Bartender for Hire

I worked on the set of the new television show “Dr. Vegas” today. I was slated to be a gambler, with about 100 other people. It was non-union, but it was work and it shoots on the Warner Ranch studio, which is a smaller studio than the Warner Brothers main studio. So, I put on a happy face and wore my one gambler outfit, but brought two other gambler outfits.

“Dr. Vegas” is a show that takes place, obviously, in Las Vegas. The casino that it involves is supposedly a very trendy, beautiful place. Where glamorous people go to gamble and drink. I had heard the need for extras on the hotline before but they always prefaced it with “Very good looking people” so I never called. Not because I don’t think I am good looking, ladies, you could do a lot worse than me. But I knew the kind of guys they were looking for, tall and handsome, by today’s standards. I just don’t fit into that category. I guess I am more of a cute, goofy guy, who has a good personality that puts me into the good-looking category. Believe me, my personality has made me attractive to women who were out of my league more than once. Unfortunately, personality doesn’t quite cut it when you are an extra. They just want the people that fit the part. So when I was calling in to be an extra on a different show, the guy that answered asked me if I wanted to do “Dr. Vegas”. I said yes, and felt good that some strange man, who was probably tired and wanted to go home, thought I was a “very good looking” person. My ego inflated, I went to the set.

I got through security and went to the holding area for the extras. It was in a very nice building that had a large central area, with a couple of changing rooms and another room where the food was set out. I took a seat and started to look at the other people who were slated to shoot this day. I looked at the guys and I had nothing to worry about. I could spot the ones that were supposed to be pit bosses and dealers, they were older and looked like they had been doing this awhile. The other guys were supposed to be gamblers; most of them were schlubs like me. There were a couple of guys who I would classify as “very good looking”, but for the most part it was a group of guys who got sweaty palms around beautiful women. And believe me, there was a lot of perspiration in the palms on this day. A lot of the women there were extremely attractive. They fell into three categories. The ones who were just drop dead gorgeous, the ones who were attractive, but made themselves more desirable by dressing really slutty, and the ones who were a little older and clinging on to the good looks that they used to depend on.

For some reason, all of the really good-looking women congregated into one section of the room. I dubbed this area “The Hot Corner”. And then I positioned myself so I could gaze upon their beauty and not be obvious. The P.A. came in and told us to get our vouchers and go to wardrobe and have them choose our outfits. I was standing in line to get my wardrobe approved when an A.D. came over and grabbed me out of the line and told me I was going to be a bartender today. I went to wardrobe and was given an outfit of black pants, a blue shirt, and a stripped vest. I started talking to the other guy who was chosen to be a bartender and it turns out we had the same first name, just moved to L.A. within the last month, and both came from Chicago. He is a lot younger than me, but he was a cool guy and we hit it off right away. I guess you could call him my first “extra friend”

I got changed into my outfit and went back in to wait for the call. I noticed that a lot of the gamblers were given outfits to change into also. The guys got regular clothes, but the women, especially the good looking ones, were put into outfits that accentuated what the good Lord had given them. “The Hot Corner” was especially appealing in the outfits they were given. But the people that won the prize for the most attractive and the most degraded were the women who were the cocktail waitresses. I have never been to Vegas, but if this is how the waitresses dress, then I am going tomorrow. Their outfits consisted of a sleeveless vest that had two buttons right below their chest and above their navel. The navel was exposed, and so was most of their chest. The women that were not heavily endowed were given cups to put into their bra to squish the breasts together. Let’s just say that if they needed a different name for this show, it would be “Dr. Cleavage”. But what I felt the worst about was the skirt that they had to wear. It was a mini-skirt that ended about eight inches above their knees, which meant that the back of the skirt was just below the butt. So most of them tied a shirt or a sweater around their waist until the cameras rolled. Although there were a couple that felt comfortable enough to just walk around like that.

Three hours later we were called to the set. We all went into the stage and walked onto a fully dressed casino. It was really cool looking. It was fully stocked with slot machines, craps tables, blackjack tables and a really long bar. We positioned ourselves behind the bar and everyone got set-up for the first shot. Basically we were to pantomime serving drinks to the patrons and the waitresses. So we got ready to shoot and in walked Rob Lowe. He plays the central character in “Dr. Vegas” and in this shot he was sitting at the end of the bar and looking up at the television above the bar. He was about 5 feet away from me and getting ready to go, when the director came up and they talked about the shot. I guess this show is all Rob’s baby because it seemed to me that he was calling a lot of the shots. Or maybe he is just a seasoned actor who knows what he wants. Even though I’m not that excited about being around celebrities, it was still pretty cool. So the cameras started to roll and we did the scene about 5 times. Then we moved on to the following shot where he leaves the bar and goes to a blackjack table. While they were setting up for this shot, Tom Sizemore walked in and started chit chatting with Rob and some of the other actors. Aside from some of the negative press that he has received the last few years, Tom Sizemore seemed like a very easygoing guy to work with. He was joking around with everyone and seemed like he was a good guy. So we finished the shot and we were all told to go to holding.

There I started talking to a young woman who was sitting at the bar in the shot we just finished. She was really cool and found myself really liking her. Surprise, surprise she is not from L.A. She is from the East Coast. So we talked for a while and then I was called back to the set. Before we got to the set, a guy came out and told us all that we were wrapped for the day. So I headed back to change out of my outfit and get my voucher signed. I had just changed out of my bartender outfit, when the A.D. came rushing in and told me and the other bar tender that they needed us on the set right away. We changed and went back to the casino. I guess this scene takes place after a fight in the casino, because the crew had over turned all of the tables and chairs, and had thrown cards, chips, and pretzels all over the floor. We are supposed to be picking up the bar after the fight and Rob and Tom have a last scene together. Tom looked like he plays some sort of cop in the episode. We shot that scene for about 2 hours; most of it was with a steady cam, which I had never seen up close. So it was cool to see that being used. After we finished, we went back to the holding area and saw that everyone else had left, even my special lady friend from the East Coast. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Because it was so late, the craft services people put out sandwiches for the crew and we were told that we could help ourselves. I grabbed a sandwich and headed home.

I did not get a call to be on “Desperate Housewives” on Tuesday, so I am still waiting to get my last SAG voucher.

I bet I will dream about “The Hot Corner” tonight.