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Just a Touch of Star Quality

Working in downtown Oregon City is a riot. Office space leases are relatively cheap compared to the "glamour" of The Pearl or downtown Portland, which is perfect for technology companies on a budget – or so we keep telling ourselves. We are located just down the street from the Clackamas County courthouse, so when stuff like the Ward Weaver trial or that crazy kid who set himself on fire and endured repeated tazing from the cops happens, the news crews are all over it and Main Street becomes broadcast central. Also in close proximity are an addiction treatment clinic, the welfare office, and a few dive bars that bustle with business at 9am. Good times and really entertaining people watching.

I didn't think anything of the signs posted yesterday blocking off a block or two and turning part of Main Street into a no parking zone. Today, however, was a completely different story.

7:30am
Pull onto the downtown Oregon City drag and notice lots of production trucks and people milling about. Hmm… Idiot in a Honda idling in our parking lot and blocking my space – nearly hits me when he backs up to move out of the way.

7:50am
A quick Google search or two reveals that this is the Jennifer Aniston/Steve Zahn/Woody Harrelson production, Management, that has been shooting around town. Yippee. Apparently Oregon City is supposed to pass as Aberdeen, Washington.

8:10am
Curiosity gets the best of me and I join a co-worker outside for some gawking. It is really chilly out, and some production guys are wearing shorts! The catering truck is situated just outside our building and there are many people coming and going. Many roving PA's with tool belts and gaffer's tape, and a quick glance in one of the production trucks reveals a mountain of equipment I wish we had for Geek in the City projects. Damn.

8:15am
Head down the street to get some coffee. My co-worker who is normally a bit rough around the edges asks me if I would mind taking his picture with Jennifer Aniston if we happen to bump into her. LOL. Feeling conspicuous in my Superman hoodie and Snakes on a Plane ball cap.

8:25am
Coffee procured. Pause by the wacky head shop and discover it has been re-dressed as a pawn shop. Crude sign reading, "Kurt Cobain Bought His First Guitar Here" in the window.

8:30am
Return to office, where another co-worker shares that the interior of the trashy Chinese restaurant has been re-painted pink for the movie. Bizarre. Try to sit down and get some work done, thinking of the last "Clerks: The Animated Series" episode where Dante and Randall resolve to stay inside because there are too many plot developments going on outside.

9:30am
The guy who wants his picture taken with Jennifer Aniston returns to my desk very dejected because apparently Jennifer and Woody wrapped shooting a couple of days ago, and Steve Zahn is the only star shooting scene in downtown O.C. (please don't call it that.) The guy had to duck behind a wall to have his smoke since shooting was actively taking place just outside our building. Apparently there are many vehicles in the vicinity sporting old Washington state license plates.

9:50am
My officemate comes in all pissed off because apparently a P.A. was bitching out the mailman for disrupting the shoot while attempting to deliver mail to our building. I wander upstairs to look out the window and see lots of people huddled around a camera. Joyous.

10:20am
My team realizes we may not be able to leave our office to get lunch. A rallying flurry of emails bounces around, pitching the idea of getting drunk at the dive bar and crashing the shoot. I can see the headlines now: Disgruntled technology workers on a rampage! Drunken horde of office workers running amok in the early afternoon. Just another day in Oregon City! Hollywood types pissed off! Officemate and I offer $40 to guys in next office over to strip and streak through the shoot. $80 if they hold hands and skip while they’re doing it. $90 if they sing "It's a Small World" as well. No takers.

Will I see this movie? Maybe. I'd probably rent it and skip to the scenes shot near my office just to see how they framed it. We've had our work day disrupted before by fugitive chases and big trials, and this was an interesting diversion. Gah! Meeting time. Back to the real world.