Goodbye car, goodbye Griff
So yesterday evening I called up Jesse and Griff, asking them if they wanted to film. I hopped in the car, picked up Griff, and the two of us drove over to Jesse's house. There was this one scene wherein Jesse had to run up to a moving car, flag it down, and then throw the driver out Grand Theft Auto style. Here is the scene as scripted:
Wacky steps into the path of an oncoming car, motioning
for it to stop. He goes up to the driver's side and
opens the door.
DRIVER
Can I help you sir?
Wacky throws the driver out of the car and pulls out a
gun. The driver starts screaming for his life when he
sees the weapon. He pulls out his wallet and frantically
shows Wacky pictures of his family.
Now since I drove, we would have to use my car for this particular scene. And since I was filming, I wouldn't be the one driving my car. In the ensuing moments I realized that several mistakes had been made on my part, which in turn led to a catastrophe:
Mistake #1 - Handing my keys over to Griff, quite possible the worst driver on the face of the Earth. The man had to take a class to get his license back, and he still hasn't learned his lesson.
Mistake #2 - Buying a car with power-locks.
Mistake #3 - Filming on a busy road with several parked cars in the vicinity.
So we set up the scene. Right before we began, I told Griff to roll down the window of my car so that I could tell him something. After I said "action", Griff and Jesse did exactly what they were supposed to do. Jesse went running into the street, waving his arms for Griff's character to stop the car, which he did. And as scripted, Jesse went to the driver's side door, opened it, and threw Griff onto the street. Now Griff, being the master thespian he is, was too worried about getting into character to put the car in park. Imagine the look of horror on my face as I watched through the LCD screen on my camera as my 1996 Pontiac Beretta went cruising down the street. As the car rolled away, the driver's side door slammed shut and my wonderful power-locks kicked in. I chased the runaway car down the street, screaming "GRIFF NO!" as I did so. When I caught up with the car, I pulled the handle only to realize that it was locked. So I dove through the open window, and slammed my hand furiously on the brake.
I guess it wasn't so bad because no one got hurt and it gave us an idea for the movie.
So the moral of the story is: never let John Commodore Griffith drive your car.
Wacky steps into the path of an oncoming car, motioning
for it to stop. He goes up to the driver's side and
opens the door.
DRIVER
Can I help you sir?
Wacky throws the driver out of the car and pulls out a
gun. The driver starts screaming for his life when he
sees the weapon. He pulls out his wallet and frantically
shows Wacky pictures of his family.
Now since I drove, we would have to use my car for this particular scene. And since I was filming, I wouldn't be the one driving my car. In the ensuing moments I realized that several mistakes had been made on my part, which in turn led to a catastrophe:
Mistake #1 - Handing my keys over to Griff, quite possible the worst driver on the face of the Earth. The man had to take a class to get his license back, and he still hasn't learned his lesson.
Mistake #2 - Buying a car with power-locks.
Mistake #3 - Filming on a busy road with several parked cars in the vicinity.
So we set up the scene. Right before we began, I told Griff to roll down the window of my car so that I could tell him something. After I said "action", Griff and Jesse did exactly what they were supposed to do. Jesse went running into the street, waving his arms for Griff's character to stop the car, which he did. And as scripted, Jesse went to the driver's side door, opened it, and threw Griff onto the street. Now Griff, being the master thespian he is, was too worried about getting into character to put the car in park. Imagine the look of horror on my face as I watched through the LCD screen on my camera as my 1996 Pontiac Beretta went cruising down the street. As the car rolled away, the driver's side door slammed shut and my wonderful power-locks kicked in. I chased the runaway car down the street, screaming "GRIFF NO!" as I did so. When I caught up with the car, I pulled the handle only to realize that it was locked. So I dove through the open window, and slammed my hand furiously on the brake.
I guess it wasn't so bad because no one got hurt and it gave us an idea for the movie.
So the moral of the story is: never let John Commodore Griffith drive your car.