Fast cars, beautiful women and the excitement of life in Los Angeles.
All of those items were on display a few days ago as I found myself hanging out on the legendary Sunset Strip on Friday night.
The only catch?
All of the "LA Items" were on the other side of the fence from this sign:
The location of my "Friday Night Party"
Not exactly how I imagined my weekend night in Los Angeles when I was younger.
Zach booked a return gig on a new Nickelodeon show (he worked on the pilot a few weeks ago) with a great call time of 6pm. The last time he worked on the show it was an afternoon call time during a Hollywood heat wave.
The view as you enter the studio gates
The last time he worked on the show it was an absolute madhouse (in an exciting way). There were hundreds of extras from various casting houses plus a flurry of costume fittings, production assistants and highers ups running around the studio. I was prepared to face a large number of actors and parents discussing their craft as well as telling a few success story "tall tales".
The lobby sign as you enter the building (Photo snapped while chewing gum)
We walked into the lobby to see 10 people (at the most) in the building.
There were football scenes to be filmed minus the large crowd of extras in the stands. The kids on Zach's "team" were the same guys from the pilot episode so he was happy to spend time with them while waiting to be called to set.
Three of the kids (one set of brothers and another boy) were on set with their parents. The parents/The people staying on set at all times/The ones responsible for the kids disappeared within 30-minutes of arrival.
All of these kids were clueless when it came time to take care of their paperwork. I sat all of the kids next to me and helped them with their Nick paperwork, get their vouchers to the correct production people, find the set teacher so she could sign their work permits, put their clothes in one easy to find place and hustle them out the door to the set.
SHHHH...They're filming a scene!
One mom reappeared about an hour later and acted like she had never heard of paperwork before that very moment. The other mom came back after a 3-hour journey to some unknown destination.
My Friday Friends
The outdoor scenes were on a football filed built on the Nick lot. It's funny because during Zach's days of playing football he would have been horrified to not finish a snap before the count was over. Every snap during the filming went like this:
"Down...Set...Cut!"
They didn't need any actual football plays this time. They only needed the actions leading up to the play. They also filmed some shots of a player catching the ball and running to the end zone.
The Artist between shots
The two moms that abandoned their kids earlier came up to me while I was watching the filming. They were annoyed because they had gone to the girl in charge of the pay vouchers to ask her a question. She asked which kids belonged to them. Their answer to that question got a "then why did that one gentleman help them with their vouchers and work permits?" from the business person. They had to admit they left the set after dropping off their kids.
Her reply to the MIA mothers?
"I suggest you get the responsible father in here because I won't answer any questions until he tells me you're the real parents."
They were annoyed at having to come get me, at having to bring me inside and at me for being viewed in a better "parent light". I was trying to watch Zach but they would not stop bothering me. I walked inside with them and told the business person they were the mothers of the kids in question and their paperwork was with Zach's stuff. I promised the kids I would keep it until the end of the shoot but I'd be happy to give her the paperwork if she needed it immediately.
She laughed and said the end of the shoot was fine and I should remain in charge of the papers since I had been on set the entire night.
I walked away as the MIA twins argued about getting the paperwork with no success.
They did not speak to me the rest of the night.
Darn.
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