Surprise! It's a secret....

Oh, now I can talk about the show I worked on this week. Surprise!

Actually that's the name of the show. I was the rehearsal host for Jenny McCarthy. They had me wired with a lov, a handheld, and an ear feed from the director. I was on stage, in the audience, on the satellite stage, all over the place..... a lot of work, but I love what I do! Jenny was great to work with. Not just saying that. She has a warmth and an energy that shines. Needless to say she is funny as hell.

I also read a few of her books...she is naturally funny and very open about her life, which is not easy for anyone  much less a celeb.

I read her book "Belly Laughs" while deciding if I wanted to have a child or not...(decided not to by the way), but her insight and humor I appreciated very much! Her sense of humor translates well on the page.  She was open and real.

Me and my Sebring...

In this tough economy even my car needs a job!  Got booked as a precision driver and me AND my car are working actors once again.

My convertible even has a couple of agents in L.A....(not really, just registered movie car databases).

The last night of shooting for the Untitled Diablo Cody Project...worked 7pm to 6am...good thing we had such a fun group of people to share the time with.

Russell Brand was more and more lively as the evening went on....must be a night owl.

Apparently the car one of the characters drives is just like mine but red. One of the P.A.'s on the set told me that it was stolen the first night of shooting in Vegas last week and if they had known about mine they'd have offered to buy it,or rent it and paint it red. That would've been interesting...alas, someone else's Sebring got the new red paint and the $$.

Yes, my trusty Sebring JXI has been in several productions, can't remember them all but a few are "Final Justice", "Rush Hour 2", "Now and Again", in addition to several others, including the upcoming "Three Days in Vegas"...

A step away....but worlds apart

That pretty much sums it up when you stand in for one of the leads in a major feature film

You can do the blocking, the scenes, even some dialogue, but you step away and the "star" steps in and they might as well be on another planet, professionally speaking...even though they are just a few feet away.

It's a little heady, the feeling on the set...but kind of a letdown too....always the stand in, never the star.  Those of us who have seriously studied, put in the time, paid our dues, we know that a simple twist of fate and we'd have been in their place and them in ours.

I have never lost any sleep over it, life needs balance. The more you obsess over something the more it remains elusive. There are soooo many ways in life to experience happiness, growth and love that focusing on only one, especially one you don't have is a waste of your time and energy.

Standing in for Isla Fisher, (not body double for her)...as you can see we don't really have to look alike.

Filming at the courthouse and Aria Resort & Casino.

Bridesmaids....not the movie!

Only in L.A. Or Vegas would you be asked to be a bridesmaid in a wedding and then two days later be told it all may be on a reality show!

Today I tried to help my best friend get on a fun reality show called "My Fair Wedding"...it's a classy not crazy reality wedding show.

She's getting married in June or July so the timing would've been perfect. Also, her father passed away just eight weeks ago, so it wouldve been a nice distraction from her loss.

They didnt select her for this show, so we will now have fun doing the planning and will put it on camera because you never know what YouTube fun may ensue!

And in 5...4...3...2.

Yay, busy couple of weeks in town.

An awards show, a concert special and two major feature films...

Working with Lionel Richie was inspiring. The guy is like 60 or older and lean, mean, energy machine! Shows what healthy living can do for you. Also, I noticed how nervous some of the other performers were to do his music. that's sweet to see, hardly ever do. Guess The Band Perry, Lady Antebellum, even Blake Shelton were a bit out of their comfort zone. Of course they all did a great job at the taping, which airs April 13, (CBS I think).  Appreciated that we got tickets for the show, don't always, that's for sure. Of course I always feel a bit awkward when I am in my cheap seats and start talking to people and mention I was, for example, a stand in or a host stand in. Sometimes it seems they don't quite believe me....why would I have such lame seats.....don't blame them for thinking that. But being hired by production and being "one of" production is not the same thing. Guess I am just a "puppet" for hire!

Before that it was the Academy of Country Music Awards. Stood in for Reba as host for the first time. That was fun....with a small but manageable level of stress....what can I say, "Dick Clark Productions" peeps make me nervous. Back to Reba, of course I stand in for about every host in town so why not her now too? It's a position I enjoy and appreciate!

I am working night shoots, started last night. There are two movies in town. One starring Russell Brand, Julianne Hough, and the other with Morgan Freeman and Jesse Eisenberg.  Last night was the Russell Brand film. Call time was 7:30 and wrapped at 6:00am. Long night, started out with Fremont Street full and busy! By the time 3:30 rolled around it was as quiet as a church and that's when Mr. Brand emerged for his scenes. Before that it was Julianne Hough and Octavia Spencer doing the crowd scenes...guess they don't have the same danger as being mobbed as he does. I had a pleasant night, if you count standing all night on Fremont Street pleasant. Anyone who works on sets knows that's the way it goes though!  I had been one of two considered to be Julianne's stand in but another girl was chosen. When I saw her I thought she made a better stand in looks wise than I would have.

Guess what? Now that the SAG and AFTRA* unions have merged as of 3/30 my sister is now SAG too! So she will soon be working alongside me on these films making almost twice as much as before as a non union actor...which still isn't much, you'd be surprised if you're not in the business. Anyway, in these times it helps! Of course now there are twice the union people in town than there were. That doesn't bother me though. Both myself and Karen have good reputations and histories with production here in Vegas so I don't think it will really affect either one of us in any real way.

Noticed that our local SAG leader, Steve Clinton came by at the beginning of the shoot just to check things out. That was a nice surprise.

*Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television & Radio Artists