Academy Award winning actress Emma Thompson made me a cup of tea! Yes, the star of "Sense and Sensibility," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Dead Again," "In The Name of the father," and the soon-to-be-released "The Winter's Guest," makes a pretty good cup of tea.
Let's start at the beginning. My mother had been surfing the net and came across information about a new movie being filmed in County Fife, the county just south of Blairgowrie and Coupar Angus, in the towns of Crail, Elie and Pittenweem, with the main set in Cupar, starring Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman, he of "Die Hard," "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves," and "Sense and Sensibility" fame. Mom sent over all the info to me and I immediately began making inquiries about where and when exactly they were filming. I called the St. Andrews (home of golf) Tourist Board to see if they had any additional info. They had nothing new to give me save the phone number of the hotel where some of the cast and crew was staying in Elie. I phoned and the woman who answered said she couldn't help me either but would I call back after five and talk to Mike in the bar? Apparently Mike is on the crew as a "snowman." He helps create the snowy scenes. Mike is a real nice guy who says that people are welcome to walk around the set and would I like to come on down? I asked if I could call him back when I had more information about what times I could get down. I also asked if I could bring a friend. he said sure, the more the merrier.
I knew I didn't want to tell everyone in the Common Room about the movie because if a bunch of high school kids showed up, I knew we would just be getting in the way. I didn't just want to meet the star and director, I wanted to observe the actual process of making a movie. I have always been fascinated by the film industry and I know that I want a job in the entertainment business. I asked my good friend Fionnah Campbell if she could get the car for a day and if she would like to go to a movie set. She jumped at the chance and begged her mum to let her go. I called Mike (by now he was my "dodgy contact" because it sounded "dodgy" to ask for Mike in the bar after five), and told him Fionnah and I would be down the following Monday.
All that needed to be taken care of was getting the day off from school. Since rector Mr. Kirkpatrick really likes both of us, Fionnah and I decided to go straight to him. We told him that I considered this "career exploration" and we promised to get Thompson's autograph for him. He smiled and said "That's okay, you can be excused. Have fun!"
The rest of the week we were getting ourselves so excited, but it was difficult not to tell anyone about it! "Omigawd, we're going to meet Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson!" was all we could say walking in the halls or in Registration Class (homeroom). The Saturday before we were supposed to go down, Fionnah and I went to Dundee to go shopping for a new outfit, a girl can't have too many, you know, but we couldn't concentrate, we were too giddy. We vowed we wouldn't act that silly on Monday. That night I spent the night at her house and we stayed up until five in the morning watching Alan Rickman flicks like "Die Hard," "Robin Hood," and "Truly, Madly, Deeply." We were pathetic.
Then the big day came. I was meant to wait for her to get to school after I had gotten there on the bus. What we had not counted on was the weather the night before. On my host family's steep, bumpy rough lane was a layer of hard ice that the car could not conquer. We couldn't even get halfway up. By this time I was going mental. "We have to get up this road! Have to! Have to!" But we couldn't. Jeff, my host dad, said we would have to wait and walk up for the 9:25 regular service bus to get to school. That just wouldn't do. I called Fionnah (god job she hadn't left yet) and pleaded for a lift to school.
After checking out for the day at the school office, Fionnah and I were on our way to Crail. Dodgy Contact Mike said that the set was on the south side of town in an old abandoned airfield. Upon arriving, the first thing we did was to try to find Mike. When we did, he said we looked frozen (the Scottish coast at the end of November is not known for its great weather-it was rainy with a gale-force wind) and took us to the meal and lounge trailer. We had a cup of hot tea and we met Kelly, Emma Thompson's stand-in. After we relaxed a bit, Mike asked if we would like a tour of the set. he showed us the huge fans they use for snowy scenes and the "snow" itself (just finely cut white paper, friendly to the environment.) He showed us the pier set, the ice set and the "rocks" at the edge of the sea. The pier is about five feet wide and seven feet long, surrounded by strategically placed seaweed and pebbles. The ice scene calls for a character to fall in. The "ice" is painted cardboard and separates when the ice crack s and the character "falls" into a hole in the ground. But by far the rocks are most impressive. They look so real to anyone who spent their childhood climbing rocks looking for starfish and sea snails. Fionnah and I went up to touch and knock on the rocks and we found them hollow. We had a look behind and all we saw was wooden scaffolding and plaster and wire.
Mike led us back to the trailer and we saw Emma, who made a face at the weather and asked us how we were ("Freezing!") We found that the trailer was becoming too crowded for lunch and headed back to sit in Fionnah's car. After about fifteen minutes of trying to get the car's heater to work, we saw Mike coming toward us. He asked if we wanted anything to eat, if so, just go up and get it. We waited in line and saw there was a choice between fish stirfry and chicken, mushroom and white wine casserole. We chose the latter. There wasn't any room in the trailer so we went back to the car. It was so windy, my brand new scarf was getting into the food and I couldn't even get the door open. Even so, that casserole was surely the best free meal I'd ever eaten. I have a new found respect for caterers on movie sets. Great food under such awful weather conditions.
After the lunch rush was over, we went back to sit in the trailer and made ourselves another cup of tea. We looked around and "Oh. My. God! That's Alan Rickman!" We both whispered loudly to each other! There wasn't anyplace to sit so we stood in the aisle. Alan was talking (poor guy, I could tell he had a cold) to a few of the crew members and after a bit he left, but not before flashing us a quick smile. Fionnah and I took their seats and started chatting with the tutor of the elementary school-aged boys also starring in the film. In a few minutes, Alan came back and was kneeling in the seat right behind me. He politely asked me to move and retrieved his briefcase, which I apparently was nearly sitting on.
By this time the weather was beginning to clear up. The sun was soon shining. Alan was not too chuffed. Before-it was either too windy or too rainy to shoot. Now it was too sunny. yet still windy. The word came that the cast and crew were heading to Cupar, about twenty minutes away, to film more indoor scenes. Mike asked the third assistant director, Ben, if we could tag along. He said "Sure, no problem, mate." So we found ourselves in a long convoy of vehicles containing wardrobe, make-up, and food. We got to the studio, a big warehouse with three different sets-the first, second and third floors of Emma's character's (Francis) house. For a while we stood around talking to the stand-ins and wardrobe people and then Fionnah realized she had to go call her mum to see when she needed picking up from work (Fionnah had nicked her mum's car). When we got back, we walked into the studio talking about how sexy Alan Rickman is in person (cold or no cold!) and who do we see by the tea and coffee table? Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman, of course.
Well, we shut our traps soon enough and decided to go up and start a conversation. Just as we approached, Emma dumped out a cup of coffee and it nearly splattered my shoes. Se apologized profusely. I introduced Fionnah and myself and blathered on about being an American exchange student and soon after, Alan was called away and he smiled and excused himself. Emma asked if we wanted some tea and a biscuit (cookie) but didn't wait for an answer, just went ahead and made us a cup of tea. I told Emma that I was born and raised in California and Fionnah told how she plays the saxophone and we talked about the Monterey Jazz Festival and the coast and Emma said that Monterey was one of her favorite places in California. Emma seemed quite interested and down-to-earth, friendly as anything. I told her how happy I was to be there, to have the opportunity to see how filming really goes on. 'So what is it you hope to do?" she asked. I told her I loved to act and felt at home on the stage, but that I hated to say I wanted to be an actress, partly because there are so many other interesting things in the entertainment business, and partly because it classifies me with about a half-million high school aged girls who just really want to make-out with Brad Pitt. Emma said "Brad Pitt? Oh, no, he's a nice enough guy, but no." She said it's really great if I can feel comfortable on the stage, but she warned that "being a star is the worst, most unfortunate part (of acting). Everyone invades your privacy." I asked if we were bothering her. "No, of course not," she said, meaning only the tabloids writing scandalously about her.
I mentioned casually that my hobby is writing to famous people and asking for an autographed photo and that I had written to her in the past. She asked if she had written back and I answered yes, she had. "Oh, thank God. I could have been on some (hit) list!" I then brought up "Much Ado About Nothing" and we spoke of Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washington and Robert Sean Leonard, and she said the making of that film was a lot of fun. Emma asked Fionnah and me if we had seen the indoor set and Fionnah said no we had not. Emma said we could get Kelly, her stand-in, to take us on a tour and that she had to go checkup on "Mummy." Emma's real life mother, Phyllida Law, plays her mother in "The Winter's Guest." Law also joined her daughter in "Much Ado About Nothing" playing Ursula.
So we were off to see the set. Since they were getting ready to film on the second floor set, we were only allowed on the first floor. We were told that that was the most elaborate set anyway, so we were happy. The set is absolutely beautiful, with a gorgeous wooden staircase that Fionnah and I got to climb. The place really looks lived-in, with a wonderful old kitchen and a fabulous living room that made the whole crew wish they lived in a house like that. Now we had to be quiet as filming was starting up. They really do yell "Quiet on the set!" And there really is a school-like sounding bells that lets everyone know to be quiet. Fionnah and I went to the third floor set, or attic, where the crew was still working. We spoke to a few joiners and gaffers, carpenters and lighting crew to you and me, for a long while and saw how they "built" the fireplace by attaching bits and pieces of Styrofoam painted to look like granite.
Fionnah looked at her watch after a bit and whispered to me that we had to go pick up her mum from work. We sadly said good-bye to everyone and on our way out, Ben, the third assistant director, gave us each a cup of soup and said to drive safely. Everyone was so nice and polite, considering they had to put up with a couple of high school kids, one of which being an American, worse luck!
That day ranks high on my list of bitchin' Scottish events! I will never watch a movie the same way again.
posted by Kelly at
2:27 PM ::
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