A few hundred lucky Glee fans got a rare treat yesterday: visiting the set of the hit Fox series and acting as the audience for the taping of the season finale, entitled "Regionals."
I was one of them. (Yes, my life is charmed. I was lucky to be chosen.)
Me with Cory Monteith (@frankenteen),
who plays Finn Hudson on Glee.
who plays Finn Hudson on Glee.
When we arrived for our 3:30 p.m. call time, the fan line wrapped around the building. After signing the photo release, handing in their cell phones, and getting magged, fans shuffled up to the balcony of the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills.
I was lucky enough to get on the Fox Friends & Family list. That, coupled with the recent (as in last week) hysterectomy and lack of desire to climb so many stairs, got my mom and I seats downstairs in the orchestra. (Charmed x2. Check.)
The theatre was pretty much empty when we arrived, as the cast and crew were on lunch. Well, mostly empty. The back five or so rows were filled with inflatable mannequins (a cheaper option than filling in seats with people. They're normally used in large crowd shots, like for the key race scenes in Seabiscuit.)
Me and my background BFF. She was kind of an
airhead. They removed her for the close-up shots.
airhead. They removed her for the close-up shots.
We settled into our seats in the back half of the theatre, and watched as it slowly began filling with crew and actors. It became apparent this scene was Vocal Adrenaline's performance at Regionals. About halfway through the shoot, they brought in hundreds of background folks to fill in the orchestra.
We thought for sure they'd re-seat us to move us out of camera view, but nope! We were only one seat off the center aisle, so we think we may have made it into a shot or two. (Charmed x3. Check.)
My review of the Vocal Adrenaline number: It. Was. Sick.
Vocal Adrenaline stretching and taking
their places for the Regionals number.
their places for the Regionals number.
Since I promised a spoiler-free review, I won't say who was or wasn't performing (i.e., Jesse St. James) or which song they (or New Directions) sang. I'll just say that all the songs chosen were perfect for the story they wanted to tell, and the cast sang their collective asses off.
(Though it still slays me that they use the freaking auto-tuner. The cast sounds great on their own. Die, auto-tuner, die!)
The choreographer's vision for Vocal Adrenaline was amazing, and the dancers tore right through it. So much so, that one of the guys jacked up his ankle during the morning shoot, and in the afternoon one of the gals knocked her head on the stage and shooting had to halt momentarily. Ever the champ, she got up and finished the night.
Vocal Adrenaline cooling down and chilling out
after take 5 (or 6?) of their Regionals number.
after take 5 (or 6?) of their Regionals number.
During the different takes, Matt Morrision (Will Schuester) and Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester) were in and out of the theatre watching. Sue, along with Josh Groban, Rod Remington (played by the wonderfully spot-on Bill Jones) and Olivia Newton John, serve as celebrity judges for the 2010 Midwest Regional Show Choir Championship. Groban and John weren't there, as they taped their bits the previous Friday.
Throughout the day, we'd hear wild applause and hollering from the balcony, which we quickly figured out meant that one of the actors had gone upstairs to do a meet and greet. (Or alternatively, one of the actors would walk on stage and look up toward the balcony and wave, bringing on more squeals of delight from the fans.)
We sat through roughly 7 takes of the Vocal Adrenaline performance, each with different camera angles, including ones of the audience reactions (keep your eyes open for a really cool audience participation aspect to their number).
Audience members were given fake
programs to hold during the shoot.
Somehow my mom forgot to give hers
back when they collected them at the
end of the night.
programs to hold during the shoot.
Somehow my mom forgot to give hers
back when they collected them at the
end of the night.
They wrapped the scene, and next up was New Directions' performance. Apparently they'd shot most of it the previous Friday, but they did a couple of pick ups, mainly to get the crowd reaction shots. They also filmed two alternate endings, one with New Directions winning Regionals...and one with them not winning.
My guess? After seeing Vocal Adrenaline's performance, I'd be hard pressed to think anyone could beat them. New Directions takes 2nd, but then we find out in the last 37 seconds of the season finale that Vocal Adrenaline somehow cheated and/or both 1st and 2nd advance to Nationals. #cuefinalcredits
Once that was done, they let pretty much all of the cast go for the night. Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) and Monteith stayed behind to film the beginning of New Directions' song set. Much like in "Sectionals" the song starts with the stars behind closed doors.
New Directions anxiously awaiting the
announcement of the winners.
announcement of the winners.
Monteith comes out first (and walked right down our aisle), followed by Michele. Depending on how tight the camera is on him, look for us to his right as he walks down. They did a number of takes with both of them, all at different angles.
After the third take of his entrance, Monteith looked up at the balcony, and said, in reference to the fans up there, "They're still here. That's so rad." What a sweet, nice guy.
A few more shots, and it was a wrap for the night. The cast began scurrying toward the exits, and video village quickly became a ghost town as folks packed up. (Most of the crew had a 6 a.m. call time, and had to turn around the next day at 6 a.m. again. Ugh. I so don't miss those days anymore; it's one of the big reasons I left entertainment.)
As for my mom, she had a blast! Look for us house-right in the crowd dancing scenes and specifically when Finn makes his entrance during the final New Directions number. Speaking of him, on the way out of the theatre, I grabbed a shot with Monteith, who was very sweet and nice. (Charmed x4. Check.) In fact, I'd have to say that overall the moments -- both on-camera and off-camera -- were touching and sweet.
The shoot ended at 11:30 p.m., and by the time my head hit the pillow back hotel it was well into Thursday morning. The day was long, but oh so worth it.
Bonus pic: Can you spot Finn?
Photo courtesy of Cory Monteith (@frankenteen)
Bonus Blogging (aka, Why My Mom's Out From Jersey)
My mom came out to help me heal from last week's hysterectomy, so I decided to give her a proper Beverly Hills experience. We stayed the night at the Beverly Hilton (where they film the Golden Globes) and I surprised her by taking her to Spagos for lunch.
She was happy because she saw Wolfgang Puck in the kitchen and then saw Paul Anka on the way out. It was an easy cab ride over from there to the Saban Theatre for the taping. Over the years, she's gotten to see some pretty cool things due to my different sports/entertainment gigs (Eagles game box seats, concerts, etc.), so I'm happy she got to experience this shoot with me!
Our Lobster Cobb Salad for lunch and amuse bouche dessert -- they
were so cute, tiny and delicious! -- at Spagos.
On a side note, I just noticed this is post 200 to my blog...kinda cool that it's on this topic!
