Claudia — Page 395

Checking In

November 5, 2021 at 8:05 am by Claudia

For those of you who requested a photo with Jim, here you go. He took it. One day when we were filming on a street somewhere – I can’t remember where, it’s all a blur – he ran into one of his classmates from USD/Old Globe. He was so surprised to see him that, after chatting briefly, he didn’t realize until later that day that he forgot to mention I was working on the movie, too. So he took this photo to prove it. (I’m quickly pulling my mask down for the shot.)

This experience is a mixed blessing. Everyone on set is very nice and there’s a ‘good vibe’ surrounding this film. I’m so happy to now know Ben in person and to see him work, to have met Jim’s husband, to be with Jim, watching him work.

But mostly, I’m exhausted. The days are very, very long, the hours change daily depending on the shoot and the light, I come home and go to bed, get up and try to get it together in order to work another 12+ hours. My commute from Brooklyn adds another half hour on to any journey into Manhattan. I go up and down flights of stairs continuously and my knee is bothering me. I’m getting a bit more used to it – maybe I’m getting in shape? – but let me tell you, I feel so friggin’ tired every day. This doesn’t include the shoots that will take place at a distance from NYC and involve even more hours of commuting.

I had sort of an idea of what would be involved, but I really had NO idea.

I’m grateful, of course, for the opportunity but I’ve already decided that I have no desire to work on another film. I’ll have my lovely experience, then I’ll go home to do nothing all winter long.

There’s more to share, but I have to get going. We’re filming outside of NYC today and I won’t get home until after midnight.

And let me tell you, the crew working on the movie, works far longer! I don’t know how they do it – they are extraordinary.

And let me say that I love the people I’m working with – the producers, the director, the actors, the crew – they are all warm and friendly and funny and kind. Grateful.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

First Day on Set

October 31, 2021 at 7:45 am by Claudia

Central Park, very early in the morning – just across the street from the Plaza.

My first day on the set was Friday and it was a l-o-n-g day. Our call was at 8:30 – later than originally planned. I can only surmise that shooting the day before went overtime and they had to adjust the start. The problem for me was that I went to bed early the night before and woke up at 3:30 am. And I couldn’t get back to sleep.

Even if I hadn’t woken up quite so early, I would have had to be up by 5 at the latest. Travel anywhere in the city takes time; determined by the subway, weather, and unforeseen delays. Traveling into Manhattan from Brooklyn takes even longer. It adds at least 20 minutes on to any trip. Since my area of Brooklyn is directly south of the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan, you can see that I have a lot of ground to cover via the subway. Though when we shoot one day next week in lower Manhattan, I’ll catch a break.

I arrived early. One of the things we have to do three times a week is get a Covid test. So I went to the testing area and had that taken care of. Then I went out to the catering truck and got some coffee. Then I went to the floor on which we were shooting that day and waited, unsure who to talk to, who to introduce myself to. It was very busy there with various crew members setting up cameras, sound – everything that is needed to film. I tried to stay out of the way. Eventually, I recognized the director’s voice and introduced myself to him. And eventually, I was introduced to the First Assistant Director who provided me with a headset so I could listen to the actors as they were filming. I have to say that everyone is very nice and helpful.

In the meantime, both Jim and Ben arrived and we had a happy reunion, in Jim’s case, and a first face-to-face meeting, in Ben’s. Jim kept showing everyone a photo he had of the two of us from way back when I was teaching him, just to prove how long we’d known each other. We’ve known each other for 21 years.

I sat with the producers in an area called video village. There are monitors there where we can watch the scenes being filmed.

Several scenes were on the docket. It takes a long time to shoot a scene. It needs to be shot from all sorts of angles and perspectives. It’s fascinating to watch the process.

I can’t go into details, of course, but it was a long day. I was there about 12½ hours, going on very little sleep, and then I had to travel back to Brooklyn, which took 40 minutes.

I was so exhausted, I felt a little bit insane. After calling Don to tell him I was home safely, I wound down a bit, then slept straight through until 8:30 am.

Tomorrow’s shoot has a 7 am call and it’s quite a trek from here. I’ll be up at 4 am. This is all quite an adjustment and I worry about keeping up with it all. I just need to get in a rhythm and know I can catch up on sleep on the weekend. It’s very satisfying, though, to have met everyone and know what I have to do. All of the ‘firsts’ are out of the way.

Don is coming today – probably in the afternoon. I have to find a laundromat this morning, although Don has offered to do it for me tomorrow morning. We’ll see. It’s raining at the moment. I think Don will be here until Tuesday. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, so he can do something fun while I’m on the set. He had to delay his visit here because he had to pick up his car from the mechanics and it wasn’t ready until yesterday.

Some photos of the girls in the apartment:

Sophie in her mushroom dress.

Imogen in a Liberty print dress and new tights.

They were checking out the back garden.

Okay. I need more coffee. I’ll check in when I can, but if the days are like Friday was – and I think they will be – I might not get back to you for a while!

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Exploring

October 28, 2021 at 8:41 am by Claudia

Tomorrow will be my first day on the set. Today is the actual first day of shooting and let me tell you, the start time for crew is 7 am. I’m sure that will also be the case tomorrow so I will have to get up at 4:15 am in order to shower, get dressed, have a least one cup of coffee and navigate my way to the shooting site via the subway. I am not a morning person, as you well know. And, most likely, these will be 12 hour workdays. I’ve never done this before and, though I’m mostly looking forward to it, I’m also dreading it a little.

Yesterday, I figured out the best way to get to my Covid testing appointment. As per usual, I emerged from the subway and went in the wrong direction. I’m not in Manhattan enough to remember which way is north or south, etc. But I got there early, the test took about a minute, and then I traveled back to Brooklyn. Since I was on the F line, I stopped at Bergen St. so I could visit Books are Magic.

The bookstore used to be a beloved local shop called BookCourt. The last time I stayed in Brooklyn was several years ago and I remember wanting to visit BookCourt, but I didn’t have the time and it was winter and it was freezing. When the owners of BookCourt retired and put the store up for sale, author Emma Straub and her husband, who live in this section of Brooklyn called Cobble Hill, bought it and reopened as Books are Magic.

It’s charming, on the small side as are most independent bookshops, and it has a great fiction inventory.

I found a couple of books that I wanted as well as a t-shirt. Cobble Hill is a neat neighborhood, full of old brownstones. I am continually impressed by the way these buildings are decorated for Halloween.

Wow!

After my short visit to Cobble Hill, I walked all the way back home, stopping at Whole Foods on the way. Whole Foods is expensive normally, but in NYC? Ridiculous. I haven’t had time to find another neighborhood market, though Annie gave me a list. Anyway, I walked a heck of a lot yesterday and by the time I got back home and climbed two very long flights of stairs with two heavy bags, I was wiped out.

I had plans to figure out tomorrow’s trip via a pre-trip today, but I woke up early and I’m tired, so I’m going to take it easy today. I think I’ll take a walk later to Prospect Park.

As we start filming and my days are long, I might not have time to respond to your comments, though I’ll read them all. I won’t get home until late and I’ll have to get up early the next day. So I’ll post when I can. Wish me luck!

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Checking In

First Day on Set

Exploring

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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