Gala for A Gifted Man

...a.k.a. Patrick Wilson playing the part of Dr. Michael Holt -in this shooting of the last episode of the season (I remember him as Nite Owl 2 in the WATCHMEN movie). The scene is a gala affair taking place at the Roosevelt Hotel. The same hotel I spent 2 weekends as background for Man On A Ledge, which my wife and I went to see yesterday in the movies and loved it (even though the critics panned it -never trust any critics!).

But getting back to the topic at hand, the call time for the CBS production was at 8:30 AM today (the day of the Giant's parade down the Canyon Of Heros on the other side of town) -still, everyone showed up on time to get their wardrobe and makeup checked. The women got the best of the deal -yet again the most attractive of the 50 or so extras needed for this fete. Our holding area was inside a ballroom at the hotel, where we were not allowed to bring any food (yeah, right)!? I snuck in a bagel and lox with cream cheeze -which I wolfed down to avert the evil decree of being discovered with food and getting ejected. Luckily our PA, Bernard, was a friendly and tolerant guy. He was professional and focused mainly on the directorial part of the job.

After consulting with the ladies at my table for the best choice of ties, the dark brown was overwhelmingly selected. Unfortunately, my wardrobe check failed the tie test and the wardrobe supervisor decided to temporarily trade my voucher for what I thought to be a very non-descript piece of "shmatta". Be that as it may, I acquiesced to the requirements of the scene (what do I know anyway?). After that there wasn't much to do other than chat it up with my table mates. The conversation flowed around vitamins, politics and agents; I got a few "how to get more gigs" tips out of these encounters. It was a friendly group and getting familiar with each other's backgrounds made the waiting time fascinating and informative.

There were two scenes: one was milling around outside the balroom while Patrick and company chatted with some of the awarded-guests-of-honor, and the second scene dealt with sitting around the dinner tables while watching one of the speakers faint. I was one of the people picked to suddenly stand up in shock at the unexpected show-stopper (my only hope of being seen in the final cut).

EPILOGUE: Yes, that's me in the circle again (behind the plant)!? The season finale aired 3/2/2012

It all went well as David Platt, the director, darted between the cameras and the actors to get just the right effect.

Director David Platt

The shoot went on for us until almost 7:00 PM and then we were released. It was a great relief to exchange my voucher back for the ND-tie. I turned my cell back on, collected my phone messages and saw that a real-life job interview was being set up for me. In a way I was elated and in another way I was a bit sad. And then reality set in: I have bills to pay!

I quickly bade good night to my fellow table buddies, got my voucher ok'd -got my coat on and raced down the stairs only to come face to face with the star, Patrick, himself. I spontaneously smiled and said "take care" - he spontaneously reciprocated "you too"... and in a few moments I was out in the Manhattan night air. Walking up the block, I was kicking myself for not asking him if the show was being renewed.................. or, if he was making another WATCHMEN movie!