Being that it's his movie, it was only fitting for Garrison Keillor to be the first actor to show up at Mickey's Diner in downtown St. Paul Saturday evening.

As Keillor walked by the small crowd that had gathered to see what all the fuss was about, Mike Hardin, 20, an autograph seeker, whipped out a 1980 vinyl copy of "The Prairie Home Companion Anniversary Album."

"Where'd you get this?" Keillor asked, as he signed the album cover with a blue marker. "I hope you didn't pay full price for it." The radio legend was in a jovial mood as filming for "A Prairie Home Companion," a Hollywood movie about the fictional last broadcast of his famous radio show -- left the Fitzgerald Theater for a night. Every other scene has been shot in the downtown theater, where Keillor regularly performs his radio show.

The scene at St. Paul's historic Mickey's Diner, an old-school burger joint at St. Peter Street and W. 7th Street, is intended to start and end the movie.

Mickey's, of course, isn't new to Hollywood. Scenes from the hockey movie "The Mighty Ducks" and Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Jingle All the Way" were shot there, as well.

Crew members started setting up at Mickey's in the sweaty 90-degree heat of late afternoon.

By 7:45, most of the star-studded cast had arrived and were milling around on the sidewalk under small blue tents as cameras and props were being set up inside. Lindsay Lohan, Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson and Kevin Kline were among the many A-listers present.

Pam Velander, 40, and her 9-year-old daughter, Jessica, were the first people to take a seat across the street from Mickey's. After seeing the afternoon performance of "Peter Pan" at the Ordway, they were hoping to grab a burger at the diner.

"At first we thought they were cleaning the streets, but then we saw the actors' chairs," Velander said, referring to the move-set chairs that had the actors' names stitched across the backs. With the diner closed, they grabbed a pack of Dots and a giant orange Freezie from the convenience store and took front-row seats for the making of a movie. Velander said they planned to stay a little while and then head home to Brooklyn Park for some real dinner.

More people started gathering. Then, as Streep jumped out of a black minivan that had just pulled up, a young man who had been quietly sitting on the curb jumped to his feet and whipped out a camera with a massive lens.

Click. Click. Click. The paparazzi had arrived, too.

Minutes later, the crowd of about 50 let out minor gasps as Lohan, in a plaid top, short shorts and light brown boots, walked onto the set. The Minnesota Nice crowd -- so nice in fact, that the movie crew didn't even have to set up barricades -- let out only a few screams.

By 8:30 p.m. the stars had finished the apparent rehearsal and sped away one by one. It was clear they would come back overnight to shoot the real scene. The crew had set up rain machines and a giant spotlight, indicating that a rain sequence was in order.

The crowd across the street began dispersing, too. For Velander and her restless daughter, "a little while" had turned into three hours. With Lohan gone, Velander told her daughter it was time to go. Jessica, who spent most of the evening climbing around the base of a stoplight, reminded her mom that she had been ready to go a long time ago.

Velander then admitted to getting caught up in the moment. "We stayed for Lindsay," she said. "She's Jessica's favorite." Velander paused, knowing that her daughter wasn't the only one star-struck by the pop princess this night. "OK, we'll just 'say' Lindsay is her favorite."

And off they went.

Originally published online here: http://www.startribune.com/stories/389/5498967.html