Brollies Up!

This is the command given before each filming, instructing us to put our umbrellas up before they jacked the rain machine and a downpour was upon us. Sadly, the few people cast as paupers didn't get a brolly as an accessory. In addition to having to wear fake bad teeth and tattered clothes, some just had baskets of fruit or scarves to keep them dry. It made me feel like a jerk that I had both a big hat and a fancy silver handled umbrella. and two different husbands who shared their umbrellas.

I thought movie rain would be romantic and imagined it might be warm and misty and part of an indoor setting. Really though, it was much harder than any real rain except downpours I witnessed in Texas, and was outdoors and seemed much, much colder than real rain. Likely because my socks and dress were soaked by ten and filming continued until after six.

It's hard to organize all of my thoughts for the rich and long day, but they're overwhelmingly positive. I can't wait to do it again despite the physical trials which included waking up at 3:30 a.m., a bloody scalp from hastily applied bobby pins, one painfully restrictive corset worn for over eleven hours, an aching lower back from carrying about ten extra pounds of water soaked into my thick petticoats and velvet overcoat, teeth chattering and shivers that lasted most of the day, and the inability to consume liquids since using the bathroom with a muddy, ten pound skirt proved too challenging.

But there were a million awesome bits that made it so worthwhile. During my first shooting, I was just outside the window where I could watch Andrew Stanton, who wrote Toy Story and Monsters Inc. and directed Wall-E and Finding Nemo, as he directed the filming. During the next part of the shooting, I repeatedly crossed the street within feet of Taylor Kitsch. Riggins is very pretty in person. During another part, I walked with my second husband past a shop front window with Riggins on the other side. Pretending not to stare was likely my greatest acting challenge.

I loved the uniqueness of the day. I felt like a princess for the first couple dry hours in unaccustomed fancy clothes and red lipstick. But mostly I loved all the fun and chatter. Between takes, there was so much time to talk to all of the interesting people around. And everyone was so friendly. One new friend and I made a game of guessing if men had real or fake facial hair, since they were giving out fake moustaches and chops like candy. We could usually guess right. One guy who fooled us had such a great moustache that he told us all about how he entered it in international competitions. It really was that cool.

And people showed a lot of concern for one another. Crew members ran out with blankets and sympathy between takes, and all of the film crew seemed genuinely grateful for our efforts. It was a such a nice environment. Had it not been raining, I would have done it for a punch in the arm.

You can find IMDB movie info here.