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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 6 April 8 (Day 23) Driving down US101 from Eureka this morning, one sees something akin to fog hanging over the hilltops that dot this majestic landscape. It turns out not to be fog, but snow that has dusted the pine trees as low as 1700 feet above sea level, quite low for this time of year, per the locals. Warm greetings, however, permeate the hardware store set this morning, our first day of the new work week (it’s Sunday). Up to this point in Ferndale, the company has maintained a Monday-Friday schedule. Due to a schedule change (nothing unusual for a film at this juncture, 23 days in), Frank and producer Behnke decided to add a Sunday to the schedule, given we have a three-day weekend coming up for an industry holiday.  Golden Gait Mercantile, owned by locals Marlin and Sandra Mesman, has that old-fashioned feel to it. Their business card indicates antiques, housewares and assorted jams, jellies and foodstuffs as their daily offerings. Their products sit amidst a store adorned in that old-world charm -- potbelly stoves, pine floors, old washboards and other vintage items. It would seem that our set decorating department didn’t even have to redress much of this location. I hear tell that the owners were happy to rent their space to us, and felt guilty in taking the company’s location rental fee. Ironically, the site doubles for Lawson’s hardware store in the film, owned by Avery Wyatt, who is played by veteran actor Chelcie Ross (“Hoosiers,” “A Simple Plan”). Frank is staging Sc. 142 here -- Int. Wyatt’s Hardware Store: They listen to the radio. Joining Ross in the scene is Matt Wiens, another film newcomer, who plays his son, Spencer. Assistant director Colwell has dotted the set with eleven extras as customers roaming the aisles. Today’s game plans calls for no break for lunch, hoping to complete this scene and Sc. 144 -- Int. Mabel’s Diner: Ernie says they’ll eat him alive, by 4:00 p.m. (after an 8:00 a.m. start). That, unfortunately, doesn’t pan out, as lunch is called at 2:00 p.m. Had they kept to what is defined as “French hours” (crew members eat as they work, with the caterer providing his usual hot meal), the production would have still paid the crew their “meal penalties” from 2:00 p.m. until work had concluded. Now, they have the luxury of working until 8:30 p.m. without incurring any such penalty (we actually wrap at 7:30 p.m. or so).  Set decorator Pope explains to me that the vintage radio used in the hardware store set has been rented for filming, not purchased, which disappoints me. I’m a fan of old radios, and would like to have bought this one for my home in a company set dressing sale that occurs on many film productions about a week before filming concludes. Pope assures me that she has other tabletop radios, which she did buy, on the production. If producer Behnke and production supervisor Harstedt approve such a sale, she will let me know and allow me first dibs at one of two radios she has in her stock. The proceeds from such a sale go back into the production’s coffers to offset negative costs to make the film. Most merchandise is usually sold to those interested crew members for 50% of what Pope’s staffers paid. Back on the set, Lawson’s citizens listen intently to the radio broadcast, first in the hardware store, where Appleton’s voice brings work to a halt, and then, later in the afternoon, over at Mabel’s (which provides for some emotional moments from co-stars Dent as Mabel and Bury as the scarred WWII vet, Bob Leffert). Jim Carrey is not scheduled to work today, but yet, we hear his voice over the radio. Like with the six Hollywood executives in Sc. 1 and 154, Frank has pre-recorded a “scratch track,” allowing sound mixer Ulano to play back the recording as if it were coming from the radio.  Frank has choreographed this brief (3/8 pages) bit in the hardware store starting with his camera on the radio, with a dolly move showing actor Ross reacting at the counter as the broadcast commences. Frank first calls out “Action,” and as the camera moves, Frank next calls “Chelcie”, indicating the actor’s response to the radio speech. Colwell immediately follows Frank’s instruction with “background”, whereby the handful of extras then also stop in their steps. Frank follows with “Matt”, instructing actor Wiens to also stop his actions (sweeping out the store) as he also becomes transfixed by the broadcast. Frank repeats this several times, checks with cameraman Emmerichs to insure that what he saw on the monitors (and likes) is also okay with his operator. There are times when Emmerichs (or any cameraman) would ask for another take if they feel the composition could be improved. They repeat the take a few times before moving on to additional coverage of the scene, then lunch. We host a distinguished guest on the set today -- California State Senator Wesley Chesbro, whose district covers six counties in the state’s northwest pocket (including the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, wine country, and Humboldt County, where we are based). He has brought an entourage (hosted by Ferndale Mayor Farley) that includes assistants and family members, and still photog Nelson poses the group for the requisite fan photo with actor James Whitmore inside the Mabel’s Diner set. All-in-all, a quiet day. Rain is being predicted for Monday, so it looks like we’re back at the fairgrounds for another day of cover. Our schedule indicates nine more shooting days in Ferndale before moving south to Ft. Bragg and Mendocino. |
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