Filming "Memphis Beat" w/Alfre Woodard, Jason Lee, DJ Qualls, & Celia Weston

Actress Celia Weston

Actor Jason Lee

Actor DJ Qualls

Actress Alfre Woodard

March 11th, 2011 was my first day on the set of the Second Season of TNT’s Drama Series, Memphis Beat starring, Alfre Woodard, Jason Lee, Celia Weston, and DJ Qualls. I had the pleasure of interacting and meeting all four of these actors. During the scene where the preacher was reciting some scripture, I was standing next to Ms. Woodard and when the Director yelled cut, I took the time to shake her hand and told her I loved her in movies such as Tyler Perry’s, The Family That Preys, Take The Lead, and Something New. She told me thank you! Also, when we were breaking for lunch and I was in a car being taken back to holding, I was waving at her while driving past her and she was smiling and waving back at me the entire time! It was so awesome! They were all very nice and a lot of fun to film with. Basically, the scene that we filmed was a funeral scene of a Memphis Police Officer. We were at a Veterans Cemetery and there were real dedicated Jefferson Parish police officers there to fire gun shots/rounds to salute the deceased, but with Memphis uniforms on. It looked like the exact same setup you would see in movies such as The Departed, Pride and Glory, or any other film were it is a service for a fellow police officer that died. I was playing the role of a family member/friend of the deceased. We filmed from 7:15am until 6:30pm. Alfre Woodard and Celia Weston were eating lunch at the same location as the extras, but in a different area. That was pretty amazing to see. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any photos with them, but maybe next time. The service was very much like one you would see on TV or in real life. Once the sun went down, it started to get chilly and we wanted to wrap it up so quickly! Lol! There was a scene with Jason Lee getting into a confrontation with someone towards the end of the night and all of the extras had to observe that and react to it as we were walking to our vehicles at the end of the service. In conclusion, it was great filming with these fine actors and actresses and I hope to work with them in the near future. The new season of Memphis Beat starts in June of 2011!