The series tapes at Nick on Sunset. It's funny being there at night as the crowd starts to come alive on Sunset Blvd. I was there Friday night as a show called "Wasteland" was happening at The Hollywood Palladium. The style of the people attending the show was a cross between steam punk, S&M and British royalty. I pulled into the Palladium lot to park so I could walk over to the set to get Zach. The parking attendant saw me dressed in jeans, a John Varvatos t-shirt and Chuck Taylors and told me I was little overdressed for the show. I explained why I was there and he laughed and showed me where to park.
When I was in my early 20s and imagined hanging out in Los Angeles on Sunset Blvd on a Friday night, Nickelodeon Studios never entered the various scenarios in my mind.
My Friday night arrival was the only reason Zach needed me this week. He is "Legal 18" now and doesn't need me on set.
If you haven't heard, Zach worked ahead in his school assignments the last couple of years. He was able to graduate high school early (back in November). Even though he is only 16 years old, he's a legal adult in the eyes of the film industry. What does this mean on set?
***He had later call times this week.
The underage actors always arrive on set at least an hour early to take care of their school hours. "Bella" uses a lot of kids for school scenes and football games. The laws of the state of California require them to attend school for a certain amount of hours each week. The last day of filming for the week is always the nighttime football game for the episode. The producers try to bank plenty of hours earlier in the week so they don't experience a ton of down time on the last day with kids having to go to school on set.
If Zach's call time was 2pm, the minor kids had to arrive at noon or 1pm to take care of school. Zach was loving the fact that he did not have to get there at the same time. The downside of this is he's now regarded as an adult so he doesn't get the required minor break times anymore. It still worked out for him as he took breaks while they went back to school during the shooting day. Plus, he still got to hang out with his friends on set.
***He doesn't need adult supervision anymore.
The first day on set this week was a typical day, I arrived with Zach, got him checked in with the production and started filling out his daily paperwork, Normally, my job would be done and I would settle in for a day of chasing freelance gigs/working freelance gigs on my computer while he was busy being an actor.
I brought a copy of his "Legal 18" paperwork so the Nick folks would have it for their permanent records. I wasn't sure if they needed any other paperwork so I was prepared to hang all day if I didn't have all the paperwork required by law.
Thirty minutes later, I was leaving the studio. It turns out I had the necessary paperwork and the kid was on his own for the rest of the day.
I don't mind telling you....That was a really odd feeling.
Zach and I have been together on 80-90% of the sets in Los Angeles as well as other cities. I'm happy that he is able to work on his own now but it's a little sad at the same time (my little boy is all grown up!).
***He still needs me for a ride to and from work.
Zach does not have a car (yet) so I still take him to and from work. I still have to walk him onto the set because I need to A) get my visitor pass and B) find out what time the production thinks they're going to wrap for the day. I like to have an idea when they'll be done so I can plan on what time to pick him up at the studio.
I arrived Friday at 10:45pm since the last scene was scheduled to be shot by 11:15pm. They wrapped ten minutes after I arrived. We departed 25-minutes later after he changed out of his wardrobe, took care of his paperwork and said bye to his fellow Bulldogs.
It was nice not knowing what happened during his day on set. He was able to fill me in on his adventures and I didn't know the end of the story
As long as he still has time to chat with me, I can live with his not needing me on set.
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