[GreenKeys] Re: My experience acting for Warner Brothers

[gil smith]

Hi Don:

Very cool indeed -- get to see you on the big screen now!  Looking forward 
to this one.

So now you get to gloat to Glenna how all those years of tty collecting 
paid off!  Not only got in a movie, but hangin' with Clint Eastwood -- such 
a deal.

What's the fax machine used -- the drum Deskfax perhaps?

rather jealous,

gil


At 11:40 AM 10/16/2005, you wrote:
>Filming "Flags of our Fathers"
>
>Friday, October 14, 2005. An exciting day.  Glenna and I were staying
>with the Weils in Del Mar, California.  Up at 5:10 a.m. for the drive
>to Hollywood.  All of the Teletype equipment and Facsimile equipment
>packed in the back of David Weil's van.  We arrived about 8:20 a.m.
>at the Formosa Street gate at the old Goldwyn studio and drove to
>Sound Stage 2.  A huge studio with lots of history around.  The
>people were very patient and kind to David and me. We were under
>contract to the Warner Brothers Art Department for the film
>production based on Jim Bradley's book "Flags of our Fathers."  This
>is the story of the men who raised the flag on Mount Suribachi at Iwo
>Jima.
>
>David and I set up the equipment and then I was off to get my costume
>and 1945 haircut.  They shaved off my goatee but kept my mustache.
>They took away my good glasses and gave me horn-rimmed prop glasses.
>Great, now I can't see worth a damn!  A runner came to escort me to
>the set of the White House oval office.  Next to the oval office is a
>Secretary's office.  The model 15 was placed to the left of the
>Secretary's desk.
>
>I tried to explain to the Director, Clint Eastwood that the format of
>the message and the age of the machine would make it almost
>impossible to type an accurate message complete with military
>formatting (especially since I could not see).  Mr. Eastwood said "I
>suppose you will want Workman's comp for your sore fingers".  I said
>"No, I have neuromas in my feet and arthritis in my hands but I am
>here to help the best I can."   I continued to explain that David
>would be transmitting the exact text from a precut tape from behind
>the set. So he said "OK, let's go with it!"  As the camera crew set
>up to film from behind me and roll up to the Teletype, I was chatting
>with the actor "David" who would be "dictating" the message to me...
>Again trying to explain the headers before the actual text.  Mr. "E"
>came up next to me and said "We have come all this way without
>thinking, lets not start now!"
>
>After the first take it became obvious that the dictation needed to
>come after the routing and header information so David Weil marked
>the tape at the end of the word
>"C O N F I D E N T I A L" That is the time the actor David started
>dictated the message as I typed while the 15 was in the receive
>mode.  Two of the character actors told me that I was a good actor
>because they could not tell that I was merely depressing random keys,
>and that it looked as if I was actually typing the message.
>
>The next take Mr. E told me he was going to film the side of my head
>as the camera came up to the machine and that my head would be 20
>feet high on the screen.  This with his typical grin and laughter in
>his voice.  I told him I hoped he was kidding... The assistant
>director told me, "oh no, he never kids."
>
>Anyway, we finally finished the filming and the cast and crew went to
>lunch about 3:30 p.m.  Mr. Eastwood shook David Weil's and my hand
>and thanked us for our contribution to his film. David and I were too
>tired to go to lunch and were facing a three hour drive back to San
>Diego.
>
>The filming of the facsimile machine will be next Wednesday so I will
>be on call to assist David in it's operation.  It will be a "staged"
>reproduction of the wire photo of the famous flag raising, done with
>as the prop master put it, "with smoke and mirrors."
>
>All very interesting, somewhat challenging, and also tiring.  An
>experience I will not soon forget.  This is not the first time we
>have provided machines for films, but it was the first time our
>contributions were serving as very important contributions to key
>scenes in a major motion picture.  "Flags of our Fathers" will be in
>theaters sometime in 2006.
>
>I would like to thank David Weil and all of my Greenkeys friends that
>helped us with our contribution to this motion picture.  Special
>thanks to Robert Downs for shipping the PP-86E power supply on short
>notice...  And to George Hutichison for Model 14 and 15 adjustment
>advice plus locating a couple of 5Z3 tubes from Glen Gallati's store.
>
>Before I changed my clothes one of the crew took me aside for a
>production photograph.  He also kindly took a photo with my digital
>camera.  I will post the photo on my webshots site: <http:// 
>community.webshots.com/user/realstuff>   The photo is also attached
>below...
>
>Don Robert House, K9TTY
>
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