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Thursday, January 25, 2001 - A near-disaster on the Love Liza movie set at Mobile Municipal Park. According to today's call sheet crew call is at 6:30. I had set my alarm clock for 5:30, but I woke up at 3:30! I can't get back to sleep so I decide to get up, make coffee and work on my computer. I start adding to my growing diary. My reports are still running behind... I load up the movie production's No. 1 plane that's been charging all night, flight box with all necessary rc stuff and head for Mobile Municipal Park. This is the third day of shooting at the Park. I may have to fly again for the movie this evening! It's going to be a beautiful, sunny day for flying. And filming! (Unless the script calls for rain. In that case I'm sure they'll create it!) I get to the Park around 7:00. As I get out of my truck Tyler is walking by. "Good morning, Tyler!" I say. "Morning, dude!" He keeps walking. He keeps walking in the direction of the catering truck. I find the props truck and see Scot there. "Morning, Scot!" "Morning! - Go eat!" he says. I walk toward the catering truck, tucked away out of sight near the pavilion where they have occasional concerts and other outdoor events. I get breakfast and carry it back to the truck. After I eat, I get the No. 1 plane out of my truck, take it to the props truck and connect both planes to their chargers. Also the glow driver and both transmitters. There is a plate of half-eaten food on one of the many cabinets in the truck. Some eggs, bacon, grits and a little muffin. "Don't eat that food, dude! It's a prop!" Tyler says. I knew that!... Then I swing by the lake. They're still setting up, trying to rebuild everything pretty much like it was Thursday a week ago. The canopies, the tents, the cooking equipment. The boat modelers are setting up their tables. There aren't too many people on this work day. Several extras show up and hang around the set in a prescribed spot. There are not many boaters either. Buddy Lowe, owner of the boat that the movie character Denny races, is fortunately back! Scot calls the green and yellow boat the "kick-ass boat". I walk back to the truck. Scott tells me that the Zero (the "black, sinister plane" mentioned in the script) is up in the first scene again. Anticipating what's coming, I plug up the hot-glue gun, get some extra glue sticks and put them nearby... I get the Zero down from its perch up on a shelf close to the ceiling of the truck. Near the water's edge a stand-in lies on a blanket as they're getting everything in order for the first scene. In this scene Wilson (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) lies passed out on a blanket with his arm around the Zero, and wakes up to the sound of an air horn (used to start the boat races). He talks to another actor who stands off-camera and then groggily gets up with the plane under his arm, stumbles a bit and looks around. He is supposed to knock over a cup of orange juice as he gets up. Tyler is there. The plate of half-eaten food is in position close to Philip. Tyler pours some orange juice in a cup, picks up the Zero and waits. All equipment is in place. They call for Philip Seymour Hoffman and his co-star. Philip takes the plane from Tyler and lies down. I cringe... Tyler places the cup on the ground, which slopes toward the water's edge. I plant myself not too far away where I can see Philip. But not in a way as to be in his line of sight. Scot and Tyler have both told me to stay out of the actor's line of vision, as it may distract them. There is a rehearsal and all goes well. Then it's "ACTION!" They do about six takes, and with each one I get more worried about the Zero. As Philip gets up he sort of bangs it around. At one point he almost falls with it! ¶•ª#$%! My breathing almost stops! Either he really stumbled or he's doing some good acting! We get through that scene, and after the final "CUT!" Scot immediately asks me to grab the Zero and fix it back up. The horizontal stabilizer is now loose and can be moved around. Some tape is coming loose around the canopy. I head back to the truck with the plane... There is a some commotion as several crew members are herding a flock of geese across the parking lot. When they get them close to Sanford's catering truck, two of the guys pick up a couple of geese and throw them in the truck, then close the door! Sanford shows up, and everyone stands around laughing, Line Producer Jacky Morgan included. Sanford tries to coax the two geese out of the truck. Finally someone goes around to the front and chases them out of the back. The geese leave a bit of a mess on the floor of the truck... Not sure if Sanford thought it was funny. As I'm repairing the Zero fellow club member Roger Hagler stops by. I introduce him to Scot. Roger watches me as I keep pouring the hot-glue to the Zero... The plane is getting stronger and stronger each day. Heavier too! I ask Roger to take a picture of me and the Zero. While I'm working on the Zero, Tobin Yellman, the movie production's Still Photographer stops by. We chat a while. He says: "You know, perhaps I could get a picture of you and Philip Seymour Hoffman with this plane." "Can you?" I ask. I can't believe what I'm hearing. "Can you arrange for that? I'll be forever grateful." I add. "Yeah. You know. Perhaps someone will ask you again in the future to be a RC Consultant and you can show them the picture. Sure - I'll see what I can do." Is that cool, or what?! After lunch - delicious Cornish hen with all the trimmings - there is a scene that involves Wilson, his friend Dennis (played by Jack Kehler) and a couple of young girl actors (Teagan Eley and Morgan Jarrett). After one take Jimi Woods, the Assistant Director, motions for me. I throw the white towel I was holding on the ground (the film makers hate white in their shots, I have found out...) and I walk over to him. He wants me to be an extra again. "Frits, stand there, and when I give you the finger (...movie lingo...), you walk between the platform structure and the actor that's talking to Philip. Got it?" "Yes, Sir!" I walk over to the spot. "ACTION!" The dialog gets going and other extras get moving when Jimi gives them the signal. There's not a whole lot of room between the structure and the actor. Now just don't screw up and walk BETWEEN the two actors, I tell myself. And don't bump into the actor who's talking to Philip! I look in Jimi's direction. Jimi throws his finger at me. I walk my prescribed path, squeezing by the actor and I keep walking until I'm well out of the frame. Piece of cake! Acting is getting easier and easier... Later in the afternoon a scene calls for the camera to be moved on tracks along the water's edge. The grips lay the tracks on the uneven ground, using blocks and wedges to prop it up perfectly level. The dolly and the camera are placed on it, and everything looks just fine. Filming barely gets started when suddenly the track supports partially collapse! The dolly and camera start to lean toward the water, but then the whole rig stops at a precarious angle. It wouldn't take much more leaning to send everything into the water! No one is saying a word, but I hear a few gasps. Several nearby grips grab the dolly and camera. From where I'm standing I can't see if Lisa Rinzler, the Director of Photography, is on board the camera, but I figure she must be as it is a rehearsal. Quickly several grips lift the camera and dolly off of the tracks. Still not a word was said by anyone. Then Philip Seymour Hoffman, sitting in one of the director's chairs speaks: "Nice grab, guys! Nice grab!" "That could have been bad." I told Tyler. "Yeah, dude." he replied. "It probably would have stopped production for the day..." He grins... The tracks are rebuilt a little farther away from the water, and filming soon continues. During one of the breaks Scot builds a tiny radio control transmitter complete with shiny antenna, red frequency flag and silver control sticks out of wood, and black and silver tape. He makes a tiny gas can out of a little wooden block covered with red and yellow tape. It even has a small silver handle on it! He prints "GAS" on one side in red letters. He then puts together a tiny balsa glider plane (about 5 inches long) intended for kids. He hot-glues the plane to a thin metal wire and glues it behind a stuffed squirrel that's mounted to a oval-shaped board. This board is fastened to one wall of the truck. Within 30 minutes the squirrel is "flying" that little plane, transmitter in its paws, gas can nearby on the branch he's sitting on! The plane hangs above him, rocking in the wind, and he appears to be looking at it. It looks great! I take a picture of the RC Squirrel. Scot shows people that walk by and they think it's funny. Tomorrow morning the crew will set up at Mobile Memorial Gardens cemetery on Three Notch Kroner Road and film there until 10:00. After that the schedule calls for more filming on the highway and at a Shell gas station on Azalea Road. It doesn't look as if any plane stuff will be needed tomorrow morning for the cemetery scenes. The Zero will probably be used in the car scenes this afternoon but it should be safe (?) in the back of Wilson's car... My face feels a bit sunburned as I head home early. When I get home I unload all the rc stuff including the No. 1 trainer plane. I always unload my junk in the utility room and then transfer everything to my hobby room. As I lock up my truck I hear something slide in the utility room and hit the floor. I hear something snap! ¶•¢%&! Oh, no! The plane's fuselage in on the floor, the rudder is broken off and hangs by one hinge. Damn!!! Just a broken hinge. I take all my stuff to my hobby room and put the fuselage on the work bench. Let's see, no flying tomorrow. There is still that backup plane. And I can fly without the rudder if I have to. Noooo problem! I plan to fix it early tomorrow morning... |
