On Locations and Happy Coincidences

 I worry. It's what I do. As a producer, I have found that worrying is just part of the job. Last night's location was a beautiful location. It was a park on Washington Street in Jersey City overlooking NY. It is a great location. I decided to use it for this scene about two weeks ago, but as with all outdoor locations, there were risks involved. You have to worry about people interfering with shots (unfortunately, we aren't at the budget level where we can close off public places), and you have to worry about losing light (among other things). 

So, we got to location and thankfully it was a beautiful day. Unfortunately, people like being outdoors on beautiful days... with their kids... and their dogs. There were also a LOT of planes, helicopters, and boats going by making noise. When we first got there, the place I wanted to use was empty. Perfect! As we waited for the rest of the cast, though, people started making their way to the place I wanted. And more dogs came out. And kids with water guns. Fortunately for us, they kind of went away when we started to shoot. And no one really bothered us. (Although there was this one lady who took her bird for a walk...)

So, the shoot went smooth. The location worked out really well, and we knocked the day out in 90 minutes. I chalk this up to the great cast and crew I always mention.

Speaking of casts, in addition to our zombies and victim, yesterday's cast comprised of three talented actors who all are playing the roles they are because of happy coincidences.

Bobby was always going to be in the movie, but when I was initially developing the teaser pre-BGR screening, I was going to have him and Tony (Pineiro) be a comedic beatnik/hippy duo. Things shifted around in my head, I asked him if he could do a Russian accent and now he is the villain of the movie... Which is good. Because Bob is a very cruel person who beats small puppies and takes candy from orphans. A perfect fit!

When we were shooting the teaser trailer, we were supposed to have another Russian zombie, but he never showed up to set. Luckily for us, we were shooting outside Aaron Visco's house. I asked him if he wanted to shoot something real quick, and he was game. He is now Pieter, and is scarily dedicated to the role. Things could not have worked better for this role.

Early this year, Dan (Gregory) was making a movie called "Mesada" that I am in. Originally, Loarina was in the movie as well, but she had to drop out. Megan Bussiere replaced her, and filmed Mesada. Through that production, she found out about "Red Scare" auditions, auditioned, and now we have our Sasha!

So, there you have it. If even a minor thing didn't happen the way it did, Red Scare would be a completely different movie. We may be getting by, by nothing more than luck and coincidence (if you believe in coincidence), but getting by we are.

For a behind the scenes look at the first few weeks of shooting, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMgTV2VJlfw. There will be more behind the scenes looks at the movie as we move on.

Stay tuned!

Sam
Actor, Writer, Producer
Red Scare