Great day on set, cast-wise!
 

One of the more fun things about being a journeyman camera guy in Hollywood is never quite knowing who you'll be working with when you show up on set.

Yesterday was one of those days. I was called in to operate "B" camera on a new series called "Arrested Development". I knew nothing about the show other than the technical details I was told on the phone: that it was shot entirely handheld on HD with Varicams.

I braced myself for a physically demanding day and headed over to Culver Studios. When I checked out the call sheet, I was pretty psyched, some of my favorite actors were onboard, and others that aroused curiosity.

Jason Bateman is the lead; I did a day on a pilot with him last year and knew he was a good guy. Very pro, very funny also.

Portia De Rossi is the female lead. Pretty girl. Not much else to say.

David Cross (from "Mr. Show"). I LOVE Mr. Show. This was a thrill.

Jeffrey Tambor. If there's one show I love more than Mr. Show, it's "the Larry Sanders Show". I'd also worked with him on a pilot (seems like a running theme) and he is full-on comic gold as far as I'm concerned--unfortunately he wasn't working yesterday. Looking forward to going back to that show and watching him work at a later date!

Henry Winkler was guest-starring. C'mon, it's the Fonz! More than that, I'd always heard what a nice guy he is, and he is that and more. Extremely friendly, great vibe.

Liza Minnelli (!) She was working the next day but arrived for wardrobe fitting; I just saw her outside her trailer. What a trip. Not someone you see on TV much!

Anyway, it was quite a day. The show itself is pretty twisted, I think it could be very funny and worth checking out. Despite the sore shoulder from a 13 hr day of handheld operating, I look forward to returning.

And on to the next job, whatever it may be...!

You have all the fun! Hanging out the Fonz would be cool.

When is this pilot going to air? On NBC I assume?

Good to hear Liza is working. She has had some rough times recently, and I hope she can keep it together. I had the very great pleasure to work with her on "Barishnikov on Broadway," a number of years ago, and she was absolutely wonderful. Barishnikov was newly immigrated to the U.S. at the time, and this was his first television special. Liza came on board as his special guest star, and it was a brilliant stroke of casting; she sang and danced her heart out, and all the time was warm and charming with Barishnikov, and helped him to come off equally charming. Great television, and some of my best work ever as the crane camera operator. I hope one day it will be released on dvd. One of the last great television variety specials.

Wayne

The part she plays as described to me is very funny. She is having a ball apparently.

Alex, it's a full-fledged series and it will air on Fox starting in November.

Thanks for those anecdotes, Charles! Keep 'em coming! <g>

how is David Cross in person?
I was given his cd as a b-day gift and it didnt leave my cd player for about a month.

Back in my acting days, I did a summer replacement series with Jeff called "Mr. Sunshine." He was a sweetheart to work with, and an hysterically funny, immensely gifted actor.

Henry produced Mr. Sunshine. He's the nicest, warmest, most caring guy I've ever met in the business.

Hey Charles and all you other full-on pro guys... keep posting stuff like this! It gives me chills of joy... kinda' like Jello shots... but in a "physical reaction sense" rather then vodka charged gelatin... what was I saying? Oh yeah, when you guys leave posts like this it feels like I was there with you!

It's actually very generous and cool of you to share your life's highlights...

Hey speaking of that, today I got a 20 oz. bottle of Diet Coke and I won another free one! See! My life is full of cool stuff also! Err, umm... where's them Jello shots...

I've heard a lot about this show. It's about an adolescent boy who becomes "man of the house" of his upper-class family when his executive father is arrested for securities fraud. Looks like a promising addition to the fall lineup.

Keep that streak, Chas!

I've seen a few teasers for this show and it looks interesting (this coming from someone who has not watched any episodic television for more than 10 years). Something about a wealthy family whose business is somehow busted by the law and who is now left penniless? I think the promos were on Fox, since I've been watching the baseball playoffs on Fox.

I thought I saw that Tom Hanks is somehow involved with it?

Ron Howard has exec producing credit along with Brian Grazer, I believe.

I have to agree, I've been a fan of Jeffrey Tambor since the late 80s when he starred in a little known sitcom with a buxom actress as a couple of newlyweds. (sorry, I forgot what it was called).

Charles,

I just happened across this show tonight, hilarious! I think it was the second episode. The bit about the dead dove was great.

Interesting style, too. I'm not sure what to think about all the tiny, subtle and quick zooms in some of the shots though. I guess I should blame the DP!

This show has promise, definitely. I'll be tuning in next week!

Let's play the Charles Papert game!

A friend of mine writes with Brian Grazer, who produced for Ron Howard on a show shot by Charles Papert!

I love this game!

I have recently been helping out a local Media Arts project with a group from the UCF Film Dept., one of whom is Sterling Van Wagenen, the co-founder of Sundance. I can make the connection with him, but I like this one better because it's quicker and I can connect Kevin Bacon along with it. The person I work with most in this project is...

- Lisa C. Cook who was a Production Manager in "Tremors" which starred...
- Kevin Bacon who co-starred in "Picture Perfect" with...
- Jennifer Aniston who co-starred in "Office Space" shot by...
- Mr. Charles Papert