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Making of APHC, the Movie |
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Robin and Linda write:
July 6, 2005
Yesterday we woke up at 400 am in Charlottesville, VA and caught the first morning plane out of there. It's been a battle to stay organized during this period of time. We packed for our trip to St Paul last week and then took off for three days worth of gigs with The Fine Group. On Sunday night, after our gig in Harrisonburg, VA we drove to Charlottesville and spent the night a hotel before coming here to St. Paul. This idea of making a movie has had us a little tense especially since we had no idea what our roles were to be or what is expected of us. Also, when we were talking to the producer of the film, Wren Arthur, we told her that if she'd let us do the gig in Harrisonburg, then we'd catch a late night flight out of Washington, DC to St. Paul and be here ready to work on Tuesday morning. After we told her that we found out there were no flights to St. Paul out of DC late at night. So we were anxious that nothing would go wrong on our trip and that our flights would be on time - which they weren't. We were about an hour late. But Linda and I worked things out at the airport like a well-oiled machine. She got the bags, put them on a cart and wheeled them to the rental car area while I went ahead and got the car. By the time she arrived at the counter we were ready to go. We drove straight to the Fitzgerald Theater and, within two minutes of our arrival, were sent straight to the costume department. Linda and I both brought some of our own stage clothes and, upon seeing them, the costumer told us to put them on and get straight over to the makeup department. The women there went straight to work on Linda, mainly asking her how she did her hair. They took a look at me and said, "You're fine." Linda said, "I just heard they want us on stage in ten minutes. I'll see you there." So I went to the stage. There I saw a bunch of musician friends that I've known for years. In addition to the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, there was Peter Ostroushko, Bill Hinkley and Judy Larson, Pop Wagner, Adam Granger, Bob Douglas, Butch Thompson, Jon Pancake and Dick Reese. Some of these guys I haven't seen but once or twice in 20 years. It was great. Things started to lighten up and we immediately started telling jokes. Hinkley is a master. During the day I spent an hour or two with these guys cracking wise, playing tunes (downstairs while they were shooting on stage) and having a great time.
Once on the stage we found ourselves in the thick of the action. Everyone else had at least a day on the set but we were complete strangers to the concept of movie making and the hierarchy of the movie staff. We hadn't been on stage more than five minutes before we heard the director, Robert Altman, come over the loudspeaker with instructions. We realized immediately that, in terms of hierarchy, Robert Altman is at the top of the food chain. We rehearsed a scene in which we sing the Bebopareebop Rhubarb Pie theme song. Within twenty minutes we'd met Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin and they were, and have continued to be, nice folks and easy to be around. Meryl immediately started asking Linda about her banjo playing. We worked until lunch on the BeeBopAReeBop song and then broke for lunch.
Also on the set are Woody Harrelson and John C. Riley who play Dusty and Lefty and Kevin Kline who plays Guy Noir. John C. and Woody have their guitars with them and, when there's a break in the action, they go to Shoe Band and play songs. It helps break the monotony and it entertains the crowd that is brought in to be the audience for the radio show. As well, Pop Wagner has taught John C. Riley to do some rope tricks. So when John C. isn't playing his guitar he's working on rope tricks. We introduced ourselves to John C. and he's a nice guy. As with all these folks, his lights are all on.
Oh, and by the way, Lindsey Lohan is in the movie. So far we haven't spoken with her.
After lunch we weren't involved in any of the shots so we sat in the audience right in front of where Robert Altman has his position and we watched the shooting from there. This is where we're going to go from now on when we're not in the scenes. We get to hear Altman's comments (which are priceless) plus we get to see what the camera sees during the action. It's a wonderful opportunity.
We finally got to call it quits around 9:00 PM. What a day!
July 7
We filmed the closing sequence to the last A Prairie Home show in the morning. The sequence starts with a Powdermilk Biscuit commercial and ends up with all of the musicians filing onstage and sing with Meryl, Lily, John C., Woody, Jearylynn Steal, etc. and sing a verse or two of Red River Valley and "In The Sweet By And By." It is a long sequence and the morning was spent setting it up and doing takes on the stage. Robert Altman sets up his camera shots and sees what he wants and what he doesn't. At one point I was standing on the side in the wings and turned around just as a camera was going by. I had no idea that it was there and I looked right into it. Two seconds later we all heard Altman's voice come over the loudspeakers, "you people on the side, you don't know the camera's there. Just clear out of there." Boy did I screw up!
When we got back to the set we spent a couple of hours working on getting camera shots of the musician guests on the show standing in the wings and watching the show. As a group we had to decide who could go up and down the stairs for the shots and who couldn't. Linda got to stay upstairs but I had to go down and then come up with Pop, Jon, Dick and Bob once the scene had begun. There were several long periods in between shots and that?s when we got to play some tunes and entertain ourselves with wild stories of the old days. Dick Reese had some hilarious bluegrass festival stories. By the time we got to our places on stage we had to watch ourselves so that we wouldn't be too disruptive.
July 8, 2005
First thing was a long shot of Meryl and Lilly and Lindsay arriving at the theater just before the show is about to start. The camera picked them up at the street and followed them coming all the way down a long hallway, through Guy Noir's office, across the stage and down a flight of stairs to the dressing rooms. The main camera looks like a giant dinosaur and has a long arm that can reach way across the theater with a camera at the end - all controlled by remote control. The cameraman works two wheels to turn the camera and the boom. It's like patting your head and rubbing your stomach in a circle at the same time and has to be done with amazing precision.
Whenever we are not needed for a scene we have learned to head back to the production area where Mr. Altman sits along with the Cinematographer and the number one camera man, who incidentally is Mr. Altman's son, and other production people. There are monitors there where everyone can see what is being filmed by all the cameras and it is fascinating. Also, whenever there is down time for setting up shots or cameras or lenses, we are privy to stories from Altman and his crew about movies he's worked on and people he's worked with. He is great, very quick and insightful and succinct and also very funny. It is a chance of a lifetime for us. I keep planning to write it all down so I don't forget it and take pictures, etc. but the work is long and exhausting and I never have my camera when I think of it. After our first week we are getting in the groove of how it's done a little and looking forward to next week. Meryl Streep is finishing up her scenes today and will not be around anymore. She has been a joy to watch, not only for her beauty and acting ability, but also the work ethic and stamina and generosity she brings to the set.
Next Tuesday they will film us singing "You've Been A Friend To Me" with L.Q. Jones. We are looking forward to that!! He's an older character actor that we immediately recognized and has been a real pleasure to be around and rehearse with.
MONDAY, JULY 11
We got a call from one of the producers saying he'd heard from L.Q. Jones who had asked if we could get together with him and rehearse "You've Been A Friend To Me." We'd told L.Q. we'd get together with him anytime but we had to tell the producer that we couldn't rehearse until early evening as we had made other plans for the afternoon. Our plans were to play golf with Tom Keith, the sound effects guy who works on A Prairie Home Companion when the show is in St. Paul. Several years ago we went on a golfing vacation with Tom and have been looking for a chance to get with him on the golf course ever since. Tom Keith is a great guy and a decent golfer. I'm afraid Linda and I brought his game down a little bit. We drove straight from the golf course to the Fitzgerald Theater and met with L.Q. and Richie Dworsky, the music director for the movie.. More on Richie later.
L.Q. is a great guy. I don't think he's a trained actor but rather got into movies by chance and was good enough at it to forge a career. He looks great for a 78 year old guy and he has a lot of positive energy. Evidently, he got on a plane in Europe and flew straight to St. Paul. He showed up with his lines and his song learned. We ran the song four or five times and got things straight with him and Richie and then went to Garrison Keillor's house. When we got there Garrison and Kevin Kline were conversing on the front porch. We found out then that we were going to supper with G.K., his wife, Jenny, and Kevin. Now, there's a night we won't forget any time soon. Kevin Kline has a keen sense of humor that is evident almost immediately. We had a great time sitting outside at a nice restaurant and hearing his insights into movies, the Broadway theater, actors, music, etc.
TUESDAY, JULY 12
Back at The Fitzgerald for a day of shooting. We start with our performance of "You've Been A Friend To Me" with L.Q in the character of Chuck Akers. It went well. L. Q Jones is not a singer or musician but he is a good actor and he did a great job. It was very much in keeping with his character who, before he sings his song, makes his last farewell to the fans. After that Woody Harrelson and John C. Riley as Dusty and Lefty did one of their two songs, which was pretty funny - and supposed to be funny - so it went well too.
July 13 +14, 2005
We left St. Paul for a couple of days to do a job in Ohio that had been on our calendar for some time so the Altman people were kind enough to let us off for that. It was in Lakeside, Ohio. It's a community started in the 1870's on Lake Erie for the purpose of gathering in the summer time for the exchange of ideas. It's a beautiful little place that was recently featured on CBS Sunday Morning as being the "Safest Community in the Country." They had a wonderful audience assembled there and it was fun reuniting with Jim Watson and Jimmy Gaudreau for a "normal" job. Even though it had only been ten days since we'd seen Jim and Jimmy, it seemed much longer. We had a great time after the gig sitting in Jimmy's room catching up with the boys and Gloria, Jimmy's wife. About 11:00 PM we got a phone call from Dave Halls, the Second Assistant Director on the set, who let us know we weren't needed on the set the next day. That made a huge difference to us because we were planning on leaving Lakeside, OH at 4:30 AM in order to get back to St. Paul in time for our call on the set. Linda immediately made a call to the airlines and found out we could catch a later flight out of Cleveland and wouldn't have to leave until 8:00 AM. What a difference four hours makes!!! We flew back to St. Paul on the 14th and, in the afternoon, met with the Eric Peltoniemi at Red House Records to proof read the copy of the booklet for our Christmas CD. It's called "The First Christmas Gift" and is slated for release on Sept. 8th. They have worked hard to make a beautiful cover using photos of scenes from The Valley of Virginia taken by The Blackleys of Staunton, VA and some shots of us around our place taken by Sara Johnson of Charlottesville,VA. Red House and we think the cover looks wonderful and they are as excited about the musical content as we are. It's the first Christmas CD Red House has ever released and we are all hopeful about the reception.
July 15. 2005
We were back on movie detail first thing this morning. The first thing on the docket was a scene between Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) and The Dangerous Woman (Virginia Madsen). Kevin Kline is very inventive and has some new business with every take. The Dangerous Woman is the angel of death and appears now and then to take someone "home." Whenever she appears it's a little eerie. We sat behind monitors and watched and listened to the take on earphones. Mr. Altman and his crew were on the stage of the Fitz, just beyond sight of the take. It is such an experience to be in the position of watching the actors and the cameras and Mr. Altman work at shooting a scene. The more we are around the situation, the more comfortable we are becoming with it, and the more we are in awe of our good fortune.
When they finish that take they immediately start setting up for the next shot. This one involves us. The scene starts with Jearlyn Steele performing a song that Garrison has written for the movie called "The Day Is Short."As soon as she finishes her song we are to come on stage and join the Guys Allstar Shoe Band backing up Garrison on another song of his called "Slow Days of Summer." We have just learned this song moments before we're supposed to play it. Luckily, it takes the crew 15 or 20 minutes to reset the shot and the band plays the song four or five times. By the time it's time to shoot we've got it down. It's a really long shot, perhaps 8 to 10 minutes. We did about six takes and we're done. Very few of the problems with the takes had to do with the music. Most had to do with camera angles, etc. Jearlyn Steele is a fantastic singer and gave gifted performances on each of her takes. "The Day Is Short" is a spectacular song. We made our cues and did our parts on "Slow Days of Summer." Garrison did great.
When that sequence is done Mr. Altman released everyone but the musicians so that they could film some songs to be used in the movie. By the time they'd filmed three of the band songs, it was 9:00 PM and he called a wrap. Before we broke the set he invited cast and crew to the film office to watch some dailys, i.e. shots of scenes they'd done that week. We were tired and almost didn't go. We are so glad we did go. It was fascinating seeing the scenes. The cinematography is wonderful. It looks and sound so good on even the home movie screen the production people had rigged up for everyone to watch. There were about 50 people there and when it was over we all broke out in spontaneous and continuous applause - everyone, cast and crew. It went on for a long, long time. No one wanted to stop giving this ovation to this fabulous director and his crew. Before it finally died down Mr. Altman was wiping tears from his eyes. And believe me, he's kind of a crusty old vet and I don't believe he is easily moved to tears. It was a thrilling experience and we were all really jazzed about what is happening up here.
We've made friends with Pete Biagi, the camera operator on the "B Camera." Pete gave us some insight into the business by telling us how odd it is to do such long shots as Mr. Altman is doing. Pete likes the fact that Mr. Altman is more concerned with having a good performance by the actors than having a perfect camera shot. Mr. Altman isn't going to let anything out of focus pass but if he gets an outstanding performance and there is a small, insignificant flub of a line or an extra in the shot misses his/her mark he'll keep the shot because he knows no one but other movie people will notice the flaw. However, given that information, the composition of the each shot that we have seen it a work of art. We are definitely in the presence of greatness. At 80 years old, he is still full of energy for the work and his heart and soul come through in what we saw on the screen of the rough, uncut dailies.
July 17th, 2005
We attended a concert by Mark Knoffler this evening. It was spectacular. His music is so great. It went from a full blown rock and roll band doing his hits to just him on acoustic guitar, a wonderful instrumentalist, Richard Bennett, playing the dobro-style National Steel and Matt Rollins playing accordian on a very simple Carter Family style country song. Not only was the music fantastic, but the lighting was spectacular. Each song was treated like a complete piece unto itself. In particular the finish of his great song "Romeo and Juliet" was very moving. We got to go back stage and meet Mark before the gig thanks to Sam Hudson, the house sound engineer for A Prairie Home Companion, and Mark was very sweet and gracious to us and several tens of other guests. We keep saying, "In everyone's life there should be a summer of 2005." We feel like we are the luckiest people we know and are having the experiences of a lifetime. AND we are fortunate to understand that and savor every minute. We have another week to go. We are almost done with our parts of the movie, but will probably have some standing around to do and hope to get a song or two filmed that can be used to cut away from and into another scene. We are on the list and just hope that our numbers on the list come up while we are still here.
JULY 18, 2005
We got to the set today and found out that Garrison and Mr. Altman decided they needed another gospel song for the movie so, on the spur of the moment, we worked up "Lighthouse," an old blues gospel song that I first heard sung by Blind Willie Johnson. As we were working the song up, Wren Arthur, one of the producers came up with a worried look and asked us about the song. The reason she was worried is because this is a shoe string production and she doesn't want to have to pay money for any of the songs. For that reason, the only songs that will be in this movie are songs from the public domain or original songs from cast and band members who have waived rights for their song. I tried to assure her that this was a traditional song but I could tell she wasn't going to relax until she'd checked this out herself. So she disappears in a cloud of dust and we along with Prudence Johnson and Garrison continued to work the song up with the band. They worked on getting camera shots for several minutes. Our friend, Pete Biagi, pulled Linda aside at one point and explained to her one of the problems they were having. His directions really helped her as some of the other directions she was getting from the staff were really confusing. So we ran the song four or five times and that was that. The shot was over and we moved on to whatever it was we were to do next. Hope the shot looks as good as it felt while we were singing.
We ate lunch with Mary Louise Burke today. She was getting ready to be on camera. She hasn't done many of her scenes yet and seemed to be ready to get some things done. She's a really nice person and actually asks questions about other peoples' lives. So we talked about her cats and our cat, her apartment and our house. Garrison's wife's niece, Erica, came and sat down beside Mary Louise and Sue Scott introduce the two of them by mentioning to Mary Louise that Erica was an actress in NY City. Mary Louise graciously brought Erica into the conversation and, before long, they discovered that they'd both worked for the same director, albeit 15 years apart. They got a big kick out of comparing notes on the director.s That's the kind of person Mary Louise is.
Some of us spent the afternoon sitting in front of the monitors in the theater watching Mr. Altman set up a shot. Virginia Madsen came by stood around and we talked about how interesting it is to watch Altman work. The stage is full of actors and extras but the cameras are only concentrating on a couple of different sets of actors who have lines. While the principles are doing their lines and moving from place to place, the extras and stage hands (all friends of ours) are moving around the set. It's so fun to look up at the monitors and see our pals on, what will be, the silver screen. Not only is it fun, it's exciting.
July 19, 2005 We were involved in a shot this morning. It was a backstage scene that takes place minutes before the A Prairie Home Companion radio show is about to start. The Green Room, the food room, the storage areas and makeshift office space of the Fitzgerald Theater have been turned into sets of dressing rooms and a make-up rooms for the movie. The scene starts with the arm of the large technocamera lowered through the trap door of the stage. It films Garrison, Maya Rudolf, and L. Q. Jones downstairs as they make their way from the make-up room, through the dressing rooms, up a flight of stairs, and across upstage left to down stage center where we are waiting with the Guy's All Star Shoe band behind the closed stage curtain. Garrison is telling a story of how he got into radio and as he gets to us he is talking about an old commercial called Piscacadawadaquoddymoggin Medicinal Formula. Robin had a couple of lines with Garrison and Maya Rudolph and then we had to actually sing the Piscacadawadaquoddymoggin Medicinal Formula jingle. The thought of that kept us up all the night before worrying about stumbling over THAT word during the scene. Then the curtain opens and we are part of the Shoe Band playing the opening song in front of an audience. We got through the scene just fine and didn't cause any delays. After getting some audience shots and re-shooting the curtain opening from the front, we wrapped for the day. Then we went to another "dailies" gathering. Some of the same scenes from the first time were shown again, but from different camera angles, as well as the long scene that we were in. Again, it was very exciting and we both agreed that we didn't do too badly. After the "dailies" we stopped by The Saint Paul Hotel to say goodbye to our new friend, Pete Biagi, the camera man on the "B" camera. Robin wound up sitting next to Ed Lachman, the Director of Photography, who is a great guy with a storied history in films. He also loves music and seems to be interested in just about everything life has to offer. Robin had a great time talking to him about making "Hail, Hail Rock and Roll," the film about Chuck Berry on which Ed directed the photography.
July 20-22, 2005 We were put on "hold" on Wednesday, the 20th which means we have to be on the set but not in costume or make-up just near and ready in case we are needed for something. The production people knew that most of the days' shooting would be spent in the dressing rooms and makeup rooms, but they didn't know if Mr. Altman would like to finish up some scenes where there was music. There had been talk of us doing some more music with the GAS Band but we weren't sure how important it was to the movie people. We were let go a couple of hours after lunch.
There was a funny moment one day when Mr. Altman called a break. He got over the microphone and announced; "Okay, time for lunch or dinner or whatever you folks call it." There was lots of laughter as it was 5:00 PM.
The next two days we were not called at all, and thought we may be going home earlier than originally planned. We were slightly antsy on Friday, not knowing if we were needed or not, but that changed in the afternoon when we were told that we were wanted on Monday, meaning we would not get home til Tuesday, July 25th. We were like a horse following a carrot, the carrot being the thought of getting home, and we felt a little lonesome when we first found out we were not only going to leave early. But that's the way it is in the movie business, and, after just three weeks, we're trained professionals now. So we sucked it up. We used the days to check in with old friends from the Twin Cities that we had not gotten a chance to visit with. Linda went to see "March on the Penguins," a wonderful, very real story of a hard life.
The place we're staying has WiFi so we were able to use our new Airport card and spend some time online checking out these movie folks we'd been hanging around. One of the people we "Googled" was Paul T. Anderson, who is "the shadow" for Mr. Altman. It turns out he's written and directed some very important movies "Hard Eight," "Boogie Nights" and "Magnolia." He's a young, talented and very well respected writer and director of films in his own right. So to have him on the set as well as Robert Altman is something special. Plus, he's the father of Maya Rudolph's child and they are very sweet to each other during the breaks.
An interesting thing about the aforementioned films is that John C. Riley is a featured actor in all of them. We didn't realize the Paul and John C. had such a history. John C. has been terrific as Lefty in this movie. He makes hard things look easy and he is a very giving actor. He always gives his scene mates something to make their jobs easier. One could learn a lot from him.
July 25, 2005
Today is to be the end of the shooting for us, we think!! That's always the way. It's only over when it's over and not before!! The first scene of the day is between Garrison and the Dangerous Woman. It takes place behind the house façade that always sits upstage center during the shows. It has been used a lot in the movie. Guy Noir and the Dangerous Woman have made several stops at it during their scenes. This scene was beautifully and carefully lit, as they all have been. After that scene was in the "can", we started working on some new commercials that Garrison just wrote that will be filmed today and stuck into the show here and there, We sang the New Munich Beer commercial with Garrison to the tune of "There Is A Tavern In The Town." It was fun and funny. Then Linda played banjo on one for a new pickled herring company. The instrumentation was banjo, bass and baritone sax which is kind of funny in and of itself. After a break for "lunch", Garrison went back on the stage and did the last of the three commercials. It was a pizza commercial to a tune of an aria of "La Boheme." The Shoe Band and we have musical numbers to shoot when this is all over. We hope we are up first as we really want to get to go home tomorrow and if we don't get to it today, we'll have to stay yet another day. Needless to say, we are really, really ready to go home. Here we go. Mr. Altman just said he's through with Garrison's commercial and we just got called to go sing.
July 26, 2005
We are sitting at the airport waiting to board our plane back home. Due to the time change and the remote location of Middlebrook, VA it will take all day to get home. We leave here around 10:00 AM and will land in Charlottesville around 5:00 PM and then drive an hour home. It's not the easy way when it comes to travel. But we are used to it and we have many exciting memories of our last day to keep us company on the long trip. Right after the entry from yesterday we did, in fact, finish up our last shot. We got to do our song, "Old Plank Road" with the Shoe Band plus Andy Stein on fiddle and Peter Ostroushko on mandolin. It was fun and it sounded great. We rehearsed it a couple of times and filmed it a couple of times and the cast and crew assembled in the audience of The Fitz made us feel great when we finished the last take. They all applauded. Many of the production staff, including the three producers, came to us to say goodbye and to thank us for our contribution to the movie. We were overwhelmed by their graciousness. They have always been pleasant but business-like and we weren't expecting this outpouring of thanks. Then, just as we were leaving, the final goodbye came from Mr. Altman. Wren Arthur, one of the producers, said he would like to see us before we left. We went to Video Village, a bunker of monitor screens set up at the back of the theater from where he directs the scenes and calls "Action.", and he was sitting in his director chair with "Robert Altman" embroidered on the back. He took Linda's hand and said, "Babes, you guys were just great." It was quite a moment. We thanked him and, again, told him what an honor it was to be in the film, and wished him well with the next step of putting it all together. Linda said "Good luck and, " and pointing to the video monitors, "hope this all works out." He laughed a little and said, "Yeah, me too." He is a very special person. And as we sit here in the airport, listening to cell phone conversations and crying children and watching the liftoff of Discovery on the TV monitor, it's hard to believe how we have spent the last three weeks.
Tommy Lee Jones is starting his scenes today and will finish up tomorrow. Wish we had gotten to see him work. Over a farewell dinner Garrison said, "Just think, they'll film Tommy Lee Jones walking by the front of the theater where there is a poster with your name on it." That's probably as close as we'll ever get to him!! Once Tommy Lee is through the filming will be over. Garrison has finished all his scenes. All the "cut away" music from the musicians in the movie is finished. They will have the final wrap on Wednesday or Thursday and a "wrap party" for anyone on Friday. Wish we could be there for that. But by Friday we'll be far, far away from Hollywood, MN and back to the familiar surroundings of Middlebrook with Luke and Cleo. Can't wait!!!!
We did hear from Garrison that there is to be a CD with music and some spoken words from the movie. And we found out the official title too. It's to be called "The Last Broadcast."
LAST THOUGHTS:
There were some interesting occasions that came our way while in St. Paul. One was a dinner with Kevin Kline. Another was a tea party, early in the shoot, where we got to meet all the principle actors (minus Tommy Lee Jones) and all the principle movie people. This really helped us as we were thereafter more comfortable on the set. Especially memorable for Robin was meeting John C. Riley at a bar and watching Pop Wagner do two sets. And there was Woody Harrelson's birthday party where we got to meet Jesse Ventura and Brian Williams yes, the Brian Williams from NBC Nightly News.
We haven't said much about Rich Dworsky and the Guys Shoes All Star Band and we must. Simply put the band was outstanding in every way. Garrison had the whole APHC troupe out on a Rhubarb Tour for three radio shows and two weeks of one nighters just prior to the beginning of the movie. They literally got home early Sunday morning and were on the set the next day at 11:00 AM. It served them well because the band was as tight as they could possibly be. The movie people continued to exclaim that they thought the band was outrageously good. It's not easy to sit there for an hour or more while movie people are setting up shots and then, when "Action" is called, be right on the money. Well, they were, every single time. This movie would be a fiasco musically if they'd had to hire five musicians, put them together in a band, and have them do as much music as The GAS Band did. We mentioned the commercial with the bass, baritone sax and banjo. That was put together in five minutes and then filmed. The band did things like that every single day. They were amazing. Kudos to Pat Donohue, Arnie Kinsella, Gary Raynor, Andy Stein and, last and perhaps most importantly, Richie Dworsky.
Richie had the weight of being Musical Director for the movie on his shoulders and he did an outstanding job. It was wonderful watching him get Woody Harrelson and John C. Riley to yodel together in harmony. We worked closely with Richie on L.Q. Jones' song,"You've Been A Friend To Me". Richie was superb with L.Q., giving just the right encouragement and advice. In his happy but direct manner he handled everyone and every thing perfectly. The perfect combination of team player and leader, Richie's an outstanding keyboard player and musician. When you're with Richie, you're with one of the best.
Just one last thought. The process of making movies involves long, sometimes tedious and tiring days. We were exhausted after some of them and our responsibilities were small in the context of the big picture. The people who work on the technical end of things are the real heroes. The makeup and hair people, the wardrobe gang, the props masters, set designers, the production and directing staff, the food providers, and on and on, are all there before any actor shows up and stay after the actors have been given permission to leave the set. On our last day, after we'd said our goodbyes to everyone, we stopped into the wardrobe room to bid those ladies farewell. There was Jane, all alone, hovering over a steam iron and ironing board touching up the clothes that would be needed for the next day. By now it's almost 9:00 PM and she had been there 12 hours doing good but not exactly glamorous work. Yet, all these folks welcomed us warmly to the set each day and stayed in remarkable humor as the days and weeks wore on. We can't thank them enough for shepherding us novices through this brand new world.