August 15, 2011, 2:21 PM |
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by Josh Ferrell, Associate Producer
Visiting Chernobyl was a very sad and scary experience. I think I can speak for the whole crew when I say that if we were just visiting Ukraine on vacation, we would not have gone there. For the sake of the show, we decided to check out the power plant and the town down the road, Prypiat. Our guide, Sergey, gave us a long list of do’s and don’ts while filming in the Prypiat area. Most of them were don’ts. Don’t touch anything. Don’t wander off any paved roads. Don’t let any leaves or branches touch you. Don’t walk on or kick any moss that’s on the ground. Don’t eat or drink outside our vehicles. Bottom line: watch what you’re doing. Continue reading: What I gathered from Chernobyl… literally »
Posted By: no reservations crew
July 25, 2011, 3:06 PM |
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By Josh Ferrell, Associate Producer
I was told while filming abroad, always be on your toes. The No Reservations crew is considerably small, but we make up for it with all of our equipment: cameras, rigs, lights, etc. Needless to say, all this gear adds up to a pretty penny. Actually, not just pretty, but a beautiful, gorgeous penny. With this kind of merchandise, we all do our part to make sure none of our expensive equipment grows legs and magically walks away. We do little things to help prevent this: always double check to make sure we lock the production van doors, we make sure someone stands watch over any gear we might pile up on a sidewalk. But unfortunately, all of these precautionary measures don’t stand a chance with the sneakiest thieves of the world. Continue reading: Naples »
Posted By: no reservations crew
May 18, 2011, 10:41 AM |
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by Michael Ruffino, Southie Sidekick
Author of Gentlemanly Repose and of The Unband
Los Angeles, Dec 2010
Exodus
At quarter after three in the afternoon I ran a red at Franklin and Wilcox, directly into a swarm of locusts at Cahuenga. The intersection utterly consumed by a massive, undulating, cloud about 25 yards across by same, exoskeletons pinging off the Bronco like diabolical popcorn. Hipsters bolt into the crepe place for cover. The phone rings. It’s Tony’s people, saying about some type of difficulty in Cuba so now Boston show is shooting January, not April, and can I make it. Didn’t catch details, phone died.
Google turned up nothing on SoCal locusts but Nathaniel West. Continue reading: ABNR: SOUTHIE – NOTES »
Posted By: no reservations crew
May 4, 2011, 2:26 PM |
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by Sally Freeman, Producer
Don’t work with 1970’s Camaros and beware of kids with guns, that’s what our Boston shoot taught me.
The Camaro, is a phenomenal looking car without a doubt, ours was lime green and the owners were game enough to bring it on a trailer to Boston for our homage to Eddie Coyle. The car in Tony’s favorite crime novel-turned-film wasn’t actually a Camaro, but it was the closest muscle car we could get, with a few days notice and snow on the ground.
As on many of our shoots it was FREEZING, real balls-off-a-brass-monkey type temperatures and we were willing the snow to stop.
Driving through Boston, Tony’s at the wheel of the Camaro and we’re filming from a pick up in front. Everything’s great, our camera guys Zach and Todd are singing 70’s funk soundtracks along with the driving shots they’re capturing and the bright green paint job is popping against the grey winter streets.
I think it was the first stop light that the car died at, and after a quick jump start it would sputter and die every time we then asked Tony to drive under 10 miles an hour. Cue Tony revving hard, driving off and leaving us in the dust just to keep it ticking over (and partly I suspect because him and Mike Ruffino were getting into their gangster characters a tad too much).
Todd and Zach are quite a sight bouncing around in the back of the pick-up secured by bungee chords, body harnesses and wearing black ski masks against the cold. When a state trooper asks us to stop and explain what we’re up to, we just keep driving in case the beast breaks down again. He wisely decides we’re too weird to pursue.
Following at least eight more break-down’s, jump starts and some phenomenal cursing – to the delight of the owner’s young son listening to crew chatter over the walkie talkie’s – the Camaro finally gave up the ghost in a windswept car park in Southie. RIP green Camaro.
The gun came into play on the night Tony and Mike went on a pub-crawl of Southie’s bars. They’d already drunk their way through Murphy’s Law and the L Street Tavern before staggering over to the Quencher.
The kid came out of nowhere and the first thing I realize is that Tony’s been shot and the assassin is reloading his gun with ice. He was jamming fist-fulls of it into the side of what looked like a nerf gun and they came out of the other end compacted and scoring direct hits.
He was unperturbed by the presence of a camera and carried on unleashing merry ice hell on Tony and Mike, alternating between crotch and head shots. He had the presence of mind to bring an inflatable shield on this mission with him and was waving it in defiance.
We later learnt that this ice avenger patrols the streets of Southie waiting for drunks to come pouring out of the pubs so he can dole out this stone-cold justice. We all agreed that this child was brilliant and we wish he’d stuck around but instead he slipped off into the night like the lonesome hero he is. Ice boy, we salute you.
Posted By: no reservations crew
April 11, 2011, 10:33 AM |
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By Katie Gray, Production Coordinator
Ah, the Brazil show: Completely new and interesting flavors, harrowing plane rides into the stormy jungle, fishing for giant, prehistoric-looking fish… and to think, it almost didn’t happen at all.
Well, sort of. Continue reading: Brazil »
Posted By: no reservations crew
March 28, 2011, 4:38 PM |
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By Sally Freeman, Producer
Our shoot in the Ozarks is one that will stay with me for a long time. For reasons good and not so good.
I’m not talking about the stark beauty of the landscape or the incredibly warm welcome from the Ozarkians. I’m talking about two unique incidents that I’ve never experienced before and probably (hopefully) never will again. Continue reading: Ozarks »
Posted By: no reservations crew
March 17, 2011, 10:57 AM |
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By Tracey Gudwin, Fixer/Veteran No Res Producer
Vienna, 2010.
Cold, dark and snowy…just like home, just like Berlin, except it´s not. It´s another other German speaking country…AUSTRIA! The land of Tafelspitz, Kaiserschmarrn and all things tasty. Continue reading: How I Learned Not To Fry Bacon Naked »
Posted By: no reservations crew
March 14, 2011, 3:06 PM |
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By Diane Schutz, Segment Producer
Every shoot we do for the show has its own set of challenges — if we’re not shaming ourselves by being behind schedule in Japan, then we’re baring the frigid cold in an all-day outdoor shoot, trying to capture Tony in a ’74 Camaro (Boston), or sweltering in blistering heat (India). Continue reading: It’s the Little Moments »
Posted By: no reservations crew
March 9, 2011, 6:38 PM |
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by Nari Kye, Associate Producer
Please note: There are no actors in the video you are about to see. The looks of sheer terror on our faces are real. Continue reading: Security Briefing in Haiti »
Posted By: no reservations crew
February 11, 2011, 2:46 PM |
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Tony sat down with Helen Cho, his new and trusty side kick, and asked the questions America’s dying to hear answered. Or not.
Anthonybourdain:
Q: So, Helen, where does one hire a crackhead rodeo clown?
Well Tony, I could tell you but then I would have to kill you, so let’s just say that we have many multi-talented ZPZ employees here… Continue reading: Anthony Bourdain: The Helen Cho Interview »
Posted By: Rani Robinson
