Maine pair casts vehicles in 'Empire Falls' scenes
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
SKOWHEGAN — For a movie that has no smash-'em-up car scenes, rollovers or explosions, HBO's "Empire Falls" has its share of vehicles.
"Empire Falls" crew members take a break outside the Empire Grill on Monday on Water Street in Skowhegan.
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Among them are more than a dozen cars, a truck and a van that actors are using to bring to life the story told by Maine author Richard Russo in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book upon which the movie is based. Portions of the movie are being filmed in Skowhegan this week.
Over the weekend, hoards of sightseers and movie fans flocked to downtown Skowhegan to peek in the windows and examine the vehicles, most of which were lined up around Empire Grill — the focal point of filming on Monday.
But actors do not bring the cars with them, and cars cannot be created out of thin air. Somebody has to go shopping.
In this case, the chore went to picture car coordinators George Seavey of Mt. Desert Island and Tim Payson of South Thomaston, who had only a few weeks to assemble a specific list of cars.
"We get a script and make a breakdown and get together with all our bosses and find out what specifically they want," Payson said.
And it is not like shopping for oranges where they come by the dozen in one store.
"We start with a one-mile radius from the movie site and spiral outwards," Payson said. The search extends inside and outside the state, whatever it takes to find exactly what is needed.
For instance, Payson and Seavey had the difficult task of coming up with two brown 1992 Volkswagen Jettas for Miles Roby, played by Ed Harris. One of the Jettas is used for regular scenes, the other is cut away in the back to make room for a cameraman in driving scenes like the one shot on Water Street last Friday.
Harris did not drive a car much on Monday, when most of the shooting was done inside Empire Grill. However, he did stretch his legs to walk across Water and Commercial streets for lunch, taking time to shake hands with and smile at about a dozen fans.
Payson and Seavey also had to find a matched pair of 1962 Thunderbird convertibles for C.B. Whiting, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Also on the car list were two Lincoln Continentals, a 1967 and a 1997, for Francine Whiting, played by Joanne Woodward —"one for early scenes and one for modern day," Payson explained.
Add to that two 1992 Jeep Laredos for Roby's wife, Janine, played by Helen Hunt; a 1988 Camaro driven by arrogant cop Jimmy Minty, played by William Fichtner; and a 1995 conversion Ford van souped up for Janine's boyfriend, Walt Comeau — the Silver Fox — played by Dennis Farina.
The former Skowhegan police cruiser also was purchased for Minty to drive and a dilapidated pickup truck for David, Roby's brother, played by Aidan Quinn.
And that is not a complete list, nor does it include background cars or the 40 or more vintage cars that must be rounded up for another scene being shot in southern Maine.
"We have to buy, purchase or rent, depends," Seavey said. "They hired us at the beginning of August. We started buying the day we were hired."
Payson said he loves the work, but "you have to be ready when they call. It's all freelance. Whenever a film comes along they call us, so you have to try to avoid nine-to-five jobs." Payson said he buys old derelict apartment houses to fix up during down time.
Buying matched pairs is sometimes tough, Seavey said, like with the two identical Jettas. "The hardest thing to match is the interiors."
The men admit they are not mechanics, but either can do a quick patch job — or find someone who can.
"There's no such thing as waiting in this business," Payson said. "Most of the time it's fun, but it can be really stressful. If something goes wrong, you have fix it instantly, Otherwise you have 150 people standing around and watching while you scratch your head."
A half-hour later, Payson was seeking out movie medic Earl Boyd of Canaan for a painkiller for his headache.
Seavey, who had to rush off to bring a car to the set, returned to say this was the best film production crew he had ever worked with, including the actors and actresses.
"They are really high caliber," Seavey said. "Plus we've had help from auto body shops, garages, car dealers. Walter Hight in Skowhegan and Dale Watson were a real big help. And the crowds are great."
And the actors, like most in the business are most often "real people" who just want to be treated that way, Payson said.
Darla L. Pickett — 474-9534, Ext. 343
dpickett@centralmaine.com