Stories From On Set: Fabletics Scrubs x Ken Jeong

Featuring the campaign video, and what we all want to know from being on set - how the restrooms and the food are. Am I allowed to share all this? Guess we'll know if I randomly stop posting one day.

So like the weird narcissist I am, I’ve incessantly stalked Fabletics and Fabletics Scrubs for the past 3 months after shooting the audition. (We had an initial release date of around the end of July, so I kept checking, because… checking gives me something to look forward to in life, and it is a nice dopamine hit for me?)

Then, I started seeing the teasers for the commercial I worked on, and it was a wondrous mix of feeling satisfied that I finally understood a teaser, and knowing that I’d get to see the finished product! (I missed a lot of stuff that was happening from my vantage point while shooting.)

Here is the ad!

Ken Jeong, in his new scrubs, opens his Volvo in front of his nice suburban home, and sort of gestures toward the camera. Fabletics Scrubs | Scrub Up with the World’s FIRST Activewear Scrubs ft. Ken Jeong

Audition Process

Every actor playing a tourist read through the same lines, which were quite different during the initial audition round. I had no idea what the brand was, or who the celebrity would be. There was a self tape for the first round. I filmed it after my first day at court. (That is a tale for another day. And once again, I’m not sure if I can share it, but at the moment, I don’t think my blog is important enough or has great SEO to warrant a severe crackdown, so be glad I only have 14 subscribers at the moment, I guess. And thank you to my 14 subscribers!! I’m glad you find this somewhat enjoyable!)

A few weeks later, I got a same-day in-person callback that took me to a location my topographically-challenged mind could not make sense of. Thankfully, someone sensed how lost I looked, and was able to guide me to the correct location. (Hint: If you look just the right amount of lost, people WILL be able to telepathically interpret your intentions. Don’t listen to those people who say you need to use their words. They’re lying to you.)

It was a great time! I got lots of helpful redirects from the director and casting. (I had to channel my raging hatred for Rose Parade commentary. And after watching the Olympics, I must say I do not find the swimming commentary at all pleasing or informative.) The room was gigantic. I was given free reign to steal some shit liberate some Fabletics clothing from the premises and give them a new home, but I chose not to do so, because ironically, my sarcasm detector does not always work.
(Thank you to Sanford Casting and John Cregan, the director at callbacks! And thank you to my agent as well (The Happen Agency)!)

On Set Stuff

Everyone was really nice and fun to work with! Anoush (pink jacket, passes out from Ken) swapped orange and yellow gummies with me (because yellow is the best flavor). Matty (holding the video camera, is tall, appears in the new Spongebob movie on Netflix go watch it sorry I don’t know what to link here but I feel like I should link something) held up the umbrellas for our tour bus in between takes when it got sunny. (You can request umbrellas on a union set! And also, our tour bus door malfunctioned for a good hour, so some of us chose to parkour onto the bus). Rawle (sunglasses, falling asleep, sort of a streamer) had some nice stretches to battle the cold in the morning. Victoria (jean jacket; Fabletics commercial lore says that we are a duo of best friends in which she takes charge and I am the pussy who bounces around all the time) always knew which sections we were filming next. Priya (green/white/red shirt, is really over it) let me borrow her mirror on her makeup palette (oh yeah, I did my own makeup for this, in case you’re wondering why it’s bad. If you’re wondering why it’s bad, please help me make it better next time.) Trevor (tour guide, wannabe nurse) has dog socks that aren’t really his socks, and helped the vertically challenged people Anoush and me onto the bus.

None of that matters, because none of them filled out their I9 forms correctly on the first try. (… Okay, I guess I didn’t either. Read it carefully! Who knew you had to sign multiple times on the same page??)

Ken was nice and really funny! It sucked to have to keep a straight face. He came over to shake our hands, and ask our names. (To our surprise, Victoria and Ken already knew each other from before, and were practically best friends.) A lot of the final commercial is out of order (at least, compared to how we shot the final script), and a lot of lines were cut. (I’ve been waiting for 3 months to hear him talk about going to his HOA meeting because two of his neighbors have been having a jackhammer-off by remodeling their pools at the same time, and that noise just shakes through you, like nernernerenererner (jackhammer noises), and oh my God the noise from the dogs and the planes flying above poor old Encino, and the parking situation, like what is this, LA?? And sadly, it was not meant to be.) Also, for the bus shots, we were basically acting to a gigantic screen, since Ken’s house (not his real house) actually faces another house. The entire street was sectioned off though.

His wife was a one-take wonder, and their dog is very cute. I think the dog’s name is Mochi? Did not get to interact.

Also, it was really quite cold. May was so strangely unwarm that I’m having a hard time processing that summer is pretty much over. (Secret: I was wearing sweatpants underneath my dress for some of the shoot, until the sun came out. Info that absolutely no one asked for: I took off my pants in the bushes. Truly embarrassing, because I thought no one would be home at the time. I thought I was smart by hiding behind a bush. Oh, don’t worry, no one actually saw me there, but I did get walked in on in the portapotty.) Speaking of the portapotty…

✨🚽💩🎉 URINATION STATION REVIEW #1 🎉💩🚽✨(!!!)

ID: sparkle emoji, toilet emoji, cute smiley poop emoji, party popper emoji.

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. I certainly have been waiting for it, since I actually pre-wrote this section around 2 months ago. I’ve really been planning for this moment.

[thunderous and exciting flushy noises, but this is recycled water, because water waste makes me feel bad]

Call me an uncultured plebeian, but this was easily the most chic portapotty I’ve had the opportunity to use in my life. There were decorations!! There was a painting! (unfortunately not shown in this picture) If you ignore the piece of toilet paper on the floor, this is one flawless urination station. Need to learn how to lock these things though, because like I mentioned, I got walked in on. It’s cool though. I think. 

Taken at a clever angle to hide the piece of toilet paper on the ground (NOT FROM ME) that soils the artistry. They even have a toilet brush in a matching silver color! The standard stuff in a toilet (automatic trash can, toilet cover dispenser, toilet paper holder with TWO FULL ROLLS, and a special, artsy, circle-shelf thing with a potted plant, some (?? aroma sticks??), and… some cloth/paper towels that are artfully stacked??)

I felt but resisted the temptation to use the men’s portapotty just to compare the decor. I was fortunate enough to chance a glance inside without stepping within. The decor and painting are different. 10/10

The urination stool itself operates well. Doesn’t sound threatening like airplane toilets, and you can easily flush everything with one good long climate-destroying wasteful push/nudge. (And, there is the added benefit of mood lighting dim lights, so unlike in the bathroom, where everything was on full display, the person who walked in on me claimed that it was too dark to see. Which is a relief, because TMI again, I was on my period.

After peeing, you should aways reach for some…

FOOooooOD REVIEW #1

Yeah, what a bad transition.

The standard snacks. I’ve eaten the same peanut butter granola bar at every set. There’s a reason I always get it.

The gummies are tricky. I thought I got a bag of (inferior) reds and swapped with Anoush, only to discover it was hiding a bunch of (superior) yellows and oranges. My life.

That warm breakfast was a blessing. Got my spinach in! Will always long for Pasta Mama (can you believe the Smoothies(??) food truck has pasta for breakfast?? You should always get it because it can quadruple as a breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner), but warm is still good.

Warm French toast. Nothing more needs to be said. Quality? Who cares. It’s warm French toast.

My stomach is a bottomless pit after I drive, and since it takes me like 2 hours to get anywhere of import, it was even bottomlessier pittier. That breakfast burrito? Warm. A work of art. The first time I just slathered the sauce container everywhere and licked it dry. That pastry? Very good. Worth a take home. Unfortunately not pictured here.

The napkin? Very thin and rendered useless with one anxiety-fueled squeeze upon needing to introduce myself to people and pick a place to sit (too many choices for me too early in the morning).

The lunch? BEAUTIFUL. Like the food your college unveils when it’s time to impress some rich parents, but not so much that they think this institution is above financial assistance.

The pretty lunch I describe above and below on a white (what is this material) non-paper plate, along with a fork and a steak knife shoved unceremoniously into the gigantic coleslaw. Napkin wrinkled by anxiety is underneath the plate. Signature plastic water bottle. A corner of someone else’s food. There is also some cornbread. I forgot to take a picture before eating, since I was hungry, and we had less than 30 minutes.

I could have eaten the mac n’ cheese forever because bottomless stomach, but am unfortunately a slow eater, especially when engaged in conversation.

I was bamboozled by the jackfruit. I lumped a bunch on my plate, mistakenly thinking they were carne asada, and was… befuddled. Got my non-meat in though at least. The sauce was nice.

The chicken? Great.

The salmon? Very nice.

Refer to the picture. (poorly written ID: some nice on-set food because this was a commercial)

Beans are not vegetables.

But there was spinach!!

I got to take my leftovers home in a conveniently stackable box.

Oh, and there were brownies and ice cream. Brownies were a bit dry, but I’ll never say no to one. The ice cream melted instantaneously, but I cannot handle actual ice cream anyway. It looks like bird droppings, but I swear it’s ice cream.

Plastic water bottle. Plastic spoon in paper bowl with said brownie, some Oreo toppings, and bird droppings vanilla ice cream. Gives you nostalgia for 5th grade class parties. All on top of a white table and a small triangle of grass.

(It’s fascinating to see how my writing style is so different pre-Buspar and pre-13 or so days of posting. I’ll just leave it up, because I learned the important lesson of just making and doing stuff. Quantity over quality. But I hope this was still quality. I know that bathroom review sure was.)

The Aftermath

This is some… interesting organization. (I’m trying not to be so negative!) So, basically, a day of bouncing around on a tour truck with cushions that are deceptively apparently not so soft wreaks havoc on my tofu legs.

(CW: bruises - not from violence. Skip down to “6 tourists…” to avoid.)

So I basically came home with ridiculously bruised knees. I have since invested in some kneepads. Do tourists wear that stuff? I mean, it can’t be easy on your knees to kneel and take photos of stuff all the time, right??

Sad knees after a long day of celebrity hunting.

Bonus Ad That You Can Totally Find By Yourself Online

6 tourists + 1 tour guide on a Valley Star Tours bus make silly faces and lunge toward Dr. Mr. Ken Jeong himself like we are zombies, and he is an oval-shaped stack of brains. He is gangster as ever in his activating new Fabletics scrubs. There is a flower bush wall thing behind the truck, so you know this is a nice neighborhood. This could be a movie poster or something.

KEN JEONG FOR FABLETICS SCRUBS.

I may have forgotten something? So if you’re curious about something, leave a comment or message me!

(If someone can teach me how to make Streak stop bugging me, even after I deleted that app, I shall owe you an additional bathroom photo.)

Over 2,000 words!