Monday 25 September
04.50am Alarm, out of bed, etc..
05.30am Into the car and off down the road for the 40 mile drive to Chalfield Manor, near Bradford-upon-Avon. Decided to take the minor roads, however, I didn't reckon on the heavy pre-autumn fog. Took wrong turns twice, almost crashed, slowed down, missed the 06.30 call, got there at 10 to 7.
Changed into costume, make up. Tudor manservant. Black stockings, garters. Almost immediate call to head for the Manor. Worked all the way thru to lunch. Separate food wagon for the background people. And noticeably inferior food. I had Tuna Montezuma for my main course. And syrup sponge with custard for afters, on the basis that no-one in this country would dare to screw up syrup sponge with custard. And it was quite good actually, though I didn't have long to enjoy it. This was a 20 minute lunch break, and I just about had time to clear the dish before we were called back on set.
Worked all the way through to wrap at 6.30pm, return to costumery, change, sign out.
7.30pm. Arrived home at 8.45pm.
During the day, there had been lots of comparing notes amongst the extras. Basically, just about everyone felt that they had been stitched up financially. More on this later. With the exception of the odd smattering of drama studies graduates, and live at home students, everyone else was in 'got to earn a living' mode. Several musicians.
I went to bed early, about 10, couldn't get to sleep properly. Eventually got up about 2am for a glass of water. Got back into bed, turned off the light, and started crying. Slept ok after that.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Busy week...
Yes, indeed...
Tuesday. Drive down to North Devon for the first day of shooting for 'Jam and Jerusalem'. New series with Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Joanna Lumley. Sunny day, filming around the town square, and a beautiful church and churchyard.
Great stuff. Met an interesting guy, Ed Dahl, whose just getting going with writing for tv and radio.
Wednesday. Across to Bath for a fitting for 'The Other Boleyn Girl'. They only offered tea and coffee, so afterwards I headed out of the industrial estate to the next industrial estate down the road. Found what I was looking for, the bacon butty post. I wanted a bacon sandwich. But all there was on the menu was a roll or a baguette. The roll looked pretty small on the photo so I ordered a baguette. A bacon one with mushrooms. When it arrived it was enormous. So I headed back to the car with my coffee and baguette, and tried to eat this thing. The only way I could manage without spilling the contents all over my lap was to steadily stuff it into my mouth, a continuous process of swallowing and, 2 inches forward of that, chewing until it was all gone. I sat there for several minutes, bloated, feeling..., "I wish I hadn't done that..."
Ah yes, the film. Costume drama. Anne Boleyne's more beautiful sister. Natalie Portman, Scarlet Johannsen. Sony Pictures, lots of money..., for the lead actors.
As I was driving home, I had a call from the Bath agent, asking if I was interested in a job in North Taunton. I said yes to that.
Thursday. 'North Taunton' turned out to be Blue Anchor, West Somerset, at a beachside pub 2 miles alomg the road from Watchet, the town where my family had lived 35 years ago.
I played a Swedish fisherman in 'Victoria Cross Heroes'. Like a furnace inside about 5 layers of fisherman's clothing. The outer clothes were a kind of oiled, or waxed, cotton trousers and a smock-like top, with all the wool and cotton layers, vest, shirt, jumper etc. If the day had been a real winter day those clothes would have been wonderful, and very light too.
A press photographer for a lot of the local newspapers came down, and photographed me and the other fisherman. He'll send me copies, so I'm looking forward to that.
Tuesday. Drive down to North Devon for the first day of shooting for 'Jam and Jerusalem'. New series with Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Joanna Lumley. Sunny day, filming around the town square, and a beautiful church and churchyard.
Great stuff. Met an interesting guy, Ed Dahl, whose just getting going with writing for tv and radio.
Wednesday. Across to Bath for a fitting for 'The Other Boleyn Girl'. They only offered tea and coffee, so afterwards I headed out of the industrial estate to the next industrial estate down the road. Found what I was looking for, the bacon butty post. I wanted a bacon sandwich. But all there was on the menu was a roll or a baguette. The roll looked pretty small on the photo so I ordered a baguette. A bacon one with mushrooms. When it arrived it was enormous. So I headed back to the car with my coffee and baguette, and tried to eat this thing. The only way I could manage without spilling the contents all over my lap was to steadily stuff it into my mouth, a continuous process of swallowing and, 2 inches forward of that, chewing until it was all gone. I sat there for several minutes, bloated, feeling..., "I wish I hadn't done that..."
Ah yes, the film. Costume drama. Anne Boleyne's more beautiful sister. Natalie Portman, Scarlet Johannsen. Sony Pictures, lots of money..., for the lead actors.
As I was driving home, I had a call from the Bath agent, asking if I was interested in a job in North Taunton. I said yes to that.
Thursday. 'North Taunton' turned out to be Blue Anchor, West Somerset, at a beachside pub 2 miles alomg the road from Watchet, the town where my family had lived 35 years ago.
I played a Swedish fisherman in 'Victoria Cross Heroes'. Like a furnace inside about 5 layers of fisherman's clothing. The outer clothes were a kind of oiled, or waxed, cotton trousers and a smock-like top, with all the wool and cotton layers, vest, shirt, jumper etc. If the day had been a real winter day those clothes would have been wonderful, and very light too.
A press photographer for a lot of the local newspapers came down, and photographed me and the other fisherman. He'll send me copies, so I'm looking forward to that.
Friday, September 08, 2006
'Afterlife' and football...
Did another day of 'Afterlife' this week, I think that's the end of the new series under production. Location was Bristol City football club. Years since I've been to a football match. Several come to mind....
Student in Glasgow 1971.
Celtic v Partick Thistle in the 1971 League Cup final in Glasgow. Standing on the terracings as the urine-filled lager cans lobbed and rained over my head. Someone peeing on the ground behind me. Bovril at half-time. 3-1 to Partick Thistle, a famous victory.
1970 thru 1972. My home town team was Stranraer, and though I didn't often watch them when I actually lived in Stranraer, I went regularly to their away games when I went to university in Glasgow.
Freezing cold winter Saturday afternoons at Hampden, versus Queens Park as 500 spectators stood in that 100,000 capacity stadium. Up to Stirling to play Stirling Albion, elbows flying, and crunching tackles. For a 0-0 draw. Face raw with the cold thinking... "There's got to be something better than this..."
One of the flats I lived in after I left university was about 50 yards from the remains of Cathkin Park, the football ground for Third Lanark the only, I think, Scottish League team to completely go bust and disappear. When I got there in 1972/73 the ground had been abandoned for about 6 years. Though it looked about 30 years.
This is Cathkin Park now......
I noticed the other day that the actors Sean Connery and Billy Connolly were interested in resuscitating Third Lanark. Be quite interesting if anything comes of that.
Student in Glasgow 1971.
Celtic v Partick Thistle in the 1971 League Cup final in Glasgow. Standing on the terracings as the urine-filled lager cans lobbed and rained over my head. Someone peeing on the ground behind me. Bovril at half-time. 3-1 to Partick Thistle, a famous victory.
1970 thru 1972. My home town team was Stranraer, and though I didn't often watch them when I actually lived in Stranraer, I went regularly to their away games when I went to university in Glasgow.
Freezing cold winter Saturday afternoons at Hampden, versus Queens Park as 500 spectators stood in that 100,000 capacity stadium. Up to Stirling to play Stirling Albion, elbows flying, and crunching tackles. For a 0-0 draw. Face raw with the cold thinking... "There's got to be something better than this..."
One of the flats I lived in after I left university was about 50 yards from the remains of Cathkin Park, the football ground for Third Lanark the only, I think, Scottish League team to completely go bust and disappear. When I got there in 1972/73 the ground had been abandoned for about 6 years. Though it looked about 30 years.
This is Cathkin Park now......
I noticed the other day that the actors Sean Connery and Billy Connolly were interested in resuscitating Third Lanark. Be quite interesting if anything comes of that.
Friday, September 01, 2006
'Casualty'...
I did that 'Casualty' job on Tuesday. At Henbury school near Bristol. A 12 hour stint through to half seven in the evening. Mid-way through I got a call from the Costumery guy on 'Afterlife', for this coming Monday. I'm scheduled to wear a suit on this one. He asked me what colour. Dark greyish. He said that was fine, then he got to the bit that he was really interested in. For the plot, he needed something bright to offset the suit and mentioned something about a lilac shirt. I thought.., "You must be **cking joking!" However, what I actually said was "Yes,I'll see what I can do..."
Actually,I'm going to do absolutely bugger all. I've got a lime green shirt that I bought from a charity shop. So that's what 'Afterlife' is going to get. I've also got some really loud ties, so one of them will do. There is an arithmetical issue here. That day is a 50 pound day. After the agent has had their commission its a 42.50 day. Take off the fuel costs of getting there and its a 35 pound day. For The last 'Afterlife' I did almost 2 months ago, and haven't received payment for yet, I bought a shirt in a charity shop which more or less made it a 31 pound day ....
So this time, fuck it, they 're offering peanuts, and they'll get what I've got.
Anyway, while I was on 'Casualty', I got into conversation with one of the other background people, and in doing so I mentioned... "What I could really do with right now is about a weeks work on a film or some lucrative work on a commercial..."
The next day, Wednesday, I was in a supermarket carpark just about to get into my car when the mobile went off... An agent offering work between 2 - 7 October on a film/drama in Bath. Minimum 3 days probably more. So I was pretty chuffed with that.
Just coincidence?
Actually,I'm going to do absolutely bugger all. I've got a lime green shirt that I bought from a charity shop. So that's what 'Afterlife' is going to get. I've also got some really loud ties, so one of them will do. There is an arithmetical issue here. That day is a 50 pound day. After the agent has had their commission its a 42.50 day. Take off the fuel costs of getting there and its a 35 pound day. For The last 'Afterlife' I did almost 2 months ago, and haven't received payment for yet, I bought a shirt in a charity shop which more or less made it a 31 pound day ....
So this time, fuck it, they 're offering peanuts, and they'll get what I've got.
Anyway, while I was on 'Casualty', I got into conversation with one of the other background people, and in doing so I mentioned... "What I could really do with right now is about a weeks work on a film or some lucrative work on a commercial..."
The next day, Wednesday, I was in a supermarket carpark just about to get into my car when the mobile went off... An agent offering work between 2 - 7 October on a film/drama in Bath. Minimum 3 days probably more. So I was pretty chuffed with that.
Just coincidence?
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