Tonight, the air is rent with the sound of screeching and yelling. it can only be one of two things: Either Danny, the AD, is waiting for Clark, the cinematographer, to perfect a new camera set up, or the infamous catfight scene between the two lead actresses has begun. Frankly, it’s a wonder that the cop we’ve had to hire for the production doesn’t run inside with his gun to see what all the commotion is all about.
If he did, he’d discover a nurse with a bloodied glove and two girls slamming into each other like drunken Sumo wrestlers. (Mind, the two ladies in question are an awful lot more attractive than Sumo wrestlers.) This scene is going to be legen - wait for it - dary. It’s going to rank alongside the “Dynasty” poolside brawl between Joan Collins and Linda Evans. I can only think that Josh told one actress to imagine that she's "Jennifer," and the other to imagine she's "Angelina."
But there's a calm center on the set tonight in the form of Sandra Staggs, who plays the nurse. Sandra is one interesting gal. Her background is in marketing and distribution on film and when she isn't acting -- a recent gig saw her flying to Buenos Aires to star in a megabudget Coke Zero ad for the overseas market -- she's also helping produce a drama called "Without Borders," a drama mainly set in Greece in which a man finds himself raising a girl who has been abandoned by her prostitute mother. Sandra also stars in the ambitious production, which was filmed in Greece, Mexico, Illinois and New Mexico. Looking forward to its release.
Also on set tonight: Mark Irvingsen, who plays a doctor. Welcome to our madness, Mark.
In between takes, Michelle explains how she became fully fluent in sign language at school and college. Frankly, it sounds more difficult than learning Zulu. Michelle says that even though the hands are the focal point of communication, one's eyes and facial expressions play into the nuances and subtleties of the language. As such, it's taught her how to incorporate nonverbal communication into her acting.
During another quiet moment, Tina regales us with tales of how her eldest son appeared in "Cheaper by the Dozen" alongside (the reclusive) Steve Martin and (the extraverted) Hilary Duff. At the time, her son was in hospital and so the Make a Wish Foundation set up a brief appearance in the film for him. The production company went even further: They gave him a line in the movie (actually, a word: "snaaaakes!") and later whisked him off to the film premiere. Tina says that her son still receives occasional residual checks in the mail for his one-word of acting.
We’ve previously mentioned that we’re using the “Red,” a revolutionary digital camera that offers unprecedented resolution and allows for special-effects manipulation while filming. (Peter Jackson is reportedly so taken with the Red that he owns 7 of them; the new Nicolas Cage film, “Knowing,” was the first feature to be filmed entirely on a Red.) Well, we’ve been secretly testing the R2E, a cable developed by Raphael “Raffi” Kryszek that allows filmmakers to shuttle media off the camera faster than anything previously available. Raffi checked in on the set tonight and is relieved to hear that his cable hasn’t had any glitches. He’s going to officially unveil the cable at National Association Of Broadcasters in a few week's time.
For you techies out there: The cable uses the Red drive’s eSATA capability to maximize the full data transfer rate available. Previously, the Firewire 800 connectivity was the fastest possible way to transfer the data off of the drive. Kryszek’s preliminary tests show an improvement of approximately 20% in the speed of transfers using the R2E. (Thanks to Alex, our Red Camera guru -- above -- for those specs.)Just three more nights of filming here in Culver City, home to the great MGM (now Sony) since the 1920s. But for me, tonight is farewell for me as I have to jet off to Montreal. (Don't worry, the blog will continue with someone else at the helm.) See you at the movie premiere.
-- Stephen Humphries (production assistant)
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