FEBRUARY BLEW ITS COLD BREATH on the actors dotting the streets of the movie set at Alamo Village. The horses tied at the hitching posts leaned away from the cutting wind while the film crew searched for warmer socks to warm their toes.

Behind the scenes, extras and crew look on as filming commences.

What compels men and women to brave inclement weather, long days and even longer nights to “be in a movie?” For some the work means an extra paycheck, for others it offers a legitimate way to dress up and play cowboys and Indians.

I was bitten by the bug a couple of years ago when a friend dragged me to a casting call to try out for a movie being made in Del Rio. Surprise of surprises, I received a call telling me to come by and pick up a script. My part was to be filmed on a certain date. I dutifully learned my lines and waited with anticipation for the call. It finally came. I showed up as scheduled, but it was a no-show on the producer’s side. Time passed and rumors circulated among the cast. The long and the short of it was that; the movie never did get made.

Tulisha Wardlaw from Alamo Village was hired by the production company to be the casting director for the movie extras. When she called me last January to see if I would be interested in a part it sounded very interesting. A number of people I knew would be part of the cast. I couldn’t say no. A major western singer would have a sizeable role. There would be hard currency involved too. Most of the extras would get paid on a daily basis. It sounded good to about twenty-five others and me. This time there was a complete set-up with wardrobe, hairdressers, a famous western singer and handsome men and pretty women trailing up and down the streets. Many of the characters had been in movies for many years. The good, bad and the ugly; there were parts for all.

Country singer Randy Travis and his co-star in the film pause between takes.

Ben Meeks, from Ohio, and visiting Alamo Village for the day, asked it they could use another extra. The answer was yes. He was whisked off to wardrobe and suited up. He was given a speaking role as well. That, my friends, is just part of the movie business. It pays to be in the right place at the right time.

But not all of the movie business is a receipt for success. It is a very expensive proposition to produce a movie; even a made-for-television movie like this one is to be. If this pilot were successful there would be at least a dozen episodes to follow. However, movie making is a complicated business. And a business it is. It is a complicated and expensive proposition to make a movie. The producer must also have the expertise to pull the event off. The producer may have a good script and good actors and a great location helps too. But, he needs lots of money, costumes, props, art department, and wranglers for the horses and on and on.

Humor and danger lurks around each corner too. A fine rider was scheduled to ride hell bent for leather down Main Street. It so happened that the man was very short and the horse was very tall. So, getting on that pony was no easy feat. All had a horselaugh.
Then there was the buggy scene. It was a cold day with a horse that had never been hooked to a wagon before. Those two ingredients may have been a receipt for failure, but the expertise of the driver allowed the panicky horse to get adjusted to his situation and the scene was completed without incident.

Extras Ben Meeks (left) and Tom McNew wait for their scenes.

A new caterer was engaged and for a week or so all went well. Early one morning this tall bearded man who looked like one of the cast, strode purposefully through the streets of the village with his assistant two steps behind. It didn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to know there was trouble brewing. If the caterer had been packing a gun, there would have been a shoot out between him and the producer. It seems as if he wasn’t getting paid either. Something must have been worked out because we continued being fed for another week or so. The last week the group worked, there were no meals, just coffee, water and chips. The last two days the group worked, there was coffee only. Some brought food and shared it with others.

The last two days of work were spent in the cold dark church waiting for calls to a scene. One naked light bulb illuminated the church while throwing eerie shadows of the bonnets of the ladies onto the adobe walls. The group was not down heartened though, three guitars were brought out and a good old fashioned sing along ensued. Strangers brought together by a common thread bonded and created a new warmth to a cold day.

New friendships, interesting developments, horses and gunfights with heroes and villains are some of the reasons why intelligent adults are willing to brave cold and heat, long days and long evenings just to dress up and play cowboys and Indians.

Alamo Village near Brackettville, Texas, may be rented by production companies filming in the state.

There are a number of locations in Texas available for persons who are filmmakers. One is Alamo Village in Brackettville, where our story takes place. Others include the C.F. Ranch in Alpine, Rancho Rio Grande in Del Rio, Ojinaga/Contrabando at Big Bend Ranch State Park, Indian Cliffs Ranch in the El Paso area, and Luck, Texas, known as Willieville in the Austin area.

These permanent locations offer a variety of sets available to the novice or professional filmmaker. All it takes is a telephone call and plenty of money. These locations took years to grow and it takes money to keep them going.

Replica of the Alamo's chapel at Alamo Village..

It was very interesting and enlightening to be part of a movie operation. Not all production companies suffer from the poor management that the above suffered. That is why I have refrained from naming names for the most part.

It was necessary to be candid about this production since it affected many people. Some professionals have had to take the producer to court to get their promised salaries. Some still have not been paid. Hopefully this situation will be resolved and all will get their “just desserts.”

Anyone wanting a paid or unpaid spot in a movie may log on to the Texas Film Commission’s website and find a host of information dedicated to making the movie industry grow in Texas. It just might be fun.