Below the Line

A behind-the-scenes novel set in Toronto, where the Americans come to shoot movies and tv series. But this one's about the the "below the line" crew members, the Canadians who work on the American shoots. It's spring in Toronto and the Hollywood movie crews are back. This is where art meets commerce full force. Instant communities are created, like summer camps for adults, with the cast and crews working long hours and always under pressure. Over the six weeks of production, the cast and crew lives, loves, hates, wins and loses together, on and off the film set. Inspired by the authors' own experiences, Below the Line goes behind the scenes and tells the the stories of on-set romances, ambitions, cynics and even artists. We all know the celebs by first name (even if we don't want to admit it), but who are the other guys -- the Canadians working the crew, the location scouts, caterers, make-up artists, grips, gaffers and armies of assistants? Who are these people who bring the stars their breakfast, park the trucks and paint the set the director's favourite shade? On budget sheets and cost reports they are the "below the line" crew members; these are the names rolling down the screen long after the audience has left the cinema. McFetridge and Albert have a lot of experience in the Toronto film world, and in Below the Line they bring the complete film set experience -- including script pages, call sheets, camera reports and invoices to really get the reader down and dirty in the trenches of the industry. It's spring in Toronto and the Hollywood movie crews are back. This is where art meets commerce full force. Instant communities are created, like summer camps for adults, with the cast and crews working long hours and always under pressure. Over the six weeks of production, the cast and crew lives, loves, hates, wins and loses together on and off the film set. Inspired by the authors' own experiences, Below the Line goes behind the scenes and tells the the stories of on-set romances, ambitions, cynics and even artists. We all know the celebs by first name (even if we don't want to admit it), but who are the other guys — the Canadians working the crew, the location scouts, caterers, make-up artists, grips, gaffers and armies of assistants? Who are these people who bring the stars their breakfast, park the trucks and paint the set the director's favourite shade? On budget sheets and cost reports they are the "below the line" crew members; these are the names rolling down the screen long after the audience has left the cinema. Co-written by two fellows with a lot of experience in the Toronto film world, Below the Line is a complete film set experience — including script pages, call sheets, camera reports and invoices to really get the reader down and dirty in the trenches of the industry. "A funny and fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the movie business, this novel is set in Toronto, where the Americans come to shoot movies and TV series. But these are the stories of about the "below the line" crew, the Canadians who work on the runaway American productions."-- Publisher's description