The "Professional" Actor

Today's the day! (The sun is shining, the tank is clean, and we are gonna get out of here...) Sam woke up at 4:15 a.m. and headed off to his first shoot.  They are doing the ascension of Christ into heaven. Don't ask me why they are doing one of the last scenes first, I don't understand any of this film stuff.  A few days ago they switched Sam's part to James, too. Not a huge deal, as James and John are together in every scene and Jesus does all the talking.  Plus, James was first counselor (John was second). There will only be one short that will have John alone, and that's after James was beheaded. I'm guessing they aren't doing a beheading scene.   Although it might be interesting to see...

Anyway, last night I asked Sam what he was most excited about and what he was most nervous about.  This was his response:

"Well, I'm most excited about meeting all the other apostles and having all twelve of us together.  That's going to be cool. I think I'm probably most nervous about the acting.  I've never actually acted in a film before."

That is especially funny considering the script we got this week. Apparently there are only four main "cast" members: Jesus, Peter, James, and John.  All the rest of the apostles and actors are either "featured extras" or "extras." How on earth did Sam end up where he is?! He was actually on-set yesterday getting a few costume swaps for James, and one of the director's assistants asked him how he became a professional actor. "Well, I'm not really a professional actor.......Oh, I guess I am now..." Sam started, and then he explained how he got there.

As another aside, early this week Sam got this email:

Dear Apostles,

Your shoot dates are rapidly approaching and I wanted to make sure you have all the information you need to prepare. [Lots of information about shoot dates, times, etc.] 

If I haven't already mentioned it, you have been carefully and prayerfully cast (out of literally thousands of applicants) as part of an ensemble -- a brotherhood -- of Christ's original apostles.  I encourage you to get to know each other on set, look out for one another, and treat each other with the familiarity of true brothers and the respect of Apostles of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Each of you have received the highest ecclesiastical endorsement: meaning, approval of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in our day.  Have you taken time to figure out who your current-day counterpart is?  It might be an interesting study.

Anyway, thank you again, for being willing and worthy to shoulder this role.  We're so grateful to have you and look forward to working with you on this historical production!

Best regards,

Alisa Anglesey

Several thoughts:

1. Dear Apostles?!  That's awesome! I can't believe Sam just got an email saying that. So hilarious!  (In a completely respectful but odd sort of way.)

2. Love the brotherhood idea.  Male bonding at its best.

3. I wonder if Elder Holland recognized Sam...

4. James = Henry B. Eyring

As my final aside, we got a seven-page list of "Set Etiquette" rules.  I summarized it into one page. It's pretty amusing.

PROJECT: New Testament film

RE: Set etiquette and other important stuff. This is kind of an epistle, so settle-in, hunker-down, and read it ALL…very carefully. A test will follow.

Thank you for your willingness to participate in this landmark production of “The New Testament” for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Footage from this production will be purposed in a wide variety of venues for the Church, including General Conferences, Missionary, Welfare, Seminaries and Institutes, and web media like “Mormon Messages,” to name only a few. It is anticipated that footage from this production will be actively used for the next 20 years.

THE SET

The geographical location is ideal. The one-mile square property has all elements needed to bring these stories from ancient Israel to life: a river (River Jordan), sand dunes (crossed by the Wise Men), and other terrain that geographically resembles the Holy Land. This set is a sacred place. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the set last week. He said it is “a sacred setting… to the end that millions of [Heavenly Father’s] sons and daughters may have faith in Him and come unto Him.”

This is a CLOSED SET. This means that no other friends or family are allowed on the property without express permission -- in advance – by production authorities. There is a Security Gate at the property entrance. Bummer!  I would have loved to have seen it!

Please be RESPECTFUL of the set property. No graffiti… on anything… ever. Do NOT climb on the set walls! They may look tempting to you rock-climbers out there, but they are NOT designed for such stress. You will injure yourself and destroy the set if you attempt it. (And that leads to all kinds of unpleasantness… So, just don’t do it.)

CELL PHONE SERVICE. The location of the set is wa-a-a-ay out in the middle of nowhere: Cell service is sketchy at best. Most services don’t work out there and there is definitely no WiFi. Meaning Sam can't text me during breaks.  Boohoo! :(

SET ETIQUETTE

Please come ready and willing to follow directions and to be absolutely quiet on set. Wait, let me rephrase that: Please come ready and willing to follow directions and to be absolutely quiet on set. Did I say the same thing again? OK, let me try it one more time: Please come ready and willing to follow directions and to be absolutely quiet on set. I guess that covers it.

No loud voices: Please keep your tone at a conversational level while off set and use your “soft inside voice” while on set. There should be no shouting, except when required by your character in a scene. (Or maybe to say “FIRE,” if there really is a huge blaze headed toward set.) During a “take” -- when the camera is rolling -- please don’t cough or sneeze… at all. Hopefully Sam can suppress his sneezes, cuz that man can be across the entire house with at least two doors shut between, and still scare a nursing baby. True story.

Do NOT bring a CELL PHONE to set! Please leave it with your belongings or in your car.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Please do NOT go exploring “out of bounds.” There are many areas of the set which are treacherous. All of these dangers are in areas where people are not supposed to be. If you stay within the designated (and clearly marked) areas of the set, you won’t need to worry about any of it. Please don’t injure yourself by acting stupid.

STEPS. Please be careful! There are many steps built into the set. True to form, these steps have been made to look well-worn: They slope a bit at the front. Walk with caution. And just to make things extra challenging, you will be walking around in ill-fitting, period-looking sandals. Need I say more? -- Just be careful… Really careful.

SPEED. As you pass through Santaquin, Goshen and Elberta, please respect the towns and the people who live there by NOT speeding through their streets. P.S. – The local authorities LOVE to catch speeders in these areas! If you get a ticket; No, the production will NOT pay for it. Do people really ask?!

PARKING will be provided near the set. Please be polite when parking your car. Do not park too closely to the next car so they can’t get in or out. You may seriously consider getting a sun-shade for your front window if you don’t have one already. Either that, or bake some cookies on your dashboard. Then share them with Casting. They were also told to bring boots, because sometimes they actually have to hike to get to their shoot location.

CAMERAS & PHOTOGRAPHY

We realize that many of you may want to take pictures of your experience on this production. We ask that you please NOT do so. OH NO!!! Really?!! Here’s why:

(1) We are not responsible for lost, stolen, broken or destroyed property…especially cameras.

a. Blowing sand could ruin it.

b. You could lose it.

c. You could drop it.

(2) No unauthorized cameras are allowed on set.

a. Once you get it there, where do you put it? There are no pockets in this wardrobe.

b. There have been instances where someone left a camera where it shouldn’t have been in the scene, and we’ve had to rotoscope it out in post-effects. Rotoscoping = Time and Big $$$. It’s a mistake that should never happen.

(3) The contract you sign prevents you from publishing any photos from the area without express permission from the producer. Don’t ask him. He’ll say no.

(4) If you ignore our request and decide to covertly bring in a camera anyway, know this:

a. No photos you take on set can be published ANYWHERE… including the internet. (ie. no Facebook; no Picassa; no Snapfish; no blogs; no nothing… anywhere.)

b. If you do publish photos, you will be in violation of your contract.

HAIR & MAKE-UP

WOMEN of all ages (and MEN, too, if it applies)

a. No nail polish on fingers or toes. We had to clean off Sam's polish last night...

b. Absolutely NO make-up, please.

HOUSEKEEPING

Most film work involves a lot of “hurry up… now wait.” We recommend that you bring a BOOK or a QUIET (non-electronic) ACTIVITY to pass the time. Did we mention there will be no WiFi? Oh yeah, we did. There will be no WiFi. "Is this a good activiny?"

So, the bad news is that you will never see any pictures of Sam in his garb or on the set (unless some media company is allowed to take some and happens to get Sam).  The good news is that SAM PROMISED TO DRAW PICTURES OF THINGS FOR ME!!  And there are no rules about posting your drawings to a blog. Ha! I've instructed Sam to find a mirror or a large body of reflective water (he may or may not have laughed at me when I suggested that) and draw himself. Hopefully I'll have something fun up here soon!