Recently, I was searching the internet for my next interview for The Psycho Site and stumbled upon the contact information of Christopher Sirmons Haviland, a young man who had the opportunity to work on the set of Psycho IV: The Beginning as a stand-in. What always amazes me is the fact that most smaller crew positions have a lot of big behind-the-scenes and inside stories rather than some of the bigger crew members. Haviland was happy to talk with us and even dug up some rare stills that feature the Bates House in Florida before Universal opened! The picture to the left shows Chris seated and his cousin Paul standing. Here is the interview for your enjoyment:

Describe how you became involved on Psycho IV: The Beginning
I had graduated with a film degree from the University of North Texas in late 1988, moved to Orlando and landed a job as a PA on The New Leave It to Beaver TV series in 1989 (the last half of the last season), shot on stage 21 at Universal Studios Florida. My cousin Paul Sirmons was a First Assistant Director by trade, and he was working on that show. I worked on various other productions that year as a stand-in, PA or extra, networking with contacts I made inside the Universal lot, so I could keep tabs on who was hiring and when. During this time I came up with the idea of starting my own production company, so I called my cousin Paul (who, after Beaver, had returned to California to work as a First AD on Quantum Leap) and proposed we form a business together. So in March 1990, Paul and I founded a small production company at Universal Studios. We called it SHO Entertainment. I still didn't have a lot of money, however, so I continued to find jobs that came into the studio. Stand-ins are generally hired by casting directors, and it so happened that Psycho IV's casting director, Mel Johnson, was also the casting director from The New Leave It to Beaver. He had his company office in the same building as SHO Entertainment. He sent me up for hire as a stand-in on Psycho IV sometime in April 1990.

What exactly does a stand-in do?
A stand-in literally "stands in" for the actor while the crew sets up lighting and camera, in preparation for shooting. This is so that the actor can relax in their trailer out of the hot lights that could melt their makeup. Stand-ins (known as "second team" as opposed to "first team" which are the actors) have to be about the same height and hair / skin color as the actor, and sometimes have to perform a little (walk, run, etc), doing what the actor would do, so that the crew can adjust the shot. This is an interesting role, because it is an entry-level set position yet it puts you right in the middle of all the action. He / she must be available as soon as "second team" is called, and must observe the actor's motions in a scene or rehearsal. You get to watch what everyone is doing, and you get to know the director and main crew.

Describe what you did on the set of Psycho IV
Standing around. Literally. I had to always stay on set and watch what was going on, and be ready to stand in. I was the stand-in for John Landis, who had a cameo acting role on the film. Landis was the director of such major films as Animal House, An American Werewolf in London, Trading Places, The Blues Brothers, and Coming to America. He also had the notoriety of being the director on whose set two kids and actor Vic Morrow were killed by a helicopter accident in his episode of Twilight Zone The Movie, an incident which marred his reputation in the business. But he's a very friendly guy, and I ran into him a number of times between 1988 and 1993. I had first seen him at the wrap party for The New Leave It to Beaver around March 1989.

Did you have the opportunity to meet Anthony Perkins?
Yes, Tony was also a very friendly man. A lot of people were a little shy of him at that point, because news had just gotten out that he had contracted HIV, and I think people weren't quite sure what to say to him. Naturally it wasn't a subject I ever broached, as I didn't feel it was any of my business, nor anyone else's. In fact I didn't get to speak with Tony much at all. This particular set had a very strict production manager. The production manager is responsible for the ultimate hiring and firing of most "below the line" people on the crew, including stand-ins. And this production manager ran the show like boot camp. You did not step out of line on his production. So things were done by the numbers, and that meant stand-ins were not supposed to interact with actors or the film crew unless it was directly related to the job function. I was not Tony's stand-in, so I was not supposed to talk to him. However, I wanted to see if he was interested in reading a horror script I had written, which my new company was hoping to produce. So when I saw him during lunch one day, I simply chose to sit down across from him. We talked a little about how the movie was going, and I told him what I was doing and asked if he'd take a look at our screenplay. He said sure, and asked me to bring it to the set the next day. During this time, we were shooting the radio station sequence on a set that was built somewhere off the lot (I presume because the other Universal stages were in use). Landis was playing the manager of the station, which is why I was on call for these sequences. Tony was there because he had to sit in a small room and read his part "off camera" so that the actors in the radio station could react. (He was a "voice on the phone," in these scenes, supposedly interviewed over the radio. His actual phone sequences were shot later, on a different set.) So in between shots, I went into the little room where he was sitting, and handed him the script. Nothing ever came of that. He gave it to his agent and his agent passed. Incidentally I had also asked John Landis to look at the script, and he asked me to send it to his agent (Mike Marcus at CAA). Needless to say, Marcus also passed. It's hard to get agents to even look your direction when you're a small fry.

How was it working with Director Mick Garris?
Mick Garris was very friendly. So was his wife, Cynthia, who also had a small role in the film. Everyone liked them very much. Mick's background was as a writer for Amazing Stories, and though he was about ten years or more older than I, he looked and acted my age. He treats everyone on his set with equal respect. It was a shame that his production manager was so strict, because otherwise it would have been a much easier production. I do remember that John Landis kept getting on Mick's nerves. As I say, Landis is also a very friendly guy, but he's also very used to being in charge. And of course Landis had commanded some huge blockbusters in his past, and had a certain style. Mick, on the other hand, was a junior director at the time. (He would later go on to direct a number of Stephen King mini-series for television.) John's role on the film was fairly simple, but he kept making lots of disapproving remarks about the production. For instance, Mick wanted a lot of "smoke" in the radio station set, for what's known as "visible air." It's a well-used technique to create light beams and provides a certain atmosphere. But Landis doesn't like that kind of thing, and kept complaining about it. "Where's all the smoke supposed to be coming from? Is the radio station on fire? What is this, a Ridley Scott movie?" On and on he went, until Mick was back stage kicking objects in frustration and wishing Landis would just be quiet. Landis wasn't harsh, he was just horsing around, but I guess it was annoying for the director after a while. But the two were friends, and Mick continued to cast him in cameo roles in other productions.

How long did you work on the production?
Only one or two weeks, I don't recall exactly. On the day of the Grand Opening of Universal Studios Florida, I was fired from the set. It's the only time I was ever fired from anything.

Why were you fired?
When I handed my horror script to Tony, the set PA spotted me and was angry. He was the production manager's "eyes and ears" and he tended to be mean. He shook his head at me when he saw me approaching Tony with the script and I ignored him, which really ticked him off. That was the beginning. The next week we were to start shooting on stage 21 (the same stage Beaver was shot in a year earlier), which were the interior house shots. Landis was wrapped, because the radio sequences were finished. Now it was time for Henry Thomas (young Norman) and Olivia Hussey (mother). I was going to be the stand-in for Henry. They were starting to shoot scenes on this stage on the opening day of Universal Studios Florida, in the midst of a huge amount of excitement and activity. Many actors, directors, producers, studio heads and other important people were there. I was not on call that day, as Henry wasn't going to be shooting just yet. What that means is that I was not supposed to be on set. However, I had a set pass (because I was a stand-in on the production). And since I had my own company at Universal, in the same office building as the Psycho IV production offices, I had access to the studio lot any time I wanted (unlike other stand-ins and crew who were not on call). So I could get by both the drive-through security onto the lot and the door security onto stage 21 with no problem. My agenda that day was to meet Steven Spielberg. He was at the theme park that day, which almost surrounded our sound stages, because he "cut the ribbon" at the Grand Opening ceremony. I'm a big fan of Spielberg, so I had "feelers" out everywhere, reporting to me that he had been spotted here and there. So I was racing around trying to find him, so I could simply shake his hand and say hello. Mick Garris and Spielberg were friends, of course, as Spielberg had hired Mick as a writer for Amazing Stories. So people on the set told me that Spielberg was going to come by the set that day to say hi. So I spent a lot of my time lingering around the Psycho IV set in stage 21, watching out for him. During that time, Henry showed up just to say hi to people, and I introduced myself to him as his stand-in. He's a shy and quiet young man, who, much to my amazement, was now 6 foot tall (my height). The last time I had ever seen him he was as the little boy on E.T., and on a movie called Cloak and Dagger right after that. He hardly looked like the same kid. Anyway, I was finally spotted by the set PA, and he marched up to me like a drill sergeant and asked me how I got on the lot when I wasn't called. I told him the truth: I had my own production company here, and my own pass. I was just watching the production today, nothing more. Of course he felt thoroughly threatened by that. So he left and later he came back to me with the production manager at his side. Now I knew I was in trouble. The PM demanded to know why I was on the set when I wasn't called, and how I got onto the lot. Nervous, I told him because I was a producer for my own company here, and I was just on set because.... Well this is where I lied. I didn't want to tell him I was doing something stupid like "waiting around to see Steven Spielberg." That would get me booted for sure. So I said something else, and it was even more stupid. I said, "I'm just watching your crew work, because we'll need to hire people for our own production eventually and I'm taking notes. You have a lot of good people here. You're doing a great job here too. You're welcome to drop off your resume." The PM nodded and walked away, and I sighed with relief, amazed I could say something so dumb and get away with it. But actually I didn't get away with it. About thirty minutes later, my friend Gary Rogers came up to me. He was the 2nd AD on Psycho IV, and had been the 2nd AD on Beaver, so we knew each other quite well. He looked very saddened. He said, "Chris, can I speak to you outside?" We stepped outside and he said, "I'm sorry about this, but I've been asked to release you from the production. I can't let you on the set anymore. I feel terrible." He really did look sorry about it, but I told him it was okay -- it was my own stupid fault. Technically the PM was right -- people who are not on call should not be on the set. There's just no room for extra people and confusion on an otherwise crowded and sometimes dangerous set (where it's easy to trip over something in the dark and whack your head, or accidentally create noise during a take). Anyway I didn't really need Psycho IV anymore, because I had spoken with both Tony and Landis about my script, and that was my ulterior motive as a stand-in on that production. When I returned to the office to tell Paul what had happened, he laughed his ass off. To this day he won't let me forget that. When does a stand-in tell a production manager he's really a producer and ask for his resume?? It was probably the most insulting thing I could have said. The pecking order is very important in the movie business, you see. If you're on a crew you have your place, and you're risking your private parts if you stray from it. Unfortunately, these same risks can also make your career if you get lucky enough, and I didn't feel I had anything valuable to lose, so I went for it. So I was off the show, and never got to shoot the exteriors up at the motel house, nor was I Henry's stand-in. However, I did finally get to meet Spielberg, later that evening after the "red carpet" gala in the theme park, but that's another story.

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