Cliche`d: 2011

Okay, so I know it's been a while... a LONG while. I apologize to anyone who might have been wondering what the hell happened to me (a bit narcissistic of me, but SOMEONE might care), but first, here's a story about my day on the set of 'Red State'. If you already know about 'Red State', then I would suggest skipping over the "Back-Story" section.

Back-Story

So, In 2006 Kevin Smith announced at Chicago Wizard World Con that he wanted to make a horror movie:

Then in 2007, after giving the script for 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' to Seth Rogen to read, Mr. Smith decided that he would sit and write his horror film 'Red State'. On episodes of SModcast, Kev and Mos talked about wanting to go into the horror film before 'Zack and Miri' but the Weinstein Company passed on 'Red State' and funded 'Zack and Miri'. So over the next few years, while Kev went off to shoot 'Cop Out' & also expand his SModcast empire, Jon Gordon scoured the earth to find the money for 'Red State'. The rest of the back-story can be found here or here , but the point is that it all came together.

Here's where I come into the Picture

Last August Kevin put up a post on viewaskew.com that 'Red State' needed extras. I immediately submitted, but didn't expect anything to come out of it (I know, I should have a more positive outlook, but what do you expect?). A few days later I got the following e-mail:

(sorry if you can't read it. tried my best), but what it basically says is "Welcome to 'Red State'")

So, I was to report to the Nelles Youth Correctional facility in Whittier at 7am. It would be a huge understatement to say that I was excited. Being that the shoot was supposed to be a high school, I thought it might be a good idea to shave my beard (most high-schoolers don't look homeless) and dress a bit more hip. Upon arriving on set I was greeted by a man with a clipboard who said "Matt Cruz?" I was a bit taken aback, but I was like "Um, yeah." He replied "Yes. Haven't missed one yet. I memorized the face of everyone who's supposed to be on set today". THAT was impressive.
I signed the non-disclosure agreement and headed inside the "holding room" (Yeah, I know... a bit creepy) where the other extras were waiting for instruction. The extras had been recruited in two ways: through Twitter or SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) and the distinction remained very clear throughout the day. Very shortly we were rounded up and taken to wardrobe for inspection. At this point, no details about 'Red State' had been revealed, so everything I saw was a revelation. While standing in line for inspection I was shocked when these three guys came walking around one of the trailers:

On the left is Michael Angarano, in the middle is Nicholas Braun, and on the right is Kyle Gallner. I knew all of these actors and was excited to see them work. We were then taken to a courtyard where the first scene would take place and given backpacks, books, etc. We were then put in groups and given blocking instructions to make it seem like we were on lunch break from class. After seeing the movie I realized that as soon as the courtyard scene starts you can see me and a couple walk (in focus) through the shot. Being that I repeatedly watch all of the bonus features on the View Askew dvds, I saw many familiar faces. Eventually the group that I was with realized that I was mumbling to myself & asked what I was saying. I told them that I was just saying the people that I was seeing. They asked for examples and I almost got through the whole crew. It went like "That's Dave Klein" to which they would say "What does he do?". I'd say "He's the DP". Then I'd say "That's Jeremy Graham"and they'd say "What does he do?". I'd say "He's the Gaffer". Then someone pointed at Malcolm Ingram and said "Who's he?". I said "That's Malcolm Ingram". They said "What does he do?" I said "Make Kevin laugh" which he continued to do throughout the morning. People would be setting up for the next shot and periodically you'd hear Kevin and Malcolm just burst out laughing from the side of the set.
At a certain point I spotted Zak Knutson and Joey Figuera, who make Chop Shop Entertainment. I had met Zak at the SModcastle. I was hesitant to approach him at the Castle, but I love 'Back to the Well: Clerks II' so much that I felt I had to say something. I saw him outside and said "Hey, sir I don't mean to bother you, but I just really wanted to tell you that I love 'Back to the Well'". He was such a nice guy and we talked for a moment, before I took off. So, when I saw him and Joey on set I didn't think that they would remember, me but at least I knew he was nice. So, I walked up to them and said "Hey, how are you doing sirs? Are you guys shooting for the dvd?" and they said "We're not sure yet, but we're gonna do something with it" and I said "I just wanted to let you guys know that I love 'Back to the Well'". They said "Thanks" and I got out of their hair. And that was it... until later that day.
It was awesome watching and hearing the boys drop science on Kevin Smith's dialogue. The scene was the boys debating about whether or not they were going to venture out to a different city to have a three-way with a woman that Gallner's character had met online and the line that was awesome to hear over and over was Kyle Gallner saying "She wants to fuck us all at once" to which Nicholas Braun would reply "How are we gonna get all three of our dicks in her pussy at the same time?" Once this scene was done we had our lunch break which was not planned very well.
Upon arriving in the lunch room we realized that there were only enough tables for the crew and the extras would either have sit on the floor or there were a few tables outside. Now, I was just happy to be on Kevin Smith's set so I didn't care, but some people did not take the news so well. The kid from the Metro commercials was on set as an extra this day:

This kid freaked out and started screaming at the 2nd a.d. (and mind you the ENTIRE crew was in the lunch room at this point). He turned red and started yelling "I was told we would be treated with respect!" On one side of the room there was a stack of boxes with cold sandwiches for the "twitter people", as we were referred to, and outside there was a buffet line (literally) for the crew and S.A.G people. So, while there was an ample distraction I decided to sneak into the buffet line behind some S.A.G. cats and just acted like I belonged. So, Billy thank you. Because of you I enjoyed Prime Rib and some very fresh salad. At a later date I apologized to Kevin Smith for this:

Question for Kev. by crafty cruz

After lunch we moved to a different set-up which was the basic "school bell rings, kids file out of classrooms into hall" shot (In the final film I am not visible in this shot). This was done after two takes and Kevin walked through the hall exclaiming "Great. Better than Affleck". After this we (being the Twitter people) were taken back to the "holding room" while the S.A.G. cats were off to change into gym clothes for another scene. I knew that this could possibly be the end, so when the 2nd A.D. came in I made eye contact with him that said "I want to stay! Please!" and he said "Alright, a few of you wanna be in the gym scene? He took me and 2 other kids to grab some gym clothes and head to the gym.
The set-up for the gym scene was that all of the students were doing push-ups with the boys in the front left corner and I was in the row behind them and being that Dave Klein was shooting at an angle you can see me in the shot behind the boys. So, for each take we had to do push-ups, but it was for Kevin Smith's movie so I went all out to try and look authentic. In between takes I started talking to the S.A.G. kids next to me which was a bad idea. They started to complain and wanted to be in a different spot where they wouldn't be in the shot so they didn't have to do any more push-ups. I replied "I'm just really excited to be in the movie" and the guy said "I don't give a fuck about this movie. I just wanna get paid" and the girl added in "Me too". As you can see in previous posts, Kevin Smith's movies have helped shape me as a person, so I was ready to clock this dick, but I figured it wouldn't be worth it to get thrown off set and I just kept doing my job.
Once we were done everyone went outside to the front of the gym. I was standing alone and Zak Knutson came from behind me and said "Hey man, we met at SModcastle, right?" and I said "Yeah. My name's Matt Cruz". He said "Sorry for not remembering earlier. I knew I recognized you, though". We then had a chat about all things View Askew & 'Red State'. He's the nicest guy in the world, even though he looks incredibly intimidating. We started joking around and at a certain point I asked if he would be shooting every day to which he said "Nah. Probably like two or three days a week, but we have to be here today because... Oh, wait... You haven't read the script, huh?" And we just started laughing, because he almost let something slip. He said "Sorry I can't tell you, man". I said "No problem, man. I was about to stop you anyways".
After this we were wrapped for the day and I changed out of wardrobe and headed to my car. I hated to leave, but I will never forget being on set for the first day of filming.

I've been lucky enough to actually see the finished film (which is another story I will tell soon) and it is AMAZING! Kevin Smith is currently taking the movie on the 'Red State U.S.A. Tour' which includes a viewing of the movie far in advance of it's October 19th release and a Q&A with the man himself. Get tickets at Coopersdell.com

Cliche`d

Thursday, October 6, 2011

DISCONNECTED

Friday, September 9, 2011

My First Music Video!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Motivation

Sunday, March 6, 2011

A Day on 'Red State'