Seven hours for one second November 21, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Movies, Reading , 6 commentsSunday, I showed up for an extras’ call for Smart People. I still don’t know what the movie is about. All I know is Dennis Quaid is the main actor playing a CMU professor. He was on set on Sunday. And for the seven hours there, I think I probably had a second’s worth of camera time. The glamour of Hollywood is wearing thin.
While waiting to be called on set, I started Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor. This novelette has been on my list for a while. So far, it starts out with Hazel Motes as a painfully awkward son a preacher man travelling to the big city after the war. So far, I’ve only read chapter one.
And while at Borders today, I picked up A Simple Plan. About eight years ago, I watched this movie with my friend Jeff and was captivated by its dark plot. The story follows two brothers and a friend stumbling across a large sum of money and the decisions they make in order to keep it. As the story unfolds, you watch how it’s the small decisions that shapes lives and character. It’s one of the scariest movies I’ve seen.
Smart person? November 16, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Movies , add a commentWith all my busyness lately, I committed to a twelve hour shoot for this movie Smart People that they’re filming in Pittsburgh this Sunday afternoon. Are they sure that they have the right person? It starts at 11 AM. I hope to get some much needed reading done.
Up too late
Posted by Patrick in : House, Movies, Music , 1 comment so farI think it was the Masala tea that James and I had at Udipi for dinner. These last couple weeks have been busy and I’ve barely made a dent in the house. First of all, there’s a lot of work at work, which is a good thing. But it’s caused me to stay late some of the days which is rare. Currently, I’m working with SD cards and trying to implement a FAT file system on an embedded device. Needless to say, it’s going a bit slower than I had hoped.
The apartment fits the slow category as well. I was already to tackle the kitchen, but there’s a slight problem. My kitchen floor slopes a bit. It’s not drastic, but it’s noticeable. Maybe that’s expected for a 75 year old house, but I’m not sure. I plan to have a professional come in and look at it, and give me advice on the structure in general. You’d think these things would come up in the home inspection.
And as far as enjoying things around town, Andrew Bird played a good show last Friday night at CMU. The sound was a little muted, but he was good. He opened for Blackalicious, which ended up being the largest rap/hip-hop show that I’ve been to. It’s odd. Pittsburgh does not get that many artists that come through its steel gates, but the ones that come, end up returning again and again. This was Bird’s third show within the past year.
The plan for the next few days is to pick colors for the rooms, tow the car to a shop (the ignition doesn’t work), and figure out a budget. I’ve always been terrible at budgets. Anyone have any advice?
Oh, and I got a call for another movie that they’re filiming in Pittsburgh: Smart People. They asked for tomorrow, which I can’t do. It would have been a 14-hour shoot beginning at 11 AM.
Big weekend November 5, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : House, Movies , 2 commentsFrank: I told my wife I wouldn’t drink tonight. Besides, I got a big day tomorrow. You guys have a great time.
College Student: A big day? Doing what?
Frank: Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we’re going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.
I’m afraid that the quote from Old School will describe the next several months. Saturday, Albert and I went to Ikea. I don’t think that I’ve been to one since I was six living in Philadelphia. The store is impressive. Just like Frank, my main interest was flooring and cabinetry. There were a couple cabinet styles that I liked at Ikea. And I’m also considering a wood laminate floor for the kitchen.
Sherwin Williams was another stop. My work gives me a 20% discount there, so that’s where I’ll most likely buy all my paint. The colors are overwhelming, so I’m hopefully recruiting all my design friends (read: girl friends) for input.
I hope to keep a photo timeline of my work, so I’ll let you know when photos are posted.
These pretzels are making me thirsty September 28, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Pittsburgh, Movies , 1 comment so farLast Monday started a little after 4 AM. For fear of sleeping in, I asked my mom the night before to wake me up early so I wouldn’t miss the shoot. We had to be there for 5:45 with three to four outfits from 1983.
When I arrived, I was sent immeadiately to wardrobe for approval of my outfits. Or rather, a couple women scoured through my clothes and picked out my outfits for me. Suprisingily, they didn’t have to go back to their stash of clothes to replace mine. They picked out two different plaid shirts to match with my tight black jeans and caramel pennyloafers.
Wardrobe sent me immeadiately to get my hair done. They shuffled me and the other male book clerk to the adjacent trailer to get our hair teased. I had my first experience with a curling iron. They singed the hair next to my ears so it would stick behind my ears.
After that, the next four hours consisted of sitting around an abandoned Ames, waiting for the call. My fellow extra said that being an extra is a lot of “hurrying up to wait.”
Right before lunch was the first scene. It was an interior shot, where the character Cleveland (Peter Saarsgard) was picking up Art from the bookstore. I was in the back of the scene rounding a corner with a bunch of books. Like any extra, I tried to milk the scene for all it’s worth and walked really slow at first. The assistant director was savvy to this, and told me that i was walking like a zombie, so I picked up the speed.
The other scenes included some exterior shots of walking past the camera. Most times, I was far from the camera, so I’ll be a small dot if anything. At one time, I was standing around to meet Michael Chabon, who was in one of the scenes. The assistant director saw me and picked me for an impromptu part to walk past the camera AND look at the main character with a “I know what you’re up to” kind of look. The camera was behind him, so it was pointed directly at me. We tried a couple takes of this, but it ended up not working, and he yanked it.
Overall, the day was a blast. It was long - 13 hours of working. We were paid minimum wage, and time and a half over eight hours. They fed us well and I had a chance to meet Michael Chabon, who’s a suprisingily kind man, and Peter Saarsgard. The thing that I really enjoyed was seeing how a movie was made. During a couple scenes, I was close to the director’s circle and monitors where I could listen in on all the decisions of how the shots would look and how the actors would interact.
They called me back earlier today for a shoot tomorrow. It’s a classroom scene. The shoot is at 1:00, so I’m taking a half day. Also, I’m going to Minneapolis on Friday for the Desiring God conference, which I’m excited about. My friend Emily has hooked me up for a place to stay.
Alright, gotta go to bed.
Sneak peak September 24, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Pittsburgh, Movies , 3 comments
Here’s a sneak peak of a couple of tomorrow’s outfits. They recommended at least three or four outfits from 1983 that a clerk at a used bookstore would wear. The shoot time is at 5:45, so I have to get up pretty early. Around 4 AM. I’ll give a full report. Till then.
Second chance! September 22, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Pittsburgh, Movies , 1 comment so farI just got called by the casting agency and I’m slated to be in a scene this Monday for the Mysteries of Pittsburgh! And Michael Chabon will be in the scene as well! I will be a store clerk. Details to follow.
Missed another one September 6, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Movies , 2 commentsThe casting agency from The Mysteries of Pittsburgh called me up for a shoot later tonight at 5:45. Unfortunately, I did not have my cell phone on at the time. They called at 12:30 and I called back at 1:30. By the time I talked to them, they had already filled the spot. Twice defeated!
The Illusionist
Posted by Patrick in : Movies , add a commentI saw The Illusionist last night with a few friends. It was a good and entertaining movie. It looked like they filmed the movie through a Holga…Oh, and get this. Every Monday at the South Side Works, movies are $5 with free popcorn. How can you beat that? I have a feeling that I’ll be seeing many movies in the near future.
Still no call August 30, 2006
Posted by Patrick in : Movies , 4 commentsI still haven’t heard a call from the casting agency yet. Maybe it’s because I look more fruity than from the 80’s. Here’s a photo that Albert took of me after the audition.
