Shoot Day 15

Hello friends,

We're HALFWAY already. Unbelievable. Very tough week this one. Drought breaking rains when we needed hot Summer days. Can't complain though, we need the rain.

Memo to self: Flash floods and electrical thunderstorms make filming in an orange grove and on a steel shed roof very difficult. But we survived. Some nifty re-scheduling kept us shooting and after 3 weeks we're probably only half a day down.

Our fab crew are doing a spectacular job in such trying conditions. All departments are shining. Makeup have amazed me (Nadia pictured above). From 46 degrees to torrential rain, keeping faces and hair in-check must be a nightmare! They're over delivering everyday.

Rachael Taylor continues to amaze. Such a professional at such a young age. Absolute pleasure to work with, and as we move further into the screenplay watching her character develop is wonderful. Rushes screenings are a pleasure and the crew seem to be having a ball. ...but for the times they're standing in the rain, holding metal objects and wondering about lightning i guess.

Our investors arrived yesterday for a tour of a few locations and sets. Stefano cooked up a storm for us last night, and I think everyone's feeling great. Our distributors Natalie and Jamie are here too. It's a very special feeling because we've been talking about the film for so many years. It's a dream come true.

Massive shout out to our Art Dept who've worked like hound dogs this week (and every other week), including constructing, painting and delivering a fifteen metre tourist attraction. The attraction was assembled at a roadhouse in a tiny town called Yamba, that's in South Australia. It's a funny little border town where your vehicle gets searched for fruit before you cross the border. You can be carrying as many illegal immigrants as you want, but one orange or ripe banana and you're in a lot of trouble!

Today I'm heading out with my trusty camera dept: Greg, Steve and Pete to nail some "Second Unit" action. "Second Unit" is the term I use to fool myself into thinking we're not working 7 days a week. It's supposed to imply that there's another small crew that come in and shoot the landscape shots and cutaways while we rest on the weekend. But it's us. Just us. And that's how we roll. Thx boyz. Let's hit the road. I gotta wake them first though. Heard quite a few champion crew roll into Melrose HQ at 4am this morning (Friday nights are big at O'Malley's). So I'm hoping I can lure them out of bed with some coffee, eggs and bacon. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!".


Thank-you for all your love and support,


Ricky : )