Director adn screenwriter Cameron Crowe, known for giving us such blockbusters as "Jerry Maguire", "Vanilla Sky", and "Say Anything", among others, had chosen my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and more specifically, my place of employment, The Brown Hotel, to film many of the scenes for his new movie, "Elizabethtown".  Mr. Crowe arrived in April along with a team of writers and producers, checked into the hotel, and declared it home for the next for months.  As a bartender in the hotel's lobby, I became accustomed to seeing him in the wee hours of hte morning, lounging in one of the lobby's sofa, his brow furrowing in concentration as he labored over the masses of paperwork surrounding him.  I tried discreetly to sneak peeks whenever I brought him his standard sparkling water, but my respect for his privacy and his work restrained my curiousity.

With each passing day, more and more Paramount members arrived, and they quickly became like family to us.  They sahred work with us, the pitfalls and the perks, and we sometimes became sounding boards when difficulties on the set roused tensions.

We were all very excited when the actual filming began.  Some of us had been invited to visit one of the sets in nearby Versailles where a funeral scene had been scheduled for shooting.  While touring through the funeral home chosen for the scene, the crew members pointed out all the intricate details; the easel with sympathy cards for the deceased character tacked on the surface, filled out with heartfelt sentiments by the crew members and the casket that the actor would lie in.  Pictures of the actor and his fictitious family members had been carefully placed about the room in frames that had been painstakingly chosen to compliment the decor and the atmosphere of the scene.  Details as small as the thermostat and the light switches had been changed as Mr. Crowe decided.  It was all so facinating!  Learning about the myriad of details involved in even the most minute aspects of a film scene brought a newfound respect for movie making.  It made me feel sad to think of all the movies that were so meticulously made, but were unsuccessful for whatever reason.  After all the work required, how devastating it must be for those involved to have the movie fail at the box offices!

It was after 3:00 am,  and my shift was over.  Before leaving the hotel, I stopped in the lobby to catch some of the filming.  As Istood in the corner watching all the commotion as they tried to film a scene depicting a wedding reception, I was saddened at the thought of it all ending.  The cast and crew would be leaving tomorrow.  I would miss passing Mr. Crowe in the corridor and hearing him say "Hey! How's it going? Are you working tonight?"  I would miss the informative and fascinating discussions with the director of photography.  I would miss the friendly chats with Orlando Bloom as I encountered him walking his constant companion, his dog, Cidi, at 2:00 am outside the hotel.  I would miss happily running all over the hotel in search of hot chocolate for Kirsten Dunst after she shot a scene on an unusually chilly summer day. 

These things, although really very small, were pleasing to me; I knew it was an opportunity I would most likely never encounter again, and one that I would always look back upon with fondness.

The next day, I stood looking out the window from the second floor, watching the crew load what must have been millions of dollars worth of equipment.  Most of the crew had departed earlier that day.  The remaining members were mostly "stagehands".  I watch as Mr. Crowe approached to give instruction to one of the men doing the loading.  After a moment, they were joined by Orlando Bloom.  Watching them in conversation, I silently told them goodbye, and that we would miss them.  As if he ahd read my mind, Mr. Bloom Looked up and noticed me in the window.  He smiled and pointed up at me, saying something to Mr. Crowe.  Both men smiled up at me then, and I'm sure I was beaming as I smiled back.  And then they both waved; not because I was a fan; because I was Jordan, the bartender at the Brown Hotel, and a friend.  If only I had had a camera at that moment, to catch those two famous faces smiling and waving at ME!  I couldn't help it; tears filled my eyes as I waved back, and I hoped that they knew how grateful we all were to them for giving us this experience.  They turned then, and disappeared around the corner, out of my view.

I sighed inwardly, the old cliche "gone but not forgotten" coming to mind.  How true, I thought to myself.  Our brief time with Paramount productions brought us excitement, education, and yes, in many ways, friendship.  As I turned away from the window to get back to work, I realized that I was already counting the days until "Elizabethtown" finally premiered.

I planned to be the first in line.

According to Michael Hirsch, a lifestyle correspondent, in his article How To: Produce An Independent Film, there are four steps to the process of making a movie and getting yourself started on the road to Tinsel Town:

1. Development
2. Pre-Production
3. Production
4. Post-Production.

Of course, it would be ridiculous to expect fast cars, mansions, and hot starlets all at once. Instead, experts recommend that you start with humble goals, such as producing a great film at a budget of under $200,000 but not less than $15,000, and treat it as a valuable learning experience on the way to a future career in film making.

Attending an introductory film production class and local film seminars will be very much helpful. Also, studying books on filmmaking, especially those by successful producers, reading film industry magazines, and checking out websites will also do you a world of good. Watching DVD commentary tracks of your favorite films are also advisable. The Project Greenlight series, in particular, shows how not to produce a film.

Let's now go to the steps.

1. Development

   There are several things that you must do. Firstly, you must set up consultations with a local entertainment lawyer who has a basic understanding of entertainment law, but who is junior enough to charge you rates in line with your budget. Secondly, you must become familiar with the concept of deferment, which is a payment deferred to the back-end of the film, payable once the film is sold. Deferring part of the cast and crew salaries is a good way to keep your budget low. Thirdly, you must buy a killer script (Read: inexpensive to shoot, subject matter familiar and close to your heart) since a great movie depends on a great script. You may put up advertisements soliciting for scripts in film publications and listings at local film schools. You may also check out spec script websites. Do not forget to option the script since it gives you the exclusive right to make the script into a film for a certain period of time. Lastly, find a director and a rich investor.
   

2. Pre-Production

   For pre-production, putting together a good crew is first. Film students or professional crew people with limited experience are ideal, as long as they are proficient and diligent. Paying $25 for film students and up to $100 for the most experienced crewmembers is advisable. Also, a shooting schedule of six-day weeks with one day off for three to four weeks in total is ideal.The next thing to do is scouting for suitable locations for filming. Paying for locations should be avoided as much as possible. Best locations can be secured by having the owner sign a location release contract. Finding the best deals for film equipment that you will need to rent, such as a camera and lighting packages, is also important.
   
   Actually, one secret in keeping your budget low is to shoot your film on digital video instead of 16mm or 35mm film. Not only will you avoid paying for expensive film and film processing, you can also buy a digital camera for roughly the price of renting a film camera for a week.The last thing to do for this step is auditioning actors. Great actors make up for a good film. Skilled theater actors are a good choice for they will often work for next to nothing just to land a lead film role. You can hold the auditions yourself and advertise for actors, or hire a casting director to do it for you.

3. Production

   Now is the time to start filming and don't stop until you've shot the whole script. Let nothing stop you from finishing the entire script- come rain or shine. Stick to your shooting schedule since additional shooting days mean additional expense. On days when you're shooting outside, make sure you have an indoor location available just in case it rains.
   
   Also, don't forget to keep everybody happy and motivated since you're not paying much. Feeding your cast and crew good food every six hours will do the trick. Make sure everybody will have enough time to rest for tired people can become irritable and prone to accidents.
   
   Finally, avoid the following: shooting on or in water because it's potentially hazardous for your cast, crew, and equipment; animals and child performers since neither takes direction well and both bite; and firearms for even shooting blanks can be deadly.

4. Post-Production

   Now that you're done with production, take a week off to recover. Afterward, find an editor with experience with feature films and begin editing the picture portion of the film. This means cutting out pictures that aren't essential to the story. After this, do the same for sound and music. And you're ready to sell.

The first step in selling your movie is to join film festivals. Sundance, Toronto, Los Angeles, and South by Southwest are the top festivals for independent films like yours.

If your movie does well at any one of these festivals, chances are you will be able to sell it for distribution. It will help you attract a reputable Producer Representative, who will be the sales agent for the film and negotiate any distribution agreements.

Now that you have followed all of the steps, good luck and see you in Hollywood!

Henry Mancini struggled with the fact of having to compose a musical piece for the film but I found the score to be quite appropriate. The party must have been shot with the idea of exposing the comic abilities of the actor because of the shallowness of the plot. In fact there is little more to hold the story together except that Peter gets to a party that he wasn't supposed to and he has his eyes on a sweet French actress, he latter takes home after drowning his party hosts in sudsy water.

Much of what comics get today for comedy material comes from past greats like Sellers and the antics shines through as he clumsily ruins a film set and clumsily falters at every chance he has to make himself a desired guest at a party of the film producer, he is mistakenly invited to. But you and I know that the ineptness is what the director wanted to carry forth in the film because the film script is short and there is little substance to be gained from a story that concentrates on the in fighting between the cooking staff and the microcosmic world between the guests of the party.

Portraying Sellers as a bumbling Indian actor might not be something that Indians would appreciate but for those able to laugh at themselves, this is a sort of parody created between those who are forever apologetic like Sellers' character and those who notice nothing but their own grandeur. The self-centred world of certain Hollywood types is thrown in to create the comic tension that an actor like Sellers would have thrived on would he be around to do a remake of the film. The movie climaxes, if one dares to say, with the fact that the Indian actor is found out at the party as a guest who should not have been on any invitation list. The ending is reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin walking off into the sunset with Paulette Goddard in an early silent film; Sellers gets to drive his new found girlfriend in his three wheeled Morgan which itself must have been a joke to all those Hollywood tycoons of the day.

I was at home preparing breakfast one Saturday morning when the telephone rang. I picked up the receiver and the voice on the other end of the line said, “This is Tony Hopkins, you wrote to me…”

I should explain that my husband is a talent agent and he had made a few discreet calls, trying to contact Anthony Hopkins "at home". Obviously it had paid off. I must have sounded puzzled. “Who?” I asked, “I don't know a Tony…” The voice on the other end cut in, “I'm Anthony Hopkins, the actor.”

And that was my first conversation with the great man himself. We arranged to meet a week later at the elegantly restored Langham Hilton Hotel in London where we would record the interview.

It was a bright slightly crisp sunny day when my husband Robert and I met the two camera men, lighting man, and the sound engineer on the pavement outside the hotel. We introduced ourselves at reception and the hotel manager escorted us to the Royal Suite on the third floor. When the hotel was built in 1865 it faced directly onto Regent's Park. The development of London has taken its toll over the years and now the park can just be seen in the distance.

The Royal Suite is a good-sized room with large windows that faced directly onto Portland Place. It was stylishly decorated with large comfy armchairs.

The film crew were still in the preparation stage when Anthony Hopkins walked in. He told us he had had a very pleasant walk through Regent's Park, chatting occasionally with passers-by and with gardeners who were busy with their unending work maintaining the park, one of London's premier attractions.

 

Pots of tea were ordered and after sound and lighting checks, we were ready to begin. Sir Anthony had already familiarised himself with the names of the crew, insisting that they call him Tony and asking the make-up artist for tips on keeping his weight in check.

A few minutes later the recording had started and we were talking about his childhood. He told me that he suffered during his school years as he was dyslexic (though the term was not in use then) so to cover the problems he became the class clown. He was a natural mimic and he said he often imitated the teachers' voices so he could make the other kids laugh.

His father was the one who got him started as an actor. Anthony explained that as a child he was very shy and used to play dirges on the piano at home after school, he played the piano well and was a good artist. One day his father suggested he get out of the house.

“Do something with your life. Join the YMCA and meet people.”

So at seventeen he joined a local acting group run by Cyril James in Port Talbot near to his home in Wales. Richard Burton was from the same town and young Anthony was very impressed with what the actor had accomplished. When he was fifteen he went and knocked on Richard Burton's door to ask for his autograph, Richard was home from Hollywood with his wife Sybil.

Q: Were you impressed with Richard Burton?

A: After giving me the autograph, Richard was going to the big rugby match in Cardiff with Sybil and his brother. As I was walking back home down the hill, I watched him drive by in his Jaguar, thinking, I've got to get out of this life of mine. I've got to get out of this environment of my own mind. I've got to do something with my life.

Q: How did you get into acting?

A: I joined this little acting group and then I got a scholarship to the Cardiff College of Music and Drama. Then I went into the military service, National Service, and when I came out I made a decision to follow an acting career.”

Q: How did you feel when you discovered that this was something you were good at?

A: I look back on my life and I still see myself as a lucky amateur who just got away with it. I don't really feel that comfortable in ensemble companies. This business has given me a very good living.

Q: How do you prepare for a role?

A: I simply learn the lines and show up. I get the script, and I read it over and over again, going over the part until I let the character play me.

Q: Do you believe in destiny?

A: I'm a fatalist. I believe that if we relax and let go, then extraordinary things begin to happen. You can't really control your destiny.

Q: I was really interested in the story you told me about meeting Katherine Hepburn, during the filming of "The Lion in Winter".

A: It was my first film. There were three young actors in it, John Castle, Timothy Dalton (who went on to do the Bond Films), Nigel Terry and myself. Hepburn used to help us, she'd say to me,

“Don't act so much. Don't use so much voice. Let the camera do all the work. Watch Spencer Tracey, he was the best.”

She was tough and she was generous. I remember one day she said “What a wonderful life. Here we are in the South of France in February in a castle, being paid for what we do, never forget that.”

“And I never have. That's why I love making films. I travel all over the world, do what I want to do, and at the end of the day I'm surprised they pay me for it.”

Q: What about directors you have worked with?

A: I've had a bit of a stormy reputation in the past with directors. Now I've come to peace with myself and directors. Actually, I did something for George Martin, in "Under Milk Wood" and I was directing a lot of actors and I suddenly realised the enormous pressure directors are under. And sometimes I know why they get bad tempered and dictatorial, because of fear. The best directors I've worked with are James Ivory and Jonathan Demme in "Silence of the Lambs". Director David Hare and of course Francis Ford Coppola, not the easiest person to work with, he's a creative giant, a very kind and generous man. I thing those directors are terrific they are the ones who are easy to work with.”

Anthony's advice to young people wanting to be actors was,

“Don't just talk about it, go out and do it. Opportunities are there, so find them.”

He seemed ready to converse on any topic. He expressed his surprise at getting an Oscar for "Silence of the Lambs", he forgot to thank the usual people and thanked his mother!

The time had rushed by and I needed to close the interview. I asked how he would like to be remembered.

He replied “Mr Nice Guy!”

And he is.