On the set, On the Edge…on the cutting room floor
In 1983, I had the privilege of participating in the filming of the movie On the Edge. Although I spent four days as an extra, I made it onscreen for just about two seconds. I was a bit disappointed, but that’s show business. The experience is still memorable 25 years later.
I saw an add for runners to be movie extras, and I called the number. They gave me directions to where the filming would take place the following Saturday.
My first day on the set was for the filming of the start of the Cielo Sea race; a fictional 14 mile race from Mill Valley, CA over the top of Mt. Tamilpias to Stinson Beach. So many familiar local runners were there, as well as a handful of local media celebrities, and a few Hollywood stars, namely Bruce Dern and John Marley. As you hear about movie making, there was a lot of standing around. Scenes were shot from every conceivable angle. Finally, it was my turn. As the race had a handicapped start, I was in the 30 – 35 age-group. Gary Bjorklund was the star in our group. He was very nice to talk to and had some interesting stories. The start was actually filmed a few times. We ran about 800 yards each time, but as I recall, the starts were faster than you would expect for a 14 mile mountain race. I was on the front line so I assumed I would be a sure bet to get on film. The camera man panned down the front line, and I looked determined to race 14 miles.
The next day’s filming was at the finish line in Stinson Beach. The extras ran through the finish line, looking like we actually just completed a grueling run. We were misted with spray, and had mud flung on us to give us a realistic look. The ending of the movie was given away as we saw the five or six star runners tie for the finish at the end of the movie.
A few days later, I got a call that they were filming on the stairs in Mill Valley. They filmed different groups so there was a lot of waiting again. A very filling and tasty lunch was provided. Wouldn’t you guess, our group was up right after lunch. Nothing like steak, pasta salad, etc. and running a set of Dipsea stairs five or six times. I had registered for the San Francisco Marathon, which was the next day. I had good intentions, but on marathon morning, I felt the effects of the stairs, so I wrote the marathon off for that year.
My last filming day was filmed on the mountain. We were trucked halfway up and ran various segments of the trails while camera people filmed from the trails, and from helicopters. While going down a particularly rocky patch, my toe hit a rock sticking up and I took a dive head first. My palms, and knees had huge gashes, and that was the end of my On the Edge experience. I was patched up by the first aid crew. The worst part was that my fall didn’t even get filmed.
The we waited…and waited…and waited. Three or four years later, On the Edge made it to the theaters. You better not have blinked because it was only in a few theaters, then it was gone; gone until the VCR edition came out. Now the DVD edition is out and has a great behind the scenes extra section with narrative by Rob Nilsson, the director and writer.
In the hour and a half or so of the movie, I made it on screen for about two seconds on the stairs section. The starting line panning shot was close-up, but it stopped on the guy right next to me. One more guy and I’d be in the scene. Oh well. Even the finish with everyone dripping with fake sweat and mud was cut.
Still through my disappointment, I think On the Edge is the best running movie made. The running scenes were realistic, although Wes Holman’s personal life is a bit hard for runners to relate to. Even so, I give it thumbs up. For those who vote for Without Limits, that movie does tell Pre’s story well, but you never see Pre training. His race scenes, except for the actual Olympic 5000 film, show Pre winning every race by about ten yards, then a huge pack of ten or twenty runners clumped together. But then, I guess five or six runner finishing in a tie is a stretch too. See On the Edge to form your own opinion. A word of warning, watching On the Edge may cause you to sign-up for this year’s Dipsea race.