OK,
Took me a while to get here, but at last I can bring you up to date...
It looks like we have a very good shot at finishing principal photography on Hell's Bells by the end of June. We've shot just over a third of the movie however the pace is picking up. I was able to get two filming days in this week and hopefully will see three-day weeks on shooting through the end of the coming month.
Since I was here last, we've shot some interiors and been on location a few times, mostly Mt Rubidoux and Yucca Valley. Earlier this week, I took Maleina Malinskii and Ry Bouttavong out to Landers, between Yucca Valley and Twenty Nine Palms Marine Base, and we wrapped up two scenes. A couple of months ago I shot most of the scenes with Jesse Cowser in the same locations, so I needed to get the remaining shots to match the backgrounds. Maleina and Ry were fabulous, as always. It was surprisingly cooler than expected, but I didn't keep them out there too long. The best part of the day was coming upon a three and a half foot snake in the road and hearing Ry's reaction (always entertaining). I must admit, it was the first snake I've come across in all the years going out to Giant Rock and it is enough for me to make a decision to wait until later in the year to go out there again with a film troupe. There are other places where snakes can be avoided for the remainder of this film...
Last week, I shot a particularly fun scene with Joshua Einertson and Eloisa Alaniz -- in a tent set that was actually constructed inside my house. The week before that, I took them and Jesse out to Landers where we shot a few scenes in the hot sun. But they're not out of the woods yet because a few longer scenes in the desert are yet to come -- and June is only hotter than May!
Hopefully tomorrow we will be shooting with my favorite go-to character actor, Ray Howard. He has appeared in all my films since 2010 and will continue for the rest of his life, if he wants. Ray is a natural. Tomorrow's scene will be a pleasant break for my actors because it takes place in an "oasis", so Ray lucks out. No Yucca Valley for him!
Hell's Bells is going quite nicely. My focus for now is just to get it all shot -- including some B roll of a train and a plane and a couple of special effects shots. Once it's shot, then I can have even more fun because the editing and process touches make it all a movie. In fact, it's the anticipation of the editorial and image-tweaking process that fuels those days when it seems routine. I know I'll be very happy when I'm sitting there at the editing program watching what we've done and turning it into a movie. There will still yet remain a couple of other steps before it will be something you'll see -- but it will be worth the wait!
I will be back to regular updates here at least once a week through June
Took me a while to get here, but at last I can bring you up to date...It looks like we have a very good shot at finishing principal photography on Hell's Bells by the end of June. We've shot just over a third of the movie however the pace is picking up. I was able to get two filming days in this week and hopefully will see three-day weeks on shooting through the end of the coming month.
Last week, I shot a particularly fun scene with Joshua Einertson and Eloisa Alaniz -- in a tent set that was actually constructed inside my house. The week before that, I took them and Jesse out to Landers where we shot a few scenes in the hot sun. But they're not out of the woods yet because a few longer scenes in the desert are yet to come -- and June is only hotter than May!
Hopefully tomorrow we will be shooting with my favorite go-to character actor, Ray Howard. He has appeared in all my films since 2010 and will continue for the rest of his life, if he wants. Ray is a natural. Tomorrow's scene will be a pleasant break for my actors because it takes place in an "oasis", so Ray lucks out. No Yucca Valley for him!
Hell's Bells is going quite nicely. My focus for now is just to get it all shot -- including some B roll of a train and a plane and a couple of special effects shots. Once it's shot, then I can have even more fun because the editing and process touches make it all a movie. In fact, it's the anticipation of the editorial and image-tweaking process that fuels those days when it seems routine. I know I'll be very happy when I'm sitting there at the editing program watching what we've done and turning it into a movie. There will still yet remain a couple of other steps before it will be something you'll see -- but it will be worth the wait!
I will be back to regular updates here at least once a week through June
