‘JAY and SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK’ – On-Set Production Report
WEEK SEVEN
February 26th through March 3rd, 2001.
“THE RETURN OF WILL” – Monday, Day 26
Today marks Will Ferrell’s first day back on set after having had left to go back to New York to shoot a few weeks of SNL.
Will’s not the only one hanging out here today, in “The Bluntcave”. Kev’s parents and sister have flown in to watch their son take Hollywood by storm. They watch proudly, looking seemingly amused at the shenanigans their son has imagined and is now putting on film.
On set, Scott Mosier’s sister, Kristen, also pays the set a visit, as do NewsAskew’s (www.newsaskew.com) very own Brad and Chris. Over there, I can spot DC Comics, Bob Schreck, and behind him, stands Mark Hamill with Paul (“BATMAN BEYOND”) Dini. It’s a regular “family affair” and “who’s who” of sorts on set today, but it feels no different than any other day. That’s how comfortable this set has been amongst everyone involved.
(There will be more in my forthcoming interview with Mark Hamill.)
Over the to right end of the stage stands all four girls, huddled together, looking ready for action.
For today action is what we’re in for as the crew prepares to shoot some more complex, choreographed stunt work leading up to the finale.
“BIRTHDAYS, CATFIGHTS & FAT TUESDAY” – Tuesday, Day 27
It’s a day of celebration today. Not only do the craft service guys fix up a nice Cajun spread, complete with passing around Mardi gras beads to celebrate “Fat Tuesday”, but it’s also one special girl’s special day. It’s Ali Larter’s B-Day!
Funny story, before it was announced to Ali on set, Kev caught her off guard by going off on her like a maniacal “hollywood” director would; yelling and screaming after her, acting completely pissed off. As Kev begins to scold her in front of the crew, his voice and tone quickly burst into song, singing her, “Happy Birthday” as a cake is brought out; a nice moment that caught her completely off guard.
Soon after that, it was time to begin filming a catfight between two of the girls. And this was no hair pulling, clawing, scratching kind of fight. Oh no! These gals go for the throat and pound the shit out of each other. Needless to say, these girls don’t exactly play nice.
“YOU CAN BET ON BANKY. BANKY EDWARDS THAT IS” – Wednesday, Day 28
As I arrive on set, I just catch Chris and Brad on their way out to catch their plane back home. The guys we’re fun to have hang around, and help take a little relief off my shoulders in covering some of this week. So go check out what they had to say about their experience on set. It’s a solid piece (much more so than my piss-ant, penny-ante columns that so many of you regular readers are so quick to point out. Keep those cards and letters coming!).
But unfortunately they leave just in time for the arrival of one, Jason Lee! Lee has just come on set from doing an EPK (Electronic Press Kit) interview for the film, and is pretty much decked out in the same attire he wore in ‘AMY’, including the much coveted “Banky” hat. It shows little wear over the years, as does Lee who takes a bit to get his Banky groove on. It’s a bit surreal to watch Lee as Banky Edwards, just mere feet away, performing alongside Jay and Silent Bob. They all seem to re-bond in a way that I’ll never truly know of, but is a nice observational moment nevertheless.
I manage to catch Lee in between takes, and we chat a bit about what it was like to re-emerge as Banky on stage during the El Rey shoot in front of all you extras who were there. It was obvious in his response that here was clearly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and cheers from the crowd.
Since the day ran a little long, we decide to try for an interview tomorrow.
“KICKIN’ IT, REYNOLDS STYLE” – Thursday, Day 29
As I arrive on set late afternoon, I see that filming is shooting directly outside of Stage 19. It’s filled with people, as the crew competes to get off a number of set ups before sundown.
I look around for Lee, but find no trace of him outside. Inside, lo and behold, I find Lee nodding off inside, trying to catch some “Z’s” before his next take.
Back outside, I find Kev who is quick to point out to me that Renee Humphries walking around, “looking bored” and that I should go over and talk to her. “Work some of that AICN magic.” He tells me as he rehearses with Jay.
After we talk, I find Lee’s friend and partner, Jordan, whom I met the previous day. Jordan’s a quiet guy, in the same way the Lee is too. But once you begin talking with these guys, it’s clear to see that they’re quite the opposite.
Now when I said that Jordan was Lee’s partner, I mean just that – he and Lee have formed a racing and performance driving school, called “Road One Racing”.
But I’ll let Lee tell you a bit more about it:
JASON LEE: It’s called ‘ROAD ONE RACING.’ We organize performance-driving schools for people who have sports cars and things where they want to learn how to drive. So every three months, at racetracks we put those on and we also race cars, vintage racing.
MYSTERIO: So you drive yourself?
JASON LEE: Yeah.
MYSTERIO: So what got you into that?
JASON LEE: I’ve always loved cars. I bought a sports car a while ago and told Jordan that I wanted to go out to the track and become a better driver and he organized this school and it was so successful that we decided to make a company out of it. Because it was a lot different than most schools that people go to. So we do that every three months and we have a team of drivers that race for us, in the vintage series. That basically means, y’know, people with old BMW 2002’s and British cars from 1972 and earlier race.
MYSTERIO: Is this school open to everyone?
JASON LEE: Oh, yeah, yeah. Sure. We have a web site and we’re building, getting sponsors and stuff now. So that’s that. It’s very cool.
Once Lee finishes on set for the day, we head back to base camp where he shows me his sports car: an S2000 Honda Roadster, modified with a 350-horse power engine.
He and Jordan invite me down sometime to the track, and Lee hands me his card.
Now before all you go running to the phones, thinking you’ll catch Jason Lee here - think again. First, it’s a business, meaning they have people to answer the phones and take messages regarding the school and racing ONLY. If you want to catch Lee, you’re more likely to find him over at www.viewaskew.com where he posts and answers questions frequently.
But, if you’re into extreme sports of this sort, then by all means give them a call or check their website for more info.
Hopefully we’ll be doing this thing sometime in May, and I’ll be able to tell you all more about it and profile Lee in action with pictures.
As for your fan questions: rest assured, they’ve more than likely been answered as we did do the interview, but due to time restraints I’ll have to submit it in the coming weeks, as well as interviews with the rest of the cast and crew. Although filming is closing to an end, there’s still more stuff to talk about, that I’ll be reporting on, just not in weekly form.
“GIRLS WITH GUNS” – Friday, Day 30
Jen and Ali take a few quick lessons on set in gun handling before doing their next big scene. At first, they fumble changing the magazine and clumsily hold their guns. But with in minutes, they seem to get a handle and feel for the weapons that look convincing enough, and they prepare to go before cameras, where they’ll be barraged in a hail of smoke, and gunfire.
Tim Bird, the film’s 1st AD, requires the girls to wear earplugs, as he noise level from the gunfire and squibs could, possibly cause ear damage. Safety first.
In the midst of the huge shootout, Ali and Jen take cover behind a craft service table, as squibs rip across and through the particleboard surface of the table. Lightbulbs explode and items fly around them in a sea of chaos. In the briefest moment of silence, the girls fire back retaliating, which results in more chaos, as sparks fly and dance around them.
Judging from the smiles on the girl’s faces, a feeling of empowerment must exist when these two wield their weapons in their hands. That is until, when in the middle of the gunfire, the guns jam. This results in not only the gun’s chamber jamming, but no muzzle flash as well.
Reset and go for another.
“MORE MOVIE MAYHEM WITH WILL” – Saturday, Day 31
It’s either tye-dye shirt day today, or I’m at a ‘Grateful Dead’ show. No wait, it’s just tye-dye shirt day.
I see Will acting out a scene between Jay and Silent Bob.
As he finishes, I talk to him and suggest that since his role is wrapping this upcoming Tuesday, that we do an interview sometime today.
He’s cool as cool can be about it, and we move off to the side of the stage and begin the interview. And wouldn’t ya know it, but just as when we’re getting into talking about Kev, who do I catch stealthily lurking about through the corner of my eye, but Kev himself. Will follows my eyeline, and quickly changes his tone. We play it off until Kev smiles at us, then disappears.
Again, this interview will be posted in its entirety at a later date.
After our interview, Will heads back to prepare for a jumping stunt that he’ll be performing himself. Mosier gets together with the stunt coordinator to go over the scene with his storyboards describing how the shot should look, and the scene should play.
Will does the stunt a few times, with minor difficulties due to the cameras height and the logistics in the shooting area to get the right shot needed. Eventually, they get it, and move on to a few shots with “Suzanne” before calling it a wrap, which here I will do.
Until next week, that’s a wrap!
JAY’s Weekly Phrase That Pays…
Jay: “Step off my Kool-Aid!”
NEXT WEEK:
Who knows…? I’m just too damn tired to tell ya!
