The Little Castro in LA

I got called in to play Driver #1 for the show called "Women's Murder Club." It was a location shoot in downtown LA. The scene was supposed to take place in the Castro district of San Francisco. Sadly neither the actors nor the street scenery looked anything like the real Castro scene. In fact there were all these writers guild protesters chanting "I'm from the bay, this ain't gay."

Malibu Fire

It's been surreal to see all those buildings and hills in Malibu that I drive by every weekend going up in flame on TV. The shop I work in Malibu's okay, but the surrounding area's charred pretty bad. It seems like San Diego has it much worse. And they say it's just the beginning of the season...

botox

I was on the set of a commercial shoot today and I began talking to my fictional female companion. We had some time to kill while the crew was setting up the camera. We started talking Hollywood gossip and the issue of facelift/botox came up. She not only knew all about who had work done in Hollywood, but also spoke about botox as if she were an expert. After a bit of denial, she confessed that she's been getting botox, filler and some other treatments for six years. I have to say, her doctor did a good job. Her face wasn't so obviously fixed like the faces of some other aging actresses with OCD. By the end of the shoot, she convinced another actress on the set to try out her doctor. Hollywood: We are creating a wrinkle-free society one injection at a time. I am starting to love this town for what it is.

Short actors

I was on the set of Criminal Minds as a background actor. I got to wear a gun, badge and ill-fitting suit...usual law enforcement outfit. I recognized the main actors but couldn't name them. Anyway it still surprises me to see how short these actors are when you see them in person. They are not just a little shorter than you think, they are tiny. I'd look like a giant on TV.

House M.D.

House M.D. is on tonight. I discovered this show two weeks ago while I was suffering from back pain and now I'm totally hooked. I don't watch much TV, but this show...brilliant! I've been catching up on season 1 and 2 non-stop. Hugh Laurie is my new acting idol. I must find out how to get on this show. I haven't been so hooked on a TV show since Twin Peaks!

celeb game

Apologies for not keeping up with my blog page. Now that my back pain is subsiding, I'm able to sit and type. I've encountered a few celebs this past week. First, Jason Priestley: I completley ignored him on the set of some lame Lifetime Channel show. Natasha Henstridge: She's still hot. I've never seen her onscreen, now I actually want to rent her DVDs. Jimmy Smits: His new show Cane is going to be canceled in two weeks. Horrible writing and who cares anymore about Jimmy Smits? Jessica Alba: She brought an army of paparazzi to Malibu. She has a new movie out, so no surprise there. Britney Spears was dining acrossed the street. More paparazzi. Baron Davis: He came up to me and shook my hand and introduced himself to me. Since this is L.A. nobody around me recognized him, but being a GS Warriors fan from SF, I was actually thrilled to see him.

Manpri

Howie Mandel came into the store today and bought a pair of sunglasses. He was wearing a pair of designer manpri jeans and awful looking custom low top converse shoes. Yes, I'm seeing some men wearing hideous looking manpri pants around Malibu and apparently it's no longer the Eurotrash-only fashion. Great.

Security

After suffering from back pain for two weeks, I had to stop working the restaurant job. I couldn't take the pain anymore. I can't sit down so an office job is not an option. The solution? I found a job as a security guard at a high end clothing store in Malibu. To give you an idea, a designer hooded sweat shirt costs $1,300 at this store. A throw blanket? $7,000. My main job is to protect celebrity shoppers from paparazzi. I do look like the guy in the picture sans sunglasses. Yes, it's ridiculous, but after all, it's LA. At least it's been nice to escape from the heat of the Valley and spend the days in breezy Malibu. More on celebs later...

Back Pain

I threw my back out a few days ago doing yoga. I wasn't even in an advanced pose, but all it took was a split second. Now I'm spening much of my time taking care of my aching back. I couldn't even meet a friend from San Francisco who was visiting LA this weekend. Not good...

Heatwave

It was 102 degrees yesterday in North Hollywood. Today it was 104 degrees. I'm afraid to find out how hot it'll be tomorrow. I sure miss that cool San Francisco fog in the late summer afternoon. I must get out of the valley right after the audition tomorrow.

Bitterness

I found a little coffee house (actually a coffee stand with outdoor tables in front) this morning in NoHo called Independent Coffee. It seemed like a welcome discovery in the land of Starbucks and the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Although I like Cafe Aroma, another independently owned cafe in the valley, I often get annoyed there by idiot script writers pitching their ideas loudly to producers so everyone else can hear how amazing they are. So I ordered a latte and grabbed a table. I looked around and said to myself "here's my new refuge in the valley." Then I took one sip and...wow...this coffee is...terrible. So damn bitter. I poured some sugar in then it became tolerable. I want to support independent cafes, but the latte tastes like warm milk in a dirty ashtray. I'll be ordering tea next time. I'm looking around and I hear writers pitching their ideas loudly here too, except they are younger than the forty something crowd at Cafe Aroma. I shook my head. Then I heard Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" coming from the sound system and I felt better.

Anchor Steam

Glamfish, Folk Star and I treated ourselves to some cold Anchor Steam Beer from San Francisco after washing the thick layer of dirt/grime off my car today. It was the first time they tried the beer and they loved it. To me the beer was just what I needed to cure my San Francisco blues.

Still On?

2:30 pm, Warner Brothers Studio. I was sitting in the sofa waiting for the director's assistant to come out of the office. To my right is a Russian porn actress in an ultra mini skirt with no underwear, talking on the cellphone while smacking gum between her lipstick stained teeth. To my left is a fatso with a child molester mustache, breathing heavy while his folded arms are resting on his beer gut. I was called in for a possible bit part in the TV show "ER". I thought the show was not on anymore.

As I was walking back to my car I ran into a group of visitors on a guided tour. They looked at me like "Wait, is he...no that's not him" I wonder who I reminded them of? Having spent so much time in San Francisco past few weeks, it seems strange to find myself back in LA.

David Caruso

I got a call this morning to replace a background actor who failed to show up on the set. Normally I would've declined, but the show happened to be CSI:Miami. Like many of you out there I am a big fan of David Caruso's "acting". I was brimming with expectations when I stepped onto the set. He didn't disappoint me. What you see on TV is only a fraction of David Caruso's "brilliance". It was my Hollywood dream come true. You can check out the site below to get an idea of what I'm talking about. (Highlight/select, copy and paste...you know the drill.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948

It's addictive.

Ingenting

On my way back from San Francisco last night I heard the news about Ingmar Bergman's passing. He was the reason why I got into acting, writing and ultimately directing. Rest in peace Ingmar.

Science!

It was 94 degrees in the valley so I decided to grab a bite with Lolerbee in Venice. By the time I reached Venice Beach it was pleasant 76 degrees. Had a bad meal at Brick House then found a first decent cup of coffee in LA at a small cafe on Rose St. Later I met up with Folk Star to see Guster playing at Orange County Fair. We had two hours to kill before the show, so we got on dizzing rides and ate bad (but oh-so-good) foods. I hadn't thought about this ever since I moved to California but wow, I couldn't find one non-white person in the crowd. I see why Po wanted to get the hell out of OC.

I was surprised to find out that Toad the Wet Sprocket was the opening band. Lame. Guster was great. Judging by how family unfriendly they were, I figured they wouldn't be invited again to play at OC Fair. After the show we found this weird handwriting analysis booth run by a Thomas Dolbyesque old man. He took our hand written notes and fed it to a huge 1940's style vacuum tube computation machine called "Telebrain". Out came this graph showing personality analysis. It was fascinating. We completed the evening by downing a funnel cake and listening to a horrible surf music band on the side stage. The music and jokes were so bad that we quickly walked out of there after developing an upset stomach and headache. Thanks OC Chamber of Commerce.

My first posting

My very first blogging...welcome to the 21st century. I must thank Notorious O.('Shannassy) S. C. and Frank for introducing me to this strange place called blogosphere. It was about time I started to share my blog with others after three weeks of voyeurism.

So here it goes:

I saw a motorcyclist doing dumb stunts in the busy street on my way to a casting agent's office this morning. I said to myself "he's gonna crash and burn" Ten seconds later I saw a car hit the motorcycle as he was doing tricks in the intersection. The impact threw him about 5 feet forward and the smashed the bike. A police car just happened to be at the intersection, so the scene was quickly put under control. But what I saw on my way to yoga class tonight was much more troubling. I saw a dead body in a parking lot on Sunset, presumably shot to death. The crime must've happened moments before I got there since police cars and fire engines were still arriving as I passed the scene. It was a very strange evening of violence and peace.

Testing...

One two, one two...