A little context in regards to my post below this one. A bunch of the CH edit staff and I went up to 34th St. where our production team- and more specifically, Sam Reich, were shooting a video. Today is Sam’s birthday so we were all there to surprise him, give him a bunch of flowers, and sing Happy Birthday.

They were shooting in a big office building and it was mostly empty. After the whole birthday thing was over we were all kind of wandering around. Jeff poked his head into a room, and not wanting to miss an opportunity to mess with him, I shoved him inside and slammed the door behind us, making it seem like I brought him in there to beat him mercilessly while no one could come to his rescue. (This chain of thought may have had something to do with seeing The Dark Knight this weekend.)

Either way, after the joke was over, we tried to get out and the door wouldn’t open. We knocked and called out for help. I could hear Amir laughing on the other side of the door when I said we were locked in. He started jiggling the handle. “It’s locked here too!” I knew he was being a dick, but fortunately there was another door, a sliding one with a porthole in it. I walked over and pulled. Nothing. This one was bolted shut. I walked back over to the first door to wait for Amir’s joke to get old.

Then I heard Taco’s voice. His voice sounded more honest, “I think it’s actually locked.” More jiggling of the handle, this time harder. Amir’s voice again, laughing, “Oh my God, it’s really locked?” Harder laughing.

It seemed fitting that the other door had a window on it. It allowed every person we came up there with, and people who were already on the shoot, to come mock us for our stupidity. Even the maintenance guy who had to come let us out fucked with us, saying we had to wait for a welder to come, and that we might run out of oxygen.

All in all we were maybe in there for 15 to 20 minutes. It felt longer. Being honest though, I don’t think I learned any lesson. Given the same opportunity I think I’d still like to make the “I’m going to beat the shit out of you in an empty room and no one can stop me joke.” I think that’s how I know I’m in the right line of work.