I got up hours before the sun this morning to play a wedding guest on a new show called "Pepper Dennis." We were shooting up in Monrovia, a suburb so far north, I expected its inhabitants to say "aboot" and end their sentences with "eh." But nicely done, they actually paid us non-union slobs a bit of mileage for driving up there.
What kind of name is "Pepper Dennis" for a TV show? I'd consider it a bad name for a dalmation puppy, even.
The star of the show is the nine foot tall supermodel Rebecca Romijn. She's actually attractive in person, believe it or not. I had the impression, from seeing her work, that she was not a very strong actress, but she seemed pretty capable on today's shoot. It's always interesting to see these female TV and movie stars up close and compare them to the fantasy. Romijn passed the test, though, so again I'm disappointed with the orange feathers and blue scales they stuck on her in the X-MEN movies. But I'm digressing.
I love the f-word. I set down my hot chocolate to go on set, and when I got back, someone had spilled it all over my chair and book. I say "someone" spilled it because we didn't have 6.9 earthquake during shooting. Stuff like that reminds me why Jeff so hates people.
It seems to me that the only two things I ever mention in these reports are a) that the extras complained a lot about this or that; and b) that there were attractive women on set, but b), kids. They've got five bridesmaids--two with definitely fake breasts, two with real (I'm guessing), and one that could be real or could be fake depending on how kind you think God is--pretty much all babetastic.
One of them, a blonde, was Top Tier. She coulda actually taken my eyes off of Ms. Romijn.
I've been dressed up for my all my gigs over the last two weeks, wearing this darn suit six days in a row. Doing this, you start to think people are always attractive and nicely clothed in real life. Of course, nobody looks like that blonde bridesmaid in reality, only in animated Disney movies, may they rest in peace.
The lead actor in the show is Rider Strong*, the star of something called "Boy Meets World." As he walked by, I said, "You know, I think he was in CABIN FEVER." He stopped and said, "Yes, yes I was." I told him what a good flick that was and he thanked me, seeming happy to talk about it. I imagine it's like seeing William Katt and mentioning HOUSE or seeing Henry Winkler and talking about SCREAM, something other than what they are immediately associated with. At least I imagine that's the deal.
He seemed very friendly, though, the kind of guy I hope to replace tyranist with as my new best pal.
Probably ain't gonna happen, though.
Bob Gunton, co-star of the best movie of the entire Nineties, was playing Rebecca's father. I wanted to talk to him (though what I would've said, I don't know. Probably I'd have asked him if anyone had ever asked him to sign "I will thrust you down to the Sodomites" on something**), but didn't get the chance. He did bump into me during one take, though. Would be nice if that's the one they used.
I spent the day outdoors, with a warm sky and light breeze, carrying a fake wedding present across the backyard of this mansion called the Chateau Bradbury. We extras stood and did crosses with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could have been attending the reception of one of our own weddings.
The show also stars the lovely Brooke Burns, though oddly, they've given her dark hair in this. Sad. Her I didn't talk to.
The day was long, but not a lot of work. Just walking around, pantomiming conversation, carrying presents, and pretending to drink. At one point, I struck up a conversation with an older lady with the most charming English accent. I asked her if she was married and she spent the next fifteen minutes (no lie) telling me about how her first husband was cheating on her so she divorced him and her second husband died at age thirty-two in 1968, leaving her pregnant with her third child (but the British government has a widows fund that helped her family out), and how she'd never found anyone after that, but had good children, one of whom had come to America to study when she was sixteen, and liked it so much the whole family moved over here and how she was a nanny to celebrities for several years and now did background work to keep her occupied. Her name was Jean and I imagine I'll see her again one of these days; you nearly always do.
There weren't a lot of young people on today's call. Nor much to make this little report interesting. I'll think of something in the next couple of days, some lie to make it all sound glamourous and oh so sexy. Perhaps I can involve the blonde bridesmaid in my invention.
We'll see.
Rish Outfield-Stamos
*Now that's a porn actor's name if I've ever heard one.
**And if not, would he do so on my poster?
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