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| Introduction: Opening the Doors Cast and Crew Prelude Journal 2: ACT 1: Blacklisted! March 6 (Day 2) March 9 (Day 3) March 10-11 (Days 4-5) March 12-13 (Days 6-7) Journal 3: ACT 2: Welcome to Ferndale! March 20 (Day 9) March 21 (Day 10) March 22 (Day 11) March 23 (Day 12) Journal 4: March 26 (Day 13) March 27 (Day 14) March 28 (Day 15) March 29 (Day 16) March 30 (Day 17) Journal 5: April 2 (Day 18) April 3 (Day 19) April 4 (Day 20) April 5 (Day 21) April 6 (Day 22) Journal 6: April 8 (Day 23) April 9 (Day 24) April 10 (Day 25) April 11 (Day 26) April 12 (Day 27) Journal 7: April 16 (Day 28) April 17 (Day 29) April 18 (Day 30) April 19 (Day 31) April 20 (Day 32) April 23 (Day 33) April 24 (Day 34) April 25 (Day 35) April 26 (Day 36) Journal 8: April 30 (Day 37) May 1 (Day 38) May 2 (Day 39) May 3 (Day 40) May 4 (Day 41) May 7 (Day 42) May 8 (Day 43) Journal 9: May 10-11 (Days 44-45) May 14 (Day 46) May 15 (Day 47) May 16 (Day 48) May17 (Day 49) May 18 (Day 50) Journal 10: May 21 (Day 51) May 22 (Day 52) May 23 (Day 53) May 24 (Day 54) May 25 (Day 55) Journal 11: May 29 (Day 56) May 30 (Day 57) May 31 (Day 58) June 1 (Day 59) |
Journal 10 May 22 (Day 52) During our stay in Ferndale many weeks ago (seems like another film to many of us, as we distance ourselves by time from that pleasant experience), many of us ended our hectic work days with a “Majestic Martini” at Curley’s Grill. Today, my day begins with a martini, which is ironic, since a martini is also the term coined for the last shot on any given workday. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. If you check back in the website’s archives, please refer to Day 13, when I first mentioned the special drink (created by Curley employee Denise Warden) in honor of the company’s business in town (an homage to the film or our drinking habits wasn’t specified). The drink became very popular among many of the crew. And, to my amazement (and those on the crew to whom I related the following anecdote), it has now attained some notoriety (translation: popularity) in New York City! How did an obscure cocktail make its way from tiny Ferndale to the Big Apple some 3,000 miles away? Now, before explaining this amusing transcontinental oddity, we should discuss the origin of the phrase “martini” as it applies to that last shot of the day (funny how the word “shot” has a double entendre for both definitions of “martini”). Regardless of how many hours a crew toils on a set, the very last shot is called the “martini” (which is preceded by the next to the last set-up, known as the “Abby Singer”). Here’s a brief history -- the second-to-last shot of the day was named after veteran production manager Abby Singer, who would frequently call “last shot of the day,” only to have his director ask for one more setup. The term “martini” came about when someone coined the phrase, “the next martini will be in a glass.” Regarding the Majestic Martini, maybe Warner Bros. (Castle Rock’s parent, and part of the AOL-Time Warner conglomerate) should consider some synergistic marketing. One idea that comes to mind involves the HBO series, “Sex in the City,” now in its fourth season. If you are familiar with the sexy sitcom, the quartet of female characters can be found in some of New York’s popular watering holes, usually drinking something called a Cosmopolitan (a pinkish-colored drink with a feminine mystique). Frank (who loves the anecdote about our eponymous cocktail making the rounds in NYC) and I strongly feel that the Cosmopolitan should be replaced with our martini. However, this idea may be a day late and a dollar short. A recent issue (May 25) of Entertainment Weekly carried an interview with a New York bartender who has concocted four separate and original beverages based on the traits of each of the four main female characters in the show. Damn! Thinking of the martini brings back fond memories of Ferndale, and my new pal, editor Caroline Titus. In Friday’s journal, I mentioned her when walking onto the exterior street set designed by Melton on Stage 3, and immediately thought that she would love a photo of this replica of her adopted hometown for an upcoming issue of her paper. Lo and behold, Titus calls me today. I mention how spectacular and eerie it seems to once again stand on the streets of Ferndale, albeit 660 miles away, and she reacts as expected, gleefully requesting that still photographer Nelson get her a photo for the paper. Sc. 41 dominates today’s morning schedule, and Frank has designed an intricate but effective camera move as Luke and Harry walk down the littered aisles of The Majestic’s shabby interiors while Harry enthuses about renovating the place, and why it is now important to bring the theater back to its former glory. Watching Landau deliver his lines, full of verve and emotion, has many of us thinking that he is giving another Oscar-caliber performance in the film. The scene echoes how great movies and movie stars were back when The Majestic was open, when the likes of Cagney, Bogart, Chaplin, Keaton and others were brighter than the stars in the heavens. It also talks about how television has ruined the movies (remember, our story is set in 1951, just as TVs became prevalent in American homes), and don’t equal the experience of seeing stars on the big screen. Several of us acknowledge (with affection and adulation) Landau at lunch on his performance in the scene, to which he is humbled. In thinking about how writer Sloane composed the sequence, one wonders that, if such a scene were played in future generations, they could be talking about some of the legends that are still working today, guys like Landau and James Whitmore, bona fide movie stars whose performances and characters seemed larger than life. And, in the generation following, performers like Hanks, Ford, Cruise and our own Jim Carrey. Tomorrow -- how to market the film? |
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