Text 20080, 199 rader
Skriven 2011-06-23 19:58:00 av Richard Webb (1:116/901.0)
  Kommentar till text 20079 av Lee Lofaso (2:203/2)
Ärende: Jackass Dies
====================
HEllo Lee,

On Thu 2011-Jun-23 19:15, Lee Lofaso (2:203/2) wrote to Richard Webb:

<snip>

RW>Indeed, good stunt men, and women are very skilled at what
RW>they do, and do it under carefully controlled conditions,
RW>most of the time.  SOmetimes, no matter how much you think
RW>you've got under control though, the unexpected reaches out
RW>to grab you.

LL> Shit happens.  Which is why most stuntmen take proper precautions.
LL> But even then, that might not be enough.  But hey.  That is the risk
LL> they take.  And they know those risks.  The reason why they are
LL> willing to take those risks is for the money.  And maybe for the
LL> fame.  But most likely for the money, not really caring much for the
LL> fame. 

<snip>
RW>Indeed they should be.  Their work is dangerous.  STagehands flying
RW>speakers, lighting, and sometimes people should be as well paid,
RW>often their work is just as dangerous.

LL> Would you expect them to do it for free, or for next to nothing? In
LL> the past, people would do anything for a buck.  Including children,

INdeed, but I can tell you from experience having worked in
the industry my entire adult life that those stunt men are
much better paid than the rigger who hung the lights and
speakers for that Stones show you saw at the sUperdome.
YEs, those stagehands who go up to rig that stuff are often
wearing hard hats, and oftentimes tied off, but sometimes
not.  I've seen some terrible accidents befall stagehands.
But, back to the topic at hand ...
RW>THe trouble here is that the jackass who killed himself had
RW>been "drinking with friends" the afternoon before the fiery
RW>crash.  I've read that in more than one account of it,
RW>including your post in another echo on the subject.  THat
RW>means he was driving while liquored up.

LL> Dunn did not appear to be intoxicated at any time he was at the bar.
LL> Nor did he appear to be intoxicated at the time he left the bar. 
LL> Yet, the toxicology report showed his blood-alcohol level was 0.196,
LL> which is over twice the legal limit of .08.  In other words, he was
LL> plastered when he wiped out his sports car.

My point exactly.  Appearances can be deceiving, you might
appear lucid and sober, but that doesn't mean you have the
reaction time and mental accuity to handle a few tons of
metal hurtling along at high speed.  Drinking alcohol and
driving don't mix.

RW>I've talked to people on the net who are in the film and tv
RW>location sound business who refuse to work with those guys,
RW>even for the standard day rate with rental package of gear,
RW>because those guys are as abusive to the techs' equipment as they
RW>are to themselves.  When you can get a working location sound guy
RW>to turn down $500/day plus fees for renting gear to a production
RW>because he doesn't want to work with you it speaks volumes.
<snip>

LL> If the money is right, most techs will work with anybody.

rIght, but that $500/day, and a day being 10 hours for your
labor, plus renting your gear, which is standard would be
considered pretty good to most folks who work an average
job.  But, when you figure that the tech who might work on
the film set or other job might work two days this week
instead of 5, has to provide the gear he rents to the
production, and doesn't have full medical, dental, etc. for
his family, and is essentially a small businessman that $500 for just his time
doesn't go far.  REntal on gear makes the
nut on the overhead for the gear, but only if he works in
conditions where that gear is going to be treated with
respect.  NOte my comment that the Jackass production folks
had to buy their own production gear, because service
providers would not work for them and rent them their
personal kit.  tHey're still paying that $500/day for that
sound person, the standard rates for grips, script people,
etc. etc.

LL> Oh, they could have.  But not at the cost they were willing to pay. 


THat's my point.  DO you think I'm going to hire myself out
for a strenuous workday for such a production for standard
rate one day this week and turn down the talking head sit
down video, even if for $100 under scale?  THese field sound folks literally
carry a lot of gear.  YOu want to think
about the sound man gig from hell in the tv and film world,
think about those guys who jump in and out of cars with 100
pounds of kit worn on their bodies to capture sound for a
show such as COPS.  YOur feet legs and back take a beating.
I know guys who have quit the business because the body just couldn't take the
beating anymore <g>.

<snip again>

RW>Those guys are major party animals.

LL> Not all of them.  Some of them are (presumably) sober and actually
LL> know what they are doing.

AS I understand it JOhny Knoxville is a bit more moderate,
but that's why he's essentially lead honcho of that bunch.

LL> I saw somebody get a DUI while drunk on a horse.  The judge threw it
LL> out of court, saying the horse was not a motor vehicle.  The state
LL> legislature then rewrote the law to include animals.  I also saw a
LL> guy get a DUI in a wheelchair.  That one stuck, given it was a
LL> motorized wheelchair.  The fact he was a disabled veteran did not
LL> seem to sway the judge.

<rotfl>  YEp, heard of that one, know a guy, disabled vet as well, who got two
or three speeding tickets in his
wheelchair, and no it wasn't powered <g>.

LL> Dunn's passenger was 30 years old.  Does drinking help with
LL> brainstorming?  Some people think it does.  Even if the reality is
LL> far different.

INdeed this is true, but to brainstorm such stunts one has
to be under the influence of something.  NOrmal sober people i.e. those not on
drugs or drunk don't think about swimming
in a cesspool etc.

RW>YEs, but you have to know when to turn it off, and if
RW>you're going to live like that as part of what makes you
RW>climb to the top, then fer Chrissake hire a fucking driver!

LL> That would have helped.  But too late now.  :)

YOu got that right.

RW>THen howl at the moon to your heart's content, and get home
RW>safe!  AFter all, he could afford it.  I understand, you've
RW>got to be as screwed up as a soup sandwich to think up some
RW>of the stuff I've seen those guys do, and read about them
RW>doing, and even just as messed up to follow through with
RW>them.  But still, you'd think that with that much money
RW>you'd at least want to live to enjoy the fruits of your
RW>labors.  trip to ER as the result of a stunt done for money
RW>and to shock the viewing audience aren't any more fun than
RW>regular trips to er ya know.  THat stuff still hurts!

LL> Oh, but what a rush!  Feel the wind at your face as you jump off
LL> that cliff - without a parachute, of course!

I guess, isn't my thing.  I don't need a rush that badly
thank you.  COnsider some of those base jumpers, etc. in
Yosemite and how the search and rescue folks get tired of
scooping them up off the valley floor when one of their
stunts goes awry.

LL> Evel Knievel had a very successful career bouncing off pavement. But
LL> at least he had a crash helmet on.  Most of the time.

YEp, and often wore padding, etc.  HE also broke every bone
in his body at least once according to legend, and I'm
inclined to believe it.  EVen when I was a kid I thought
that dude was beyond crazy.

<big snip>

 LL>> skateboarding has been around for a long, long time.  You do realize
 LL>> that is how Ryan and Bam got started with their performance
 LL>> stunts...

RW>Ah yes I do, and then that became too tame.  I know kids who do that
RW>kind of thing, and the emergency rooms see them every day.  THese
RW>kids got to believing their own mythology and believed they could
RW>cheat death, beat the odds.  Maybe this will wake the rest of them
RW>up and convince them that when the camera isn't rolling they need to
RW>guard their lives, their futures and cherish the opportunities
RW>they've been lucky enough to have received.  As for MR. Dunn, he had
RW>fair warning, he didn't heed that warning.  sO it goes, as I said
RW>above, tough bounce.

LL> Most people grow up and mature to adulthood long before their 30s.
LL> But not everybody.  Some people remain kids all their life.  That is
LL> not necessarily a bad thing, as the world does need comedians (such
LL> as Robin Williams and Jonathon Winters).  But sometimes folks just
LL> have to be serious.

sO they do, but when they're not on stage, they turn it off
and endeavor to be responsible and enjoy what they've earned being kids for the
audience.  iF you can't separate the two, then maybe society is better off if
you don't survive.  As a young man in the rock 'n roll world I came close to
killing
myself more times than I'd like to think about, but as I
matured I suddenly realized there was a time and a place for it.  I'm even
picky who I'll get aboard a vehicle with these days.  Just living is dangerous
enough.

Regards,
           Richard
---
 * Origin:  (1:116/901)