| There are a lot of things that will pass and be forgotten in my life,
but the memory of my visit to the set of Roswell is not one of them. Even
today, two years afterwards, I am still in awe. I had really wanted to
go to the first Crashdown party, but because of a crisis at work, I had
to miss it. Besides, I thought it was really a lot of money to spend on
a television show that I just happened to like a lot. (Okay, I was totally
obsessed with the show.) But that day was utter joy for me; I was bursting
on the inside with fascination and curiosity. I had been planning my trip
to the February Gathering since the success of the previous August Gathering
(the one where all the cast showed up). My biggest hope was that I would
get to met Jason Behr and the rest of the cast. I was totally in love
with every minute detail of Roswell. I knew that even if I didn't get
the chance to meet them, it would be fun to tour Covina, Vasquez Rocks
and other public outdoor locations where Roswell had been filmed. |
| My trip really started with my arrival to LAX. That's where I met
my roommate (who will henceforth be referred to as "My Roomie") who managed
to upgrade our car to a "Jeep-like" vehicle. Well, it turned out to be
a Big Yellow Ford Escape. I must say it was a nice drive, particularly
navigating the interstate system, knowing everyone could see me. I stuck
out like a sore thumb. We had some trouble getting to the hotel, but once
inside we met up with our leader. She told me about her day in Covina
(where most of the outdoor scenes are shot) and had gotten a lead on where
they were shooting the next day. |
| The next day started four hours later. I was drugged up on caffeine
and cigarettes and ready to go. I was wearing my thin jeans, my half-cut
boots, a new navy blue sweater and my white Land's End rain jacket. We
drove north for about an hour and then we had breakfast at a nearby McDonald's.
The day was overcast, dull and gray. It seemed like it would rain at any
moment. We knew that they were going to be shooting Alex's burial and
we decided to find the local cemetery to see if there were any signs of
production. This plan got us nowhere fast, so we returned back to the
McDonald's. One of us asked a local resident if he knew anything about
filming going on in the area and he was able to point us in the right
direction. We got into our cars again and headed out. It didn't take long.
We weren't that far away. (see map) We saw these
curious Area 15 signs with an arrow pointing the direction. We followed
that trail and pretty soon we were in front of the guard's station before
entering private property. We had asked the guard if we could go up and
see the shooting and he told us that we could try, but they may say no.
So after what seemed like forever, our caravan of cars pressed forward
past the guard's station. |
| We entered what appeared to be uncharted roads in the hills of California.
The roads were winding and twisted behind bluffs. It was hard to tell
what direction we were headed, so we just kept driving forward. There
were no intersections that I recall. Everything was a direct path closer
to Roswell. |
| I was right behind the lead car and it wasn't too long before they
pulled over to the side of the road. I pulled over as well, as I saw that
the front car wanted to talk to the rest of us. I didn't realize it until
afterwards, but Jason Behr was driving right behind me and he passed me
on my left side. Here was the problem. The people in the front car didn't
feel comfortable. They had spent the day in Covina the day before and
thought they would be recognized. They asked that I drive down and see
what was ahead and to check out the situation before they proceeded any
further. |
| I was nervous, but I agreed. My Roomie and I went ahead until we got
to a big gate that said, "PRIVATE PROPERTY - TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED."
I seriously debated going past it. Thinking that even if I got arrested,
at least I could have said I tried. But we turned the car around and drove
to a little area off the left side of the road. We were talking to the
other car over our cell phones when we started to notice the cast driving
by right before us. I remember Diane Farr's convertible the most. The
other cars that went by all seemed to have tinted windows, and unless
you knew what each actor drove, it was impossible to say who was who.
We told our friends that there was a big gate at the end of the road with
a No Trespassing sign. I didn't feel comfortable about crossing it. But
it was fun watching the actors pass us while we were having this conversation.
At this point, I was pretty much satisfied with my Behr hunt, and had
that been the end of things, it would have been fine. After all, I'm a
girl from Nebraska and to see an actual actor or celebrity is a real treat.
|
| So, we decided to turn around and go back and leave AREA 15. On the
way back out, I made direct eye contact with Shiri Appleby as she was
driving in. We both had SUVs and were navigating a narrow corner of the
California hills. My heart was pounding as we drove back to the McDonald's.
|
| Someone called another lady that knew someone on the crew. She drove
out to McDonald's to meet us. The new plan was: I, My Roomie, and she
(who will be henceforth referred to as "The Other Lady") were going to
try to get onto the set by using The Other Lady's contact. I was absolutely
convinced that this would never work. But I agreed to go, thinking that
this would be the closest I would get to meeting the cast. I parked the
very recognizable Big Yellow in the McDonald's lot and we hopped into
The Other Lady's car and gave her the directions. Once again, we were
following the AREA 15 signs. We stopped and stared at the NO TRESSPASSING
sign before The Other Lady (who was driving) said, "Let's do it." And
we drove right past. I think my heart skipped a beat, and I briefly wondered
if we would be arrested. Then My Roomie sensibly pointed out that we would
be asked to leave before it would come to that. There was an unspoken
rule that if anyone asked us to leave, we would. We were on private property.
We were unscheduled guests. We were acutely aware of the situation. And
for me, I was overwhelmed with the hope of actually seeing filming. I
studied broadcasting in college and understand how television shows are
made. So to watch actual filming on a real TV set would satisfy a lot
of my educational curiosity. I have even done my share of producing television
commercials and Public Service Announcements. But I never had the privilege
of watching the work of a crew and cast as large and exceptionally talented
as Roswell's. I held my breath in anticipation. |
| The road was long and winding and not very well marked. We were in
some sort of ranch. It was a cow pasture. We passed what appeared to be
a line of parked funeral cars and a building on the left. There was a
sign that pointed to a road that went into the hills that said either
"Cemetery" or "Funeral." We drove further down the road until we got to
their Base Camp. It was a huge parking lot with a lot of tents and trailers.
Not sure what to do, I suggested we turn around and go up the side road
we passed earlier. |
| We did. And boy there were a lot of surprised people, including myself.
As we pulled to the top of a plateau, people started to rush up to our
car, wondering who the hell we were. I had just seen Brendan Fehr walk
by and I yelled, "Oh My God, it's Brendan Fehr." Luckily, the windows
on the car were rolled all the way up. I don't think anyone outside of
the car heard me. I was told immediately not to get excited like that
or we'd be asked to leave. So I calmed down as the driver spoke with someone
on the crew. She gave the name of the crew member we wanted to see, and
that person acknowledged the contact. We had done it. But first we had
to return to Base Camp and leave our car there. It was three miles from
where they were shooting to Base Camp. It was too hilly to walk. They
said that the production van would take us to the film site once we parked
our vehicle. |
| When we returned to Base Camp, The Other Lady called our friends still
at the McDonald's and told them that we had gotten in, but they were not
at all pleased. We couldn't take the rest of them with us, so it was just
me, My Roomie and The Other Lady. We climbed into the white production
van (packed with extras) and made the journey back to the film site. (Later
The Other Lady told me we were probably the only fans that ever got to
ride in the actual production vans.) When we got there we were told we
could go wherever we wanted and that we could get coffee and fruit from
their food kiosk that they had erected on the site. The three of us knew
better than to bother the actors or crew with questions. The last thing
we wanted to do was wear out our welcome, so we quietly inched our way
to the camera and took our places. |
| One of the first things I remember was Majandra walking from the far
left of the set to an area where white folding chairs had been set up.
I can't remember if they were filming the setting up of the chairs or
the taking down of the chairs. It doesn't matter much anyway. Majandra
was just walking slowly up to the front. Only a small part of the scene
made it in the actual episode, and you can't see the chairs anyway. It
makes me think that there was a lot more to the shooting script than what
made it in the final version. |
| I was horribly nervous. My Roomie and I noticed someone sitting in
a director's chair playing a Gameboy and smoking a cigarette. I thought
it was an extra, but she pointed out that it was Jason Behr. I couldn't
believe it. He looked so different! He seemed a lot younger in person.
Not wanting to stare I turned around and walked to the food kiosk to get
some coffee. The shooting was set up on top of a bluff, flat, with an
absolutely beautiful backdrop of the California hills. Not that you could
see it, as the sky was overcast and gray at that point. To get to the
coffee you walked down a worn path. To the left they had benches set out
for the extras to sit on. Kitty-corner to the benches were the portable
toilets. There was a prop truck parked right before the red food kiosk.
And all the time the white production vans kept delivering actors and
crew to the set. I wanted to just watch the van load and unload. But instead
I settled for getting a cup of coffee. |
| I was carrying a leather black bag that had several different items,
including gifts for the cast. I was calmly walking back to the set drinking
my coffee when a pretty woman, a very familiar looking woman, with red
hair, walked right to me and asked me were I got the coffee. I touched
her shoulder and pointed to the red kiosk. She thanked me and left. I
then realized that I had just talked with Jo Anderson aka Nancy Parker,
and my nerves were calming down considerably. |
| I found my friends standing by what we thought were other fans. They
looked rag-tagged and seemed to all know each other. It was obvious that
the novelty of watching the shooting had worn off on them. The Other Lady
snuck up behind me and told me that John Doe aka Jeff Parker was standing
right next to me. |
| It was very hilly and difficult to move around and stand. I took off
my white jacket and laid it out to sit on. This was very important, as
the set was in a cow pasture. You could see cow chips as you navigated
around the production site. The three of us sat on my jacket and watched
as the actors and crew went to work. Slowly we would point out to one
another, "There's Majandra," or "Nick's over there," or quietly ask, "Where's
Shiri?" I got a little braver and approached what I thought was another
fan and asked her if her name was Michelle. I was thinking that she was
the one that bought Jason Behr's scrubs for $4,000 at the August party.
I wanted to meet someone who would spend that much money on medical scrubs.
She told me her name, which wasn't Michelle, and I sat back down. |
| There was a definite division or pecking order. Those closest to the
camera were the most important. All the stars had their chairs lined up
at the front of the set. To their right were the assistant directors and
portable camera monitors. A few of the cast were standing around them
looking at the production. I wished to get closer to the monitors but
stayed put. Further back, our crew contact, Carey, who ran the sound,
had his equipment set up. He was out of the way entirely, and the set
could barely be seen from where he was. The Other Lady was talking to
him and I joined her. I met Carey and I told him about my educational
background and explained that I had always wanted to see how a big show
like Roswell was produced. I think he was the one that explained to me
that what I thought were other fans were actually stand-ins. We talked
about the Internet and spoilers. There was some concern that what they
were shooting would leak out before the episode actually aired. The crew
seemed stunned when we told them that we already knew Alex dies. They
were flabbergasted when I told them you could download the script for
Viva Las Vegas, the next episode, off the Internet. Nothing was a secret.
Even so, Cry Your Name is probably one of the most important episodes
in the entire Roswell canon because Alex dies. The crew had the right
to be suspicious of what we might report. |
| The next person I met was Gordon. He was the Roswell medic. Later
in the day, the sun had finally come out, and I am such a fair person
that I needed to be in the shade. He had a nice umbrella which he shared
with me. He even gave me sunscreen, but it was too late by that time.
He told me that nearly the entire cast was sick with a cold, and that
Jason Behr was the ringleader. Apparently, Jason had a high fever that
day. I really felt sorry for him. Gordon had to call a doctor for Jason
earlier that morning. I don't have to work when I feel sick, but poor
Jason had to work. |
| At one point, when we were all sitting on my white raincoat, I recall
My Roomie had to use the bathroom and got up at the same time Jason Behr
got up to walk down the worn path past the extra benches. So she decided
to wait until he came back so that it didn't look like she was following
him around. I remember he came back eating a banana. He was wearing a
suit and it reminded me of the Pilot episode when Max is eating the corn
dog at the festival. I think that was my first Aha! recognition of Jason
Behr of that day. |
| We were sitting close to the stand-ins, behind the chairs that belonged
to the cast. As the sun got higher and higher up, the cast slowly moved
their chairs into the shade of the production canopies. We were three
feet away from that canopy. We had a really good look at everyone. Jason
Behr and Katherine Heigl decided to make out for a while right in front
of us. Some probably won't like that I mentioned this, but it was their
decision to make out in front of everyone. It may have been private property,
but there was little privacy. I had heard that they were dating, but watching
their make out session was somewhat uncomfortable for me, as I knew them
as brother and sister on television. My Roomie was fine with their display.
I somehow got the impression that Jason really, really did not want us
there. That was just my impression. But they moved their chairs closer
to us sitting on my white rain coat and we just watched. It wasn't a time
to approach them at all. |
| Jason Behr checked himself in the mirror a lot. In fact, everyone
in the cast was primping and preparing for shooting except Katherine Heigl.
She's so beautiful. She didn't need any extra makeup or touch ups. She
was talking with Mary Ellen Trainor aka Diane Evans, and they seemed to
get along very well. The director had the cast and extras in an organized
line. It was hard to see the pallbearers take Alex's coffin out of the
hearse. I saw the cast lay their roses on the coffin. I saw Isabel say
her good-byes to Alex live. All during this time I took a few trips down
the worn path. One trip I made was to the bathroom, where I noticed an
extra had those nasty little green burrs on her legs. I started to pull
them off until she told me to stop. Another trip I went to the prop cart
to see if I could get some Kleenex. My Roomie was having a fit with allergies.
|
| I also went and sat with the extras. I saw Emilie de Ravin talking
with the catering guy. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to approach
Emily and thank her for the autograph she sent me. I shared a smoke with
an extra that was going to be handing out roses during the shooting. We
talked. She told me about her life as an extra and I told her about myself,
where I was from, and why I was there. It was during this time that I
heard Majandra singing, Amazing Grace. I knew that cameras were rolling
and that sound was recording, so I didn't make a move back up the hill
to the set until I knew for sure they were done. When I got back, the
crew was lining up the cast in a row around Alex's burial site. I can
specifically recall the director telling the camera man to stop the camera
three inches from Jason's face. The sun had finally burned off all the
fog and the scene-backdrop and all-was absolutely gorgeous. The view did
not, however, make it into the final version of Cry Your Name. |
| For some reason, I was thinking the end product would be more scripted
than what we saw as bits and pieces of a funeral. The crew had set up
fake cemetery stones. Why would they do that if they weren't planning
on using them? And, I thought that the minister had lines to say. I remember
Katharine Heigl leaning into Alex's grave looking morose and Mary Ellen
Trainor closely behind her. I got to watch as each character, one-by-one,
laid a rose on top of Alex's coffin. The men took off their boutonnieres;
the women had long stemmed roses. Everybody in the cast was there for
that scene except for Devon Gummersall aka Sean Deluca, Desmond Askew
aka Brody Davis, and of course Colin Hanks. When they were done, I remember
Diane Farr taking a bucket of long stemmed roses and putting them in the
shade. A crew member told the cast and everyone that they could take a
rose if they wanted one. So we did. I still have that rose. |
| It had taken the entire morning for them to shoot Alex's burial scene.
After they were done shooting, we walked around the actual set and even
ventured into the gravestones they had erected. I wanted to take pictures,
but I didn't dare. |
| The next order of business was lunch. I think I was over by the extras'
benches again when someone from the crew announced to the extras that
they only needed half of them for the afternoon shooting. They hadn't
decided who should go or stay, but they made it clear that everyone was
to go to Base Camp and eat before deciding. The announcement was done
in such a thoughtful and touching manner that it really impressed on me
just how much the producers cared about their talent. We left for Base
Camp on the last production van. That way everyone who had real business
got to Base Camp first. On the way down, the extra that played the minister
made a joke. The assistant to the props asked him that happened to his
Bible. The extra stated he'd returned it to the prop manager. Then the
assistant said he wished all the talent was that considerate. The extra
said in return, "Well, I'm a man of the cloth." |
| To call it "lunch" was an understatement. Imagine the Great American
Steak Buffet as an outdoor food tent. They had so much food there! It
wouldn't have surprised me to see a side of beef on a rotisserie. By the
time we got there, most of the cast was done eating and it was just a
few people from the crew and extras eating. I passed Shiri on the way
in. I wondered if she recognized me from our near collision earlier that
morning. She was holding hands with someone, but I didn't pay attention
to who it was. I wish I would have taken more food than I did. I did take
some strawberries and a roll I think. I drank iced tea. Nick was throwing
away his cup and leaving the mess tent when we sat down. I had purposely
left my jacket at the shooting site. We were still worried that we'd be
asked to leave. If they did, I could honestly ask to return to the filming
site for my jacket. We discussed returning to our car to unload some items
we had stuffed in my bag. It had grown quite heavy. |
| So that was our plan. After we had eaten we walked back to our car.
I had a camera with me and I took pictures of the Ambulance, patrol cars
and the Deluca Jetta that were parked in front of us from inside the car.
We left our roses in the car too. My Roomie still had a full drink from
McDonald's that was melting and needed to be tossed. We were on our way
back to a place where a production van would pick us up when we met Nick.
|
| Nick aka Kyle Valenti is a very nice man. My Roomie was a lot braver
than I, and asked if we could talk to him. The first thing she asked was
if he was done for the day. It was a good guess because he was in a T-shirt
and shorts. He looked like he just had a shower. He was standing by his
Beetle car when My Roomie's drink tore and spilled on Nick. She apologized
profusely. Nick said it was all right to talk to him. We told him our
names and where we were from. When I said I was from Nebraska, I added,
"Did you get my footballs*
that I sent?" Nick looked at me in surprise and said, "That was you?"
I think he meant, "Wow, that was really nice," but he could have meant,
"So you're the crazy one - huh?" Someone mentioned his shoes. He was wearing
Birkenstocks. I know all about Birks as I have six pairs of my own. I
remember him saying how comfortable they were. Nick let us take his picture
and he gave us autographs. Mine says, "Nancy (Jeanne) Thanks for following
me to my car. I'd follow you to yours, but I'm not crazy. I'm kidding.
Thanks very much for the ball and ego boost." I gave him a gift. It was
a printout of a comparison of the Beatles' ballad of Rocky
Raccoon to the shooting of Kyle Valenti. We noticed he had
writing on his arm and had to go and do some voice-overs. Of all the people
you could meet from the cast of Roswell, Nick is probably the one of the
nicest. He's always very good about giving autographs and making them
personal. He seemed very genuine. He asked us how we found them. I pointed
out the Area 15 signs didn't make it too hard. |
| As we walked back to the Base Camp, Mary Ellen Trainor was leaving
for the day. I said, "Let's wave," and all three of us started waving
at her. She smiled and waved back at us. We got back into the production
van and returned to the shoot. As we pulled up to the top of the hill,
I can remember Jason Behr looking directly at us. I thought that we had
interrupted the shot, but I guess I'll never know. The shooting had moved
drastically to the right and everyone, Gordon included, had to pack up
their stuff so as not to be in the shot. Gordon had a wagon full of medical
supplies. |
| They were shooting the scene where Max approaches Valenti and says,
"Alex Whitman did not kill himself." When we overheard that line, my friend
said, "What did he say?" It was totally shocking to think that Alex committed
suicide. It was very boring watching them shoot. For one thing, you couldn't
see them because of the hills. You could only hear them. The crew was
busy packing away things, although they found time to tease a gopher out
of its hole. Every once in a while we heard a "MOO" as the cows wanted
to graze. This was when I spent most of the time talking with Gordon.
|
| To be continued… |
