A cool Body Double reported in with the following information on SNAKE EYES, the Brian DePalma film shooting up in Montreal. I'm always looking forward to DePalma films even if he did make Raising Cain (god I hated that one) because he has made some very cool films like PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE and THE UNTOUCHABLES, two faves of mine. God, I would love the Phantom of the Paradise CD, if one exists... Anyway, the ever vigilant BOdy Double says this about this latest project, taking us literally ringside to watch how the actors interacted with the extras, director and one another. All very interesting to me. Also, the Body Double does use harsh language from time to time, but hey being an extra is often times a thankless job! (WARNING SPOILERS ARE CONTAINED IN THIS UPDATE!!!!)
'Snake Eyes' is a drama/thriller due for release in February 1998. Currently, it's filming in Montreal and I was on set for a while. I'll give you the facts, and then some private info and some insights I got.
Atlantic City police detective Rick Santoro(Nicholas Cage), joins his visiting boyhood friend, Kevin Dunne(Gary Sinise), the head of security for the secretary of Defense, at a heavyweight boxing match. When Dunne's back is turned, the Secretary is assassinated and fourteen thousand fight fans become suspects, possible accomplices, and witnesses. The arena is sealed as the murder investigation begins. Temporarily in charge and seeking to salvage his friend's career, Rick joins forces with Dunne to untangle the events preceding the assassination.
Battling time and with limited manpower, Rick seeks answers from three witnesses- Julia Costello(Carla Gugino) , a mysterious woman who was speaking to the Secretary just before he was shot and disappeared into the crowd immediately afterward; Lincoln Tyler(Stan Shaw), the heavyweight champion who lost the fight; and Kevin Dunne himself, who was suspiciously drawn away from his post by the beautiful Serena(Jayne Heitmeyer) in the moments before the shot rang out. As the events leading up to the assasssination are replayed by the memories of each of the three witnesses, Rick puts the puzzle pieces together and uncovers an intricate conspiracy. The burden of this knowledge forces Rick to examine his conscience and come face to face with his own questionable past.
So that's what the movie is about. It's filming at the old Montreal Forum, and has been since late July. they have completely refurbished the Forum, using it as a studio. Brian DePalma directs the film. I was involved as a crowd member during the opening scenes of the boxing match. I won't go into how crappy and boring extra work is... just trust me, it *is*. I was pulled out of the crowd to be in a scene, and that's when I got to talk to Nick Cage's bodyguard. This bodyguard was stereotypical paranoid guy, but rightfully so, because just the previous day Nick Cage was mobbed by 40 some-odd extras who were literally pulling at his clothes and all that. Things like this happened nearly every day of filming. As a result, Nick Cage began to get quite pissy, giving a half-assed wave and a Hollywood smile as the semi-crazed crowd cheered whenever he entered or exited the set. When sitting around between takes, he spoke to no one except Brian DePalma, even ignoring Gary Sinise, who he was acting with and sitting beside. Mr. Cage is a perfectionist-- always running his plines and movements between takes, and calling cut on takes he doesn't like. As a result, one scene usually took upwards of 20 takes. Whenever the extras got restless, DePalma would put him on the mike to try to pump our egos and basically beg for us to act alive so they could get the take. It was so insincere it was laughable, and I can't believe some of the wankers in the audience bought into this. Trust me, i didn't realize just how many star fu**ers there are until I was on this set. I don't blame stars for getting bitter on their fan base when you're constantly being harassed, even physically attacked.
Gary Sinise, on the other hand, seemed more genuine and more relaxed. He hung out with other cast members and extras between takes(not sucking DePalma's butt like the other star), dressed in worn jeans, Birkenstock sandals and a plain t-shirt. He didn't have an entourage and showed no evidence of a 'star complex'. He and costar Jayne Heitmeyer were cracking jokes and laughing their asses off while Nick Cage and Brian DePalma were absorbed in playback.
Brian DePalma made no pretensions of giving a shit what the extras were thinking(seriously, why should he?). He gave his orders to the AD, the AD carried them out. It was funny watching him get really pissed off as the takes progressed. Although smoking was strictly forbidden on set, Mr. DePalma *always* had a smoke in his right hand and a coffee in his left, exchanging a drag on one for a drag on the other. This routine became a big joke among the extras in my section(listen, after 12 hours on set, *anything* gets funny). One thing that pissed me off about Mr. DePalma was the way he treated the two female stars. Nick Cage and Gary Sinise were always spoken to, joked with, had their own chairs set up to watch the playbacks. The women were simply ignored (at first).
Carla Gugino (Spin City, the Son-in-Law) came onset a few weeks into filming. The other female star, Jayne Heitmeyer(a Montreal actress, she was on Sirens), had been on set for a while. I swear that on the first day the two very nearly had a wicked catfight. Carla was giving Jayne the hairy eyeball, sizing her up with a really snotty facial expression. Carla said a few things to her, and her response was a dismissive wave from Jayne. At this point, Brian DePalma took Carla aside and set her up a chair beside him by the playback machine. The two women never again crossed paths. Carla, too, runs her lines and actions between takes, and took part in the assassination scene, which required alot of spurting blood as the Secretary of Defense is shot fatally by a shot that travels through her arm. They did a zillion takes and I swear Carla and the guy playing the Secretary of Defense went through at least 20 outfits as each one got stained with fake blood. It was gory and neat. Eventually, Carla got cozy with Brian DePalma, watching the playbacks and sticking close to his ass. As per usual, Nicholas Cage ignored her as well.
Jayne Heitmeyer, an up-and-coming actress, seemed to really get the shaft for the first few days of shooting. No one talked to her(save for Gary Sinise), she had no director's chair, she was treated as little more than an extra. Between takes she hung out and chatted with the extras, being friendly and surprisingly un-star like. Soon the audience started to really respond to her. The day after Carla arrived on set, Jayne was given her own chair by the playback machine, but not once did she go over and join them; she stayed at her seat in the audience, talking with the extras and Gary Sinise. Certainly, it was she and Mr.Sinise that seemed the most genuine and non-egotistical. Watch out for Ms.Heitmeyer...this woman is on her way up.
I was in the opening scenes, of the boxing match in Atlantic City. From what I saw, the movie looks like it'll shape up to be a good psychological thriller/drama... but I'm a bit leery about Nicholas Cage's character 'learning more about himself' in the process of solving a crime.
