CHICKS DIG SCARS

As the blood trickled down my face, my first thought was “hmm... my fake blood looks a lot like this.” My second thought was how many stitches I would need. I learned a valuable lesson to stay out of the way of heavy moving objects. “Don’t worry, chicks dig scars, “ said my Assistant Director.

We are all putting our heart and soul into this project, and my crew and I all have the scars to prove it. We run a tight ship, and hold ourselves to the highest standard, and I cannot say enough good things about my cast and crew. That is why it is all the more heartbreaking when a day player shows up and doesn’t know their lines. I watched the morale of the crew drop the instant this happened. These people are breaking their backs to make this show look good, and in that instant it’s all for nothing. We’ve battled many hardships in the course of this adventure... extreme heat, bitter cold, gale force wind, colds, flu, sleep deprivation, mosquitoes, pulled muscles, bad backs, and the list goes on... all so that the actors can do their work. The least a day player can do is be prepared.

Despite the minor setback, we’ve moved on and remedied the situation and recast. We've moved to our second wooded location in a private park. Our days typically began at 11am and we would usually wrap at 6am the next morning. I know, absolutely crazy, but we had to get the shots... and this is what I love about my cast and crew... at 4am on the second to the last night, we completed what was supposed to be our last shot... it was bitterly cold, and we were all bleary eyed, and my actors were wearing summer attire... as we were about to break down, I said “I have an idea for a really cool shot... we’ll need the crane, how do you guys feel about it?” ...without a hesitation, everyone said “Lets go for it!” We finished at 6am!

A few days before that, Megan braved the freezing water to do the scene where she swims across the lake for help... running around in her underwear in 40 degree weather! George fearlessly let psycho cheerleaders wave sharp knives at him the night after. Everyday someone stepped up to the plate to make a difference in this film. These people are dedicated, and I can’t tell you how moved I am by their effort. Even my Dad came up to join in the fun and play the creepy old guy. Don’t tell anyone, but I think he had a good time.