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An extra's eye-view from the set of CINDERELLA MAN!!!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with Prince Chawmin's experiences as an extra on Ron Howard's CINDERELLA MAN, a boxing pic with Russell Crowe. Now, the fair Prince doesn't stay his hand when talking about Crowe's... well, Croweian antics onset. I've met the man briefly twice (once just after LA CONFIDENTIAL and once right before MASTER AND COMMANDER started shooting) and he was nothing but kind and generous to me and the many people who approached him asking for autographs and photos. So, it always puzzles me when I hear all this Bad Boy stuff about him. That being said, I'm looking forward to this movie, despite it almost being A BEAUTIFUL MIND 2 (as it is starring Crowe, directed by Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman). Enjoy the below from the fair prince!
Hi Harry,
Prince Chawmin' here, in Toronto, Canada with a set report from the movie
Cinderella Man. Incase not everyone is familiar with the movie it’s a
rags to riches tale about a young boxer who meets a handsome prince at
a ball and end up falling in love. Wait… hold on. Sorry I’m getting
things mixed up. Cinderella Man The story of Depression-era fighter
and folk hero Jim Braddock, who defeated heavyweight champ Max Baer in
a 15-round slugfest in 1! 935. (as per the IMDB)
I was a background extra on the set of this new and probably great Ron
Howard film. I showed up at 9:00am for my call at the legendary Maple
Leaf Gardens and thought I had been transported back in time. There I
was surrounded by hundreds of people dressed in period costumes. I
was really quite the experience. I felt like I was in that episode of
Star Trek where Kirk & Spock go back in time and meet Joan Collins.
Wasn’t that a kick ass episode? However this is where the magic
ends.
We’re all shuffled off to hair and makeup to get a little touch up.
Here I am, waiting in line and a lady comes up to me and says.. you’re
hair is too long and we need to “trim” those sideburns. So she pulls
me out of line and sits me down in the chair. We’re exchanging
pleasantries and then BUZZ!! She cut them off. OFF! She said she
was going to “trim” them but she freak’n cut’em off. Now I look like
a fat Forest Gump. I mean those were my burns, my chops, my lady
killers. They were what defined me as a man. I mean come on.. what
are the ladies gonna grab on to when we’re getting freaky? I won’t go
into the butcher job she did on the back of my head. Needless to say I had to spend the next day at the solon to fix up what they had done.
After a few hours STANDING in the holding area because Russell Crowe
was late. (There weren’t enough chairs for everyone so some of us had
to stand) we were all ushered in. There I was standing there into the
fake Madison Square Garden. Lights, fake cement structures, signs, it
was great. It was very impressive looking. There I sat with hundreds
of extras and thousands of amputee inflatable dummies all dressed in
painted on suits and tuxedos. It was magical.. well maybe not magical
but it was every homosexual perverts dr! eam. (No blow up girls
though.. I was very disappointed)
On set at 11:00am you could see Ron Howard coordinating some things
and much to my surprise the Second Second Assistant Director was
Darrin Brown the guy who got HIV in Degrassi Junior High back when I
was a kid. That was uber cool. I mean that dude got to kick as Joey
Jeremiah’s ass. I didn’t say anything though. I didn’t want to be
one of those fan guys that crowd around. You know what I’m saying. (Canadian readers will understand)
Gradually throughout the day various other actors of note arrived on
set. First was veteran Canadian Actor Nicholas Campbell and Canadian
actor/comic Boyd Banks. Anyways.. soon after Russell Crowe finally
arrived. Once the crowd of extras noticed a round of applause
started. (Oddly enough no one even batted an eye when Ron Howard
walked by 20+ times) Russell jumps in the ring as if in character and
then Crowe (or should I say Jim Braddock) starts working out in the
ring and the music kicks in. Blaring out of the loud speakers is
Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust”. Everyone is having a great
time. Then the song re-starts Crowe then turns around and gives the
guy the evil eye and they shut it off. This pretty much sets the tone
for the day. (Can anyone say bi-polar?)
The setting for today was the fight between Jim Braddock Vs John
Griffin. The actor playing Griffin had been in the ring all morning
rehearsing with Crowe’s Stand-in so everyone was ready to shoot.
Everything was going quite well until Russell started in with his
famous hissy fits. The actor playing Braddock’s corner man (they guy
with the spit bucket) was having troubles getting the stool & bucket
through the ropes.&nb! sp; So after several takes and F* this and F*
that Russell whips off his gloves and storms out of the ring. Ron
Howard seemed to take it all in stride, never once looking upset or bothered by the re-takes.
This happened at least 5 times throughout the day. He would storm
off when the corner man would mess up, when the fight choreography
wasn’t working properly and I think just when he needed a cigarette.
Wow that guy can smoke. Holy Sh*t! Since Russell had his boxing
gloves on most of the day he was unable to hold his own cigarettes or
light’em so they had a special guy there for that. (I wonder how much that guy gets paid.)
After 6+ hours without a break they finally let us have “lunch” at
6:00pm. I managed to get a hold of a handful of pasta a meatball and
some lettuce. (Unfortunately all that was left when I was passing
through the lineup although I did get 1 square inch of carrot cake)
Shortly after we returned to the set the fun started. Well not fun
but the interesting stuff happened. One of the extras passed out from
exhaustion! We were watching the wonderful Paul Giamatti rehearse his
lines and a guy on the floor slumped over in his chair. No one really
noticed at first because the guy was hidden among the inflatable
dummies. Once the Second Second Assistant Director (Go Degrassi!)
noticed, a medic was called in to examine the guy. Lucky bastard got
to leave. The guy was helped to his feet and escorted out of the!
arena to sign out. Unfortuately for the rest of us we were stuck in
the 30 degree Celsius heat with our fedoras and suits. (Did I mention
it was hotter than a mofo in there?)
Back to Paul Giamatti for a sec. Once again Paul looks like he’s
going to put in a great performance. “POP! POP! BANG!” That’ll be
the new hot phrase next year I’m sure of it. I’m starting to say it
already. Giamatti plays Joe Gould Braddock’s trainer and looks as
though he might steal the show. (Doesn’t he always?)
Around 9:00pm they let all the extras go. Yay! After 45 minutes in
line to return the costume and leave I finally made it outside into
the fresh air. I went home and collapsed. The next day I went to my
hair stylist and spent $30 for them to fix the horrible job the
Cinderella Man butchers did the day before. After taxes, my agents
cut , subway tokens, a proper haircut etc.. I think I might have made
$20.00 for 12 hours work! . SWEET!! (That’s Canadian of course)
All in all, Ron is a great director. And if anyone can make 5,000
inflatable dummies look real Ron Howard can. I’m looking forward to
seeing it. Giamatti is da man. You have no idea how hard it was not
to scream that out.
Best wishes from Hollywood North.
-Prince Chawmin'!
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+ Expand All
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The hours are terrible but at least the pay sucks. But it can be fun if you have the patience to sit, stand, or walk around all day, all the while silently saying "peas and carrots".
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I'm 2nd bitch!
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May 11, 2004 4:03:49 PM CDT
I can just hear the P.A. holding Crowe's cigarette: "Good thing
by lance rock
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You complain about one day of hard work... Well, no one on the film has put in more effort that Mr Crowe himself with all those months of hard work plus shoulder injury and surgery. So whine and complain all you want, but that's why Crowe is the big star and you are NOT.
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I bet you were, Prince Chawmin.
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Hi hi hi, yeah yeah, this is James Brown, and this fruitcake is a muthafuckin' fool. He actually complain about some broad shaving his goat groapers, what a pussy, if he was a man he would tell his bitches to grab his monkey eggs and go to town. Tell him to grab those two beach balls hanging tween his knees, but this sumbitch thinks his life is over cause his Elvis hair was taken away, what a fucker. I tell you what, if I was an extra I woulda brought my Jim Beam, and if anyone told me not to, I woulda said, "I am staying in character goddammitt!" And then hit bald Opie upways and side to side, thats how JB does the shit, that's how Henry Earl takes care o' business.
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May 11, 2004 7:24:46 PM CDT
whew, i thought this was going to be a Cinderfella remake or som
by horseloverfat723
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And just when I started liking Crowe again thanks to Master & Commander. Look for Thomas Newman's score to get thrown out a week before the movie opens and replaced by James "What, Sneakers AGAIN?!?" Horner...
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Wonder if Tugger will make cameo.
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Right on, Henry Earl. You bees da man.
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heh.....degrassi.......canadian teen shows are "edgy" kids have AIDS, girls get raped, dads get cancer, dads are gay.......
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May 12, 2004 7:10:47 PM CDT
Hehe, And I bet when you see yourself on screen you'll be a pin
by theginger twit
Does it have to be called this?
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Some shoots the extras can talk with the film makers and the whole thing is just one big party while you have stuff to get done. On the other hand, some film makers and crews are so fucking frantic and nazi schooled they just bark order and abuse and make everyone generally feel bad. Those films generally really suck to. Energy output transends the screen if done right.
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Did they actually take this title from the RUSH song of the same name?
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Poor guy... his first real movie role, too...
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...working as a background extra on Cinderella Man has been a decent experience, for me at least. I've worked on it six days so far and I can say that the set is better run and the extras have been treated better than on most other sets. True, I wasn't there for the Maple Leaf Gardens shoots but, from what I hear, they weren't as bad as some of the days I was on.
And, you know, tensticks, since James Braddock was given the nickname "The Cinderella Man" back in the 30's and the Rush song was probably written some time after, that maybe, just maybe, Rush took the name from Braddock??? You think, mayhaps?
BTW, Darrin, the 2nd 2nd AD, is a real prick, although I guess that's part of being an AD, right? I just might deck the guy the next time I hear him yell at an extra his faverite catchphase "I can't think of a single reason you should be talking right now". -
Once upon a time there was a man named John Wayne. Now upon a time there is a man named Russel Crowe. Call him an asshole prima donna if you want, the way I see it, he just fully realizes the godlike position he's in. You shouldn't form an opinion of an actor based on what's they're like off camera, just like you shouldn't impeach a president for relationships that have nothing to do with running a country.
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I have nothing against Russell Crowe. I wrote this article, Quint can verify it.
He was pissed some of the time, not all of the time. He was happy when dealing with the other Boxer, then pissed, then fine again. He was all over the place joking around on the mic about a guy splitting his pants then freaking out on the guy.
Mr Crowe is a great actor and I can't judge his methods as I'm only a background extra and comedian. He was great in LA Confidential, Master & Commander etc.. He's just a bit moody.
What do you want me to tell ya. Them's the fax. But I wasn't the only one who felt this way. There were DOZENS and I mean DOZENS of people who were not going to show up the next day. They are scrambling for extras for this movie. They'll take anyone because people who come one day refuse to come back unless they are desparate. I've been on large sets before but this just wasn't up to snuff, that's all.
- And Yes Mayhem. There are background agents. Look into the movie business it's quite interesting. Did you think they just call people up in the phonebook for these things?
- Sorry Stanley. You're uncle certainly didn't look comfortable. Russell was joking about him ripping his pants then 5 minutes later was ripping into him for bucket issues. I really felt for the guy.
* Oh and Toronto 1 a local tv station here just quoted this my article on their Entertainment News Program. Woohoo. I'm being plagarized. -
"Akiva Goldsman." That's all you need to know. We live in a world where Charlie Kaufman is Oscar-less, yet this fucking hack Goldsman, the BRILLIANT motherfucker who gave the world "Practical Magic," "Lost in Space," and "Batman & Robin" has an Oscar on his shelf. I've vowed to never watch another movie with Goldsman's name on it. Won't you join me?
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