So you want to be a Set PA...

Can you yell the word, "Rolling!" at the top of your lungs? Can you whisper it while making circular motions with your index finger? Can you block people from entering a door? Can you stand in the same place for 14 hours?

If you answered YES to all of these, you might want to consider a career as a Set PA. These are the production assistants who get to be closest to where the action is: they are the unofficial bouncers. As gatekeepers to the set, they get to see everyone -- the director, the producers, the crew, even the actors -- if for a fleeting moment as they walk past and ignore you.

Being a Set PA can be a bit lonesome, save for one thing: Because they wear a walkie and stand there looking like a poorly dressed secret service agent, they are most likely to have random people on the street approach them.

"What's going on here?" the random people will say, having astutely spotted the massive lights and the 3 blocks worth of trucks.

"We're filming a movie. Please don't walk through here," answers the hapless Set PA.

"Oh," say the random people. "Who's in it?"

At this point, it's the Set PAs decision to either explain the entire movie and answer a dozen follow up questions... or to pretend the film shoot is top secret. "I'm sorry, I can't talk about it." Ironically, the latter answer usually leaves the random people more satisfied.

On Vacation...

Pardon our sudden disappearance... we went on vacation. Actually, most of us are still on vacation, so posting will continue to be sparse. Apologies.

We would like to add that there are very few movies shooting in Boston this summer. Some of us are having to drive to Rhode Island for work... but even that isn't a sure thing. There's an ABC pilot going on in Providence, which is good, and a low budget feature that isn't paying their PAs, which is very bad. They call them "interns" and make them do our jobs. Unbelievable.

Should we start a PA union? Maybe when we get back from vacation.

Diet Coke

Happy Friday before the long weekend!

For those of us trapped in preproduction, today is dragging on like the last day of school. It's a beautiful day outside! Why won't the bell ring?

Meanwhile, we thought we'd take a quick moment to acknowledge the official drink of every movie production office: Diet Coke.

For some reason, producers and their underlings down this stuff like IV fluid. We've seen people drink up to 6 cans a day -- which has extreme results when mixed with our other official liquid sponsor, Starbucks lattes. Caffeine is how the movie gets made. It makes our world go round.

This detail -- producers screaming for Diet Coke -- was yet another reason why "Tropic Thunder" is an excellent movie. It's behind-the-scenes depictions were comically spot on. Les Grossman "will fuck you up"... when he's juiced up on Diet Coke.

We can't quite pick out what makes Diet Coke more addictive that regular Coke, or Diet Pepsi for that matter. Just know that the production fridge needs to have it. Tons of it.