The Ruffian Experience Chapter 1
My arrival in Shreveport through the beginning of
shooting.
I left home around 4:30 for my 6AM flight to
Shreveport via Atlanta. Early travel, UGH! The flight was fine and FAR better
than the 20 hour drive I had made but two weeks prior. On the flight in from
Atlanta, I met two other actors who are playing my Aunt Barbara and Uncle
Stuart. Nicholas Pryor and Christina Belford are long time film and television
actors with a mass of experience. Check out their imdb.com filmographies. They
are also married. We exchanged some chit chat and then parted ways at the
Shreveport airport until we met again at the hotel that
evening.
I arrived in Shreveport on
Friday around 11AM Central time and was driven straight to the production office
for a wardrobe fitting. The Wardrobe Designer, Peggy Stamper, had access to a
warehouse of vintage 1970's clothing that had never been word and selected from
among its pieces some fine suits for me and some amazing pieces fro the rest of
the cast that created a fantastic look. In the phone call a few days before my
arrival we had discussed the character some and she developed her ideas from
that discussion and the script. The suits are quite refined and classic, given
Dinny's wealth and standing, and they fit nicely. Then they introduced the idea
of bow ties. We tried some on, they looked great and seemed to work well with
the character. I pondered whether, in his youth, Dinny's rebellion manifested
itself in the wearing of bow ties. Just kidding. We indulged the bow tie
thing, arranging the eight or nine changes I have for the film, and I think we
arrived at a refined and consistent feel for Dinny.
After that I went to production to
fill out the requisite paperwork (W-4, payroll, etc.). I always carry my
passport with me as these forms require it or your SS card. The passport is
just easier. Then received my per diem for the stay here. It was then I
noticed that my period of employment had changed. I was originally scheduled to
wrap on the 18th of April, it was now the 10th. Given the mass of work they had
scheduled for NY, it became clear that they had to pare it down and try and get
some of that coverage here in Louisiana instead, reserving only the most
essential shots for the real Belmont Park. It was a disappointment but I serve
at the pleasure of the production schedule. It also appears that I will not be
traveling home for my hold week but staying here in Louisiana on my hold days
from April 1-9. This will be firmed up later. You begin to see why trying to
schedule anything while you are working becomes problematic. Schedules change
due to economics, weather, availability of lead actors, locations, ... all sorts
of stuff. That's why you are paid to be on hold, so that if something changes
in the schedule due to weather you are available to shoot your scene as a cover
set. Time is money so you keep shooting SOMETHING on the
list.
We are being lodged at Sam's
Town, a casino resort on the Red River. Nice place, where everything is geared
to get you into the casino. Decent food, atmosphere, bad TV, hot showers, nice
rooms, and nothing much within walking distance but other casinos. I am not a
big gambler so I have tried to stay busy with the script and a book I brought
but I dread next week should I be on hold for eight days with naught but the
surrounding businesses for distraction. I may have to get a rental car.
I spent Saturday walking the town and
seeing what was nearby. Taking a walkway across the river to a shopping
complex, I had a nice lunch, read the script again, and enjoyed the nice
weather. On the way back I decided to try and ring Bill Nack again. He
answered and after some introduction we set about talking about Dinny Phipps.
He first commented that the Janney family and Dinny had read the script and were
not pleased with the way he was represented. Ah-hah! I thought (read the
previous post). The thought he came off as too much of a huckster. Turns out
that the Dinny and his Aunt and Uncle (the Janneys) are extraordinarily wealthy.
Dinny's grandfather sold US Steel in 1901 for $120 million. This is old money
folks, and big money. The family is wealthy and refined, but Bill said that
Dinney never failed to treat him well and appear congenial. Dinny, in Bill's
opinion, was quite personable and affable. He truly loved the sport of horse
racing and wanted to bring people back to the tracks. He seemed to feel that
the events that unfold in the story of Ruffian were nobody's fault and that it
was important not to paint Dinny as some villain. Dinny and the Janney's felt
awful about what happened to Ruffian. So distraught were they, that they were
unable to attend the filly's burial. Bill felt it was important, however, to
remember that these were horse people and that these kinds of things did
sometimes happen. While a tragedy, it was not incapacitating. Except, perhaps,
for Aunt Barbara who, he said, could be heard wailing as they had to put Ruffian
down.. almost a constant drone of sadness at the loss of Ruffian.
It was a great conversation and I was
grateful for Mr. Nack's help. The question became, how do I adjust the
performance to make Dinny more refined and human if directed to emphasize the
salesman aspect of the character. Time would tell. I returned to the hotel for
a brief nap and went to dinner to learn my lines for my first day of shooting,
Sunday. Pick up time: 5:15AM. The first two scenes of the day are mine.. the
press conference scenes. I'll let you know how they go.
Posted: Mon - March 27, 2006 at 04:10 PM