# What is it like to be on a film set when the star doesn't show up **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2025, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385 "2025-03-10T11:16:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/21 "2025-03-11T15:15:37Z")
The interesting thing about The Rock(Dwayne Johnson) is his backstage reputation as a wrestler was stellar and he was well respected. It is only in the last 5 years I have heard about him being a huge prima donna. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/22 "2025-03-11T15:29:48Z")
He apparently has a person whose on-set job is to wait for Johnson to hand off bottles full of urine. Very, very strange man. ---
**Author:** ![Chelonaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Chelonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chelonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/23 "2025-03-11T15:39:14Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > OK, at first I thought that Johnson was involved in a [remake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Red_One) that I had never heard was being made. It took me a moment to realize that this is about his behavior during the filming of _Red One_. Yes, I mangled the title. Couldn’t edit by the time I realized it. Nobody had started discussing if Johnson was a better fit for the Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill or Robert Carradine role, so figured it would just confuse things if I brought it up myself. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/24 "2025-03-11T15:56:00Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > That view, however, overlooks the fact that the starlet _knows_ it’s a ludicrous demand. It’s similar to the story about the rock band whose contract specified a bowl of M&Ms with the brown ones removed. In that case, it was about testing whether or not the venue had read the contract down to the fine details, which can have serious safety implications when we’re talking about pyrotechnics and high-voltage amps. By contractually requiring a case of Perrier, the starlet is signaling: I know what I’m worth, and I know I have power, and if you jerk me around I will not hesitate to fight back. > > That’s a _good_ example of a star showing the prodco where the power is. Getting hammered and blowing off a day of filming comes from a similar impulse, but is much more destructive. What “serious safety issues” could be part of a starlet’s contract that she needs to include a ludicrous demand to ensure that the contract is read down to the details? I can understand the need to ensure that a venue provides proper equipment or staging for a concert, but this is just, as you yourself admit, the starlet saying “I know what I’m worth, and I know I have power, and if you jerk me around I will not hesitate to fight back.” Lady, you were hired to do a job, not to be a prima donna. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/25 "2025-03-11T16:03:37Z")
That’s my reaction too. Useless details are just that: useless. Every nanosecond they spending providing dog-washing Perrier or picking out out brown M&Ms is time not spent on whatever actually matters to the star. Especially for the sorts of details that mindless 4th tier flunkies are tasked to deal with. Finding a brown M&M says exactly zero about the odds of finding an open ground or 120V hot guitar pickup. It’s pure performative egoism worthy of a certainly widely reviled elected official. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/26 "2025-03-11T19:05:53Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > you were hired to do a job And if everyone simply treated it as a job, none of this would be an issue. Everyone would simply be a professional and that would be the end of it. But power games from shithead producers and studio executives are rife on movie sets. So the smart and experienced above-the-line talent will send signals like this to communicate they will not be fucked with in such a way. Otherwise they’re making themselves a target for fuckery. (Oh, and re the safety thing, that was just poorly expressed. The mention of safety issues in the contract was supposed to apply solely to the example of the touring musicians, with a change of subject following. Fuck-you clauses in actor contracts are just that, fuck-you clauses.) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/27 "2025-03-11T19:30:41Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > Lady, you were hired to do a job, not to be a prima donna. If you piled all the sexism that women have been subjected to on film sets into mountains they would dwarf the Himalayas. Maybe this ingenue (ingenue? are we living in the 50s?) was ahead of her time in sticking up for herself. Maybe she was just an asshole. The reality is that a thousand male actors could have done something similar and it wouldn’t hurt their reputations or careers but the same consideration has never been given to women in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/28 "2025-03-11T19:39:15Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The reality is that a thousand male actors could have done something similar and it wouldn’t hurt their reputations or careers but the same consideration has never been given to women in Hollywood. You’re damn right. They don’t even have to be real divas. All it takes is a Weinstein to spread the rumor that you’re “difficult”. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/29 "2025-03-11T19:45:27Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > My impression is that even when things are going as planned, most people on a set at any given time are just waiting around until they are needed. I have one acting credit and this matches my experience exactly. There is a lot of waiting around for your turn. I also listen to the “Office Ladies” podcast (hosted by stars of _The Office_, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey) and they said one thing that made their show unique is that when you weren’t featured in a scene, you were still in the background and required to be acting to show that your character was “doing stuff” to make the scene believable as taking place in a real place of business. And sometimes the camera crew would catch you doing something interesting (maybe as a reaction to what the featured actors were doing in the scene) and might focus on your improvisation. But that was the exception that makes the rule; normally you’re just trying to be there and available as cast or crew because time is critical when filming a TV show or movie, and when you are needed you are needed **right away**. A lot of things are time-sensitive when filming; lighting and/or weather if you are outdoors, certain props might only be “fresh” for a certain amount of time, guest stars might have limited availability to avoid conflict with another project, and so on. Which just reinforces how much of a nightmare it must be when a star doesn’t arrive on time or even at all for a film day. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/30 "2025-03-11T21:45:31Z")
Ever hear of Marlon Brando? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/31 "2025-03-11T23:21:13Z")
“Do you find my…method acting…unsound?” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/32 "2025-03-11T23:42:23Z")
Screenwriter William Goldman: The most exciting day of your life is your first day on a movie set, and the dullest day of your life is the second day. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/33 "2025-03-11T23:46:56Z")
When the prima donna is hiding in their trailer it’s so quiet on the set you can hear cute aphorisms echo. > [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > _“The most exciting day of your life is your first day on a movie set, and the dullest day of your life is the second day.”_ — William Goldman > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Screenwriter William Goldman: The most exciting day of your life is your first day on a movie set, and the dullest day of your life is the second day. But they do echo with perfect fidelity. Memorex would be so proud. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/34 "2025-03-12T00:34:33Z")
Sorry about that @don_t_ask. Somehow I just skipped your post. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/35 "2025-03-12T00:47:20Z")
Happy Doperversary there @Exapno_Mapcase! Been quite a couple of decades around here hasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/36 "2025-03-12T02:10:33Z")
I actually joined in late 2001. That was just before the Winter of Missed Content (great name) erased every post during that span. All my early posts disappeared. And so did my join date. I really did lurk for a couple of years before I joined, because I thought that posting would be too great a time sink. Would I could be that prescient on everything else. I know when I joined. The database doesn’t. It will continue to be a bone of contention between us until the day they pull the plug. Or on me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385/37 "2025-03-12T02:12:26Z")
Damn. Sorry to rub salt in an old wound. But we are glad you’re here, despite the abundant time sink. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-it-like-to-be-on-a-film-set-when-the-star-doesnt-show-up/1015385.md?page=1)