Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Missing Props

Whatever happened to the red boa and the nightdress?
It was safely brought to and received at room 217, Esplanade Hotel.
Alongside a couple of junkets of cheap New Orleans necklaces in a laundry bag.
The curtains lay closed, a large camera fixated over the double bed, as shadows emerged from the corner. The door slammed firm SHUT.
That was the last I saw of the props.
Throughout the day loud and soft noises seeped from the nineteenth century room.As the odd hotel guest paused to wonder, but knew and respected that the door was to remain shut.They walked on down the long corridor, from some a nervous laugh escaping from inside, others in disbelief but not totally traumatised!
The door opened slightly at one stage for a brief ten seconds! The 1st AD reached out his hand to take a sound device and at that point I saw him- the actor, shirtless, and I looked away embarrassed as if I had stumbled onto something that was not mine. And the door shut again.
After fifteen hours of shooting, near midnight,the runners tore through the building carrying lights, cameras and leads.I wandered into 217, but it lay bare, apart from the five flies circling the bedroom light who seemed not to care and two towels strewn over the bathroom sink.
All week, non stop filming as people came and went, the props never appeared. The last day of shooting came to a close and it all went quiet thereafter. I pleaded with reception that if they found a red boa and a nightdress that it was mine- and they assured me that they would let me know amid awkward glances.
In bed on Tuesday morning, asleep I get a call from the producer. Can I go to Chapelizod and collect the lights to bring to Ardmore Studios?, 'Oh and by the way, I got your kettle it's in the suitcase!'- Well thank god for that- I awoke- 'that's my mum's!'
I drive down towards the Phoenix, and arrive at Chapelizod Industrial park, so old it is. I pass an old man wearing a skirt, and another man nearly drove into me because it's my fault for driving down a one way street- as if I knew- where's the sign?,like I had lived here?- even more disturbing were the numerous black and blue bruises on his face- where has this man been???
As I approach the recording studio's I bang on the door. 'Hi I'm Marie, I'm a friend of Alan's, I'm here for the lights'. He removes his hat and I walk straight through, even though I wasn't asked. We find the lights and the flags, and I decide not to take the smoke machine, is this ours?
I leave, and only as I reach the Phoenix park, I remember....The damn suitcase, so all the way back I go, into the industrial park, past the man in the skirt, he's also wearing black knee tights and to Muzzle Music again. 'Hi, I'm Marie and I left a suitcase behind. It has a kettle in it.'Yep there's a suitcase here, with a kettle inside', as he looks at me. 'Thanks' and I walk off. I place the suitcase on the passenger seat and like a person possossed I try tenderly but feeling manic unzip slowly as a mass of red feathers appear in front of me- the missing props!!!
All week, the damn props lay sleeping in a suitcase with no name, and no owner.
Now they rest under my bed waiting for their next adventure.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Hotel Darklight: diva demands

Plenty of friendships
were ignited in make up room 223,Esplanade Hotel.
Ham, cheese & banana sandwiches washed down
with freshly picked pears.
Needles, pins, big bens and turtles
decorated the walls,
a wardrobe full of clothes.
Crew and cast sat on the bed's
as the directors stood by the door.
Each person contemplating their role,
with hope and passion in their soul,
towards a film with stories to be told
each person playing an important part in
'Hotel Darklight's' rise to life
and it's mission to devour lots of media hype!

Shooting ends at 27.09.09 at10am

After several weeks of recruiting crew, casting actors, sourcing out locations and mountains of paperwork, ten individual short films were successfully filmed on a tight budget this week to be premiered on October 10th at the Lighthouse cinema in Smithfield.Expectation was high, perfection imperative and agony levels low.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Hotel Darklight QUIZ NIGHT

Fans of darkness, lights and hotels,
We formally invite you all to exercise
your brain cells! Move that blood,
and burn that muscle.
Your main brain game
is to drain your veins of all that data.
Hidden inside, instead of outside!
YOUR SAVING FILM SOUL REQUIRES YOUR
COMMITMENT TOMORROW NIGHT.
23-09-09
Don't disappoint!
Le Cirk bar on Dame st...
8pm----€50/table of 5
Meet and greet the others.

Hotel Darklight

TEN YEARS OF DARKLIGHT
TEN WRITERS WITH A DREAM
TEN DIRECTORS TO MAKE IT WORK
ONE HOTEL SETS THE SCENE!!

Day 2 of shooting, 5 films in the can

Hotel Darklight filming is in control.
It's room's are being filled.
Countless characters roam it's corridors
as voices wear thin, turning corners.
Someone forgot to bring string,
so we are all wandering aimlessly
bumping into guests who walk with sticks.
Coffee, smoke and blood eat into photographs left
behind the bar. The hotel manager acts wonderfully delightful,
as his staff stare ice cold and frozen, as the cast and crew take over.....

Monday, September 21, 2009

Shoot Day 1

Okay we can't give plot details but on the production side today, we kicked off with two story lines, the word from the set is SPOOKY, very spooky.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Hotel Darklight is for Sale

Hotel Darklight
So far, we've got seven of eight scripts assigned to directors and in casting.
Some directors are casting from actors they know and work with, some are coming to our casting session in Filmbase this Wednesday.
There are a few more hanging in the balance but we are pretty close to our original goal.
We're using the Sony EX1 and we've got two great camera/DOP guys on board who will shoot for us and are looking for one more.
More tomorrow
Dec
P.S. thinking of selling film credits to raise some cash, will sleep on it.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Scripts In

Hi there,

We've got our scripts in, eight first drafts and there are a few still "under construction".
We received over eighty outline proposals and would like to thank everyone for their time and enthusiasm.
We're in the last week of pre-production and are pretty excited about the film.
Talk more soon,
Dec