In September of last year someone approached me at a small car meet and asked if I would be willing to show my Lincoln in a few movie shots for a film he was producing. I was surprised but more than willing to accept his offer; it was an exciting thought to think that one of my own cars could become a movie star in some way. The shoot would take place on October 18th in Reardan WA, which was only a 30 minute drive from where I live. I was going to get paid, so I figured what was the worst that could happen?
(If you haven’t read all the COAL articles previous to this, I recommend you do so before you read this one, so you can be fully caught up on the series. Feel free to comment on all the previous articles too, as I always enjoy reading your feedback on what things I can do better and what your thoughts are.)
Anyway, I later ended up talking to some of the other guys in charge and they wanted me to bring the car a day early, so I did, thinking that I could just sleep in the Lincoln overnight because I wasn’t just gonna leave her with a bunch of strangers in a small town, no matter who they were or who they worked for. I figured I couldn’t be too careful. When I got there the producers greeted me and told me where to park. At first they weren’t keen on letting me sleep in the car, but when I told them that it was my car they stopped bothering me, I guess they were more used to the cars just being dropped off.
Some of the other cars that were provided for the shoot, the buses were used to transport the film crew.
So here I was, hungry and bored. Luckily I had bought some food with me and I was able to find a restaurant to get some food at as well, and I was able to sit in the backseat of the Lincoln and eat in comfort with my legs stretched out. After I was done eating I figured I would explore the town a little. But being a such small town there wasn’t much to do, and the phone charger I bought with me didn’t work either, so since nothing there was open later in the day, I spent most of the night just walking around, as I had gone though Reardan many times but had never stopped in it before.
I had found a basketball and a few parks but there wasn’t much else, so at around 10 PM I went back to the car and tried to get some sleep. But the problem was I’m a night person, I was parked right next to a grain factory that was making more than enough noise, and it had gotten very cold in the car. Luckily I had bought a spare coat, but that only helped so much, and there was a security guard there so whenever I got out of the car he would come check on me, which made things somewhat awkward.
I remember waking up at 6 AM, 8 AM, and 9 AM., so I’m not 100% sure I got any sleep, I think I did, and around 10 AM I just decided to get up since I couldn’t go back to sleep, I was very tired but the grain trucks were rolling in and out that morning, so getting more sleep wasn’t much of an option. However what I could do was go to the convenience store and buy a new phone charger, as well as get some more food for a better price rather than the restaurant from yesterday that basically robbed me for $25 of food that wasn’t that good.
After eating at the park and charging my phone, I eventually went back to the film tent to ask someone if they knew when filming would begin. Luckily enough one of the producers was there and he told me around noon they would start getting everyone together, and that filming would begin not too long after. And luckily that morning they had filled the tent up with snacks so I wasn’t going to have any shortage of food anytime soon. All that was left to do is wait, and wait, and wait, and wait…
After around 4 PM I was getting pretty fed up; I had been waiting for people to arrive for hours and only a few people had showed up. At that point I asked some of the workers there what was going on and what was taking so long. Well, it turned out that I got some incorrect information and the shoot wasn’t going to start getting set up until around 5. Why did I come a day before? All of what I had just experienced could’ve been avoided if I had waited another day, but I figured they just wanted to be sure everything was ready, and since I was already there I should just keep waiting.
And so at around 5 the buses started bring people to the tent. Once they had all arrived everyone was giving a brief rundown of how things were going to work, and finally after I was instructed to follow the green 1969 Chevy C-10 to the film spot at an abandoned gas station only a few blocks away, where I was to park it right next to the entrance while the C-10 was parked next to the outer pumps. The next hour was spent putting stickers and props all over the old gas station to make it look like it was in the late 70s. Finally at around sunset the cameras and boom mikes were set up.
These are just some of the pictures I got earlier in the day before it would be too dark to see anything.
For this shot, the C-10 would have to roll up to the gas station where the Lincoln was already parked, where a small encounter would happen between the two actors while both being at the gas station in their cars. This shot and other shots at the gas station would be reshot multiple times, meaning that the truck had driven in to the fuel station by the actor, shut off and started multiple times (That poor starter got a workout!). But after about 45 minutes of filming we all got to go back to the main tent where they were serving dinner, but needless to say I felt…out of place, the whole process felt odd to me and everyone else there was from a completely different world than I was.
When we went back to the filming area, I actually had a chance to talk to both of the actors about the movie and the cars, both were around my age and were honestly some of the nicest people there. One of them said they wanted to own a car just like my Lincoln one day, and that he was a fan of these types of cars. I told him that if he really wanted one of these cars, that he should get one just to experience what it’s like. But shortly after the director told me to stop talking to them and get out of the shot. They were both very nice and respectful, and hope both of the actors are doing good wherever they are.
Last picture I could get before the sun went down, sorry for the bad quality.
At around 8 PM or so, they had finished filming and didn’t need the car to film any more shots, so I finally could head home. I was exhausted and not too happy with the lack of communication during the time I was there, but I would be getting a check in the next month for providing the car, and therefor be able to pay upcoming bills and have gas money. So after saying my goodbyes I left and headed for home, and after getting home just going to bed. And I kept in mind that if I was to ever do this again for any amount of money, I would be more wary about just when I should get there and keep in mind how the movie industry actually works.
Now, I was worried about leaving my car with people I didn’t know and that’s why I stayed with it, but if you’re ok with leaving your car with the a film crew for a while for a couple hundred bucks, if the opportunity presents itself to you, you should try it. But I wasn’t fine with it as I had just gotten the car a month or so earlier, so I think I had every right to be cautious; but what do you think? Should I try it again if the chance ever comes up? Or should I avoid it from now on? I’m not sure yet honestly, but if you see this Lincoln in some movie that comes out in the future, you’ll know who it belongs to.
So what was the movie?
It’s a movie called “Dreamin Wild”, not sure when it’s coming out.
https://variety.com/2021/film/news/casey-affleck-zooey-deschanel-chris-messina-dreamin-wild-movie-1235092648/
Here is an article about the movie.
I looked it up, seems like a major effort with some name stars (probably B or C list, but I’ve heard of them).
I’ve never been on a movie set before, but I can imagine the logistics must be daunting. If even one thing needed for the shot is missing, you can’t shoot.
So yea, they wanted you to show up the the night before to make so they knew by the next morning they had everything they needed for the day’s shooting schedule, and enough time to find another car (or change their shooting schedule if they couldn’t).
I have read a couple of things previously over the years about how being in a movie shoot (with an old car or otherwise) is anything but glamourous. Your experience is right in line with the other things I have read. At least your car wasn’t used in a scene where someone threw something at it or got thrown against it in a fight scene.
Ah yes, movie shoots. Boredom, a bit of action, repeat. Over and over.
I was in a movie shoot on Bacon’s Rebellion that plays at the Jamestown Settlement museum a few years ago. Since the film is shown on multiple screens, it was a matter of shooting a scene, then reshooting it on the average of five times . . . then breaking down the cameras and completely repositioning them and repeating the process. And then doing it again. And again. And again.
Averaging five takes per scene, then reshooting that scene four or five times, means you’re talking somewhere between 20-25 times redoing one scene. Granted, each take was shot slightly different, I even had a line or two in some of them (none of which survived the cutting room floor). But boy, does it make for long, boring days.
Just the same, it netted me $900.00 for four days work, a lot of interesting experiences, and a 20 minute short film that I drop by to watch every time I’m down at Jamestown. Having lost movie jobs in the past (‘Gettysburg’ and ‘Last of the Mohicans’ immediately comes to mind), it’s probably the only time I’ll ever see my face on the screen.
If it’s a movie that you can get a copy of, you have a very special memento, even if you sell it one day. If you do sell it one day, now the car has a nice little piece of provenance.
A friend of mine learnt of a film production taking place at the Southfork Ranch outside Dallas. He was bringing his 1951 Hudson Hornet coupé to the ranch for the filming as a background car. His boss would not let him have a day off for this special occasion. Since I had driven his Hornet a several times and was familiar with its idiosyncrasies, my friend felt comfortable hiring me to sit with his car while he worked during the day.
It was my first time attending the film production. What surprised me the most was the sheer boredom during the day as the production crew reset the scenes a several times until the director was satisfied with the takes then rearranged the scenes for the next shooting. It went on for the entire day until it got little bit too dark to continue. Sometimes, there’s nothing to do other than watch the filming or wander around.
One of the film crews tried to drive my friend’s Hornet but couldn’t figure out a few mechanical things so I had to drive the car around when instructed. When a massive scratch “magically” appeared on the rear bumper, the guy rushed out to give us $500 in cash for the damage. Tell you the truth, the scratch had been there a long time ago. Psst…
I only stayed there for two days and got nicely compensated by my friend for my time. And excellent meals and snacks, too, from the catering service.
Oh, the film was Dallas: The Early Years.
“Oh, the film was Dallas: The Early Years.”
The only reasons I watched that show were Victoria Principal and Charlene Tilton 🙂
I watched Dallas first-run with my mom.
I watched It on reruns for Victoria Principal.
This story reminded me of when I starred my 1972 Ford in a documentary about the Son of Sam serial killer. Only problem I had was boilover from idling in the heat too long.
Sounds like a fun experience to do… once.
I know that bigger movie studios contract with companies that supply period cars for movie sets, but I wonder if it’s customary for movie producers to visit car shows and meets like this in order to round up cars. It’s a good idea — it just never occurred to me before.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy the movie when it comes out!
They needed to remove the “self serve” sign on that gas station. That was the first error I saw in that photo.
Not to mention the ridiculous prices being charged in that same picture.
Those prices don’t even appear period correct for 2022!!!
But wasn’t self service a thing by 1978? (the earliest possible year based on the Lincoln’s MY… ok, maybe the fall of ’77 with a complete detailing 😉)
I know for fact I was pumping my own gas by 1980 or 1981….
They were still setting up things in that picture, by the end the gas prices were lowered and I think the self-serve sign was removed and replaced with old lights or something.
Also, where I life in Washington, some gas stations do actually charge similar prices to that, not many people buy gas for that much but still…
Five seconds of googling shows that the first self-serve station debuted way back in 1946. By 1970 there were over 4,600 such stations in 33 states. By 1972 it was at over 7,500 stations….and so on.
So it is entirely possible. The pricing though…seems correct (or even low?) for the west coast today but obviously not back then.
Yeah, I forgot about it being out west, Jim.
We’re hovering right around $4 per gallon for Premium. It varies wildly in the Baltimore area, from an anomalously low $3.369 at member places like BJ’s or Costco, to around $4.099 at the Shell. Most stations for premium around here are about $3.759 to $3.859 or so today.
Regular varies a little less wildly at around the high twos to the low threes… $3.149 at the Shell near me, which is one of the pricier stations.
My career is related to the film industry, and I’ve worked on a couple feature films. I found it too boring for words, and returned to the world of Live Entertainment.
A friend loaned his ’76 Alpina to a music video production (his car was briefly featured here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtake/cc-outtake-bmws-then-and-now/) Turns out the person who was to play the driver didn’t know stick… so he ended up driving his own car in the video. (the driver wears a Stig-like white helmet anyways, so you can’t recognize him.)
A film was being shot in my area one time, “Switching Channels”. If you haven’t seen it, don’t bother.
I went to watch, and to see if I could snag an autograph or two. I saw them filming one scene, about a 15 second clip, over the course of about two hours. Over and over again. When shooting wasn’t happening, it was all hurry up and wait. Sounds like that’s what you saw, in slow motion.
I didn’t get any autographs either.
When I worked in L.A. back in the early 1980’s several guys I knew that owned big Harleys used to rent them to film production companies. They were static background props most of the time. If you have a stock appearing vintage car you can rent it out for the same type of work. Sometimes the casting director gets it wrong and chooses a car that is too new for the time period that is featured in the film. Old car fans love to make a big deal about that.
Back before there was the ability to rewatch any movie on demand, continuity was not as much of a concern. No one anticipated that, someday, average people would be able to disect a movie frame-by-frame and catch virtually any error.
I vaguely recall someone commenting in a past CC on movie cars about allowing his old car to be used in some sort of movie/tv production. Often, they remove the front windshield so there’s no reflection when filming the actors in the front seat. Evidently, the crew broke the windshield in the process and the guy had a hard time getting reimbursed.
Conversely, I remember reading about the owner of the famous white ’56 Thunderbird driven by a still unknown Suzanne Somers in American Graffiti. Apparently, he was quite protective of his old Ford and was with it constantly during filming.
The point is, film productions aren’t overly concerned with taking care of an old car used in the making of the movie.
I’ve been involved with a couple of short form training films over the years (long story) and the sitting a round does get very tedious. Even the crew seemed bored at one of them.
I just remembered as a kid I saw an outdoor film set when they were filming “A Christmas Story”.
You know, the “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.” one. It was warm out and the house and parts of the neighboring houses were done up in fake snow and Christmas decor. I was a little kid and thought it was pretty cool to see.
In the summer of 2012, when I was still living in Savannah, GA, a film was being shot there about the CBGB punk club that used to be in New York, and they put out a call for 60’s and 70’s cars with drivers. I had (and still have) a ’64 Corvair, so I signed up, and I was asked to come on a Friday afternoon at 2:30. Perfect, not too much interference with my day job.
It ended up that all of our cars were supposed to be “traffic” in a scene that was being shot on a nondescript overpass in an industrial area. We had the all too common experience of shooting take after take, with lots of “hurry up and wait” in between. Neither the cars nor the drivers liked this experience. In Savannah in mid-July, it’s hot and steamy. We were on a bridge with no shade, with about a dozen pre-emission-control cars emitting plenty of hydrocarbons into the air, and a couple of them overheating after lots of idling. We literally kept at this until 3 AM.
The film, by the way, is called “CBGB”. If you are familiar with Savannah at all, you know that absolutely no part of Savannah looks anything like any part of New York City. There was some clever photography involved in the exterior scenes, to avoid revealing the fact that the vacant storefront they hung a CBGB awning in front of was directly adjacent to Paula Deen’s tourist trap restaurant.
You can find the film on Prime and maybe elsewhere. I can’t recommend it. In fact, it’s the worst film I ever made myself watch. And they cut out all the background traffic so you don’t see my Corvair.
The photo below is some of the cars in a staging area before we started the shoot. You can barely see my Corvair between the Jeepster Commando and the Beetle. If you watch the film, you will see the Commando briefly.
…and I can’t recommend Paula Deen’s tourist trap restaurant. The SAE Lighting Systems Group held their meetings there in Spring or Autumn 2013, because this is the middle of the 20th century and it’s crucial that meetings involve enormous waste of time, money, and carbon to converge on an actual, physical place to sit in a room all day listening, talking, and taking notes, none of which is possible in a teleconference.*
One afternoon, toward the end of the day’s meetings, it was decided that everyone was gonna go eat at Paula Deen’s—just like on TV, OMG, it’s gonna be so cool! And some stuff. I was the only one to opt out, and the only one without a significantly upset stomach the next day.
Speaking of throwbacks and restaurants in Savannah, though, there’s one there called Mrs. Wilkes’, and it’s down the road from the White Way cleaners, or at least it was in 2013. I thought I’d go see what the favourable reviews were about. I didn’t achieve any such enlightenment. The food was perfectly edible, but not particularly excellent. More than that, though, all—all—the patrons were white. All the servers and staff were Black, and in costume and character as house slaves, except the white owner who led the whole dining room in saying grace before eating, then strutted around keeping a theatrically watchful eye on the Black servers.
None of the other diners had come off as tourists while we were lined up outside waiting to be admitted as a batch, and none of them seemed the slightest bit bothered by the scene, but it was a distinctly uncomfortable meal for me.
* They move the meetings around like this so people otherwise stuck in the dull, grey purgatory of Detroitland sprawl have an excuse to go elsewhere for a few days.
I think you’ve told the Mrs Wilke’s story before, but it still makes my jaw drop.
I guess I must’ve done, if you recognise it. Sorry to repeat myself.
When Paula Deen first opened her restaurant it was in a much smaller place and the food was good. That was before she became hyper-famous. When she moved into the new location, it was obvious that the goal was to move as many tourists as possible in and out of the place each day, and quality suffered accordingly.
I know what you mean about Mrs. Wilkes. On the other hand, when President Obama visited Savannah, he specifically asked to have lunch there.
I’ve rented my Skylark out twice. The first production was “Young Rock” which was shot in the next street from our home. No issues at all.
The ‘lark behaved itself, and if you see a white over red ’69 driving (for all of a few seconds!) it’s mine.
A grand for two days ‘work’, and an interesting look behind the scenes during production.
Second one was “Tiger King” That was static only, and paid $500.
No issues, damage or bad experiences at all. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
I think you were smart to stay with your car. For any years I lived next door to one of the top special effects guys. Once I had an enquiry about using my Citroen 2CV in a movie. I asked my neighbour about it and he persuaded me against it. He said that cars were often mistreated and damaged.
Interesting story. As many movies and TV shows have been filmed in southern Alberta, your experience is worth noting as I would certainly not want my collector car damaged on a film set.
And yes, having done some on -camera work on video and film shoots, things don’t happen at a very rapid pace. For various reasons, sometimes just to get the right lighting.
Been there and done that ~ unless you get a copy of the insurance _BEFORE_THE_SHOOT_ , there ain’t any .
Yes, they often damage the vehicles so it’s wise to take a book . radio (ear plugs or you’re not allowed to use it) and comfy folding chair, watching old bumpers rust is more fun .
I got $500 / day back in the late 1970’s .
-Nate
I got $500 too! However back in the 1970s that was more money than it is now…but it still helped me a lot so I got no complaints.
Plus even the indie shoots and commercials tended to have serious foods going on all day plus a hot lunch =8-) .
-Nate
It’s notorious that movie shoots are tedium incarnate, though if you see it as you have, it does raise the level of respect for actor’s abilities.
From the Variety article linked above, this film is an ‘indie’, an indpendent (or not-big-studio) film, but there are serious names there in the actors. The directorial and actor line-up makes for a potentially promising result. And by odd coincidence, it’s very likely the two young ones you talked to were Noah Jupe and Dylan Grazer, each of whom I watched in movies in the past two days! Jupe played in a film called Honey Boy, and I looked him up because he was just superb in it, and Grazer was in a series called We Are Who We Are, and also good in that.
Look up the names to see if they match who you met – a little brush with fame, it seems. I suspect Jupe in particular will have a very big future.
Oh, and I too say stick with your Linc if loaning it out. It’s also very well-known that damage or misuse can occur. It’s just a prop in a make-believe world, after all, and unlike all us crazies at CC, most folk don’t go to see the cars or care what they are!
I narrowly missed my own shot at “automotive immortality”. Back in 1993 my sister dated an aspiring director starting his career in regional commercials. He was doing a shoot for Belk department stores and wanted an funky old car to use in the commercial. I just happened to own an ex-fire department, 428 powered, red, 1968 Galaxie 4dr. sedan at the time. Arrangements were made. the shoot was only about 20 miles away. What could go wrong? The night before the shoot I’m washing the car at the body shop of a friend who had done lots of mechanical work on the car. We get done cleaning and talking…the car won’t start! Now this guy knew more about ’68 Fords than anyone I’ve ever met. He had 6 or 7 of them and he can’t get it going either. I don’t remember what was wrong with it, nothing too serious, but I got to call the boyfriend at 10:00 the night before the next morning’s shoot. He was not a car guy and just couldn’t understand how I could let this happen. Old cars, it happens. Some time later when I caught the commercial on TV, his red Miata was being pushed by the fashion models instead of my car. They would have needed more models if the Galaxie had made it!