The Artist Goes To An Adult Club! (Kind Of...)

The Artist received a last minute job booking last night.  The turnaround was tight but we decided to go for it since the job was only a 15-minute drive and it was already after rush hour.

The job was for kids between the ages of 8-18.  They were instructed to put on their best club wear for the shoot.  Zach quickly changed clothes and we headed for the set.

We arrived on time but parking was an issue near the set.  I told Zach the name of the project, the name of the casting director and sent him to the set as I left to find a place to park.

I was on the set in about 5 minutes.  I walked over to a pop-up tent where a casting person was having an disagreement with an actor who wanted to leave for the day but still expected his full pay.  She decided to ignore the actor and turned her attention to me.

I told her I had just dropped my son off and could I have directions to his location on the set.  She asked Zach's age and I replied, "14".  She looked at me like I was out of my mind and told me to head inside the giant set of black doors.  

I walked in as Zach was walking to the doors to find me.  I could tell by the look on his face that he also found the situation rather odd.  We went over to the check-in table to find out where Zach needed to go for the shoot.

We got another odd look from the casting lady at the table.  I explained about the last minute 

e-mail, club wear, be at this address, etc.  She looked at the two of us and sent Zach over to the doors leading to the set.  She handed me some paperwork to fill out for his payment and continued to give me a "are you sure you're supposed to be here?" look.  The casting woman asked if I was aware there would be some adults on set wearing skimpy outfits.  She wanted to know if I was okay with that AND had my son ever been to a place with half-naked women.

There is no scenario where "YES" is the correct answer to that question.

After I finished the paperwork, I checked on Zach by the set doors.  The first thing I noticed was him staring at a woman in a cheetah outfit.  I should say it might have been a cheetah outfit.  It might have been a naked woman wearing body paint to look like a cheetah.  We couldn't tell and it seemed rude to ask her while she was in character.

The door to the set would swing open every so often and all we would see is strobe lights, smoke, barking security guards and interesting dance moves.

We were on set for around 30-minutes when another woman from the casting office came over to find out why were at the shoot.  I showed her the email from the casting site asking us to come to the set by a certain time.  She looked horrified because the email was meant for a portion of the shoot that occurred earlier in the day.

Zach and I started laughing and told her not to worry about the casting notice confusion.  She kept apologizing to us and we kept telling her that it was no big deal.

I didn't say anything to Zach until we were in our truck.  I looked over at him and told him all of his paperwork was filled out and put away with the forms from the other actors.  

He might get paid since his paperwork was put away before we spoke to the final casting person.

And even if he doesn't get paid...It was worth it for the free night of entertainment!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4115971/

Wednesday At The Beach With Nickelodeon

With 2 hours of sleep under my belt (and about 6 hours for The Artist), the Nickelodeon "Worldwide Day Of Play" promo shoot started at 9am in Malibu.

The first thing I need to mention is the amount of paperwork I had to sign when we arrived at the set.  The promo crew had to see and/or have copies of his work permit, birth certificate, Coogan Account paperwork, emergency contact numbers, agent and manager numbers and school info.

We arrived at 9am and finished the paperwork at 9:50am. 

Zach went to wardrobe as the crew looked through the various outfits we brought to the set.  He looked great in his outfit for the beach. 

I sent Dana a photo of the outfit with the caption, "Here is Zach wearing nothing I raced to Target to buy last night".










The kids were walked to the set on the sand at Will Rogers State Beach.  There were about 50 kids on set that day playing volleyball and soccer on the beach.

The idea behind the promo is to get kids outside for fresh air and fun with their friends. 

With 50 pre-teens and teens on set, the promo should have been called "Nickelodeon Hormone Fest Beach Party". 

The beach shoot lasted until 1:30pm and then it was time for lunch.  We were expecting pizza or hamburgers or hot dogs for lunch (since it was a giant group of kids).  I guess Viacom (the owner of Nickelodeon) saved a lot of money after their fight with DirecTV because the menu included:

I ate one of everything on the menu!






We moved to a state park after lunch.  Zach spent the next three hours throwing a football with another kid as the cameras continued to roll.

I split my time between watching the promo shoot and walking the trails at the park.  I tried to hang around the shoot but I finally had enough of the usual on-set "listen to everything my actor does better than your actor" conversation.

My favorite was the mother who made sure to tell everyone that her child does a great Ronald Reagan impression.  I'm not sure if there is a big market for a 12-year-old Reagan clone.

We got out of there (with light sunburns) around 6:30pm.  The drive home took 45 minutes on the 405.  We exited on Ventura and headed home for the night.

I'm REALLY happy the shoot was on Wednesday.  The next night (at the exact time we were driving home on Wednesday) a truck overturned on the 405 at the Ventura exit.  The accident happened at 4:30pm and involved a gas spill and all lanes being closed on the 405.  There were people stuck in their vehicles on the 405 for 4+ hours.

I guess we can consider the traffic accident (and traffic backup) a preview for "Carmageddon II" in September!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4115971/

One Injury, Two Flights & Three Donuts

The Artist took a quick break from his acting to visit St. Louis for his birthday.  The weekend was filled with his friends, grandparents, presents, lots of food and time with the dog.

The "highlight" of the trip?

Zach broke his finger on Monday night when he didn't make it through a sliding glass door before it closed.  A quick visit to the emergency room at 11pm produced this:

While Zach was in the emergency room, I started to receive requests via text to submit him for a Party City spot.  The spot doesn't shoot until next week BUT the casting office needed all of his info by Tuesday morning.

Dana decided to handle getting the info to them because I still had to wash clothes and pack after we got back from the hospital.

The broken finger looked awful on Tuesday morning but it didn't hurt as much after a night of rest.

We spent our final morning in St. Louis going to GameStop because a new game came out that Zach HAD TO BUY before we left for California.

Zach and Dana went into the mall to buy the game because I was busy on the phone trying to get him booked for a Nickelodeon promo scheduled to shoot on Wednesday morning.

I spoke to the casting director at Noon St. Louis time.  He was going to let me know if Zach was cast in the spot by 2pm.  My flight to Los Angeles was at that exact time so Dana had to be the contact person for the Wednesday promo shoot.

We landed in Salt Lake City at 5pm and I turned on my phone to get the latest casting updates:

***Zach got the Nickelodeon promo
***I got the wardrobe list for the promo
***The Party City casting director wanted to see an audition for the spot so Zach and I would have to tape it once we landed in Los Angeles

Did I mention I haven't seen our video camera in weeks???

We landed at LAX at 9pm, got to our vehicle at 9:30pm, raced down the 405 and went straight to the Target in Van Nuys (my only option at 10:20pm).

Zach and I ran through the store for 30 minutes and walked out 10 minutes before closing time with a new video camera and two shirts with no logos for the promo shoot.

After a quick fast-food run (my only option at 11:15pm), we went home to charge the camera and learn his lines.

The audition recording started at Midnight and finished around 12:20am.

I made him go to bed because of the 9am call time in Malibu (a 17-mile drive in rush hour traffic).  I sent the video to the casting director, got his wardrobe together for the Nickelodeon gig, went to the gas station, ate three donuts and jumped in bed at 3:30am.

I set the alarm for 6:45am with the intention of getting him showered, dressed and out the door by 7:30am.

Did I succeed?  Did he have a good time at the video shoot?  Did his finger still look horrible? Did I drink way too much Diet Coke to stay awake and alert all day?

I'll let you know in my next post!

To Be Continued...

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4115971/

Life Is Like A Game Show!

I've accomplished another one of my goals in life....I was on a game show!

Zach and I went on an audition for "Family Game Night" in early July.  The first thing we had to do was fill out a 3-page application.  The questions had to do with our favorite family games, have we ever been on a game show before, what members of our family would enjoy playing games on TV and general background questions.

The producers brought us in and we both instantly kicked into "on stage mode" and started telling jokes and involving them in the interview process.  I think we learned more about them during the interview.

They gave us the potential taping dates and told us we would be hearing from them in the near future.

Not "we have to finish the other interviews and then we'll decide if you move forward"...They told us "you WILL be hearing from us soon".

I got an email that afternoon listing the show taping dates and asking me to reply with the dates we were available to attend the show.  I answered the email and waited to hear from the producers.

I got a phone call two weeks later asking me if we were available on a certain date.  I was told "this is not a confirmation phone call".  I found it odd that "it was not a confirmation phone call" but the producer told me he would be my on-set contact and to save his number in my phone.

He also told me I would get a letter in the mail in the next 5-7 days if they selected us to attend a show taping.

I was emailed a letter two hours after the phone call.

The producer called me (again) right after I got the email to make sure I replied "yes" to attending the show.

I was at the bank last Friday when the same producer called me to make sure Zach and I would be at the show.  He told me to arrive at least 15 minutes before the taping and to find him before we filled out any paperwork.

To review...We've gone from an audition to "you WILL be hearing from us soon" to "not a confirmation phone call" to having an on-set contact to being emailed the invitation letter to a "FIND ME IN THE MORNING" call from my contact.

I told Zach that I wasn't counting on it but I would be shocked if we didn't get on the show.

I set my alarm for 7:30am on Saturday morning.  I received a text from my contact at 7:45am telling me what he was wearing that day so he would be easier to find in the crowd.

We arrived at the studio at 9:40am and the first thing I heard was "MARK AND ZACH" as a guy wearing the clothes I was looking for shot towards us out of the crowd.  He took us to the sign-in table and handed us a bunch of paperwork.

We turned in the forms and were led to a side area with seven other families while the main part of the crowd was on the other side of the parking lot.  All of the families in the side area were told to read a handout listing the various games of "Family Game Night" and the rules of each game.

The producers of the show asked everyone to wear comfortable clothes with no visible logos, patterns or stripes.  The choice of shirts didn't matter in the end because all of us had to wear
t-shirts with a giant "Family Game Night" logo.

We were also told no cell phones or photos were allowed during the taping of the show.

The eight families to the side of the sign-in area were led into the studio about 10 minutes before the start of the show.  We were told where to sit as the camera guys checked the various angles and lighting.

Zach was amazed when he walked into the studio.  He enjoys watching the show so it was a thrill for him to see the games and stage in person.

The rest of the crowd was led into the building and it was (almost) show time!

All shows have a warm-up person that greets the crowd and helps keep them excited and entertained during the taping.  Stacy told jokes, brought crowd members on stage to sing and showed us how to clap and cheer for the various games.

The taping was scheduled for 10am and it finally started around 10:40am.  It was time for the first game of the day and to get some audience members on stage.

We can't reveal the final outcome of the show (due to the sign-in paperwork).  I will tell you:

***We got on stage
***We played a game
***It was a great time
***The make-up people had to work on my "bald head shine" during filming breaks

"Family Game Night" is on The Hub.  I have no idea (yet) when the show is airing BUT I'll let you know ASAP!

Random Moments From The Past Two Weeks

It's been a slow couple of weeks as people fit in their last minute vacations before the TV production season kicks into high gear.

The Artist has been filling the time with a few auditions, acting classes, weekly improv shows and spending time with his friends.

The odd collection of Hollywood people and events have been non-stop the last few weeks.  Here is a random sampling of things I've seen lately:

***A drunk Russian in the lobby (not wearing shoes or a shirt) yelling at the top of his lungs how much better his phone is because its "3G and $400 so that means it is kick-ass good".

***The same drunk Russian dropped an entire Papa John's pizza on top of his "kick-ass good phone" and screamed that the "3G ability is ruined forever".

***A super-high albino playing Lady Gaga songs on the piano while trying to smoke two cigarettes at once.

***A woman at an audition last week telling everyone that would listen that she should get the gig because she needs the money to feed her 7 cats and 2 snakes.

***A group was shooting a music video in the apartment complex entertainment room.  The main part of the song mentioned "love comes in all angles but lust comes in a straight line from me to you to the world".

***A woman claiming to be "the real creator" of "iCarly" and the inspiration for Catwoman in "The Dark Knight Rises".

***A group of four guys in female cheerleader outfits making a Taco Bell run.

Like I've said before...It's never boring in Hollywood!