Ready for ‘Retirement’

Kirk Baird

Monday, March 21, 2005 | 8:19 a.m.

It's 11:30 Thursday morning and I'm standing in the middle of a film set inside the Rio.

The film is "Retirement," a comedy starring veteran actors Peter Falk (Fitzy), George Segal (Dominic), Rip Torn (Wallace) and Bill Cobbs (Marvin) as four Miami retirees who take a road trip to Las Vegas to stop Fitzy's daughter, Liz, from getting married.

For this day's shoot, the set encompasses a circular hotel-casino bar adjacent to the buffet, along with several pods of slot machines.

Yellow stretch ropes help keep the crowd, including several members of the hotel's security staff, away. Even the escalators have been turned off to discourage Rio patrons from walking through the set.

It doesn't always work, though, as friends, couples and even the occasional relative navigate through the temporary barriers and over the snaking cords taped to the ground on their way in and out of the casino.

As they make their way through, most of them stop and gawk at the sight of the cameras and lights and wonder aloud what's being filmed.

The scene is impressive.

While "Retirement" is the first film for a newly created studio, Corner Stone Pictures, from the looks of the set, the movie is big-studio quality.

There are high-tech equipment pieces scattered throughout the set, while casually dressed crew members with headphones hurry around.

Just as I begin to take absorb the surroundings, it's time for a Union-mandatory lunch break. The expensive film cameras are covered with blue bags. Props, such as drinks on trays, are put away, and the blinding pole-mounted lights turned off.

The set is dark and still.

There's nothing to do now but wait. And wait.

The waiting

Life on a film set seems to mainly involve waiting, wrapped around a quick beelike buzz of activity.

A 30-second scene in a film may take three or four hours -- even a day -- to film, with numerous breaks in between.

Mike Pietrzak, producer of "Retirement" and partner of Corner Stone Pictures, doesn't seem phased by the waiting.

He said the film, scheduled for release in theaters nationwide this fall, is on an "ambitious schedule," and is three days from wrapping -- less than 50 days after filming began.

"When DreamWorks first came out, it took them four years and $200 million for their first film," Pietzrak said. "We've kind of streamlined it as much as we could."

Shortly after the lunch break, the set comes to life, and within a half-hour the scene is ready to be filmed.

The extras -- some playing slot machines, others used as pedestrian traffic in the background -- are given last-second instructions. Falk takes his place just off-camera, along with co-star Billy Burke, who plays Billy, Liz's ex-boyfriend, who also wants to stop the impending nuptials.

In the scene the two men walk through the casino, past the bar, to a courtesy phone where Falk makes a phone call. Just before he hangs up, the other friends join them, along with Coolio, who plays rapper Master Flow, a nephew of Marvin's.

The set quiets in anticipation of the scene. The cameras begin to roll and the extras are told to begin their roles. Then the director's voice booms, "Action!"

Falk and Burke walk casually to the phone. Falk makes the call. The others walk up shortly. In the background, a hodgepodge of extras stroll by.

The scene plays out, the actors walk off camera and someone yells "cut." Segal then marches over to a barstool and relaxes as a crew member brushes his eyebrows.

This is followed by more waiting.

The scene is filmed a few more times -- none noticeably different than the first take -- before the director yells "last one."

As the actors and crew hurry into place, someone calls out "no flash photography!" after too many curious casino patrons have interfered with the lighting by taking photographs of the set.

The cast runs through the scene a final time and everyone seems happy, especially Falk, who is sitting in the director's chair watching the scene through a monitor. He smiles.

The crew begins disassembling parts of the set and moving the cameras around.

More waiting.

Big bucks

"Retirement" began filming in Miami, then raced to New Orleans for a couple of weeks before the cast and crew arrived in Las Vegas on March 3 to complete the film's shooting.

Although filming wrapped Saturday at Valley of Fire, with a climatic car chase scene (it's part of the film's subplot), the crew shot around town for a month and a half.

Among the locations: A Special Memory Wedding Chapel, the Riviera and several surface streets.

In addition, 50 to 60 local film crew personnel were hired and 500 extras were summoned.

Last year more than 650 productions were shot throughout the state, including films such as "Retirement," along with various TV series, documentaries, commercials and still photography projects.

As Nevada and Las Vegas become more popular with filmmakers, the revenue has more than doubled from nearly a decade ago, from $51 million to $116 million last year.

"They spend a lot of money, hiring local people, renting cars, renting locations, hiring extras to be in films, even dry cleaning," said Charles Geocaris, director of the Nevada Film Office.

"It's a tremendous amount of money."

Nevada has become a Hollywood favorite for many reasons, including a unique location -- the Strip -- that can't be duplicated; and film-friendly bureaucracy, which means little red tape to impede filmmakers, and few, if any, permit fees.

The favorable climate is a tremendous attraction to studios as well.

"Weather is a definitely a big factor for us," Geocaris said. "Not getting slowed in production with rain and snow ... and having to move into an interior, which causes delays in production and increases film costs.

"I think it's really just a great environment overall."

Pietrzak, for one, is impressed with Las Vegas and what it offers filmmakers.

He said the local crew hired for "Retirement" was top-notch. And, despite the record rainfall earlier this year, the weather has cooperated with the film's shooting schedule.

"It was a rainy day when we got here, but that was a travel day," he said. "Since then, we've had wonderful weather."

While the weather hasn't been a problem for the film, casting has.

The producers were dealt a serious blow with the death of one of their lead actors, Ossie Davis, who was playing Marvin.

Davis, 87, died in his Miami hotel room Feb. 4 of natural causes, only three days into filming.

Oddly enough, the final words spoken on film by Davis were, "Heaven, that what it is." The line is in reference to a question about the group's location, after arriving in South Beach during spring break. (The scene will be included at the end of the film in tribute to Davis.)

While Davis' death was a sudden blow to the film, Pietrzak said the cast and crew quickly coped with the loss and shooting commenced a day later.

Cobbs, who was originally considered for the role of Marvin, happened to be in Florida at the time and was brought in as Davis' replacement.

Pietrzak said the late actor would approve of the choice.

"Ozzie was Bill's mentor," he said. "They met years ago when Bill was doing the lead in a play Ossie wrote."

Since the death of Davis, though, everything else has worked in favor of the film, including great weather and locations, which has kept the film on schedule.

Pietrzak said he wouldn't be surprised if Davis had something to do with that.

"He's been blessing us," he said.

'The Scintas!'

Frankie Scinta is excited.

He, along with the other Scintas, have a cameo in "Retirement."

It's an incidental scene in which Dominic recognizes the performers in the casino, calls out to them and then introduces them to his friends.

The scene lasts 30 seconds. Nevertheless, it's a big moment for the Scintas.

Frankie is even excited while watching Segal as Dominic yells, "Hey, it's the Scintas!" during filming.

"It's beautiful man," he tells his brother, Joe. "You can't ask for more than that."

While the scene amounts to nothing more than product placement for the Rio performers, they are taking it seriously.

"Taking part in a major motion picture is something you dream about," Frankie said.

The Scintas were given what little bit of dialogue they have -- consisting mainly of introductions and an invitation to their show -- a week before the shoot. After the director, Charles Picerni, saw how comfortable the foursome were acting in the film, he told them to ad-lib their lines.

"Charles gave us the freedom," Frankie said. "He said, 'Just have fun with it.' "

And they are, laughing and clowning around with the cast, which includes Segal, Torn and Cobbs.

Even when Segal goofs his line, "How's life outside of Buffalo?" with another city, everyone, including the actor, smiles.

Still, making a movie is serious work, as a crew member reminds the background extras after one of them flubs up during an entrance.

"We'll be here all night till we get it right," he said.

By now it's 4:30 in the afternoon and I have to leave the set. I wanted to hang around until the scene was finished and filming was wrapped for the day, but that's no longer possible.

As I leave, I nearly bump into a family gathered around a balcony upstairs, who were intently watching the set below.

One of them remarks they are tired of waiting for something to happen and they leave.

I know the feeling. I could do without the waiting, too.

As Tom Petty once said, that's the hardest part.

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