The reason why big shots would fear people finding out that “nobody knows anything” is simple: financiers pour millions into every movie that gets made. Studios aren’t sitting around with kajillions in the bank – they have to convince people with money to back their movies, and those people expect a good return on their investment. Movies are a form of speculation, and no one likes to speculate. Investors like to hear what sounds like convincing evidence a movie they’re backing will make them money.

The age-old example here is the original Star Wars. It wasn’t supposed to make more than a modest profit (and that, only because it was so low budget). Fox thought it was crap. To their amazement, it lined people up around the block on the first day. It launched a merchandise line that’s still churning obnoxiously (but so profitably) to this day. It launched a crazily successful franchise. All because – despite being a rip-off of any number of artistically superior movies – it wasn’t quite like anything anyone had seen before.

Lucas had made a movie people didn’t know they wanted to see. If you’d polled them, they wouldn’t have promised to see it. If you’d made something similar to test the waters, it might have flopped laughably (many similar movies have). In short, there was no predicting the success of one of the most successful movies of all time.

Sometimes it feels like film execs have spent the last three decades just trying to make sure nothing like that ever happens again. And that’s basically what Goldman is saying: they are more afraid of having to explain a success that breaks the mold than of explaining a failure that fit it. Everybody knows at the end of the day no stock expert can guarantee you the right investments – no movie is guaranteed, either. But when a movie succeeds inexplicably, potential investors start to wonder if you really know what the audience wants to see. - Jennifer Keslerclick to jump to the full article.

'nobody knows anything' tees

We normally don't post a shirt on Fridays but we had to make an exception. This is a video from Moonwalker, one of Michael Jackson's greatest performances - Man In The Mirror. We have released two special edition t-shirts in remembrance the greatest musical pop artist of all time. We will be donating all proceeds from these shirts to one of the charities Michael helped throughout his life.

We love you Michael.

michael shirts for men and women

We realized that many of our tees are oriented towards men and so we have come up with a series for the women we love and the women we lust. Ladies, in this world you have two options in men of our kind, above or below-the-line and that pretty much says it all. Paris Hilton used to tramp around wearing a shirt that said "I don't date 818" (a slogan i created, but did not capitalize on until it was too late. That's right I said it, it was my idea.) She wasn't afraid to let the boys know exactly who stood a chance. I applaud her for her honesty and I now ask you, the ladies behind and in front of the cameras out there to let all of us (men) know where we stand.

A word of advice for all the young startletts out there, if you want to kiss some good ass, wear the shirt on the left to set. I guarantee your lighting will be perfect.

ALL "I ONLY/DON'T DATE" tees for WOMEN HERE

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ALSO FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FILMCREWSHIRTS LAUNCHES BABY LINE (yes we are milking this)

For our next gen of starter wives, start them early!

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Martini shot is the final shot set-up of the day.  We ran into some trouble locating the origin of this term. Dave Knox, author of Strike the Baby and Kill the Blonde: An Insider's Guide to Film Slang says that the Martini was so named because the next "shot" is in a martini glass, referring to a post-wrap drink. Sounds good to us. I might have to start calling my last shot of the day a "double scotch leave the bottle."

On a side note Martini Shot is also the name of Rob Long's weekly radio segment on KCRW in Los Angeles which we find very useful and definitely hilarious. You can find the podcast on iTunes.

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This is where the big dollars start rolling in - one dollar at a time.

The term "day player" is used for many different jobs in the film industry. Typically people associate it with actors in non-staring roles that have a small amount of lines and are paid a daily rate.

However. any crew members that are hired to help for just a few days at a time are also called day players. Many PAs and ADs are in fact day players most of the time jumping from one production to another. This happens so often because movies typically shoot for just a few months and it is rare to land on a tv show that will last past a few episodes. So even if you do manage to get hired for the entire project, it will usually only last a couple of months and then its back to day playing.

Wear this tee on set to let everyone know how you roll. Maybe they will hire you full time!

This unique shirt uses a white flex print and gold foil on the money sign.

'DAY PLAYA' tees for men and women

This is a budgeting term that found its way into the regular vernacular of movie crews. Technically it's any fixed cost associated with the production of a film. Below-the-line costs include the salaries of the non-staring cast members and the technical crew, as well as the film studio rental and all associated equipment needed for filming. 

The distinction originates from the early studio days when the budget top-sheet would literally have a line separating the above-the-line and below-the-line costs.

Some of the film crew positions that are considered below-the-line are: Director of Photography, Assistant Director, Dolly grip, Gaffer, Key grip, Best Boy, Art Director, Editor, Composer and Production assistant.

Below-The-Line Tees and Zipper Hoods for men and women are 14.90 and 36. More colors are available.

His name has become famous in Hollywood as a phrase describing the second-to-last shot of the day ("the Abby Singer"). There are several stories as to how this came about. One is that he would mislead his crew into thinking that the second-to-last shot of the day was actually the last shot. Another is that, as a production manager, when Abby Singer came down to set it meant the crew was allowed to complete the shot they were doing and only one more. According to Abby, however, it was actually because as an assistant director when the crew reached the second-to-last shot on a particular set he would say "this and one more" so they could save time by starting to move or wrap (put away) anything that was not needed. The expression is now only widely used for the second to last shot of the day. (The last shot of the day is known as "the martini shot.")

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Coming to a globe near you. In a world where movie studios make all the rules, two unions join forces to stand up for what's right - DVD & Online royalties!

Everyone get ready for what is supposed to be a banner year and a half of film production. What the hell am I talking about, the film industry is in shambles right now. Film production is down like 56% in California.

Well, for those of you that don't know, in the Summer of 2011 both the Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild contracts come up for renegotiation AT THE SAME TIME. This means (most likely) they will join forces to make sure the studios give them what they want. It could be the largest work stoppage in Hollywood history.

The studios are well aware of this impending doom and so we should expect to see them all trying to stock pile production. This most likely will result in a large amount of work to come starting (hopefully) soon.

All STRIKE tees only 14.90 here  

A set is a very interesting place to work. Not only are there just a freakin lot of people all working together in a frantically simi-organized state but there are many different groups of people working together. There is the lighting department, sound, video, production, the ADs trying to organize them, the AC guy, crafty, props, costumes, hair & makeup, lots more. All of these departments have their own chain of command, their own grunts and bosses. This makes for quite the gauntlet when dealing with so many egos flying all around at once. Everyone wants to do a great job and they don't feel responsible for anyone else besides themselves. I once tried to help a poor Crafty man who's hands were full and didn't have room to set down his platter. I politely moved food off the table for him and he sternly reminded me (while setting the tray down in the space I created for him) not to touch anything - "why don't you just leave the food up to me" he said without a hint of thanks. I apologized and walked away. This is not the half of it of course we have all heard about the larger follies, Christian Bale's blowup on the set of Terminator, Vince Vaughn firing a photographer for being in his eye line, etc. Egos will always clash and someone will always get the stick. Every once in a while we would love to tell them all where to stick it, but we love working more so we wont do that. We will however wear this shirt as a gentle reminder to the next guy who wants to spaz out that he or she might want to just relax, take a deep breath and realize we make movies.

13.95 BUY NOW

Also available in WOMENS

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MORE COLORS AVAILABLEA background actor, also called an Extra is a performer in a film, television show, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street scene). War films and epic films often employ extras in large numbers: some films have featured hundreds or even thousands of paid extras.

Suprisingly, many of todays stars, at one point were MORE COLORS AVAILABLEbackground actors. Actors like: Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Clint Eastwood, Adam Brody, Eva Longoria Parker, and many more all began in the back of the scene and not the front.

A typical background actor that belongs to a union (specifially SAG) makes $135 for eight hours of work (135/8). Non-Union extras are paid $64 for an eight MORE COLORS AVAILABLEhour day.

ALL APPAREL FOR BACKGROUND ACTORS

Originally a CB slang term truck drivers used on the open road, "What's your 20" means - what is your current location?.  I don't know when film crews picked up the same slang but i'm guessing it was a long time ago since everyone uses it. The typical response to that question is "at Crafty" for most crew memebers or "ten one" which is another term I will discuss later. For now, save time on set by wearing this shirt to let everyone know where you are.

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'THIS IS MY 20' MENS HEATHER TEE

Font in Black Flex Print

14.95 BUY NOW

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'THIS IS MY 20' WOMENS BLACK TEE

Font in Lavender Flex Print

14.95 BUY NOW

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After working our butts off for 16 hours on set, cast and crew hits a pay grade mark called 'Golden Time'. This is where a daily salary is doubled ever hour no matter how much of that hour is worked. This is where you can start making some serious fun money, but after working 16 hours, you are usually too exhausted to care.

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'GOLDEN TIME' MENS REGULAR TEE

Golden Time font in WHITE FLEX PRINT

Gold chain in GOLD FOIL

16.95 BUY NOW

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'GOLDEN TIME' WOMENS HEATHER TEE

Golden Time font in VIOLET FLEX PRINT

Dollar sign in GOLD FOIL

15.95 BUY NOW

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Ah, this is a favorite.

As you work from set to set you see through your own experiences how studios, line producers, production managers, etc try to save money. And they try to save as much of it as possible.

This little gem of a phrase is one of the best ways to send gripes throughout the ranks in a movie crew. Many, many shows cater lunch for the cast & crew and a catered lunch is one of the nicest little percs you get while working on a set for 14 hours a day.

HOWEVER, there are the OTHER movies and shows that decide a catered lunch for the crew is too much to bare and so they let everyone know there will be no lunch and its called "One hour walk away." Which means you have exactly one hour to either put up with the studio commissary or get yourself off the studio lot (which is a pain cause they are large) and find something to eat all at your own expense.

MORE COLORS AVAILABLEGood News! Even if you have to buy your own lunch, you can still voice your disapproval in a sarcastic yet subtle way.

14.95 BUY NOW

also available in WOMENS

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MORE COLORS AVAILABLESmoke Bump Tee Shirt!

What the hell does it mean?

When a filmcrew has to endure special effects that can cause discomfort or bodily harm, like a smoke machine, the unions require extra compensation to be paid. Usually the term for this type of extra moola is called a "bump".

While no one is going to get paid to smoke the green stuff (unless you're Seth Rogen) you can still support your beliefs in this ultra fashionable tee.

available for the extreeeeemly low price of

$19.45 BUY NOW

Also available in WOMENS

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• The First Assistant Director (First or 1st AD) has overall AD responsibilities and supervises the Second AD. The "first" is directly responsible to the producer and "runs" the floor or set. The 1st AD and the production manager are two of the highest "below the line" technical roles in filmmaking (as opposed to creative or "above the line" roles) and so, in this strict sense, the role of 1AD is non-creative.

• The Second Assistant Director (Second or 2AD) creates the daily call sheets from the production schedule, in cooperation with the production coordinator. The "second" also serves as the "backstage manager", liaising with actors, putting cast through make-up and wardrobe, which relieves the "first" of these duties. Supervision of the second second assistant director, third assistant director, assistant director trainees, and the setting of background (extras) are parts of the "second's" duties.

• The Second Second Assistant Director (Second Second or 22AD) deals with the increased workload of a large or complicated production. For example, a production with a large number of cast may require the division of the aspects of backstage manager and the call sheet production work to two separate people.

• The Third Assistant Director (Third or 3rd AD) works on set with the "First" and may liaise with the "Second" to move actors from base camp (the area containing the production, cast, and hair and makeup trailers), organize crowd scenes, and supervise one or more production assistants (PA). There is sometimes no clear distinction between a 2AD and a 3AD. Although some industry bodies (American DGA) have defined the roles in an objective way, others believe it to be a subjective distinction.

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• The Additional Assistant Director (most of the time just called ADs) or Fourth Assistant Director (4AD or "Fourth") or "Key Production Assistant" (Key PA) may have a number of duties. Most commonly, the AAD has two broad job functions. One is the contraction of the duties of an AD where the AD acts as both 2nd AD and 3rd AD simultaneously. For example, a production with a large number of cast may pass the 2AD call sheet production work to that of the AAD, especially when the 2AD is already performing the additional work of a 3rd AD. The other main use of an AAD is as an adjunct to the 3AD and 1AD for logistically large scenes where more ADs are needed to control large numbers of extras. The "Additional" may also serve where the complexity of the scene or specialized elements within it (stunts, period work) require or are best served by a dedicated AD in most respects equal to a 1st AD - directing and controlling a number of other ADs to direct action to the satisfaction of the 1AD and the director.

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