Miami Movie Shoot - Take 6

Photo from a Hollywood website

Mark, Rock, and Anthony. 

Anthony sure has the right stuff. :-)

It is still Wednesday, May 9th.  Around 4 PM, it was time for Seven to work......... thank goodness we got there at 10:30 AM.  Ha!  I did not mind.  I much preferred hanging around a movie set to sitting in my hotel room.

We rush over to the set.  It is actually quite funny to veer off track to grab my bag or some treats and hear the panic in the crew's voice.  "Jennifer, we need Seven over here."  At least there was one guy that actually remembered our names.  Otherwise, it was just "Tasty Reuben".  "We need Tasty Reuben."  Did I tell you that is her character's name?  Well, it is.

We enter one of the stage rooms.  It has two doorways and four walls so it is not very big.  Yet, there are about 10 members of the crew huddled around Michael Rispoli lying in a pool of blood.  Anyways, Michael Bay explains that Mark Wahlberg is going to circle around the room, squat down to look at the dead body. Seven will then trot into the room and lick blood off one of the weight plates that crushed "Frank Griga's" head."Daniel Lugo" then shoos her away.  Bay did not want Seven to get into the pool of blood and I hoped we could make that happen.

Mark walks in and his back is to Seven and I.  Bay gives him a few instructions and Mark begins to get into position.  "Um, hey.  Can you say hi to my dog and give her a treat?"  And I really said that.  Mark turned and said sure.  He greeted and gave Seven a treat for about 3 seconds.  I do not want to give the impression that Mark is rude.  He never was, but he is just very serious and in character on set.  He also would have maintained his attractiveness if he had been more of a dog lover like The Rock and Rispoli.  Heck, even Michael Bay paid more attention to Seven.  Oh well.  My teenage heart throb was a bit of a disappointment.

Okay, so back to the scene.  Once again, we have a fairly important scene.  My dog is crucial to the story line.  And no one thought it would be important to explain to the greyhound's trainer ahead of time what was going to be asked.  We literally walked into this crowded room and it was expected that Seven would be performing her task in the next five minutes.  And you know what?  She did because Seven is freaking awesome.

Phil set her target and pointed it out to Seven.  I simply released her at the right moment and she trotted straight in and licked the target.  Kudos to Mark who gently scolded her and told her to go away.  Phil had warned Bay that if he was too strong, she might not come back.  We repeated the scene a couple of times. Eventually, Seven started to goof off a little.  She stopped going to the target because the edible fake blood was not very high value and this strange guy was pushing her away.  Luckily, I had overheard something about "licking" the day before so I had grabbed some peanut butter from the awesome hotel breakfast.

I offered the peanut butter idea and Bay was game.  We showed Seven that the target had just become high value and her enthusiasm was renewed.  I released her one more time and she licked her target as needed. But this time, she ignored Mark.  She was not about to let him separate her from her bloody, peanutty goodness.  He stepped in and picked up the weight plate she was licking.  So in the end it gave Bay to nice variations of the scene to choose from.

After the scene, I walked by and tapped on Mark's chair.  He is always head down with earphones on.  Once I had his attention, I thanked him for not over scolding Seven in that scene.  He said "No problem."  That would be the last of my interactions with Mark.

Miami Movie Shoot - Take 5

On Wednesday, May 9th, we were asked to arrive on set at 10:30 AM.  I had finally learned that 10:30 meant 10:30.  There was absolutely no reason to arrive early.  We probably would not be needed for at least 8 hours anyway.  I earned overtime pay everyday.

So I slept an extra hour, threw on some clothes, and took the girls for an hour long walk around Coconut Grove.  We were so close to the set that we would loop it each morning on our walk.  Although today, we started to recognize members of the crew as they were arriving and they recognized me and Seven.  I was unshowered....and I had not even washed my face or brushed my teeth yet.  We hurried along!

We really loved our hotel this time.  It had an elaborate, continental breakfast available each morning and I indulged in a fresh waffle each morning (Campers, we might need a waffle maker!).

The hounds, my sister, and I left the hotel at 10:28 AM for an on-time arrival of 10:30 AM.  This time they had blocked our parking spot under the awning with giant, portable air conditioning units, cameras, and Bay's black Escalade.  I personally thought having the SUV sitting there was a waste, but the crew was not about to have the driver move it.  I pulled up onto the curb perpendicular to the building.  "Perfect", I thought... "I cannot let you park up here.  It is a fire hazard."... "Well, then start moving stuff out of my parking spot."  The cameras were moved and we cozied in under the awning once again.

We waited around for hours.  During that time, we watched the stars come and go, chatted with extras, and watched scenes on the monitors.  The Rock usually walked over from his trailer and always said "Hi Ladies" as he passed by.  Mark was always driven in a white Escalade and never said hi unless we were almost blocking his path.  Anthony always waved.  We frequently spoke to Michael Rispoli when he came outside to smoke.  I told him I would like to get a picture, but lets just say he was not looking so good on Tuesday or Wednesday.  He agreed he would rather not appear so frightening.  Each day, he always asked how Seven and Riley were doing.

I wish I could tell you more about the scenes we witnessed, but I cannot.  However, it was really interesting to see how a scene would be broken down into many parts due to the different angles that need to be seen or because a stunt guy had to be brought in place of an actor at some point.  It was all so fascinating and amazing how a 5 minute scene might take all day to film.

A Monitor

There was also a scene that required a gun shot.  They would yell out "fire in the hole" prior to any scene with gun fire.  The girls were still outside in the van so no worries.

Lunchtime was usually at 2 PM.  Snacks and drinks were available at all times, but lunch was awesome.  Everyone would walk over to canopies to treat themselves to an elaborate buffet lunch.  You could find all sorts of vegetables, pastas, meats, and desserts.  You might find roasted chicken, grilled fish, steak strips, and coconut shrimp, for example.  I was starting to run low on dog treats so I scored a box full of steak strips for Seven.

Anthony is the only actor that would eat outside with the crew... although later I found out he did not have an assistant so that is probably why.  The other stars would have their assistants take pictures of the food and then have the assistant bring back what they found appealing.  As we left, I pointed out Seven's to go box to Anthony since he had already complained that she ate better than he did.... I just wanted to confirm that.

Unfortunately, afternoon thunderstorms started to roll in and we had to choose between thunder or gun shots.  Neither hound has a problem with noises, but I want to keep that way.  I chose gun shots since they were predictable and I could have treats ready.  You can hear "fire in the hole" right at the beginning of this video and then screaming around 20 seconds and then the gun shot follows soon after.  Seven and Riley had no problems.

Miami Movie Shoot - Take 4

Photo from MichaelBay.com

Michael Bay

Believe it or not, it is still Tuesday, May 8th.  Seven was asked to do another scene.  Michael Bay took us to the set bathroom and said that "Tasty Reuben" needed to run into this room, turn around, and look scared.

This is where I do not understand the movie industry and I get the impression it is like this across the board.  We were never prepped for such a scene.  To me, such a scene sounds pretty important to the movie so it would seem wise to alert your animal handlers ahead of time so they could train and practice the scene.  I wonder if directors just dream up these scenes on the set or do they really not think it is necessary to inform the animal talent.

Here is another great example.  A friend of mine shot a movie in New York with her greyhound last fall.  The director wanted the greyhound to sit with her back to the camera and to turn her head back and forth as if she was watching the actor pace the room.  Well...maybe... if you had told her two weeks ago... but it was not going to happen that day.

Luckily, Bay left me with a cameraman so there was no pressure to pull this scene out of thin air in the next minute.  I practiced with a target sitting on the weight scale a couple of times and then using a "go to place" command, I had her lie down on the bath mat.  Thankfully, I was able to talk as they will be adding voice overs and sound later.  As Seven took her place on the bath mat, I would leave the room which would give Seven an alert and concerned face.  It actually worked really well.

So once again, the animal talent is the unsung hero and a greyhound no less.  Able to accomplish scenes in mere moments with no prior practice or prep.  And once again the director does not learn a valuable lesson.

For the next couple of hours, we stayed close to the set just in case we were pulled into another scene.  Even to take Seven out to potty, I had to be followed out by Kevin with his ear piece.  He would be able to wave us back in if Bay called for us.  The crew was very uptight about us getting too far away for even a split second.

Riley - "Are we freakin done yet?"

I was glad I had decided that Riley would stay with us this time.  Last time, she ended up in the van for several hours with Stefanie checking on her periodically.  That was not going to happen again so Denise had Riley with her the whole time Seven was out and working.

At around 8:30 PM, we were wrapped for the day and headed back to the hotel.  Wow! Tuesday is finally over!

Miami Movie Shoot - Take 3

Photo from a Hollywood website

Mark Wahlberg

Okay, I am still on Tuesday, May 8th (these were very long days). After mingling with the stars of "Pain and Gain", we are finally called to work.  We returned to the room with the weight bench and chair.  Thankfully, Michael Bay asked if Seven could lay in the chair and I already knew she could.  Bay explained that Mark Wahlberg and Michael Rispoli would be coming in from the hallway and circle around the room with Seven in the background on the chair.  He said that I could not be in the room because the camera would be following the actors.  I was confused.  How was I supposed to cue, reinforce, and correct Seven if I had no access?  Bay told me I could hang out in the bushes which would be in view of Seven, but my access to her was totally blocked.  The American Humane Association rep earned her keep by telling him I had to be in the room.  They got into a heated argument and finally Bay said I could hide in the next room.  I could see Seven and vice versa from the doorways, but had to change my position as the camera moved around the room.

Photo from a Hollywood website

Michael Rispoli

Michael Rispoli came in and told me what he would be doing in the scene since it involved something that could distract Seven from what she is supposed to be doing.  I appreciated the warning.  I had met him earlier as he was also interested in meeting the hounds and we had struck up a conversation.  I did not recognize him at first, but after hearing his voice and seeing his face a number of times, I started to realize that I had seen him in many movies and TV shows over the years.  He is always a supporting actor and rarely the lead.

Photo from Hollywood website

Michael Rispoli

Then Mark Wahlberg comes in.  At some point, Rispoli and Bay leave the room and I am actually standing in a room alone with Mark Wahlberg.  Truthfully, it was awkward and not a word was spoken.  All the other actors were friendly and outgoing, but Mark just is not.  I wish I had just said something like "Hi. I am Jen. This is my first movie."  But I did not get the impression he wanted to chat like the other actors had.

Seven does her scene fairly easily. At one point, everyone leaves the room except for Seven and I.  Rispoli pokes his head back in and tells me its going to be a few minutes.  Such a nice guy!  I released Seven and we played around in the room until it was time to work again.  After a few more takes, she did finally break her stay because of Rispoli's distraction.  I was not sure whether to interrupt the scene or not with a correction so I did not.  Finally, Mark says "The dog is up." so I run in to correct her.  On the next take, I asked Bay if I could correct her as I was sure it would happen again.  He said yes.  So Seven got a big correction during the next take for breaking her stay a second time.  She was perfect after that.  All in all, I thought she looked very natural. She followed the actors with her eyes instead of staring at me with perked up ears.

The day continues....

Miami Movie Shoot - Take 2

Photo from a Hollywood website

Anthony Mackie, The Rock, Mark Wahlberg

After experimenting with the weight bench and discovering the chair in the corner to being a much better option, we continued to wait for Seven's turn.  By now, we had moved the dogs inside.  They were bored and afternoon thunderstorms were looming.  We set up a little camp by the front doors with their fleece pads.  Mark Wahlberg passed us a number of times and at one point even looked down and said "hi guys" to the hounds.  After awhile it became quite normal to have Mark eating a snack or listening to his headphones just a few yards away.

Denise made friends with Ace, one of Mark's assistants.  She asked him if Mark would be willing to take a picture with us and Ace said that he would.  The next time Mark passed by, Ace asked, and Mark said he would in a little while and asked if we would still be here. "Yes."

A few minutes later, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson walks in, sees Riley on the floor, and asks to pet her.  I rushed back over with Seven and we start chatting about greyhounds.  He mentioned that he had adopted a greyhound prior, but that it was very fearful and never adjusted so they had returned it (Why did an adoption group allow someone high profile and with two kids to adopt such a difficult dog?  I digress.).  He asked questions about the girls and asked if he could take pictures with them.  He posed with Riley and Seven and his assistant and Denise took pictures.  I asked if he would tweet one of the pictures and he said he would.  I then told him he should tease Anthony about complaining about how big Seven was since he had to carry her in one of his scenes.  The Rock asked if he could pick her up for a photo. Of course!  Next, he posed for a picture with me and then Denise.  He is such a nice guy and very friendly and personable.

Earlier, I saw Anthony and chatted with him for a few minutes.  We had worked with him on our last trip so he recognized me with Seven.  He asked about Stefanie who came with me last time and I told him I had brought my sister this time.  He asked if she was the mean looking girl sitting by the van.  I told him it probably was. Ha!  As he walked out, he stopped by the van to say hi to Denise which was really nice.  He promised her a picture later when was not so sweaty.

Well, Anthony returns and we take photos with him.  I am going to go ahead and post these since he is not wearing a shirt from the movie and the set is not in the background.  I think I am legal here.

Denise insisted Anthony smile and show some teeth.

So after all of that, only one leading man remained.  We still needed photos with Mark Wahlberg.  Big kudos to my sister who walked up to him despite her nerves and said "you are the only one left".  Mark jumped up and posed with each of us as well.

When the movie comes out, I will post the photos of The Rock and Mark.

Miami Movie Shoot - Take 1

Photo swiped from a Hollywood Website

The Rock, Mark Wahlberg, Anthony Mackie

On Monday, May 7th, my sister and I headed for Miami for Seven's second trip to the "Pain and Gain" movie set.  My husband, Stephen, was sweet enough to bring the van and the hounds down to my office at lunch time.  He works entirely in the opposite direction so this was a big 2 - 3 hour interruption in his day.  Thank you, Snookums!  Denise met us there and off we went.

The drive was smooth and easy, but the last two hours seemed to take forever!  We arrived at our hotel, Residence Inn Marriott, around 11 PM.  After the last hotel fiasco, I had already called ahead to confirm that they had us down for four days and with two dogs.  They did, so check-in went smoothly.

The hotel was a much better fit this time.  It had a kitchen which made our lives easier.  Denise and I shared the bed and then we pulled the mattress off the pull-out bed and put it on the floor for the hounds.

Earlier in the evening, I was emailed a "Call Sheet".  The Call Sheet tells everyone when the crew and actors have to arrive and which scenes are being filmed and in what order (only a suggestion on a Michael Bay set).  We were thrilled to see that The Rock and Mark Wahlberg were on the schedule.

Yummy!

Seven's call time was 10:30 AM.  I woke up early and took Riley and Seven for a long walk around Coconut Grove.  The movie set was just around the corner so we headed in that direction to check things out.

Isn't this an awesome sunrise picture?

I assumed that the movie set for the staged indoor scenes would be at an actual movie studio, but this was not the case.  They had created the sets inside of a convention center (pictured below).

We arrived a little before 10:30 AM and spoke with one of the Assistant Directors for parking instructions.  They actually thought about us ahead of time and parked us at the front doors right under the awning for shade.  We met up with Phil from Trademark Animal Talent again and our American Humane Association rep, Tonya.

The crew was ultra uptight like last time.  We initially wanted to bring the dogs into the building, but they insisted we keep them outside in the van.  It really did not matter to me since I had five different fans for the dogs and the building was being cooled with giant, portable air conditioning units meaning the building was not always that cool anyway.  Plus Seven is not always quiet like wonderful Riley is so it was actually easier to keep them in the van for the bulk of the day.

Denise and I went into the building to find food and search nonchalantly for stars.  We walked right by Mark Wahlberg and she did not even see him.  No matter, we saw him plenty of other times.

We eventually secured a copy of the script for the day's scenes and it mentions "the dog snuggles on the weight bench" in one of the scenes. In my mind, I picture a weight bench from L.A. Fitness and cannot imagine how Seven is going to pull off "snugly" on such an uncomfortable piece of furniture.

After a few more hours, one of the Assistant Directors takes us into the room so we can practice.  The goal is for us to figure out ahead of time what Seven can do with the furniture in the room so we are ready to make suggestions when it comes time to film the scene.

Well, the weight bench is laughable.  It is much smaller than a bench from L.A. Fitness.  It is narrow and streamlined.  Seven is only able to stand on it... in fact, it is too small for her to even jump up on it.  We have to place her on it.  We also notice a chair in the corner of the room.  With the decorative pillow removed, Seven is able to lie down in this chair.  We hope that Michael Bay will opt for the chair....

2nd Day of Shooting

Seven waiting for her scene

As the first day wrapped up around 2 PM, we were informed that the second day of shooting was on Friday.  Friday?  It was supposed to be on Thursday and we planned to drive home Thursday afternoon or Friday at the latest.  Dang it! 

My friend, Stefanie, who accompanied me on the trip was supposed to be working her last week at her current job and starting a new job a week later.  She had nothing to lose, but she did not want to burn bridges either.  I honestly could not be more swamped at work and it was only made worse by an unexpected week of movie making.  So we both worked remotely on our laptops and did a little sightseeing on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Thursday, we went to South Beach (in a cargo van).  I truly am so awesome and amazing with my van driving skills and we managed to find a parking spot.  We laid out on the beach for about an hour and were startled to see two topless girls.  I did not expect that, but hear that anything goes.

Topless girls at 3:00.

Well, on Thursday night we get a call from Phil, the animal talent agent.  He explains that the shoot is at 1 PM.  Double dang it!!  We were hoping to be done in the morning and to drive home after that.  Oh well.

The shoot happened much later than 1 PM, of course.  It was at an apartment complex and Seven's job was fairly easy since she was simply being lead on leash this time.  I handled her between shots for the most part and had to position myself carefully numerous times so she would travel in the right direction or turn her head a certain way.

We were then told to stay as they wanted to use Seven in another scene.  By now it is 6 PM and we were still planning on leaving Miami that night.  We waited around for 2 hours with Seven being quite impatient (such a pain in the butt).  Earlier as we were just about to do a scene, a teenager offered me a tennis ball for Seven.  I told him not right now, but that he could put it on her bed for later.  That she had picked up a ratty tennis ball at the park the day before so she will appreciate the new one.  And appreciate she did.  She was going crazy in all directions on a four foot leash.  She even clocked me in the head and I got a huge bump on my eyebrow.

"That's a wrap!"  What?  You mean we waited around for 2 hours and she was never used for another scene?  Double dog dang it!  We could have been driving home!  So we left Miami at 8 PM and arrived home at 7 AM.  I started out a little tired, but once my second wind kicked in I was fine.  Stefanie and I both agreed that it was not as bad as we expected to drive all night.

Lastly, I have to thank Stefanie for being Seven's personal assistant.  I could not have done it without you!  She shared in the driving and helped me stay awake.  She fetched dog beds, water, treats, and anything else I asked for.  She carried much of our things and took lots of photos.  Stefanie checked on Riley, took her for walks, and fed her when the shoot ran late.  Thank you, thank you!

It appears we may have to go back three more times for shooting.  Just are not certain of when.

Seven's Acting Debut

Seven in makeup

Seven's acting debut was a success and I want to tell you all about it!  But... and its a big BUT... I cannot tell you very much until the movie is released in February.  I had to sign a very thick stack of paperwork that included a confidentiality agreement.  I will definitely start writing the posts with lots of pictures, but will not be able to publish them until the movie is out.

The first shoot was at a racetrack in Miami on Tuesday.  Seven had to do a stand stay on the track while the handler got out of the shot and then run to an actor.  I stayed close to the actor because we did not want her to turn her head back towards me if I was behind her.  She was so awesome!  Seven did the shot over and over again in the blazing sun.  At one point, I called for an umbrella because there simply was no shade and the crew responded quickly. 

I am not sure if it is like this on all movie sets, but the animal talent department does not get a lot of credit.  The scene I described above would have been very difficult with all, but a few greyhounds on the entire planet.  We were very lucky that the actor in this scene was not famous so he was eager, arrived early, and willing to practice with Seven before the shoot.  Even so, the animal talent agent and the actor did not know exactly how the scene would play out and it was actually very different from what we practiced.  We were very lucky that Seven is one of those rare greyhounds that will repeat the same thing over and over again in the hot sun.

After the scene, we bathed Seven which cooled her off quickly.  Despite the working for 30 minutes in the sun, she was fresh as a daisy and ready to do it all again.  Her second scene of the day called for her to be carried by one of the actors, Anthony Mackie. I was not familiar with him, but once I looked him up I see that he has been in a lot of movies.  He was a lot of fun to chat with and was quite the joker.

I so want to tell you more, but it will have to wait, unfortunately.

OMG!

Mark Wahlberg

My head is spinning!  On Saturday afternoon, I received a phone call from someone connected with the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge (recall that Riley and I competed in that April 2011).  She said that there was a movie being shot in Miami, Florida and they needed a greyhound that was already trained on Tuesday.  Tuesday!!!  That is in THREE days!  I said I probably would not be able to make that schedule, but that I was interested and to put my name in the hat.

Dwayne Johnson - "The Rock"

A half an hour later, I get a call from Phil of Trademark Animal Talent.  He is freaking out because he was originally told that the greyhounds would all be on leash.  No big deal and he rounded up plenty of greyhounds to be on leash for the shoot.  When he received the script, he saw that there were several scenes that required off leash work and more training than originally stated.  Something that sounds easy to a producer is not necessarily easy in real life and especially not with most greyhounds.

Ed Harris

Phil had first planned to use Cindy, the greyhound that holds the high jump record.  She has quite a bit of training and he has used her before.  But he found out that she is now 11 years old and her head has turned white with age.  More so than he can chalk out.  So the hunt for another greyhound began rather late in the game.

Phil explained the requirements to me and Seven sounded perfect for the job.  Seven will have to run down a street, has to be carried (hopefully by Mark Wahlberg), and had to run into a kennel building and interact with an actor and show emotion.  Seven just happens to be a tail wagger and licker.  She will lick anyone within range of her tongue. 

"Come closer, I want to taste you." 

So we sounded right for the job (Riley will probably be used in the background), but could I possibly swing it on such short notice and possibly return three other times in April and May (12 hour drive one way).  Of course, the scheduling is compounded by the fact that I am taking almost two weeks off in April for a rare vacation with the hubby.  But it is a once in a lifetime chance to do something like this so I had to go for it.

I spoke to my boss who thankfully has a bucket list of his own and understands jumping at such rare opportunities.  I worked many hours over the weekend to get caught up and to get ahead.  I think everything will be alright.

The movie is called "Pain and Gain" and stars Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, and Ed Harris (and Seven, of course).  It is being produced by Michael Bay who also produced the Transformer movies, Pearl Harbor, and Armageddon.  "Pain and Gain" is about "a pair of bodybuilders in Florida that get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong".  Sounds like Mark and The Rock will be looking fine.

Wish us luck!