DAY 22: Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Another two-in-one location today: Last week, the house of our locations manager belonged to Lauren Ambrose’s character, Emily; today it belongs to Cobie Smulders’ character, Clair. I agree to help the crew get the lighting right for a scene by briefly taking Cobie’s place while she changes clothes. I don’t remember what Cobie does in the scene until I reach the small bedroom where the camera crew has set up: She lies in bed next to Jason, who wears only his boxers.
Jason fends off the potential awkwardness of this scenario by showing me that he is handwriting a note to his wife – on his iPad, but it’s still romantic. I get a power nap, eliciting the envy of the under-slept crew surrounding me. Mr. Gyllenhaal takes one at lunch.
Cobie wraps her work on this shoot as soon as this bedroom scene is finished, but then patiently finishes posing for all the photographers on set, who want ample shots of this indisputably gorgeous television star and former model.
The real Grant Cogswell arrives at lunch. The Stranger just published his article on the strangeness of his sudden celebrity status in his old stomping grounds: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/a-wake-for-my-youth-with-actors/Content?oid=4555942
We move to the campus of Seattle Central Community College for a shoot with power comic trio DC Pierson, Joe Mandragona, and Michael Nardelli. This leads to faculty congregating on the balcony to watch from afar on their break, and many actual students joining the scene.
The day closes with a shoot outside The Stranger, for which we ironically need to make rain in Seattle, because the sun and blue sky are defying the script’s directions. Enter amazing devices called rain towers, which create torrential downpours across large areas with naturally sunny skies.
Jason accidentally walks through the “rain” after one of the first takes, so the ever-ready wardrobe artists blow-dry him. Seattleites who have dreamed of turning rain on and off at will, the dream was realized today on the Grassroots set. Filmmaking may seem chaotic, but it affords people more control over the course of events than they could ever have in real life.