Cooking Show Guest

Last Friday I was a background "guest" for a prominent cooking show. What that means was that I was one of the people who got to eat the food that the chefs prepared! Which was great and yummy :) And it was pretty fun.

Because I signed the confidential form before the shoot and signed my life away, I am not allowed to talk much about the details of the show. But it is a show that even I, who do not watch TV that much (which I should), have heard of. Which features a mean chef who talks as if he is stabbing someone with his cutting knife. Ok I am so not giving a BIG hint here.

I hope they would have let us take pictures because it was a really nice set that we drove all the way to Culver city for. But we couldn't. And call time was 8AM. Can't complain as it was a relatively humane call time.

We got seated and waiters served us food as if in a real restaurant, except there were cameras everywhere. Everything was going well except for one thing. Asians were totally underrepresented in this episode's guests. Although they have a theme for each episode for the guests, for that episode it was only 3-4 Asians out of a decent sized group. There should have been more of us. Even though Asians are a minority group, I think we deserve more representation on TV. Or the closer to the real demography of United States representation.
(so I can get more jobs too :D)

To make it up, I tried to speak "our language" with my friend, as was requested by the crew, while they filmed us eating and having a good time. But we were almost drowned out by the Portuguese spoken by the two Brazilian women sitting at our table. They were pretty calm until they knew the camera was on. Then they started gesturing with their hands and spoke really loud. I hope me and my friend will be featured after the they edited the footage.

What the heck am I talking about? You will see when you watch the episode. I will probably update on this blog when that happens. Unfortunately the episode we just shot on Friday would be aired the next next season. Which means we would probably have to wait a year before it happens.

Hope the show doesn't get dropped before then!

My First Audience Work Experience

Yesterday I was at a major network studio for audience work.
In other words, sit at the audience section and watch while the show was filmed. It sounds like an easy job, just sitting and doing nothing more than clapping your hands... but then it wasn't, as I was later to find out.

As I arrived at the studio, I was worried about where I should go because it was such a big studio with lots of buildings and lots. But I spotted the check-in point right away when I saw a long line forming at one side of the parking lot. So I lined up at the very end. I was first approached by a guy who kept on asking the crowd, "do you have a cellphone?" and so naturally I said "yes." Then the casting assistant looking guy looks to the casting director guy and was like "wow she said yes". I was not expecting a "wow" because I own a cellphone. I contemplated the strange reaction until the girl at the check-in point said, "cellphones are not allowed. You have to put them in the car." Not even turned off in the bag? That was pretty strict. Luckily another casting assistant guy, Travis, said I could put the phone in his bag for the time being, which saved me a walk up flights of stairs to my car. Yay.

Finally checked-in, me and about 199 other extras waited in line outside a building. Yes there was at least 200 audience members. It was a major channel studio. As a major studio, surprisingly they treated us pretty bad.

First, we waited for 90 minutes in the lot because of delayed schedule. I got another bug bite on me! because we were sitting near a bush. And, there was no food, no drinks, only vending machines and water fountain. (Usually they have some food or drinks at a set, even for background actors).

After the loooong wait, we were finally placed in the studio. I was sitting in the audience seats, which might be a little better than the upstairs standing crowd, but not that much.
The show got started. My interest level was high for maybe one hour, and then it dropped way down. Why? The host was a very take-his-time type of laid back guy. He paused a lot and repeated the SAME THING 3 times in a row. The two yapping game contestants were trying to win X amount of money, and kept on yapping like two chihuahuas each time they lose or win. (Chihuahuas.. I am serious) They take forever to make any decision, and there were 10+ decisions they have to make. Plus the host kept on talking meaningless cr*p... all of this combined went on and on and on for..... more than 6 hours. No break for audience, almost no bathroom breaks (I didn't get to go), no food, no drinks allowed, no cellphones. Just sit and watch. It was such a torture. I was sitting in my seat and fidgeting like never before..never.. not even during my AP Chemistry class in high school.

Each time they win 1000 dollars or something we have to stand up and cheer and be "rowdy". "Be ROWDY!" says the stage manager guy. Oh fun.

Near the end of the show, not just me but most people in the audience were fidgeting and making sarcastic comments about the show or the host. Of course nobody can hear us because we don't have mics on us. We don't have no nothin'.(excuse the bad grammar, just trying to recreate the reality)

During the last round, the contestants could either take home the money or keep on going with the risk of losing all. And until now, us audience had been shouting out constructive/positive/reasonable comments like (choose X not Y!! choose Y because...!! etc) but we were so burned out in the last round we all just wanted to go home. So everyone started shouting "TAKE THE MONEY! TAKE THE MONEY!!" even though it might not be the wisest choice. I was shouting too. Take! the! money!! + whispering "we want to go home now.." and we even started counting down for them. The contestants kind of gave in under peer pressure and took the money. And THIS time we cheered like no other....

If they didn't take the money and chose to go on, and make us stay another hour, I am afraid a riot would break out right then. Just as the host said, "a show within a show." (He would have gotten his bottom kicked in the riot... And that would have been a better show :D)

Finally finally we got out. The night was dark already. Everyone was hungry because we didn't eat from 1:30pm to 9pm. At this point, I felt like I could dig the historical revolutions better. The French..the Russians... everybody.
Hunger is a formidable power.....

Waited in another line to get the paycheck, while staring up at the stars.
Finally I could go home.

Audience work. It sounds easy, but it is not. The less than $100 I earned today, that was some hard earned money. And a hard earned lesson...
no more audience work for a while.

Old school Japanese maid

This Monday I was at another shoot. It turned out to be one of my favorite projects so far. Why? It was a Japanese period piece, and everybody gets to dress up in a kimono! It was my first official kimono experience. I was excited.

So even though it was another student film again, and I am again doing the shoot pro bono, it was a well-rounded crew. I mean there was a whole wardrobe department with kimono experts to help us dress. It was an extremely complicated job, to put on a kimono. Even though I was only playing a non-speaking role, as the maid of the Lord, they had me in a kimono just as well. And a pretty pink one too! After they put the 3+ layers on me, i feel like I was going to faint.. The obi (belt) was so tight around my waist I could only use 50% of my lung capacity. It was like a corset for Japanese people. I was exclaiming in my mind, how do old time Japanese people do this everyday?

After I was dressed, I put on my geta-or Japanese sandals, and walks painfully to hang out with the other maids in the back while they shoot the other scenes. My hair was in a bun in the back of my head, making me look really old. The kimono limited my movements so I could only take tiny steps at a time and couldn't bend down without looking awkward. And, did you ask about bathrooms? Oh yes that was some fun experience... I am glad I am not an old school Japanese woman 100 years ago before they had jeans.

The samurai looking actor seemed to whisper to me something like I look pretty when I walked past him... But I was too shy to say anything I just hurried and scurried down the path like a squirrel and barely acknowledges him and stayed in character, like a good old Japanese girl would have done in the old times.

I waited for 3+ hours total before my little scene. But then that was not that bad.
I was in my kimono trance the whole time.

Finally it was my turn. The scene took place in a Japanese garden (in real life the one in Van Nuys) I was to try to take the plate from the princess because I was the servant. She would ignore me and walk past me. Then I would turn back after the princess and her maids were gone and stare at their backs in confusion. It doesn't sound like much, but looking at it from a Japanese aesthetics point of view, I think I can say that it was a single action that spoke a thousand words.

And in my mind's eye too it was a beautiful shot. Maybe something close to what I have always wanted to be able to portray on screen. Like THE moment in a film that would touch some hearts and stay in memories. I am glad I accomplished it so early in my acting career. Hope the final product turns out well.

I hope nothing was stuck in my hair and my lipstick didn't smudge!!

It took a while to take all the layers off me and put on my real life clothes. I was really catching a cold and I had a bug bite on my face :(

But I was happy.

My Student Film Experience

Yesterday I had a shoot at Santa Monica. I was to play an Asian gangster girl in a remake of Goodfellas.

The call time was 7:15AM. And on google maps it says it takes 30 minutes or so without traffic. So I left my house at 6:45 AM. It was already pretty nah for me, getting no pay for the project and at such an early time. But I was like, I am an actress, so this is part of my job, and tell myself to start driving. However, oh it was bad. I was stuck in traffic jam after traffic jam. I was not planning on so many cars out there at 7AM, both on the highway and off. I was going at 10-20 mph for-ever! the whole 20 some miles, and stopping so I don't run into that truck in front of me.
It ended up taking me 75 minutes. And on top of that, I was worried because I couldn't call in to tell them I would be late because I forgot my cellphone (a result of waking up too early). So I was stuck at 5mph and so frustrated and without breakfast.

When I finally got there, more than an hour later, they haven't started shooting yet! Yeah, I kind of expected that a little. Being a student film and all. But why the early call time??

So I take a deep breath and move on.

In the film, I am to be the cool bystander bartender. So I was just listening to the conversation going on before me and wait to deliver my one line, in which I am making a joke. After the joke we are supposed to all laugh. That morning, that first scene with my one line, they repeatedly shot at least 15 times. Over-the-shoulder shots, reaction shots, close-ups... two or three of each.
And the "laughter" just gets more and more awkward by the take. It was so dry. By the end, I was like OMG this is such a student film! while I go "hahaha".

Because we only had until 1pm, and they have used up 75% of their time on the first scene, they ran out of time to shoot the other scenes. So they made up an easy shortened whatever ending right on the spot. With me covering the dead body with a tablecloth and delivering a sort of punch-line with the word fuck in it. The end.

Even though it was not a particularly fun day, I thought it was a pretty good experience. And I can't wait to see the final product later. After all, how often do you get to be an Asian gangster and cover a "dead" body with a tablecloth and get fake blood on you?

I think that's the whole point.

My Unofficial Amateur Review of The Bicycle Thief

Today I watched The Bicycle Thief or Ladri di Biciclette (1948) by Vittorio De Sica. I have wanted to watch this film ever since my film history class, in which we watched films from Rosselini, Fellini (La Strada)...etc and this film always came up somewhere in the discussion. So today I finally watched it.

I have to say it quickly rose to one of my top favorites. I still couldn't believe that I cried at the very end. Ok I have to backtrack first. At first it was just another black-and-white Italian film for me. I can still remember the segment that my professor showed us about how de sica, and many of the Neorealist directors, would sometimes move the camera away from the main characters and instead follows random background characters even while the main actors are talking. It was interesting.

And then when the father realizes that his son was more important than the bicycle and he brought the son to a restaurant to eat, that was heartwarming and I thought it would be a good wrapping-up, if it were a Hollywood film. But then the father still somehow insisted on getting a bicycle, to the point that he tried to steal one. Then, when he got caught and was released because the crying son won over the crowd, the camera focused on his hand holding tight onto the son's hand. But that wasn't heartwarming this time. Dad had done a shameful thing, and the son shared the shame as well. The real thief (who was the cause of this whole mess) got no blame and the helpless who turned into a thief out of necessity got all the blame. There IS no hope. Tears just welled up to my eyes at that point. I think I was probably relating to the son. But then the two just looked so hopeless that I got a little depressed myself.

I can read that the director was trying to say that there was no hope for Italy. Because it was during the war when the film was made?
But then I think the hopelessness also would apply to many other countries, even nowadays. I even felt somehow the hopelessness of mankind. And sensing that at the end of the film just made me so sad.

But I have to say the little boy in the film is such a good actor! He gets lots of props for making this film so moving. Sometimes he makes us laugh and other times makes us cry. He is just so adorable AND heartbreaking.

Anyway I can rant on forever... But I will stop here. I think I will watch something totally different now. I want to believe that life is full of color and it's not so bad to be a human being after all.

News from Hollywood

Oh wow it's been years since I last updated this blog! sorry blog!


Just an update, recently I have been getting into acting! Just because.. I am living in LA you know, so why not? and as an in-between thing while I search for the next internship/job/destination. But it is also a prolongation of a passion I have had since my high school years. Believe it or not, I was a drama kid for 3 years of my high school life. Yeah I think few would believe me.. But I used to be in our class acts and what not. Good old days...

So, so far I have only been in a few projects as extras. I can't wait until those movies/music videos are released and some random friend would call me up and say, I saw you in that _______ movie I just saw! you were dancing like a monkey in the back right??? :D Never mind I hope no one finds out, ever!

The most interesting project I did has to be the zombie one. Yes I got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to become a zombie once. For a short film. You know it isn't too often that one gets to become a zombie. I had a professional Hollywood make-up artist do a professional make-up for me, and by the end my face was so grotesque I didn't want to believe that it was really my face. And I had bulging bumps on my arm, thanks to the silicon prop he stuck on me. The down side was I had to sit on the chair for almost 2 hours for him to perfect my zombie transformation. Oh well the end result was insanely beautiful it made everything ok.

Yes let's hope my next project is more normal :)