Going on a tip I received that morning that Quentin would be
shooting at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance (the second-largest mall
in the USA), at around 10:45AM I, wearing my official A Band Apart
Commercials T-shirt, arrived at the International Cafe food court where
filming was taking place, and there he was, wrapping up a shot with extras
walking around the dining area. I had seen Q in person a few times before,
but he looked different than the last time I saw him (which was over a year
ago). He was clearly heavier; his hairline had receded more; his hair
appeared lighter in color and was longer--shaggy, even, with graying
sideburns. He was decked out in baggy blue jeans and a white button-down
shirt with a black stripe along each sleeve. Once he was finished, he took
a seat at a table not too far from one where Lawrence Bender, his producing
partner, was seated, talking on his cell phone (which, it seemed, was
attached to his head). On Q's table was one of those TV/VCR combos, and taking a seat
next to him was his assistant, Vicki Lucai. I sat at a table not too far
from him. What was he watching--dailies? A movie? No. He was watching a
tape of the telenovela (read: Spanish-language soap opera) Dos Mujeres, Un
Camino--or, rather one shot, of Erik Estrada, with a woman behind him,
riding a motorcycle, over and over again, laughing each time. Eventually,
his assistant left him, and he watched alone. A couple of girls stood a few
feet away, staring at him. He looked up at them and waved. Feeling a
certain surge of courage, I called his name. He looked over and waved, then
continued to rewind that clip. After a few more cycles, he tore himself away from the TV, and got up.
At this point, I stood up and called his name again and extended my
hand. He came over and shook it. I introduced myself as the other Mr.
Brown, the one with the website... It didn't quite click. He said that he
wasn't online and thus didn't see the site. I then handed him one of my
business cards (a number of which I had sent him over the past 2 1/2 years),
and as soon as he looked at it, it clicked--"I know you! You write movie
reviews," and he mentioned the name of one of our mutual friends. He told
me that he had heard about the site but hadn't seen it. He put the card in
his pocket, and I recounted our past--the phone call, the letter--and he
remembered. He said "that's right" in reference to the latter subject, and
wished me luck, and I told him that I wouldn't get this year's verdict until
later in the month. After a minute or two of, to quote Pulp Fiction's Mia
Wallace, "yakking about bullshit in order to be comfortable," including a
comment about my ABA shirt ("It looks cool"), I told him it was great to
finally meet him after all this time, and asked if maybe we could talk more
later on, but he said that he is generally busy during his breaks, to which
I replied, "busy watching telenovelas?" He laughed and posed for a pic,
flashing the peace sign. After that, I asked if he was shooting all day,
and if it was OK if I hung out for the day. He said that it was perfectly
fine...
...so hang out I did, staying out of everyone's way. Most of the day's
shooting consisted of walking shots--shots of Pam Grier, dressed in a blue
flight attendant uniform as the title character, Jackie Brown, walking in
the mall (and her sitting down and eating), but mostly of character actor
Robert Forster walking. What struck me about the shoot was how laid back it
was, not to mention how cozy everyone was; between shots Q would often hug
Grier, and at one point he forced her into an impromptu tango. Every now
and again Q would pass by me, and we'd exchange hellos.
Shooting wore on, crowds gathered then dispersed, and at around
2PM I was relieved by the appearance of one of our mutual
acquaintances--Jerry Martinez, one of Q's former co-workers at Archives and
current publicity head at Q's Rolling Thunder division of Miramax, whom I
hadn't seen nor spoke to since June 1996. We hung out and talked for a
while, and in time Jerry, an officially designated VIP who had lent me some
legitimacy by letting him hang out with him for a spell, had to go, but not
before doing me a huge favor--he introduced me to one of the production
assistants, and told him that I was going to hang out and that I was "cool"
and "not a stalker." The PA suggested I walk through a couple shots, but I
didn't think that was such a good idea since I did, after all, have a
production company shirt on.
So I now had a vouch person, not that I really needed one. Even
though I had no headset, walkie talkie, or crew pass, a number of passersby,
and perhaps crew members, thought I was working on the film--likely due to
my ABA shirt. At one point, I saw Forster walking around, bored and alone, and I said hello. His
first question to me was, "Are you one of us?"--meaning, of course, if I was
one of the production crew. I set him straight, and we talked for a little
while, and he signed an autograph and posed for a picture.
At one point Q shot some scenes with Forster in an area away from the
food court, where Grier remained, sitting in her official chair, signing
autographs and talking to fans. I was one of these fortunate people, and I
must say she is still every bit the Foxy lady she was back in the '70s.
She signed:
"To Michael
with [heart] + $
Pam Grier
'Jackie Brown'
6/97"
It was July 1, and I told her that it was no longer June. She thanked me
because, as many autographs as she signed, no one had told her it was July.
We then had this brief discussion about how no one really paying attention
to months during the summer. She also posed for a picture before I went on
my way.
After more walking shots of Forster, at around 8:40 Q and Bender
called it a wrap. Q was obviously in a hurry, but he posed for a couple of pix
with fans. I managed to catch him after the pix, shaking his hand and
thanking him for letting me hang out for the day. He said, "No problem;
come back and hang out with us anytime..." So you can guess where I was
the next day...
