Wrap
Last night M. finished shooting on her short film. What? M. had a short film in production? Yes, and I didn’t say anything about it, but now that major filming has ended, there you have it: a 15-minute short soon to undergo post-production. There’s ADR for one of the actors, editing, and all that, at which point it’ll be ready for submission to the festival circuit. Production so far has been much longer than it might have been, but the co-producer (M.’s role was not limited to writing the screenplay; she also cast the actors and extras – including myself, the only non-professional in the bunch – costumed the men, and gathered sponsors to provide meals, clothing, and some of the equipment) had consented to using her own home as the set, and the availability of some of the other crew was limited, forcing everything to be done on weekends, a schedule that got further extended when the cinematographer turned out to have run himself out to a ragged edge and had to limit himself to one day a week. Editing, for which the services of a professional in possession of a credit on an Academy Award-winning film have been engaged, will begin in November.

And before I say anything more, I think the screenplay is right up there, one of the best things M.’s done, so if the finished product lives up to the potential, it’s going to get some good attention out and about. It’s based on some research she’d done for an article back in NYC that was published on Salon.com on fetish salons.

The evening work ended once the exhausted actors ran through the final scene one more time, then again, then slower, then had stills taken, then just did some quick outdoor night shots; and then we packed up the gear and sent out for some Thai curries and spring rolls, which were great (by that time, it might hardly have mattered, but the food really was good). We sat around the table telling stories, relaxing, and getting into a fully jovial state until after 11, at which point we all realized just how tired we were and went our separate ways home.

M., of course, will see the movie before me, or at any rate the rough-cut edit, but eventually, late November, I suppose, we’ll have a screening for cast and crew and all the extras and sponsors and various helpers-along-the-way. Since my boss consented to appearing in a crowd scene, I might be expected to feel some level of anxiety over what she’ll make of it, but it’s not like I didn’t tell her the basic plot going in.