Love Ranch, Joe Pesci, Helen Mirren

Love Ranch...on set

Now you can click on the Juke Box, set it for 1976, pick a tune to start, sit back and reflect back to those days in Reno Nevada, The Mustang Ranch, Oscar Bonavena, Joe and Sally Conforte, and even big bad Ross Breymer at ringside during a well promoted heavyweight fight attended by thousands. This is the scene depicted on the set we are working, for these posted weeks starting 2-21-08 through 3-5-08. Enjoy 'The fight'. 'Ringo'

Call Time: Wednesday, March 5

8:45 am Ranch Girls
8:45 am Ring Girl April
8:45 am Fight Fans with FIRST names that begin with A-M
8:45 am Arena Security/Sportswriters
8:45 am Fight Officials/Fight Judges
8:45 am Reno Police/Still Photographers
8:45 am TV Reporters/TV Cameramen/Soundmen
8:45 am Statisticians/Black Panther Body Guards
9:45 am Fight Fans with FIRST names that begin with N-Z
9:45 am Oracon Cameramen
9:45 am Wendall Photo double
9:45 am Time Keeper
9:45 am Colter's Cut Man/Bruzo's Cut Man
9:45 am State Trooper
WOMEN come with your hair in hot curlers or rollers and with makeup done.
We will be at the Tingley Colisium on the State Fair grounds.

March-05-2008

Awoke at 0600, SSS and arrive very early to eat breakfast before sign in at 8:45 am. Elizabeth walked in just behind me. Now that is a dedicated Casting Director. Rebeca a little later, Katy followed by Rachel who just makes sure we are all happy and know what to do next. Sign and wardrobe before 9:00 am, then just sit around talking about whatever 'jingles our bells'.

No 'CSI' Nicholetta today, busy with studies at UNM. Enrique the young 'Tenured' lib UNM college professor of European History, (200 students per semester), future politician? After speaking with professor Enrique, I was left with the impression that the University of New Mexico

teaches the analogy that "Bush is Hitler"?

We were called to the 'live set' before I could find out from Enrique, which historical figure Vladamir Putin

is representing, or more importantly the future role that Barack Hussein Obama

would play as the new, loved by all, 'World Leader'. Now that subject would be interesting, considering the changing demographics of these times, interwoven with Bible prophesy.

Enrique mentioned that Nicholetta was most likely busy with her intense schedule in criminology

studies today. Good for Nicholetta, studies that are worthwhile to humanity. I have always respected 'The Hard Sciences'.

'Woody' the Paratrooper Demolition Man

walked over and told me his kids liked the previous stories about him and our 'work'. They told him, their Dad was now famous over all of the world. That's a good thing because his generation is what made this Nation great. I can only hope and Pray that this next generation has the same wisdom, guts and intuitions as the 'Woody's of the past. The troops returning from a truely godforsaken world, are our future. My prayer is that they will fill every public office at every level to hold accountable, those that seek to weaken our system for their own political gain.

Ron from Bakersfield California, a retired Lexus Sales Manager (his wife was one of his Sales reps) was rare'n to go after chow call. He has owned about 4 single engine sport planes and homebuilts are his fav's. At present, Ron likes the cloth covered basic types.Fisher Dakota

About 11:00 am Rachel came and said to get ready for some action soon. Yep, file out to the Arena and a grandstand seat with a back was my nest for the next few hours. Right straight away in back of the fighters and behind the press but to the left. Good spot with a great view of the action. Heavy Glycerin smoke today, what's new?

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Here's my research stats on the effects of the heavy 'haze' created by; Le Maitre smoke fluids are materials supplied by Le Maitre for use in their smoke generators. A reservoir is charged with the water based fluids which are forced by pneumatic pressure into a heated chamber. Here the fluid is immediately vaporised and expands. On passing into the atmosphere a mist or smoke is formed as a result of condensation of the vaporised material. .
3.3. Toxicology of Propylene Glycol & Glycerine

Propylene glycol is an allowable constituent of foodstuffs and pharmaceutical products. it is contained, for example, in soft drinks and suntan lotions. Although neither of these are inhaled there is no reason why this route should pose an additional hazard. Experiments on rats and monkeys have shown that exposure to saturated atmospheres for up to eighteen months produces no ill effects. Equally no effects have been noted in man as a result of inhalation.

Glycerine is also allowed in foodstuffs and pharmaceuticals and is very widely used. It is also used as a bacteriostat. No toxicity effects on animals or man have been noted even at concentration well in excess of those relevant here.

THUS NEITHER OF THE SUBSTANCES USED IN THE SMOKE GENERATORS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE ANY ADVERSE EFFECTS IN MAN.

In general, it is prudent to avoid undue exposure to any substance but there is no reason to suppose that any harmful effect will result even from continued exposure to the smoke generated. In typical use where the exposure is restricted and limited there is every reason to consider the devices safe.
My personal note; one side effect is enhanced sense of smell after leaving the set, this effect remains for several days?

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Super Techno Crane

with it's camera was flying overhead. Shoulder mounted cam was also in ring again for closeup shots of the fighters. The ringside floor where we were sitting last week was now laid with 20 ft (6m) of track and the 'Chapman'? Dolly

, camera was rolling back and forth for 'ringside shots'.

Round one clinch , we Boo, the break, we cheer, Bruzza recovers we cheer. Five 'takes' on that one and we progress to section 2 of the same round, Bruza in full control with 2 'takes'. Section 3 of same round Bruza still in control of Colter. Chanting, and standing with lot's of fist pumping like monkey's, is rising in intensity now. 'BRU-ZA' is heard repeatedly along with lots of animation from the hundreds of us positioned among the blow-up heads and cutouts seated among us. To the distant camera it looks like the stadium is filled with people 'rippin it up' over the fight. Bruzza staggers Colter with a good head shot and we all go wild. shoulder cam is in tight for that head shot. Reset and take that same shot five times to get it looking right. 'CUT' is called by Hackford. End of round one at 12:00 noon. Jimmy and Leroy are friends again and huggin' it up. Must have been the long hours the other night.

Sitting to my right is Mark retired from CNM

as a Budget Director. Payroll was not his 'thing'. Next to him was Don the CPA, from Sacred Power

a solar and wind turbine company that gets most of it's business from off-grid customers like the Indian Reservation, with initial costs of ten dollars a watt, offset (paid) by federal government subsidies. Watts new?

Break for a move to floor area at 2:30 am, where we spent time last week. Techno Crane is now on reverse side of ring. Round one is re-started again and different camera perspective is repeated as viewed from the Press area. Again Bruza is in control as before so we repeat our chants and cheers loudly but at times in Pantomime for the dialog to be heard through the microphone held close overhead by the person holding the boom pole. Finally move on to next section where we repeat the same scenes we did from the grandstand. 3 resets then 'Cut'.

Round two and repeat the action from before. Hackford calls for an instant replay of round one which takes only a couple of minutes then we move on to round two and doing several 'Ends of Rounds' in quick progression. Stand up, cheer, pump fists, sit down and repeat many times. Every body's knees are working well today and fully exercised. Colter is in control at this time making full use of his fast combinations and lightning jabs. After being whacked a good one by Colter, Bruza takes a swing after the double bell end of round and we all Boo. We do that one many times and then 'Cut'.

Helen Mirren does a cute little dance for us in our aisle while passing the time. She seems fun today and in the mood to entertain the background. My friend is sitting behind Joe Pesci and it looks like he is talking to Joe? A crewman looks exactly like Joe, more so than his stand-in does, Interesting.

Bruzza is now being applied with 'blood' for this next sequence of shots. The doctor and 'cutman' is in the ring for this group while we bemoan the fact that our hero is cut. The Colter fans, cheering for their, lighter on his feet, faster, more technical fighter, are elated at this time, Bruza is more like a slow determined, flat footed fighter watching for any opening to unleash his heavy weapons. Many takes later we hear the word 'Cut' and the next scene where fans are all in the ring, is set up. this one is complicated due to the 50 or so fans all together. Ryan wearing his old style 'gym' shoes with red sport jacket was picked by Taylor to get in there. Frank and Tom got some 'ring time' as well. Five pm and dinner break with chicken or pork, veggies and macaroni with red sauce were served to the hundreds of us through several lines. Pretty fast and efficient for all. Not the best food working on this film but not the worst by far.

Had met Fred earlier. He was stationed in the Philippine's during the Vietnam war. His outfit suffered one KIA in Nam but Five in the Philippines from the local Huk's. Fred was an Air to Ground Radio man. At times during atmospheric skip, he talked to guys in Nam, both ground pounders on patrol and aircraft. Atmospheric skip is interesting when it occurs but not good when a critical piece of information is being passed.

Fred and I discussed Colorado where he grew up. His uncle met Zane Grey on several occasions when he was his guide and Grey wrote him into a book as an old tough rancher. Fred hiked with his uncle often. Trapper Lake above Meeker was a destination. One time he was riding a bus from Silverton to Ouray Colorado and came to a recent large snow slide at the point where the Preacher and his two daughters lost their lives years ago. The driver turned around and Fred walked over the slide to the other bus stopped on the other side and continued on his way. Red Mountain Pass is always interesting, Have driven it often.

Kimberly from England does social work, her husband is US military and did duty in Panama and Grenada. Kimberly was entering the British Army just as they were heading to the Falklands. Her family strongly suggested she do something else. She lived in Pennsylvania for a time.

6:00 pm and Rebeca rounded us up to return to the arena, same position in plastic seats with backs (good thing). Same positions as morning for different camera angles and stand up, sit down, yell, cheer, among the 'bubble heads (strung together in 4's, and cutouts. Tall Nathan was near center and many others of our friends around him, 50 in all. Bruza stands on a stool, while MC gainey, playing the part of Joe's man, Ross Brymer puts him on his shoulders many times and from many different angles.

Bruza falls backwards into the arms of the fans (actually crew) repeatedly to get it right. The announcer repeats many times loudly while rolling his tongue "The winner by a knock out, Arddddmando 'the wild bull' BRUUU-ZAAA". Of course we clap and cheer loudly while chanting "BRUU ZAAA, BRUU ZAAA" over and over. We are so excited it seems we are really there in Reno in 1976 watching 'Oscar Bonavena' win his fight.

Helen came down to get out of the crowd while her husband Taylor instructed the people how he wanted them to perform. Helen walked around outside the ring for a while by herself. A cooling fan was held up to keep Joe Pesci cool in his long black leather coat. Bruza came down for a touch up, to make up for lost blood. All through this scene Super Techno Crane was flying overhead to film the action. along with 'shoulder cam'.

We were selectively moved to the railing of the Grandstand for a repeat of the scene in the ring. Al and I got to be directly down range from the camera for a last set of shots during the ring melee. Lots more yelling and cheering and Boos. Our throats were getting a little sore even though the water bottles were being passed around by the casting assistants.

Al has been in ABQ for 14 months and came from Maine where the weather is really cold. While climbing through the trees to his house, through the deep snow on hands and knees one night, returning from work, he re-thought where he wanted to retire. Good choice Al. The chambers house in Waldoboro Maine where he lived for 15 years, was always thought of as 'The Chambers House' Al and his wife were thought of as 'The people from Away'.

The locals had to live there from the beginning of colonization to be accepted as true Maine residents worthy of the recognition as such. The Chambers house was over 150 years old and had no insulation until Al and his wife laid down some pink Panther in the attic. Still his heating bill was $480 dollars a month, pro-rated for all 12 months of the year. That was before the last years increase. Really good choice Al. This was another of Al's career's Keeping us safe during the cold war years. B-47 Mechanic

We stand on the rail watching and cheering as the 'ring crowd' scene is worked from many angles. Bloodied Bruza climbs down from ring as Helen holds him gently and escorts him from the crowd scene. She hits her head on the big light frame one time...it is quickly raised about 8 inches.

Big MC Gainey (playing Ross Brymer or 'John') walks by and I yell "MC!" a crew man taps him on the shoulder, he turns and walks over to me. I was last with him in the Mustard scene in "Wild Hogs. He told me he couldn't stand mustard on anything for months. we had a laugh over that, he shook my hand and walked away, thanks MC.Really great actor and all around nice guy

Al spots Jimmie the fight director, putting black color on his arms for a camera shot with the gloves, we had no idea what that was all about. They apparently made his arms the same black color as Leroy's. Joe is confronted in the ring by the IRS man. He explains that Joe has not paid enough taxes and will he meet in Joe's office at 9 am on a certain day. Now the story gets more interesting, from a historic view. repeat a few times and finally;

"It's A Wrap". Ever gracious, Taylor Hackford says "Thank You all for a great job" It is 10:30 pm. Run to wardrobe, change out 1976 attire, turn in clothing, pick up pay voucher, run to Casting table, stand in another line with hundreds of background, get voucher validated, receive pink copy and head home for 11:oo pm date with bed.
As usual it has been another wonderful day in THE United States of America, One Nation Under God"
Now start the search to find another casting call.