We
were planning to shoot Levity in April when our
lead, Billy Bob Thornton, called to say he was only available in
January and February. Which was fine, except for one thing: this
was mid-November, and we were missing some essential elements –
namely locations, sets, and a crew.
Oh,
and one other minor thing: financing.
So
I started preproduction the old fashioned way… on credit.
We did a schedule and budget which dictated that the absolute earliest
we could begin shooting in Montreal was mid January, which would
have us finished by March 9th.
 But
Billy Bob had to leave March 1st. Period. He had a family commitment
he intended to honor, and I admire that greatly. I, however, forged
ahead, hoping one of two things would happen: either Billy Bob’s
schedule would shift, or he would see how hard we were working and
give us an extra week.
By
the beginning of January, I had phoned Billy Bob every day to see
if his schedule had indeed changed. And, of course, it hadn’t.
And the funding, which was dependent on Billy Bob’s participation,
still hadn’t closed. And I was in so far over my head financially
that our house was now officially collateral. And I was desperate.
So
I called Billy Bob with my final plea: what was it, I asked, that
was so important that he couldn’t leave later?
He
was going on a trip to Namibia with his family, it was a vacation
he desperately wanted to take, and going alone was not nearly the
same thing.
“Well…”
I stammered, “how about if I just get someone really really
nice to fly with you instead?”
“Like
who?” he said, “Like Pat Boone?”
“Yeah
– what if I get Pat Boone to fly with you to Africa?”
He
paused, and then chuckled. “Okay, fine. If you get Pat Boone
to fly to Namibia with me, I’ll work till the 9th.”
“You
promise?”
“Sure.”
Now
I had never met Pat Boone. Nor had Billy Bob, for that matter. And
to the best of my knowledge Billy’s not a particularly religious
guy. Nor am I. And I’m certain that when Billy Bob suggested
that Pat was the deal-breaker he never actually expected me to call
him.
But,
as I said, I was desperate.
“Pat
Boone Enterprises,” said the cheery voice on the phone the
next day.
“Can
I speak with Mr. Boone, please?”
“May
I ask what this is regarding?”
“Well, it’s a kind of, uh… request.”
“Yes…?”
“Well…
it’s… I should probably tell him myself.”
“Mr.
Boone having a root canal. He won’t be available till next
week. Is this an emergency?”
“Well,
to the rest of the world, no. But to me, well...”
I
gave her my Montreal phone number, assuming all was lost, then hung
up and set about figuring out how to explain to my six year old
that his college fund had been squandered on a film that almost
was.
At
1:45 a.m., the hotel phone jarred me awake.
“So
what’s this crazy request I’m about to get?” There
was a pause, followed by: “Hi, I’m Pat Boone.”
“The
Pat Boone?”
“Well
certainly a Pat Boone. So what’s this about Billy Bob Thornton
and some crazy request?”
I
gulped, sat up, and told him the story. The financiers, the March
1st thing, the years of putting this film together. Pat couldn’t
have been nicer. In fact, he was so nice, it actually seemed like
someone doing an impression of Pat Boone. The upshot is, at the
end of the conversation, he thought for a moment, then said: “You
know, if it means something to Billy Bob, and if it will help you
keep your movie together… sure, I’ll fly with him to
Namibia.”
To
say I was flabbergasted would be an understatement. “I…
do you want me to put you up there for a while? I mean, maybe there’s
a spa or something you can stay at…”
“No,
I’ll just turn around and fly back.”
After
thanking him for what I’m sure was about a half hour, I hung
up and called Billy Bob.
“You’re
joking, right?”
“Nope.
March 9th. Pat Boone. Namibia.”
Now,
I still don’t know why Pat Boone was so important to Billy
Bob; whether it was a lifelong fantasy, or an off-the-cuff whim
– if even that. All I know is the next day, in the huge production
meeting, just as I was explaining to everyone that we were, indeed,
going till the 9th, my assistant slinked into the room with a sheepish
look on her face and my cell phone in her hand.
“It’s
Pat Boone’s office,” she whispered. I stepped outside
with horror. I knew what was about to happen: it was his secretary,
probably calling me to say something like “Uh, Mr. Boone was
on Demerol when he spoke to you yesterday…”
But
she was calling to know if he was flying to Montreal on the 9th,
or Montreal on the 8th, and then Africa on the 9th (he had a busy
concert schedule, and they needed to slot it in). I told her they
left on the 9th for Namibia, and I thanked them for what I imagine
was another half hour, and I did one of those silent screams of
joy that you only see in the movies.
By
the way, as things happen, Billy Bob’s family schedule did
end up changing, and he did end up being able to go with his family
on their trip. So Pat didn’t actually have to fly. So, in
fact, I still have yet to meet Pat Boone, though I did thank him
at the end of our film.
And
Pat, if you’re out there, I promise never to do this again.
Although, Kevin Spacey did call the other day. He’s going
on a trekking trip in Chang Mai and was curious if you were doing
anything.
I
told him I didn’t know, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. |
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