Day 6: My Big Break

After lunch we were brought out to the football stands. I was thrilled to land a seat in the front row and thought this would be my best luck of the day… I was wrong.

After shooting one scene in the front row we moved to another section for a different scene. This time I somehow end up in the front row AGAIN! But it gets better. As an assistant director is explaining what the extras should be doing in the next scene I get singled out as one of a dozen fans who will jump the railing and rush the field in celebration. Not only do I get to do something different from the crowd, but I get to run toward the center of the action. What a way to stand out on screen!

Here is a group of us in period costumes. I'm second from the right, next to the man in the band costume.

On my cue I jumped the railing and ran into the end-zone of the football field cheering and pumping my fists in the air. We were told to “really celebrate” so I ran through the mud, right up to the players and the game officials and started patting them on their heads and backs while I yelled. Much to my surprise I was patting the back of head referee, Blake Clark (Farmer Fran in “Waterboy” and Drew Barrymore’s father in “50 First Dates”) who obviously was not expecting such a roaring response from the fans. Startled he ducked his head and tried to keep his footing on muddy field until the director yelled, “Cut.”

Like many of the actors I’ve seen in the last week, Clark took the unexpected actions in stride. During the next break he was cracking more jokes with fans and players alike.

Clooney was also getting down and dirty today as the scene called for him to get tackled in the mud. The strange part was seeing a mud covered Clooney dressed in a football uniform and helmet walk to the director’s chair. Standing there reviewing the scene with him were two very clean, normally dressed producers so Clooney stood out like a sore thumb. But he didn’t let that keep him from directing the actors and getting shots he wanted.

After my big celebration scene in the end-zone, the day was over. Back in the holding area it felt like the last day of summer camp. All of the extras I had met and befriended in the last week were trading phone numbers and taking pictures. It was sad. I’m going to miss the set. Don’t get me wrong, the hours were unforgiving, the food was mediocre at best, and the pay is nothing to write home about – but I know I will miss the people and the atmosphere.

Surviving heavy winds, blazing heat, and lots of down time could have broken many people’s spirits but most didn’t let it show. I guess they, like me, were just happy to see the actors, the tricks of the trade (like foam painted to look like stone), and have a chance at seeing themselves on the big screen. Look for me in the end-zone jumping up and down.

I guess only one thing remains, our last bit of film lingo. I saved this one for last. “Martini.” I’m told that’s what the production crew calls the last scene of the day. I tried to get a back story but no one could say for sure how it came into use. The best explanation I got was that after a long day of constant work “Martini” is what the crew had to look forward to. It is their motivation to make it through one last scene.

This blog is my “Martini.” After six days on set it’s time to leave the costume and get back to reality. So thanks for reading, and in words of the director, “that’s a wrap.”

Day 5

As promised, today I’ll take you for a walking tour (minus the walking) of the set in Charlotte. On an average morning the extras arrive at staggered times between 5 and 7 a.m. -- I’m usually in the 5:30 a.m. call. By 5:45 I’m on the shuttle from the parking lot to the American Legion Stadium.

We enter the stadium off of Kings Street and pull around to the North East corner of the property. That’s where the check-in line begins. The parking lot there is covered with white tents and trailers used for wardrobe, hair and make-up. I never get much make-up but I definitely got an interesting hair cut for the part.

After half an hour to an hour I’m usually dressed and through all the lines, so it’s off to catering. It’s still dark out while I walk the 200 yards east into the gymnasium where breakfast is waiting. There are several rows of tables with hundreds of chairs lined up on a basketball court sized floor. It’s not spacious, but it works. This is our home whenever we’re not on set. You can always find some people reading, others listening to their iPods and inevitably there’s at least one person laying down trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep. This is the same place we’ll have lunch later in the day.

Out the back door of the gym is the set. The first thing we see outside is large metal scaffolding stretching the width of the football field. This is the back of that brick façade I’ve been telling you about. To reach the upper levels some thirty to forty feet above, I’ll have to climb a ladder or take the metal stairs. Through a small door at the top, however, the metal beams disappear behind the plywood and foam. It doesn’t sound beautiful but the crew has painted the wood to look like brick and the foam looks just like concrete stone. The tricks Hollywood has up its sleeves are pretty remarkable.

Behind the brick façade there are props, lighting equipment, and chords all around. It reminds me of the back lot tours at Universal Studios except this set has hundreds more people.

Up the stairs to the right of the scaffolding are the stands. The only notable change here is the 1920s-style press box built in front of the real two story press box. Red, white and blue banners hang below the windows.

The stone wall around the field is covered in 1920s advertisements like Baby Ruth bars for a penny. If you’re a John Krasinski fan you’ll notice several ads feature his face on a billboard for a razor company. He even has a 15-foot tall painted billboard at the end of the field. It’s obvious he’s the star of this ‘Chicago football team.’

The stands are where the extras are placed in most of the scenes. Sometimes Clooney himself will explain the scene and how we are supposed to act, then we wait for our cue -- but it’s not lights, camera, action. Instead we’ll hear, “picture’s up, rolling, background action, action.” “Pictures up” means the cameras and the cast are placed where they should be for the shot. “Rolling” means the cameras are now recording. “Background action” is the cue for the extras to start their actions: whatever the director told us to do. “Action” is when the principal actors start their dialogue.

After the filming is finished each day the extras are brought back to the ‘holding area’ in the gym where they will be released in a staggered fashion as well so as not to crowd the changing rooms on the other side of the stadium next to hair and make-up.

That’s it for the tour. Monday is my last day on set and I’m really hoping we’ll get to see some more football and maybe another star or two. Some extras were given special parts, like paramedics. We’re pretty sure those people are going to be in the movie, but at this point I’m still not sure if you’ll be able to pick me out in a scene or not. Maybe that will change next week. I’ll keep you posted and I’ll have another picture or two for you as well.

Day 4: Extras Take The Stage

Another full house in the extras holding area off set this morning. This time, though, there was no need for us on set until late in the morning. That meant about 500 people were trapped in small gym trying to keep themselves entertained.

A raffle hosted by the production crew passed some time and gave extras a chance to win autographed movie memorabilia from Clooney and Zellweger’s past movies. Unfortunately there was more time to kill and someone had the idea to allow people on stage to tell jokes to keep people entertained. The idea didn’t quite work out as well as we hoped. Let’s just say one of the best jokes was: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Give up? One… but the light bulb has to want to change.

This is the view from from my seat in the extras holding area.

I took a picture of the stage from my seat. It should give you idea of where we spend our time when we’re not on set. Thankfully it wasn’t long before I was called away for a scene.

In the morning I was placed high in the stands next to the press box. That’s when Ms. Zellweger was escorted up the stairs on my aisle to her seat in the newly constructed press box. She stopped for a moment to say “good morning” to us before she disappeared behind the closed door. I didn’t see her up close again for the rest of the day but I can say she has a powerful scream. There’s a scene where she gets very excited and we could hear her quite well from across the stadium. I guess I’ll have to wait for the movie to see what all the excitement was about because we couldn’t hear the rest of the dialogue.

Just before lunch I was moved to the sidelines where a group of us watched and reacted to some real life football plays on the field. The script calls for a wet, muddy field which meant the crew brought fire hoses and a dirt mixture into the stadium to create the desired effect. The mud made for a slow game which lacked any spectacular plays. That is until after lunch.

Again, I’m not going to spoil the plot for you but let’s just say the game gets very interesting and the fans (me and the other extras) were called on to do some acting. As the director shouted out the emotions we were supposed to be feeling we all changed our mannerisms accordingly. After a few takes we heard the ever popular “the gate is good.”

For the final scene, we watched the crew bring out 20-foot tall sprinklers attached to fire hoses. They cranked on the rain machine and got in a few shots before Mother Nature brought some rain of her own. That sent the crew into a frenzy as they tried to move everything inside. Filming was stopped early. I laughed at how actual rain canceled the scene which was supposed to take place in the rain.

I did learn a new word for you: Barney. No not the fuzzy purple dinosaur. On a set a Barney is a blanket that is placed over a camera to cover the noise made by the film reel and camera motor. I haven’t been close enough to hear a camera yet, but they apparently are not quiet and could disrupt the dialogue. I’m told the term comes from a Barney blanket which is used for horses.

My time behind the scenes is running out and I still have so much I want to explain. Tomorrow I’ll take you for a kind of behind the scenes tour of what things look like and what we have to go through sometimes just to get in position. I also plan to add another picture or two.

Day 3

The extras holding area was packed this morning. After a 13 hour shift Monday, some people decided they were not coming back on Tuesday. Since the numbers were so small the production department called in more extras for today. There weren’t enough seats to hold everyone, but the temperature was cooler so the crowd was rather calm.

The morning started off with more football. From my perch on the brick façade I watched the filming of a few football plays. When the cameras were rolling we were told to clap and react to the play as if it were a normal game. When the cameras weren’t rolling the extras would tell jokes and relax. Same for the players on the field, except they would ball up the wet dirt into mud balls and take turns trying to peg each other as hard as they could.

That's me on the right, dressed as a sailor from the 1920s.

This inevitably turned into some funny rough-housing including guys sliding through the man-made mud on their stomachs. Their relaxed attitudes show how easygoing the atmosphere on set really is, so long as things are going according to plan.

By the afternoon I was back down in the stands where I spotted yet another star on the set. Blake Clark is playing a referee in the football game. I remember Mr. Clark as Drew Barrymore’s father in the Adam Sandler movie “50 First Dates.” If that doesn’t ring a bell, he was also Farmer Fran in “Waterboy.”

Between takes, I overheard Clark joking around with another actor. The man was sitting on a bench holding the team’s mascot, an English bulldog. Clark, dressed as a referee with his whistle, walked up to the man and said, “Stop touching that dog there, that’s a foul no matter what league you’re in.” Clooney and others within earshot laughed.

Clooney also addressed the extras again today. It was a long slow morning with some of the shots taking several hours to set up. As a television reporter it takes me an hour or two to prepare a minute or two of tape for air. But on a movie set it’s not uncommon for crews to work for several hours just to get a few seconds of video. It’s a wonder movies ever make money.

Back to the point, after a long morning and several repetitive scenes in the afternoon, Clooney, covered in mud from the football scenes, walks up to the stands and says “Thank you everyone for putting up with us today.” It’s just nice when the man with a million other things on his mind takes a minute to acknowledge the extras.

Speaking of taking a minute, that leads me to the term of the day: “10-1.” I’m told this is the most common term used over the production crew’s radios. It’s code for taking a break, usually a restroom break. In everyday use it would sound something like, “Michelle’s gone 10-1.” It was adopted from the old ten codes developed for radio traffic in the late 1930’s and used up until recently by law enforcement.

I’ve added a picture today and more will follow tomorrow. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow so I’m curious to see how that will affect the filming. It could be a very boring or a very interesting day. I’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Day 2: Finally Football!

The day started off very similar to Day 1. Extras filed into the holding area around 6 a.m. and sat around for an hour or so until we were brought out to the stadium for more fan shots. We were moved around to different sections all morning.

The first Clooney moment of the day came when he was dressed in his football uniform. He turned to us in the stands and as a director he told us the next scene would be easy; all we had to do was cheer and boo the two teams as they took the field. When he asked what sports team was most hated in the area the resounding answer from the crowd was Duke.

“Great,” said Clooney. “Then treat me and my team the same way you would treat Duke.” When Clooney took the field he was greeted by a very vocal crowd screaming “Booo” at the top of their lungs.

After lunch, Clooney was still in his football uniform and I was back on the brick façade – yes, the same one which had a piece blown over in the wind one day earlier. But the wind was gentle today and we didn’t mind because the scene was set for the opening kick-off.

Extras with football experience were put through weeks of football camp so many of the players on the field, including the kicker, knew what they were doing. John Krasinski received the kick-off and ran down field. I won’t give away the plot of the movie but let’s just say the tensions are already building between Clooney’s and Krasinski’s characters.

When the stunt doubles were brought in, we watched and cheered for a great open field tackle. They shot the scene about a dozen times from different angles and each time we cheered just like the first. We were happy to actually watch some action for a change.

No sighting of Ms. Zellweger today, but Clooney looked very athletic as he threw the ball around for warm-ups. I did see a new star today. His name is Grant Heslov. That may not sound familiar to you but he was in “True Lies” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Heslov’s character, with black curly hair, sneaks into the terrorists hide-out posing as a cameraman for the news. At the opportune moment he pulls a gun hidden inside the camera and kills a few terrorists.

Turns out he’s working mainly behind the scenes as Clooney’s business partner for Leatherheads, but he was around most of the day.

The new film lingo of the day is “fly-in.” Today over the radios used by the production crew I heard the phrase, “fly in the extras.” The term simply means “bring to the set.” I couldn’t get an explanation of where the phrase originated but I’ll keep working on that. Turns out the phrase can be used for anything from people to props, even water for the crew.

I don’t have any pictures today, but I will change that tomorrow. For now it’s off to bed. Call for tomorrow is one hour later than today and I’m hoping to catch up on some sleep. It was another 13-hour day today. Check back tomorrow for pictures and hopefully more action.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at areed@wcnc.com. I’ll try to answer your questions either in my blog or through e-mail.

Day 1

All of the scenes for the next week are being shot at the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte. It’s a closed set with tight security, so visiting the stadium will likely not get you an autograph or celebrity sighting.

My character is a fan. Today I was placed in different sections throughout the stadium to fill in the background for the different scenes.

But let’s face it, you probably care more about Clooney than my character. You want to know if George Clooney is really as attractive as he is in the movies. Well, I can tell you that he looks the same in person as he does on the screen. So if you find yourself attracted to him on the silver screen, you would not be disappointed in real life. He’s also very approachable and down-to-earth. The extras, all 500 of us, are told not to approach him or ask for autographs as we are all there to do a job, but Mr. Clooney took the time to walk down a line of extras shaking hands and thanking them for helping film his movie.

In the morning I saw him from a distance in his football costume on the field. He was running back and forth saying his lines as a lead character, then checking the scene in a replay monitor as a director.

It was during this scene that I saw my second celebrity. John Krasinski plays Clooney’s rival quarterback in the football flick. Krasinski and Clooney faced off in the center of the field for the coin toss. There was some dialogue between them but from my view in the stands, I couldn’t hear any of it. I never got to see Krasinski up close either. He was always toward the middle of the field until we broke for lunch.

By the afternoon, Clooney was out of costume and working only as a director. It was in the afternoon when I got my third celebrity sighting. Renee Zellweger walked out of the stadium press box and down the isle in front of me. In costume with her hat, she was not easily recognizable but every extra around me agreed it was her.

She kept mostly to herself, rarely interacting with the other actors or extras. She was never as close to the audience as Clooney. With the wind outside today she was busy fixing her hair or makeup whenever she was not filming in the press box.

The wind also caused damage to the set today. A brick façade was built at the north side of the stadium to block Charlotte’s skyline. The whole three-story structure is just wood attached to metal scaffolding and covered with foam made to look like stone. It's not the sturdiest of buildings, and when the wind picked up it actually blew over an entire wall of the set. All morning we had felt the walls up on the second story flexing in the gusts, but when that wall came crashing down everyone was ordered to clear the structure. I never felt that I was in danger, but that wall sounded like thunder when it came down.

We never returned to the upper levels of the façade; instead we were moved throughout the stands and I even got to stand on the field for a few minutes. I’m pretty sure given the number of extras and the distance of the cameras from my locations that you won’t be able to see me on the screen. But I’ve still got five more days to change that.

Originally we were told there were no cameras allowed. Today I learned cameras are OK behind the scenes, just not on set. Tomorrow I’m bringing my camera and I’ll try to get some pictures of people in their 1920’s costumes for you to see. Also, I’m pretty sure there are more celebrities on the set that I haven’t spotted yet so I’ll keep my eyes peeled for them tomorrow.

I’ve decided I’m going to do a little segment on film lingo every day. Today I learned the phrase “the gate is good.” Translation, “we’ve got the shot,” or “let’s move on.” Derivation: when the film enters the camera it goes through what’s called a gate. Sometimes a little hair or piece of dirt finds its way into the gate. Then as the film passes into the camera the hair will scratch it creating little distortions, like black spots, on the screen. So when the director sees what he wants from the actors in a scene he asks the cameramen to check to the gate. If the gate has any hair or dirt on it, the film is no good and scene must be shot again. If “the gate is good” then the scene is finished and it’s time to move on with the day.

It’s late and I’ve been up since 4:30 this morning so if I don’t get some dinner and get to bed this could be a very long week. Be sure to check back here tomorrow for more stories.