The Accidental Stand-In

There are some people in this old world who brighten a room when they walk in. Their smiles are infectious, and their spirit lifts yours with each encounter. Such a person is my friend Wayne Berggren, building inspector for the City of Mandeville. His affable good nature and engaging personality recently perked up the set of “Runaway Jury.” The movie, based on the John Grisham novel, was shot in New Orleans, Kenner, the northshore, and other locales with the Mandevillian as an accidental stand-in for one of the actors.

“My daughter and her friend saw an ad and wanted to try out as extras in this big-budget movie, so I drove them into New Orleans to sign up.” The casting people told Wayne to sign up too, since he was right there. He shrugged his shoulders, “Well, the girls didn’t get a call–-but I did. They wanted me to be a stand-in for “Runaway Jury” co-star Bruce Davison, who they said I resembled. He was the lead actor in the movie “Willard” –the one about the rats runnin’ all around. He plays one of the attorneys in this film.”

Wayne’s big scene is in a courtroom with Dustin Hoffman, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz. “But you won’t see or hear me at all in the movie. As his stand-in, I’d watch actor Bruce Davison walk through the scene as it was ‘blocked’–then he’d go back to his trailer while all the lighting people, the sound people, and camera operators would follow me around as I went through his moves. When that shot was ready, the actor would come in and they’d shoot the scene.” Wayne was excited. “It was great bein’ a stand-in instead of an extra-extras had to wait in another area ‘til they were called. I got to work 12 hours a day, hangin’ with all the actors and shootin’ the breeze!”

When he referred to “D.H.,” I had a hunch, but played into his Hollywood hand and asked who “D.H.” was. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he chuckled, “that’s what we all called Dustin Hoffman. I can see why he’s such a success. Always prepared, he never flubbed a line or missed a mark. And he was a nice guy, to boot.” Wayne missed meeting and working with co-star Gene Hackman, who they said was more fun–and a real cut-up–but he came on the scene after Wayne had to get back to work.

In chatting with the actors, Wayne talked about the northshore. “Most of the cast, crew and their families had been to Mandeville, Madisonville, and Covington for dinner at area restaurants, visits to Fairview Riverside State Park, and other points of interest.

“They wanted me to work for two weeks, but I could only get off my real job for two days.” He raved about the food. “I had swordfish one day, gumbo, gourmet salads–and D.H. would buy pizzas for us if anyone got hungry between meals!”

The pay for a stand-in for a Hollywood movie? “$162 a day. Extras just got $64 a day. So even though I was never on camera, I worked directly with the actors and actresses, and I even had my own studio chair.”

Would he do it again? “In a heartbeat,” he grinned. “But I’d want to do it for two weeks instead of just two days.” He sat up straight and threw his hands up in the air, “There’s no business like show business!”

The Production Manager

Alice St. Germain is a production manager who used to find settings for the Popeyes commercials we did together years ago when I was national creative director for the spicy-chicken chain. She told me that a northshore filming location she’s worked recently was for a new national Jeep commercial shot by famed British director Tony Kaye. “We actually did the filming on the Highway 11 bridge in Slidell,” she said. The bridge was open to the public the very next day after a lengthy closing for mechanical repairs.” Why the Highway 11 bridge? “We needed a nice, long bridge, and we dropped big trees on the apron of the bridge–the roadway, actually.”

She said the concept was to drop a tree from a helicopter and the Jeep drove across the bridge and over the tree– “prob’ly to show just how tough Jeeps are.” A location in North Carolina fell through, but since we don’t mind such things down here, the shoot came to St. Tammany. Alice said the bridge engineers and the Department of Transportation and Development personnel were “most cooperative.” The shoot was not a cakewalk, and they checked the bridge apron before and after the tree drop shots to make sure it wasn’t damaged. Location manager Dennis Curren of Mandeville scouted the job and worked hard to make it happen, coordinating with Alice, DOTD, and the bridge engineers.

“The state of Louisiana has new incentives to bring in more and more feature films, which is resulting in a lot of interest in our state. Hopefully, those incentives will apply to commercials as well,” Alice observed. “Hyatt Hood and the St. Tammany Parish Tourist Commission are also doing a good job promoting the northshore.”

The Yat Production Pro

Another commercial production pro is “Little” Joe Catalanoto, whose Independent Studios has been in business since 1960. Based in the heart of the “nint’ wawd,” Joe rents lights, generators, cranes, camera trucks, motor homes, wardrobe trailers, and other production equipment to directors and crews for movies and TV spots shot locally. Little Joe is also a pyrotechnic specialist and has blown up more cars for movies and TV than anyone else in the metro area.

We first worked together in 1978 when we shot Popeyes commercials at his studios. He’s a classic Noo Aw-leenian, and always fun to talk to. Little Joe’s kinda like Joe Pesci without the bad attitude–or the bat.

“Hey, baby, how ya doin? Da nawtshore? Oh, yeah, yeah, we just did a big job for dat new hawt hospital way out in the middle of nowhere off I-12 in St. Tammany,” he said. “It’s a great new hospital– but it’s really in the boonies,” he laughed. “No houses or nuttin’, but bam! Suddenly dere’s dis big beautiful hospital. We shot lots of talking doctor heads and some of them big magnetic things you go in and they take pictures of you body, y’know?” I told him I knew.

Little Joe has rented equipment through the years for countless movies shot in the area, with northshore locations for “Runaway Jury,” “Eve’s Bayou,” “Dead Man Walking,” “Huey Long” with John Goodman, and scores of other films.

“I rented plenty stuff up dere in Hammond for the TV series “In The Heat of The Night” a good while back, and we shot a lot of stuff in Slidell and other spots on the northshore for “Live And Let Die”–now dat was one cool James Bond flick, I tellya!”

Available Lighting

Mandeville resident Billy Bragg is also in the production equipment business for movies and TV spots. His company, Available Lighting, has been around for decades. “We just completed a series of spots for Bank One on the northshore,” he said.

“We purposely don’t go after big movie productions that will keep our equipment tied up for a long time–that way we can serve our local bread and butter clients. We didn’t bid on the Ray Charles movie for that reason.”

During the recent shooting of the Ray Charles story, “Unchain My Heart,” quite a few star sightings occurred at local restaurants and other areas of interest when the stars had tired of the French Quarter and the big city. That’s a common occurrence while movies are in production in the metro area.

The Talent Agent

Del Corral Model & Talent Agency has been the place where talent has been discovered since 1968. Their offices are in New Orleans “on Telemachus Street, near Mandina’s Restaurant,” Gail Del Corral told me. “Everybody knows where Mandina’s is.”

I recently asked her about northshore production. “We’re casting a Honda commercial that will be shot in Slidell and we supplied talent for some Ochsner Hospital commercials that were shot in Covington a couple of months ago.”

The casting director for “Runaway Jury” used Del Corral casting facilities, as did the producers of “Because of Winn Dixie,” a movie with Cecily Tyson currently being shot in southern Louisiana.

I told her that my daughter has a friend, a waiter at a new restaurant on the lake in Mandeville, who served John Travolta recently. She laughed, “He always goes where the good food is. He loves New York Pizza on Magazine Street.” He was in town this summer to shoot “Love Song for Bobby Long.” She said it was a low-budget movie he liked and worked inexpensively on because it might be Academy Award material.

Three more major movies are coming to the area soon. Gail checked her calendar. “George Clooney is directing one. Kate Hudson was supposed to start filming in September, but she got pregnant, so they’re gonna move production back ’til after the first of the year. There’s another horror movie comin’ in, too.”

Gail said that all you wannabe stars can check out her facilities and programs on the web at www.delcorralmodel.com.

Makin’ Movie Music

George Lily is a former neighbor and dear friend who moved here years ago from Massachusetts. He came here to learn how to play the blues with veteran bluesman Wayne Bennett. Since then, George has recorded as “Nighthawk Jackson,” played the House of Blues, and released some really tasty CDs of his original music.

We talked about the Otis House Mansion and its frequency in films shot here. “It just goes to show how rare and special the scenery around here is, the competition in the movie business being so fierce. For any location to be used more than once shows how uniquely beautiful it really is.”

George’s experience as a film songwriter began with the song “Always You,” written here in Mandeville and used in the background (known as incidental music) for the Aaron Spelling production of the Stephen King novel “Thinner.” “That showed me how hard it is to get in the door and then hope until the very last minute that the scene didn’t get cut, which can happen any time until the actual release date.”

Nighthawk sits in often with popular local bluesmen for weekend gigs on the northshore. He and Big Daddy-O are collaborating on a new tune, “Louisiana Moon,” that they plan to pitch to the movies.

Location, Location, Location

Location scout/location manager Gerard Sellers told me productions are often shot in St. Tammany by international production companies. Most recently, a French movie was shot on Bayou Lacombe, and a French beauty pageant at Otis House. A major Target department store spot was also shot there.

Gerard had lots of praise for Madisonville Mayor Peter Gitz, who he says is always most cooperative when production teams come to his town. He recalled a village that was created for a film shot just west of the mouth of the Tchefuncte, where the old Coast Guard station used to be. The “Tchefuncte Queen” was used in that shoot, he said.

Mixin’ Sound

Skip Godwin of Mandeville is a sound mixer, handling location dialogue and recording all actors’ lines for movies and commercials. Skip also worked on the Louisiana Heart Hospital shoot and feature films shot on the northshore, including “Beyond Darkness,” “Blood Feast 2,” and “Stalled.” One review of this doosie says, “Avoid this movie–it is so bad that it makes “Plan 9 from Outer Space” look like “The Godfather.” Skip said, “You got to understand that there are a thousand ‘B’ grade movies made for every major motion picture.”

Get a Grip

St. Tammany native Daniel Rector is a grip, who was on location in Napoleonville on the set of “Because of Winn Dixie,” starring Cicely Tyson, Eva Marie Saint, Jeff Daniels and musician Dave Matthews. He was in between scenes, and we talked about northshore production. He gripped recently on the Louisiana Heart Hospital shoot in Lacombe, which included testimonials in front of local landmarks–Boston and Columbia streets in Covington, the UCM Museum in Abita Springs, and an old-time ice cream parlor in Slidell. “It was strange being at that ice cream parlor location again,” he said, “‘cause years ago we used the same location for scenes from “Dead Man Walking.”

“A grip controls the lights, makes the camera move, and is in charge of safety on each set.” Daniel works a lot of production. He gripped for “Eve’s Bayou” and “Runaway Jury,” recalling some shots on I-12, and some in Zemmuray Gardens in Tangipahoa; “Trespass;” “Unchain My Heart,” which had some shots of downtown Hammond; and “Mister 3000” for Disney, with Bernie Mack. “We started shooting that one in New Orleans and ended up in Milwaukee, which is a great place to spend the summer!”

Daniel also worked on “Love Song for Bobby Long” with John Travolta, who he said really enjoyed sailing Lake Pontchartrain from the northshore. “Production on the southshore helps the northshore and the whole region, Daniel said. “They enjoy our restaurants and spend money here–Kevin Costner rented a place on Three Rivers Road in Covington while shooting the movie “J.F.K.”

For some eight years, Daniel helped lobby Louisiana legislators to offer tax incentives and credits to filmmakers and investors in the entertainment industry. As of July’s legislative session, those efforts were successful, and our area is already experiencing the rewards of such incentives. He is also co-founder of the Ozone Film Festival in Covington.

Fairview Riverside–
A Favored Location

Fairview Riverside State Park in Madisonville is one of the most popular locations on the northshore for feature films and commercial shoots. Its picturesque ancient live oaks draped with Spanish moss frame the classic, stately Otis House along the banks of the Tchefuncte River. Ann Durell is the curator.

“Sonny,” directed by and co-starring Nicolas Cage, was filmed at Fairview and in Hammond, too. I asked what it was about, and the demure Ann softly said, “Prostitution, gigolos and such.” It seems like a lot of films dealing with the tawdry side of life get shot down here, I opined. What the heck–let the rest of the country think we’re a bunch of voodoo-worshipping hicks; maybe we can hold onto our fun way of life and joie de vivre for ourselves a bit longer. Ann agreed.

The Nicholas Cage film has had limited success in California and Europe so far and has not been released nationwide, but it did go to video, Ann said.

Eve’s Bayou–
Or Eve’s Tchefuncte?

Any film that starts out with the line “I was 10 years old when I murdered my father” tells you instantly that this is not just another movie. This film, released in 1997, was all the rage in production the year before, when it was shot almost entirely in Madisonville and at the Otis House, which a century ago was the heart of Houltonville. That was before the Otis House became an historic public tour showplace at Fairview Riverside State Park; it now accommodates only brief shooting schedules.

“Eve’s Bayou” was a beautifully shot movie that might have missed its mark at the box-office, but endeared itself to the community. I recall the star, Samuel L. Jackson, lovin’ that barbeque from Creech’s Barbeque on Highway 22 so much that they had Creech and Fay cater in preference to the big time New Orleans caterers.

Movies shot in your own neighborhood add a vibrancy that’s never forgotten.

Screenwriter Comes Home

While enjoying a glass of wine with a buddy of mine after work one evening at the bar at Annadele’s Plantation Restaurant, we were amazed by the friendliness, speed and efficiency of the bartender, an attractive, engaging lady with a raspy Lauren Bacall voice. Conversation revealed that she was really a screenwriter and accomplished theatrical and voiceover talent who had just moved back to Mandeville after being in Hollywood for years. Trish is her name, but her stage name is “Kate.”

Trish Donahue comes from a prominent northshore construction business family. Brothers Jack and Terry and sister Cathy are all involved in building– but Kate’s creative energies are deeply rooted in show business. She originally got the acting bug in high school in a play called “7 Nuns from Las Vegas.” “I was a freshman playing a 70-year-old nun with an English accent.” She got standing ovations and was totally smitten by show business. While attending LSU, singing, dancing, and theater continued to fascinate her. At a comedy club in New Orleans, friends encouraged her to entertain during an open mike night. She did, was discovered, and went to Hollywood. She worked with Arsenio Hall and Sam Kinison honing her comedic skills.

Trish Donahue also has a wealth of experience in animation and theater, having voice directed and story edited Steven Spielberg’s “Toonsylvania” for DreamWorks SKG and the Fox Kid’s Network. Trish developed the action adventure show “Goop” for Fox Television, and story edited “Mega Babies” for Sony Wonder and the Fox Family Channel. Trish also worked on developing Hanna-Barbera’s animated series, “Johnny Bravo.” Her writing credits include Warner Brothers’ “Pinky and the Brain” for which she received an Emmy nomination in 1998; “Freakazoid,” “Animaniacs,” “Histeria,” Disney’s “Doug” and Universal’s “Casper.” She has written numerous feature films and is glad to be back home, where, in this computer age, she can still write and send scripts to her old pals in Hollywood from right at home in cozy Mandeville.

Screenwriter Finds Home

Recently at a real estate closing, I asked the gent from the East Coast who was buying my client’s home what he did for a living. His name is Ned McDonald, and his wife and their son were excited to be relocating to Mandeville.

Turns out Ned’s also a professional TV and movie scriptwriter who grew up in the Hamptons. He had some interesting tales to tell. “There were two basic groups–the rich people and those who worked for them. My mom was a housekeeper at Adlai Stevenson’s summer home.”

Ned McDonald’s father was a lock-keeper on Shinnecock Canal, and related to his son an anecdotal example of Hampton life: “I was tending the locks on the canal one afternoon when a big yacht comes sailing up to the gate to go through to the ocean from Shinnecock Bay. I tell the captain he’s going to have to wait for the tide to come up. He storms off, going below decks; a minute later, here comes Frank Sinatra. Sinatra leans over the rail and gives me a look. Then he says: “Hey Mac, do you know who I am?”

My father responded, “I don’t care if you’re the Queen of England–it’s low tide. And how did you know my name was Mac?”

Ned’s got the same sense of humor as his dad, and I know he’ll do well on the northshore. His current writing projects after unpacking all those boxes? “A variety of television pilots designed to be mid-season replacement shows. The subject matter is confidential, though I will reveal that one series takes place in and about New Orleans. As excited as the networks may appear to be about this year’s fall lineup, there’s a strong awareness that many of the new programs will fail. For example, of eight new police/FBI/CSI-like anagramaticals alone, maybe two will survive–not only because of content, but also because of competing time slots. Imagine being opposite ‘Monday Night Football,’ or the final season of ‘Friends’ on Thursday.”

He’s also working on “Avatarqs,” a futuristic science fiction movie script.

“It deals with over-population, pestilence, poverty, and the fear of billions that has generated a negative voltaic energy output from the minds of humanity. The resulting anomaly, named Parallax Drift by a group of human scientists, can best be described as a river of chaos flowing between dimensions. Avatarqs–evil beings who rule this other dimension–have channeled humankind’s nightmare flow to tear open time and space. An unlikely team of heroes join together to save earth from destruction in the face of the Avatarqs and their terrible Kaleidopsychosis.” (Sounds to me like a great role for the new governor of Kal-ee-for-nee-ah.)

Why did he move his family to Mandeville?

“Mandeville is to New Orleans what Southampton was to Manhattan. It seems like a natural spot for me with a wonderful location and cultural scene starting to bloom. Not to mention that my lovely wife told me to pack up the pots and pans, ’cause we were moving. As it turns out, the whole family loves it here and so do I. Also, yesterday afternoon I got good news on one of my TV concepts. Maybe Mandeville is going to be my promised land.”
Welcome home, Ned.