The BFE Diaries

Most small town bars are interesting. They’re places that people gather, and most people know one another in the local watering hole. Gossip is swapped, stories are told, beers are consumed, and the makings of either bad blood or strong friendships develop. The Double L Bar in Lone Pine, California, is a prime example of small town bar culture— with the occasional twist.

Saturday is Karaoke night in the narrow, dimly lit, smokey tavern on the north end of town. It’s usually a pretty popular night anyway, with the locals drunk and attempting to sing on the universal weekend party day. This past Saturday, though, a fair amount of the production crew for the new movie Django Unchained was back in town, and they flooded the bar and got on stage to sing their hearts out too.

While he didn’t sing on stage when I was there, Christoph Waltz was in attendance for a short while. Quentin Tarantino was at the same bar about a month ago, too. Celebrities of all kinds have gone to the Double L for the feel only a small town bar can give. That, and it’s the one bar in Lone Pine with more than just beer and wine.

On a side note, thanks to questioning the crew about the film I came to find out that Django Unchained will be going to film in Wyoming within the next couple weeks, and from there they’ll migrate to Louisiana. Among the small talk and gossip, sometimes interesting things come out, whether you’re on a production crew or not.

There are small town bars all over the place, but some have a degree of character worth noting. 

Quentin Tarantino is currently making a film called Django Unchained. Why would this random fact be in this blog? It’s because they’re filming part of it in the area I’m in and the hotel I’m working at is housing the production company making it.

Every last room in our facility is booked for this production, which is a big deal for us since our slow season is a major economic slump period and we could use the major influx of revenue here. Any time any filming goes on here, be it for a major motion picture, independent film, or commercial, it brings everyone involved from actors and special effects people to caterers and coordinators, and they all need a place near— or on— location to stay. With the rugged outdoor scenery and beautiful landscape within a stone’s throw of Lone Pine, California, they end up here. 

What’s cool to this writer is that, while Tarantino isn’t staying here himself, he might end up here to work with the production crew or to check out the sets. Celebrities like that don’t end up here every day, and it’d be cool to meet another famous somebody. 

Either way, regardless if I meet the head hancho or not, the fact that the hotel is getting business is good for me, the hotel, and the whole town in general.