Here is another one, Nic being gallant with a local newsperson! There is a video and some pictures at the link.

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/06/cagespotting_valiant_nic_defen.html#/0

Cagespotting: valiant Nic defends local journalist

MOBILE, Alabama--Today, on the set of "Tokarev" in downtown Mobile, Nicolas Cage showed he is indeed a man of the people.

Here is some fun commentary from an extra on the set of Tokarev.

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/06/cagespotting_an_extra-sensory.html#/0

Cagespotting: an 'extra'-sensory experience on the 'Tokarev' set

MOBILE, Alabama--A stinging solution of sweat, sparkly blue eye shadow and sunscreen dripped into my eyes as I sat directly under the mid-day sun wearing one of my warmest fall dresses.

I squinted at the strange scene before me. On a stage flanked by blue and white balloons, Nicolas Cage and Al Stokes both held a shovel which they proceeded to plunge into a small pile of dirt. 

I had seen this groundbreaking pantomime several times. And this time would not be the last. 

Last Saturday, I worked as an extra on the set of "Tokarev." I got a call at about 8 p.m.  the night before informing me that local media folks were needed to play local media folks in a press conference scene.  

Extras had to be at the parking lot at Cedar and Conti at 8:30 a.m.  

So much for sleeping in.  

From the lot, we would be shuttled to the site of the new Maritime Museum where the scene would take place.  

We had to bring a few business casual clothing options that would be appropriate for a scene set in fall weather.  The person in charge of wardrobe would choose the best look.

This was good, because the only clean clothes I had were some warm fall frocks. And this was bad, because Saturday was going to be hellfire hot and wearing them would be torture.

But I couldn't pass up this chance to be hot and miserable all morning; and not because I harbor any fantasies of being a movie star.  

I'd be quite a lame entertainment reporter if I didn't do it.  And the potential proximity to Cage would be priceless.  I didn't  know at that point if he'd even be in the scene, but I chose to believe he would. 

By now, I realize a Cage-sighting isn't such a glamorous distinction. Everyone in downtown Mobile has already seen him and shaken his hand five million times.

Still, I couldn't pass up the possible extended bout of Cagespotting being on set would offer.

And I did end up seeing many sides of Cage that morning. 

There was Cage the family man, resting between takes with his son Kal-El in his lap; Cage the committed actor man, giving his all in a very simple scene, and wearing a heavy dark suit to boot!  

And then there was Cage the jocular everyman, bantering with Mayor Sam Jones' Chief of Staff Al Stokes, who played the Mayor of Mobile in the scene.

Stokes as mayor is one of several meta-Mobile touches that will make "Tokarev" extra fun to see for locals.  

According to the producers, "Tokarev" is actually set in Mobile.  Mobile is not made up to be New York, L.A., or some other city.

Before I share more of my extra-special day, let me break down the scene to which I made such an enormous contribution: 

Cage's character Paul Maguire and Stokes' Mayor plunge a shovel into a pile of dirt. Then Stokes gets behind a podium and thanks the assembled media and construction workers for coming to the groundbreaking of something called "The Riverview Convention Center." 

Then the media folks raise their hands to ask questions like, 'How many jobs will be provided on the project?" Stokes answers.

I didn't have any lines, and no one told me specifically what to do. 

I just scribbled in my reporter's notebook, occasionally looked up, and tried to maintain good posture and not look like too much of a melted mess.  

Some of the other extras playing photographers snapped fake pictures with fake cameras.

After the movie mayor addresses the press, Maguire very seriously answers questions including an inquiry about how the project will stimulate the economy. Then the mayor thanks everyone for coming to the press conference. 

Clap, clap, clap.

According to summaries of the "Tokarev" plot, Cage's character is a reformed criminal who becomes an upstanding citizen and then goes back to his violent, lawless ways after the Russian mafia kidnaps his daughter.

It appears Maguire is still in upstanding citizen mode when the press conference scene takes place. Or maybe he's secretly being a bad boy already and the public just doesn't know.

This scene was far more subdued than the  foot and car-chases, shoot-outs and fights being filmed all around town for the past two weeks.

In the press conference scene, Stokes did an awesome job of looking and sounding mayorial, which really isn't such a stretch for him. And Cage was very earnest and grave as he delivered his lines. I could tell Paul Maguire is a man people admire. 

During one of the initial takes, Stokes slightly messed up one of his lines, and Cage briefly broke out of character to joke around with him.

"Flubs are awesome," Cage said jovially. "They have this reality to them."

After the first few takes, Stokes and the extras took a break in the lower floor of The Alabama Cruise Terminal. Stokes was feeling,well, stoked, after acting with Cage.

"He is a really personable individual," Stokes said. The beaming Chief of Staff also said, "All of us have a little bit of wannabe actor inside of us."

Stokes added that his role wasn't much of a challenge because he has decades of experience speaking at press conferences and other gatherings. 

"I felt as if I was doing what I normally do," he said.

I talked to Stokes in the terminal at about 11 a.m.

My day had started two and a half hours earlier when I arrived at the Conti and Cedar parking lot for wardrobe approval. 

Being an extra means a world of waiting. It does not make you feel fancy and famous. Or at least it didn't make me feel fancy and famous. 

I felt kind of like a hobo when I hauled my trash bag full of dresses into the parking lot. All the other extras had brought their clothes on hangers. None of my clothes were made of wrinkly fabrics so I thought it was okay to just throw 'em all in a bag. 

It didn't take long for the clothes-chooser to pull a winner from my trash bag of fashion 

She really liked the second dress she saw; a long-sleeved rayon, polyester and spandex color-blocked Tahari number.

I knew she would pick that dress. It's an awesome dress. And it would be the most uncomfortable of all the options I brought. 

But if Cage could run and rumble around all day under the Mobile summer sun in leather jackets, I could surely stand one hot morning in a very weather-inappropriate outfit.

The wardrobe mistress also approved the black leather Mary Janes I brought. I was relieved that she hadn't opted for the knee-high brown leather boots I'd also presented. 

I was then directed to a set of trailers and told to change in one. Turns out the one I chose was actually someone's office and not a dressing room.  

Good thing I had finished changing when the person whose office it was walked in and discovered me.

At around 9:30 the other extras and I where whisked in a shuttle to The Alabama Cruise Terminal. Once we arrived, we were escorted to the second floor where we would wait until called down to the set.  It was very nice of them to let us wait inside, temporarily sheltered from the heat and humidity.

To pass the time, I read "The Untidy Pilgrim" by Eugene Walter and partook of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bottled water and  other sources of sustenance provided by the crew.

At approximately 10:30 we were called down to the set.  As I walked out of the terminal and towards the rows of white folding chairs in which we were to sit, Cage crossed my path.

My faith was not in vain.

Cage did not let me down.

I tell you, the most curious thing I've discovered about Cage in these couple weeks that I've known him is that he seems totally and completely normal. 

He's not a bundle of tics and psychodrama like Castor Troy or Charlie Kaufman.  And if his head was going to burst into flames, "Ghost Rider"-style, it definitely would have done it by now. It's definitely been hot enough.

He's just a focused, un-fussy, workin' man. 

Over two and a half hours, about ten takes of the super-short press conference scene were shot. 

Most of the takes seemed exactly the same to me. I don't understand why they had to do it so many times. 

But I'm sure the film's director Paco Cabezas had perfectly good reasons for the repetition. 

Throughout the shoot,  Cabezas was a bouncing ball of energy. The dynamic director and writer from Seville, Spain dashed around the set and very professionally and amicably guided his cast and crew.

"Tokarev" is Cabezas' American directorial debut, and he seems very excited to be here.

In between takes, the extras and some crew members took shelter in the cruise terminal parking garage or inside the terminal.  

Cage sat outside under a tent and chatted with Cabezas and other people important enough to talk to him.  

Around noon,  Cage's wife Alice and son Kal-El showed up. 

Cage looked like quite the contented dad as he sat back with his son in his lap. I so wanted to go over and talk to Cage and family, but I was afraid I'd be tased or worse if I tried to approach them.

So close, yet so far away. I'd have to be satisfied with watching from afar as I drank a cold Diet Coke. Rejuvenating, refreshing icy Diet Coke. It was so nice to have coolers filled with soft drinks and water on set.

By then, I was so drenched and disheveled and tired that I barely even felt relieved that the last take was supposedly coming up. 

For some reason, the extras who sat in the first two rows in the scene had to stay longer than those in the back rows.

I cursed my decision to sit in the second row as I scribbled my way through the last couple takes.

At 12:40, we wrapped and my work was done. 

We piled back into the shuttle and returned to Conti and Cedar where I signed some release forms before heading home at 1:30 p.m.

When I got home, I cranked my air conditioning up, changed out of my yucky  clothes, and plopped down on my couch for a long nap.

It hadn't and still hasn't really sunk in that I'm going to be in a movie, if they don't end up cutting the scene or digitally super-impose a superior, non-sweaty actress over me.

Actually, I wouldn't mind the latter. 

I suggest they use Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Seems like Nic is being very visible in Mobile, I am wishing I were there too! Here he is having his pic taken with a student visiting there.

http://elizabethtown.wect.com/news/education/88553-wbhs-beta-club-students-meet-nicolas-cage-conference

Those are really NICe pics! It was really NICe of him to wave at his fans, on the first pic! And, the extra on the second pic looks really happy! Great article and NICe pics! Thanks for posting it, Lady T.!

Both are looking very happy on that pic! And, Nic is a true gentleman! I guess, if that would happen to me, I, could imagine, I would have reacted quite in the same way as that little girl! Thanks, Lady T., for making my day, by posting this wonderful article and vid!