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Got to be on a movie set yesterday...COOL!
A friend of mine, who is trying to break into a stunt driving career, came up from Maryland. He has a contact with a guy that provides "extra" vehicles for movies. We were told that it was a small production and that 7 vehicles from 1997 or older were needed. I was able to gather up 6 vehicles, so off we went to a local closed down hospital.
Come to find out, it was not a small production, but a real "Hollywood" type deal. The movie is called "Love and Other Drugs". It stars Anne Hathaway, Jake Gyllenhaal and others.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758752/
The movie is based on the book "Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman."
None of the "big" stars were there. But, we did get to eat breakfast burritos with Oliver Platt and Ed Zwick (director). To tell you the truth, I would not have cared who was there, the breakfast burrito with real steak was that good. They sure have some good catering at these things. What was also really neat, is that once on set we could go where we wanted. We followed the crew around and watched them film the various scenes, which was pretty cool.
It was a good time, plus we got $150 per car that we took. You can't beat that for a day of not working.
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Wow! Anne Hathaway, huh?
I have a Broadway play that I've been working on. It stars Anne Hathaway and myself. See, it goes like this:........ I kiss her for 15 minutes, then the curtain opens.
I'm what they call a "Barn Ninja". I have the special boots that allow me to climb stalls.
Sounds like you guys were on 2nd unit shooting stuff -- which is pretty good and can be lots of fun plus hard work. Has principal shooting started on the movie yet?
It's always fun to see a pal (or even yourself) as an extra in a movie. You can go to the theater, wait till you're briefly visible walking down the street, then stand up and yell "That's ME!" real loud. ha ha
Had a girlfriend for a while who worked part time as a PA (production assistant) for a few local Houston-location movies. Definition of PA: low paid slave. I was in a restaurant scene and a sidewalk scene but both of them were cut. The movie faded into obscurity anyway, a "SWAT" movie -- sink without a trace. It was called "7 on - 7 off" about offshore oil workers, kind of like the current reality show Black Gold except it was totally fiction. Made for TV and I don't think it was even released.
Second unit work is okay -- it can pay decent for a fun offbeat temp job and you can occasionally meet a star or two. What's interesting is the massive number of people behind the camera for each one in front, and the sheer amount of hard work that goes into filming even a "transition" or "establishing" shot, even if it's not a "primary 2nd unit shot". (those are all types of scenes in movies).
Not sure about principal shooting yet. They were moving 30 miles away into Pittsburgh for today and Thurs. There were different numbers listed on the call sheet (for the specific actors) for these 2 days, but no names to know who they were.
I did get to drive my 97 Grand Cherokee in one of the scenes, hopefully it might make the cut.
That's cool!!! If they asked you to gather 7 pre-1997 guns...or 7 AR15's, that would've been even more awesome.
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. They smell good, they look good, you'd step over your own mother just to get one!"- Homer
Son, a woman is like a beer
LOL....That ran through my head the night before...
buffy, i think you might have infringed on my copyrights with your play.... mine is alittle different in execution, almost identical in theory....
This is what you REALLY meant, right?
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Nicely done...
What I wanna know is, how did yew manage to transport six (6) cars to the filming location all by yo'self? Enquiring (ignorant, befuddled) minds want to know.
If yew live within 30 miles or so of P'bg, you're likely near Varmintmist. Y'all should set up a SW PA shoot. Then again, WMG might show up, so..........
Just sayin'.......
Vic's viewpoint.
Life member of the NRA since 2009 and three-time attendee at the famous SE Shoot! Yay, teach!!
I live about 10 min. from where the shoot happened, Brownsville Pa.. I had moved the vehicles to my house. While I was working (7pm - 7am...left at 5am) Andrew and Sim ( his buddy, and a 2yr Marine Corp. Infantry Iraq Vet) shuttled the vehicles to the location. We were all up for over 24 hrs., but it did not dampen our spirits.
I would love to set up a SW Pa. shoot. All I would need is some interested parties. I have access to 100+ acres of my Grandpaps (past on) farm. It could, and would, be a literal BLAST. I would be more than happy to start setting it all up if even a few of you are interested. One of my Cousins friends has a traveling BBQ stand that would provide the grub. Between me, my Cousin, my Dad and my Uncle, we would have dozens of things that go "bang".
Let me know if there is interest and I will make the arrangements.....
Thank you, thank you very much. If I had Photoshop I would make up a movie poster for the play. But I ain't OleSniper...
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De nada
Just out of curiousity, how many of you could come up with 6 13-16 yr. old vehicles that ran well and have no rust?
No problem...........as long as you will post my bail............Ken
Oooooooohhhh...it's a long ride out there, but if it's on some 3-day weekend thing, it's doable for us. Let's work something/time out.
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. They smell good, they look good, you'd step over your own mother just to get one!"- Homer
Son, a woman is like a beer
Principal shooting usually begins 2-3 weeks after 2nd unit, sooner if they need principals in some transition scenes.
For those who don't know, "principal shooting" are any scenes with the actual starring cast of the movie. Second unit are the teams who film chase scenes, outdoor long shots with stand-ins, any other scenes not having the A-list cast. Sometimes the 2nd unit scenes contain some of the lesser named actors, still named cast members but not A-list. Example, a lower rank cast actor "discovers" an ancient tomb and takes samples to report to the big boss. That can easily be a 2nd unit shot.
"Establishing" shots named because they "establish" a location in the mind of the audience, are at the bottom of the priority and are often farmed out to "3rd unit" teams -- example of an extablishing shot: airliner landing at an airport (next scene in sequence is Star 1 meeting Star 2 getting off the plane filmed maybe 3 months later on a set), or, a big city downtown street scene, then the camera pans up the side of the building to the penthouse (next scene shows a meeting in progress, again, filmed lots later and on set), etc.
Transition shots are similar to establishing shots, except that they occur in the middle of the "act" -- for example, the A-list characters jump into a car and speed off. Later they drive up and screech to a stop outside the bad guy's lair, jump out, guns blazing. But all the intermediate scenes of the car speeding along the road are transition shots.
Second unit filming is always planned out by the primary director but managed by assistant directors and camera people -- it's a stepping stone up to the big time -- and it's valuable as a traing ground for young directors, sound techs, camera crews, lighting, you name it.
BTW, if you're writing a screenplay, do NOT include establishing scenes in your script. That gets you a D- grade in screenwriting technique.