Jury Duty 2007

The letter in the mail that most people dread. I received one back in November and since it was scheduled around the same time I was planning on leaving for the holidays, I postponed it to February. Beginning Feb 4, I had to call an 888 number each night to see if I had to go to the court house the follwing day. If I made it through the week not being told to go, then I was done. On Wednesday, Feb 7, I was pretty tired and went to bed. Just before I was about to fall asleep, I realized I hadn't called the Jury Duty "Hotline" to check if I was needed. So, I made myself get back out of bed and call ... and to my dismay, heard the message that I was expected the following morning at 8am. So I let my boss know and reset the alarm to an earlier time.

I arrived at the courthouse to find that it wasn't your typical old style government or courthouse building that I had expected. It was a 9 story pretty glass building. There was a long line snaking through the lobby of the building of potential jurors waiting to go through the xray machine when I walked in. The jury waiting room was on the 4th floor but apparently they make everyone wait to go through security at the same time. One of the security guards was very good at keeping everyone in a neat line and cracking jokes. Finally, around 8am, they let us through and up to the 4th floor we went.

The jury waiting room is a large room with TV's hanging from the ceiling, vending machines and even some desk space with internet connections. After everyone grabbed a seat, a woman came out of an office and explained how everything worked and then played a DVD for us on the TV's that explained Jury Duty even more and also told us how great Jury Duty was. We then had to fill out a survey and line up in groups to turn in our paper work. When we turned in our paper work, we were given juror badges to wear. They did not display our names, but a juror id number that we were given.

If no court needed us, then we would stay in that waiting room until about 4:30 or 5 and then that was it ... our service was over. If we were called into a court room and were excused from a jury, then our service was over and we could go home. So, at this point, it was just a waiting game. We were free to turn on the TV's or whatever, but not to wander to far from the waiting room. Around 10 or so, we received a visit from a judge, who talked a little more about jury duty and what it means and how it works, etc. He was very nice and very informative.

Around 11 or so, they read off a long list of names, of which my name was one of them, and we were told to report to a court room on the 7th floor. We all filed into the courtroom. There were 14 chairs in the jury box and 4 in front of it. They then called out juror numbers and one by one, people filled in the 18 spots. I was not among them. Each of the 18 potential jurors then had to answer 3 or 4 questions, mainly where they lived, what they did, and if they had been on a jury before. After that, the judge then asked more questions. It was so obvious that some people didn't want to be there, by the way they would answer these questions, and the became more and more annoying. Instead of answering yes or no to a simple yes or no question, whining and whatnot would ensue. Once the judge was done with his questions, the defense attorney and prosecutor each took time to ask them questions. Once all this was over, both lawyers took turns thanking and excusing some of the 18 potential jurors. Finally, they were down to less than 14 jurors, and so new juror numbers were called to fill the remaining seats back up to 18 again. I was yet again not called. The new people had to each answer the first 3 or 4 questions and then the judge simply asked each juror, if they had an answer to any of the questions that had been asked prior by the judge or the lawyers. Thank God they didn't have to go through all the questions that were asked, although, there had been a lot of questions asked, and I began racking my brain in case I was called. At some point, during all these events, we had broken for lunch and returned and so it was now mid afternoon. More jurors were thanked and excused and eventually my number was called. I answered all the questions I could and I was not thanked and excused. After more whining from more potential jurors, they finally had their 14 jurors (12 + 2 alternates) and we were sworn in and told to report back the following day at 10:30 am. We were also told that the trial was expected to last 4 to 5 days.

Courtroom hours aren't bad. We reported each morning at 10:30 am. We broke for lunch at 12 and returned from lunch at 1:30. We'd have a 15 minute break between 2 and 3 and then were dismissed by 4:30. The following Monday was Lincoln's birthday, so the courts were closed and I worked my regular job that day, training a new guy that my boss had brought in to help cover for me since I wasn't going to probably be there for the whole week.

Closing arguments finally came, Thursday morning and we began deliberations that afternoon. It felt good to be able to finally talk about the case with someone, even if it was only in that room with the other 11 jurors. We had 2 counts to decide on: wreckless driving and hit and run with injury. If we had a question, we could ask the judge, but it had to be in writing and we would have to go back into the courtroom with everyone present and then the judge would read the question and answer there. We could also have testimony read back to us by the court reporter, and again this would happen in court on record. We asked a question that afternoon and after the judge answered it, it was around 4 so we were dismissed and told to come back at 9:30 the following morning. It was a complicated case. You can be charged with hit and run even if your car was not touched in the accident. It's too complicated to go into here, but we had to figure out if the defendant knew that he had been a cause of the accident.

So, Friday we arrived at 9:30 am, and had the court reporter read back some testimony and asked the judged another question, dealing mainly with the way the particular law was written, because it could be read 2 different ways. After getting our answer, we were unanimous on our decisions, and filled out the paper work to hand in the verdict.

/soapbox
I am glad I had this experience and although it was time consuming and you only get $15 a day, I won't be upset if I get called again in the future. As annoying as jury duty is and can be, it is part of being a US citizen. Having the right to be tried by a jury of our peers is one of the reasons this country came into existence. I think most people take this for granted nowadays. If I was accused of something, especially if it was something I did not do, I would want people like me and you on the jury. It was so disheartening to see so many people whine and complain and try to get out of it. For people that just can't afford it, it's understandable, but that's not the case with everyone. The only time that I feel my time was really wasted during this whole process, was the first day of jury selection. The bulk of that day was wasted listening to people whine and complain and try to get out of it. The trial might actually have begun and ended sooner had people just sucked up and answered the questions honestly and let the process take its course. So, as hoakie as this may sound, if you get called up for jury duty, be thankful that you live in a country that protects your rights from being judged unfairly.
/off soapbox

Back to a full time job ...

I have been working as a casting assistant off and on since I got back home from the holidays. As of last week, though, I am officially working on a movie once again, Charlie Wilson's War.
It's great to be working full time again. I'm still hoping to take an improv class in March and hopefully that won't mess up my schedule.
Basically, I'm a casting assistant to Specialty Casting. We need to find 1,000 Afghani's or Middle Easterners to play Afghan Refugees from the Afghan conflict in the late 80's. We've already had some open casting calls and plan on having more. It's a fun project to work on.

No interview ... well sort of ...

So the interviews were cacelled yesterday. They decided they wanted to see pictures before people came in for interviews. So I got my landlord to take a few shots of me all geeked out in the parking lot and emailed it to the casting director. I had forgotten that my glasses got dark in sunlight, but the casting director said the pictures looked great. So, now I go in to interview this evening at 5:00 and I get paid for yesterday's interview as well. Here's my geeky warrior girl look...

Mama's Boy

Today I have an interview for a featured extra role on the movie "Mama's Boy". The character is described as a geeky warrior girl ... think dungeon and dragons ... and is supposed to be pelting someone with tennis balls. Sounds like fun, lol. I'm doing my best to look geeky with my hair in pigtails and wearing glasses. I have an old skirt that I'm going to use as a cape. Having a cape was suggested by the casting director.
I'm a bit nervous as always, but looking forward to it!

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town!!

Every year for as long as I can remember, our fire department has been bringing Santa Claus around our neighborhood to say Hi and bring us some candy. The last few days it's been rainy, but he finally showed up last night!

You can hear him from a long way off ... here he is making his way up our street ...



And here I am with Santa!!



And here he is giving candy to a little girl that drove up


HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

Home Again for the Holidays!

Yes, I'm back again in good ole South Carolina! I wanted to spend as much time as I could with my family so I flew back the sunday before thanksgiving and will be here until Jan. 3. I'm going to try to sneak to Atlanta for a few days, but haven't locked down any dates yet.

The weather has been pretty nice in LA, so the cold hit me pretty hard when I got here. Even got to see some sleet! But the week after the sleet, it warmed up to the 70's and it was like spring around here. The plants in the yard got confused and we even got a nice showing of some flowers.

The angel trumpet trees we have (pictured to the left) were pretty much in full bloom! They are so fragrant at night that you could almost believe it was spring time.

But now, winter has returned. It is cold and windy yet again! More leaves are covering the yard and so I will be busting out the rake yet again!

Other than than, all is well. My dad is doing ok for now and even looks a bit healthier.

Will try to do better at keeping this blog updated ... even if I don't have an interesting LA story ;) ...

Lazy Days ...

It's been a lazy past few weeks for me. Haven't really worked much. Looked for some extra work, but now that I'm SAG that's a bit harder. Everything I saw was either 18 to look younger, or strippers or bikini girls ... nothing really for me. And the few things I did submit for I didn't get. *shrug* Not that big a deal. Unemployment comes in handy for times like these. Last week, I worked as a casting assistant again, helping to set up interviews for principal roles for a documentary. It was fun.

So, it's the holidays yet again...
I want to spend as much time with my dad as possible, so I flew back to Columbia, SC yesterday, and I'm here until Jan. 3. It's actually cold here. I like experiencing real weather again, but brrrrr ... not used to it!

The Magic Castle

The wrap party for The Great Buck Howard was at The Magic Castle. How cool is that! Not everyone can go to the Magic Castle and they have a strict dress code there, so I was excited to go.
First of all, I got turned around on the way there. Ended up at Hollywood and Highland, not a great place for traffic on a friday night, and could not make a left turn and could not turn around to go in the direction I wanted to go! After about half an hour of trying to get from one side of Highland to another, lol, I finally made it! Talley, who had worked on casting, was not far behind me, and so I waited at the valet for her to arrive. We walked around the building to the room that had been reserved for the party. It was very cool. Everyone was so dressed up, it was difficult recognizing some folks. =) I decided to check my coat and was told that I had to go to the front desk at the entrance. So Talley and I went on a scavenger hunt for the front desk. Through the long and winding rooms and hallways, with a magician around every corner, we finally found it, and after checking my coat, Talley said the password to the owl to allows back through the secret door. Back at the party, there were magicians there to entertain us. We got to see the world champion of magic perform, which was so much fun. Apparently, not many americans have won that title. Finally, after some more food, drinks, magic and dancing, it was time to go home. I had a blast!

Talley and I posing for the camera

Here I am with Ted, one of our fabulous stand ins

The Great Buck Howard - Last Days

So I worked my last 2 days as background coordinator this week. We had 375 extras working Tuesday and Wednesday, and filmed at the Palladium. Things went fairly smoothly on Tuesday, but yesterday was a different story. The morning started with an extra fainting. An ambulance was called and she was sent home so she could go see her doctor. On this note, for anyone working on a film set, you should know that there is always a medic working. They are there for anything from someone needing tylenol for a headache to emergencies such as this one. When the extra fainted, it was a bit scary because she did not wake right away. So a few people called 911. Can't blame them, because it is ingrained in all of us to do so in an emergency. But the medic hadn't even gotten there to assess the situation. In our situation, it turned out that the paramedics came in handy. But in talking to the medic, he told me that in a lot of cases, this isn't so. A film production has lots of resources at hand, and if an emergency isn't immediately life threatening, a medic can take care of the situation at hand and then use the transportation department (affectionately known as transpo) to bring the victim to the hospital. So if you are ever working on a set, cast or crew, and, heaven forbid, a medical emergency happens to you or someone around you. Don't grab your cell phone and call 911. Find the nearest person with a radio and call for the medic.
Another side note I learned ...
When calling 911, it is much faster if you call from a land line. Calling from a cell phone will require transfers to the right place and then you have to be able to tell them exactly where you are. Whereas if you call from a landline it goes to the right place immediately, along with all the info (address,etc) that is needed. So basically, the time it takes for a medic to come assess the situation and potentially have 911 called from a landline can be shorter than if someone were to call 911 right away from a cell phone.
OK, so that was my lesson for the day ... thought it was good info I should share ...

So, the wrap party for The Great Buck Howard is tomorrow night. I'm super excited about it because it's at the Magic Castle! I've never been before so I'm looking forward to it. The only issue is ... what to wear? There's a formal dress code there ... guess it's time to go shopping!!

Back to 14 hour days...

What a week!! Last Monday we were in a new location, the Dorothy Chandler Theater downtown ... where they used to have the oscars. I had never been there before so I was looking forward to seeing it. We were filming in the lobby, and I kept meaning to peek at the theater, but unfortunately never did. We were at this location Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but Monday was the craziest. A nice "welcome to the coordinating world" for me. Let's see ... after checking in 170+ extras, I made some calls to "no shows" and whatnot and waited for the late arrivals. Of course, there was someone that I woke up that had had their alarm not go off and I told her to get there as fast as possible. Then there was someone that got in a car accident and totaled her car. She had her car towed and had a friend bring her. Most people I think would have just gone home after an experience like that. Any time there is an alarm excuse or a car/traffic excuse, the AD's roll their eyes. Well, it is LA and you really do need to factor in huge amounts of time when planning to get somewhere due to traffic. So, we get our count and start bussing everyone to set. I get there and a "missing" extra (that has not checked in) is introduced to me, and the PA introducing him to me quickly leaves. I slowly figure out why. I explain to him that we have our count and since he is late we cannot use him. He doesn't like that answer. And proceeds to tell me that he drove all the way from Orange County and left at 4:30 this morning, etc etc ... If he had some how made it to base camp where we had done the checking in, I might still have been able to check him in, even if he was late ... but apparently he couldn't find the shuttles from parking to basecamp that were marked with large signs. Well, 170 extras found basecamp, early, on time and late. There was nothing I could do ... it was too late. He then demanded to know the name of who "replaced him" (like that would matter!). After dealing with him for about 10 minutes or so, the casting director calls me to see how things are going. I step away to talk to her, but he doesn't get the hint and doesn't leave. He gives me my space to talk on the phone, but doesn't leave. So I tell her what's going on and then let her talk to him. Which of course now she is just telling him what the PA told him, and what I had explained to him earlier. He starts demanding names of who she is and who replaced him and just being nasty and very loud. You didn't have to be close to him to hear his tirade. He finally hands the phone back to me ... but doesn't leave. He just stands there!!! So I am told to radio security. Which is somewhat intimidating since I'm still getting the hang of the radio. I try and I get no response. I see a familiar face in the distance, a set pa, and I call him on the radio and wave him down. He comes over and I tell him what's up. He tries to talk to the guy. He tries to call security. Apparently, security is not on radio ... but he manages to find someone in security finally to escort this guy away.

So that was the beginning of my day ... the day had just started ...

Without having too long an entry, I'll try to make the rest short and sweet. I ended up having to send a group of extras home early, because they felt they could not do what was expected of them in the scene. The final group we were left with was just a strange group. You meet all kinds of people in the "extra" world. A number of them had trouble following directions ("don't take anything to set, leave your bags in holding") and were sometimes difficult to find when it was time to roll.

We had this same group for the next 2 days. So, for the next 2 days we had to deal with lots of the same ... people not following direction and "missing" extras.

Thursday ... new location and new batch of extras! What a glorious change!! The location was at CSUN (California Sate University Northridge). A little bit of a drive to get there, but nice to be somewere different. Basecamp was pretty spread out on the campus and the set kept moving around, so lots of excercise due to all the running around! But, it was a good day, and a great way to end the week for me!

I will probably be working again on Wednesday. They will also be filming in Las Vegas and there is a chance I will get to go since the calls are 300 extras each day. I've never been to Vegas, so it will be cool if I get to go!

Background Coordinating

Friday was my first day working as a background coordinator. It was a large call of about 200 extras doing an audience scene. John Malkovich plays Buck Howard, a mentalist, and the scene was his performance in "Bakersfield". I've checked in extras before, but I've never "coordinated" before and was trying to learn the ropes of everything I needed to do. I wasn't wearing a radio, but after a while a set PA gave me one, which made me a little nervous. I haven't had a job where I've used a radio in a very long time. But it was nice being able to have an ear on what was going on. They have more large calls next week, so I will be back to work again! It's great working around a movie set again.

The Great Buck Howard

Just got a job coordinating (extras) on The Great Buck Howard. It's a large call tomorrow, so I'm a little nervous because I've only coordinated a little here and there, but it should be fun!

Back in LA!

Well, here I am, back in LA! Actually finished unpacking yesterday!! Usually takes me much longer. lol Anyway, been settling back in this weekend ... cleaning up my apartment, stocking the fridge once again, and getting my car washed ... it was so dirty that it was no longer black and the car wash guy spotted me as an easy target to get talked into a good wax. He knocked $20 of the price and it needed it badly. My car is much prettier now. =)
Next week should be interesting and crazy for me. I have tons of phone calls to make. Have to let my agent know I'm back. She's been calling me to find out when I'd be back in town so she could submit me for commercials, so that sounds promising. Also have to call my loan officer regarding mortgages and then find a real estate agent so I can begin house hunting. Yep, I'm buying a house and moving my parents from SC to here. My dad is doing ok, not too bad, but not too good either. Hopefully, we can find a way to find a good deal on a house and get them moved here stress free. It all comes down to the loan officer and what she has to say about a mortgage. *fingers crossed*
It feels really strange being back in LA since I've been gone for 2 1/2 months. But after the heavy humidity weightbearing heat of the south, it's nice to be back to a cool sea breeze.

August 3!

I will be returning to LA the evening of August 3!

Still in SC

Looks like I am spending the summer in South Carolina. Trying to help out my parents the best I can. Ideally, we will sell this house and they will move to California where we can buy a house together. But they've been living in this house for 30 years, so there is a lot of work to be done.

My dad is doing ok for now, but his eyesight is not so good. So, I'm the primary driver while I'm here. He sees his doctors about every 2 weeks. At the end of July, we find out if the medicine he's been taking has done anything to his cancer.

As far as work ... I missed an audition the day after I flew here. Everything had happened so quickly that I hadn't had a chance to call my agent. It was for a national starburst commercial which sounded cool. So I contacted my agent and apologized for missing the audition and not getting in touch with her sooner. She was pretty cool about it and said that there were actually quite a few actors out of town because of family emergencies.

It is a little frustrating that I can't be in LA and go to the auditions that my agent is getting me. After I had signed with them in the fall of last year, I hadn't really heard from them at all. Then in the spring and just before I left for SC, I started getting calls for auditions from them. Apparently, they had reworked the way they had things organized in their office ... and now it seems to be working much better. I just can't wait to get back to LA and go on more auditions!

As far as what I'm up to and what's been happening here ... it's HOT! Good ole southern hot summer. The week that was the hottest (100 degree weather and no rain), our ac decided not to work anymore. And the technician that came out on that tuesday told us we needed a new one. We arranged to get a new one and wouldn't you know it, it wouldn't be here until the following Monday!!! So we suffered through days of high heat and no ac. That really sucked, but we lived though it. =) That same week, 2 days after the ac broke, my tooth broke. It was the tooth that I was going to get crowned when I got back to LA. It just couldn't wait that long I guess. So off to my dad's dentist I went. Was worried I might need a root canal, but didn't. Unfortunately, there's not much tooth left (had a filling before), but the dentist worked hard and fixed me all up and made the tooth ready for a crown when I get back.

On July 3, my cat sasha looked sick. He hadn't moved out of his one spot most of the day. I went to pet him and he barely moved. I picked him up and he was almost limp in my arms. I realized after holding him for a little while that he was really hot. We debated on taking him to the vet (more costs after the new ac and the dentist), but decided since the next day was a holiday, and sasha really didn't look that good, that we should take him. So we did, and apparently he had a really high fever. The vet said he was probably bit by a flea or something and picked something up. They hydrated him and he stayed there for 2 nights. He's all better now. =)
So ... that's what's going on with me right now. Doing lots of yard work and getting a good tan and muscles in the process. Average life in suburbia. If you've read this far, you get a prize of knowin' what I've been up to! lol

Don't know when I'll be back in LA. Hopefully in August.

SYTYCD Starts Tonight!!

Tonight is the premiere!! They're showing New York and Charleston auditions.
www.fox.com/dance/

Roller Coaster Monday

Wow ... what a day!! I am feeling emotionally drained.

On the way to work, I was talking with my dad who had just left his doctor's appointment. He told me they thought he had lung cancer. He's been seeing doctors most of this year, trying to find out why his optic nerve is swelling, and well as of today, they think this may be the cause. So I am flying back to Columbia, SC to be with my parents and help them out on Sunday.

About an hour after I got that news, my agent calls and tells me that I made it to callbacks for the Wells Fargo audition and that it was scheduled at 3:28pm. My head was spinning!

So I went to the callbacks, and this time the director and the producer entourage were there. They had brighter lights around and when the director was giving me directions, I could barely make him out, lol. Anyway, I have no idea how I did, but everyone that left the room of the audition made the same face ... including me. *shrug* It'd be nice to get it, but I really have no sense on how it went.

Now I have to get ready to leave for Columbia on Sunday ... got lots to do ...

First LA Audion

So my Commercial agent called me out of the blue yesterday to send me on an audition today for a Wells Fargo Bank commercial. I said I would have to check my schedule and would call her right back. I had to talk to my boss to see how crazy busy she thought we would be today and if it would be alright for me to go. She gave the go ahead and so I called my agent back and got the details.
This would be a lot of firsts for me so that made me kinda nervous. First audition in LA; first audition for my agent; first audtition in front of a camera; first audtion for a commercial ...
I took a commercial class last year that I learned so much from and the audition itself wasn't as nervewracking as the fact that I hate doing things for the first time. Not to mention that I hate my wardrobe and was overwhelmed just a little trying to figure out what to wear. But since I was told the age range was 24-29 and that I had to look as young as possible, I opted for a brown t-shirt with nice jeans.
When I got to work this morning, my boss surprised me and we left the office for an hour and she took me to Banana Republic. She bought me a brand new outfit as a birthday present for this audtion. And let me just say that she is a FABULOUS shopper!! I definitely have to bring her shopping with me again!!
Anyway, so I have on my fabulous new outfit and leave the office at 1:15ish to get over to the audition by 2:00ish. Got there before 2 and once I figured out where to sign in (there was a nintendo print audition going on too), I read what the audition entailed and signed in.
Thanks to my boss, I had the best looking outfit there! ;)
So, anyway, the audition had no lines. I had to "walk in" with grocery bags in my hands, take out a long receipt and put it under a "magnet on the fridge that already had lots of receipts under it". Then, just as I was starting to "put groceries away", "the magnet starts sliding down the fridge from the wait of all the receipts". So I "watched it, forcing it to stop with the power of my mind". "The magnet stops sliding" and then I "open the fridge door to put something away and when I close it, the magnet falls spilling all the receipts".
(There was no fridge or magnet ... everything in quotes I had to mime)
I was asked to do it twice and that was it! =) All my firsts were over and done with! =)
Callbacks are on Monday ... haven't heard anything yet ... but who knows. *shrug* I'm just happy to have gotten through my first LA audtion!! =)

POSEIDON

WOW

The special effects and the action are almost unbearable. I know I wasn't the only one to bring my hands up to my face more than once in watching this movie. The sad thing is ... no character development. =( When someone died, nobody really cared. And no time to really shed any tears for anyone. This movie is definitely a ride, but don't expect to get emotionally involved.

Can you see me? Yes you can. =) In the background of course. You can see me sitting at a table in the opening ballroom scene, but it's far and you have to know where to look. After the ship flips over, you can see me at least twice that I remember. Both in the lower right corner of the screen.

I had a blast working on this film, and made some good friends in the process, so this movie will always have a special place in my heart. As for the movie itself ... I'm sad that it's not as good as it could have been, but I'd say it's worth seeing in the theater just for the special effects...

Oh ... and I didn't see it on an IMAX screen ... we bought the wrong tickets.

POSEIDON OPENS TOMORROW!!

May 12!! And in IMAX too! Going to go see it at 12:45 in IMAX tomorrow. Can't wait!! I hope the movie is as good as it looks and I can't wait to see all the ballroom scenes to pick out all the people I spent 19 days with!