Dancers on the set

Temple Interior

It's been fascinating to watch the scenic crew construct the interior temple set. I love spending time there. It's easy to imagine coming to pay tribute to the goddess.

Mystery Boxes

Caryatid Repair Shop

Finally back up north again. Spent much of the day with the scenic designer and her small team. They were working on rebuilding the caryatids and other sculptural elements for the temple. Andrea Hardy has a background in theatrical set design. She can work magic with almost no budget. Good thing.

Mt Olympus Wisconsin

George is looking for alternative locations for shooting the Temple exteriors. He asked us to check out the Mt Olympus resort theme park at the Wisconsin Dells...on our way back from Chicago. I guess the insurance money for the flood damaged temple set is not coming through as quickly as he hoped.

Triptolemus at guitar store

I guess the younger brother of Stephanie Hopper has been cast in the small role of Triptolemus. (A 2-fer special this week on child actors?)

Daniel Hopper was promised a new guitar as part of his contract.


At least the stage mother seems pretty relaxed, not too controlling. Yet.

At the Palmer House with Hades

Jonathan Frank insisted on staying at The Palmer House, a cool old hotel in Chicago. I didn't realize he and Stephanie Hopper had never met until now. I'm not so sure about the chemistry, but maybe that's ok, since he's the abductor. She's sweet enough, but there's a grumpy little teenage princess underneath that wholesome midwestern surface.

News from the Set > Flood Damage

It's been really hot and muggy here in Chicago, but today the rain is passing through. Just got a call from George who is still in Northern Minnesota. They had bad flooding last night in the Duluth area. Part of the temple set was washed away and the two caryatids were buried halfway in mud. Mysteries shooting is suspended until the repairs can be made.

George sent us a pic. He says our housing at the Bible camp was particularly hard-hit. Mine was one of the tents that floated away. Krys and Julia were pretty shaken up by tree branches landing on their trailers.

Ofcourse Gwendolyn is saying it's the Curse of Demeter.

With everything on hold, George and Jonathan are flying in to Chicago today. George is meeting with the insurance guy down here to figure out how quickly they can process the claim. Meanwhile, the crew is renting studio space for some photography with Hades and the new Persephone. (Stephanie Hopper, the replacement for Louisa Grey). I'll meet up with them tonight at their hotel.

Lollalalalalalalalalalalalalalaaaaaaah

Thanks to the camera crew, I have been filling my ears with new tunes, my belly with treats, and my eyes with surprises...


Beats Antique at the DJ stage


Lollapalooza is the bomb!

Lady Gaga rites

Here I am at Lollapalooza and I can't stop seeing the connections between this massive gathering and the ancient Greek rites. People gather for an intense experience. They parade in long lines. They make their sacrifices (pigs, money, what's the diff). They get their wristbands (in the Mysteries it was a saffron ribbon). They revel. They reveal.




I wonder if the Eleusinian Mysteries ever reached the ecstatic peak of Lollapalooza... Did Persephone do a stage dive after rising in the flames of the Telesterion... Did Security protect the priestess when crowd went wild?

Hanging with the Camera Crew

Made it to Chicago. Slept in the van most of the way. The camera crew got me a pass into Lolla, as their guest sherpa. I'm learning as much as I can from them about cameras, lighting, and set up for mobile shoots like this. But mostly I'm learning about how much lugging you do, even to shoot a documentary. Not sure I'm buff enough. Is this why there are so few female camera operators?

On the plus side, they've really been teaching me a ton. Dave even offered to let me borrow one of his DSLR cameras for shooting some of the Mysteries Bonus Disk features. (Did I mention that I got another assignment from George?).

I know I'm really lucky to get this opportunity. I just hope I can shoot and edit something that is Bonus Disk quality.

Getaway Weekend

The DP and camera crew have to go down to Chicago for a few days to finish a documentary they have been shooting about Lady Gaga. One of the cameramen took pity on me after seeing Julia go berserk over the missing piglets. They have one extra seat in the van and offered to take me along.

I am outta here, for a day or two.

Whoooo Hoooooo! Lollapalooooooooza!

Home away from home away from home...

ok. check. The Gitchee Gumee coffeeshop is now my lifeline.

whew.

Have I told you about the old Bible camp that is now accomodations for cast and crew of THE MYSTERIES? The stars get their own trailers at least. But Krys Douglas was so mad she ripped her name off her door.


sigh.

Other than the showers that smell like rotten eggs, it's not all that bad. I can live with the mosquito bites and the aggressively friendly chipmunks (former christian campers trained them to run up your leg for a graham cracker). A few bodacious black bears are a concern to some, but I am careful to NOT bring any food into my tent. Hank and Janine speculate that the bears had a paw in the disappearance of the piglets this weekend.

Thunderstorms can be problematic, especially when using electronics in a tent. I learned that the hard way.

So, from now on, I will be blogging from my favorite new java hut. The log cabin theme is sooooooo old world.

testing wireless at coffeeshop

I am at the Gitchee Gummee Coffeeshop on the northshore of Lake Superior. Just up the road from the bible camp. See if this posts to my blog...

I didn't know it would be this hard to make a movie

seriously

Prop Shop

Spent most of today in the props dept.
I like the props dept.
Those are my kinda peeps.

When in doubt : CGI

Couldn't we use Computer Generated Imagery as a substitute for every single AWOL animal and sulking cast member?

Just wondering.