Swampscott Lifeguards Kept an Eye on Grown Ups 2 Pool

Swampscott lifeguards had a role in the making of the Adam Sandler movie

They did not act. But they performed nonetheless — keeping an eye on the 24 feet by 32 feet pool in the sound stage at .  

The stage's pool, house and yard — the setting for a wild party rocked by the J. Geils Band — will likely figure prominently in the movie. Movie makers spent some three weeks filming in the building.

When the cameras were rolling, the lifeguards were on break. 

When the cameras were not rolling, they were responsible for watching the pool, being prepared to come to someone's assistance.

That was anywhere from 75 percent to 50 percent of the time, said lifeguards Erich Yaeger and Cortney Fletcher.

The long hours the actors and crew worked on the set was surprising to the lifeguards.

"It shocked me, the hours they work," said Cortney, 20, on summer break from the University of Delaware, where she studies occupational therapy.

Cortney worked about 12 hours on one of her first shifts on the set.

"I was so surprised at how slow moving it is," said Erich, 20, an engineering student at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

But for the movie crew it was a natural pace, he said.

Eight or nine Swampscott lifeguards had a chance to work the set, said Town Recreation Director Danielle Strauss.

Erich and Cortney's experiences were representative, she said.

They were surprised by the long hours the cast and crew worked, and were intrigued by the inner workings of a movie — the lighting, positioning and special effects.

They got to meet or even hang out with the stars, play Frisbee, eat well, and got the royal treatment.

Cortney met Chris Rock, Peter Dante, Allen Covert, Alexander Ludwig and Adam Sandler, who would swim in the pool.

Cortney said she didn't swim because it was too cold with the air conditioning inside the sound stage.

Adam Sandler was a regular guy, checking on Red Sox scores and yakking with people.

Erich meet Maya Rudolph and enjoyed talking with the set workers, and learning about their craft.

Erich and Cortney, both Swampscott High grads, 2010, work 30 hours a week guarding Swampscott beaches.

They were both at when they got the call from the recreation director asking them if they were interested in working on the Grown Ups 2 set inside the sound stage.

Both had wanted to see what it looked like inside the big building, and, as it turned out, they got a chance to work the set, guarding the 12-foot-deep pool.

"It was really exciting — cool and different," Cortney said.