things i have been asked to do in the ontario film industry that made me feel very, very, very uncomfortable
1) be alone, often, with rich powerful men screaming on their cell phones while i had to drive a car. so much yelling you are shaking holding the wheel. it's scary.
2) be alone, often, in empty production offices at all hours of the night, with little to no security. had one studio owner find out that i was in the office alone one night (prob 2am+), when i had to call him when i had trouble locking up (it snowed so much our office door was frozen slightly open, and it was down a hall, away from me (i was desk bound assistant production coordinator), and no one fixed it all day (people who used this door: PAs, transport, costumes, art dept, maintenance from bldg), so the snow kept coming in, melting, then freezing, and building an wedge of ice. i had been working for 12+ hours on a FLAT rate, so i just called. i also called because this studio owner is a real human being, and a huge example of how to do business and be a human. thank you jim. he told me to make sure i was clear in the parking lot, and to go home immediately, and he'd send someone over to figure out the ice. he was right about the parking lot, a few days later my boss had all her dirty laundry, in a laundry bag, stolen from the back seat of her car, and some DVDs (i think it was FRIENDS or GILMORE GIRLS). she was going to drop her laundry off. she was so mad because it was all of her favourite jeans in one go. she was outside for a smoke probably 15min before someone came in to say her shit had been stolen. the car was broken into within eyesight of the back door, so it happened after she went back inside. so quick in toronto. grab and run. that office is gone now, it's now a condo tower
another toronto production office had an issue with people walking in open doors (this office is now a key pass fortress). someone would open an outside door for air, probably airing out a smelly lunch, and a brazen soul would walk in the open door, and take what ever the fuck they could and run (usually lap tops). actually, my same boss who had her laundry stolen, she was in this other office and a dude walked around the corner, and was surprised to see her working at her desk (it was Saturday - film doesn't sleeeeeep). she wasn't alone in the office, but, she was the only person in the bullpen/main area. he froze, like a squirrel, and ran quickly back out the open door. she immediately closed that door and we never left it open again, especially in the office alone. she called security, but, they didn't do anything other then tell us to stop leaving the door open and to buy lap top chains to lock our computers to our desks. they would even send a dude over to drill huge holes in our heavy wooden office desks for us to run the tether cords through. i used to just put my lap top in a drawer and pray nothing would happen. i couldn't afford a chain, and production didn't supply them. if your computer was stolen on a show, you were shit out of luck. meanwhile, many jobs on productions require you to have a lap top or desk top computer. departments will provide computers, especially for accounting, but, for production, ADs, art dept - pretty much everyone except drivers and PAs - you are required to have a kit, and your kit should include a computer and cell phone at minimum. you are paid a kit fee on real budgeted shows for these items, and production should insure them, but, the deductibles are usually too high to replace, and it always gets messy. ideally no one wants their personal kit stolen, and no PM wants to replace your shit so watch your backs. especially in Toronto, where the biggest known thief is still working, even though he has been reported to his union. #themoreyouknow
3) asked to drive unregistered, unroadworthy picture cars on independent non union productions. on one show, i refused, as the production manager, to do this, and refused to allow any of the crew to do it. the producers had to do it. i should of called the cops on them myself, but, like most people, I NEEDED THE PAY CHQ. ironically, the cars we were transporting WERE COP CARS. #filmlyfe
4) asked by the producers, often on some productions, to rip off my own crew. disgusting labour violations. i've fought this a lot. and this folks is why i rarely work as a PM/LP. ethics. not all producers or productions are run this way, and i refuse to run my own like this.
5) worked 21 hours in one day, and then sat in rush hour morning traffic back to my house. that was 2008 and i started planning to leave toronto then. around the time i decided to avoid US productions in toronto as they were abuse pits. this 21 hour day - no way should of i driven home that day. i was sooooo tired. unfortunately, the set crew had worked even longer. this was the night my friend (a set worker) totalled his car really close to his house and i'm glad he wasn't badly hurt. i remember him being upset about his work rental car, and i was like: 'DUDE WE ARE ALL JUST GLAD YOU ARE OK'. i have no clue how many hrs he worked that day. 23+ probably.
recently, alias grace s01 had a string of accidents while they were shooting on location. crew had to self drive to set a very long distance from hotel & back, plus work long days (14hrs+). i'm not sure why they didn't shuttle crew en masse, they had budget for things like that. IDK. whenever you think a shows problem can just be solved by money, you have to realize that even on big budget shows there are constraints. or if there are no constraints, they eventually come when the show goes over budget. nothing worse than a director who is out of control with ego and spending. it's a nightmare whether you are the producer or the crew member. the producer usually just gets better lunch and access to more alcohol. surprisingly these drunk producers, who usually have assistants, they get DUIs and then someone from the production will have to drive them around, for the rest of the show if it's bad enough.
6) be asked to work with people who are known abusers, either after witnessing or reporting the abuse. the abusers were never punished, if anything, slightly verbally warned. i started saying no to shows with abusers, and i refused to work on productions that didn't interest me. if i thought there was a chance for me to learn something, i'd take it. after awhile, i just took whatever was offered, as i got more and more job offers to be the person who "fixed things" which really is more stress that i really do not want, usually with shit pay. production coordinating & production managing on indie films in Ontario are the worst labour conditions i've worked under, and i did some of it as a union member.
2) be alone, often, in empty production offices at all hours of the night, with little to no security. had one studio owner find out that i was in the office alone one night (prob 2am+), when i had to call him when i had trouble locking up (it snowed so much our office door was frozen slightly open, and it was down a hall, away from me (i was desk bound assistant production coordinator), and no one fixed it all day (people who used this door: PAs, transport, costumes, art dept, maintenance from bldg), so the snow kept coming in, melting, then freezing, and building an wedge of ice. i had been working for 12+ hours on a FLAT rate, so i just called. i also called because this studio owner is a real human being, and a huge example of how to do business and be a human. thank you jim. he told me to make sure i was clear in the parking lot, and to go home immediately, and he'd send someone over to figure out the ice. he was right about the parking lot, a few days later my boss had all her dirty laundry, in a laundry bag, stolen from the back seat of her car, and some DVDs (i think it was FRIENDS or GILMORE GIRLS). she was going to drop her laundry off. she was so mad because it was all of her favourite jeans in one go. she was outside for a smoke probably 15min before someone came in to say her shit had been stolen. the car was broken into within eyesight of the back door, so it happened after she went back inside. so quick in toronto. grab and run. that office is gone now, it's now a condo tower
another toronto production office had an issue with people walking in open doors (this office is now a key pass fortress). someone would open an outside door for air, probably airing out a smelly lunch, and a brazen soul would walk in the open door, and take what ever the fuck they could and run (usually lap tops). actually, my same boss who had her laundry stolen, she was in this other office and a dude walked around the corner, and was surprised to see her working at her desk (it was Saturday - film doesn't sleeeeeep). she wasn't alone in the office, but, she was the only person in the bullpen/main area. he froze, like a squirrel, and ran quickly back out the open door. she immediately closed that door and we never left it open again, especially in the office alone. she called security, but, they didn't do anything other then tell us to stop leaving the door open and to buy lap top chains to lock our computers to our desks. they would even send a dude over to drill huge holes in our heavy wooden office desks for us to run the tether cords through. i used to just put my lap top in a drawer and pray nothing would happen. i couldn't afford a chain, and production didn't supply them. if your computer was stolen on a show, you were shit out of luck. meanwhile, many jobs on productions require you to have a lap top or desk top computer. departments will provide computers, especially for accounting, but, for production, ADs, art dept - pretty much everyone except drivers and PAs - you are required to have a kit, and your kit should include a computer and cell phone at minimum. you are paid a kit fee on real budgeted shows for these items, and production should insure them, but, the deductibles are usually too high to replace, and it always gets messy. ideally no one wants their personal kit stolen, and no PM wants to replace your shit so watch your backs. especially in Toronto, where the biggest known thief is still working, even though he has been reported to his union. #themoreyouknow
3) asked to drive unregistered, unroadworthy picture cars on independent non union productions. on one show, i refused, as the production manager, to do this, and refused to allow any of the crew to do it. the producers had to do it. i should of called the cops on them myself, but, like most people, I NEEDED THE PAY CHQ. ironically, the cars we were transporting WERE COP CARS. #filmlyfe
4) asked by the producers, often on some productions, to rip off my own crew. disgusting labour violations. i've fought this a lot. and this folks is why i rarely work as a PM/LP. ethics. not all producers or productions are run this way, and i refuse to run my own like this.
5) worked 21 hours in one day, and then sat in rush hour morning traffic back to my house. that was 2008 and i started planning to leave toronto then. around the time i decided to avoid US productions in toronto as they were abuse pits. this 21 hour day - no way should of i driven home that day. i was sooooo tired. unfortunately, the set crew had worked even longer. this was the night my friend (a set worker) totalled his car really close to his house and i'm glad he wasn't badly hurt. i remember him being upset about his work rental car, and i was like: 'DUDE WE ARE ALL JUST GLAD YOU ARE OK'. i have no clue how many hrs he worked that day. 23+ probably.
recently, alias grace s01 had a string of accidents while they were shooting on location. crew had to self drive to set a very long distance from hotel & back, plus work long days (14hrs+). i'm not sure why they didn't shuttle crew en masse, they had budget for things like that. IDK. whenever you think a shows problem can just be solved by money, you have to realize that even on big budget shows there are constraints. or if there are no constraints, they eventually come when the show goes over budget. nothing worse than a director who is out of control with ego and spending. it's a nightmare whether you are the producer or the crew member. the producer usually just gets better lunch and access to more alcohol. surprisingly these drunk producers, who usually have assistants, they get DUIs and then someone from the production will have to drive them around, for the rest of the show if it's bad enough.
6) be asked to work with people who are known abusers, either after witnessing or reporting the abuse. the abusers were never punished, if anything, slightly verbally warned. i started saying no to shows with abusers, and i refused to work on productions that didn't interest me. if i thought there was a chance for me to learn something, i'd take it. after awhile, i just took whatever was offered, as i got more and more job offers to be the person who "fixed things" which really is more stress that i really do not want, usually with shit pay. production coordinating & production managing on indie films in Ontario are the worst labour conditions i've worked under, and i did some of it as a union member.
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