MY VIEW FROM THE SET: LOGAN

THIS X-MEN ENTRY JUST FEELS DIFFERENT

I’ve often wondered if cast and crew members working on great movies know during filming they’re collaborating on something special. Did Morgan Freeman realize that The Shawshank Redemption would stand out as a cinematic classic? Did Leslie Nielsen get a hint that Airplane would rebrand his career from a dramatic actor to a comic genius? Did Kate Winslet recognize that Titanic was not just another sinking ship?

It’s with that as a backdrop that I want to discuss Logan. Yes, the next Wolverine movie. There may be something special about this one.

I had the tremendous opportunity to work on this latest entry into the X-Men franchise. You won’t see my face but you will see my body (don’t worry, I’m fully clothed). I was the body double for actor Richard E. Grant, who plays the villainous Dr. Zander Rice. Five days of pretending to be somebody pretending to be somebody else. It was a blast!

Actor Richard E. Grant (left) and me snapping a forbidden, covert bathroom selfie (right).

I’ve worked on a variety of films since moving to Los Angeles. Some were big-budget features, but most were smaller scale productions. So when I first noticed an unusual sense of harmony on the set of Logan, I wondered if it was just a feeling that was new to me. Perhaps the thrill of working on an honest-to-God Hollywood blockbuster had clouded my judgement, but I couldn’t shake that feeling there was an uncommon rapport on this set. From Director James Mangold all the way down the chain of command, this seemed to be a well-oiled machine. Even the security guards, who generally keep to themselves, were gregarious and engaging.

This is not to say everyone was holding hands and singing Kumbaya. This was a working production, after all, with a lot of money on the line. But, amid talk that Logan could be included in next year’s Oscar discussions – unheard of for superhero movies – is a sense that this might be the exception rather than the norm.
My suspicion is that this movie is going to be special. The Academy may balk at considering it for the industry’s most coveted award, but I think movie goers will be more than pleased.

Just call it a hunch from the set.