Unstoppable

Maybe you haven't heard, but Andy and I are movie stars now. And we have the paychecks from 20th Century Fox to prove it.

Perhaps you've heard of this little movie?

For about two weeks last fall, the cast and crew of the movie Unstoppable descended upon our tiny rural town to film a chunk of their movie. (I must note, simultaneously and single-handedly doubling the town's population.) "Commotion" or "excitement" don't even begin to describe those two weeks. I'm leaning more toward "hullabaloo" or "hubbub" or even "brouhaha". (Side note: There are just never enough opportunities to use "brouhaha." It's such a great word.) The rumor mill churned out "news" at 4 times its normal rate. You couldn't venture into any store, stroll the street, or go to work without maneuvering around hundreds of displaced, cold Californians. The town's two stop lights worked overtime to handle all the shuttle buses, equipment trucks, and picture cars that clogged our main street. Everyone had an opinion, a story, a rumor, or an angle. But no piece of juicy gossip was as coveted as the oh-so-elusive Denzel sighting.

It

was

a

circus.

It was a circus with ADD.

It was a circus with ADD on steroids.

I will be the first to admit that all the excitement was rather intoxicating...

which is how Andy and I ended up signing on to be extras.

Day 1 on the job found me sitting in my car in a local factory parking lot with about 25 other extras and their vehicles waiting for the call to set. My beloved Toyota Matrix and I were headed to the big screen!

We waited 9 1/2 hours. They decided not to use us. Not exactly what you'd call a glamorous induction into showbiz but neither was wrestling with my breast pump in the back seat of my car, trying to covertly pump without flashing the other extras or random factory workers.

Day 2, however, was filled with racing trains, helicopter aerobatics, and even a Tony Scott sighting - perfect movie magic.




Tony Scott's tricked-out Porsche-camera car



Runaway train 777



Trying to chase her down

Pre-explosion

Boom.

 A little while ago, we and a few other couples were able to ditch our kids entrust our children into the care of responsible and mature guardians and head to the theater to see our little town on the big screen. Although we were able to see quite a few familiar faces, the scenes Andy and I were in went by in a blur and we were unable to pick out either of us. Looks like we will have to wait for the DVD and an intense workout of the pause button. Maybe we'll discover the back of my head or Andy's left elbow.

I have to say that the movie as a whole was a sweet little piece of cinema. (And I'm not at all biased.) Ditch your kids Entrust your children into the care of responsible and mature guardians and go check it out. You won't be disappointed.

And you may even catch a glimpse of Andy's left elbow.