Here we have our infiltrating spy by the name of THE SMOKING CRICKET, who hacked and hopped his way about the set of SNAKE EYES, the next cool thing from DePalma, and starring Nicholas Cage. There seems to be some SPOILER info here, so read at your own peril!!!
I was on the set of snake eyes in Montreals now defunct Forum. The set was fantastic, just like walking into a Las Vegas casino. I was on the set from 10 am to 9:30 pm and Depalma still wasn`t happy with the final shot which he must have shot about 20 times. It was a saturday night for God sakes. There were over 7000 extras dressed in snazzy clothes and raincoats and umbrellas(the film takes place during a hurricane which is pelting the casino). As a storm rages on the outside, a complex murder mystery brews on the inside. Let me talk about the set(it`s so cool), there are two large banners flanking the boxing ring. One banner is a mamoth American flag, I`m talking `Rocky 4` huge. The other banner is grey with the words POWELL MILLENIUM in blue(this flag is equally big). Around the POWELL flag are various mock-up missiles and stealth bombers, which denotes that the boxing match is sponsored by a military-industrial complex. Let`s talk about the action I saw: Look for a high powered rifle to pop out of a yellow MILLER beer sign, which is vertical and lines the entrance in the uppermost level of the FORUM. The I in the MILLER sign is removed, the gun man takes aim and assassinates the Secretary of Defence (the squibs were awesome and the the six gunshots were loud, I like noise). Chaos ensued as the 1st assistant(Chris Soldo) barked orders at us to run towards the exits. Imagine 7000 thousand people running like maniacs. I loved it. I even bumped into the 2nd assistant(Lisa Bloch). She`s so hot, maybe it`s the power she commands that I find attractive. Gary Sinise(KEVIN DUNNE) made an appearance as he runs towards the gunshots on the upper level. He`s dressed like a naval commander. Looks cool. Unfortunately, Nick(Superman, I know I`m still hoping it`s a joke too)Cage(RICK SANTORO) did not make an appearance. But his stand-in was there waving pathetically at the crowd of extras. If Nick is dressed anything like the stand-in, were in for a real fashion treat: shiny brown suit, yellow gold shirt and a rumored to be solid gold cell phone.
General observations: Depalma, starting to resemble his idol HITCHCOCK, more than ever, in terms of girth. Gary Sinise is friendly, but looks really tired. Carla Cugino(journalist, formerly on Spin City) is smoking hot. Absolutely loved the round girls, one of which is Cage`s ex-wife(hired because Cage wanted to be close to his daughter). She also plays a role in the assassination. The boxing match between `LINCOLN TYLER, THE EXECUTIONER` and `LUIS RUIZ` was intricately staged and shot from a multitude of angles, resulting in the knock down of the Atlantic city hometown champ(LINCOLN). The assassination takes place when LINCOLN is being counted out. Got a cool mock-up souvenir program. It was a pretty cool day but the food sucked. I have more info on the film, but I`ll reveal them next time.
