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September 23, 2005

Stock Stories - Koa Kahili - Dragonfly

Dragonfly

I always try to pick up hitchhikers, but my car is usually so filled with junk that I often drive by thinking, sorry, got to clean off the seats. I live on the island of Kauai, where people still hitchhike. It is comforting and reassuring to see people by the side of the road relying on their fellow brothers and sisters to help them out. I tried it a few times and found out that tourists won’t pick you up. They are in too much of a rush to get to the next waterfall or scared because they have never seen a hitchhiker before. Sometimes hitching might take a little longer, but at those moments you realize the journey is the destination.

It is a beautiful morning and I was off to the irrigation store in Lihue to purchase some drip lines and emitters for the exotic fruit trees I had planted the day before. I got an early start and actually managed to clean out my old Subaru preparing to fill it up with tubing. As I approached Anahola I saw her. A middle aged local lady with her thumb out. I pulled over. “Hop in”, I cheerfully said.

“Thank god you stopped”, she said, “I’m late for work and my boyfriend’s car broke down, and I really need this job.”
“No problem, where to?” I ask.

“Kealia would be great”, she responds and starts to relax. When we get to Kealia she asked if I wouldn’t mind driving her up the dirt road past the old general store and school. I was not in any rush and was game to drive her to work. When I continued up the road it occurred to me there was nothing up there but old cane fields and the mountains.

“Where do you work?” I asked.
“They are filming a movie up here and I’m an extra.” She did not know more than that. I had heard through the coconut wireless that a movie was being made on the island, “Dragonfly” I think it was called. After a few minutes we arrived at a guarded gate. I told the guy I was dropping off an extra and he let us pass. After a short drive we pulled up to a bunch of large white circus tents and trailers in the middle of nowhere. I was curious and decided to snoop around.

A lot of folks seemed to be milling around this one tent, so I walked in. This lady asked me who I was, and what was I doing here. “Name’s Koa and I just dropped off an extra who was hitchhiking.” I said proudly. She flipped through her clipboard of papers and names.

“I don’t see your name on here.” She stated.
“That’s because it isn’t.” I answered, “I just picked up a hitchhiker.” I saw the gears in her brain cranking away as she looked at her list again. She made a humming noise and looked at her companion behind a desk.

“A few extras didn’t show up this morning, would you like to work?” She offered.
“Why not.” I said, I could always put the irrigation in tomorrow. She handed me a slip of paper.
“Go to the next trailer.” She directed. I walked up to the wardrobe trailer. A spectacled lady took my paper and looked me up and down.
“Humm, you look like a doctor.” She remarked.
“Well, I do have an advanced degree in….” I responded, but she was not listening. She was too busy fishing through a rack of old tattered clothes. Out she came with a horrible ensemble, some old thrift store shoes, a dirty torn dress shirt and a pair of pathetic khaki pants, with the coup de grace being a white doctors jacket. I tried on the outfit and had to complain. “I am supposed to be a doctor wearing this shirt with these shoes? They do not go together, besides these shoes are not my size.” She scowled at me in contempt with an altogether practiced gesture and rummaged around in the trailer for another shirt. I felt like I was preparing for the Salvation Army fashion show and after a few more quick changes I was told I looked the part. She dismissed me to the next tent for make up.

I sauntered in feeling important in my white doctor’s jacket. Hey, my sister’s a pediatrician, I thought. No one paid me any attention. A strange chilly sensation came over me. It was air conditioning in a tent. Two ladies were chatting behind a counter. I cleared my throat and they looked over. “Well, I am a doctor.” I said. One lady left while the other portly one scrutinized my appearance.

“You look fine.” She simply said. I had not showered that morning, my bed head hair was sticking straight up, and I had not shaved for a week.
“Really?” was my shocked reply. I was expecting some elaborate make up ritual involving many mirrors and wigs. She sensed my disappointment and told me to take a seat. I gladly sat down. She just picked at my hair a little in an abstract preoccupied way for a minute or two then dismissed me to the next tent.

The next tent was huge. It was the mess tent. In and around it about two hundred local folks were hanging out. The first thing one learns about a Hollywood production is that you hurry up and wait a lot. I got a bite to eat and wondered what I was supposed to be doing. What was this movie about anyway? I noticed that the local extras were rather short and wore the same thrift store fashions. No one knew what was going on either but I found out that the set was further up the road. I also found a few other folks wearing white doctor medical jackets. It seemed appropriate, so I hung out with them. They were a Hispanic women and an African American couple from Los Angeles. It turned out that they were playing the part of Red Cross volunteers. Ha, they were not even doctors, but they accepted me into their group. I wanted to ask what this movie was about and what was going on, but I did not want to announce my ignorance so I kept quiet and watched for clues.

Apparently Kevin Coster is in the movie, but he was not in this scan. Consequently, he was not around. We started talking about a neutral subject like the island and I was told the Red Cross volunteers flew in from LA for a week and would be busy the entire time with the movie. What a shame I thought, to come all this way and not get a chance to see the sights and enjoy Kauai.

After a while of talking story everyone was shuttled in busses up to the set. It looked like a little village with thatched huts and a few old army tents. I had not explored this part of the island before so I was content to relax and enjoy the scenery. Eventually all the extras were organized in an enormous circle for the inspection of Herr Direktor. He was a very personable young fellow, skinny with glasses and a head of fluffy hair. He knew how to work the crowd, giving us our kudos while being very humble and approachable. We were all soon placed in our respective positions and told what was about to happen. These huge rain making machines were going to turn on while all the villagers would be running around boarding a large truck and an old school bus. Ironic that Hollywood employs rain machines while one of the world’s wettest spots, Waialiali, looms in the distance.

Everyone is scattered about the faux village and once again the waiting commences. This time it was the camera. It was not ready. I had no idea what the technical difficulty was and I do not think any one knew but the camera guy. The medical extras were stationed in one of the army tents and I found myself standing next to a beautiful young blond girl. I tried to start a conversation, probing for facts, but she was aloof. I assumed she was a lead character for she definitely stood out. There was no one else for her to talk to so she eventually admitted that she was just a stand in and knew even less than I did.

The rain machines spit to life soaking everyone except the dedicated medical volunteers in the tent. Then the rain stopped just like in real life. They were only testing. The camera finally was ready, set up right behind me. What took so long was adjusting the steady cam device; an apparatus that allows the operator to run around while the camera stays level and balanced. Strange thing was, the camera operator did not go anywhere. He just stood in the same place.
The beautiful blond girl was replaced with a beautiful blond woman who was wearing a white doctor’s jacket, just like mine. She had a friendly smile and gently sat next to me. In fact, she was glowing and rubbing her round belly. It does not take a detective to figure out she was pregnant. She noticed me noticing her and said hello. I asked her if her character was pregnant in the script and she affirmed my inquiry. When she got up to confer with the director I noticed a dragonfly tattooe half hidden on her lower back. Was this art imitating life or life imitating art?

The scene slowly developed as such; the director yells action, the rainmakers turn on, the blond actress starts yelling into a satellite phone about gorillas attacking the village while I, along with the fellow medical colleagues, run about in the rain helping the women and children onto the truck and old school bus. Needless to say we did this countless times, take after take. Between takes, the director gently coached the pregnant actress to show more emotion, but mostly we waited between takes for the pesky sun to be covered up with a cloud. Comraderie and moral were high while we sat around the tent and I learned that we were pretending to be in Venezuela. I also found out that the old school bus I was helping the evacuated villagers onto later runs off the road and over a cliff killing everyone except the unborn baby. Even through we were only “acting”, this struck me as a bit morbid helping people to their deaths. On the next take I assisted some villagers onto the back of the truck.
Between the next take I noticed my African American medical colleague was uncomfortable. He confessed that his lower back was acting up. I told him to lie down on the table and proceeded to show him a series of exercises to elevate the tension. My dad had surgery on his lower back and I had worked as physical trainer. So I knew enough to act the part. He said he felt much better and soon I was answering all kinds of basic medical common sense questions by extras in the tent. One pretty local villager that I was helping down from the truck after the director yelled cut, asked me if I was a doctor. I had to laugh and told her I plant fruit trees.

It was a surreal experience running around in the rain trying to look busy and concerned. I was relieved when lunchtime rolled around. While standing in line for some catered grub I noticed a pregnant local villager girl smoking a cigarette. I was about to drop some medical knowledge on her but I thought better of it and kept my mouth shut. The way she was beating and adjusting her stomach earlier made me suspicious. The overbearing couple from LA took the bait and tried to lecture her on how terrible and shameful it was to smoke while pregnant. The local girl and her friends busted out laughing while the LA couple looked utterly perplexed and shocked. I was glad I kept quiet.

The afternoon consisted of a group photo, some stills, and flirting with the local girls. When I drove home from Venezuela that evening, I scanned the side of the road for hitchhikers and realized I lived next to Kapinao Heiau, which in Hawaiian means dragonfly.

Posted by Pat at September 23, 2005 07:04 PM

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