Stories of a That Guy

[Veltoby]

Greetings all.

Since I don't have to start teaching until next week, I find myself up late joining my 1st ever Forum.

Saints preserve us.

Anyway, just to appear interesting, I wanted to post a story about an encounter I had with a "That Guy" recently, and perhaps see if anyone else has had any such brushes with kinda-fame.

Last semester at the college where I teach we were producing the play Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet. In this particular play, there are quite a number of fight scenes, and I volunteered to be involved as Fight Captain. (I was already playing Tim in Noises Off elsewhere so I couldn't help out more...oh well...enough tangent!!)

Well, it turns out our Fight Choreographer was Greg Wood. For those not familiar, Mr. Wood is the Father near the end of The Sixth Sense whose daughter was poisoned.

It's not everyday one gets to advance on someone with a broadsword that's been in a major studio motion picture.

Of course, I've lived a sheltered life.

Well, long story short (too late), I worked with Mr. Wood for a signficant amount of rehearsal time. I didn't really get a chance to be star-struck or anything, since we did have to work together to some degree. (Basically, he told the actors what to do, and I memorized it to drill them later).

At any rate, please pardon my rather lengthy "Hello", and I look forward to hearing from the various and assundry MRFHers.

[FiveMileSmile]

I have never, ever, ever met anyone who has been involved with a major or even minor motion picture in any way at all.

Welcome to the boards, Veltoboy - you've chosen a fine forum to join as your first, as we're generally a bunch of friendly, nice, and peaceful people here.

- Mutant Rich
Using my official title since I'm welcoming a new member

[Der Germ]

Let's see. I've had two substitute teachers in high school/Jr. high that were in movies. One was a guy who was in Quest for Fire, or some name like that. Saw the movie after the first time he subbed and loved it, then he subbed like five more times that year and I couldn't talk to him 'cause I was all star-struck, haha.

The second was my health STD counselor (not that I had any, standard LAUSD school stuff. Really.) who was in the movie Friday. I remember him as the guy who went "Heeey, Smokey!"

Aaaaand a small assortment of other encounters, but I've never been one to be star-struck usually so it wasn't huge. One of my friends room mates was in a lot of movies too, I can't remember his real name, something like Bruce Chen. But he hasn't had an acting job in a long time.

*shrug* Kinda meet a lot of actors in the Valley. It's where the people live, then they travel to Hollywood (or Canada, amongst other places) to work.

[Lissa]

My big one is really, really small. As you'll soon hear in great detail, we went on a tour of Kalaupapa on Moloka'i in Hawaii. The tour guide was the sheriff of the town and a former patient. He actually appeared- quite a bit- in Moloka'i: The Story of Father Damien. Course, unless he's got a photographic memory he wouldn't know me if he saw me again, but I thought it was cool I'd at least spoken to someone who'd been in a movie.

And my boss was in a movie on the role of research in the USDA, if that counts

[Head Mutant]

Welcome VelcroBoy! May your powers of Velcro keep the world safe by... adhering to... what? Veltoby? I'm pretty sure it was VelcroBoy. Yeah.

I've got a Sixth Sense review somewhere lined up to post sometime in the next few weeks. The most I've ever been in contact with stardom is having met PoolMan, who was in an Ernest movie, which he has never actually reviewed yet. FOR SHAME.

[PoolMan]

Excuse me, but I travelled all the way to Detroit to visit you, chum, we RENTED the movie, and then YOU didn't want to watch it.

FOR SHAME.

But actually, it's a good idea. It's an awful movie, I'd love to give it a good going-over!

[mutantclare]

I've met Nathalie Portman, Guy Pearce, Lili Taylor and Julia Roberts. But didn't hang out with any of them long enough to really have any good stories.
Guy Pearce is extremely handsome in real life and was very friendly. Lili Taylor seemed really freaked out, but that was probably because of the way I was introduced to her. Nathalie Portman was extremely polite and VERY TINY. Julia Roberts was lots of fun and very normal/down to earth.

[Head Mutant]

I forgot we did... I think the horror of the Doom Generation covered up all memories of that week.

[Veltoby]

Head said:

Welcome VelcroBoy! May your powers of Velcro keep the world safe by... adhering to... what? Veltoby? I'm pretty sure it was VelcroBoy. Yeah.

Behold! It is I! VelcroBoy! With the ability to make this sound.

Vrrrp!

At any rate, thanks for the warm welcome. Oh! M. le PoolMan. Which Ernest movie? (I liked several of them. I don't know what that says about me...).

Anyway, this isn't really a "That guy" moment, but I was an extra in a low budget movie with Cameron Diaz in a cameo (she came in the day we were filming). Didn't really meet her though as we were instructed not to talk to the talent.

So I mimed things to the guy in the band.

(Am I the only one that thinks Ernest's rendition of Dante's Inferno called Ernest Goes to Hell might be fun. Alas, we'll never know... )

[PoolMan]

Veltoby said:

Alas, we'll never know... )

You never know, Jim Varney might just be filming it on location!

The movie I was involved in was Ernest Goes to School. I was probably 16 or so at the time of the shoot (Baby PoolMan!), and I'm extremely visible. I was hired as part of a marching band I was part of at the time, because as is the style with high school movies, it features the resentment between the jocks (the football team) and the nerds (the band). So we were about a half step up from extras, but they treated us superbly. It was awesome fun.

As for Jim himself, he was very fun. Not at all like Ernest, but still a really nice guy. Smoked like a chimney, wore an emerald earring, and played football with us during the breaks between shots.

[Veltoby]

PoolMan said:

... it features the resentment between the jocks (the football team) and the nerds (the band).

Made life interesting for those of us in both band and football. (Although I'm definitely more nerd than jock. I was the token smart kid on the football team...just happened that I was a big nerd, that's all). haha

[Al]

I spoke with James Earl Jones' housekeeper/housesitter over the phone. I did a presentation of African Americans in Film for an Ethnic Studies class, and found out he lived in the mid-Hudson area near where I went to college. After a bit of rooting around, I found his phone number and called in the vain hopes of getting an interview, but got someone who watches the house for them or something instead. She was quite polite, but told me he was on location somewhere and would be unavailable. Man, that would have been cool.

Also (this is less interesting but at least it happened, as opposed to something that almost happened), I got to shake hands with Will Smith in a restaurant in Phillidephia. We were going out and he was coming in, my brother and I stopped and stared, and my dad asked

"Are you--"
"Yeah."

We shook hands and left. Not terribly interesting, but it made my day.

Al
-Harrison Ford has a house in my town, too, but apparently he's never actually been inside it.

[Hucklebubba]

Veltoby said:

Behold! It is I! VelcroBoy! With the ability to make this sound.

Vrrrp!

To say nothing of your knack for collecting miscellaneous debris like nobody's business.

[Veltoby]

That and I've been stuck to the carpet for two weeks....

...don't they miss me???

(Perhaps I should explain the actual name, Veltoby....nah...i'll be mysterious a little while longer yet...MUUAHAHAAAA)

[Magill]

Living in the Midwest, I don't have a lot of contact with anyone in movies. The closest thing I can think of is my dad works with the guy who tells Morgan Freeman he doesn't need to ask permission to pee near the end of The Shawshank Redemption. Oh, and my stepmother sang with the guy who sings "Old Man River" in the movie Showboat.