Pooper's first commercial, Part 2

I jokingly told the production assistant, Paul, that it might just be time for a little powder-freshen-up from the make-up gal, but I wasnt kidding.

It was a scorcher, as we call 'em around here, and when the Director sent an assistant to close the umbrella at the picnic table....the umbrella I was sitting under, the umbrella protecting me from the brightly burning sun, well, it got pretty hot.

Paul chuckled at my remark, and I smiled back, wiping the sweat off my upper lip.

Just a tid-bit of info...Paul was the guy in charge of myself and the few adults at the patio table. After each take, he would come over and tell us that we did great, and often directed so-and-so to stand up sooner, or asked one of us to move to the left, look to the right, stand back, etc. etc. He was always encouraging and sweet.

At one point, I asked something about what Pooper was doing, a few feet below us at the poolside, and he said, "Oh, I dont know, this is my area here." as he motioned to the patio table I was sitting at. Hmmm...so, each area had there own person monitoring the "acting"...kinda cool.

The whole project "wrapped" shortly thereafter, after a solid 2.5 hours of our "pool party."

Suddenly, the crew swooped down, and were in a hurry to move the kids out of the backyard. We had a bit of unfinished business, but they shuffled us over to the house next door (the house where the front yard was set up with the food truck and linen covered tables.)

In a hurried fashion, we grabbed our bags and the wardrobe gals collected up all of the loaner clothes.

There seemed to be a bit of urgency to get the kids off the site, and I heard someone mention the 'work hours'. Im too new to know what the parameters are, but I do know that there are strict laws re: how long the kids can be on set. The youngest boy was just 6 and I think we must have been coming up to a time limit.

All joking aside, all of the staff were incredibly nice, patient, kind and funny. They were a great bunch, and Pooper had a great time.

I know the Director for the project is David Fincher, of Fight Club, Seven and Panic Room fame. Pooper had brought along an autographed (by Pooper), "Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand" book, for Mr. Fincher, thanking him for, "making lemonade" (he is volunteering his time, and recruiting a lot of celebrities, for the Stand Up 2 Cancer campaign.)

The problem, as we were quickly leaving the backyard, was that I didnt have a clue which of the 50 crew members was actually David Fincher. I asked Jeff, the teacher, if David Fincher was there, and he said, "Yeah, the guy in the blue hat." I could find nobody in a blue hat. Many of the folks were standing behind the cameras, lights and those big screens (that filter light or block sun or something)....so, hard to find anyone.

We left the property, and as we were getting info for the next shoot, I asked the assistant, Paul, if Pooper could give the book to Mr. Fincher. He said, "Yes, but it might be easier at the Dodger Stadium shoot, because they are trying to finish up here." I asked him if he would give it to David for us. The important thing, wasnt to have Andrew meet David Fincher, although that would be nice, it was to give the book to Mr. Fincher. I shared with Paul, that Andrew was a survivor, and he just wanted to show his appreciation to David for supporting the fight for a cure. Paul, who was probably in his early 30's, told me that cause was near to his heart too, as his wife had recently completed treatment for breast cancer. As I grabbed our bag, Paul was thumbing through the book, and as Pooper and I left, he gave me a hug.

It was around noon, and we were due back at Dodger Stadium at 3pm. It was probably about 10-15 miles away, but with the zoo that is LA traffic, it might take longer. In any case, we would have at least a couple of hours to kill. Ideally, I would liked to have found a theater, a theater with air-conditioning, and comfy, nap-able seats. Pooper tires easily, and I knew he would do best to sleep awhile before we did the next Public Service Announcement.

Only two of the kids from our pool party were continuing to the Dodger Stadium filming. We decided to grab some lunch with one of them. We agreed to go to Dodger Stadium, and then find somewhere in that area to eat.

Stay tuned, part 3 to follow!!