The Mysterious Man

Inspiration always seems to hit at the most ungodly hour... here it is late on a night before work and I realize that writing about the film does not have to just be about each day we shot, but could also be about the characters George created. I will begin with The Mysterious Man (Jesus/Dracula)... all the guys who showed up at our auditions wanted to read for this part. So who is this guy? Let's talk.

If you were immortal... the only one on the planet, how would you handle that? What would you do with your time? Would you be the average caveman, chasing down the beasts of the day for food and procreating as necessary? Would you have become one of the clergy, in the days when only the clergy could read or write? Would you be a patron of the arts? Would write symphonies and learn how to play every instrument that existed because you have the time? Or would you watch from time immemorial and then step out into the fray and tell stories about what you had learned in parable form? Would you allow a band of followers to declare you the messiah... when you knew them to be incorrect, just to get your ideas out there? Would you be hurt and injured on a soul level when humanity tried to kill you for your ideas or would you turn the other cheek... as you had advised them to do, so many times? Would you seek revenge by becoming a "vampire"? The do exists you know... they drain you of spirit and energy (what is blood really when it comes right down to this metaphor we live?).

Jesus/Dracula has been drunk since they killed Martin Luther King. And then he met Eli. A kid in a parking lot. A kid who looked lonely. A kid who probably needed to meet someone like this guy and because of that talked to him in a way no one had in years. Or maybe he was just being a kid... open and interested, polite and straightforward. Imagine being the only immortal man and meeting a child again after years of sloshing in your own vitriol. Imagine how refreshing a kid's perspective could be... when you are ancient and a kid is innocent.

J/D in my mind... is the man we never want to have to be in this limited life. He is stuck in physicality, but infinite in time. That would be torture, never being able to forget or leave tings behind. No wonder he is so embittered and at the same time, so willing to listen. He wants what we all seek really, I think. Honesty, authenticity, generosity, kindness and maybe even love.

Yeah. George... it is all love. Eli and the Mysterious Man are seeking the same answers. Why do people hurt one another? Why can't they just all get along? Why can't they see the infinite connections?

Our Mysterious Man brought all of his dedication to this role. He dieted to look gaunt. He ate miso soup for months. He froze his ass off during our Hannaford parking lot shoot. He stopped a police car on Congress street the day we shot his last scene when he rises from a gutter covered in his own blood. Nick embodied J/D the whole time he played the role and all the time in between... He endured cold and beard issues and the now famous "blood bowl".

The Mysterious Man... Jesus/Dracula... no one wants to be him and yet everyone wanted to play him. How intriguing.

We shot Day Five yesterday

Yeah, yeah... I know that everything in between has been left out. Let's handle that flashback style later.... Yesterday was George's birthday. As he pointed out, he has made it past the magic 27 which is good but I expected it because I have had visions of craziness and George embracing on a savanna in Africa about 30 years from now.

So December 6th and thankfully still no snow. Snow today, but yesterday we had sun and clear skies and we got to work early. I started my day by trying on a pair of my son's long underwear to go under my jeans as we had been promised a full day of shooting the fleeing scene's across the peninsula. I nixed the idea as soon as I realized that he had camped in them and never washed them upon return.

Duncan and I got to the Metropolitan with coffee and breakfast in hand. I arrived last, after filling up the tank on the convertible. There had been talk of possibly having the kids run down the sidewalk with us driving alongside... shooting film with the top down. This option never materialized, which was fine with me, but I am also eager to try it someday. It is a good excuse to hang on to the car and I would love to see what kind of footage it generates. In the meantime though George opted for running behind the kids, in front of the kids (backwards)... standing and panning and climbing into the median of roads to capture his shots. After five days of shooting and the footage I have seen already, I have faith in his work and trust that his shots are fabulous.

We had learned our lesson and each were properly bundled for the weather... even Maddy who wore two shirts (gasp!) but I suspect she stayed warm with all of her running, dancing and prancing backwards.

Here is a side note... teenagers are not hard to work with. At least not the ones we have cast. I drove these kids around and was not only complimented on my car and my taste in music (we were diggin' the Spanish rap I had on), they were so high energy and agreeable that it rubbed off on all of us yesterday.

George had them fleeing uphill and down city sidewalks, he had them running take after take and they never once asked for a a break or complained or wanted to stop or needed their makeup fixed. They were fun to work with, fun to talk to and wonderfully creative... adding their own suggestions, but always willing to take their final instructions from the director. I was impressed. I know plenty of adults who would never have been as good natured about what they were asked to do yesterday.

One of the other things I wanted to comment on was the backdrops that were chosen for our shoots (George picked them all). Portland is not just a kick ass town, it is gorgeous. Shot after shot that I got on camera while George shot film are filled with colors and buildings that are unique and vibrant. If anything, IWJAD will certainly show off the the city... in a way I had not considered, until we actually got out and starting the filming. And this is where I am reminded that although I may have the ability to make up a story or to hear music that should go with a scene.... I do not always have the visual in my head. I am going to have to work on that. Once I get out there and have the opportunity to take photos, the moment is inspiration. What I wonder is how hard I would have to work, to place the scenes as creatively as my brother has.

Duncan who is playing Eli and thus has been the only actor to shoot everyday with us says that yesterday was his favorite. I am not sure I can compare the days. Each has been unique... I see the three of us learning what works and what doesn't. I feel less tension and more like a team. I know this has been only five days of three amateurs dealing with the learning curve involved in making your own short film, but I also think the bug has bitten me completely. I don't want to stop. I am ready to do more. I want to help write the next script. I want to do some of the camera work... I will shoot in the cold or the rain. I am beginning to see how I could live this... it feel more real than anything I have done so far. We are out on the streets. We are making something... and it is not something that will be static, like a sculpture. It will become a memory in the mind of the viewer. It will become reality in that sense...