LONG TIME NO SEE

I have been rather neglectful of this blog as of late. I have had a busy month.

I was in Kelowna for the entire month of September, working on Flicka 3, and spent an extra few days there with my daughter once the show ended. I had a fabulous time.

My car wouldn't start again - on the trip up. I stopped about an hour and a half into the journey to get some lunch. When I left the restaurant and got into the car - nothing. Just a click when I turned the key. My car was loaded down with not only all the stuff I needed for the month away, but extra clothing and items that I couldn't leave with friends (I had to move out of my place and don't move into my next place until October 15th). I sat there not knowing what I was going to do but thankful I had the foresight to leave the day before the show started just in case something like this happened. I called BCAA and then waited for them to arrive. I got out and opened the hood, had a look under it even though I don't know a thing about how cars run so it was futile effort - or so I thought. But what that did was help the engine cool down faster and, about half an hour later, the car started. I canceled BCAA and continued on my way. The next time I had to stop, to use the gas station loo, I didn't turn the car off. I locked it up and used my spare key to get back in as I had determined that the car did not want to start when it was hot - no idea why. But I was planning to take it to my friends brother who lives in Kelowna one of the weekends I'd be there to have him look it over anyway, as the mechanic I bought it from said the muffler needed a small weld to seal up a leak and I wanted him to check to see if there were any other issues. When he heard about the starting problem he said it needed a new starter motor, so that was replaced (so far it seems to have done the trick). And the muffler needed a whole lot more than a weld - like, replacing. But now the car rattles under the hood when I step on the gas. I was told that this could mean the car needs a higher grade of gas but I tried that and it hasn't worked so I need to take it in to have the timing reset. Or at least I hope that is all it needs. I also found out that it has three different types of tires on it so I will have to replace them and the CV boots are cracked and the hand brake cable is pinched. Sigh.

On a much happier note....

I loved staying at the Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel. The staff there were so happy to have all of us as guests (all department heads and producers were at The Grand, the rest of the crew were down the highway at the Days Inn) and treated us very well. The key makeup woman, Lisa, was in the room next to mine and I had worked with her before so that was fun. There was rarely a time I went down to the lobby that one of our crew or actors wasn't there as well. Several of us took to congregating in the lounge after work most evenings for a glass of wine. Our first two weekends in Kelowna were HOT (the hottest it had been all summer) and so several of us spent the day at the pool, tanning, swimming, yakking and napping. I have to say that I could really get used to living like that - hotel life suits me very well. When it was time to leave I was loathe to go.

Day at the Hotel Pool

The movie itself was a lot of fun. The cast were amazing; so friendly and nice to be around. Clint Black and his wife Lisa Hartman are just the nicest and cutest couple. One of the cast who played the kids trainer, Teryl Rothery, will be a life-long friend. The young people that comprised most of the cast were so much fun and really eager. I LOVED the crew and made some more life-long friends (Mark Noda, Neil McBride - fabulous sound team). The director, Michael Damian, and his wife Janeen were lovely, lovely people and I can't say enough as to how much working with them made me happy. The producer, Connie Dolphin, is fantastic and she assured me that we would be working together again in the future. Michael and Janeen told me that the position of script supervisor had been their achilles heel for years, that they had never been able to find one who could actually do the job - but now they had finally found me and they were so thrilled that they want to find a way to take me on their next film, which is to be shot in Romania and Bulgaria. The whole experience was fabulous but not only that, it was very validating after going through a horrible time recently with the producers of Mr. Young. I won't be returning to that show.

The Stars of Flicka 3 and Me

Fun Bunch of Cast and Crew on Our Way to Shoot a Scene in the School Bus

Pretty Flowers in Kelowna - I am Lagging Behind Teryl and Susie on Our Way to Dinner Because I Want to Photograph the Flowers

I can't go into details here, but suffice it to say that I was treated very unfairly - and this is not just my opinion as I took the situation to the union and the shop steward was horrified at how I had been treated. I was never fired, just kept being given excuses as to why I wasn't coming back for August, for September and then for 'the foreseeable future' and I'd finally had enough. It was glaringly apparent to me that I wasn't ever going back but that they had no valid reason to give me as to why, so I sent an email to the producer PM saying basically that and a few other choice observations, and one to the director who started it all. I knew I was burning a bridge rather spectacularly but I didn't care. One of the things that bothers me in this industry is people like me never speak truth to people in charge because we are afraid it means we won't ever work again; thus the ones that aren't the good ones get away with horrible behaviour and practices all of the time. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a strong sense of justice and will speak out when I see injustice, whether it be against me or someone else. I have held my tongue, for the most part, when it comes to my career. I did have a conversation, and just a conversation, with a PM once about an injustice I thought was occurring in the show I was working on and she has never hired me again. This time, I knew there was no way I would ever have closure or feel satisfied walking away if I didn't express exactly how I felt about the events of the past two months. If it meant I wouldn't ever work again in this business, so be it. But I have to trust that the reputation I have built for myself over the past eight years as being good at my job and fun to work with will stand on it's own. And so far, that is proving to be the case. I not only secured a lot of favour with the people I just worked on Flicka with, I have another show at the end of October with one of my favourite people in the world, director Ron Oliver.

I Will Miss the Cast and Hard-Working Crew of Mr. Young

Life is good!!