Even More S**t Happens

 Even More S**t Happens

     “The Day the World Ended,” was a film about a little boy, with magical powers, that nobody liked. Been done before, but to me, it was a job, so I do not care if Hollywood wants to make the same movie, or same type of movie 1000 times. More work for me. The boy does not know how to control the power he has. Also done before. He conjures up a monster, from a 1950’s horror movie, to avenge the murder of his mother. I was booked, on the film, as “townsfolk.” We were all at a town meeting, to discuss the best way to get rid, of the monster, legal, or not. We decide to hunt it down, but we are unsuccessful. After all the people, who are supposed to die, get killed, the monster goes away, never to return. Maybe. My favorite scene was when a woman, who thought she was the “Queen Bee,” got her entire face, torn off, by the monster. The high point of the job was when I got to meet, and get my picture taken, with Randy Quaid.

     Except for cash jobs, that paid, the same day, Central Casting paid the quickest. At the time, Central did their own payroll. So did Charlie Messenger Casting. I do not know, how it is done now, but back then, sooner, or later we would have to deal with “Sessions Payroll.” Of all the payroll companies, I had to deal with, over the years, Sessions Payroll sucked the hardest, in my opinion. When I was doing extra work, nobody I knew, had anything good to say about this company. I have a personal friend, who sued Sessions Payroll, for non payment of wages, and won. Whenever I had a problem, with them, they always blamed the production company. No matter what the problem was, it was never their fault. When I first started doing extra work, a Sessions Payroll voucher, was a pretty standard document, yet it took longer to complete than a Central Casting voucher. Central vouchers usually came, already filled out. Just fill in your hours, get the voucher signed, by production, and you are done. Pretty easy. Not so with Sessions Payroll. The last time I got a Sessions Payroll  voucher, they had been changed, to carry some kind of declaration written, on them, about who your employer was. When my friend sued them the judge ruled that THEY were our employer, because THEIR name was on the paychecks, we received, and THEY took all of the necessary deductions, out of our pay. So they changed the vouchers, by putting this declaration, on them. I do not know if the law has changed, or if this declaration is worth a s**t, but if you are doing extra work, right now, you should know your rights. After all, it’s your money, and if you have to deal with Sessions Payroll, my heart goes out to you. Break a leg!

     Sooner, or later, you work in weather. On “Carnivale,” it was high wind, in the high desert, at night. Lucky us! We got to ride the Ferris Wheel of Death, and freeze our asses off! On “Asphalt Man,” we got sand blasted, by high wind at the beach. I do mean blasted. It was ridiculous. On “E R,” we got fake snow thrown, and blown all over us, by giant movie fans. On “Seven,” we got a real thunderstorm. Rain, lightning, and high wind. Afterward the production company provided the rain. We got 20 dollars a day, extra, for getting wet. On “Waterworld,” we roasted in the hot December sun. Yes, I wrote December. Southern California can get hot, at any time!

    Got booked as a ghost once. Black suit. White shirt, with blood splatter, all over it. Very simple. There were 10 of us. We followed a girl, everywhere she went. She knew about us, and occasionally spoke to us, but we did not answer her. We were all in a group, whenever she saw us. I think we were all murder victims, and her ability, to see us, helped to bring our killers, to justice. This was a student film, that was sort of a scary mystery movie. We never saw the finished film, or found out who the killers were. 

     Some people try really hard, to get on camera. I worked with people, who thought they were stars, and were desperate, to get noticed. I appeared, on camera, quite a bit, without even trying. On “The Spy who Shagged Me,” I sat in the back. Production liked my wardrobe, so they moved me to front, and center. Then they placed a pretty blonde girl, right next to me. I got on camera because of her, and because I wore the right clothes. In other words, it was just dumb luck. Most of the time, that is the case. A lady I know, got a line in the movie, ”Eye for an Eye,” because of where her car was parked. This is another aspect of extra work, that lures people in. You never know what might happen, when you get to work. This could be your lucky day! Sound cliché? I’ve seen it. Happens all the time. A guy I knew made 40 thousand dollars, for working on a commercial, that aired, during the Super Bowl. Not bad, for a days work.

     I worked on a production, for Germany once, and they certainly did things differently. They filmed one scene, at a time, in order, according to the script, so if you spoke, to me, they would film you first, and then turn the cameras, and lights around, to film my response. They would repeat this procedure, for our entire conversation. This made for lots of days, overtime, and down time. American film companies would film everything you said, and when they were done filming you, they would send you home, so they didn’t have to pay you anymore, for the day. Then they would turn the cameras, and lights around, and film everything I said. It would be cut together later. I have been sent home early, because the camera was no longer on me. This happened more often, on TV shows, than it did, on feature films, or TV movies. I have also gotten multiple days of work, just because of where I was placed. Eventually it all evens out. Feature films are more likely to keep everyone, ”just in case.” Still others do not seem to care, how much money, they are spending. I have heard that if the production company brings a movie in, under budget, they cannot ask for more money, the next time they make a movie. Don’t know if this is true, or not, but it certainly sounds like Hollywood politics, to me. I think of all the productions, I have worked on, and I have seen myself, maybe a dozen times, that I can remember. As for the rest, who knows? One of my friends once said, “Maybe you are a big star, in Korea, and you don’t know it.” A nice sentiment, but the reality is, most of the time, you end up on the cutting room floor. I never went out of my way to make sure I got on camera anyway. I did not care as long as I got paid, for my time. As I have said before, “I am content to remain invisible.” Makes it easier to walk down the street. I walked down the street with Brad Pitt once, while working on, “Fight Club.” We only walked 2 blocks, and we were swarmed upon, by about 50, or more, star struck fans. I could not handle living like that, all the time, so I will stay invisible.