DAY 3
ROTTEN DAY YESTERDAY
Was supposed to shoot the gay massacre scene. The actoresses weren’t able to make it because of some last minute personal problem. So I went down to the beauty parlor shop that’s located a few feet away from the unit and recruited the two resident hairdressers. One had neon pink hair and the other was a platinum blonde. (This film should be shot in TECHNISCOPE). They said the usual reply, which should win a BANAL AWARD. “
I hope to be discovered so I can be the first serious gay actor! “ Had to force a fake smile and accompany that with the cursory nod of the head. (Remind myself to kick me in the butt LATER!!!) . So everything ok right? ‘ WONG!!!!! (Anuld accent!!!) They tell me that they have a window of availability for 40 minutes, tops!!!! Before the 1st customer comes in. So I rushed to grab the tripod and the cam and then contact my actor.

Actor comes in, looking gruff and puffed!! Fresh from internalizing inside the jeep or just plain overweight, who knows. What counts is that he looks perfect for the scene. So we rush down and plant ourselves inside the beauty parlor. The hairdressers were sitting there and there seems to be a minor squabble or whatever they do. Then after waiting for about twenty minutes the PLATINUM BLONDE comes over and tells us to shoot later in the afternoon like one.

They can’t shoot because they have something. I ask him, “ Is this a gay thing? “

He nods and says something like that. Turns out someone stole someone’s boyfriend or something and he or she just can’t have that kind of thing in a place where they were working together.

Told him that much as I find this intriguing, I have a film to shoot and we are way off sched. So I told him that I can’t wait for them and rush out with the actor and we just stood outside the streets for a moment.

The temptation to call off the shoot was very high. The actor was panting and breathing heavily. Maybe it was that sound that catapulted my brain for maximum overdrive, who really knows. I then told him that we’d just shoot the telephone-bashing scene.
Forget about the idiot who was good at playing dead or dying victims! If we wait around for him. EPISODE 3 would be rushing past us. Just shoot the phone booth scene and I’ll find a snatcher!

I grabbed the first guy I bumped into. THE SON IN LAW OF THE CONDO’S GUARD. He was busy cooking in the garage. I asked him if he could act as a snatcher. All he has to do is to slash the bag of the actor and get his face rammed into the phone booth. He smiles and guffaws a lot and says “ Sure! “

Small problem. We need a slashing implement and since this wasn’t scheduled to go we had to improvise one on the spot.

Went back to the house and Actor started fashioning a make shift knife which looks very accurate for a third world criminal While creating the prop he tells me that the guy looks too innocent and sweet. I told him that it would make the scene more poignant. The guy can say when caught that he really didn’t like what he was doing but he had to feed the family. Actor shakes his head indignantly and says that the guy shouldn’t have any lines. Hmmm maybe actor is becoming a PRIMA DONNA and does not want to risk being upstaged by anyone. Before we can argue it any further the nice looking guy backs out again and tells us that he really can’t act.

My energy level was a bit low at the time and I didn’t want to convince him to do so. Actually if I felt like it I could have swayed him into doing it but… SO we stood there again in our favorite spot and then looked at the prop that the actor just finished. DAMN! Im not going to let my shot be ruined by a bunch of gay flakes and a non descript cook. So I then shouted amongst the pedicab drivers hanging out in the corner, "WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO ACT IN MY FILM ? " . Gerry whisphered that we should pay him 20 pesos! "AND WOULD BE PAID 20 PESOS! " Surprisingly one came running forward. He said he would act. And the guy looked the part. Has a passing resemblance to a hybrid of JOE PESCI AND A GREMLIN. Nice eyebrows and a slimey smile.

Great!!! So we haul the equipment to the telephone booth and started directing the PEDICAB DRIVER. Everything was looking good except for one more drawback. The guy can’t act evil. Despite his appearance he was a really nice guy. And every time I blocked the scene, the guy just breaks out smiling.

Given the time, I could have worked on him more and made him convincing because I believed that anyone can act! ANYONE! But there was no time for a workshop, the location was suddenly crammed by a lot of bystanders. The words, ‘ SHOOTING! MAY SHOOTING! “Spread like wildfire. Never mind the fact that there were only two guys and a third guy holding a big camera ,everyone still rushed in to watch. The jeepneys stopped and there was traffic clog that you wouldn’t believe.

IT would just be a matter of time before the cops come rushing in, demanding lunch money. I have to shoot this fast. I told the guy if he has sunglasses, to wear them. Actor tells me that it doesn’t seem practical like that. I said,“ Heard and noted! Where are the sunglasses? “ The problem with the Pedicab driver was when he smiled his eyes would take on this gentle and playful look that just doesn’t go well with the scene.
SO JUST OBSTRUCT THE DAMN THING!
The pedicab driver then whips out these pair of predator like visors.

That’s cool. Even Gerry says it looks great. RIGHT, LETS SHOOT!

The shots were difficult to frame because of the amount of people in the background. Being a very low low budget flick we have no crowd control but I thought for a second why hide the fact there were people watching. I mean when there’s a fight out in the streets, people flock to watch right? So I told the crowd to look at Gerry and the Pedicab driver and not look at the camera. DON’T LOOK AT THE CAMERA!
And what do you know. They didn’t! Well…most of them anyway. Did 20 takes of the confrontation scene. Gerry looked totally..Pardon the pun, WASTED! Every time I would ask for another take he gives me this look like I have an anal intruder and wanted another run. But it would disappear as quickly and he’d do the scene.

THEN THERE WAS BASH THE SNATCHER’S FACE INTO THE BOOTH SCENE.

After numerous takes it still didn’t look right. The pedicab driver’s head didn’t look like it was making contact with the booth. So I told him to give his head an extra snap back at a certain cue. He tried his best and after seven takes I had to stop. He looked like his brain got addled a little. I called for a break and studied the booth. My shooting style for this movie was to make it as natural as possible. No fast dolly shots and trendy MTVISH hand held camera stuff. And not the other techniques that I call THE FLIMFLAMS TRIMMINGS! But the murder scene just didn’t look violent enough. Add the fact that we didn’t have any fake blood lying around. As I stated earlier this was a last minute insert shoot. So I said well… go back to the trademark tricks that you used before. If it worked then, maybe it would work now. So I removed my lens attachment and locked the cam on the tripod. I told Gerry to bash the guy’s head in as hard as he can without making contact. I told him to face the cam while doing it.

I did take after take after take. Couldn’t remember how much. The pedicab driver was a real trooper. Showed them the shots on the monitor. Gerry said that he looked like he was playing ping pong.” Exactly. Told the cabdriver that he was finished for the day. Gerry slipped him two hundred bucks. Seems that he enjoyed playing ping-pong with the guy’s head. Told the cab driver to make himself available for the next few days for pick up shots and he agreed!

Made a mental note to drench the phone with dried blood and some brain bits and stuff for the insert shot. This is going to be a STEALTH SHOT.

We stood inside the video rental shop which we acquisitioned to be our make shift command center. Thanks to the nice guard and very supportive cashier. Gerry says something like it’s good we didn’t post poned the shoot just because the two batches of gay actors and the non-descript cook backed out in the last moment. That we had to keep on shooting no matter what. BUT OF COURSE! That’s the reason we did this independent style! There are many drawbacks like no one does crowd control or a battery of production assistants to aide you or as many explosive squibs as you would like. But independence grants you, freedom to shape the film the way you like it to be. The freedom to cast whomever you want and most importantly the right to have FINAL CUT!

I told him to watch the footages. But he tells me that he needs to help someone do some stuff. Shorthand for I NEED TO GET SOMRE R & R Far be it for me to stand between a man and his R! . The guy earned it. I’ll give him the rest of the week off. That’s the least I can do. If he only knows what’s in store for him the next couple of shooting days.