Today was a glorious day in the acting career of Zed Wilson. That itself is hilarious, because I am not an actor. Everyone else in trippin’ is, though, which made me feel really nervous when we first started shooting. Every member of the cast has had some acting experience, and most have them have been in a few shorts and features and shit. They’re pros. I, on the other hand…not so much. I mean, I can act like I’m not high, or act like I’m paying attention, but as far as taking direction and remembering lines and all that shit, it’s all new to me.
Luckily for me (and the overall quality of the movie) I really don’t have to act, so much as I just do whatever the fuck Zed would do, given the situation. Considering I myself am that motherfucker, it works out. Even though I’ve read through the script, I haven’t even looked at it since we started shooting, really. Devi and I agreed beforehand that I had liberty to change my lines as I saw fit (e.g., the words bogus and tubular are NOT part of Zed’s vocabulary) so I usually just ask what’s going on in the scene and go from there. The rest of the cast, on the other hand, are not so fortunate.
Anyway, we’re shooting this scene and we just can’t click. Devi’s stressed, cast and crew are stressed, it’s hot as fuck in the cabin, and you can just smell somebody ready to snap and walk off the set. So, Devi, being the brilliant matriarch she is, gets this idea that we should just shoot a couple improv takes to chill out. Some of the crew seem even more pissed off about it, like we’re wasting time now, and I’m kind of expecting someone to throw something at me during the next take.
So anyway, she says, “action1″ and I’m sitting here with my guitar talking to Holly and Mickey. We somehow get into this conversation about chicks making out, which somehow turn into growing weed. As Mickey suggests we grow some plants, I’m reminded of an old Hamster tune called ‘Horticulture is a Helluva Crime,” which I wrote after my boy got popped with like 40 plants and got locked up for 90 days. I grab my guitar, start jamming…you know, Zed Wilson type shit. Somewhere in the middle of this I had like, completely forgot that we were filming a movie…I guess I was just used to lights and camera being everywhere by that point, plus I was kind of high from earlier.
Anyway, I play this little diddy, we talk a little bit more, and Devi says, “Cut!” As I look up, I see this giddy smile on everybody’s faces, and the same people who I thought might storm out of this bitch five minutes ago look like fat chicks who just won Oprah tickets. Apparently, this little scene was all it took for everybody to chill the fuck out and get back to having fun. For a scene to have so much gravity, you’d expect an experienced actor who understands his character and motivation and knows his lines and all that shit to be involved. But, a stoner kid with a guitar can work even better, especially if you catch him in his natural habitat!