August 22, 1998
5:00 am call time. We greet the buses at the wardrobe warehouse and take
the 30-minute ride to the Cook Ranch (south of Santa Fe). It is a private
ranch which can be rented out for filming, etc. I think this is where some
or all of the movie "Silverado" was filmed. The place is buzzing with
activity when we arrive. Enormous tents are set up for wardrobe, hair and
makeup, extras holding, crew, and others. We all change into our costumes
(many of which are authentic and very old), see hair and makeup, get our
assigned props, and meet in extras holding. After a wait, we all are
bussed down to the set, where the assistant directors block the scene and
we begin filming. After a morning of many takes, we return to extras
holding for lunch and are fed very well. The women are all corseted, so we
find it quite difficult to eat anything substantial. The corsets and/or
the heat caused a number of women (and a few men and/or children) to faint
during the morning shooting. The afternoon was much better, as the casting
directors made very sure that water/Gatorade were available at all times to
anyone who needed them. The shooting continued into the early evening, and
we wrapped about 8:30.