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The life 
& times 
of
Warren Swil
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

V 1

 

 When they leave for the weekend this Friday afternoon in autumn, employees at 1600 Pacific Highway are reassured, as they depart through the west exit, that they work in the San Diego County Administration Center by the sign above large double doors that has been there since 1936. When some of them return on Saturday afternoon, however, they are more than a little confused to find the building has suddenly become the “United States Courthouse,” according to the new notice now affixed above the west entrance. 

Dozens of people are milling around in organized confusion outside the wrought-iron doors directly beneath the sign, which still, however, dates the building from 1936 and somberly proclaims the county motto, “The Noblest Motive is the Public Good.”

Usually on a Saturday afternoon this place is deserted - only the seagulls and a few off-duty marines wander around enjoying the lush green lawns and well-tended gardens of the county building. Now, though, giant reflecting screens line the walkway, huge arc lights are focused on the building’s west entrance, miles of electrical wires are strung across the lawns and pathways. and it’s a small miracle if even the skilled technicians can sort out which is what. 

Uniformed but friendly officers of the San Diego Police Department keep the curious onlookers out of range of the cameras, while small groups of people in twos and threes wait patiently for the action to begin. Hollywood has come to San Diego this weekend for the shooting of a new movie, “Borderline.”

Inside, between the marble columns and beneath the high ceiling of the county administration center’s main lobby, Third District Supervisor Roger Hedgecock is the only county official in evidence. For a change, though, he is not the center of attention – although with all the ink he's getting for his one-minute, walk-on role in “Borderline,” one might be forgiven for thinking he's the star of the show. He leans nonchalantly against the counter of the spruced-up information booth in the lobby, watching and waiting for his moment of glory.

Nearby, looking a little lost and more than a little bored, is the unmistakable figure of Charles Bronson, the tough guy of so many movies. Dressed in a cowboy hat and nondescript plaid shirt and pants, Bronson somehow seems older, leaner and altogether much less menacing than he appears in his movies; perhaps it is just the boredom, or his role in “Borderline.” In it, he is playing a good guy, a U.S. Border Patrol officer trying to break up a ring of alien smugglers.

The only scene being filmed this fall afternoon in the county administration center comes just after one of the climaxes in the film (shot on a sound stage in Hollywood). Two illegal alien smugglers - played by Michael Lerner and Bert Remsen, have just been on trial for their part in the killing of  a border patrolman and a young Mexican child. Lerner is acquitted and the scene begins as he is escorted from the courtroom by a phalanx of attorneys. In the minds of the movie’s directors, at least, the courtroom is located somewhere on the second floor of the county building.

After hours of seemingly endless preparations, director Jerry Friedman shouts: “In your places, everyone.” The sound of his voice reverberates inside and outside the building, echoing out of the two-way radios each of about 12 crew-members has strapped to his belt. The cameras begin to roll; the clapboard is slammed shut. “Scene 112, Take 4,” it says, the white chalk scrawled almost illegibly.

Standing on top of the first flight of stairs leading up from the main lobby of the building, almost hidden from view, the stars of the show are poised, calm. Some of them are wearing overcoats indoors even though the temperature outside is almost 80 degrees; under the arc lights it is closer to 100. In the lobby, the extras hurriedly make last-minute adjustments to their everyday costumes. “Action!” booms Friedman's voice out of a dozen walkie-talkies.

As if someone has hit the right button these 30 puppets suddenly come to life. The stars begin walking at a fast pace down the 15 steps into the lobby. At the bottom they are mobbed by the onrushing extras, supposedly news reporters, many of them toting Nikons (without film), notebooks and television cameras. (The only on-duty reporters in the group are crew from Channel 8 News, which has received the producer's permission to film live shots for the local newscast; a three-part series, including the “Borderline” shot, was scheduled to air this week.)

It is a fairly typical scene that could take place outside of almost any courtroom in the country, recreated for the cameras. The accused is acquitted, and no newsman wants to miss anything as the freed man leaves the courtroom, though seldom is anything of any significance said on the courthouse steps.

Behind the main group of about 30 people now advancing through the double doors onto the walkway comes Roger Hedgecock, dressed in an immaculate brown suit, smiling broadly and carrying a brown leather briefcase – the epitome of a successful, big-time lawyer who has just won a major case. Bringing up the rear, but still within range of the cameras, is Bronson, a scowl on his face – naturally, since his quarry has just been acquitted. They pass through the doorway (no one even stumbling this time), the cameras outside capturing every nuance of their movements.

In the sunlight, more extras crowd around, pressing up close for a glimpse of the action. The sound equipment – a large microphone suspended from an overhead boom and draped in shrouds of cheese cloth, looking like a boxer’s bandaged head – follows the crowd down the walkway, staying discreetly out of range of the cameras …
 

Warren Swil is owner of Nexus Media, Inc., a San Diego communications and consulting firm.