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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 2 March 9 (Day 3) After our midweek “weekend,” filming resumed this day back at The Lot’s Stage 2 (the same place where Frank had his retirement home set built for “The Green Mile”). Today, Frank finally got to the first scene originally scheduled for the first day of production. To remind you, Sc. 1 is dubbed “Int. Samuels’ Office: Close-Up on Pete as he sits through story meeting.” Carrey, with minimal dialogue (complemented by subtle facial reactions), has to sit through a meeting about his new script, “Ashes to Ashes,” listening to a bunch of unknowing studio executives as they bark out script changes, story suggestions and assorted revisions. Carrey sits alone in his chair (against a huge photo backdrop, called a “translight,” of the Disney Studio lot, circa 1951) and plays the scene alone.  On the day of filming, our director works closely with production “sound mixer” Mark Ulano, who takes an edited audio recording of the assembled studio bosses and uses it as “playback” while Darabont focuses his camera solely on Carrey’s tormented screenwriter. The actor then reacts to the dialogue he is hearing. Darabont calls for “Action!”, soundman Ulano rolls tape, and Carrey repeats the scene several times, always retreating in between to watch his take (which is also recorded on videotape) on a video monitor. The monitor setup, at which director Darabont, along with “script supervisor” Susan Malerstein-Watkins, sits and observes all recorded camera action, is called “video village” and is supervised by a crew member known as “video assist.” For “The Majestic,” video veteran Scott Crabbe reunites with Frank after serving in the same capacity on “The Green Mile.” Crabbe sits at his own sophisticated video deck where he can hear any request Frank or Jim make regarding a video replay (not unlike what umpires and judges watch during a football game to determine a controversial call on the field). This device was first introduced onto movie sets by Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola back in 1982 on his drama, “One from the Heart.” It has since become a staple of movie productions, and a device to which various filmmakers have become dependent. Carrey also likes to observe his own takes, and quite frequently asks for replays on many of the takes he performs. In doing so, he can then fine tune the details he seeks to bring to a particular moment, be it a facial reaction, or the delivery of a line of dialogue. We next cut to an “exterior” shot at the entrance gates to The Lot (if you recall, formerly known as the Warner-Hollywood and Goldwyn Studios) on Formosa Avenue, a half-block south of Santa Monica Boulevard across the street from the Formosa Cafe in the area’s West Hollywood neighborhood. Scene 8 in the story (“Ext. Movie Studio Main Gate: Guard Hal asks Pete for his name”) is a three-shot process . The first setup is a shot of writer Appleton chatting with gate guard Hal (another Darabont favorite, Brian Libby, who has appeared in every one of the director’s previous projects) asking Appleton for his ID, to which the character reacts inquisitively, having driven through these gates hundreds of times. Following the dialogue, Carrey/Appleton drives on through.  Jim mans the wheel of a 1951 Mercedes Benz for the sequence. The spiffy auto is called the “picture car” because it is the prop vehicle that will appear onscreen. The car falls under the responsibility of “transportation coordinator” David Marder. When the director needed a trustworthy veteran to helm the caravan of cars and trucks needed for the production, Frank turned to Marder, who supervised the same duties on “The Shawshank Redemption.” In addition to the picture car driven by Carrey’s character, Marder also “dresses” the studio street with a fleet of about a dozen other period vehicles, among them Cadillacs, Lincolns, Chevys and a stunning 1949 maroon-shaded Packard, to add authenticity to the scene. The next shot, after lunch is called (hand-carved beef tenderloin, fish and chicken, pesto-stuffed ravioli and all the accouterments) will be a “turnaround,” or a shot composed in the exact opposite angle from the first shot, which will focus on actor Libby’s character as he delivers his lines. The final shot (which has been postponed until the company returns from their location shoot in northern California) will be a “plate” shot, supervised by “visual effects supervisor” Charlie Gibson (who also returns from “The Green Mile”). Gibson, through computer imagery, will create the logoed archway signifying entry to the HHS Studios while also seeing the famous “Hollywood” sign in the background (in reality, something you cannot see from the entrance to The Lot on Formosa Avenue). At about 4 pm, the filmmakers return to Stage 2, where production designer Melton has built a swank, art deco office suite that represents a Hollywood studio of yesteryear (many of the surviving studio lots and buildings were constructed back in the 1920s and ‘30s). Depending on the size of the studio space, designers like Melton always attempt to erect multiple sets on the same sound stage for convenience and economy. The production pays a daily rental on any stage space occupied, so the more sets, the more stages needed, and the more money in the production’s “negative cost” (that amount which indicates the exact cost to make the film, excluding any marketing/distribution costs). Scene 11 (“Int. Samuel’s Outer Office: Leo and Bannerman have been waiting for Pete”) has writer Appleton reporting to the office of one of the studio bosses (the unseen Samuels) when he is confronted by his agent, Leo Kubelsky, and the studio’s lawyer, Bannerman (veteran actors Allen Garfield and Ron Rifkin, respectively). It is the first day for both Garfield (“The Conversation”) and Rifkin (“The Negotiator”), who have been involved in the production up to this moment only for wardrobe “fittings” and a cast “read-through” of the screenplay (which took place a week before filming commenced). This scene takes the company to its “wrap” (completion) for the day, with actors Carrey, Garfield and Rifkin scheduled to continue their scenes over the weekend at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, California, one of the industry’s historic dream factories (as studios are affectionately called). Also visiting the set this afternoon was the film’s female star, movie newcomer Laurie Holden. She had a 3 p.m. costume fitting (like Carrey, almost her entire wardrobe for the film was custom-designed by costumer Wagner). After working with Wagner and her staff for about two hours, she ventures over to the sound stage to say hello to director Darabont and her leading man, Carrey, while watching Sc. 11 unfold for the cameras. I am told by Holden’s publicity representative (many performers employ personal publicity reps, who handle everything from mailing out autographed fan photos to securing cover stories on the world’s most popular magazines) that Laurie is a dream client, easy to work with and happy to do interviews with the press. I deal daily with these representatives, who work for a variety of p.r. agencies in Hollywood. I depend on the relationship they have with their client to assist in my job on the set when they are needed for interviews. I work closely with those reps in deciding which press get access to the set and the cast. Tomorrow -- the greatest show on Earth! |
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