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"I didn't see anything," said Peter Keller with a smile on his face, as if he's been asked the same or similar question more times than he can even begin to count.
With details scarce, this journalist thought to ask him the question on the mind of every "Avengers" fanboy: who were the actors/stuntmen in motion-capture suits—who were fighting both Captain America and Thor on East 9th Street in August—portraying?
After all, Keller has seen the script for "The Avengers" movie, but with the secret in mind, Keller just smiled.
Since the 2000s began, there have been two big-budget, blockbuster Hollywood films shot in Downtown Cleveland: "Spider-Man 3" and "The Avengers." The latter, shot in summer 2011, is currently in post-production, and Keller has worked on the set as a key production assistant.
The Lyndhurst native had put in hundreds of unpaid hours of work on local film productions over the past 12-plus months.
One day in June 2011, he answered his phone and found he was speaking with a representative of "The Avengers" film shoot who wanted to meet him for a job interview.
After talking with the film representative, who wanted to see if he was good at multi-tasking and making quick decisions, Keller landed a job working on the highly anticipated film.
"I was super excited and a bit in shock," Keller said. "I had no clue what I was about to get myself into and what to expect."
Keller credits some of his good fortune to Cleveland State University.
"I graduated in May 2011 from Cleveland State with a degree in media studies, and in one of my final classes I heard about a lady who was accepting resumes for the film," Keller said. "Even though I figured I wouldn't get the job, I applied anyway and thought nothing of it after applying, except to reach out to several contacts I have made in the past to see if they could give me a good referral."
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| Public Square, in Downtown Cleveland, was turned into Germany during the Summer months of 2011. (Photo by Ashley Lambrakis) |
"We started at 6 (a.m.) and worked at least 12 hour shifts everyday," he said. "A lot of my time was spent meeting with vendors, shopping for set supplies, making copies and keeping track of scripts.
According to Keller, a typical day was not the same daily grind of a 9-to-5 job. He was responsible for new and different tasks on most days.
On his first day of work, Keller was tasked to locate a large empty space to hold the film's wardrobe department.
Regardless of all the time and energy Keller put in, he said the experience was great.
"I would have to say the most memorable thing is being a part of something as big as this right here in Cleveland, but it really hasn't hit me until it's all done," Keller said in mid-September, while still wearing his "Avengers" shirt and working on the closing details of the film's shoot in Northeast Ohio.
"I was able to meet the director, Joss Whedon, and actor Tom Hiddleston (who plays the film's main villain, Loki)," said Keller. "Tom was great. He threw a party for the entire crew right before he left as his way of saying thanks and letting everyone unwind for a night—after working many long days."
When asked about the increasing number of Hollywood film productions in Cleveland, Keller turned his thoughts to the future.
"Cleveland needs to offer even more incentives for films than they do now," he said. "The (approximately) $80 million in tax incentives seems like a lot, but when one big movie like (‘The Avengers') comes into town, those incentives are used up quickly and then there is hardly anything left for other films to come to the city and use.
"I wish the city would make more of an effort to entice larger films," he continued. "It's a good thing for Cleveland, and it will really help the local economy with an infusion of money that is bought in from the film production."
Keller concluded with some words of wisdom to those looking to get a start in film.
"You have to be willing to make sacrifices—both personal and financial—and you have to work very, very hard, too," he said.
"The Avengers" is currently scheduled to open May 4, 2012.
(This article was originally published in The Caludron, here.)
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