The Backgrounder, Part II

OK, so here's the rest of the story - Part II of Matt's Movie Adventure.
Like any good sequel, it promises to be shorter, with more pictures and maybe a celebrity cameo here and there. Unlike most sequels this will be more exciting than The Original.
If you need to catch up, first Matt was rejected by Johnny Depp, then mocked with Johnny Depp, then embraced (figuratively) by Johnny Depp's people, before the first day of shooting.

So, Matt returned for the second day of shooting, which promised to be more exciting, since it was at the Biograph. For those of you who don't know - spoiler alert! - John Dillinger got shot outside the Biograph Theater on July 22, 1934.
That little fact made Matt excited about this shoot for two reasons:
- The two big stars (Depp, Christian Bale) were probably going to be there.
- This scene was probably not going to get cut from The Movie.
Matt had a strategy this time. On the first shoot, Matt kept ending up just outside of the group that was picked to do something interesting - like walk past the real stars, or get a shoe shine next to Christian Bale.

The assistant director would say, "you you you you and you come with me." And they'd pick everyone standing right around Matt. Or they'd ask for a group of 10 people, Matt would walk over and be the 11th. It starts to give a guy a complex.

So on Day Two, Matt was ready. He would be on alert for any chance to get in the action. Or to even hear someone say action.

After calling in the secret number at a secret time (no joke - it was like a spy code to find out where you were supposed to be, when) at 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 23, Matt reported to Brookfield Zoo, where he caught a studio shuttle over to DePaul's gymnasium for costuming. The gym had been divided into two areas. On one side was a holding area for people waiting to go on set. On the other side was an Army of hair stylists.

Matt got another trim, got his "summer" costume (same as the winter, but no jacket, hat or tie) and was ready to go by probably 7 p.m.

Next up was props and they had some good ones. At the train scene people got tickets or suitcases, at the theater they had umbrellas, bags of candy, pipes, eyeglasses, programs, etc. Matt got a newspaper to carry. (All the headlines were authentic, but the words were gibberish - just like a real paper!) A newspaper man carrying a newspaper? Could it be a sign? Were things lining up for Matt?

Next, it was off to the Biograph Theater on Lincoln. The crew had shut down the street and turned it into a 1930s scene. It was moments like this when you get a feel for how big of a production a movie really is. You know about the director, the actors. But there's literally hundreds of other people working on a movie set, and probably hundreds more back in the office.

The crew had laid down rubber road with rubber trolley rails. All the store fronts - including a CVS - had been changed to barber shops, hat stores, etc. This guy and this guy took a bunch of great pictures of the street.

Then, all the Backgrounders were sent to a Mexican restaurant to wait. And wait. And wait. Until it was dark. By then (around 9 p.m.) it was also cold. This was a problem because the scene was supposed to be a sweltering hot summer day. That's why they call it acting, folks!

With his sleeves rolled up, collar open and breath visible, Matt would steel himself to stop the shivering before each shot. This time Matt got paired up with a random guy to play "Guys walking away from the theater."

And so, Matt and Walking Guy played this scene over and over and over. They were fairly close to the theater when they'd start walking so there's a chance they might be in the shot. But there were no Stars out there and, again, Matt had no idea how the shot fit into The Movie, so who knows. Still, they walked. And walked.

The time was a little more enjoyable because Walking Guy was a film student who said he had been a co-star in a $2 million independent movie called St. Petersburg or Randomosity. (A later Google search by Matt would cast doubt on this story. Walking Guy also said his girlfriend was a model, but in the surreal setting of walking down a 1930s summer street on a 2008 cold night, it seemed to make sense.)

True or not, Walking Guy's stories were just fine for passing the time because he knew all sorts of movie names for regular things. Like "stingers" are extension cords and "C-47s" are clothes pins. (Why they need clothes pins to make a movie, is still a bit of a mystery.) Walking Guy even had an elaborate, slightly off-color story on why they're called C-47's but since he may have made it all up, we'll leave that for another time.

And, still, they walked.

They walked so many times that Matt and Walking Guy started to make up back stories for their characters to pass the time. Matt and Walking Guy were old college friends, who gone to the local bar to catch up. Matt was playing Patchee Barnes, a supervisor for the Tollway Authority who seemed to dress a little too nice for his pay scale. Was he skimming a little off the top?

Walking Guy played Ralph, a local math professor who - besides secretly lusting after Patchee's wife - was concerned that one of his pupil's research into the theory of infinity was surpassing even his own impressive work. It was all very existential and a great way to forget how very cold it was.

And, still, they walked, even as the road choked with the exhaust of Model T's rumbling through the scene. Ralph and Patchee would walk so far they never knew when the scene was over. It was like being a security guard at the Super Bowl, with great seats close the action, but you're facing the wrong way.

Every once in a while all the Backgrounders would get to duck into the theater lobby to warm up. That was where all the Backgrounders were sitting - hungry, cold, tired - during a particularly long break around 1 a.m. As most stared silently into space, a guy in a straw hat walked by. Matt looked him in the eye, then wondered if they'd ever serve dinner.

"That was Johnny Depp," said Ralph, the possible liar, as the door closed.
Indeed as several ladies started to hyperventilate it became clear that it had been Johnny. He was wearing a straw hat and funny little mustache. Matt had looked right at him -nearly made eye contact with the guy from two feet away - and never recognized one his favorite actors. Matt had missed his Star Sighting. Coming back with Billy Crudup last time was cool, but everyone wanted a Johnny sighting. Heck, Matt wanted a Johnny sighting. (Click here to see Johnny. Maybe you can understand why he was tough to ID.)

That near miss woke Matt up a bit, but it was to no avail. All the Backgrounders were sent back to the Mexican restaurant (which had a false front nailed over pinatas decorating the real windows) for dinner. Matt lined up with everyone else when a crew member suddenly said, "We need 30 people for this scene." Matt rushed over. He was #31.

No problem, there will be other chances, Matt thought. And every once in a while someone would pop in to announce they needed one more person. Matt would jump up, a second too late. By now, it was 2 a.m. and Matt was really tired. Still, he was determined to stay up. Since he was here anyhow, he might as well get in the movie. Then, at about 3 a.m., they started collecting everyone's props.

Matt slipped out between takes and stood in the background. About 15 feet in front of him, getting a makeup check was Johnny. Ralph was walking right past him in the scene! (Surely, he'll later tell others he was the co-star.) Matt couldn't help but be jealous.

He had never been anywhere near one scene with a star in it. Matt never expected to see himself in the movie, but he wanted to watch how a real movie scene is shot, hear a director give instructions. It didn't look like that was going to happen. Matt went back inside, propped himself up in a booth decorated with festive cacti and started to plan the drive home.

Then, out of nowhere, they needed 10 people. Matt ran like he was on fire. He followed an assistant director right through the main set, until they were across from the Biograph. Unexpectedly, Matt ended up standing right next to Academy Award nominated director (for The Insider, an awesome journalism movie) Michael Mann. And 10 feet ahead was Christian Bale. Holy lucky placements, it was Batman! The American Psycho! (Also, oddly, he's going to star in Killing Pablo, the very book Matt had been reading to fill the hours on set.)

From where Matt was standing, he could look at the screen Mann was watching. In other words Matt got the first viewing of how it will look on the big screen . Matt could see as Mann positioned actors in the frame, and heard him give instructions. In the scene, Bale - as FBI director Melvin Purvis - gives the signal to his G-Men to spread out.

Finally, Matt had his elusive bit of Movie Magic. Worth every blister, every shiver and definitely worth stealing all those nickels from the Toll Booths.

By now, the sun was rising and people were running around like crazy trying to get the shot before it got too light. The Backgrounders had to walk past the agents and Matt ended up right next to Bale at few times.

By 5:30 a.m., it was a wrap - they really say that - and by 7 a.m., Matt was on the road. He drove to Lynne's house - who was already up, getting ready for her bachelor party by then - and crashed for about two hours before Alex arrived for Matt's bachelor party. Sleep is for suckers and non-Movie Stars.

It's not something he wants to do every weekend (especially not the night before a bachelor party) but Matt would definitely consider being a Backgrounder again. In fact, the Extras Company called Matt - while he was still napping - to beg him to come in Tuesday through Saturday for overnight shoots. Being on a movie set was fantastic, but Matt will keep his day job.

OK, so you want to know: Will you be able to see Matt in the movie? If you buy the DVD...and play it frame-by-frame....there's still almost no chance you'll see even the back of Matt's head.

But so what? Guarantee: Matt will be there in July 2009 when the movie opens, waiting to see Melvin Purvis give the signal to his agents.

Then Matt'll lean over and to they guy next to him and say, "Yeah, I kept on eye on Mann while he was shooting this scene, just to make sure I liked the way it looked." And the guy next to Matt will undoubtedly say, "Aren't you Patchee Barnes? I love your work."

Total movie haul: Twenty five hours of shooting, two free haircuts, three celebrity sightings, one small case of frostbite, one foot blister, one fake paper (returned), one validated parking, two free meals and a great - albeit long - story.