A grip helps out on a movie set. The Key Grip is the main guy who helps organize the other grips.
I mentioned about a year ago that my friend Benjamin won first prize in a Screenwriters contest in New York City.
I spent the day yesterday at a cemetery in Miami, Arizona, helping Benjamin film a short piece from his script. We were a crew of about 10, and I was the bottom gopher. I figure that should be about 4th grip. I sat around watching most of the day.
His main character is an old black man with Alzheimers. His actor is John Cochran who has played in movies beside Clint Eastwood, done lots of Theater, and taught acting at Yale and Stanford. It was amazing to watch him work. In one scene he falls down. I was crouched down below the camera’s view to help make sure he didn’t roll off the air mattress, and after he fell he started groaning. I said, “Are you all right John?”. The director called “Cut!”, and John looked at me and said “You never leave the scene until you hear ‘Cut!'”. I was chagrined. He had just been continuing the role.
The short is for entry in another major contest (he’s already a finalist), with a big enough payout to finance production of the whole movie.
And we just heard today that Benjamin won another category first place screenwriter’s award from the Woods Hole Film Festival.
With or without the prize money for the short, he hopes to begin filming the full-length movie this fall or winter.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Don // Aug 11, 2009 at 10:58 pm
This is really cool!
2 Donna // Aug 12, 2009 at 8:48 pm
That sounds like fun. Especially when the movie comes out and you can see it out in public. Kind of like me knowing a little part of what I did is in Blackberries and iPhones.
3 Mom // Aug 13, 2009 at 8:45 am
After being in the movies, you came home and made your mommy’s bed, etc. It was a very humbling deed, after having such an important part in a movie. I think that Heather ended up on the cutting room floor after her role in a movie so long ago.
4 Don // Aug 13, 2009 at 11:36 am
I was in a movie. I don’t think Donna made it in but we were both extras in “CC and Company” which starred Joe Namath and Ann Margaret. I’ve been told you can see me in one scene but I never did. Maybe I should buy it and find out now that we can slo-mo it.