Attention ALL SB'83 extras,
The production would like to apologize for the delay of payment for services rendered in the filming of SB '83. Rest assured it is a delay and not, as some rumors have surfaced, an issue of non-payment. Accounting issues and clarifications have been addressed and will be completed very soon. All of your records are on file and either have been payed or are in line for immediate payment.
The state film office, as well as the production, is well aware of all issues in regard to this. Any concerns should be addressed in writing to this email address, springbreak1983@gmail.com, and more info will be given. Email is best for information as we have all available hands working on resolving your outstanding payments. Again, please contact us and not the state offices. All questions/comments/concerns will be answered as received.
Once again we apologize for the delay, we hope to have all issues resolved in the very near future.
Thank you,
Production Staff
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Saturday, December 01, 2007
This really happened: a story from set (censored by IMDb)
We were bussed in from Texas because this production needed "hot and attractive" spring breakers.
Though our original rate was $200/day, it changed before we departed for Hammond, LA to $150/day. We were told that this was because extras already working on the film were getting the $150 rate and they wanted to keep everyone at the same rate to avoid conflict. Understandable. Not really, but maybe. Until we were told that our $150/day rate was confidential and not to disclose our pay with any of the extras from Louisiana as we were making well over their daily rate.
Our original pay got docked $50 to keep us on the "same rate" that never really existed. Go figure.
Starting our second day of filming, we were pleasantly surprised to hear that the entire wardrobe department had gone on strike because they hadn't been paid yet. I found out the same thing from some of the men at craft services and even some of the principal actors- no one had been paid for their work.
During a meeting where we were introduced to the producer Joy Czerwonky and some other guy who we were told was "Mars' right-hand man, an all-around guy who does everything" (on another occasion, he was a "producer"), our group was basically told that we were "lucky" to be able to work on a production of this magnitude and that people in Los Angeles would kill of an opportunity like the one we had in front of us--to work on a REAL HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION!!! Golly gosh! I could barely contain my excitement when it dawned on me that lil' ol' me was gonna be in one of them big-time movin' pictures they have up at the cinema! Ok, not really. I, along with many others on this delightful trip, have worked on many productions- with bigger names, bigger production companies, bigger networks. "Professionals", if you will. This was merely a drop in the bucket. It promised to pay well (If we ever see our money).
I'm pretty sure that these two clowns were used to dealing with people who had never even seen a professional camera before. By the way we were being talked to and their overall demeanor, it's as if they thought we didn't know any better. I, on the other hand, couldn't care less about their disorderly production.
Sorry for the rant. Back to the meeting. Kind of.
You see, we were supposed to film the "best part of the movie, it's going to be classic!" our last day on set. Unfortunately, we ran out of daylight. Not our fault. Not our fault that they set up all the picnic tables for the scene, brought us out there, then decided they were going to film something else--taking us out, moving all of the tables out, then resuming filming. Only to do the whole thing over again, right before the sun went down. Amid all of the standing around we did that day, watching and waiting for them to get their deal together, one of the Assistant Directors found it in his heart to tell us to "JUST SHUT UP! If you don't be quiet, then it's going to start getting personal." Personal? Was he going to grab the director's alleged "loaded gun" (don't get me started) on set and go postal? Was he going to call us out individually? Unfortunately, nothing got personal. He was just feeding us a load of bull. Wow, they're really good at that.
Someone, somewhere down the line of this REAL HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION obviously never heard "time is money". Somebody--actually, just a whole lot of nobodies--didn't know what they were doing.
After checking out at the tent that night, we were approached by one of the Assistant Directors asking if we were all going to stay to shoot the scene they'd missed- first thing tomorrow morning.
Unfortunately, that was not part of our agreement:
Travel to Louisiana: 1 day, paid
Work on set: 2 days, paid
Travel back: 1 day, paid
Explaining this to the Assistant Director, he instantly became very hostile and started to yell. He began accusing us of "just trying to get paid for a bus ride back home" and insisted that we stay and work that "one scene" tomorrow. Further explaining to him that almost all of us had to be on a different set back in Texas the early morning after estimated Texas-arrival, he literally said, "FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!? PSHHH. You get on that set and you go to sleep anyway."
He obviously didn't know the true nature of what we do for the show we work for.
Okay NOW--back to our meeting with producer Joy Czerwonky and what's-his-face.
A lot of the groups voiced questions and concerns were met with short, rude replies from Czerwonky: "No. Next Question." It was easy to see she didn't care much about what we had to say. But the real cherry on top of that Sundae-of-a-meeting was her throwing something along the lines of "if you haven't made it by the age of 23 in the industry, you don't have a chance."
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, wise words coming from the producer of a bunch a movies no one has ever heard of. High five.
Wrapping up our meeting, those who absolutely HAD to depart were put on a list and production was going to find them some form of transpo back to Texas the next day. Those who opted to stay and film the scene the next day were promised, "we will get all of your scenes first, get it all out of the way so that you can be on your way back to Texas" and that if our travel time to Texas carried over into the next day, we would be paid for an extra day of work.
They let us know that they really appreciated us staying to do this for them. In fact, they appreciated it so much that we sat around watching scenes without us in it being filmed for the better part of that day. (I stayed, not because I wanted to. Long story.)
You know what the best part is? We didn't even get to that "classic scene! Best part of the movie!", until a later time than they'd attempted the day before. So, with some bad overhead lighting outside, they shot the scene.
I understand that things on set change all the time, and things don't always go as planned- but I believe we were just straightup lied to.
This is definitely just the tip of the ice burg, and no one can truly understand that unless they were on set.
Though our original rate was $200/day, it changed before we departed for Hammond, LA to $150/day. We were told that this was because extras already working on the film were getting the $150 rate and they wanted to keep everyone at the same rate to avoid conflict. Understandable. Not really, but maybe. Until we were told that our $150/day rate was confidential and not to disclose our pay with any of the extras from Louisiana as we were making well over their daily rate.
Our original pay got docked $50 to keep us on the "same rate" that never really existed. Go figure.
Starting our second day of filming, we were pleasantly surprised to hear that the entire wardrobe department had gone on strike because they hadn't been paid yet. I found out the same thing from some of the men at craft services and even some of the principal actors- no one had been paid for their work.
During a meeting where we were introduced to the producer Joy Czerwonky and some other guy who we were told was "Mars' right-hand man, an all-around guy who does everything" (on another occasion, he was a "producer"), our group was basically told that we were "lucky" to be able to work on a production of this magnitude and that people in Los Angeles would kill of an opportunity like the one we had in front of us--to work on a REAL HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION!!! Golly gosh! I could barely contain my excitement when it dawned on me that lil' ol' me was gonna be in one of them big-time movin' pictures they have up at the cinema! Ok, not really. I, along with many others on this delightful trip, have worked on many productions- with bigger names, bigger production companies, bigger networks. "Professionals", if you will. This was merely a drop in the bucket. It promised to pay well (If we ever see our money).
I'm pretty sure that these two clowns were used to dealing with people who had never even seen a professional camera before. By the way we were being talked to and their overall demeanor, it's as if they thought we didn't know any better. I, on the other hand, couldn't care less about their disorderly production.
Sorry for the rant. Back to the meeting. Kind of.
You see, we were supposed to film the "best part of the movie, it's going to be classic!" our last day on set. Unfortunately, we ran out of daylight. Not our fault. Not our fault that they set up all the picnic tables for the scene, brought us out there, then decided they were going to film something else--taking us out, moving all of the tables out, then resuming filming. Only to do the whole thing over again, right before the sun went down. Amid all of the standing around we did that day, watching and waiting for them to get their deal together, one of the Assistant Directors found it in his heart to tell us to "JUST SHUT UP! If you don't be quiet, then it's going to start getting personal." Personal? Was he going to grab the director's alleged "loaded gun" (don't get me started) on set and go postal? Was he going to call us out individually? Unfortunately, nothing got personal. He was just feeding us a load of bull. Wow, they're really good at that.
Someone, somewhere down the line of this REAL HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION obviously never heard "time is money". Somebody--actually, just a whole lot of nobodies--didn't know what they were doing.
After checking out at the tent that night, we were approached by one of the Assistant Directors asking if we were all going to stay to shoot the scene they'd missed- first thing tomorrow morning.
Unfortunately, that was not part of our agreement:
Travel to Louisiana: 1 day, paid
Work on set: 2 days, paid
Travel back: 1 day, paid
Explaining this to the Assistant Director, he instantly became very hostile and started to yell. He began accusing us of "just trying to get paid for a bus ride back home" and insisted that we stay and work that "one scene" tomorrow. Further explaining to him that almost all of us had to be on a different set back in Texas the early morning after estimated Texas-arrival, he literally said, "FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!? PSHHH. You get on that set and you go to sleep anyway."
He obviously didn't know the true nature of what we do for the show we work for.
Okay NOW--back to our meeting with producer Joy Czerwonky and what's-his-face.
A lot of the groups voiced questions and concerns were met with short, rude replies from Czerwonky: "No. Next Question." It was easy to see she didn't care much about what we had to say. But the real cherry on top of that Sundae-of-a-meeting was her throwing something along the lines of "if you haven't made it by the age of 23 in the industry, you don't have a chance."
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, wise words coming from the producer of a bunch a movies no one has ever heard of. High five.
Wrapping up our meeting, those who absolutely HAD to depart were put on a list and production was going to find them some form of transpo back to Texas the next day. Those who opted to stay and film the scene the next day were promised, "we will get all of your scenes first, get it all out of the way so that you can be on your way back to Texas" and that if our travel time to Texas carried over into the next day, we would be paid for an extra day of work.
They let us know that they really appreciated us staying to do this for them. In fact, they appreciated it so much that we sat around watching scenes without us in it being filmed for the better part of that day. (I stayed, not because I wanted to. Long story.)
You know what the best part is? We didn't even get to that "classic scene! Best part of the movie!", until a later time than they'd attempted the day before. So, with some bad overhead lighting outside, they shot the scene.
I understand that things on set change all the time, and things don't always go as planned- but I believe we were just straightup lied to.
This is definitely just the tip of the ice burg, and no one can truly understand that unless they were on set.
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