Brangelina in Pune
Just when I think I'm done writing for the next month or so (um... six entries in about two days?), something else happens that I just can't ignore or skip writing about.
So, I've alluded briefly to the Angelina Jolie film, A Mighty Heart, that's been filming in Pune for the past few weeks. The buildup alone is worth writing about, actually. I've heard some people tease Americans about being obsessed with Hollywood and celebrity lives, but for the entire week before Angelina and Brad's arrival in Pune, the Pune Times couldn't write enough about the couple. One day in early October, the entire front page was covered with articles about the food that they'd be eating, where they'd be staying, which movies we'd recognize them from... basically everything but the plot of the movie they were coming here to shoot. But hey, I'm glad it was seen in a positive light.
A few months ago, we'd had auditions for roles of extras in the film. The audition consisted of showing up, smiling for a Polaroid, and writing down our contact info. We hadn't heard anything by the time we left for our Epic Trip, so I figured I'd better just forget about it.
The day before we returned to Pune, a few of us received e-mails letting us know that our presence was requested on the set the next day. Well, sure! Over the next two weeks, I ended up going to the set five different times to be a pushy reporter. The scenes were shot in the Sindh Society, one of the ritziest areas of Pune. At the start of each day, we'd be ushered to the "cast house," a sort of giant green room filled with costumes and British people in equal numbers. After the quick glance-over and addition of a scarf by the costume directors, we shuffled off to the set, cameras (without film, of course) and press badges in tow. We'd shoot for a few minutes, usually screaming "Just one question, Miss Pearl!" or "Over here; just one minute of your time!" before being told that the energy was too high, too low, or both at the same time.
Many of the scenes were miniature battles between the Pakastani Army and the "International Press," aka any European-looking people the casting director could dig up. We were supposed to try to get a picture of Mariane Pearl, aka Miss Jolie, and the guards were supposed to stop us. I quickly figured out after being on the set for three weeks, the actors playing guards forgot about the acting part. They constantly chided us for talking and would yell, "Back, madam!" whenever the director walked up to talk with us. Once I told them off with some fractured Marathi, they just laughed instead of pushing us back. Much better, in my opinion.
The first day on the set was fairly ridiculous. Our call time was one PM, and we finished that night around ten-thirty. The actors playing guards got fairly enthusiastic about keeping us at bay, and I have the bruises to prove it. I even bounced off the trunk of a parked car once. However, it was worth it for me just to be in the proximity of film in the making. And then there was the minor detail of Angelina being inside the car window that I was scrunched up against. I tell ya, if there'd been film in my prop camera, I would've gotten the shot of the day.
After a day of filming, we'd walk over to the production house to get paid. After our second day of work, I was just stuffing my thousand-rupee note into my purse when I realized that the girls who lived in the house next door to the office were screaming their heads off. I looked up just in time to bump into Brad Pitt, who was heading into the production office as we were leaving. Right... what just happened?
During my time on the set, I was elbowed, pushed against cars, used as a subject for camera phone photography, and laughed at as I tried to speak Marathi. I also got to see the inside world of film production, learning about different camera lenses and speaking to the art director, Mark, about film and life in general. It was one of the best weeks that I've had in India. I hadn't realized how much I missed drama until I got onto the set again. I hadn't done much work with film, but I got the same feeling there that I do whenever I'm on stage or working back stage. I need one of these experiences once or twice a year to keep me on the course that I'm on. It reminds me how much I love theatre and film, and reassures me that it'll all be worth it in the end.
So, when A Mighty Heart comes out, look for an awkward girl with short blonde hair yelling at a car. That'll be me.
Love,
Sarah!
iPod: "Work," Jimmy Eat World
So, I've alluded briefly to the Angelina Jolie film, A Mighty Heart, that's been filming in Pune for the past few weeks. The buildup alone is worth writing about, actually. I've heard some people tease Americans about being obsessed with Hollywood and celebrity lives, but for the entire week before Angelina and Brad's arrival in Pune, the Pune Times couldn't write enough about the couple. One day in early October, the entire front page was covered with articles about the food that they'd be eating, where they'd be staying, which movies we'd recognize them from... basically everything but the plot of the movie they were coming here to shoot. But hey, I'm glad it was seen in a positive light.
A few months ago, we'd had auditions for roles of extras in the film. The audition consisted of showing up, smiling for a Polaroid, and writing down our contact info. We hadn't heard anything by the time we left for our Epic Trip, so I figured I'd better just forget about it.
The day before we returned to Pune, a few of us received e-mails letting us know that our presence was requested on the set the next day. Well, sure! Over the next two weeks, I ended up going to the set five different times to be a pushy reporter. The scenes were shot in the Sindh Society, one of the ritziest areas of Pune. At the start of each day, we'd be ushered to the "cast house," a sort of giant green room filled with costumes and British people in equal numbers. After the quick glance-over and addition of a scarf by the costume directors, we shuffled off to the set, cameras (without film, of course) and press badges in tow. We'd shoot for a few minutes, usually screaming "Just one question, Miss Pearl!" or "Over here; just one minute of your time!" before being told that the energy was too high, too low, or both at the same time.
Many of the scenes were miniature battles between the Pakastani Army and the "International Press," aka any European-looking people the casting director could dig up. We were supposed to try to get a picture of Mariane Pearl, aka Miss Jolie, and the guards were supposed to stop us. I quickly figured out after being on the set for three weeks, the actors playing guards forgot about the acting part. They constantly chided us for talking and would yell, "Back, madam!" whenever the director walked up to talk with us. Once I told them off with some fractured Marathi, they just laughed instead of pushing us back. Much better, in my opinion.
The first day on the set was fairly ridiculous. Our call time was one PM, and we finished that night around ten-thirty. The actors playing guards got fairly enthusiastic about keeping us at bay, and I have the bruises to prove it. I even bounced off the trunk of a parked car once. However, it was worth it for me just to be in the proximity of film in the making. And then there was the minor detail of Angelina being inside the car window that I was scrunched up against. I tell ya, if there'd been film in my prop camera, I would've gotten the shot of the day.
After a day of filming, we'd walk over to the production house to get paid. After our second day of work, I was just stuffing my thousand-rupee note into my purse when I realized that the girls who lived in the house next door to the office were screaming their heads off. I looked up just in time to bump into Brad Pitt, who was heading into the production office as we were leaving. Right... what just happened?
During my time on the set, I was elbowed, pushed against cars, used as a subject for camera phone photography, and laughed at as I tried to speak Marathi. I also got to see the inside world of film production, learning about different camera lenses and speaking to the art director, Mark, about film and life in general. It was one of the best weeks that I've had in India. I hadn't realized how much I missed drama until I got onto the set again. I hadn't done much work with film, but I got the same feeling there that I do whenever I'm on stage or working back stage. I need one of these experiences once or twice a year to keep me on the course that I'm on. It reminds me how much I love theatre and film, and reassures me that it'll all be worth it in the end.
So, when A Mighty Heart comes out, look for an awkward girl with short blonde hair yelling at a car. That'll be me.
Love,
Sarah!
iPod: "Work," Jimmy Eat World
posted by Sarah! at 12:26 AM
3 Comments:
awesome!!
twenty bucks says your face will be perfectly framed in one of the car windows when the film comes out, but you'll have a really funny look on your face like a guard it poking you in a bad place...
I'm glad you finally told us about the movie. I've been waiting for two weeks!
Great, Sarah! You're on your way!!
Love, M
PS- do they have Tofurki in INdia for Thanksgiving???
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