On set with Clint Eastwood this fun GIF rings true as he moves about his outdoor set during the busiest scene. His buddy Kenny Rogers is up on the stage having the time of his life singing "You've Got to Know When to Hold Them Know When to Fold Them". Most of the 1,000 actors hired to be stunt men and women, police, dancers or bomb victims after a bomb exploded during the Olympic Games on July 27, 1996. The story centers around the brave security guard who alerts the crowd that he believes that there is a bomb in a backpack. Richard Jewell is later questioned by the FBI and suspected to be the bomber when Eric Rudolph planted the bomb in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, killing one person and injuring more than 100 others. To recreate the vibe of the scene the PA taught us all different dances and to watch for his rolling hand signal. Mr. Eastwood rolls right away and then moves on. I suppose there were a few young "Hollywood Hopefuls" as I like to call them in the crowd. These are the people who go the extra mile. In the makeup tent, they offer to have the American flag painted on their face (we each were assigned a flag). The young lady who did that alway returned to her proper mark and she was invited to appear on Stranger Things! I was so happy for her. Two weeks is a long time to dedicate yourself to wearing American flag face paint for twelve hours a day. There were others who were there to make contacts with people from all across America for various reasons. I made a good friend who happend to drive a sports car. I mention the car because the hotel's shuttle broke down and there aren't taxis in the middle of the night. I was very fortunate she and I became fast friends and I have to admit that I loved the ride back to the hotel. There's nothing like a little fun. Mr. Eastwood sure was having fun on set. Each day, he flew in on his helicopter!
There were several truly great names attached to the film: Kathy Bates, John Hamm, Sam Rockwell and more. I had my fingers crossed that I might see Kathy Bates on set, the actress who played my Mother in the first film I was in at age nine. Just being on such a well organized set was wonderful. I am very thankful to the PA and the Casting Agency. As far as the Hollywood hopefuls were concerned, on that set we all were there to listen to one another. There was something about being there that provided so many creative individuals with the inspiration they needed to connect, inspire one another and dream about a brighter future. During one of the breaks, a core member of Mr. Eastwood's lighting team spoke with me about how Clint was a strong believer in family values. I liked that. Throughout the span of the the two weeks, I was away from my family and they were truly proud that in their eyes I had "made it". I understood that the part that I had was not a standing ovation role; however, there is a magic to being in a scene with such a highly skilled team of friends. The level of care that they had for one another was pure magic!
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