On The Set Of Switch With Kevin Durant
When they say "Quiet on the set," they want it quiet.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Rarely is there a night I lay in bed struggling to sleep. Not like this. Not because of anticipation of what’s to come the next day.
Thursday night brought that odd mix of delight and dread.
On Friday morning I would embark on a trip unlike any other I’ve taken during my five seasons covering the NBA. Though in some respects, it all felt the same. The early morning alarm. The drive to Will Rogers before the sun comes up. The freezing cold plane and crying baby in the neighboring seat. Even the arrival airport, New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International, was in my comfort zone. I’ve made the trek to this part of the Bayou 15 to 20 some odd times over the past six years.
But this time the arena I was about to step into was a completely different animal — and completely out of my comfort zone.
It all started when an email landed in my inbox Tuesday morning. It was from a PR firm. The subject read “Kevin Durant interview for upcoming movie release.” Nothing to fret there. I’ve known a Durant movie was coming. And I’ve interviewed Durant countless times. But somewhere in the body of the email was a bit about the studio, Warner Bros. Pictures, inviting media members to visit the set of the feature-length film Switch, which KD is the star of.
Sounds like a great opportunity, right?
Well after a 6:55 a.m flight out of OKC, with a connection in Houston and an hour drive from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, here I am, a wide-eyed rookie on the set of a major motion picture somehow starring the most down-to-earth basketball star I’ve come across in my time covering the league.
Here’s how it went.
1 p.m. — My eyes catch two men chatting casually while sitting comfortably in the lobby of the hotel as I turn left off the elevator. My instructions were to meet in the lobby at this time to depart for the set. With no other souls in sight, I figure these men must be members of our group, a surprisingly-low turnout for such an amazing opportunity. I quickly learn that the two men are Dino Lalli, a producer for Discover Oklahoma and an anchor on KSBI-TV, and Kevin McQuarn, entertainment editor for theadvocate.com, the web site for Baton Rouge’s newspaper. We wait a few minutes for Susan Clarke, a jovial PR woman who’ll be our chauffeur/tour guide for the day. Another PR man, Stuart Herriott, joins our group and we’re ready for lift off.
1:05 p.m — Just before leaving, our group walks across the lobby to a restaurant where one man is now sitting alone at a table just beyond the entrance. We were told we really should meet Gary Miereanu. Turns out, he’s a bigwig in the PR industry and sort of a heavy hitter with Warner. And he’s one jolly fellow to boot. It’s Miereanu who adds to my anticipation by giving us a quick rundown of what’s being filmed today and how KD has done thus far. Miereanu says Durant has been excellent and reports that the most difficulty Durant’s had was actually missing shot attempts during the basketball scenes. Miereanu said the true acting is watching KD miss.
1:35 p.m. — After a short drive to downtown Baton Rouge, our caravan pulls into a parking garage with a yellow sign directing extras and crew members to park. It’s showtime!
1:45 p.m. — After winding our way through a construction zone, we finally see a sign that reads “TO SET.” On the outside of the building is a sign that reads Manship Theatre. Turns out, this is the Louisiana State University Museum of Art.
1:48 p.m. — Just in front of the doors of the Louisiana Museum, a major set has been constructed in the courtyard. A portable coffee counter is the center piece facing the banks of the Mississippi River. Crew members are moving swiftly and sweating profusely in this down south heat to get the set assembled. Everyone has a job. Durant is nowhere in sight at the moment.
2:03 p.m. — With nothing to see but crew members running ragged, our group strolls across the street to get a closer view of the Mississippi. In the process, a part of movie magic is revealed. Banners, in Thunder blue and orange, hang from light posts on the street. They read Oklahoma City, giving the impression this movie is being filmed in the Thunder’s backyard.
2:15 p.m. — While waiting for the final touches to be finished on set, a local photographer moseys up and inquiries about what’s going on. I tell him a movie is being filmed. He asks who’s in it. I say Kevin Durant. The photographer responds, ‘Who’s that?’ Ouch! Guess KD’s still got some work to do before becoming a bona fide household name.
2:35 p.m. — We finally get our first sight of the man of the hour. Kevin Durant emerges wearing a black jumpsuit jacket with orange and blue trim,black basketball shorts and swimming-type sandals with socks. And oh yeah, the backpack. In my first look at KD, he’s preparing to get right to it. But before the director yells ‘action’ he’s got to get camera ready. In this heat, nearly 90 degrees on this day, it means a young woman’s sole job is to wipe beads of sweat from his nose and brow. The 5-foot and change woman who is charged with drying the face of the 6-foot-10 inch star can barely reach his chest. They make it work.
2:45 p.m. — Alas, we see the Durantula in action. The mics are on. The cameras are rolling. In this scene, Durant’s agent, played by Brandon T. Jackson, is trying to break the news of “the switch.” It’s the crux of the movie. In his role, Durant is skeptical. And his acting skills are put to the test because he has to conjure up real emotions of anger and frustration. And he has to deliver it repeatedly. I’m told footage from this scene will be used in every trailer, commercial and promotional spot. It’s that significant to the storyline. And because of that, it has to be perfect.
3:15 p.m. — There have been at least nine takes of the same conversation in this courtyard. And we’re only talking about a minute meeting between KD and his acting agent. Here’s where I learn that the slightest thing can screw up a scene. The man holding the boom mic dipped his equipment too low and had it get in the shot. Twice. Jackson, the acting agent, drops a cup of stir sticks at the coffee stand. An oblivious tuba player comes out of the Museum/Theatre tooting his horn (Only in Louisiana!) To top it off, lines need to be delivered with precision and body language has to be executed flawlessly.
3:20 p.m. — Once the director finally gets what he’s looking for, the set must be rearranged to do it all again. This time, the cameras will capture it from the opposite point of view. Who knew? I just always assumed there were multiple cameras in every position to capture every needed angle. Uh, not so much. This scene needed three set reversals to capture different angles. It took nearly the entire day for what will, at best, be a minute in the film. While the crew got run ragged again, Durant ducked into a tent with the director to listen to playback.
3:45 p.m. — Thanks to our veteran PR team of tour guides, it’s recommended we get out of dodge for the set turnaround. So what do we do? The only natural thing to do of course. High tail it to get root beer floats.
3:50 p.m. — If you’re ever in Baton Rouge, do yourself a favor and stop by Frostop. You won’t regret it. They’ve got floats and milkshakes and burgers and fries and po-boys and so much more. All I had was a float, but it was delicious and everything else looked absolutely scrumptious!
4:30 p.m. — We’re back on set. And it turns out we didn’t miss a thing. The turnaround is finishing up and Durant and Jackson are just walking back out to begin again.
4:45 p.m. — Miereanu introduces us to a man named Mike Karz. He’s the producer (or perhaps one of them) for this flick. Karz provides a few more details about the film’s plot, production and schedule. He also praises Durant for the job he’s done. Karz hands me a set of headphones that’s connected to a wireless device. With it, I can hear the actors from our tent. This is when I find out Durant has some acting skills. He’s comfortable on camera. He’s smooth in his mannerisms. He gets his lines out without difficulty. I’m no expert, of course, but I know bad acting when I see it. And KD wasn’t doing bad.
5:05 p.m. — Another set turnaround…
5:15 p.m — While watching Durant on a nearby monitor stationed in a nearby tent, a crew of extras began building around me. One man, no older than 30, dressed in a red polo shirt, starts complaining about his wardrobe. A fellow extra, an older woman, explains the producers likely want it to look like Oklahoma. “It’s the Sooners’ colors,” the woman says. Red shirt responds proudly, “That’s even worse. I ain’t no Sooner. I’m a LSU Tiger!”
5:20 p.m. — Minutes after one crew director, a young lady, comes around seeking the extras she had earlier, she returns saying she must go with replacements. Their job is to walk in the background on the opposite side of the street. A more assertive man then comes along and hurriedly starts plucking extras out at random. Suddenly, as I sat among the extras, I didn’t quite know what to do. What if he picked me? Deep down, maybe I wanted him to pick me. Think about it. You’re on the set of a major motion picture and some shot-caller says in their head ‘you’ve got the look’ and grabs you out of a crowd. For about 20 seconds I thought I was about to blow up. The next Denzel. I was discovered! In those few seconds I was dreaming of drafting my resignation letter. Hollywood here I come. Then he really did pick me. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the way I envisioned it. It was a pity pick. Sort of like when you’re playing pickup and you’re picked ahead of only the four-eyed guy who can’t dribble or run without tripping over the foul line. Yeah, I was that pick. And for another five seconds or so I actually thought about dropping my notebook and rolling with it. Then I snapped out of it.
5:25 p.m. — Kevin Durant’s finest moment. Jackson, the acting agent, couldn’t get the timing down on delivering a line as he walked with Durant from the courtyard to a car. The director told Jackson he was going too fast. While Jackson apologized and said it was his fault, KD, who we know to be the consummate teammate, immediately chimed in and said, ‘Nah, I’ll speed up.’ Excuse me??? Who’s the actor and who’s the baller here? Here Durant was taking on a leadership role in his first ever movie, allowing the more experienced actor to do what felt natural and leave it to him to make the adjustment. I’m not sure if anyone else on the set noticed. But something so subtle spoke volumes about Durant on so many different levels.
5:50 p.m. — Our crew has seen enough. Either that or it’s dinner time. Either way, it’s time to beat it. I would have loved to stay. But since we came in a caravan, and I had a deadline to meet anyway, it was time to scram. As we walked off the set, a black towncar pulled up. Out of the back came a tall, slender woman. It was Candace Parker. The former Tennessee star and current Los Angeles Sparks forward makes a cameo in the movie. She’ll appear in an office scene in which Durant’s agent continues to try to convince him of what he needs to do to regain his skills.
5:55 p.m. — Durant and Co. head inside to film. We head back to the hotel. And in the end, this wide-eyed rookie survived his first day on a movie set. Tomorrow, I’ll be back in my comfort zone, interviewing Kevin Durant. It will just happen to be about his upcoming movie release.
(Special thanks to Gary Miereanu, Russ Brantzeg, Stuart Herriott, Susan Clarke and the folks at Warner for being such gracious hosts.)
-DM-
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Comments
Awesome! In the movie does he actually play for the OKC Thunder or did they have to come up with a random basketball team name?
[...] On The Set Of Switch With Kevin DurantNewsOK.com (blog)The subject read “Kevin Durant interview for upcoming movie release.” Nothing to fret there. I've known a Durant movie was coming. And I've interviewed Durant countless times. But somewhere in the body of the email was a bit about the studio, … [...]
[...] to use the team’s facilities. For a taste of the scene in Baton Rouge, be sure to read this first-hand account from Darnell Mayberry of The [...]
[...] to use the team’s facilities. For a taste of the scene in Baton Rouge, be sure to read this first-hand account from Darnell Mayberry of The [...]
Darnell, this was awesome. Thanks so much for the play by play. Really looking forward to the movie! (Also, hilarious Denzel line.)
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I don’t know how I feel about this.