ei as CastlegarNews June 2), ‘a ENTERTAINMENT NELSON (CP) — LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: M streets of Nelson last summer during fi ROXANNE: (5200: e train actors By RYON GUEDES The eight bumbling firefighters in Steve Martin's new comedy Roxanne learned the tricks of the trade under the watchful eyes of two local fire chiefs. The movie that transformed this small mountainside community into the fictional ski resort town of Nelson, Wash., features an inept volunteer fire department led by Martin's Pinocchio-beaked character C.D. Bales, an updated version of Cyrano de Bergerac. Nelson was chosen because of its restoration of turn-of-the-century heritage buildings Street, the picturesque main thoroughfare. along Baker Nelson Fire Chief Harry Sommerville and Bruce Meldrum, who heads a volunteer fire department in the city’s rural outskirts, were called on by Screen Gems . Movie premiered Friday night in Nelson. CasNews tile photo Canada to turn the actors into believable firefighters. The prospect of climbing ladders and wrestling high-pressure hoses was intimidating for the cast members, who include character actor Michael J. Pollard and comedian Fred Willard. “They were all very, very frightened . . . because they had absolutely no comprehension of what firefighting was all about, other than what they had seen on TV,” Sommerville recalled in an interview. Instruction included the basics, like rolling the fire hose and putting on firefighting gear. But training was one thing. Moving onto the set was another. “When you added a director who's moving them around all over the place, it started to become mixed up again,” Meldrum said. ‘The movie's final scene, filmed over three days of dusk-to-dawn shooting, caused some anxious moments Sommerville and Meldrum. It involved a blaze =) flames provided by propane gas jets — at a wooden stable the production company had erected near some gasoline yumps. ” Sommerville said he was concerned about the scene and even though people were well protected, pieces of glass were found a half a block away after a controlled ‘plosion. “[ found that a little bit hair-raising,” the city fire chief =“ ers how to & ] iz look competent, Sommerville and Meldrum also helped the earlier in the film. One scene involves a fire hose, neatly folded in the fire truck, that becomes prematurely charged with water, springs out and hangs all over the truck like spaghetti. Aother involves a firefighter getting tangled, along with a fire hydrant, in a hose. “A lot of those things we'd seen in our past,” Meldrum said. “(They) had actually happened to fire- fighters and looked good in a movie.” But some of the funniest moments during the filming in Nelson were unintentibnal. For Sommerville, the most humorous moment was the actors’ reaction to the sight of an uncontrolled hose with water spraying in all directions. “T let the line go and the cast members just took off like you wouldn't believe, taking paces a block long.” Meldrum told of one scene filmed in front of the Nelson firehal], where special-effects technicians rigged firefighting equipment to fall off the fire truck when the vehicle turned a corner. The effects failed to work on cue in any of the shots except one, which was ruined by a well-meaning passerby. SPOILS SCENE “(The fire truck) came out of the hall and went down the road and made the turn beautifully, but this inner tube fell out and started rolling down the street,” Meldrum said. “Some kind soul, right in the middle, ran out and grabbed the bloody inner tube and ruined the shot.” Another gaffe wasn't spotted until Meldrum pointed it out in Vancouver during a screening of selected footage shot in Nelson. “Here's Steve Martin addressing all these guys, giving them a dressing down in front of the firehall,” Meldrum recalled. “And you look down the street, and there's all the City of Nelson yellow fire trucks (in glaring contrast to the antique red truck used in the film) in a nearby school parking lot.” Meldrum said it is unlikely the scene was cut from the film since director Schepisi seemed confident the mistake would go unnoticed by most moviegoers. The two local chiefs talked of a warm working i 's firefigh' despite some with 's initial nervousness on both sides. “I think initially we were kind of star-struck,” Meldrum said. “But then as we started to work with them, it really the film's star, writer and executive producer, was not involved in the firemen’s training, although he did get some dialogue coaching from Sommerville and Meldrum. The comedian sought their advice on words of command, trying to combine authentic firefighting language with lines that fit his character and speaking style. Meldrum called Martin a super guy who, off camera, is the opposite of his sometimes bizarre on-screen persona. Shaver careful with roles LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actress Helen Shaver says she looks carefully for what works and what doesn’t, and so far it’s paid off pretty well. The costar of Desert Hearts and the hit The Color of Money said in a recent interview she turned down 11 parts between her latest release, The Believers, and her current project, Bethune, being filmed in China. “Sometimes I could see where the material could work, but the directorial vis. ion wasn't happening,” said Shaver, 34, who has worked with celebrated directors Martin Scorsese, Sam Peck. inpah and John Schlesinger. “After working with. . . people who really know what they're doing and what they want, it's like a vision I want to be a part of creating,” the Canadian-born actress said. Piano and voice classes The Valhalla Music Centre in affiliation with the Silver ton Gallery is offering an ex panded master-class program in piano and voice for 23 par ticipants from Canada and Japan Aug. 1-16 in Silverton Three concerts will be held for the general public on Aug. 2, 9 and 15. In addition, the Centre will again offer a teachers’ seminar for re. gional piano instructors. Two previous seminars in 1985 and 1986 conducted by pi anist Helmut Brauss were enthusiastically received. MAPLE