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Kevin Pollak - Working Stiff
When I was asked to write five hundred words on this week's episode of the hair-raising, gripping drama that is currently unfolding on TV, (Oops, it's not TV, is it? It's HBO.) I suggested that it might be easier for me to do so if I were able to view said footage. My reason for this request was twofold: One, although I've enjoyed what little of the series I've seen, I've been way too busy to see all of the episodes that have aired thus far, so this seemed like a perfect way to force myself to make time to watch it. Two, as a mere actor on the set during the production of "Stolen Summer," I was not privy to the Shakespearean drama that was unfolding around me. So, you see, simply giving my take on "that less than enjoyable day in the freezing Chicago rain" did not make a lot of sense without checking out the edited half-hour episode.
Having just viewed the episode in question, twice, I have not only accomplished my two goals, I've also gained further access into the crap that was going on around me at the time of filming. Or rather, how it was depicted by the editing of this episode.
Firstly, and for the record, contrary to what is being portrayed on the HBO series, my experience while working on the movie was one of the more enjoyable ones of the forty-plus films that I've acted in. Why, you may ask? Well, mainly because of how well the actors all got along, which is not always the case, but also because Bruce, the first A.D., was terrific, which is crucial to an enjoyable set environment.
Another annoying aspect of the series, although not as much in this episode, is that Pete Jones, the director, did a rather commendable job, especially as a first timer. The one thing that people have commented to me after seeing an episode of this show is how awful "that idiot director" was.
I can tell you this much, Pete may have always been the luckiest and the least experienced guy in the room, but he was never the biggest idiot. Chris Moore was right in this episode when he said that this whole project was all about potential. He was also right that people so rarely live up to their potential. I also believe, however, that the makers of this documentary series did not live up to their potential.
Earlier, when I referred to "the Shakespearean drama that was unfolding around me," I was not actually addressing what was going on on the set, but rather what was created from the footage that was shot around the set. A large enough percentage of each episode that I've seen of this series has been so enhanced through strategic editing, that in many cases it no longer represents what was actually taking place. That may sound odd, but basically, although obviously everyone said all the regrettable things that are shown on the series, in a handful of moments, the conversations and more importantly, the time and place, have been edited so out of context that the result is quite simply a creation of drama.
As I said, I've not seen every episode and I also realize that I was not privy to most of the high jinks that were going on around me. Martin Mull once said that "Show business is like high school with money" and this series certainly does its part to support that theory. Perhaps the intent of this "documentary" series was to entertain rather than to actually document every boring moment of the filmmaking process. If so, they have succeeded, as I myself enjoy the drama of the series, even knowing full well that several of the situations that I'm watching simply did not happen in the time sequence in which they were shown.
In regards to this episode; Yeah it was a freezing rainy day that was forecasted far enough in advance for a more experienced producer than Jeff Balis to have had a workable cover set at the ready. Yes, a more experienced producer like Chris Moore would have made the move to it sooner, but I understand why Chris allowed everyone to make the mistakes that they made. Yes, that sort of dramady of errors happens in big time movie-making too, but it's rare. And yes, there were power struggles on the set and that too happens on every set. Oh, and yes, no one cried when Jeff was removed. Good guy, just way too green to be in a position of decision-making. But hey, I'm just a working stiff, what do I know?
Sincerely,
Kevin Pollak
PS: Perhaps most ironic, is that after viewing a screening of the movie that this series allegedly documents, I noticed that the rainy day at the baseball game was edited out of the movie. Why was it omitted from the final cut? I haven't asked Pete Jones yet, so, sadly for this entry, I don't know. The movie turned out quite well, by the way, Aidan and Bonnie's performances in particular, and I look forward to our debut at The Sundance Film Festival this weekend.
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