NEWS
"The Majestic" production - End of the Fourth Week
15 Apr 2001 As production enters its final period in Ferndale, JCO's Anonymous reporter brings us a recap of the fourth week's happenings on "The Majestic". Illustrating it are also several great photos, generously donated by Anne & Jenn, Ferndale Fritz, a Ferndale Resident and Gary Franklin:
�Sunday and Monday filming was confined to the fairgrounds and to a couple of spots on Main Street. General movie activity is less and less, as they finish up their filming. The streets of Ferndale are more open to daily traffic which is a relief to local merchants. Crowds have been small---I counted only a couple of dozen on the busiest days.
On Tuesday they shot Harry's (Martin Landau) funeral at our cemetary, with local actor Bob Wells as the clergyman reading the service: did it in one take, I hear. By evening, a small group had moved down to Main Street in front of the Majestic to look at the brilliantly lit marquee: at a rumored cost of $180,000 for the neon alone, restored the Majestic looks wonderful. This was a fun photo op, with Frank Darabont posing in front of the box office.
 © Anne & Jenn |  © Ferndale Fritz |  © Ferndale Resident |  © Gary Franklin |
 © Anne & Jenn |  © Gary Franklin |  © Ferndale Fritz |
| A restored Majestic proudly announces HHS' production of "Sand Pirates of the Sahara". | ||
The extras are having a fun time; they have their favorites---'Skid' the extra wrangler is well liked, getting a cheer the other day when he emerged from one of the crew vans. And local actor and extra Denise Ryles is the life of the party---she recognized a friend sitting in his window high above Main St. and got the whole crew of extras to wave and shout "Hi!"...what a big surprise.
  The Ferndale Repertory, the "real" town theater, disguised as a hardware store (left). It's also the extras' meeting point when ready for their scenes (right). © Ferndale Fritz |
My friend Ellie is now a recognized international celebrity: people who venture into her shop next to the Majestic know all about her adventures which they read on the world wide web. Her cookies are in shorter supply these days as the movie crews are busy elsewhere, and she'll miss her new friends when they leave, she says.
The sets are likely to come down immediately after Ferndale shooting is concluded: our town should be back to its normal splendor by the middle of May, according to The Ferndale Enterprise.
James Whitmore has been asked to linger for an extra day to make an appearance at a fund raiser for a local organization, and he happily accepted.
  Frank Darabont and Martin Landau have impressed Ferndalers with their cordiality. © Anne & Jenn |
The week ended a little early because of the Easter holiday: but movie crew members, producers and actor Martin Landau made an appearance at the local elementary school to talk to the kids about what goes into making a big movie: the kids got a signed photo of Jim Carrey for the school collection.
The extras have been called for 6:30AM on Monday, so there will be more to report at the end of the final week next time.�
-- With a very special thank you to Anonymous, Anne & Jenn, Ferndale Fritz, Ferndale Resident and Gary Franklin for all the coolness sent. Click to comment this article.
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