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So, You Wanna Work In Movies - Page 3

post #101 of 570
2/21/09 at 1:39am
It is feast or famine. Looks like I will be working in the prod office of The Expendables. But this morning, I had four other offers before 10 am. Insane to me. Happy to be back to work and on such an interesting film.
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post #102 of 570
2/21/09 at 5:07am
Oh you lucky sonofa...

Yeah, after that three week back-to-back-to-back run of gigs last month, I haven't had a single thing come my way in February. I have a feeling it's gonna be like this for a while now...

Luckily I've got a week-long PA job the first week of March. Hopefully that'll kick off another good run for me.
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post #103 of 570
2/21/09 at 5:42pm
Congrats Casey, that's a sweet sounding deal.
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post #104 of 570
2/22/09 at 1:33pm
Greg, you really want to hate me and call me names? I was asked to interview for the Jonah Hex dir asst job.

Yeah, I am a bastard for that one.
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post #105 of 570
2/22/09 at 8:25pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I'm officially selling my partnership back to my partners. There's a whole host of reasons for doing so but the main one is so that I can take some time off to be a stay at home dad. The sale will net me enough money to stay at home for a year, maybe two if my wife gets a big promotion at work like she's expecting. The scene is quiet around here so now is a good time to take some time away.

I will still be doing some freelance stuff for my partners as needed. I will also be starting a foley pit when it's time for me to go back to work.

I'm going to miss the industry a ton but how many people get a chance to stay at home and raise a child with no financial worries.
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post #106 of 570
2/23/09 at 2:11am
Even when I was a stay at home dad (got to do it twice for a few months) we still had to worry about finances. Enjoy it man. It was a great time for me. And when you are ready to be back in, make sure you let us have your contact info so we can spread it around.
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post #107 of 570
2/23/09 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Casey Moore View Post
Even when I was a stay at home dad (got to do it twice for a few months) we still had to worry about finances. Enjoy it man. It was a great time for me. And when you are ready to be back in, make sure you let us have your contact info so we can spread it around.
Will do. Meanwhile, I'll still be looking here to get my stories from the trenches fix.
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post #108 of 570
2/24/09 at 2:02pm
Place I am working in right now is called Louisiana Film Studios. Very nice place doing it the right way. Once this place gets finished along with the Second Line Stages we will have three studio facilities in New Orleans (along with the Nims Center which is in the area LA Film Studios is). That will be a big boon for production in New Orleans.

Anyway, the offices where we are are pretty huge, so we are sharing the building with Dead of Night. Walked over there to check on something, and there was Brandon Routh. First thought was: IT'S SUPERMAN! Then I thought: Ok, maybe if I go over and beg he will give me Scott Pilgrim details.

But you got to love when you can walk around and run into Superman. Will be really fun when our actors get in.

We are going to have over a $100 million in productions once spring rolls around and we have The Expendables, Dead of Night, Jonah Hex, and The Imagination movers all filming.

Edited to add: That is just for the New Orleans area. That doesn't include Shreveport, Baton Rouge, or Lafayette. And there is always the chance that some other movies might come in in May.
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post #109 of 570
2/24/09 at 3:36pm
Lucky bastard!
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post #110 of 570
2/24/09 at 4:10pm
Casey, you're making me want to move to Louisiana. Goddamn you.
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post #111 of 570
3/1/09 at 1:40pm
Yeah, we just had one more film added to the area, Leonie with Emily Mortimer.

I put the list into my blog so you can see our official list of productions.

Problem I am having, and have been having for about the last year, is I have a hard time finding really good office PA's. I can find you an entire crew of good Set PA's; but damn if I don't have a problem finding good Office PA's.
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post #112 of 570
3/1/09 at 8:37pm
If being a good Office PA is along the lines of being good at making a producer's notebook, then I might want to start looking at that side of things, cause I've gotten pretty adept at doing that.
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post #113 of 570
3/1/09 at 9:29pm
Right now I will settle for someone who comes in with a working laptop, can answer phones without annoying me, and make sure messages get to people fast. But, yeah, I have made plenty of producer's and director's books in my time.
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post #114 of 570
3/2/09 at 10:03am
I think Greg's asking if he can have a job where he gets to meet the cast of Expendables.
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post #115 of 570
3/2/09 at 12:21pm
I am sure he could.

The thing which is going to be fun come the end of April is at least 4 movies shooting at the same time, possibly 5; but it might be the equivalent of 6 or 7 with the 2nd units of both The Expendables and Jonah Hex going. I know we are going to have a large 2nd Unit and sure Jonah Hex is as well.

Interesting thing, MovieMaker Magazine just came out with their list of the best towns for indie films, and we weren't on the list (Shreveport though was No. 4). And I have to think part of the reason is, the professional film crews here spend a lot of time working on features for studios and production companies that we don't really get to make a lot of indies. I think we are going to have to fix that. We need to not just be building professional crews, but we also need to have filmmakers - directors and producers who can make up for the lag time and for what happens if studios shift to another state.

Also, we need people who can tell stories of New Orleans and not just stories set in New Orleans if that makes sense.
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post #116 of 570
3/2/09 at 7:52pm
I tell ya, Casey, if I live in Louisiana I'd already be your best friend. :P

Man, Austin's getting hit hard by these shitty state tax breaks. From #4 to #10 in only a year? Not that I can say I'm surprised; that Drew Barrmore movie pulled out last October, both Barbarella and Red Sonja have stalled, so the last studio project to come through here was Friday the 13th. And that was last JUNE.

Going to a demonstration at the capital Wednesday morning to rally for better tax breaks. Hopefully enough people will gain some momentum in the house; sadly, the Texas Senate is full of a bunch of über conservative assholes who'd rather build more football fields than fund the arts.
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post #117 of 570
3/2/09 at 10:25pm
And see, you would think the Republicans would be all over tax breaks. They are always yelling about it on TV. Well here you go, step up to the plate and do it. But god forbid they help the entertainment industry.

I tried for three years in Austin to break in. Two gigs I worked on the whole time I was there, and one for free. As we were moving someone called about me working on another one, but they didn't want to pay anything.

It really is going to be insane here come April.

And(aside from writing, directing, and producing my own projects), if I could have any gig, I would love to do nothing but work with stunt teams as they come to town. I love stunts. I am too old and broken to be a stunt man, but damn do i love working with them and finding what they need. And if my rate was half of their's for a week, the down times wouldn't be so bad.
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post #118 of 570
3/3/09 at 1:13am
I'm signing up for a class to get Apple Certified in Final Cut Studio; I was talking to someone who says that more than anything anymore Austin is a post-production town now, so I might concentrate on getting more into that. Times like this I wish I was worth a damn at making graphics.
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post #119 of 570
3/3/09 at 7:04am
The entire studio? That's got to be a financial kicker, surely?

My FCP101 was a fortune and i'm lucky I got it company funded! To get Motion, Soundtrack and Color all involved must be some kind of super-deal.
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post #120 of 570
3/3/09 at 4:16pm
The entire studio training is $787 at Austin School of Film is you're a member of AFS, which I am. If I were to just do each program separately, it'd end up costing twice that. It's a pretty penny, but it'll do more help than harm in the long run.
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post #121 of 570
3/7/09 at 8:11am
The certification's worth its weight in something very expensive. Certainly recommended.
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post #122 of 570
3/9/09 at 8:24pm
The film industry is terrifying to me, yet I am inexplicably drawn to it - the business side is intimidating, and I have known so many people on the verge of success, even creatively talented ones, who failed. I'm sure I'm not the only one to accept that reaching oblivion is likely. But if I can scrounge together that twenty grand...
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post #123 of 570
3/10/09 at 11:25am
Article in today's Times-Picayune pulls a quote from my Twitter account. Funny.
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post #124 of 570
3/24/09 at 12:44pm
Some of you might appreciate this, on The Expendables, I have found out most of our casting news from online. In fact, the whole office has.
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post #125 of 570
3/24/09 at 5:18pm
Well, the way it's been a revolving door I'm not terribly surprised. If you happen to meet Jason Statham, Casey, can you have him dropkick you in the face and tell me how it was? These are the things I need to know.
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post #126 of 570
3/25/09 at 12:17am
Ha. I actually have standing orders from a lot of guys I know to get a pick with Statham punching or kicking me. I will see what I can do for you all. Glad to me getting my ass kicked by an Englishman makes you all so happy. Bastards.

So we have a film coming to the area with Ron Perlman. Since I missed him oh so many years ago at the Hellboy/Chud meeting in Austin, I might have to make it a point to meet him this time. Film is called The Gatekeeper. Shoot down here in June or July.
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post #127 of 570
3/30/09 at 10:49am
This is the facility I am working in. You can see a pic of our seaplane at the article.

When this place is done, it is going to be very, very nice.
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post #128 of 570
3/30/09 at 3:34pm
Never thought I'd say this, but goddamn Louisiana is calling to me. If I wasn't so addicted to the plethora of beautiful liberal women in Austin this might be an easier choice.

Also, Perlman is a stand up guy. Not as tall as I thought he'd be (not short, but he's like 5'10" and I'm 6'2", so realizing I was taller than Hellboy was a big geek moment for me.) Real effin' nice though.
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post #129 of 570
3/30/09 at 7:04pm
We have another studio going in in the Lower Garden District called Second Line Stages. Sorry no site to link you to it. I might have posted about it before. They are gearing up for lower budget, indie features; but I am thinking they will also get a lot of the Lifetime, Hallmark, and other MOW's that come to town.

The Nims Center is right around from us though as well. Imagination Movers has the main part right now, but there is another office and stage facility attached to it.

There is also a new place called Nola Films. Little further away from us.

There is a building though out here in Harahan/Elmwood (suburbs of New Orleans), old coffee bean warehouse, I would love to purchase and turn into a studio. We used it for FD4 and it was used for K-Ville. Building needs some work, but the layout is pretty damn great for a studio.

Last week's Prod Weekly had two more pics slated for Louisiana. Haven't seen this week's yet.
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post #130 of 570
3/31/09 at 7:07am
I don't have a seaplane. Clearly you've just come to rub salt in the wound Casey you lucky bastard
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post #131 of 570
3/31/09 at 8:52am
What kind of asshole doesn't have a seaplane?
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post #132 of 570
3/31/09 at 12:27pm
Cheers, now i'm feeling pressured to invest in one.
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post #133 of 570
3/31/09 at 12:48pm
Wait till I get pics of it on a gimbal. Hoping they let me ride in it then.
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post #134 of 570
4/1/09 at 6:45am
I want a shot of you sitting atop it, like the Major rode the bomb in Dr Strangelove.
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post #135 of 570
4/1/09 at 12:04pm
I will see what I can do.

So since that article came out about the studio facility, we have had 2 different paparazzi have to be removed. One drove onto the property. Security let them go this time, but these bastards are in for it when the actors are here.
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post #136 of 570
4/3/09 at 5:29pm
Well these were on the front page of the paper, pics of the Jonah Hex set being built in City Park:

http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2009...uilding_1.html

http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2009..._building.html

Thought some of you might like to see them. Good pics of crews building sets. Although, I hear the higher ups at Jonah Hex were pissed the pics were published; but we need to get the word out the film business is here since the tax incentives are coming up before the legislature.
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post #137 of 570
4/3/09 at 9:31pm
Awesome Casey!

I'm interested in anything you have to show, so keep em coming.
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post #138 of 570
4/13/09 at 1:00pm
Rumours are the worse because they just get your hopes up. Been told of two studio projects, one with a huge budget coming here. But there is nothing confirmed on either. So on one side I get my hopes up to work on a decent size studio show, but on the other I know from first hand experience how a film can fall apart at any time.

I put together an April Production Guide for Louisiana since the state hasn't done one (not much new on it though); but hey, they finally put together a new website.
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post #139 of 570
5/4/09 at 10:27am
I realized last night as I was going to sleep, there are two movies coming out on DVD this month that I worked on: Benjamin Button which was the first time for me to get to see my name in the credits and Labou which was the first movie I worked on when I moved back (we actually had filming interrupted by Katrina).
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post #140 of 570
5/4/09 at 1:01pm
Congratulations old boy - will keep my eyes out for you when I eventually get to see BB.
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post #141 of 570
5/29/09 at 11:26am
Thread Starter 
This is what it's like to negotiate with production companies. Even ones that have no previous history with you or the film industry.
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post #142 of 570
6/5/09 at 5:44pm
It is so fucking dead here in NC film-wise. I'm seriously considering moving to NYC.
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post #143 of 570
6/5/09 at 7:54pm
Things are going well here. Although we do have a lot of smaller stuff going on outside of Jonah Hex and The Expendables. Still nothing definite for this fall yet even though there are as always lots of rumors going around.
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post #144 of 570
6/6/09 at 4:44am
The only thing on the horizon here is the new season of One Tree Hill which is gearing up to shoot in July in Wilmington. There's so many more opportunities in NYC, so I'm really thinking about going. My mom is none too pleased about it. Her reply to me telling her that I might move up north: "Why can't you just go to Atlanta? Doesn't Tyler Perry have a studio there?" True, but I didn't spend four years in college to get a film degree in order to make Madea flicks for the rest of my life.
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post #145 of 570
6/6/09 at 5:07am
I don't mean to rub it in but Vancouver is ripe and only getting better. Sanctuary, Supernatural, V, and Fringe to name a few for the TV front, and Tron and Percy Jackson for films. My friend invited me to help out and PA for the day on Jackson tomorrow, so hopefully that will be fun. I've got plenty of hours on Supernatural, but I haven't worked on a lot of big films.
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post #146 of 570
6/6/09 at 12:01pm
There's usually more going on in Toronto. LOTS of indy stuff, but here are the big productions at the moment: http://www.toronto.ca/tfto/pdf/currentlist.pdf

And we just built a bunch of new studios, too! http://www.filmportstudios.ca/
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post #147 of 570
6/6/09 at 2:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Domingo View Post
I don't mean to rub it in but Vancouver is ripe and only getting better. Sanctuary, Supernatural, V, and Fringe to name a few for the TV front, and Tron and Percy Jackson for films. My friend invited me to help out and PA for the day on Jackson tomorrow, so hopefully that will be fun. I've got plenty of hours on Supernatural, but I haven't worked on a lot of big films.
RUB RUB RUB!

Naw, I actually appreciate the info. It'll help me figure out where the hell to go. NC is not the place to be right now with a film degree
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post #148 of 570
6/7/09 at 1:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacob View Post
And we just built a bunch of new studios, too! http://www.filmportstudios.ca/
Love that studio space. It's awesome!
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post #149 of 570
6/7/09 at 1:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarleyQuinn22 View Post
The only thing on the horizon here is the new season of One Tree Hill which is gearing up to shoot in July in Wilmington. There's so many more opportunities in NYC, so I'm really thinking about going. My mom is none too pleased about it. Her reply to me telling her that I might move up north: "Why can't you just go to Atlanta? Doesn't Tyler Perry have a studio there?" True, but I didn't spend four years in college to get a film degree in order to make Madea flicks for the rest of my life.
Question: How many of you factor in the quality of the project when taking a job as a set PA/gofer/person who tells civilians they can't park on this street today?
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post #150 of 570
6/7/09 at 2:25pm
I don't. At this point I'll do crew work for anything short of porn...and even then I don't think I'm totally opposed to the idea. And I may despise the films, but people working on Tyler Perry's crew have a steady paycheck. I'd love that.
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