Entourage HBO

Since Entourage seems to be the most popular show that Damien has worked on, I thought I'd name this blog after this job! Not only did Damien work on it, but I did as well. Getting this phone call was so exciting because I knew it was my friend, Charles', favorite show. Or at least one of his favorites. Now he'll be able to see Damien on TV.

This show is filmed far from our house so we had to leave early in the morning. We left about 4am for a long drive through Los Angeles and about an hour north of it. I was shocked to see the dirt road that we needed to turn down. We almost needed four wheel drive. Luckily I was following another car or else I probably would have gotten lost or turned back, thinking this couldn't possibly be the right way. But after a while we came to a grouping of trailers and lots of parked cars and we knew we found the location.

Homebase way out in nowhere land.

It was cold in the mountains, I do mean freezing cold with a slight breeze which made it even colder. We both wore our jackets and Damien was starting to cough and sneeze. We went inside the holding area which was a large tent. At the sign in table the young lady looked at Damien and said she has picture selected him. This means she looked at pictures of boys and girls and said, Thats the one we want! At least that's what I've been told. I hear being picture selected is a good thing. By the way, Damien was also picture selected for Charlie Wilson's War.

We filled out all the necessary paperwork and then off to the large table lined with food. Wow, they had all sorts of breakfast goodies, from muffins and cereal to eggs and sausage. Damien ate a little and we waited to be called. They sent him off to wardrobe where they handed him three outfits. He was to play a poor Columbian child. His clothes were faded and worn and seemed to be a size or two too small. Luckily the really short shorts were too small and he didn't have to wear them in the freezing cold weather. His first outfit was a faded red shirt and his own jeans and shoes.

Soccer scene.

While getting his outfits a car pulled up and I could hear people whispering, "There's Adrian." Okay, never having watched the show before, I wondered if this could be the "star" and sure enough, it was. A very very tall and handsome man got out of his car wearing a long black coat. He had curly black hair and a gorgeous smile that I won't forget. I know better than to talk to the main actors but geesh, we were about 6 feet away from him. At least I got a good look!

Then Damien was sent off to school where all acting children need to go for at least 3 hours of tutoring. Meanwhile, I met another boy's Mom and we decided to sit inside the tent together. The crew was really nice (I'd love to work this job again) and they asked us if we could help them out by being extras in the show. We both agreed and filled out our own papers then we were sent off to wardrobe. Okay, here's the tricky part. I had no idea that you "must" wear whatever they tell you to wear. Ugh! I was given three outfits to wear. Most of course were too small. Okay, it's not that I'm huge but if you ever see a breakdown, you'll notice they tend to think a woman's average size is a 4. Ha Ha! I was given a button down blue shirt for the first scene. We then had to go on set with our boys. I was surprised to walk up the hill a short ways and find a whole Columbian village. Roads, churches, chickens, donkey's and lots of background actors.

Damien and the other boy were given a soccer ball and told to kick it around the street. A wardrobe lady came around with a small black nylon bag full of some sort of dirt and patted myself and my son with it to make us appear dirty. Our jeans and shoes needed some extra cleaning that night!While the boys kicked a ball around, the other Mom and I chatted while we walked down the dirt road and around the corner. When a tank and other vehicles pulled up the boys were to run over and hold the soccer ball while they looked at the cars. In the second scene the other Mom and I were to cross the street, right between the camera and the tank, followed by the car which Adrian and the other actors were getting out of. It was funny to hear our directions.."First goes the donkey, then you two, then the man pushing the ice cream cart".

Orange and white stripes.

The boys were then in another scene where they steal fruit. Damien's outfit for this one was a tight orange and white striped shirt. He wore his jacket between scenes and we even tried to stay warm inside of the Columbian Church for a while. This scene was our favorite. It made us Mom's laugh as they ran over to take bananas and sometimes potoatoes from the stand. It was filmed quite a few times and we have no idea which take will be used, but in one take Damien slips and falls, and in another a man catches him by the waist when he's trying to get away. Hopefully the scene will make it to the tv screen. The boys run right past the Entourage crew so we're hopeful.

Stealing fruit! The "Entourage" is to the right.

One thing we weren't told about this job is the cussing that is used on set. I now understand it's part of the HBO show, but at the time, I had no clue. Damien seemed to handle it well, though he told me afterwards, "Wow, did you hear them?" After lunch the other Mom and I were told to change wardrobe. Ewww..I was given a sleeveless horizontal striped tank top to wear that was again two sizes too small. They also put me in lace up orange shoes. The other Mom was in a short skirt, matching top and scarf and flip-flop shoes. We went back to the Columbian Village but they filmed without us. I have to admit, we had a great time and it was even better when my check arrived at my house. Talk about easy money! Plus we were fed lunch too.

A service man from the tank.

As we signed out for the day, they told us they might call us back the next day. They did. They wanted Damien back for 5 days total. Unfortunately, he ended up with bronchitis and we spent the next day at the doctors. The other boy couldn't return either so other kids were hired. This show hasn't aired yet, so we have high hopes that they make the cut!