High Hopes loves YELLOW

A phone call came during Father’s Day dinner on June 19, 2011.  Jon Bielich introduced himself and said that he was calling for the movie “Yellow”.  He wanted to rent a miniature donkey or a miniature horse for a specific scene in the movie.  It was difficult to hear him over the buzz of dinner conversation and laughter of the grandchildren, so I asked him to give me a minute to find a “quiet” room!  This also gave me a moment to compose myself!

 Once I found a quieter spot, Jon began to explain that the people who were supposed to supply the animals for the movie had backed out at the last minute.  I told him that I was sure that we could help him, but I needed to check with Gene first.  Gene had tracked me down and was staring at me with a puzzled look.  I relayed the information to him, and Gene agreed that this would be a great opportunity for us.  Jon told me that he would need us on location on Tuesday, and he would email the details.

 As I ended the conversation with Jon, I wanted to jump up and down and scream and shout!  Woo hoo!  High Hopes would be going “Hollywood”!  I could hardly wait to tell the rest of the family!

 The email from Jon arrived Monday morning.  Call time for the animals would be Noon on Tuesday.  The location of the shoot was the Kemper Kimberlin residence in Pauls Valley, Okla.  He had picked a spot behind the house under some shade trees for our animals.

 There was no problem deciding on which donkey to take for the movie.  It would be our granddaughter’s donkey named Emily Darling.  She was very friendly and gentle, grey and white spotted and small.  The only concern that we had was that she was very, very pregnant!  The decision on the horse took more thought.  With 100 head of horses, it was hard to narrow it down to just one.  We finally decided on a beautiful overo stallion that we had just purchased named Blue Moon.  Jon had suggested taking at least one additional donkey and horse just in case the “actors” that we chose wouldn’t cooperate. 

 Gene spent most of Monday catching, bathing and grooming the animals for their acting debut.  He also picked up some panels to make temporary pens for the chosen ones!  I did the packing for the two day adventure in Pauls Valley, and I did some internet research about the movie!

 With a little effort, we found the storyline for the movie:  “Mary Holmes has a great life. She's young, beautiful and lives in Los Angeles. She has a good job teaching at a private elementary school and four beautiful children. But things aren't always what they seem. Mary has problems. She has a difficult time feeling things, and the fact that she eats twenty Vicodin a day doesn't help. She sees a psychiatrist for the disconnected daydreams she keeps having, and her younger sister with Tourettes hates her. When she loses her job for sleeping with one of the fathers on Parent's night, she decides to go home.  That's when the fun really starts. The dreams which seemed so random now start to take real shape as we understand where she came from. From young and in love, drug dealing on the road, to her father's slow painful death, from questions of love and incest to her older sister's descent into insanity, the secret that destroyed her entire family reveals itself on her journey back home….”  The dreams that start to take shape take place around a dinner table with a group of people.  Mary Holmes begins to see the people at the table as animals, and then begins to see animals walking through the dining room.  This is the scene that Emily Darling and Blue Moon would be a part of.

We decided that Gene would go and I would stay home.  It’s difficult to find someone to care for all the animals on our ranch and summertime is an especially precarious time to entrust the care of animals to someone.  I was also uncertain that I could survive the triple digit Oklahoma temperatures.

 Gene left home about 9 AM on Tuesday morning.  Gene’s new cell phone had stopped working on Friday of the week before.  Gene is hearing impaired and depends on his phone to communicate with me while he is away from home.  We borrowed an old phone from our daughter and I gave him a quick lesson on the borrowed phone.  He was used to a full keyboard so I knew the older phone would be an issue, to say the least.  Gene made several voice calls to me on Tuesday, but it was always a one way conversation because he couldn’t hear  me.

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma was a 90 minute drive from our farm.   Upon his arrival at the Kimberlin  residence, Gene was directed to the area north of the house that would become “home” for the animals for the next two days.    Gene was given a radio so that he could hear the communications between the movie crew.  He was given instructions regarding photos with the stars and noise during the filming time. Taking photos of the actors was prohibited unless they gave permission.   

While Gene assembled the pens many members of the movie crew came by to see the animals and talk with Gene.  Our pens were on the west side of the driveway that led from the residence where the filming was taking place to the crew’s “Base Camp” and the actors’ trailers.  There was a constant buzz of activity.  The stars were transported from their trailers to the set via golf carts, and as they passed by, they would often wave.

“Base Camp” consisted of a parking area, a dining area, restrooms and the actors’ trailers.  The parking area was just a row of cars in the pasture!  The dining area had a buffet table of food and tables set up under a tent.  The food crew had roasted a 300 lb pig on Monday right there on location.  It was served on Tuesday at lunch.

Although there was a regular outhouse near the set location, the restrooms at “Base Camp” were a unique setup.  There were 2 trailers which housed 6 restroom units.  Each actor had their own restroom.  In the 2^nd trailer was a crew restroom for women and one for men.  Each unit was air conditioned and had country music playing inside.   

Jon had explained that filming would start at 8 AM and continue for 6 hours.  There would be a 30 minute lunch break around 2 PM.  Meals, drinks and snacks were provided by the movie production.  Some of the actors ate in the dining area, some took their meals to their trailers and some had food delivered to the set. 

While Gene was eating lunch on Tuesday, he noticed someone sitting by our pens.  After eating, Gene walked back to the pens and the man introduced himself as the veterinarian that the movie had hired to inspect the animals.

During the afternoon, there was interest in the animals by several of the crew and actors.  They seemed as infatuated with the miniature donkeys and horses as we are with movie stars!  One of Gene’s afternoon visitors was Lucy Punch who plays Amanda in the movie.  Lucy’s character is seen as a donkey while sitting around the dinner table.  She was in makeup as a donkey for the dining room scene when Gene first met her. 

It was only after meeting Lucy Punch that Gene realized he had seen another actor in makeup as the pig in the movie.  Prior to that Gene had thought, well, that the man had some pretty abnormal facial features!

Another afternoon visitor was Melanie Griffith.  While she was chatting with Gene, he asked if he could take her picture, and she replied, “No”.  She was cordial and they continued talking about the animals.

At the time of his introduction, Gene had no idea who Wayne Coyne was.  He could tell that he was “someone” by the reaction of the teenage girls on set.  Wayne told Gene that he had a part in the movie, but he wasn’t sure what it was.  Wayne’s wife and another friend were with him and took photos of the animals.  It wasn’t until Monday evening that our daughter, Melodee, filled us in on Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips!  The Flaming Lips formed in Oklahoma City, OK in 1983 with Wayne Coyne's brother Mark singing lead vocals and Michael Ivins on bass guitar. The band debuted at Oklahoma City's Blue Note Lounge.

About lunchtime, I realized that there was no way I could stay home.  I messaged Gene that our granddaughter, Ashley, and I would be coming after all.  Ashley and I fed and watered all the animals, packed quickly and headed to Pauls Valley.  On the way, I realized that I didn’t know where to go.  I had sent Gene’s laptop with the email from Jon with Gene.  I had printed the email for Gene, but had not printed a copy for me.  All that I could remember from my phone conversation with Jon was to take the first exit.  I decided that I would take the first Pauls Valley exit and go left. On our way to Pauls Valley, Gene sent a text that the animals had been called to the set.  I was disappointed that we would miss the shoot, but hopeful that we would get to see the stars.

While waiting outside the house, Melanie Griffith chatted with Gene.  He also saw Heather Wahlquist, Lucy Punch, Sienna Miller, Hank Azaria, Elizabeth Daily, Shane Kaufman, Gena Rowlands and Robert Forrest.  The movie was written by Nick Cassavetes and Heather Wahlquist.  It was directed by Nick Cassavetes who is Gene Rowlands’ son.

The entrance to the set was the back porch of the house.  The crew had built a ramp from plywood with boards nailed horizontally for traction.  At first glance, Gene knew that the ramp would be an issue with Emily Darling.  Blue Moon had been shown so he didn’t really expect any problems with him walking up the ramp.  The other immediate issue was two animals and only one Gene.  Luckily there were extra handlers with the 4H group who eagerly assisted Gene.

Anyone who has ever dealt with a donkey knows that when they decide to NOT do something, they pretty much have the upper hand.  If they decide to NOT lead, they don’t walk……period.  Well, Emily Darling wanted no part of the ramp, and the ascent up the ramp became a two person endeavor.  Ingenuity finally won out and Emily Darling was on the porch and in the house.  Wayne Coyne’s wife filmed the process.  Click this LINK to watch the video or copy & paste http://yfrog.com/j0nv0z#.TiSloLlR6Nc.favorites

Although Blue Moon was hesitant at first about the ramp, he did walk up the ramp, onto the porch and into the house.  Once inside, he began to exhibit and educate everyone on the ways of a yearling stallion who was about to become a “Movie Star”!  Yearling stallions have plenty of energy and an instinct to exhibit their elegance to any filly who might be watching!

 Once inside, the animals were lined up in the hallway in the order that they would enter the dining room.  The floor area that they walked on was covered with cardboard taped down with bright blue duct tape.  The cardboard made an interesting noise as the animals walked on it.  The animals thought so too!  It also seemed like the perfect place for the sheep and goats to “relieve” themselves, and there was a call for a “Clean Up” on the cardboard!  Emily Darling and Blue Moon were more respectful of their surrounding and held their “business” until they were outside again.

 There were additional staffing placed in the dining room to help direct the animals through.  These people were lying on the floor.  Their job was to deter the animals from taking a wrong turn in the dining room. 

 The animals did a few “walk thrus” before the actual filming began.  The lineup consisted of a “Lead” sheep that won’t actually be seen in the movie, followed by sheep, goats, Blue Moon and Emily Darling.  The sheep and goats in the movie followed the “Leader” from the hallway into the kitchen, turned quickly to the right, passed through the doorway into the dining room and exited to the right back into the hallway.  Blue Moon was to follow behind the goats and Emily Darling followed Blue Moon.  Sounds good, right?

 The first couple of “walk thrus” were accomplished with a “Wrangler” for each animal using a halter and lead rope on each animal for “training” purposes.  A Wrangler is what we equine people refer to as a “Handler”, or the person who leads a horse!  Each Wrangler led their animal through the course and most everything went as planned.  Wonderful, the plan was working.

 After the first two times, the halters and ropes were removed and the animals were to walk through the dining room by themselves with no “Wranglers”.   In the kitchen, the floor was marked with a blue strip of duct tape.  This line was the stopping point for each Wrangler.  It was the Wrangler’s job to control the animal to the point of the tape and then push the animal toward the dining room doorway and hope that they would walk thru and follow the “Leader” sheep all the way through the dining room.  Good plan in theory, especially for the sheep and goats.  They are followers, and they had a leader.

 This is where the “traffic jam” took place.  After each Wrangler released their animal in the kitchen, they rushed back through the hallway to the dining room exit point to catch their animal.  There were 4 sheep wranglers and 3 goat wranglers squeezing past Gene and his animals in the hallway.  There was another blue duct tape at the dining room exit that could not be crossed either!  The animals were supposed to walk through the dining room and turn right into the hallway and EXIT.

 Okay, the sheep and goats were released and stopped just short of the exit point so their wranglers couldn’t reach them.  They huddled in south end of the dining room.  So much for the “Exit Right”! 

Now it’s Blue Moon’s turn to make his acting debut!  Gene pushed him toward the doorway and off he goes.  He went full steam ahead, and plowed right into the herd of sheep and goats, scattering them everywhere.  Some of the sheep bumped into the actor’s chair.  That actor jumped out of his chair and declared “What the ??????”  Luckily some of the sheep and goats  were spooked right into their wrangler’s hands!

Keep in mind that Blue Moon is now on the other end of the dining room totally unattended because Gene still had to maneuver Emily Darling to the dining room entrance.  And she’s off. . .  Remember I mentioned earlier that Emily Darling is  friendly?  Well, there’s Lucy Punch, hey, Emily knows her!

 “Hi, Lucy, what’s up?  Hey, dude, what happened to your nose?  It looks like a pig snout!  Wow! That lady has a chicken on her head!  Hey, Gene, where are you?  Well, I’m not going anywhere until Gene comes back!”  Emily stops.  The Director, Nick Cassavetes, calls out, “Cut”.

So….. let’s try that again from the top.  Everyone got back in line.  The Leader went, the sheep went and the goats went.  It’s Blue Moon’s turn, and he’s off.  He prances.  He dazzles.  He makes a hard left turn around the table and makes a few laps around the table!  Yes, you guessed it!  The Director yells “Cut!”

 Some adjustments were needed.  The Director excused a couple of the sheep because they would not follow the Leader.  Luckily, there were alternate sheep to fill in.  It was also decided that Emily Darling would go before Blue Moon.  He would shove her through and she would slow him down!  Excellent!  A couple more walk thrus and everyone would be ready for the actual shoot.

 The Leader went, the sheep went, and the goats went.  Gene released Emily Darling and she began to meander back into the dining.  Blue Moon is ready and off he goes.  He prances and struts and thinks “Wow, look at that sexy little donkey!”, and then he did what any studly horse would do, he mounted her!  Blue Moon was having a wonderful time!  This acting stuff was a piece of hay!  The Director calls “Cut”!

 Rehearsal is over.  It was time for the real shoot.  The Director called for quiet on the set, and the only noise to be heard was the sound of hooves on the cardboard.  Now, all our lives we have seen movies being made in movies, right?  The Director always screamed out “Lights, Camera, and Action”, right?  In real life, the Director just says “And rolling” in a calm, normal voice.

 Anyway, back to the action.  The “Leader” sheep was walked by its Wrangler through the dining room and each Wrangler released their animals.  Gene released Emily Darling and she began her stroll through the dining room.  Gene released Blue Moon and he pranced his way through and hurried Emily Darling through in the process.  The Director calls “Cut”.  Everyone was pleased!

 After a few more successful shoots the animals were lead out of the house.  Blue Moon had kept everyone entertained and our pregnant Emily Darling had captured the heart of everyone there.  It had been an experience and one that no one will soon forget.

Ashley and I had arrived while the filming was taking place.  We were walking down the drive toward the house as Gene was walking out with Emily Darling and Lucy Punch.  He called Ashley over and we had a photo shoot with Lucy Punch!

For the next hour, we prepared the animals for their overnight stay in their “motel”.  Gene described his day’s activities and told us that the Director had called the animals back for another day of shooting.  Ashley and I would get to be a part of the action after all!

 Call time for the next day was noon.  We arrived well before that time in order to feed and water the animals.  Minutes ticked by and hours passed….slowly.  Luckily a cold front had moved through Oklahoma and the triple digit temps were cooled to low 90’s.

We had several visitors that morning.  Everyone stopped by to see if Emily Darling had delivered her baby.  Everyone, except me, was disappointed.  I had given her very strict orders to wait until we returned home! 

Finally, around 2 P.M., lunch was served.  The actors, of course, had been served first.  As we approached the dining area, we could see that Lucy Punch and a few other actors were still in the dining area!  While we ate, Lucy Punch chatted back and forth with us as did a couple of other actors and crew members.  It was a lunch we won’t soon forget.

Shortly after lunch, Gena Rowlands and Robert Forrest stopped by and were gracious enough to allow a photo shoot with us and Emily Darling.  Gena Rowlands began her acting career in 1954 with the TV series, Top Secret.  In 2010, she appeared in NCIS.  Her list of accomplishments go on and on.  I remember her best in the movie, Hope Floats.

Lucy Punch also stopped by after lunch.  She wanted her photo taken with Blue Moon.  She stepped inside the pen and handed me her phone.  I snapped a few photos of her with Blue Moon, Ashley and Gene.  She then handed the phone to Ashley and let her snap a few of just Lucy and Blue Moon.

 While I was watching this photo shoot, I caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of my eye.  Standing behind me was a young man dressed in black.  I asked him if he wanted photos with the animals, and he said “No, but I would like to touch them if you don’t think they will attack me”.  I stifled a chuckled and assured him that they were very gentle and it would be fine.  He told me that this wasn’t something that you see everyday where he came from.  I was talking with Shane Kaufman who played Stacey in the movie.

 Finally, it was time for the animals!  Ashley led Emily Darling to the house with Gene supervising.  After I had a small discussion with Blue Moon, we followed them.  We stood outside the house, in the heat, for what seemed like hours.  Everyone that walked by me and Blue Moon made the comment, “There’s that rascal!”  As I stood there, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into!

 Before entering the house, we were told that Ashley might not be able to go inside due to her age.  We were finally called into the house and Gene assured me that Ashley would go in.  Gene simply asked one of the crew to find Ashley a place in the kitchen where she could watch.  I thought it seemed chaotic inside the house and the Director seemed to have read my mind.  He stated that there were too many people in the kitchen and that if you didn’t belong there you needed to get out.  Well, Ashley belonged, so she stayed!

 The “walk thrus” were much like the day before with the exception of Blue Moon.  He was calmer and content to simply prance through the dining room and evade capture at the other end.  At one point while waiting in the hallway, I leaned toward his ear, tugged on the lead and whispered with authority “You need to calm down”.  I instantly heard someone say, “Hey, we have a horse whisperer!”

 In no time the scene was shot and the animals were excused.  Emily Darling and Blue Moon were taken back to their pens and Ashley and I left Gene to tear down and load up by himself!

Emily Darling and Blue Moon seem unaltered by their acting debut, but Gene, Ashley and I will never forget this incredible experience.