Dead Girl in Pool..
27 May 2002
So, there I am floating face down in a pool in LA (that's Los Angeles, California not a new housing development in Botany Downs) waiting for the Director to call 'CUT'….not that it is that easy to hear when your head is under water. Exactly a week to the day I arrived in LA I have my first movie role. Don't expect to see me at your local Village Hoyts anytime soon (I have a feeling that this will be for local distribution only…very local). But it's a step or snort I should say (I spend a good deal of the day sniffing up quantities of icing sugar through a rolled up $20 bill) in the right direction. Kevin Costner started his career playing a dead guy in The Big Chill and at least I get to live first huh!
Another Take? Could I hold my breath longer…? Hmmm did I mention I am NOT a method actor and I don't want to become a newspaper headline THAT quickly? Oh well, here goes…Thank goodness for all those acting classes, they will be really paying off…
Just like the movie Momento I get to work backwards. I am the first shot for the day then get to dry off and join the party. The party entertainment consists of various narcotics made up of, aspirin, vitamin B, guarana, icing sugar and red and brown coloured iced teas. I don't know what Cliff Curtis gets to use when he does his drug roles but I think there is a limit to how much icing sugar and aspirin you should snort and swallow in an afternoon. There is a moral to this film about the dangers and repercussions of drug taking. I think there should also be a warning about the dangers of mixing your icing sugar with your aspirin and cherry flavoured iced tea. A Health Warning like on a cigarette packet, that would read, These substances may result in hyperactive behaviour followed by irritable gastritis side effects…swallow at your own risk.
A particularly interesting shot they got was me pouring myself a Scotch (iced tea right) and swigging it back while I pop a pill….great, except I happened to pick the one bottle of real Scotch (I hate Scotch, bad teenage memories). Ughhhhh. Lets just say it should be a good reaction shot.
Everything went smoothly, we all popped, swigged, snorted like we were born to it and we wound up on time…quite a feat when filming! What a day, I got to die, over indulge, get my hair and makeup done, meet great people and get some footage for my show reel. (LA is definitely a show BUSINESS town so a show reel is necessary.)
Let me just say that nothing had really prepared me for the LA I have been exposed too. Everyone I have met has been very friendly and laid back. I think I was expecting a mix of Training Day, Baywatch and Melrose Place all rolled into one. You know, ruthless, street savvy, beautiful, shallow people all ON the whole time hustling one another to get where they want to go. I'm sure that's out here but I haven't seen it. And yes, they love New Zealanders…and they know where it is…hobbits and all.
Did I mention I am going to be in another film this weekend?……My acting, writing, producing debut…hell, when in Rome…
(You can also read about what I am up to on www.nzoom.co.nz under entertainment - rant.)
Regards,
romiley
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