The Experience of Sharing a Scene with a Movie Star

Applause. The familiar chorus to a performance's verse. Heard so often in the confines of a theater, now sounding unfamiliar and out of place.

Over one hundred line the sidewalk across the street, eagerly waiting for John Travolta to leap out of the house to the beat up Explorer where I sit in the front seat, concussed and a clean bullet wound through my shoulder. The car is riddled with bullet holes and broken glass is everywhere. We're the victims of a vicious drive by in broad daylight.

"Where you hit?!?"

(wincing in paid) "Shoulder."

"Anywhere else?!?

"No...no..."

"Put some pressure on it."

My wife in the film, Amanda, presses an aqua bath towel to my shoulder to stop the bleeding.

"I'm alright. It's alright!" I shout, leaning my head back against the head rest. Abby and Stanley argue about what happened, if she saw the color of the car, who was it. Abby bristles with the realization that the gunmen were actually after father. He is putting her family at risk because of his need for vengeance.

"Who's next? Me? Jimmy?!"

"That is never going to happen. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you."

"It. Just. Did."

"We gotta get him to a hospital and you and Jimmy to a hotel."

And CUT!

Wild applause from our front lawn audience. Kids huddled in the front row, taller parents in the back with cell phones out and recording.

"We're here every Thursday!" John shouts to the crowd, receiving a big laugh. Truth be told he could say just about anything and they would eat it up....because it's John Freakin' Travolta! In their neighborhood. Filming a movie in front of their houses.

It's a day I will remember for the rest of my life. This special day where I shared a scene with John Travolta and Amanda Schull. I had a "bullet wound" puncturing my left shoulder and a bloody bruise on my forehead above my left temple. I feel like I'm still coming down from it. Such a wild day!

That was my last scene of the day and I was released but I didn't want to leave. After the scene John went to greet the crowd and was immediately descended upon. I ran over to snap pictures of the madness, then instantly felt out of place and worried that people thought I was there for my own autograph requests. I ended up taking pictures with some of the people, which was a satisfying dose of celebrity.

We all retreated back into the house where I could wait for the van to take me back to base camp and the others could wait for the next scene. This was the perfect opportunity to grab photos and document this day. Everyone was happy to and we got some good shots.

This was just one of those days. Surreal and incredible and a whole lot of other adjectives.