The Saga of Maroon and the movie One True Thing
back in September of 1997

Several years ago at a car show someone put a flyer in our street rod for a company called Picture Cars that places cars in movies, TV shows, commercials and magazine ads. Because the flyer was on the crude side I didn't take it very seriously, but I figured, 'what the heck', filled out the form and sent it in along with pictures of Screaming Mimi, The Jersey Devil and Maroon Afternoon (which was the extent of our stable at the time). I didn't hear anything from the company, and soon forgot completely about the whole thing.

Then, out of the blue, at about 4:30 PM on Monday, September 29, 1997, I got a call from Dina at Picture Cars asking me if I could get the '67 Vette up to Princeton University on Tuesday to be in a movie being shot there called One True Thing. She tells me that they'll pay $200 for the car and I'll get another $100 for driving the car. It wasn't the money that made me say, "Yeah, OK," but the kick of having my 'Vette in a major  movie.

MAROON WITH PROP NY PLATES MOUNTED

I asked her for more info about the picture, but all she knew was that Meryll Streep and John Hurd are starring in it and the Prince-ton shoot was for a flashback sequence to 1969 so they needed period cars of that era. She gave me the mobile phone number of the unit set director and told me where to bring the car the next morning. at 7AM. Unlike going to a car show, Dina tells me that I don't have to wash or polish the car - the set decorators will do whatever is necessary and confides that it may be a "scene stealer" (something that takes the attention of the audience away from the focal point of the scene) if it looks too good.
 

   
    PROP NY INSPECTION STICKER

At 5AM on Tuesday Liz and I are pushing the 'Vette out of the garage so as to not wake the rest of the household. At the end of the driveway, I turn the key and the 427 comes to life as the side exhausts give off a healthy, low-pitched rumble while the car idles to warm up. Liz and I busily pack a still camera, video camera, mobile phone, notebook computer, thermal bags with soda and sandwiches, the cigarette- lighter-powered vacuum cleaner and other odds and ends that will make it possible to spend the day away from our business without losing contact with clients while on the set. By 5:15 we have our Wawa coffees in hand and we're on our way to Princeton in the dark.
 

 
SETTING UP A DOLLY SHOT - MAROON IN BACKGROUND

At 6:30 we arrive in Parking Lot "G" of the University grounds, as we were instructed by Dina, and a young fellow wearing a pocket badge with "One TT" on it directs us to go directly to the set on University Place. He tells us we can't miss it - we'll see the wardrobe trucks there and tells us how to get there. To
make a long story short, his directions stink big time and we ride around for about a half-hour before coming back to him. By now I blood in my eyes and I'm thinking of inserting his walkie-talkie into one of his bodily orifices. Liz admonishes me to "be nice" and I tell this fellow that his directions put us back on Route 1 instead of University Place. He apologizes and tells us that he told us to take a right instead of a left.

This time the directions are correct. University Place is lined with huge trailers containing wardrobe, props, lighting, camera gear, generators and all kinds of other equipment; and there is a small army of people making up the film crew and "production assistants" (go-fors and lackies). We find the vehicle set production assistant, a personable fellow named Chris, who tells us to park the car and get a bit of breakfast since the first scene won't be set up for about another hour. He points out the two catering trucks, one on either side of the street, and advises us that there's another caterer inside the church building on the campus that's being used as a temporary holding area for the extras.

EXTRAS IN PERIOD GARB WAITING FOR "ACTION"

 
 I decided to get a cup of coffee, but I didn't feel like eating anything yet. I asked the guy in the truck how much I owed him for the coffee and he responded, "Are you kidding me? The production company picks up the tab on all of this - hey, you want some eggs benedict or something?" I declined the offer, but noticed that lots of other people were wolfing down banquet-sized breakfast entres of every description. While I had no idea what the day held in store, I immediately deduced that these movie folks liked their chow.

By the time we walked back to the 'Vette it already had prop New York license plates on it and a prop NY inspection sticker affixed to the exterior of the windshield. An assistant director named Mike came over, and eyeing the side exhausts, addressed me. "I bet it's loud, isn't it? Would you mind starting it up and revving the engine?" I got in the car and fired it up, trying not to make too much noise. "Hmm, just as I thought." I inquired what he meant and he said it was too noisy for a drive-by part, so it would remain parked in the scene. I said, "Hey, I was told I'd get paid to drive the car, and now you're telling me that it's just going to sit here?". Mike said they'd probably use the '66 Rambler or the '68 Dodge for the driveby scene, since they were both very quiet, but that I'd be driving the 'Vette alright - moving it from one position to another as variations on the scene were filmed for cutaways.

 

DIRECTOR & CREW DISCUSSING SHOT ANGLE

Now a couple of folks from the catering companies were walking around with corn and bran muffin platters and offering the viands to everyone on the set. It was not yet 8AM.

By 8:15 the camera setup is complete and now a couple of lackies are walking around with leaf blowers to clean up the street and sidewalk areas that will be in the shot. The whole scene is a flashback sequence that will last only about a minute or two in the film. The focal point of the scene is a little girl running up the block clutching an envelope. She then crosses the street (at which point one of the old cars drives by) and runs through the archway. Emerging from the archway, she runs down the stairs and across the campus grounds (which have "legalize abortion" and "stop the war" posters nailed on the trees and hundreds of extras milling about dressed in period hippie garb). She then runs up the stairs at the other end of the campus and, presumably, into one of the buildings where her father's office is located. The flashback is to 1969 and the little girl's father is a professor at this university (it's supposed to be somewhere in upstate NY) and we never did get to find out what kind of news was in the envelope she was running with.

After about a dozen takes of the girl running toward the camera, the director decides that it might be better if the 'Vette is positioned at the end of the block on the corner to help fill the frame more. I oblige by moving the car to the opposite side of the street and park it on the corner. Now Maroon is in the view finder for several seconds as the kid runs about half the length of the block. Cool.

 
 
ANOTHER DOLLY SHOT - MAROON IN BACKGROUND
"HIPPIE" IN FOREGROUND HERE AWAITS HIS CUE

It's now about 9:45 AM and the catering people are walking around now with platters of sliced fruit and cheese, distributing it generously among everyone on the set. The director decides to use both the Rambler and the Dodge as drive-by cars so the old guy who owns the Rambler is sent to wardrobe to get dressed in period clothing (like anyone's going to notice what this old geep is wearing for the 1/3 of a second his car will be visible as it goes by in a blur). The camera crew is setting up for the shot where the girl crosses the street and a ratty VW bus is positiioned to be in the shot; the set decorator gets a "peace" symbol decal from the prop trailer and affixes it to the rear window of the VW - the amount of detail these people go to is incredible, especially when most of this stuff won't even be visible in the shot.

It's 10:45 now and several takes have been shot of the kid running across the street. The catering people are now walking around with ham, turkey and tuna-salad finger sandwiches and the crew is devouring them as if they haven't eaten in a month. Some tracking shots of the kid crossing the street are now being filmed from a dolly with a SteadiCam setup and the stationary camera setup is being broken down for the next scene on the campus grounds after lunch. For all intents and purposes, the street scene is "in the can" and Maroon Afternoon and the other classic cars won't be needed any longer. But we're not released to leave - the director wants us (and the cars) to stick around for the remainder of the day just to be safe.

At 11:30 we break for lunch and head for the church where Cecil B. DeMeals (the major catering company) has prepared a gourmet king's feast. The entres include veal scaloppini, grilled tuna steak, pastas, salads, chicken francais, broiled pork chops, veggies, all manner of deserts and non-alcoholic beverages. Liz and I fill our plates and find a shady bench on the campus grounds where we leisurely eat our lunch. At about 1 PM the crew has the first campus shot setup and filming starts. Our work is done, but we have to hang around, so we pass the time chatting with the producer, director and other members of the crew who are all curious about Maroon's pedigree and are full of questions about the car. Nice folks, all. Thus, we lounge and rest as the time passes by, and the walk-around catering people bring out more sandwiches, fruit and "noshies" during three more tours throughout the afternoon.

At about 5:30 the director declares that it's a wrap for the day and I and the other classic car owners proceed to the make-shift payroll office to have our vouchers signed. We are told that we're getting 7 hours straight pay plus 1.5 hours for our transit time plus 1 hour of overtime pay. Since I'm not a member of the Screen Actor's Guild, that only comes to about $210 for the day (plus $200 more for the Corvette). I figure I can live with that and I'm told I'll get the check within two weeks. We said our goodbyes and drove the 'Vette back home.

Within a fortnight I received a check from CAPS (Casting and Production Services) for $187.50, my compensation after deductions (the gross was $225) - not bad for driving my 'Vette to the set and sitting around eating all day. The following week I receive a check in the mail from Picture Cars for $200, as agreed. All in all, a very satisfactory day.

Then in late October I receive yet another check from CAPS for $21.60 ($25 gross pay) because we didn't get our "formal scheduled after-lunch (coffee break)" per the current SAG contract. Hope they call me  again soon!
   

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