I went to Chicago for a whole week. I got a cute little part in a fun movie that Ron Howard is directing. Vince Vaughn is really tall and a bit intimidating but he's got a soft spot for Chicago actors so I've got a soft spot for him. He made me pee myself in the scene. I had to lean out of frame, I was laughing so hard.
There were some fun superstars in my scene but I was just as awe struck with several fantastic Chicago actors that I'd always wanted to meet and here I was, sharing concentrated amounts of space and time with them! It was wonderful to hear their stories, and absorb advice and wisdom. I took a lot of notes. Ron Howard gave me my favorite tidbit, though. He said, "You've just got to keep working all the time. It doesn't matter what it is. You're never too good for the work. do it all! Your friend's video or a short play or take a workshop. Just keep working. If you don't work I will smell it in your audition. I'd rather you snuff me, and act as if I've really put you out by requesting your presence, than reek of that repulsive desperation"...or something close to that. I've been thinking about that a lot lately since I got back to New York...You're never too good for the work.
I went straight from Chicago to Los Angeles to begin shooting a feature that sir Greg Fitzsimmons is directing. There's a whole mobile food culture in LA that I never knew about. Gourmet food trucks. There's a grilled cheese truck and biscuit truck and a korean bbq truck and a vietnamese sandwich truck and a french fry truck there are HUNDREDS OF THEM! I ate a lot. I play a young lady who invites a new friend to go on an epic adventure to eat at all the food trucks in Los Angeles. That's the general premise, I guess.
We shot an incredible amount of footage in a very short amount of time. Dave and I collaborated with Greg to create scenes and moments, and the rest of the crew --Mike and Dave the unstoppable Australians and TJ with funny one-liners and Dave the Gem DP was always rolling something grand -- threw in bits and pieces to refine dialogue frequently. It was a very new way to work from my experience, and I welcomed the change. Dave D was flawless per usual and kept me on the mark. Greg was an anchor and a director of directors and an endlessly deep well of ideas and solutions. Here he is, probably making a really important decision while eating red velvet chocolate chip pancakes with a cream cheese dollop that may or may not be a set prop.
It felt very important, what we were making. I feel all protective and noble about the whole thing. I learned all about Los Angeles! I had, like many Midwesterners, an unfounded prejudice against the place. It might be all of those shallow vapid things people say it is, but it's also beautiful and lush and warm. They haven't completely tamed the land there. You can watch the sunset when you're stuck in traffic and flowers grow in parking lots
You can associate feelings with places. I'm afraid I've begun to associate feeling down and out with New York. I know I have to give it a lot more time. I wish I did not have to work so hard just to feel at peace here. The anxiety. The acne. The noise.
