JourneyQuest Sneak Peek at Norwescon

Mom seemed chipper today, looking forward to the results of tomorrow's EKG. Am spending the night with her as she vomited after dinner and had breathing troubles afterward.

In other news, we will be screening footage of JourneyQuest in Seattle at Norwescon this Saturday night at 10pm. I am looking forward to it!

Phew! At least for now.

I had a good long visit with Mom today, and read the doctor's orders. I am as familiar with the sitch as I can get. She is having another EKG on Thursday and we will know more then. She is in good spirits and breathing better than she was yesterday, so big big sigh of relief. I am now, with her permission, actively seeking a part-time "helper" for Mom as I cannot make dinner for her every night. The good thing is that I will be able to be there some nights and days though, now that the show has wrapped.

If anyone knows of a good elder-care person in Seattle I would love recommendations.

Another prayer request please friends

My mother did not want to scare me during the shoot but she has been sick for awhile, retaining fluid, can't catch her breath sometimes because her lungs have fluid, they have her on some medications for it but her heart is overworking big time. I am very scared, and slightly mad that she didn't tell me, she wanted to see me get the show done and not have me quit to help her, which I so would have done...we most likely will not be able to leave town as planned for Easter weekend. Scared. Thanks so much for your prayers. I appreciate them more than you know.

That's a Wrap!

JourneyQuest Season One Wrap! Nine days of shooting (if you count them all), and though we had planned for double that shooting time, I really could not be more pleased with the work of the astonishing cast and crew, who stepped up to every hurdle with astonishing grace and accomplished the impossible. So ready to sleep. A lot. God bless us, every one. And bless all who prayed for us.

Final Day of the Attenuated Shoot Tomorrow

Phew. Home Stretch!

Our original plan of shooting three times as many days has been attenuated to a 9-day shoot, but I am really pleased with the result. Despite everything it is beautiful thing. And that is due I think to the bravery and self-sacrifice and hard hard hard work of our fabulous team. What a blessing to work with these people!

Onward!

Praying for good weather our final day. It is gonna be a doozy, with 9 orcs to get through makeup and a battle scene . . . *crosses all digits* good weather . . . good weather . . .

RIP Becky Mehrer, My Childhood Friend

RIP Rebecca Mehrer

My heart is breaking today because I learned in a letter last night that my dear friend Becky Mehrer (seen here riding my horse Rookie circa 1975) died. Her poor Mom did not say how she died. Becky was my best pal in grade school, and my horse pal in High School. She was the one I always rode horses with as kids, she was a Girl Scout with me. Her Mom, June, was my Girl Scout leader, and her family ran the Adventuress back then. She was the falconer-in-training that I flew hawks with and counted eagles with each winter as teens.

I am so heartbroken that she never got to see "The Dark Horse", there was a line in it just for her ("Remember how Becky and I used to come up here to hide when you big boys were marauding"). . . I should have just sent her a copy of it, I wanted to send her a "real" one when it was released . . . Oh it makes me so sad!

Rest in peace, sweet Becky, known to me as "Schnutz". I will miss talking horses with you, and giggling about boys, and reading romance novels in the sun on hillocks with horses grazing beside us, and climbing mountains, and polishing the brass on the Adventuress, and voyaging on the "P.S.", and having adventure after adventure every Spring Break and many October weekends and summers.

You take a huge part of my childhood memories with you. Nobody will ever know the young horse-dreaming, silly, romantic preteen Corrie the way you did, and nobody will ever know that silly preteen you like I did. I will always miss you.

This has been one doozy of a Lent. I am very ready for Easter. Madeleine always said that Lent was the toughest time of the year, and indeed I remember many horrible Lents when I was working for her. But this one has just been awful.

Ten days till Easter.

"Zombies of Mass Destruction" DVD Release/Signing Party, Scarecrow Video

Day Five Orcage

The Boss as an Orc *grin*

Whoever he plays, he plays it with gusto! Matt is a very convincing orc.

Day Five: Orcs Orcs Orcs!

Tallis as an Orc Extra. Such fun.

Day Four, Fab!

Today I held a slate as I danced beside a river in the late sun with a giggling Bard tied to a Riddle Pillar next to me, while she prepared to watch an undead guy full of arrows go groaning by, as a slain orc fell beside her. Can't say that happens every day.

My Beach Bum Friends

Day Three Was Even Better :)

Very long day but very good day, the team is really starting to pull together.

Sooooo tired and sore:) Two nice crew members from Chehalis (2 hours away) are bunking here for a bit. Nice to get to know new people:)

I really love the film tribe.

Must sleep getting up at 6!

Image One: Two of our stars Emote *grin*

Image Two: Producer critiquing the Makeup Department on set today:)

Tired but happy to have completed Day One.

*sigh of relief and exhaustion*

Dear God,

We believe that you have both the power and the desire to save us from calamities in our lives. We ask that as JourneyQuest continues tomorrow, you would rescue us from any lurking calamities that would otherwise overtake us. Please give us the strategy and the ability to overcome the difficulties we face. Give the company a new wind of strength to overcome our daily challenges, with grace. Thank you for promising to cause all things to work together for good to those that love you and are called according to your purposes.

Amen


From a daily prayer, adapted.

Quote of the Day

"I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will life my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm . . ."

-- Casting Crowns

We grieved long, we grieved well. Both the funeral and the wake were . . . truly a blessing for all.

Now we go back to work. I have impossible tasks ahead of me today as Producer.

And I believe that God's strength will get us all through, no matter how many are on the sick list, no matter how many are broken.

May it be so. We shoot in two days.

Credo Today

Psalm 121

I lift my eyes unto the hills,
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
the maker of heaven and earth.

My Attitude Today

Just sayin'.

Soldiering On

Through many vicissitudes (more have of course cropped up, and one is also tragic) we soldier on. When we wrap on March 28 I am planning to sleep for about a week, and then go hug a horse, which I have not been able to for many months of intense pre-pro.

As of now, Matt and I are producing this, just us, until I can find another producer. So far no luck. Larry tells me I have the skill set for it, and don't need another one. But my heart often quails. Then I turn to prayer, and am all right.

Matt and I discovered yesterday that we have JUST enough money left to get this done with his cleverly reduced schedule. For which I praise the Lord. And Elizabeth's and Kat's tidy and brilliant accounting!

On we go. I am shut down emotionally, am just putting one foot in front of the other. Haven't cried since The Awful Day; which is unusual for me. Am eating well, am sleeping till I wake up. Am praying for health for all involved.

Back to the office. I saw a homeless guy standing in the rain on the way home last night with a sign saying "Need money for my Lear Jet". I gave him a dollar.

There is much to be thankful for. All I am is tired; I am not standing in the rain; I go home to a warm house and three awesome guys. And I go to work with fabulous artists. I am blessed among women.

The JQ Plan as of Today

We are taking the week to recover, and then we will be resuming shooting next week, probably Wednesday. Matt and I are in the office producing this until we get new volunteer folks to fill key positions, so we have a wee bit of pressure. But so far he and I are healthy and willing and able to proceed. Many of our beloved crew are under huge stress, some of it medical, so if you have prayers to spare, please pray for those resting at home and the several of us in the hospital at this time. John's funeral and wake will be this weekend, and those of us who were there that day will attend and mourn.

RIP John Moore

John on set Sunday morning.

JQ Letter From Production Today

Last night the producers were on the phone for many hours, and here is the result:

After careful thought and consideration, in respects with all your wishes (or the wishes of everyone I've talked to), we're resuming production on JourneyQuest. I want to thank each and every one of you for your patience and understanding. We're working on changing and getting a few locations. Things are going to be pared down a bit more, we're going to do our best to keep locations to the Seattle/ Tacoma area, but rest assured there will still be food, people and laughter to help this along. We ask for only a little more time from you guys while we fix the schedule. We're doing our best to keep things as is, keeping to the current schedule (Minus the Sumbre section.) and while we're working our hardest to make Friday a possibility, currently (And I will get more information for you) I believe John's funeral is scheduled for Saturday. So we will be taking off that day and again, I'll get you the details as soon as I can. Today we're meeting and re working the schedule, and will get back to you as soon as we can.

This is going to take a lot of pulling together and we will do our best to make this a fun shoot, and continue honoring the memory of our friend and colleague John Moore.

Tony
1st AD


"The condition for a great miracle is impossibility."

God bless us, every one!

Tragedy and Hope

Terrible Tragedy on Set

I do not know how to say this, so I just will. JourneyQuest is shut down from grief, we had a death Sunday. Our wonderful friend and crew member John Moore had a massive heart attack and died on set mid-day yesterday. We are shut down for the Astoria leg of the shoot, and we do not know what to do at this point, or whether or not we are in production again as previously planned Friday in the Seattle area.

After John's death, we met back at the church where the company was staying for lunch, then stayed all together all day and had dinner there courtesy of our friend the pastor, Chris Ode, then he led us in a heartfelt, tear-soaked, lovely/horrible memorial service in the church.

We have all arrived safely back home today after a shell-shocked 4 hour drive north.

We are all devastated by this.

Please pray for John's family and dear ones.

Please pray for the 4 producers as we discern where to go from here.

The Cherry Orchard

Terry directed, Tallis is an actor in it, it is great, it is in at ACT, go see! Runs through March 14th. Come on, you know you want to see some volatile Russians lose their land!

One Day from Principal Photography

I am taking a page from Laurie Deason's playbook and requesting good thoughts and prayers please for our production of JourneyQuest.

We are two days out from Principal Photography and tension is of course high :) We will shoot for much of March, for the first two weeks contiguously, with a day off.

Several of us are sick.

I am behind on my Scriptie Book due to many factors, one of them is that I am also a producer on several shows, this among them.

So if you feel led please pray for "JourneyQuest" and its stalwart and ridiculously overworked crew.

In other news, I have had some successful meetings of late re: "Camilla Dickinson", so am encouraged that someday we may actually get to do that movie.

God bless us, every one!


Corrie
http://www.kairos-productions.com
www.journey-quest.com