IntoNoRes+

Field Trip by Anna Chai, Producer for The Layover Los Angeles 

ZPZ Production, 19th Floor.  13 edit rooms.  The Unity.  Eric Lasby.  By now, you know this is where editing happens. 

19 is my natural habitat, so it was a shock when they asked me to work on the LA episode of “The Layover.”  As in, go to LA with the crew.  Not just watch the footage, when the cards come back from LA?  Is this some sort of trick?  I assumed as much because 1) it’s Anthony Bourdain and 2) do you remember the last time “No Reservations” filmed in LA?!

I’ll tell you what happened — Anthony Bourdain got tasered by SWAT!  He also ate chicken and waffles with Jerry Stahl and hung out with a mariachi band, but the taser demo is what I remember most vividly.  Why go back to LA?  What could possibly top that?!

August 2011.  LAX.  My colleagues and I are ready to make some television!  We have 6 days to shoot over 30 locations.  WWTD?  First stop, In-N-Out Burger.

Day 1.  Chateau Marmont.  Bungalow 3.  (Yes, that one.)  Mr. Bourdain lays down some ground rules while we’re here at the hotel.  “Don’t be an asshole.”  That means: don’t gawk at celebrities, don’t bother the guests, and don’t point the camera at any famous people.  Got it.  This would prove to be good advice for the rest of our time in LA …

Day 2.  While shopping for the ingredients needed to make eggs, crew member misreads “scallions” and buys scallops instead.  Oops! 

Day 3.  Locals interview with Chef Ludo Lefebvre.  Hilarious.  (And like Randy Newman, he genuinely seems to love LA.)  Later, we are informed that while filming Ludo on the median strip, set against a stunning street scene, people were smoking crack in the background.  In the back of our frame!  Allegedly. 

Day 4.  The crew shows up to film a drive-thru restaurant, only to find the pavement has been freshly sealed that morning …

Day 5.  While filming b-roll of iconic LA, the crew encounters a grisly scene. 

Beloved sidekick Oxy dead on the beach!  (Identity confirmed by signature on Appearance Release, though DNA test pending.)

Day 6.  The “marine layer” makes it meteorologically impossible to film a sunrise.  Sorry!

Day 7.  Time to go back to 19.  All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my Ambien …