An addendum to Crazy Thing #45.

I finally got to see my first paid screenplay being filmed. After months of rewrites from the producers and director and with changing budgets, directors, and locations it was finally out of my hands. Although I have been insanely overscheduled and busy this month I managed to keep one whole day free for a quick day trip to Vancouver.

Originally the production was supposed to be shot in Duncan but they changed to Vancouver, which was extremely convenient for me. A 3 ½ hour drive vs. 6 hours and a ferry ride was very manageable.

I actually really enjoy driving when I’m not in insane traffic or three feet of snow so leaving at 6am and driving the Coquihalla on a (then) sunny June day was a treat I should give myself more often. I got to Ft. Langley and followed the directions to the parking area for the crew. On the way through Ft. Langley I drove through another film set where they had the streets set up for winter – not my movie. There are over 50 film projects underway in Vancouver and there is a desperate scramble for locations, crew, and equipment. The crew parking was at a golf course where they were sharing the parking with the crew from the film I had just driven through.

When I arrived I was asked which production I was with and had a bit of a shiver when I said, “Justice Unleashed” – well now, this was starting to feel real. They directed me to park and another crew member asked if I was in the crew. I said no, I was just visiting.

He looked skeptical. “Do they know you’re coming?”

“Yes, I’m the writer.”

“Oh, sorry!”

Suddenly the conversation moved much quicker. I was driven to the shooting location where the trailers for the cast were set up. After checking in with the AD, who apparently didn’t expect me to check in with anybody, I walked to the very modern, very “out of my budget” house where the day’s shooting was taking place and I was greeted by another crew member. Although I wished, for the sake of claustrophobia in crowds, that it was an outdoor shoot. The astonishing waves of rain later in the day made me glad I was inside. I lived in Vancouver for 15 years and never did like the rain but it’s not often you see it come down that hard.

When I arrived they were shooting in the garage. I was shown into a tiny hallway where more crew were working and the sound guy was huddled in a tiny corner with headphones on.

Having driven for three hours the urge to pee was pretty huge so I asked one of the production assistants where the washroom was. He pointed me to some trailers outside – no big deal. The man who greeted me at the door interrupted and said, “Actually she’s a VIP – she’s the writer. She can use the washroom in the house.” Well! There was a perk I never expected. Everyone in the hallway stopped working and stared at me when I went into the washroom – awkward!

Finally, they finished the shot and I was escorted in to meet Farhad Mann – the director. We had spoken for hours on the phone but had never met in person. He invited me in and told me what they were shooting and let me watch the monitors with him. The garage was so crowded it was making my skin crawl – I don’t do crowds of people in tight spaces – not a big fan of parties either. I sucked it up, though, because when I saw the crowd it hit me that I had created a project that, for a brief time, was keeping all of these people employed. That was a pretty huge dose of reality.

I remembered when I was in my early 20’s and worked as an extra and a script reader to make extra cash. That was a long time ago, but a feeling came back to me that I had forgotten – despite the crowds, the “hurry up and wait” pace, and the frenetic energy – this was a place where I felt comfortable, where I belonged.

Through the day the crew and equipment moved from one part of the house to another. I felt in the way a lot but I was trying to be more of a fly on the wall than a fly the crew wanted to swat. I think I was partially successful.

Farhad introduced me to a lot of people, most of whom did a double take when they found out I was the writer. In true introvert fashion I said hi to a lot of people but really only connected with a couple. Sarah, the Script Supervisor, and I had a great talk about writing and the Director of Photography and I had a few laughs.

As the day went on I realized I wasn’t very interested in what the actors were doing, but I was more interested in what the crew was doing. I was trying to absorb as much information as I could and that’s where most of the action was happening. I loved it.

I got a message in the afternoon that there was a snow storm brewing on the Coquihalla and they were expecting at least 6” of snow so I decided to leave a bit early. It had been a great day and a total success from my point of view.

On the drive home I was thinking about the next Movie of the Week I have in the works – I’m waiting for notes from the producers and the network, and a short film I’m writing that I’m really excited about, as well as other writing projects I have lined up. From start to this point the process for Justice Unleashed had taken two years, but it was more like a year if you took out all the long waiting periods. The story idea I submitted in the beginning is completely different than the story I watched being filmed. That’s OK. That’s how the process works. Working with Odyssey Media has been awesome and I’m looking forward to what our next project becomes.

I’m writing this on the last day of shooting for Justice Unleashed – now they move on to editing and post production. I’ll post again when I know when it will be broadcast.

 

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