A driver picked me up early Tuesday morning for the trek down to LAX. Even at 6am, we hit a snag in the traffic, which led to an adventurous detour. The guy got me there on time. It was nice to have the driver and the sleek SUV. Sweet ride. I flew out to Houston first class. Four of the five actors hired out of LA for their 4 spots were on my plane. I chatted with one of them on the way out. This plane had individual video units for each first class passenger. We had a selection of 19 movies, various TV shows, etc. So, I ate, watched a movie and we landed. The trip went by fast.
We were picked up by a PA from the airport and driven to our hotel. After a few minutes of getting checked in and settled in the room, we were driven to the fitting. I ended up wearing some new pants and a new sportcoat I just bought last week with a shirt from the production. Some of us had dinner at the only restaurant near our hotel, which was not in a great area, but the food was good.
Wednesday
Call time to leave the hotel was early and the weather was not cooperative. My spot was to be shot mostly outside, a drive-thru theme. I was concerned that we may not get it in. On set, there were contracts to fill out, makeup, hair, wardrobe, and then we got rolling about an hour late on my spot, even with a light, misty rain falling. The crew worked hard to keep the car clean and clear. With only a few different shots to knock out, and then some voice only versions for the sound, I was done and out of there by about 1:30pm. Before I left, they told me I was coming back to finish up on Thursday. I got back to the hotel, tired, but in need of a little walk. I walked to a mall that was about a mile or so away. When I entered, I could tell I was a little out of place. Without dawdling, I made a quick circuit and exit, walking back to the hotel.
Thursday
Another morning call time to wrap up the last few shots for the drive-thru spot. It was nice to get the extra day. The rest of the actors I flew with were travelling back to LA Thursday. A new actor arrived Wednesday night, and her spot was up first in the day. Today, I told the PA/driver about my jaunt down to the low-end mall. He told me the locals don't call our area "Greenspoint", they call it "Gunspoint". Yikes. Wish I had known that yesterday. The sky was overcast and it was even colder than Wednesday, but at least it wasn't raining...until I got in the car of course. This time, though, it only sprinkled a little and then held off until we were done. These shots were mainly on me for the reactions that form the "joke" of the thing. I felt good about the process, had fun on the takes and managed to flub my lines just once, and even then, there was a sound problem anyway. We had fun and played around with various tag lines and reactions. People around the monitors seemed to react well and laughed, but I didn't see any playback. We'll find out in the end. Thursday night, I was able to meet up with a cousin that I've rarely visited with. She was older than me growing up. Well, she's still older than me, but you kind of "catch up" at a certain age I guess. It was fun talking with her.
Friday
Back to LAX, back in the same SUV with the same driver, and home at last. This was the longest my wife and I had been apart since well before we got married. We moved some stuff into the new apartment in the afternoon. She had already moved a few things. We're making the transition at a comfortable speed. And so, it's back to work of a different sort, doing the day to day and working to get the next job. We all hope the Culver's job is the first of many this year.
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