St. Nick: At the Ranch

With two HVX digital cameras and a Steadicam, we all piled into separate cars--many from different places in the metroplex--and drove sixty miles (well, that's how much I drove, anyway) to Valley View, TX. A family friend, Sandy Staley (who also sold me my hyrbid, let all of us destroy his property in the name of high art.

As you may remember, I briefly wrote about the ranch after David and I scouted it out. Clay and I will also be using the location for Cutlet.


The crew admires a horse.
***

David prepares for a shot.
***

Penske Trucks advertisement.
***

Cutlet prequel! C-R-E-E-P-Y!
***

Joe Swanberg on B-Cam.
***

Tucker carves a stick under a tree.
***

Barlow Jacobs.
***

David Maddox on steadicam.
***

The St. Nick sled.
***

The crew with the St. Nick sled.
***

How's this for a view?

St. Nick: Week One

The first week of St. Nick proved a charming learning experience. I've had the fortunate opportunity to work with some amazing crew members--many of whom have worked together on multiple projects in the past--and two lovely non-actor actors--for the most part--Tucker, eleven, and Savanna, nine. I've absolutely fallen for Savanna. Her effortless performance has completely enveloped her character and brought her a charm only a truly gifted young girl and a photogenic face can give. And Tucker, who's wise beyond his years and humbly quiet about it, has found a grave tension in his character. The dynamic between the two cannot be cast.

I've learned quite a bit this week, and these are just a few of my reflections:

Unexpected charms might occur when uncast extras suddenly roll in: there are some perfect occurrences that simply can't be planned.

Making it up as you go along can lead to significantly better choices than one might have expected.

Curbside trash digging is a popular sport in The Fairmount District of Fort Worth, TX.

Children build better tents than adults.

Every now and then a producer may run an errand that takes all day and takes him all over the metroplex; and, in the end, the errand might never have had to be run at all. But, as they say, it's the thought that counts.

Hybrids are great when you run out of gas...

Being at calltime, on time, may save you from playful-yet-serious ridicule.

I'm emo, according to a nine year old and an eleven year old.

And now, some images of a first, enticing week.


Make up artist, Heather Henry, creates a new hand for Tucker.

***

Cast and crew meet n' greet.

***

The kiddos.

***

Clay always finds a way to sit down on set!

***
Savanna showed me this sign, displayed on the window of the Arts Fifth Avenue. We don't put up with any guff.


...Yuppies use the front?

***
Savanna really had a hard time with this bicycle. And at her most difficult moment, a procession of bicyclers passed by, in the opposite direction, briefly passing a glance and moving on. Certainly serendipitous, as David rightly stated.


Savanna getting the hang of it...

***
A lot of great extras came out to shoot a scene where the girl crashes a birthday party. This, the first day of shooting, proved Savanna's ability.


Clay cuts the cake at the birthday party scene.

***
We found this great wood-burning stove at The Butler's Antiques. Jim, who own's the antique shop along with his wife, let us borrow this, and several other items, used in the film.


Tucker tries to keep warm.

***

Savanna and the dandelion. Adorable, albeit cliché.

***
Several of us left base camp to guerrilla shoot a small scene at a closed down Carnival Food Stores grocery store. This young mouse was, sadly, barely alive. And further down, the larger mouse--a rat, perhaps a mother--was very much quite dead.


Savanna and the mouse. Adorable, and not-so-cliché.

***

Savanna and David stand on a huge, giant rat!

***
An early morning shoot at The Spiral Diner and The Chatroom Pub, respectively. Tucker nabs some beans from a delivery truck and dumpster dives for nothing more than a few sandwiches.


Tucker sneaking onto a delivery truck.

***

Tucker's head pops out of a dumpster.

***
The script calls for many scenes involving the children finding usable objects in several curbside trash heaps. People driving by with pickup trucks eyed the goods and several stopped and tried to take it. It's really difficult to explain to people that trash is not... trash.


Tucker and Savanna find treasure in one man's trash.

***
David found the decomposed remains of a small dog quite a while ago and finally found a use for it: a young girl's creepy, pseudo-pet. Savanna affectionally named it "Donut Dog" (probably because David put it in a donut box).


Savanna serves me a dog skeleton!

***

Savanna doubles as a "sound guy" when she's not acting.

***

Tucker throws paper airplanes out of an attic window.

***

David finds himself in a compromising position.

***
The greatest footage is always improvised. This shot set up a wonderful, candid sequence where Tucker and Savanna explored a downhill stream. At one point Tucker lifted Savanna, helping her across the stream.


This sunset photo taken outside of an abandoned church.

SMU Tate Lecture Series: Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen accepted an award at the LSIFF (back in November) and he was a keynote speaker tonight at the SMU Tate Lecture Series. Barak's father works for Merrill Lynch, who sponsored the reception tonight, and hooked us up with tickets.

Interviewed by Dallas film reviewer Gary Cogill, Martin Sheen regaled the auditorium with touching, personal stories about himself and Charlie Sheen, his son. He talked about the recent, tragic death of Heath Ledger and why these things happen to Hollywood celebrities. He also told a lovely story about his meeting with Mother Theresa in an attempt to help end the Gulf War. Martin's a vocal advocate for peace and he's also quite a spiritual man, full of inspiration and vigor for positivity.

After the lecture, we headed over to the Merrill Lynch reception for a quaint meet-and-greet. Anyway, Martin remembered all of us from the Lone Star International Film Festival (Clay and I talked to him at the awards brunch and Barak actually brought the only copy of Da available in the DFW area because the festival programmers forgot the print!). He pointed us out to several others at the reception and talked to us at length about some of his early films. He's really such a sweet, gentle man and a real treat to talk to.

On the Set of St. Nick: Family Pictures & Braces

Meet the St. Nick family:

Laura Stone as the mother.

Andrew Sensenig as the father.

Savanna Sears as the sister.

Tucker Sears as the brother.

Sunday we took some "family photos":




***
After we wrapped the family photos shoot, we headed over to The Spiral Diner for lunch before heading to Trinity Park for some more rehearsal time with the kids. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank The Spiral Diner, especially James M. Johnston (who's also producing St. Nick with me), for catering our entire shoot for wholesale, rock-bottom prices.




***

Tucker, our lead male role for St. Nick, went in to get his braces applied today. A total trooper, the application went off without a hitch. Many thanks to the whole team at the Baylor College of Dentistry, Department of Orthodontics. But especially, a huge thank you to Dr. Emile Rossouw, professor and chair of orthodontics, who made it all possible. His contribution of both time and materials were of utmost import to the production.


***
As a general update, we've basically tied up most of the loose ends in preparation of the production. We've only got a few more props to secure and one or two interim locations. It's all going as scheduled and I'm really excited to get down to brass tacks with the brother and sister duo, to see what they can do in front of the camera with a full crew! Friday, we're holding a dinner for the primary cast and crew and then we start principle photography on Saturday!