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04/07/2006: "A DAY OF DAYS"

Well Friday has come. And tonight at 8pm I will be seen on "The Ghost Whisperer" on CBS. To make a few corrections from the last blog...um...I'm not really married to Jennifer Love Hewitt (and if I was I'm pretty sure I'd be the one to change my last name). I also don't make any money at the Orgimmar Auction House. I just don't get it.

Since tonight is the premier of my episode I will tell the tale of working on "The Ghost Whisperer".
My agent calls me one day and tells me that I have an audition for the show the next day. It's a new agent and this is the first big thing he has sent me out on. The first month I signed with him I was filming another movie and was not available for auditions. So finally here is a juicy job to go out on. He tells me to "do a good job" at the audition because he had to pitch me to the casting people. I guess I wasn't quite what they were looking for but because I have improv training and am funny they would see me.
The audition was at Universal Studios. Its always a thrill to get to go to any of the studios for "official" business. You drive to the gate and the guard there checks your I.D. with the computer list of people allowed onto the studio. Then he/she gives you a series of hurried and confusing directions on where to park and where your building is. So I park and start the treck out to where my audition is being held. Universal Studios is HUGE! Acres and acres of land with variouse sets, sound stages and buildings. One block your walking through a town square, the next you've wondered into a spanish villiage and the next is a sound stage where they are doing pick up shots for the next Bruckheimer film. I even past by the "Lyons Realestate" gates from Back To The Future. So finally I find my office building where I am to audition. There are several actors waiting around. We all look different which tells me the casting person is looing for something unknown. Usually when you walk into a casting office as an actor you see people who have a similiar look to you (hell, you probably auditioned with most of the room before for other jobs). But in this case I didn't look like anybody.
After about tweny minutes it was my turn. I went in and bam! blew it. Yeah my first take was so BIG the casting director was like "waaaay too big. Lets do it again but smaller". So I did. The important thing was that both takes, small and big, were funny. Any time you have the casting director laughing its a good thing. Even if the role isn't funny, it means they will remember you.
So that was it. I left. Walked back to my car past all the cool stuff again. Variouse people doing variouse jobs running about. Crews and caterers, producers and diretors. There is like a thousand different projects going on at once. As an actor you just pray that some day you'll get to come and work here on a regular basis. Everyone just working on productions. It feels like the first time you ever walked into Toys R Us. You just can't believe all the toys you ever wanted are here in this building, on these shelves, just waiting for someone to take them down. Its a lot like that feeling.
So I go home and then to work. Two days later my agent called me and said, "You booked it!". That was a great feeling.
A week later I was getting a costum fitting in Burbank for the next days shoot. It was just a one day shoot. I'm only in one scene but the character most likely will be reaccuring. And its a funny little scene so they may want to bring my character back for that reason. This is what I'm telling myself as I drive to set that afternoon. I get to Universal again and go through the whole process at the gate only this time there will be no long walk. I will be driven. The guard said, "A van will pick you up outside the entrance to the parking garage".
And it was true! A van was right there. This nice lady picked me up and we drove on through the lot. Again nothing but productions every where you look. We get to set. It's an exterior shot in one of the many "Suburban" out door sets on the lot. I arrive, meet the 2nd AD and get breakfast. I love 2nd AD's. They are always fun and excited to see you. On a set they are in charge of all the waiting areas, production offices and stuff like that. He basically is in charge of getting people on set when they need to be on set as well as making sure you fill out your paper work, contracts, get you into costume and make up. The first AD is in charge of where they are filming. Everything else falls to the 2nd AD. For some reason they always have a lot of energy.
Anyway they give me my trailor (it's pretty nice) and then to make up. Make up is fun. I'm sorry, its the most fun you'll have on set aside from acting. Make up is the hub of any set. It's where all the gossip happens. It's like walking into a saloon in a small country town. And you have to join in. Instantly you are welcomed and its as if you've known these people for years. They just start telling you stories. Stories about them, the lady who does your hair, one of the producers. Discussion topics range from who are you dating? Whats the deal with ex-husbands? And the old favorite, whos hooking up with whos assistant? While the variouse debates were discussed and argued my make up was applied. Now I am pale! Already very pale. In fact I didnt think it was possible to pale me up anymore but they did. I am ghost after all. So they bloched out any color i had and then darkened my hair. I have brown hair. They used tattoo make up in my hair and five minutes later Dave was a very pasty brunette.
And off I go. Onto set to rehearse with Love. Yeah, Love. That's what they call her. I didn't understand why until days later someone told me that Love is actually Jennifer Love Hewitts' name. Jennifer is the stage part. Her real name is Love. And let me tell you right now, you could not have picked more true name for this girl. No matter what your opinion is of celebrities or this particular celebrity let me tell you that Love is a good description of her.
When you meet her it is impossible to not have a crush on this woman. No matter what jokes I make about having a marriage, passionate affair or just a school boy crush on her, I was very impressed with this woman.
First off she is beautiful in person. I mean you really are struck. But not in a way that is unapproachable. Second she has complete control of this show. Not only is she the star actor in it but she is also a producer of the show. They run everything by her. She consults with the director and writer. A general on set for sure. But still nice enough to take the time to shake your hand and talk to you for a minute. Its then that you realize that she's the same age as you. That in another setting this would be some girl in your home town that you know.
And thirdly she was limping. She had strained her knee. She strained it running in the Breast Cancer "Walk for a Cure" marathon. Even her injury was noble and sweet. And I'll say this, when we rolled cameras and she has to walk a great distance for the scene there was no limping. And there was no complaining. When you watch the episode you will not see her limp, hobble or anything. She is a trooper.

So we've rehearsed. I've met the AD, DP, the Gaffer, the camera opperator, the lighting director, the sound guy, the boom opperator. All are silver haired men in their 50's. Its the funniest thing I've ever seen. They all looked the same. They all dressed like my Dad. T-shirts tucked into 501 jeans with white sneakers and tapered pant legs.
The director and exec. producer Ian Sander was great. He's like a minature Gary Marshell. He's always eating almonds and talks real fast.
We start shooting. The scene is a trackign shot where Love comes out of the house to get her morning paper and I meet her in her driveway and follow her back to the porch. We do a few takes, work out logistics, make some adjustments and prepare to shoot some more. A couple of times Universal tours drive buy and I get to wave at tourists who have no idea who I am but I'm an actor acting on set and therefore I get to have my picture taken. Its like fake fame.
So we're about to do another take when there is a sound issue. Also it starts to rain. My starting position is in the driveway and I decide I'll just wait there until we are ready to shoot in a few seconds. Everyone else ran for cover under the porch with Love. Soon I'm the only one standing out in the rain and Love notices.
"It's raining on David!" she shouts out, concern in her voice. "Can we hurry up please, its raining on David!".
"It's fine!" I shout back. "Just a little rain!" trying my damndest to sound like a man about it. But inside, a little voice in my heart went, "Oh! She cares! She really, really cares!" and I had to turn away because I was going to giggle.
We finished the scene and I went was released. I said goodbye to everone. And then I said goodby to Jennifer Love Hewitt. She shook my hand again and said she had a great time working with. That the scene is going to look very funny and she thanked me for being a part of the show.
Now how can you not love that kind of Love?
8pm tonight on CBS!