It's a little bit funny...

... Actually, it's a lotta bit funny. The movie, that is. 

Last night, as we made our way back to the cars after a 5 hour shoot, I think there was a general consensus of feeling in the cast and crew. We all felt good (if you don't count Joey's headache). I know that doesn't sound like a big deal... I mean, we are making a movie! We are doing what we love! We should always feel good, right? 

You'd think so, but when we were filming BGR last year it didn't always feel like that. Sometimes, it felt downright miserable after a shoot. It got to the point some days where I, at least, had to ask myself, "What are we doing? Is it worth the aggravation?" The answer is, yes, as I realized when we were in post putting the movie together. But I wish that it didn't take that long. 

There are tons of reasons why this may be so, but I won't go into any of them right now. Needless to say, last night was really good. It was either our longest shoot, or our second longest shoot; I don't remember how long the school scene took. We had the most people on set that we've had so far (17). It also happened to be one of my favorite scenes in the script. And having it brought to life did not disappoint in the least. 

Yesterday, we welcomed Mitch Vargas and Megan Bussiere to the Red Scare shoot. It was both of their first days on set, but you would never have guessed it. The roles of Miles and Sasha were two roles that we auditioned for, but after seeing yesterday's performances and seeing how great they were I feel like I wrote the roles for them (which is ridiculous, because I didn't even meet Megan until the auditions which were several months after I finished the script). Both actors brought so much to their respective parts; I am so happy that they are in the cast. The comedy of Red Scare is very specific. It is equal parts over the top, physical, and subtle humor, and that isn't easy; and yet, Megan and Mitch (in addition to the rest of the cast) really just hit everything so well. Earlier this year, I said that BGR had the best cast I have ever worked with. After 11 days of shooting, I think the Red Scare cast has passed up the BGR cast. 

But that's the actors. The crew is also something amazing. Last night, Sean suggested a shot, which I thought sounded really cool. We didn't think we'd be able to light it though. Joey said, Oh we can light it, and between him and Tony we did it and we did it well. That's just one instance of how good this crew is. 

It's fun. A year ago yesterday, we started BGR. There were times during production when I felt like I would never want to take on the producer role again. And then Red Scare comes along. 11 days in, and I don't have to wonder why I am doing this. I am doing this (we are all doing this) because I (we) love what we do. 

Stay tuned!

Sam 

Actor, Writer, Producer

Red Scare