I'm still washing the sand out of my hair - or at least it seems that way.
When the multimillion-dollar action thriller "Con Air," which opened nationwide on Friday, needed diverse locations for its principal shoots last summer, the producers chose both the Salt Lake City and Ogden airports, as well as a deserted airstrip in Wendover.However, none of this is mentioned in the film's credits (though it is in the "Con Air" production notes), nor does the film actually take place in Utah. In fact, the Salt Lake International Airport tarmac filled in for the airport in Oakland, Calif., and temporarily housed a fictional U.S. marshal's office. Meanwhile, the Ogden-Hinckley Airport subbed for Carson City, Nev. Talk about your acting stretches!
The film, from producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("The Rock"), is about a half-dozen or so hardened killers who take over a U.S. marshal transport plane bound for a high-security prison. Also on board is Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage), a recent parolee and former Army Ranger, who must stop them.
Included in the Ogden shoots was a prisoner exchange for homicidal maniac Garland Greene (veteran character actor Steve Buscemi) - which takes place during a driving sandstorm.
Crew members unlucky enough to be caught in the path of the hundreds of pounds of sand - which was actually blown about by several huge high-speed fans - suffered windburns and scrapes. Even those who were a "safe" distance away caught a few flying particles in their hair, eyes and mouths, including yours truly, who was there doing interviews for an "On Location" article. (I eventually had to get a haircut to remove clumps of sand.)
Consequently, it wasn't exactly a surprise that Buscemi took his time getting to the set from his trailer or that he stayed a good distance away while the winds raged. (Though his character is initially wearing a leather mask and harness that renders him unrecognizable, it is definitely Buscemi.)
Given director Simon West's splashy visual style, it should come as no surprise that it took several takes to get that scene right. But some smaller sequences, including a bit where two guards release the door locks on an armored transport car, used almost as many takes before West was satisfied.
That "do-as-many-takes-to-get-it-right" attitude serves as a stark contrast to many smaller budget productions filming in Utah, especially "Wind River," the fact-based historical drama wrapping up production in Kamas.
"Wind River," whose budget is at most one-thirtieth of that for "Con Air," has had to rely on one-take shoots, unless there was a major blunder by someone.
Of course, the two sets did have one thing in common - they presented a nasty hazard for unprepared journalists making visits. While "Con Air" has put me off beaches for a while, "Wind River" was shot under the worst possible weather conditions: snow one week, blazing hot the next - and then rainstorms!
I can hardly wait to see how that one turns out.