But Never on a Sunday

Well Saturday morning and here we are again, our sixth day on the trot in the boarding house at Point Erin. We’re all a little bleary eyed after a 10.00pm wrap last night. But on the other hand this has been a wonderful time – all of us working together in the one location, and building a sense of family among cast, crew and of course the residents who live here.

I can’t speak highly enough of Lynda and Cerise (the managers) and the wonderful staff who have not only tolerated our invasive presence here but have been enthusiastic supporters of all we’re trying to do. They’ve been friendly, supportive and kind to us throughout, even when we’ve taken over their office space entirely.

And so we head toward the end of week two, looking forward to a couple of days off. It’s been another productive time, and we’re still pretty much on schedule. One of the tasks is getting a cat to perform for us. No problems.

We’re living a dream.

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Ten Days of Glory

Just back from watching assemblies over at the edit suite, and we’re all stoked with what we’re getting. It’s very much the raw material – ungraded, unmixed etc – but the story is unfolding before our eyes. Even with our most critical hats on, we know we’re getting the material we need.

Long day yesterday, going through to midnight. But a load of fun with Ray Woolf providing the music for a great celebration wake, which had all of the boarding house guys bopping along. It’s a great thing to be enjoying your work, and our cast certainly seem to be.

The legendary Ian Mune makes a great alcoholic. When we were casting I told him I always had him in mind when I wrote the part. He wasn’t sure whether it was a compliment, given that the part is that of a derelict!

I note that Auckland is concerned with its ‘homeless problem’. People want to clean the streets up. Maybe as much concern could be given to clearing minds and hearts, so that we still had the vestiges of a society that cares for the least in their midst.

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Day Nine

Later start today which is a welcome relief. We get to film the party scene in the boarding house which I’m really looking forward to. Looks like we’ll be working through to nearly midnight. But it never feels like work – more like play.

Both Lynda and Cerise, the wonderfully generous managers of the house we’re using, sat in on the rushes last night. This morning Lynda wrote: “Just a quick note to say how touched I was yesterday watching the film. You have captured the essence of these guys and I am proud to be a part of it.” To have their support means a huge amount – we want this film to be grounded in reality.

It’s been interesting to watch relationships growing between the crew and actors and those genuine residents who are still around. It’s a great atmosphere to be working in.

We’re getting great performances still from our actors – and they seem to be really enjoying themselves.

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Day Eight

The sun is shining, and the film is too. Yesterday we had one of the most satisfying days so far on set. It’s great to be settled in one location for an extended period of time. The actors are brilliant and having a lot of fun, and there’s a good atmosphere all round.

I’m loving having a number of the actual boarding house residents still round while we shoot. It grounds the whole film in reality. We’re slowly getting to know some of them, and a few have found their way into our shots.

Last night when we watched the dailies we found that we’d captured more magic. The story is coming together and coming to life. It seems like an unfolding miracle. I’m full of gratitude to all who have been helping to bring it into reality.

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Arthur Does Twitter

Today Arthur, second son of God, began his very own tweeting. He has much wisdom to impart. His first tweet was ‘I see things other people don’t. It doesn’t mean they’re not real.’ Look out for him on Twitter – you can find him here

Become a follower. As Arthur says, “Follow me”.

The story of Arthur is spreading through his boarding house. People in Ponsonby are talking about it. Soon he will be speaking to the whole world. He has a mission to accomplish.

He recommends this facebook page to keep track of the film about him. Arthur is spreading the word! Join the movement.

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From My Computer

A quick shot from my computer on set at the boarding house. We just started down here this morning and are in the midst of what will be a six day run. The boarding house scenes occupy around 30% of the script or more.

It’s great to have the use of an actual boarding house. Most of the residents have gone for a summer holiday up the coast, with just a few left behind as extras. There’s the odd one or two who weren’t that keen on moving out so have opted to stay and add some spice to our shots.

This is the first day of having our scrum of characters who surround Arthur. It’s brilliant to see them interacting with each other round the table. Each of them brings something unique and distinctive to their roles which both goes beyond and brings to life the script. They’re having a ball with it all.

No doubt it’ll all get better as the week goes on…

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Day Five

And so we come to the end of week one – and what a satisfying week it has been! Very hard work, with filming on the busy streets of Ponsonby and a huge number of setups and relocations. The value of a smallish crew has been proved, as has the decision to shoot with minimal equipment. It’s meant that we are a very light and mobile operation.

The final shot of the week was around 9.00pm last night at a cafe on Ponsonby Road. The place was humming with the usual Friday night party atmosphere. We’re happy to have achieved our objective of getting all the Ponsonby location work done in the first week, and doing it before Christmas decorations start getting in the road.

The rushes are fantastic. It’s incredibly exciting to see this film coming together shot by beautiful shot. Next week we head down to the boarding house for six days on the trot. More magic to come.

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Day Four

What’s with this cold weather? Back to wearing winter clothes. Just as well we’re fortified with fine food from Les Yule who’s doing the catering out of her home.

Yesterday we had a blessed late start but the payoff was a late finish, with wrap after midnight. Our first round of night shooting – interesting to be in Ponsonby late on a Thursday night and observe life on the streets.

A particular thrill for me was to have my friend Chris on set. Chris in a former life was manager of the boarding house where the real Arthur lived. He was a great father figure for the guys in his Shelly Beach Rd house – even though most of them were older than him. The character of Bob was loosely based on him.

We swapped some stories about Arthur and some of the other great characters we knew back in the day. And Chris was pleased to meet Rawiri and give him a bit of insight into the person who had inspired his character.

Everyone is hitting their straps now, and the production is flowing with much good grace and humour. We could just use a little summer…

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Day Three

And the rain came down. And the wind blew, and it was bloody freezing. But the filming continued. We contemplated calling it off at one stage when it was hosing down in Point Erin reserve, but persevered and eventually a bit of sun came out.

The good thing was that by the end of the day we were on schedule. And the dailies were great once again. There’s a whole lot of satisfaction when all the faffing around to set up shots ends up with those moments of magic which you hope for. Great performance from our lead actors, and terrific work from the crew to get it all on screen.

At the core of the process is the willingness for all involved to trust each other’s abilities. It’s a great exercise in temporary community building. Author Scott Peck wrote about communities that they require the relinquishment of the temptation to control others. Ironically, in the highly structured chain of command of filmmaking, this is as true as anywhere else.

Every person brings something special and unique to the process, without which the entire enterprise would fail. The secret is a deep trusting and respect of those around us as we work in highly pressured situations. It allows the love to flow, and the wonder to be captured.

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Day Two

Another day in the foundry of filmmaking. Coping with lost locations, massive traffic noise, trying not to constrict the footpaths in Ponsonby etc etc. The usual jostling as people sort themselves out on crew.

But at the end of the day, everyone is happy, we’ve shot to schedule, and the dailies are to die for. Two days in we were shooting one of the most important scenes in the film, where Arthur and Margaret meet for the first time. Over the years we’ve had lots of notes about how difficult it would be to portray this unlikely relationship on screen. But our leads, Rawiri Paratene and Sara Wiseman, nailed it completely. Beautiful to watch.

So here we go on day three, scheduled for rain which has yet to eventuate. Everyone is up to speed and giving their best. Director Rosemary is in her element and making the right calls and DOP Tom is doing his thing in style…

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