The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

June 30, 2009

‘The Killer Inside Me’ begins filming on Square

By Joe Malan, Staff Writer

If you took a step onto South Independence near the post office Tuesday mid-afternoon, you might’ve found yourself immersed in a scene straight out of the 1950s.

Literally.

Crowds of Enid residents gathered downtown Tuesday to watch filming of “The Killer Inside Me,” an upcoming movie starring Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson and Casey Af-fleck.

Affleck himself was filmed in one scene, where he walked west on South Independence. As he walked down the sidewalk, extras dressed in traditional 1950s garb strode past.

Women typically wore medium-length dresses and small hats while sporting curls in their hair. Many men wore jeans, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat.

Scenes for the movie were shot in rapid fashion. Camera crews took only a few minutes between scenes to set up, as most scenes, at least by mid-afternoon, were shot simply from different angles along the street.

Most, if not all the extras seem to be excited about their roles as simple passers-by. Angela Watkins, of Enid, who was one of the extras, decided to make a short break in the late afternoon before heading back out onto the scene.

“It’s great,” she said of the filming so far.

Kristi Reise, of Midwest City, felt the same way.

“It’s like a fun hobby that pays you,” she said, laughing.

According to a production assistant, who wished to remain anonymous, some dialogue scenes would be filmed today, which is the last day of filming for the movie.

The unnamed production assistant added Enid so far was the city they’ve filmed in with the most cooperative people. He said other scenes for the movie were shot in Guthrie, Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

Here’s an account of the events before and during the filming:

• 1 p.m. — Extras meet inside an empty building downtown to get instructions from part of the filming crew. As a large van of props is unloaded, extras are directed to fill out forms so they can get paid later.

• 1:20 p.m. — Roll call. A member of the production staff advises everyone of three things: Drink plenty of water, put on sunscreen and put cushioning in your shoes. Apparently, “People have been dropping,” according to the staff member.

• 2:40 p.m. — South Independence adjacent to the courthouse and post office is beginning to look like a scene right out of the 1950s. Store fronts already have been decorated for the movie. Even an Oklahoma state flag has been taken down at one corner and replaced with a Texas flag. Cars commonplace in the 1950s are parked alongside the street.

• 2:50 p.m. — Crowds of locals have gathered on the lawn of the Garfield County Court House and along the post office side of the street, possibly in hopes of catching a view of Casey Affleck. Members of the production crew busy themselves and continue to clear off the street and gather all the locals into one place.

• 2:54 p.m. — Crews film the first scene of old cars driving down the road. This scene is filmed a few times. Extras also are filmed shortly thereafter.

• 3:09 p.m. — Film crews move a little farther down the street as the same scene is filmed.

• 3:51 p.m. — The crew begins to film scenes with Casey Affleck. Affleck, who is wearing a tie with possibly a white button-down shirt and dress pants, is filmed walking down the sidewalk under the shade of buildings.

Crews continued to film scenes past midnight.