BEWARE SHANKILL RD

Hi everyone, I dont go for all the anonymous crap…So here it goes…My name is CASEY SLADE, I was the dolly grip and hammer on Shankill rd the first time around. and like the posting said, I did get EXTREMELY sick, in fact I should have gone to the hospital without a doubt.

I laid in bed for 2 weeks after wrap with a temp of 103, and the WORST HEADACHES I could ever possibly imagine (and I have had migraines since a kid, these headaches made those feel like a thorn in a paw by comparison) due to toxic poisoning.

I was sweating so much that it was like someone dumped buckets of water on me in my sleep..NO EXAGERATION..When I told the first AD about my sickness he looked at me and smirked it off like it was no big deal..So I went right to the DP, my friend and he immediately looked at me and said “Wow Casey, you look like shit, whats wrong” without me saying a word he immediately knew something was up…

Reason i got sick was due to art dept (acting under the orders of production) had to stain a floor with Min Wax in order to dress the existing set floor to look more like a bar floor..So they laid out a few gallons of the stuff on a closed sound stage while we were shooting on another set.It clearly stated on the can use in ventilated area and causes cancer and all that jazz but they did it anyway.

It was weird, where I was standing was in some sort of cross draft due to internal a/c and I was apparently in the cross hairs of the fumes. Other people came down with headaches but none got as sick as I did. The CRAZY thing is, that if I havent thrown a COMPLETE shit fit, they would have kept driving us like the cattle they thought we were…Seriously.

These people had Joe Esteves and other SAG talent on this stage, breathing the shit in and nobody said a word….Even Art Dept was laying the stuff without resporaters…So…finally, the set was cleared, I told my guys not to set foot in there until it was gone but it took so long they decided to call the day..Subsequently the next day was called as well because they decided to take advantage of the down time and finish the floor…By the way, we only got paid half day rate for the down time

…BUNK!

And that took over a month and a half of constant phone calls to a voice mail because no one was answering the phone anymore…..

I EVEN CALLED SAG (card carrying member for over 15 yrs but havent done squat cause I need to eat…lol) Called the safety hotline, AND NO ONE BOTHERED TO EVEN SHOW UP! Another thing, when set was cleared the first day, and no one was allowed in the building, Production marched the lead and supporting cast in to take publicity photos..I couldnt believe it! It was a toxic environment …But hey! Lets take some pictures…I could go on and on and on…Literally. But you get the point…

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls…Union and Non union brothers and sisters…I learned an invaluable lesson on this:

…If you get sick, go to the hospital and get it checked out…Friends or no friends…Because when it all comes down whats left at the end of the day is you.

We have to watch each other’s backs and make a stand when things are wrong…Otherwise we will deserve what we get…In fairness, did they intend for us to get sick…No. I dont believe so..However, the lack of prep combined with a locked time frame, absolute idiots in production (line producer didnt know what a slider was…seriously.) and a complete disregard for other peoples safety lead to thier own demise….

Now they are back…Dont let them fool you by saying..Its a all new production, or things have changed, or whatever bullshit they are going to throw at you to lull you into a false sense of security…Don’t buy it.

TESS IS THE ONE IN CONTROLL AND” TESS” COULDN’T CARE LESS ABOUT YOU, SHE ONLY CARES ABOUT HER SO CALLED FILM AND WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET IT FINISHED

…Everything I have said here is the truth and I stand by every word that comes out of my mouth…My name is Casey Slade and I love every one of you whether I know u or not…anyone need a slightly damaged dolly grip? I need work…Just thought I might as well throw that out there while I have your attention…lol.

PS FLAG ALL YOU WANT..I AM REPOSTING THIS EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT MONTH…I TOLD YOU CLOWNS WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO PREVENT ALL THIS BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (god I miss John Belushi)…

safety, safety, safety….

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The land of gimmie more…

Independent film…The land of Gimmie more…How many times have we all heard…

“Overtime? We can’t pay overtime”, or, “can’t you just get the crew to stay for another hour”, “this is a labor of love and were all going to have something that will be forever and we will be proud of”

(IF THE MOVIE HITS, YOU HAVE MY ADDY ON FILE TO SEND ME ROYALTIES..AS A GRIP I WOULD DROP DEAD ON THE SPOT….HAPPILY.)

…Meanwhile, it is 105 in the shade, your standing in a parking lot in sun valley and there is no bottled water…And some douche is trying to justify it..This actually happened to me. When I complain about things like subway party platters for lunch, no bottled water (preferably on ice) and driving my crew like a heard of cattle for a buck and a quarter flat, all of a sudden Im the bad guy…Well on behalf of the working class of the industry and the world…FUCK YOU!

We are not dogs, we are not slaves, and we do matter. Sure, there are plenty of people who will take our places, but it is only a matter of time before you have established a reputation for yourselves and the only ones who will work for you are the people who will take your crap…Sure, when there is no work and people are scrambling, we get a lot less picky, but now you have become a paycheck job. Just a gig to pay the rent. When your crew is happy (by happy, i mean taken care of in a professional manner,,,fuck Starbucks, just give us water and a decent BALANCED meal for starters)..When your crew is happy, they are invested in your project and a natural byproduct of that is better performance…I PROMISE YOU!

I dont give a crap if you have a plumbing company, treat people like dogs or sheep/cattle and you will have dissention thru the ranks. Not only that but before you know it, it will bite you in the production ass and it will be too late to do anything about it. So, since you wanted to save some money and only get 2 cases of water, your crew has just walked, or has passed out from heat exhaustion (or at the very least,working at half speed) or worse…Either way,you screwed yourself and your production and your going to look for an scapegoat to take the focus off of you and direct it to the crew.

Ive seen it dozens of times…LITERALLY. Look, no ones perfect and people make mistakes…Especially when your trying to juggle 100 balls in a moving convertible going 1000 miles an hour…I get it, believe me…However, it will be an always loosing argument for no water on set…You want more out of us? Fine. Treat people like human beings, even if they carry dirt all day, which by the way, aint no picnic…Feed em and keep em hydrated, a random thank you here and there…T

hese small things will work wonders..I love what I do, ALL the jobs I do…I concider myself a professional. I work with an awesome collection of people who all work their asses off for you to have your product…Fair is fair.Wow…I feel better….I actually feel thinner..lol…I love you all.

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