"Chatham" has wrapped filming. The final shots were done early Saturday morning, April 14, and involved the burning of the pool hall that forms one of the film's central plot elements. After the early week filming of numerous scenes in front of the block between the hardware store and Seaview Street, which was dressed to sort of resemble 1905 (see a slideshow of the shoot here), the sand was swept up and the modern signs and awnings were back in place.Ending filming didn't quite end the sort of minor league hysteria that's gripped the town for the past few weeks.
On Saturday afternoon, "Chatham" star David Carradine was slated to hold a book signing downtown. He was late for the 1 p.m. event; word on the street is that the book store owner had to cross the street to the Wayside Inn, wake the actor and escort him over to the store. By that time there was a line of people down the street waiting to get signed copies of Carradine's "Kill Bill Diaries" and the book upon which the "Chatham" movie is based, Joseph C. Lincoln's "Cap'n Eri." C
arradine duly signed books, sitting at a stool and smoking away. He reportedly became testy when folks brought in their own copies of the Lincoln book or didn't want his book. I showed up about 4:30 p.m., expecting him to be gone. I'd requested two signed copies of "Kill Bill" the previous day because I knew I couldn't get downtown by 3 p.m. He was still there, and seemed a bit, shall we say, unsteady. I greeted him and reminded him that we'd spoke earlier in the week on the set, but he just looked at me with rheumy eyes, asked my name again and added above his signature on the book in front of him. We'd actually met three times; once briefly at the shanties at Barn Hill, once at the graveyard shoot (see photo right) where he regaled me with stories, and earlier in the week. He was least garrulous on Tuesday, when I introduced myself as a reporter and asked some official, though softball, questions. Apparently I rated more conversation as a civilian. Maybe that's the Hollywood mentality.What are people in Chatham going to talk about now that the cast and crew of the film have left town? The past month and a half have generated more than enough stories to keep people going until the summer arrives. Many of the stories involve the
exploits of Carradine, although Bruce Dern and Rip Torn pop up now and again. Mariel Hemingway didn't mix much with the locals, although she surfaced in a shop here or walking along the beach there. Jason Alan Smith impressed people with his Southern manners and genuine interest in local people and places. He seemed a bit more down to earth than many of the others. I had several chats with him (see photo right) and found him engaging. He seemed to feel he could relax here and not have to worry about most people giving him the gawking treatment. Most people. Not all. And he answered my questions in full, coherent sentences.More to come...
