Now, I hope you haven't thought we forgot about this project or tried to quietly sweep it under the kitchen rug. Let me reassure you, work has been progressing (slowly) and pretty soon you will all be presented with a big surprise. Want a hint? It MAY be our opening credits, what you've been watching the making-of the past 3 months.
But back to the present. We've been dealing with a few problems which have stalled production a bit. As some of you may know, our crew is based in Toronto. Toronto, where the weather is currently -5 Celsius, the ground is covered with snow, and breath is visible when you talk. Basically, we couldn't have an environment that resembles Sunnydale, California less. The visible snow and freezing weather have halted all outdoor filming (Let it be said, I offered my actors a bonus to try to do these scenes and was met with a flat-out refusal and frankly, some diva behavior. I don't wish to specify who the diva is, but I will tell you that it was Xander).
We've also ran into some trouble locating a suitable library where we can film. As all Buffy fans know, the Sunnydale library is a major part of almost all early Buffy episodes and also a really neat set, filled with dark wood, ancient texts and early 90's computers. Since a good chunk of our script takes place in the library, we would need a VIP, unlimited pass to this not-yet-found library. We're debating building our own library set in our kitchen so we can film whenever we want. And then our kitchen would be like the Buffy library, which would be awesome. I can't really see any negatives here, so our set department is currently searching for dark wood.
(Here's the goal)
(...totally attainable)
The most exciting recent news is that you'll finally receive your first looks at Spike, Drusilla and Cordelia! We filmed Spike and Drusilla at a very old theater which is actually a preserved heritage site. Let me tell you, strings were pulled to get this photo shoot. Hope you enjoy it!
Spike and Drusilla (also known as Bobby and Vanessa). Bobby was getting used to his vampire teeth here, while Vanessa surprised (and charmed) us all by bringing her own personal knife to use as a prop.
Zak films Drusilla playing with her porcelain dolls.
Zak likes to drape himself in props and wear his lucky Shriner's hat (price tag still attached) at each shoot. At first we called him a madman, but you can't argue with the results.
Our lighting department is currently on strike, so we've all had to pitch in and help with the lights. And you know what, they can stay on strike as long as they want to; I'm not providing a Party Pizza at the crafts service table at every shoot. It just sets the wrong atmosphere for shoots. So enjoy unemployment, lighters!
Hey--guess who this blood-covered gal is? That's right, it's Cordy (also known as Leslie)! I'd tell you who (or what) the green hand is, but that may reveal too much.
GUEST STAR (impersonation) ALERT!! We filmed a quick bit for the opening credits with Buffy and her favorite best-friend-bitter-rival-evil slayer, Faith! Eliza Dushku did not return a single one of my two letters/numerous texts so Velvet stepped in and quickly replaced her. We filmed the scene where Buffy & Faith dance with reckless abandon and sexiness at the Bronze. The single strand of Christmas lights and our Walmart fog machine set the scene pretty well.
So as you can see, we've been very busy lately. I have one more surprise for you though--ACTUAL SCREEN GRABS. Our cinematographer was nice enough to provide me with a few stills from our footage which will tease and entice you guys. (That's why I've coined the term "teasers" for them!) I don't want to reveal too much, just enough to excite you for the actual footage, which is coming at you at a truly rapid pace.
CHECK 'EM OUT!
That's all you get for now--but stayed tuned for our big reveal! I hope these grabs keep you up at night and make you wonder what the hell that zany Sunnydale gang is up to, why we use our cats in so many of our projects and why Spike's hair isn't blond. Feel free to ruminate below.
*(Special thanks and gratitude to Heather and Zak for the photos and footage. One love goes out to you two.)
PS--There may be a few fake-out teasers tossed in there, just to keep you on your toes. Don't trust everything you see.
I don't know about everyone else, but I'm excited to see these opening credits you speak of. Word on the street is that they are AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I can't seem to decipher the fake outs from the real stills, so I am just going to make the assumption that when you claimed there were fake outs mixed in, that itself, was a fake out.
So, what I'm getting at is, how do we know that this whole post wasn't a fake out and there isn't any work actually being done on the Buffy episode? Can we trust you at all? Will you ever reveal your true identity? Answer me those questions three!
that's a great spike face on the last shot!
ReplyDeletejc!
You have to reveal this teaser already, I know some people at Sundance and the whole festival has grinded to a halt! People won't stop talking about it. James Cameron won't come out of his chalet. He also won't put his pants back on. Not sure if that's related to the trailer.
ReplyDeleteOMG! im excited for the lesbian cowboy scene! she looks so rugged, yet confused. is this really the life she dreamed of?!
ReplyDeleteSundance has been dead for years; they need to be riled up a little bit. I sent some "leaked footage" to James, I wonder if that's why he's inconsolable. Pansy.
ReplyDeleteI can't reveal too much about the much-talked-about "lesbian cowboy scene" but perhaps it is a small homage to Tara (my least favorite character).
It may also be cut from the ep.