Season 6
Episodes 1 - 4
Per the usual, the beginning of these new seasons, the writers set up more questions than answers from the cliffhanger ending of Season 5. Where do all the girls end up? Well, they're all over the place, but thankfully the focus is on the ones that were in the pool area first.
All Piper cares about is Alex, where's Alex, where's Alex, and she's already annoying by the fourth episode and no longer needed as part of this story. Alex was sent to the hospital as her arm was broken last season and they're reunited. (I hope this gets less attention than the other stories.)
The real focus is on who is getting blamed for the death of Piscatella as the guards that accidentally shot him set up the pool area to make it look like he was killed by the inmates, so they're all in Max awaiting questioning by the district attorney. They want to squash this in a week to prevent other prisons from rioting.
Suzanne and Cindy witness this happening as they weren't captured until later, but Cindy keeps her mouth shut and Suzanne is off her meds. The best part is getting to see what Suzanne sees when she's off her meds. It's a little frustrating because as the audience we want answers, but it was entertaining none the less.
Diaz is getting the brunt of the punishment as she shot the one guard at the beginning of Season 5 and I think he ended up dying, but it wasn't her fault if I remember correctly as the meth heads killed him. They have not been featured as of yet so we don't know where they are.
Red and Nicky's storylines are a bit intertwined once again as Red clearly wanted Piscatella dead for torturing her and the other girls so a lot of blame is put on her as well as Taystee for organizing the riots. It's implied that Red takes the brunt of the blame to help Nicky not get 70 more years for dealing drugs during the riot.
It's interesting to see which girls turn on each other to save their own skins. We get more background on Cindy before prison and that she actually has a son. We see a young Frieda make a deal and ending up burning some bridges in the process. She's safe, for the time being, in cell block B affectionately called Florida as that's where all the old inmates end up.
We also see Lorna, Flaca, Blanca, and Ruiz. Eventually all the girls in the pool area that were in Max are released to Gen Pop save for Red and Taystee. They're probably screwed. The DA has a white board and I think they may be getting LIFE in prison, while 4-5 other girls are getting 10 years added on to their sentence. Big Boo is seen for a hot minute as one of the blocks is suffering from a lice outbreak. Zirconia as well.
Meanwhile, in the outside world we have Pennsatucky hanging out with the one guard who is her love interest and another random heavy guard who was supposed to be dropped off at his sister's but they all end up hanging out at Hershey Park.
Aledia Diaz appears to be getting into the supplement business.
Caputo is on paid leave, but wants back in.
Figueroa is currently interim warden.
Some of the other guards like Luschek are back by the 4th episode, and they will be playing a Fantasy Football esque game with the new group of guards, but with the inmates lives instead. They get points on things like inmate fights, relapses, deaths, etc.
Haven't seen Norma, Gina, Yoga Jones, Sophia, Brook, Ramos. Don't know if they'll get a mention or be shown later this season. This show is probably worse than GOT with all the characters and which ones get the focus, which ones get the backstory that pertains to what is happening. It's very confusing and I'm a little lost, but just going on the ride one episode at a time.
Episodes 5 & 6
Mischief Mischief & State of the Uterus
Sophia finally makes an appearance and is given a few lines. The best new character is the Jamaican lady. The writers are giving her a lot of funny quips to enhance a scene.
Caputo is stuck taking a job in Missouri, but with the way things are going for Linda Ferguson (Beth Dover) and Figueroa not giving a shit, she may change her mind on shipping him away and giving him his shit show back, but just a guess/speculation on my part.
Pennsatucky turns herself in after they finally found out that Caputo had the count wrong which is good because she needs to get away from that guard who is quick to anger. I wonder if this is the last we'll see of her or if she'll get grouped with the rest of the girls and added back into the story.
Unfortunately, we get more Piper whining and Alex telling her to shut up and care less, yet again, just like last season.
We learn more about the "Daddy" character, but unfortunately it feels like we're getting only some of her story in the flash backs, and they never flesh out the whole story. The writers show what her life was like before being incarcerated, but we never see the "event" and I remember that being an issue with past seasons. The writers give you a little taste, but then don't complete the arc. I guess you just have to assume what happens next and fill in the blanks.
Red takes the plea and adds 10 years to her time while Taystee is fighting against the murder charge. To her surprise, and mine, the Black Lives matter and ACLU group have her support and plan on putting a legal team together for her. She's released into Gen Pop and things are looking up for now before we head into the back half of the season.
Episodes 7 & 8
Changing Winds & Gordons
While Changing Winds focus was on Badison, an annoying new character that thinks very highly of herself, Gordons puts the focus on Taystee and I like that they introduced a guard character this season that was friends with a person in the real world before she became an inmate. The end of the episode as they walk their separate ways after working 3rd shift at a fast food restaurant was a small reminder of the different paths we take in life and where they can lead.
Pennsatucky aka Doggett, who I thought we wouldn't see for a while after she turned herself in, popped up right away and got herself out of Ad Seg and into Florida pulling the right strings with Linda Ferguson.
Caputo and Figueroa go on a real final date, but a connection actually sparks and Figueroa becomes sad that he's leaving. I really like her line that Bruce Springsteen may be the boss, but he's not the boss of me.
Red spots Frieda in Cell Block B aka Florida and this drives her crazy. It ultimately brings her on Carol's radar - the lady who runs D Block and was betrayed by Frieda 30 years ago. They appear to form an alliance. By the way, Carol's sister Barbara runs C Block and I think has only had one scene so far. Badison works for Carol while Daddy works for Barb where Daddy is getting most of the screen time. A war is starting to brew and we got a hint of it during a kickball game flashback earlier in the season. Piper finds old kickball photos and wants Luschek to organize a game.
Speaking of Luschek, he's bringing in cell phones for Badison and is trying to rope Alex in as well. The character is fighting because she doesn't want to be involved. Not sure why Badison wants Alex so badly, as she's not easily manipulated, which is more reason while Alex and Piper should be written off, but I highly doubt they will be.
Speaking of being written off, it's time to end the Diaz storylines. Dayanara continues to create more problems like a child, and Aledia continues to push her vitamin product out in the real world and is now getting involved with one of the guards. I just don't care. Give me a more interesting storyline.
Episodes 9-13
Things get a little more interesting with the drug trafficking in the prison as Aledia uses her boyfriend and main guard Hopper as a drug mule to sneak the drugs into the prison creating a secret compartment under her giant tubs of vitamin product that he was using. Hopper eventually figures it out, confronts Aledia and they have a huge fight which results in their breakup. Surprisingly, he amends things with her and voluntarily continues to bring in the drugs. Aledia later realizes that Daya is using instead of just distributing. In a rare moment of seeing Aledia show some humanity, it's clear that she has a dilemma. How is she supposed to make money and get her kids out of foster care while her other daughter continues to use said drugs that are supposed to be helping her not hurting those she cares about? Aledia can stop bringing in drugs right then and there as she has Hopper's support to do so, but she makes the decision to not stop as it's worth the cost of one daughter to save her other kids. Really powerful stuff and even though the storyline was convoluted and a little annoying how it got to that point, the pay off was excellent.
Speaking of powerful payoff, the culmination of the entire season was the kickball game - C Block verses D Block - Carol verses Barb. Tensions were high throughout the entire season - filled with retaliation, shifting alliances, information exchanges or lack there of and it was finally time for the big game. Everyone was armed with a shank of some sort. But then the big reveal - Carol and Barb weren't even going to participate. They devised a plan when put in the Ad Seg together as the one guard was trying to get fantasy inmate points. The plan - during the chaos of the game as guards escorted inmates back to their cells, the ladies, in their pink uniforms would waltz right into Florida and dispatch of Frieda. As shit was about to hit the fan during the kickball game, and they were given the signal to attack, the attack never came. They got wrapped up in the game and started having fun. Before the game began, Ruiz had asked the one female guard who was suffering from the PTSD from the riot last season, to mix up the Blocks. She reluctantly did and it helped prevent a situation. Unfortunately for Carol and Barb, who were off hiding, realized something wasn't right, they ran out of patience and killed each other, Carol getting shanked in the back and Barb having her neck slit. (The guard who put them together in the first place ended up wining fantasy inmate for earning double points due to the double murder.)
Speaking of fantasy inmate, Mendoza found Luschek's paperwork concerning the game and tried to out him and the other guards on the radio show with Flaca as Cindy was having guilt pains with the whole Taystee situation. Mendoza didn't get a chance to out him and was put in the SHU. Red was also put in the SHU when she got a chance to attack Frieda as Red was on the way to visitation to see her grandchildren for the first time and Frieda was on her way back from the courthouse. Red never got to see her grandchildren as she put her hatred for Frieda above everything else. Very powerful scene.
Speaking of court, Taystee was ultimately found guilty for the 2nd degree murder of Piscatella. It was very well done as the jury chairperson was about to read the verdict, the audio went silent and we just saw reactions, first of Taystee just loosing it emotionally and her being cuffed and taken away. I thought she was dreaming at first because I was surprised there wasn't a sentencing hearing, but I guess that'll happen at another date. The crowd freaks out which Taystee's one childhood friend/guard in attendance as well as Caputo. Caputa gets drunk and shows up at an MCC event where Figueroa takes care of him.
Lastly, in a surprising turn of events, 25 inmates were getting an early release. The new character Badison was trying to get Chapman more time by planting drugs on her. Chapman turns the drugs over to Hopper and promises to keep an eye out for any illegal activity. Unbeknownst to her, Hopper is running that activity, and he manipulates a new inmate rating system to put her on top of the list. Surprisingly she actually gets out. Her and Alex have there prison wedding and they get their happy ending for now even though the tension of the kickball game loomed. Sophia Burset also gets out, but earlier in the season when Caputo came to her to ask for her help to sue MCC for her wrongful treatment, she takes a payout so I believe her story is done.
The third person to get released is Blanca. She gets her period that day so her attempt to get pregnant didn't work, but she's able to contact Diablo and tell him the news that they get to try for real. In probably the sadest twist of the season, as she's processed and released, she's taken into custody by ICE. She begins to cry and the audience is shown Diablo at the main entrance with a boquet of flowers, looking for Blanca as everyone else is being released. I didn't care about Piper and her brother's reunion or Sophia and her wife's reunion at all. It was overshadowed by what happened to Blanca. I did like Piper's brother's line of "Let's get out of here before they chance their mind." Before going to the car, Piper was able to look at the kickball game through the fence and saw them all having fun before the episode ended.
Honorable mention: Sophia had a moment with Frieda when quoting a famous author about being free and seeing the sky. Frieda made a point that she can't see the sky because they're not free. Frieda when gets a chance to go outside during the kickball game to actually see the sky, but because of the attempt on her life earlier in the season by one of Carol's people, she chose to stay inside, unbeknownst to her that she could actually go outside as no harm would come to her. So in the end, Sophia was right that freedom is a state of mind as in Frieda's own mind she could not go outside because the threat of death due to the sins of her past. I appreciated the message that the show was attempting to get across in this instance.
***
This season feels on par with the others. It's not super clear where things are going at first, but eventually everything comes to light. Sometimes that journey is hard and annoying; sometimes that journey is easy, fun, and engaging. You care about certain people along the way and not so much about others. The writers don't disappoint in surprises and twists. I know the show has been officially renewed for at least one more season and I will definitely be tuning in to see where the writers and actors take us.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Mission: Impossible - Fallout [2018] Non-Spoiler Review
Mission: Impossible - Fallout (aka M:I-6) was actually quite enjoyable. I found myself holding my breath at certain parts, and I loved the audience getting into it and cheering at the good parts. It currently has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 98%, and it had a stellar box office weekend. There were a lot of clever call backs to previous installments, so if you're very familiar with the series or you watched a recap video of all five movies (Screen Junkies has a good one) then you'll definitely find something to enjoy about this film. I would recommend being very familiar with Rogue Nation most of all as Fallout feels like a direct sequel that was set up with the events of the previous movie - specifically the Syndicate organization, its leader, and other characters that survived the movie.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Blockers [2018] Non-Spoiler Review
I didn't expect this movie to be good. I was mostly right, but I will admit that I did find myself laughing at certain parts. John Cena is great, his male co-star Ike Barinholtz gets a few good lines, and Leslie Mann is a mess. Speaking of messes, so is the plot. I'll do my best to avoid spoilers, but the general plot is that these three parents attempt to stop their respective daughters from fulfilling their prom night sex pact. It's a similar premise to 1999's "American Pie", except the focus is primarily on the parents. But then the movie tries to focus on the girls and make us care about what they're going through personally, but by the time the movie gets going, it forgot to establish the characters and make us care about them at the beginning of the movie. You get sprinkles of information here and there as you go, but I never found myself caring about either set of characters. The parents don't even like each other, so how is the audience supposed to like them or root for them?
There is some heart at parts especially towards the end of the film. Sadly, when a certain parent's motivation is revealed, during that heartfelt moment, it falls on deaf ears and the scene is played for a comedic response. It appears to be a common thing as many have griped about this same thing happening in recent Marvel movies.
I do not recommend this movie as it will be forgotten as quickly as other comedy related movies over the past few years. If you do decide to give it a shot and go in with low expectations, you may be pleasantly surprised, but the movie couldn't really keep my attention.
Honorable mention: Gideon Adlon, daughter of Pamela Adlon, gave the most believable performance
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle [2017] review
So I finally got around to watching this for the first time and I will say that it wasn't completely horrible. I did find myself laughing at Jack Black mostly and Kevin Hart a little. They both did a good job of embodying the real life people they represented. The Rock and Nebula did a good job as well, except their real life characters had little to no personality so it would have been nice to see them embrace their avatar more than they actually did. Most of the time it felt like they embraced their avatar when the script said to. It didn't feel real or organic, mostly haphazard.
The story was on the weak side and the CGI makes Black Panther's CGI look like a masterpiece. The movie is slow to start as it has to set up the young characters and how Jumanji is now a video game and not a board game.
I did like the concept of the NPC characters in the video game that repeat themselves over and over again just like they would in a real video game, unfortunately that left all the heavy lifting concerning acting to a weak underdeveloped villain. The whole time it felt like there weren't any stakes save for the stupid way they lost their lives - they each have three lives established by three hash marks on their arm - and we never got to see what happens when you game over.
Spoiler alert - they get out of the video game and small the console with a bowling ball. I was hoping for a little stinger at the end of the credits, but all you hear is the ominous drum beat when something bad is about to happen so if the board game can magically transform into a video game, I'm sure a smashed one can transform into something else. (At the time of this review, I just read that Jumanji 2 has been greenlit for a December 2019 release, so it's definitely coming back.)
Lastly, I did like that the characters were staying in the same hut that Alan Parrish stayed in when he was trapped in the jungle in the original Jumanji. It was a nice little touch, but since the characters didn't and wouldn't know who that was, it would be a throw away line for anyone not familiar with the original.
So is it worth a watch? If you're curious enought, you've probably seen it by now, but if you haven't, I wouldn't spend more than a Redbox rental amount on it.
The story was on the weak side and the CGI makes Black Panther's CGI look like a masterpiece. The movie is slow to start as it has to set up the young characters and how Jumanji is now a video game and not a board game.
I did like the concept of the NPC characters in the video game that repeat themselves over and over again just like they would in a real video game, unfortunately that left all the heavy lifting concerning acting to a weak underdeveloped villain. The whole time it felt like there weren't any stakes save for the stupid way they lost their lives - they each have three lives established by three hash marks on their arm - and we never got to see what happens when you game over.
Spoiler alert - they get out of the video game and small the console with a bowling ball. I was hoping for a little stinger at the end of the credits, but all you hear is the ominous drum beat when something bad is about to happen so if the board game can magically transform into a video game, I'm sure a smashed one can transform into something else. (At the time of this review, I just read that Jumanji 2 has been greenlit for a December 2019 release, so it's definitely coming back.)
Lastly, I did like that the characters were staying in the same hut that Alan Parrish stayed in when he was trapped in the jungle in the original Jumanji. It was a nice little touch, but since the characters didn't and wouldn't know who that was, it would be a throw away line for anyone not familiar with the original.
So is it worth a watch? If you're curious enought, you've probably seen it by now, but if you haven't, I wouldn't spend more than a Redbox rental amount on it.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Reminiscence Therapy - She's Out of My League - My Two Day Experience
Below is an account of my experience after returning home from my two day shoot of She's Out of My League. I put it on my personal website under the "News" section back in 2008. Re-reading it now, I put WAY too much detail, but I'm kind of glad I did and I'm glad I wrote it while it was still fresh in my mind.
At the time of the writing of this recap of events, I wasn't even sure I would survive the cutting room floor. I joked with my friends that maybe they would cut me and re-shoot with Chuck Norris. It wasn't until early 2010 when trailers started appearing and I saw myself in them that I had a pretty good feeling that I made the cut. I saw the entire scene for the first time in the theater, on March 12, 2010, with the rest of the world and a large group of my friends. It was so surreal.
05/08/2008 She's Out of My League
This is the story of my two day shoot in Pittsburgh for the Dreamworks picture, "She's Out of My League", directed by Jim Field Smith, and starring actors (to name a few) Krysten Ritter, Jay Baruchel, T.J. Miller, and Alice Eve.
On Tuesday, May 06, 2008, I woke up at 5:15 AM. After the morning routine and last minute packing, I left the house a little before 6:00 AM.
After two quick stops at two different Sheetz', one for gas, and one for a water and a honey bun, I arrived at the shoot in Pittsburgh, specifically in Braddock, PA around 10:15 AM. I parked near the white tent as I was instructed.
By 10:30 AM, I filled out the necessary paper work to make sure I get paid. I was told to bring three outfits. I wore my suit and brought two other casual outfits that some lady looked at. She chose my second outfit, but ultimately, I didn't need it. Once that was taken care of, I was told to have a seat. While seated I took a rough count and there were definitely more than 50 extras there, so I estimated around 75 – 100 of us total. There might have been more since some were filming at the time.
My call time of 11:00 AM came and went and lunch was served at 12:00 PM. I grabbed some lunch and chatted with some of the other extras. A lot of them had call times of 5 AM and hadn't been in a single scene yet. At this point, I figured that I'd be getting paid to do nothing all day. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Very shortly after lunch, around 1:00 PM, a gentleman with a radio came into the tent and grabbed me and two other extras in suits. He walked the three of us to the set. We stood and waited outside the airplane mockup.
Within moments, the director, Jim Field Smith, walked out of the plane and looked at the three of us. He whispered to the gentleman with the radio and walked away. The gentleman walked towards the three of us and asked the two extras standing next to me to hang back. The gentleman asked me my name and took me onto the plane. There I met the assistant director named Richard. We shook hands and he told me that I'd be playing the part of "business man". I said ok and sat in the seat where the business man would be sitting – seat 10A.
I noticed that in rows in front of me, diagonally to me, and to the side of me were filled with people with matching sweatshirts. I didn't recognize any of them as the actors. I saw that they had two names written on a piece of tape on their sweatshirts. After they were dismissed and the actors came in, I realized that they were the stand-ins.
So the actors came in; the director spoke to them, and then the assistant director Richard spoke to the extras. That's the way it was. The director doesn't direct the extras; that's the assistant's job.
So we filmed a scene with the camera to our fronts, and then to our backs, while the actors did their thing. The scene was T.J. trying to get Jay off the plane because he's not with the girl he's supposed to be with. Jay says that's he's with Lindsay and her family now and that's that. T.J. gets taken off the plane by the pilot and the scene ends. So there's a good chance you'll see me in some of those scenes in the background. They gave me an organizer so it will appear that I'm taking notes if I'm seen.
After a couple of takes the unneeded extras are sent back to their base camp - the white tent. We waited there until we are needed. A few of us were called to set around 5:00 PM, but when we got there, it was decided that we weren't needed for the shot, so I waited off to the side, just in case. I wasn't used for the rest of that day.
Dinner was supplied at 5:30 PM. First class passengers were on the plane, and they got dinner (pizza) when they were done filming the last scene of the day which was done at 7:00 PM.
The casting agency had us line up so they could sign our paper work from the beginning of the day. We were told to show up at 6:30 AM tomorrow.
After getting our sheet signed, I left the shoot and arrived to the Days Inn in Monroeville around 7:30 PM. I checked in, got my room, relaxed and hit the hay at 10 PM after watching some free HBO and checking my e-mail on the free wireless internet.
On Wednesday, May 07, 2008, I woke up at 5:00 AM. I got showered, dressed, and then packed up all my belongings. I checked out of the hotel around 5:45 AM.
I got to the shoot at 6:10 AM, and got the necessary paperwork once again so I would get paid for the day. I was happy to see that breakfast was provided.
Around 7:00 AM, they called for the first class passenger extras, and shortly after they called for the extras in rows 11 and lower. Since I was in seat 10A, I made my way to the set.
We were filming the scene after the blow up between T.J., Jay, and the pilot from yesterday. Jay sits back down after the blowup and Lindsay starts talking. He decides that T.J. was right and he needs to get off the plane.
Jay stands up and gives a little speech. The camera is behind us facing him. He tells all the actors in sweatshirts "Fuck you" individually, except for the mom character. While flipping them off, he says, "Fuck you, random business guy" and proceeds to flip me off. Then apologizes quickly and proceeds to tell Lindsay "Fuck you" and then tries to get off the plane. They won't let him off because they already closed the doors. So Jay has to come back and sit down with all the people he just told off. Then the scene ended.
Needless to say, I thought that it was pretty awesome that my character of businessman gets caught in the line of fire. The back of my head will probably be seen with all the actors looking at me at some point in the scene. I wondered if they'd do some shots from the front, but they didn't at the time.
We finished shooting that scene a little after 9:15 AM. All the extras headed back to base camp. We waited to be called again.
At 11:00 AM they called for ALL EXTRAS to fill the plane. Everyone came to the set, and they filmed a quick scene where everyone had to deplane because of a problem with baggage. Jay rushes out and Lindsay follows behind him while we all shuffle about and react. We did that a couple of times over and over again. Finally, at 1:00 PM, we broke for lunch.
Shortly after lunch, around 2:00 PM, we all got called back to the set. We all got on the plane, and the extras that weren't needed were asked to step off. I spent the rest of the day on the plane.
They took reaction shots of the parent actors and the other actors from the scene where Jay tells everyone off. Then, to my surprise, they took reaction shots of me. The makeup people came on the plane and put makeup on me. Then Jim Field Smith, the director, provided me with direction, while Jay said his line off screen. I heard Jim laughing at the monitor on the camera when I did my reactions. I did a confused look, like what did I do type of thing. We did that about 5 or 6 times. Jim told me to do a couple looking mad and I did. It was freakin' awesome.
After doing a few more reaction shots of Lindsay and Jay, we had finished all the scenes for the plane at 4:30 PM. Shooting had rapped for the day and we were dismissed.
When I got outside, extras were waiting in a line to get their paperwork signed. They had Arby's for us to eat for dinner. I got changed, gave my prop back to Jesse, the prop guy, got my paperwork signed and grab some roast beef sandwiches for the road.
I stopped at Sheetz for gas ($3.65/gal) and proceeded back to Bloomsburg. I got home around 8:30 PM and thus my trip ended. It was a really cool experience, and if the scene doesn't get cut or edited, there's a really good chance that you'll see my mug on the big screen in 2009.
At the time of the writing of this recap of events, I wasn't even sure I would survive the cutting room floor. I joked with my friends that maybe they would cut me and re-shoot with Chuck Norris. It wasn't until early 2010 when trailers started appearing and I saw myself in them that I had a pretty good feeling that I made the cut. I saw the entire scene for the first time in the theater, on March 12, 2010, with the rest of the world and a large group of my friends. It was so surreal.
05/08/2008 She's Out of My League
This is the story of my two day shoot in Pittsburgh for the Dreamworks picture, "She's Out of My League", directed by Jim Field Smith, and starring actors (to name a few) Krysten Ritter, Jay Baruchel, T.J. Miller, and Alice Eve.
On Tuesday, May 06, 2008, I woke up at 5:15 AM. After the morning routine and last minute packing, I left the house a little before 6:00 AM.
After two quick stops at two different Sheetz', one for gas, and one for a water and a honey bun, I arrived at the shoot in Pittsburgh, specifically in Braddock, PA around 10:15 AM. I parked near the white tent as I was instructed.
By 10:30 AM, I filled out the necessary paper work to make sure I get paid. I was told to bring three outfits. I wore my suit and brought two other casual outfits that some lady looked at. She chose my second outfit, but ultimately, I didn't need it. Once that was taken care of, I was told to have a seat. While seated I took a rough count and there were definitely more than 50 extras there, so I estimated around 75 – 100 of us total. There might have been more since some were filming at the time.
My call time of 11:00 AM came and went and lunch was served at 12:00 PM. I grabbed some lunch and chatted with some of the other extras. A lot of them had call times of 5 AM and hadn't been in a single scene yet. At this point, I figured that I'd be getting paid to do nothing all day. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Very shortly after lunch, around 1:00 PM, a gentleman with a radio came into the tent and grabbed me and two other extras in suits. He walked the three of us to the set. We stood and waited outside the airplane mockup.
Within moments, the director, Jim Field Smith, walked out of the plane and looked at the three of us. He whispered to the gentleman with the radio and walked away. The gentleman walked towards the three of us and asked the two extras standing next to me to hang back. The gentleman asked me my name and took me onto the plane. There I met the assistant director named Richard. We shook hands and he told me that I'd be playing the part of "business man". I said ok and sat in the seat where the business man would be sitting – seat 10A.
I noticed that in rows in front of me, diagonally to me, and to the side of me were filled with people with matching sweatshirts. I didn't recognize any of them as the actors. I saw that they had two names written on a piece of tape on their sweatshirts. After they were dismissed and the actors came in, I realized that they were the stand-ins.
So the actors came in; the director spoke to them, and then the assistant director Richard spoke to the extras. That's the way it was. The director doesn't direct the extras; that's the assistant's job.
So we filmed a scene with the camera to our fronts, and then to our backs, while the actors did their thing. The scene was T.J. trying to get Jay off the plane because he's not with the girl he's supposed to be with. Jay says that's he's with Lindsay and her family now and that's that. T.J. gets taken off the plane by the pilot and the scene ends. So there's a good chance you'll see me in some of those scenes in the background. They gave me an organizer so it will appear that I'm taking notes if I'm seen.
After a couple of takes the unneeded extras are sent back to their base camp - the white tent. We waited there until we are needed. A few of us were called to set around 5:00 PM, but when we got there, it was decided that we weren't needed for the shot, so I waited off to the side, just in case. I wasn't used for the rest of that day.
Dinner was supplied at 5:30 PM. First class passengers were on the plane, and they got dinner (pizza) when they were done filming the last scene of the day which was done at 7:00 PM.
The casting agency had us line up so they could sign our paper work from the beginning of the day. We were told to show up at 6:30 AM tomorrow.
After getting our sheet signed, I left the shoot and arrived to the Days Inn in Monroeville around 7:30 PM. I checked in, got my room, relaxed and hit the hay at 10 PM after watching some free HBO and checking my e-mail on the free wireless internet.
On Wednesday, May 07, 2008, I woke up at 5:00 AM. I got showered, dressed, and then packed up all my belongings. I checked out of the hotel around 5:45 AM.
I got to the shoot at 6:10 AM, and got the necessary paperwork once again so I would get paid for the day. I was happy to see that breakfast was provided.
Around 7:00 AM, they called for the first class passenger extras, and shortly after they called for the extras in rows 11 and lower. Since I was in seat 10A, I made my way to the set.
We were filming the scene after the blow up between T.J., Jay, and the pilot from yesterday. Jay sits back down after the blowup and Lindsay starts talking. He decides that T.J. was right and he needs to get off the plane.
Jay stands up and gives a little speech. The camera is behind us facing him. He tells all the actors in sweatshirts "Fuck you" individually, except for the mom character. While flipping them off, he says, "Fuck you, random business guy" and proceeds to flip me off. Then apologizes quickly and proceeds to tell Lindsay "Fuck you" and then tries to get off the plane. They won't let him off because they already closed the doors. So Jay has to come back and sit down with all the people he just told off. Then the scene ended.
Needless to say, I thought that it was pretty awesome that my character of businessman gets caught in the line of fire. The back of my head will probably be seen with all the actors looking at me at some point in the scene. I wondered if they'd do some shots from the front, but they didn't at the time.
We finished shooting that scene a little after 9:15 AM. All the extras headed back to base camp. We waited to be called again.
At 11:00 AM they called for ALL EXTRAS to fill the plane. Everyone came to the set, and they filmed a quick scene where everyone had to deplane because of a problem with baggage. Jay rushes out and Lindsay follows behind him while we all shuffle about and react. We did that a couple of times over and over again. Finally, at 1:00 PM, we broke for lunch.
Shortly after lunch, around 2:00 PM, we all got called back to the set. We all got on the plane, and the extras that weren't needed were asked to step off. I spent the rest of the day on the plane.
They took reaction shots of the parent actors and the other actors from the scene where Jay tells everyone off. Then, to my surprise, they took reaction shots of me. The makeup people came on the plane and put makeup on me. Then Jim Field Smith, the director, provided me with direction, while Jay said his line off screen. I heard Jim laughing at the monitor on the camera when I did my reactions. I did a confused look, like what did I do type of thing. We did that about 5 or 6 times. Jim told me to do a couple looking mad and I did. It was freakin' awesome.
After doing a few more reaction shots of Lindsay and Jay, we had finished all the scenes for the plane at 4:30 PM. Shooting had rapped for the day and we were dismissed.
When I got outside, extras were waiting in a line to get their paperwork signed. They had Arby's for us to eat for dinner. I got changed, gave my prop back to Jesse, the prop guy, got my paperwork signed and grab some roast beef sandwiches for the road.
I stopped at Sheetz for gas ($3.65/gal) and proceeded back to Bloomsburg. I got home around 8:30 PM and thus my trip ended. It was a really cool experience, and if the scene doesn't get cut or edited, there's a really good chance that you'll see my mug on the big screen in 2009.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
STAR WARS TAG & BINK WERE HERE #1 [2018] spoiler synopsis
This Legends Star Wars story details the adventures of Tag and Bink, two rebels who end up intertwined with the canon events of the Star Wars movies. These stories originate back to the Dark Horse comic days, which is extremely evident when they show the Dark Horse logo in lights in the shadow of the Death Star. It has a lot of humor, but it's a little campy.
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1 - "Episode IV.1: Tag and Bink are Dead"
The opening crawl is very meta talking about Episode II being months away, so it appears this was released sometime in late 2001, early 2002. Tag and Bink are Rebel officers on the Tantive IV. They dress as stormtroopers and end up on the Death Star. Their adventures coincide with the main adventure in a clever way. They appear to be the two gunners with Darth Vader at the final battle and somehow survive.
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #2 - "Episode IV.: Tag and Bink Live"
Again, we get another meta opening crawl and a meta moment where the writer draws himself in to explain a plot twist. It it revealed that Tag & Bink weren't the gunners after all; they took a different route and actually steal the shuttle Tydirium. They end up back on Yavin after everyone is gone, run into Boba Fett, and then head to Cloud City before our heroes get there. Chaos erupts on Cloud City like in the movie, and they escape. They give the shuttle to Mon Montha and then Boba Fett's ship shows up and it ends.
Next we get the Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here TPB (2006) cover art which collected these stories back in 2006 by Dark Horse. Now that Star Wars is owned by Disney, it's just them republishing it under the Marvel banner.
Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1 - "Episode VI.1: The Return of Tag and Bink -- Special Edition"
The opening crawl mentions that the writers were given an opportunity to write a third part of their adventure in Star Wars Tales #12, but due to deadlines, had to submit what they had and they weren't pleased with it, so this story is an attempt to fix their "grievous" wrong.
The story is intertwined, you guessed it, with Return of the Jedi. It start before the events of Jedi with Tag & Bink partnering with Lando to get information from Boba Fett on the location of Han. Tag ends up dressed as Boba and Bink as the guy who shoots Luke in the hand on Jabba's sail barge. Boba Fett's ex-girlfriend Kannen saves them. She puts them in contact with Manny Both-hanz. Then they end up on the Death Star disguised as the Emperor's Royal Guards. They end up blowing up with the Death Star and end up Force Ghosts
Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #2 - "Tag and Bink Episode I: "Revenge of the Clone Menace
We get the prequel backstory of Tag and Bink being told to Anakin by Palpatine during the Darth Plagueis the Wise story where they were identified as Jedi and end up being trained by Yoda and intertwining with the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. They survive the purge as they were friends with Anakin, and end up going to Tatooine in the end, where they eventually join the Rebellion and well, you know the rest now.
Star Wars Tales #12 - "The Revenge of Tag & Bink"
Starts off very similar to the special edition, except they never make it on the sail barge. They end up in the Sarlacc Pit, tied to a long stick that ends up getting caught. Later on, others end up falling in as well as Boba Fett, they grab his jet pack and somehow save themselves and Boba. The issue ends there.
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #1 - "Episode IV.1: Tag and Bink are Dead"
The opening crawl is very meta talking about Episode II being months away, so it appears this was released sometime in late 2001, early 2002. Tag and Bink are Rebel officers on the Tantive IV. They dress as stormtroopers and end up on the Death Star. Their adventures coincide with the main adventure in a clever way. They appear to be the two gunners with Darth Vader at the final battle and somehow survive.
Star Wars: Tag & Bink Are Dead #2 - "Episode IV.: Tag and Bink Live"
Again, we get another meta opening crawl and a meta moment where the writer draws himself in to explain a plot twist. It it revealed that Tag & Bink weren't the gunners after all; they took a different route and actually steal the shuttle Tydirium. They end up back on Yavin after everyone is gone, run into Boba Fett, and then head to Cloud City before our heroes get there. Chaos erupts on Cloud City like in the movie, and they escape. They give the shuttle to Mon Montha and then Boba Fett's ship shows up and it ends.
Next we get the Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here TPB (2006) cover art which collected these stories back in 2006 by Dark Horse. Now that Star Wars is owned by Disney, it's just them republishing it under the Marvel banner.
Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #1 - "Episode VI.1: The Return of Tag and Bink -- Special Edition"
The opening crawl mentions that the writers were given an opportunity to write a third part of their adventure in Star Wars Tales #12, but due to deadlines, had to submit what they had and they weren't pleased with it, so this story is an attempt to fix their "grievous" wrong.
The story is intertwined, you guessed it, with Return of the Jedi. It start before the events of Jedi with Tag & Bink partnering with Lando to get information from Boba Fett on the location of Han. Tag ends up dressed as Boba and Bink as the guy who shoots Luke in the hand on Jabba's sail barge. Boba Fett's ex-girlfriend Kannen saves them. She puts them in contact with Manny Both-hanz. Then they end up on the Death Star disguised as the Emperor's Royal Guards. They end up blowing up with the Death Star and end up Force Ghosts
Star Wars: Tag & Bink II #2 - "Tag and Bink Episode I: "Revenge of the Clone Menace
We get the prequel backstory of Tag and Bink being told to Anakin by Palpatine during the Darth Plagueis the Wise story where they were identified as Jedi and end up being trained by Yoda and intertwining with the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. They survive the purge as they were friends with Anakin, and end up going to Tatooine in the end, where they eventually join the Rebellion and well, you know the rest now.
Star Wars Tales #12 - "The Revenge of Tag & Bink"
Starts off very similar to the special edition, except they never make it on the sail barge. They end up in the Sarlacc Pit, tied to a long stick that ends up getting caught. Later on, others end up falling in as well as Boba Fett, they grab his jet pack and somehow save themselves and Boba. The issue ends there.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Westworld S2E2 spoiler review
Updating my brain timeline to help keep things straight. A lot happened but nothing big was revealed. It was heavily implied that management is using Westworld as a data collection store for marketing purposes. "Westworld is one thing to the guests, another to the shareholders, and something completely different to management."
Timeline 1: Right after Season 1 ends
S2E1
S2E2
Timeline 2: Two weeks later after Timeline 1
S2E1
S2E2
Timeline 3: The Past
S2E1
S2E2
So this episode added more to the past, a lot more, with little to no explanation about underlying motives, but there was a lot of exposition, almost too much. Dolores remembers everything so she was collecting data before William thought about the idea of collecting data, so who's really in charge, right?
Since we got so much Past, we didn't get any Future concerning Bernard, which I assume we won't visit again for a while. The Present continued the plot lines right after the finale of Season 1 and it was mostly setting up future events. Not sure how much of a rush they are in. Maybe Dolores knows how long it's going to take for the rescue team to show up.
Timeline 1: Right after Season 1 ends
S2E1
- Bernard & Charlotte finding secret bunker
- Dolores & Teddy causing mayhem
- Maeve & crew looking for her daughter
- MIB (Man in Black) door adventure
S2E2
- Dolores on a mission to "wake" Teddy and recruit those to their cause
- Dolores (and team) and Maeve (and team) briefly meet up but go their separate ways/separate missions
- MIB continues on his adventure where Robert seems very much present (Great acting from Giancarlo Esposito, but not really needed plotwise)
Timeline 2: Two weeks later after Timeline 1
S2E1
- Bernard & "Rescue" team
S2E2
- [nada]
Timeline 3: The Past
S2E1
- Appeared in some of Bernard's flashes
S2E2
- Arnold and Dolores in the real world. Quick appearance from Ford
- Presentation put on for Logan Delos with Angela and other hosts - agrees to financing Westworld (I think this is the first time is last name is revealed.)
- Sometime after William's first visit, he visits Westworld with Logan's father and his father in law Jim Delos
- William and Dolores have a private chat. William appears to have come to his senses and has an awakening of his own.
- Dolores plays piano and talks to Logan in real world years later as it seems Jim Delos is retiring/sick, and William and wife have a daughter
So this episode added more to the past, a lot more, with little to no explanation about underlying motives, but there was a lot of exposition, almost too much. Dolores remembers everything so she was collecting data before William thought about the idea of collecting data, so who's really in charge, right?
Since we got so much Past, we didn't get any Future concerning Bernard, which I assume we won't visit again for a while. The Present continued the plot lines right after the finale of Season 1 and it was mostly setting up future events. Not sure how much of a rush they are in. Maybe Dolores knows how long it's going to take for the rescue team to show up.
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