That 4 Friends Movie
Day 16 - Friday
Today we work in a house, doubling for Richard’s
character's parents’ house, in Van Nuys. We had to park in Costco
and be vanned back to residential neighborhood (where, I’m sure, the
neighbors were cursing our existence for taking up the road space with
our trucks and trailers, and our racket before 7 a.m. probably woke up
more than one person).
When Richard arrived, he looked at the huge house
and exclaimed, “My parents are rich!”
While the long wait for shot set-up (it takes
forever for electric and lights to get situated in a new location), I
accidentally sat with the grips in the back area (it started out with
me sitting in a chair, and before I knew it, I was surrounded - like
the playground scene in The Birds).
“How long do you think it would take this place to go up in flames?,”
asked one grip who was looking over the wooden slated roof and
trim. “It depends on how you rig it to blow up,” remarked another
grip (I was informed later that this particular grip is usually a
pyrotechnic guy – “It doesn’t matter what you’re talking about," said
PA Kent.
"He could start talking about mashed potatoes, and before you know it,
he’s talking about how to blow them up.”).
Then the grips started telling horribly rude jokes,
my exit one involving an 8 year-old child, and Pyro Grip said, “Hey,
originally it was a 2-year-old, but I had to clean it up because Script
was here!”
Todd carries away Harry and Thomas for 2nd unit bike
riding stuff, and we’ve got Richard and Laura for the big emotional
scene in the bathroom. And it’s cool, because they’re running
lines and they use me for reference on lines, and when Richard wants to
change something, he tells me (like, “is that okay”) instead of
Alfredo, and when Laura needs to know something, she warmly squeezes
my arm.
Then it’s time for Jane and Richard’s big emotional
breakdown breakfast scene, and it’s taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R for them to
set-up, so eventually I get the bright idea to sack out on the sofa in
the living room that everyone is walking by without using full
advantage. I’m not there for too long before Richard’s hand is
pushing my knee aside and saying flatly, “Move over, Marilyn,” and he
falls on the sofa next to me. And it isn’t much longer before the
long-awaited flash of a Polaroid camera hits us. Camera ready,
and we’re back in the kitchen.
Jane’s doing her Wisconsin accent and asks if the
cereal she’ll be pouring milk on the cereal, “Will the Rice Crispies be
a problem for Sound, because you know, they snap, crackle and pahp." Then her scene, one
amazingly
emotional scene where Jane’s breakdown is heart-wrenching. I’m
amazed – I’ve never seen a performance out of her like this. Our
final scene is the third and final emotional
scene features Harry.
We’re wrapped, leaving everything behind since we’re
returning the next day (brilliant for a film crew – we call it a “walk
away” so no one has to spend time and energy loading up the truck after
a long day’s work), and I quickly finish my paperwork. 2nd 2nd
Jodie tells me she can’t believe we kept Laura for four hours after
lunch and never used her (we were supposed to shoot her outside the
kitchen door listening in on Jane's scene, but decided instead to wrap
out the kitchen with Harry's scene and swap his scene with hers since
it means moving camera into the living room). I copy my own notes
tonight at Jennifer’s request, and therefore miss all the early
shuttles to the parking lot. Finally I’m the only one wanting to
know why two empty vans are sitting way down at the honey wagon and no
one is taking me to my car, especially after Craig promised me he was
only turning around the van and would be right back. Jodie radios
him and he says he’ll be back in a minute and a half. So Marti
(who drove me crazy ALL DAY LONG calling Sharpie pens Scriptie pens,
and therefore keeps saying “We got a new Scripty!”) offers to drive me
in her catering truck to my car. I say “Only if you get me out of
here before Craig shows up,” not wanting to look like I backed the
wrong horse. And Craig drives up and I tell her I know I’m going
to regret it, but I gotta go with Craig. She nods, knowing I will
be sorry, and I get in and drive past her truck and we pick up the
camera crew. Then Craig radios back to Jodie he doesn’t think
there’s anyone else to drive, so he’ll go straight home after this, and
she says, “There’s me!” and he throws the van in reverse to pick her
up, and we drive by Marti in her truck and she’s laughing at me.
That 4
Friends Movie
Production
Journals - On the Set
The
Marilyn Website home
Copyright Marilyn Estes
1997-infinity