“The movie they made in the Riverbottoms house”

Transcription

Movie • 251
I was in my office in the house last summer working on the 4th edition of
The Owner-Builder Book when a young man came to the door with a flyer. He
handed it to me and waited expectantly while I read:
“FEATURE FILM TO BE MADE LOCALLY”
“Dear Homeowner:
The Locations Department for Together Again for the First Time, a
feature film about a family who is reunited at Christmastime has chosen
your home as a possible candidate for the film’s principal location, the
Frobisher family home. We love the style and design of your home, and
would like to hear back from you if you are interested in participating in this
project. First, let us give you some more details:
What we need:
An American-style home with two bedrooms or more
When we would need the home:
The Owner-Builder Book
On-Line: OwnerBuilderBook.com
252 • Movie
Three to four weeks from June 26 – July 22
6 days a week (no Sundays)
What we could offer you:
Monetary compensation
An insured production and crew
The owners’ name in the credits
Parts in the film as extras
Being involved in the process of major motion picture
filmmaking
Opening your home to experienced and professional actors
I felt a flutter of owner-builder pride, but dismissed it upon realizing that this
was a flyer brought to more than one house in the neighborhood. I said, “I
doubt you want my house.” He said that it actually seemed to fit the criteria
and ask if he could take a look. I asked him what he was looking for, and he
said, “A great room with high ceilings, a breakfast nook, a traditional look, and
a grand staircase.”
We showed him in, and he took a look around. I said that since we didn’t have
a grand staircase, we probably wouldn’t fit, but I knew someone who did. So
I walked him two blocks over to the home of Jeff Lewis, our webmaster, and
owner-builder extraordinaire. He thanked me, and I forgot about it within two
quick strides, returning to my office and back into editing.
That night, Jeff Lewis was meeting with me on website development when
the doorbell rang again. This
time two women introduced
themselves
as
location
managers for the film, and
wondered if they might take
pictures of the inside of the
house. I let them in, said “Have
at it,” and returned to my
meeting with Jeff, rehearsing
to him the showing off of his
house to the first visitor. Jeff
just smiled at the compliment
and we were soon lost in the
work again. By the time the
Call Toll-Free: 1.888.333.BUILD
Movie • 253
two visitors interrupted us later, known for exclamations of “Whoa.”
“Here’s what we can offer you,” she said.
nearly an hour had passed.
I watched her in some amazement as
“We like your house. Would you she went directly to negotiating with
consider letting us make a movie here?” me the terms of an “agreement.” Finally
We were standing in the entry brightly I stopped her and said laughing, “You
think about it, we
illuminated
by
wouldn’t want to
overhead
lights
talk specifics right
usually
turned
now.”
on when we had
guests. “I guess
Jeff and I went back
we’d consider it.
to work, but now it
I’d have to talk to
seemed to occupy
Elaine. She’s very
my thoughts. A
fussy about the
couple of days
house.” I couldn’t
later,
working
resist asking who
in the garden, I
would be in the
had the thought
movie. She named
that it might be
people I recognized
interesting for our
like Patty Duke
book and website
and
David
to
have
the
Ogden Stiers. I
experience. I also
recognized
the
thought that the
name, although
house would need
he
is
more
some sprucing up
widely known by
the name Major Charles Emerson if it would be on display, and got busy
Winchester III from M.A.S.H. I had handling the long-delayed chore of
admired him as the narrator of my repainting the capitals over the front
favorite book on tape, a Clancy novel windows. We had some flowers to
plant, and within a week, the house
called The Cardinal of the Kremlin.
looked nicer than usual from the
She mentioned a “hunky” actor named street. I was just reconditioning the
Joey Lawrence, “…but we call him last shutter on the front when a car
Joseph or Joe, according to contract.” drove up on a Friday morning, and
I was apparently too old to know of his a group of preoccupied movie people
extensive work on television such as piled out.
a long run on a show called “Blossom”
where his character Joey Russo was They hardly seemed to notice me as
254 • Movie
they studied the house, and talked
with each other. They kept using
their hands as viewers to frame the
house from various
perspectives
as
they talked. Two
other
vehicles
pulled up, and about
a dozen people
talked excitedly.
They
presented
themselves at the
door, and showed
a great deal of
deference and friendliness to Elaine
and me as we invited them in. This
time, the director was with them, and
they spent an hour and a half studying
the house, and discussing specific
scenes in detail. I dispensed cold cans
of soda and stayed out of the way.
After about an hour, the “unit
production manager” took us aside
into the parlor and asked what our
concerns would be about the use of the
house. I brought up several issues like
how would the house be treated, how
would it be maintained through the
process? He took notes and listened
respectfully. He said that floors would
be protected with “furny” (furniture)
pads and sheets of plywood. He
said that in previous projects, no
insurance claims were filed, just a
simple replacement of a bit of carpet
burned in an electrical overload of
some camera cables. That was the
worst he’d heard of. He assured me
that they would agree to a deadline
for cleanup and restoration, and that
there would be daily cleanups at the
site.
He
asked
me
if
the
money
offered
would
be
acceptable.
I had already
determined not to
accept money; we
pay enough taxes
as it is. I asked
him if they could
offer film editor support on our DVD
development project instead. He had
no problem with that and seemed
flexible and “creative”.
At the end, the director stopped to talk
with me for a moment and said, “I like
your house. It fits our story.” I told him
that I was very proud of it, and that
we had “built it ourselves.” He said
they would get back to us. As they left,
the production manager stepped back
up to the door, and said, “Just so you
know, the leaves would have to come
off your maple tree – it’s a Christmas
movie, you know.” I exclaimed aloud,
“Oh no – that’s my baby! You’d have to
agree to replace it with an ‘equivalent’
if it doesn’t survive.” He nodded and
smiled. “We’ll talk.”
Now Elaine and I talked seriously about
the possibility. She was hesitant, and I
understood completely. We wrote out
our concerns. How would our homebased business be conducted? What
Movie • 255
on them – my insurance would be
canceled when the project started.
That’s what we learned from my
agent’s company. The homeowner’s
policy would in no way, shape, or form
cover 100 people on our property for a
month with elaborate equipment and
monster power generators. And the
company didn’t want to be named in
any claims that might occur, even if
my coverage was “dormant”. So they
planned to cancel my policy outright.
They further said that they would not
reinstate it if any claim were made
would be the effect on our insurance? to any insurer during the course
We’d call the agent. Nobody was going of filming. They didn’t want to be
implicated.
to smoke on site, were they?
The Location Agreement
Within a short time the unit production
manager was back with a location
agreement for us to sign. It was an
interesting read; I found it well-suited
to the interests of the movie company,
but light on homeowner concerns. It’s
the same kind of risk an ownerbuilder takes when a contractor
provides him an agreement for work
to be performed. The agreement
usually features the interests of the
offering party. Nothing was said
about the maple tree, for instance.
Nor about the DVD consultation.
And there was no certificate of
insurance showing what their
carrier would cover.
The movie company had never heard
of this one before. They went back
scratching their heads and did a lot of
homework. To their credit they came
up with creative solutions to each
point I raised. For instance, the next
version of the agreement came back
with the maple tree named, and “if in
I asked them to rework the agreement the judgment of both parties it needed
on several points and dropped a bomb to be replaced” the company would pay
256 • Movie
for an “appropriate tree” to replace it.
I asked for a date for the decision, for
sole discretion as to
replacement, and an
“equivalent” tree.
One the third version
of the agreement,
the “tree” paragraph
read:
“Furthermore and
specifically if the Norway Maple,
located in the front, or west yard of
the Property, is deemed by April 7,
2007, unhealthy because of the filming
process according to the sole discretion
of the Owner, then the Producer
will replace the tree with an Ownerapproved equivalent tree.”
A very “can do” associate producer
on the project creatively reworked
the agreement to our satisfaction.
He included deadlines for all agreed
film company responsibilities like
restoration of the property and
reimbursement of company-paid bills,
like electrical utilities, in a prompt
manner, with penalties of so many
dollars per day for each day of delay.
They offered some nice benefits like
payment for a hotel and meals at any
time at our discretion to “escape” the
movie project.
Best of all, they engineered a legal
agreement with my insurance company
that would prevent cancellation of our
coverage. Very impressive. By now,
Elaine had grown comfortable with
the project and the caliber of the movie
to be made, and we both agreed to the
deal.
Why They Chose Our House
After filming the director called our
house “the perfect house” for the movie.
It didn’t have the grand staircase he
wanted, but our second-story bridge
was used for the scene originally on the
stairs. The house had the traditional
front he wanted, and inside it worked
well for production – an open design
with
no
hallways,
h i g h
ceilings
and
easy
access. The
director
praised the
garage as
“a
great
garage”
when
he
saw it, and
it soon was
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The look inside was apparently
compatible with the story of the film.
The family room, an — 18-foot high
space — looked suitably overdecorated
for the story with a 12-foot tree,
immense wreath, garlands, and
moving Christmas villages complete
with lights and action figures.
One thing that made me proud was engineer’s tent on the way in. I said
how quiet the house proved to be “Isn’t that noise disturbing?” He said,
during filming. Whenever the assistant “It’s perfectly quiet inside over my
headset.” The 2x6 framing and extra
insulation, even the double-paned
argon-filled windows had all worked
to shut out the outside noise.
The Art
Phase
The
art
phase began
shortly after
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absolutely filled with gear and props. d i r e c t o r
We agreed to park our car elsewhere. called for
silence, the
message
echoed
f r o m
walkie
talkies
w o r n
by various crew members. One day
during filming I heard the call ring
out “Quiet on the set!” “Sound speed.”
They even built a set there replicating “Camera.” “And Action!” I headed in to
our pantry on a large scale where they warn them about a neighbor running
a lawn tractor and passed the sound
filmed a scene.
258 • Movie
we signed the agreement. A team
came to our place and decorated it
in the style of the lady of the house
character to be played by Patty Duke.
bathroom for only a day towards the
end of filming, so they left our personal
space intact. They moved our office
and computers to another bedroom
that would not be needed at all. Their
technicians saw to telephone and
internet connections, and everything
worked.
The biggest upset was over the flowers
in front. Like the tree, they had to
undergo a wintertime transformation.
We talked over the plants with them,
and specified that the perennials had
to stay. Then the supervisors went
to a meeting and the crew attacked
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Our furniture had to go
into storage, and in came
all sorts of props and
furnishings. They put up
different wallpapers in ten
locations of the house. The
papers were flamboyant
and “over the top”. They
used an ingenious way of
“temporary” mounting by
stripping the walls with
removable blue tape and
laying double sided carpet
tape over it. Then the
trimmed paper was adhered to the the beds. We left to do something
for a few hours. When we got back
tape. It looked pretty convincing.
the perennials were gone with the
They needed our bedroom and master annuals. The company agreed to pay
Movie • 259
for perennials too…
Christmas in July
The tree was assailed by techs who
removed each and every leaf by hand.
It hurt, but we toughed it out. The tree
proceeded
to bud out
within days,
showing its
determination to live.
It
turned
out that the
director needed more shots involving
the house front after that, and another
t e a m
removed
the leaves
a g a i n .
Again the
tree budded
out. They
needed the
house front in still more scenes, and
they set up their ladders and removed
t h e
leaves
for the
t h i r d
t i m e .
And
it
budded
again
within a
couple of
weeks.
Who knew?
Somebody told me that the movie
“Miracle on 34th Street” was actually
filmed in July. The crew made our
street look wintery by putting tufts
of cotton on the ground and in the
branches of evergreen trees. All the
houses near us were decorated with
Christmas lights, and a block or so
was festooned with luminaries, those
candles in sand-filled paper sacks
that glow when lit. In addition they
tossed fake snow on our lawn and wet
the pavement all around. When they
were ready to shoot, they started up
a snowblowing machine that pushed
fake snow into the air in front of the
camera.
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260 • Movie
Patty Duke leaves the movie
Patty Duke paid her respects to us
when we met her the first day of
filming. We were very impressed with
the Oscar-winner and past president
of the Screen Actor’s Guild. Elaine
and I tried to dodge cameras and go
out the side door of the garage one
night to go someplace when they
were filming. We heard the director
call out over the radio “Who’s that
in the background?” We had crossed
through one of their scenes. Patty
Duke answered humorously, and
in character: “Those are the nosey
neighbors!” to general laughter. She
had defused the situation.
manager calling about problems with
some items in the house, the vac
system and a backed up toilet. She
told us that Patty Duke had left the
movie, and they would have to reshoot
her scenes.
David Ogden Stiers
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David noticed Elaine and me in the
midst of the hubbub on the first day
of filming and broke off to introduce
himself. We had looked up his bio at
imdb.com and found
over 150 credits.
The
numerous
books on tape he
completed weren’t
even included. I was
amazed at the tapes
of The Cardinal of the
Kremlin. He played more than a dozen
characters, both men and women of
various national and regional dialects,
and made perfect transitions between
characters at high speed. He’s a
consummate actor.
But she had creative differences
with the director. I never saw it, but
apparently they argued. We were
talking with her gracious husband
Mike Pierce in the street one night
in front of the house when Miss Duke
walked briskly off the set during a
break, lighting a cigarette. “Michael!”
she said. When he continued to
converse for a few seconds with us, she We looked for opportunities to talk
added, “Now!” They talked animatedly with him, and on the second day he
thanked us profusely for offering our
off to the side for some minutes.
house for filming, and said, “but you
Elaine and I went on vacation to Ohio must be crazy to let them do it.” He got
for a week, and things must have a big kick out of our neighbors setting
gotten worse on set. I was in a crafts up chairs on a lawn just outside the
store outside of Millersburg, in Amish cordoned off area and cheering for the
country when my new cell phone rang actors between takes one night. He
(service provided by the film company walked over to introduce himself to
so I wouldn’t miss any calls if away a group of about 30. One of the wise
from the office.) It was our location guys on my street called out, “Who are
Movie • 261
The idea was to make it unnecessary
for David to personally get up on our
two-story roof and endanger himself.
The long shots of the actual roof would
be taken with a stand-in
for him, an experienced
stuntman. When the
day came for the long
shots David argued
with the director all
of one morning. He
insisted that he do
the dangerous shots
had a nice chat with the group, and
helped to create acceptance for all the
inconvenience of blocked off streets and
late-night neighborhood commotion.
He showed himself a real trouper
over a rooftop scene filmed late in the
himself. “They will know it’s not me,”
he said.
project. The crew had built a mockup of
our roof, duplicating our shingles and
roof pitch for close-up shots of Stiers
putting up Christmas decorations, and
then sliding precariously off the roof.
So they set him up in the hot sun on the
peak of our roof 30 feet off the ground
and did all the shots from each angle.
I can only imagine the heat of the roof
peak on a Utah house at midday in
July. He stayed in place for over an
hour until they had all the shots they
needed. A stand-in did the slide off
the roof later, landing on a group of
packing boxes roped together to break
the impact. We spoke to David that
afternoon to compliment him on his
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you?” Quick as a flash, he responded,
“You all recognize me. I am on cable
TV somewhere in the world every
minute of every day of the year.” He
262 • Movie
stamina. He did his Boston Brahmin a shy 13 year old girl in the group who
bit, sniffing, “You’ll never wash your self-consciously looked away when he
caught her eye. “And who is this young
roof again.”
lady?” he asked. He shook her hand
Kirby Heyborne
and made her day.
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We wanted to meet
Kirby most of all.
We had loved him in
the movie “The Best
Two Years” and liked
his role in “Saints
and Soldiers”. My
nephew, an actor
in L.A. who uses
our common middle
name Artell as his stage name, “Eric
Artell”, had tried out with Kirby for
“Together Again”, and narrowly missed
getting the role of younger brother to
Kirby in the movie. Eric and Kirby are
in the same comedy troupe in L.A. on
weekends, and Kirby had performed
with Eric just two days before we met
him in Provo.
Anxious to be introduced, I stepped
up to Kirby in the entry of the house
between scenes. He turned and
recognized me and extended his hand:
“Mark Artell Smith, I’m pleased to
meet you.” Kirby conscientiously
autographed numerous DVDs for my
family members later. He was very
willing to break away to be personable
with neighbors. One night a group
had gathered on the lawn across the
street and somebody asked me to
introduce them to cast members. I got
Kirby to go over and talk. He noticed
Larisa Oleynik
Larisa was a gracious young actress
who complimented us sincerely on our
home and thanked us for its use. She
was always friendly and respectful.
I asked her one night if she could
talk to neighbors gathered to watch
the filming. She
looked genuinely
disconcerted, and
said “Me?” “Yes,
you, they want
to meet a real
Hollywood actress.”
“But I’m just a,
just a…nobody.” I
grasped her arm
and steadied her
across the street to meet the group. I
could hardly believe this was the same
person who starred as a confident
young woman in “Ten Things I Hate
About You”. She was just genuinely
humble.
Kelly Stable
Kelly was a versatile performer who
amazed us the night they did publicity
stills in our family room between scenes
in the front yard. She walked in front
of the camera and responded to the
photographer’s cues: “Give me pretty.”
Movie • 263
Joe Lawrence
in the movie. His last day was a
typical movie schedule when there
were inside shots: begin at 1:00 p.m.
and work until 1:00 a.m. Two breaks
for food at 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Elaine and I went to bed at midnight,
exhausted. I took a sleeping pill and
put in earplugs, Elaine put a pillow
over her head while they kept working
in the next room.
There are so many helpers and visitors
on a movie set, we sometimes had 100
people on our property. On this occasion
we had 50-60. Not unusual, they kept
working way past their planned stop
time. We were awakened at 5:00 a.m.
with the words, “Cut!” That’s a wrap.”
“And Mr. Lawrence is wrapped!”
Everybody cheered and clapped
raucously. Sleep was impossible after
that. We waited in bed while sounds
of vacuuming and cleaning filled the
house. Then after many goodbyes, the
house got quiet around 6:00 a.m. To
be safe, I waited until 6:30 to venture
out and check lights and doors. The
garage doors weren’t locked. As I went
to lock the last one, I heard voices. I
opened the door to see the director and
his team standing under a streetlight
in a circle, still talking animatedly
after 18 hours of work.
Although I didn’t recognize Joe
Lawrence, all the young adults in our
family knew about him and wanted
his autograph. I
didn’t know how
to approach him,
but one night I
heard them ask if
anybody had any
Reese’s
Pieces
– Joe liked them. I went upstairs to
my stash and found Peanut M & M’s.
I figured that was close enough and
offered them to him. He was surprised
by the kindness, and thanked me
over and over again, “Thanks, Man.”
“Thanks, Dude.” “I really appreciate Chad Astle
it, Dude.”
One of our neighbors, a very personable
With a very busy schedule, Joe was construction man named Chad Astle
the first to “wrap” or complete all the now has a credit in the movie. With
scenes where he would have dialogue his shaved head, he resembled Joe
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“Give me sad.” “…Angry” “…Torn” “…
Confused” “…Happy”
She somehow made
a
different
look
instantaneously
and
convincingly
for many different
personalities.
We
laughed that night
when back out on
the front lawn she
managed to singe
her hair several times as she leaned
over a Christmas luminary candle she
was lighting in the scene.
264 • Movie
Lawrence as he looked for “Together
Again”, and someone on the film
spotted him and asked if he wanted
to stand in for Joe in the remaining
scenes where Joe appears but is in
a group and had no dialogue. Chad
took naturally to the role and filled in
nicely.
visiting our house during filming.
We missed his appearance because
we were on vacation. He came in a
limousine and with an entourage on
Julia Duffy
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We found Julia wickedly funny as
Stephanie Vanderkellen on “The
Bob Newhart
Show” in the
1980’s.
She
got the nod
to
replace
Patty
Duke
on “Together
Again”.
Ms.
Duffy
flew
into town on a
moment’s notice after Patty Duke left
the movie. She evidently crammed her
lines and was ready to go after only
a three-day hiatus. She is convincing
in the part of Audrey Wolders
Frobisher, the compulsive mother of
a big dysfunctional
family.
The Governor visits
A few weeks after
filming concluded,
the director stopped
by to drop off an
autographed picture
of Utah’s governor
Governor visits when windows are blacked out
for interior shots. His inscription: “Smith family
— Wonderful movie set!!
Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. Governor”
the Fourth of July to encourage the
production and promote Utah as a
setting for films. We impressed our
neighbors in absentia as many of
them came to shake hands with Jon
Huntsman, Jr.
Mark and Elaine get a bit part
The experience
of being an extra
in a feature film
is overrated. You
are told where to
stand, usually in
long discomfort,
while you are
ignored
for
hours. In the
first
instance,
Movie • 265
we were asked to stand in the entry
of our house as
partygoers, dressed
in winter clothing,
appearing
only
in silhouette as
members of the
family walk out the
front door towards
the camera. We
were
perspiring
and
sore
from
standing for two
hours. We were
told to be quiet,
but to “mouth”
conversation. Since we started at
10:00 p.m., bedtime, we could only
stay awake by real conversation,
which the director ignored. One of our
group took a break to sit and put her
head down on the dining room table,
where she promptly fell asleep. When
we resumed, her husband propped her
up bodily for the duration.
of filming at our house. Elaine and I
were asked to dress
in party clothes and
stand in front of
a camera propped
on a ladder in the
family room. We
were asked to react
to Audrey’s life-size
animated Santa, to
her homemade quilt
embroidered with
“What the Hell,
it’s
Christmas!”
and to her 12-foot
overdecorated tree.
We turned our heads slowly trying to
make “amazed” facial expressions. It
took about an hour.
The damage settlement
Regular houses are not made for
film production. It’s an industrial
activity all the way, and the domestic
finishes of a nice residential house
Our “big break” came on the last night don’t stand a chance. The crew was
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266 • Movie
always bumping into things and
leaving dings or scratches in surfaces
that are expensive to restore. Regular
residential carpet can’t take the load,
either. A carpet guy estimated that
our nylon pile carpeting had aged four
years in a month during filming.
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the planning and supervision involved
and opted for a restoration contractor
to bring along his stable of subs and
act as project manager. For one thing,
we might not be able to complete the
project due to unforeseen events,
like another injury, an illness, or a
prolonged absence from home. For
We wrote up our estimate of another, the management component
cleaning and repairs using qualified seemed to be the obligation of the film
subcontractor estimates. A few things company, too.
were broken, like the front door, which
is slammed in one scene. Through 30 The project manager made the costs
or 40 takes, the wood core of the door about double. They were standard
split. A chunk was broken out of the rates, acceptable to all insurance
front steps by heavy equipment. The companies who share a nationwide
AC developed a leak after being shut estimating database called ExactMate.
Still, the film company balked at the
expense. The expense was now way
out of their planned budget. After we
conceded the stipulation of a project
manager, we were within range and
managed a settlement.
off at the electrical panel precipitously
hundreds of times to get instant quiet.
The garage door openers gave out.
Somebody poked a hole in the roof
hauling down heavy gear.
After we had a preliminary estimate,
we realized that we were in for a long
haul managing a project with about a
dozen specialties. We have a feel for
Movie • 267
Photo Gallery
Lauren Storm
Michelle Page
Blake Bashan
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Christmas villages
Our house was filled with wonderful Christmas villages that were lit and animated.
268 • Movie
One morning an artist from Arizona was sitting on the front steps with his luggage waiting for me to open up the house for the day. He
arrived the same time as the exquisite village models appeared off the UPS truck, apparently provided free gratis by the manufacturer. He
measured our spaces like the coffee table and the dining room table and went to work, building bases from Styrofoam sheets. Using a hot
knife he cut channels for low voltage wiring and motorized bases. The skaters twirled around on the ice pond, the tobogganers descended
the sleigh hill, the train ran around the track, and Santa’s sleigh flew around overhead.
Resource Guide
The master bedroom
We were able to stay in our master bedroom for most of the filming. They wallpapered the parts that would appear on camera, and we used
it as usual until the last night of filming. Then they decorated and filmed one scene. We got our bed back around 1:00 a.m.
Movie • 269
The luminaries
The luminaries were candles in bags of sand
with a barbecue lighter just before they were
on fire with the lighter. It had to be reshot
the walk. She managed to singe her hair in
placed up and down our street. They lit them
needed. In one scene an actress catches a bag
several times, with a fresh series of bags on
the process.
The fake snow process begins with tufted cotton placed strategically around our yard and the neighbors who fall under the camera lens.
Then bagged
snow, some
biodegradable
concoction, is
tossed around by
hand.
Resource Guide
Blowing snow
270 • Movie
Then a quick hosing down is done to create a melting snow look. In
the July heat, the guys squirted down the pavement between every
take.
Resource Guide
The blowing machine was used
for nighttime shots to make lots
of sparkly flakes which caught
the overhead lights and give
the falling snow look to the
camera. They can also overlay
falling snow on a shot digitally.
Downtown scene
Elaine and I accompanied the cast and crew to downtown Provo, Utah one night for a movie scene. The art
department labored over a billboard they created for the story. The lighting guys put up overhead lights on
some old buildings to illuminate the sidewalk which was squirted down for a winter effect.
Movie • 271
Dining room
Resource Guide
We don’t really have a dining room, just an office where a dining could go. And go it did, as the film company
converted the room into a festive place for a big holiday dinner. Each place setting shown below was crafted by
an artist to portray the characters in the film.
272 • Movie
Starting with our actual pantry, the art department set out to build an oversized replica in the garage.
The big version allowed them to get equipment in to film a pantry scene.
Resource Guide
Overstuffed garage
What all started with a few boxes soon squeezed out our car and began to grow like crazy.
Their stuff was secure and convenient, so it made us feel good that the house was doing the job. With production
costs at from $1,000 an hour to $5,000 or more, every little convenience that helped get more filming done
was invaluable to film economics.
Movie • 273
Base camp
The actors stayed in hotels, but makeup and wardrobe trailers were provided to get them ready quickly
between scenes. The trailers were arrayed on a vacant lot a half-mile from our house, called “base camp”.
With a complex shooting schedule, nighttime shots were often done during the day on the interior of the house.
Black draping and controlled lighting ensured an authentic look.
Mark & Elaine play with the camera
On the night that they filmed in
the master bedroom and bath they
invited us to look in the camera.
The camera is in the bedroom
pointed into the bathroom. This is
a “film” camera as opposed to a
videocamera. Though expensive,
the film medium still gives a richer
image. They also digitize the image,
and have a negative and a digital
file. They edit digitally. Most of the
movie was shot with one camera, a
preference of many directors. They
move the camera in and shoot the
same scene multiple times, a long shot, a close up, a view from the side or rear, and edit in the views wanted.
Resource Guide
The blacked-out house
274 • Movie
The fake chimney
We didn’t have a chimney, but a
chimney was involved in the story
of “Together Again for the First
Time”, so they built one on the
ground and hoisted it up to the roof for daytime shots. Later
they remembered that they needed it when they were shooting
at night, so they hoisted it up again and made the nighttime
shots. Also visible are “over the top” decorations like Santa’s
sleigh with an illuminated Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
Resource Guide
Movie • 275
Actor childhood pictures
To make it a “family” the art department went so
far as to gather pictures from each actor’s past and
frame them for the walls of our home. Actor Kirby
Heyborne is shown above in an elementary school
photo and at the Senior Prom.
A stuntman is dressed up to
look like David Ogden Stier’s
character. He will take a 12foot tumble from the roof in
back of our house. Packing boxes have been assembled to cushion the fall, and covered with furny pads.
Resource Guide
Slide from the roof
276 • Movie
Craft services
Our neighbor’s beautiful home was under our care during filming because the couple was away doing volunteer
service for the year. We wrote them asking if the film company could set up a food service operation under
their patio cover. It was an ideal secluded spot, just steps away from the filming, with shade and all needed
electrical utilities. They agreed, and meals and snacks became available from early in the morning until very
late at night for cast and crew. The craft service workers would carry around snack trays at intervals to make
sure everyone was constantly satisfied.
The roof mock-up
Resource Guide
Early in the project the art department people came to me to get the make, color, and source of our 25year architectural shingles. They later explained that the closeup shots of David Ogden Stiers on the roof
would be done on a roof mock-up identical to our roof except with a lower pitch for ease of access. They
obtained permission to build the model in recreation area behind a church just a block away. All of the rooftop
accoutrements including the fake chimney were put in place before filming.
“Fake wallpapering”
The techs apply removable blue tape to the parlor wall. Then, a double-sided carpet tape covered with release
paper. They do the borders and then the center. Before putting up wallpaper, they remove the release paper.
Movie • 277
The wallpaper is cut to size and placed over the carpet tape. A tech smoothes to adhere. Finished product.
The tall wall of the upstairs bridge posed problems for them. The double-sided tape disengaged from the
blue tape, and the papers drooped or fell. We tried to push them back up for them over the first weekend by
brushing the paper back against the wall with a long-handled broom. They set up ladders and pressed the
papers firmly back when they arrived. It kept falling, and they eventually asked Elaine if she would like the
paper installed permanently. She declined.
Boisterous-patterned papers were also placed in the office, guest suite, and mudroom. Though they took a
week to hang, they came down entirely in an hour or so.
Resource Guide
Art techs redecorate the kitchen
nook. All the papers chosen were
meant to be loud and excessive. As
the techs conversed they completed
the nook, never realizing they had
hung the paper pattern upside
down.
278 • Movie
Visitors to the set
With streets sometimes blocked off for filming, a number of visitors arrived by foot, or otherwise...
The overdecorated kitchen
The kitchen was a busy place during filming. It was a place for snacks, conversation, tossing your
personal articles, and eventually, a scene in the movie.
Resource Guide
The overdecorated family room
Movie • 279
Art department party
After the preliminary phase of decorating we invited the 20 or so people who worked on the house to dinner.
The flowers had to go
Elaine decided to try and rescue the flowers when she saw it. She took them to places around back where she
tried to transplant them after they had been in the July heat for more than an hour.
At the same
learned that
trampled
lovingly
from her
years before.
time, she
they had
her peonies,
transplanted
mother’s house
Resource Guide
One reason for the aforementioned party was to let the art techs know we weren’t still mad at them over the
loss of our flowers. Due to a miscommunication, the workers had ripped out all of our annuals and most of the
perennials with no plan for transplanting them. They just placed them in inverted pallets to haul them off.
280 • Movie
Elaine on camera
To get the shots of Elaine and me as partygoers,
they put up a second camera on a ladder on the
last night of filming. As Elaine stared just to the
right of the giant lens, I got a shot of the monitor
(above.) At left is what the camera caught as she
looked above the lens to a spot on the wall where
the Christmas quilt was supposed to be.
Resource Guide
Some other memories

“The movie they made in the Riverbottoms house”

Transcription

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