Thanks a lot, Scott...
No seriously, it's good and appropriate that this heady honor goes to a writer.
Speaking of landmarks, we used the 100th roll (the 100th can of film used for the shoot). It was two days ago, actually, and I bought beer for the crew. Actually, that was more difficult than I expected (it always is, but I'm still suprised each time). The Craft Service guy is 'old-school' (in Bulgaria, this is a bad thing). A conversation will often go like this:
"This looks good. Wait, where are the candy bars?"
"There are none."
"Why?"
"Billa [a market] was out of them."
"...well, what about Metro [another market]?"
"You said to go to Billa."
"I said to get candy bars."
...Actually, I said to get candy bars, and he asked which ones, and I said I didn't care, and that stunned him, and he asked again which ones, and I said to choose himself (I'm not Craft Service...), and he asked which ones, and I said go to Billa or somewhere and get candy bars...
...so he played it safe ('somewhere' could be a trick or test of loyalty, and so it was Billa or nothing)...
...sigh...
"Man, it's 40 degrees out here! And the crew says you aren't giving any ice."
"Yes."
"Do you have ice?"
"Yes."
"Why aren't you giving any to the crew?"
"Because I don't have enough."
"It's your job to have enough."
"Nobody told me to buy more, so I am giving it to you and John [Line Producer]."
"In front of the crew...oh $%#("
A shrug in response.
"Buy more!"
"If you say so."
The only thing I can decipher is that the safest route in the old days here was to do exactly as told, no matter what, and to never use creativity or initiative, nor to speak if there is a problem, but to wait until specifically asked if there is a problem with the specific task previously assigned.
"Alright, here's the beer...where's the ice..."
"I don't have enough..."
"Get ice. Cold beer, I said cold beer."
"This is cold."
"This is lukewarm, and it's two hours till wrap. This will only anger the crew. It will actually lower morale if I offer warm beer."
"I bought it cold."
A glare at him.
"Uh, I will put some in the refrigerator, and then after an hour, I will take them out and put the others in the refrigerator."
This might work in the states, were refrigerators actually cool things; these only keep them. A bag of ice costs 50 cents.
"Buy ice!"
"I do not have it in the budget."
Oh, I forgot, and never, ever go over the budget--or ask--even if not doing so will cause bigger problems. In fact, use absolutely no judgement. Creativity is top-down.
So there is still work to do. John handles this stuff well, although we both get quite frustrated with this sort of thing, and try to promote those who show some sort of initiative (without the initiative of skimming money).posted by jkrank on 08.11.03 at 11:49 PM
Comments:
Actually, I sympathize deeply with your craft services guy. It reminds me of being a teenager. Dad tells you to do something. It's stupid because Dad has overlooked a crucial fact. It's pointless telling him this, because he'll just get enraged that you dared to "smart mouth" him. So you do the stupid thing.
Later on Dad finds out it was all stupid, and that you knew it was going to be stupid and did it anyway. He is enraged. You point out that you have done exactly as instructed. He is still enraged, but the vital difference is that he won't go on and on about it for weeks, bringing it up again and again, because he can't tell the tale without looking stupid himself. Mission, such as it is, accomplished. Lesson learned, child warped.
I never suspected I was living in a Communist country.
Mind you, I've had more recent jobs like that too.
