My Prairie Home Movie

Friday, July 8
Our first shot is of the Johnson Girls arriving at the fictional last broadcast. They walk down the long Fitzgerald Atrium walkway toward stage right, through Guy Noir’s office, then onto the stage, where Yolanda reminisces about the past thirty years with the show to Lola, and discusses the final show with Guy Noir. The scene leads to the shots completed the week before, and DruAnn, who keeps track of the script and continuity, remembers that Meryl had some scripts in her hand as she came down the stairs. I suggest that I hand her the scripts as she walks past, thus working my way into the scene. Sneaky me! On the first take, Meryl, Lindsay, and Kevin make their entrance. I complain that they’re always late, hand the scripts to Meryl, and she says, “Thanks, Tim.” Before the second take, I timidly remind one of the greatest actors of our time that my character’s name is Al, I’m Tim. “Of course,” she laughs and then moves on to perfection in all the other takes. Kevin follows Meryl and Lily across the stage, helping them with luggage and merchandise (e.g., Johnson Girls guitar-shaped fly swatters). When Yolanda asks Guy Noir what will become of the fake farmhouse prop, he replies that they just moved a dumpster in behind the theater—and Kevin comes up with some great comedic business, including using the swatter to whack a fly on the cymbal of a drum kit, then picking up the fly and putting it in his coat breast pocket.

I notice Fisher Stevens, an actor (The Fisher King), director, and producer, on the set. Last year, he produced Factotum in St. Paul, starring Matt Dillon, which was a hit at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and should be released soon. It turns out that his production company, Factotum, is an investor in our movie.

Our second shot involves Meryl, Lily, Garrison, Lindsay, Sue, and me, and we discuss the death of “Journeyman Songster, Chuck Akers” (I’m told that’s the pseudonym used by Chet Atkins when he was staying at a hotel), who dies in his dressing room before the show. The scene is difficult to block because of the cramped conditions in the stage right wing, where Guy Noir’s office is located, but Bob is a real genius at figuring out where the camera should be placed and quickly comes up with a plan. We run though the scene a couple of times. Each time, Lily tries out her new line, “Do I look drunk, cuz I am,” causing Meryl and Sue to break up, shaking with laughter instead of grief over Chuck’s death. In between takes, Meryl starts singing the beginning of “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and tells me she can’t remember the next line. It happens to be one of the few songs that I know, so I sing “I fall in love too fast.” We finish the song together. Wow! Back to the scene, which requires an emotional outburst by Lola, who’s upset that Garrison is not going to do something special to mention Chuck in the final moments of the show. Lindsay has been sitting between takes, listening to her iPod, working up real tears, and is ready to go at every take. Garrison says later that she is so authentic in her anger that even though he has written the words, he can’t help but be affected by it every time.

We wrap at 8 p.m. Sue says that Meryl has invited people to join her for dinner, her treat. I call Judy to let her know so she can join us. Sue suggests that on the way to the Saint Paul Hotel, we stop at Mickey’s Diner to do some research for an all-night shoot scheduled for tomorrow. In this epilogue scene, which brings all the characters back together some years after the last broadcast, Sue will be “Donna, the Waitress,” and I’ll be the “Short Order Cook.” The people at Mickey’s are very helpful and give us some lingo.

We walk to the Saint Paul and run into Lily in the lobby. It’s the first time I’ve seen her out of her bright red wig, and she finally looks like the real Lily. She calls Meryl to find out where we’ll eat, and Meryl says Pazzaluna and that she’ll be right down. Lily goes to shower, and I call Judy to tell her where we’re going. Meryl comes down, looking lovely in jeans and a shawl.