The Red Menace or шелцоме руссиан фриендс

 

The following morning, after a very sleepness night caused both by excitement and the relentless air traffic above (or possibly someone's snoring), we prepped for the next major part of the shoot, the follow up to the guy's arrival at the back gate and the start of the first action sequences.

After the morning coffee ritual at the inn, we were all set to head off when, like a highly trained Spetznaz team, a Russian film crew appeared from nowhere and asked the director Andrew L Phillips for an interview... So, not being one to turn down the possibility of some free promotion and always eager to test his language skills (he speaks limited Russian) - he agreed.

After what seemed like an age later (the film crew didn't stop asking questions and the director can talk the hind legs off a donkey) everyone went their separate ways, the production vehicle was loaded and we were off to the old windmill to shoot. We thought that would be the end of the Russians, but we were wrong ...

Death from above

When we arrived at the old windmill, where the set of the boundary fence was built, the snow had almost melted away and the desert mud and sand that this region is normally known for was reclaiming the landscape piece by piece.

After several rehearsals and some amazing scavenging by the production designer Robin Chiu and Producer and Villain Norman Rees, the set was ready and the scenes were good to shoot.

We spent most of the day at the location, interrupted only by the odd desert patrol and some of the test pilots pushing their futuristic aircraft to the limit in the skies above,  causing us to stop filming when, just like the night before; it seemed like we were under an artillery bombardment for several minutes as the space planes re-entered the atmosphere.



We finished the afternoon with an impromptu snowball fight in the desert (as odd as it sounds) and some behind the scenes shenanigans ( that can be viewed below)  before heading back to base to reset for the next scene and have another encounter with a certain film crew...

Behind the scenes silliness (Bad Language!!)

The last of the Snow (or the Red Menace Part 2)

As the last of the snow gradually thinned out, we set up for the first shot of the evening, an earlier scene with the guys arriving in Rachel.
All was well for a good half hour before, out of nowhere once more, the Russians were back!
Having decided to stick around for the night's activities, they were seemingly stuck for something to do and so, for lack of better entertainment, they chose to chase us around for some more footage for their show.

Now, whilst it can be said that all publicity is good publicity and should we ever see our Soviet friends again we will thank them for it, it is another thing when we have a rogue camera man running in front of our action vehicle as it maneuvers in and out of a very tight space with our cast and crew on board!

Words were had and soon we had reached an understanding, they could film us all they wanted, as long as they didn't become road kill in the process ...

That Spielberg look

The first shots of the evening featured the guys arriving at the Little Ale'Inn, before their journey begins. It is a lighter moment, without the madness of the cat and mouse chase that follows it.

We have nicknamed it the Spielberg look, the little sense of awe and wonder that you get when you see the lights of Rachel for the first time ...

Paul Schmaul

Before this segment of the diary can be told, we will first tell a story of something that happened before.

Once upon a time there was a film starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Seth Rogen. 
They called that film 'Paul'.

In the beginning of the film there was a scene where the two protagonists, at the start of their quest, head to Rachel, Nevada and to the Little Ale'Inn for some fun and games with Pat and a few out of towners who give them a hard time. 

So far , so good right?  

Wrong.

Unfortunately, Pegg and Frost did NOT head to Rachel but to a set somewhere in movie land, furnished with all the little things you would find in the bar (including a fictional Pat) - built without their permission and supplied with merchandise bought and rented under false pretenses. Hell they even used the damn menus!

What followed was something that sadly happens in the film world where a big studio takes advantage of the little people that helped them out and without whom it would not have been possible to make the movie....

To this day, Pat, Connie and none of the other people associated with the bar have received a cent in licensing or have been given any promotional material linking them to the film in any way.

Apparently Mr Pegg and co. were unaware of this, but they still haven't lifted a finger to help...

We on the other hand, did not make the same mistake they did. (That would be the mistake of being scumbags)

There is a scene in our film set in the Inn. 

We shot it in the Inn.

With the people IN the Inn.

And it looks fantastic, better than any set would have done and has the authenticity that sets apart a quirky little film like ours from all the other ones out there on the market.  We have a code - if it's in the script and it's a real location - then we will shoot it come hell or high water!

Of course shooting on a real location with local background artistes can have it's challenges and we will expand upon that in the next entry...