Update: 'Stuck' Filmmakers Talk About Video
DFW AIRPORT (CBSDFW.COM) - When professional auto racing photographers Joe Ayala and Larry Chen found themselves stranded overnight at DFW Airport June 5, they figured out a way to kill time.
They made a short video of their activities.
After featuring their story earlier in the week, CBS 11 spoke with them Friday on Skype.
"We were like gosh, what are we going to do? We have $30,000 worth of gear we used on our shoot - might as well do a skit," said Chen.
On Monday, they posted their video on the website Vimeo. After the first story aired, their video received over 340,000 hits.
"When we first made it, we never expected it to get this popular or anything," said Ayala. "We just made it for our friends and family to show our experience as we were stuck. And then, like all this stuff happened, and we're just like taken aback by it."
At one American Airlines gate, they acted out what many other people might want to do but can't.
Chen spoke on the public address system, and banged on the keys of a computer. He says everything at the gate was locked.
Ayala can be seen walking on his hands. He says they, "just messed around with their stuff because no one gets to do it."
DFW Airport spokesman David Magana says the men were ticketed passengers and their stunts were harmless. "These guys had already been screened and were watched by security guards for a good portion of these activities they were doing, and they were not found to be a threat. So there was no reason to stop them. At DFW, we can certainly appreciate the humor and creativity."
Magana says airport administrators got a good laugh from the video -- as did many people online who saw the story... Though some travelers we spoke with initially said they weren't amused.
"I feel like everyone should take it light-hearted," said Chen. Ayala agrees. "We weren't trying to make a statement by it. We're just doing thing - having a good time."
Airport security though didn't see Chen get a beer in the Pappadeux's restaurant in Terminal E after hours. "That was a one take wonder," explains Chen. "We just did that for the film. We weren't trying to steal anything."
He says the beer was mostly foam, and that afterwards; he cleaned the glass and placed back in the refrigerator.
Neither Chen nor Ayala will face any charges based on what happened inside the kitchen. The airport says it is now better securing the restaurant after hours.
The airport says the men cleaned up after their stunts, and made sure everything was returned to the right place.
The men, who follow formula drift racing, say they plan on releasing a blooper reel of their outtakes.
