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Day 28 of 29 - Friday, February 16, 2001 - Frits cleans up after Philip Seymour Hoffman - Filming at a truck stop near Loxley. When I get up take a look at the call sheet. There it is - it says Day 28 of 29. It's hard to believe that this is coming to an end. Filming of Love Liza is almost over! Crew call is at 12:30, and that's a good thing, as I can spend more time with my granddaughter. Isabella loves to dress up and play with Mardi Gras beads. (In the picture that's not a wig she's wearing - those are her real curls!) My wife takes Isabella home to her mother around 9:00 o'clock, and I immediately jump on my computer!... It just occurred to me that the movie crew members have had no way of attending the Mardi Gras parade activities downtown as they have worked way past 8 or 9 o'clock each night. Tonight we will work well past midnight! The Mobile Register's Website has a Mardi Gras parade schedule that shows nightly parades until next Tuesday. Perhaps after the filming is complete some of the crew members will have a chance to attend a parade before they go home. When I get to the set I walk around to see what's going on. I run into Josh Bosarge and his father Keith. Josh has been the stand-in for Philip in many scenes. Josh and his Dad have been on the set several days now. Keith usually just sits in a director's chair and waits. I see Carmen Soriano (Script Supervisor). She's always writing things in a notebook kept in a thick 3-ring binder. She makes sure everything is done according to the script. She is also very picky about how the props are placed in a scene. She takes many Polaroid photos. The pictures, along with her detailed notes, help her (and others) remember how to set up the same scene days later. I also run into Rick Damazio (Transportation Coordinator). He heads up the truck drivers who move all the trucks and other vehicles around. Two of the drivers are Ken Miller and Kenny Lewis. I take a picture of Ken and Kenny. (In the photo it appears that Kenny is taking a quick nap... Perhaps he was...) Scot shows me how to age "the Wilson envelope." This is the envelope - containing his dead wife's suicide note and a 'strike anywhere' match - that Wilson carries with him throughout the movie. We have to age ten of the envelopes and make them look dirty and well-worn. Scot uses an aging solution that has a brownish-gray color. He shows me how he first sprays the solution on a damp rag, and then daubs it on the envelope. He does two of them. He tells me to make eight more "just like those." I kind of enjoy duplication what Scot has done. When I'm finished I mix his up with mine. Hard to tell who did what! We put them in a small box until they're needed in a scene that will be filmed tomorrow. Now they are getting ready to film a scene in the family room. In this scene Wilson (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) lies passed out on the floor, a gasoline can and a towel nearby. He wakes up and looks at his watch. He's late for work. As he gets up he knocks the gas can over and the gasoline spills out. He sets the can back up and starts to mop up the gas with the towel, then walks away. I get the bucket of "fuel" that I mixed the previous day and a funnel and stage them in the kitchen. Scot sets up the towel and the can as Josh is called in to stand in (lie in?) for Philip. The camera will shoot from a very low angle. Then they call in Philip and he lies down. There is a rehearsal with the fuel can capped. Philip knocks the can over just fine. Then we get ready to film the scene for real. The cap is removed from the can. After "Action!" Wilson lies there for a while, snores a bit, and then with a snort he wakes up, looks at his watch and hastily gets up. He knocks the can over. The fuel gurgles out of the can. Philip turns the can upright, throws the towel on the spilled liquid and starts to mop it up. After crawling around with the towel he jumps on top of it and walks it around, trying to dry up the puddle. He then walks off and Todd calls "Cut!" I immediately spring into action, as does a young man who's been helping the Art Department and Props. His name is Daniel. I never heard his last name and he does not appear on the crew list. Daniel's job is to mop up the spill with a towel. My job is to help Scot refill the gas can to the same level as before, dry it off and put it and a new towel back in exactly the same position for the next take. But Daniel has to leave early, and after a couple of takes I get the job of mopping up the spill AND helping Scot refill the gas can! No problems! After the third take I have it down to a science. Then they move the camera to shoot Wilson from directly above and they do several takes. When this scene is done, a move is called to the Oasis Truck Stop at the Wilcox exit on Interstate 10 south. Everything is packed up and the caravan soon leaves for the 50-minute trip to the truck stop. It's getting dark and it's cold. The wind is picking up. Earlier there was talk about a possible tornado in the area. They are setting up the camera close to a large, beautiful yellow truck. The trailer behind this rig is loaded with steel beams. The Wilson car (the Saturn) is parked nearby. Two stand-ins are used. One is Josh, the other is a tall Oasis Truck Stop employee. The truck driver is played by actor Ernest Perry Jr., who some of the crew recognize as the actor in a Big Red chewing gum commercial. He is a talker and a funny one at that. Several people are taking his picture. He's talking to Holly Goline (2nd 2nd Assistant Director), and I take a picture of the two of them. It is pretty cold, especially with the wind blowing across the large parking lot. Dozens of trucks are parked all over the place. Diesel fumes are where ever you go. I see Andrea Sweet (Wardrobe Supervisor) and Dolores Hernandez (Key Hair/Makeup) huddled under some blankets. The scene calls for the truck driver to walk around the front of his rig, and before he gets into the cab, he spots Wilson as he is sniffing a rag. There is some dialog involved, but it is not long. There are several takes and then a reverse is filmed from a different angle. Close-ups of Wilson are also filmed. In between scenes I take several pictures of Lisa Rinzler (Director of Photography) as I'm afraid I will not be able to take a picture later. Time is running out! After the final wrap I see Leonard walking around with the new call sheets. I ask him for one. He informs me that my name is now on the crew list! It was on there yesterday but I never got that sheet. I look on the call sheet. Sure enough - there is - in the Props department, under Scot Broadus (the Property Master) and the sad face that indicates Tyler Q Rosen (Props Assistant), who was let go. My name is spelled wrong, of course, but at least it's there. I made it, on the day before the final day! After I help Scot pack up the truck I go home, feeling cold and sore. My legs are killing me and I have several blisters on my feet. But I feel good about what's happened the last few days. Scot has let me be more involved with scenes, and has shown that he trusts me with certain things. And then there's my name on the call sheet. I guess it lets me know that they have accepted me as one of their own, even though I'm an unpaid outsider. I feel really good about that! It's past midnight as I leave for Mobile. Bed will really feel good tonight! And I can sleep in, as the last day's crew call is scheduled for 4:00 in the afternoon. Let's see, that makes us have to work though the night until at least 4:00 o'clock Saturday morning! I hear there will be a burn scene tomorrow that will involve Wilson. It's the scene the stunt coordinator talked to me about. I want to be there when they film it. It's going to be a long day and night tomorrow... |
