Tiny Bee Feet

I got a last minute call yesterday to come work on the rigging crew for a movie ("Holiday") that's shooting some pick-up shots (they've finished principal photography and are just getting some small things that they missed the first time around) - we loaded the truck yesterday, and today we were at Disney Ranch which is about three miles past bumfuck (but very scenic).


The plan was for us to show up early and rig the first set of the day - then, once first unit had gotten up and running, we were to proceed to set #2, rig that, then rig set #3 and then wait for first unit to get into set #3 before wrapping sets one and two and then going home.

Production cancelled set 2 (after we'd rigged it of course), which was fine - it meant that we didn't have to wait as long for first unit to get into the third set, although we had a bit of a scramble near the end as we tried to get all our cable wrapped before it got dark (little things like small lamps and extension cords tend to get lost in the dark).

Disney ranch is a big one - it's got a lot of acreage and numerous structures - a western town, barns, east-coast looking houses, a lake and today, two different companies shooting (us and a commercial). It also has a lot of bees - they were everywhere, and most of them seemed to be crawling all over the food at craft service and catering.

I can't remember who described lunch as tasting like "tiny bee feet", but it cracked me up - I can't even type it now without smiling.

I'm really tired, and I have to be back at work (not at the ranch, though - on the lot) in 9 hours.

Displaced weekend

So my place got painted over the weekend, and I thought I could manage to stay there while they worked - until I walked in and saw everything I own wrapped in plastic, with 6 inches of old paint chips on the floors and a haze of dust floating in the air - so I decided to go to a hotel.

Although I wanted desperately wanted to stay at one of the really swanky hotels that allow pets (W, Peninsula, Grafton, Beverly Wilshire), since there was the possibility of my having to stay more than one night, I figured I'd better go for something more affordable - that, and my cat is not a good traveler (she hates the carrier and screams bloody murder the whole time she's in there), so I decided to stay at the Best Western Hollywood Hills, which is close to the house and fairly reasonably priced.

It's also party central for the "star maps and rental car" set - for some reason, management has decided that it's a good idea to blast frat-party rock and roll into the pool area until about 11 pm (I had a poolside room, of course), and the hotel is mid-remodel so there's construction during the day. Not surprisingly, kitty stayed under the bed most of the time due to the noise. She came out very briefly the first night, stared horrified at the door for a few minutes (I'm guessing she doesn't like Motley Crue), shot me a dirty look and then crawled right back under the bed, where she remained between brief forays to the food bowl.

I had a hell of a time getting her out from under there when it was time to go.

While not as fab as the W, it wasn't that bad. There was basic cable, spotty wireless (it faded in and out, so no quality internet time for me), and the room was Spartan, but clean. The cafe, however, was disappointing (huevos rancheros is pretty much a tasty breakfast order anywhere in Los Angeles - when a place makes bad version, run far, far away), but it did the trick.

Checkout time was 1 pm, so I had to stay the second night since the painters didn't finish until almost 5 pm Sunday - and then I had to move all the furniture back, scrub the overspray off all the surfaces (how does paint dust get under the plastic?), and air the place out.

We came back home yesterday afternoon, and I spent today cleaning (and I still haven't gotten all the dust - it's everywhere), so I've not been looking for work - I'll call and put myself "on the books" tomorrow and make some phone calls.

Enjoy a photo:



"Best Western: The Final Frontier"