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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 5 April 4 (Day 20) Today represents our halfway point in the Ferndale schedule, with only a few more days left on the street before we settle into the exhibition hall at the county fairgrounds for the remainder of our time here. Once we complete all of our work in downtown Ferndale, the townsfolk can reclaim their little enclave once again, and life will regain some form of normalcy for the patient locals until we pack up and depart for good around April 20. The company’s “production supervisor” (or key assistant to our unit production manager), Alison Harstedt, notes that today’s call-sheet contains three different scenarios to shoot: A) If sunny, we film on Main Street in front of the Majestic, then move back to the cemetery once again for two scenes that take place just as the story’s second act concludes. B) If cloudy, the company moves to Sc. 74 -- Int. Town Hall: Luke asks for help from the town council. This scene features Carrey asking Mayor Cole and the citizens of Lawson to provide materials to help refurbish the Majestic. C) If rainy, we run for cover again (as we did on Monday) to the fairgrounds’ sets in Harry’s apartment. When we shoot these scenes, we will also introduce the second set on the sound stage, the interior of the basement apartment where the Majestic's aging usher, Emmett Smith, lives.  This marvelous set contains some relics from yesteryear uncovered by set decorator Pope and some neat set pieces like the huge furnace (or boiler) that dominates the set, which she rented from Universal Studios’ prop house. Pope also purchased another boiler (a real one, vs. the “reel” one from Universal) for $3000 from a local teacher and craftsman named Eric Hollenbeck of the Blue Ox Foundation, which she has placed inside another set built at the fairgrounds (under the fairgrounds bleachers) -- the Town Hall basement, where, in the story, the citizens have stored the monument dedicated to Lawson by President Roosevelt. Since it is sunny (albeit brisk, with ice having formed on our windshields overnight back in Eureka), we camp out on Main Street for at least part of the day before being buried in shots back at the cemetery. Harstedt observes that she has never worked in this situation before, of having to wait until daybreak (on a daily basis) to determine which scenes will be shot that day. Daily Variety columnist Army Archerd calls at noon asking me to get Frank on the phone as a follow-up to his phone interview completed three weeks ago, right before we departed L.A. for Ferndale. Frank is too busy today, so I relay Army’s question to Frank, deliver his answer back to Army and alert the Castle Rock p.r. folks that his Thursday column will contain another “publicity break” for the film. As stated in an earlier journal entry, we are not entertaining any press invitations to our set, particularly during our location shoot up north. If we had chosen to invite national (or international) press to our location, they’d be lined up in busloads for the chance to see Carrey perform, if not obtain a select quote or two from the megastar. National press would never make such a trip (particularly to an out-of-the-way place like Ferndale) without first clearing it with Castle Rock (or me directly). Tabloid press will go to the far reaches of the globe to get those damning shots they like to publish in their “rag sheets.” Dealing with the locals (like the Enterprise’s Titus) can be challenging. We have helped her out (specifically to keep her out of Carrey’s eyeline), and our diplomatic efforts have worked so far (we still have two more issues to feed while in Ferndale). After handling Army’s request, I am cornered by another interesting, colorful local named Lora Jabot, an attractive, middle-aged woman who owns a vintage clothing store in Eureka. Everyday, Jabot wears her bygone wardrobe handsomely (she turns heads with her array of 1940s and ‘50s attire), thus fitting into the surroundings on Ferndale’s Main Street. Many from our wardrobe department always praise her outfits (she also wears her hair in that recognizably old-fashioned way), and many frequently mistake her for one of the movie's extras, of which she is not. A lifelong fan of the era being portrayed in the film, she has fallen in love with the production, and confesses that her soul has been transposed to her favorite decade, the 1940s. She drives a restored, pink 1956 Mercury, courtesy of her dad, who refurbishes antique cars. She likes to come down to Ferndale (a 30 minute drive from Eureka) whenever she can steal away from her shop to observe our artisans recreating an era that holds so much romance for her (she tells me she was born in 1959, and fell in love with the past as a teenager). In a word, she is spellbound. She has been trying to gain access to our company through various departments (costumes, set dressing), and has offered her expertise on several fronts. Today, she chats with me about doing a story for a “Retro” magazine called Atomic, a New York-based publication that celebrates the era on display in our film. She has contacted the editor, but wishes to proceed with the story (requiring interviews with our cast-and-crew) on “spec” before getting an approval from the magazine. I explain that I don’t work under such conditions. I must talk with the editor first, then relay our conversation to the studio, Castle Rock, before proceeding. She’s very anxious to make this happen, especially since we will be off the street sometime next week. While I doubt we can accommodate her, I do see threads of such a story for this periodical on my costume designer, Karyn Wagner, who is very obliging to me whenever it comes to publicity (for which I applaud her). After our lunch break, it’s back to The Majestic set, where we continue Sc. 81 -- Ext. The Majestic: They re-wire the neon tower. This involves a bit of mechanical effects (sparking when Luke and Carl get their wires crossed), courtesy of F/X supervisor Pritchett. And, where there’s F/X, there’s stunts, so Pat Banta is on hand again to insure that Carrey is safe on the marquee, and available to step in for him when necessary. At 6:00 p.m., we finalize Sc. 81, with coverage on actors Landau and Gerry Black, who plays The Majestic’s longtime usher, Emmett. While awaiting a camera move, Carrey holds court at the video village tent, sharing some anecdotes about his experiences on “Man on the Moon” (for which he captured his second consecutive Golden Globe Award) with co-stars Holden, Landau and Brian Howe. Landau himself is quite a raconteur on the set, and enjoys sharing his Hollywood experiences with the crew. Only yesterday, he had writer Sloane in stitches as he recollected one of his early features, “Cleopatra,” which starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and that irascible cad, Rex Harrison. Landau does a deadpan impersonation of Harrison in relating some on-set hijinks the award-winning actor pulled on his co-star Burton. Seems Harrison never missed a line or beat when the camera was trained on his close-ups. When needed to feed off-camera lines for Burton’s coverage, he would constantly (maybe intentionally) miss his lines to screw up Burton’s moments in front of the camera. Again, someone suggests to Landau that he consider writing a book about his Hollywood experiences, which would be a very fascinating read. Later, Frank and camera operator Emmerichs exchange ideas about the remaining shots needed for Sc. 81. Emmerichs comments to Frank that he viewed “dailies” (or “rushes,” the scenes processed in the lab and shipped back for viewing the next day) at lunch and liked the night shots of Sc. 66 filmed last Thursday evening. He also tells Frank that the Town Hall set on Ocean & Main is so striking on film, it looks like a miniature. While milling about the street set, I uncover a T-shirt bearing a sketch of The Majestic exterior marquee set. You remember Ferndale’s resident street artist, Jack Mays. Seems he has completed a pen-and-ink drawing of The Majestic and provided the artwork to be silk-screened onto a basic white T-shirt. They are for sale at a shop on the east end of Main Street for $19 A busy day for me as I next speak with the always entertaining, and acerbically witty, David Ogden Stiers. Stiers is tentatively scheduled to complete the same National Public Radio interview done by writer Sloane for the local program, “Artwaves.” Trouble is, our schedule. If Stiers is not scheduled to work through Sunday, he wants to make a quick trip to L.A. to finish recording some tracks for an upcoming Disney animated feature, “Atlantis” (he’s done several for the Mouse House, including “Beauty and the Beast” and “Pocahontas”). My problem is the radio interview can only be done on Friday afternoons or Sunday mornings. He reminds me that he is still interested in offering a prize to a local NPR contributor (their annual membership fundraiser ends this Saturday) -- either a personalized telephone greeting on someone’s answering machine, or dinner at Eureka’s famous Restaurant 301 with Martin Landau and himself. Quite a generous and gracious offer either way. I put a call into the station manager at KHSU, Charles Horn, to discuss the proposition (to quote another famous movie line, “It's an offer they cannot refuse”). They don't! Tomorrow -- Carrey feeds our gag reel! |
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