Call time was 7 AM up in Yonkers at the Empire City Casino, a place I'd never heard of before. Turns out it was right next door to Yonkers Raceway, where they race trotters. This is where instead of the jockey being on the horse's back, he's riding in what looks like a rickshaw. I remembered seeing ads for the Raceway on TV when I was a kid, but had never gone there. The casino was a relatively new edition, with slot machines being the prime attraction for the gamblers. I'm not much for casinos, though I would sometimes go with my ex wife & her sister to Atlantic City. The whole atmosphere depresses me, even though I used to win at the slots. Maybe it's the feeling of desperation that I'm picking up on that turned me off. In any case, if I wasn't working there, I never would have gone for the fun of it.
Normally when I report to work I drop off my stuff, fill out my paperwork and then head for craft services, but because of the restrictions the casino put on production, we had breakfast first before we went to holding. That was fine by me, because the picnic tables we sat at had a nice view of the track, and I got to watch the trainers exercise the horses. My friend Sandee Clark Bengel was there, which made it nice. I don't know as many NY actors as I do Philly ones, so having someone I knew on set made it feel a lot friendlier. I think it had been a while since she had been on set, because she asked me if I should tip the guy making our omelets. While I'm pretty sure that he would've appreciated it, I chucked to her, "No".
Once we we fed, it was time to get to holding. Before we could enter the building, though, we each received a sticker that said "Imogene Crew". Wearing these stickers meant that casino security would let us go wherever we wanted without giving us grief. It also let production make sure we weren't gambling when we weren't working. We had to remove them once we got to set, of course, so that the camera wouldn't see them, which made them impossible to stick back on, but no one thought of that.
Anyway, once wardrobe approved my clothes (which included the same polo shirt that I used on "Arthur" and "How Do You Know?"), on to the set. Inside the casino was this bandshell that looked like a minature version of the Hollywood Bowl. The seats in front ot the shell for the audience were thick padded leather, and very comfortable. We were each given a "drink" to hold, in my case a Scotch replica, and led to our positions. Kristin Wiig was in the row behind me, Sandee two seats to her left, separated by a short, bald guy in his 50's named Mike Russo. He & I had a lot of fun comparing notes; I especially liked his story about getting a booking for "Boardwalk Empire", and when he gave the casting person his SAG number, they said, "Ooops, I've got the wrong Mike Russo!" "Was it you?", he asked me. "I wish!" Gotta love it.
The scene had Kristin's charcter going a casino to see her boyfriend, played by Darren, as the frontman in a Backstreet Boys tribute band. It starts out with a Brittney Spears tribute singer doing her thing, then an emcee bringing on the faux Boys. Both performers lip synched to tracks specially recorded for the film (I know this because they sound nothing like the original records). All we had to do was look like we were enjoying the whole thing and not get hit by the camera on the crane passing right by us. It's not exactly my kind of music, but I had fun. The AD liked it when I mouthed the words to the Brittany tune, so we might see that in the final cut. I really liked that they got the feel and the moves of the real thing. I spoke to three of the Boys at crafty later, and they said they had rehearsed this bit for eight hours to get it right, and it showed. I thought that the Boys & Brittany did a great job, and told them so when I got the chance. There also was a Spice Girls tribute band there, but I didn't work on that scene.
I have to mention something about my friend Sandee here, who is either the bravest, the most foolhardy or the most naive person on set. There are two rules that are pretty much always followed: never take pictures on set and never talk to the stars unless spoken to first. Somehow she managed to do both and get away with it. When Kristin took her seat, Sandee introduced herself & shook hands, adding, "I'm just an extra here." Talking like that to Bruce Willis, for example, can get you fired. Kristin proved that she's a nice person by treating Sandee courteously, which is an asset in my eyes. The other was getting pictures. Sandee said, "Oh, I've got to get one of Darren for my girlfriend!" She did get one, which also shows the back of my head, proving that I was there. She also got one of her, me & The Other Mike Russo back at holding, but that got lost into the ether.
It was a short day in terms of hours, as we were wrapped before rush hour. Heading home was slow: the George Washington Bridge is not exactly the fastest route anywhere, and add to that traffic and a light rain, and you had conditions that lend themselves to crawling (it was so slow that two homeless guys were begging for change while sitting on the on ramp. THAT should tell you something!). It was early enough, though, that i thought I might be able to make my film class in Philly that night. I had called Heery Casting, where I was taking the class, the day before to let them know that I wasn't gonna make it. Our early dismissal changed everything, so I headed for class. Unbeknownst to me, they'd cancelled the class for that week, so when I showed up, the building was dark. Oh, I gave the teacher hell the next week! He seemed to like my dedication, but at the time it was rather annoying. I drove home and got me as good a night's sleep as I could. Sitting down in a casino all day can really wear you out!
