Our helicopter, also a last minute replacement, refused to start during the middle of a day's filming. The rental agency then refused to send a mechanic. So, Fred North, our resourceful pilot, opened the engine compartment, fiddled, stomped, cursed and somehow managed to fix it. (The director - that's me - decided not to fly along for any more aerials.)
There were crew difficulties as well. One of our team was hospitalized for heatstroke - OK, me again. Then, one of the caterers, on his way out of the trailer at night, stepped on a piece of rebar, which went through his foot and severed his plantar tendon, putting him out for the show. Now shorthanded, Scotty and his caterers had to work even harder. To add to their woes, weather delays were adding days to the schedule.
Which brings us to the aforementioned tornadoes. Tornado season starts early in Texas, and the Sixes sees their fair share of them. For about a week, they were touching down all around the ranch, and Sean Casey and his storm-chasing crew actually passed right by headquarters. It was good and bad to see him. We had some very close calls, with the sheriff ordering everyone into the basement of the courthouse, while the wind blasted the mess tent across the plains and knocked trailers off their footings, bending supports and wreaking havoc. But thankfully, no direct hits.
These difficulties, so frequent to become ridiculous, we eventually found funny; the crew would simply smile in amusement and soldier on. And sure enough, despite it all, the footage was coming out fantastically. When the clouds opened, they broke and filtered the light spectacularly, adding much more drama than would have a clear sky. Through the delays, the cowboys were tireless and patient, and took to the filming process like pros, hitting their marks and matching their action from different angles.
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