first two seasons of I Love Lucy was shot right where I was standing. As I was trying to calculate the number of cigarrettes Lucy had likely put out where I was standing, or what private area nearby Ricky had taken Lucy to slap her, I got a call.
It was Barbara Pritchard, sister to Tommy, and greatest person on earth.
She hooked me up with an editing gig. Big time resume fodder. I ended my Avid lesson prematurely and headed over to Scott Sternberg Productions at the Raleigh Studios lot, across from the Paramount Lot.
So I edit for a day or two and then the show shot Monday, I was given another favor of being a set PA for that.
As I've said before, the shows they shot were Shoot-Out with Peter Bart and Peter Guber, which airs on AMC on Sunday Mornings and Square-Off with Andy Wallenstein and Brian Lowry which airs all the time on TV Guide Channel. It's crazy that I've been in L.A. for a week and already worked on Shoot-Out one of my favorite shows.
And who was on the shows that long long shoot day?
Clint Eastwood
Greg Kinnear
Paul Haggis
John Stamos
Anthony Lapaglia
Norman Lear
The Writers of Lost
and, of course, Peter Bart and Peter Guber.
And some others that I'm forgetting including some people from Fox Searchlight which I wanted to hug.
Why was standing inches from Clint Eastwood not nearly as interesting as standing inches from the writers of Lost for me? It's east to be in awe of Outlaw Josey Wales, except that guy wasn't here, nor was Dirty Harry, hell, even Firefox wasn't here, this was...that guy from Space Cowboys.
But it's more aweing to see the behind-the-scenes guys, these ordinary guys that nobody would ever bother in public, who could completely blend in, regular Joes, and yet they have affected Billions of people with he power of their brains...plus they're loaded. I stood next to some friggin' rich people on Monday. I've never stood next to so many people who had so much money and you'd never know, they're just people, no different than anybody else, except they all have guys in suits sewn to their ass. These agents are like...well, Agents, from The Matrix, the guys in suits and sunglasses. Fascinating town, but I find the L.A. stereotypes only go as far as agents, publicists, and Peter Guber who's very L.A. (I'm positive).
And then the acid kicked in.
Also the food served on the lot may be the best meal I've ever had next to Mom's chicken and dumplings.
Also Ugly Betty was shooting on the lot and I've never seen more vehicles.
Also Barb rocks, she's a Supervising Producer and she knows what she's doing and she is way in charge. It was great watching her work.
It was a really awesome week. If only you could make money having awesome times, although I guess that's the theory here, but in the meantime I've got to call some temp agencies.
It's a goddamn literal dreamland here. Nothing but dreams here, many of them fully realized, no place like it.
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