First of all, I've got to say that March 1st was one of our best shoots ever! So much fun and SO much got done. We had the daunting task of tackling 7 scenes with a limited crew, some remaining health issues (OK, one), and a cast of thousands. It was so great having the whole group together, and unlike the night before--we all were able to enjoy it. You know we had a good time because we have 167 damn pictures from the night. Or that means everyone spent a lot of time waiting around, which is always kinda the case anyway. More on the pictures later.

To begin with, a few shout-outs. One to the amazingly fabulous crew who were in attendance that night. Rajah, Lou, Maura, Mark, Stacey and I busted our buttocks to prepare everything before the shoot (as we're currently doing for Saturday's upcoming bat mitzvah extravaganza), set up so that we were 100% ready to go as soon as the actors arrived, and seamlessly moved lights, updated slates, recorded sound, set up shots, plugged in monitors, stood out in the cold, made last minute driving adventures, moved cars, made burgers, organized dinner plans etc. etc. etc. all night. I appreciate their efforts more than they'll ever know. Our actors rightfully get acknowledged for their talents each and every shoot, but especially on a night like this one, we would have been nothing without the hard work of the crew.

Again, though he says I shouldn't thank him, Tom deserves a lot of thanks for putting up with our ragtag group for the whole weekend, and opening his doors to us (even though he wouldn't let us scuff up his new kitchen floor, which is just plain selfish if you ask me). So I will thank Tina and Gianna again for putting up with us and Tom. We had such a great time and a great shoot, and it's so good to be around TT&G, except when Tom ignores my personal space bubble or blows in my ear, which I always ignore hoping that he'll stop blowing in my ear, but he's Tom so he doesn't stop blowing in my ear, and eventually it's pretty damn funny.

Lastly, the cast. I know I always thank you guys, but what a thrill to have the full cast there on one night--a thrill for everybody but Jim Jim Jim Jim who only had one line the whole weekend, and whose ego may never recover. Oh, wait I think it probably just did. You guys showed up on time both nights, ready to go, whether you had a birthday, or a kidney stone, or your scenes were cut for the night, you were absolute troopers, and I appreciate it.

A few extra thoughts I want to put out there too. We have a good time on the set, even in the face of adversity, and I really believe (as I did with "Naughty or Nice") that it is only possible to have so much fun and creativity and closeness if there is also a strong work ethic coming from the cast and crew. And both Stacey & I constantly analyze what is working and what isn't, and are so thankful to the generosity, patience, and teamwork that is displayed on both sides of the camera. That being said, I will not apologize for being a smaller budget production, and doing the best with what we've got week in and week out. I do not feel bad if members of the cast and crew want to order food for themselves, above and beyond the snacks and drinks we provide. Most understand that we just do not have it in the budget to have every shoot catered, and I thoroughly appreciate their understanding. Also I will not tolerate comments about what my crew should be doing and how it might be different on other sets. None of us in the crew is perfect, all of us are working for free, and those people that show up every week and make this happen have their heart so into the production, that if they want to take a break during the course of the evening, by all means they should. I am glad we have an environment where we all kid each other, and laugh a lot, and I'm a nice guy...etc. etc. but I will never again tolerate serious disparaging remarks about our production.

OK, now that I've got that off my chest...

The shoot was excellent. We started with the kitchen scene where Todd introduces Jennifer to Mitch and Ally, with Suzanne in the background. This scene went very well and was a great start to the night. Johanna and Amy were in top form, and Jim and Mark were excellent at doing nothing in the background. It's a fun scene and sets up a lot of important stuff for the movie--the character of Jennifer, Ally's new employment, the reality show rivalry.

We didn't move far from the kitchen, and we brought in kidney girl and birthday girl (Stacey & Leila) for the famous Fonduemeter scene. Even though this is one of the most unnecessary scenes in the script (see, Mark, I don't say every scene is important--just 96% of them), it has a huge fan base, and Stacey & Leila made it a very funny scene. The way Renee's eyes go a little crazy as she pictures having fondue that night is excellent.

Then we set up for the main scene, which involved filling the couch with every one of the talents (and Gianna). We had Mark, Leila, Amy, Jim, Stacey, Tony, Johanna, and Kevin all set to "watch" the reality show that wasn't really playing on Tom's flatscreen TV. So they had to act like they were watching things, which is a skill that Jeff Goldblum also employed in Jurassic Park, because there weren't really dinosaurs there. Anyway, I don't have to tell you that just like 8 little Jeff Goldblums, our gang did such a good job with their minimal lines, maximum reactions, and countless ad libs and other unscripted moments. It was great to see them all together (like the script coming alive!), and once we get to cut in shots of the show they were actually watching, I'm convinced the entire "viewing party" sequence and specifically this scene will be awesome.

Somewhere in there we broke for food and regrouping of sorts. The next scene was my lil' pet project: one of those rare instances where I was lucky enough to be the writer and the director and have a clear vision of how it should look from the very beginning and having the end result be almost identical, only better! Even Rajah liked it, and he hates everything.

Essentially it's the last scene of the night, where Suzanne is waiting in the backseat of Mitch & Ally's car, dejected by the course of events of the night. Paul joins her in the car and tries to cheer her up. Meanwhile, Ally & Mitch say goodbye to Renee and Todd. Then they get in the car too and they all drive off. I've always wanted this to be one shot, from behind the car's rear window, so that you could see Suzanne & Paul in profile in the backseat, and off in the distance, through the front windshield, you could see the other four saying their goodbyes. Rajah, Lou and I lit the car and the background and stuck the microphone in the backseat and then we were G2G.

The scene came out WONDERFULLY. I am so excited about it. I think I even said a few times out loud "I am so excited about this." Though I said it in my Chris monotone, which never seems to enthrall anyone. But trust me I was excited, and it's a super awesome scene. There was an especially nice touch at the end when Suzanne puts her head on Paul's shoulder. As we prepared to do the two lines while driving the car in a second shot (and Rajah swore to me it would be near impossible to light the scene in a moving car at night), Stacey & I made the decision to cut the lines because the scene as it stood ended perfectly as a one-shot package. Many thanks to Stacey, Tony, and the gang out in the cold--Jim, Amy, Leila and Mark--for making this such a memorable scene.

Then we got ready to do the scene with Tony & Stacey in the kitchen, and worked way too long on dramatic lighting but finally got to a good place and were ready to go. So I went to get the mic and...for the second night in a row that's where everything came to a screeching halt. It seems that the microphone was MIA. And why? Because someone on the crew, whose name rhymes with "Chris Tyrrell" unplugged the mic in the outdoor scene, leaving it in the back of Amy's car, and brought the cords in so we'd be ready to do the two driving shots next. But when we cut those shots, I kinda forgot to retrieve the microphone. Oh, also I dismissed Amy (and her car) for the night. And also we realized about an hour later, so she was completely home.

Now, I have another theory on what may have actually gone down. I think Amy hadn't finished talking for the night (!) and decided to mic-nap our audio source, in case she had follow-up questions or comments from home. I can't prove this is what happened, but it's always possible. Anyway, Lou made the sacrifice of driving to her house to get it, and I am very thankful for him doing so. In the meantime, we decided to make our last scene be the penultimate one for the night. Yes, I will use that word every chance I get, which is rare.

That was a scene with Mitch & Paul coming in from the meat photo scene we shot the night before. Thankfully Mark pointed out how we ended that scene, so we were able to make the right blocking choices so that we'll be able to cut from one to the other. Thank god for script supervisors! Anyway, there's not much to report on the scene, other than Tony & Jim were really great in it: finding the right balance between playfully competitive and angry, and we made them enter and exit the house about 90 times to do different shoves, have different lighting set-ups, and on and on, but the truth is it was really very good every time. Then someone suggested that we shoot the sound as well, so I reluctantly went downstairs to get the microphone. I got about halfway down before I remembered that that's where Lou was--off getting the microphone. Tony laughed at me a lot for this, as well he should have.

Finally, Lou returned and we were ready to shoot the (now) last scene of the night. It was about 1 AM at this point and everyone was fading fast. Which is, of course, when the giggles start happening. Tony lost it each time. Stacey came in saying "why aren't you watching it?," and Tony cracked up like clockwork. Oh, also Tony can't say the word "weirder," so we switched it to "stranger," but he still insisted on saying "weirder" if he could make it through the first line. It was all very very funny, and will make for a great blooper sequence! Even better, the scene as Tony & Stacey played it is just great--they hit all the right notes of a very important scene. It has been so much fun seeing the Paul & Suzanne marriage start to take shape over the last few weeks, as it was to see the Mitch & Ally marriage do the same.

So if you're still reading this novel, here are some other quick thoughts and memories from the shoot, and some guides to understanding some of the 167 pictures that you'll see if you:

Click Here for Pictures!

• Tony needs to stop eating the prop burgers
• Thank you to all who treat it like an ensemble, and understand that every character is important in group scenes.
• How many different ways can I make Amy say "On the Look Network?" Why do we obsess over throwaway lines? Silly.
• Maura drew up the phallic fonduemeter at work, and got more than a few strange looks.
• Lou saves the day. Yet again. Then he naps.
• Rajah, Lou, and Tom were fast asleep on the couch while we shot the last scene.
• Gianna loves Lou.
• Amy's "These Pictures Will Come Back to Haunt Me" series of photos.
• Stacey's "This Is What Feet Look Like From a Forehead P.O.V" series
• The "Playing With Gianna's Toys" series.
• Rajah's "I'm Totally in the Mirror" series.
• Jim & Stacey's continuing series of photos for their upcoming coffee table book: "NO! Only We Know How To Take Pictures of Us!"
• Rajah's "Stacey's on Painkillers--And I'm Totally Still in the Mirror!" series
• Jim's "Leila's Best Birthday Ever!" series
• Rajah's "Now I'm in the Monitor!" series
• Tony's "Eating a Phone" series
• Rajah's "Watch Me Spin and Drink a Beer" series

That's it! You can go home now.