End of week 9

Still going well, if exhausting. TV station stuffed up the opening of LP2. Apparently the guy on duty never turned up so it never came out at 7.30. Some body else pitched up at 9.00pm or so and put it on around 9.45  but the picture slipped up and down or something. We wrote a v strong letter to the TV asking why, given this is the only TV drama series produced across the whole Pacific we couldn’t be given a little bit of respect in our home country; after all half the region is waiting on this series. To their credit they completely agreed and so we’re trying again this weekend. Given the level of exhaustion this business causes, it was a bit depressing to see the finished product treated so shambolically.

About 6 of us down with tooth problems this week. Quite weird how it hit us all at once. Felt sorriest for Neri who had a load of love scenes to play this week. I too know that I need a rootcanal thingie. Can’t have anything touching my backtooth without wanting to scream. And I have a major acting week next week.

Missed a shot at 6 am during the week because an actor’s alarm clock failed…so he says!! You feel like some sort of demented sergeant major when you need those early morning shots before the sun gets too high. You spill out of the car at the run as you reach the set, yelling ‘Ok camera, reflectors please; Amanda, Kalo, day 1 costumes, we’ve got 20 minutes to get this shot, sound , you ready? ; Where is Amanda? Bloody hell. Production manager please ring…. What we haven’t got Kalo’s day 1 costume? Why not? My god you want to be filming on Christmas day? Come on this is ludicrous.’

Meanwhile sane people are waking up in the settlement all around you, pottering down the road to buy bread or brush teeth at the standpipe, quite used (I hope!) by now (it is series three) to this insane man yelling up and down the road for 4 months of the year. The scariest feeling about film is how you really do get everything so out of proportion and arrogantly feel that this is the most important thing that must happen NOW.