LYT's Weblog

I was told to report to Lucky's pad around 9, and I think I got there at 8:30. I hadn't had dinner, but fortunately neither had most people, so we ordered some awesome pizzas from Bossa Nova. Chris Sivertson, a couple doors down, was editing THE LOST, so star Marc Senter was in the house, shootin' the shit with costar Justin Stone

Vanessa, storyboard artist on THE WOODS, who's been staying at Lucky's for a while, is in ROMAN as a goth girl, and it becomes her.

The newest face was a lead actress with the only-in-Hollywood name of Nectar Rose, who plays Billy Bob Thornton's stripper girlfriend in the new BAD NEWS BEARS remake. She impressed me quite a bit; unlike many other actresses, she was not hung up on vanity and just went with the flow. This is a fairly essential ability when working with Lucky and company.

At around midnight, we headed to the Pig 'N' Whistle -- a restaurant and bar on the side of the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Needless to say, it's shitloads more fancy than the original place that inspired the script. It was karaoke night, but hardly anyone was there -- one overweight girl singing "Like a Virgin" to her two friends,a nd a few stragglers. Kinda depressing in a way, but if you ever want non-crowded karaoke, head to the Pig on a Tuesday night.

What you might not know is that in the far back, the Pig has a VIP lounge with a couple beds,a nother bar, and a small stage for private parties. This was where the equipment got stashed, along with a couple cases of beer. It was also near the back exit, so crew came here to smoke. Here we see Angela doing so:

ROMAN has mostly been shot with minimal crew in tight locations, so this was a big change. Kevin (the director of photography on this) has never had such a large amount of technical people, but he adapted well, and remained pretty clear on what he wanted. It is critical for a director and D.P. to be in sync, and when they live and love together, this is pretty much a no-brainer. Kevina and Angela are equal partners on this film, ultimately, though everyone else is listened to too.

There were two scenes being shot. The first one involves Roman (Lucky) and Eva (Nectar) on what I believe is their second date. She's a wild free spirit; he's uptight and silent. The French proprietor (me) tries to draw him out of his shell, but makes a remark that has an unforseen double meaning.

I had no idea how well my stuff was working. Angela isn't one of those directors who tells everyone they were great every time, but since she wasn't correcting me, I assumed it was passable. We did some improvising,a nd all of us rolled with it pretty well. Nectar had to eat quite a bit of whipped cream, which looked gross.

Justin Stone was the sole background performer, and he stayed as still as a stuffed animal throughout, even between takes.

We wrapped that scene after about six takes; I insisted on a still before everyone reset, so Kevin snapped this one:

Which reminds me: my "costume" was a T-shirt made by my sisters, Raphaelle and Nicole Ayach. Back during the early days of Gulf War II, I asked them, as Paris residents, to find me a T-shirt with the French flag on it. They couldn't find one, so they made it by sewing a French flag onto an Eiffel tower shirt. Girls, your work is now immortalized.

The second scene takes place on a later Roman-Eva date. I was to be milling around in the background of this one. Our happy couple runs afoul of some Goths in this scene

One of the Goth girls, unfortunately not in any of my photos, was heavily tattooed and wearing almost nothing. Just take my word -- super-smokin'.

Anyway, fans of MAY know what Lucky thinks of faux-morbid poseurs, and the difference between them and true freaks is evident in the scene.

At about 5:30 a.m., we returned to the McKee pad.

Lucky: "I don't wanna be a bastard or anything, but, are you guys leaving now?"

we thought he was kicking us out, until..

Lucky: "Because I wanna watch the footage! I'm so hardcore!"

So we did. And I was amazed and happy at my own stuff. Those present, seeing it now on a large TV, saw more than they had while shooting, and loved it. I think I sounded a bit like Star Wars Episode I's Watto, the blue flying guy who enslaves little Ani, except Watto was an offensive mid-east caricature rather than French.

At around 6:15 I started to fear for my parking meter and left.

For even more, photos, though, check out my Buzznet photoblog.

[Readers - please tell me if the photos in this post aren't showing up]