Only in NYC

A pair sat on the bottum steps leading to the subway platform. As stap hangers raced down to wait for their train, they were careful in sneaking a peep at the two. The girl on the right could have been dead. Her body was limp; a deep red trail started at her feet and flowed down off the edge of the platform. Her head was buried into the lap of her companion, a transvestite, uncommonly tall and undeniably manly. He had the face of an ugly Iggy Pop and wore tight jeans, a blouse, and high heels that planted his feet awkwardly against the ground. Waiting for the girl to wake up, he fought off people's glances and meticulously brushed his long blonde wig from his eyes.

Finally someone asked the transvestite the question everyone wanted to know.

"She's fine. She just drank to much red wine," he responded.

I've never seen anyone puke up straight untainted red wine before.

The next rush came and people never failed in looking back in curiousity. A man in a monkey suit tramped right through the wine-womit and a stamped the platform with a red footprint as he looked for a place among the crowd to camp out for the next train.

Sitting a few steps above the couple this whole time was a homeless woman. Suddenly she asked if the girl wanted a rubber band to clear the hair from her face. The transvestite's mug smoothed over with a kindness as he accepted the woman's help. As the woman herself put the drunken girl's hair in a pony tail, there was a distant thankful smile on the girl's face. The first and only sign of life she was to display that night.

Finally the roar of the N train came and I quickly stepped inside, more eager than imaginable to reach home. A door down the transvestite was backing into the car, carrying the arms of the drunken girl. On the other end of the girl was the woman, who struggled to left the dead weight into the car before the door closed. Once they were in and the doors closed, all three collapsed to the floor and sat there triumphantly.

The crowd inside the car cracked smiles and made whispers for the first few moments. Then the threesome was no longer an attraction, but had assimilated into the environment as a norm.

The transfer from Manhattan to Queens is always the same bout of rattles and metal screams. It's a fine moment a chaos, complimented perfectly by a recorder, tambourine and modern/intrepreative dance forms and a final bow of two subway performers.

The transvestite and the woman jumped to their feet and hoisted the useless lump up as the car door opened for the first time in Queens. As they brought the body out, the N train closed her doors, left them behind and didn't look back. She had seen this before, we all had, this is NYC after all.

Blowing the Dust Off

Saturday I (with my filmmaking partners) will be showing the trailer to our feature film Lycian at the Mocca Lounge in NYC. There will be other filmmakers there also showing their own trailers.

If you're in or around Tribeca September 30th (this Saturday,) stop by. It's free to get in. And I have no idea what to expect. Which is kind of exciting.


It starts at 7:30pm.
The Mocca Lounge
78 Reade St (Cross Street: Church Street)
New York, NY 10007

(It looks really swank huh?)

Gorilla Filming

Aside from the key thing, yesterday was a good day. I got called for a possible 2 month stand-in gig for yet another actor that I really respect and amire. Though he's a couple of inches taller than me, casting still submitted me. So during my lunch break I walked over (luckily set happened to be pretty close to the casting office) and had my picture taken for the submission. I'm not expecting the gig, I am sure people with closer heights will be submitted, and even though this casting place seems to really like me, it's the director who is making the choice.

It was a pretty short day yesterday, about 6 or 7 hours. But it felt shorter than that. I guess it makes sense, since between thursday and friday I worked about 30 hours. It was all 2nd unit stuff. The first time we went to set, I wasn't picked for the scene, so I just hovered crafty and had myself a bowl of Apple Jacks and a a protein fruit smoothie for the Naked company, which by the way was very filling and tasted awesome. Talked to my sis on the phone and then headed back to holding, where much of the day was spent. The second time I went to set they brought us a few blocks from holding to this little restaurant place. If I didn't know any better I would say they were using gorilla techniques. The camera was on a tripod. It was surprising how weird this looked to me. Because every production around here uses camera dollies for stationary shots, never tripods. The AD picked a girl and me to sit at a table, the camera on the opposite side of the street. They never said rolling but said we were done. So I don't know if they were just being sneaky and didn't shoot anything. Then I saw the owner of the establishment bitching production out and suddenly set was on the move. And that was the extent of the "work" I did for the day.

Anyone Else Smell That?

This morning:

Thow jacket on, bag, phone - check, wallet - check, get the lights, and I'm out the door. Wait, hmm... Search my right little pant pocket (you know that tiny one meant for change or a lighter,) search the big pocket, search the left pant pocket, search my jacket pockets, search my pants pockets again. No fucking way. Fuck yeah. I forgot my keys, I am now locked out of my apartment. Just fucking great.

To make matters worse, my landlady is out of town. Her daughter is assuming command. But I have no idea when she's around. If I had time I would have tried her, but I needed to jet.

Holding is in a church basement. My least favorite sort of holding. There is a bathroom next door and it doesn't smell too pretty. Let's see here, sit in a basement, cluttered next to other extras, sniffing toilet fumes and bombarded with "jesus is our savior" pamphlets OR sit on the steps outside of a most pleasant sun-filled breezy day??? Hmm...

NFT saved the day again. I just happened to bring the book with me. We're filming in the west village, a little lower than I am used to, so I was feeling a bit Christopher Columbus getting off the subway. Looking at a map of this area is like looking through a kalidescope. There are three different Waverly streets and I picked the wrong one at first. But NFT got me to set in a cinch. Thank you NFT.
I hope it's a short day only for the reason of solving my little situation as I really don't feel like sleeping on the patio tonight.

I Like Bill Clinton

Remember when we had an intellegent president? Every time I see news on Clinton, I reminesce. Remember when? I miss those days. Remember when you weren't embarrased to be an American?

The Thing About Beets

I know there are beet haters out there. But those of us who support beets and there goodness...isn't funny how there's always that one beet that clings to the bottum of the can. You tap and tap the can and it stubbornly falls out eventually. Oh, beets! I can't care what others say, I love you!