My Prairie Home Movie

Saturday, July 9
The all-night shoot at Mickey’s Diner is the only time we will be filming outside the Fitzgerald. Our director’s chairs have been brought over from the theater. It’s rather surreal to see your name embroidered on the back of a chair next to the names of all these Oscar winners and nominees. If nothing else, I’ve got a picture of Lindsay leaning on the back of my chair, with Kevin, Meryl, and Woody in the same shot. As blocking for the shot starts at about 6:30 p.m., maybe fifty people are across the street. Lindsay is wearing cutoff jeans and a plaid shirt, and as soon as she arrives, the long lenses come out. Later, most of the shots will appear in a two-page spread in Star Magazine.

Garrison chats with Bob about the eventual title of the film, and I hear them agree on The Last Broadcast. Woody asks me if I play chess. He has a little fold-up magnetic chess game and is looking for someone who can “kick his ass.” I would not be a challenging partner for a game of Uno. Fortunately, Garrison hears the call, and though he says he’s a little rusty, the two start a game. As the camera setup continues, I chat with Fisher Stevens who’s concerned about the ending and how it might be tweaked. He calls Josh Astrachan, one of the producers, over to talk about it and suggests that maybe the film could end with Guy Noir on a deserted stage noodling on the piano while we see the farmhouse set end up in the dumpster. The scene at Mickey’s could play as an epilogue. They agree to talk to Bob about it the next day. Another scoop! My big ears—a burden as a first-grader—are starting to pay off.

As a small nod to the fans of the radio show, Bob has Sue and me in the Mickey’s shot. My job as Short Order Cook is to pretend to cook up a storm, which requires lots of miming and griddle-scraping motions. My lines with Sue are cut to condense the scene, and after some rehearsals, we break for dinner. At about 10 p.m., it’s finally dark enough to begin shooting. Garrison, Meryl, Lily, and Kevin are all seated at a booth. Sue and Kevin have worked out a little business with him constantly changing his order, much to my character’s consternation. Woody and John C. walk in, take a seat at the counter, and there’s lots of good-natured ribbing. Then Lindsay walks in and joins the pair. Lola is now a financial consultant in a business suit who has concerns about her mother’s plans to continue the Johnson Girls act. Virginia, The Dangerous Woman, walks in and everyone pauses to evaluate whose life may be in danger. This scene needs some outside atmospherics, so in between takes, a truck hoses down the street and the diner to great effect. Bob announces that it’s a wrap for Meryl, and a warm round of applause and goodbyes follow. She’ll be missed.

At 1 a.m., Lily orders $1,000 worth of sushi from Saji Ya for the cast and crew. After a break, the scene continues until 3 a.m. Then the crew sets up across St. Peter, kitty-corner from the diner, to shoot what will be part of the opening shot of the movie, establishing the Guy Noir character in a visual homage to the famous Edward Hopper painting Nighthawks, featuring a lone urban diner. I’m still at the grill. Kevin is at the counter. Then he pays and leaves for the Fitzgerald Theater, walking toward the camera across the street. Smoke is needed, so the griddle is fired up, and I add a little cooking oil—and suddenly there is a lot of smoke. It wasn’t too disruptive, perhaps because earlier Mickey’s air conditioning had been augmented with two more units—because Kevin is very particular about keeping the set cool when possible. In between takes, it’s just the two of us, so we have some fun with imagined banter. I try out my Pakistani accent, and he creates lots of funny non sequitors in response. I even try to fry some eggs, cracking the shell and dropping the egg in one fluid motion. In every take, there is more shell than egg in the skillet. We finish at 5:30 as dawn is breaking.

Tuesday, July 12
This is the first big day for Woody and John C. We set up and shoot their “I Am an Old Cowboy” song, but Bob decides to get L. Q. Jones, who plays Chuck Akers, into the act. He has big energy and is hale and hardy, just like the character. Robin and Linda join him to sing. The extras have been brought in and enjoy the performance.

Things are quickly set up for the Cowboys’ first number. Woody and John C. have been jamming for a week. The extras are most appreciative, but they have to mime their applause. The assistant director gave them the go-ahead to applaud for real before the last take, and they take advantage of it as the boys knock it out of the park.