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Part Three

09 July, 2001 - After the Second Day of Shooting

All in all, I am pleased with the performances. I had to reshoot a scene and it was my fault. On the first day, we shot some of the easy going stuff first and then tackled an emotional scene. I didn't prepare the actors enough. This time, we did the scene in one take.

My AD, Jamie, has been a great help. I told her she can shoot a few scenes later on.

Still on schedule though.

Lisa was great in the one scene. Real psycho look.

Dean is great at the ad lib.

Ryan is coming along nicely. He has some great bits. His character, Jerry is such a doofus at times, but later on, he will get to be bad.

Johnny got a little overheated in the mask. He was great with the switchblade though.

Marc made his first appearance. Good job, but we couldn't finish the scene got Johnny got a little sick from the heat.

We have to work on cooling the place down. The majority of the action will take place in the kidnapper's lair.

As always, Bill and Ed were valuable. They were in charge of the sound and the boom.

Haven't tackled any difficult scenes yet. I got a great cast and crew, so I am confident it will go as smooth as it should. I know my optimistic tone here will probably shock my line producer Bill. He thinks I am jaded. Well, after all the hell on "Blood Kiss," I couldn't help but be jaded, but the movie turned out well. I am sure we will have our share of hell on this movie. That is the nature of the beast, but as long as the movie turns out well, it will be worth it.

10 July, 2001

25 July, 2001

See NOTES ON RECASTING THE MOVIE

02 August, 2001

We were supposed to shoot some key scenes tomorow, but one of my actors couldn't get off work. Oh well, gives us more time to get ready next week. That is the unfortunate problem of working without a budget, everyone has their day jobs. I can't wait for the days to have budgets.

Yet, the movie is coming along pretty smoothly. We recently shoot with Jiyan (who is replacing Johnny). It was a long day, but worth it. He and Lisa handled a difficult scene. I got a chance to post some new photos and update the site overall.

All in all, I am pleased. Which is a lot better than with "Blood Kiss," where it was one hell after another.

04 August, 2001

Just finished the press conference scene. Had a lot of great extra work from some past actors I've worked with (Dawn Pierce and Sora Kim Johnson of "the SHIP") showed up. All in all, it turned out well. It was the first chance I got to work with Dawn Michelle Sniadak. She was great at taking direction. At one point, she just turned to me and said, "What do you want me to do?" Actresses like this make my job a lot easier.

Fletch (Bill Fletcher) had a few questions about character. He is one of those actors who really dissects a role and gets into the character. There's this great little bit he did to show how upset Scott was over his missing wife.

I might make a show reel to show some of the extras who showed up. Even my buddy Ted who use to serve me coffee at Caribou showed up.

Now, I just have to edit it all together. A lot of quick cuts.

11 August, 2001

Yesterday DareU shot in a law office on the 14th floor. Thanks to Bill Alexander's friend, Mika. This was part of the Scott and Samantha office scenes which went very well. Bill Fletcher, Dawn Michelle Sniadak and Ed Cambron gave their usual wonderful performances. Dawn added a little bit by singing. She has sung opera for 14 years, so I decided to have Samantha sing to herself when she is entering the office.

Thanks 2 one and all.

Tomorrow at Noon, we shoot at MDI. The new Adam makes his arrival.

Dawn and I got along fabulously at the shoot. Now, if she would only get her computer up and running so I can reach her on-line, she'd be perfect.

Fletch (Bill Fletcher) is getting a good handle on Scott. We had the usual director-actor discussion about how to play the character. Fletch has his own ideas about things. Which are not far off the mark from what I want from him as Scott. We managed to meet somewhere in the middle and get the job done nicely.

19 August, 2001

The shoots have been going smoothly. A few personal things have come up, but they have been handled.

The new Adam, Richard Montgomery, has come aboard. He is a stage actor and new to the film world, but he takes direction well. We shot Adam's entrance and he had more than a few questions about what drives Adam. I answered most of them and Richard came up with some things on his own.

Just came off rehearsing the "breakfast" scene.

Shot a brief scene where Jason added a nice bit off the fire escape. It was in character, so I let him go with it.

I am a bit tired, but I got some pics posted on the site. The Talent Agency and finishing the Ship has taken some time away from the movie, which was expected. still, we are doing good and I am pleased with everyone. The goal is to be finished by the end of next month. After that, the Company can go into the edit bay.

2 September, 2001

16 September, 2001- NEW ENTRY

It has been the oddest week ever. I debated on what i would do after the Tragedy. For the last two weeks, I have been a bit more tired than usual. Things are somewhat overwhelming and there is always a lot to do. I think the past few days have just made me thing more about life and what it means. So, I moved ahead and did a shoot today with Dawn and Fletch (Bill Fletcher). Dawn knows my moods and although I was happy to see her, I was in a bit of a funk.

The scene turned out well. Lately, I have been moving some of the scenes outdoors.

Got a scene to shoot tomorrow. So, why am I up at 3:30am. Can't sleep. Which is a good sign with me. I only sleep when I'm sick.

So, how goes the movie? It goes well. A few personal things are going on in the background, but that is to be expected.

I am saving the shoot out scenes for last. We are definitely going to move into October, but I believe we will be wrapped with all things by the middle of the mouth. Maybe, I can get a rough cut done by December.

I told Jay, 2nd in command of Prelude, that I was a bit overwhelmed doing all these things and he said, "I just need to manage my time better." Actually, I need to do some more on the finance part and bring some people aboard to take over things.

Back to the movie. That is how it is lately, I am trying to focus on the shoot and other things keep cropping up. I swear, I use to be able to handle that well. Or maybe, I thought I did.

Anyway, there might be some big news as far as the music goes for the movie.

Official Posters will be coming soon. Dawn has been talking to some photographers and Richard has been working on some graphics.

Dawn looked so cute in her hat today, I have to get a pic of her on the site wearing it.

Well, I am going to add some more things to the rest of the site and get ready for the shoot tomorrow. I will probably add some more pics by the end of this week.

For More of the Production Journal, see

Part Two