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Hollywood... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........
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That's a Wrap! C-17, Long Beach Employees Complete 'West Wing' Filming
By Elaine Marcellino
Hollywood descended upon the C-17 Long Beach production facility on Saturday, mixing the entertainment and aerospace industries for a day and leading many to ask: “Are you a real Boeing employee?”
It was hard to tell the difference between the 50 actual Boeing employees and the studio extras Warner Bros Television brought to film a scene for an upcoming episode of NBC’s highly rated drama “The West Wing.” The Boeing employees, nominated for the duty by the C-17 Leadership Team, were hired by Warner Brothers for the day as extras. They acted alongside professional actors portraying Boeing employees, Secret Service agents and journalists.
Between shots, Boeing teammates mingled with up-and-coming actors and the show’s producers and crew. They even rubbed elbows with Emmy-award winning star Jimmy Smits and actress/comedienne Janeane Garofalo.
In one of the key story lines of the new West Wing season, Smits plays Congressman Matt Santos of Texas, who is running for President against U.S. Senator Arnold Vinick, played by Alan Alda. The scene filmed Saturday shows Santos visiting Boeing to demonstrate his support for American jobs and a strong national defense.
At center stage – both literally and figuratively – is the C-17 Globemaster III. Basked in Hollywood ’s industrial-strength lighting, the huge airlifter served as the “eye candy” of the scene and the hot-button issue of Santos ’ visit.
Producers look in every episode for a ‘wow’ shot, something that’s visually impressive, said Mike Leon, West Wing locations manager.
“We wanted to represent the United States ’ industrial might,” he said. “So we asked ourselves ‘What’s something big and cool that is built in Southern California ?’” The C-17 and its Boeing Long Beach assembly facility were everything they’d hoped for.
The scene shot Saturday shows Santos, accompanied by Boeing employees, completing a tour of a C-17 – which in real life is P-142, scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Air Force in October. After Santos and the C-17 employees walk down the cargo ramp to the factory floor, Santos meets a waiting group of reporters. “This is a great example of how we can strengthen national security and strengthen our economy at the same time,” he tells them emphatically. “The Air Force urgently needs more C-17s, and the American workers are ready, willing and able to do the job.”
After filming concluded, Smits echoed his character’s words and expressed his appreciation and interest in the C-17. He mentioned that on a recent visit to Biloxi, Miss., to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, he saw C-17s offloading supplies.
In Long Beach, he asked Boeing team lead mechanic Chris Cornejo, who was cast as a Boeing production worker, how the C-17 manages to land on short, 3,000-foot runways. Cornejo and a few co-workers gave Smits a brief tutorial, pointing out specific functions of the aircraft that make it the world’s most capable airlifter.
After the shoot “wrapped,” Boeing test pilot Joel Brown and loadmaster Ted Caniete gave Smits and the show’s producers a VIP tour of the C-17.
“It’s a big place,” Smits said, gazing around the factory. “This is really great. It’s so inspiring.”
Actor Ryan Kelley had a similar reaction with his first look inside the Boeing plant. “It’s awesome!” he said. “You walk in here, and it’s all metal and huge. It’s a guy’s dream.”
Though the scene runs only about 30 seconds, the filming process took almost a full day, and preparations began a month ago. As West Wing locations manager Mike Leon put it, “The C-17 plays a small but very important part of our episode.” Producers and crew members visited Boeing several times in recent weeks to coordinate the effort with Boeing and select the area for shooting: Bay 4 in Building 54.
On the day of the shoot, crews began setting up their equipment early in the morning. Boeing employees hired as extras arrived at 3 p.m. and got the first taste of what it’s really like to work in Hollywood. The cast and crew were running behind filming another scene on the Long Beach waterfront, delaying filming at Boeing by several hours. But when things did get started, there was definitely a buzz in the air.
“It was exhilarating,” said Roy Spencer, a C-17 fuel systems mechanic. “It got my adrenaline pumping.”
Warner Bros production assistants rounded up the Boeing employees, quickly inspected their attire and started making assignments. Parry Havelaar of C-17 Production Engineering landed a role when he least suspected it.
As part of his normal Boeing job, Havelaar had made – at Warner Bros’ request – a banner to hang in the background of the scene inside the cavernous C-17. On Saturday evening, before filming began, he asked Alison Fujii of C-17 Quality to go with him to see where the banner had been posted on the set. They found it displayed prominently – and at 3 feet by 12 feet, very hard to miss.
As the two were admiring Havelaar’s handiwork, which read “Boeing Welcomes Congressman Santos,” someone from Warner Bros asked if they were Boeing employees.
“At first we thought we were just going to be stand-ins, but then someone said we needed to go to wardrobe,” Fujii said. “That’s when we knew we were definitely in it.”
Production assistants selected Fujii, Havelaar, Cornejo and several other Boeing teammates to accompany Smits’ character on the C-17 tour. Mechanics Tony Valentino, Mike Thomas and Greg Arnwine were cast as production workers, which is what they do in real life. And, Gene Duval of IDS-Long Beach Communications and Paul Lewis of Air Force Systems Communications were cast as Boeing executives. They each received instructions on where to stand or walk, but the creative part was pretty much their own call.
“They just told us to do the same thing in every shot,” Fujii said. “With lots of takes, they wanted it to be consistent when they go to edit.”
The Boeing extras got plenty of practice at acting. Those who weren’t on the C-17 tour with Smits’ character watched from outside the plane, both on the floor and from the scaffolding of another C-17. Many takes and many hours later, they understood the great lengths Hollywood goes to for just the right shot.
“Even actors make mistakes” said Havelaar, who was impressed with watching Smits up close. “But they get to redo their work. What we do at Boeing is really amazing. We build C-17s, and they have to be right the first time. We don’t get a second take.”
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The West Wing episode, titled “Message of the Week,” will air on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 8 p.m. in the Pacific and Eastern time zones, and 7 p.m. in the Mountain and Central time zones. The West Wing is seen weekly by more than 10 million viewers. Its season premiere is set for this Sunday, Sept. 25.
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