It’s been over fifty years since JFK’s motorcade took that fateful route in our city’s downtown. But had you been here only a month ago, you would have thought you had travelled back in time. The streets were cleared, modern signs were nowhere to be seen, and people were dressed in the clothes of yore.
Of course, the time space continuum hadn’t been tampered with, rather Hollywood was in town to shoot a Hulu series called 11.22.63 directed by JJ Abrams and based on the book by Stephen King. Sure the street closures probably pissed off a lot of residents trying to get to work, but for those of us who were able to hang around and watch the filming, it was a pretty fun time.
I kind of fell into going to the set my first day. I had started taking long walks and decided to head downtown. Besides getting to nerd out over all the history, the best part was getting to talk to everyone else who was creeping like me. It was easy to make instant friends with people and figure out what had happened that day and where to go in order to get the best view.
Mostly, I saw a lot of standing around. I don’t know how they ever get anything done to be honest. A lot of the girls in the crowd were there to try and spot James Franco, who is starring in the show. They were holding up signs for him, and at one point I was standing next to a lady who was looking through binoculars. No judgement, they did have us standing kind of far back.
It turned out the coolest place to be was in the parking lot of the museum. That’s where a lot of the cameras and props were and the dressing room trailers were back there as well. I also spotted the guy who is going to play Oswald, or that’s what me and my group that day believed. Anyway, if it turns out he doesn’t play Oswald, that was one missed casting opportunity.
Looking to learn more about the assassination and what was happening in Dallas leading up to it? I really recommend picking up a copy of Dallas 1963, it does a great job of capturing the state of things in this city, and even around America, at that time. Then there’s this entry from Ladybird’s diary, which is definitely worth a read. Lastly, if you haven’t already, visit The Sixth Floor Museum.
What thoughts or memories do you have on this day in history? I’d love to hear from you, share in the comments!
Julie in Dallas 