my life in the movies...

Our childhood friend Jeremy works in the film industry in the accounting department. He's worked on some very cool stuff that I can remember, like Oceans 12 and 13 (or was it 11 and 12 - I lose track of those numbered movies), Batman with Heath Ledger, Bride Wars, etc. And he's worked on lots of other stuff that I can't remember the names of right now. It's currently 1:45am, which is well past my bedtime so my brain's not fully functioning, but I had to share this day with you!

When Jeremy visited us in Sao Paulo in May, I happened to mention that I'd love to go to a movie set and that you'd think with a friend who worked in the business that possibly I'd have the opportunity at some point in my life. Jeremy is a very clever guy and invited me to come to a movie set at some point in my life, but especially when we were back in the US over this next year.

He started working on a movie in Lowell, Massachusetts, outside of Boston in June. The movie is called "The Fighter" and stars Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, and co-stars Amy Adams. It's based on the gritty, but true story of Lowell boxer Micky Ward and his brother and trainer Dicky Ecklund. Micky Ward is probably most well-known for his three fights with Arturo Gatti, who committed suicide a couple months ago in my favorite Brazilian beach town, Porto de Galinhas. (HBO also did a documentary called "High on Crack Street" in 1995 which chronicles part of the Micky/Dicky story. You can watch it in 7 parts on YouTube but it is not for the faint of heart.)

This movie is being made on very small budget and there are just 33 filming days in total, so I didn't have many choices for visiting the set. By the time Jimmy left, they were already on something like day 14 with just 3 weekends left to go. One of those weekends is our 20th class reunion and the other weekend is just before I start work, so this weekend was the only good choice. So I booked my ticket and off I went today to Boston.

I will be the first to tell you that I think I lead a charmed life. I continue to get to do things that are beyond any expectations that I ever had for myself and my life and visiting this movie set is one of those things. I had promised Jeremy I'd be a model of discretion, I wouldn't make a peep, I would speak to no one unless spoken to first, I wouldn't stalk movie stars, etc. You have to understand that this world is so foreign to me that I'm completely and utterly fascinated by it. My one true guilty pleasure is reading People magazine - everything in it is so far removed from my normal existence that I may as well be reading about life on Mars. To be on a movie set around movie stars and people who make movies was a way cool experience for me.

Anyway, I got to the hotel (where I would like to tell you that Amy Adams is also staying but I have yet to see her - maybe tomorrow morning at the breakfast buffet??) and ironed my clothes because I could not go to my first and probably only movie set in wrinkled clothes. Jeremy picked me up about 7 and we went to the set. They were shooting on location at a bar in a gritty part of Lowell. I got a very cool badge that I had to wear and we walked right in. Apparently all you need is a badge. There are so many people running around that as long as you have the badge, you are obviously supposed to be there.

Jeremy introduced me to one of the producers who was seriously the nicest, most non-stereotypical movie type person that you could imagine. This guy took us around the set and pointed all these different things of interest to me. At this point, they were having stand-ins stand around to check lighting and whatever else movie people check before they film so we eventually moved off to the side to get out of the way.

While we were watching all the activity, Christian Bale apparently walked right past us and I missed him. Can you believe it???? I should have come up with a signal system with Jeremy so he could notify me of close star proximity, but that thought came to me too late. The producer introduced me to the real Dicky and another guy from the High on Crack Street documentary (and we saw the real Micky when we got out of the car earlier). The producer also introduced me to this other actor who plays Dicky and Micky's dad, but I'm drawing a blank on his name right now. TOTALLY C-R-A-Z-Y!

So when it got closer to filming time, the producer took us outside to this place where they had monitors set up with director's chairs with different names embroidered on them. The producer told me to sit in his chair - CAN YOU IMAGINE??? - and he gave me a set of headphones so I could listen to the filming while watching the monitors. How cool is that? I thought I was very VIP. So we watched for awhile but let me tell you, movie-making is a seriously slow process. We left the set about 9 to go eat dinner with one of Jeremy's friends and they still had hours of filming to do.

BUT I get to go back to the set tomorrow afternoon so maybe I'll see Mark Wahlberg. And if I see Amy over Rice Krispies in the morning, I'll be sure to pass along your regards!