That 4
Friends Movie
Day 10 - Thursday
So today’s shoot is in Griffith Park, the CLOSEST location
to Pasadena so far, and I get there early enough for a comfy breakfast
and note-time, and I promptly lock my keys in my car. So Transpo
Jay and that other Transpo guy immediately came to my rescue, beginning
to pull on my back window and begin the coat hanger work. “When
do all guys learn how to break into a car?” I ask. “When we turn
fourteen,” Jay answered.
During breakfast (we never roll at call time), Marcy
and I sat on the curb eating our breakfast when PA John joined us and
started talking about all kinds of movies. “Like I saw Jaws in my film history class--” he
said. I fell into Marcy’s shoulder muttering, “He saw Jaws in his film history class,” and she fell apart
laughing. “No, really!” he said all excited. “I saw all these
movies in chronological order!” And we turned on him and said,
“So did we!”
It was tent city day. More extras and lots of
tents. Harry was first up, with his character leaving his tent
first thing in the morning (“Hey, Marilyn! Did I wear my water pack
outside my jacket at the phone booth?” “Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Yeah.”). Then we move over to camp city bike rack, where he had
to peddle up a hill over and over again per take. He came back
and said, “My next movie is going to be an action movie. I need
more exercise.”
Somehow, our section of Griffith Park was
double-booked -- a commercial was filming not 100 yards
away. We all got along and agreed to be quiet (no filming or set
building) while the other one was rolling. It was sort of insane
at first, but they were shooting with a baby and had to wrap quickly
(very limited time working with little children and we knew it).
Later, however, more children showed up at the nearby playground to
play. After one take where Jane and Richard had a dramatic scene,
Peter sound, who picks up all kinds of noise on his headphones which
the rest of the crew doesn’t notice, asked Alfredo if this AIDS ride
camp was near a high school.
Lunch of cook-out snacks, and Wardrobe Marcy and
Tracy and
their new French slave Laurent were sitting together so I joined
them. Then PA Gabriel joined in, and Marcy said, “Laurent,
Gabriel
speaks Swedish, so he can talk to you – he’s European savvy.”
Then I said, “Swedish isn’t a language, is it? Isn’t Sweden one
of those countries that has three official languages?” Then
Gabriel pointed out that “only Marilyn” wouldn’t know her geography and
mix up Sweden with SWITZERLAND! So we goad him into speaking
Swedish. “What do you want me to say? Not that you’ll know
what I’m really saying,” asked Gabriel. Marcy leaped at the
opportunity. “Say 'You have beautiful…’” she looked into my eyes,
“'brown eyes.’” I say, “I’d rather hear that in English.” Gabriel
finally said “We’re having s**tty weather” in Swedish.
Lunch over, during the first camera rehearsal of the
next set-up, the dolly fell off the dolly track, so we’re watching a
nice shot on the monitor of people having a wonderful time at a camp
when suddenly there’s an earthquake! “I’m awake now,” said 1st AC
Linda, who was on the dolly when it went over and the first to lunge
for the camera.
While they rebuild the dolly track, I notice Make-up
Enya and Stella have painted themselves with gold and silver glitter, a
creative sign that they’re bored. It’s in their hair, on their
face, you name it.
Camera Loader Karen was setting up the monitor for
me. AD
Michael came over to bug her, harassing her that she was delaying the
entire production. She looks at him calmly and tells him,
“Patient, grasshopper.”
I met Alfredo’s lovely wife and totally beautiful
son, a long curly haired tosselled boy. I introduced myself to
him, telling him he probably couldn’t pronounce my name. She
smiled and said “Don’t be too sure.” Then the child smiled up at
me and asked me angelically, “Where’s Pico?” She laughs and
explains it’s from his favorite movie, Magic Voyage. “Marilyn is
a beautiful blonde fairy,” she said. “What’s Pico?” I ask.
She laughs harder, “A wood worm.”
We finish with a scene where Jane and Richard talk
while they build a tent. One run-through of rehearsal, me
watching both of them bounce all over the four corners of the tent,
different locations, grabbing different pieces of tent during different
pieces of the 3-minute scene, and I’m thinking panic time on the
continuity for coverage thing. Then Richard really pushes for
them building the tent during the scene, especially shooting the whole
thing in one shot, no coverage.
During this discussion, I notice now Tracy has
glitter on her ears and neck. Enya and Stella are still bored.
Alfredo finally tells Michael that he’s going to do
this all in one shot handheld, which made me so game. Camera
isn’t excited, because line producer Lonnie wouldn't spring for 1000’
mags, forcing them to reload their camera on every take. AD
Michael, on the other hand, was very giddy at the prospect, since he’s
got Guest Cameo Matthew on set (still shaking his bout of pneumonia,
which prevented him from being at the Santa Monica shoot) and doing
this in one shot is
the only way he’ll get to that scene.
Until we started shooting. A couple of
rehearsals, and we start rolling camera. Take one, Richard trips
up his
opening line, accidentally replacing the word "yet" with "wet," and he
falls over
laughing, rolling on the ground. Take two, camera reloads.
Take
three, camera reloads. Take four, camera reloads. Sound dropped
the boom into the shot on a few takes, which, fortunately for the sound
department, the
actors’ blew on their own, so no one had to know. Finally, take
12, and
we’re ready to move on, sending Jane and Richard home.
So in comes Guest Cameo Matthew for his scene with
Thomas and
I hear some girl wants to know if we were going to get to her scene
(like I cared! We had a recovering Matthew waiting for the
scene, for crying out loud!). So I introduce myself to Matthew,
“Hello, I’m Marilyn, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” And
he shook my hand and returned the phrase. Then he pulled out from
his pocket a torn slip of pink paper with his two lines on it and
replied, “I’ve got my script here,” and Tracy and I
laughed.
We’re practically shooting in the dark now, and they
finally call wrap (after Thomas got annoyed waiting for yet another
camera reload -- “How can we get into a rhythm if we have to keep
waiting
for camera reloads on every take?”). So Alice had told me earlier
she needed a copy of my script for Jessica to type up with the new
changes so their investors can see where it’s going (and Alfredo asked
yesterday for his edit notes), so I worked in the camera truck filling
in any blanks, ready to hand them over tonight, and when we get back to
base camp, everyone’s gone except the camera people, PA John, who tells
me he’s going to work at Paramount tomorrow – even though he requested
I took a picture of him wearing my black coat and stop watch (“Is
it career day?” asked a crewmember, “I want to be a gaffer!”), and
Jodie.
So I went home and watched the MTV movie awards.
That 4
Friends Movie
Production
Journals - On the Set
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