Our movie writer goes behind the scenes of ‘The Cooler’

Forrest Hartman
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
5/16/2002 03:17 pm

Fourteen hours on a set, and you might catch a glimpse of me in an upcoming film starring Alec Baldwin and William H. Macy.

Of course, the key word is “might.”

Even real actors can wind up on the cutting room floor, so it’s understood that the folks producing “The Cooler” aren’t going to make an exception for me . . . a mere extra.

If you missed the quiet, Hollywood buzz floating around town this month, don’t feel bad. Producers of “The Cooler” — the working title of a picture that started filming at the Golden Phoenix in late April — went out of their way to keep things hush-hush. Word is, they didn’t want media or rabid fans interrupting a 20-day shooting schedule, which ended this week.

Among the production companies involved is Gryphon Films, a Hollywood-based outfit owned, in part, by Robert Gryphon of Incline Village. Gryphon and partner Brett Morrison say they’re interested in fine-tuning the film industry in an effort to make movies with high production value at conservative budgets, and that’s what “The Cooler” is intended to be.

“This is a studio quality independent film,” Gryphon said. “I probably read one percent of the scripts (Brett) reads, maybe five percent. This one I looked at and said immediately, ‘I agree. This is going to be a hot project.”

During shooting, Gryphon and the many others involved allowed me to not only check things out, but take part in the project. I was one of several hundred locals who showed up for a Nevada Casting cattle call April 13. After a Polaroid photo, a brief lecture and a few handshakes, I was in the system. Who knew it was so easy to become a star?

Although Reno isn’t exactly Hollywood North, this area draws some film projects. Many of them need bodies. So it’s fairly simple for the everyday Joe to get a taste of the movie biz.

Curious about the “extra experience,” I decided to take a break from writing about movies and actually make one. As it turned out, my experience not only gave me a taste of life in front of the camera but reaffirmed my career choice. Anyone who thinks the movie industry is all glamour should memorize this axiom: Watching movies is exciting; making them is tedium.

I say this fully aware that I was lucky. That means I got a 7:30 a.m. call to the Phoenix instead of the 5:30 a.m. wake-up some folks got. I also nabbed the coveted job of a “featured extra,” which is one step shy of a real actor.

Although the majority of extras serve as little more than wallpaper, featured extras actually get to do something. In my case, I got to break up a fight and help escort a bloodied casino patron away from a craps table. That is, I got to do it after seven or eight hours of doing nothing.

Other extras told me this is typical.

“It’s kind of like the military, the hurry up and wait syndrome,” said Tom Darby. “One of the things that happens is you wait around for hours, then at the last moment there’s a big push to get everything done.”

Darby was also an extra on the Clint Eastwood film “Pink Cadillac,” the Whoopi Goldberg hit “Sister Act,” an episode of the “Starman” television series and “Return of the Jedi.” As fate would have it, you can’t see him in any of those films.

“I’ve always ended up on the floor,” he said.

Darby, a Reno Hilton security guard, plays a card dealer in “The Cooler.” I play a security guard.

Few extras work because they need the paycheck. Nevada Casting warns, up front, that the money isn’t great. On “The Cooler,” for example, the majority of extras made minimum wage. Featured extras, like myself, were paid about $75 for the first eight hours and extras hired because they have special abilities, like dealing cards, made $100. After eight hours, the pay increases, but we still aren’t talking megabucks.

That means people participate because they like acting, they want to catch a glimpse of their favorite stars or they want to see what a movie set is like. These are all good reasons, and on “The Cooler,” people got what they came for.

The movie features not only Baldwin and Macy but “Coyote Ugly” star Maria Bello and veteran character actor Paul Sorvino.

Macy reportedly plays a man so unlucky that his bad vibes spread to those around him. Baldwin plays a casino owner who hires him to break winning streaks.

The day I was on set, extras got plenty of opportunity to watch the stars work, something that’s a particular thrill with an actor like Macy. With one scene in particular, we watched Macy twist the script and his character until both became better than before.

Extras are asked not to pester the stars, but if they strike up a conversation with you that’s a whole different game. I got nothing more than polite ‘hellos’ and ‘thank yous,’ but some folks actually found themselves in full-fledged discussions.

Bill Thompson said he talked to Macy on several occasions.

“We’d be standing in the same area waiting for the crew to do something,” Thompson said. “He was very friendly.”

The one thing that extras are guaranteed is the chance to see how movies are filmed. Even if your sole job is to walk past a blackjack table, you can’t help but learn something about the framing, lighting and anatomy of a scene.

For extras, that’s priceless. As is scanning the finished product to see if their hand or leg breaks into a frame at a key moment.

When “The Cooler” reaches theaters, you can bet I’ll join the other hopefuls, gleefully looking for a shot of myself. You’ll recognize me. I’ll be in that blur in the back suit. The one that whizzes by right before Alec Baldwin walks in.

GETTING INVOLVED

If you’re interested in becoming an extra for upcoming northern Nevada film projects, contact Nevada Casting at 322-8187.

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