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March 4, 1976 Baler
It was the first time any of us had seen water buffalo, rice paddies and nipa huts. We
crossed over the bridge at the edge of the little village and entered the deep foliage.
Sofia said, "It looks like the Disneyland Jungle Cruise." The road ended at the
beach and our jeep continued along the sand with the ocean on one side and the jungle on
the other. We arrived at the lagoon near the mouth of a river and got into a bonca that
took us across to the location for Village II. Dean's crew had cleared jungle, brought
logs down the river to build a bridge, taught the local workers how to make adobe bricks,
carted bamboo from the next province, built houses, pumped water, planted vegetables -
created a complete Vietnamese village. Pigs rooted beside the road, chicken scratched
under the houses, baskets of rice were drying in the town square, curtains flapped at the
windows, cooking pots were neatly stacked for the next meal. I could hear the wind in the
tall palm trees, but layers of sound seemed to be missing. There were no people.
April 2 Baler
The helicopters used int eh film are from Philippine Air Force. Today, in the middle of
the rehearsal for a complicated shot, they were called away to fight the rebels in a civil
war about 150 miles to the south.
It is hard to know what is going on. There is no news of the war in the
government-controlled press. I was talking to one of the Filipino crewmen. He said that a
group of southern islands, which are predominantly Moslem, are fighting for independence.
Francis has a government-supplied bodyguard at all times. There are guards at our house.
The government seems to feel that if Francis were kidnapped by rebels, they might create
an incident that could attract international attention.
April 8 Baler
There is a rumor that rebels are in the hills about ten miles away. The Philippine Air
Force is afraid there could be an attack on the helicopters, so they've withdrawn them to
a base in Manila. Francis is frustrated that he doesn't have the aircraft he had been
promised and must figure out how to keep shooting by rescheduling around them.
Thirty security specialists have been brought in to guard the large supply of explosives
which the special effects department has and the M-16 automatic rifles the extras use.
There is that tension of knowing that an incident could close down the production.
April 8 Baler
Last night Francis had a birthday party on the beach across from the set. About three
hundred people were invited, the cast, crew and the American and Vietnamese extras and
some townspeople. Hundreds of pounds of hamburger and hotdogs were shipped from San
Francisco. The band and food were flown in from Manila. They arrived at the beach in
several trucks just as it was getting dark. The birthday cake was six feet by eight feet.
It was made of twelve sheet cakes iced together. Two men decorated it in the light of the
bandstand. They made mountains, a river, an ocean and waves of icing. They planted paper
palm trees, little cardboard huts and a bridge to look like the set. They placed plastic
helicopters, boats, soldiers, flags, flowers and candles, and letters that spelled
"Happy Birthday, Francis, Apocalypse Now.
A thick smoke blew from the barbecues; someone had forgotten the spatulas and people were
trying to turn their hamburgers with pieces of cardboard. A lot of meat fell through the
grills and burned on the coals. It was a warm night. There were no more cold drinks. Some
people said that enough had been ordered. Others said guys were grabbing cases and running
off down the beach in the dark.
A team of ladies with knives to serve the cake began removing the decorations and cutting
slices at the bottom, while the decorators were still working on the top. I could hear two
GI extras talking. They were standing on a bench behind me. One said, "Wow, this is
the most decadence I've ever seen,"
April 9 Baler
Several hundred South Vietnamese people were recruited from a refugee camp near Manila to
play North Vietnamese in the film. As I passed their rest area today they were rehearsing
a little play while they waited for the next shot. They speak no English but one young man
called out "Stand by," and everyone got quiet and ready. Then he clapped two
sticks together and called "Action" and the play began in Vietnamese. Later I
noticed the group leader calling lunch the same way. He said "Stand by" and they
all assembled; he clapped his sticks and called "Action," and they walked to
lunch in the neat line.
April Baler
I finally figured out why the toilet seats in the outhouses have footprints on them. Some
large American designed the base so high that no Vietnamese or Filipino could possibly sit
on the seat and touch the floor. They must stand on the seats and squat.
April 12, Baler
I am sitting on some sandbags in the schoolhouse waiting for the big shot....eight
helicopters will come from the sea, blow up two houses and some palm trees...turn out,
pass back over, hit two more houses, pass again and blow up four houses and the boats on
the beach. Special effects men have already started fires in the huts at the perimeter.
They are throwing rubber tires in the flames to keep the black smoke billowing up. The
helicopters are refueling. A description of what's happening three mile away is coming
over the radio. "The engines are now turning over. They are now airborne."
Later
The next thing we knew, the shot began. Extras ran in front of us, two houses blew up and
the fire started. The smoke blew at us. I had to stop shooting. I moved the camera and
tripod. As I tried to level the camera I turned the knob the wrong way and it fell off in
my hand. I didn't get the second shot until the houses on the left side of the village
square were already on fire. There was so much noise, I didn't hear my camera run out. I
don't know how much I missed. I changed magazines finally, and got some more shots of the
house burning by the bridge. The smoke was so thick my eyes burned, my nose ran and I
couldn't see anything, so I stopped shooting. I heard a lot of shouting. The paint shop
and the prop storage with the stunt men's equipment was burning. My supplies were in the
same building. I ran over and saw my three camera cases melted in the doorway. The wind
had blown the fire across the road. When the paint cans started to explode, the men with
the fire hoses ran. People wandered in and out of the smoke for a long time, trying to
find their equipment. The stunt men were the hardest hit. They'll have to go back to Los
Angeles; their custom-made asbestos safety suits melted. There was $30,000 to $50,000
worth of damage. People thought I was crying because Francis was mad that I lost my camera
gear. My eyes were running from all the smoke.
April, Baler
They put the helicopter doors on with safety pins through the hinges so they can take the
doors off fast to mount the cameras
April, Baler
I was thinking about time, how on a movie set the shot is maintained in the same time no
matter how many takes and hours pass. Reflectors and lights are added, footprints are
smoothed away, so there are no telltale clues as the day wears on. When the shot is
finished and the plugs are pulled, time seems to leap forward in a matter of seconds.
Perhaps making movie is a step toward being able to move backward and forward and in and
out of linear time.
April 13, Baler
It is eight o'clock in the morning, and so incredibly hot. If just a little breeze would
come up and move the humid, still air. Last night we stayed in Baler. There was only fried
chicken to eat. There were no vegetables to buy in town and the plane didn't come in from
Manila. We ate spaghetti with the Italian crew at their house. Their supply of canned
tomatoes, olive oil and pasta they brought from Italy is dwindling. I hear they have
ordered more to be sent with the next film shipment from Rome. They finally got the local
bakery to make them some Italian-style bread without sugar and milk in it.
April 23, Baler
The alarm went off at 4:43 a.m. and we were on our way to the airport at 5:30. I don't
think anybody expected us to be on time. They were still fueling the plane, but we did get
an earlier start than usual. We were on the set at 6:30 and the crew was there and
beginning to reset the same shot as the previous day. I went back to the town of Baler to
find Doug and Larry. We decided, since the setup was the same as the day before, we would
use the morning to get some shots of the jeep trip from the town to the location. We chose
a jeepney that was very typical, all painted with a silver horse on the front and a Jesus
picture over the dashboard. We photographed along the road to the location. We kept asking
the driver to stop and backup. After a while he got the idea of what we wanted to do and
began teaching us the Tagalog words for stop, hinto; go forward, avanti; backward, atrase.
It seemed like a cross between Japanese and Italian. Finally, the driver said to me,
"You very small, you husband very big. You very rich, Mr. Coppola very, very
rich." It made me think of that day in the market in Manila when I wouldn't buy
oranges because they were three for $2 and a huge papaya were about 15 cents. My kids
said, "Come on, Mom, you're rich."
When we got back to the set, the morning shot got off early and well. Everyone was in a
good mood. It was the first time since the beginning of shooting that the crew, camera,
props, effects, direction, action, everything all just clicked together the way it was
supposed to. One of the Filipino crewmen cut into the top of a palm tree that was on the
ground after the effects explosions. He whacked through the layers of leaves and cut the
heart out with his machete. A lot of people tasted it. I took a big chunk home and made a
heart of palm salad with lots of olive oil, vinegar and garlic.
April 24, Baler
There are regular old-fashioned outhouses for the extras and six chemical toilets for the
cast and crew only. Yesterday they ran out of chemicals. It was ten times worse than any
outhouse. I nearly vomited.
I am sitting inside Francis's little thatched dressing-room hut. It is nice to be alone
for a few minutes. The light is filtering through the woven mat walls, making bright
little rectangles on my legs. The wind is blowing the palms outside. When I close my eyes
it could be the sound of the wind in the pine trees at the mountain cabin at home. Maybe
it's because the coconut palms are about the same height as pines. I can hear the voice of
one of the military advisers in the hut a few feet away talking to Martin Sheen. He was
cast as Willard on Francis's trip to L.A. This is Martin's first day on the set. He was at
our house last night until curfew at 1:00 A.M. I was very impressed with his humanness. I
tried to tell him that today and immediately felt awkward. We got up at 4:45 again this
morning and now I am starting to fade. I don't know how Francis keeps it up. He made some
espresso with lunch today, which helps.
April 26, Baler
We ate breakfast at 5:00 A.M. in Manila. Now it's 9:22 and I'm starving. I'm sitting here
on these sandbags fantasizing about what I'd eat if I were in San Francisco. I guess I'd
go to Mama's at Washington Square Park and have the works.
I don't even have any peanuts.
Cleaning out my purse/camera bag, I just realized that I haven't worn any lipstick for
several weeks. I looked in the tube; it was melted over to one side.
This morning we are waiting, because the Medevac helicopter wasn't called early enough. It
was needed to stand by in case anyone was hurt in the big exploding stunt in the square.
Now the light has changed. It is starting to sprinkle, and we have to wait for bright sun
to match the shot from the other day. Francis is angry, but instead of yelling, he went
over to the jet ranger and is taking a flying lesson. He is practicing hovering and
landing. The wind must be carrying the sound some strange way; even though they are across
the river above the rice paddies, it's very loud. The water buffalo are milling around.
Somebody broke into the wardrobe department yesterday and took the asbestos gloves the
fire crew wear when they run in to get the suits off the burning stunt men. They sent
someone to Baler to buy more; all they could find were bridal gloves.
On the set, it's very easy to get into a conversation about still cameras. Everyone seems
to have at least one, or is deciding what additional equipment to get in Hong Kong. Nat
was asking me about mine. The conversation got around to lenses. I said I only have one.
He said, "What, a rich lady like you has only one lens? Even your driver has
four." I had this little twinge as if I were doing something wrong. Actually, the
photographs I want to take could be shot with an Instamatic. I'm interested in recording
some moments that are in front of me. Just isolating out some things from the rest, not
making it beautiful or moody, or interesting, not judging it, only reporting what I see.
Any camera would do. I like the one I have. I'm used to it. I'm attached to it. I guess I
have the ultimate luxury: I have all I want.
April 27, Baler
As I was flying in the helicopter from the set to the Baler airstrip, I suddenly
remembered how scary it was to go up in a helicopter those first few times. Today we were
riding with the doors off and no seat belts, just holding on to the camera mount with one
hand and balancing a stack of film cans with the other. It was about the same as traveling
that route in the jeep, except a lot faster, not so bumpy, and the view was fantastic.
May 2, Baler
The road from the little town of Baler to the set consists of two ruts worn in the sand by
the production trucks and jeeps. Every day, several workmen lay palm fronds on the worst
places to give the vehicles a little more traction. The ruts end at a lagoon. Some
buildings with thatched roofs and woven mat walls have been built there to house the
wardrobe, the makeup department and the long tables where lunch is served. The set and all
the other equipment are across the lagoon. A stream of boncas and little motorboats ferry
people back and forth. Today, two boats collided bringing people across for lunch. Those
of us who weren't able to crowd into those first boats laughed at the people who fell in.
There were two still photographers who dunked their cameras and were pretty upset. It
looked as if it would be a long time before another boat came, so Doug and I walked into
the water, fully dressed, and made our way to the other side. It was up to my armpits at
the deepest point. It was refreshing. My clothes stayed damp for several hours.
This afternoon, I shot my first interview. It was with Bobby Duvall. I was pretty nervous
trying to look through the camera and talk with him at the same time. I wanted him to
direct himself. I hoped it would be better than answering a set of preplanned questions.
His character is a cocky air cavalry colonel who likes to wrap up operations early and go
surfing with his troops. In the script, his helicopter unit attacks a coastal village and
lifts Willard's boat into the mouth of a river at a place where the surf is good.
Bobby talked about basing his character on a West Point officer he knew: a guy whose life
only made sense if there was a war. He talked about the details of his costume, the spurs
on his boots, his ring, his belt buckle and Stetson hat. He took off his shirt. He was tan
and hard. He had his belly sucked in.
::
The pictures are owned by Zoetrophe Studios
If you want to read the rest, you can buy the book at Amazon.com
BatangBaler would like to thank Neil Francisco for furnishing the bookTop of Page
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