Steve Buscemi's Day Job: HBO's A Good Job: Stories of the FDNY

Steve Buscemi's Day Job: HBO's A Good Job: Stories of the FDNY
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Stories about firefighters conjure images of 9/11, inevitably, as no one can forget the enormous sacrifice of those men climbing up the stairs as others rushed down. In the documentary, A Good Job, images of the site the day after haunt, well after the documentary, directed by Liz Garbus, finishes with its final big hugs: actor Steve Buscemi and each of the brave men and women he interviews. Having been a fireman in Engine 55 in the early '80's after his father insisted he take the civil service exam, Buscemi was compelled to join that company, in full gear, going down to the disaster site on Sept. 12, to help recover what they could of the station's five missing men. He took a video camera, and the scale of rubble even today so many years after the fact seems incredible. Now on the week of 9/11 commemoration, this documentary is Buscemi's tribute to a job he left, and to the firefighters with whom he still feels bonded.

The kitchen is THE PLACE; each firefighter seems to have grown up in the wisdom of spaghetti being cooked over large pots. And so, after last week's premiere, many stars of the movie including Deputy Chief Vincent Dunn and his family made their way to the New York City Fire Museum on Spring Street, with its antique red vehicles and other memorabilia. With sliders and mac n' cheese on the comfort food menu, Buscemi's pal Aiden Quinn talked about having played a fireman but never having been one, even as little boys dream of this job. But speaking of fantasies, how many women dream of dating firemen? Well, that would not be a great reason to take this job. It's way too dangerous.

A version of this post also appears on Gossip Central.

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