The Sandman: Shoot 4, The Sands of Time

Hello all,

I would just like to start by saying that I just watched "The Walking Dead" on AMC and it was
fantastic!! Sundays at 10pm. Check it out!

So this shoot started off by me slamming an energy drink. I'm not sure if copyright laws count
in Blogs, so I won't say the name of it. Instead I'll make one up...How about Red..Cow. Ok, so I slammed a Red Cow on the way to the shoot. It was in San Juan Capistrano. I had worked all
day and was very tired. I assumed it was going to be a quick shoot. On the schedule it calls for the scene with my brother, the Boogieman (Jon), and I to get in an argument about a certain item he happened to acquire. This item used to belong to the Moon and it is the major cause of all of the conflict in this movie. So if I can get him to return it, then voila, roll credits!

Well, I show up to a really awesome antique store in San Juan Capistrano called The Antique Barn. Very cool place and a definite stop in for visitors to the area. I look for Boogieman (Jon) and sure enough...not there? What gives? So I go ask Nancy, the producer, and she informs me that we are in fact shooting the Father Time (Bruce) scene first. Boogieman would be later.....Ah nuts. I hadn't even looked at the Father Time lines!!!! I was actually off book and good to go with the Boogieman lines!!! Why does this always happen to me? So I introduced myself to Bruce and we began rehearsing. He was a very nice man. He had a very commanding presence. It was not hard to believe he ran the "Otherworld" as I like to call it. I informed him of what happened and he began to run lines with me. It only took 10 or 15 times through to get it (which fortunately for me is usually when the camera crew is setting up their stuff). So I didn't hold up production, which is my worst fear. That and ghosts. But luckily there shouldn't be any ghosts in the antique barn right.....RIGHT?????

“So Esmeralda is the name of the ghost that resides in this store." Nancy tells me.

Apparently the store owner warned her when she got there that the ghost will move things and
make noises in dark rooms. Then be gone when you check it out. Maybe she'll appear in mirrors
and things. Apparently she was a mistress of the original buildings owner when it was a bar in
the early century before it was converted into a store front building. I guess they hear her talking in the attic often and she takes coats a lot!!!!

Just great, I think. Here I am, locked in an old store surrounded by antique dolls and vaguely racist coconut monkeys and now I have to try and act while a ghost steals my coat!!!

The scene begins and we nail it! I guess my wariness of Esmeralda makes my performance more
realistic since in the scene I am giving Father Time my notice and asking to be given a chance to
be mortal and live in man's world. So yea, I was scared!!!

Bruce was a champ and totally kicked butt on the scene. He was surrounded by clocks and hourglasses. It was a very cool set! The shoot lasted probably a good 3 hours. Finally they wrapped on Bruce and Father time got to go home. The Sandman however now needed to go brush up on his Boogieman lines since Jon had just arrived and it was time to shoot. Good thing I had that Red Cow.

We ran the scene 4 or 5 times and hammered out the blocking (Jargon Speak: The pre set movements and actor must go through in the scene). My blocking consisted of my walking around the cameraman -- in front of the camera and then behind it. It was difficult since this all took place in an aisle of an antique store. But it worked. Then the Bar next door known as "Swallows" (get it?) got hopping for the evening. So all we could hear was a bar band playing every tune ever written by Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers.

Obviously, this kind of ruined our audio for the evening. But, of course, I was exhausted so I was glad we called it a night. We will have to finish up the shots there this month sometime. I'll keep you informed!

It was a fun shoot and hanging with Esmeralda was a hair rising experience but rather fun. After all I was safe! As long as Esmeralda wasn't a ghost shark!!! Then I would have been in trouble!!!
Cuz I mean really?? A ghost shark!! That's end of the world material there!!!!

Next up we shoot at a cafe called Mollie's Diner in San Juan Cap. Stay tuned to hear about how
we pranked the waitress!

"Are you tired of sand being kicked in your face? I promise you new muscles in days! - Charles
Atlas"

Cheers,
Jesse Steele

Sandman Shoot 3: Milky Way 90210

Sorry for the wait everyone. This shooting schedule has been very time consuming! Lots of 2 A.M.s!
I'll try to crank out all of the blogs I've missed in the next few days so keep your eyes peeled!...Why would someone peel their eyes? That sounds like a SAW movie? (deep gravelly voice) "You have led a life of vegetarianism...you have peeled the skin back off millions of screaming carrots...now to survive you must use this potato peeler...."

So the shoot started out fun for me since I had to drive about 20 miles to get there and it was in the ritzy, very high-end community of Coto DeCaza. I had to pass through a security gate where a guard quizzed me on who I was going to see and why I was going in...even though my name was already on the guest list! I was told by one of our producers, Nancy, that I needed to remember the Directors last name, Cunanne, and the street, Coffee Tree.

"Who are you here to see?" says the 50 something guard who held himself with a very inflated sense of purpose.

"I'm here on the Cunanne shoot". I flashed him a smile as I said "My name is Steele, Jesse Steele." Yes, I in fact said that (I'm a horse's ass I know :)

"Ok, I see your name on the list here, What is the name of the street?"

"Tree...Park?" shit! I had forgotten 50 % of the most important info of the day...

"Park Way? Park Haven? Park Place? Parking..son's?"

All of my guesses where returned to me with a dubious head shake of a temporarily empowered individual.

"Obviously, I don't remember? Was I even close?

"Nope not even close.... I'll let you thru this once" he said with the same tone as a young boy granting temporary reprieve to a defenseless ant from his magnifying glass.

"Good thing it's a one day shoot huh buddy?"

I gave him the smile again and bolted past as he opened the gate...

It was currently raining and the fog was intense to say the least -- which was amazingly appropriate since this shoot is supposed to be shot in the Milky Way, at Orion's House. Every one of these houses costs more than Oprah could afford!..Well, Oprah’s Production Assistant anyway. Amazing drive to say the least. I roll up to the location and am pretty excited to shoot in such a crazy, big, lavish house......so, of course, Stephen tells me as I get out of the car “all of tonight’s shoots will take place on the front steps or on the side of the garage."... typical. :/

I meet the actors playing Orion and Orion Jr. (Paul and Chris) and we begin running lines. This was a pretty line heavy scene for all of us. Orion Jr. was the only one completely off book and comfortable with the dialogue. In my defense I have the majority of the lines on all 89 pages of the script so I think I get some leeway on how well I have my lines down, thank you very much. Plus, it only takes about 5 or 6 times running the lines with the script in front of me for me to memorize it -- so it never really is a worry of mine.

So after about 20 minutes the director calls for me to do an entrance and an exit scene. As you can see in the pics they have quite a few steps. “Take 2...Take 3...Take 4...hehe.... Take 5..hahah... Take 15...chuckle chuckle ...OK we were just messing with you, Jesse. Let's take it for real this time guys....”

Oh well, I needed the exercise anyway. So the shot took 1 take (surprise, surprise).

Next we shoot the scene with Sandman meeting Orion. So my motivation here is the same as a run of the mill blue collar Mailman meeting say, George Lucas. This is the man that runs the stars and provides them light to show the world every night. (On a side note, NO to those of you that want to ask, I did not immediately punch him in the face for Jar Jar Binks. ;)

It starts raining again but lightly, so the director decides to push forward on this but to use 2 cameras instead so we can get more coverage faster (Jargon speak: Coverage is the term used pertaining to all the different shots and angles of the same scene.) So we start and it goes smoothly. The only major hang up we had was that Orion, a bigger man, was directed to take off his tight coverall jumpsuit he was working in as we are speaking. Well it was definitely a two-man job. We had to figure out how to get me to assist him in holding his tools and helping him take his clothes off without this looking like the start of a porno. Solution? The director let him leave it on.

Orion Jr. is basically the same character as the artsy gay son of Christopher Walken in Wedding Crashers. Only not over the top. Very reserved and non-caring about what his actions do to the rest of the world. He is a young man that has this job (lighting the sky) forced on him at a young age and he hates his family for it and wants to leave...and does.

Our scene together starts with me seeing him climb out the window. We decide to shoot the dialogue later and just shoot me following him down the stairs. It begins to rain harder. The crew breaks for pizza. I get to check out the inside of this house and it was amazing! They had their own putting green in the backyard wrapping around the "Cement Pond" and grotto style Jacuzzi. Inside was sort of Persian looking. Or at least what I would consider Persian looking anyway. Lots of gold colored things and reds and browns. ( I didn't take any pics sorry, didn't want to be rude) There was a huge winding staircase up to the 2nd floor as you walk in the front door. Pretty slick if you ask me!

Well, we resume shooting but at this point it is midnight and there are only frantic yelling scenes left. The producers and director have a discussion “in private" about how we should reschedule the rest of this shoot until November sometime, since the family inside needed to go to bed. The producers won and we wrapped for the evening.

It was very cool and I can't wait to meet up with Orion and Orion Jr. again. Especially since the only guy off book at the beginning of the evening was Orion Jr. who didn't get to recite one line! :)

Paul and Chris (Orion and Orion Jr.) were great as were the crew and the family who let us invade their house! It was a very fun shoot and I'm excited to do the follow up shoot there. Except now I will remember the name..."Coffee Tree".

Thanks for reading about Shoot 3 and coming up in the next blog -- We visit a pawn shop and an antique store to square off with the Boogieman and Father Time!!

He who built his house on the rock was a wise man, for he that built his house on the sand will be hit up every weekend from some distant relative or high school chum asking to throw his beach party there.... - Unknown

Cheers,

Jesse Steele

Planes, Trains and Automobiles...well, no Planes anyway.

So we wrapped the first day of shooting! It was tough....I sat in a train car at a booth for about 3 hours and watched them move the lights and cameras around. Hurry up and wait I guess? That's film making though! Apparently the dailies were great (Jargon speak: "Dailies" refers to the shots taken, Sort of like reviewing your work. "The dailies came out great from the shoot yesterday".)

Getting up early sucks for me. Especially when it works out that I will be just sitting for a long, long time. I know everyone is reading this and making cry baby noises at me. I will take the ridicule like a man! A big, cry baby man! I hate 6am, I hate coffee and I hate being bored. I guess that's why Big time actors have doubles to sit in for them while the shots are set up and they get to play with their Uno Or Uma or whatever, back in the trailer. I would choose Uma every time, just in case you were wondering. :)

In fairness to the crew, the gal who was supposed to open the restaurant we were shooting in, didn't arrive until 8am. So we sat a hell of a long time!!! But, you can't get down on her either, after all she was doing us a favor. The restaurant is called the Vintage. It's in San Juan Capistrano. Great Steak house I hear. I can vouch for the atmosphere. It was a old passenger train car from the 20's I guess, and it was converted into a restaurant. Definitely a cool check out if you're in the neighborhood. Tell em Sandman sent ya. That will get you a free water with your meal, you're welcome :)

So the shoot went well once we started rolling. It was all mostly establishing for my character. No dialogue. They just wanted to show who my character was and why I am fed up with my job. Yes, also you guessed it, this is the beginning of the film. We probably did 20 to 25 takes and then wrapped the set. We had to be out before the lunch crowd came in. Luckily the director and the crew were really on top of things and it went very smoothly. We got the heck out of there and the director bought the cast and crew all lunch. It was a very good start to what I hope will be a very good film!

I'm noticing it is much harder to be "real" on film when it comes to being serious. Subtlety is key I suppose. To bad my face is made of rubber and stuffed with mimes!!!! This is going to be a challenge to not over act....

Thanks all for joining in on my adventures! The next one is about a mansion. Tune in!

"Fear is the sand in the machinery of life". - E. Stanley Jones

Cheers,

Jesse Steele

Day 1 of The Sandman: Read through

Yesterday was our principle get together and read through for the Film "The Sandman". Many of you know that I was cast as the lead and titular character. Many of you will also be excited to know that I have always wanted to use the word "titular" in a sentence. I have accomplished this goal as of about 5 seconds ago. It is a total honor and a huge step for me in my career to be leading up this amazing and talented cast. Everyone was very professional and cast perfectly for their roles! We all blew through it so smoothly and perfectly it made it a very rewarding experience for all of us and set the tone for a great relationship between us all...unlike a Prom date.

A Little about the film for those who aren't in the know...

The Sandman is a sort of take on "The Odyssey", if "The Odyssey" was about George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life" and written by Neil Gaiman. You have no idea what I'm talking about do you? That's OK :) I will give a brief synopsis...

In the world of Mother Nature and Father time, The Boogieman and Jack Frost, there lived the Sandman. Aside from having his own song ( ..bring me a dream, make him the cutest, that I've ever seen) and being the blame for and usually cause of endless amounts of numbers spray painted on sheep, he was a very normal everyday Joe. The Sandman worked very hard and was very reliable at his job (how did I get cast in this again?) Not unlike a mailman. He would sneak into unsuspecting people's windows at night and cover them in his "Magic Sand" to put them in a deep sleep and it is assumed make off with their jewelry or children or something, not unlike a mailman. He was starting to get fed up with the monotony and lack of thanks. So he grabbed his bag of grainy crystal like nodules and his AK-47 and set to work on everyone who dared wear the color purple or entered the local 7-11, not unlike a mailman.

OK, so I did a little falsifying there...not unlike a mailman. In actuality he is just discouraged by his thankless job. He admires everyone else in "The other realm" and all of their amazing jobs. Like "The Sun" and how she is the biggest "Star" in the sky. Everyone knows her and loves her! "Orion the Hunter is a spectacle to see. His neighborhood among the constellations burns the brightest. It is full of worshipped stars and they live the celebrity life. So apparently alot of blow and TMZ cameramen come and go from that little nook of heaven? Anyway, The Sandman decides he has had enough and wants to hop "The wall" separating his world and "Man's world" Everyone in man's world is so amazing? They live in the daylight, they get into fender benders they save money at lunch by getting free samples at Costco! Amazing! Like Don Quixote before him he longs to be in a different world than his own.

So he gives his boss (Father Time) his notice and is informed that in order to be allowed to quit he must first fetch an item for father time from his wife Mother Nature. There Sandy meets up with his old pal Jack Frost, a misunderstood artist. and is sent on another quest to fetch some milk from...you guessed it, The Milky Way.... But what happens to all the dreamers in "Man's World" While Sandy is out on this odyssey to find his own place in the world?

I'm not revealing anymore, you'll have to follow my blog everyday to find out what was shot each day (starting tomorrow Tuesday the 12th of October) and to see some pics I will be taking from the set. I also will be blogging about anything that I feel I should say...which those of you that know me will understand that it may very well be from a different world as well...

Until then my friends, like sands in the hour glass, so are the days of our lives,

Peace, love and ellipses....

Jesse Steele