'Chatham' Makes A Splash

"Chatham," the movie, is making a big splash in Chatham, the town on Cape Cod. Whether it's filming at the Oyster River shanties or one of the actors being asked to leave The Squire, the production has spiced up the usual drab time of March and early April, given residents something to talk about other than the unsightly appearance of the new community center or the seemingly endless series of road closures and detours.

I've written a few stories about "Chatham" for The Chronicle, going back to January when I did a front page piece announcing the production. This Tuesday, I spent a morning watching the cast and crew film a scene in Seaside Cemetery --- coincidentally, right across the street from my office --- and took some of the photos you see here (more can be found in a slideshow here). I'd already written the sort of "on location" story about the film the previous week, when I spent time on the set at the Oyster River Pirate Co. shanty at the end of Barn Hill Road. This week, my story was about a local resident who was serving as set decorator for the film. But I saw and heard more on Tuesday, and thought I'd post it here for those who are interested.

I spent some time talking to the guys in charge of the horses and livery; they were from Connecticut and brought with them a horse drawn hearse dating from the 1800s. They'd been in numerous films, including Amistad. Poor guys spent the entire cold, damp day standing there as background for the burial scene.

Some background for those not familiar with "Chatham." It's based on "Cap'n Eri," a book by Joseph C. Lincoln, a best-selling author in the early 1900 who lived part-time in Chatham. The story revolves around three retired sea captains, played by David Carradine, Bruce Dern and Rip Torn, who are sick of their sloppy ways and each other's horrible cooking. They decide to advertise for a bride for one of them to marry, so someone else can do the cooking and cleaning. Enter Mariel Hemmingway. A love triangle develops, and there's more plot elements along the way, including a temperance movement that culminates in the burning down of a pool hall that opens up in town (that's being filmed next week behind Chatham Hardware). Charles Durning plays a fourth sea captain who is the leader of the temperance movement. It's his funeral the rest of the cast was attending in the scene filmed this week.

After spending hours decorating the cemetery, positioning extras, setting up the camera, and making sure no headstones dated later than 1905 (the time of the story) were in shot, writer and director Dan Adams finally yelled "Action." About five takes of a longshot of the scene of a minister (played by singer Jonathan Edwards) saying a few words over the grave, with the rest of the characters, including Tony-award winning actress and Chatham resident Julie Harris, standing by silent and grim.

During a break while the crew set up for a medium closeup, I had a chance to wander among the actors, talking to some locals playing extras, saying hello to Ms. Harris (whom I've met numerous times though she never remembers me; not that I fault her for that, she's in her 80s and had a stroke or two). She was gallantly escorted in both the scene and off-camera by young actor Jason Alan Smith, who helped her to a chair and got her coffee like a proper southern gentleman. He told me he was from a town near New Orleans, and so the dampness of the weather was familiar to him, though it was a bit colder than he would have liked it. "I'm too used to living in Los Angeles," he said.

I cornered David Carradine as he puffed one of his ever present cigarettes, which he keeps in a rather stylish case I suspect is his and not a film prop. I'd spoke with him briefly at the shanty shoot, when he asked if my newspaper had a crossword puzzle and what service it came from. Then he asked if we had comics, which precipitated a discussion about comics and comic books, with him telling me all about a 1940s comic he fondly remembered called Supersnipe.

Knowing his interest in comics, I asked him a question someone else had asked me: how much input did he have to the Superman speech in Kill Bill. He told me a long story about sitting up late one night with Quentin Tarantino in a parlor of a hotel in China during the filming of the movie. Someone had said something about Christopher Reeve being a poor Superman but a great Clark Kent. That sparked a discussion along those lines. The next day, Tarantino had the speech written. It was a great story, Carradine's point being how much Tarantino was willing to trust his actors and use them to feed the film.

The opposite, Carradine said, of Ingmar Bergman, who controlled everything. "He'd slap your hand," Carradine said, slapping my hand, "and tell you to look this way," he grabbed my jaw and shoved my had to the side. Once, Bergman sat down right next to the camera during a close up and said, "So what kind of expressions are we going to make today," Carradine said. "I didn't move a f****** muscle," he said. "And then everything was fine."

At that point, Carradine was called for the shot and I had to go back to my office. It was deadline day, unfortunately, and the end of that day's Hollywood encounter.

Previously I'd spoke when Bruce Dern, who walked about how brave he thought director Dan Adams was for filming a movie on his home turf. Dern said he'd never been to the Cape --- Newport to film Great Gatsby being the closest he'd come --- but that like everyone else, had his own concept of the place. He said he was enjoying his time here.

I won't get into the gossip here, at least not yet. There are stories around town of Carradine being asked to leave the Squire for lighting up a cigar (it was actually Christians, reportedly), of Hemmingway being rather aloof, and of Smith dating one of the Squire bartenders (not true). Perhaps more of that will surface later.

Look for more postings soon. And let me know your experiences with the "Chatham" phenomenon. Hey, it beats writing about zoning.