Sir Nicolas to Extras: Let Them Eat Frost

(Habertürk Newspaper, 3 February 2011)

//ed. note: the following item is part of our blog's attempt to track the
visit to Turkey of His Royal Highness Sir Nicolas Cage for the
filming of his next blockbuster movie 'Ghostrider Two' (like we
needed the first one.) Sir Nicolas is staying in a specially-built-for-
him 'King's Suite' at a hotel in Denizli, although he declined to tread
upon the red carpet laid out for him on his arrival. Sir Nicolas
received Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at his
specially-built-for-him 'King's Suite' last week. (and we wonder
why movies go over budget...)//

The extras hired for the film 'Ghostrider Two' starring world-famous
actor Nicolas Cage have abandoned the set of the movie's final
scene, staged in the antique theater at Denizli's 'white wonderland'
Pamukkale.  Habertürk's correspondant Hacı Selamoğlu personally
entered the set after being hired as an extra to circumvent the ban
on journalists. The directors and acencies involved with the film had
hired 150 extras, 30 of them women, paying them between 40 and
80 Turkish Liras per day.

But after waiting for six hours in freezing weather 60 of the extras
fled. Together with the burden of the cold, the extras were made to
use just one toilet among themselves. The extras had waited for five
hours for their 'saints' costumes and were then taken to tents to wait
some more. At 7 PM filming began in the antique theater where the
extras chanted at a 'mass' in the freezing cold. Wearing sandals, light
shirts and suits and ties, the extras waited shivering for hours repeating
the chants '23 Nisan kutlu olsun! (May the 23 April holiday be fortuitous!)
and '1,2,3,4'. //ed note: not further explained but evidently integral to the
mystical Ghostrider Two scenario//

During the first take 20 extras left the freezing-cod set, after the second
take another 10 left and after the third take only 90 extras remained.
Cast Director Ebru Bayburtlu and other officials on the set tried
mightily to persuade the extras to stay on but as the hours passed and
the filming wasn't concluded the extras pleaded to be released. Set
officials turned a deaf ear to these requests though, leaving the extras
with no choice but to walk off the set. In total, about 60 extras said
they would not come back. Filming is to be finished today.