A while back I read a post from someone talking about submarine memorials and how it would be very advantageous if Hollywood would come and film aboard the boat... As much fun as that might be, I think the reality is that at best you break even, and more often, you suffer! First an incomplete listing of filming (Hollywood and major documentaries) done aboard the boats:
USS BOWFIN -- ABC Circle Films - "Winds of War" TV miniseries (why ABC refused buying "Das Boot"
)
USS DRUM - "Under Seige," Steven Segall action flick (mostly BB ALABAMA as MISSOURI, but DRUM too).
USS SILVERSIDES - "Below" (billed as Poltergeist meets U571), History Channel spot. Included towing segements.
USS PAMPANITO - "Down Periscope" biggest budget film ever made on a memorial sub (probably tied with Seige, overall).
USS COD - History Channel (4-part series on subs of WWII), National Geographic Films - Squalus story, History Channel - I-Boats of Japanese Navy.
Now starting at the top of the list, here is what the sub management said in hindsight:
BOWFIN -- the curator wanted to call the police on the film crew for stealing artifacts off the sub (souvenirs) left and right. Worse than that, the film crew had a blanket "OK" to do anything they wanted from the park director, so moving bulkheads and not putting them back correctly was common. The boat was also closed to visitors for the duration... so consider: this is sometime around 1984 -- lots of WWII subvets still alive and visiting PH... turned away with their families!
DRUM -- Not much known about the outcome. Frank Dengler, BB ALABAMA director at the time, gets a bit part in one scene. Told me personally he didn't watch the crew 24/7 because "they couldn't hurt a battleship." Duh, what about the sub, Frank?
USS SILVERSIDES -- Not much known, but apparently it wasn't the pot of gold everyone thinks it should have been. Boat had to be closed for filming, loss of overnight encampments.
USS PAMPANITO -- When all was said and done, the Pamp's manager Russ Booth felt the boat "broke even" in terms of rental fees vs. lost admission. Park management felt the boat suffered a major blow in local public support and public relations. Of the tens of thousands of visitors who visited Pier 45 and saw the "Gone for filming" sign, many were pissed and let it be known in many ways, according to Kathy Lohan, Russ' Manager. She also said the boat, by some accounting methods, lost money on the filming. Now understand this: the 20th Century Fox film production was top-notch and Union! So no corners were cut and the director and producers were paragons of virtue as far as consulting with Russ on what could and couldn't be done. Russ, at this point, had the benefit of BOWFIN's filming experience and was able to avoid the problems they encountered. Having been on the Suisun Bay location shoot for 12 days, I saw the very good relationship between Russ and the film crew. But the initial, poorly designed mooring system (given the green light by both the USCG and the marine services veterans!!) nearly caused Pamp to be skewered broadside on the bows of some of the derelict CGs stowed there when a flood tide of unexpected power dragged the floating city towards the ships -- and Pamp was the fender!!!
USS COD -- History Channel initially wanted to shoot during the 9-5 workday and asked that we close to all visitors. Based on what Russ told us, we knew the PR costs would be prohibitive, even if they were to pay us 150% of lost revenue. We told them they couldn't close the boat, they said "you're crazy, we can't film with visitors walking through the set!" We said, sorry! They wanted our virtually compelete boat bad enough that they bargained. Since they needed interiors, it didn't matter what the sun was doing outside! And since they are not union, their contractors would not be able to charge the ungodly "Golden Hour" rates. So after we closed at 5 pm, they had the boat to themselves. Also, filming during the weekdays was possible because we got only occasional visitors (post Labor Day) and they were excited about seeing a real History Channel production in the making. Whats a few extra cables to step over! That was a win-win situation. The other film shoots, such as the NGS shoot, were done outside our public tour season. WHile we had a month of pre-shooting time to get to indoctrinate the producers at History Channel, the other productions were done with a shorter prep time -- they did not have time to see us as the caretakers of a national treasure as much as the History Channel guys. So A certain junkyard dog curator made sure BOWFIN's problems didn't surface aboard COD, which included having to walk an actor to his wardrobe trailer to make sure he didn't keep the dungarees and WWII handless coffee mug he was using from COD's collection as souvenirs.
So, in retrospect, a Hollywood movie is not something to be totally avoided, but fankly, most movie projects are on a budget and they will cut corners where possible. They are used to knocking down walls to make room for shots, and your boat to them is just another prop unless you educate them. And they do try to encourage the "Hollywood dazzlement" factor. Expecting you to OK stuff you would never allow any other time, because they are from Hollywood and this is a FILM!!!
One of the best benefits of HNSA was the ability to collect these experiences and learn from them.
PF
