A Return Visit To "Modern Family"

Zach got the call last week booking him for a day of background work on "Modern Family".

The casting person was looking for kids that had experience playing football so he was an easy sell for the gig.

When Zach was on the show last year, we went to the set where they film each episode.  The shoot this time was at a high school in Pacific Palisades.  A simple drive on the 101 to the 405 to Sunset or Ventura to Sepulveda to Sunset.

"The set" was a high school football stadium.

For the second year in a row, none of the women cast members were on the set.  The scene featured Eric Stonestreet and the two young boys of the "family".

The first task on set was going to wardrobe.  The extras were waiting in line when Rico Rodriguez appeared out of nowhere.  He walked up to group and (politely) yelled "Yay Football!" and then disappeared.  He seems like a nice kid who would talk to a brick wall if he had a chance.

The casting folks were a little panicked booking the actors to be on the football team.  There appears to be a lack of teenage male actors who can actually play football. 

Zach was cast as the center after it was discovered he was the only kid who knew how to play the position.  

The players were put in position and the camera was ready to roll when the director realized something was wrong.

The director asked, "How big are these kids???"  (They were supposed to look like freshmen in high school)  He made all of the boys line up and had them shout their ages:

"16!", "14!", "16!", "25!", "23!"

The casting department couldn't find enough teenage kids to fill the spots so they had to resort to actors in their 20s.  One of the "freshmen" had tattoos and a goatee!

All of the "older freshmen" were asked to leave for the day (they were paid!) and the director worked around the lack of players.

At least one of these players is a teenager...

It was a good news/bad news situation.  The crew wasn't able to get all of their shots for the day but Zach got a call back to work another day on set!

Eric Stonestreet talking to the actors between takes.

Playing cards at lunch.

Zach walked away impressed with the cast and crew.  It's always nice to meet people you watch on TV and find out they are just as nice in real life!

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Hanging With The Artist On His Birthday

Unlike most kids who want to sleep late on their birthday, Zach had to get up early on Sunday.

He booked a national commercial that was supposed to shoot at the end on July.  The shoot was rescheduled to his birthday.  The rescheduled date forced us to postpone his birthday outing with friends because we had no idea how long he would be on set.  Zach wasn't too upset because he was getting paid to get out of bed!

The shoot location was 3.1 miles from our home (according to the GPS).  Doesn't that sound simple and easy on a Sunday morning????

No.

We left a bit early (thank goodness) because the cast and crew couldn't park on the streets of the neighborhood location.  A combination of L.A. parking restrictions and grouchy neighbors made us park in a garage a mile from the location.

I wasn't really sure what garage we were looking for so I decided we should leave a half hour before his call time (even though it was only a 3.1 mile drive).

We were great for the first 2 miles.

The intersection outside of the Sherman Oaks Galleria was blocked due to road work.  All sides of the intersection were down to one lane.  We also couldn't drive through the intersection because the road crew was blocking our side of the road.

Instead of a (easy) straight shot down Ventura Boulevard, I found myself going Ventura to the 405 to the 101 just to go 2 miles.  I had to drive past our destination before I could exit back to Ventura.  I roared down the road to the parking garage and found the lone parking spot as the shuttle to the set arrived for the cast.  We jumped out of the truck and raced to the shuttle before we were left standing on the corner.

We got to the house and it was obvious the owner of this home did not have a girlfriend.  The main hallway included autographed albums from the Eagles, Van Halen (Diamond Dave/the real Van Halen), U2, Paul McCartney and Third Eye Blind(?).  The decor also included autographed jerseys from Kobe, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Steve Young(?).  The next room had a pool table, a keg, a well stocked bar, a giant TV and a couch that had seen better days.

The back yard featured a pool, three air conditioning units(?), dead plants, and these two items:

A lone kings chair/throne

A well worn bench







The shoot was at the home of the producer.  He put together two different families to film conversations at the dinner table.  Zach decided that his fake family was much better looking than his real family.

It's like the opening line of a joke..."An actress, an Italian guy and a teen actor are by the pool..."

We were on set for about 6 hours and this is the sight I saw each time he wasn't before the cameras!

The shoot wrapped after 3pm and we headed home to cupcakes, cards and presents.  He made money on his birthday and I saved money (for now) on a birthday party.










The days following his birthday have been busy with meetings, acting classes, school and a booking this Thursday to work on "Modern Family".  I'll tell you all about that adventure in a future post!

Hi, I'm Zach Louis' IMDb page...Would you please click me?

Listen To The Sound Of My Words!

It's been a super busy time for The Artist in the last 7-10 days.  He's been working a lot but all of the sets have been really strict on anyone taking photos.  I guess that leaves it up to me to describe his latest adventures.

*Zach worked one day on a movie that was cast by the lady that placed him on "Modern Family".  She contacted us directly (instead of going through his manager) so I took that as a sign she really wanted him for the job!  The booking for the shoot didn't come through until late in the evening (around 9:30pm).

The film shoot was in Van Nuys at a middle school.  The kids were able to move around the school more than the parents.  All of the parents were put in a holding room for the 10-hour day.  The door to the room was guarded by an overly-tan woman named Alex. 

Alex had no time for any of us.  We should have started a drinking game that required us to do a shot whenever Alex said the phrase, "I need you to stay in the room at all times".

If anyone had to go to the bathroom we could only use the restroom that was within the sight of Alex.  She made sure to monitor our time in and out of the restroom.

A very loud car wreck happened right outside of our room.  All of the parents went running to see if anyone needed help.  Alex came running after us while yelling that we needed to return to the room.  One of the parents mentioned she was a nurse and wanted to see if anyone needed medical help.  Alex told her that the police would be there soon and to get back in the room!

Alex was not really concerned about the needs of others.

*Zach got home from the Van Nuys shoot and started to work on his homework for the next day.

At 9:10pm (while working on homework), we got a call booking Zach for a 2-day shoot that started the next morning. 

The shoot was for a Lifetime movie that took place at Dollywood during Christmas.  My first thought was "We're Going To Dollywood!!!!"  My second thought was "We're meeting Dolly Parton!!!!"  My third thought was "How can we do this trip and not have to see my relatives in Knoxville????"

We didn't go to Dollywood...We didn't meet Dolly Parton...And I was (kind of) kidding about my not having to see my relatives.  I like two of the five in Knoxville.  I'll leave it to them to figure out which ones I actually like.

The stand-in for a Tennessee Christmas Church was in Topanga Canyon.  Topanga has been the home (at one time or another) to Woody Guthrie, Neil Young, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Robinson, Billy Preston, Jim Morrison, Lowell George, Andy Dick, Kyle Chandler, Jeffrey Tambor, Dennis Hopper and Henry Hill.

The drive to the set was fun because we were running late and the road was 8-miles of winding road through the canyon.  I'm almost certain the truck was only on two wheels at different points in the journey.

Since the project was a Christmas movie all of the kids were wearing sweaters, winter coats and wool hats in the California summer heat.

Did I mention I've had "We Wish You A Merry Christmas:" stuck in my head since the shoot????

Hi, I'm Zach's IMDb page. Would you please click me?