Bordertown - 2006
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Bordertown - 2006 |
Actor Martin Sheen chats with camera assistant Beau Chaput (left)
during a rehersal of a scene from "Bordertown." The movie was being filmed in The Tribune newsroom Tuesday evening. Sheen portrays a newspaper editor in the Indie thriller. (Photo by Mark Holm / Albuquerque Tribune) |
Got that? We'll move on.
The cast and crew of "Bordertown," an indie thriller starring Jennifer Lopez and Martin Sheen, moved into The Tribune newsroom Tuesday along with about 75 crew members and 46 extras, half who are being paid $7 an hour to act as reporters.
They look even more like reporters than we do. So professional. Love the suits.
They are here this week to film fictional Chicago Sentinel newsroom scenes in the hours when many of our real reporters are out of the office or forced to work elsewhere on laptops.
We remain, however, ensconced in a darkened office at the epicenter of production. From here, "reporter" Lopez is just inches away. She zips here, she zips there, sometimes chasing "editor" Sheen, sometimes striding alongside hunky "reporter" Randall Batinkoff.
All the while the pretend reporters follow a rehearsed choreography of sitting, carrying papers, carrying coffee, delivering food, answering phones, gesturing and conversing silently in one great newsroom pantomime.
(We note they have nobody pretending to eat at his or her desk.)
"Lots of animation, people," an assistant director urges them.
"Bordertown," Take 203
But you want to hear about the stars, don't you?
So here it is. First of all, they are smaller than you might imagine. Martin Sheen, a very affable guy who glad-hands and chats with everybody as if he were a, um, presidential candidate, maybe clears five feet counting that shiny graying mane. He uses an extra chair cushion to bolster his presence when sitting in the leather editor chair.
He strolls from his trailer in our visitors parking lot to the set, stopping to converse with security guards, prop guys, food guys and one gushing features editor who shared cashews with him (she is saving hers FOREVER).
He eats in our cafeteria with the rest of the crew.
Newsroom scene
Director Gregory Nava is walking around with Martin Sheen and Jennifer Lopez, looking snazzy in her black tank top and low-slung white capris. Her hair is hidden by a baseball cap and she wears silver hoop earrings big enough for a circus tiger to jump through.
Sheen looks tanned and rested like a, um, former president. He wears an untucked chambray shirt and jeans.
Martin's sheen
I note that the actor who has received the most comment -- all positive -- from my fabulous and very astute readers is Martin Sheen.
It's also very clear that he is the fave among the folks who work here. He comes on set smiling and happy and always with a greeting for everyone. That President Bartlet stuff clearly rubbed off, but readers also say he was cool long before being commander in chief.
They love the Sheen
Martin's wife arrived on the set last night. She is a darling and it was sweet to see how Martin greeted her with a kiss and hug and a search for a comfy chair for her to sit on. Ah love...
Ciao, babes
June 23, 2005
Martin Sheen, you are one nice guy and the best president this country ever had. If I didn't have such a good editor already, I'd work for you any day. It's easy to understand why so many people love you.
While I still have you...
June 24, 2005
By the way, I arrived at work to find a copy of our Tribune, the one with Martin Sheen on the front page, on my desk. It was autographed by Sheen himself. At first I thought it was somebody's joke, but I later learned that he had left autographed copies for other editors here. Swoon.
What a great guy. He even drew a little arrow pointing to his image, as if to remind me who he was.
Believe me, I will never forget.
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