OVER THE TRANSOM
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
—HOLLYWOOD COMES TO MADRAS—
By SANDY RASCHKE
Imagine our surprise when the local
newspaper announced in early November that a Hollywood
production crew had chosen Madras as their location to film
interior shots of “The Management,” a movie to be released in
late 2008. Jennifer Aniston and her co-star, Jason
something-or-other and the crew would be here for at least
two weeks, spreading the money around by occupying motels and
spending lavishly at local businesses, etc. What hoopla!
The Chamber of Commerce even sold raffle tickets to benefit a
local charity—the prize winners getting a front row seat to
watch the filming on the set, and later meet with the “stars.”
The first indication that the
production crew had arrived was the replacement of the signboard
outside a nearby motel: it now read “The Kingman Hotel” (as the
action is supposed to start in Arizona, before moving to other
points west). All kinds of large trailers, trucks and equipment
filled the parking lot, which is right next door to our local
discount store, BiMart. Locals were hired to direct traffic
around the motel, and provide security. The crew took over rooms
at the motel while the stars occupied the suites of our newest
hotel and meeting center, The Inn at Cross Keys Station.
Jennifer and Jason spent one of
their last evenings at the local bowling alley, eating
pizza and playing a few games, to unwind after a long day of
filmmaking. Smiling, they had their picture taken with the
manager and he provided the photo to the paper. Then a few days
later, everyone packed up and left—they had accomplished about
90% of their shooting schedule, but it had been raining off and
on for two days, so they had to move to another location to
finish the exterior shots.
About a week later, a very angry
citizen wrote a letter to the editor of the paper, stating that
she had seen Ms. Aniston’s comments about our lovely little town
in the Star, one of the “entertainment” magazines, and
it wasn’t nice. Ms. Aniston referred to Madras as being a
desolate place, “in the middle of nowhere,” and complained about
“how lonely” she was the whole time she was here. The letter
writer vowed not to view the movie when it makes its debut.
I had to laugh. It’s not exactly a
difficult vow to make, as the nearest movie theatre is about 25
miles away. So, in that respect (Starbucks and Safeway aside),
we are in the middle of nowhere; and guess what? Most
of us like it just fine. Then again, the “big” city of Bend
(population 70,000+) is only 45 miles away—less than an hour’s
drive to all kinds of dance clubs and trendy restaurants, etc.
So, if the woman was really “lonely,” she could have summoned a
limo and with entourage in tow, cruised on down the road.
I don’t know—I think I’d find it
awfully hard to be “lonely” when surrounded morning, noon and
night by crew members attending to my every whim, and dozens of
fans wishing me well wherever I went. Then again, as an
editor/writer, I prefer solitude to crowds and noise
when creativity strikes (no matter how fleeting that may be).
After the production company left, I
learned that they were not the first to use Madras as a
backdrop—a number of westerns were filmed outside of town, and
last year the crew of Myth Busters spent a week at the Madras
Airport, bust-ing a myth. The town is also on a list of “Oregon
sites” recommended by the State’s Film Board. I wonder who will
come to “nowhere” next?