Caterer feeds 'Gone Girl' film crew

Paul Musgrave of Mission Viejo, Calif., slices cucumbers for a pitcher of cucumber water Thursday. For Stars Catering, based in Carlsbad, N.M., serves meals for the cast and crew of the feature film “Gone Girl” each day. More images are in gallery at semissourian.com. (Adam Vogler)

With the filming of 20th Century Fox's "Gone Girl" in full swing, it's likely people have visited filming locations in Cape Girardeau in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the film's stars, such as Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike or Tyler Perry.

Visitors also might have noticed filming a single scene could last for hours. Many takes are involved during shooting, and sometimes glitches in lighting or sound equipment can cause delays. The long periods require patience from the actors and production crew, but eventually everyone shares a common feeling: hunger.

That's where Lloyd Thomas of For Stars Catering comes in.

"Typically I serve meals for about 120 people per day," said Thomas, a co-owner of the business. "But tonight it will be about 450 with all of the extras coming in. I'll be serving meals at 6 p.m. and then at midnight."

Thomas was referring to the Thursday night filming of the vigil scene of "Gone Girl" at the Common Pleas Courthouse grounds, which required the presence of more extras than usual. But no matter the location or the number of people involved in a scene, Thomas said he and his five assistants are busy preparing and serving meals six days a week.

"We get Sundays off," he said. "It's nice to sleep in."

For Stars Catering is based in Carlsbad, N.M., and Thomas said his catering trucks arrived in Cape Girardeau when principal "Gone Girl" filming began. It started the routine of preparing daily meals for crew members, actors and extras in a kitchen in one of the trucks, with entrees that include meat, chicken or fish, with salads, fresh fruit and vegetables on the side.

The cost of preparing meals each day For Stars Catering ranges from $1,000 to $1,500, according to Thomas.

"I buy my food locally," he said, "but the fish I serve has to be flown down from St. Louis."

Thomas, originally from Santa Cruz, Calif., said he had been a sous chef before he became a co-owner of the business in the early 1980s.

"It was slow going at first," he said, "but eventually we built a good reputation with production companies. You have to build a good reputation, or you're not going to make it."

Thomas said For Stars Catering contracts with production companies to serve food on location.

About 40,000 miles are put on his catering trucks every year.

"We roll with the punches," he said. "Before we came to Cape Girardeau, we served meals in Oklahoma for a Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep movie. I think our next project will be later this year for a new 'Superman' movie being filmed in Detroit."

With the influx of extras needed for the shooting of "Gone Girl" scenes, Thomas said he has hired three people from Cape Girardeau to help with meal preparation. One of the people hired, Kendall Clayton, said he enjoys the work.

"A friend of mine who works in produce told me they were needing extra help," Clayton said. "I had to fill out tax forms and other things, but the pay is good. I'm sitting on gold."

When it comes to meals for the principal "Gone Girl" actors and for director David Fincher, Thomas said they also enjoy his meals but only in a different way.

"They have an assistant pick their meals up and take them to where they are staying," he said.

klewis@semissourian.com

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