P-A-R-T . . .Y? Because We're Done!

This past Saturday the cast and crew shot our sole reshoot for Women's Studies. Afterwards, we got a bunch of food and booze and proceeded to consume, imbibe, and release.

As of this writing, it's Tuesday and my hangover is just today gone. I don't know if that's telling as to how hard I threw down, or as to how much my body can't take the revelry it once took fine in my early twenties. If you know the answer, please don't tell me.

It was quite a shindig. Joey Cabrera made his famous "donkey punch" which I was smart enough to turn down. I had a Dominican cigar, which I smoked with aplomb though no one else seemed inclined to join me. We had a bonfire which burned through the night. Food was everywhere. At certain points, we watched rush edits, raw footage, and even some of the cast's original auditions. It was a fantastic party.

And hey, we earned it.

It was a fine group of people who came together to shoot Women's Studies. I'll miss them all terribly. Sure, we'll see each other again, and rather soon I imagine. However, as a lot of the cast noted on Saturday, it'll never be in this way, to do what we did. But oh, the memories we'll have. I have a feeling we'll all be hard pressed to forget the adventure of the past five months.

So, raise a glass. Here's to the past, present, and future of Women's Studies, to fair acquaintances who became good friends, to all we've done together, and to everything we still may yet do.

(Pictures from the party are below. I'm honestly frightened and confused by what's going on in most of them.)

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Joey Cabrera doesn't trust Tara Garwood's wild, "donkey punch" laden eyes.




Oh Iris! What would your dad think?




Forget partying. After five months of shooting, James A. Radack just wants to take a nap.




Director of Photography Aaron "Don't Call Me" Shirley and Composer Ryan Sayward Whittier share a "special" moment.




Dear God/dess, keep Tara away from the donkey punch!!!!




9:30? Tiffany James doesn't care what time it is. (Though note she drinks no donkey punch.)




I really have no idea what's going on in this picture.




Sound Guru Sean Russell and Mundy Spears are not as sober as they look.




Joey Cabrera achieves his lifelong dream: to be surrounded by hot women with his head in my crotch.




See? Cindy and Tara actually really like each other!




Nothing like a rousing game of "Vagina Ball" to clear out a party. (Laura Bloechl will show everyone at work this one.)



The Cast's Last Hurrah.

The Little Things

I gave Fangoria.com exclusive pics for their piece about wrapping Women's Studies because I'm a shameless brownnoser. Go see Tara Garwood's Judith get all gory and Kelley Slagle as Naughty Nazi Nurse Diane. Also featured are is a pic of Mundy Spears (Sharon) as well as a shot of Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) and James A. Radack (Zack).

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Things have been all over the place with Women's Studies this week. In fact, I've had a hard time focusing because instead of having a few big issues to think about I have a whole lot of little ones. Little is a relative term that doesn't mean unimportant. In fact, one could argue that all the items on the current Women's Studies agenda are vital in setting the tone for the next few months.

A sampler:

--Editor Jim McGivney and I met this weekend and drank a lot a beer. While doing so we hashed out a two month plan for sculpting the Women's Studies footage into something that resembles a movie. Jim's first order of business is just getting the footage slapped together in approximately the right order. I've seen various scenes and while they look great, it's difficult to gauge how everything fits together as a story. Once that's done, Jim and I will attack the whole film for issues of pacing and rhythm, which I'll argue is one of the most important aspects of this film. Too fast and folks get confused. Too slow and they go to sleep. From there, the real work starts with us getting into specific scenes and sequences. I'll also be able to set dates for sound, music,and color to be able to work with the footage.

--We have a reshoot this weekend for a scene that had a few issues the first time around. "What? Reshoot?!? Disaster!" No, not really. Reshoots are a part of the process. Even the big boys do it once they start to see the big picture. Frankly, I'm delighted that there's only one scene that needs to be redone.

--Cindy and I are also trying to wrap up a lot of the unfinished paperwork from production. That means paying our bills and getting our books in order both financial and production-wise.

--Part of wrangling post-production is setting deadlines. Most of our deadlines will revolve around festival entry deadlines. I've spent some time looking at festivals and trying to find ones that would be a good fit for Women's Studies.

--I've also rested which has been well earned. This past week especially, I made a conscious effort to eat well, take timeout for myself,and get in bed early. I've also rediscovered the nap who was a wonderful friend I don't want to lose touch with again.

--Finally, I've tried to get reorganized on the blog again. I've got some some cool stuff planned, and I'm once again going to have the time to give it the love I want to. Stay tuned. While the next few months aren't going to be the breakneck, wild times we had during production, there's lots of excitement regarding Women's Studies. You don't want to miss it.

Wrapped!

Short & Late

I must be giving everyone the impression that the Zack blog is some sort of Magnum Opus the way it keeps getting delayed. The simple truth is that I haven't had the time this week to give it the care I feel it deserves. It'll be here eventually . . . just not this week.

Last night was Women's Studies Shoot Day #48. Despite some unforeseen set dressing delays, it was quite an enjoyable evening. We have two more days of shooting scheduled. Plus there's one reshoot, so I guess that's three days. So close to the end . . .

It's funny. I've always wanted to be a filmmaker. I've dreamed for years about making a movie. Now that I'm almost done shooting one, I just want to be a regular dude for a little while. I've spent the past couple weeks dreaming about nothing more than sitting by some water for a spell. No computer, no cell phone, no TV, maybe a book that I pick up in between naps.

I love my Lady Killers, make no mistake. They're funny, sexy, and always entertaining. However, they're also very high maintenance ladies. Distance lends perspective, they say. A little time off from each other is going to do us wonders when I finally get a break.

And after? Oh, the things we'll do together.

Almost to Post

There's no real Women's Studies blog this week. It's been a bit of a struggle for me to really enjoy the project recently. In fact, I actually wrote a very long, vitriolic, and venomous blog which I smartly deleted. It was, as they say in the military, "counter-productive."

Don't get me wrong. I'm still in it to win it. It's just that we started shooting this thing on May 29th. As of this writing, it's October 16. Last night was shoot day number 47. That's one more day than it took Hitchcock to shoot Psycho. Many members of the cast and crew feel a bit frustrated. Compared to Cindy and I, however, they really don't know the meaning of the word. I'm trying to stay positive. I'm sure the worst is now over.

We have three more days of shooting. Principle photography will be complete by Halloween though we do have one reshoot we need to schedule for early November.

About half of the film is edited as "rushes:" Quickly edited, very rough scenes that give me an idea of what footage we have and possible ways to throw it all together. Women's Studies is one of those films that really functions best as whole, so it's tough to get a sense of tone and rhythm from individual scenes but many of them look quite nice. Very soon I'll introduce you to our editor, Jim McGivney, who has been a bright spot and an anchor over the past couple of difficult weeks.

Look how sexy he is when he tells me he's basing his editing choices off old episodes of Barney & Friends:



Next week, I'll get into James A. Radack's Zack, who has the difficult role of being of the only male character in Women's Studies. After that, we'll start digging into the film's post process, which I'm really excited about.

Since I've been pretty cranky lately, I'll apologize to anybody who was on the receiving end of my bullshit. Cindy says all is fine, and if she's not worried, I'm not worried.

Blargh

I'm exhausted. I'm sick with Laura Bloechl's (Or was it Tara Garwood's?) Captain Trips/death flu. I still don't have any pictures. I'm not doing a blog this week.

If that's a problem, take it up with my friend below.

Changing Leaves

***Remember in last week's blog when I promised there would be pictures from the "strip club" shoots in this week's blog? Well, I'm a big fat liar. I forgot to get the pictures off Gaffer Jim Housell's camera which has since gone back to New Jersey with him. And you can't get mad at Jim because he tried (twice) to make me get him a flash drive so he could turn over the pics. So, no strip club pictures. You're just going to have wait for the movie to see just how ridiculously hot all those scantily clad ladies were. Alas and alack. Somehow, we're just all going to have to move on.***

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Autumn is my favorite time of year. The weather creates its own contradiction, cool enough to sleep with the windows open yet also have to throw an extra blanket on the bed to stay warm. Colors change and the world seems to slow down just a bit. It's a good time for reflection.

As of this writing, we've shot all but approximately eight pages of the Women's Studies script. Four of those eight pages will get knocked out this Sunday. Excepting one scene which may have to be reshot, Judith O'Dea (Hamlin), Melisa Breiner Sanders (Beth), Mundy Spears (Sharon), James A. Radack (Zack), and Kelley Slagle (Diane) have all been wrapped.

As the production cast and crew wind down and begin to move on, the post crew is just starting to ramp up. Jim McGivney has roughly half of the movie edited as "rush cuts." Sean Russell is organizing his sound clips and pre-planning the sound design. Ryan Sayward Whittier is waiting for me to call him back so he can try out some incidental music on me.

Me? I'm in this weird place were I'm still planning shoots, but pulling together schedules and attack plans for post. It's strange and almost sad not to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I tried to take this whole past weekend off and really didn't know what to do with myself. I spent most of Sunday going through footage and typing up shot lists so the post guys can organize their video and sound files. I thought a weekend away from the movie would be awesome, but it was just kind of depressing.

Melisa Breiner Sanders called me yesterday as she was waiting for a rehearsal to start, just to say "hi." We talked, caught up, told inside set jokes, and laughed. It was good. I got off the phone missing not only her, but the magic that comes with all of us on set and doing what we love. I knew that's why she had called. Not to check in on the movie, but just to feel a bit of that old on set magic. (That, and I'm totally friggin' hot and she needed to hear the sexy tambour of my voice to calm the itch in her loins. Yeah! No fake bitches here!)

In one of the older blogs, I equated filmmaking to a disease or an addiction, and it is, but not in the bad, sick way we think of diseases. It just fills you up,like a drug or food does. The people, the shared ideas, the laughter, the hardships, the difficult act of creating, of doing it together . . . All these things fill you up and as you slowly start to withdraw those elements, there's an empty space. It'll fill up with something else eventually. I know this. All things must pass.

But as the leaves change, they pass more slowly. Things are less busy. I have time on my hands to reflect and remember. In the autumn, letting go is somehow that much harder.

I Went to Bed Instead of Writing Yesterday's Blog.

Horrifyingly unacceptable, isn't it?

I was beat though. The Women's Studies cast, crew, and I shot all day yesterday and the day before. Due to the time constraints set by the location and actors' schedules, we had to work at a breakneck pace that kept me moving constantly. By the time I wound down with dinner and a couple of beers, exhaustion hit me like a freight train and I had to run some REM cycles.

I thought I'd make up for it for by posting a ton of pictures from the shoots, but "Ha!" The joke was on me. It turns out all the good pictures were taken on the camera owned by our Gaffer, Jim Housell. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get them from him. Therefore, you'll have to settle for the few pictures I managed to drum up from my personal camera.

I know, I know. Late Blog. Sub-par pictures. Somebody fire this guy.

Next week I'll post some of the good pictures. Plus I'll be able to report not only on this shoot, but the one we're doing tomorrow with Tara Garwood (Judith) and Cindy Marie Martin (Mary). It's a humdinger.

Until then . . .

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Mundy Spears (Sharon), Cindy Marie Martin (Mary), and Tara Garwood (Judith) out of costume at a friend's wedding. Yes, we have actual lives outside of this movie. Well, some of us do.




The camera department works with the steadicam. From L to R: Director of Photography Aaron Shirley, Camera Assistant Laurel Keller, Camera Operator Thomas Fant.




Tears for the dead.




"I went out the desert and I killed this guy." Stef Williams (Black Widow Burlesque Dancer) tells her tale.




Jack of all trades Joey Cabrera rummages through his make-up kit.




Fight Choreographer Shanna Beauchamp (Black Widow Waitress) exudes total hotness while a blurry Joey Cabrera throws gang signs in the background.




Josh Davidson (Revels) touches up a tattoo for Stef Williams (Black Widow Burlesque Dancer).




"All right, what have I told people about playing around with props? It's all fun and games until Josh takes a knife to the chest."

Backyard Movies

***SPOILER ALERT! MEGA, GIANT, HUGE, "OH MY GOD! HOW COULD THE BASTARDS GIVE THAT AWAY?" SPOILER ALERT****

(Seriously, a pretty big Women's Studies plot point is revealed in the pictures below, so if you're avoiding that sort of thing, don't read any further. I know. I know. the curiousity is killing you, and how could I put you in this position. You know something? Self-control. Try using some.)

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Back in the late seventies, many low-budget, indie horror films in the Women's Studies vein were referred to as "backyard movies." The definition is a film with no studio backing, made by a bunch of dedicated filmmakers with no promise of distribution, only a hope. The idea is that the films were "shot in somebody's backyard." (Stephen King credits mystery/film critic Chris Steinbrenner as coining the term, so I will too.)

Whether or not many of these films actually were shot in a backyard depends on the film. Rest assured, one shot of Women's Studies was indeed shot in my back yard. Well, side yard.

It's not entirely uncommon. Hell, even the big boys do it. Spielberg shot pick-ups for Jaws in a friend's backyard swimming pool.

Below are some pictures from what was an incredibly inventive and fun pick-up shoot featuring Kelley "Diane" Slagle.

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"What'd you put dirt in my hole for, boy?!?"




It's not a bomb. We swear. No really.




Get a piece of the rock.




You know what they say about girls who wear black bras, don't you? And have tattoos? And let happy Joeys paint blood all over them?




"Is she dead? Kick her! See if she's dead!"




Lick The Slagle. You'll totally trip balls.

Fall Preview

Oh god/dess, I'm going to have to start actually writing blogs again.

See, we've only got a few more shoots until principle photography on Women's Studies is wrapped. That means I can't be lazy and rely on having pictures be the meat of my blogs. I actually have to, you know, write and think and stuff.

So what will this fall season bring to the Women's Studies blog? In addition to regular production updates, I have a few things in the hopper, including:

--A character analysis on the character of Zack, Mary's boyfriend and the sole major male character of Women's Studies who was so wonderfully brought to life by James A. Radack.

--Interviews with the Women's Studies post-production team: editor Jim McGivney, music composer Ryan Sayward Whittier, and sound editor/mixer/deity Sean Russell.

--A retrospective chat with WS Art Director/Costumer Stephanie Petagno about the hell I put her through to create the visual look of the film.

--You'll also hear from the amazing Lady Killers and Interlopers of Ross-Prentiss about their experiences shooting the film and why they'll never work with me again.

All this and more. Stay tuned.

"Baby, You Can Drive My Car"

Another weekend, another Women's Studies shoot. We spent a lot of time in the car this past weekend . . . not driving, but filming.

Below are some pictures from those car shoots as well as a few from the weekend before where Ziggy, the babydoll from hell, came on set to creep everybody out.

Also, Fangoria Magazine released a short version of their Women's Studies set report. Look for the full article to appear in print in a future Fango issue.



Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) shows off her gaffer's tape "shoes."




Laura Bloechl (Iris) watches as Tiffany James (Melissa) shows us what a great mom she'd be.




Director Lonnie Martin and DP Aaron Shirley try to catch a quick catnap. The snuggle pictures will be used for blackmail later.




Lighting Assitant Joey Cabrera shows off his fantastic parenting skills.




The Lady Killers, from L to R: Laura Bloechl (Iris), Tara Garwood (Judith), Tiffany James (Melissa), Kelley Slagle (Diane)



Prepping the van for the car shoots.




Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) and Lighting Assistant Joey Cabrera work the light helicopter.




Taisha Cameron (Amy) smiles for the camera while Kevin Finkelstein (Keith) looks on.




Filming a car shot from Women's Studies.



"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille."

Lonnie & the Lady Killers

Since today's my birthday, I thought I'd post a picture that pretty much sums up my thirty-two years of existence on this earth.



Damn Lady Killers . . . always out to get me.

The Hump at Dead Ebb

We're at Dead Ebb . . . and The Hump is chasing me.

We've got another big Women's Studies shoot this weekend. Lately they've all felt like big shoots. For weeks, I've been telling the cast and crew (and myself) "This next shoot gets us over the hump. Once we're done here, it's smooth sailing."

Yet somehow, each subsequent shoot brings it's own difficulties. We're all exhausted. Nerves are frayed. The money is getting tapped. The Ningen Manga technical gremlins have returned for an encore. Dead Ebb, man; the darkest part of the night where the tide comes right up to the edge of the dunes.

All I really want to do is just sit back and watch old Twilight Zone episodes. And why not? We're into our third month of shooting, and will definitely have a fourth. I'd say at this point that we've got a little over two-thirds of the film in the can. The light at the end of the tunnel is visible, but there's still dark chasms to cross in order to get there.

No time for rest though. There's still lots of movie to make. The tide hasn't gone out yet, nor has the sun risen . . . and the hump is hungry.

Below are various shots form various shoots over the past few weeks. Some of these pics could easily be considered "spoilers" so consider yourself warned.

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Tara Garwood (Judith) and Kelley Slagle (Diane) share a tender moment.




Shooting a scene at Ross-Prentiss Women's Academy.




L to R: Tiffany James (Melissa), Art Director Stephanie Petagno, Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) in the green room during the "Initiation Scene."




The Ross-Prentiss Altar.




Kelley Slagle (Diane) does her best Michael Myers impression.




Extras look on in disbelief that Kelley Slagle (Diane) might actually have maternal instincts.




Tattoo You.




Tara Garwood (Judith) and extras prepare for an intense scene.




Cindy Marie Martin (Mary) touches up her hair before a shot.




The Lady Killers from L to R: Cindy Marie Martin (Mary), Tara Garwood (Judith), Kelley Slagle (Diane), Laura Bloechl (Iris), Tiffany James (Melissa)




Cindy Marie Martin (Mary), Santa Fe Writer's Project Director Andrew Gifford, and Tara Garwood (Judith) pose by the Ningen Manga Productions booth at Horrorfind Weekend 8.




Melisa Breiner-Sanders skips directly to the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."




Don't ask.




Again, just don't ask.




"Lady of the Moon, Lord of the Sun, protect me and mine now day is done. Allow me to live each day in the light, and give me the strength to do what is right."

Tease

You don't want to hear me babble do you? Not when you can watch the kickin' rad Women's Studies teaser trailer edited by Jim McGivney with Music by Rev 9.

Dramatis Personae

We're smack dab in the middle of a big shoot, so I only have time to offer one little goodie today: a full cast portrait of the main players of Women's Studies. (Click the picture for a larger verison.)

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Left to Right: Melisa Breiner Sanders (Beth), Tara Garwood (Judith), Cindy Marie Martin (Mary), James A.Radack (Zack), Judith O'Dea (Senator Hamlin), Kelley Slagle (Diane), Mundy Spears (Sharon), Tiffany James (Melissa), Laura Bloechl (Iris)

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You won't want to miss next week's blog, as you'll get first look at actual footage from the film when we feature our brand new teaser trailer which is making it's debut at this coming weekend's Horrorfind Weekend 8 in Baltimore MD.

Lastly, this blog celebrates one year of the Tuesday Women's Studies production blog. I was only late once. Not bad, eh?