The Death of the Dream

Written by Doug – the northlondonhippy

Chinese New Year

I never heard from Harvey, nor anyone else from the Production Management, and Operations department ever again. I posted off my invoice for my work over New Year, and they paid me. And that was the end, or so I thought. 

I don’t know if was by design, or if they weren’t told, but the MTV promo department continued to hire me directly after my Crappy New Year. I remember the first little job they booked me for, and it included my pick-up truck too. 

It was a small location shoot, they wanted to film a channel bumper with the MTV Gong during Chinese New Year celebrations in New York City. My assignment was to collect the gong, and the director, bring them both to Chinatown, link up with the film crew, shoot the promo, and then return the gong, and director back to base. 

I mentioned I did lots of these little jobs, but this one is memorable for two reasons. Chinese New Year obviously, which makes the time, February 1987, easy to recall. But the other was that I got to spend a decent amount of time with the promo director, a nice guy named Mark Pellington. 

I’d worked with Mark before, and had met him when I was an intern. He was friendly, and chatty, and knew I was studying film, and TV at NYU. I think he may have asked for me, because I was so cost effective with my little pick-up truck. 

Mark’s had a long, and fairly successful career. He’s directed features, and won many awards. Looks like he’s still active, too. 

The actual promo was simple, and quite cool. At the end of a sequence of firecrackers rigged along buildings exploding, someone was going to bash the MTV Gong. We got it in one take. It was an easy day. 

For me, the biggest surprise of the day, was to be back on the clock for MTV. I didn’t expect it, nor did I mention my exceeded expectations. 

I wouldn’t say I was overwhelmed with work from the MTV promo department, but I would get the occasional small gig with them, some of them on location. And that gave me another idea.

I bought a cellphone. Well, we didn’t call them cellphones back then. In the 80s, we had carphones, installed and hardwired into vehicles. They were power hungry, and you could really only use them when the engine was running. Only I didn’t buy a carphone, I bought a field phone. Basically, it was a standard car phone, stuck on top of a humungous battery, that weighed a ton. I started hiring that out, along with me, and my pick-up. 

Somehow, I managed to keep my MTV dream alive, for at least a few more months. 

The Death of the Dream

Just like you never forget your first time, your last time stays with you too. This was the last time I worked for MTV. Don’t worry, that doesn’t spoil the story, or the ending. 

It was another promo, it was in June 1987. The location was somewhere in New Jersey, west of Hoboken. I can’t remember the exact location, but it was like 45 mins to an hour away from home, on some scrub land. 

The promo was for a car giveaway. Technically it was an open top Wrangler Jeep, complete with a roll bar. It was a pretty good prize. 

I can’t remember why they hired me, I know they wanted me to bring the field phone. I don’t recall them needing me for the pick-up truck, or transporting anything with me.

I don’t remember the director, or cameraman. I didn’t get to spend much time with either one of them. How I spent my day, was completely unexpected. 

I don’t remember the full concept of the promo. It’s not like anyone showed me a script, or the story boards. The basic idea of was that a goth secretary was the main character, and they hired an actress to dress the part, and drive the jeep for whatever shots they needed.

Wrangler dropped the Jeep off at the location first thing in the morning, and just left it with us. The actress spent a long time in a trailer, getting into costume, heavy goth make-up, and a giant bee-hive wig. 

As they got ready to take the first shot of the day, they discovered the actress couldn’t actually drive the Jeep because it had a manual transmission. They checked she had a driver’s license, but no one asked if she could drive with a stick shift. Turns out, she couldn’t. 

They needed her to learn how to drive with a stick shift, and clutch right there on the spot. And guess who was the only person on that location who knew how to use a manual transmission? 

The coordinator on the job remembered that my pick-up truck had a stick shift.  Pick-up truck Doug was now driving instructor Doug. I didn’t have that on the bingo card for that day. Doug to the rescue!

I was introduced to the actress. She was really heavily made up, in a bizarre costume, and the bee-hive wig was massive. She was very apologetic about the situation, but it wasn’t her fault. I don’t think anyone knew the Jeep was a manual, but it’s one of those details that could have derailed the day, and nearly did. I’m sure someone caught shit for it, and I know it wasn’t the actress.

I wish I could remember her name. We spent a couple of hours together, as I tried to show her how to get the Jeep rolling without stalling. I don’t know if I was a bad teacher, or she was a bad student, but if I was to guess, I’d say it was the pressure she felt that kept her from picking up the skill needed to take off without stalling.

While I was playing driving instructor, the rest of the crew were playing with my field phone. They all made calls, it was quite the novelty. I remember the director made loads of work calls too, during the downtime waiting for us to finish the lessons. It was their dime, if they wanted to spend it on silly phone calls, feel free. 

The director was growing impatient, as well as losing the daylight, clouds were starting to move in, and rain was threatened. He came up with a solution. I drove the Jeep, while the actress pretended to push or chase it. I was kept out of all the shots, but I did do all my own stunts. The director said he would make it work, and in some ways, he thought it would be funnier visually. 

I’d grown a bit friendly with the actress. Even through the stress, and uncertainty, we were flirting a bit, so once we wrapped, I asked her if she wanted to grab a ride back to NYC with me in my pick-up truck. She accepted.

The actress went back to the make-up trailer to get out of her get-up, and back into her own clothes. When she returned, I was very pleasantly surprised at how beautiful she was in real life. I had no idea, it was her personality that had grabbed me, her looks were just a bonus.

Everyone drove off, the camera crew, the producer, director, and MTV people all in separate vehicles, and me and my new actress friend in my pick-up truck. 

Less than a mile from the location, my truck’s engine made a really funny, loud noise, and then it died. I managed to pull over onto the shoulder, and tried to re-start the engine. No luck. 

I got out, and popped the hood. Not that I had any sort of clue, I’m not a mechanic, but it’s what you do, isn’t it? I looked under the truck, and the engine too. I could see oil leaking out, a lot of it. That’s not good. 

The truck was dead, but that’s OK, because I had my field phone. I could call for help. Only when I tried to use it, the battery was flat from all the fun phone calls the crew made. I plugged it into the cigarette lighter, but without the engine running, there wasn’t enough power to even turn it on. Ut oh.

I locked up the truck, and we started walking. It was a fairly empty highway, but ahead I could see what looked like a strip mall. We made our way there, only it wasn’t a strip mall. The threatened rain began to fall. 

There were two businesses at this location, a small convenience store, and a porno cinema. Guess which one had the pay phone?

I went inside the cinema while my new friend waited outside, on the convenience store side of the building, I might add. She was definitely not impressed with being stranded in the depths of NJ, with a guy she’d only just met. And I think the porno cinema was the icing on the comedy cake. 

I told the guy at the ticket counter I didn’t need admission, just his pay phone. He asked me what I really needed, and I told him about my breakdown. He said don’t bother with the pay phone, and he picked up a phone on ticket counter, and rang a friend of his, who was a local tow truck driver. He gave the guy the details, and told me to go back to the truck, and wait. He said it wouldn’t be too long, as his friend was close. That was easier than I expected it to be.

We walked back to my truck, and waited. The tow truck guy turned up quickly, like within a half hour, maybe things were looking up.

He hooked up my pick-up to his tow truck, and asked if we both needed a ride back to Hoboken, meaning me, and my new actress friend. It was a weird question, considering it was obvious we were both stranded, but when we got to the cab of his tow truck, we discovered why he had asked.

Sitting inside the cab of the tow truck, was the driver’s 11 year old daughter, and the truck was a three seater. There were four of us. 

So we set off, with the driver in the driver’s seat, obviously, and his daughter in the middle seat. I was in the right side passenger seat, and sat in my lap, was my actress friend. Awkward! 

I can’t say it was a particularly comfortable, or happy trip. It took close to an hour. There was no cuddling, she did her best to pretend she was anywhere else. Once we reached my place, and the guy backed my dead pick-up into my driveway. I paid him, and he and his daughter departed.

I asked my new friend if she wanted some dinner, but she declined. She was pretty pissed off by this point, and I didn’t blame her. She asked me to get her a taxi back to Manhattan, and told me she didn’t have any cash.

We went up to my condo, and I called for a cab. I gave her 20 bucks for the taxi, and when it arrived, she disappeared too. We didn’t even exchange numbers. My dead pick-up killed any chances of a first date. 

The next day, I phoned my contact in the promo department, and told them what had happened with my truck, and the actress. They were not sympathetic, and didn’t offer to reimburse me for her cab fare. All they did was confirm I no longer had the pick-up truck. They never phoned again.

Epilogue, and Regrets

The pick-up truck really was dead, well the engine sure was. It had ‘thrown a rod”, whatever that means, and it punctured the “oil pan”, whatever that is. It needed a new engine, and a friend of my dad’s said he could sort it out cheap. 

I got the truck towed down to the Jersey Shore, and while waiting at my dad’s friend’s garage, the truck got hit by another vehicle, and totalled. I ended up with an insurance cheque. That truck may have been cursed. 

It wasn’t just the truck that died that day, so did my work with MTV. I wouldn’t work again for well over a year after that, I didn’t know what to do with myself. 

MTV was a squandered opportunity for me. If I was more mature, and a bit sharper, I might have been able to turn it into something more meaningful, instead of just a launching pad. 

I know I could have done more for them, I just didn’t know how to get there. I never pitched a single idea to anyone, I didn’t have access to the real creative side of the organisation. I was involved with lots of production, just not at the end of it I wanted to be. 

My experience with MTV didn’t go to waste, far from it. It gave me an amazing foundation in film, and TV production, much more than I got from NYU. 

I never finished my degree, either. During my last semester, in the fall of 1986, my attendance, and interest in studying waned. The biggest setback I had, is that my narrative film class didn’t choose my script to produce. Every student had a script, but not every film was made. I’ll spare you the finer details, but they were right not to make it, for some practical, rather than creative reasons.

The script was based on a one-act play I had written for another class, and it had received an “A”. It was called “Jumpers”, and it was about two people who bump into each other on the ledge of a tall building in NYC, as they were both considering jumping off during their lunch hour. I’m fun at parties. 

Obviously, it wouldn’t have been a location shoot, and would have required building a set that was far out of the capability of college students, so it wasn’t approved. It was the right decision, but it still pissed me off. I gave up after that. 

I still wanted to work in film, or TV, only now I had the worry that a lack of a degree would be a hinderance. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In well over 30 years of fairly continuous work, no one ever asked me if I had a degree. On my CV, I just listed the years I attended university, and the subjects I studied, plus my relevant work experience. No one every asked for a transcript, no one ever asked anything, except what I did last. All that said, I do regret not completing the programme, if for no other reason, than to tick a box. 

Here’s a potted summary of what came next. I got hired as a coordinator/fixer on an Australian TV documentary in 1988, through a friend of a friend. It was 6 weeks work, travelling around the northeast, Boston, Philly, and NYC. They were shooting on film, and I also did some work as the camera assistant. I got lots of hands on experience with the camera too. It was an Aaton.

The subject was welfare systems around the world, so we filmed in lots of deprived areas. It was my first real media road trip with hotel stays and everything. It was hard work, and lots of fun, and the people were really nice. 

I also learned how to score weed in strange cities. Here’s a top tip for you. Don’t bother with bellhops, or the concierge. If you want to find weed, find someone who works in the hotel kitchen. They’ll never let you down. 

I added the Oz docco to my CV, and started sending it out again. I found an actual staff job with a Japanese production company via an advert in the New York Times. They were looking to expand into MTV style programming, and my resume caught the eye of their production manager. I was called in for an interview, and hired on the spot. I worked for them for just over a year.

One of my responsibilities with the Japanese production company was producing feature stories for Japanese TV news. They were mainly “and finally” items, but I got loads more experience in production, only now as the producer. I gained even more production skills working with them. 

I’ll drop one last name. The Japanese company had also made some stuff for US audiences, including a PBS series called “Faces of Japan“, hosted by Dick Cavett. I had nothing to do with the series, it was produced before I worked there, but Dick used to turn up for parties. I really liked him. I’m a fan, I’d even read his autobiography, and I got to chat with him a fair bit. That’s it. 

None of the MTV-styled stuff I worked on at the Japanese company went anywhere, which I found frustrating, so I started looking for something else. 

I’ll keep this brief, but the Japanese company did some co-productions with a company called Visnews. They’re now known as Reuters TV. 

I got to know people at Visnews, and they started giving me freelance work. And then they offered me a staff job. And then a transfer to London. That’s how I ended up here. I worked for Visnews for around 5 years. 

Visnews eventually led me to the Associated Press, when they launched their first TV agency, APTV in London in 1994. I was a foundation staff member. That company is now known as APTN, Associated Press Television News. I was with them for 9 years. 

I then landed at BBC News, where I was employed for 16 years as a senior broadcast journalist. I only gave it up because of some unexpected, heavy duty health issues. I’m not working now, but I’d still like to be. 

And that’s the straight line from my internship at MTV in 1986 to the present day. I wouldn’t be sitting here in London right now, if it weren’t for the solid foundation in media production I haphazardly constructed at MTV.

I know I’ve mentioned I have some regrets, and I do. Who doesn’t?

I feel like ultimately MTV especially, was a huge squandered opportunity, but I still wouldn’t change a second of it. All I ever really wanted for as long as I can remember, was to have an interesting life, but I learned early that plans are for suckers. 

Life happens to you whether you like it or not, more than you make it happen for yourself. I let life happen to me, and I’m glad I did.  

I’ve had a lot of fun, met loads of really cool people, and I’ve done some cool stuff too. And on that score, I don’t regret a goddamn thing.

The End

If you enjoyed MTV Redux, it’s part of something larger, I’m calling the “Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll Collection“, a showcase of my most recent writing, all produced in a 5 week period.

The next piece I’ve published is a short story, called Time Aside. It’s a twisty tale of time travel, anti-natalism, and regret. You’ll dig it!

Or check out Hippy Highlights, for a curated archive of the very best of the northlondonhippy.

(All words © Copyright 2023 – Doug – the northlondonhippy. All rights reserved)