Maximum Russell Crowe

The following set report is by Barbara.
Photo (right) by Rebecca K.

On filming at Belleville, NJ:

"'A Beautiful Mind' filmed for a few days in late April on the property of my job in Belleville, NJ. To see all the 1940's cars parked in our parking lot was nostalgic! And to witness the magnitude of the project was impressive. All the equipment and manpower made it easy to understand why big Hollywood movies cost a fortune to get made. They filmed for 4 days and are set to come back next week for two.

On April 23rd [I] had the honor of meeting Ron Howard, Ed Harris and Russell Crowe. They were all very cordial and approachable, stopping to talk, shake hands, and sign autographs. Mr. Crowe, who I know is a private man, was especially pleasant to meet. I respect him tremendously as an actor and a person and I did not want to invade his privacy or work space. But there is such a thing as 'perfect timing' and thankfully it presented itself to me. He was back and fourth from his trailer to the set numerous times this day. But one time there was a little girl running around on the grass. He stopped and tapped her on the head with a huge smile on his face. A few minutes later he came by very casually and approachable. I asked him for an autograph to which he greeted me with a 'Good day to you' and 'I'll sign anything you want.' He asked me if that cute little girl was my daughter to which I explained I had no clue who she was! I thanked him for stopping to talk and sign and he said it was his pleasure. They filmed mostly at night and that night I had the privilege of watching them film some scenes up close and personal. Everyone associated with the film was extremely nice and we look forward to having them come back to film next week!"

Filming at Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ:

This from Effic:

"I had the opportunity to do two days of extra work on 'A Beautiful Mind' while they were filming at Fairleigh Dickinson University. The scene was the Governor's Ball, which apparently is where John and Alicia Nash have their first date. It was a night shoot ... the extras were called at 3 PM for hair and make-up, and shooting went till about 7 AM the next morning. We were all told, of course, not to speak to the stars unless spoken to. But the first scene I was in, when Russell entered the room he greeted all of us with, 'Is everybody ready?' and proceeded to talk to and joke with most of us between takes. The second night, there was a band playing in the scene. Russell came out at one point, borrowed the guitar player's guitar, and treated us all to a rendition of 'Folsom Prison Blues.' At a break in filming, at about 3 AM, he was signing autographs for some of the fans who had been waiting outside all night. As a longtime fan myself, I was pleased to see that Russell is a really nice guy!"

Filming at Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ:

This from ddennis:

Long Nights at Fairleigh Dickenson

I was an extra on a shoot at Fairleigh Dickinson University on Thursday and Friday night, May 3 & 4. They were filming the first date scene of Nash and his future wife [Alicia] at the Governor of Massachusetts Ball. Great costumes, ball gowns and tuxes, but a lot of the shoot was outside so it was cold. I am a big fan of Russell's work so I was anxious to see him act and to see Ron Howard direct. Well, as movie shoots go sometimes you see less of that than you would like. But it was nice to see Russell. It looks like he has lost weight from his Gladiator days and the short hair makes him look younger. He was very gracious and signed fan autographs before and after each night's shooting, even at 4:00am! I was disappointed though that he did that for people who waited by the gates but he didn't acknowledge the group of actors who had spent very long hours waiting for shooting. We would have liked a 'Good Day' because many of us are fans too. Ron Howard did come into our tent and thank everyone which is very unusual. I've worked on quite a few sets and that is the first time a director has done that. I'm sure because of the timing Russell had to make choices about who he spoke with and the non-acting fans were closer. It was great to see him in action regardless."

Filming at Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ:

Photos and report by John W.:

"The filming they did at Fairleigh was done entirely at night. Russell arrived around 6:30 - 7pm every day. He would sign autographs for about 20 minutes then head off to the dressing room. The first night they filmed in one of the very nicest halls of the mansion. It was entirely closed and no one could get any pictures of it. The second night they were shooting outside behind the mansion. The mansion courtyard has a big wall around it and gates with locks on them."

Filming in Yonkers, NY:

This from JT who was an extra in the film, playing "The Shadow Figure":

"The scene was an all night one filmed outside a mansion in Yonkers, NY. [Filling in for Cambridge, MA] John Nash goes to the mansion gate and opens it using the keypad. He has a sealed envelope which he puts in the letter box. Director yells 'Light'!!! (Some lights go off in the mansion.) John looks around. I, as the shadow figure, move the tree branch and he looks at me. (I was dressed all in black, black suit and black hat.) Car headlights approach. John opens gate and gets into his 1940 green car. No words were spoken in that three minute scene which took eight hours to shoot.

Next they moved to Bayonne, NJ to do a car chase with guns."

Filming at Manhattan College, NY (May 9, 2001):

This from Sandra:

"The campus is attractive, with brick buildings and a grass lawn. The weather has been beautiful and the crew were complaining, wishing it was cloudy (easier to shoot).

The filming that I saw consisted of Russell [as Nash] outside in the quad at the foot of stairs leading out from a building. They started rolling and he ran across the grass lawn with a man in an overcoat and hat chasing after him. Russell ran and looked over his shoulder. There were extras dressed in 50's attire as students grouped about the lawn. As Russell was being chased, they were instructed to look after them and continue with their day. They also had a nearby parking lot full of vintage cars. I heard that they'll be shooting tomorrow at around 4PM."

Filming at Manhattan College, NY (May 9 -10) and Bronx Community College (May 14th):

This from nyactor:

"I was one of many playing Harvard students. First two days I did on May 9th and 10th at Manhattan College which doubled for Harvard. They did a lot of exterior shots and outside shots of Russell walking around campus -- towards his lecture and a scene where [a child] runs up and hugs him. The scenes took place in the 50's.

These two days were very tedious, a lot of waiting which is usual on a set, but it was real hot in our suits. The women had to wear these tight corset-type dresses, so they weren't too happy.

The third day (May 14th) was the actual lecture which Forbes does. We shot in a big church-like auditorium at Bronx Community College. We just sat there all day and they shot Russell doing the scene and basically he talks about some theories before he notices [some men in black] and his therapist (Christopher Plummer) coming for him. He just stops, stares and runs out of the lecture through a door onstage.

They did a decent amount of takes and Russell said something to us extras like.. 'Get ready for the most boring three hours of your life.' To one extra basically asleep he said: 'Wow, you must be a method extra."

He also told us that (referring to the scene and his acting) 'It's not gonna get any better than this.' I couldn't hear everything he said. It looked ok, but people closer to the playback said it looked amazing. Unless you're watching the playback, it looks like theater and you really can't judge what you see.

After that was over, we left, then came back and they shot the scene again. [This time] shooting the audience watching him. They had his stand-in and himself there. He hung around and each time he'd do the scene for us while they shot us -- his lines and everything.

He said to us sarcastically: 'Fascinating day folks, huh?'

We finally were done."