Day Eight

I knew in advance that my last work on the film would be a night shoot, so I was surprised when my call time for January 31st, 2008 was set for 3pm.  I was shuttled over to a different section of Langley AFB where all of the trailers had been moved to form a new base camp.  And Alie told me to get into costume and head over to hair and make-up as soon as I arrived.

No sooner was I ready than I was driven over to the immense hanger where we would be shooting the night scene in a few hours.  I was greeted by director Richard Kelly inside the hanger and we quickly shot an unscripted scene along with my Boston friends Dr. Y and Dr. Z.  Like so many other off the cuff ideas, this one did not make it into the movie.

I had some time to wander around inside the hanger, which had served as another training site for Apollo astronauts back in the 60's and 70's.  There is even a picture of the Earth on the back wall that is actual size as it would appear from the surface of the moon for reference.  As I was marveling at all of this, the A camera operator Jody Miller took the opportunity to compliment me on my work throughout the production.  It was a very gratifying moment.

Upon returning to my half-trailer, I had a lot of time to kill.  I could hear that whoever was in the other half of the trailer was watching a DVD.  When I was summoned out, I learned that it was no other than James Rebhorn, who immediately informed me, "I just saw you - I'm watching Gone Baby Gone."  Honestly, what were the odds of that?

We were shuttled back over to the hanger where all was in readiness.  In the shot, Jim and I stood out on the tarmac and then ran to the hanger when James Marsden emerged from it and dozens of black ops surrounded him.  There were many moving parts in the scene and many angles had to be shot before the night was through.  As usual, there was a lot of time simply standing around and, though we were dressed in layers, it was quite cold out there with a stiff breeze blowing across the tarmac.

During one particularly long delay, Jim and I popped into a shuttle which was idling nearby so we could warm up.  Being the naturally gregarious person that he was, Jim struck up a conversation with the driver.  Suddenly, I noticed a lot of movement outside and said, "I think we're supposed to be out there."  There followed a very loud cry of, "Cut!  Where are they?"  With our tails between our legs, we hurried out to our marks, apologized and got ready for another take.  Immediately after that take, we heard some loud, good-natured ribbing coming from the area of the monitors.  "How was that?"  "Much better with the actors in the shot."

When all was done and we were wrapped for the night, I made a point of heading over to Richard to thank him for casting me and tell him what an extraordinary experience it had been to work on his film.  He seemed confused as I shook his hand, and he asked me, "Don't I have you tomorrow?"  Then, he turned to our 1st Assistant Director Dieter Busch and said, "I need him tomorrow."  My adventure was not over yet.

Upon my return to the Guest Quarters, I stopped at the front desk and informed them that I would not be checking out the next day as planned.  I also had to get in touch with the production office to change my flight.  As for my wife Jane, it was much too late to call her.  I would have to let her know in the morning.