I spent a couple on the set of Windtalkers. There was extreme fire weather so the studio paid for 5 L.A. County Fire Engines and 5 Forest Service Type III engines to be on set for filming. The food was great. The pyro guys are crazy. I thought the safest place to stand was next to them, WRONG!! The stand way too close to stuff blowing up. I was there for the opening scene where the squad gets shot up in the creek, another in the village where there is a big shoot out and the end when they blow up the big guns on the hill. The dead body mannequins look totally real. Amputees are used as extras when someone needs to lose an arm or leg. It was weird to see G.I.s and Japanese soldiers in full costume discussing the upcoming Superbowl. The cast rode to different locations on shuttle busses. Nicolas Cage was an [bleep], he rode alone on a shuttle. Adam Beech seemed cool but very busy. He seemed very interested in everything going on. Cage showed up almost out of nowhere, shot his scene and left without even looking around or saying anything. The big explosions of the cannon was caused by igniting about 10 55 gallon tubs of a diesel/gas mix and was huge. Did I say the pyro guys were nuts?
