JUNE 8, 1996... THE GARDEN PARTY SCENE

Quote of the day--

"Tell the extras that the guacamole is made of peas."
- Maria, First AD.

Saturday morning, and after showers washed out yesterday's filming of the garden party, the extras have all been called back, and the Hammonds' back yard is jumpin'.

I met a lot of the extras before when I helped out Marge and Wendell Moody with the casting for some minor roles a couple of weeks ago.

The Jim Cullum Jazz Band is set up and looking sharp on a stage that has been constructed in the corner of the garden. The band leader's bow tie shows his allegiance to the American flag. Fast Eddie, the drummer, taps out a Gene Krupa jungle rhythm which turns funky at the request of Austin Goss, the funky Gaffer man.

Maria calls for quiet on the set. Today, unlike yesterday, is a magical sunny day and there is excitement in the air as the Director peps up the extras so as to get the best performance from them with the minimum of takes. The sun filters through the canopy of green live oak leaves above. An air of suspense. The AD department tell the extras where to stand and how to act.

"What ever you do, don't stare at the camera."

Apparently, in L.A there are professional extras who do this type of work for a living. A job that is often laborious with long periods of waiting around. The San Antonio extras all seem fresh and interested, which adds to the excitement of the day. A request for the extras to be seated in the shade for their comfort at the back of the house.

One of the PA's walks around with two pieces of wood and strikes them together in attempt to get the birds to stop talking while the sound is rolling. He doesn't seem to be having much luck. Probably due to the fact that after feeling unthreatened for so many years a couple of sticks banging won't mean shit. They keep singing away.

Celeste Holm arrives on set. The woman has the most beautiful eyes.

Scott Land, the creator of the marionette, is on set. His puppets play a big role as Fletcher is a street performer who uses the marionettes as his act.

Jim, the Director, gives his final thoughts on the scene before standing back behind the scaffolding that has been built for a second camera. He calls for the music playback, and Fast Eddie kicks in on the drums and catches up with the recording made at M studios.

"Action..." and the extras go into miming a party. Talking, laughing, drinking and eating. This all stops when the band leader, Jim Cullum, announces to the partygoers that Fletcher's grandmother Ida shall be performing a tune on her tuba. This announcement is greeted by much applause and Celeste Holm makes her way up to the stage.

"Playback." The Berceuse seeps once again from the speakers, and the band and Celeste mime along.

Later in the day, Fletcher performs for the children at the garden party with a puppet made out of odds and ends by Scott Land. Brendan actually picked it up really well. I look forward to seeing this scene on the big screen when "Still Breathing" is released.


During lunch today, Evan Christopher, the clarinettist, and I sat at the piano in the garden and I played him a few of my tunes. We are going to go in to The Landing on Sunday to record a duet of "You're Still Breathing" and "Leave the Keys to Your Heart at the Door," two songs I'd written. Byron said he'd come in and record it to DAT for us. I look forward to playing with Evan. He is a champion musician and performer.

Today was one of the best days of my trip so far.