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Monday, May 31, 2010

Last Shoot. Wow! Already?

This was one strange shoot.
Knowing it was our last, I expected some sort of party atmosphere...
No such thing. It was quiet, sluggish, might I say sad?...
Toby had to jump from scene to scene catching up on missing material. Pretty demanding, considering that his scene partners were not present.
Later we popped a bottle of champagne (O.k... fizzy wine) and sat around taking turns fantasizing out loud about where we might be two years from now.
(I want to extend special thanks to my first photographer Kimberly Boldrini, who besides excellent photography, always brought her unique perspective on life to the set and offered up moments of reflection such as this one.)


Image: Lelo Lourenzo

Image: Kimberly Boldrini

Friday, May 28, 2010

Lil' & The General, A morbid Duet

The last shoot with Catriona and James and a culmination of their deep interpretation of the bizarre affair between a deluded child and a dying man.
It was also a SFX orgy as we had not 1, or 2, but 4 (!!!) wonderful artists headed by Arielle Toelke having their way with the pliable, patient James.
Shooting the duet was a messy, awkward affair but heart wrenching all the same. I can't wait to record the song to go with this one...


Image: Lelo Lourenzo


Image: Lelo Lourenzo

Image: Kimberly Boldrini

Arielle Toelke, Mia Bauman, Amanda Ryan & Michael Duggan were responsible for this man's sorry state.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

On Location at Sandy Hook N.J.

Getting ready for our first and only location shoot was like packing for a very strange camping trip. Boxes were marked "Doll-Skin" "Poop" "Hunter's Gear" and such. Not your regular beach fare...
The logistics nearly blew a fuse in my brain. I know how to get 2 kids safely to the beach and back, but 8 very unique individuals was a little out of my league.
Having said this, getting away from the green screen for awhile was exhilarating.
All put up graciously with the diminished physical conditions, with the carrying of heavy gear over half a mile of muscle-wrecking sand and eating sandy food for two days.


Image: Lelo Lourenzo

Catriona didn't hold back and delivered a wildly idiosyncratic "Beach Lil'".
Image: Kimberly Boldrini

Cat and James take a break from the physically demanding work, to pose for a double portrait.

Image: Lelo Lourenzo

Alex and I rush to wrap the freezing actors after their dip in the sub zero water.


Image: Kimberly Boldrini

Lee looking awful handsome and natural in his "wilderness" setting.
You'd never guess that he was rather uncomfortable walking barefoot on ant's nests and crawling, thorny vines.


Stacking the crew to create a no-budget, on the fly crane

Last few stitches sealing James in the "doll-skin"...

James, completely stitched in.



James and Mia slipping a quick rest in before James' glamour shot

Our box-O-turds, hand made, from simple kitchen ingredients.
(Yes, they are edible and organic!)

Friday, May 21, 2010

Seeing It All From Lil's P.O.V

An intimate shoot with the oddest couple in "ISNESS".
It had been 2 months since the last shoot with Catriona and James so it felt a little like a reunion. A rather hallucinatory bizarre reunion... It was wonderful to see James, yet again, commit so fully to the character of Emily, Lil's imaginary friend. Very, very charming.
Lelo and Kim slapped the good ol' Vaseline on their lenses for that true vintage, dreamy effect.
Later Catriona re-staged Lil' coughing up the hairball at dinner, it was gross and titillating. We finally got the close ups we missed in March.


Image: Kimberly Boldrini

Enviable love.

Image: Lelo Lourenzo

The angelic James Allerdyce.

Monday, May 17, 2010

The Flashback Shoot

Flashbacks are tricky business.
In tracking back to the origins of the larger than life love affair between my leading Matriarch and Patriarch, I had to ask the actors for quite a bit. Tom was a great sport and got a hair cut just in time. Also, rambunctious sex poses were required such as would challenge any 20 year old yogi hipster (Sorry, no images of those. You'll have to buy the book!)

Image: Lelo Lourenzo
Breastfeeding and smoking. Yup. That's the 70's for ya.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Hunter Goes Glam-Rock

Lee took the challenge, left his comfort zone and committed fully to the Glam Rock archetype mixing in vanity, femininity and brazen, sexy physicality.
We all enjoyed this shoot so much.
Loud music, singing, shouting... what's not to like?

Image: Christopher Perino (Guest Photographer)

Image: Lelo Lourenzo

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Watching the "Dailies"...


From left to right: Alex, Kim, Lelo and me.

Can you tell how tired we are?

Monday, May 10, 2010

Shooting the Tough Stuff

Yesterday's shoot was probably the most demanding one in the entire story, particularly for the actors.
I'm glad I saved it for later in the production. The trust and rapport we built over the last few months payed off in a huge way. Stunning, generous performances were given by Lee, Toby and Stephanie as they explored their characters' climactic moments.
Image: Lelo Lourenzo
Lars' unraveling was both beautiful and painful to watch.
It was hard to resist the urge to run onto the set and "save" him.


Image: Jen Storch
How much can you trust a recently deranged sister?
Lars will soon find out.


Image: Lelo Lourenzo
The aftermath of the explosive events in Lars' room.
We had to re-do the floor, there was so much broken glass.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Go Hunter




This was one of the first images taken yesterday and you just know, that anything starting like this, is going to end badly. The giant bottle of fake blood we bought at the beginning of the production was reduced to a few drops and one more character has been eliminated.
Where is this all going? It's looking more and more like a horror flick!... I sure hope that the B&W final product will do wonders to tone down the gore and elevate the dramatic.