Saturday, May 31, 2008

Ouch...


Whenever people find out I do stunts I get one of two answers, you guys are crazy or I have always wanted to do stunts and think that is so cool. To those who think we are crazy, they are right. However, I think people who sit behind a desk all day are equally as crazy. To those who want to do stunts, next time you look down a flight of stairs think about running and throwing your self down those stairs over and over again because the camera man keeps missing the shot or next time a car drives by you as cross the street think about getting hit by that car. That is how I and many other stunt professionals see the world.

I have been in rehearsals all week for a big fight. I can't give details but let me just say it will be brutal and I mean brutal. I am so sore and beat up just from rehearsing and walking through it with pads on and in my work out cloths. Sometimes I stop and think about what I am doing and think it is crazy that I get paid to do this. To those out there who want to do stunts we are all a little crazy but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

5 Year Anniversary - Hard at Work



This is Jonathan. Heather asked me to put up a quick post in regards to today being our 5-year anniversary. She can't do it herself because she just booked a job doubling the lead actress, Ali Larter (from the TV show Heroes), in a movie called Obsessed. She got the job, and started work, yesterday and will be on it for the next month, which is why she's working on our anniversary. It's a huge gig and we're both really excited about it. I couldn't be more proud of all the success Heather has had in this business...and in just about anything else she does.

People ask me all the time why I got married so young (22), and if, and how I'm still happy, being that we were married before we had a chance to "really experience life and see what's out there". I always tell them the same things, "that I found the right one early, and I knew then that Heather was a gift and blessing unlike anything I had ever had in my life before, and that I couldn't let it go". I thank God everyday for putting Heather in my life, and not a moment too soon.

Reflecting on our journey that's taken us from NJ to CO, WA, HI, and now CA, I can't imagine the last 8-years without Heather, and wouldn't have made the journey and be where I am today if I didn't have this partner to take every brazen plunge with. It sounds cliche, but it's actually the honest truth that I love Heather more today than I did yesterday or 5 years ago or 8 years ago and our love has grown through every step of our journey together.

As to being married young for the past 5 years...I wouldn't have it any other way and I'm truly blessed to have had as good a 5 years with the love of my live and best friend as I have. I've missed nothing and gained everything.

Sadly, they say in this business you can tell how successful a stuntman is by the number of marriages he's gone through. Well, I guess we'll just keep on being fantastically happy failures for the next 50+ years or just go on trumping the statistics. Heather and I have a tendency of doing that anyway.

P.S. Happy early Birthday to Heather on May 28th!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Jon is in Indy

Jonny worked on the new Indian Jones movie that came out yesterday so make sure you go see it. I am not sure if his name is in the credits or not. With big movies like this there are just so many stunt people who work on it they usually don't put in everyones name. We haven't seen it yet but we will this weekend.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Thanks Darcy!



My dear friend from middle school, Darcy, wrote a very nice piece about me in her college newspaper. She did a great job! I only have the first page since they took the article off the website. If you click on the image it will get bigger you should be able to read it. Way to go home girl!

Disclaimer: There are a few facts that aren't right but hey that is journalism for you.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Jon Earns his strips

There are days in every stuntman's career that you will feel the rest of your life. Last Tuesday was one of those days for Jonathan. He spent the whole day getting rocked by other stunt guys wearing shorts and a t-shirt so he was only able to where a few pads. He was doubling Paul Rudd on a new movie called I Love You, Man. Jon was basically a human rag doll. One of the stunts he did is called a pin wheel where you jump in the air and one guy hits you from the top and another guy hits you from the bottom and you go head over heal before you land. He did this six times and then proceeded to a full day of getting his butt knocked around. When he came home he had imprints on his back from where his pads tore into his skin. It is days like that that make stuntmen stuntmen. He cowboyed up as we say in the business. Everyone says they want to be a stuntman until they are faced with those kind of days. This was Jon's day to prove himself as a kick ass stuntman and I am proud of him.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Working Tomorrow

Tomorrow I am working on Monk doubling a guest star. I worked on this show about a year and half ago so it will be fun to work on it again. I was supposed to work at the motion capture studio but it is just doing demonstration of how their technology works so I am having Chris, Jon's brother take my place. Chris is staying with us and helping us fix up our house, so giving him a day of paid work makes me feel like it is worth his time to be here. He worked with me last week filling in for Jon doing the same thing because Jon was working on Avatar, a James Cameron movie.

The house work is coming along well. We finished the wood floors today and they look really good. Now we have to paint and do the molding and the living room will be done. My mom is flying in Wednesday to help do some work around here like taking down the ugly wallpaper, painting and working outside. It will be great to have her here.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Online at last!

Sorry I have been MIA but life has been crazy and finding an Internet connection has not been easy. We have spent the past three weeks working non stop and traveling all over the country (NY, Rhode Island, LA, New Jersey and Utah) and the few seconds we had at home we were dealing with paper work for the new house and packing. When I was in Utah last weekend Jon with the help of some great guys moved us into our new house. I was so sad I wasn't here for the move HA! I was working hard on a TV pilot which I hope gets picked up because the girl I was doubling will have tons of action, I am a great double for her (her mom took pictures and called us twins), she is the nicest sweetest actress I have worked with so I would love to work with her again.

We love our new house! It weird being a home owner I really do feel like a grown up, not sure if that is a good thing. Jon is installing wood floors down stairs and I have been busy attempting to take off the awful wall paper. I am so not good at stuff like that. You want me to get hit by cars, play football no problem but working on and decorating a house I am terrible. Thank goodness for a great mom and mother in law who have been helping via the phone. I am begging them to come visit aka help me. I don't think I will have to beg to hard.