You Have to Be a Human Alarm Clock
Lindsay's not exactly known for being the most prompt person in the world, and Gavin was the one who had to break the news to her producer and director when she was running late (every lost hour of filming bleeds major money from the film's budget). "There were a few times when they'd take it out on me," he said. "After awhile you don't want to seem like the person who's always making excuses."
So to avoid getting bitched out, Gavin developed a complex system to wake LiLo up every morning and get her where she needed to be. In addition to setting multiple wake-up calls at the Chateau Marmont, where they were staying, he'd head to a bagel shop in Beverly Hills at the crack of dawn to get her favorite breakfast of bagels and eggs, turn on all the lights in her room, noisily pack her bag, and play top 40 music or indie rock from her iPod. "There were days when we'd shot for 18 hours and had to be on set five hours later and she was exhausted so she'd say, ‘give me 20 more minutes to sleep,'" Gavin says. "I bribed her with breakfast."
You'll Have Conversations With Hollywood Hotshots About Foursomes and Boobs
Part of Gavin's job was relaying feedback about the script to the director or writer. "A lot of the cast members in The Canyons were porn stars, so they were comfortably walking around naked," Gavin says. "I had to ask the director whether we could shoot the foursome scene at the end of the day instead of at 10:00 in the morning because it would make everyone more comfortable to do it last."
One of Lindsay's lines in Liz and Dick referenced "big boobs" instead of a more refined term, like big-breasted. "Lindsay did not like that, so I went to the writer and said, ‘Can we change that line?'" At first he felt intimidated approaching these heavy-hitters, but eventually he got used to it. "On the walk over to talking to them I'd say, 'Okay, how am I going to say this in a way that is beneficial to everyone?'" he recalls. "They were generally very receptive."
You're Always On-Call
Since Gavin and Lindsay were already good friends prior to his assistant stint, he lived in her house and they were together nearly all the time. He had Saturdays and Sundays off, but usually spent them with Lindsay. "She loves going out to dinner and cooking. I'd go with her to the grocery store and then she'd cook a big meal," he says. "We'd also go to the movies at least once a week. Since I do photography and she loves photo shoots, we'd do all these impromptu photo shoots around LA and at her house."
But if something goes wrong during your time off, you're still on the hook—even if you have a date, are in the middle of dinner, whatever. "Other assistants I knew would get annoyed because they'd set everything up for the celebrity to go to a concert or amusement park on their night off. But then, at 10 p.m., they'd get a phone call complaining," Gavin says. That wasn't an issue for him, but the hours were still grueling during filming. He'd wake up at 6:15 a.m. and work until 10 p.m. or later.
"I was exhausted. Once filming wrapped, I just wanted a beach day," he says. "It took a week to be fully adjusted again."
You Might Have to Bail Them Out of Jail…After They Almost Killed You
Gavin promised the producers of Liz and Dick that Lindsay wouldn't drive during filming (she'd recently been taken off probation after a 2007 DUI charge). But within the first week, she got behind the wheel. "We were filming in Malibu and she had this rented Porsche convertible and thought it would be nice to go to dinner afterwards," Gavin explains. The rest is TMZ history: Lindsay rear-ended an 18-wheeler…with Gavin in the passenger seat. He got a giant cut on his right leg from broken glass, and when the police arrived at the scene, Lindsay allegedly lied to them at first, claiming Gavin was the driver. "Then I had to bail her out of jail. I went to the police station and called everyone I knew—her attorneys, her mother—and I finagled," he says. "I had to smooth things over. She didn't want anyone on set to talk to her about the accident."
You Can Wear Whatever You Want…But You Might Get Shit For It
Although Gavin opted for jeans and a tee or hoodie, Lindsay's other assistant lived in sweatpants. (Most celebs have one full-time assistant, plus a second part-time person during filming or touring.) "It drove Lindsay crazy because she wanted her to dress better," Gavin says. "There was one time when we were going to the Polo Lounge for a meeting and she wore sweats. It's just not appropriate because she's a reflection of Lindsay."
When You're Not Filming, It's Actually Pretty Boring
Lindsay's full-time assistant took care of the house—making sure she had gas in her car at all times, the fridge was stocked, prescriptions were filled, and that the housekeeper came twice a week.
You Make a So-So Salary—If You Include the Swag
The movie production team compensated Gavin $15,000 for three months of work, and he says full-time assistants are paid about $800-$1,100 a week. But especially once you throw in some bonus swag (Gavin scored Parasucco and Ksubi jeans, hats, and sunglasses) it's not bad.
The Paparazzi Actually Hound You
"Even when I would go out alone to run an errand or something, I'd be followed by 20 paparazzi who thought I was either going to pick Lindsay up or drive to her house," Gavin says.
You Might Get All Mama Bear
Gavin felt very protective of Lindsay, which was a weird shift for him after years of being her buddy. "Since I'd been publically labeled her assistant after the car accident, it put me in a position where all eyes were on me," he says. "I was way more careful about where we were going because I knew the press was so critical of her, and once I'd been involved in something so publicized the best thing to do was make sure that both of us were safe at all times."
You Probably Need a Connection to Get the Gig
Gavin and Lindsay met in New York through mutual friends five years ago, and have been close ever since. So she reached out to him and asked if he'd like to help out during the production of the two movies she filmed last summer, Liz and Dick and The Canyons.
If you're into masochism, and after reading all this you want to be a celeb assistant? While many of them are hired via personal connections or because they've been in the biz for a while, you can also send your resume to one of the big talent agencies, like CAA or ICM. "If you're a new actress, your agent or manager will find someone for you that way," confirms Gavin.
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