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Day 23 of 29 - Sunday, February 11, 2001 - The Love Liza crew takes over a residence at Dog River - And Philip and I have a conversation at lunch... Crew call is for 7:30 this morning with shooting call set for 8:30. I get up early and have decided to skip breakfast on location again this morning. I prefer to use the time to add some more words to my Love Liza movie reports. I go in around 9:00. The set is located off of Navco Road at Venice Court on Dog River. It's easy to find for me - a straight shot from Halls Mill Road in Tillman's Corner to McVay, then Navco Road where I see the bright fluorescent 'crew' signs pointing the way. I get to the set 12 minutes after I leave my house. I find Venice Court and have to park at the tail end of a long line of vehicles all parked along one side of the street. The honey wagon and makeup trailer are close toward the residence. The large catering truck is next, breakfast tables still set up alongside of it in the grass. I see the props truck parked almost directly in front of the house. There's a 'for sale' sign in the front yard of the residence. It's a large, brick home and the back overlooks Dog River. As I walk up the driveway I spot Sanford's catering truck and the actors' trailer farther off to the left among the trees. Over near the side of the house are the three trucks that are usually parked side-by-side. One has the camera equipment, one is the juicers' (electrical/lighting) truck and the third belongs to the riggers. I am surprised to see a large, ugly fence in the back yard, seemingly put together with different fence materials. It's twice as tall as a normal fence and really jagged in places! There are openings on the left and right of this contraption, leaving only a partial view of the beautiful Dog river! (Later I find out that the crew erected this temporary fence to block off the huge, bright reflections coming from the water!) After I find "my boss" Scot Broadus and tell him "good morning" I go inside to see what's going on. The set is being prepared for a scene in the family room in the rear of the house. The place is utter chaos! Most of the people in the room are constantly on the move criss-crossing the set, going in and out. In the back yard large lights and reflector screens on tall stands are being set up by the "juicers", the lighting crew. There are many people involved in setting up a scene. First there are the people associated with the camera: Lisa Rinzler (Director of Photography), Martina Rawan (1st Assistant Camera), Matt Gaumer (2nd Assistant Camera) and Jonathan Robinson (Camera Loader). Buddy Carr is the Dolly Grip. He "drives", steers and operates the camera dolly with Lisa (and sometimes Martina too) sitting on it. The dolly is capable of moving in any direction by turning a T-shaped steering handle. Buddy can move the camera and its operators up and down. Buddy is a busy man when things get going! During filming Lisa gives him hand signals telling him which way to move the dolly or the camera. Lisa is looking through the viewfinder of the camera and works closely with Bill Newell (Gaffer), in charge of lighting, who is everywhere on the set checking light levels with a small digital gadget. He gives instructions to his lighting crew: Lavelle Higgins (Best Boy Electric) and Terry O'Deen (Electric). Before the cutbacks, there were a couple more. Bill and Lisa call on the "grips" to get reflectors and diffuser screens of all sizes and shapes in place. They are clamped to a variety of mounting stands that can hold things at any angle. Everything is adjusted until Lisa is satisfied with what she sees in the camera frame. She frequently calls Todd Louiso (the Director) over to look at what she sees on the video monitor. Reflections and shadows are constantly being shifted or removed to get the effect Lisa and Todd want. Lisa talks to Bill who communicates via radio with his grips. Gilly Charbonnet is the Key Grip and he's all over the set, usually in a blur! He has a radio and he is in and out, passing Lisa and Bill's directions on to Don Wegner (Best Boy), Forrest Perryman (Grip) and Lee McLemore (Grip). The Art Department, headed up by Production Designer Steve Beatrice, is making last-minute changes to the looks of the set. Mark Hannibal (On-set Dresser) and Brenna Griffin (Set Decorator) are painting over all the light switch and receptacle covers in the room to match the wall color. First they tape the covers with paper tape that can be easily removed later. They also get called on to move furniture, potted plants and other set decorations. They adjust back drops, window drapes and pictures on the wall. While all this madness is going on I'm just standing around. "Frits, stand on that mark please," Lisa calls out to me. I'm called upon to be a stand-in! I walk over to the area where the action will be taking place. Already there as stand-ins are Jonathan Robinson (Camera Loader - he's pretending to be Wilson, and he's sitting on a box all bent over), Jeff Roda (Producer - he's Tom Bailey, Wilson's boss) and Jimi Woods (2nd Assistant Director - he's standing in for the boy). There's only one marker not occupied. It's made of metal and shaped like the letter T. The markers have different colors. I already know what to do! I have seen them do this several times. You straddle the vertical part of the T with your feet. The position of the T determines which way your body should be pointing. And then you just stand and wait... and stand... and wait... You stand there until Lisa and Todd are satisfied with the total picture. I take my place on the marker. I'm now the girl in the scene... From this vantage point I can see what's going on all around me. I'm in the middle of the real action before "Action!" is even called! There are about 16 people in the room. They are all very busy. There are about 8 conversations going on at the same time! Pretend you are me for about 15 minutes. This is what you would hear... "Bring that light up more... up... up... Too much! Down... Good! No, no, back it up, farther... farther... Good! Lisa, how's this? Bring it forward. Gilly! Gilly! I need a screen there... Stop, turn it... The other way... More, more... okay... No, I need a bounce... Todd, come look at this... Brenna, move that curtain down, please... Mark, turn that box. More... Okay! Sholto! How's this, Sholto? No, go the other way, Mark. Stop! Okay... Close that drape back, Brenna. Thanks!... Let's stack another box on top of that one. Turn it. No, the other way. Forget it, lose it!... Jimi, move closer to Frits... Matt, the other lens please... Bring that curtain up... more... good... That light's too bright. How's that, Lisa? Bring that outside light down, Gilly. More, more... too much... now back it up six feet... another foot... Now twist it and make it shinny! Skinnier... skinnier... too far... back up... stop! Okay. How's that, Lisa? Bill... Bill... No, that doesn't work... lose the light. Try the other one... Jeff is too short. Tom is much taller. Can we put him on some 'apples', Gilly?... Terry, bring in one half and one quarter apple... Skip, let's put a wire on Wilson... There's a reflection on the screen door when it's opened. Close it... open it... close it slower... open it... close it... open it... Take it down? We can take the door off, Lisa... Bill, that light outside is too high. Drop it some... Mark, lower that curtain. Too much. Good... Bill, how's that light? Mark, has that plant behind Frits always been there? Let's lose it. Put a box there. Jeff, move a little closer to Frits. Good. Turn toward Jonathan more. Good... Mark, move the can of fuel forward about three inches. Turn the box, turn the box more... Turn that light toward the box... More... Stop. Stop! No, go back! Now we have a reflection! Doesn't work... Mark, take that box back off. Lose it!... Good! No! Now the light is wrong. Move it up... too far... good!... and on, and on, and on... During all of this Jeff, on my right, does several little tap dances on the 'apples' he's standing on. The 'apples' called for are apple boxes and come in full, half and quarter heights. Finally, when all is situated to everyone's liking (everyone important that is...) things quiet down considerably. The stand-ins, Jonathan excluded, are asked to go outside and come in to check the door angles and how the lighting and reflections are affected. After a brief break, I get asked to change positions from girl to boy. I have stood on the marker for a total of close to an hour! But with everything that's going on around me it doesn't seem that long at all. In this scene, Wilson (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) sits on a Racer computer box, in a daze from sniffing gasoline. A red plastic gas can, a container of rc model fuel filled with a liquid that looks like gasoline and some rags are in front of him. He sits there all bent over and appears to be passed out. The two kids are the same two from the Exxon gas station scene (played by Kelli Garner and Danial Farber). They come into Wilson's house through the back door and sneak up to the sleeping Wilson. The boy reaches down and grabs the jug of gas and pours some on a rag. At this point Wilson wakes up and asks them what they are doing in his house. They get interrupted when Wilson's boss Tom Bailey (played by Steve Tobolowsky), comes in. He sends the kids out threatening to call the police... Steve is a great character actor who has acted in many movies. There are several takes and then the camera is set up to film close-ups. The whole morning is spent on this scene. Only about three minutes of it will show up on the big screen in the final version!... In one of the other scenes a small gasoline container is needed. Todd asks Scott for a specific container, rectangular, about half gallon or smaller. It must be red, and it must look new... Scot didn't know about this one, and he is a bit upset that he's "caught". He checks with Brenna, but she doesn't recall a that container either. Scot tells Todd that we don't have one. Todd is not too happy! He is a very quiet-spoken man, always with a serious look on his face while on the set, usually with one arm crossed in front of him and the other up with the hand against his chin. Scot pulls out a wad of money. He peels off a twenty dollar bill. "Here Frits, find us something," he says, "you know what Todd is looking for." Here we go again! §¶•ª*ø! I'm in a neighborhood I am not familiar with. I have no idea where a little can like the one Todd wants can be bought! I take the twenty and as I start down the back porch steps I take the cell phone out of my pocket. "Where are you going to get it?" Scot asks. "I don't know, Scot, but I think someone I know lives nearby and I'll call him for directions to an auto parts store or something..." "Good!" Scot says. "Thank you very much, Frits!" I hear Todd say as I start walking to my van at a fast pace. §¶•ªº#$%&! Where to go? I get in my van as I drive down the street I call Andy Anderson, a fellow rc modeler. I thought he lived in the area. But I was mistaken. He doesn't even live close! As I turn out of the little subdivision, I see some people standing alongside the road chatting. I stop, and I ask where I can find an auto parts store or any store that sells a small gas can. I describe the can to them. "There's a couple of parts places down on Navco," he says. He gives me directions. "And you may try the Family Dollar store. They sell gas cans." I thank them and head for Navco Road. There is the Dollar store! I walk in and start looking for anything that resembles what Todd wants. The only thing I can come up with is a small orange plastic container of Surf, a laundry product. I decide to buy it. It can be painted... I then look for the auto stores but I find none. I must have taken a wrong turn! I end up on McVay Drive, which dead-ends into Highway 90. &* ¶•! I drive along 90. All these car dealerships and not a parts store in sight! I end up at the Auto Zone on the corner of Cottage Hill Road and Azalea Road. In that store I find a container of Marvel Mystery Oil & Gas additive. Hmmm - looks promising! It's bright red, but it has a long and skinny neck. We can shorten it and glue the cap on... I also pick up a small rectangular container of Zerex radiator rust preventative. It's white, but it can be painted if it passes the Todd test! I pay for both and head back to the set, as I don't know when the scene with the can will be shot. I'm getting a bit nervous... I find Scot and show him my treasures. "Let's find Todd," he says. Todd looks at the three containers. The Surf container is immediately rejected. The Zerex container is too small. The red Marvel Mystery additive container holds Todd interest. He's not so sure... He thinks it over for a while in his typical pensive pose and then he says: "Okay, we'll use that one." Bingo! Whew!... With Dolores' help we peel the labels off. Somehow Horst Sarubin gets involved in the conversation about the containers, and when Scot wants to dispose of the oil, Horst says: "Put it in my van! It's right there down the street." They walk over to Horst's van and pour the additive in Horst's engine. Scot starts to wash out the container with soap and water. He'll fill it with water that is colored to look like gasoline. I go back to the truck to drop the bag of other containers off. When I get back, Scot looks at me and says: "The red can is 86'ed!" "It's out?" I ask. "Yep - Todd doesn't want it. They won't do that scene now." He looks at me with a grin and he sets the container aside. #$&*¶•! Oh well!... I shrug my shoulders. That's the movie business!... I meet a pretty young woman in her early twenties whose paintings are used as backdrops in some of the interior scenes. She is nice to talk to and has a pretty smile. I take a couple of pictures of her. Her name is Caroline Higgs and her mother lives in Mobile. Caroline lives in Athens, Georgia. I find out that she has a Web site which show several examples of her paintings. They are for sale. They are handled through a local art gallery. Lunch is being served! Nothing elaborate... Just roast sirloin and shrimp kabobs, spinach soufflé, boiled red jacket potatoes and stuffed tomatoes. As I get in line, Philip Seymour Hoffman gets a tray and walks up behind me. I turn to him and I nod. "Hi," I say. "Hey," Philip says with a smile and he nods. I look at him. He looks terrible! Partly due to make-up for the scene that's being filmed, but also partly because he has been really sick the last couple of days. I suppose they are taking advantage of the situation as he's been acting in a scene that calls for a "Haggard Wilson". The dictionary defines haggard as "appearing worn and exhausted; gaunt. Wild or distraught in appearance." He certainly does!... "Do you think getting into all that cold water got you down?" I ask. "No," Philip says, "I don't think so. I've been in cold water before... I just feel bad." "I know that day at the reservoir the water was between 40 and 50," I say. "Yeah, that was cold! And they said that the water at the beach the other day was about 60 degrees... But it felt a lot colder than 60 to me!" We get our food. I put my tray down to pour me some lemonade in a cup. It's a two-handed operation. Philip is right behind me. He has no place to put his tray down to get his lemonade. I motion for him to put his cup under the drink cooler's faucet. I push the button and I fill his cup. "Thanks very much!" he says. He turns and walks back to his trailer. I have decided that he's a nice guy!... In one of the scenes Denny walks up to Wilson's front door and gives him some radio control stuff. The "stuff" is a box holding a of a couple of aircraft transmitters, a car transmitter, the brightly painted rc car I used to race, and assorted junk for bulk. It all came from my hobby room. During an earlier shoot they filmed Wilson answering the door from the inside. Now they are filming the "reverse". The camera is now outside on the front porch and Wilson will open the door, talk with Denny and take the items inside. It's getting dark now. Scot tells me to go inside and retrieve the items from Wilson as he walks back into the kitchen. Scot will hand Jack the items right before action is called. "Here we go, people. Quiet on the set." Sholto says. Scot should be handing the box with the car on top of it to Jack now and then quickly move out of frame. "AAaaand Action!" Denny and Wilson do their lines, the door opens and Denny hands the box over to Wilson, they have a few more lines, and Wilson goes back in the house. Denny says he's getting some more stuff from his car, turns around and... "CUT!" Right before I hear "CUT!" Wilson has already walked into the kitchen and has handed the box and car to Jimi Woods. Jimi turns and hands it to me. I can't go out of the front, as the camera is in the way right at the front door. I turn, go out into the garage, rush around the house and just as I get to the front I hear Sholto say "Another one." But first Jack, Sholto and Todd get together to talk about changes in the next take. As I walk up to Scot to hand him the box he says "Frits, I'm walking away from the set. You've got it!" Whoa - I now will have to hand the props to Jack, go around quickly and take the stuff back from Philip, go back around and... "Yes Sir, boss!" I answer. If Scot thinks I can do it... "Let's go," Sholto says. I hand the box to Jack, positioned exactly the way I saw Scot hand it to him earlier. This is extremely important! "Thank you, Frits!" Jack says. He's always so polite... "Roll sound, please." As I hear "Rolling!" I quickly walk back in a fast pace around the house (stepping as lightly as I can on all those dedburn crackling dry leaves...), through the garage to the kitchen. As I get there I hear "CUT!" I take the stuff from Jimi and hustle back to the front. "Right away!" I hear Sholto say as I round the corner. Wait! - I'm not there yet, I'm thinking... "Ready?" I make it to the steps. Jack has his head stuck inside and I hear him ask "I need my stuff back!" "Frits is behind you, Jack," Sholto says. Jack turns around with a surprised look and smiles. As I hand him the box (properly oriented, of course...) I say "Jack, I will be right here each and every time. Just like magic!" He laughs "Yeah, okay. Thanks, Frits!" I spin around and walk out of frame. I get a glimpse of Scot standing in the front yard with others that are watching. I'm not even nervous! I head for the kitchen as I hear "And Action!" behind me. We do this about three or four more times. Noooo problems at all... Later, during an interior shoot in the family room, Matt Gaumer (2nd Assistant Camera) comes over to where I'm standing. I've mentioned before that he's one of the busiest people around the camera. "Frits, are you doing anything? Does Scot have anything for you to do right now?" "No, Matt." "Frits, I hate to ask you, but I am overloaded right now. Can you help?" "What do you need?" "Would you keep the video cable off of the floor, out of people's way, keep it from tangling up and tripping people. And make sure the camera dolly doesn't run over it?" "Sure. Show me." He picks up the video cable that connects the camera and the color video monitor, and shows me what to do. Simple enough! The camera will be pulled and steered around the L-shaped bar from the kitchen to the den, as Wilson walks from the refrigerator to the sink. "Okay, people! Ready!" I look to my left. There is Caroline, holding the sound crew's audio cable. She's also just been asked to help out and keep the sound cable clear. We look at each other. She smiles at me (such a pretty smile...) and nods. I give her the thumbs-up sign. "And don't you get your cable tangled up in mine!" I tell her. "Then you'd better stay out of my way!" she says. "Action!" Caroline and I pick up our cables. Buddy starts walking. The dolly starts moving. I make sure Buddy doesn't step on the cable and that it is about a foot above the floor. I keep my eyes on Buddy's feet and the wheels of the dolly. Not a problem! But in between takes and while the camera is being reset people move all around, walking across my cable. At one point I don't see Sholto coming from my left. My cable is still up. I almost trip him! He reaches for the cable, but I beat him to it and slap it down on the floor. * §¶•! "Sorry!" I say. He steps across. We do the take about five times with no problems. After the wrap Matt comes over to me. "Frits, thank you so much! You really helped me out," he says. All the people on this set who I have helped during the previous weeks have never failed to thank me. They really are a great bunch! Today is Sholto's last day on The Love Liza set. He's going back to England. I hear that a small party is being planned for him at the motel after the final wrap. When filming finally does stop it's getting close to 8:30! I help Scot clean up. This time most props, the props cart and the eight director's chairs are put in the garage. There is night security. An hour ago I noticed a police car parked in the front yard. Before we leave, Sholto thanks Scot for his excellent work on the set. "I'm gonna give you a hug, Sholto," Scot says and he walks over to him and the men hug. Sholto has been great and Scot has a lot of respect for him. He's told me several times before that "Sholto knows what he's doing." Sholto tells Scott that they'll probably meet again on some other movie set. Then he looks at me, flashes the smile that is on his face most of the time, and says "Frits, thank you for all the help you have given us." He walks over to me and gives me a hug. I tell him that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him direct Love Liza, and thank him for the great experience that I've had on his set. We part ways and head for the motel... I decide to go to the party at the motel's pool. The cooks are already cooking hot dogs and hamburgers. Slowly the area near the pool and the cooks is filled with the crew members. The actors also show up. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Wilson), Jack Kehler (Denny), Steve Tobolowsky (Tom Bailey), Sarah Koskoff (Maura), Kelli Garner (girl huffer) and Danial Garner (boy huffer.) Philip has dark-rimmed glasses on, is dressed very casually, and he's talking to Caroline. Someone takes a picture of the two of them with Caroline's camera. Later I chat with Caroline for a while. The subject of painting comes up. She's an artist and I used to paint too. I tell her that I gave Scot two of my limited edition lithographs, both shrimp boat scenes. They are in Scot's room, as I saw them there earlier. "You want to see them?" I ask. "Sure," she says. I take her into Scot's room and I show her the prints. He has them propped up on the dresser. One is named 'My Four Queens', after a shrimp boat that was active many years ago in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The other is 'Stella III', from a photo I took in Bayou La Batre, a small fishing village southwest of Mobile. Even though our styles are entirely different, Caroline says she likes them. Well now, what else was she going to say?... It's a quiet party, nothing wild as you may have imagined a movie party to be! People sitting and standing around and talking. Just like most of the parties I have been to. I have a chance to talk to the girl Kelli, who's from Malibu, California and who is 16 years old. She's been in several movies already. The "boy" Danial is really 23 years old, he tells me. He looks to be around 17! He's from Los Angeles. There's a little excitement as one of the crew members chases Sholto down with one of the cakes and tries to throw it into his face, but Sholto is quick, and the cake goes between me and someone on my right, landing on the base of the table. I get a few splatters of icing on me. I head home close around one o'clock! Tomorrow is the crew's day off, so I will be able to sleep in! |
