Regina Taylor, The Unit: Out of Hell
"Into Hell," Part 1 and 2, follows the plot of the kidnapping of Jonas and Molly Blane's daughter, Betsy, while she is serving in Afghanistan. It is the Unit's mission to bring her back home alive. Tiffy, admitting to her affair with Colonel Ryan, leads to the team's vote — by throwing knives into the sand — to support her husband Mack's long-awaited revenge. Molly loses it in Part 1, trying to get a message to the press about her daughter, in spite of the fact that the wives are undercover. That prompts the military to take Molly into custody.
One evening this week, I catch up with Angel Wainwright, who plays my TV daughter, Betsy, at the screening of the Hallmark Channel movie Accidental Friendship, which stars the brilliant Chandra Wilson and the legendary Mr. Ben Vereen and newcomer Kathleen Munroe. The last time Angel and I saw each other was on the set of The Unit and we didn't really have a chance to chat in between the scenes of the intense episodes of "Into Hell."
Since then, Barack Obama has been elected to be our next president. We hope and pray that "the times, they are a-changing" and that he can lead this country out from under this hellish economic blight. We are both still reeling from the news. I thought I was going to be at Grant Park the night of the announcement — had my plane ticket to Chicago and my hotel reservation in order — but I ended up working that day instead. I watched the news after work, eating Chinese delivery in my bed and going, "That coulda been me!' in the sea of hopeful and joyous faces. Still, in Santa Clarita, California, I felt it. And I wept like a baby when the announcement was read. I felt the fulfillment of King's dream and the rising up of a new American Dream. Angel felt it too, seeing the faces that reflect the great melting pot that is truly this country.
And we watched the faces around the world. From England to Africa, the global family felt it too, all celebrating a new age in the making.
Now, a week later, Angel and I are dreaming about the future as we attend the reception for Accidental Friendship, a true life story about a homeless woman and the policewoman who helps her turn her life around. I got the invitation from my friend Lorraine Toussaint, one of the producers of this project. It is a piece that Lorraine diligently championed for over five years to make. Lorraine is also a phenomenal actress from Any Day Now, Saving Grace and Ugly Betty. Many people at the reception come over to congratulate us on The Unit, especially for this last episode.
I have to say, too, that I've gotten calls about Molly losing it — in Part 1 and in particular, hauling off and slapping Tiffy. It was a scene that both Abigail Brammel and I were both nervous about. I think she was afraid of my hitting her too hard, and I certainly didn't want come anywhere close to any mishaps or mis-hits that might cause any permanent damage to such a lovely face. There was a fight choreographer on set. After talking everything through, we practiced my swinging at her — never coming closer than two feet — and her reacting as if hit, with the camera being placed strategically so that is looks like I'm making contact.
The guys on the show are much more macho. It was interesting to see the make-up tricks used to show the beat-down that Colonel Ryan takes in this next episode. Camera angles and glued gelatin on the face make magic.
In Part 2, we meet Betsy as an adolescent played by Jourdan VanEman. We shoot her scenes on a Friday night in the Downtown L.A. warehouse district until well after this young actress' bedtime. She tells me this is her TV drama debut. Each of her takes is flawless. She knows all her lines and mine, too. She never misses her mark. This cherubic face has the adult Betsy's eyes — fearless.
At the Hallmark reception, Angel's hungry and tells me that where she's from a "reception" means dinner. I remind her that maybe that's the definition in Baltimore, Maryland (where she was born) and other places down south, but in L.A. "reception" means maybe some hors d'oeuvres and drinks. After viewing the thought-provoking and moving film that promotes the work of Lea's Mini Twelve Step House, Angel and I end up wandering around Beverly Hills trying to find a restaurant that's open after 10. We find the Cheesecake Factory and catch up some more.
Angel has since moved to L.A. after being cast in The Unit. Until recently she also had a recurring role on General Hospital: Night Shift playing the determined student nurse, Regina Thomson. "Into Hell" brings Angel back to The Unit for her first appearance since last season when her character enlisted. She's doing the usual routine of emerging young stars and is going to loads of auditions, taking classes, networking, signing agents and managers in her determination to build a foundation here. In between these rounds she is also writing a film script. This Sunday night will be the same for Angel as last Sunday night, when she and her friends gathered around the TV with cake and champagne and watched the adventures of Betsy Blane. Angel enjoys the character's toughness and tenacity. Angel is 5-foot-4 and weighs "a buck ten," she says proudly of her 110-lb "hard earned" frame as she plows into a huge bowl of pasta. "I appreciate that they saw that in my eyes when I auditioned for the show."
The scenes of Betsy's imprisonment were shot in the basement of an abandoned mental hospital in Downtown L.A. Angel shares, "We had to shut down one day of shooting because of fear of asbestos on this site that had been closed down for so long. The air felt contaminated when the crew opened it up to shoot." They checked for asbestos — finding none — and gave it an all clear after letting the rooms air out for a whole day.
This delay pushed back my day with Linda Hunt as she returned to The Unit for "Into Hell, Part 2." It would be my first time working with this veteran of stage and screen. All of our scenes were shot in one day at the Santa Clarita Studios. I have been a huge fan of Ms. Hunt since I saw her in The Year of Living Dangerously, the Mel Gibson movie for which she won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress. I have followed her since then on the screen and stage. I saw her at the Public Theater in New York City in Wallace Shawn's Aunt Dan and Lemon, back in 1985.
I introduce myself to her as she arrives in the make-up trailer. She tells me that she is looking forward to working with me and I certainly feel the same. She is a 4-foot-9 powerhouse. She has X-ray eyes that twinkle mischievously. She is luminous and lovely. To the make-up artist she says, "Nothing fussy". There is a simplicity, honesty and directness to this woman who is often described as enigmatic. She pierces a situation with a look. I thoroughly enjoy this day working scenes with this deeply intelligent and fierce actress.
