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USA Today announced that Nicholas Lea is the lead in a TV movie called "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye," being directed by Jason Priestley as part of a series of film-noir remakes for FOX. The most important detail is that he had already been shooting in Los Angeles since that past Wednesday. :-> And damn it if I weren't still in the midst of Recording Hell... I called up my friend Sickleweed and gave her the news, letting her know I'd have to live vicariously through her for a couple of days. :-P
6510 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood
The lovely and talented alt.tv.x-files contributor Sickleweed takes over with her account:
I got on location when they were still in the process of setting up. They were gonna do mainly interiors, inside this nightclub of some kind. Their setting takes up a whole block, tho, so I stand across the street from the actual block of filming.
A couple of hours later, I see across the street this guy wearing this bright orange shirt walking toward one of the trailers and I glance away again before it hits me: that's NICK LEA. I snap my head back like a rubberband, and I am in complete shock when I confirm that it is indeed him. He was wearing an orange and yellow plaid shirt, worn jeans, and FLIP FLOPS of all things, but he was still GORGEOUS. Yes, I was across the street but I could still see clearly how gorgeous he is and how slim he is too.
I try not to stare so I start moving around a little and turning my head slightly this way and that but of course all the while, my eyes are still on him. And he's walking, he's walking, and then I freeze again when I realize he has just gone into the trailer RIGHT ACROSS FROM ME! You have to pardon my excitement; the last time I met him was at that Burbank con when I didn't really care, so you can imagine how awesome just that GLIMPSE was for me now that it has SOME meaning.
Anyway, so he went into his trailer and he stayed there. Around noon, he came back out and went to the front of the block where the set was. In the meantime, I start seeing these extras dressed as punk rockers and gothic vampire wanna-bes and I guess the nightclub is gonna be some gothic nightclub. I couldn't see anything for awhile, except just a bunch of equipment and crew since they were interior shots.
For the next few hours, I would see him walking back and forth from his trailer to the set. Nick eventually changed from his orange shirt and flip flops to DROOL wear: a metallic blue short-sleeved silk shirt, TIGHT black pants and a leather jacket. Very Vic-like, wouldn't you say?
Around 6pm, this crew member said that it'd be okay to go up to Nick and say hi since all he's doing at that moment was sitting around. So I went up front to where the set was and oh my GOD there he was! There he waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssss. Even MORE beautiful than on-screen and I didn't think that was humanly possible. His eyes are definitely green and they do twinkle when he smiles. I didn't talk to him, tho (like I even was in the state of mind to put together two words coherently). I just smiled and stared.
I would've been completely satisfied if I didn't see him again for the rest of the night. But as luck would have it, the crew said it was okay to stay up in front so I got to see some filming: there's a scene where he's fighting someone inside the bar and he's really pissed. Jason Priestly (the director, as you probably know) pulls Nick off of that guy and they walk off into the alleyway. I was at the end of the alley so I got to see Nick spit. TWICE! Lol! I thought that was really cute. Later on, I saw him shoot a scene where he's just entering the nightclub.
I stayed until they wrapped and then went home.
Leo Carillo Beach
Neither Sickleweed nor I could make it set on Tuesday (just as well since we were wondering how often we really should be going anyway), but they were still shooting at the same location the next day.
Let me put the whereabouts of Leo Carillo Beach into perspective for you: you're in LA. You get on the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica and you drive. And you drive. And you keep driving. Somewhere beyond the horizon, possibly beyond the edge of the universe, is Leo Carillo Beach.
Sickleweed arrived about a half hour before me:
During the time I was standing there alone, Nick passed by once. They were filming at the bottom of a small cliff right next to the ocean and I was standing in the middle of the path from the location to the trailers so he passed by me when he returned to the trailers. When he made eye contact, this time, I didn't freeze. I actually lifted my hand and waved a little.
He smiled. He was wearing a white shirt and I think black jeans underneath a black jacket that looked like it was made out of raincoat material. NOT a raincoat tho, mind you.
Shortly afterwards, I arrived, around 8-ish. "Access Hollywood" had just finished shooting the infamous "underwear" story (in exchange for getting him to perform a particularly difficult scene, Nick apparently had convinced Jason to direct the scene with his pants down!). Nick appeared, eating a honking-huge club sandwich - the very size of this sandwich became a running-joke amongst my friends.
He must have recognized me from past "X-Files" shoots, because he gulped down a bite of his sandwich and walked over towards me. And smiled. He wiped some dressing from the corner his mouth, and kissed me on the corner of my mouth. I will make the understatement of the year to say that was the last thing I expected or hoped for. I now feel totally vindicated for having missed him during the Expos where it seemed just about everyone got a kiss from the Nickster (need I remind anyone that he didn't appear at the LA Expo, or have I whined enough?).
He asked me how I was doing, and I said good, and asked if he was having fun. He said that the shoot was tough since he was in every scene. Then he had to go back to his trailer, but said he'd see me in a bit. "It's really good to see you."
After Nick left, I turned to Sickleweed and said, "HAZEL, right? Am I right?!"
Sickleweed rolled her eyes. "Okay, maybe."
As night fell it just got colder and colder and windier and windier, and we couldn't get very close to where they were filming on the beach. So a nice crew member let us sit in his van as we watched filming through the back window. He even turned on his heater. From the viewpoint of the truck, everyone pretty much looked like ants, and Sickleweed and I vowed to leave by the "lunch" break.
I do remember watching Nick run around the sand feigning a drunken stupor. We were told that the poor actress who plays the stripper who gets killed had to shoot a scene wearing only her underpants - and lie face down in the freezing water. We'd often see her pass by wearing nothing but a bathrobe. Hollywood glamour.
Before lunch (around 11:30pm), Nick passed by Sickleweed and me, wearing a shirt and shorts. A towel was draped over his shoulders. His feet were bare and still wet from the beach. He was talking to Jason, but broke conversation for a moment to turn to us and ask if we were warm enough. (!!!) This man has just gone frolicking in 50 degree water and asks us if we're warm enough. "Trying to be," I answered. He chuckled and continued on.
We went back to our cars. Oh joy, oh bliss, I left the damn headlights on. So we waited an hour for Triple A to discover which planet Leo Carillo was on - that was fun - and headed back home.
Broad Beach
On Thursday, Sickleweed forsook set-watching for fishing, and I had to work late. Friday, KTG filmed 15 miles south of Leo Carillo Beach (so not quite at the edge of the universe). In response to Wednesday night, Sickleweed and I dressed ridiculously warm for the night and ended up having to take off several layers.
They were filming interiors at a quaint Spanish beach house which we were told gets used in many films. We were promised that there would be exteriors on the beach, but that wouldn't happen until the wee hours. We weren't sure if we'd want to wait that long, but nevertheless we patiently parked ourselves on one of those railings - you know, the kind that keeps cars from plowing into your home? Every once in a while the neighbors would pass by in their cars and stop to ask what was being filmed... and squeal when Jason's name was mentioned.
At about 8:30, Nick emerged, once again eating a sandwich. "Hey, you guys," he said. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He was about to head back to base camp, but he paused and sat down on my right side, with Sickleweed on my left!
I asked how shooting was. He said good, they just finished watching dailies, and was happy with them. "Jason's really good," Nick said with a smile. "He's making really interesting decisions. Definitely not your average TV movie." I asked Nick if it was being shot in film noir style, and he said no, that the film isn't that dark (except for the beach scenes they'd shot the other night), "it's more like 'Cape Fear.'" I also asked if he had seen the original film which "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" was based on ("Moontide") and he said no.
Afterwards, I told Nick that we were all really happy for him, and that many of us had written thank-you notes to Doug Herzog. "Oh, yeah?" Nick smiled and elbowed me teasingly, the way one's brother might. I thought that was too cute.
Nick asked me what I did in the film business, and we chatted about that for a bit. Since Sickleweed was sitting on my left side tongue-tied, I then introduced her to him. I told him she'd been one of the people who helped me tremendously on the letter campaigns, and Nick shook Sickleweed's hand, smiled and thanked her.
He asked Sickleweed what she did, and she told him that she was a biology grad student. Nick's eyes lit up and he said, "Wow." This started us on what has to be the most bizarre conversation fans have ever had with a star. Nick asked if we'd seen a cover article in that day's USA Today about how AIDS has killed six times more people than both World Wars. We hadn't seen the article, but the three of us started discussing everything from conspiracies pertaining to the lack of health funding, to the delay in finding a cure for HIV, to the glut on weapons spending. Nick spoke excitedly about theories that the war in Yugoslavia was all about using up the smart bombs that weren't Y2K-compliant before it's too late, and that the Vietnam War was prolonged to keep defense contractors' pockets filled.
At this point, I was thinking 3 things: 1) How weird is it that an X-Files star is discussing conspiracy theories with two X-Files fans?, 2) No one will believe we're having this discussion, and 3) Nick's eyes seem green, speckled with brown today.
After a few minutes of war-talk, Nick rubbed the back of his neck, telling us he'd had to shoot a fight scene the day before and he was sore (later, a crew member told us that Nick practically pummels a guy in one scene). Then, Nick started whistling idly - for some reason that surprised me more than anything. It was something we'd hear quite a few times over the course of the nearly month-long shoot.
The conversation only became more surreal when a German man on vacation walked up to us (sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, doesn't it?) and asked what was being filmed. Who was the star?, the man asked. I surreptitiously pointed to Nick. "No one you'd recognize," Nick joked, displaying his infamous self-deprecating sense of humor.
Just when I was about to ask the man where he was from, Nick asked the question himself. "Cologne." "I've been there!" I cried. The man asked when, and I explained that I'd been touring with the college Glee Club. Nick was amused by this. He said he'd never been to Germany, and I told him he should go because parts of it are beautiful.
After the German man left, Nick said he'd better head back to his trailer, but he's see us later if we were going to hang out. I asked Nick if that was okay; we didn't want to seem pushy, and he said of course. He touched me on the arm and said goodbye. After he was out of sight, one of the crew congratulated us for the conversation! Me, I'm shocked that Sickleweed and I managed to get through it without passing out.
Nick came back from his trailer dressed in a black, baggy suit and green silk shirt (which we'd see quite a few times over the course of the shoot). He was dangling an unlit cigarette from his mouth, which just amused me to no end.
We didn't stay much longer, despite the fact that one of the crew members urged us to stick around to see Jason Priestley (throughout the whole month of the shoot, this man was convinced we were there for Jason). Before we left we did have some very interesting conversations with a couple of the crew members about New Age beliefs. At some point a crew member brought us some fruit - one of them said they were happy to have people around who admired the craft.
My headlights had been left off, thankfully. We drove home.
El Royale Apartments
Jamie (the Nick League webmistress) flew in from out of town and joined us this day. I think that was the day we decided we'd make good poster children for racial unity (African-American, Asian, white). Unfortunately the shoot was a big bust for Nickage. They'd shot earlier that day at the Pinot Bistro on Gower, but with Sickleweed's and my work schedules, the three of us didn't make it down to shooting until they were filming at the El Royale, and Nick wasn't in any of those scenes (Aha! Nick lied - he's not in every scene! ;->). Bummer. We watched the crew hook a camera up to a car and shoot a few shots inside the car, but that was it.
1033 N. Mansfield Ave., Hollywood
Sickleweed steps in with her story since I didn't get there until late:
Nick's b-day! Happy b-day Nick! I picked up Jamie and we arrived there at around 6 pm. They were filming limo scenes inside a warehouse and I think they shot the scene where the stripper gives Dustin (Nick's character) a lap dance earlier [Emile's note: DAMMIT, WHERE WAS I WHEN AUDITIONS WERE BEING HELD?!!]. We stood right across the street from the Warehouse and an hour later, we finally saw Nick across the street. He was wearing a black tux (!!!!) and he stopped at crafts' service for food. Lol, I joked to Jamie that he's probably gonna assemble a club sandwich now.
Emile didn't get there 'til 9 pm (by that time, Jamie was convinced that she was dead in a ditch somewhere). After Nick went inside the warehouse, we didn't see him anyway.
My turn:
I arrived at nine and was promptly clocked by a crew member for not letting my worried friends know I was going to be late. Minutes later, a stretch limo was driven into the warehouse, and more interiors of what looked like a swanky club were filmed.
Around 11 pm we watched as Nick, Jason, and a few other actors - all wearing tuxes without jackets - went into Jason's trailer (they had moved it around 10 so that it was now parked right next to us). The door was kept open and we would hear raucous laughter from time to time. "Nick's party is starting early," I said.
The actors went back on set about thirty minutes later. We told the crew member we'd talked to earlier that it was Nick's birthday, and he told us, no, it was Jason's birthday - they'd just had a celebration. We spent five minutes arguing with the crew member, so he went to ask another crew member whose birthday it was to prove us wrong. He came back admitting that we were right, and gave us pieces of Nick's birthday cake! We were just blown away. It was chocolate with mounds of icing - it was too sweet and I could finish only a quarter of it. I wonder if Nick even touched it.
They wrapped at midnight and Nick practically ran to his trailer and changed into a red plaid shirt and white jeans. Sickleweed noted he tucks his shirt in only in the back. Very 80's type of look - does my heart good. We didn't get to talk to him, but, y'know, it was his birthday. He looked like he just wanted to get out and race to the first party he could get to.
There was one consolation, though: the crew member who gave us cake to nosh on also gave us a call sheet. Jamie later teased me for framing it, but man, I get nostalgic for those things thinking of when I used to work in live action.
5657 Melrose Ave., Hollywood
Martini Lounge
Sickleweed didn't join us Wednesday, and I swear I wasn't supposed to join Jamie either. I emphatically told her to go it alone, and I'd pick her up in the evening, where they were shooting more club scenes at the Martini Lounge. Heh. Well, see, there was this little technicality called Bumping Into Nick, and somehow I just had to stay - it would seem rude otherwise. ;->
Jamie later told me during the course of the day, she saw Nick driving and Nick smoking many cigarettes. At one point, he passed by her as he headed for craft service. Much was made of the way he fills a pair of pants. ;->
Around 6:30, I came to pick up Jamie. I happened to come up the side of the block where Nick and a couple other actors were sitting. Nick was sitting in a directors chair with one leg splayed over another... I don't have to tell you this a good thing, do I? He was wearing the same metallic blue shirt that I'm told he was wearing the week before and black pants.
As I was walking towards set, I was kind of afraid that I might walk right past Nick, so I resolved to keep walking and not make eye contact. But Nick called out my name and said hello. You could have knocked me down with a feather - I didn't even think he knew my name.
"How are you?" he said. "What are you doing here?" Nick looked at his watch. "Oh, it's 6:30. You're off from work." How sad is it that Nick Lea now knows my work schedule?
I asked Nick if he had fun last night. At that moment, Jamie, smart cookie that she is, decided to join us from across the street, as I was hoping she would. I introduced Jamie to Nick, and he recognized her from the "Biogenesis" shoot. When I told him she is the wonderful webmistress for the Nick League (she's does all the work on the site, after all), he said, "Right on," and shook her hand.
Nick resumed the birthday conversation, and I wished him a happy belated. Nick thanked me and smiled. One of the PA's then called him back inside to shoot. Bastard. ;->
We walked back across the street after Nick went in, and just watched him come in and out. Some tourists came by and got pictures with Nick and Jason. Jason yelled some joke about Krycek that I couldn't hear clearly. We watched Nick clown around with Jason and some other actors; after one crew member literally picked up the make-up girl with one arm, Nick struck a beefcake pose.
One woman came by and asked Jamie and me about the shoot - who was in it, etc. She was later allowed to take her child over to meet Nick. Nick talked to her and posed for a picture with her son as the little boy sat in one of the director's chairs.
After awhile, Nick changed into a long-sleeved black shirt and grey pants, and I said to Jamie, "My gawd, he does look like Ricky Martin." "No, he does not," was the plaintive response. "Yes, he does - come on!" "No." "Yes!"
A half-hour later, some trucks were moved right into our view, so we shifted a few paces. "Now there's a tree in our way," I complained. "Can we have that removed?"
We left when they changed locations, as they were filming driving shots all over Hollywood, and we probably weren't going to be able to see anything up close.
Jamie, however, did score another call sheet that night. ;->
333 S. Boylston St., Los Angeles
Glam Slam
Jamie went back alone on Thursday - this time I really was staying away. They were filming at Glam Slam, which was being used to double as the Viper Room (Johnny Depp's club) since the VR wanted $10,000 for the privilege of filming inside the club.
Jamie waited from 3pm - on since Nick was on "will notify" status. She was informed at some point by one of the AD's "If you're here for Nick, he's not going to be here until 8pm." Since she'd taken public transportation to get there, however, it was easier to stick around than to leave and come back.
All the crew were nice - they kept plying her with water and fruit as she waited. Around 9pm, it was dark, and this was downtown LA, a fairly seedy area. Jamie had had enough, so I picked her up. It was a good day for getting to know the crew, but not much else.
Pancho Tacos
2920 Lincoln, Santa Monica
I was looking forward to a pleasant day in Santa Monica. We got there around 2pm. As we drove past base camp, Sickleweed and Jamie spotted Nick, wearing a light blue shirt and eating lunch (there's a theme here somewhere). I didn't see him, though, seeing as how I was doing all the driving. Hmph.
They filmed in Pancho Tacos, which was standing in for Jack's Chicken Shack. We were told we could stand on the corner next to craft services. After a couple of hours, we saw Nick. He was wearing the dark suit and green silky shirt again. He spotted us from where he was and he waved to us. He then grabbed a slice of watermelon. And how sad is it that I find that just too adorable?
Our view was blocked by grip epipment, so we scoped the block for a better place to view shooting. There was no place we could be other than our original spot, so we returned... but not before spotting Nick rush out of Pancho Tacos flipping someone off. Part of a scene, perhaps (or, "hopefully," I should say)? File that under Things You Don't Normally Get to See.
We left for dinner at the same time as the crew break, but didn't come back until nightfall. They were shooting exteriors of Nick getting in and out of his car - a light blue (almost pastel, almost silvery) Porsche convertible with, I noticed, a dent on the side. Hmmm. We approached timidly, but one the crew members - either an AD or the producer - urged us to stand closer. "Are you sure?" "Yeah, yeah, you can stand right here."
After an hour of Nick getting in and out of the car, they got the scene right, and Nick walked towards our direction and sat in one of the directors chairs to study the script over someone's shoulder. A few minutes later, one of those types who thinks you really need to hear the music he's blasting out of his car passed by. I would have been annoyed if this hadn't prompted Nick to start playing air guitar - as if on cue, like it was just something he just had to do. I swear, we must have all sighed under our breaths. Nicholas Lea plays air guitar! It was the closest we'd come to seeing Nick display his musical side in real life.
Now realize at this point, I've also watched Chris Owens play air baseball. I'm not sure what the connection would be, but there's gotta be one. ;->
They finally reset the next scene and we found we were going to be in the way of the shot. So, we moved around the block and back to the other side, and stood next to Pancho Tacos. Then, a PA informed us we were in eye-line. "Sorry!" I said. "No, no, it's okay." We thought he'd move us down the block, but instead he shifted us a whopping 3 feet over towards the parking meters.
After they finished exteriors, they had one more shot inside Pancho Tacos. As Nick and Jason were entering the diner to get ready for the scene, Nick saw us. It was after midnight, and he smiled and said "How's it going?" I smiled back and told him we were fine.
That was the last shot at that location. There was a Venice location listed on the call sheet, but I had been declaring for the past 3 days that there was no way in hell we were going to be standing around in the wee hours of the morning in Venice of all places. Besides, we'd already gotten a wave, a hello and air guitar. What more could we want? ;->
West Hollywood
(exact address witheld since it's someone's house)
We were told that from June 28 to July 2, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" filmed in a private residence in Studio City - one of those that are up in the hills with no sidewalk, barely anywhere to park. In other words, no place for a fan since we'd pretty much have to be sitting on someone's lawn to see anything, so we stayed away. One crew member told us that the only fans he saw that week were a couple of teenagers who lived in the area and wanted to see Jason... good for him to get some adoration. ;->
When we returned on the 6th, for the last week of filming, Jamie had gone back home and a lot of the crew had changed. Apparently, some crew had fled, some had been, er, removed. Just about everyone told us it had been a difficult shoot. We didn't find out until 8 pm that Nick's call was at 9 pm so we whiled away the time chatting and laughing. We spotted a few familiar faces: one of the PA's tried to get us to tell him how old Nick is, since apparently Nick wouldn't divulge this information on his birthday. Sickleweed was about to say, and I whispered, "If Nick wasn't saying, maybe he doesn't want us to tell." She told the PA, "I don't know." The PA gave her a "likely story" smirk.
They were filming inside a house with an enclosed garden with vines and flowers and the works - sort of a Melrose Place-ish bungalow. Around 8, we went to dinner. Or rather, we went in search for dinner. Bought fries - which an onset policeman later bummed off of us - and walked back to our position across the street from the house to eat.
Nick arrived and suddenly food wasn't so important. He was wearing a black long-sleeved t-shirt and beige shorts, so we figured he wasn't in wardrobe yet. I'm amazed at how beautifully slender Nick's legs are given how well-built he is on top. He went into the house for rehearsals, we believe, and then left for his trailer again which was at the end of the block.
At about 10 or 11, we were going to be in the way of a shot again, so we moved across the street, closer to set but still out of the way. Nick came back from his trailer wearing the dark suit he'd worn before and that metallic navy blue shirt. As he was walking to set, he said hi, flashing that smile.
Later, they were setting up for an exterior scene which shows Nick arriving at the house in the Porsche and hiding when a police car passes by. Nick and Jason discussed the scene - Nick seems to be an active participant in setting up a scene, as opposed to merely doing what he is told. Jason discussed the shot with the cinematographer, framing the shot with his hands.
Nick entered the car, which had been parked a few paces ahead of us, and backed up right next to where Sickleweed and I were standing.
"Hey, guys," Nick said.
We were startled, since Nick usually doesn't talk when he's in character. But he was waiting for camera to get ready.
"What do you think?" Nick asked, indicating the convertible.
I said something dumb like "It's you."
Nick shook his head. "Nah, I don't like it."
"No?" I asked.
Camera was ready, so Nick drove forward for the scene. Afterwards, he reversed back to us and continued the conversation!
"I don't like it."
"How come?"
He explained that while it looks nice outside, the inside wasn't that impressive. Then he asked how our 4th of July's were, and he told us his was good, he'd spent some of it on the beach. He said he needed the holiday because he'd been shooting until 7am one night.
"Well, soon it'll be over and you'll be in New Zealand," I said.
Nick beamed. Since we'd arrived on set that day, everyone mentioned how Nick was going to be in New Zealand to shoot "The Vertical Limit" with Bill Paxton and Chris O'Donnell; he was clearly excited, and told Sickleweed and me as much.
Nick then said, "I have to remember to sign those photos for you." He was referring to photos for the Nick League charity auctions - I was surprised and overjoyed he'd remembered them. The conversation was cut short by more driving.
Afterwards, Nick filmed a scene where he was getting out of the car, looking around nervously for the police and tip-toeing to his fiance's (?) house. On the last take, he deliberately hammed it up a bit and the crew laughed.
The crew really pushed it close to their deadline for getting out of there on time - if they'd gone over, they would have lost their permit. One of the AD's occasionally would announce how many minutes they had left - it was very tense. At one point Nick exclaimed, "You're committing hari kari! Seppuku!" Once again, can I just say how adorable I find these things? ;->
When the shoot wrapped, Nick passed by us and said, "You guys are gonna be here tomorrow, right?" Sickleweed and I said yes and we all chuckled. Oh, yes. 'Til the bitter end.
West Hollywood
(exact address witheld since it's someone's house)
Back at the house from yesterday. We arrived sometime before nightfall and were contemplating whether or not to go to dinner when Nick emerged from the house, wearing a black cable sweater, beige shorts. He was barefoot. "Oh, there's Nick," we chorused.
But most importantly "there's Nick" carrying an acoustic guitar. Gawd, sticking around 'til the bitter end really does have its rewards. Nick sat on a director's chair, sort of pigeon-toed and played his guitar. Sickleweed grabbed me.
"Awww," we said in unison and swooned.
We had a perfect view from across the street - it's as if the crew purposely parted like the Red Sea so we could have that clear shot of Nick strumming his guitar through the arched doorway. We watched and committed the scene to memory.
Like that one conversation from almost a month ago, I had 3 thoughts running through my mind at this point: 1) No one's going to believe this, 2) I don't believe this - have we ever seen Nick play guitar other than the photo in People of him with Mitch? and 3) Is that a light smattering of hair I see on those legs?
Someone - some rude someone - drew us out of our reverie when he blocked our view and took Nick's guitar, demonstrating his musical skills to Nick. Sickleweed and I silently willed him away. Then more crew members blocked our view - oh, for crying out... well, now Nick's gone back inside with the guitar.
Sickleweed and I wondered if Nick indeed plays the guitar in the film - dare we hope? After about 15 minutes, Nick answered our prayers and re-emerged with the guitar and strummed some more. Once again, that darn crew member took the guitar and played for Nick. Yeah, yeah, yeah, give it back, quit it. He did, and we watched Nick play for a few more moments before he went back inside the house.
Gawd, that was beautiful. I don't care that we couldn't hear a single note, either. ;->
When dinner was called, Nick donned the flip flops and went back to his trailer, whistling. Upon his return, he said to us, "I didn't even get to have dinner." "Sorry," said Sickleweed. "You guys doing okay?" he asked us. I nodded. "Doing good."
In truth, I was about to fall off my feet with exhaustion, so I took a nap in Sickleweed's car. When I returned, Sickleweed provided tiny footstools for us to sit on as we watched Nick film. As we sat, we were told that the movie is supposed to be airing on Monday, September 13 (the movie didn't air until August 24, 2000).
The scene being shot was of Dustin walking a girl (his fiance?) to her house... and then getting the door slammed in his face. It was frustrating, though, because we could barely hear Nick's whispery voice. Oh, but we could make out the voice of his co-star just fine.
Nick then had one scene where Dustin had to bang on his fiance's door and beg to be allowed in (he wasn't). Then Nick faked-vomited on the doorstep. The noise he made was something more akin to a gobbling turkey - the crew didn't let him live that one down for awhile. In between scenes Nick walked across the street to pet someone's dogs - so sweet to see since Sickleweed and I are both pet owners.
Around 11pm, we moved out of the way of a shot. On our way to another corner, Nick spotted the footstools in our hands and teased us: "You guys got chairs now?! What's up with that?" "We're prepared," I answered and Nick chuckled.
Nick later played catch with a crew member just outside the house, sometimes alternating positions with him for some reason. We generally just watched him fool aroud... until I literally was sleeping on my feet at around 2am, and they weren't due to finish until 5. Sickleweed and I decided to call it a night.
Sunset Blvd., Hollywood
Cineramadome parking lot
As far as watching filming was concerned, the last night of principal photography was a bust, which I knew it would be as soon as I saw the call sheet the night before: driving shots on Mulholland and Cahuenga. "We ain't gettin' anywhere near set tonight," I told Sickleweed.
But there was still the business of the Nick League charity auction photos, which Nick told me he'd have with him that night. Sickleweed and I hung around with some of the crew, who asked us if we were going to go to the wrap party the next evening. We'd been given an invitation, but we politely declined, explaining that after that night we really needed to call it quits. Besides, having worked on a set, I'm aware that wrap parties are for crew and crew alone; they're intimate gatherings and rewards for their hard work.
They weren't supposed to wrap that night until 7am, but thank gawd they finished much earlier - around 1am.
Nick was driven back to base camp in a limo (dark suit, green shirt). When he spotted us, he wordlessly reached into his satchel and handed me the photos. And as he gave me the photos, he bent down and kissed me and gave me a strong hug. "Thanks for coming all those nights," he said. "Have fun in New Zealand," I told him. "I will!" - I could hear him beaming.
I don't remember a lot after that. As good as I'd been previously to keep my mind from wandering, I have to admit that after that hug, the "white noise" entered my brain; Jamie once sagely identified said white noise as that which is known to buzz through the brains of normally intelligent women whilst in the presence of Nicholas Lea.
So, I'm partly relying on Sickleweed's memory after this: she told me later that as Nick hugged and kissed her, he said, "Thanks, sweetheart." I gave him the most grateful look for the photos, and he gave me one of those "of course" looks back. I did have enough presence of mind to ask if he plays the guitar in the movie. Nick smiled and rolled his eyes and said no. "So we just got a rare opportunity to see you play," I said. He answered back sheepishly - I can't remember what he said for all that white noise. ;->
I vaguely remember Sickleweed telling him to have a safe trip, and Nick thanking us again for coming. Again, I thanked him for the pictures, and got that "certainly" look in return. He then said, smiling, "See you next year at X-Files." He knows us all so well...
Nick left for his trailer, and we left for our cars to reminisce and hug and just generally recover.