KOB Shot of the Day #79: Pile of Paper Progreess

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

So that's that.

This is a view of my piled collection of call sheets, sides, shot lists and any other printed document I've folded and shoved into my pocket on-set over the past 30 days of shooting KOB, usually discarded each morning after we wrap to gauge the progress of the production by how high the pile gets, a strange habit I've had. 30 days of papers, a strange way to gauge the progress of a project, no? But it felt good to throw "Day 30" on top this morning (yup still up), digging up Day 1 at the bottom to remember first shot up...and the promptly shove them in the trash as I finished packing up and leaving Spokane, which will to me always be Eliphaz.

So glad to be home now with the family as I write this, but my body and head are still in "Mole People" mode as Borden called it, where usually at this time for the past 6 weeks, we would be when we're rolling cameras, and I can already tell acclimating back to the "real world" won't be so easy. What dId they always call it in the Vietnam movies? "Rotating back to the world" from "Being in 'The Shit'"? Right now tt all feels like a glorious blur, simultaneously seeming like its been a year since Day 1 of prep at the NXNW offices and just yesterday, gone by in a flash of smoke (a lot of it!). Still a LOT of work to do, but the puzzle pieces have been created and now it's time to make it all fit. Exciting times.

Onward,

Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #78: That's a WRAP (and a Toast!)!)

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

There's just too much to say, and yet I don't have the words. Does that make sense?

One of the most productive and fun shoot days ever. Was it because the end was neigh? Or was it that, being on a controlled soundstage (as opposed to being a slave to the weather or the Lunar cycle or those insects) by "Brooming up" the film, we got to revisit some memorable moments from days & weeks ago?

There was a general sense of fun in the air as we shot final pieces of 0's & 1's as a family, together enjoying the little slices of madness we conjured up in the last 30 days with a hell of a great cast and crew. Two crews/units running at Full Tilt Boogie; we spilled a LOT of blood, broke a few hearts, splashed in the water, soared in the air like kids, exploded shit, tipped the hat to SLING BLADE, cavorted in tents....and other seemingly random moments that to anyone stepping onto set today for the first time without an idea of the movie would ask 'What the hell is going on here?!?!"

That made me remember why we do this crazy shit; to elicit a reaction, and because we love movies for that. The smiles everyone wore today proved that theory. It was a great day to be on a movie set.

Sadly, there was not a whole crew photo to be had, and too many moments to give away from the snaps today, but this one could work...

...Suddenly, and without notice, a table of "spirits" appeared in the corner of the Wherhouse we rented out to shoot the final day of shots and scenes. At 6:23 am, KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM wrapped Principal Photography and many a toast was had amongst the remaining, some of whom actually stayed or came back to hang out with the gang. Or to drink the booze, whatevs.

...and what am I doing now? Yep, I'm writing this while furiously packing,listening to the KOB Metal Mixtape (Now playing: "Whiplash" from Metallica on "Action #2") then going to see PIRHANA 3-D before leaving Spokane (or sleeping).
By midnight, I will be back in Los Angeles with my family. Surreal.

Onward, we toast!
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #77: Poseur for Posehn

Sent from iPhone, click to enlarge.

First night shooting out of the woods (or any greenery for that matter, it was Cement Central).

For once, it was nice to not be swarmed with thousands of insects once the lights went up after lunch and pissing outdoors while Crafty peeks (sorry girls, I caught you that one night). Don't miss it a bit. Being in a garage is like home. We had one practical location, an auto garage (which in comparison to the open air, felt like home), and 3 major scenes occur here, including a...well, there I go into Spoiler territory.

But speaking of which, we had 4 (count 'em) FOUR cameos in one night. Usually it's deaths, this time it's subtle casting nods to the fans (or haters cracking their knuckles for this flick already) and I couldnt believe I was on the same set at everyone. Here my good friend Brian was gracious enough to come up for a night and spend some time with us, luckily he came when there weren't pissy bushes, and fit in with the Fellowship like a glove.We also had the equally lovable Larry Zerner (and slightly less tall) in but I honestly forgot to get a snap with him (Sorry dude!) Just funny that Jessie, one of our "Second Team" needed an Full Apple to even approach the height Brian rocks, which promptly got a dismissive "Pfftt" from him here (and he's so right).

So glad he and the rest were part of tonight. It was another mad dash to the finish, but as the sun burnt us by 6:30 (being cinema vampires does that to you), we walked away happy, satisfied, exhausted and ready to kick this final day's ass.

Wrapped two more actors tonight...as we approach Wrap Day, soon The Knights depart.

Onward!
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #76: Thanks Gore The Memories, Riverside Park

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Our final day/night in Riverside State Park, onto a new location with a lot less grue and a lot more gears, so I thought while the on-set Spectral Motion guys (Sean & Bernie) were um..."cleaning shop" in their area, I'd snap a shot of some of the fond little "dressing" that was on display throughout the woods while we were here the last 5 weeks. Would be hilarious if we just left those entrails in the park for normal folk to enjoy on their hikes.

Don't worry, plenty more where these parts came from (this was just a bit), but it was funny to see how causal cast & crew were as they passed such an atrocious sight without batting an eyelash, chowing on breakfast burritos for the 28th consecutive day. I think our crew is officially jaded....of both gore and B'fast burritos.

Onward to parts of a different sort!

Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #75: Monday is for Murder (and Malina!)

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

The final Monday and we had to bid farewell to FOUR cast members, very insane yet also cathartic...means we're getting closer to the end of the road together. But for a Monday we kicked ass, spilled blood, made Kurosawa proud (!?) and even got in a little neo-slapstick (no, not SPLATstick, sorry Sullivan). One more night in the woods, and boy is it a doozy...might be too hot for the SOTD, that's all I'll say...

Speaking of "Hot", it was 90 out and sweltering on a rare day part of the shoot, and our dear friend Josh (seen above) had to endure one hell of an encounter against this tree here. I will reveal no more, other than it will make you cringe if we did our job right. Great to work with such fantastic talent, albeit for a short time.

Onward,
Joe

PS: Happy Birthday Pete Green and Congrats on Victoria as well!!

KOB Shot of the Day #74: Hazy Sunday

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Nothing much to report here folks, just my current view on the coffee table as the family went out to dinner so I could have some alone time with my shot-list to prep for the next 4 final days of KOB madness. It was great to have them here, but also a little sad that I'm so "in the zone" that I can't really focus on much else or spend much time together without my head in Eliphaz or try to catch up on sleep. Guess I got used to having my Filming Blinders on, but still glad they got to come up and see some of the shoot & meet the cast/crew, who were SO nice and accommodating.

After trying to sleep (with little success, as per usual), Bri and I caught a matinee of SCOTT PILGRIM, arguably my most anticipated film of the summer next to INCEPTION (due to being a big fan of the comic from my FRESH INK days and an even bigger fan of Edgar's since SPACED & SHAUN), and while we both enjoyed it, I think being tired and in such a "production" mode, I couldn't fully appreciate it's awesomeness. Again, being so deep in the process at the moment, I was watching scenes & shots and analyzing "Hmmm...how long did it take to set THAT shot up?" or "Wonder how much that cost?" or "How many pages a day did they shoot??"...not being swept away by the film like I usually can, especially one I genuinely was into. Guess it happens to all filmmakers when they're in production, and Ill need to see it again immediately after I get back, but glad we got out for a bit to see it together before I had to jump back into my usual Sunday prep mode.

Again...strange that this time next week, Ill be back on my old couch, probably editing the footage I know we got in my head 6 ways to...well, Sunday. But It will be a GREAT feeling to move onto the next phase and start slashing this Beast into shape.

Prepping now, gotta go. We're not out of the woods yet...and there's still a LOT of blood to spill.

Onward to The Final Week!!!

Joe

PS: There's a new KOB site up! Check it out HERE, stay tuned to the KOB Twitter feed (@badassdom_movie) for more as well.

KOB Shot of the Day #73: "Wrapish"

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Since this is essentially our final week of shooting and most of the out-of-towners will be booted out of Spokane back to our original beds by Friday, Production felt it was a good idea, with most of us still here, to have our Wrap Party tonight. While I was dead tired from the night before, Bri and I first met up with the producers & cast for dinner at the place I had dinner the night I arrived in Spokane (Moxie...again, GREAT Asparagus) and then hit our usual Saturday night joint, O'Doherty's Pub for a KOB gathering of epic proportions. Practically everyone was there, spirits were high and flowing, some of the cast premiered a music video they made with Summer's BF Cooper (a hell of a great guy and a fantastic photographer to boot) & our EPK Mike (see you on the Special Features, guys!) and then we ripped into Karaoke (I blasted out a "Knights of Badassdom Remix" of Tenacious D's "Wonderboy") before I had to head home a bit early to help Remy hit the hay. Im sure many will be "feeling it" Sunday, but Im glad everyone was having a good time and hope they partied well into the early hours of Sunday.

It was such a great feeling to see everyone having fun, comiserating on the insanity we rolled on and unwinding from one hell of a shoot...even if it's technically not finished! 4 more crazy days to go. Also crazy: a week from now Ill be back in Los Angeles (at a dear friend's nuptuials, natch) and can't believe I wont see many of these bright faces again. They've been so good to us here and I cherished the love in the room tonight.

Onward to bed (if I can),
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #72: Plate Spinning...

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

...in the middle of a complicated series of "Plate shots" for a visual gag that, if we played our cards right, will be a real gut-puncher. This part is just one of 4 separate practical pieces that, with the help of our Visual FX team at Comen FX (who've been great to have on-set to assist us in getting what we need for post) will in the end look like one seamless moment when blended in. Stuff like this can REALLY scramble your brain, especially when we're minutes from daylight and racing to the finish line, but I think we nailed the moment and ended Week 5 on a pretty bloody note, which is always nice to do. Thanks all for another week of hard work everyone! Time for a drink or 10.

Onward,
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #71: Came-oh!

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

One of the things I love, even just for our own gratification, is throwing in our loving crew in front of the camera, either by choice or even by necessity (last week one of our hard-working P.A.'s, Clancy, had to stand in for a big FX shot at the last minute dressed as a principal and he KILLED it, literally!). Here our Co-Writer/Producer/Knight Kevin Dreyfuss is getting measured for a "big" scene tomorrow while Rebecca, another smiling face on-set has an um...opinion. Gotta keep away from crafty, Sir Kev....

Just makes everyone feel more involved, part of the process...and who doesn't want to be on the big-screen!? Dreyfuss is gonna rock.

We picture wrapped another major player tonight, sad to see him/her go (no spoilers!)...like Sir Borden said, "They're dropping like flies!"

Onward,
Joe

PS: SCOTT PILGRIM THIS WEEKEND....FINALLY!!! A great reward to look forward to...and the family is in town, so it's especially great to work hard towards this week's wrap.

KOB Shot of the Day #70: VukasVision

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Another night of hard work paying off from all sides of production. Can't believe we only have 5 days left but seeing and knowing the puzzle pieces we got only makes me more excited. Lots to go still but again, a rewarding night...except those trains & planes F'ing up our takes. Loudest. Forest. EVER.

CUT TO: Close up-Mike Vukas, Chief Lighting Tech and one of the many smiling faces on the set, seen here using his trusty pen-laser to shine on something (probably) important....or just look cool...who knows, but with all the smoke on-set it's like a SWAT ambush when he shoots it off into the distance.

During lunch, I usually stay on-set while the rest go off to base camp; some might think Im being douchie & anti-social but with the constant busywork & hustle and flow on a movie set, you savor your silence, especially when you're mind is racing. Mike is one who also enjoys the "calm moments before the storm" (to quote Sir Oldman) and each night we usually sit on each "hot" set at hand, sometimes chewing the fat but mostly just taking in the scene at hand quietly, working out our strategy each night in our heads as we shovel our chow down. Another vital member of our Fellowship and a pleasure to be around.

Onward!
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #69: To the bloody hilt...

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Killer day, literally.

Again, you never know what lies ahead each shoot da-er, night, you just forge on regardless to the light a the end. Tonight, the light was bright, the smoke was thick, the work was fast & furious and the blood was flowing...but when on this film has it not? Day....1? That's about it so far I guess. Great work all!

Onward,
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #68: In the thick of it...

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Not much to say....pretty hard and distressing day to say the least. Sorry, not every shoot day is gonna be peaches and cream...but must press on, right? Big budget or small, that's just the way it goes I guess, but that doesn't mean it's not a bummer.

In the thick of the woods now, guess we got spoiled by a huge overhead softbox guiding us to the light. Hopefully it was just a case of the Mondays, but we gotta start kicking some ass, and QUICK. 8 more days to go, BIG scenes....lets go Knights...to the READY!!!

Onward,
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #67:KOB FlashMob!!!

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

After sleep laughing in my face yet another day, I ended up in the Spokane Park for a KOB Covert Op: Since we're losing many of our friends soon, we decided to put on a "Flash Mob" in a few locations downtown both as prosperity for the dedication these brave souls brought to the movie but also to celebrate the culture later when we end up promoting the film. Moments like these here in the middle of the mall main floor (while stunned onlookers stood back, mouths agape), were captured on everything from an HD HVX to some FLIPcams & iPhone videos (which is all I could extract some stills from here), hell, even a camera strapped to the LARPers and then yours truly (called "LynchCam", that's me-the hooded dude-seen below being attacked...I think they really enjoyed it).

It was a great time had by all and a nice way to say farewell to many of our KOB family....with Mall War!

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

...and tis only the beginning, my friends...

Onward,
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #66: Open Late; Cleaned plate.

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

At the Satellite DIner at 3am after a KOB pub/post-wedding/party crawl....this WAS the "Satellite Scramble" which is, technically, either a late lunch or an early dinner for me/us.

Exciting, I know. Like the Primus album..."They All Can't Be Zingers". But hell, it must have been good enough to take a snap, right?

It was a good night seeing everyone out together, from all sides of the production spectrum, just hanging out and having a good time. We gots a great group goin' and it was worth running on fumes to be out with the gang.

Sleep awaits...I hope.

Onward,
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #65: What keeps me goin'....

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Another week finished, so glad the cast and crew haven't called Mutiny and revolted yet....YET. Seriously, they are a brave, burly bunch and Im so lucky to have them on our side and seeing them hustle like they did tonight was an inspiration. But it's also an image* like this, for reasons I'm not ready/willing to quite divulge yet (unless you know me well enough) that pushes me to keep going even in the par-for-course rough patches. Whether its resonant for one person, 10 or many, it's one of the the coals stoking my fire.

For a hard week's work I had my crack assistant "Ace" go out and get two kegs of beer for the crew for a celebratory pint on yours truly....I thought lapdances and crank would have been nice but might have been over my per diem, so hope enjoying a frosty post-shoot beverage as the sun rose over the trees was a good way to close out one hell of a hard week with some great KOB family. Hope everyone got home safe and get some rest...more blood shall be spilt in week 5!!

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Onward,

Joe

PS: New favorite on-set shot, courtesy of Co-writer/Producer/Knight Matt Wall. I swear I wasn't posing, that's how I normally stand around set...with swords:

KOB Shot of the Day #64: F.W. Murnau would be proud...

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Saw this and reminded me of Nosferatu.

Total chaos today. More tomorrow. Must fight on.

Onward,
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #63: Midnight's Summer Dream

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Started with the smallest moments tonight & ended with one of the biggest. Still odd to me that our midday is around midnight.

Between shots, I caught one of our Knights in a casual moment....a casual moment with a Sword that is. By now, Medieval weaponry, armor & entrails is just another day at the office to us, but still feels like a waking dream to be walking amongst it all in the midnight air.

Funny, this shot reminds me of something Argento-esque, a SUSPIRIA moment even, which let to me rambling on about Dario's filmography with Summer till "Picture's Up" was yelled. Could have been 10 minutes straight of Giallo gibber-jabber. Sorry, Summer!

I'm gonna go put on Goblin and pass out. Another Big battle on both sides of the camera, gotta keep fighting for some sleep.

Onward,
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #62: Looking down the barrel...

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

...son of gun Son of a bitch.

Another tough but rewarding day today/tonight. It's minutes from wrap & we're we are at the "Abby*", setting up an FX shot aimed as something Spectral and in Motion. Gonna be a frikkin' big moment, so glad we're getting this. But looking down this particular barrel, as the night bleeds slowly into day in the distance, it reminded me of the one aimed at The Fellowship as we fight on in getting all we want and need to tell the story.

3 wise men once said:

Ultra violence be running through my head
Cold medina y'all, making me see red
Rapid fire Louie like Rambo got bullets
I'm a die harder like my kid Bruce Willis

Onward,
Joe

*Abbie: 2nd to last shot called over crew communication, named after Abby Singer; The final shot is the more familiar term, "The Martini". If there is a shot popped in after...it's "The Lynch".

KOB Shot of the Day #61: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

Another intense night of lighting actors on fire, stunts with vehicles and creatures, dead bodies, intense acting beats, buckets of blood...you know, "Monday".

Here is a moment with one of the Special Effects guys, Connor, as he works some movie magic to make it look like a truck is kicking up dirt 'n dust while backing up into...."something" (wink)...while in the foreground, a pivotal piece of the story has it's curtain call courtesy of props.

All in a night's work.

Onward,
Joe

PS: Doug, you called it!

KOB Shot of the Day #60: Slices of "Home"

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

At The Avenue, one of my favorite places in Spokane (the Geekiest Pizza pub you'll ever encounter) getting some dinner to take out and I look up to see G4 on TV (actually, they are "4G" this week as a promo stunt) playing PREDATOR. With the nerd-tastic wall of "Heroes" (Tony Montana, Charlies Angels, Mr. T, Farigno Hulk, et al) on the wall, the comics lining the perimeter of the joint and a TV network so close to me playing an Ah-nuld classic made me miss home like a sonofabitch for some odd reason.

Start of a new week, gonna try to rest up for battle...got some Evil to thwart.

Onward,
Joe

KOB Shot of the Day #59: Killer Commode & The Fellowship Feast!

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

First off, this is SOTD because, while at our usual Saturday Fish 'n Chips dinner at O'Dohertys tradition, I had to hit the "John Smith" and was so thrilled at this sight, clearly enough to take a shot. Any joint that has a commode rocking a Ken Loach movie poster (one of my favorite of his too) is MINT in my book*. What a strange sight to see in a local bathroom, but one that made me giggle with nerdy delight while evacuating.

...Coming back from a rare night out was a real treat after finally getting more than 3 hours of sleep over the past few weeks. So refreshing!

After feeling like what Jack Horner calls "Doggie Doo Doo" the past few days, decided to get out out for a bit and so glad I did. What I thought was an invite to a subtle birthday gathering for one of our biggest supporters, J.P. Pettanato (who has helped produce the Frak out of this thing) turned out to be a HUGE KOB family celebration, with cast, crew and many of the brave, stalwart LARPers who have been part of the whole production as featured "warriors" were all out in full force. To feel all the love & support in the many rooms we took over throughout the night, it just made me even more proud of the work we're pulling off against the odds and even more ready for many battles ahead. That there is, even just halfway through the shooting adventure, such a "family" spirit amongst us all is so invigorating...like, no matter what, we HAVE to try our best to make this something special. If you like it or not, fuck it....we all put our all into it, and everyone who came out tonight was representative of the dedication involved. I dunno if this is the same on every set, but I have never felt a similar sense of kindrid spirit, passion and heart into a collective work in my entire life. Here's a terrible glimpse of the Karaoke madness taking place amongst the Fellowship while taking over Monteray Cafe during a Rapturous Queen number:

Shot with iPhone, click to enlarge.

We ended up in 3 bars over the night (which to many of us is mid-afternoon in my/our "Nightcrawler" schedule) and in every joint there was a familiar and friendly face; so either that's a testament to how small Spokane is, or we just have one hell of a KNIGHTS family amongst us.

Onward,
Joe

*Still entitled PATRICK DUFFY STOLE MY BURRITO.

PS: This was taken 2 days ago by my old college buddy/killer Script Supervisor Robb "Ivory Shabazz" Foglia while we were shooting under raindrops, me checking a rehearsal moment behind the "Video Village". Contender for new profile pic.

Shot by Ivory Shabazz.