The Winner

 The Winner

     The first thing I discovered about, “The Winner,” was that the story is not true. I was initially told that it was a true story, about a guy, who was the only person, in history, to win a million dollars, on a Las Vegas roulette wheel. This turned out to be bullshit. I have never been much of a gambler. Never played roulette. I doubt I will see this film, unless I am at your house, and you have it on.

     When I got booked on “The Winner,” I worked in downtown Los Angeles. I arrived on set, and found my friend, Tony K., was there. I knew it was going to be a fun time. He loved to crack a joke, and most of his jokes were about his ex-wife. He said she cheated on him, in the marriage bed, and that he was granted a divorce, on the grounds of adultery. My favorite story of his, was when he said, to me, “At my son’s bar mitzvah, I went up to the guy, she cheated on me with, and said, can I ask you a question? He said ok, so I said, Does she let you f**k her, in the a*s? Don’t let her lie, to you. She loves it. The rougher, the better.” I laugh every time I remember this story. Tony K., was, is, and will always be, my friend. 

     While I was on set, Tony K., introduced me to a pretty young lady, named Mary. She was one of the happiest looking persons, I have ever met. She was made even happier when the entire cast, and crew, gave her a thunderous round of applause, because they found out she was a member of the Directors Guild, of America. I don’t know if she was embarrassed, by this attention, but she wore it well. She was booked, as an extra, dressed as a cocktail waitress, in the casino. Tony K., and I, were gamblers. 

     The “casino” we were working in, was actually one of the many old theatres, in downtown Los Angeles. The inside was dressed to look like a casino, but I was there, and it was a theatre. I have a picture of myself, Tony K., and Mary, in the parking lot, next to the theatre. It is another of my favorite photos, taken when I worked as an extra. 

     I had to do a little research, on this film, for 2 reasons. One, I had never seen it. Or even heard of it. Anywhere. Ever. Except for when I worked on it. Just like “Pistol Pete,” it seemed to suddenly fall off, the planet. The second reason is the same for every production, I’ve written about.  I gotta try to make sure I don’t mis-spell anyone’s name. Plus, I could not remember who the singer, with the high hair-do, was. 

     My next surprise, was when I found out that Vincent D’onofrio, Michael Madsen, Rebecca De Mornay, and Billy Bob Thornton, were all in this film. Now that I have done my research, I can say that the singer, I mentioned was Rebecca De Mornay. Every time I think of her hair-do, in the scenes, I did, I always think of the female alien, in “Mars Attacks!” Another film, Tony k., and I worked on, together. We were in the best scene, in the film, in my opinion. The scene where the Martian leader kills all of congress. A favorite, I’m sure, for a lot of people. I also thought it was pretty weird that Vincent D’onofrio was in “The Winner,” and “The Cell.” I worked on both movies, and I do not remember seeing him, either time. I know he was not on set, when I worked on “The Cell.” I cannot remember if he was on set, when I worked on “The Winner.” He may very well have been there, but I do not remember seeing him. 

     I have also discovered that on his website, the original guy, asked to direct this film, says it went straight to cable. No wonder I have not seen it. I have a problem with pay TV. I mentioned this before. I never saw this film advertised, or in a video store. Anywhere. Not even in a bargain basement. Just lucky, I guess. So if you have never heard of this film, I am not surprised. I would not be surprised to find out that more people saw “Dinocroc.” A cheesy horror movie, about a genetically engineered dinosaur, crocodile thing, that escapes from the lab, where it was created, and starts eating people. 

     So I worked on a film with lots of celebrities, but I only remember Mary, and Tony K. I could say, I’m not star struck, but that would be a lie. The truth is, I know more about this film, since deciding to write about it, than I did before. If I had known about Vincent D’onofrio, I might have asked him to autograph my copy of “Full Metal Jacket,” and gotten myself into trouble. Sometimes ignorance can be a good thing. 

     Ms. De Mornay was playing a singer, in “The Winner.” She was performing a song, in the scenes, I worked. We did many, many, many takes. A lot of people were getting angry, because it was late, it had been a long day, and every time the director yelled, “Cut!,” the entire cast, and crew, applauded, and cheered, in the hope that we would hear, “Print! Check the gate! Gate is good. That’s a wrap!” I should point out that while everyone else was cheering, as loud as they could, in the hope of going home, Tony K., and I were yelling, “Perfect! Do it again!” We could not bring ourselves to go along, with the crowd. Besides, there was overtime money, to consider. Eventually everybody was happy, and we got sent home. Nice payday. 

     “The Winner” may not have done well, at the box office. I don’t know. It was ok to work on. I had friends, on set, and we made a good time, of it. The set dressing was pretty good, so it felt like a real casino. I did some crosses, sat at a table, with Tony k., and I even did some fake gambling, with fake money. Some of the bills even say, “Hollywood Movie Money.” Every time a production gave me “Movie Money,” I would take a couple of bills, home with me. Unfortunately, I do not have any as of this writing. 

     I felt bad for Mary. She had to walk around the set, all day. Usually with a tray of something, in her hands. She still appeared to be the happiest person there. Production also had a couple of “cigarette” girls, on set. They were carrying large trays of tobacco related products, around their necks. I asked one of the girls if I could try on, one of the trays, and it was, in my opinion, pretty heavy. I hope all these girls got union money, or a pay bump, or something, for their hard work. If anyone, on set, deserved it, they did. I would not be surprised to find out they got nothing extra. Some would say, “That is all they deserved.” A lot of people do not know how physically demanding, extra work can be. Run through this mud, all day! Run up this hill, all day! Run across this floor, which is covered with junk, and full of holes, while carrying an M-14 assault rifle, all day! Don’t get hurt! Run across this sand, all day! Carry this heavy news camera, all day! Stand at attention, on this concrete, in full battle dress, while getting rained on, all day! Carry this tray, loaded with whatever, all day! On “The Winner,” the waitresses had the hardest job.  Mary made it look easy. 

     My direction was not very difficult. “I know you have seen a casino before, so lets make it happen.” Similar to the direction I got on “Murphy Brown,” during the gay bar scene, I did. I wandered all over the casino, probably with a drink, in my hand. Tony K did the same thing. Every time we passed by, or near Mary, she had a big smile, for us. I wonder how she is sometimes, and I hope she is well, and happy. I doubt I will ever see her again. One can only hope. 

     Supposedly there was a lot of off camera drama, associated with this film. I don’t know if it is true, or not, and I don’t care. My check cleared. I had a good day, with my friends, and if they ever read this, and recognize themselves, maybe I will hear from them again. It has been many years, so I have no great expectations. Just know that for all the people, I have worked with, there are some, I miss, very much. Mary, and Tony K., are 2 such. If anyone came away, from this movie, a winner, it was me.