Day 13 of W.O.R. Pre-Production

I realized that I should tell my prayer partners, who have not heard from me in this blog in nearly a year, how the Eternal Nine Days of Casting Hell that they were praying for finally turned out! At long last we have deal memos with Billy Zane, Kevin Alejandro, and Mariana Klaveno. I could not be more thrilled to work with these wonderful, talented, gorgeous, generous people. As the last deal memo was made only yesterday, I was given their email addresses at that time, and have had nice correspondence with them. The wonderful Kevin Alejandro has even run all over Vancouver, where he is shooting "Arrow", on his own time, while not on set, and has helped us out with hair and makeup and wardrobe concerns. I already love working with him! Today on the phone he said "This movie is probably as important to me as it is to you." See why I adore him? T.J. Williams, my D.P., and I have been shot-listing and having a blast planning the show, and today we went out to the farm, just the two of us, and planned the tricky bits, including all the fights. My third time scouting the farm was my favorite one, even if the skinny barn cat that I always want to rescue never stopped head-butting T.J.'s and my ankles. We found a shot for a very crucial sad scene that made my tear up when I told it to Larry after the scout. YAY! We roll cameras at around 6 am a week from yesterday, August 27th! I am so excited! I have been strangely not too pumped, but more worried and null, emotionally, for weeks, with all the stress. But it is finally starting to sink in, after such a harrowing first nine days of Pre-Production, that we are actually going ahead and doing this. After a year and a half of planning, money-raising, and most importantly, working with our incredibly-talented writer, Meagan Daine, we have our cast, we found our last location today, and we are, God-willing, set to go in a week!!! I have been living in my little rented house for several weeks, and am finally settling in, though it is gonna be a boarding house for girls quote soon, as all the bedrooms will be full at various times, which is fine; we all have a door to close. Critter Pierce, our Wardrobe Designer, is living with me for one week, and Sarah moves in Friday. Various actors and other folk will stay in the non-Sarah bedroom, and in the laundry room, during the shoot. It will be wacky... Praise the Lord indeed. We are actually making a movie. I almost believe it, after so long not being able to... ((Picture is of Vince De Felice, rock star Art Director, and I plotting a scene in the house on my wonderful office chalkboard wall..))