Monday, April 04, 2010
Audition
I auditioned for the dark humoured student film Meet the Gacys at the USC Zemeckis building on Figueroa. Project producer Eric Strum brought me back to the back studio into which they'd had to move from the front. I was surprised that director Ritchie Gordon asked after my Super Bowl commercial, as well as a few other projects and such, as well as having me run the scene of sides thrice.
Being a dry, throw-away delivery style of comedy, I'd memorized the lines being used for the audition (as technically I'd been requested to do). Amusingly enough, during the first go-through, the girl at my left script-reading the opposite character's lines said the next line after my final line.
I glanced at my imaginary son at my right and said in the same character dead-pan delivery, "I'm sorry, but that's all the sides I received..."
I was informed that there'd be a rehearsal the following Monday, then the shoot would be Monday the 18th. As Eric walked back out with me to bring in the next person, he told me that I'd be notified within 72 hours.
The next day I heard from Michael Subjack, the director of Computer Love on which I'd worked back in February, that it would be screened Monday April 18th. I had to convey if I were cast in the USC film, it would be highly unlikely I could attend the actual screening.

Wednesday, April 04, 2010
Cast
Just before twelve noon I got a call from Eric Strum, starting out with, "We had a lot of hard decisions to make..." (to which I awaited the predictable, "We went in another direction," which is the standard avoidance of just saying "We Chose Someone Else"), when suddenly it sounded like he'd said I had been cast... and I was.
I clarified the next two Mondays, and only distinction being the rehearsal might not be as many hours as the shoot date.

Monday April 11, 2010
Rehearsal
On my way to the bus, a dog I've seen several times "greeted" me with his exuberant barking, spinning wildly as he is wont to do. After seeing each other so many times, I decided to let him smell me, and offered him to sniff the back of my hand. Thankfully I had my fingers tucked tightly as the tail-wagging dog snapped, catching the loose skin just below my knuckles.
Nice start to a day, I thought, as I continued on and at the nearby store put some liquid soap onto the broken skin. I kept my hand elevated as much as I could during the 90+ minute trip, texting Eric the situation and requesting to have on hand some bandages and such.
I arrived for my 9am calltime at 8:40m. Eric retrieved me and I cleaned up my hand as best I could and used what bandages he'd been able to acquire. When they were ready to start I met the fellow playing my son John: Bryce Lee Townsend. Director Ritchie was thrilled to see us, and we ran the scene several times as we were given adjustments, blocking, etc.; the DP Sebastian Baron (whom Ritchie Gordon called See-bass), and after a few more run throughs and the two men discussed various angles and such, we (actors) were done just after 11am, the rest of the production staff remaining to create and go over shot lists, etc.
I head out to the Valley but an important piece of mail I was convinced should have arrived had not, while another important piece did, thankfully enough.

Monday April 18, 2010
Shoot
We were all on time, and we zoomed through the shoot. As often happens, some variants to the script were shifted to accomodate certain shots (and time); producer Eric pretty much rode director Ritchie's @ss regarding time for specific shots.
Amusingly enough, there were about eight or ten USC film projects going on in various rooms at the motel, including (but not limited to), the room directly next to ours... One would think the motel would have set each project farther/several rooms apart.
There were aspects I expected that over which were glossed (the dirtied hotel room all but mystically cleans itself; I'd expected we'd shoot the last bit first with the "spotless" room, and Add To It, et al). But it worked out efficiently well, and the crew sometimes had a tough time not laughing at the scenes' dark humour.
Now it's up to the film's editor Sarah Hindman (who I believe was at the audition), who was not on hand during the actual shoot (while Executive Producer Edd Benda the project's screenwriter, ran audio). Ritchie told Bryce and me that the project would have a fast turnaround, so we could get our DVDs relatively quickly.
Bryce and I were wrapped just after 12:30pm, at which point I realized I might yet make it to the 3:00pm Computer Love screening; the 1:00pm 81 bus would have easily gotten me on track to be at the school by 2:30pm+. Unfortunately, the MTA had other plans, and the 1:00pm 81 bus simply never showed up (for which I began waiting at 12:50pm, and easily would have gotten me to my destinattion on time), and by the time the late bus arrived at 1:25pm, the cascade effect had taken hold, having me miss the only shuttle bus that would have gotten me to the school on time; the next would get me there a half hour after the screening.
Thanks, effing MTA...

Monday May 09, 2011
Film received
Shortly after I was sent an inquiry from Bryce as to whether I'd received my copy of the film, we each received a link at which to download the finished film. Initially the barely over four minute long short was sent as a QuickTime file, I saved it, and file-coverted it into a Windows Media Player version as well. I did find it amusing that, opposed to Meet the Gacys, its title card reads as Meet the Gacy's, understandably making me grammatically wonder, "Meet the Gacy's what...?"