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Showing posts from December, 2019

Free Willy Was Made on Location. So was my son.

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On any other Sunday that summer of 1992, on location up in Oregon for the filming of Free Willy, I ’ d be digging shamelessly into a steaming stack of blueberry hotcakes, purple compote oozing out all over the place. The Pig’n P ancake in Astoria was famous for them, and I usually couldn ’ t wait to wade in. I didn ’ t need—and didn ’ t want—the calorie breakdown  to know  the pancakes were pound packers, all buttery and crazy delicious, the kind of food I would  normally  eschew in favor of leaner fare like two eggs scrambled, cottage cheese on the side, one piece of rye toast.  The rules are different when you ’ re on location. When you ’ re on location, stressed to the max working as production coordinator on a big Warner Bros. movie like Free Willy, you ( me ) reward yourself ( myself! ) with a guilt-free weekend treat. My fiancĂ© and I had  walked the half mile from the Red Lion Inn where the film crew was housed and we planned on walking  the half mile back. A full mile. Th