I didn't think you'd catch that...

So my friend Ry-Gonn and his wife were kind enough to offer a quick giglet/internal shoot pimping a product for some clients this last weekend. I had to get dressed up all lawyerly and hustle my buns to get off-book. (A prospect hindered sliiiiightly by the fact that there was a bit of legal and technical jargon in there, Annnd coupled with my inability to always stay on script. Thankfully, his wifey was okay with that so long as I followed the story)

Hanging out on our marks, we were going over our scripts in between takes and joking about how we should have planned our wardrobe choices better (both of us were in our professional black suits along with a matching shade of blue dress shirt. Whoops) when I noticed in the bright camera lights some shiny silver streaking through Ry's temples and along the side of his head. And of course I commented on it.

Now...We've known each other for about 11 years, and while gray hair is part and parcel to getting older I found that I wasn't as much of a sarcastic schmuck as I probably used to be, going so far as to saying that I even had silver and gray hairs here and there. (And I do. There you go. I'm old. Shup) He took a sec, squinting and examining my head before stating that he didn't notice a single one. (Not out of being polite- mind. I'm just a titch closer to blonde than I am a true brownie.) So I lean forward, squint MY eyes and quietly under my breath Isay: "That's because it's in my puuuuuubes". No sooner did I say that than the camera man bellows

"I heard that."

Right. Forgot about that little microphone wired up through my shirt and clipped to my lapel. Fortunately, the guy was laughing and had a sense of humor about it*. And this, friends, is what we do to make a commercial shoot go faster.





*Speaking of crew lacking a sense of humor...Back in 1994 or so, I did my first student "film" for my friend AL and his cousin Jay. To say the shooting was "loose" would be an understatement and insult to slacker 19 year "film students". It felt fancy since we had a crew of one and everything, and after a big scene where I had to walk across the shot bare-ass and the director yells "CUT!"- for some reason we started making doofy religious jokes that culminated in our wanting to have a big crucifix on the wall that I hang from and commit suicide. Z(Whatever. For some reason we all thought it was funny at the time.) Except our cameraman, who went from noisily moving his equipmentfor the next shot to dead freaking silence in a heartbeat. When we all turned and looked at him (I'm still kind of buck nekkid at this time) he's staring at us with this...really uncomfortable intensity. So the director says "What's up, dude...are you like...Christian or something?" To which he responds cooly "Yes. Yes I am." And proceeds to pack up the gear and leave. And we're standing around feeling a mix of shame and...well... no. That's not really true. I was the only one who really felt any embarrassment at the faux pas and my nudity. Jay was pissed off and just wanted to finish his stupid film.

So you know, there's an probably an old film student out there somewhere with some prime footage of 19-year old me in my all together. I'd rather not speculate on what he did with it. Let's just leave it at that.