Why was this surprising? Read on...
The call for the audition came on a "mehhh day" for Zach. He had been up late the night before taking care of some homework. He was also at "low ebb" due to a cold he couldn't shake and various medicines trying to get rid of the cold.
The one plus to the audition was the fact it was all improv so he didn't have to worry about learning any lines. The audition was in Santa Monica at a place we had never been for a casting call. We arrived and realized the place was busy when we spotted this sign:
"I'll Take 'C' For $300, Alex"
We made our way to the correct studio and signed in to wait our turn. The casting director made her way around the room and randomly assigned everyone to a "family". The actors had about 5-minutes to discuss the scene before they went in to audition together.
The audition seemed to go well. The casting folks praised Zach's group and said they would need to keep them together since they did such a great job. Zach left feeling good about his chances since they loved his "family".
We got the call 3 or 4 days later asking if Zach was available for the shoot. I said he would be there and then I heard nothing for hours. I finally got a text informing me there wouldn't be a teacher on set. I told the producer "no problem" since he does a lot of self directed work! Once again, nothing for hours....
I finally got the confirmation the next day. I had to contact his school and let them know he would miss his Wednesday appointment. This is normally not an issue but he was going to miss a test. We rescheduled his review for Thursday morning and his test for Thursday afternoon. The only info I needed now was location and wardrobe.
The wardrobe needs were small and easily handled. The shoot was scheduled for a 7:30am call time in Coto de Caza. I had never heard of this place and had a feeling it might be a bit of drive. I looked it up and discovered I was going to have to go on the 101 to the 5 to 133 to 241 to Santa Margarita Parkway to Coto de Caza. Ugh...
There were also two toll roads thrown into the mix. I got lucky because I didn't know about the toll roads. A good 90% of the time I have no cash on me. It never occurs to me to stop at an ATM. I only had money on me because I had to use some at a parking garage in Santa Monica.
The distance from Sherman Oaks to Coto de Caza is 73-miles. With a 7:30am call time, I knew we had to leave by 6am (if not earlier). I made sure everything (work permit, school work and wardrobe) was in a stack and ready to go so I wouldn't forget anything in the morning.
I woke up at 5am on the morning of the commercial. Zach got up at 5:30am and we were on the road for our 73-mile trek by 5:55am. Zach immediately fell asleep in the passenger seat.
We arrived at 7:40am.
The only talent on time was the grandfather in the commercial. He left his place at 5am. Everyone else got stuck behind a wreck on the 5. I was able to work my way around a good portion of the backup thanks to the car pool lane. Out of everyone that was late for the shoot, we were the "least late" of the group.
According to Google, "Coto de Caza is a census-designated place and guard-gated private community in Orange County, California." This also means that every home in the community costs millions of dollars.
The first shot of the day involved the adults of the cast so Zach and I sat on the deck by the pool while he worked on his homework. After a couple of hours, his "family" was ready for their first group shot.
The happy family together for dinner.
Our surprise came when the cast gathered together because we didn't recognize anyone in the group. Zach was the only member of his "audition family" to make it into the spot. I also found out later in the day that the casting director was leaning towards a teenage daughter in the spot. She changed the part to a boy after she met Zach at the audition.
Everyone realizes they need their photo taken with the Toshiba camera.
Being in a gated community also meant we had to stay on the set all day. It was actually rather nice because it helped us form a sense of community. I don't know if we felt like a real family at the end of the day but there was a definite bond between the cast, crew and parents on set.
Zach's mom and sister for the day.
While I was happy for the shoot to end, I was not looking forward to the drive home. We left at 6pm (Zach immediately fell asleep in the passenger seat) and arrived home at 8:15pm.
Here's an example of what a pain it is to drive on the 405. It took me a little over 2 hours to go 73-miles from the set to home. The night before (at the same time of the evening) it took me a little over 2 hours to go 15-miles from Santa Monica to home on the 405.
The spot producer was thrilled with Zach. The director promised to send me a link to the spot when it's ready to view. I'll ask if I can share it with you once I get the link.
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