Bulldog's Soundman

I have always been a little self-conscious about my height. I am not super short, but I am of below average height. I am around 5’9, but everyone I see on television set’s is at least 5’11 or taller, everyone. So I have been worried that my height would be a disadvantage to me. It came in handy one time though.

I was working Dr. Vegas, again as a gambler, and the AD came up to me and told me I was being switched to part of a camera crew. The show was about a big Texas Hold’em tournament that the casino was having and they were broadcasting it on a network like ESPN. So they had a guy playing an announcer and I was supposed to be a soundman getting his microphone set up for him. Turns out the person they had slated to be the soundman was too tall for the actor playing the announcer, so I was picked to be the new soundman.

The person playing the soundman was the actor who played Bulldog on “Frasier”. His name is Dan. He introduced himself to me and we just chitchatted a little bit. He asked me if I was an actor playing a soundman, or if I was really a soundman they just put into the scene. I told him I was an actor and that they originally had a different guy to play the soundman but he was too tall. Dan replied, “Those son’s a bitches” in a joking manner, which I found really funny.

So we shot the scene, which consisted of me starting out at this guy’s crotch like I was plugging in his microphone and then sticking the receiver in his back pocket, so I was touching his butt a lot. Everyone was very nice to me and Dan even included me in the scene by speaking to me and asking me if I knew whom this other guy was in the scene. I am not allowed to speak so I just shrugged him off and shook my head “no”. Real great acting there, real great.

That one day turned into 3 days since they wanted the same people back as the camera crew for each shot in the casino. I didn’t have to look for work and I was happy that I was becoming more and more comfortable working on sets. Plus I am pretty sure that I will be seen in this episode also. I have not seen myself on television yet, but I am sure when I do, I will get that rush of adrenaline that everyone gets when they see their elbow on TV.

Also, I work Dr. V a lot because there is this really gorgeous woman there who chit chats with me from time to time. I only mention this because I don’t want you readers to think that I am not “putting out the vibe” when I am on set. I am. Big time. I just like the women to come to me. I play it real cool. I find it strange that I am often alone though.

Tons of stuff

I know a lot of faithful readers have been anticipating the next installment of CTD, so here it is. My computer problems are under control, but I will have to have someone look at it because there is still some funky stuff going on with it, but I digress.

Lots of stuff has happened since I last updated the log, so here goes.

After my friends and I helped out the AD on Dr. Vegas, I was able to get work on that show whenever I want. The casting director at Central Casting told me to call in whenever I heard the listing for the show and he would put me on. That gave me a sense of relief because sometimes it can be difficult to get work due to the volume of people calling in to get work.

So I was working pretty regularly on Dr. Vegas, and since I was there so much the other Assistant Directors began to recognize me and call me by name, which was very nice. One day, I ran into my friend M who I knew back in Chicago, on the set of Dr. V. As he and I were catching up, the AD came up to us and told us to go to the soundstage where they were shooting a scene. When we got there, we were placed at a blackjack table with another girl. I knew something was up when the stand-ins for the main actors came and stood or sat next to me.

A stand-in is a person of the same height and build of the main actors that they use to set lights for, so the main actors can go and sit/eat/relax. They are referred to as “Second Team”.

I was sitting there thinking about how cool this was when they called for “First Team”. The stand-ins left and Rob Lowe, Fisher Stevens and Sarah Lancaster moved into position. The director told us that we were in a scene where Fisher Steven’s character was having a coughing attack at the blackjack table and they had called Rob Lowe to check him out. Sarah Lancaster plays a dealer on the show. I knew that I was supposed to be quiet and not talk to them, so I just sat there and listened. Rob Lowe was teaching Fisher Stevens a new way to memorize lines quickly. Apparently this is a technique he used on the West Wing because they would often get new scripts the day of shooting. Basically you write down the first letter of each word in the margin next to the sentence. Then you just concentrate on the letters and your brain will remember the words. I thought it was a crock, but I still remember the line of dialogue that they practiced on, which was “This is the best place in the city to get laid. Forget weddings or funerals, women are on to that”. So the next time I get a script I am going to try that out.

I was just being quiet and listening to them without looking like I was listening to them. I was praying that they would include me in their conversation. I was coming up with all of these interesting things to say, a funny anecdote or two and the fact that I just moved from Chicago. I was even trying to remember the name of the hockey movie that Rob Lowe made in the 80’s with Patrick Swayze, but I couldn’t do it.

We shot the scene a couple of times and then they asked for Joe Pantoliano and Tom Sizemore to come to set. They were in the last part of the scene where they walk by and say a line. But the best part of the whole day was when Tom Sizemore started talking about working on “Heat” with Robert Dinero and Val Kilmer. He started talking about how he would tease Val a lot and would get Robert, or Bob to him, to join him. He was doing a Dinero impression and everything. It was pretty bad, but he was so committed to it that it was really funny. So he is talking about how during the big shootout scene in downtown L.A. that they kept telling Val to call Robin and why were they running when they could just get the Bat mobile. Apparently Val did not like this very much because he asked them to stop. To which Dinero replied, “Why don’t you go get fucking Robin to save our asses here”!

While this was going on we were shooting the scene. So Tom would tell a couple minutes worth of the story and then they would roll and he would shoot his part and then would go right back into the story. It took about half and hour and everyone at the table was laughing the whole time.

The thing that hit me during all of this was that these were professional actors and they were screwing around in between shots, just like I like to do. So I was pretty jazzed about this whole thing while I was driving home. It was midnight here, 2am Chicago and the only person I knew who would be up was my friend R who is a waitress and gets off around 2am. So I called her all excited and started telling her the whole story. I am sure I didn’t make much sense and sounded like a maniac, but at least I got to tell someone right after it happened.

Oh, and I am sure that I will be seen in the episode also. Fisher Stevens plays a dying man and goes to the Casino for one last fun time. It should be the 2nd or 3rd episode. Check it out if you are interested in seeing me.

Dr. Vegas starts Friday, September 24 at 9 or 10 pm.

Oh, and it has been pegged as one of the first shows to get cancelled by the critics. I guess the Friday night at 10pm slot is not that great to get the 18-35 demographic they want. Go figure.

Computer Problems

For those loyal readers of the blog, this comes as sad news. About 10 days ago my computer contracted some kind of virus while I was on the internet. Norton AntiVirus software and SBC AntiVirus software have not been able to fix the problem so I am not sure if this is even posting. If it has, I have tons of news to get to when I can.

Some of you might be wondering if I got the virus by downloading pornography. I wish. The virus takes over my internet and brings up all sorts of web pages for virus software patches and gambling sites. If it was bringing up porn sites, I would not be complaining.

I thank you for your patience and apologize for the fact that I do not know how to protect myself from getting hurt. It reminds me of the first time I had to wear a cup and jockstrap. Of course I put it on wrong. I put the jock strap on and the put the cup between the jock strap and my underwear. My father, sensing that I would mess this up, inquired as to how I had arranged it "down there". Upon hearing the answer he had to give me a quick lesson in how to protect my genitals.

So, I guess I just need someone to teach me how to protect my internet genitals.

One Good Deed

I booked another day on “Dr. Vegas”. It was a Friday. Usually television shows shoot Monday through Friday, unless they are really behind. Starting times begin the week very early, around 6-6:30am. As the week progresses, depending on how fast they are shooting, the start times become later and later in the day. Therefore, Fridays are usually the latest days to work. Our call time for the show was 3:30 pm, so I knew that I would be there until the early hours of the next morning. Being an extra, you expect an average of 12-hour days. Being a non-union extra, you want those long days to make a decent paycheck. So, I wasn’t really too worried about shooting late.

I had my three friends there with me to hang out with. Most of the day was uneventful. The most frustrating time came during lunch. A lot of times, extras do not get fed a hot meal. They are given a “walk away” lunch, so you can leave the set and get some food. This Friday, they were going to provide lunch for us around 9pm at night. There were about 200 of us, so the line to get food was very long and people started lining up way before it was ready to be served. I was coming back from the set when they called lunch, and the stampede was on. People were sprinting for the line and by the time I got there, it was a mile long. So my three friends and I were at the back of the line. I walked up and took a look at what they were serving. I noticed that people were taking their sweet time getting food. Girls were building the “perfect salad” piece by piece. Guys were loading up 2-3 containers apiece then setting each plate down at each station to fill up more space. I saw one girl taking her sweet time putting on salad dressing. “A dribble here, a dabble there, maybe more, no I don’t need the calories, well I have been working hard, sure a little more won’t hurt a bit, a little more here, make sure to cover the tomatoes” JUST MAKE THE DAMN SALAD!!! I went back to the end of the line and told my friends that it would be a while. Then the Assistant Director came up and said that we could go into the crew area and eat there. REJOICE!!! We went in there and got in line. We got better food and a nice quiet place to eat, all for being last. As I was in line, one of the girls that had already been through the first line came in and started picking through the other stuff in the crew line. She butted right in and started picking up little pieces of extra food. By the time that she left, she had a whole other meal. I quietly prayed for her to drop her tray, but they went unanswered.

As the night went on, people began to bitch their heads off. Even after the A.D. told us we would be there until at least 3 a.m. I was talking to one of my friends and an older gentleman came up to me and stared at me and exclaimed “It’s 12 in the morning”. I didn’t know what he was getting at so I just said, “OK”. He shrugged and walked off to the bathroom. What puzzled me was the phrase he used. 12 in the morning? That and the fact that he came up to complete strangers and tried to rally us to his cause of disbelief.

We finally released around 4 a.m. Everyone wanted to leave quickly and there was a stampede to get his or her voucher signed. People were tearing out of there like their life depended on it. As my friends and I were getting ready to leave we took a look around the place. It was disaster area! Caps, bottles of water, plates, chip bags and napkins were everywhere. We pitched in and helped clean up the holding area. It only took about 5 minutes with the four of us working together. I could understand if a few people didn’t see napkins on the floor or left an empty bottle or two, but this was ridiculous. We found a full plate of food left on the floor. It contained a whole bagel and an apple that was cut up. They hadn’t served bagels since we first go there so I knew it had been sitting around for about 12 hours. We found a pair of men’s underwear and a pile of chicken bones lying in the middle of a table. Leaving the bones was just lazy, but forgetting you left your underwear? If you show up with underwear, and leave without it, I think you should know it. We finished cleaning up and started to leave when the A.D. came up to us and asked us to give him our names. After he wrote them down, he said to us “You guys can work here whenever you want, that was really cool to do.

So I left that night feeling like people here do notice when you are trying to help. That and sucking up a little bit works.