August - September 2005
I worked on the show Free Ride. It is a new midseason replacement show for Fox, so it will begin airing around January. It was a neat show because it is largely improvised. They have an outline of things that need to happen and then pretty much the entire dialogue is improvised by the actors with the director throwing out lines here and there or ideas. I was a construction worker and we filmed on location in Woodland Hills, where one of the wildfires was burning. We were in a housing development right next to the mountains, and at one point we looked up and could see the flames of the fire about to come over the ridge. They prevented it with constant dropping of slurry. All day long there was quite a bit of smoke and a constant snow of ash.
September 29, 2005
I did audience work for the show The Biggest Loser. I believe it was the finale, and it should be airing in November. I had never seen the show before, so I was in no way excited about it, but it was quite an experience. Caroline Rhea was wonderful and hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her. My friends Mike, Tammy, Laci, and Audrey were there, so the day went by quickly.
September 26-28, 2005
I worked on the new Clint Eastwood movie, Flags of Our Fathers. I think it is going to be a great film! First of all, let me say that working on a film that Clint Eastwood is directing is quite an experience. He is a legend and an icon, and he does not mess around. He has strict rules and he expects everyone to follow them. Now, on most movies, and even TV shows, multiple takes are commonplace. It is not at all unusual to do the same thing 20-plus times. With Mr. Eastwood it is one or two takes, and if you don't get it in that, then too bad, we're doing something else. It is refreshing to move at such a great pace instead of the usual hurry up and wait. For these three days I played a Navy boatmen (one of about 10), and we filmed on the USS Lane Victory. The first day we did all our action in the boat's berth in San Pedro. The next two days we took the ship out to Catalina and back. It was so much fun riding on an actual WWII ship. One day we even had 2 WWII fighter planes fly by for a shot. It was truly exciting and a wonderful experience.
September 23, 2005
I had a fitting for the new George Clooney film, The Good German. I was to play a British soldier, so I was fit in the appropriate costume. I've been doing a lot of WWII stuff lately!
September 22, 2005
I worked my first day on Flags of Our Fathers. Clint Eastwood is directed and the film stars Ryan Phillippe. We filmed a war rally at the Rose Bowl. It was such a neat experience to see everyone come in, and then after wardrobe, hair, and makeup, everyone was transformed to 1940's. My buddy Courtney was with me, and we just couldn't get over what a transformation it was. The costumes were all authentic -- from the period. And it was no small task as there was somewhere between 600-1000 extras there that had to be made up. We worked from the late afternoon (it took several hours to get everyone dressed and made up) into the early morning. Mostly we were just in the Rose Bowl cheering for the returning soldiers and watching them re-create the flag raising at Iwo Jima.
September 21, 2005
I worked on a History/Discovery Channel show called The Secret History of Religion. I was booked as a Crusader. My call time was early in the morning in Saugus (Santa Clarita), CA. When I got there I was dressed as a soldier during the Crusades. I had chain mail and everything. It was heavy and hot! After I got all dressed, I had to go to makeup to be splatted with movie blood. They covered me in it (including my face and hair), and it was sticky! We filmed a scene where we are cleaning up after a battle and the king comes to greet us. Later I changed into a Christian (during Jesus' time), and I was so pleased to shed the heavy armor for the short skirt of the Christians. We did several scenes including a stoning (what fun that was!), and then they were going to change me over to a Jewish rebel. They were sending us all back to wardrobe when the director told them not to change me over as I looked "like an Irish rebel with that red hair and fair skin, but not a Jewish rebel." So that ended my intersting day on The Secret History of Religion.
September 19, 2005
I worked as a business man on Medium. We filmed downtown, and it was a very short day for me. Basically, we were office workers and someone pulled the fire alarm in our building, so we were all forced out of it for hours in the hot Phoenix sun. Patricia Arquette was there, and this was the day after she had won the Emmy for Medium. It was a very short day, and nothing terribly exciting.
September 11 & 15, 2005
I worked on a Ford commercial. The basic idea was that all these people are walking through the streets carrying parts of a car, and they put them all together creating the car that they want. I filmed one day at a hangar in Santa Monica, and the second we were walking through the streets of downtown L.A.
September 14, 2005
I worked on the new Fox show, Head Cases. It was really an exciting day, and I loved it. We filmed close to my house, so that was nice too. I was a "Mirror Couple," and basically we were basically at a seminar for a self-help guru (played by Wings' Steven Weber), and we just stood there and mirrored our partner. It was all very physical and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, this show never aired as Fox cancelled it after only 2 airings.
September 12, 2005
I had another fitting for Flags of Our Fathers. This time it was for military. I was supposed to be a Marine, but when I got there the costumer decided I looked like a Navy officer. We tried on costumes and then he made me an Army officer. Basically, I looked like Lyle Waggoner in Wonder Woman -- hat and all -- and it was great! (Unfortunately, I never got to wear this costume for filming.)
September 9, 2005
I worked on reshoots for the movie Fun with Dick and Jane starring Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, and Alec Baldwin, all of whom were there. We filmed up in the mountains in LA county outside someone's mansion. It was truly a sight to behold. It was cold much of the day, but my friend Mike was there for conversation. I was a former business employee in what I gathered is the final scene of the movie. It was neat to watch Jim Carrey work.
September 8, 2005
I was back on The O.C. after quite a while. I was a Bait Shop club patron/high school student. We filmed in the Bait Shop, as a band (The Subways) performed. I was right in front of the camera. The only interesting thing was that they gave us all fake tans, and I mean fake! I was airbrushed with a color that was so much darker than my white-white skin. I looked in the mirror and thought George Hamilton was staring back at me!
September 7, 2005
I worked on House again. I love working House, because not only is it a great show, but everyone there is aweome to work with . I was just a visitor to the hospital, and we had a really short day.
Septemeber 2, 2005
I had a fitting for Flags of Our Fathers. It is a new movie directed by Clint Eastwood and based on the book of the same name. It deals with the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima. It is being produced by Eastwood's Malpaso Productions and Steven Speilberg. I was fit as a spectator at a War Bond Rally.
September 1, 2005
I worked as a paparazzi on NUMB3RS. We filmed at someone's house in Studio City, and what a view! It was beautiful. The scene was outside a star's house that had been broken into. The paparazzi are all outside taking pictures and screaming for the star. It was a great day.
I worked on a music video for Ashlee Simpson. It is for her new single "Boyfriend." I have not seen it, so I don't know if I can be seen in it or not. There were several of us and we were all "rocking out" to Ashlee's "performance." We filmed downtown in a machine shop. It was kind of crazy, but I had a lot of friends there, including Courtney, so we had a goo time.
August 30, 2005
I worked on the new show Close to Home. I was a law clerk. It was a great day, and I think the show is really great. Everyone was quite friendly, and we had a great working day. The show films at Sony, and we actually worked in one of Joan of Arcadia's old stages where I had spent plenty of time. I believe this was either the second or third episode of the series.