One out-of-the-ordinary assignment for interpreters, collections staff and our maintenance crews has been working with a movie crew for the past week. LHF was able to provide the perfect set for a Hollywood film crew. Shooting took place at the Flynn Barn and 1900 Farmhouse. LHF staff monitored the filming and provided support to the carpenters and art directors setting the movie scene. Volunteer/Employee, Mark sent this report from his days working as a crew monitor in the historic Flynn Barn.
"While the Flynn Barn is not one of my sites, I do open and close it on those days I blacksmith. In the past week it has gone through a phenomenal transition, internally not externally. A Hollywood film crew is using the barn for some scenes in an upcoming Ray Liotta movie [Ticket Out]. To accomplish what the movie calls for, local carpenters were called in to add three hay lofts, a camera position, stairs and a large box that will hold "hay" for stunt men to fall through the floor in one of the lofts. These lofts occupy the eastern third of the barn. Maintenance manager, Dean, was very involved with the project and oversaw their construction.
The carpenters grew up on farms and realized the historical significance of the Flynn Barn. They were very careful and did not damage the huge beams in their construction and used mainly screws to secure the new lumber to the existing timbers. After filming, the lofts will be deconstructed by the same carpenters and brought back to 1875.
Rental Coordinator, Debby, called me and asked if I could be the LHF liaison for a day of the filming shoot. I arrived at 6 pm on Monday and stayed with the 40+ member film crew until 2:30 am on Tuesday. Over those 8+ hours there were rehearsals and filming. Two stunt doubles provided most of the action. Ray Liotta was in the barn for some early scenes, but did not stay the entire time.
What I found most memorable was the catered food for the crew. That evening the crew was offered fried chicken, sushi, oriental noodles, salad and various cookies and candies. Hot coffee/chocolate and various fruit/vegetable juices were also provided, but some of them froze by midnight. My most vivid sight was seeing crew members in coveralls eating sushi and noodles off of plastic plates using chopsticks in the Flynn Barn.
The entire crew was polite and several of the management staff thanked LHF and me for our time and efforts."
While several days of the shooting felt like a barely controlled chaos for our not-from-Hollywood staff, the film shoot was a fun learning experience and a good influx of funds and work for winter weary LHFers.
