Restaurants

   Restaurants

     Working in restaurants, is usually a lot of fun. First of all, it’s indoors, so lighting, and weather were irrelevant. Even if it was crowded, it was nothing like, “Waterworld,” or “Little Nicky.” The smaller crowd increases your chance of appearing on camera, if that is your wish. I was content to be invisible. We’ve had gunfire, explosions, fist fights, robberies, death, and live music. Sometimes there was just dialogue, between actors. A few times there were naked, or topless girls. I was still able to mind my manners. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always worth it. I have had more than one woman tell me how much she appreciated my ability to look her in the eye, even with her breasts, staring me, in the face. 

     Some of the places, I worked in, were places I would not patronize, unless you were buying. Just can’t see paying $5.00, for an order of French fries. They better be some, “Damn Good Fries.” Rarely drink 5 dollar coffee too. I’m not cheap. I drink coffee, that tastes good. I do not care about the name brand, or the name of the restaurant. Speaking of names, I got to work at “Spago Hollywood,” for the “O J Simpson Story.” Casting told us to wear our best outfit. I showed up wearing over a thousand dollars worth of clothing and accessories. One of the actors, who was playing a lawyer, said to me, “Well this is a first.” “First what?,  I asked. “First time I ever saw an extra who was better dressed, than I am.” I shrugged, “Casting told me to dress nice.” “You did a good job,” he said, and then he walked away. When I told casting about this incident, they were worried, I might have gotten into trouble, for upstaging a principle actor. Sometimes I think casting worries too much, about bullshit that does not matter. I am not visible, in the film, unless you count the back of my head. Therefore my wardrobe is irrelevant. I did not get sent home, nor was I asked, to change clothes. All that happened was,  I got paid a compliment, by an actor, and casting had a cow! See if I ever tell them anything again.

     Once, on “Picket Fences,” we filmed a “Tornado” episode. Almost every TV show, set in the mid-western United States, sooner or later, has a tornado episode. I sat in a restaurant, and drank coffee, while my colleagues got rained on, and blown about, by giant movie fans. I was fully expecting this, for myself, but production placed me inside the restaurant. We were at one of the major studios. I cannot remember which one, so I will say it was Universal. My favorite place, to work. 

     Did an episode of “Good vs. Evil, for the Sci-Fi channel. They made me a restaurant manager. I got beat up, and robbed, by 2 very bad guys. Unfortunately that is all I know. It happened so fast. I heard through the grapevine, that there were demons, in the restaurant. That’s right. I said demons. Rumor had it, that the guy, or guys, who robbed me, suffered a horrible death, and eternal damnation. Good for them!  I was unconscious, at the time. Any other questions, see my lawyer.

     Then there was the time I got an 18.5 hour day, at a restaurant, in Santa Monica, CA. Everybody  got sent home early, by mistake, on the first day. When we came back, for the second, and final day, we were already behind schedule. Production was not having a good day. The producers, and directors were fighting with each other. The actors, crew, and extras, did not care. We just sat back, and counted money. I made 150 dollars, and I was non-union. Extras who were SAG members, made at least twice as much. The film starred Kirstie Alley, and at 1 point, Nancy Cartwright was my waitress. People kept asking her to, “sound like Bart,” because she does the voice, of Bart Simpson, on the long running, TV sitcom, “The Simpson’s.” I think the film, was titled, “Suddenly,” and first aired in 1996. I have not seen it.

     Myself, and one of my friends, arrived at “Cadillac Jacks,” restaurant, on San Fernando Road, in the valley of the same name. We were pretty early, and we were the only ones there. So right away, I start to worry, that maybe I am in the wrong place. Only happened to me once, and it was castings fault, but I still worried about it. We did not know where to park, so we parked on the left of the restaurant, as you enter, and waited. 45 minutes later, a guy in a Mercedes-Benz convertible coupe, rolls in, and parks next to us. Shutting off his engine, he said, “You guys here, for the movie?” I nodded, and he went on, “Are you with the crew?” We were dressed like big-rig truck drivers. “No,” I replied, “We are extras. We are supposed to be patrons, in the restaurant.” He appeared surprised. “You guys are extras, and you beat the crew, getting here? When catering arrives, make sure you get some breakfast. Anyone gives you problems, come and see me.” I don’t know if this guy was a director, producer, or what, but he seemed pissed at the crew, for being late. As a result of our early arrival, we had a pretty easy day, on set, and once again, we ate like kings. If you are an extra, a good motto to live by, is show up early, and stay late. If you do not like long hours, I suggest you do something else. They filmed a scene with us, in the background, entering the restaurant, and sitting down. I still have a picture, from that shoot. I do not know if I am visible, in the film. I’ve never seen it. The name of the film was “Bottle Rocket.”