school of hard knocks, or, just being a jerk?

John Sprung · April 15, 2009

You do what I always do to telemarketers.
Don't hang up.

I've heard that if you hang up on the telemarketer in the overly long pause before they pick up, the demon dialer machine will drop your number from the que.

-- J.S.

Jean Dodge · April 16, 2009

DPs are fired easily and replaced quickly, and often. They are still "below the line," ie, hired help. Christian Bale is an A list actor in an industry at a time when thespians in demand are driving the business and have a lot of power. So there are almost two separate and unequal discussions going on here.

None of this makes being a jerk right, or okay or acceptable, or good form. But it does change your ability to do something about it when it gets out of hand. Prima Donna behavior is one subject of an upcoming film, Rick Linklater's ME AND ORSON WELLES. The spoiler free lesson of the film is, be careful who you stand up to, and how and when you do it. He who has the gold makes the rules, etc. But no one ever escapes a bad rep. Christian Bale is now internationally famous as a spoiled jerk. He'll have to live with that, and his money, for the rest of his life.

Sexist-DP-who-shall-remain-nameless is a pretty common species on this planet. Your "Arriflex" answer was the right thing to say, on many levels and yeah it stinks but get used to hearing more of it. But don't suffer in silence. Your posting to this forum has raised awareness, and was called for. But yeah there are things you can do in the moment.

A film set is like a military unit in ways, and there are channels to go through when one's superior is out of line, just like it isn't okay for foot soldiers to "follow orders" and perpetuate war crimes. If you feel oppressed or harassed or insulted, you were. Period. If you were the 2nd, tell the first at lunch or at the end of the day and let him or her weigh the implications. If you don't like what they do, THEN think about speaking to the first AD, or the production manager about how you felt oppressed, or abused, or insulted etc depending on the nature of this incident. The first AC in your case, had he or she been consulted should have given a word to the wise to the DP in confidence to say, "you know, my second was not happy about being asked about her sexual preferences; you might want to watch what you say in front of her. She's right, you know, it's none of your business. She does a good job and it's working out well with her, let's not cause problems just now." In theory, that saves face all around and should stop the harassment and educate the boorish DP. You might even get an apology. Or, you might get more penis jokes, and then it becomes time to tell the First that you appreciated their help but feel strongly that you have no choice but to speak to someone who can mitigate a situation you feel is wrong or illegal or both, even if it costs you your job. And make sure you are professional about it; but you might want to pick a day early in the week when it will be harder to find a quick replacement for you.... and you might also want to drop by the sound cart and pick up a wireless mic so you can get the harassment on tape, too. And approach the AD or PM with the thought that you simply want to know from them, who is older and wiser, etc (flatter them, basically) what the best course of action might be for you to ensure your SAFETY on set. Put it in terms like that. The whole polite but persistent approach. It's politics.... no surprise there. How you finesse the situation will very likely affect the outcome, not some notion of justice or reliance on the mercy of a high authority. But yeah, we all see where this is heading. No one takes you seriously, you have proof and witnesses but, you get fired anyway and develop a reputation as a man-hating, no sense of humor person in a minority group.

So we're back at the beginning. We all saw the movie PATTON. George Patton famously slapped a shell-shocked soldier and called him a coward for not wanting to go back into combat, and his career suffered for it. But good generals were in short supply and so he was back in position after D-Day, chagrined but his sensitivity unchanged. Christian Bale will be cast again and people will most likely stay out of his sight lines. It's show biz, and yeah a bit like MAD MEN at times. But the upside is that the majority of people you will work with are college educated progressive minded professionals. As industries go, you are in a good one, filled with passionate, driven people who make assumptions that "we're all friends here, so I can tell Pollack jokes, right?" Be prepared to see a lot of extremes. Passionate artistic people with talent battle demons of all sorts, in all kinds of ways and we pay to see them do their best stuff and forgive a lot of shameful behavior too. But we don't forget.

DPs are paid to do artistic work with craftsman's reliability. Actors are paid for their ability to hold an audience, ANY audience's attention on screen, and are like the fastest race horses bred - fragile at best, and notoriously hard to handle. But keep in mind you can't BE a great artist without a certain amount of ego to be in the mix, somewhere - artists are literally mocking the gods, and death, in a way, pretending at perfection and immortality for our enjoyment and edification. It's a tough row to hoe.

I have seen good DPs smash their meters on the ground in frustration at clueless producers' demands, or unwarranted criticism from a director, and actors refuse to come out of trailers for misunderstandings, directors get fired by stars, drunkards and drug abusers and wife-beaters rise in the ranks and the grips take polaroids of their genitals to pass around. Probably all in the same week. And I have also seen respected actors stand up for what is right and just and use their power and position on set to defend the weak and champion the little guy. Or to get a cappucino. Ask the director about any of this and he or she will say, "who cares? Let's put the camera over here next!"

You just never know. It's ain't dull, that's for sure. I watched an african american actor once remove a confederate flag bandana from a grip's head and throw it in the trash in front of the whole crew. Was that an abuse of power, a negation of someone's right to free speech? Or was it a wake up call for racial sensitivity? The truth is, it was just another day on the job. Grow a thick skin but not a blind eye to all this. Do good work and remain professional at all times and prove the exception to the rule. And stay sharp out there, it's a jungle.

Brad Grimmett · April 16, 2009

So how does one learn to filter this stuff out and rise above it without getting walked all over or perpetuating it?

I think you answered this in your post. "Laugh Inwardly". If you can just laugh these silly things off (most of them really are silly after all) I think you'll find that you're much less bothered by them. That doesn't make them right of course, but laughing can help you deal with them, instead of stewing about what an butt someone is.

I've had a few issues in the past where I spoke up when it would have been much better for me in the long run to keep my trap shut. I don't regret standing up for myself, but in the long run it can be better, both for your well-being and future work opportunities, to just let it go and not let it bother you. Of course there are sometimes instances that need addressing and aren't something to laugh about. Knowing the difference can be very important.

Brad Grimmett · April 16, 2009

the union operates a hiring hall that hires not on the basis of ability but by a ranking system which simply means that the person who is unemployed the longest gets first dibs on any job offer and the person if he is fired whithin the first 40 hours of employment is allowed to maintain his ranking on the out of work list. Further what infuriates so called good workers the most is that bad workers are allowed to self qualify themselves for any position that the Union hiring hall offers.

Which union are you talking about? You list yourself as a camera operator, so I assume you're talking about Local 600, but 600 doesn't have a hiring hall, and they don't place workers, at least not that I've ever been aware of. Anyway, just curious which union you were referring to.

Brad Grimmett · April 17, 2009

The truth is, it was just another day on the job. Grow a thick skin but not a blind eye to all this.

Jean, you must be a writer as well as a director! Your post was informative and full of good advice and info. Your advice to "grow a thick skin, but not a blind eye..." is fantastic advice and works in the majority of situations we face on a day to day basis. Well done.

You know, sometimes I almost regret that I've been really lucky on a few particular "dream projects" where everyone treats each other wonderfully, respects each others work, enjoys the long hours they spend together, and actually works on a project worth making and watching. The reason for the "almost regret" is that the vast majority of projects aren't "dream projects", and I know that next week or next month I'll be on the exact opposite type of project, and I might not be on another dream project for years. But I guess in a lot of ways the dream projects are what keep us in the business....