I hope you all enjoy the day in a way that makes you happy and I ask you to think of those less fortunate – especially the children – who with no food and in some cases no home don’t have much to be thankful for. Make a difference by volunteering or donating to your local foodbank or pantry. Or go to www.lafoodbank.org if you are in SoCal.
Cheers!
Honestly folks I have to admit I wasn’t that jazzed about Sly doing Rambo 5 or whatever number it is. I felt the last one was so totally kick ass balls to the wall old school action there’d be no need to do another one. Then there was the possibility of shooting in Bulgaria which really didn’t appeal to me so I was thinking I might have to sit this one out. But that all changed after my oh so interesting conversation with Sly on Saturday about the new Rambo. I told him how happy I was after reading Zablo’s blog in which Sly said that he had changed the storyline. And while I have utmost respect for Sly’s writing and directing ability I just wasn’t psyched about John Rambo going Predator like on me. So I told Sly that I was excited about him tackling the subject of the brutality women and children caught in the drug wars in Mexico face. He spoke passionately about shining the high beams on the situation. He said he is doing tons of research and the deeper he digs the more complex and dangerous the subject matter becomes. It was clear this story has struck a chord in him so I am expecting a lot of intensity. He commented it will be a brutal shoot…more brutal than The Expendables I asked…oh yeh he said. Ok now I’m hooked. But I had to ask…what about Bulgaria. Absolutely not was the answer (phew). It will be shot in the US, probably somewhere in the southwest where there’s desert – perhaps New Mexico. He is hoping for a spring 2010 start. Me too
cameo role. a minor part played by a prominent performer in a single scene of a motion picture or a television play.
This morning when my alarm went off at 5am I started to hit the snooze button when I suddenly realized…hey get your ass up…today is the day you’ve been waiting for – today the boys are back in town. the location was in Hollywood at the Hollywood Presbyterian church on Gower, which is about a 35 minute drive from Hermosa Beach on a Saturday morning. I don’t know if I was excited or nervous but I was certainly wound up and wide awake. I arrived at the location around 6:15am and Bruce and Sly were inside the church running lines. Arnold pulled up about 20 minutes later – I walked to the set with him and watched as the 3 guys greeted each other with excitement and anticipation. Pretty cool stuff. Bruce looked amazing – very fit, beautiful bald head and that smirky smile. Sly looked relaxed but definitely ready to put this puppy to bed. Arnold had a stogie in his mouth, a giant watch on his arm and was constantly making jokes. I introduced him to Daniel Bertorelli, Sly’s stand-in from Brazil who became part of The Expendables family – Arnold told him he was happy to meet someone else with an accent! Quite a few members of the original crew were there including Lighting god and all around cool kat DP Jeffrey Kimball and his A+ camera team, Nicole and Scott (hair & Make-up), photog Karen Ballard, Liz the costume designer and Mustaffa, Sly’s wardrobe guy along with Sly’s team, Kevin King and the fabulously chic Celeste. Arnold had Greg Hall, who worked with him on every film since Kindergarden Cop, as his wardrobe person and his longtime friend, Dieter Rauter, doing double duty as stand-in and videographer. Legendary publicist Paul Bloch and the always delightful Steven Eads were with Bruce. We also had director john Herzfeld shooting behind the scenes for the documentary he’s doing on Sly and the making of The Expendables. Producer Jerry Weintraub stopped by as did Dodgers manager Joe Torre who was with Sly’s brother-in-law the famous surgeon who operated on Tom Brady (sorry brain spasm – can’t remember his name). Other than that we had no looky-loos or p’razzi. I was, however, amused by the guy who drove by as the 3 guys were walking to their trailers – he almost fell out of his car…nice.
After Arnold, Bruce and Sly went through the scene a couple of times they all 3 headed off to wardrobe and make-up. at 8:10am with three cameras rolling the biggest action icons of our time went to work. I thought it was electric in Brazil when all of The Expendables stepped on set – but today was atomic!!!! the whole crew was mesmerized as we watched the three of them play off of each other in a pivotal scene that sets up the whole movie. And while I can’t/don’t want to give too much away I can tell you that Arnold’s character is Trench and Bruce is Church, the scene was shot in an empty church without extras and minimal set dec and it has tension and humor – what more can a girl ask for! Sly was in top form as a director today and was in total command. Bruce and Arnold were consummate professionals at all times – we got through the scene quickly without compromise. In 6 hours we did wide shots, close-ups, turned around…the whole nine yards…pretty impressive. Very Clint Eastwood.
With the EPK cameras rolling the three of them talked to me about working together for the first time and it is very funny…can’t wait to see that piece of footage land somewhere! Karen Ballard also took some great shots – we are going to release a shot as soon as we go through the approval process which is why I am not posting anything today. But I will have it posted as soon as we release it.
so that’s it folks. I won’t have much to say about The Expendables until early May when we might be brewing up something very cool for Cannes. Other than that, today was amazing – the whole ride has been amazing and remember – you don’t need a gun to be a badass!!
This morning I had the urge to write about how pissed I am over some of the comments posted on this blog and to rant about self-indulgence and conjecture based on well…conjecture!! I wanted rant about my need for intelligent, interesting and provocative discussions. I wanted to rant. When suddenly the clue train pulled into the station and I got on. Guess what I found…me sitting idly by. I got off at the next stop and am now back on my own track. And I’m loaded for bear.
So from this point forward I’m in control…no more personal bullshit. If you guys want to navel gaze do it between yourselves. No one else cares. Not interested in the concept that infringing on intellectual property rights is stealing? Go hang out somewhere else. I realize IPR is sometimes tough to wrap your head around – I was a huge Napster user and shared music with friends all over the world. But ignorance is no excuse. Think about this – IPR doesn’t just affect music and movies – babies die because an inferior medicine is falsely packaged under a well known brand name…automobile tires stamped with the Firestone name are in fact recycled tires made in China that after a thousand miles disintegrate…it goes on and on and on. Putting the trailer on the net was one thing – I’m not sure how it got there but only a handful of people had access to it so it can’t be that hard to figure out. But posting raw footage from the set is not only stupid, it is criminal. That footage is the property of Lionsgate and Millenium. I don’t understand why that concept is so hard to comprehend.
We shoot the scene with Sly Arnold & Bruce on Saturday. I still don’t have the location (not that I would share it anyway) but logic dictates it will be in a church in LA. I’m excited to have the three of them on set together – they each played a big part in my career…Bruce was the reason I stayed in Cali after Prizzi’s Honor, working with Sly in the early ’90’s helped elevate my profile as a publicist at Warner Bros. and Arnold has been a mentor and a friend for nearly 15 years. Plus I am a big fan of their films so watching them work together will not only be huge cinematically for me but on a personal level I’m thinking it will feel a little surreal! I’m hoping they will share some comments that I can post and maybe just maybe a photo…we shall see.
Wanted to give you a little update – I read the pages for the scene with Sly, Bruce and Arnold and while I can’t share the contents I can tell you it is 4 pages long and Arnold has dialogue in all but 2 scenes. It has not been shot yet – still waiting for the stars to align themselves!!! everyone’s busy. But it will be soon. As soon as cameras roll I will be tweeting!!
I’m right here where I’ve always been… but sadly…with nothing to say about The Expendables. I am finishing up the production notes which I hand in on the 21st – the synopsis I wrote is now being used as the official positioning and the photo material is 90% approved and captioned. So at the risk of falling yet another rung on the ladder of production I am, alas, out of the proverbial loop. As most of you know, a unit publicist is hired to publicize the film during production and to work with the film makers, talent and studio on positioning, interviews & set visits and photo approvals. The job usually ends a few weeks after wrap. Sometimes the job is extended depending on the studio and the film. When I worked with Arnold I was on the film from pre-production through release. On The Expendables my run ended in late July. I continued to post what I knew but once you are out of the loop it becomes a mouse hunt to get information. Guess I just didn’t want to put time and effort into something that doesn’t open for almost a year. So my friends I am afraid this blog is obsolete in the world of The Expendables. And by the way it was never the “official blog”…it was my blog and you contributed to it – so it was our blog. I did it as a fan with a publicists twist..neither Millenium nor Lionsgate ever told me what to say or even suggested anything. In fact I am not even sure they read it!!!!! Same with the tweets – that was a lot of fun but very few people following me were there for my thoughts and observations on life – understandably they wanted The Expendables. That was totally cool until I had nothing to say about the movie which prevented me from saying anything about anything for fear someone would say “who gives a fk where’s sly”.
So that’s the deal – no Sly here. Just me talking about things…So for The Expendables updates check out the Lionsgate website & the Millenium site – they are pretty good at posting new info.
As my parting bit of info…I had lunch with Arnold today…he is totally committed to shooting his scene and it will be done before the end of September. He is just waiting for Sly to confirm a date. I will be there for sure and will hopefully blast a few tweets and maybe even a few photos…we shall see.
Cheers…thanks…keep up the dialogue and thanks for the feedback – even the self serving boorish bullshit ;-}
Catch you on the flip side when I start a new project…
and had a great conversation about all things Expendables. He also showed me his newest acquisition – a 1932 Deuce Coupe (See photo below). Sweeeeet! I asked about the teaser that will prevue in Venice – it’s approximately 3 minutes long and according to Sly “kicks ass”. I am dying to see it – hopefully I will get the chance before he leaves for the Festival. He still hasn’t given me permission to post it after it’s shown in Venice but I will keep trying. We also talked about the scene with Bruce, Arnold & Sly. One thing for certain – they will shoot it before the end of September. Sly is still kicking around some really cool ideas – I mean seriously people…having the three of them together in one frame is pretty freakin exciting… and there are high expectations. So he is hashing it out and I’m sure will come up with a scene worthy of the actors. We also talked about the hours and hours of behind the scenes footage director John Hertzfeld shot for a documentary on the making of The Expendables. This was a difficult shoot – Sly and I agree this was the most difficult movie we have ever worked on. From casting changes to logistical nightmares to injuries there was a lot going on. And John (along with several other shooters) captured it all on film…the good the bad and the very very ugly. I think it would be a great 5 parter on HBO or Showtime in addition to putting exclusive stuff on the DVD. We talked about the value of releasing some of it before the film comes out – I think that is a mistake. Once you see the film and then see it from a behind the scenes perspective I think it will have more impact. At any rate there’s a lot of good stuff and we my friends will benefit. Works for me.
Ciao for now…
ah I get so amused when I read things online that are so cockeyed…www.blackbookmag.com gave me a full out belly laugh today. The article states there are 18 rungs on the ladder of production and I, according to them, am on the 3rd or 4th rung…wow…moving up in the world. They also state that Eric Roberts said no way is Arnold in The Expendables. Really? Then how come The Guv himself in an interview in February said yes absolutely he told Sly he would do a cameo. Now I am the first to admit that things change and anything can happen but I’m not sure Eric, who is wonderful in the film by the way, is the litmus test for who is or isn’t in the film. My money is on The Guv making an appearance. Any bets on this one??
Sly is busy working on the teaser for the Venice Film Fest which begins the first week in September so I am hoping to post tht puppy as soon as it is available…maybe I can move up a rung when I do that.
Cheers to all and thanks for your feedback even when I don’t post. Hoping to have lots more to share in the coming weeks.
