Finishing Up Round I, Begin Round II

Last Monday was our last day of the shoot. We were at The Pleasure Chest, in WeHo. While Leah, Brian and the crew were setting up, I asked Cristina, our scripty, to make a note of all the brands on the shelf that we were going to shoot so that we can obtain clearance. Laura was tasked with set dressing. I think she enjoyed dressing that set a little too much. At one point, I asked her to find a product that Jenny can pick and say "This is all very disturbing." Now, if any of you haven't been to The Pleasure Chest, you should check it out. There is something there for everyone. The store has about 5000 square feet (if not more) of adult toys. Anyway, Laura waved me over and showed me the suggested item for Jenny: an anal ring-toss. This is like that game at the amusement park where you throw those rings onto the milk bottles but instead of the milk bottle, it's...well, you know...I cracked up. It was the perfect prop for that scene.

We had to be out of The Pleasure Chest by 2pm, and again, hit time pressure to get the shots I needed vs. the shots I wanted to have. We ended up getting the transition shot that I needed and wanted, and all was good.

After The Pleasure Chest, we headed to my brother's place again to shoot a very "small" scene (1/8 page) that we didn't have time to shoot on the other days. Since I only needed to show Jenny leaving the house after the BJ scene, with one line of dialogue from Tim, we kept the crew to a minimum...Paul, one of the camera operators, ended up making his cameo appearance in the film.

And then we wrapped. Hugs all around.

It is hard to describe the feeling of having finished up this shoot. It has been very challenging, in large part because we didn't have the money that we needed and had to cut corners in as many ways as possible, while also trying to maintain the commitment we made to our crew. I've been told that with a bigger budget, it will actually get easier. Considering our limited resources, in hindsight, the production turned out pretty well. Our actors gave great performances, 99% of our crew stuck with us to the end, and I think we have good-looking shots for our editor to play around with.

I'm so grateful to our actors, crew, friends and family who were there for us throughout this production. We couldn't have done it without them.

And now it's onward to find a kick-ass editor(s), and onto the next round of production.

A forward motion...

Although there is a lot of work to be done on the film, I feel a sense of forward motion and completion.

I have now had the chance to work with all three, amazing, creative, smart, talented, fun, but very different directors. We have shot almost all but 30 percent of the film from my understanding (I could be wrong) but that's what it feels like. I have gone through an experience that has changed my perspective on film making and acting as a whole.

All three of these ladies have a very specific idea of what they want and I think they are going about it in such a positive and collective manner. It can not be easy to constantly get what you want but whether or not Christine, Lucy and Laura are they are making the cast, crew and entire production team, in my opinion, feel like that is the case.

I am excited to see what comes of the footage we have shot thus far and eager to start work again in March. Until then...happy and healthy holidays.

JBK

I Wonder If They Would Have Sued Me?!?!

I LOVE the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They are one of my favorite bands. The original title for Love Song was Californication. I wanted to pay homage to the group, but also, Cali, is the character who tries to come between Shane & Dustin.

The day I saw the billboards all over Sunset Blvd. announcing the new Showtime series I was pissed. I kept thinking, if only I could have gotten my act together sooner and done my film. My other thoughts were mean; I hope it sucks, I hope no body watches etc. Then I decided to change the name to Love Song because there are two songs in the film with the same title. One is by The Fabulous Miss Wendy and the other one is by J.K. Music (Love Song, Yo!).

I have to say that I was shocked when I saw the article below. I figured that I could get away with naming my short Californication because the reality is that my film would never be competition for the band or take away from their earnings. I do agree that the title/name Californication was made famous by the band regardless of what the show's creator says.

I don't disagree with the band's action, particularly because it sounds like they were never consulted and the Showtime series has referred to Dani's character as Dani California on a number of occasions. I do like the show, it's well written and well acted. I'm surprised that Showtime or the show's creator never bothered to consult the band. They seem like pretty cool guys and if approached properly, they probably would have been on board.

My next film will probably be the short version of Take The A Train - I took the title from a song by Charles Mingus. The film takes place in Washington Heights where the A train is the iron horse of choice. I hope his estate does not put an injunction on my film!

I love music and everything I've written has been named after a song. Am I in trouble?

What do you think?

Lucy




The Red Hot Chili Peppers sue Showtime

By the Associated Press
November 20, 2007
The Red Hot Chili Peppers on Monday sued Showtime Networks over the name of the television series "Californication," which is also the name of the band's 1999 album and a single on it.

The lawsuit alleges unfair competition, dilution of the value of the name and unjust enrichment, claiming the title is "inherently distinctive, famous ... and immediately associated in the mind of the consumer" with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"Californication is the signature CD, video and song of the band's career, and for some TV show to come along and steal our identity is not right," said the band's lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, in a statement.

The television series stars David Duchovny as a novelist suffering from writers' block and a mid-life crisis.

The show features a character named "Dani California," which is also the title of a Red Hot Chili Peppers song released in 2006, according to the lawsuit.

The suit also names the show's creator and executive producer, Tom Kapinos, and two production companies, Twilight Time Films and Aggressive Mediocrity, Inc.

A call Monday to an attorney for Showtime was not immediately returned. Attempts to find a listing for Kapinos were not successful.

The suit seeks a permanent injunction barring Showtime and the other defendants from using the title "Californication" for the show, damages and restitution and disgorgement of all profits derived by the defendants.

In July 2007, Kapinos told reporters at a Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills that he first heard the term in reference to Oregon.

"Apparently in the '70s there were bumper stickers that said 'Don't Californicate Oregon,' because Californians were coming up there, and I just thought it was a great, great title for this show," said Kapinos.

Sunday

Sunday was the last day for me. I could not take any more time off from work. The production wraped today at The Pleasure Chest in WeHo.

Yesterday was a VERY challenging day. Three directors, three scenes, one tiny location, 2.5 hours to shoot per director.

We each have a scene at a radio station. So we decided that if we all trimmed our scenes down to under 3 pages we could get it done. Christine had 2 pages and two actors, Laura had, I guess 3 pages and two actors and I had 3 1/2 pages and 5 actors.

Laura went hand held, Christine and I each had dolly shots.

The room was tiny.



Everybody did AMAZING job lighting, rigging, etc. We were running late. Brian Sorbo, King of the Gaffers, told us they were running a bit behind and because Laura was going first, he didn’t want her to be penalized. It was sweet of him but we wouldn’t have done that.



Laura and I took turns downloading footage and Christine read the role of Jim on Laura's piece. Jim's voice will be added later. Everybody went above and beyond to make sure that the game of Director Musical Chairs went smoothly. I have to admit, that for a moment, it seemed like I was not going to get to shoot. I was worried because I had more pages than Laura and Christine and I had more actors to deal with.



I LOVE MY ACTORS. I had rehearsed the scene with Onahoua and Justin but I never got a chance to rehearse with Chris and Bach. Chris and Bach were playing the same characters in Christine’s and Laura’s pieces so I knew that by the time it got to me, they’d be very comfortable. The first take was ok, and by the 3rd take it was flawless. Onahoua and Justin have amazing chemistry as do Chris and Bach. Bringing the four of them together, plus Mari Marks who plays the band manager made it look like a real band, being interviewed by real radio djs. The dialogue flowed and it sounded like one of those morning shows.



I am so grateful for our crew. They worked their butts off to make sure I got what I needed. We went over time, which totally sucked but everyone was extremely gracious about it and I will forever be thankful.

Logan Williams who owns Reel Suite was a great host. He was so generous to allow us to come into his space. At the end of the night we all pitched in to make sure the place was just as we found it. I took great pride in sweeping the rug at studio and I even got to go up to the roof to help Lynn and Jeff take off the tarp that covered the outside window. Lynn and Jeff were laughing at me because I was wearing the flashlight on my head. What can I say, I love to dork out.

Being up on a rooftop at such close proximity to the freeway was very liberating. I felt like the King of the World up there. Yes, I said King!

I gave everyone such a big hug at the end of the night, those were the best hugs ever. Thank you so much to everyone for sticking with us.

Lucy

ps
Pics taken by Logan Williams

In Response to Laura's Last Blog

Like a warrior that fights
And wins the battle
I know the taste of victory
Though I went through some nights
Consumed by the shadows
I was crippled emotionally
Somehow I made it through the heartache
Yes I did, I escaped
I found my way out of the darkness,
Kept my faith (I know you did)
Kept my faith

The above is from the George Michael/Aretha Franklin song I knew You Were Waiting For Me. I was not too fond of this song when it came out, I was too young to realize the depth of the song. While Laura quotes Chekhov, I’m more than happy to quote George Michael lyrics.

In my opinion, the song is about a relationship that was very consuming and put the person through a very hard time. The person kept their faith and remained positive because the person knew that their true love was waiting for them.

I know it’s sappy but you can substitute the relationship for your goal. In my case the film. The production took a toll on a lot of us but at the end of it, we will have a wonderful film and many people to thank.

No, I don't regret a single moment
No I don't, looking back
When I think of all those disappointments
I just laugh (I know you do), I just laugh

This is basically how I’ve felt. I don’t regret the experience at all. I’ve met so many wonderful people and learned so much from the process that I would not take any of it back.

I only shot two scenes out of my film and am finishing in mid-late March. I’m looking forward to that.

I can’t wait to see Dustin and Shane’s lives unfold. David Villar and Onahoua Rodriguez are so wonderful together and their chemistry is electrifying, sweet and heartfelt. It makes me gush every time I think about it. Throw in Daniella Alonso as Cali, the babe who comes between Shane and Dustin, sprinkle some Justin Klosky as Jim, Mari Marks as Sonny Vivian (Dirty Virgin’s band manager) and The Fabulous Miss Wendy’s music and you’ll get a chick flick with an edge. And no, I have no problems if people call it a chick flick.

So to recap the song and how this experience has left me:

When the river was deep I didn't falter
When the mountain was high I still believed
When the valley was low it didn't stop me, no no
I knew you were waiting
I knew you were waiting for me

Now, the fun begins.

Lucy

This is it.

We wrap today. I feel a mixture of regret and relief. I'm going to miss some of these people a lot.

Here's to Camp Good Karma and the Summer of Love 10 to 1!

Daniella Alonso - our Cali plays Carlotta on Friday Night Lights

Ona on CSI - TONIGHT

Sorry for the short notice. Catch Onahoua Rodriguez (our Shane) on CSI (the Vegas one) tonight.

Lucy

We Lived!

Oh my god. I just got home and had to sit down and write about the insanity that occurred today.

But let's start with yesterday.

No better, let's start with two weeks ago.

After the pool scene, Christine finally put her foot down about the expenses that were going into my project. She had only intended on putting in a minimal amount so that we could get mine done without breaking her bank. So when I asked her how much she had to spend for my two last days, she told me, "$1,000". And when Christine puts her foot down, it makes this really echoey BOOOOOOMMMMM sound, like a giant. Or remember that cartoon with the beautiful Bambi that gets smashed by the ginormous Godzilla foot? I was the Bambi and Christine was the foot. Or my budget was the Bambi and Christine....was still the foot. Christine will always be the foot in this scenario.

A good foot, a necessary foot. (I don't want to hurt Christine's feelings. Christine, I obey your foot. Ok, now we're getting wierd.)

I digress...

Ok, I have $1,000 to make the rest of my film. Which means I call in my dear old friend Erik Forssell, (a brilliant and talented cinematographer) to do me a favor. And he calls his friend in for a favor, and then we call in other favors, and suddenly, poof, we have assembled a skeleton crew for my two days. Ok, done.

We decide it's better to leave the truck in Brian's possession for the days off and we decide to simplify the lighting as much as humanly possible, which we'll see how that goes off tomorrow.

Cut to yesterday:

I meet Brian at the top of a very tall hill where he parks his truck which is like some kind of resting ground for those big old eighteen wheelers. He's generously pulled a bunch of lights and grip equipment and he's going to somehow squeeze it all into my little Saturn. He was totally dismayed when I opened my trunk and there was lots of stuff in it. He even groaned, "Oh, Laura..." i replied, "It's not there, it will disappear." And I did a little rearranging and POOF. Room.

We filled my car with six lights, three c stands, a couple of other stands, ten tons of sandbags (or felt like it), some flags, a reflector, and I don't even remember what the hell else. My car can hardly accelerate, it's so weighed down. I managed to slowly manuver my little Saturn down that steep hill and into traffic.

When I get a call from Jenna, our producer, who tells me I have to go Downtown to Film LA to pick up a permit. So I sit in freakin bumper to bumper traffic at 5pm on a weekday. Just to pick up a stupid piece of paper. I get to Film LA and they want $5 to park. I don't have $5, I'm an indy film maker! Waited around for a half an hour while they "found" my permit. Because we're going under 10 different alias' because we're piggybacked by ten different companies because it's how we save money.

By they way, I don't end up paying the $5. I guess the guard saw my pathetic look and waved me on.

I storyboard the pool scene while sitting in traffic on the way home.

I make it home. I drink two beers and watch Telia Tequila for three hours and contemplate my creative masterpiece that I'm to shoot in the morning.

I wake up. I'm supposed to make breakfast for the crew. I scramble eggs and wrap them in tortillas. I pack the coffee pot, and rush into the car. I'm running late. I forgot styrofoam cups and call Erik (the DP) to pick some up. I wonder if Spielberg and Kaminski do this kind of shit.

I get a call from Justin who tells me the address on the call sheet (which I did, since I'm also AD) is wrong. There's another freakin Woodland Park retirement home just blocks away from ours! So we get the crew back on the road and to the correct location.

We were told by the facility we'd have two rooms available to shoot in for the balcony. We're doing another pool scene, this one Jenny jumps into the pool at the empty apartment in her clothes and Jim goes after her. It's her way of avoiding having to have sex with him. No, that never happened to me in real life. I usually aim for the hot tub.

Erik, Jacob (the sound guy) and I trek to the designated rooms we're supposed to use for the balconies. the first one is locked. When we arrive at the second one, we hear an old woman (this is a retirment home, remember) screaming at someone at the top of her lungs about "get out of my room". Jacob, deadpan, looks at us and says, "I guess we won't be going into that room either". When I asked the staff about it, they just shrugged and did the crazy sign with their fingers. You know the one where you point and your brain and turn your finger around and around. They're used to it. They were like, "Oh, she'll forget all about it in five minutes".

Hold my finger up to my brain and turn my finger around and around. That's about how I felt right then.

Thank god Justin's so cute because he was our saving grace. Our screaming granny, turned into seductive granny. She loved him! Here's his sacrifice for the day, having to listen to the same stories over and over and over....

His other sacrifice? Today was Justin's turn to jump into the pool a hundred times. They are such troopers. The pool was supposed to be heated. It wasn't. Nuff said.

we were supposed to be at the food truck on Melrose avenue by 12 Noon. By 12 Noon, Shireen and Justin's clothes were being thrown into the dryer at the retirement home. Our brilliant plan? Lunch at the food truck and then Christine follows us with dry clothes.

I really have having to rush. It scares the crap out of me, and it gets me agitated. Plus I don't have AC in my car and it was really freaking hot on the 101. Traffic was a nightmare. Why did I think we could do all this? Sometimes I imagine myself physically stretching time out to last longer than it does. Like times a piece of salt water taffy between my fingers and I pull. I really do visualize that. It's the only thing that keeps me zen. I call the food truck guy's daughter, and tell her we're on our way, and she tells me they're worried about getting a ticket because they're supposed to leave at 1:30pm.

It's 1pm.

And I get a call from Erik. He's been in a wreck. Some lady sideswiped him. Bad. That's what the traffic has been about. We all pull over to the side of the freeway in our caravan. Erik gets her insurance and he's back in the game. Pissed as hell, but back in. We're on our way.

1. Late
2. Wrong location
3. can't get into rooms
4. walkies are dead
5. filter on camera doesn't stay secure
6. wrecked truck
7. food cart guy out in half hour.

I'm thinking we're totally fucked. It gets worse. We had planned on shooting at the top of a garage on Melrose and I had spoken with them two months ago and got approved. I call them yesterday to follow up. They're still ok. They call me at 1:15pm while I'm in traffic, to tell me they need $250 for me to shoot on their roof for a half an hour. Me and Erik. Thirty minutes on their roof. $250.

Remember Christine's big Godzilla foot? BOOOOOOMMMM.

I hang up with the rooftop people. Fuck them. We'll figure something else out. I call Erik and tell him our delimma. He's on the other line with the insurance people for his truck and he'll call back.

By the time we're on Highland and the Hollywood Bowl, he calls me back and he's devised a brilliant plan. Do The Graduate long shot when Dustin Hoffman comes running up to the camera. Brilliant!

We arrive at the food truck at 1:30pm. Crew orders double decker cheeseburgers and fries and drinks. We slam em down. I lie and tell the food truck people we'll be done by 2:30. I know it's more like 3:30. They're worried that they're going to get ticketed and I convince them that we're fine because we're permitted. The police can't touch us. And they don't. They never even show up. Our food truck people are so freaking sweet to us, and they even end up in the movie! They were so impressed with our "power permit" they asked if we could get them one for everyday! I wish. They got a lot of business, not just from us but from the streams of people coming by to watch.

Of course, the scene was so cute and perfect. I love this location and this situation. The truck is so colorful and it's such a lively location. Loud, and lively! We got our makeup artist, Erik to stand it for us as an extra. He wore a kilt today. He was pleased with himself getting on camera wearing that. Erik thought he was only doing makeup, but he acted, gripped, the whole shebang. I hope he comes back tomorrow.

We wrapped at 3:30 like I knew we would. We sent our truck people (her name was Olga, I never got his name, shame on me) off for the day with a great story to tell their friends and family, and we still had one scene left before we wrapped for the day.

The Graduate shot.

the light had shifted so perfectly by this point in the afternoon that I really believed all the pitfalls and hold ups were worth this one shot. They had this gorgeous rim of light playing on their shoulders as they walked up Melrose avenue, and the streets were filled with the local flavor. It may be my favorite scene in the film. The acting is so adorable, the light, the shot everything is perfect. It's one long two minute take of them walking and talking. And as I watched it, I thought about how moments like these caught on film is why I enjoy guerrilla style. It's all so natural. I love the chance you take each take, you're playing with so much possiblity when you throw your actors into the middle of chaos like that.

Thank god it worked out.

For today.

On to tomorrow.

Laura


Pic of Sergio Leone - he's the one operating the camera - His spirit lives in our Laura:-) xoxo, Lucy

Christine keeps asking me if it's always this hard. I thought the answer was "when you finally make it to the big time, it gets easier because you have more people, more money."

Apparantly I'm wrong. Look at what's going on with the writer's strike. I asked a friend of mine who worked for years as a writer, dedicated every waking minute of his life to his craft, who now is finally in the studio system playing with the big dogs if it gets easier. His answer? Nope. Bigger money, bigger scope, just as difficult. Maybe more difficult. And now he can't even do what he's been working most of his life towards because he has to stay the course and stand up for his union.

I'm coming to see that it's a real accomplishment to get your film made. There are so many pitfalls. I'm personally going to be hurting for quite some time financially after this. I've probably fucked my credit. I'm sure the IRS will be knocking on my door anyday now.

And just think, in order to "make it" we have to do this again and again. Most people can make one film. Not a lot of people can do another. And we have to do it. We have to.

I was thinking about my favorite play, "The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov. It's about the business of making art. There's a monologue at the end that's particularly touching, and might be the answer Christine's looking for. So here it is:

"Now I know, Kostya, I understand, finally, that in our business -- acting, writing, it makes no difference -- the main thing isn't being famous, it's not the sound of applause, it's not what I dreamed it was. All it is is the strength to keep going, no matter what happens. You have to keep on believing. I believe, and it helps. And now when I think about my vocation, I'm not afraid of life."

Yes, I guess it's always going to hurt.

Indie Filmmaking at its Chaotic Best

I finally got a chance to look at some of the "dailies" with Leah last night. The footage looks fantastic. Leah and I looked at each other and said, "We have a film". Our actors are gorgeous and talented, and they have great chemistry together.

On Sunday, we shot (no pun intended) the BJ scene. No, this isn't porn, no nudity was involved. But we had to make it look as real as possible. We had to do this scene on a shortened schedule because we were at a private residence and needed to wrap by 10pm. With minutes to go, we had to figure out how to get some "stuff" onto Jenny's hair. Let me just say that shampoo/lotion/water was involved, along with a straw, and some projectile action. We only had one or two opportunities to get this right, because once the "mixture" gets onto Shireen's hair, we wouldn't be able to do a retake. With perfect timing on Justin's and Shireen's part, we got it on the second "shot". After I yelled "cut", we all bursted out laughing. This scene promises to give the "hair gel" scene in "There's Something About Mary" a run for the money.



Saturday was the Silverlake party scene. We were shooting up in the hills in Sherman Oaks, it was freezing, and the patio heater that I got the day before didn't work. Ashley, who plays "Layla", wore a sexy mini dress and must have been freezing her a** off, but had no complaints. Eddie, Shireen's husband, made a cameo appearance as "Francis", the smelly boy. We couldn't have found a more perfect actor for this role. We didn't have as many extras as we had hoped, but it ended up working out fine with some tweaking of the shotlist. My family helped out with catering as well as extra work and P2 download.



I hope to make more movies with bigger budgets, bigger crew, and enough money to pay for extras. But this time around, with extremely limited resources, the thing that makes our film so much more is the support of our crew who are willing to accept a lower rate (or even for no pay) and still give us 100%, and our friends and family who are willing to endure the bitter cold (literally) to help us make our dreams a reality. And this is what indie filmmaking is all about.

Dirty Virgin gig @ Cozy's

The Healthy Alternative 2 the drinking game

Because getting shitfaced and hitting a bong are not my idea of fun - I've never done either one! I'll propose an alternative to Laura's drinking game. Today, Laura, the crew and I made an additional appearance at the Silver Lake party scene, so more chances to either play the drinking game or get in shape.

The rules would go something like this:
1. If you see Christine, you have to do 10 sit ups.
2. Jenna - 10 pushups
3. Laura - 10 pelvic tilts
4. Lynn - somersault and 10 jumping jacks
5. Me (Lucy) - 10 Tae Bo kicks (on each leg)

Watch the film 3-5 times per week and you will be in great shape in no time. If you'd like to speed up getting in shape, may I suggest the production diet. Christine and I will elaborate on that later.

Lucy

We've created a drinking game

It's true. I haven't come up with a name for it yet, but it has to do with how many times you see the same crew members over and over again as our background.

The rules would go something like this:
1. If you see Christine, you have to do one shot.
2. Jenna - two shots
3. Me - chug your beer
4. Lynn - somersault and take three shots
5. Lucy - bong hit





i guarantee you'll be absolutely shitfaced within the first fifteen minutes. the bright side is since we're shooting most of Lucy's in March, we'll have enough time to gather a whole new group of extras, so at least you'll have a little down time to sober up in between Love 10 to 1 and Diving Lessons.










Here's the other hilarious thing about the behind the camera gang being extras. Our actors are so gorgeous, so well made up, so sexily dressed...and then there's the rest of us. Indie filmmaking is exhausting, and we've become a haggard bunch, dressed in t-shirts and tennis shoes and scraggily hair. Yesterday I even saw Dominik's walkie earpiece in the distance. (Even he succumbed to my pleading for bodies, god bless our little German). Thank god for editing.

I haven't seen Leah in the film yet. I'll have to work on her. I know she wants to maintain some semblance of professionalism on this shoot. If you see her in the movie, the rule would probably involve a wacked out sexual position and a beer funnel bong thing. What is that called? I was not in a sorority.

Two Days at Cozy's...

...and only one neon light broken. We should be relieved. On Wednesday, Lucy directed the band sequence for the "Dirty Virgins" (or is that "Dirty Virgin", i.e., singular? How many Dirty Virgins are there???). Onahoua Rodriguez, playing Shane, is the lead singer of this band. Justin Klosky, "Jim", is the guitar player, and Wendy from The Fabulous Miss Wendy, from whom we obtained the catchy title song for "Love Song", played bass. One of Jenna's friends was the drummer. (I should've caught his name, but all I could think about was whether we'd have to clear the Spiderman picture on his t-shirt.) The four of them made up the Dirty Virgins and they looked smokin' hot on screen. We got enough people to show up on Wednesday so that we could shoot the crowd shots and not look retarded.





On Thursday, Laura directed the last scenes from her vignette at Cozy's. Since minimal extras showed up on this day, crew ended up being extras, including yours truly. We even grabbed Walker, the guy who works at Cozy's, to be an extra. (I got a chance to talk with Walker during breaks and he is one interesting guy. He hung out with the rock legends at Woodstock, and now, on the weekends, helps produce a radio talk show.) Anyway, I rather enjoyed sitting by the bar table as an extra. Got a chance to have stimulating conversations with a couple of the other ladies on set. All I can say is, if only the camera caught some of our discussions...whew...gotta save some of that juicy stuff for the next film...lol.





On both days, there were several kissing scenes on screen. The first day was between "Dustin" and "Shane". Hot. The second day was between "Jackie" and "Jared", right after Jared gives Jackie the Rabbit vibrator (courtesy of The Pleasure Chest). That's true love for ya.

Today will be a busy for me, as I prepare to shoot the "Silverlake party" tomorrow. It will be an outdoor, night scene. We're shooting at my brother's house and my sisters are coming up to help out as well. Yes, folks, it does take a village to make a film. Or at least, the help of your friends and family.

"My legs have more stubbles than his face."

I just directed the first two days of my vignette over the past couple days. Time was tight, due to the lighting challenges of each location. On Sunday, we shot at an office location. Because there were a lot of reflective windows and we were dealing with two cameras, we found ourselves battling camera/boom reflections in our shots. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to fit in Lucy's scenes on this day. Other than the time issues, I thought the day went well--our actors were fantastic and looked hot on camera (thanks to their parents' genes and of course, our talented crew's hard work).

Yesterday we shot Jenny's dating sequence. We were on a shortened schedule because the restaurant opened at 5pm (and we had to be out by 4:30p), so we were working on a 10.5 hour day rather than a 12 hour day. We were able to shoot all the dates that Jenny goes on, and Shireen (who plays Jenny) had to change into seven different outfits over several different periods of time. I told my actors to feel free to ad lib some of the lines so that it would really feel like they were on a date. However, this will likely cause some continuity issues in editing. I was aware of this and thought that it would be okay because we were using two cameras. For this day, the two cameras were definitely a time-saver. I'm glad that my actors improv'ed some of their lines because they came up with some funny stuff.

I also wanted to get shots of the Thai waitresses at the restaurant commenting on Jenny's dates. Because of the limited time, we weren't able to get shots that established their location vis a vis Jenny and her dates, even though we did get a chance to shoot the waitresses. So it's not clear if I will eventually be able to use this footage. I hope so. Laura helped me with the lines, and she had some funny dialogue. So if you're wondering why the title of this blog is "My legs have more stubbles than his face"--all I can say is, let's hope that makes it into the film!

Tomorrow and Thursday are the big club scenes days. Lucy will be directing tomorrow and Laura will be directing on Thursday. We're hoping that we'll have enough extras to make this look realistic. Otherwise, all our crew will have to jump in and be extras!

Getting Ready for Round II

The past couple days have been chock-full of activity, or should I say, trying to fix issues that never seem to stop coming at us. All I can say is, last minute surprises are good for kids but very bad for production. Fortunately, we got some of the critical issues resolved, and are moving forward with our next round of production, to commence on Sunday.

This Sunday we will be shooting the office scenes. We will not be dealing with a big space like the Cerritos Swim Center, nor will there be water involved. I am hoping we will be able to go quickly. Both Lucy and I have scenes to direct, so we will be splitting our day.

We still have a couple of big scenes remaining, such as the big club day and the "Silverlake" party. Laura and Jenna have been tasked with finding enough extras to fill the space for those days. We have to factor in the high flake factor. This coming week will be challenging.