Since I arrived

Wanted to give an update on the movie situation. There has been so much happening that I could write for days...but I'll try to summarize.

Week 1:
A few days in Memphis spending time with Sam, Mariet, & their baby William. Then I traveled to Mississippi to start meeting people working on the movie. Campbell was still down there, his last day would be Friday. I was fortunate enough to meet all the people that Campbell had told me about, and his boss told me that he could use me for a week in mid September. I was excited for the chance to be working on the movie...but I'd believe it when I saw it!

I also found my way to the casting office, where the two ladies casting all the extras looked at me like I was an answered prayer. Apparently they had been looking for a blonde guy to be a stand in. I didn't know that I was blonde, or what a stand in was, but I was willing to hear more.

The 3 days I spent there ended with Campbell and I finding ourselves in a stretch limo driving to Clarksdale to go to Morgan Freeman's bar "Ground Zero".

That weekend I went back to Memphis because it was Sam's birthday, and I didn't have any reason to stay in Mississippi. I was quite bothered by the fact that I had left there without any reason to be back until September 18th.

Week 2:
Labor Day Monday, and then Tuesday came around. I was pretty discouraged on Tuesday...I had no reason to go back to Mississippi. No where to stay, and no way to justify spending money on a motel. That's when I got a phone call from the casting office. They wanted me to be a stand in on Wednesday and Thursday. In probably the only time I've ever been at a loss for words in my life, here was the entire phone conversation:

Jenn: "Hi Steven, this is Jenn from casting, I'm calling to see if you'd like to be a stand in tomorrow and thursday?"
Steven: "yes"
Jenn: "Ok.... I'll e-mail you the details of where to be and when. I think your call time is 7am. Have you ever been a stand in before?"
Steven: "no"
Jenn: "Ok...well just get there a little early and ask one of the experienced stand ins what you need to be doing. Look forward to seeing you tomorrow."
-click.

I was dumbfounded. I just got offered a job to work on a movie. Nevermind the fact that I don't really know what a stand in does, what I'm supposed to wear, what a "call time" is. That's all secondary...I'm going to be working on a major motion picture...tomorrow.

A stand in is someone who takes the place of the actor while the rest of the crew is setting up the shot. You literally just sit/stand there while the camera crew focuses the cameras on you, the lighting crew gets the lighting right. The props crew puts food in front of you, etc. You get to watch the entire room move like a living organism from the center of their attention. It is fascinating.

Whenever they aren't doing a scene with your character(s) in it, you just wait till they need you. You read, listen to music, eat free (and awesome) food, play video games, whatever. What I chose to do, was just watch. Everything and Anything that I could watch. I'd often stand behind the producers and directors as they watched the film on the monitors...being careful not to get in anyone's way. Everyone there is working; they don't have time to chit chat.

Being a stand in was an incredible experience. You get all the benefit of watching how a movie is put together with VERY little responsibility. I was able to see jobs that I would like to do, and ones that I wouldn't. It was like a crash course in film making from a "fly on the wall" perspective.

That Thursday evening, after they finished shooting, I was praying for a reason to stay. A job, a social gathering, whatever. I just needed a reason not to go back to Memphis just yet. I was explaining my predicament to a friend on the phone, when I walked into a coffee shop and saw one of the actors. He was a guy that Campbell had put me in touch with, and we'd been trying to connect for the past few days. He asked what I was doing later (nothing of course) and invited me to come have a beer with him and some of the guys.

What I eventually found out was that "some of the guys" turned out to be 12-15 of the principal actors/actresses. I spent the next few hours meeting the people who are IN the movie. One of the actors is a Christian...and we had an awesome conversation. He's someone who I will undoubtedly keep in touch with.

I spent the night in Mississippi, and then headed back to Memphis the next day.

Week 3:
More of the same! I spoke with the casting office before I left the week before, and they asked me to stand in again on Thursday and Friday. It was a new location this time with a lot of outdoor shots. Once again I watched the magic happen as often as possible and spoke with people who are working on the movie as much as I could. I want to know what their lives are like working in the movie business.

I had been really looking for a place to stay if my time in Mississippi was to continue, but was fine with staying in a motel for the time being. One of the days that I was on set, I met one of the producers. He asked where I was from, how I was liking being on the movie, etc. When he found out that I came down from Colorado, he asked where I was staying. I told him, and he then offered a room in the house that they have. The room just opened up. I wasn't able to take the room at the time (because I was about to start work on the set crew) but I really hope it works out when I get back!

Ok...so that brings us to present day. Week 4. I started working on the set crew last Saturday. What a blessing it has been.

It's tough work, we've had some 12 hour days, and some late nights, but they've treated us really well. They paid for everyone to have their own hotel room, gave us "per diem" money for food and entertainment, and the hourly wage ain't too shabby. Not to mention overtime...

As I mentioned before, set dressers set up the scene before the filming begins at that location. We started with a soda fountain type drug store. We cleared everything out that we didn't need, labeled it, and boxed it up. Then we brought in all the old stuff (1960's paraphernalia) and got to work. I worked on a toy display, sewing display, front counter/cash register. Products on shelves, pills in the pharmacy...you name it I probably touched it.

This job is not for people who get discouraged easily. There were PLENTY of times when I'd spend 30 mins-1hr on some project only to have it moved 20 mins later. All the while, I was thinking about how little you will actually see of this on the silver screen. Maybe not at all. But none of that matters. It's all part of making the movie happen. They can't film there unless we do all those meticulous little things to make the set look incredible. You've got to make sure the pharmacy looks like a 1960's pharmacy...even if it's 30 feet behind the actors. It all matters...and none of it matters at the same time. What a crazy industry.

The next couple of days we continued to work on the drug store and we started a street. An entire street of window displays. A gas station, theater, bakery, paint shop, hardware store, dry cleaners, etc. 10 stores in all I believe.

So I've spent the past 7 days working my tail off setting up scenes, then they'd film it, and then we'd take it down. Today was our last day.

I was told that they only needed me for a week, but the boss asked if I wanted to work for another week. Yet another blessing. God has been so good in all of this.

Forgive the fact that I'm being candid, I'm not entirely sure how much information I'm allowed to share. Pretty sure that I can tell you that the movie I'm working on is called "The Help." It's based on a book by Kathryn Stockett. Check it out on IMDb: The Help

Thank you for all your encouraging words and prayers. I'll do my best to keep you posted.