Sunday, November 3, 1991 -- Day 2

Sunday morning began considerably later, thank God. At 10:45, I entered the back yard of the Stephen Nash home to find the final preparations of pool décor taking place. It was women's underwear time again.

Tempers were flaring early this Sunday morn; most everyone was low on sleep besides Dino, me, and Kelley. The majority of the squabbles were outside of my scope of attention, but I did catch the tail-end of a Dino-Nash scuffle. Apparently, the nudity-factor was rearing its ugly head. Stephen used the expression "breasts flowing" or something of the sort which did not bode well. Neither Kelley nor I had agreed to nor were prepared for any display of our organs. So Stephen stomped out with a "deal with it, it's your job as the costumer" exit-line. Luckily, by the time Kelley got there Stephen had cooled down and the words "plastic bikini" were replacing "breasts flowing".

And so it was that around 12 noon, Kelley, me, my women's underwear and her plastic bikini made our way into the pool. We shot a lift into a kiss and then go underwater; we shot just kiss & under; we shot kiss, go under, come back up still together (tricky one), and finally emerge from the water and then kiss. A few gallons of water in our nose, a few make-up touch-ups, and an hour or so later, we emerged from the well-heated pool. Two to go.

Chandler provided one of the tastiest meals I'd had in a while: chicken, wild rice, and a phenomenal zucchini casserole dish that I could happily live in for a year or two. Of course, I wouldn't actually want to live in it, but in fact, live on it for a year or two. You know what I mean.

After a brief intermission to feed Pier's fish, we started the return to the "party-look" the reality sequences called for. No sweat.

The sweat, as usual, came as Dave and Stephen agonized over the framing and angle and shooting, etc. These are important things, of course, don't get me wrong, but I think they were a tad too meticulous. The fireplace scene proceeded quite smoothly once we got going, and was all set in a few takes.

And, finally, as dusk settled on Southern California, we finished rehearsing the last of our shots, the entrance into the apartment. Literally, as everything was set on all fronts, suddenly Roman felt the lighting looked "like shit". So he set about changing it. Once this was accomplished, Stephen hated it and wanted to go back. Nothing could be simple, could it? Roman gave in and we went back to the original.

Time to shoot, right? Wrong. As we were about to start, a boy close by started yelling. We waited. As we waited, a plane began to pass overhead. It wasn't over. A siren rang out in the night, and, as if he just had to be part of this bad joke, a nearby dog began to bark. It was a symphony of unwanted noise. Of course, eventually it all stopped and we shot.

Stephen was concerned with the look of the kiss, but was thoroughly unable to communicate to us what he wanted. He gave me the direction "Unga-unga" I think, at one point, which honestly tied into nothing he had said before it nor what he went on to say after it. I questioned him and I think it was suppose to be the sound of my driving lust. Actually, the biggest help was that I had Kelley do it to me, that is, reverse the roles. It gave me a sense of what I was, in fact, doing to her. I think we got it right on a couple times in the six or seven takes we shot.

The crowning moment of the weekend came as we shot the very last take of the shoot. There was no audio being recorded, so as Kelley and I kissed at the door, suddenly Stephen let out a few moans, I could only guess, as motivation for us to peak in lustiness and sensuality. It was just too much. I think I laughed within 1/12th of a second.

But that was it. The last moan, the last kiss, the last repetition of a lame direction; the last "Unga-unga" had been uttered and we were done. It was nice. In fact, the whole thing was nice. God, I really had a great time doing it.

As for the people, there was...

• Kelley, the always outspoken, occasionally ravishing leading lady. She and I got along great. She was nice to poor little new kid John Ducey and we had a fun time with Dino and each other (mostly making fun of Stephen).
  

• Dino, the costume, make-up, main-support man. As far as costumes go, "wild" is what comes to mind. Of course, the plastic stuff was outrageous and actually quite cool, but my retro-hippie outfit for "reality" was maybe hip beyond my means. Make-up went smoothly. He made Kelley really look good (not a difficult task, but he did it all the same) and managed to get my hair to do a few different things. Dino was probably the nicest person involved with the project and very cool.
  
• Tom was his assistant, an ex-football stuff who turned to theater and dance out of high school instead of accepting one of the football scholarships he was offered. A bit more extreme than yours truly. He was a good man, just a little annoying at times.
  
• Roman was the big, blond German running around messing with the lights. I guess that's what the director of photography does. Roman seemed to be off in the Black Forest mentally a lot of the time, but everything came together eventually.
  
• Sophie was the French entry in the international film crew. As A.D., she spent most of her time getting yelled at by Stephen. She was very nice.
  
• Luis was most visible as the boom operator, running around shoving the big phallic symbol here and there. "Smiley" is how I describe Luis. He always looked very happy and very excited. (Well, maybe not always.)
  
• Roy was just "the man with headphones on over on the other side of the room." Friendly guy.
  
• Paula. Poor Paula. Paula is a middle-aged woman who somehow became a part of Stephen Nash's life. He treats her worse than his dog. He's always being curt and annoyed with her, like an annoyed father with an unruly child. She put up with it, though, as if someone's dying wish to her was to stay by Stephen's side and always watch over him. Poor Paula.
  
• Dave was behind the lens. He seemed pretty laid back to me, but then two people laid into him. One complained about his "arrogance", a trait I hadn't noticed at all. The other complained about the time he takes with each shot. I guess I still have lots to see and learn about what to expect from someone.
  
• Greg was the grip. I think hi and bye was the extent of our interaction. You know how I feel about grips.
  
• Karen, the 1st Assistant Camera, fell victim to the same fate.
  
• Judy Kerr, an actor/acting teacher/friend of Stephen's showed up for the party scene. I may audit her class.
  
• Allen was the owner of the Bel Air house. Nice guy.
  
• And finally, Stephen. Ever since Day 1, when he snapped at Paula, I had my worries. After rehearsal, when he excitedly pointed out the cup-holders in his car as a "new invention," the worries began to grow, and as he clashed with Dino on everything from eye-liner to toe-nail color, it became clear that this was not a man in complete control. His lack of organization was frustrating, and his vague direction was excruciating. BUT, he was extremely nice to me so I can't go crazy on him. He explained many terms and often extolled my abilities. I don't know if he meant it or he wanted to sleep with me, but it was nice to hear.

And so lots of pages have been written about this adventure. I'll need to be more selective in the future if I ever work again. But with my employment outlook the way it is, I should write 100 pages.

Bottom line: it was really fun, rewarding, and educational, and I'm glad I'm here.

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