Friday, April 18, 2008

A good day

I gotta comfortable 5 hours of sleep and I think I'm getting used to it.

Got to the set about 6:30 and car was put in the same exact spot. I was wearing comfie clothes because I knew the car would be parked all day and we would just be hanging out.

Had breakfast and then cruised to the set for relax time. Male #4 and I (Andy) have become good friends (BTW - Thanks Andy) and the Picture Car people just hung out. Seems the Picture Car people are the bad boys of the set (we're freakishly bored) and we're no longer welcome into the New Moon EVEN though THEY are the ones with the big cameras taking photos.

Yea yea - I tattled on you guys!!!!! You forced us to eat gruel today!

So we're sitting in the sun have a very pleasant time and watching the explosives guys doing their thing and burying squibs in the dirt and rigging things to go off . . . . 20 feet from us.

Then Michael Mann and cameras and importent STUFF start setting up 10 yards from where I'm sitting. The Extras are practicing falling and being terrified as I assume Pretty Boy Floyd (remember the guy in O'Brother Where Art' Thou - NOT like him). is shooting in their direction. It
s all set and after 6 or 7 practice runs.

PICTURE UP! FIRE IN THE HOLE! CAMERA'S ROLLING . . . . . . . . . . . .BACKGROUND! . . . . . . . . . . . ACTION!

BAM BAM BAM BAM BOOM BOOM Rat-a-tat rat-a-tat BOOM BOOM BAM BAM BAM and stuff is flying all over the place 10 yards from us (we're behind a wall but can see everything).

CUT!!! RESET!

and it's done a few more times. AWESOME!!

We're told to go to the other side of the street for a different scene. They rip up one road and lay it down the length of main street.

We stand around for another couple hours and about 11:00 we're told to go get a snack ?????? what ??? snack? they have never told us to do THAT before. They said today would be a long day. hmmmmm the last two days have been in the 14 hour range. Does longer mean LONGER?

Snack?? this does not sound at all promising.

The clouds move in and there are more awesome scenes being shot with snipers and a LOT of machine guns. All the actors are there but we're on the wrong side of the set top see them.

Andy comes over at a break (it's always at LEAST a half hour between runs and sometimes an hour) and says there is a Marion Cotillard sighting. She came out of the "bank" looked up and down the street, turned around and hugged Johnny! No doubt about it. She is in Wisconsin for the Beaver dam shoot early I guess.

The clouds have come in and it's cooling off . . .a LOT. It's about 2:00 and the crew are all eating great food on the set, the Extras are getting sandwiches from the New Moon and us?

NOTHING! WE CAN'T GO IN THE NEW MOON!! OFF LIMITS!!! ARSE HOLES!

So about 3:30 it starts to sprinkle and we told to go to this hotel room for lunch. One window looking out to NOTHING, a lunch with, what I was told - bad meatloaf (not a meatloaf fan anyway), a slab of ham some rice and mash potatoes.

As I was helping clean up a lot of the Styrofoam boxes were heavy into the garbage.

So we're stuck in a box with nothing to see.

About a hour later we make a mass prison break and are back on set. It's cold.

They are filming a get away and every time the car takes off it rolls up the cobblestone street (estimated $300,000). There are 60 uniforms keeping crowds back and people with binoculars scanning buildings. Jerry scans apartments for the curious and when one is found a person is dispatched to . . . . I don't want to know!



I was told there were 8,000 to 10,000 people surrounding the set on Wednesday.

Things are going well in rehearsal until a white car rolls onto the set and all hell breaks loose - GET THAT BOGIE OUT OF HERE.

This scene is a big one. They are being REAL careful triple checking everything, getting people out of windows and when they are ready everything is checked again. They practice parts for a good two hours and then you can feel everybody tense up a little.

Walkie talkies are going non stop with some people talking loud and others whispering so not to confuse. Bruno in the pyro guy says we're ready and the call goes out that WE'RE HOT and the entire shot is explained for the 5th time, who is shooting and what is happening.

People with binoculars are scanning windows for John Q's.

Then


PICTURE UP! FIRE IN THE HOLE! CAMERA'S ROLLING! . . . . . . . . . . . .BACKGROUND! . . . . . . . . . . . ACTION!

and all hell breaks loose - walls are exploding with bullets all over, machine guns are constant.

Then there is a freeze . . . .waiting waiting KEEP CAMERAS ROLLING waiting waiting BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM more exploding and FREEZE RELOAD KEEP CAMERAS ROLLING the crowd is silent waiting, it's odd to have SO many people utterly still with so much noise. BAM BAM BAM BAM even more fireing.


CUT!!!


It's like everyone breaths for the first time in 10 minutes.


Then they start to set up for the next scene . . BUT WAIT!!!


THAT'S A WRAP!!!

People start to go into groups and we're we're walking back to wardrobe we 're told the Extras will not be needed Friday - they are done. There are hugs and tears and people shaking hands and we figure, well if THEY are done WE must me.

They are shooting INSIDE Friday the rain day.


BUT WAIT.


The Picture Car drivers are huddled and more then half (20ish) are told they will no longer be needed and only 15 are wanted back to tomorrow, and we are one of those 15. SWEET . . . sort of.

Not a clue what we will be doing but I'm thinking we will be driving - perhaps inside the bank with cameras looking out???

Saturday the circus moves north to Little Bohemia for three days for basically a closed set so I would not even bother going north to the Arctic.

So that is it for now. I'm on my way to the garage for a day of rain and sitting inside the car.

It is awesome fun.

Rod

36 comments:

  1. Rod, you lucky dog! Thanks for the update. And I'm going up north anyway!

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  2. Rod, hang in there. You're doing a great job.
    Sounds like Thursday left you rarther energy drained. I hope Friday does not see you so tired, cold and hungry.
    Thanks.

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  3. Another awesome day of shooting! Hopefully you will be taken care of better today because most of the extras are gone! They can now treat you like the "star" you have become!!!! ;o)

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  4. Rod, how DARE they keep you out of the New Moon?? Don't they know the power you carry?? Bad advertising from you will KILL them! LOL They'd better be nice to our Rod!

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  5. Rod,

    Thanks for the update. Glad you are enjoying hanging out with the "car" guys.

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  6. I don't get it, why did they keep you out of the New Moon?

    Awesome summary of the day Rod.

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  7. If I hadn't just worked two extremely exhausting 16-hour days, perhaps I would have the intelligence to respond. But that might come off as childish, and I'm not really into all this internet drama crap anyway.

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  8. Sounds like a great day. I can't even imagine all the coordination it takes to shoot with explosives and squibs. Glad to hear you got some sleep, and good luck on your final day.

    For the sake of historical correctness, not that that has any place on a movie set, I'm assuming it was Baby Face Nelson shooting like a crazy person, and not Pretty Boy Floyd.

    Sam

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  9. Rod! Thanks, sorry you got the axe yesterday = ( And you were being so good and all, following the rules! they say crime doesn't pay but I wonder... I still haven't quite recovered from my day Wed of lurking around TRYING to see something. = )

    You'll be happy to know I was kicked out of a restaurant In Oshkosh too. Yes, I'm naming the spot PLANET PERK! To their defense it was near closing time, but they didn't tell me, allowed me to order and pay for a sit-down meal and coffee before they told me I was out on the street. grrr... What I really wanted to do was go in, use the restroom and their Wifi but I was GOOD and ordered food. They do get some props though for having a very nice Asparagus Strata = )

    OH! Thanks to ROBERTA and her very nice friends for pointing out the place. Roberta even walked all the way with me from the other end of the shooting! THANKS ROBERTA!! = )

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  10. ok... my memory is coming back to me. I didn't actually pay for it before I was kicked out and I suppose I could have been a jerk and walked out at that point but the food was already prepared (and boxed grrr...) Oh well it was the right thing to do. They were probably in a hurry to go see JD = )

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  11. Okay, this is just TOO tantalizing now. What an exciting run-down of the shooting, Rod! I'm getting all jumpy just reading it! I've decided. I need to see this movie, like, now.

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  12. Great recap, Rod!

    I don't know if this has already been posted, but this was an interesting article about the filming in Oshkosh at the airport:

    http://www.eaa.org/news/2008/2008-04-17_public_enemies.asp

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  13. Thanks Rod for all the information it has been a blast. Why couldn't you guys go to the New Moon Cafe?
    Can't wait for Fridays adventure.

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  14. The cafe could be what we call a "Live Set" where they like to have like a barber or some customers come to the windows and look out as if they are really curious 1934 people. They will have "background actors" (Extras) standing around by the windows and the doors and all that, if you mean it is one of the storefronts that will be "Seen" by the camera in any of the shots.

    Moviestar

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  15. And, of course, i mentioned a few days ago that there was starting to be a lot of earthquakes, too!!! Well, there was a "Swarm" that lasted about 3 days up by Alaska and Reno, Nevada got several good ones, so everybody knows that Alaska and Reno are along the Pacific Tectonic Plate, and Reno and Illinois are along the North American Tectonic Plate. (The Western Half, actually)
    Expect to get more, yet around Illinois incase you were following this mornings Southern Illinois earthquake of about 5.3 Richters Magnitude!!!

    EQ Guy
    And Moviestar!

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  16. Have fun at Little Bohemia, there you are in the heart of real Dillinger action and that just gives me the chills. Will look forward to your posts.

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  17. Hey Earthquake guy... What is the largest earthquake to hit the midwest? Do you think the midwest will start getting more earthquakes like California does?

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  18. Hi Jenny, I'm from Indiana and felt the earthquake this morning. We had a 5.5 back in 1968 and a few here and there since but they were in the 2-4 range. The largest ever reported was in 1812. Of course, there was no way to measure it back then but it was said to make the Mississippi River run backwards and church bells rang in Boston so it must have been huge. Have had 6 aftershocks since this morning but only 1 was felt here. The others were too small.

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  19. Hello Rod,

    thanks a lot for your nice blog, your meticulous reporting and your "insider"-information.
    Perhaps you can get a little bit more news about Marion Cotillards´part.

    If you want you can also visit this site with information about the movie and Marion:
    http://www.cotillard.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=601

    Thanks and best regards

    JV

    P.S. Earthquake information:
    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/top10.php
    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/state_largest.php

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  20. Hi Rod

    Met you while you were standing around by the antique cars Mon morning without even knowing it was you. Heard you had a nice chat with my friends from AZ and CA. Too bad I had to leave town Wed night. Oshkosh was a blast! Lots of nice folks in WI.

    Great info once again on your blog.

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  21. Yep, I felt the earthquake too. Rod, sounds like you got to witness some awesome scenes Thursday! Decided not to drive up to Oshkosh today... sounds like with indoor shooting that was a good choice.

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  22. Rod, do you know for sure what days they will be filming in Manitish Waters? My sister and I are planning a road trip.

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  23. Rod, those gunfights sound awesome(to be as "bored" as you *sigh*) I don't know if I can wait to see this movie either!!! Makes me want to take a trip to see Little Bo this summer.

    Finished the PE book and looking forward to the history channel special on Saturday.

    Getting excited about coming back to Columbus on the 29th....

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  24. Yes, as DeppFan just mentioned..

    There is a special on this History channel tomorrow night from 7:00p.m. - 9:00p.m.CDT entitled "Crime Wave: 18 Months of Mayhem" It is on from 7:00p.m. - 9:00p.m. CDT. Here's the description: "A 1930's crime spree gives rise to the creation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, when people like John Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, and Bonnie and Clyde often had technological advantages over local police."

    It sounds really good. I have my TIVO ready to record.

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  25. oh, i'm so bummed. i don't have the history channel anymore = (

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  26. Jenny, that History Channel special is worth looking at. Tape it!! It is 8:45 P.M. Fri. eve. My wife just called and said she got to hold "Both" of his hands. I told her to take a t shirt down there with "Gonzo" on it , he noticed!! She is a Grandmother of 6. She is nuts, but I love her.

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  27. Rod,
    Great post, you make a good wheelman. Hope we can chase gangsters again soon.

    Scott

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  28. Rod-again enjoyed your account--love the way you write.

    I recommend the History Channel show---it's excellent. I'll be watching it again tomorrow.

    Sounds like the area came through that earthquake well, thank goodness. Living in Cali, it's a good reminder for me to check my eartquake supply container.

    Thanks for all the great news about the filming---enjoying it from afar.

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  29. Is it true that they have to flim into sat and sun because of friday's rain? Or are they all going up to Manitowish for sure on sat???

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  30. Mr. Depp's plane flew over my home at around 8ish this evening heading back to CA. What a great time having him in Oshkosh this week.

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  31. Anonymous, why Gonzo??? Any special meaning, or just different??

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  32. Gonzo refers to Hunter S. Thompson's style of journalism. JD played HST in "Fear & Loathing" and was a friend of his as well.

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  33. anon@12:38am:

    It actually didn't really rain here on Friday until the middle of the night (I think - my deck was wet this morning). As lynn said - Johnny flew out of Oshkosh probably between 9-9:30 last night after he finished the meet and greet.

    I know some of the crew is now off until filming begins in Manitowish Waters (which according to Rod's blog is next Friday), but I'm sure some of them are on their way there right now. They were tearing down base camp last night as we waited for Johnny.

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  34. For the Oshburgers: has the big let-down set in yet? All the hype, excitement, press, famous people, and then, suddenly nothing.

    I'm feeling it AGAIN. First Columbus, now Oshkosh.

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  35. OK, here is my nit pick on the cosutmes. I was an extra Fri at the airport and they were very particular about being clean shaven, having your sideburns, just so, etc and they even put powder makeup on my scalp to give my white walls some color ;-)

    Looking thru the pics, I saw some of the guys who were photographers w/ me wearing the exact same clothes they wore that night on Mon or Wed, Thurs, Fri. You'd think they's switch up just a bit? Maybe they were too far out of the scene to be noticed?

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