It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since we were filming the pilot episode for AMC's new TV show, "Turn"! You can download the pilot episode for free on Amazon right now by clicking HERE. It does have some graphic images (related to violence and death), so I don't recommend it for young viewers. To learn more about the show and the actors (including Jamie Bell from Tin Tin and Kevin McNally from Pirates of the Caribbean), visit the film's IMDb page. At the end of this post, I'll share screen grabs so you can see where I show up in the pilot!
We live in a small world. I was placed with this gentleman for a scene, and as we chatted, I found out that he was the son of the man I had heard on the radio for years every Saturday morning, hosting the Swinging Years program!
Amazingly enough, I was one of only 8 women who were called back for multiple days of shooting. The upper class ladies and prostitutes only shot for one day, but those of us who were middle class townspeople got to shoot for five or six days.
It was quite an experience! First of all, in an email from the casting office, we were told NOT to wear orange, due to the nature of the location. I admit I was completely baffled. What kind of location would require you not to wear orange? I found out when I got there. Lots of high barbed wire fences! We were filming on land belonging to a correctional center. It was a little nerve-wracking when my GPS tried to take me out the wrong way and I ended up driving around some high security areas, lost and unsure of how to get out of there!
I was scheduled for a costume fitting before my first day of shooting, so I went in and got to dig through a box of corsets trying to find one small enough for me. Haha! Then I was fitted into a dress by Amy, who also did my fitting for the Lincoln movie a year and a half before! She even remembered me.
The first day I went in for work, it was early and rather chilly outside, and most people stood quietly in line as we waited for our turn to get dressed in the wardrobe tent. I guess a few of the guys had already had their coffee, though, because they were chatting and introducing themselves to people. One of them introduced himself to me, and then asked if I was a prostitute. I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped as I sputtered and struggled to process what he had just asked me. When the initial shock died off, I realized he meant the role I was to play as an extra, and I was like "No! Definitely not!"
A few minutes later, another guy essentially asked me the same question, and then my friend Alex Miller (who was a redcoat), arrived and came up to me, and jokingly asked if I was going to play a "lady of the night," and I was like, "IF ONE MORE PERSON ASKS ME IF I'M A PROSTITUTE, SOMEBODY'S GETTING PUNCHED IN THE NOSE!" Haha! But seriously... (I'm so glad I wasn't asked to play one, though! I guess having a sweet/innocent face really comes in handy.)
My friend Alex Miller
Two days of the filming really stand out in my memory... The first involved changing into my costume at 5:30am, in a tent with no heaters, when it was something like 32 degrees outside. Let me tell you, it takes a great force of will to undress in 32 degrees. I was thankfully allowed to wear long johns under my dress, but my forearms were exposed. I wore a short cape which helped a little, but we suffered from bitter cold most of the day, with a wind that would cut right through you. We were able to keep our coats nearby and put them on when we weren't filming, but even then I was cold.
Haha, this is what I looked like most of the day. I was likened to a turtle. :-D
I think it was later that day that we were moved to a different location, where they set up a tent and heaters for us. That was wonderful!!! (It might have been a different day, I can't remember.)
The other day I'll never forget was quite eventful. I was called in for part of the afternoon. I went through wardrobe, hair, and makeup, and waited in the holding tent for a while, then was put on a bus with some other extras and taken to set. Soon after we got there, though, they broke for lunch and we came back to the holding tent without shooting anything. Everybody gathered under the huge holding tent and got in line for lunch.
{Let me tell you - the catered food on this shoot was AMAZING!!!!!}
The weather was starting to get kinda bad (dark, rainy, windy) while we were working our way through the lunch line. I can't remember when I first heard the news that there was a tornado possibly heading in our direction, but that was a little disconcerting. Well, I had just gotten my food and was looking for a place to sit when things got REALLY BAD. The rain was a torrential downpour, thunder and lightened crashed above us, and the wind gushed through the tent with alarming strength.
Someone in charge started shouting for everyone to go to their cars. Commence stampede. I frantically dug in my backpack and found my keys, then had a wild time trying to dash through the downpour and get to my car while trying to hold my skirts up out of the mud, grab my hat as the wind threatened to rip it from my head (it was pinned into my hair), and not lose my plate of food (there was no way I was leaving that yummy lunch behind!). I made it into my car, with me and my plate of food soaking wet. And I lost my cream puff somewhere along the way. That was unfortunate.
I'm happy to report that the tornado never fully hit us, although it was looking really bad there for a while. The wind did reek havoc on the hair and makeup stations under the tent, and part of the set had to be repaired before they could shoot the next day.
As far as weather goes, that's definitely the most dramatic experience I've ever had on set. And one I'm not anxious to repeat. :-) I think all the actors were actually sent home after that, so I didn't end up filming that day after all.
My friend Nate Sisson, who was working crew. Notice the "Screenwriters" t-shirt! This was the fifth production that we had both worked on together.
I was so happy to see Jerry and Mark again! They were two of my bosses on
"Alone Yet Not Alone" in 2010 when I was a Props PA.
I was really glad for the experience to be on this film set. After working on so many independent films, it's always interesting to observe a big studio film (or TV show) in the making. It's also fascinating to watch bigger-name actors at work and observe their process. (And no, I didn't meet any of them. Extras are not allowed to talk to the actors.)
The sets were really neat (some of them had been used for the John Adams mini-series and the Lincoln film!), and of course I just love dressing up in period clothing and being a part of an historical drama.
Okay, here are the pictures of where you can see me in the pilot!
Soon after the 10 minute mark - I'm sitting on the bench
Same scene - walking in the background
About 24 minutes in - walking up the ramp
Around 42:20 - on the left of the screen
At 58:15 - on the left, standing closest to the barn
Later in the same scene, still closest to the barn
They shot the rest of the first season this winter, but due to my schedule (and the extreme winter conditions), I didn't reapply to be an extra. So you'll only see me in the pilot.
The second episode is now available for viewing on AMC's website (for the next 25 days). I have not seen it yet.
Disclaimer: I can't vouch for the rest of the show because I don't know what kind of content it might hold. It's a secular TV show, so you can undoubtedly expect the kind of content that you would usually see in secular TV shows. Consider yourself warned. :-)
Concluding thought: Using a porta-john in women's Colonial garb isn't easy or desirable. Nor is it pleasant to watch ants and ticks crawling around while you're in there. ;-)
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