Cleveland turned into Hollywood on the Lake this summer. I even saw a blonde woman driving her Maserati convertible the other day. But no paparazzi in pursuit. I used the opportunity to appear as a background extra in downtown Cleveland filming. I ended the month of July in a legal proceeding at Lakeside Courthouse and then 30 days later filming a lavishly appointed interior scene in the courthouse. The main rotunda stood in for a German museum and the authenticity of the set made me forget in which city I was residing.
Once contacted by Marvel Casting I began the process with a fitting in the Halle Building. Driving downtown I thought of my grandfather, Peter Turner, a Galician immigrant, who moved his family to Hollywood in 1924, so that he could establish a career in the growing movie business. Since he died two months after the 1929 stock market crash, he never would have imagined that the film industry became a mobile enterprise, with filming all over the world. The Halle Building is where I began my professional life and riding the main elevators always brought back fond memories of a delightful time. Although we were instructed to bring some items from our own wardrobe, the costume department had amazing resources of designer clothing for men and women. Apparently all were rented, a business model of which I was unaware.
I was fitted into a comfortable bluish gray evening gown, matching bra, shoes and jewelry. The pumps wound up being problematic when we were required to do a lot of running, but the dress hid the requisitioned knee pads that we all used during a pivotal scene. In some ways the idle time (plenty of it) can be compared to temporarily residing in a monastery. Cell phone use is discouraged and embargoed on set. An unhurried environment with no music, but quiet conversations, introspective discussions and shared observations were sprinkled with laughter. Each cast member, the majority thespians or want-to-bes, had a strong personality and aspirations for celebrity. The attractive, responsible participants each displayed a distinct personality, aided by the wardrobe, hair and makeup crews.
The assistants to the 1st and 2nd unit directors matched up make believe couples and dressed each performer to represent an imaginary characterization. The Guys and Dolls: Within a couple of hours of congregating in the holding area, the women could have been mistaken for sorority sisters, with dozens of new friends, knowing each others’ first names. The men took quite a bit longer, were less demonstrative, however bonds were formed. There was a prevalence of tattoos on extras and crew and I guess this has become a generational identifier. I’m anticipating attending a high school reunion this weekend and will be very surprised to see any tattoos among my classmates. The costumers had fun dressing people as various uncredited characters. Some creations were a German aesthete with horn rimmed glasses, silver hair, goatee, ascot, a leather attired, combat boot wearing young man with Mohawk haircut and a statuesque woman, actually portrayed by Helma from Stuttgart, wearing a gorgeous Scarlett O’Hara green Alexander McQueen three piece ensemble.
Since we became Marvel Entertainment contracted workers, we each had to sign a confidentiality agreement, so that all plot, character details remained secret. We even had a code name, Group Hug, used on all display signs directing us to parking lots and location meeting places. Readers of the Avengers comic books are devotedly familiar with the heroes and villains, but realize that the screenwriters will take some liberties with the story. And the local newspapers covered the month long filming, divulging some location details and speculating on action sequences. But serious leaks and YouTube postings weren’t tolerated and resulted in firings of a few extras. There were court ordered eliminations from media sites. I’m intimidated enough to not provide any more information here and will delight in discovering with the audience the final plot elements when the film is released next spring. Intimidation of Nigel by crew members and actors alike was one of the first observances of the group. As professionals we were expected to follow the direction and vision of those in charge of our appearance and action. Nigel is a discerning, exacting costumer and visionary. Think of Simon Cowell with an Irish accent. He dictates final decisions about how glittery the earrings, whether or not the hair is worn down or in an up-to, who within the background plays which fictitious role.
I got reprimanded the first nite for allowing my gown’s hem to get wet. This was unavoidable since the crew continually hoses down the sidewalk to create a sparkling cinematic effect. Puddles were everywhere, making the sidewalk slippery for running from evil comic book villains. This “drill sergeant” abuse is due to the incredible fear of losing points with Nigel. My silk shawl had become so wrinkled that Nigel accused me of “sleeping” with it. His female counter point, a tall severe English woman, matched up couples on the last nite of the shoot, when many of our original partners had become absent from the group. She had a remarkable instinct for recreating realism and men and women instantly starting acting as if romantic companions. One couple looked so much alike I thought that they might be siblings.
My original “date” wound up being a Rod Taylor look alike in a white dinner jacket, without the Australian accent. Fortunately he lifted me up over the cable wires, helping me navigate the red carpet and treacherous obstacle course of electric cables. One woman extra fell and showed up the next day with crutches. Most of us had blisters and knee bruises from the demanding physical action and uncomfortable footwear. I learned that my “date” for the last evening shoot, Slovenian Dan, also began his career as a stock boy at Halle’s Downtown store and we had other early experiences in common. I believe that our English accented handler had superb intuition skills.
The main wrangler for the extras was a Jack Black look alike, and an even stronger resemblance in voice and attitude. I began referring to him as JB, although his nickname was the same as a 50’s candy dispenser. I found it most entertaining to watch the professional crew and each of their duties with sound and lighting equipment. I often remain to read the credits after a movie and wonder about each of their responsibilities. Their proficiency was evident and unglamorous. It’s pretty easy to recognize the directors as the ones wearing caps, long Bermudas and the males often have facial hair. Our 1st unit director who also co-wrote the screenplay of the Avengers looked like he could be Ron Howard’s kid brother.
I loved getting to know the hair and makeup staff people. The woman from LA who became my exclusive hairstylist told me about her musician boyfriend whose cousin is Mayor of Montego Bay, Jamaica. With grown children, she’s planning to move with him to S. Africa. She and her mother are a working hair duo from the Culver City neighborhood and she recommended some of the new television shows on which they’ve worked. Outdoor locations depend on cooperative nature. The third night of filming went fine until 5:00 A.M. when a huge thunderstorm approached. We huddled in the onset holding area for awhile until it was evident that the rain wouldn’t let up. We were shuttled via minivan back to the Main Holding building and 90 minutes later were released and told to expect shooting to resume in two days. Some were disappointed but the majority welcomed a day of reprieve to catch up on sleep. Most people had only gotten 3 to 4 hours the night before and some people had even worked at their regular day job after 15 hours on set time. Our lessons proved that movie work is exhausting but has entertaining benefits.
