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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 9 (Day 24) The Rascals’ 1967 tune, “It’s A Beautiful Morning” plays in my head as I head down to Ferndale. Although the air is extremely brisk this a.m., it has turned out to be a beautiful day in Eureka. Ferndale, only 17 miles away, may be a totally different story. As I approach the Eel River Valley, a ribbon of fog envelops the countryside, actually quite a striking vista. Reporting to the airgrounds, I discover that we will remain indoors today for Sc. 119-120 -- Int. Majestic Apartment, two of the more dramatic moments in the film. With today’s forecast calling for sun and alternating clouds (albeit somewhat cool), it would seem a certain bet that the company would shoot exteriors, and save the indoor sets for a dicey weather day. And, upon arrival at the fairgrounds, a meeting is in session with Frank and producer Behnke about just such a subject. Although it is still foggy, Frank chooses to remain indoors for the day.  Regarding today’s workload, my presence on the set will be scarce because of the emotional nature of the scenes. I also have suggested that video documentarian Nasr take an early leave from the set, as I anticipate Carrey’s disinterest in having someone videotape his work today (that comes with experience, knowing when you can get your publicity shots, be it stills or video, and when not to intrude). And, I shall purposely avoid detailing specifics about these scenes so as not to disclose too much and spoil certain aspects of the story. However, we can reveal that the first of the two scenes takes place in the apartment’s parlor. For the master shot, Frank and d.p. Tattersall agree to pull one of the set’s walls (if you've been paying attention, what are these walls called?) to allow the camera a complete wide shot of the entire living room. When the master is completed, the grips replace the wall, and the camera is positioned on the other side of the room, now showing the wall that had been removed for the first setup. Assistant director Colwell calls out “rolling,” at which time the set p.a.s (or “production assistants,” who work with the a.d. department) echo “rolling, quiet please,” in perfect harmony. Our production assistants (including Angie Athayde, “Big” Bill Hardy, Marcus Ball, Stephan Horvath and “DGA trainee” Harmony Gosbee) get their supervision from 2nd a.d. Paula Harris and 2nd 2nd a.d. Craig Comstock, all communicating via walkie-talkies. Another member of this team, Robert “Skid” Skidmore, the company’s additional 2nd 2nd a.d. (would that make him the 4th a.d.?), works primarily with the extras. Characters one-and-all. “Skid” finished his DGA (Directors Guild of America) program after the first five days on “The Majestic.” The program, which requires a rigid series of exams before being accepted, mandates 400 working days on various movie and TV sets (in all formats). During their training period, DGA trainees (or students) work on feature films, hour-long episodic TV series, soap operas and TV sitcoms (which are usually filmed with a three-camera format in front of a “live” audience). Gosbee, a native of Maine, is about halfway through her DGA program, or at 200 days logged. Once she completes the 400 days, Gosbee graduates from the institute and is upgraded to the 2nd 2nd a.d. post on a production. As she continues compiling days and work experience, she can move up to 2nd a.d., then 1st a.d., like the veterans Harris and Colwell. Thereafter, if interested, she can pursue the position of unit production manager (like our own Jim Behnke, doing double duty along with his responsibilities here as the executive producer). Gosbee’s primary responsibility on “The Majestic” is to supervise “base camp” (where the caravan of campers for actors, wardrobe and makeup are parked), reporting on cast arrivals and scheduling their hair-makeup applications in time before sending them off to the set. Today, cast members #1-6 (i.e. Luke/Carrey, Adele/Holden, Harry/Landau, Doc/Stiers, Emmett/Black and Irene/Willis) are on call for these scenes. When assistant director Colwell prepares his shooting schedule, each character with a speaking part is designated a number (with the main character of the story usually attributed #1). And, you will hear many times on the set that “#1 is driving, or #1 is stepping out of the trailer.” This indicates that Jim Carrey is on his way to the set (thought you might like to know that tidbit). Because of the nature of today’s scenes, Carrey has entered that zone of complete concentration. While waiting for a late afternoon camera changeover, he hangs around the video monitor, oblivious to all those around him. While scattered crew mill about and chat oh so quietly, so as not to disturb his focus, he slips out of his chair and sits at the piano in the Majestic apartment set. He tickles the ivories gently, which relaxes him while waiting to get back in front of the camera. Also oblivious to his surroundings is “key makeup artist” Bill Corso, who supervises his department (which numbers seven total artists) while personally handling Carrey’s makeup application. In addition to his talents for the cameras, he sits quietly, pencil in hand, sketching. He shows me his smallish portfolio, which contains some remarkable drawings of Carrey as he appeared in “Man on the Moon,” Sir Anthony Hopkins from “Amistad” (both titles appear on his resume) and one of the key players on this movie (the subject of Corso’s latest exercise will remain anonymous, as I suspect these are personal). This past weekend, KHSU-FM, the area's local National Public Radio station, concluded their week-long fundraiser, coming close to their goal of $33,000, per program director Charles Horn. You may recall that we mentioned actor David Ogden Stiers' interest in donating a dinner at Eureka’s Restaurant 301 in order to boost potential donations. Indeed, his generous offer garnered $7,000 for the station on Friday, over 20% of their entire take. When David finds out how much impact his offer generated, he was truly flabbergasted (and of course very pleased) that folks would contribute that much money to have the chance to dine with him in one of Eureka’s best eateries, and a place cited by Wine Spectator Magazine as having one of the world's best wine lists! Tomorrow -- Rain Again!!! |
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