Okay, I'm going to try my hardest to remember everything that happened while on location with David Duchovny. I worked a couple LONG days and was there for a total of a little over 26 hours. It was all worth it though!
My call time on Tuesday morning was 5:A00am. Which meant if I wanted to arrive camera ready and on time I had to get up at 3:00am. The filming was at Cal State Fullerton in the gym. The scene was at a Volleyball game (I believe it was a championship) where David Duchovny (Ira) comes to tell Coach Orlando Jones (Harry) that he found some sort of alien life. Because the shoot was so big (about 1,000 or more extras showed up) it was hard to hear the dialogue, but one of the AD's briefed us before we took our places. We began to head to the gym at 7:00am and didn't begin filming until 7:30 or 8:00am if I remember correctly. David did not arrive right away, however. His stand in went through rehearsal after rehearsal so the director (Ivan Reitman) could get the shot he wanted.
After what seemed like forever David walked into the gym. He was wearing a gray Mulder tee-shirt (it's the only way I can describe it) and dark blue jeans. Once they began filming, however, he changed into a dark blue mock neck shirt with a brown sports coat. For the record, I liked the tee shirt better. I have seen him about 5 times before in person, but each time is still amazing. It's like your watching TV only he's really there, standing a couple feet away. All those who have had the opportunity to see the man in person will agree with me when I say that the TV set or movie screen does NOT do him justice. The man is gorgeous. To prove my point… I found a friend that I went to High School with at the shoot. I haven't seen her for many months, so it was odd running into her. Anyway, she knew I was a huge fan of David and would make fun of me for it. She told me before that she didn't think he was THAT good looking. Anyway… you should have seen her face when he walked into the room. Her mouth practically hung open. All she could say was, "He's hot." I just started laughing… It was great.
Also, I ended up finding some fellow X-Philes that I talked to previously over the Net. We had planned to try and find each other, but with only pictures to go by…. Trying to find a face in a crowd of 1,000 is kind of hard. But, luck had it that I ran into one of them in the restroom during a break. If you guys are reading this (you know who you are) it was a pleasure meeting you! Hopefully we can hook up again… maybe this time on an X-Files set!
All right, the scene went as follows: David, er… Ira entered from the side door during the middle of a play. (For the record, the Volleyball players tried hard, but they were a far cry from anything approaching talented.) He walked along the side of the bleachers. I was sitting second row and he was about 10 or so feet away when he walked into the gym. He ran across the side of the building and approached Coach Block (Harry), who was completely into the game, to tell him about the alien life that he found. Harry was busy coaching and didn't want to talk to Ira just yet, but Ira continued to drag him away. Finally a time out was called and Harry took a moment with him and by the end of the conversation was just as excited as Ira. Harry left Ira to go back and give a cheer with the team. In the background Ira jumped as the team did their cheer and was doing a little cheer of his own. (During one shot he yelled out, "Come on, get into it!" Now, during this shot a group of us found this to be highly amusing. I don't know how they will cut the shot to make it work, but if the movie continues on the way I observed over the past two days, then it should be a really funny movie. I believe, and this is only my impression, that David and Orlando play typical nerds who are obsessed with the possibility that they have discovered alien life and are going to be the first to study it.
Basically the shot I just described was the only scene they shot all day. It took about a minute and a half to do each take. I spent 15 hours on set that day and they only got about a minute of footage. It's crazy when you see what really goes into making movies and television.
One of the highlights of the day was when Ivan Reitman got on the microphone and began to direct the extras. It is not common for the director to do this. Usually the AD's will direct the background. At one point he came over to where I was sitting and began to smile and just say hello. He must be an amazing director to work with. If I were to ever "make it" I would jump at a chance to work with him. He is so patient, and just… different from normal directors. I don't know quite how to describe it.
During long breaks, when they had to set the camera at a different angle, they had a raffle for the extras. They gave us all tickets in the morning for this. Right before they began to draw out numbers, one of the AD's introduced the cast (David and Orlando) and the director to us. The winner of the raffle would receive an autographed Volleyball signed by David, Orlando, and Ivan. The winner would get to go meet the actors and they would sign it for them then. David and Orlando took turns pulling numbers (they gave away 3 in total if I remember correctly). I didn't win one, but those who did have something valuable on their hands if the movie goes over well. At one point David grabbed the microphone and said to all of us, "Actually, we're going to auction off some of Orlando's balls." Then Orlando took the mic and said, "Be careful, I only have two of them." The crowd found it amusing.
David stayed in the gym most of the time and I tried hard not to stare. The closest I think I got to him that day was about 10 or so feet. While working it's considered unprofessional to ask for autographs, so I didn't want to make him upset or anything. However, I really wanted him to sign this picture I have of him as "Bruce" from "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead"! I would have loved to see his reaction to that one!! I can't complain, though… I've met him before.
Oh, and during close ups David changed into sandals or went barefoot. During one take his sandal came off… he waited like a good actor until they said cut to put it back on. Also, sometimes he would toss a volleyball around with one of the AD's while the cameras were being set up. He was completely casual on set and appeared to get on really well with the crew and with Orlando.
During lunch they made an announcement that they needed 70 people for the next day. They needed blonde hair, blue-eyed type people to be students. I headed over to sign up and made it in time to get work the next day. I thought that the filming would be a lot better with only 70 (which is still a lot of people) rather than 1,000. After lunch we headed back to the gym and continued filming. We finally were able to head back to extra holding at 6:45pm… then came the line to get our vouchers singed… which took ages considering how many of us were there. To illustrate, I got to my car at 8:00pm. (David even got to leave earlier then we did—and he's paid more!!) While in line they told us that they needed an additional 90 people for the next day. At that point I was a little discouraged. With that many people it was bound to be a huge general background scene. I almost decided to tell them that I couldn't make it, but then realized I could use the money and David would be there, so I decided to go ahead and do it again. And am I ever happy that I did!!
When I got home that night there was a message on my answering machine. The casting agency called me to tell me that my call time was 5:30am and that I would play a café patron. Yeah, right in the same shot as David!! They only picked 10 of the first 70 for these parts and I was number 1 on the list!! I was ecstatic to say the least! But, the best part is still to come!
We headed over to the set at around the same time we did the day before. As I expected most of the extras were placed far away and were used as background motion. Then one of the AD's asked for some of the patrons. I raised my hand and he said to come with him. I followed and was placed one table away from the table David and Orlando would film the scene from. I had a front row seat! Then the AD pulled two more people and sat them at the same table. And that was it. He only used us three. Everyone else was used as background. I couldn't believe it! It was amazing. We rehearsed several times before David and Orlando arrived. All I was to do was pretend to study and nibble on a biscotti that the crew gave me.
We filmed at the Statue of David at Cal State Fullerton. (How appropriate, right?) It was an outdoor café scene that was created by the "Evolution" crew. When David and Orlando arrived it was on a golf cart. This was probably the closest I had gotten to him during both days. He walked right by my table and hung out for a while in my general area. David likes to roam around on set. He walks everywhere and messes with the crew, etc. When he first arrived he and Orlando were joking around and making voices. It obviously was an ongoing joke because they did it several times during the day. I couldn't make out what they were saying though. David also was chewing on a pink toothpick and drinking from a paper cup… It was juice of some sort, I think.
The scene went as follows: (I actually heard dialogue on this one!) Ira and Harry are sitting in a café and a student, Nadine, walks in to talk to Professor Block (Harry). Nadine is played by Kate Towne. She interrupts Ira and Harry while they're looking at flat worms (no doubt alien flat worms). She asks if she's passing and then notices the worms and informs the two men that they are breaking. Ira realizes that they're reproducing and immediately they forget Nadine and begin to stare again. Nadine asks again and Ira suggests that she get a "B+". Harry gives her a "B". Nadine leaves and they go back to discussing the organism. Special effects were on site that day and made the jar with the worms smoke… it was interesting watching the whole process. Also, Ira and Harry's half eaten food you see in the movie came that way. For every shot they did, Harry got a new half eaten meal to finish. Ira never touched his food during the scene. In fact, I think Harry starts eating Ira's food.
I made quite a few observations on this particular shoot because I was so close. First of all, David was wearing a blue flannel long sleeved shirt that was open. He had a gray long sleeved tee shirt underneath. I believe he was wearing blue jeans as well. The brown sport coat he had on the night before was hanging on his chair. I also was privileged to see his new tattoo, the one of the compass with "West" written on it. He got it after his daughter was born. It's on his left leg, right above the ankle.
During one of the takes Ivan Reitman said, "You can't move picture." David Duchovny immediately replied, "I like that quote. I like it a lot."
Once we got back from lunch they began filming from the opposite direction. They moved all the background to the other side of the set and gave them new directions to walk. I thought that they were finished with me, but one of the crewmembers came to get me because they still might need me. They ended up not using me again, but I got another front row seat for the rest of the day. By this time there was a crowd of people watching the filming. It was exciting knowing that I used to be one of those people. Now, I have a right to be on set. It was crazy thinking back… I mean, a year ago I would have laughed if someone told me I would get to do what I did yesterday.
Toward the end of the day I was watching one of the takes when I saw some papers fall to the ground. I looked at it and noticed it was a call sheet. I left it there for a while and when no one picked it up I decided to take a look. Not only was it a call sheet, but their sides too. I have part of the actual script… a couple scenes at least, including the one they filmed yesterday. One of the best parts is I believe they belong to Kate Towne. I'm not sure, but nevertheless… it's cool that I have them. One of the AD's even told me that I could keep them… so they're mine legally!
Around the same time I found the sides one of the extras fell and broke his leg. The paramedics had to come and take him to the hospital. It didn't stop production… but our prayers are with him hoping that he'll make a quick recovery.
The last time I saw David yesterday was when he was driving a golf cart back to his trailer. He and Orlando took turns several times that day driving… I think they were just doing it for fun. As he left one of the people in the crowd yelled out, "Hi David!" He said hello, then the fan said, "I can't wait to see your movie!" David replied, "Neither can I!" Then he was gone and I was wrapped for the night.
I have to say that the day was absolutely wonderful! It was a complete gift from God. He knew how much I wanted this and laid the way for me. I am so thankful for the opportunity! I don't think it could have gotten any more perfect… unless I actually had a role in the movie. :)
