Surviving the surreal

Resident talks about his experiences as host of the Spielberg movie

Al Sullivan
Reporter senior staff writer

For six days in November, Henry Sanchez's house was the center of the universe - movie-maker Steven Spielberg's universe that is.

Sanchez's house on Kennedy Boulevard near the foot of the Bayonne Bridge was transformed via Hollywood magic into the home of a fictional character named Ray Ferrier, the hero of Spielberg's latest science fiction epic, War of the Worlds - staring Tom Cruise.

Yet the six days was only the last part of a five-month ordeal which altered Sanchez's daily life and until recently when the crews began to pack up to leave, he could say nothing about, bound by a promise to keep quiet about what went on inside his house. For five months - since he was first approached last August - Sanchez could confirm that Spielberg was using his house for the film, but was required to keep mum about the details.

Now after the filming has ceased and the star gone to other sites elsewhere in the country, Sanchez can breathe a sign of relief and talk a little about what it was like to be in the middle of one of the most expensive movies in modern history.

Film industry observers estimate the rising cost of War of the Worlds may have already exceeded $200 million and may cost a lot more before it is finished.

Of course, when first approached about the use of his house, Sanchez didn't even know the name of the movie. The staff called it "Out of the night," which was the film's working title.

Spielberg showed up at Sanchez's door last August after scouting out the area for a suitable site to locate the home of the film's hero, named Ray Ferrier. Spielberg was apparently very taken by the block of houses near the foot of the Bayonne Bridge, of which Sanchez's was one.

Spielberg fans have frequently commented on the director's fascination with suburban-like housing. As thrilled as Sanchez was to be part of a Spielberg film, he did not sign his contract right away.

"I didn't want to get paid," he said. "That's what I'm like."

Spielberg insisted, and also insisted Sanchez had the contract reviewed by a local attorney.

"It was a solid contract," said Sanchez, who eventually signed the contract on Sept. 1, starting the whirlwind that would swirl around his life until the shooting concluded in early December.

The film was being rushed into production for a release date of June 29, 2005, which meant that the crew began to work on his house and yard within minutes of the contract's ink drying.

For the six-day shoot, Sanchez was to receive $15,000, plus restoration of the house to its original condition.

A whole other world

And Spielberg planned extensive changes.

While the legendary director wanted the Bayonne Bridge as part of the backdrop to a film depicting an invasion from outer space, in the film the house was to be located in the Iron Bound section of Newark. This meant that Spielberg's crews needed to strip the middle class veneer not merely from Sanchez's property but from the whole block of back yard which would be featured in the film.

Spielberg left the deck behind Sanchez's house, but the crew stripped the neighborhood of nearly everything else: swimming pools, lawn furniture, even the plush grass. Lush trees were relocated Aged rusted fencing was installed along the rear yards of the ten houses, laundry lines were installed complete with laundry, and plywood sheets were put down in each yard, covered with dirt and then crab grass.

"They had to wet the crab grass down every day to keep it alive," Sanchez said.

Sanchez's home, his block and a number of nearby streets served as the external setting for a segment of the movie dealing with the hero's home life. Cruise plays the part of a divorced father trying to raise two kids, a man obsessed with fast cars, motorcycles and a classic Ford Mustang he is apparently trying to repair in his garage. While most of the internal scenes were filmed at studios in the former Military Ocean Terminal, Sanchez's garage was made over into a repair shop, complete with ample tools, numerous motor repair posters and a small sign saying "Ray's Garage." The garage also featured a disassembled black Mustang convertible which the Cruise character was struggling to repair.

"Tom Cruise plays a man who repairs cars in my garage," Sanchez said, giving some insight into the character he saw briefly during some of the shoots.

Changes made to his home

Sanchez remained living in his home throughout the reconstruction and the shooting, despite being encouraged to leave.

"They offer to relocate me," he recalled. "They said this was going to be rough. But I didn't want to leave my home."

So Spielberg's staff worked around him.

Although Sanchez could not use the garage, the rear of the basement remained unaltered. The staff constructed a temporary wall near the door from the garage to the basement to keep the basement from view when cameras filmed Cruise leaving to go upstairs. A similar wall was constructed between the living room and the dinning room upstairs, with a new more working class living room installed for benefit of cameras filming scenes of Cruise's entering the front door.

The most obvious change outside the house was newly constructed addition underneath Sanchez's deck at the back of the house, used as backdrop to scenes filmed in the yard.

"They offered to leave the addition if I wanted it," Sanchez said. "But it interfered with my air conditioning unit."

But Sanchez did keep some of the changes made to his house, such as the new window installed near the front door.

Living with the madness

Living in the house proved something of a chore. Not only did work start almost as soon as he signed the contract, but workers came and went constantly.

"I gave them keys to everything so they could come and go as they needed," Sanchez said. "Nothing was ever missing. These were some of the best people I ever met and they treated me royally."

But life was cramped. The film set required use of his living room, den and garage. For the six days of shooting the film, crews arrived at 5 a.m. and sometimes didn't leave until 9 p.m.

"There were times when I couldn't stand near a window while they were filming," he said. "One time, they stopped shooting in the back to make me move. Another time they came inside to turn out a light."

Sanchez was sometimes not home for some of the shooting, though he got to see Tom Cruise in some scenes.

During the interview last week, Sanchez seemed a little sad to see it all come to an end, even as he watched the crews packing up the props and taking down the sets, restoring his world back to what it was before Spielberg invaded Bayonne.

"I had a great time. I have no complaints," he said. "Mr. Spielberg is a good guy and he lived up to his part of our agreement. His staff treated me with respect and did everything I asked."

Yet even as he said this, he glanced around at his usually ordered world and the numerous small items that were still out of place, admitting it was a chore.

"It will take time for everything to get back to normal," he admitted.