Experiencing Elizabethtown

Looking at the throng of people and equipment all working together to help create a hopeful masterpiece, I was awestruck.  I sat motionless on the windowsill, my eyes glued to actress Kirsten Dunst as she stood on the curb and waited for her cue.  “Action!” cried someone from the crowd of crew members surrounding the area.  Ms. Dunst stepped off the curb and crossed the street, not stopping until she heard the word “cut!” shouted from the same crew member.  Although I had watched this repeatedly for the last two hours, I felt as if I couldn’t get enough.  I was actually witnessing the filming of an upcoming movie scene, and I was absolutely amazed.

Director adn screenwriter Cameron Crowe, known for giving us such blockbusters as “Jerry Maguire”, “Vanilla Sky”, and “Say Anything”, among others, had chosen my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and more specifically, my place of employment, The Brown Hotel, to film many of the scenes for his new movie, “Elizabethtown”.  Mr. Crowe arrived in April along with a team of writers and producers, checked into the hotel, and declared it home for the next for months.  As a bartender in the hotel’s lobby, I became accustomed to seeing him in the wee hours of hte morning, lounging in one of the lobby’s sofa, his brow furrowing in concentration as he labored over the masses of paperwork surrounding him.  I tried discreetly to sneak peeks whenever I brought him his standard sparkling water, but my respect for his privacy and his work restrained my curiousity.

With each passing day, more and more Paramount members arrived, and they quickly became like family to us.  They sahred work with us, the pitfalls and the perks, and we sometimes became sounding boards when difficulties on the set roused tensions.

We were all very excited when the actual filming began.  Some of us had been invited to visit one of the sets in nearby Versailles where a funeral scene had been scheduled for shooting.  While touring through the funeral home chosen for the scene, the crew members pointed out all the intricate details; the easel with sympathy cards for the deceased character tacked on the surface, filled out with heartfelt sentiments by the crew members and the casket that the actor would lie in.  Pictures of the actor and his fictitious family members had been carefully placed about the room in frames that had been painstakingly chosen to compliment the decor and the atmosphere of the scene.  Details as small as the thermostat and the light switches had been changed as Mr. Crowe decided.  It was all so facinating!  Learning about the myriad of details involved in even the most minute aspects of a film scene brought a newfound respect for movie making.  It made me feel sad to think of all the movies that were so meticulously made, but were unsuccessful for whatever reason.  After all the work required, how devastating it must be for those involved to have the movie fail at the box offices!

It was after 3:00 am,  and my shift was over.  Before leaving the hotel, I stopped in the lobby to catch some of the filming.  As Istood in the corner watching all the commotion as they tried to film a scene depicting a wedding reception, I was saddened at the thought of it all ending.  The cast and crew would be leaving tomorrow.  I would miss passing Mr. Crowe in the corridor and hearing him say “Hey! How’s it going? Are you working tonight?”  I would miss the informative and fascinating discussions with the director of photography.  I would miss the friendly chats with Orlando Bloom as I encountered him walking his constant companion, his dog, Cidi, at 2:00 am outside the hotel.  I would miss happily running all over the hotel in search of hot chocolate for Kirsten Dunst after she shot a scene on an unusually chilly summer day. 

These things, although really very small, were pleasing to me; I knew it was an opportunity I would most likely never encounter again, and one that I would always look back upon with fondness.

The next day, I stood looking out the window from the second floor, watching the crew load what must have been millions of dollars worth of equipment.  Most of the crew had departed earlier that day.  The remaining members were mostly “stagehands”.  I watch as Mr. Crowe approached to give instruction to one of the men doing the loading.  After a moment, they were joined by Orlando Bloom.  Watching them in conversation, I silently told them goodbye, and that we would miss them.  As if he ahd read my mind, Mr. Bloom Looked up and noticed me in the window.  He smiled and pointed up at me, saying something to Mr. Crowe.  Both men smiled up at me then, and I’m sure I was beaming as I smiled back.  And then they both waved; not because I was a fan; because I was Jordan, the bartender at the Brown Hotel, and a friend.  If only I had had a camera at that moment, to catch those two famous faces smiling and waving at ME!  I couldn’t help it; tears filled my eyes as I waved back, and I hoped that they knew how grateful we all were to them for giving us this experience.  They turned then, and disappeared around the corner, out of my view.

I sighed inwardly, the old cliche “gone but not forgotten” coming to mind.  How true, I thought to myself.  Our brief time with Paramount productions brought us excitement, education, and yes, in many ways, friendship.  As I turned away from the window to get back to work, I realized that I was already counting the days until “Elizabethtown” finally premiered.

I planned to be the first in line.