Homeworld Diaries—Part 3

The Englishman in this photo is not, in fact,dead, although
he certainly appears to be.

In Hollywood, I’m told, 18– to 20-hour days are routine. We weren’t doing anything close to that — more like 12 hours — but still, it got to be a grind. Some of us are not used to rising at the crack of dawn to start loading and unloading equipment. This is what leads to scenes like the one pictured above.

The first day or two, I was too worked up to notice how tired I was. But by Wednesday I was entering a fugue state, and by Friday I was in full-on survival mode, struggling to hold up my end while grabbing a little shuteye between takes. It took me about a week to recover completely.

And yet I have returned twice to do more work on the film, and if they ask me a third time I will probably go back again. Why? Because I hate myself. No, actually because it was really a lot of fun. The action, the camaraderie (camera-derie?), the pleasing sense of something being made in an atmosphere of creativity. It would probably kill me to live like this on a regular basis, but as a hobby it beats the hell out of stamp collecting. Not that I want to pick a fight with the philatelists; they’re a dangerous lot, in their way.

So what will the final product be like? I have no idea, and it’s not under my control, but I have faith in out beloved leader, Phil Hudson. He knows his shit. And by the way, if you ever direct a movie, try to run your set the way Phil did — moving along at a snappy pace while keeping things light and maintaining a sense of humor.

The name of that movie, once again, is Homeworld. Be sure to check the Web site often for release infomation. In the meantime, for my amusement and possibly yours, here are some more photos from the set.

Risking neck cramp to watch dailies.