Isn't That Nice

So on the train back from Queens and there was this poster on the train. And you know, maybe it was the mood I was in but it literally brought a tear to my eye when I read it. Click on the photo below to get a bigger image and you can see why.

The Red Shoes

It's the last day that isn't.

Today was supposed to be the final day of principal photography. But a major f--k up yesterday has scrambled our eggs and so there will be at least another couple of days of shooting at the end of the week. Major f--k up.

Not saying who's fault it was. Now is not the time to be pointing $80,000-down-the-drain fingers. So don't even ask.


So we were on stage today at Kaufman Astoria in a stage frequented by "Sesame Street". I kept looking for yellow feathers swept in to the corners but I never saw anything.

Marius was clinging to his sanity by a tiny strand of blue Grover fur...


There were three sequences shot. First was a scene in which our three main dudes try to coerce St. Valentine to tell them how he has cursed them by dangling him over the edge of a building. Eventually Valentine falls out of his shoes leaving the guys clinging to only his Converses and thinking they've killed him.


The actor playing Valentine was wired up and required to dangle upside down over a green screen so that his plummet could be VFX'd later. But these harnesses are notoriously painful and being suspended upside down has it's downside. So between takes, the stunt guys run in and support the actor while things are reset...


Things often get a little tense when shooting this kind of thing because the stunt guys are single-mindedly (and sometimes a little melodramatically) looking out for the actor. They know how quickly a simple situation can turn bad so they'll run in, ruin the shot, and get the actor off the rig before anyone knows what's happening. Which happened here.


And very quickly it can go from two voices to twenty voices and that's when things can get tense. Anyway, it all worked out just fine and the shot came off nicely. Hollywood loves a happy ending.


The next sequence takes place in St. Valentine's Manhattan apartment, which we only see at the very end of the movie. Gathered in the apartment are several characters who we only now discover were actually angels working with Valentine to assist in bringing our various star-crossed lovers together.

So Marius and Irek and David Cluck move to the adjacent set and work out what to do.


Irek starts lighting...


Actors chill...


Valentine is played by Philip Kirkorov. Truly, and without exaggeration, the Michael Jackson of Russia, and, like MJ, a trifle past his prime. But still a legend. But without the whole child molestation, plastic surgery and all-around weirdness baggage.


Really nice guy. Never acted before in this way. Initially Marius didn't even want to cast him. But the producers were passionate about it and in the end Philip did a terrific job.


The women in the scene are all lovely and terrifically talented as well.


Liza Arzamasova is the Dakota Fanning of Russia. Both in professional stature and in skill. A remarkable girl. Just perfect in every take. Friendly, knows the mechanics of movie-making, hits her marks, understands the difference between acting in a tight close-up and in a wide. So impressive.


Olesya Zheleznyak plays Pelagia. Truly one of the funniest performances I've ever had the privilege of cutting. She does mostly theater in Moscow but I think she should have her own movie - as this character. It's hard to describe what a remarkable comedienne she is. And yet there is always a tenderness and real humanity in everything she does. I'm a fan.


Alla Smekhova is the, I don't know, the JoBeth Williams of Russia. She's been in everything. Another consummate pro. She tracked me down on set so I could show her her previously shot scenes; she had forgotten what accent she was using. I got to tell you, she's hot. That's what I'm saying.


So the first set-up of this scene was done using a trick first employed on CITIZEN KANE. The camera is on a Technocrane and starts outside the apartment.


Then the camera travels forward and through the open window. But in order for the camera and crane to fit through, the top half of the window is then lifted up and away via a specially rigged set.


It's all very cool.


So then the next thing was the dentist's office. You can see part of the set back there behind the crane...


In order to qualify for the New York State tax incentives offered to out-of-town productions, we had to shoot at least one day on a stage. Which is where the idea of building the dentist's office first cropped up.


After we wrapped out of Valentine's apartment, the dentist's office got a bunch of walls added to it. You can see set sound mixer Richard Murphy in the foreground there working out boom positions.


Cameras and actors got moved in. And such was the last day that wasn't the lat day.

A Good Habit

So I was walking to work this morning and I passed this park just off 9th Ave. and there on the court was this nun in full habit and Jordans shooting hoops.



Nothing but net.

You Shoulda Seen It!

So I was walking to work this morning and I passed this group of Con Ed workers doing something in the street. Well, this one guy had a metal pipe saw and was cutting steel pipe. And whenever he leaned in to it there was this amazing shower of crimson and sulphur-colored sparks! I didn't feel like taking off my back pack to take a picture but here's kind of what it looked like. It was unbelievable!

Sunday Night, Must Be Time To Dance!

After 13 hours by myself in the editing room up on 55th Street I needed a little human intercourse. Alright, who's snickering back there?!

We were shooting one of the biggest scenes of the show tonight, a club scene that opens the movie. There are dancing girls, all our male stars, scores of club patrons, etc.



The club is on the 20th floor of a building down on 5th Ave. and 27th. The club also has a roof garden. A scene will be shot there tomorrow night but there's predicted rain and wind so I'm not sure how that's gonna go. But the view is unreal. The Empire State Building loom huge and high.


Back inside, Marius set up a long Scorcese-like Steadicam shot following the dancing girls winding their way through the kitchen and finally arriving on stage as the club's owner (Valentin) reads a half-hearted birthday greeting to the assembled revelers. Big set-up. Took four hours before even one take was tried.


After a couple hours of this tedium I'd had a sufficient amount of human intercourse -- alright, who is that?! Who's laughing?! Where are you?!

Aaaaaannd...ACTION!

How Many Syllables Is That?

As you all know, every evening the crew gets a "call sheet" for the next day's work. it tells them where to be, what time to be there, and what's going to be shot - so everyone can be properly prepared. It also tells you where the nearest hospital is, police stations, subways, etc.

But something I love about our call sheets is that, if you look closely at the upper right hand corner, you'll see the daily weather forecast...


It's a haiku. They give us the weather every day as a haiku. The AD Dept. being funny.

Love Is Blue, Part Two, or Up, Up and Away...

Shot today at Chelsea Piers. Chelsea Piers is many things. Shops. Restaurants. Piers. But also it is sound stages. LAW & ORDER shoots here. Clumb-Clumb...! Not sure which one. There's 17 of them now, you know. Clumb-Clumb...! That's the sound LAW & ORDER makes. Clumb-Clumb...!


When in New York, it's not uncommon to hear someone say, "Meet me at 23rd and 'Law & Order'".

Not really. But it could happen.

So yesterday we shot on the ice rink at Chelsea Piers and in a stage at Chelsea Piers.


Above is 1st AD David Cluck. He's thinking something. I don't know what he's thinking. I look psychic to you?

The movie follows the romantic misadventures of three couples. Today's shooting revolved around Igor and Nastia, which is a Russian diminutive for Anastasia. As you know, in Russia diminutives are everything. They're like currency. I was once at dinner with friends in Moscow, and this guy made me a list, right there at the table of - no kidding - over forty possible diminutives for the name Yulia, which is kind of like Julia to us. More than forty!


So in an effort to woo Nastia, Igor takes his object of affection on a hot air balloon ride over NYC. I'm not sure that's legal. You know, air space restrictions and all. But it's a romantic comedy so he does it.

So since shooting a lovely hot air balloon ride over New York is out of the question, the only way to do it is with VFX. So we're on the blue screen stage.



DP Irek Hartowicz is a master at shooting VFX plates. In HITLER KAPUT! his blue screen/green screen elements bonded with the backgrounds as though the entire thing were shot live and in-camera.


It truly is an art. In this case, Irek has to create lighting that looks like it's actually outdoors one lovely afternoon high over New York. Try it sometime. It's not easy.

Anyhoo, here's Marius and script supervisor Oleynka looking at the monitors:


And here's a guy shooting the hot air balloon basket from a high perch:


And here again are Igor and Nastia in the basket:


And here's Marion Douglas all tired and Irek not:


And now I have to go to work. No picture for that.