The Hollywood Bug Bit Me!

Due to confidentiality agreements with Fox I can’t really say anything about working on the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter movie set this past week until the release date next year, but I can say that I have never been a part of something quite like this before and now really want to do it again. I don’t care if it is for another Civil War movie (of which we were told our unit will probably be asked to do more), or just a regular Hollywood film that I have to audition for. I want more. I want to be on set with the director, producers, camera crews, special effects personnel, production assistants, actors, extras, and craft service people, etc, and watch as scenes are collected in an incomprehensible order that will only make sense once the entire film is pieced together. I want to finish filming a scene and hear the director yell, ‘back to one!’ as we get ready to do another take, and then, once that is wrapped, watch as all the different crews come together to set everything up for the next scene. I want to walk back into the hotel after a long days work and have the staff behind the counter curiously ask us about our day, and then to sit in the hot tub later and watch as a big shot production guy comes in to join in a soak (or, as one of my friends had happen, pull some wet laundry out of a machine so he could wash his own clothes just as an important movie guy walks in and jokes about how his assistant is supposed to take care of stuff like that). Most of all I want to stand around between takes and stare in awe at just how much work goes into creating a single movie moment that probably will only last twenty to thirty seconds on screen. Never before had I realized just how much work goes into every shot. Behind the scenes footage on DVDs and special TV documentary programs don’t do it justice. The things these crews do on a day to day basis is amazing.

Another thing that I really liked about working on this movie was how friendly and fun everyone was. Now I know this aspect probably varies from movie to movie as different crews come and go, and there are probably movie sets where everyone seems like they are at the breaking point and ready to kill each other, but that wasn’t the case on this set. Everyone always seemed like they were having a good time and that helped put movie virgins like me at ease. I never feared the consequences of making a mistake because I knew doing so would simply result in being showed how to do the scene correctly rather than being yelled at and made to look like a fool. I also didn’t hesitate to get in line for food whenever a snack area was set up or to ask questions if I was confused about something or to just chit chat with the more experienced Hollywood people during a break. It was great. I felt like I belonged and enjoyed my time so much that I want to do it again. Of course I don’t know much about the movie making business, or really what my next step should be in order to try and get parts in other films, but figure where there is a will there is a way. I also made contact with a lot of people that do this for a living who I know would probably help explain things to me if asked, which is nice and kind of reminds me what it was like when I first started sending short stories to magazines. Most of the editors back then simply sent form rejections letters that didn’t even have my name on them, but others corresponded with me and helped guide me until I knew what needed to be done in order to make my sought after career a reality. Most likely the same will be true of this industry. Now I just have to jump in and find out. If nothing else it will be an interesting journey.

One other thing before I shut up for a year about this film. From what I saw during my time on set (six days) I can honestly say I am looking forward to seeing this movie in theaters next year. Even if for some reason all the scenes I was in are cut and my name doesn’t appear in the credits anywhere I think I will enjoy this one. It just felt like it worked. And this is coming from someone who takes their history very seriously and gazed in horror at the book this movie was produced from years ago when on the self in the bookstore. Even better many of my fellow reenactors that were hired for this film and went down with me are saying the same thing. Let the countdown begin.