Published in the Citizen Herald Jan. 14, 2009
By Deb Holt
Kim Schuler-Boundas, a Jesup native who now lives in Chicago, found herself part of a major film shot in Chicago in 2008.
Kim had worked in ophthalmology as a surgical technician prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom. She was surprised to receive a phone call last February asking her to be a contact lens technician for a movie to be made by Universal Pictures. Universal had been given Kim’s name by a previous employer.
The movie came out in theaters last week and is titled “The Unborn.”
The director and writer is David Goyer, co-author of “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.”
Actors included Odette Yustman who appeared in “Cloverfield,” Cam Gigandet of “Twilight,” Gary Oldman of “The Dark Knight,” and veteran actress Jane Alexander. Ethan Cutkosky was the newcomer on the set.
The movie is a horror film, requiring special effects — including hand painted contacts.
“I spent 10 weeks on the set of this movie putting in and taking out contact lenses for a total of eight actors,” explained Kim. “They cost the studio $1,000 a pair, which I guarded with my life.”
Typical Day
Kim worked 16-hour days at times.
She arrived on location an hour before “call time.” She shared a trailer with four other crew members which included the hair and makeup team.
“The actors always went through hair and makeup first, then right before leaving for the set, I’d put their contacts in,” she said.
The contacts were thick, hand painted lenses. Kim said they were not easy for the actors to wear for long amounts of time.
“At times, I would have to numb their eyes with a solution just to get them through a long day.”
Most days, Kim had two actors wearing lenses. Sometimes she’d put them in up to five times a day so they could give their eyes a rest.
When actors wore contacts, Kim accompanied them to the set and watched from a monitor. She would be called to “re-wet” their eyes with drops.
She remembered it as a very cold, long winter and spring in Chicago.
Everyone was wet with snow and rain, and endured lots of wind — not the best filming conditions.
Work hours
Kim’s schedule varied, however, she said she worked more nights than days. She often started work at 2 PM and finished at 5 AM. She’d drive home and get her children off to preschool. She then slept for a few hours.
“My longest day was starting at 5 PM on a Friday and ending at 10 AM on Saturday,” she said. “Then I switched back to days on Monday and had to arrive at 6 AM.
“The production company was very good to us when we worked long hours,” she said. “They got us hotel accommodations. The longest I stayed away from my family was four days, due to the long hours and commute.”
Kim said there wasn’t much downtime because when on the set, she was required to be alert. When she wasn’t needed, she tried to catch up on sleep in the trailer.
Scenes
“The Unborn” was shot in Lake Forest, IL, other northern suburbs, and in downtown Chicago, as well as Kankakee, IL, where there is a functioning asylum.
“There was a wing of the asylum that had been closed for years which was reopened for six days of shooting,” Kim said. “We spent about 10 days on a stage, which was a huge warehouse that is used as their studio with carpenters busy building rooms to create scenes.”
Extras
Kim was asked to be an extra for a “club scene” and had screen time with Odette Yustman and Cam Gigandet.
If her scene survives the editing process, look for her in a hot pink dress.
“I can honestly say I’ll probably be the only one that knows it’s me on the screen,” she said.
Kim’s children, Kylen and Teddy, were also used as extras. Chicago had done a casting call for twins, but many more children were needed.
Although Kylen and Teddy are not twins, they are close in age, and after Goyer saw a picture of them, they were cast, at just three and four years old, the youngest on the set.
They were placed in the heart of a scene that included 28 sets of twins during Auschwitz.
Kim hopes the scene survives the editing process.
Movie making
Kim said she was most surprised with the number of people it takes to make a movie.
“Typically, we were a 110-person crew, and on other days we had over 200 people,” she said.
Three-fourths of the crew was from Chicago, and the rest was from LA.
“The importance of each person’s job was crucial for a day to go as planned,” said Kim. “Continuity played a huge part of filming. You don’t shoot a film in sequence, jumping from Day 14, a night scene, to later in the same day shooting Day 3, a day scene.”
She said the hair, makeup and wardrobe teams made a continuity book full of photos so they could match the events and scenes accordingly.
“I was given the script on day one of filming and carried it with me daily,”
recalled Kim. “Contact lenses played a very big part in ‘The Unborn’ and it was my job to follow that script.”
Goyer
Kim said David Goyer was an amazing director.
“He was very approachable and knew from the very start the direction of how he wanted this film to be made,” she said. “Every few weeks he’d show the crew a reel of the completed work up to that date and it felt rewarding and energized the crew seeing the film together.
“He’s a very sought-after man for his writing skills, and I’m sure he’ll be directing more and more in the years ahead,” Kim added.
Movie industry
Kim said that since filming ended in May of 2008, she has joined the Illinois Film Office and has become a member of the Illinois Production Alliance.
“There are so many good and interesting people in this industry that I’ve decided to join forces and try to help bring more productions to Illinois,” she said. “It’s a great livelihood working with people who are so talented and passionate about their work.”
Look for “The Unborn” in moving theaters here. |
