Saturday, November 13, 2010

The trip to Paramount.

As I pulled into the visitor parking lot at Paramount I began thinking about the trip I made there when I was young. I didn't really get to see or do anything really except look at the buildings on that trip but I could barely contain my excitement none the less. Today I was pretty excited too! The guard gave me a ticket that had a map that clearly showed where I was headed.



Generally when I'm on a trip I forget to take many photos. Maybe I'll remember to take one or two, so the first thing I did was get out my camera and shoot the above photo and another of the water tower. Hey, it's a famous water tower! I know, you were hoping for celebrities... There were folks bustling about on bikes, delivering packages and folks driving little carts labelled with the show they were working on. "Happy Endings" was the first of these I noticed and I had to stop myself from asking the guy for a lift to THAT place...

Meanwhile I found myself where we were headed, building 23 where they were busy taking a lunch break from filming Community. The women who ordered the greenman suit for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia were both working in the costume department that day. We were able to spend a bunch of time with Shawn Barry. She was planning to leave for the day since she wasn't feeling well, but when we arrived she stayed and gave us tea and a tour we walked through the various sets, saw the behind the scenes lighting and bustle associated with shooting a TV show. We exited the building and walked by some of the trailers, costuming, makeup, and food service where we met some friendly folks who are working on the show. I imagine I met the director somewhere in there... I suppose if I were more about schmoozing I would have made a point to do something about that.

Afterward we sat around chatting about burning man, life, politics, dating, clothing and what-not. Donald Glover joined us for a while. Besides standing there looking super cute, he shared with us some of his philosophies on women, being a rockstar and wardrobe. He seemed like a genuinely nice fellow, but I was still too shy to ask for a photo. (I know, odd right?) I did however playfully suggest we could put him in some sexy shorts for his musical performance. hehe!

Later they were ready to shoot the next scene and Shawn handed us off to a great guy who's name I wish I remembered. As this was happening I realized that I was standing just some 10 feet from Chevy Chase! This is when I exerted the most willpower of the day. (I WILL not make an ass of myself, I will not fangirl all over him right before he has to shoot, I will NOT make an ass of myself.) Ok, he caught me staring at him as the makeup girl was touching him up and I smiled like a monkey and tore my gaze away. What can I say? Caddy Shack, Fletch, Three Amigos - some one of my favorite movies as a kid!

This is when I realize that I'm standing in a spot that the camera is pointed at. People around me are dressed like college kids with backpacks. At that moment our charming guide steered us behind the scenes where we had comfy chairs to sit and watch the magic happen. I glanced to my left to see what the people over there were up to with such purpose and it was none other than the gorgeous Yvette Nicole Brown. God, I'd LOVE to dress her. Even if it was in non-fetish clothing. Hell, I'd design a line for her! Oh, see how distracting stars can be? I believe that the actors in the scene were: Joel McHale, Ken Jeong, Yvette Nicole Brown, Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, Alison Brie, and Erik Charles Nielsen. Although it was difficult for me to see a couple of them well enough to be super sure.



Once they finished shooting the scene I snuck in to the Greendale Community College anthropology classroom to get a "see, I was really there" photo before we left.


On our way off the lot I spied a restroom and ducked in. There stood Jane Lynch obviously shooting a scene today that involved her being in painted game face. That was when I began to debate to myself if she would prefer to be treated like any other lady in a bathroom or to be recognized. I chose to say hello as I went past as I would have anyone else I found myself brushing past unexpectedly.



Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I'll be visiting the costume shop on a set at the Paramount lot on Friday! I'm all bouncy I'm so excited. :D