Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Well, my friends, we’re back home after a 12+ hour day/night in NYC. Yesterday was all about basking in the glow of everything that happened – and napping in the afternoon.

We left home around 2:30 in the afternoon and arrived in Manhattan around 4ish. After locating the parking structure that we chose because of its proximity to the afterparty we would be attending, we grabbed some pizza at a nearby restaurant.

Don took this picture of me in our booth. (I am my mother’s daughter. The smile you’re seeing is courtesy of Shirley Hill.)

And then he persuaded the waitress to take a picture of us.

We grabbed an Uber and arrived at the theater a bit too early, so we had to wait outside for a while. Lots of people watching. The whole thing was fascinating: a lot of the audience consisted of people who had worked on the movie in some capacity – and family and friends, of course. But a lot of it was comprised of social media “influencers” – a term I detest – and people on “Tik Tok.” This is clearly part of movie publicity these days. They want to reach out to those who have a big following and, hopefully, have them share their experience.

(Bill Irwin, Sally, Jim, and Ben.)

We were sitting with Jim and Todd’s production company staff. We had great seats.

The head honcho of Focus Pictures came out on the stage and spoke about the movie, then he introduced the director, Michael Showalter, who introduced Michael Ausiello – the author, Ben Aldridge (the man I coached,) Bill Irwin, Jim Parsons, and Sally Field. (Sally had just come from filming a late night talk show and I don’t think she stayed to watch the film.)

Then, the film. It’s wonderful. Seeing the final cut was so powerful. I was taken on a ‘remembrance tour’ of all the scenes and locations; places where I traveled all over NYC and beyond, scenes I’d watched being filmed, sets on the soundstage. So many memories! Such joy in seeing the entire movie, edited and assembled in the best possible way. Some bits were missing; they had been cut on the editing room floor, but most everything that I remembered was there. The cast is delicious. Jim and Ben have wonderful chemistry, which we witnessed during the filming but boy does that chemistry pop on screen! Sally and Bill are wonderful. The supporting cast is excellent. And it all comes together beautifully. Don was leaning forward in his seat the whole time and I caught him crying.

I can’t say enough about how much I love this movie.

On the way into the city, I reminded Don that I only had two lines in the hospital room scene. When we were filming it, I initially had more dialogue and I think we filmed a couple of takes where I spoke all the lines. But then, Michael asked me to cut part of them, which I was fine about. The majority of takes were with the new, edited version. I was just trying to get through the filming without disgracing myself!

So when the time came for my scene, Don grabbed my hand. I watched myself say the first line, and then, lo and behold, the lines that were cut were back in the scene! I actually missed some of the scene because I was still processing the fact that I was saying something up on that screen that I barely remembered saying. And the camera stayed on me the whole time – no cut aways, no coverage from another actor. There we all were: Jim, Ben, me, Sally, and Bill. What a gift!

Don kept pumping my hand the whole time. He was so excited!

So my scene is a wee bit longer than I thought it would be. It was a lovely surprise. I think I did well. Don was over the moon – remember, I had stopped acting by the time I met him, so he’s never really seen me act. Given the fact that I had more screen time (and lines) than I had expected, the messages I had been receiving from Michael Ausiello and Jim saying I was “wonderful!” in the scene made more sense. Oh my heavens. What an honor to be sharing the screen with those wonderful people. My cup runneth over.

But we want to see it again when it hits the theaters. I need to see the scene again knowing what’s coming and Don is crazy about the movie, as am I, so we’ll hit a daytime matinee soon.

Jim and Ben are so darned wonderful in this movie.

Of course, I was hired to coach Ben and half-way through, Don whispered to me, “I forgot that Ben is British! He sounds completely American!” That makes me happy.

This movie is funny and quirky and touching and heartbreaking. But it’s really about love. I’m so proud to have been a part of it. Truly, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Cheers from the audience at the end, and unlike most audiences, thank God, they watched all the credits. I have two credits under two names: Dialect Coach – Claudia Hill-Sparks, and Nurse Claudia – Claudia Hill. Whoo hoo!

I’m so thankful for my husband who is my biggest supporter and fan. And for Jim, who, 24 years after I first met him and auditioned him for the MFA program, is my friend and colleague.

We went to the afterparty which was at the top of a hotel with spectacular views on all sides of various parts of the skyline. It was a clear night, so we saw it at its best. Lots and lots of people there but my heavens, the music was so loud it was hard to hear anyone. I felt like I was yelling all night long. No one was dancing, so why the loud music? It would have been so much better with jazz playing quietly so we could have real conversations.

It was too dark for any good quality pictures (I’ve edited the heck out of this one and I’m sure not as tall as I used to be) but here I am with Jim and Brian Hutchison, who is another former student from my time at the Old Globe. He and Jim are close friends and it was great to see him and meet his husband. I’m looking a little tired at this point, which I was, as well as exhausted from yelling. Brian has had a wonderful career as an actor and he’s currently in rehearsal to take over a role in a production on Broadway.

Quick story: When I suddenly had to take on the role of the nurse, I was told by the producers that I had to keep it quiet; which is typical for any production. And I did. I didn’t even share it with you until I was sure I was still in the movie and that was several months later. But, on the day I filmed it, I got a message from Brian on IG saying “Hey! I heard you’re in the movie!” Jim had obviously immediately shared the news with Brian, which made me laugh. So much for secrecy!

We left around 12:30 because we had a two hour drive ahead of us. I think we pulled into the drive around 2:15 am.

What a day and night!

I am so grateful, enormously grateful.

Don and I are still basking in the glow of the whole thing.

Oh, and Don was watching Kelly and Ryan yesterday morning to see Jim, and Jim mentioned me again!

And my birthday copy of the new Louise Penny arrived while we were away.

Today, we shop for a Christmas tree.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.