DAY 3

First day of a four day stint at the mother of all locations, where one third of the entire movie is being shot. It’s 6AM, there is mucho to do, with lots to be loaded in, and two locations to be dressed. Once again we’re understaffed, so everyone is moving like mad to get everything ready.

Then some bad news. One of the actors, who’s in just about EVERY scene at this location, thought his call time was 8PM not 8AM! Dude is down in Orange county wrapping another shoot, but says he can get to down town LA at around noon. Do we re-cast him with one of the crew? Nah, just shoot around the guy and hope to god he actually does get here by noon.

First up, an exterior scene. But before we can start several of the crew have to move their rides because some guy who works in the building next door says we’re breaking the law by parking in front of his place. We aren’t, but it’s the first day, and don’t want to piss anyone off. It also becomes clear that shooting right by the railroad tracks, off a busy street, and under a flight path is going to be HELL on sound. Luckily everything else is pretty perfect.

First scene goes rather slowly. Everyone is still finding their way and the noise problem fully sucks, but just gotta live with it. The actor we’ve been waiting for finally shows(more than making up for lost time with his talent), we scout the area behind the building for our next locations, and once again get bogged down. This time, because there just wasn’t enough time to rehearse, so needed to flush some stuff out. 

Drude uses his amazing logistical skills and finds a great place to get lunch. KICK ASS MEXICAN FOOD!

We move inside, where everyone’s working fast and furious to keep this crazy ship afloat. Each crew member doing the job of at least three. Everything gets lit, dressed, and on we go. The Set General does most of the blocking cuz he’s now running and gunning all the coverage in his head. All we have time for is the absolute minim of set ups to stay on schedule, we’re already way behind, with a hard out. 

That hard out comes, and we live to fight another day.

photos by Suzan Jones