Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/713430
myself. Other than the leg, Leslie and I divided our respon- sibilities by character. I handled all things Manny and she was team Hank. With a crew of two, the challenge became simply main- taining both the dummies and the make-ups from all the defilement. I got the brunt of the physical labor, lugging soaking- wet dummies all over but Leslie had it much worse with Hank's beard. The first half of the film, Hank wears the beard and a majority of those scenes involved some sort of water or stunt. Whether it was Manny spewing water all over Hank or Hank riding Manny across the ocean or Hank and Manny falling in the river or off a cliff. It was rare that the beard wouldn't take some sort of abuse that would require Leslie to run in after every take and hand lay a repair or re-glue a soaked lace mustache that was flapping in the wind … And for this outstanding work, she received her POOP Award. (Technically, hers was a SHART Award but I can't remember what it stood for.) The POOP Award was an appropriately toned acronym that stands for Producers Overachieving Outstanding Person. They were handed out first thing every morning. Everyone gathered in a large cir- cle around our producer, Jonathan Wang, and the Daniels, as they acknowledged one crew member's performance from the previous day. Usually, the award was something silly purchased from the grocery store that related to the specific thing they were being acknowledged for. I think Leslie got a six pack and some shaving cream? Anissa Salazar received her POOP for her insanely creative wigs that Hank creates out of found garbage to become Sarah. I got my POOP about half- way through shooting. That particular morning, after put- ting the guys through the works, I had to prep one of the dummies for a specific effect. When I finally made it to set, everyone was gathered and staring at me as I got off the van. Our first AD, Jesse Fleece, begins a slow clap and the rest of the crew joined in. As it erupted into a roar, I was presented a beautiful bronze trophy in the shape of a toilet with the words "POOPTIME L I F E C H I E V E M E N T " engraved on the front. I was being acknowledged for my work and it felt good. So good. It's silly, yes, but this is the HEART I was speaking of. It was this kind of thing that brought the ENTIRE crew together. In the 24 years I've worked in this industry, I have never felt such camaraderie, such heart from EVERYONE on set. The crew would do silly exercises in the morning to get warmed up. We danced, we sang and we were appreciated for our contributions on every level. We became a family and the days' work transformed into a labor of love for all. We knew we were making some- thing special! This was our movie, accept it or not. It was made with heart! • 27 Hamer's trophy