Wrap Up

Okay, I'm back. Finally. Although the problem with coming back after a lapse in time is not knowing where on earth to begin. So I'm going to take the easy way out and just chunk this post up into a bunch of little bite-sized pieces. Sound good?

That's a Wrap!
Our last day of shooting was an ambitious one. Not to say that they all weren't ambitious days, but there were a lot of little scenes left to be shot, including one that involved a huge car accident. We even had a fire truck and ambulance on set in preparation for the stunt, which I thought was kinda cool (even though I hoped we wouldn't need them). I never cease to be amazed by all that's involved in bringing our words to life.

The stunt looked great, and happily no one was injured in the process. However, leading up to it, there were a few time-consuming snags here n' there. A car stalling, the rain fogging up the cameras, etc. You could cut the tension with a knife, because everyone knew that Fort Langely had a curfew and so we absolutely could NOT go into OT. We had to be off the street by 2:30 a.m.

The very last scene scheduled for the day was to be Jim n' my cameo. The one where we had to put our faces right in the camera.

Blegh.

I had been practicing my scared face the night before, and could not pull it off for the life of me. I always smiled or laughed. It was terrible. I am not an actor - nor do I have any ambition to be one. I only agreed to do it because I had been asked by our producers, (and I had been trying to swap myself out of it since day one.) So now that the day had finally arrived, I spend the afternoon asking others if they wanted to be a part of the scene with us. Anything that would allow me to be more in the background and not right next to the lens. I just don't have the chops, and really didn't want to eff things up. After some asking around, our Production Manager agreed to take part, which left me feeling pretty relieved.

Even though it was decided that I wouldn't have my face in the camera, our make-up gal still wanted to pretty me up. But almost immediately after I returned from the circus, my face thick with pancake, Jim informed me that due to the curfew, there wouldn't be enough time for that scene, and so it had been cut. I thought Jim might be disappointed, but he wasn't. We've got our fingerprints all over this film. We don't need our mugs in there too. (Although as I mentioned before, I'm already in one scene - but you'll never actually see me.)

With our scene cut, the last scene ended up shooting was DG lying on the wet ground, with the heavy rain soaking his face. Luckily he was a very good sport about it - probably because he knew that once that scene was shot, the movie would be wrapped and he wouldn't have to put up with our cold Canadian weather anymore. (Apparently on the day we got all that snow, his eyes were as wide as saucers on his drive to set and he asked his chauffeur, "Are we gonna make it?" Ha!)

Afterwards, Danny came around and said goodbye to each person before taking off, which apparently is uncommon for actors to do. He hugged Jim and thanked him, and gave me a kiss on the cheek and said "Thank you for writing a wonderful script." It was nice that everything wrapped up on such a positive note, as it was a very tough day both logistically and weather-wise.

Also on our last day, at lunch time everyone was given a DE shirt as a little memento, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately, Jim's shirt was placed on the back of his chair in our dark tent, and at some point it slipped off and was trampled into the boggy, muddy ground. At the very end of the day, someone discovered it on the ground beside his chair. And while Jim was annoyed that it was so filthy, I couldn't help but find it appropriate. This was a very hard shoot, and to me the muddy shirt represented the battle Jim had been through to get it done. Besides that's what laundry machines are for anyway.

(That wasn't much of a bite-sized post, was it? Oh well... on to the next part...)

Wrap Party!
The next day after a good long sleep, Jim n' I got a room at the Fairmont Hotel downtown -- with much thanks to our lovely Script Supervisor Laura. She had her travel agent sister check us in using her credentials and incredible industry discount, at almost 2/3 off the regular price!

However, I have to say that despite all the pomp n' prestige the Fairmont chain likes the boast, the only thing that really blew Jim n' I away were the prices. I always like to peruse the room service menu, and the mark-up was absolutely laughable. Twenty-two dollars plus tax for some coffee and toast? Thirty-two dollars for a glass of wine? Some people have more money than brains! Of course the room itself was very nice, but neither of us are all that impressed by marble bathrooms or ornately framed mirrors. Besides those shiny features, ultimately it was just another hotel room. I was thankful that we got it so crazy cheap!

Ashley, our make-up artist, had offered to stop by and paint my face pre-party, so that was pretty cool. It's funny because I assume that most of you ladies are like me, and when travelling, you bring only a small make-up bag that contains the essentials. Whereas Ashley showed up with this big 2 X 2.5 foot crate on wheels. I guess it is her profession after all, and it's important to be prepared. I have to admit that I was almost envious of her make-up collection. It's like a portable Sephora store!

When she was done, we headed over to BierCraft (formerly Stella's until just a few weeks ago) for some appies n' drinks with our producer n' his wife, our DP, and one of our Set Dec guys who owns the pub, (and who also pitched me a very unique concept for a TV series, that I'm going to whip up a treatment for!) After an hour or so there, we made our way two blocks down the road to Charlatans, where we had half of the bar reserved for our cast n' crew party.

Now, for the last year or two, every time Jim n' I finished a new draft, we'd always treat ourselves to a breakfast at Milestones. And almost each time I'd say something like, "I wish the Universe would pick up the tab, so we didn't always have to pay for our own reward." Because what good is a reward when it eats into your budget? (No pun intended.) But do you know what I mean? It'd be great if the world worked in such a way that we didn't have to reward ourselves. That being said, I think it is important that we recognize our efforts and reward ourselves, whether it's a fancy dinner or even just a fancy coffee.

Anyway, I mention this because when we got to our wrap party, it felt like THIS was finally the Universe picking up the tab for our reward! There were all these people there, tons of food, and plenty of drink tickets to go round. In some ways it felt kind of surreal. Imagine having ownership of something for so long, and then suddenly have almost 100 people who are now active participants as well. All these people who were strangers only a month ago, have come together and helped you bring your vision to life, and are now celebrating the milestone with you...  All I can think is that we've definitely come a long way from our breakfast burritos!

Alright, I kinda want to get on with my day over here, but I've got a lot more to share about our little get-away in PoMo, and our plans for Christmas and the New Year. I promise to return shortly....