Day Job Fun on Set
By Leanna Renee Hieber When I'm not writing, I'm on set.
I'm a recently minted Bestselling author (Barnes & Noble Bestseller List for The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker), but I come from a professional theatre background and have spent years on stage as a performer and playwright. I'm a member of each performer union; Actors Equity (AEA), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). As an extra / background actor, I'm keeping my hand in an industry I love while having the flexibility and time to work on my greatest passions, my novels.
In the "I love my day job" department, I got to see a real live movie car crash on The Adjustment Bureau where I worked more than once, but most recently as a stand-in. Must admit, that was pretty cool. Happy to report Matt Damon is a prince of a man, kind, funny, dedicated to his craft, and lookin' good.
In the "I love my day job" department, I got to see a real live movie car crash on The Adjustment Bureau where I worked more than once, but most recently as a stand-in. Must admit, that was pretty cool. Happy to report Matt Damon is a prince of a man, kind, funny, dedicated to his craft, and lookin' good.
I also had fun on set for The Other Guys, where Bed Bath and Beyond "employee of the month" Michael Keaton gave us extras an employee pep-talk that was pretty hilarious. Best thing was, as we were filming overnight in the store, the cast and crew got 20% off everything inside. On breaks you can bet my castmates and I went on a shopping spree! It was worth the exceedingly late night.
But out of all the types of work I've done of late, my favourite extra experiences are when I get to be in period costume. That's when my love of history and love of performance get to be combined, and it's such a wonderful opportunity to learn about life in another time period, by literally walking in that era's shoes for a while. It makes inhabiting a character when I write all the more realistic and experienced.
Hey Divas and visitors! Since we've got a multitude of multi-talented Divas, tell me about your "day jobs" - what do you enjoy doing when you're not doing the other vocations you love?
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Leanna Renee Hieber is the award winning and bestselling author of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Gothic Victorian Fantasy)
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(Facebook) http://tinyurl.com/sbsfan
Hey Leanna
ReplyDeleteWow, you lucky girl - you met Matt Damon! Agree - the dress looks gorgeous, and lol too, I'd keep the hair this way too if I could.
Hmm, my day job is being the homemaker, which is an absolute nightmare as I am a totally undomestic person! I esacpe through my vocation!
Hugs
Z(Aasiyah/Nolwynn)
Cool! Thanks for taking us with you on the set. That's a totally dreamy day job.
ReplyDeleteMy day job is scanning documents for a pension agency. My favorite part about it is running into fabulous old-fashioned names which I collect in a notepad for future use in my writing.
I love hearing your movie stories :D
ReplyDeleteFun stuff Leanna! I worked for a production company a few years back and we produced five movies (for Cable/DVD). And I while being on set was fun - I much preferred being in the production office where all the "biz" was being conducted. Film sets tend to move at a snails pace as you know - but a production office is always jumping so that made things exciting. I did have the pleasure of meeting a few celebs - and hearing some great stories - so that was fun as well. Fun post!
ReplyDeleteLeanna, I LOVE Matt Damon! Got to "see" him upclose at the film festival in Toronto in September. At one spot, he just walked through the crowd with his wife surrounded by his security and screaming fans. I did get a pic--after my camera failed twice. At the Four Seasons bar afterward, it was casual and he was there but left shortly after I arrived--though my sister bumped into him at the elevators! With the charitable work he does, I am sure that he is truly a nice guy. I get that vibe from him. I've always had a crush on him!
ReplyDeleteNow, I almost want to hate you. YOU WORKED ON THE OTHER GUYS?? If you tell me you got to see Dwayne Johnson, I am going to die from envy. I am in serious lust with him and just posted a pic of him from this film on my FB page.
Just like you, I worked for years in the film biz. I'm a union member, and while writing getting paid well on sets allowed me to get my writing career started. If I hear Dwayne is coming to town, I'm calling up my old agent and getting on that set!
I'm lucky--I'm an actress too, so sometimes my "day job" also involves sets and costumes and neat things like that (although never Matt Damon--at least not to this point!). My usual day job, however, leaves me equally blessed; I started out life, so to speak, as an academic, and now I run a programme that helps other academics publish their research. So I deal with really bright people, and books, all day. Many of those people are also poets, playwrights, etc. I consider it the perfect complement to my own extracurricular activities (acting, writing, music).
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