Empire Grill takes shape
Skowhegan pizza shop turns to '50s diner for film
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
SKOWHEGAN — Movie set builders are bringing to life a diner in downtown Skowhegan that until now existed only in someone's imagination.
Steve DeBoer is the location foreman for set construction, including the set at Patrickıs Pizza in downtown Skowhegan, for the film ³Empire Falls.² click to enlarge
Within a matter of weeks, the crew will transform an existing pizza shop into the Empire Grill, a fictitious eatery in Richard Russo's Pulitzer prize-winning novel, "Empire Falls." The location will be used for filming an HBO movie by the same name.
With blueprints in hand, the set construction team was hard at work last week beginning to put a '50s touch on the interior of a building that was, until a few weeks ago, Patrick's Pizza Joint.
Pizza shop-tables, chairs, freezers, even the kitchen sink, were carted off to make room for a different era. Actually, the era would be new if one were to consider that the structure is the former Debe store, circa 1895.
A lunch counter and stools, birch cabinets, formica-laminated eating surfaces, and lots of metal detail and trim pieces will highlight the set, according to the builders.
Single-pane windows will replace those on the parking lot side, vintage booths will line the outside wall, and tile will cover the floors, all according to drawings by Stuart Wurtzel, production designer.
"It will have a high-finish look," said Steve DeBoer, foreman for set construction from Massachusetts. Working with him are Dave Godfrey, labor foreman and Jake Hurd, both from southern Maine.
The life of construction set designers and workers is a pick-up-and-go occupation.
DeBoer, who arrived only days before he was to begin work, said set construction is a way of life for most of the men who work out of the International Alliance of State & Theatrical Employees.
"I just got called last week," the 15-year veteran set builder said. "Part of my gig as set builder is to read the script so I get a feel for the period.
"We have a New England local that does the large feature films and we always have Maine guys as the first team we draw from," he said.
Eric R. Matheson, construction coordinator, said set pieces for the film also will be crafted at the production area in Waterville.
DeBoer said sometimes he helps build sets from scratch, such as in "The Crucible." "We also just built a bar from the ground up on the waterfront for Clint Eastwood," he said.
For one movie, crews had to build a thatched roof; for "Amistad," a slave hut. "It's always something different," DeBoer said.
"The biggest difference from a normal builder is you never know where you will end up. It might be a high-end house or a ranch home — you get to see the range of architectural designs."
Procedure is different for set building on location, as opposed to studio construction, according to DeBoer.
"If we build a set in the studio, then everything is done the fastest way there is to do it," he said. Movable walls are crafted so they can be adapted for camera positioning, or space might be designed to make room for a mobile dolly track" on which a camera is mounted.
However, because the "Empire Grill" is being turned back over to the owners for future use, the plan is to do mostly permanent remodeling.
"In this case, the owner wants to keep what we are doing, so everything here has to be up to code," DeBoer said.
State fire codes must be met, a licensed electrician must tend to the wiring, and a local contractor is making sure those demands are met. DeBoer said the appropriate local code enforcement agencies also have to sign off on the work. Most construction materials also will be purchased from local sources, DeBoer said.
"The counters and bar stools have cleats, so when they're done shooting, they get screwed to the floors," DeBoer said. Windows had to be special-ordered because thermopane must replace the single panes when the pizza shop is restored, he said. A camera port also was added to the kitchen area. Owners have said the building has been leased for three months.
DeBoer said after this job is completed, about six weeks from now, he will move on to work at 38 other locations. Sometimes, he said, one person from the construction department remains behind to handle daily changes or to repair damages.
Unpredictability is what makes his occupation an interesting one, DeBoer said with a grin: "You have to be ready at a moment's notice."
Darla L. Pickett — 474-9534, Ext. 343
dpickett@centralmaine.com