As much as there are a bunch of fun details about the Iron Man II shoot, out of respect for production's request, I won't divulge them.
I will divulge that a couple of people I got to know on set, who are on Joey's List (the highly reputable calling service), told me to resubmit with their recommendation. I did so.
Aaaand now I've got an invite to the List. This does not instantly solve my money issues, however, in May, when I only worked 4 days all month, a new friend on Joey's said he'd gone from 4 or 5 days a week to "just" 2 or 3.
So that's cool.
^Understated for effect.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
My Son
My son is teething. His top incisors seem to be trying to make an entry into the world. This makes life hard for him, but it has exposed one of his most shining qualities.
I've had a little bit of trouble adjusting to life as Dad. I didn't expect a pregnancy, nor, frankly, did I welcome it. I developed into the idea, though, understanding that it was God's will. Functioning as a parent has brought out all kinds of curious insecurities and frustration triggers long dormant or until now hidden, and I've had ample opportunity to be disappointed in my own immaturity or frightful streaks of frustration or anger.
That is the preface.
Here is the body:
I understand my son, for the first time, these last days as the Person he is, instead of as the crazy little animal (yes I said it) I'm responsible for. In his intense discomfort during the teething last night, he was in Mama's arms, gnawing on his Nubby Ring (a little gel-plastic ring with water inside that can be frozen). I hovered close to him to give him a little TLC and attention, and he looked at me, removed the ring from his mouth, and held it up to my mouth. He was sharing.
Now I understand where ye skeptics might tell me I'm reading too much into this moment. I assure you, I am not. He did this several times. He chewed, took it out, held it up to me, and would not take it back to his mouth until I had had the opportunity to bite it myself.
I realize he started doing this first with his Elephant Blanket, the trunk of which he sucks on to soothe himself to sleep. I sing him a song or two at night, and give him the blanket to start sucking on. A few days ago, he took the blanket and pressed it against my face. I had an inkling then that he was trying to share, but I couldn't be sure. Seeing the ice ring sharing convinces me.
It's cliche to say this, but those moments of connection make worthwhile all of the good work, and intensify the regret for (and the resolve to never repeat) the foolish lapses that have caused me to misdirect my frustration at him.
He's not an angel. He will prove to be a willful, trying little boy...if only because of his curiosity. But he is tender. He wants to give of things he loves to those he loves.
I've had a little bit of trouble adjusting to life as Dad. I didn't expect a pregnancy, nor, frankly, did I welcome it. I developed into the idea, though, understanding that it was God's will. Functioning as a parent has brought out all kinds of curious insecurities and frustration triggers long dormant or until now hidden, and I've had ample opportunity to be disappointed in my own immaturity or frightful streaks of frustration or anger.
That is the preface.
Here is the body:
I understand my son, for the first time, these last days as the Person he is, instead of as the crazy little animal (yes I said it) I'm responsible for. In his intense discomfort during the teething last night, he was in Mama's arms, gnawing on his Nubby Ring (a little gel-plastic ring with water inside that can be frozen). I hovered close to him to give him a little TLC and attention, and he looked at me, removed the ring from his mouth, and held it up to my mouth. He was sharing.
Now I understand where ye skeptics might tell me I'm reading too much into this moment. I assure you, I am not. He did this several times. He chewed, took it out, held it up to me, and would not take it back to his mouth until I had had the opportunity to bite it myself.
I realize he started doing this first with his Elephant Blanket, the trunk of which he sucks on to soothe himself to sleep. I sing him a song or two at night, and give him the blanket to start sucking on. A few days ago, he took the blanket and pressed it against my face. I had an inkling then that he was trying to share, but I couldn't be sure. Seeing the ice ring sharing convinces me.
It's cliche to say this, but those moments of connection make worthwhile all of the good work, and intensify the regret for (and the resolve to never repeat) the foolish lapses that have caused me to misdirect my frustration at him.
He's not an angel. He will prove to be a willful, trying little boy...if only because of his curiosity. But he is tender. He wants to give of things he loves to those he loves.
The Unions
Growing up (and growing into my adult opinions) I've done the tango with the concept of labor unions and whether or not they're a good thing in the contemporary market or not.
The short answer is that they are and they aren't. Because people are both good and bad.
They're bad because they encourage and reward tunnel vision and self-service when any union racks up a record of strong negotiations. It becomes more about getting every dime that can be got than securing decent, fair wages and benefits.
That said, they are still indispensable...especially in my line of work.
I've been out of work (if you except the 4 days of work I had in May) for almost 5 full weeks. To that end, I've been actively cruising for work anywhere I can find it...to a point.
I consistently find productions that want to pay $10, or $30, or $50 for 8-12 hours of work. I know, I know, y'all that do labor intensive jobs or remarkable tedious things like office tasks would like to contend with my labelling of movies and TV shows "work". Take it from the ex-trucker: it beats digging a hole for a living, but it's not like getting paid to go to the day spa. Anyway, I find myself needing to reject these laughable rates purely on principle.
What's that you say? "Work is work"? Well, maybe, but let me explain. Minimum wage in California is $8 per hour. At the cost of living in this state, even $8 per hour is woefully inadequate to make a living. So apply that to $50. That's 6.25 hours of work. And these folks might hang on to you for 12 or 15 hours (especially if they're newbies and don't know what they're doing...which is often especially the case with the projects that offer to pay these rates). I just can't justify to myself the rightness of taking a $40 or $50 flat rate job (read: no overtime) because I'm desperate for cash. It'll only perpetuate the mindset that says, "Movies are so cool, you should be thankful you get to be in one!"
This is where AFTRA and SAG come in. They've negotiated these things out, so that people who aren't starstruck, and realize that people make a lot of money off of actors and extras, and would like a fair slice of the profit, can have a chance at that.
So I got paid for the fitting today, because a long time ago, the negotiating power of SAG got the studios to acknowledge that a fitting takes time that an actor could be using for some other kind of gainful employment.
Again, this can be carried too far. But let me point out that the multi-million dollar figures that big-name actors haul down on their movies are not SAG contract issues, they're negotiated individually by agents. SAG has a thing called scale, whereby you're paid a certain amount for the thing you're doing...to the extent that even the non-union members (like me) are granted some protection by SAG contract rules on a SAG show. I can only imagine what sets would be like for actors working on making a career.
All of this said, one more thing on this post:
SAG Membership, ratify the contract! Now is not the time for penny grabbing. Let's go to work!
Thank you, that is all.
The short answer is that they are and they aren't. Because people are both good and bad.
They're bad because they encourage and reward tunnel vision and self-service when any union racks up a record of strong negotiations. It becomes more about getting every dime that can be got than securing decent, fair wages and benefits.
That said, they are still indispensable...especially in my line of work.
I've been out of work (if you except the 4 days of work I had in May) for almost 5 full weeks. To that end, I've been actively cruising for work anywhere I can find it...to a point.
I consistently find productions that want to pay $10, or $30, or $50 for 8-12 hours of work. I know, I know, y'all that do labor intensive jobs or remarkable tedious things like office tasks would like to contend with my labelling of movies and TV shows "work". Take it from the ex-trucker: it beats digging a hole for a living, but it's not like getting paid to go to the day spa. Anyway, I find myself needing to reject these laughable rates purely on principle.
What's that you say? "Work is work"? Well, maybe, but let me explain. Minimum wage in California is $8 per hour. At the cost of living in this state, even $8 per hour is woefully inadequate to make a living. So apply that to $50. That's 6.25 hours of work. And these folks might hang on to you for 12 or 15 hours (especially if they're newbies and don't know what they're doing...which is often especially the case with the projects that offer to pay these rates). I just can't justify to myself the rightness of taking a $40 or $50 flat rate job (read: no overtime) because I'm desperate for cash. It'll only perpetuate the mindset that says, "Movies are so cool, you should be thankful you get to be in one!"
This is where AFTRA and SAG come in. They've negotiated these things out, so that people who aren't starstruck, and realize that people make a lot of money off of actors and extras, and would like a fair slice of the profit, can have a chance at that.
So I got paid for the fitting today, because a long time ago, the negotiating power of SAG got the studios to acknowledge that a fitting takes time that an actor could be using for some other kind of gainful employment.
Again, this can be carried too far. But let me point out that the multi-million dollar figures that big-name actors haul down on their movies are not SAG contract issues, they're negotiated individually by agents. SAG has a thing called scale, whereby you're paid a certain amount for the thing you're doing...to the extent that even the non-union members (like me) are granted some protection by SAG contract rules on a SAG show. I can only imagine what sets would be like for actors working on making a career.
All of this said, one more thing on this post:
SAG Membership, ratify the contract! Now is not the time for penny grabbing. Let's go to work!
Thank you, that is all.
The Fitting
I got a call last night from my calling service.
I have work.
It's 9 [probable] days on Iron Man 2 next week and the week after.
There was also a fitting. I went to that today. Only in Los Angeles can one drive 80 miles round trip for routine business. And you know what? It didn't feel like a pilgrimage. Either I'm getting used to it, or the massive sprawl that is the Greater Los Angeles Metro Area makes the whole thing seem like a shorter trip than it is. This is the route to and from:
View Larger Map
By comparison, here is a similar distance trip in the Minneapolis Metro zone.
View Larger Map
Now, maybe it's just me, but driving from Lakeville to Lino Lakes and back for a half-hour wardrobe fitting would seem a little excessive.
But Santa Clarita to Hawthorne? Sure! And I'm really not bitter about it. Some very nice people attacked me with a tape measure and then gave me some clothes. And I got two hours of base pay for it. So I grossed $16 on the trip. What I'll net, I don't know.
Another curious thing about today. Iron Man 2 will be my first major movie. To this end, it was a first to witness the size of the crew and the racks of wardrobe for the fitting. It makes a difference when the production has an 8 or 9 digit budget.
I took Sepulveda back for half of the trip (another iconic southern California street name) because 405 was a joke...but that's one of the little triumphs of being comfortable with driving and direction finding. It might not be any faster in the long run, but at least I don't have to clutch through four gears for forty straight miles.
Lessons learned today:
Big movies are big movies. Their quality is not so important to those of us actually working them. They provide many days of work. I am in no way impugning the potential quality of Iron Man 2.
I must find an alternate route in order to avoid the 405 north/5 north connector. Awful. Just awful.
Unions serve a purpose. This will be another post.
God is awesome. This will also be another post.
I have work.
It's 9 [probable] days on Iron Man 2 next week and the week after.
There was also a fitting. I went to that today. Only in Los Angeles can one drive 80 miles round trip for routine business. And you know what? It didn't feel like a pilgrimage. Either I'm getting used to it, or the massive sprawl that is the Greater Los Angeles Metro Area makes the whole thing seem like a shorter trip than it is. This is the route to and from:
View Larger Map
By comparison, here is a similar distance trip in the Minneapolis Metro zone.
View Larger Map
Now, maybe it's just me, but driving from Lakeville to Lino Lakes and back for a half-hour wardrobe fitting would seem a little excessive.
But Santa Clarita to Hawthorne? Sure! And I'm really not bitter about it. Some very nice people attacked me with a tape measure and then gave me some clothes. And I got two hours of base pay for it. So I grossed $16 on the trip. What I'll net, I don't know.
Another curious thing about today. Iron Man 2 will be my first major movie. To this end, it was a first to witness the size of the crew and the racks of wardrobe for the fitting. It makes a difference when the production has an 8 or 9 digit budget.
I took Sepulveda back for half of the trip (another iconic southern California street name) because 405 was a joke...but that's one of the little triumphs of being comfortable with driving and direction finding. It might not be any faster in the long run, but at least I don't have to clutch through four gears for forty straight miles.
Lessons learned today:
Big movies are big movies. Their quality is not so important to those of us actually working them. They provide many days of work. I am in no way impugning the potential quality of Iron Man 2.
I must find an alternate route in order to avoid the 405 north/5 north connector. Awful. Just awful.
Unions serve a purpose. This will be another post.
God is awesome. This will also be another post.
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