Local 706 - The Artisan

Spring 2017

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41 "Hi Randy, it's Donni again, Doniella Davy. I need to go over the Local 706 eligibility requirements one more time—the ones that pertain to a fi lm fl ipping. I know we went over all of this last week and also the week before, and I still have that list … But you know that nonunion feature in Miami that I mentioned I was starting? So I'm here in Miami, and I just got my fi rst paycheck and it says '706' on the pay stub, and that's why I'm calling. I mean this is happening, right? Did the fi lm really fl ip? Call me back when you get a chance. Hope you're having a good Sunday. It's called Moonlight." One month earlier… I'm having an anxiety attack. I'm stuck in downtown LA traffi c on my way to meet Barry Jenkins to discuss a script that contains subject matter I've never seen portrayed all in the same fi lm. It's black and poor and gay. It's written tenderly and with a sincer- ity that has stayed with me long after I fi nished reading it. For these reasons, Moonlight will make history just by getting made. I really want to get this movie. I'm tying my boots at stoplights and rubbing foundation into my face with my hands. I'm shak- ing slightly from an almond milk latte on an empty stomach. I am "you're OK, calm down, just breathe" nervous. I arrive the same time as Barry, we sit down, he orders wine, I order beer and I listen to his visions for Moonlight. The cast is black and he wants everyone's skin to glisten on camera, he wants the special make-up effects and character make-up to visually contribute to the story but also be subtle, and for the grills to B Y D O N I E L L A D A V Y T R A I N E E M A K E - U P A R T I S T feel authentic. He acknowledges and praises the work I did on a fi lm called Kicks, which also had a black cast, but he stresses again the glistening skin he wants for his fi lm. In the rain, in the sun and in the moonlight, actors on Moonlight will glisten. "I won't even bring powder," I tell Barry. The subject of my make-up background comes up, and I ex- plain that I did not attend make-up school. A cold call to a sea- soned department head make-up lead to a crash course in basic special make-up effects skills and parting words of "call me when you get into the union." And so I turned to craigslist, where fi lm students would hire me based on my online portfolio of make-up looks I did on my friends and family. Now I focus only on indie features and getting into the union. I've completed two out of three years of my eligibility requirements, and I have a huge bind- er full of paperwork to prove it. When I get hired for Moonlight, I am calm and cool. "OK great," I say, but really I am overjoyed. My appetite returns, I order a grilled cheese and I am fi nally able to eat for the fi rst time that day. Back to Miami, right after speaking with Randy Sayer's answering machine… "Hi, I'm looking for Jesus. I need gold grills, a whole mouth- ful. Not for me," I explain to the man behind the desk at Kelly Gold Grillz. While I'm waiting for Jesus, several intimidating and charming gangstas with mouthfuls of gold make fun of me. One guy skillfully takes my phone out of my hands and saves his num-

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