Aliens Invade Campus with Cameras and Crew

Agnessa Kasumyan, Managing Editor • December 4, 2013

Campus life seemed a little alien on Nov. 23 as nearly 100 cast and crew members prepared to film an episode of “The Neighbors,” an ABC television series about a family who moves to a gated community only to discover that it is inhabited by beings from another planet.

SB 243 was transformed into a film set as lights, cameras, and around 40 production workers huddled around actors Jamie Gertz (Debbie Weaver), Lenny Venito (Marty Weaver), and Brian Huskey (Professor Clint Vance) while they rehearsed a scene from episode 14 of season two.

Assistant director Adam Martin said that though no information regarding the episode’s plot can be revealed, as it is based on previously unaired episodes, it is titled “Man, Actually” after the 2003 film “Love, Actually.”

Though the cast and crew of the show occupied the campus for 12 hours, arriving as early as 5 a.m. to begin preparations for the shoot, camera operator Buddy Fries says they only shot three minutes of the entire episode.

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Fries said setting up usually takes longer than the actual shooting. The campus provided additional security guards, though Martin said they were not really worried about student interference.

“People are curious, but they are not overly attentive,” he said. “It’s obviously different if you have Brad Pitt on set; then you have to fight people off.”

Contacted about two weeks prior to filming, it took a week to arrange what areas could be used for filming. However, the school typically tries to accommodate production crews because it is a way to generate revenue for the college. Vice president of administrative services Ron Nakasone said the school was paid nearly $10,000 for the 12-hour shoot.

Nakasone said that more TV shows and movies are beginning to film on campus, with at least one shoot taking place every month. Last semester, television host Conan O’Brien filmed a segment of “Conan” on campus featuring the Women’s Athletic team.

“They’re happy with the service they get,” Nakasone said. “We have a staff dedicated to making sure everything runs smoothly and so we are getting repeat customers who want to come back and film again.”

Martin said it is possible that another episode of “The Neighbors” may be shot at the college. “Man, Actually” will be aired in January.

About the Contributor

Agnessa Kasumyan, Managing editor

Writing for her high school newspaper pushed Agnessa toward a career in journalism. During her junior year of high school, she broke a story regarding a racial profiling case at her school. A year later, her follow-up story finished top five in the National Scholastic Press Association. She has been writing for El Vaquero since Fall 2012 and is currently working toward her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with an emphasis on International Relations. Agnessa’s goals include working for the United Nations, interning for a foreign embassy, and using her political science background to report on key issues, both domestic and international. A self-described Anglophile, she plans to move to England and travel throughout Britain while working on her creative writing projects (because calling it a novel is too cliche). She is currently the editor-in-chief of El Vaquero, president of Glendale Community College’s Scholars (Honors) Program, and a freelance writer for the Glendale News Press - a subsidiary of the Los Angeles Times.