Every time I look over my shoulder, the newsstand attendant appears to be starring at me from his little chair, skinny legs crossed, his fragile little cigarette begging to be flicked of dead ash – kind of like when smokers’ cough tries to rid of the dead ash from their lungs … but can’t. Maybe it’s because he’s actually one of thousands of bipedal aliens here to observe the human race inhabiting overlooked employment positions such as newsstand tenants, gas station clerks, taxi drivers, even … Hollywood runners! Or, maybe it’s because I bought the daily trades twenty minutes ago and I’m still parked in front of his stand with a dead battery under the hood of my car. Whatever the reason, he’s starring at me from his little chair, it’s 101 degrees at nine O’clock in the morning, I have work in ten minutes, and my car won’t start. Great Monday.
As a film producer and director, I’m not a stranger to Murphy’s Law, in fact I’m more of a friend because we see each other so often, so I had jumper cables in my trunk as well as a friend at work. Working in Hollywood is like working for Murphy himself; and you have to learn to expect the unexpected, predict the unpredictable, and even fly … well, if you can consistently tell the future then you’re obviously super-human … or alien. It reminds me of the play I saw over the weekend, titled “Peter Pan”. The performers had to be on their feet at all times and improve in case something went unplanned or off-script.
Unfortunately, the runner is somewhat like the editor of a picture; they’re unseen and unheard when they do their job well; like every entry level position in the industry but when they make a mistake, they have to answer to the big cheese with an explanation.
Such as the time I was sitting in for the Big Cheese’s assistant and he asked, with a playful smile upon his face I might add,
“Is there a runner around? Can I get a yoo-hoo.” you might know it as the chocolate drink with the yellow wrapper. The came as a non-pleasant surprise because he usually had juice or soda with a cup of ice in the morning, which was neatly arranged by the assistant’s desk. The other runner is out so I grab my keys and hit the road to the closest gas station imagining what I would do if I didn’t know that gas stations carry yoo-hoos. Thanks to Murphy, the station only carried the Starbucks’ frapaccino drinks. So I drive to the drug store. Thanks to Starbucks, the drug store
only carries Starbucks … it’s true, Starbucks is taking over the world – at least we know now. As if struggling to check under a rock on the bottom of the ocean for a spare scuba tank while slowly suffocating, I sped to another gas station and to my surprise, I found the scuba tank! I bought two yoo-hoos for security because for all I knew, a combination of earthquake and a freak-lightening strike could send the yoo-hoo out of the open window and into the opening ravine previously known as Sunset Boulevard and into molten hot lava or send it into an open sewer top where it would break upon it’s impact with the sewer floor … and create four teenage mutant ninja turtles and sensei rat – Hey, it may not be green or glowing but it’s still very potent. So even after all that hard work of getting Murphy’s yoo-hoo, I approach the big cheese with his bottle of chocolate ooze and he expresses a puzzled look on his face. What he said was short and sharp … like the knife in Psycho plummeting into my ears as if following the beat of a metronome. “I didn’t mean go buy one. I have them in my fridge. I just wanted a glass of ice.” Hence, hard work gets overlooked.On the bright side, he laughed about the incident and to my surprise, I survived another day and became closer to Murphy. After a few bumps with Murphy’s Law, you grow to enjoy the challenges he reveals. Which brings me back to the incident that inspired me to write this article in the first place … my dead car.
After a quick jumpstart, I was headed toward the dealership near downtown … or at least I thought I was. I was heading down Fairfax Ave from Sunset in hopes of banging a left on Olympic but found myself in Venice soon after. I should have known to turn around earlier when I passed Pico because it was the first major street after Olympic. By this time, I know that Murphy and I must be best of friends. After a while of blind navigation, as usual when you don’t have a clue where you’re going, I found the dealership.
“You have to go to 444 Vernon for servicing” or Victor or some street with a V. After a quick trek to the service center, and four hours later, I was driving with a new battery under the hood and 90 dollars less from my wallet. So much for warrantee. Today is another day and surprises lurk and lay around every corner.
I’ve got to run to the bank but as a final thanks to Murphy, I remind everyone pursuing a career in the entertainment industry that Murphy’s Law is a very powerful element in the business. Not only because it can bog you down with unexpected circumstances but also because it can present you with unforeseen opportunity due the after-efffect of "anything can go wrong ... will go wrong". Murphy’s Law can be a best friend to those flying blind into this crazy business because, after all, Murphy reminds us all that anything can happen.
Christopher Rice
President
BackPocket Entertainment
http://www.ScriptDig.com
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