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We had a phenomenal day 4 at Victor's House, brought to us by the generosity of Maura Butler & Dan Gasse. Check out their photo design company here. We stole their beers and their Saturday, rearranged their apartment, quarantined their cats (and almost lost one), but they were nothing but hospitable and we really appreciated it.

It was an absolutely perfect shoot, and I've got to give out kudos to everyone involved. Literally we plan to pay the cast and crew in chocolatey granola snacks from the 90s--so they can look forward to that. I'm glad the budget for this film is such that we can afford that, as the cast & Lou from "Naughty or Nice" really didn't appreciate the fruit-roll-up payscale.

Everything went like clockwork at Victor's House. Koko B. Ware, Frank, Stacey & I assembled the futon like it was going out of style (which I believe they also did in the 90s), and the set was very ably dressed with a various assortment of Atari 2600 and NES games, a DDR dance pad, an Uncle Jesse doll (from Full House, not Dukes of Hazzard, that would be just plain weird), and our pessimistic Magic 8 Ball. We asked how well the shoot would go and it repeatedly said "Outlook Not Good." Ha, in your face, Magic 8 Ball! You were way off and I don't believe in your powers anymore. Oh, I'm sorry--I shouldn't have said that. I can't stay mad at you, Magic 8 Ball. Let's cuddle. "Ask Again Later"? You got it. Wink.

When I could pull people away from the graphically enchanting Atari 2600 games--and we ALL loved watching Frank play Plaque Attack, where you are a tube of toothpaste shooting at hot dogs and candy canes while they attack molars; yes, a game that makes you think far more than Yars Revenge ever could--we made some very real movie magic. Also, by the way, Pitfall is pretty much everybody's favorite Atari game ever. For the scene, however, we opted for the stunning Boxing game which will explode on big screens when The Joneses drops.

As I said before, the crew (Koko, Rajah, Frank, and Mark) were awesome that night, and I am VERY excited to see some of the shots we got. Maura suggested a shot with the Atari game playing in the window reflection that I hope came out as great as it looked there. Frank made a suggestion about Kevin entering the "morning after" scene while brushing his teeth, and it was so perfect. Between that and a subsequent Victor moment asking which of his pink Life pieces was hotter, Frank, Stacey & I had a hard time not laughing through the takes. Top notch stuff! Then everyone started suggesting too much stuff so I (in the words of 30 Rock), shut it down.

We had a magical 3 minutes where the setting sun looked an awful lot like the rising sun, so we banged out the Mitch & Suzanne waking up in futon shots. We shot the scenes with Suzanne, Victor, and Mitch in the kitchen, which went very well, and then moved on to the living room. Where we proceeded to wait for pizza, Doritos and beer (did we learn nothing from Plaque Attack?!). After about twenty minutes of killing time waiting for food (and taking lots and lots of still pictures for fun), I had the bright idea that we could have actually been shooting the beginning of the scene. So we jumped into action. And of course that's when the pizza arrived, so we jumped into eating instead.

The last few hours of the shoot were occupied by the most important chunks of the scene with Victor (Kevin aka 70%, Wry Cirone and SFT), Mitch (Jim aka Dicky, Huggybear, and Big Texas) and Suzanne (Stacey aka Bitchy, Kissyface, and Stacy Keach) performing at the very top of their game. I was SO impressed with the scene as they played it, and I have to give credit to them for performances that I (and others) found completely enthralling. It strikes me that when the crew and I have heard the lines countless times but are still very entertained with each successive take, then the actors are really delivering. I won't mention the alcohol because, as fundamental as it was to both the previous night's rehearsal and the shoot itself, it cheapens how great I think the acting is in this scene. Suffice to say that my instincts about having the actors be a bit buzzed and try to act sober in order to give a more honest impression of drunkenness was dead-on and so I am a genius and the lifeforce through which everything else ignites.

A quick word too about the delicate balance these actors had to play for this scene: Mitch & Suzanne had to be having fun, be a little drunk, also become a little antagonistic and competitive, show a connection, be mournful of their recently dead spouses, and play the post-competition versions of themselves before they even have had a chance to play them the other way. That is no small feat and the subtleties they imbued their characters with were really better than I even imagined. Also, Kevin in his first day as Victor, has made him a funny and intriguing character, that audiences will love even more than Kevin does. Which is saying something.

Anyway, this was such a memorable shoot for me and, as everybody agreed afterwards, it was a total success. A seamless shoot with no hurdles we couldn't overcome. Shots that I'm so excited to see because they're better than even our awesome storyboards. And acting so great by Jim, Stacey, and Kevin that I believe it reinvigorated the production and raised the bar. On behalf of my other co-director, Stacey Keach, I really want to thank everyone for the most fantastic night! And just wait until you see the scene!