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Our Monday began very relaxed with a revolving door of celebrity guests. Amy brought donutsto the set, and it was nice to have a non-lamb pastry in the morning. During the course of our Monday we said goodbye to Jim first, then Amy later, and hello to Rajah who took his "showing up late to the set" trend to new heights by skipping Friday, Saturday, and Sunday altogether. The day started with the "couch scene" which really became the "blanket scene" when we found out we would not be staining anybody's couch with wine. Plus, it wouldn't have been nearly as funny to hear Mitch say, "hey, I think we already paid enough for that couch." Maura had been on stain detail for days leading up to this shoot and she--like the fabulous trooper that she is--proceeded to stain it, we shot the scene, then she washed it, then we had her stain it again for another shoot, then she washed it again, then again we needed it stained. It was very comical, but she has quite a talent for such things. We started the scene in the kitchen and Stacey & Amy were doing a top-notch job in one of the few scenes we have in the film that shows off the Ally/Suzanne dynamic. I enjoyed it a lot, and Mike and I did a lot to frame it up very nicely. Then that punk Rajah showed up, and I felt like I was caught cheating on him with another D.P. But what could he expect? A director has needs, after all. And what with him spending so many late nights with Extreme Dancers, I had to really examine what was best for the child (i.e. The Joneses). OK, that was a weird segue. Needless to say, we were glad Rajah had arrived, and the scene continued very nicely. We moved to the TV room, where the ladies finished their scene very admirably, and then we had the all important job of spilling the actual wine. SO many precautions were taken we could have done a featurette on it alone. The cushion was wrapped in a blanket, then in a trash bag, then a baking sheet was placed over that, and then the blanket over that. All for a few drops of wine. Well, to be fair, the second part of the scene involved Ally basically pouring it freely, so the precautions were very necessary and thanks to all of the ladies' care, it came off without a hitch. Until...Amy noticed a single drip that missed the blanket and the tray and she and I went into emergency mode. Thankfully it has absorbed into the wraparound fabric/plastic bag, but we decided it was too close a call, so we (mostly me) quickly pulled the blanket and it's puddle of wine completely off the couch. Hastily, I might add. So of course, there was then significant winespotting (a great Danny Boyle film) all because in an instant I undid all the care that Maura and Stacey had put in. Then it was time to say goodbye to Amy and give Tony and Stacey the facetime they craved. We proceeded to shoot a bunch of scenes that were all about Paul & Suzanne. We did the yard sale scene, which I just loved--I thought both were extremely charming in the scene, and Rajah had to show off by having us shoot it in the "impossible to light" front room, and used a mirror to rub our noses in it. That scene was very fun to shoot, as was the next one which had Paul & Suzanne on the couch, under the blanket (re-stained), waiting for the pizza guy. Not a huge dramatic scene for them to sink their teeth into, but I was just very excited we were getting a huge chance to see their marriage unfold. I really liked the nuances they came up with, and I also really wished that pizza was arriving at the door. Also, I would say we very likely said the word "weird" about a million times that day. I think that was when we had our dinner break which was made by Tony and Maura largely, although apologies to others who helped out. Amy had made us some soy-marinated tuna from Mexico, and we ate that, some salad, vegetables, burgers, wine--a civilized sit-down dinner that was SO awesome. I will always remember that meal because it was a nice break for me, Stacey, Rajah, Mike, Tony, Maura, and Mark, and I really wish we could have done more of them. Then the porn scene. OK, it wasn't a porn scene, it was actually a "sexual situations/make-out scene" between Paul & Suzanne that we had rehearsed and rewritten very smartly before shooting. I absolutely loved working with Tony & Stacey on how to make the scene play out right, and we came up with the best changes possible. Tony thought it best to jokingly bring up the shake, which was totally the right way to go, and then we decided Stacey could react defensively. We swapped the order of a few lines, cut a few more, and then Stacey added the "do-over" punchline, and we were golden. Thank God for Rajah's presence that night too! Not only would it have been highly awkward for me to be behind the camera, but the way he framed the couple in near-silhouette, and the other shots he created that were so intimately lit combined with the truly outstanding and honest performances by Stacey & Tony made this scene ten times better than it is in the script. I was so proud of everybody that night, and Rajah cracked us all up by insisting that Tony just keep inching himself out of every frame, which we then mercilessly mocked him about. And then of course Stacey had to deliver one of the funniest lines in the script in the middle of this genuine, dramatic moment with Tony's face about half an inch away from hers, and she lost it almost every time. Frankly the fact that she nailed it several times after that is amazing, because I could never do it. Anyway it was a perfect end to a great day--a scene that stands on its own as a great one, and within the script really does so very much to show exactly what the Dixon marriage is all about. (i.e. blankets, pizza, and porn). Food of the night: Tuna and burgers (but not tuna burgers) Drink of the night: Wine Catchphrase of the night: "Tony, can you please just move completely out of the frame." Music of the night: Henri Salvador Bedtime: 2:30 AM
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