Sometimes, you gotta wonder about the age of the person making the inquiry..... :D
 

Just recently got another one (I get these about once a month)

"Hi, I am shooting a film that starts this Monday (and today is Friday evening). I need three MP5Ks, four FN SCARs, 2 Glock 18s, 2 SIG P226-Sport models and a GE Mini gun. I have secured permission to fire them on my friend's property.

Please ship them to this address:

XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Toronto, Canada

I need these right away. If no one answers the door when the packages arrive my Mom can sign for them.

(name withheld)"


I don't get annoyed. I used to. Now I just laugh. :D Now remember, these are not airsoft guns he's asking for.

That's awesome. :D

Wait, why is he asking an AMERICAN armorer?

Because the bros at Movie Armaments Group (the local armorers up there) already told him no? :rolleyes:

Hey Al, did you or Charlie get the same request already? :D

Shit, first gun I ever use in a film will probably be my own...

P.S. I almost forgot. I also need a Quad 50. Thanks.

Well, atleast he went full on mall ninja...

Hahahaha lol

BTW, guys, there is a WHOLE CHECKLIST that this guy jumped ahead on...

First of all, these are LIVE weapons, so..

1) Who are you?
2) What is your production company?
3) Do you have a licensed armorer on set?
4) Do you have any idea what the rental rate is for each item?
5) Are you prepared to put up a full replacement deposit (most smaller companies that don't have multi-million dollars loss policies like major studios do, have to either put up a full security deposit.
6) Do you have production insurance? (we don't want to end up being sued for someone's ill advised actions on the set).
7) Do you know what the day rate for one of OUR armorers/assts. is to go out to you?
8) Did you take into account shipping or travel arrangements?
9) Are there any special permits by YOUR local law enforcement to have these items show up?
10) You do realize that being in a different country almost makes it impossible. Within a country is one thing, between different countries requires Customs, agreements, contracts to bring weapons INTO the country, etc. Contrary to popular opinion, Canada is not just an extension of the United States.
11) Did you realize that you have armorers in CANADA who are already in your country?


Most people laugh at the fact that the kid wants NFA weapons shipped to him no questions asked. My first thought is that it is pretty insulting for him to assume that (a) this stuff is FREE (b) that I'd rush to next day air mail them to him (which is illegal) and (c) no comment nor dialogue on payment, rentals, deposits or insurance.

But as I said, I get contacted like this several times a year, sometimes as much as once a month. All the Armorers in CA have this horror story, but I think some of them are more 'shielded from this type of stupidity'. For one, CW and ISS have admin (secretarial) staff that filters these types of inquiries from bothering the folks who handle the guns :D

I give the kid some credit for even finding a real Hollywood armorer. I wouldn't even know where to start.

You would know better than I, but...are you sure this one wasn't an April Fool's joke?

Sad part is, he's probably one of our members. MPM lists himself as an armorer on his profile, so he probably went from there to find his contact info.

I thought MPM guarded his identity on this website better than a nun her virginity in a brothel?

Correct. This kid has worked with (or at least tried) with everyone in the biz at least one time or another over the last few years. I suspect that someone forwarded him to ME just to get the kid off HIS back. that's the way it works.

Anyway, IMFDB members have been pretty respectful of my need for anonymity, being that there are tons of vindictive folks in Hollywood who will NOT hire you for not towing their particular political line. No need to lose my livelihood over outspoken stances. That is why IMFDB is my safe port in a storm, my safe haven. The moment anonymity is lost, will be the last you will ever see of me here. No more screen used gun pics, no more gun pics, no more edits, etc. LOL. Like the proverbial Rumpelstiltskin, you know my name, I'm gone forever :D

It could be a lot worse. There are some personalities who just can't let a problem rest, like the "Atomic Boy Scout," a wayward Boy Scout who at the tender age of 17 tried to build a working nuclear reactor in his backyard shed, which ended up turning into an impromptu radiological device, all before the heyday of the Internet. Compared to that, making black powder, or smokeless powder, or even fertilizer bombs are child's play.

Anonymity is a shield, but hardly a sturdy one, as the recent epidemic of "doxxing" has proved, or even in government circles (go look at the Valerie Plame affair). I'm surprised that people might not hire you based on your political beliefs, though; I mean, as long as you supply all the needed props and blanks on time and on budget, it's no matter what your political beliefs are, right?

Do you even know what a Hollywood Liberal is? Much less met one?

Stay safe in your amazingly naive and almost childlike belief that people are fair, just, and mature ;) LOL On the set we all just do the following - 1) "yes sir" 2) No sir 3) walk away when people start spouting vile political screeds and clean the guns. You don't bring up politics on set EVER. Though there are a bunch of famous actors I've met who do. I just walk away (sure there is steam blowing out of my ears) but I maintain the professional outward demeanor.

And remember, I've seen actors abuse their weapons and I've yanked them back and they quip "Oh, well I hate guns myself". So their own pathologies allows them to take out their aggressions on expensive tools and equipment owned by others? Right. :D

Pardon me, I'm not a US Citizen so it's exceedingly unlikely I'd meet Hollywood stars.

I don't call it naive, I call it having professional attitude and demeanor. Why bring up things like politics when you don't have to? It just gets in the way of a smooth production. I would think that actors know how to act well already; can't they at least act civil and not bring up unnecessary stuff? Or do they chat up anyone and everyone with their hot button issues, from the best boy to the caterers?

I would have thought that you had production companies sign contracts with you that the actors will not unnecessarily abuse the weapons while the contract is active. James Cameron could afford the repair fees when he got Arnold Schwarzenegger to drop a minigun on a hard floor back in Terminator 2; I doubt many other production companies would like to be saddled with repair/replacement fees for guns of yours their actors broke. Have you tried giving a briefing session to actors unfamiliar with guns and teaching them the proper respect for these weapons, along with the usual safety briefing?

I've heard Sean Penn does.

If the actual IMFDB page is correct, the dropped minigun was a cheap rubber prop. Which I believe, since Ahnold was in the military before becoming an actor and has some understanding of why you don't simply toss guns around willy-nilly, especially ones that are on loan and costs thousands upon thousands of dollars.

Yeah, the story about Arnold dropping the Minigun in "Terminator 2", against the wishes of armorer Harry Lu, is apocryphal. As IMFDB's entry for the movie points out, the weapon dropped was a rubber version (and a picture of it appears on the page).

That being said, there are stories of actors improvising and dropping live-fire weapons when they weren't supposed to. MPM, didn't you hear from Syd Stembridge that Sly actually threw down the M60 at the end of "First Blood: Part II"?

Not being a U.S. Citizen has nothing to do with being oblivious to what a "Hollywood Liberal" is. All one has to do is do things like watch the news, or read the newspaper. Meeting them in person is very instructive, but you don't have to physically be in contact with them to know the type. To not know, implies that a person is being what is called a 'low information voter', i.e. someone who does not keep up with politics, national news, international news, etc. Gotta be careful not to appear like that.
What makes that statement naive is the assumption that everyone else in the world has a professional attitude and demeanor. Most people do not. You may show a stunningly professional attitude and demeanor when you're working. I can guarantee you that a majority of the human population does not.
Again, Hollywood Liberals are insulated. They assume everyone around them has the same opinions. Stallone recently stuck his foot in it when he opined very anti gun statements after the tragic Newtown Massacre. Sure, we all feel horrible about the tragedy, but he assumed he was talking to a circle of elite folks who have private bodyguards. What's worse are the rich Celebs who are against gun ownership but they themselves have Concealed Carry permits. I've run into quite a few really big hypocrites, who are well known.

Also I think you're confusing them being good at their job (which is to act) versus the freedom to spout off their wacky political beliefs at the craft services table or at the meal breaks.
Yes, it would be nice to live in a world of the hypothetical. :D Production companies are responsible, but it's the stupid actors who don't care. Why? Because they themselves are never individually responsible for any damaged or destroyed props or weapons. Never. The production company ALWAYS picks up the tab. Thus we have a sense of entitlement amongst actors that they don't have to respect the props. I remember doing a TV show a long time ago for Warner Brothers and the actors went out of their way to destroy the guns (because they were improvising their fight scenes without telling the director). I was so angry that I charged Warner Brother 400% of the replacement fee. Guess what. WB wrote the check without question. But that's not the point. I now actively avoid sending out anything that is historically valuable or irreplaceable. things like perfect condition historical firearms. I KNOW they'll get ruined and I know that I won't have a problem getting money from the studios, but money can't replace something of great historical value.

LOL. :D Of course we do. Doesn't matter. (see above) because ultimately there will be idiot actors who don't care.

Hope this helps. One of the mistakes of 'youth' is assuming that people are not inherently stupid, shallow, vindictive or immature. the older you get, the more prepared you are for the reality that most people will fall far short of your expectations. :D

As I am not a US Citizen nor do I reside in the US, I can't vote in US elections either, so you can rest easy I don't "pollute the process" with an "uninformed vote."

Last I checked, the term "Hollywood Liberal" appears to be bandied around most often in US conservative media pundits and news agencies. I don't normally partake of the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Fox News, which explains why I haven't heard of the term much before, but it's still too easy to brand someone you don't agree with whatever epithet you want than to engage their arguments and work through them in a rational, civilized, manner. I'm more of a realist though, and don't feel the need to turn every place into my speaking hall as you imply that "Hollywood Liberals" do. To me, all that really matters for film set suppliers such as costumers, armourers, caterers, etc. is that they supply what's needed on time and on budget; their political views are immaterial to the task at hand, which is getting films made.

I would have thought that "natural selection" in Hollywood should have weeded out those who can't stay professional enough to hold down good roles and a good reputation. You can't do those two if you're busy spouting your own ideology to everyone you meet on set.

I believe that's a tendency that can be found in everyone. We all gravitate to people who share the same opinions about certain issues that we do; the internet bears this out. We prefer media sources and the company of people who mirror our biases. And "mental insularity" isn't unique to any one position on the political spectrum.

I take it that in a less "star-studded" area, these actors would acquire a bad reputation and companies would refuse to work with them or supply prop firearms to them. The problem is that on the Hollywood sets, there's always someone else willing to work for that kind of money, right?

And that's a good thing, since you seem to be fixated on a view of the world that is not firmly based in the real world.
How in the world did you come to THAT conclusion? What natural selection? WTF are you talking about? You're straying into POI or BRM territory with your obtuse conclusions. You CAN spout liberal ideology (or conservative) during breaks in filming. We don't suppress people's 1st amendment rights when they're NOT filming. You seem intent on proving something that just doesn't make any sense. A person can spout off all they want that they think guns should be banned on the set. If they don't PUBLICLY embarrass the production, then why would a production stop hiring them if they are a good actor or a good marquee draw?
If you're implying that I am some how 'whoring out' by taking their money, thanks for the comment. And yes, we have refused to provide guns to productions before. But that is not the point. You don't seem willing to advance any point other than your own twisted view of a 'perfect workplace' which doesn't exist. So I'm done here :D

It's just as frequently used by left-wing critics of Hollywood to describe an attitude that says big business is bad with a multi-million dollar movie and sees no inherent contradiction in doing so.

I'm sure movie producers would be very happy to find whatever supply of apolitical, perfectly logical robot crew members you're talking about, but in they end they have to work with actual human beings. They are professionals but they are not all professionals about it. This is called life. Being a realist does not mean you assume everyone else is one too, that's still idealism.

In the end if they do a good enough job and aren't so annoying the rest of the team try to murder them on set, the producers aren't going to care if they cause a bit of friction. A job is not a Miss America contest, you don't have to try to make everyone like you to get ahead. If you hired a plumber, would you ask them to make sure they sent one who didn't have a reputation for grumbling about the weather? Do you check if you taxi driver is going to grumble about immigrants before you get in?

I mean let's face it, if "natural selection" in Hollywood worked like that, nobody would have let Alfred Hitchcock stick around and make films.

But if you are a taxi driver and have reason to believe you'll lose a fare if you say the wrong thing, wouldn't you try to, you know, not say the wrong thing rather than assume that your fare is a robot who won't react to you because you're still performing your driving function? Being cautious is hardly uncalled for when you're dealing with people who disagree strongly with you on many levels, might not be professional about it, and can take the food off your table if they aren't.