twenty years and still having a blast.

In an unashamed attempt to rebuild my audience, I am posting pictures of some of my film work.

I have found my voice again after being silent for too long. I let my care about what others think of me stagnate my words. That concept is a writing killer.

so, let me say, I love you all but I don’t care if you like what I have to say. I am going to write.

But, for today, PICTURES!!!

  Here I am in my first film endeavor. I was a featured extra in a movie called RadioLand Murders. I came to my first day of filming with my hair done in finger waves that I did myself and soon after was hired on in the hair department for the remainder of the shoot. Ha, God has a sense of humor.

  Yep, this is my Eddie. He also worked on the same film as a photo double. When they asked if he would be willing to shave his mustache for it if they gave him a hundred dollars more, his reply was, “for a hundred bucks I will shave my legs too.”

  Marilyn Manson and the wiener in Eastbound and Down.

Army Wives, Catherine Bell, 1980s hair

this is season one of Army wives. Loved every day of working with this lady.

and…….

Sally Pressman/ Army Wives season 1

This lovely lady too.

I have enjoyed this career for twenty years this year and it has been my pleasure to work with many  kind and nice actors. There have been a few stinkers in the mix but, thankfully, they are few and far between.

These are a few of the good ones…

    

It takes all kinds to work on a film set. For the most part we are all a little crazy some way or another. I don’t mind crazy. Crazy just adds to the fun.

My favorite films are the ones that have lots of laughter behind the scenes. The older I get, the more I realize that I don’t have to compete with anyone else in my industry. I have my own unique set of skills and so does everyone else on a film set. I have the most fun when I can let go of my fear and my ego and appreciate what each person brings to the table. I am pretty sure this translates to any job. It is in that kind of atmosphere of freedom that a job ceases to feel like work and begins to be a place and time for the creative juices to flow.

well, it appears I found something to say after all.

It would not hurt my feelings at all if you left me indication that you looked at my post today. Thanks for hanging in here with me.

hair fashion inspiration and the longest ride

If laughter is a good medicine then laughing at myself must be good for my soul.

I should be reading a script and making notes this morning.

Does anyone else in the blogosphere agonize over starting a post with a word other than “I”? The more I think about it the harder it is to do. After all it is my blog with my thoughts and my words. I guess it must have “I” in it more than once or twice.

It is Saturday morning, I am in my PJs and have already had 3 cups of coffee and it is not quite eleven AM yet.

okay Coni, focus! You aint gettin’ any younger here.

I am excited that I will be going to a hair show and expo at the end of this month. Fawn is going to meet me there. It will be her first big show. This is one of the biggest in the country. There will be hundreds of presenters teaching about new products, conducting classes on hair cuts, colors and perms, new techniques and, of course, trying to sell us everything in their line. It is always an inspiring time and I get to hang out with my very cool daughter in between classes. We have reservations at a 4 star hotel that is only a block from the convention center. I love when a plan comes together.

http://www.premiereorlandoshow.biz/shows/orl/default.asp

I will begin prepping for a Nicholas Sparks movie as soon as I return. The story is The Longest Ride and it spans seventy years.

We will be creating some beautiful period fashions of the 1940s, 50s, 60s and more.. Many of you know, this is my favorite thing to do. I will be working under a very talented lady who is a wizard with wigs among other things. We had a great experience working together on another film here in Wilmington and I learned some valuable things from her. Colleen is a ball of energy and her ideas come fast and furiously. I only hope I can keep up with her. I will have to take my vitamins every day and eat a healthy breakfast. 😉

Have I mentioned lately that I love my job?

contract vs covenant

I hate learning things the hard way! The new lesson, which is just an old one revisited, is to get it in writing! This film business is just that. A business. Networks do not care about your (or my) personal problems. If you are not smart enough to protect yourself they will take advantage.

Case in point:

Last September I was working on Ironman 3. My union contract was good and the production company was respectful. My health insurance and my retirement fund were being paid into each day, plus my hourly rate plus over time plus rental of the equipment in my kit. My boss lady was a hoot and I enjoyed every day of work with her. All in all, I would say it was an excellent job. And getting to watch Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Kingsley acting…. what is not to love??

While working this good job, I got a call from another production that needed some rather urgent help. Their actors were going to do a satellite interview the next day and they had no one to do hair and make up for them. I was scheduled to work on IM3 but my boss lady agreed to let me off for the day so I could help my friends out. Talk of money ensued and I agreed to be paid half of the going rate for this job as a favor to them and because it would cover my expenses. Frankly, I was also hoping to get some more work on their show when IM3 finished filming. Here is the lesson… all the money promises were verbal!!! DUH! At the end of the work day, I turned my invoice in to the production manager and she  promptly told me that my rate was not in their budget and they never negotiated such a rate with anyone. During the conversation, she changed the, so called, budgeted amount twice! Hmm.

I have called my union and I have prayed but it appears that I am going to have to learn this lesson the hard way. I still have not been paid because it turns my stomach to accept the amount they have “budgeted”. ( 1/3 of my already discounted wage) By the way, this is a major television network. I can not tell you which one but you can probably figure it out. And, this in no way reflects the hair and make up department on this production. Their hands are tied as tightly as mine by the lack of a written agreement.

Lesson learned. Again. Producers are not my friends. They are business associates. My jobs are the means by which I earn the money to do the things that life is made of! My bills are paid. My mission trip to Spain is covered. I have food in my pantry and clothes on my back.

I am still blessed and highly favored. God has my back and He meets all my needs according to His riches. He has NEVER devalued me! He paid it all and He made a covenant with me that is irrevocable. He has a plan for my life and no man can alter that plan.

Thanks for listening. Moving on. Oh, and get it in writing!!

Work on Safe Haven

Last night I was sitting on my couch, eating Szechuan take out and looking at Face Book. I saw a quote from Joyce Meyer that said, When you are tempted to complain, instead say “Thank You Lord”. So I shared it and underneath, in a comment, I wrote, “Thank You Lord”.
I recently left one job to move onto another that was going to last longer. In the film business, that is a good change. However, after working for 2 days on the new job, I was informed that I would be laid off for 12 days. Not so good. I was disappointed to have no pay for 2 weeks. So, I said, “Thank You Lord.”
Now, I know that was not a magic spell or mantra, but it helped me to focus on the fact that God has it all under control and I do not need to worry. God has never let me down yet and I think He even takes more direct care of widows that put their trust in Him. Besides, worry can do nasty things to a person.
Within minutes of posting that simple thank you, my phone rang. A hair stylist friend on the other end asked me if I wanted to drive down to Southport, a 45 minute drive, and help work on some stunt wigs for Nick Sparks movie, Safe Haven. Thirty minutes later, at 7:30 PM, I was in the car. I had a lovely 45 minutes to thank my Lord properly. He rewarded me with a beautiful sunset as I was pulling into Southport.
And then I got to see the fireworks our production set off over the harbor.
He has it all under control and then some.

A woman walks into a job change

My journey as a hair stylist for film began in 1994. I had lived in Wilmington about a year and a half, and I had become friends with an extras casting person in town. One day she called and asked if I would be interested in working on a George Lucas film as one 150 of the back ground people. I had plenty of free time on my hands and I said yes.

The story, RadioLand Murders is a comedy, set in 1939. The premise was a radio show that was performed for a live audience. I would be one of the actresses back stage which required me to work almost every day of the filming.

The first part of this adventure required me to go to a wardrobe warehouse and be fitted for a gown. Despite my protests, the wardrobe folks did not seem at all interested in the fact that green is the worst color in the world for my skin tones. They promptly picked out a Gross Green Gown for me. I complained profusely (in my head) when I learned that I would have to wear the awful thing for the duration of the shoot.

Next stop on my agenda was hair and make-up. I was handed a piece of paper with some pictures of 1930s hairstyles on it along with directions on how to set my hair. Their thinking was that it would help the hair people out if we could replicate anything close to one of these styles on our own and they would put the finishing touches on it. I was fascinated with the process and, suddenly, the dreaded finger waves I struggled with in cosmetology school became valuable.

I showed up to work my first day with crisp finger waves stuck to my head with gobs of hair gel. The hair department girls loved me. They only had to tidy up the curls in the back and I was picture ready.

I quickly learned that being an extra is extremely boring most of the time. Turns out, I had lots of time to watch and be impressed with the skills of these professionals. The magic was happening all around me as the hair, make up and wardrobe all came together to create the illusion of living in 1939. The set designs of the the theater and stage absolutely transformed us in time! It looked just as it would in the 1930s.

I spent every minute hanging with the hair dressers. I would sweep hair, hand them bobby pins, go find the hair nets; whatever they needed. And the whole time I was watching and learning. By the second week, I knew what they were going to need for the person who sat in their chair and would have it in hand by the time they turned around. It was my way of  keeping my mind occupied.

After about 3 weeks, I was offered a job as a hairstylist on the rest of the film. I never gave a thought to doing hair for film and television before then but now, I can not imagine doing anything else. You just never know what crazy turn a life can take sometimes.

And, yes, you can see me (for about 30 seconds)in the gawd awful green gown in this movie. 😉

Writers, the movie

I just finished working on a film with Greg Kinnear and Lily Collins. I got to be the Department Head hair stylist again. Each time I do, it is a learning experience for me.

This one is a sweet story called “Writers”. It is an independent that will show at some indie festivals and will surely get picked up by a distributor to be shown in theaters. That is my prediction, so be watching for it next year. The main actors are Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Lily Collins and Nat Wolf

Lily is a sweet girl and a good actress. She was a delight to work with every day even though she was on a whirlwind promotion tour for her movie, “Mirror, Mirror” at the same time as our one month shoot. I think she counted 12 flights to different cites. Some of those were to LA (long flights) and one to Paris! Okay, not even feeling bad for her about that! LOL.

Lily is pretty savy about her style and  very professional for one so young. Once she conveyed her wishes, she sat back and let the magic happen. It was so sweet of her to write in her thank you card to me that she felt good about herself every day when we finished her look. AND she had fun with us!! That means a lot to me. It was not hard to make her look good. This photo was the last night of our film. She had traveled and worked a full day and was still adorable and gracious enough to let us all jump in a photo with her.

Thanks Lily and best of luck in your future. I truly hope to see you do great things.

I actually enjoyed my experience on this film. Greg Kinnear was very interesting and gave me a generous gift card to Best Buy along with a card that thanked me for “many good hair days.” Nat Wolf is another professional young actor and he made me laugh ( at least once) every day! Jennifer Connelly brought her own hair and make up people with her so I had very little interaction with her.

It’s nice to have a positive experience to look back on. As many of us in the film business, I struggle sometimes with insecurity. A good friend and  successful fellow hair stylist said to me, “I am afraid that one day they will discover that I don’t know what I am doing.” I think we have all felt like that at some point in our careers.

A lot depends on the co-workers around you too. Gina Baran did a very good job as my key. I never once felt like I couldn’t trust her to do what is best for our department. That is priceless. After all, why wouldn’t we want to make our department look brilliant?

Hair and Make up have to work very closely. It is good to encourage each other and yet be honest enough to say when something is wrong. We all have some degree of ego in our work so this can be a delicate area. TRUST is of the utmost importance in the make up and hair trailer.

Life as I am learning it.

Every day I have important decisions to make.

1. get out of my bed; (harder than you would think some days)
2. cry whenever I have to. (although I try to do this in private)
3. lean on God more than I lean on my friends. (He always has my back)
4. pray for others (so many friends need prayer)
5. re-model my 20 year old kitchen. (which I am loving!!)
6. take control of my diet. (Ugh)
7. balance work and pleasure. ( say what???!!!)
8. cherish family time whenever it is possible. (looking forward to all the fam coming in town)
9. eliminate the drama mammas. (puh-lease)

Widowhood is not for sissies. It takes some learning and God knows I am trying. I miss Ed every day and, truth of the matter is, it is not getting any easier to be without him.

My work has been a life saver. I just completed an independent film starring Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly and Lily Collins. The title is “Writers”. It was a fun show to work on. I did Greg and Lily’s hair and Patrick Schwarzenegger among others. You will be happy to know they were all very nice.

I love the work I do for television and film. It is not always easy to keep it in proper perspective though. There is a weird sense of urgency to always find the next job. Insecurity runs very high in this industry and lends itself to the feeling that every job finished could be the last job I will ever have, which is complete nonsense. God is my manager and my booking agent. He opens doors that no one can close and closes doors that no one can open. He has put me in some pretty cool positions and He is not done yet. Knowing that helps me to relax and let Him do what He does best; take care of me.

I am actually taking some time off on purpose to spend a week with my family. We rented a house on Topsail Beach and all the girls, SILs and Grands are coming in on Saturday!! The house sleeps 12 and we will fill it. I am so excited to see everyone together. The weather is going to be fabulous, in the 70s and 80s. God is smiling on us right now. Coincidentally, our family time is going to be during the one year mark since Ed passed away. The mere fact that we will all be together on that day is a God thing. I did not plan it that way, it is when the beach house was available and the school vacations worked out. Ed is smiling on us too.

Many pictures will be taken. 😀

This story is about forgiving

For all my creative crazies out there, I want to share with you a post that has inspired me this morning. I found her on Freshly Pressed, on the WordPress home page.

http://leslielaughs.com/2011/10/06/how-to-seize-every-31-days/

NOW! This story is about forgiving.

My occupation is filled with talented, creative and extremely insecure people. I know this because on any given day I am one or all of these adjectives. I have worked with make up artists and hair stylists who have a good sense of who they are and the talents they possess. They have been a challenge and a delight to work with. They share their knowledge and receive ideas from others. They inspire me to become better at my job.

I have also worked with folks who feel threatened by anyone who may have a different method than they are used to. They are insecure and constantly on the defensive, trying to prove what they know. Even if what they know is limited or directed by poor work ethics. They can not  seem to learn from folks who may know something they do not. Argumentative and sensitive they can not or will not follow instruction. Working with this personality is a nightmare to me.

I wish I knew a better way to deal with it. My own insecurities rise up. I find myself second guessing my actions and responses continually. I believe  it is good to take stock of ourselves and when we find a flaw try to correct it. That is not what I am talking about in this instance.

I had a department head job where my key hairstylist was the personality mentioned above. In eight weeks, the work relationship had declined to a point where we had an argument. I called her Princess and she called me passive aggressive. She was right. I was trying not to strangle her or fire her because I knew she had some things to work through. Crew members were coming to me to tell me that she was saying some very negative things about me to the producers.  One person even told me to watch my back because my key was looking for an opportunity to throw me under the bus. Hmm… not what I want to hear when  a demanding job really prevents me from “watching my back.” Still, I did not want to fire her. I had insight to some of her woundedness and  I was hoping God would work some things out in her.

I called some of my prayer warrior friends and asked them to cover “my back.”  They did. By the end of that week, the producers made a decision to fire my key. They did not discuss it with me or explain anything to me when it was all said and done. At first I was shocked and insulted that they did not confer with me before taking this action. In retrospect I am somewhat grateful. I can see that this young lady did not want to work as hard as we were working. She wanted off the show. She was not only bad mouthing me but was relentlessly criticizing the director…. to the actors!!! Much of her behavior was unprofessional at best.

My last 2 weeks of the show ran very smoothly thanks to the help of her replacement. I had not realized that I was doing so much of the work by myself due to her lack of willingness to work as a team.

She has not spoken to me since that night. No explanation, only a text that apologized for leaving me in a bad situation.

I am working on letting go of hurt feelings. Forgiving her for maligning my character. Forgiving her for the things she is still saying about me.

I am working on becoming a better leader. Forgiving myself for not correcting things early on.

I realize that I can not help everyone. There does come a time when I have to let people go from my life.

I am praying for wisdom and healing.

Finished strong

Working in the film industry has been a learning experience. There is nothing quite like a large dose of stress to show a person what they are made of. It can be quite humbling.

For the past ten weeks, I have had the best of times and the worst of times as the hair department head on Eastbound and Down. It has been the most fun ever working with wigs and creating the looks that the producers and directors have a vision for. It has been the hardest doing it all without my soul mate and coming home at night to a house without Eddie in it. Thank God for my Wilmington crew and my prayer warriors that have been such an amazing support.

The actors I have worked with on this project have been some of the most gracious that I have met over the past 17 years in this business. They have been professional, easy going and kind. There is not a trouble maker or prima donna in the bunch. Being surrounded by people who are at the top of their game causes one to want to be the best they can be.

Today was our last day of filming. As I inventory my job performance I see room for improvement and I see some things I have done right. I have heard that the thing people will remember is not how you start but how you finish.

Congratulations to all of us who have “finished”! We made it through record breaking heat and a hurricane and so much more. We will have stories to share for years to come. I am proud to be a part of you.

Iraq in Charleston, SC

This is where I spent my afternoon today.

It is the Army Wives set of Iraq.

Pictures like this show a glimpse of what my world looks like when I am on set. The reality creeps into the make believe when you look at the sand and the Army uniforms and the barracks… then see the camera track on the ground and the crane overhead and the long haired guy in jeans walking through the middle of the scene.

I love working in the film industry.