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here we go
                                        

         2 apartment buildings side by side 

the top floor windows had to be parallel to each other

a ladder was going to slide between the windows on the upper floors

one of the bad guy actors would walk across it....

yet,

 there had to be enough room and clear space

for this particular actor/stunt man to fall to his death between the buildings.

did I scare you?

he really does not die..

there was a small inflatable mat placed on the ground

trust me, stunt men really know how to hit their target.

The apartment buildings needed to be located on an alley overlooking the el tracks. 

This particular alley had to be dirty and loaded with graffiti. 

fyi

when we arrived the first day of shooting

the city had cleaned up the alley

they heard a production company was in town and wanted to make a good impression

it took a half of day for the set designers to dirty it up again and then they had to clean it up afterwards

plus, there was a work crew complete with a very loud jack hammer slaving away near the el tracks 

we had to pay them big bucks to make them stop working

that's a different story 

oh that first day of shooting

was a long one

you guessed it

another story

a good one

so stay tuned

 Chuck Norris and Dennis Farina were playing undercover cops

about to bust a drug deal that they knew was about to happen. 

 They were disguised as garbage men,

and they would be communicating with other undercover cops.

across the street from these 2 apartment buildings,

 I was to find another apartment building with a balcony for the stake out scene.

An actor playing a cop was going to be on the balcony

 with a walkie talkie

 discussing the stake out with Chuck Norris and Dennis Farina

========================================================

OKie Dokie

no problem

I could find that

I wore my khaki vest, pockets filled with film 

donned my new camera around my neck, sort of a fashion accessory

I toted folders and clip boards and notepads and various documents and legal contracts

 and

permits in a giant bottomless purse and carried a bulky phone book with cards and notes

flapping in the breeze

 on a bright sunny afternoon

I think I looked really important

when in actuality

I looked like a tourist on safari

this was before digital cameras and before you were able to take 360 degree pictures

I had to take a series of them, then paste them together on a hard board and label it

(another story)

Believe it or not, I actually found a block that had everything we needed! 

a small miracle

All I had to do was take a million pictures,

bring them back to the art director and the director and production manager for their approval

that is....after I obtained the permission from the owners

(not to mention negotiating the amount of money we were willing to pay said owners)

 and talk to various city departments and purchase permits

and

 don't forget we have an el in the scene so I had to talk to the el people...

Seemed like we needed to get permission from millions of people for one little tiny scene,

in the opening of the movie

that lasted a few minutes

there are so many puzzle pieces

and its the location manager and the assistant who handle all of them

 they are the first one on the set and the last to leave

acting as a liaison between the production company and the location

we not only have to locate the location for filming,

 but we need to find a place to set up lunch

for the entire cast and crew within walking distance

all sorts of places have been used in the past 

...garages, churches, bowling alleys, whatever

and

you have to find a place for the extras to hang out all day or night

...which is separate from the actors...another story

and we had to find a separate location nearby so that the big shots could set up an office,

now they have their own trailers for that...another story

I have a juicy story about one of the houses I found to use as an office

another story

 and every day you have to go to city hall to get the permits for the next day

 and

do you know how much fun it is to find parking for all these little trips

you have to make sure you have cops to stop traffic while shooting,

if necessary,

 and watch picture cars...

another story

and other valuable property.

the teamsters usually stand guard by the vehicles they are driving. 

You have to provide a place for the crew to park, you would be amazed....

you have to expect the unexpected,

   sometimes you have to pay people to go away or get out of the shot

wow, those stories...I digress

that's why you have those vest pockets filled with cash. 

I've paid people to move their cars, to walk away from their window, to move out of a hall,

or their house and to use something of theirs, that does not belong to us...

 During pre production

the biggest part of the job was scouting and taking detailed pictures

One night after a particularly long and difficult day,

I was all alone and slaving away in my office

housed in a studio, not far from Oprah's studios...

although this was before Oprah came to town,

another story

cutting and pasting

 and not on the computer,

 I was actually using scissors and tape and card board

when all of a sudden, I dropped a giant pile of photos

they fell on the floor like a deck of cards

all mixed up

every single apartment building looked alike

I couldn't put the puzzle back together

everything was scattered all over the place

I slowly began an involuntary whimper

then the loud irregular breathing starting kicking in

accompanied by a long whimper and a little cry

I sounded like a young girl who dropped her ice cream cone

I felt so pathetic

 and I could not make myself stop

The walls in this office did not go all the way to the ceiling,

 so the guy in the office next door could hear every sob
that turned into as Opray puts it
the ugly cry 

It was so late, I thought I was all alone.

He popped his head in and asked me if I needed help. 

 He saw me on the floor trying to make some sense out of the catastrophe before me.

He began to assemble the pictures like we were a couple of kids in preschool

working on a puzzle together.

He was so easy going and very sympathetic,

while telling me he was the second assistant director

and his girlfriend was an actress, relatively famous, may I add

I just unloaded then and there on this poor guy

I told him how I never worked on a feature film before

and that every one else

seemed not only to know each other

the entire crew seemed like they were in the same frat

each and every one seemed like they really knew what they were doing

all experts in their fields with tons of experience behind them

all in some sort of union

so they were being paid gobs of money

and if lunch was a second late or if breaks were not scheduled or if we went over time

these lucky ducks

were making big bucks

not that I minded

I was not in a union

I made the same amount regardless

if I ate or not  or worked 2 hours or 24/7

don't get me wrong

I was thrilled and grateful

to be working
in show biz

I digress

I did not know what everyone else was doing

Some of their titles were not really all that self explanatory

 what the heck was a best boy

 and a honey wagon

  and

why did we need a paramedic

and what was per deum
and what is a picture car and on and on....

and why so many directors

first assistant, second assistant

and what was that tall guys job

AND those people from the Illinois Film office ARE SO NICE

AND WHAT A COOL JOB THEY HAVE

ANOTHER STORY

and the extras
tell me more about those characters
a stand in
dressed in the same outfit as the star
for what?
stunt men
you mean chuck doesn't do all his stunts?
why do they need tetanus shots to jump in the Chicago river?
why do we have so many picture cars
are we really going to film in the morgue
and who are the teamsters

and where did they come from

 and

on and on

He calmly and clearly answered all my questions. 

We were there almost all night long

 He said everyone was a little scared YET Acted so cool and calm. 

 He assured me if I had any more questions,

 I should not hesitate to come to him and ask.

  Well, I had millions of questions and I am never one to hesitate. 

 I was probably a thorn in his side

 but he never acted like I was imposing. 

 He even helped me with my collage that night. 

so la de dah

back to the scavenger hunt

I was strolling down the middle of the street snapping pics
looking so important
 when
 I saw the perfect apartment with a front balcony. 
I eagerly rang the bell and two darling young women grabbed me by my khaki vest
and pulled me into their vestibule. 

"What do you think you are doing out there, do you want to get killed?"

"No...I was just scouting locations for a movie", I said in my proudest show biz voice. 

 "Did you know

one of our neighbors

 was practically killed out there yesterday

for taking pictures right where you were standing?"

 no one told me it was against the law to take pictures

shoot...

seems the neighborhood was overrun by real drug lords

and deals were going down right out in the street,

a number of the apartments were crack houses and it was really becoming a problem. 

 They decided to take back their neighborhood

by taking pictures of the dirty deals and turning them into the police.

the day before

 one poor guy was practically beaten to death,

if he had not rolled under a car,

who knows what his condition would have been. 

 as it was, he was in the hospital in intensive care

...

that's when I put my camera back in its brand new case and stashed it in my purse.

Apparently these two women bought their building sight unseen. 
buyer beware! 

They were from Michigan and were shown a picture and an address.

  They noticed how close it was to downtown

 and the lake

 and it was a lovely greystone,

so they bought it..

they had no idea what the neighborhood was like.

But I did get them to sign the paper work and we agreed on a price

all I had to do was take some undercover pictures of their building and balcony

get them developed,

mounted on a card board

and show them to 50 different people

 and if they liked them,

 set up an appointment,

 get a teamster to drive all of us to the site 

 and show everything to all the important people

in person

 and make sure none of them were wearing cameras....

that's all

do you have any idea how many seconds this building was in the opening of the movie?

as far as the 2 apartment buildings across the street

well

that's another story